Base of Operations: Silver Eagles

[Apollymi]

This pair of young individuals seemed keen to help each other. With Asher having much clearer motivations than Junon he seemed apt to help her find her own. And in her own way, Junon was quite encouraging to the boy's own goal furthering, given she was willing to stand along side him and push him along when he needed it. Anyway this was looked at the pair was shaping up to be a pretty interesting set of additions to the Elites of the Silver Eagles. Eventually, Junon followed along until they reached the room which was fated to be hers, she stepped inside of it and took a few looks around flopped on the bed and had it all out testing it out. This was about the behavior Sibylla expected from the carefree girl. "Sugoi! This bed is so comfy, arigatou gozaimasu, Danchou~" she chimed seemingly happy with her accommodations. As she stood she opened the window and had a look outside as well, this view wasn't bad, but she wouldn't wait to rank up and get a bit of a wider view of the water falls outside. The words of Asher didn't go unnoticed either as it was mentioned that this smallest of bedrooms was bigger than the dining room where he'd grown up. Sibylla was made curious by the boy's previous living conditions, but she supposed given his current attitude it couldn't have been bad. "Sizes of the rooms tend not to matter so much, it's more about the memories you make in them... right?" she asked of the lad rhetorically before turning to leave this girl to her own devices. "Enjoy your space, Junon. There should be a few more experienced Knights around if you have any questions or feel inclined to meet new people. I do advise however actually getting some rest, the lag outside of Dungeons can be daunting..." she said which made Junon stand at attention and smile. "Hai, I understand!" she said. "Ja, Asher-kun... have a nice night!~" she chimed in appreciation of her new teammate. She figured there would be a bit more bonding with the lad's drop off, and as such she wasn't much bothered.

Sibylla took this girl's thanks and nodded as she left this area, assuming of course that Asher would follow. His room would be located on a different tower to the right of the buildings middle. It was identical to Junon's in size and placement, except instead of overlooking a courtyard his end overlooked a small stream leading to the bigger lake and falls outside of the castle. This was simply the view this side of the castle got. As the door was opened she let the lad inside of his room, and waited. She had a few things to say to him not unlike she did with Junon, but with subject matter of a very different nature. "This room is yours, Asher..." she started not knowing exactly how to lead into the next aspect of their conversation she fell silent for just a bit.

[Bloodedge]

As impressive as Junon's room was to him, Asher was left wondering how distant his room would be. As far as the Magic Knights were concerned, he couldn't say he had a single friend around, and there was always the chance he didn't end up making any by virtue of being a commoner. The Captain and Vice-Captain didn't seem to care, but they could have easily set their pride aside for results. Any other member of the Magic Knights would not have to be so lenient if they had a distaste for peasants. Either way, the time had come for Asher to follow Sibylla to his own room. As he turned to trail behind the woman, he raised his hand in a wave toward Junon. "Hai. Ja ne," he said. The path Sibylla led him on was longer than he would have expected, and in a different tower even. He stepped inside, and was somehow more amazed than he was by the previous room, if only because this one belonged to him. Straight to the window he went. If one thing was different, it was this view which Asher decided to take in stride as he opened the window. Soon enough, he was hopping up into that very same window to sit on the sill facing outside. "It's... amazing. Honto ni arigatou. I've never had my own room before."

[Apollymi]

As Asher took in the view of his room, Sibylla was left feeling a weird mixture of emotions. She always felt for her siblings and this one likely had a bit of an edge by virtue of being so new to her. That being said, his gratitude seemed to come from a place deep within himself, and he appreciated his room in a way she hadn't expected. Sibylla's eyes widened momentarily filled with warmth before she simply nodded. "You've never had your own room before..." this was said simply as an acknowledgement of the varied circumstances of his upbringing. This was a rather complicated situation because while she could appreciate that she was providing something this lad had never known before, she didn't like the idea that he might feel isolated. To this point she decided to ask him something else. "What was it like then, growing up where you did?" she asked, wanting to get an appreciation of the lad's life experiences before this point so that she might help him. Her questions to the lad were noticably more prodding than the ones she gave say Junon, but she had a reason for this. She'd been given most of Junon's history directly, but her little brother had been searched for, before he showed up in the Magic Knights Entrance Exam. Now he would have to relay his experiences to her himself. She was curious as to how he'd ended up this way, and wouldn't leave him on his own completely until she'd broached the necessary topics at hand. She didn't want him to feel lonely, and it would be an embarrassment for him to when he had two, technically three elder siblings living within this very castle. Even knowing this, she didn't want to pile on too much for him, perhaps it would be easier to take a gentle approach to telling him. So she took a gentle approach, respecting his privacy by not entering his room as well, unless she was invited, she was content to be an ear for his explanation while thinking of how best to confront her own truths.

