Another New Beginning [Aspen Reintro]

A familiar mountain range. A familiar peak. A familiar snowstorm. Sights she had experienced a countless number of times before, sights that, no matter how many times she found her golden eyes fall upon them, would remind her of the first time she had set foot on this land that would later be called "home" by her. Times were simpler back then. A girl on the run and without means she had been, certainly, but not without the will to persevere. And that, she had, against all the odds that this world had raised against her. She still stood. By her own merits, her own power, she still stood, albeit not as tall as she once did.

Aspen, a name that she had come to be known under here, made her way through the snow, following a path up the mountain she had taken many, so many times, the soft, fresh snow crunching under her every step. Dense patches of pine trees broke the monochrome of white as they stretched skyward. The occasional patch of grey and brown rock poked through the enchantingly ethereal blanket of dull, blank hues. An environment that, now as it had back then when she had first come here, reminded her of winter in her childhood. She had come to cherish it over the two years she had spent here.

Would this really be the right path for her?

It had been two years since she had been here last. A lot had happened, and she had never explained the circumstances surrounding her sudden disappearance. It had been an emergency, certainly, her life had been in danger, true, but that did not excuse her behavior. She had done it to guarantee her own safety, as well as the safety of her comrades. All they had found back then was a thoroughly trashed room, broken and demolished furniture, and deeply crimson stains covering the floor and walls. She wouldn't blame them if they had written her off as dead, perished in some freak research accident. The thought that some might actually have assumed that was amusing to her, though her characteristically stoic, frozen expression of complete emotionlessness portrayed no such thing. It was a mask that the woman had come to wear as a default.

It wouldn't be far off now. Only a few more minutes, a short distance across the wintery mountain, and she would be back. Back at the guild hall of Silver Wolf, where it had all began. What should she even tell them? Would anyone be there to actually remember her? Was this the right course of action to take?

She shook her head. She had no other option.

She hated to get them involved, but she simply had no other choice. She needed their help. Without the guild, there was a good chance that she didn't have much more time here in Fiore, or on this planet. Not if her brother, not if the Empire of Pergrande could help it. Emboldened by the flames of war, the intelligentsia of the Imperium had become particularly active, worryingly so, much to the woman's own detriment. Her personal safety was no longer guaranteed. She hated to admit it, but she needed the protection of the guild. She had always been a fugitive, but ever since that incident two years ago, she was actively hunted. Hunted for her transgressions against a regime that tolerated no such thing. She would certainly be made an example by Commissar Azarov, should he get his filthy loyalist hands on his sister. She was certain of that.

Begrudgingly, with purpose, with direction, something she had lacked when she had come to this for the first time, she made her way to the barrier that surrounded the guild hall. She was home.

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At first, there was only silence as the girl looked on, then shifted her gaze towards the sound of a panic, no, quite frantic voice. Naked? What on Earthland...? Her eyes fell upon the tentacled creature-man hybrid, her head tilting curiously. Someone from the guild performing experiments out here? She was about to open her mouth and address the other person, ask whether Leona was in, or indeed, if the Guild Master she had come to know was still around at all, but her intentions were interrupted by her travelling companion. She'd been so focussed on herself here, so lost in her own thoughts, problems, and anxieties that she had nearly forgotten his presence in these last few moments up here. There he was, however, Theo being his usual self.

He leaped forward, the act altogether more comedic than threatening as he hurled his jello at the eldritch experiment, the substance not quite impacting and dropping into the fresh snow. At first, there was only a blank expression as she looked at the screeching Theo, then the assumed Silver Wolf member, then back to Theo. Her eyes were blank, a thousand-yard stare within those golden oculi as she briefly pondered her life choices. Still, she couldn't help but smile. A weak smile, admittedly, the expression having become so unfamiliar to her over these past years, but a smile it was nonetheless. Aspen realized that she had missed this.

