So - what now? [EFA Meeting]

It had been 8 days since the funeral and the people of Ilomar was done with mourning. Now they wanted revenge. Godia Warrios were searching through the city, investigating the murder thoroughly. Some had even been seen at the edges of Erast, the part of the city they usually let alone. Dominic hadn't seen anyone, but he had heard the rumours and that had been enough for him to spend the last few days looking out the window, just checking if his nightmare would come true and a Godia Warrior would stand down on the street, looking back up at him. It hadn't come true - yet.
The politicians were also making every promise possible about finding the EFA, who everyone had given the blame for the murder. It didn't help that the High Priest had done a speak, naming them the doers of Tarron's evil. The hatred towards Nachon Warlocks was higher than ever before. People had been attacked on the streets just by someone thinking they were a Nachon Warlock. The people felt unsafe and they needed someone to blame. Someone who had already been deemed to be worth blaming.
The EFA needed a meeting. To gather, get an update on each other's status and to figure out what the they could do. The message had been sent out yesterday by the messaging Ogwe-Zeals, given by Idés to the active members of the group, that allowed them to receive hidden, short messages, no matter their location and surroundings. Dominic had soon received a 'thumbs-up' by text by every active member of their local group. The people out of town wasn't able to make it on such short notice, also it was way too risky for them to travel to the capitol during this chaos. But Dominic was fine with a meeting just with the members of the local group. These were the ones he could use for whatever strategy the group would come up with.

The meeting took place, as always, in the main room of the headquarter. The room was fairly large, but big enough for the group to be spread out wherever they felt like standing or sitting. Dominic himself were standing at the outside of the kitchen, leaning his back towards the kitchen island, so he was facing the center of the room. His arms were crossed and his brow furrowed, looking at the ground with a serious expression. Every member who had said they could come - except Idés who apparently was running late, which was worrying, since that was very unlike him - was here, and the meeting was about to start. Some fugitive Nachon Warlocks, who were temporarily living at the headquarter, had left the bunk bed room to sit at the couches and listen to the meeting, however they knew to be quiet. The atmosphere was tense. Dominic was just as tense. This was a hard topic for everyone involved, a horrible mix of personal and professional tension. Cadmus had been kind to order some pizzas, that were placed at the dining table, but Dominic hadn't touched it. He hadn't checked if anyone had done so. It wouldn't surprise him if no one was in the mood to eat right now.
"I don't know if anyone has heard," he said after everyone had found their preferred position in the room, "But I've just been told that some citizens of Ilomar City has planned a demonstration - pro execution of the Nachon Warlocks currently in prison." His dark, blue eyes searched through the room, making sure to look at every member of the group. "I highly doubt it will affect the actions of the politicians. Executions are expensive and they will have to change the law of imprisonment. They won't be able to do such thing for a while - but it's not impossible that they'll work on it. It's something we'll have to look into. How's it going with our man on the inside?"
They had a prison guard working with the EFA. Hopefully he could help in that regard.
Before anyone could answer, Dominic frowned more deeply, quickly looking at the door, that still had not been opened.
"Has anyone heard form Idés?" he asked, sounding irritated - he hated when people where late - even though he was probably more worried. Idés weren't late usually. What held him back?

// I decided to make a (very not-detailed) layout for the main room - here it is. Hope it makes sense!


Also I'm thinking that maybe we should have an order of replies planned. I'm thinking: Dominic, @Cassius, @Cadmus, @Fallon, @Idés, @Gwyn - sounds cool?

"Thank you, Vera," Dominic said to the darkhaired girl, answering his question about the prison guard, Mason. Even though you could hear the tiredness of his voice, he also sounded very sincere, appreciating the few people out there who were helping them. Mason and Vera were some of those people.

