Raven

Chapter 9 - Planning

"Before we start, I want to ask something. Does everyone remember who our enemies are?" Wills looked around the map-covered table expectantly, and was met with nods of varying degrees of resolution. Out of the loop again, Ese, I sighed internally. Harley, thankfully, caught my confused look around the others and made a quiet noise that I assumed to be oh, right.

"We do," he confirmed, "but Estella doesn't." Wills looked at his Commander, and the two of them engaged in a silent staring contest for a few minutes, after which Harley sighed and ran a hand through his hair. By now I had that pinned as what he did when agitated, and his expression gave that much away.

"Fine. Also everyone had better shut the fuck up this time." Kira rolled her eyes, Ella zipped her lips, and Joel looked like he was trying not to laugh. After the general chorus of assent, Harley straightened up and ticked off on his fingers as he explained.

"The leader of The Samurai is Shadow Knight. Mainly uses axes but has a shit throwing arm, so he's easy to shoot from a while away. Stupidly agile though, so that's not as easy as you'd think. He can also do a thing where he can suck the light out of a room, and then re-release it at will." Despite the rather overpowered facts he was putting forward, Harley looked unimpressed.

"Next up is Black Jack, and the best thing about him is his cape. The most dangerous thing about him is an electric staff. The rest of him is pure jackass." There was a brief pause, and Harley glanced around with a widening grin. "Bedum tss."

"Your puns are getting worse," Joel interjected with a loud snicker.

"And then there's Cat Girl." Harley continued, ignoring his friend (contrary to the sparkle in his eyes). He cleared his throat awkwardly, smile fading, and I suddenly had an idea as to why he had been uncomfortable every single time the subject of cats had been broached before now. Holy shit no way. "She's dangerous as, so keep your wits about you as much as you can. Especially if she's your type. Got that?"

I nodded slowly, taking all of the information in. "Right. Watch out for shadows, electricity, and someone who I'm going to assume is cute." There was a challenge in my voice, though I hadn't willed it there, and Harley looked taken aback. I noticed Wills and Joel exchange a glance.

"Pretty much." That was Kira, filing her nails lightly again. "She's horrible but attractive, and the boys just know how to use their weapons and make tactical plans. Can we continue now or what, I need to water my plants."

"I'm getting there, have some chill." Wills was talking again, and leaned over the map on the table.

"Never," whispered Kira almost too quietly to hear, and Ella giggle-shooshed her friend. Wills shot both of them a dark look, cleared his throat, and continued.

"From the mission that was successfully carried out today, we have been able to produce evidence that the whereabouts of The Samurai are in this area-" he drew a circle with his finger over a piece of bushland near a series of buildings. I frowned, recognising the point on the map, but stayed quiet for now.

"Because of this, we're taking a new mission comprised of three members to scout around the area and report back with as much information as possible on the exact whereabouts of the base. And, if possible, what The Samurai are up to and who they're working with."

"Who'll be going?" Ella piped up, tilting her head to the side. "It's too big a mission for everyone to go, and you'd be super tired from today, Willsy!" Wills considered that for a moment, then shrugged.

"Easy. Acrobolt, yourself and Raven all take the mission. I hope for all your sakes' that our new Commander is consistent as well as good." I winced slightly, but nodded; a mission with Harley and Ella would be a good starting point. "Go prepared for conflict, but don't sacrifice someone for the sake of completing the mission. Got that?"

The three of us nodded.

"Dismissed, then. Be ready by six thirty tonight."

The group began to disperse, and I hung back while Wills began to roll up the map. After a few moments, he looked up and noticed me standing there.

"What can I do for you?" He asked, tapping the ends of the paper to even out the roll.

"Do you ... maybe think ... we could take a mission back to Papà's factory at some point? The Samurai's base is too close for Papà to not know about it." I spoke carefully, thinking through my words so that they would stay spoken in English. To my surprise, Wills nodded, a sudden gleam in his eyes. Uh oh, I thought.

"I was actually about to ask you about that." He responded, and put his hands in his pockets. He knew then, I noted with some relief. That was one less thing I needed to tell him. "Has your dad ever had dealings with The Samurai?"

Going by their descriptions from earlier and attempting to match them to memory, I shook my head.

"Not that I know of, but ... he's mentioned something before that I had as suspicious. Especially since he used it to throw me off finding out what happened to a family member- regarding her death, it is. La Ombra Corte, I think...?" I tossed the words back an forth in my mind and trying to form some kind of meaning behind them aside from their obvious translation. I shifted nervously, knowing that I hadn't told Wills the full story, but he didn't seem to notice. "It was a while ago, I might be wrong."

Another nod, and now Wills crossed his arms. "Right," he agreed. "I'll keep it in mind, but the mission would be a full-scale scouting one, a step further if this goes well."

With that, he made to head down to his room, and I was left feeling guilty for not finishing what I had on my mind.

-----

Five hours later, around about six pm, was still thinking about what Papà had said. It had been about seven years ago, when I kept bugging him about what had happened to Mamà and Reubin.

"La Ombra Corte è il vostro diritto di nascita. Quando ti rendi conto questo, vi posso dire quello che vuoi sapere." My father glanced up briefly from his paperwork while answering, but soon returned to it.

"But Papà," I whined, pouting as I leaned on his desk.

"Estella," he snapped, and I flinched away from the wood. "Stop asking. I gave you my answer. You'll understand when you turn sixteen."

I shook myself out of the memory, and ignored the trembling in my hands as I put my mask in place. There's no use in diritto di nascita, Ese, when you've run away from it like this. I told myself sternly, and pulled my sleeveless top over my head. It was a lighter shade than I'd hoped for tonight, but I didn't have a leotard just yet. I had donned dark pants, my new gloves, quill pouch and sneakers, and over the shirt I did up the same jacket I had been wearing the night I ran away. My hair went up in its signature plait, and I left my room without another thought.