The situation, however, quickly transitioned from the goofy, and in some ways, theatrical display that it was to a tense one when more people joined the commotion. From within the grounds of the guild, a familiar figure dashed towards the scene before coming to a swift halt, pointing her palm at the half-man. The soft reminiscence of times gone by Aspen felt was snuffed out in an instant, brows furrowing slightly, though the mask-like expression otherwise stoic. The tensions weren't exactly eased by the arrival of a guardian wolf which, seemingly understanding the scenario, bore a blade towards the Guild Master, interposing itself between the newly arrived woman and the experimenting member of Silver Wolf. She felt the aggressive need to sigh in despair. What was supposed to be a peaceful return had already gone to shit. But... in the end, this chaos, this erratic jumble of individuals who were all so different from one another to a point of misunderstanding. Yes, this tapestry of contrasting characters was what Silver Wolf had been like. She was glad to see that it hadn't changed.

"Leona". A voice that would be quite recognizable to Silver Wolves Guild Master rang out in a familiar monotone, a word spoken, of course, with the hint of a Pergranti accent. Having worked with Leona Jarnefeldt as one of Silver Wolf's previous Guild Aces, the Master would, of course, be more than acquainted with the new arrival.

"Please, stand down. Let the man do his thing. He's not aggressive".

If the woman would hear her plead and looked over, she would lay eyes on a familiar figure, though slightly older than before. Dressed in all-black winter clothing, the hood of the jacket she wore over her head, a covering that was swiftly lowered with a motion of the girl's hands, was Aspen. Theo right in front of her, well, he was evidently his usual old self. Two former, now returning, members of Silver Wolf, people that some might have presumed dead. How to follow up, though, the ex-Paladin from Pergrande didn't quite know. She had no idea what to say, how to act after all this time, after her departure. She decided that the truth would be her best option, pausing for several moments.

"Been a while, huh? Leona... I'm here because I need your help".

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Aspen's eyes once more found an undeterminable point off in the far, far distance, eyes glazing over as she found herself embraced by the masked individual. Ignoring the physics behind a magical mask that seemed able to produce real tears, this was precisely the type of shenanigans she had come to expect from Silver Wolf. It was hard not to be nostalgic, albeit the physical contact was something she ordinarily despised. She didn't want anyone touching her, most especially without her consent. Still, this time, just this once, she suppressed the urge to shove the masked individual she had identified as a member of the guild off of her immediately, tolerating it begrudgingly in the hopes that this misguided display of affection would pass quickly. She didn't want to make a scene. Well, any more of a scene than this already situation already was. After a few seconds, though, if it hadn't already ended at that point, she would uncomfortably shuffle out of Yuvon's hug. Luckily, both Leona and the guardian wolf seemed to heed her plea, tensions fading quickly.

Despite this, however, her priorities were elsewhere at the moment. It was her own issue that kept her mind occupied, and while she was an individual that was anything but selfish, she had been stuck in a process of working up the courage to pull off what she was attempting right here, right now, at this moment. She couldn't let her momentum go to waste. All of her being wanted to turn, bury herself in the snow and hide from the unmistakably uncomfortable reunion, but she had to. She had to do it. She had no choice.

Her face did not betray her inner turmoil with the exception of a slight flush of her cheeks, her face, however, remaining characteristically emotionless. She hoped the embarrassing warmth that flooded her face would be attributed to the cold here high up in the Phoenix Mountains. Her eyes were focused on the Guild Master of Silver Wolf, her mind in overdrive to try and figure out the right words to say... as if there were any that would make her request just the tiniest bit better after what had happened here two years ago. Leona couldn't even bear to look at her initially, it seemed, though she now found herself face-to-face with the woman that Aspen thought she'd betrayed on some level by abandoning the guild. Had she upset the Wizard Saint? It would be only natural. No matter. She was in too deep to quit now. The girl, of course, was oblivious to the shame Leona felt, instead misinterpreting the emotion as a kind of frustration at her own and Theo's reappearance. She'd never been the best at reading other people. It only served to brighten the blush accenting her blank expression.