The second he had asked about Idés, the worry spread through the room. Dominic regretted even asking. The others had enough to worry about, they didn't need to worry about Idés as well.
"I don't know," he answered Cassius, because there was no use in lying. The people in the EFA knew the world well enough to know that they were never truly safe, not even at the headquarters. It was a risk helping those the state was against. However, he did try to calm their nerves a bit by adding: "Hopefully he's just stuck in traffic."
Saga, always trying to lighten up the mood, quickly added: "Or maybe he's just lost in a lab experiment or something." She was sitting on the couch's backrest, facing the center of the room like the others, her heels tapping lightly against the backrest.
"Maybe," Dominic said but he had a nagging feeling as he glanced towards the entrance, where Idés still hadn't entered.
He then quickly shook his head and looked at the group again, focusing on the meeting again. They could worry about Idés afterwards. Possibly send someone out to get him.
"Anyways," he said to change the subject back on the meeting, "Cassius managed to get an invite to the funeral." He made sure to leave out how Cassius got the invite, not wanting to mention his dad out of respect of his friend. He turned his head towards him. He expression had no sign of their friendship. Right now they were rebels and he was the leader. "Cassius, anything worth updating us on about that?"

He burst in through the door. “So sorry everyone,” he announced upon entering, placing his duffel bag on a kitchen counter. “Today has been – This is Gwyn, by the way, but I’ll get to that – Today has been… Well, let’s just say there’s a lot of Godia on campus these days. They came by the laboratory to question me this morning. A damn General and five soldiers. They searched the lab, but luckily, they’re stupid enough to be scared off by basic scientific jargon,” he started explaining as he unpacked the bag. He pulled out a couple of board games, to brighten up the day-to-day life of the hiding Nachon residents, then a couple of wooden boxes filled with various kinds of Zeals, then the basic fresh groceries that were hard to track down in Erast. He never came to the EFA empty handed.

“Anyways, I think I’m in the clear for now. There was nothing there worse than a couple of blueprints, which were easily explainable after all, like really, what did they think an energic engineer would have laying around if not blueprints and Zeals? A damn snow tiger? Condescending pricks. Although, I am sure they still have their suspicions. If in doubt, blame the academic, you know? I have a feeling they’ll be back.”

He ran a hand through his hair and let out an exasperated sigh. He looked every bit as stressed and tired as he was starting to feel — the bags under his eyes seemed three times darker and his hair was a mess. He had also totally forgotten that Gwyn was still wearing his coat. That was when he realized he hadn’t actually explained who Gwyn was and what she was doing here. “Anywho. Gwyn is a student and my lab assistant and she is in some trouble. She has trouble manifesting her powers and it seems the Godia thinks she is Nachon because of that. I mean, you know it’s bad when they’re questioning me, of all people, about the students, really.” He leaned against the kitchen counter and crossed his arms. “It goes without saying it’s not safe for her to stay at campus for the time being.”

He then looked around at everyone gathered. “What did I miss?”

The whole ride from campus to Erast and the walk from the car to the location that Idés would take her was a blur for Gwyn. She had just been staring ahead, the realization of her situation dawning on her. She was on the run, kind of.  It was safe to say she felt like she couldn’t go anywhere for the time being. The building they had entered had been nondescript, looking like any other building in Erast. Old and neglected. Idés entered the room in a way she wasn’t used to seeing, he burst through the door and she almost thought the door would fall out off its hinges. Gwyn stood there, dumbfounded, as they entered. She managed to quickly  take in the room before her. There were so many people in the room and they all stared at her and Idés. Oh Gods.
Idés started rambling about what had happened to him this morning and why he was late for the meeting and she vaguely noticed him saying her name, but she was still too busy with taking in the scene before her. The room looked like an open plan kitchen with a living room attached and on almost every surface there were people. Some were sitting on the couch, others on chairs at the dining table or the kitchen island. Some people were even sitting on the counter. Did she smell pizza?
She felt every one of their stares taking her in too. This was the EFA? This was the so-called rebellion that had supposedly been behind the prince’s murder and a couple of other things? They look more like the local scouting club, Gwyn though but she might also have muttered this softly. Where were the older leaderlike people? All she noticed were people around her age, some maybe a tad younger and others a tad older but no graying man that looked like he had been built for fighting. Then she noticed she still had her luggage behind her and she felt her cheeks heathen up the slightest bit. Idés told her to pack lightly and she thought she had done so but looking around now, she felt like she overpacked massively. Shit.