[Bloodedge]

"Nope. Never," he confirmed. True enough, there was hardly even much of a bedroom for the children at his church. If Asher intended to tell the tale, Sibylla's following inquiry gave him the perfect opportunity to do so. While thinking about the situation he'd grown up in, he raised his right leg to tuck it into his arms, holding his knee against his chest from this perch in the window. "It was... weird. Crazy, even. It's not like I never slept in a bedroom or anything, but there was a whole group of kids sharing one room that kinda passed as a bedroom. We would all wake up every morning, waiting to find out how Sister Cereza would prepare the tatoes this time. Everybody worked. Even us kids were sent out to do things that would help out, and it helped us find day-to-day uses for our magic and get practice using it at the same time. There were bad times... a lot of them. It was all worth it, though. I wouldn't have been taken in by anybody else if I had to do it again and make a choice. Even though we were poor and hated by everybody who wasn't, we had each other, and that was enough to make everything okay."

[Apollymi]

Sibylla's question apparently opened the flood gates so to speak. She was left listening to this young man's tale of growing up living in a single large bedroom with his adopted siblings. He worked, he helped out, he looked after others, and they in turn looked after him. Though it would be easy to find such a thing gruesome and to not understand the nuances of such an upbringing, Sibylla had her own different kind of life experience. As such, she completely understood why one could find the happiness even in moments which would seem like despair to others. She couldn't really imagine what it was like to be properly poor, money had never been a concern of hers at all, but she was happy to see such a situation hadn't changed the lad in a negative way. In fact, he spoke so fondly of his life, she felt the need to comment on a random bit she'd picked up earlier in his conversation with Junon. "It sounds like you found yourself with quite an adoring family, considering you are happy despite your challenges. You'll make sure to tell them you became a Magic Knight and clear up why you ran away, right? It wouldn't be good long term to drag around unresolved feelings, for you or them. And I am sure you could come to a proper understanding now..." she commented in the same way she did everything. On the matter of unclear feelings though, she had a bit more experience than most in a rather direct way. She wouldn't make this an order, she only meant for him to consider how much it would mean to his group to know he was okay after they'd done so much bonding. And beyond that, if there were any younger in his group, they might look up to him, and need a bit of reassurance as well. Either way this lad's stories lightened her heart quite a bit, it always worried her that she didn't know what kind of man her little brother would be when he was found, but at this moment she realized she'd worried for him in ways she hadn't realized. And now... she was proud he'd grown up to make such positive choices on his own. In having this thought, she realized it was almost impossible for her to properly convey this with the shroud around this lad's identity. "You've experienced a lot of changes over the last few days... I'm sure it's a lot to try and cope with," she started speaking only to be unsure of if she should continue. "I don't mean to add too much to that, but I did promise you would understand everything and that time should be sooner rather than later. But I won't tell you if you aren't ready to know yet..." she mentioned. Their time together as siblings had been quite limited, but she still needed to offer him an explanation of all things she could, from her own perspective.

[Bloodedge]

"Hai. Everyone was great. Looking back on it all, even the bad times are something I appreciate. If it wasn't for all those things, there's no telling what kind of person I would be today. But... here I am, and I'm going to make sure they all benefit from it." Asher's explanation came with a brief pause. The fault of this was Sibylla's additional query, seeking confirmation of whether he intended to tell his adopted family about becoming a Magic Knight. "I... do plan on telling them. I will, whenever I find out how to approach it. It's weird to be suddenly separated just to come back later and say everything's fine, but... I'm probably not saying anything that would matter to royals anyway. Sumimasen. I don't mean to bother you with my troubles," he concluded. It wasn't beyond him how little nobility cared for the plights of common folk in this country. Though he was pleased to have been approached and given opportunity to discuss his personal life at all, he'd hardly seen a noble with any real concern for their lesser countrymen. Sibylla did seem a bit different, but the reason behind this could have been anything. After all, she was strangely invested in him more so than the other new recruit, to have stopped for the sake of conversing with him alone on multiple occasions now. Even now, she was content to discuss with him matters that would clear up his earlier confusion, though she essentially urged him to be mindful of his own readiness. "Tell me what? You're my Captain; if you think it's something better explained sooner than later, then I'm ready."

[Apollymi]

Sibylla listened to the story of this young man's life and beyond that his understanding of the events within it. "Sou ka," she muttered understanding the lad just a little bit better. While she did this she couldn't help but smile, he'd become so well-rounded, it was beyond what she might think necessary for him, most nobles would find this kind of compassion a weakness, but... her own mother was a bit more complex than most nobles would ever be. As such, she'd always been taught a high level of empathy and passed it along whenever she could. Seeing such compassion from him made her quite happy inside, but it seemed his behavior was just as strange as her own. She simply shook her head to the apology offered for bothering her with his troubles. "Iie, offering such guidance is generally what I am here for. I'd suggest writing a letter initially so they don't worry too long. And then you could always take a trip on your day off to visit in person to make a proper apology. You do still get those after all..." she mentioned in a casual explanation of how his life would work as a Magic Knight, as the finer details were sometimes missing from people not raised in close quarters of already existing Magic Knights.

