"Listening to others, considering well what they say" (Part 3: Maingate Hotel)

[cityship]

The Maingate Hotel was pretty extravagant, and an entire section of it had been eked out for the crew's use during their stay. They had several suites, three communal areas, a conference room, their own kitchen with a chef on call if they required her.

They were all teleported from the main teleport pad of the hotel into the conference room, which was a large enough room to be able to hold a group their size and had plenty of chairs arranged in a circular pattern so they could mostly all face each other or whoever was in the middle of the room.

Everyone had to settle down so they were all able to talk, and the meeting itself would have to be carefully controlled so they wouldn't all talk over each other. But they were up for the task, right?

[ooc: Guardian Setup, General Mingling, Clone Checkup, Newbie Briefing, General Briefing, More Mingling, Back to the Meeting, and The Idea Guy sections are open. Backup characters introduced to the plot can join in the mingling subthreads if they want. The opening of new subthreads will be announced here and the ooc. Please read the linked OOC post for a plot timeline.]

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[starlightace]

Nanoha, meanwhile, was flying - quite literally - through the hallways, trying to find Fate as soon as possible. She was cautious when rounding corners, but otherwise she was going as fast as one could reasonably fly in a corridor.

[not-edd.livejournal.com]

If anyone was pleased over the turn of events, it was Zedd. Someone as evil as he was should be thrilled that the entire crew's up in arms over something like this. Even if he had pissed off someone. He had recreated his staff (pissing off a few people with his display) and was busy heading back before nearly getting ran over by Nanoha.

"Does this look like a place you can just fly around in?!" he snapped.

[starlightace]

"Ah! Sorry," she said, turning in midair as she stopped. ...this was Zedd, wasn't it? She'd been warned about him.

"I'm looking for Fate Harlaown. Have you seen her?"

[thunder-ace.livejournal.com]

Hey, no need to rush. It's not like Fate could go anywhere with that ridiculous mark on her forehead. She's a bit calmer now, after talking with some of the others, but as someone who's known Fate since childhood, Nanoha could probably easily tell that she's still pretty upset.

She'll find her fiancee (who would have officially been her wife if it wasn't for this damn mission) sitting in the conference room with the rest of the group, trying to find a way to cover the brand with her bangs without making it look silly.

[starlightace]

And the doors flew open as one head of the Magical Department barged in - calming slightly at the sight of that familiar blonde head of hair. But then she saw the brand, and saw how desperately Fate was trying to hide it, and felt her heart break.

"Fate-chan..."

[thunder-ace.livejournal.com]

As soon as Fate heard that familiar voice, she stopped trying to readjust her hair. And as soon as Nanoha was close enough, she got up, pulling the other girl into a tight hug.

She already vented, so she didn't need to say anything. What she needed the most right now was the comfort only her family and close friends could provide right now.

[starlightace]

Nanoha had been about to do the same thing before Fate had beaten her to it - but she didn't complain. Instead, she pulled her into that hug fiercely, one hand coming up to run through soft blonde hair as she buried her face in Fate's shoulder.

She knew how Fate felt about this sort of thing. What she'd been through must have been unimaginable.

[thunder-ace.livejournal.com]

Fate stayed like that for a long time, clinging to her fiancee almost desperately, like a lifeline. And when she finally pulled back, the hurt was so clear in her eyes, it didn't take a perceptive person to notice it right away.

"I feel horrible for saying this, and I know we need what they're offering... but there's no way we can go through with these negotiations. Even if they didn't do this--" she gestured to the glowing mark on her forehead. "There's no way I'm going to help those monsters."

It was obvious, of course, but she still had to say it.

[starlightace]

Nanoha wasn't about to let Fate go, either - her hands stayed on the girl's shoulders, as if she was afraid Fate would vanish where she stood. "I know," she said quietly. "I'm not going to negotiate, either. There's something else going on that we can't ignore, no matter what the stakes."