When Idés started talking about her, Gwyn shifted her sight to him, slightly grateful that he took the pain of explaining who she was and why she was here. Hopefully they would not get too mad at him. She started to feel a bit uncomfortable underneath all the stares and shifted body slightly behind him. Wait, hold up. Did he really have to mention that they suspected her being a Godia though? Or that she had trouble manifesting her powers? Oh, for fucks sake. She felt her cheeks color once more and mentally she smacked Idés on the back of his head. Thanks for spilling that you doofus, she mentally cursed him. Couldn’t he just tell that to the leader of the EFA instead of telling everyone here?  When he asked what he had missed, Gwyn looked around once more. Some expressions of the people in the room were dumbfounded, others surprised but there was one person she thought looked absolutely pissed. No wait, make that two. Two people looked equally pissed and she wasn’t sure if that because Idés was late or because he had taken her with him.

Fallon were already ready to fight, and Dominic did not have the patience for that - which usually was the thing that made the fight break out. This time he simply glared at the man as a serious warning. He was not in the mood for anyone to talk back. And when he turned to Cassius, he made sure to ignore Fallon's angry eyes at him. But he did stand more tensely, tightening the way his arms crossed, not even nodding along to what Cassius told the group, while he didn't take his eyes off him.
Cassius didn't say anything that they didn't already expect. But hearing it from the inside made it even more real and the hair in Dominic's neck stood up with anxiety. Not that he let that show. The only feelings you could sense on him was tension, maybe a tad of anger.
"Let's assume for now that it's mostly just gossip," he said about the 'taking matters into their own hands'. Most rich people loved to talk but would never actually do the work. Hopefully this was the case here as well. "And in regards to the gossip about the crown prince, I actually think tha-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence as someone burst through the door. In surprise, Dominic stopped leaning up against the kitchen island, instantly turning his head towards the door, as did the rest of the EFA.
Dominic almost released a sigh of relief when Idés was the one to come through the door. However, that relief only lasted for a second before he regretted feeling it too quickly. Because this wasn't a moment of relief. Idés was clearly distressed and bewildered. It was obvious the second he stepped foot into the headquarter and only became more obvious as he started talking - never had Dominic heard him say this many words in one minute.
And then there was the fact that he wasn't alone. With him was a girl that Dominic had never seen before, clearly as bewildered as Idés and clearly not a rebel. And with her there was a whole bunch of luggage and Dominic knew instantly what Idés had done. Without asking for permission or warning and in these circumstances. What the fuck was he thinking?
Dominic's eyes darkened as he looked at Idés while the man was talking. Only slightly widening when he mentioned the Godia Warriors coming to his lab, but then darkened even further. He exuded anger without having to say anything. It was clear by the second Idés stepped in that he had fucked up and he only made it worse with every sentence he spoke. When he introduced the girl - Gwyn, he called her - Dominic didn't look at her again. He had already seen what he needed to see.
Idés ended his speech by asking what he'd missed. Everyone was quiet for a moment, feeling the tension in the air. Some looked at Dominic, waiting nervously for him to answer, some looked at Idés, most examined the girl. Dominic didn't take his eyes off of Idés. Seething with frustration, as he finally opened his mouth.
"What the fuck were you thinking, Idés?" he snarled and without letting the man answer he continued: "You've been targeted by the Godia Warriors - by the general of the investigation - and you came here? What if you've been followed? What if they're keeping an eye out of you. What if they trace your activities back to us?"
Still holding one arm across his body, he raised the other arm towards Gwyn. Still not looking at her but glaring angrily at Idés.
"And you brought a student - that they're also targeting. Putting us in even more danger. We don't need more danger, Idés. And we definitely don't need some IUC kirsha who just doesn't know how to use her powers with Godia Warriors breathing down her neck. We don't have the ressources to take care of that. Heck, we barely have ressources to deal with our own shit."
He exhaled through his nose, frustrated. He used the hand he had pointed towards the girl to rub his forehead, clearly tired.
"What's your fucking plan here?" he said, not sounding as angry, more exhausted, as an overworked dad to his children.