"Plainly speaking, if you will allow me to be straightforward...", she paused briefly, "I-, well,...", she paused, glancing over her shoulder at the Jello-slinging mage, perhaps to reassure herself that he was still there to back her up in this, something that unconsciously gave her that little push, that little bit of comfort she needed now, "... we have come to rejoin the ranks of Silver Wolf". She paused again, thinking of the right words to say while that request sank in. "I know that things didn't work out great two years ago. I'm... I'm very sorry for leaving like I did, for not explaining myself. I don't know if I had you, had the guild worried". If anyone was even concerned at all, that was, the girl hoping that anger hadn't washed away all of the bonds she had forged here in the past. Only one way to find out. She took a deep breath. Ice-cold air filled her lungs, the sensation burning briefly inside her chest. It served to ease her nervousness. As calmly as she could she attempted to probe at this possibility, and yet, the characteristic monotone was distorted by a faint, underlying shakiness.

"I hope you will give me the opportunity to explain myself here and n-".

She wouldn't finish her statement of intent.

She didn't know what had saved her. A hunch, perhaps? Instinct, if something like that was even real. Her honed senses from her time as a Paladin in Pergrande? A trained intellect from her time as a mage? Who knew? Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the glint in the line of trees not too much further down the mountain. The twinkle in the sunlight reflected off the endless fields of snow. A scope. Her body moved before she even had a chance to think about it, the bullet missing her head by not much more than an inch, perhaps, as she shifted abruptly. The sound of rippling thunder followed the sparks of metal as the projectile shattered against the barrier around the guild hall. A large caliber, no doubt. Her gaze locked onto the shifting in the trees. "Blyad!" She dove to the ground, with a single motion, a motion she had practiced hundreds, thousands of times, drawing a handgun. Her voice, twisted into an erratic shout, echoed across the mountaintop. "Get the fuck down!". She knew what was coming from experience.

Little more than a second later, hell broke loose. A storm of projectiles. Tracer rounds flew by, making clear the hail of bullets that filled the air. The synchronized, repeated heavy sound of explosions filled the air as a cacophony of automatic firearms was unleashed towards the small gathering. Aspen looked up, the initial confusion replaced by a surge of adrenaline. She aimed her weapon toward the flickering muzzle flashes in the distance, peering down the iron sights. It was no use. This was way out of her weapon's effective range. She returned fire anyway, hoping that a stray bullet might take out one or two. She didn't need to identify the attacker to know who this was. This was her worst nightmare made reality. The reason she had abandoned Silver Wolf two years ago. The reason she had come back here today. She'd known that she'd endanger the guild, and she had still come back here. She cursed in between breaths. She looked into the distance. From behind the treeline, she could faintly see armor-clad individuals emerge, assault rifles aimed at the slightly elevated group of mages. She couldn't see how many. A dozen, maybe? More? Shit. In this moment, she yearned for her lost magical abilities. No amount of yearning, no prayer, and no hope wouldn't bring them back.

Pergrande had found her, and they wouldn't shy away from killing anyone who stood in their way.

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If the bullets wouldn't take out Theo, the girl, for a split second, felt like doing it herself. The man really just stood there, striking a ridiculous pose while under heavy gunfire. Before she could jump at him, drag him onto the ground and push his stupid face into the snow, though, he did it himself, apparently realizing the error of his ways. Had it not been for a hail of metal, the girl would've launched into a tirade, but there was no time for that. Common sense prevented her from doing just such a thing, something she was now sure the Treasure Hunter did not possess.

Why was she getting so worked up over this?

Screw it. There would be time to ponder later, when all of the Pergranti scum would be dead. Not at her hand, however. For a few seconds, Aspen felt ready to cry, to scream, to despair at the sight of the exact scenario she'd been avoiding these past two years. She had gone to such great lengths to ditch her pursuers, had spent such considerable effort at evading the forces of Pergrande, and now they had found her. She'd been too careless. She'd endangered the entire guild, she'd endangered the only recently recovered Theo, and though the girl cared much less about it in the end, she'd endangered her own life.

