The Music Speaks

Sophia bursts into laughter, the sound sharp and curing through the air. Still firmly holding onto Davon, she clutches her stomach as her laughter spills out uncontrollably. Finally, when she’s had enough, she wipes a tear from her eyes and she throws Davon to Ugo who sits not too far behind her.

“I thought you were smarter than this my dear Sylvia… Why in the world would I agree to those terms?” She asks with a tilt of the head, but a dangerous undertone in her voice.

Sylvia takes a moment to glance at Davon, a sharpsong now threatening to slit his throat. The threat is clear but nonetheless, she remains level-headed. She takes a measured breath before speaking, her tone calm, yet resolute. “Because, Sophia, it would be far more advantageous to you than this extortion ploy you had in mind.”

Sophia arches a brow. “Oh, really? How so? Please, enlighten me!” She exclaims, taking a step toward Sylvia with clear hostility.

With that motion, the tension between the two ladies grows, now resembling the calm before a storm. Sensing the shift in the atmosphere, Talynda and Feyrin slowly place their hands on their instruments, ready to draw them at a moment’s notice. In turn, this prompts me, as well as Ray and Camille in the back to do the same. Should things turn sour, this place will surely turn into a battlefield

‘At this rate we’ll just end up having to fight Sylvia’s team…’

Sylvia, however, does not back down. Imitating Sophia, she takes a step forward. However, instead of outwardly expressing hostility, she decides to do quite the opposite. With a wave her hand, she instructs her teammates to stand down, even putting down her own warchord as a show of sincerity. “...If you participated in ‘Hide and Seek’, you know as well as I do that 400 points is nothing compared to what special events can offer as a reward.” She begins. “By accepting my team’s assistance, you’re promised much more than the ransom you wish to have. Practically speaking, this is purely advantageous for you.” Sylvia explains with a firm tone.

Her argument is sound, but before Sophia can reply, Ugo speaks up, still firmly holding onto Davon. “That much, we all know Lady FullCastle.” His voice slices through the tension. “What Sophia is asking you is… what reason do we have to trust you?” He says, an expression of distrust permeating his face.

For the first time, Sylvia seems to not have the perfect reply. Quickly, silence begins to fill the clearing, uncomfortably so. That is until she throws another glance at Ivana who seems to send her some type of signal, an agreement of sorts. With a slightly regretful expression, Sylvia makes her final offer.

“You’re right, you have no reason to trust us.” Sylvia’s voice echoes. “That’s why… We’ll show you our good faith.” She then looks behind Sophia and voices her will. "Bring Davon here.” She says.

A deep frown forms on Ugo’s face, suspicion flashing in his eyes. “What are you pla-”

I interrupt before he makes the situation any worse. “I think it’s fine. Even if they were planning something, there’s nothing they can do that will be faster than your sharpsong.” I say to Ugo with a nod of assurance

“If they want to try something… Let them try!” Sophia seconds, a grin on her lips

He looks at me then to Sophia. His skepticism is apparent but he gives in with a grunt and promptly decides to listen to Sylvia’s request. Tightly clutching onto Davon and pressing the sharpsong against his neck, he approaches Sylvia, wary but not afraid.

Quickly, Sylvia takes a step forward, which makes Ugo flinch and nearly causes him to eliminate Davon then and there. Still, Sylvia is unphased. She takes another step, this one slower, more deliberate. The atmosphere thickens with her every step, her calm a stark contrast to the charged surroundings. She advances until she is close enough to grab Davon’s arm as well Sophia’s, and places their palms on top of each other.

“You know what to do. Give it all.” Sylvia instructs Davon.

I sense some defiance from Davon, but it is short-lived. With a single glance from Sylvia, his resolve breaks and he is left with no other choice but to comply. After a few moments, a smile so wide it nearly scares me appears on Sophia’s face.

She places her hand over her mouth and lets out a brief laughter of disbelief. “Ha…haha..!!”

The rest of us exchange confused glances. Only Davon, Sylvia, Ivana and Sophia herself seem to understand. “W-what just happened?” Camille says, stealing the words out of my mouth.

Sophia turns to Camille, and seems to be holding herself back from jumping for joy “T-they just transferred 1600 points over to us…!!”

Upon hearing Sophia’s claim, Talyndra’s eyes widen. “What!!!” she shouts in disbelief.

Trying to calm her down. Ivana attempts to explain the decision, a calm sense of logic permeating her voice. “We’re just letting them safeguard our points until our deal comes to an end. It was the only way.” She says.

She then turns to Sophia. “Would you say our show of good faith was satisfactory?” She asks

Sophia doesn’t answer her. Instead, the grin on her face never disappearing, she places a hand on her instrument. “Then… what stops us from running away right this instant with all of your points.”

In response, Sylvia does the same, her hand soon fully holding onto her warchord. “... You can try.”

Cold mist begins to surround our leader. The air turns colder, not because of some metaphorical implication of the situation, but because Sophia is blatantly beginning to play her [melody]. “Do you think you can stop us?” She asks, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

I try to intervene. “Sophia, wait! There’s really no disadvan-”

Before I can finish, however, Sophia blurts out laughing again. The mist dissipates and she lets go of her sharpsong. She then extends her hand to Sylvia in a gesture of partnership. “Haha! I guess that makes us partners now doesn’t it?!”

‘..Crisis avoided I suppose.’

As if signaling the end of this moment, our watches release the alarm noise indicative of special events.

[Primary objective reached : A team in possession of the flag has arrived at the designated location!

Attention all participants, the second phase of the special event will now begin!

From now on, participants will have a designated zone appear on their scout’s maps when they find themselves in its vicinity.

Once you have located a zone, the objective is simple: retrieve the flag and hold onto it! However, you must heed this warning - For the duration of this phase, the flag is not permitted to leave the designated zone and should a team break this rule, they will immediately lose possession of the flag!

May the battle for dominance begin!]