-

Where Gwyn had felt scared, panic and numbness throughout the day now she felt was white hot burning anger. Anger towards the equally angry man that had just opened his mouth towards Idés. Gwyn hadn’t really looked at him or anyone else for that matter before, too busy taking everything in at once, but now she studied his face. His sharp and square jaw, straight nose, full lips and dark hair light eyes combination –oh Gods was that a mole above his eyebrow? Fuck her– were things she would normally find attractive in a guy –this one almost looked regal and surely had the ability to make panties drop if he fancied to do so– but Gwyn couldn’t muster up an ounce of attraction towards him at the moment, that was how mad she was. It didn’t matter that he was tall, built and had wide shoulders too, it also didn’t matter that his shirt hugged his body perfectly and made the flexed muscles of his arm stand out even better. The angry vein on his forehead looked like it would pop open at any moment and that would be his karma for lashing out at Idés like that. Asswipe. She had decided to wisely shut her mouth, Gods know who he was within the EFA, but when he also started talking about her with her standing there, instead of to her and not even deigning to look at her, she snapped back.

‘’Hey! Who do you think you are? Wait, no I don’t care actually. You do not get to talk to Des like that.’’ She now pointed her finger at him, the same way he had pointed at her before. ‘’I came to Des because I have nowhere else to go, no one else to go to. He said you were good people, but now I am starting to doubt that.’’ She gave him her most foul expression that she could muster. ‘’You do not get to blame him for trying to protect someone, even if that has been hastily done. If he hadn’t, I could be laying dead somewhere by the end of next week just because they think I could be a Nachon. You want that? For him to have my blood on his hands when he could have prevented it? You want him to bear the guilt of my death? If so, you’re as heartless as the Elite.’’ She now pointed her finger towards a darker haired man sitting at the dining table. Just like with the man she just had talked back against, she hadn’t really looked at him before but later on recognized the guy. She had seen him on campus a few times  before, hanging with the Elite who had made her feel miserable before, so it was safe to assume he was one of them. Another man had started unpacking and storing away the contents of Idés’ dubbel bag. He bought them groceries, Gwyn realized. But why the man had decided to start storing them away at that moment was a bit odd to her. Unless he wanted a break of the shitstorm that had become the meeting ever since Idés and Gwyn had come in. She couldn’t blame him for that and god knows how long it would continue. Some of the products he had bought did have to go into a cooled space if you wanted to be able to keep them fresh for a longer time.

When a blonde man started speaking, she felt her eyes widen a bit. Seemed like they were on the same page but when he came up to Idés, Gwyn wasn’t so sure she liked him. The man started angrily asking him why Idés left him on read, making Gwyn raise her eyebrow. He was mad over a left on read message? She got that he was worried but to go off like this? The interaction also got Gwyn thinking, they were either very close, or very close. Seeing Idés pinching the bridge of his nose, she felt like he too was feeling things about their little interaction just now. That would explain some things to Gwyn but she wasn’t here to judge anyone. Except maybe that rude one and by the way the blonde man had talked to him, it did seem like he was some sort of important figure. Head boy scout, she thought. However when the blonde man walked away and commented on her luggage, she felt her expression sour. Well isn’t this one cocky too. Great way to prove they were a good bunch, when no one yet had uttered a nice or reassuring word to her. They had either been judging her with their looks or casting judgment about her with their words without even knowing her.
‘’One would think it to be rude to make jokes about one’s dire situation.’’ She replied, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Yes she might have brought too much, but who doesn’t overpack when they’re in a hurry?

Idés explaining his idea to the room, and so to her, resulted that she felt her heart melt a bit when he said that he cared about her. How long had she wanted to hear those words? But besides feeling cared for there were no other funny feelings coming from those words. He was asking them a favor, for her to be able to stay. She felt her heart break a little for him and she took a light hold of his hands, hoping it would turn his attention to her for just a moment so she could mouth a silent ‘thank you’ to him. Not only for coming up with a solution, but also putting himself on the line for her.