Or so she'd thought.

Aspen had underestimated her peers. In a wave of violence that was nothing short of a bloodbath, a string of events was set in motion that would end this fight as swiftly as it had come. In a storm of ice and snow whirled up by undoubtedly arcane winds, the blanket of white was disturbed by magical power summoned forth by someone from amongst the group of mages. Aspen's head turned. Leona. How naive of her. She was in the presence of a Wizard Saint. At first there would be stunned silence, then amazement, followed by satisfaction as she watched a rain of steel descend on their attackers. The whistle of steel through the air, then, the sickening sound of metal being torn like tissue paper, bones and flesh sundered by the impact of flechettes. Blood and gore stained the previously pristine sheet of pure, powdery snow red.

The gunfire, now altogether silenced by an uncompromising display of brutality against a ruthless invader, gave way to an animalistic howl. A scream of defiance that the girl swore she could hear as words ringing clear as day. More joined in, yet more followed. All over the mountains, the wolves howled. Gunfire resumed. Erratic, hectic, the short bursts of explosions interrupted by screams of pain, agony, then fear transitioning to terror. Gradually, Over the course of painfully long seconds that stretched out into one minute bordering a second one, fighting gave way to an eerie silence, one so absolute that only the aftermath of battle could produce it. Once it became clear that whoever hadn't been immediately slain by Leona's familiar had been torn asunder by the spiritual guardians of Silver Wolf, Aspen stood, swiftly, a certain kind of determination and definitive resolve in her every movement. The girl, without as much as a word, ran, sprinted to a point not much further down the mountain, towards the treeline where the attackers had come from.

If it hadn't been clear before, the sight before her now confirmed it. The attackers had been decimated in a manner that neither Aspen nor these soldiers could've expected. Lifeless bodies, a good two dozen at least, if not more, were strewn about, some more intact than others. Flechettes, spells, wolves. All had left their respective marks, as one would expect. A gruesome sight, yes, but one the ex-Paladin had grown morbidly accustomed to. She would never quite get used to it, the strange, indescribable feeling sitting in her stomach like a stone seeming to weigh her down despite the fact that these people had tried to kill her, kill her compatriots mere moments before. She swallowed. There was no place for humanity here. Not if she wanted to keep breathing in the foreseeable future.

Her eyes wandered, briefly, as if searching for something, handgun clasped firmly in the hands outstretched before her. A few seconds of seemingly focused search were all it took. Aspen appeared to have found what she was looking for. A shape in the snow, an armored body on its stomach, a flechette piercing through the chest and emerging from the back. The chest, however, was rising and falling slowly, the sound of faint coughs, muffled by the combat helmet, echoing forth from the sole survivor.

Aspen seemed to zone out, completely disregard her surroundings. Her face was pale, her normally so stoic expression twisted into a boiling anger. Swift, broad steps carried her over to the form. She holstered her pistol, picked up the assault rifle that rested on the blood-tinged snow next to the figure before she kicked the person's side, shouldering the firearm and flipping the individual onto their back, prompting what seemed like a deep and agony-filled gurgle from this person. She aimed, pointing the barrel of the weapon at the head of the dying soldier, golden oculi staring down the length of the gun with an unwavering intensity. Her voice, normally so collected, so unerringly monotone, rang out as she screamed, the unrestrained anger in her voice clear for all who would hear it. She spoke Pergranti, those who would recognize it would soon realize.

"Kto poslal tebya?" (Who sent you?).

The person on the ground didn't immediately respond, though writhed in pain as its chest rose, then fell, and once again rose with a gurgle. Aspen stepped forward, towering over the wounded individual on the ground, the muzzle of her weapon moving to only inches away from the helmet. She could hear it. The soft, pained chuckle of a man's voice underneath that emotionless metal.