Their conversation progressed even further, and she found herself staring at the lad as he convinced himself that he was ready to hear what she had to say. She looked at him with steeled silver eyes and after finding confirmation of his readiness she spoke, somewhat softly of a rather delicate matter. "I am your Captain, but I didn't choose you because I needed new members. I wanted you at my side as I do all of my brothers and you are the youngest of them... you are the lost child of House Silva the boy with rainbow hair named Asher," she said calmly. This was a lot she figured there would be questions or disbelief and she was more than willing to bear the brunt of this for the sake of her other siblings. That being said, this was no easy conversation to have, still, Sibylla was ever composed.

[Bloodedge]

Sibylla had a suggestion for dealing with those in his home village, and it wasn't bad at all. If he wrote a letter first to let everyone know everything was fine, perhaps he could more easily transition into telling them the finer details in person. He could even send the letter early, and perhaps use his first day off to pay them a visit. "That's a great idea! I'll start the letter tonight," he proclaimed. In fact, he truly planned to do this before turning in for the night. If he managed to portray the message properly, he thought maybe he could even send it by then. For now though, there were more immediately pressing matters to address... such as the claim that he wasn't chosen by Sibylla simply because the Silver Eagles needed more names in their roster... and the more shocking claim that he was some lost child of a royal family - Sibylla's, even. Asher's eyes widened as he stared outside from his window perch. Had he been any less balanced at the time, he'd have likely fallen outside at that very moment. He did feel a strange level of familiarity with Sibylla, and Dior as well. And yet... this couldn't be so. "... Everyone in my family was killed in Hage Village. My brother survived his wounds long enough to bring me to the church so they could take care of me."

[Apollymi]

It seemed Asher was content to take the idea she'd given him on dealing with his adoptive family. She was happy to help him, as she would have been any of her siblings. Sibylla simply nodded her head in appreciation of this moment, still pleased simply to help him. Of course, their conversation was soon taking a rather serious turn, and though she expected some disbelief and opposition, the reasoning behind this was stranger still. Sibylla's eyes widened immensely at this news and she had to suppress the desire to scoff at the mess created by her elder brother. "Sou ka, you were told something like that... I was confused by the lack of obvious belief and acknowledgement, even with you being so much younger, I thought it was a bit much. I mean, you look just like us, but I suppose that explains it..." she commented. Thinking about it from a logical perspective, this young man should have noticed the physical likeness between himself and Sibylla and himself and Dior after spending any amount of time with them. The fact that he didn't meant he wasn't allowing himself to witness it. "You were lost to us, because the former head of clan Silva wanted you displaced for a reason he still hasn't given. You were told your family was dead so you wouldn't search for them, and the people who adopted you, were likely told never to allow you to become a Magic Knight to keep you from coming here..." she said aloud. Internally she all but cringed. 'Nii-sama, why would you be so dramatic...' she thought. Still after speaking with her elder brother today, she had a bit of a better grasp of the type of person he actually was. "But... don't hold that against him too long. Nii-sama was just doing what he thought was right..." she said, strangely she found herself defending her elder brother even while not agreeing with his actions on the matter.

"I think this is very complicated, but I recognize you as my brother. Rainbow hair, mother's magic, those hair ornaments Dior picked out... all of it. I thought you realized that I knew your name... I had no reason to know it before hand, if we were just meeting," she said. These instances of pure logic were likely one sided to the young man with her, but they were quite honest. While explaining all of this, Sibylla managed to be calm standing in the doorway of Asher's room. In fact she was waiting to see this lad's reactions, she knew this information was a lot to take in, and she didn't expect immediate acceptance from her younger brother. Still her heart went out to him, as it would to any of her siblings. "Sumimasen, Asher." The apology was one she felt he was owed, and it was for a lot more than simply laying this much information on him. "I know this is unbelievable at best. We are just really excited about you, but we don't expect anything. We just want you to know, you don't have to feel alone."

[Bloodedge]

Everything Asher was being told was some level of ridiculous. Suddenly, the tale he'd been told about his discovery in Hage Village was nothing more than a story. But... that couldn't be so. His left hand reached for an engraved stone attached to a necklace he wore, and he gripped it tightly. "What could be right about abandoning family," he said in a voice which barely escaped him at all. Surely this couldn't be true. He was disallowed from joining the Magic Knights to keep him from suffering the same fate as his family. This was the only thing that made sense, except...