She needed a safe place for the time being, but if the boy scout was this massive of an ass and did not grant Idés his favor, then she would rather find some shady motel to stay at than look at his face every day. There was no doubt that she couldn’t go home, because they probably knew where her parents lived and might just start searching there first when the Godia noticed her absence. Shit… Her parents.. She had to call them at some point to explain things, to tell them she had to go away for a while and that they should not be afraid if Godia warriors came by the house at some point.

Idés had known Dominic would be pissed, but that didn’t take the hurt out of him cursing him out. He considered him a valued friend – a person he respected. A pit formed in his stomach at the thought that he had gambled away that trust. But Dominic was prone to anger and it wasn’t surprising that he reacted this way, he was right to, even. It had been an incredibly careless and risky move. And perhaps there had been a better way of laying all this information on him. It was rare Idés got this worked up, really, and it was frankly embarrassing he was this unhinged in front of everyone. Guilt and embarrassment. What horrible feelings.

But then Gwyn started going off on Dominic – an extremely dumb move, considering her life was basically in his hand. He cringed. This was going to make things worse.

And then Fallon started cussing him out as well, and Idés looked at him for a moment, completely puzzled. Leave on read? What did that even mean…? Either way, it seemed his anger stemmed more so from worry than his actual actions, which did seem a bit less of a priority. Then Cadmus started putting away the groceries, not that he blamed him as the tension in the room was near unbearable.

He pinched the space between his eyebrows as he took a deep breath, getting as much of himself together as he could. This was a mess. It was his fault that this was a mess. He needed to smooth out said mess. Gods, he was exhausted, though.

"Gwyn, I appreciate it, but please let me handle it." Idés spoke, in his most diplomatic tone. He understood Gwyn's need to stand up for him, but this was neither the time nor place. “And Fallon, I need you to shup up for a bit. We can talk later.” No doubt this was no moment to get further on Dominics’ nerves, and Fallon would soon be fine again. Fallon was simply feisty, where Dominic was downright furious. He turned to the latter and started speaking.

“As for the Godia, If they have reason to suspect me, they would already be doing so before today, and way before this case even. Which would mean we would all still be in the same situation as we are in now, pretty much.”  

“And yes. Yes, you’re right, this isn’t ideal. About the Godia and about Gwyn. If there had been a better way, I would have been doing that already – but this is someone I care about, and I’m not about to let them kill her,” he spoke, a weird balanced kind of calm professionalism in his voice, both strained and incredibly exhausted. It would be a shocker to no one that Idés had quite the protective streak to him, something that was both capable of being a giant pro and con. “I need this favor, just this one time.” He took a shuddering breath, before adding more quietly. “Please.”