"Vy znayete, chto uzhe." (You know that already)

Her brows furrowed, moreso than they already had. Her voice, still agitated, though no longer a scream, filled the air anew.

"Gde on seychas? Kak mnogo on znayet?" (Where's he now? How much does he know?)

There was a pause. One second, two, three. It felt like an uncomfortably long time to Aspen, her finger nervously twitching on the trigger of the rifle. Then, another chuckle.

"I do not negotiate with traitors". The man spoke plain Fiorean, fluent and without flaw, although heavily tinged in an obvious Pergranti accent.

The gold-haired woman inhaled sharply.

"Ochen' khorosho. Vy zastavili Rodinu gordit'sya, svoloch. Nadeyus' ono togo stoilo" (Very well. You made the motherland proud, bastard. I hope that it was worth it).

A single, ear-splitting crack echoed across the mountains. A single shot ended the man's pain, finished the conversation, if it could even be referred to as such. The girl immediately turned, threw the assault rifle away from herself. Her legs were shaking, and her body felt too weak to support her. Aspen slumped back, sank to the icy ground, tears streaming down a once again stoic face.

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The girl wanted it to end. She just wanted it to stop. The fighting. The struggling. The fear and the constant running away. She had done nothing wrong. She'd never wanted to hurt anyone. All that she had ever wanted was to be free.

She just wanted to live.

Aspen felt sick as she descended into the snow. The scent of blood lingered in the air, and no matter how much she tried to stave off her body's reaction to it, it didn't listen to her. With the scent, the images came back, singular frames flashing in her mind. The cold feeling of steel in her hands, the noise of explosions and guns, endlessly repeated as if played from a broken record. Again, again, again. Bullet after bullet, shot after shot. Sometimes, a scream followed. The scent of blood followed... always. Her eyes, wet with tears, seemed dull and empty as she stared into the distance. Within them reflected only void. There was no emotion there, no regret, no anger, only despair remained.

There was a warmth, however, when Theo rushed over and tended to her, the tears on her face wiped away by his gesture. Her eyes focused, stared at the man's own as if bewitched, deeply and appreciatively, but the emotion didn't change the young woman's expression in the least. It was an absolute apathy. Still, there was immense comfort in his act, and Aspen readily took it all in. She said nothing, but took the hand that he had used to dry those tears into her own and squeezed it. She looked down upon it. It felt so warm compared to the cold around her.

The girl raised her gaze once more, her eyes wandering. The other members of the guild were close. Within this chaos, she had complete glossed over the fact that, while the eventuality that she had dreaded for so long had happened again, she was still here. Theo was still here. Silver Wolf was still here, not just unbroken, but utterly triumphant. All these mercenaries had been no threat at all to the Mistress. Her eyes took her to the sight of the masked individual and the guardian wolf, as well. Then, another arrival, this one more familiar, made her way to the group. Mercury. So her old colleague was still here, too, huh? Maybe the guild hadn't changed much, after all. Maybe... maybe this had been the correct decision. There it was again. That faint glimmer of emotion that she'd felt before. Hope.

"I'm sorry", the girl said as she stood, looked around, the same emotionless mask on her face that she always wore, though the tears seemed quelled. It was a gruesome sight, something that the girl wanted to be rid of. The turmoil that had overtaken her had died down a bit, but she needed some space away from here. Until this mess was cleaned up, at least. She turned to the new arrival. "I suppose I still have some explaining to do. It'll take a while, so I'll take you up on that offer. Could really use that drink right about fucking now. Leona-", the girl turned to the Guild Mistress of Silver Wolf, addressing her, too. "-I owe it to you, as well, so I would like for you to be present. Merc, lead the way". Her voice was, as always, monotonous, one-dimensional, but therein was contained some semblance of the definitive. Unwavering determination.

A path forward.

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