Sibylla did know his name. From the moment he left Hage, he hadn't spoken his name once, but she spoke it when she should have only had a number as reference to his identity. Knowing this, how could she have been making up her version of his story? She even placed the ornaments he wore in his hair, which he had most certainly been wearing since he was taken in by the church. "I... I don't understand why that would be true."

[Apollymi]

"That is a question I have asked myself. Several times. If I ever manage to get a straight answer out of him about it, you'll be the first to know," Sibylla said this and meant it, though coming from her in this moment the statement could be seen as particularly snarky. To be honest, she'd probably gotten as close to a proper answer out of her elder brother as she'd ever get. She assumed the elder male thought it part of his duty in some way, but without a proper explanation she couldn't be sure, and thus she wouldn't speculate on it. But that wasn't really it, it seemed that Asher was pulling himself through this entire situation pretty well given what he was being told. The logic wasn't failing, even so it was more to take in than it needed to be. "Life is complicated, admittedly yours more than most," said Sibylla. "These things are true because they are, you are Asher the lost son Silva. You were raised in Hage Village by a collection of interesting and kind people, because our older brother may or may not be short-sighted. You're a compassionate individual with goals and a wide world view," the Captain of the Silver Eagles mentioned. "The only thing that really changes is now you have the support of a few extra people... if you'll accept it." Sibylla spoke these words knowing she meant to comfort the lad, and wanted to do so more directly than she was able to. "You don't have make anything of this extra information immediately. We've waited to find you. Knowing you're safe... we can wait for you to adjust to our existence," she finished up.

[Bloodedge]

Everything being taken in was extremely hard to sort through for the silver-haired male. In multiple ways, he could not argue against her points at all. It was very strange that he would be disallowed from taking the Magic Knights Entrance Exam to prevent reliving his family's demise, considering he was left behind by a dying man. Still, what was he to do now? This wasn't what he knew, so he had no idea how to deal with it. Was he to acknowledge this undoubtedly? There was only one way he could even think of dealing with this at the moment. "I..." he started. Sadly, there was hardly even anything in mind. "I'll be ready whenever it's time for the next task... Dancho."

[Apollymi]

Unsurprisingly the boy seemed more than a bit overwhelmed by the information he was given. Sibylla expected this to a great extent, even so, somewhere deep inside it hurt her feelings just a bit that she couldn't properly bond with her little brother after searching for him for so long. She couldn't blame him for this, as such she nodded and turned but not before giving the emptiness of her silver eyes to the lad. "Right. Dior lives at the highest point of this tower if you should have questions or need anything you can't figure out on your own. Do try and get some rest..." she mentioned in passing and with this she left.

It'd been quite an interesting day for her, but she felt it wasn't nearly as bad as this lad. At this point she was content to retire to her own room, only leaving sometime late in the night to stand in front of that strange mirror again, this time bearing tea and tarts. Her countenance something of an angry grimace with shining eyes, filled with determination. "I wasn't ready for dinner yet. I figured we could start with midnight snacks," she said to the man she expected to find within. Whatever happened next time would past gently into the next day, and the order would come for a debriefing with the Magic Emperor. As such there would need to be a gathering of a certain trio of individuals.

[Bloodedge]

"Hai. I'll keep that in mind," Asher said, speaking only in relation to the comment about Dior's location and potential usefulness as another guide. He had a lot to think about over the course of the night, and he only truly began when Sibylla left his doorway. For a very long time, he did not leave the windowsill. Actually, the sun set long before he brought himself inside properly to shut the window. Further time was wasted by Asher attempting to throw together a letter for the people of his home village. Asher spent many hours of the night searching for the right words to say in this letter, only for his mind to betray him because of all he'd taken in this day. Eventually, he fell asleep, and remained that way - despite numerous tosses and turns - until the next day's summons. Then, and only then, was he taken from his room by Dior, whom he shared not a single word with as they moved to collect Junon and make their way toward the Royal Capital.

[Apollymi]

Junon eventually found herself in front of the Silver Eagles Base of Operations once more. This time, coming simply from a meeting with the Magic Emperor. During this the entire team that had ventured into a dungeon to explore it, gained higher rank, including herself and the rainbow haired young man now in her presence. She'd traveled back not by her usual wind manipulation but instead via the light manipulation of Asher. Upon settling down she'd have something to say. "Sugoi!~ It was so fast. It's a wonder you can see anything..." she mused having no idea how the young man managed such a feat, but being stunned by it just the same.

In addition to this the Captain of this particular squad could be found on the steps as usual when her siblings left for anything waiting to greet them. "Okaerinasai, Asher and Junon... how was your first visit to the Royal Capital?" she asked of the pair seeming to be no more or less invested than she usually was. Of course, she was asking mostly about their visit with the Magic Emperor but she supposed she could do without the direct questioning for a bit.