So much chaos and Dominic might had been slightly at fault for most of it. Where the room had been filled with tension, now it had exploded with frustration and anger. One could say that Dominic started it by yelling but Dominic would probably defend himself by saying it started with everyone else pissing him off. However, he did feel slightly guilty when noticing how everyone reacted to his anger, Cadmus focusing on something else to not be too affected, Cassius' darting eyes, Idés' worry. Well, not everyone - Fallon were quick to tell Dominic to chill out, which was probably the worst thing he could be told right now. The faint guilt was overshadowed with the rest of his anger and through his teeth, he quickly sneered: "Stay out of this, Fallon." But the man had already moved on. Apparently now it was his turn to scold Idés over something Dominic couldn't care less about. What a hypocrite. Dominic would probably have called him out on it if it wasn't for the new girl, suddenly snapping back at him. Dominic instantly turned his eyes at her, actually for a brief moment looking surprised. She had seemed so nervous and shy before, that he hadn't expected such anger leaving her. The surprise quickly turned into irritation though, the second she tried to tell him what to do or not do. As if she had any right to talk to him like that. She barely had any right to stand here right now.  
He opened his mouth, about to answer her question about who he was - the leader of the group, that was who he was - but he didn't get to say anything before she pointed her finger at him. He glared at it, then at her again, his mouth closing and his jaw clenching. All while the girl were scolding him, Dominic turned more and more furious. It looked like he could explode at any moment. Especially when she tried to claim that they couldn't be good people, a sentence that hit Dominic right on a sore spot, with his own doubt about whether or not he was actually good. But fuck that. What did she know about that? She knew nothing about what they had done.
And then she tried to compare him to the elite and whilst doing so pointing towards Cassius. That was the last drop. Not only because it was unfair to Cassius and a comparison that could be hurtful to him - and Dominic would always stand up for him - but also because it showed that Gwyn already knew something she could use against them. She knew Cassius in some way. If they let her leave now, she could just go out and tell the Godia Warriors about them.
Idés had really fucked up.
Dominic didn't even have his arms crossed anymore. His arms were flexed down his side, his fists clenched. He looked like he could turn to violence at any given moment - although the people knowing him knew he would never do such thing.
He took a step towards Gwyn, his face contorted with rage.
"You're not our problem," he said, baring his teeth, clearly answering her question about if he cared about her dying, "We have enough as it is already."
But then Idés tried to handle the situation, figuratively stepping in between Gwyn and Dominic. First dealing with Fallon that had both tried to turn his anger towards him, Dominic and Gwyn - again, such a hypocrite - and then turning to face Dominic. Dominic stared him down with a look of warning. How could he defend any of this?
Well, he did. And what he said did make sense even with Dominic's ear ringing of blood rush. It did help that he didn't match the ferocity that the other threes had thrown at each other. And when he ended his explanation with a small beg, some of Dominic's anger left his body. The part of the anger that hadn't actually been anger but fear and worry.
He stood, towering over Idés, even though he was barely any taller than him. He was stiff, tense and clearly trying to figure out whether or not he could let go of enough of his anger to meet his wish. Because even with this break of trust, Idés was a good man and a great part of the EFA. There was a reason why Dominic was so furious, other than the fact that he was overwhelmed and anxious - he had never though Idés would be the one to act so recklessly. But now he had explained why he had done so. While also acknowledging the shitty situation. And after everything he had done for the EFA, Dominic really did owe him this favor.
But fuck, why this girl out of every one he could save? Dominic could feel his anger seething towards her even without looking at her. And when he finally did look at her, examining the situation, his face tightened and he had to take a deep breath through his nose to deal with the irritation that surged through him.
Finally he made a decision. He took a step back from Idés, indicating that he didn't have an issue with him anymore. Then he pointed at him, almost blaming but mostly as a direct command.
"She's your problem," he said, "If anything happens to the EFA because of her, that'll be on you."
He had to make that clear and when saying that, it didn't seem like he would meet his wish. But then he lowered his hand and exhaled through his nose, his body finally letting go of some of the tension.
"She can stay," he said, reluctantly, then remembering what pissed Gwyn off before so he turned to look at her and repeat it. "You can stay." He made a gesture towards the couch where Saga and some of the refugees clearly tried to act as if they hadn't been caught up by the fight. "But you'll have to sleep on the couch. All beds are taken."
He walked back to the island, trying to breath out the rest of his anger while doing so. There was still so much tension in the room. It wasn't nice when Dominic was angry, he knew that, and a part of him hated being it and affecting the others. But he couldn't admit that. Then he would admit to being at fault and he wouldn't do that.
He leaned up against the isle again, looking out at the other members.
"Everyone cool with that?" he said, a bit more challenging that he wished for but he couldn't completely let go of all of his anger just yet.

When Idés told him to shut up, Fallon might've realized he had yet again let his worry and emotions take overhand. So surprisingly, Fallon did what he was told and backed off, returning to his spot at the back of the room. He would talk about it with Idés later, maybe apologize too. He then remained quiet as the other spoke. He glanced around the room when different people spoke and occasionally would zone out a bit. He glanced at the pizza wondering if he should eat another slice but decided against it, one was enough and he was in no mood to eat.

Fallon didn't bother to answer when Dominic asked if everyone was cool wiht Gwyn staying at the headquarters. He didn't live here so he just simply thought he had no say in the matter. He glanced at the girl in question again. She hadn't taken his joke very well. but by the looks of it her baggage was probably more than Fallon even owned, but he would never say that. He did however like that she wasn't scared to speak up to Dominic.

Fallon glanced from Cadmus to Dominic when Cadmus asked if they should resume the meeting. He still didn't say anything, but waited for Dominic to speak. Fallon might not be the most serious person and he knew some people in this room thought he never was, but Fallon had his moments, at least he hoped he did. Like now, he was going to patiently listen to the rest of the meeting and try his best to bite back his tongue if he wanted to say anything that might not be very nice to say.

It seemed like her little outburst had brought things from bad to worse and that might have been an understatement. She just had to let her mouth run before she thought her actions through, by the Gods. Worst of all was that she went off against the leader, so it seemed, and she had hit a nerve or two when she had argued against him. The anger that had come from him could have killed someone on sight if it were magic. He wouldn’t care if you died though, she told herself. Even though he was a stranger and she should not care about his words at all, it stung. Her words had also seemed to anger the man she had recognized to be Elite enough that he spoke up against her. Gwyn didn’t think she had been ever called naive or selfish before, but there was a first time for everything. To them she must look both those things, if not just a spoiled brat. His words made her feel a sense of shame, once again showing her that she really had to learn to keep her mouth in check when her emotions ran high. She didn’t respond to him, not knowing exactly what to say that would do her any good. Gwyn had never asked for being the reason someone else’s safety was being put on the line. What was known to her as the rebels seemed more like a refuge for all manner of people, one that was filled to the brim. A small kernel of panic started to rise again and she scolded herself for the tears she felt sting in her eyes. So unnecessary, she told herself whilst trying to will the stupid tears back into their tear ducts. She would not cry here, not now and preferably not ever.

When Idés had gotten in between them, she let him. Hoping she would not do anything rash anymore that would jeopardize Idés’ credibility here or her own chance of a safe haven for the time being. The interaction between the two men was brief and Gwyn thought she saw some of his anger dissipate during their conversation. When the leader, Dominic apparently,  said she could stay, it surprised her enough that she looked up at him. Even after what she had said, he let her stay? The couch wasn’t ideal but Gwyn knew she should not look a gifted horse in the mouth and be very, very grateful. So she nodded towards Dominic.
‘’I…’’ Gwyn started, trying to search for the best words to relay what she wanted to say. ‘’Thank you.’’ She said eventually, maybe not as friendly as she should have but she hoped she made it clear enough for now that she was thankful. She owed an even bigger thanks to Idés. Though when Dominic asked if everyone was okay with her staying, she held her breath. She was afraid that someone would want her gone, understandably but it still made her heartbeat skyrocket. She had a lot of making up to do with everyone here. The Elite didn’t object about her staying, though she thought he of all would protest in the way they had interacted just before. The man that had been unpacking the groceries that Idés had brought had been silent throughout the shitstorm, but also didn’t mind her staying with them for the unseeing future. He was also the first person who said something to her that made her remotely think a bit better of the lot but Gwyn was sure that even he had a bad image of her too, due to her own making.

‘’Nice to meet you too.’’ Gwyn replied to him with a nod and when the man offered her some of the pizza that had been laid out on the table, Gwyn remembered she hadn’t gotten around to eat this morning. Her eyes briefly went to the blonde man, Fallon, who was also sitting at the table. How would they look at her if she sat down and took a slice, even though it was offered, since their resources weren’t big to begin with. ‘’Thank you for the offer but I… I uhm..’’  Feeling out of place again, and a bit hopeless she looked at Idés. Did he think she should accept the offer or stay where she was and make herself as invisible as possible for as long as their meeting would last. While she was still debating, the man had looked at Dominic and asked if they could return to business. In the end, the thought of her sitting down at the table and eating their food didn’t sit well with her, so she stayed where she was. Knowing this meeting wasn’t really for her ears to be heard, she instead tried to go over everything that had happened in her head. Hoping that she might start to remember more of her meeting with the Godia from the morning, to the discussions just now that were partially her fault, so she could see the errors in her foul behavior.

Idés nodded understandingly – he knew she was his responsibility. And he just knew Gwyn wouldn’t purposefully try to put these people in harm's way. He breathed a sigh of relief when no one actually objected to the solution. That at least meant one less thing to worry about, though he felt he owed everyone in the room a giant apology – no one in this room deserved the rant she had just gone on, least of all Cassius. But that was mending to be done later, as there still was a meeting to finish. “Thank you, Dom. Truly.” There was genuine gratitude in his voice as he spoke, slumping back against the counter as he finally allowed himself to relax just a little.

He looked at Cadmus when he started speaking and couldn’t help but smile just a little. Of course it was he who decided to smooth things along – and bid Gwyn welcome, no less. What a kind man, Idés thought to himself. It was a trait he admired a lot in him in a lot of ways, always giving people the benefit of the doubt. They could probably all stand to learn a thing or two from him. There would be few issues in a world run like that.

“Yes, that would probably be wise,” Idés agreed with a nod. He still hadn’t been filled in on what he had missed in his short absence – but something told him it was best not to ask again.

Honest to Iosta, it was nice to hear Cassius scolding Gwyn as well. Not because Dominic didn't think he would do a well enough job of that himself, but because he at least wasn't alone with being harsh on the new girl. That was were he and Cassius would always connect - they always had each other's back, defending each other. A powerful duo, really. One could almost feel bad for Gwyn if one wasn't so irritated by her.
Okay, maybe Dominic did feel a bit bad. When she teared up a bit and then when she looked surprised that he would actually let her stay. She was suddenly less of a spoiled brat and more of a sweet girl who just needed help.
Not that Dominic would admit that thought to anyone, especially not after how she had reacted. And her looking sweet didn't change the fact that she was a huge burden who also had cussed out the people who now were forced to help her. So when she thanked him - not even that friendly by the way - he simply scoffed at her, making it sure that he didn't care for her thankfulness. He did it for Idés, not for her.
So when Idés thanked him, he softened up a bit. It also helped that Cadmus welcomed Gwyn. Someone probably had to and it wasn't going to be Dominic. Gwyn didn't seem to know if she should say yes to the pizza or not and Dominic managed to not roll his eyes.
"Great," he said in regards to continuing the meeting, "Idés, Gwyn, grab some pizza and a seat."
He decided to sit on one of the barstools as well, still facing the center of the main room. He crossed his arms again, but this time it wasn't as tense.
The meeting started again and Dominic talked more calmy, more controlled. He had gotten a hold of his anger again and was actually calmer than before because now he had had a reason to break some of the tension he felt inside of him. He should almost thank the new girl for that - which of course was thought sarcastically.
"As I was saying before - It's been confirmed within our group that none of our active members were behind the murder of the crown prince. Who did it, we have no idea of, but with such a public way of displaying the murder, then there's reason to assume that this is only the beginning."
It was a disgusting thing to think about. The chance of a murderer waiting to strike again. Dominic felt nauseous when talking about it.
"Before that happens again - which it hopefully won't but we really don't know - we need to consider whether or not we should actively distance us from the murder. Or things might only turn out for the worse for us. More so than it already has."
He looked around at the members. Then he shrugged, not really as relaxed as he might had wanted it to be.
"Now, I have no fucking clue how we're going to do that, being that we can't make any public statements without the Godia Warriors coming for our heads. But I wanted to discuss it with you guys before dismissing it completely. So - any thoughts?"
He looked around to see if anyone raised their hands. If so, he would let them speak.

Cassius did notice that it seemed like his words had made the newcomer fighting back tears. He did feel a little bad for seemingly making her cry, however if she was going to stay with them she would need to hear that cold truth. Innocent naivety was dangerous in this world, Cassius had seen it before. He shook his head as to shake away thoughts. Once Cadmus asked if they should resume the meeting, Cassius demeanor changed. He now seemed more professional and serious as if he went into business mode again.

When Dominic spoke again, Cassius looked at him. The talk about the murderer striking again gave Cassius a nauseous sinking feeling in his gut. It was very realistically possible considering the nature of the murder and the aftermath they are now seeing.Dominic continued by asking whether or not they should take action. Cassius knew that they couldn't sit still least of all now. They had to get louder, more visible to show that it wasn't the EFA behind it, that that wasn't how they did things. But, how could they do that without threatening the safety of the members? Cassius didn't respond as he was too busy trying to figure something out.