Together, Maeyune and her team arrived at one of the base's attached hangars to prepare for the day's mission. Upon entering the steel building, Maeyune came across a padded mat that served as a makeshift training area. Someone had laid it out on the ground between two idle gunships - no doubt to spar and help pass the time between tasks.
There were two young men already on the mat. One of them had a pale, blonde head that Maeyune could recognize in a crowd. Jaysek's back was to her, and his attention was concentrated solely on his opponent.
As her friends walked past, uninterested, Maeyune took the chance to examine the friendly bout.
Jaysek swept his hair from his eyes with long fingers. He made a comment that Maeyune could not hear, but it inspired action in his opponent. With a smirk, the latter rushed forward, and Jaysek contested his jabs. However, his opponent managed a speedy crouch and kicked Jaysek's legs from underneath him. The wind celestial landed hard on his back, an audible oof flying from his mouth.
Wearing an amused smile, Maeyune approached the mat and folded her arms. To Jaysek, she asserted, "Your stance is too wide."
Jaysek twisted his body on the mat to follow her voice. He glanced up from where he lay and was surprised to see her. Picking himself up from the ground, he smoothed his hands down his battlesuit in an attempt at a better presentation.
"Oh?" he said with a smile. "I don't suppose you have a chance to help me correct my form?"
Accepting the invitation, she stepped onto the mat as his opponent moved aside. When Jaysek assumed a defensive stance, she pointed at his legs.
"You look like a land celestial prepared to withstand a mountain," she described. "You are wind, Jaysek, and should move like the wind."
Extending her foot, she nudged his feet closer together. But before she could finish correcting his stance, he lunged at her. His hands gripped her shoulders, and the back of his ankle hooked around hers. Caught off guard, she fell backward, and they tumbled onto the mat.
She felt a gentle flurry of wind that softened her landing. It blew the length of her ponytail into her face, temporarily obscuring her vision. When her black strands established a dark halo around her head, she watched as Jaysek moved to lay over her, their chests nearly pressed together. His elbows rested on either side of her head, and his face hovered inches above hers.
Jaysek's potent, sapphire eyes glittered as he observed her. She was caged underneath him.
"What are you doing?" she demanded. She sounded breathless in her ears.
"Moving like the wind," he answered casually.
She could have sworn his head drew nearer.
She moved quickly. Her hands thrust into his torso and shoved him into the air. With a startled yelp, he flew several feet off to the side. In a shifting blur, she slid to position herself over him and secured her forearm against his throat.
Jaysek froze where he lay, hands raised on the mat in submission. A pearly-white smile played across his handsome face - hardly the look of surrender. The blue ocean of his eyes developed an intensity that she reluctantly found captivating.
"So," he said, clearing his throat against her relaxing grip. "You like being on top?"
It was then that she realized their compromising position: she was straddling his hips. To her shock, it appeared quite the intimate display.
"Jaysek!"
The voice forced them to turn their heads to Deric, who was beckoning for Jaysek to join him. The dark-skinned land celestial raised his eyebrows at the sight of the two on the mat, but he said nothing else as he returned to his team.
In that instant, Maeyune caught Reo's dark eyes.
He was waiting for Jaysek to join the rest of Saber Team for their next assignments. The moment she met his eyes, his gaze darted away.
But she had already seen the guarded look on his features.
"Shall we continue later this evening?" Jaysek murmured below her.
The tip of Maeyune's lips twitched, and she could not stop the oncoming smile.
She pondered on the way Jaysek's eyes were half-lidded as they stared up at her. He was in no hurry to escape her hold. In fact, he appeared willing to lay there all day if he could.
And for a brief moment, she thought of exploiting their current situation. If Reo saw them like this, did it make him envious?
The idea disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. She didn't want to consider it. She had absolutely no mental energy to play that game. And besides, Reo's heart was already set on another.
She rose to her feet, extending her hand for Jaysek. He clasped her forearm and hauled himself up. Once he had his balance, he took her hand with purpose and brought it to his lips. Amazed, she allowed him to kiss the skin of her knuckles, his shining eyes never leaving hers.
"You'd best get moving," she advised with a smile, indicating his waiting team. Sneaking in a furtive grin, he strode off.
Maeyune joined her team at their side of the hangar. Realizing that the short ties of her boots had come loose, she sat on a weapons crate and leaned over. As she readjusted the ties, Clover's legs entered her line of sight.
He stood next to her, and with a lazy drawl in his voice, the fire celestial declared, "I don't think His Golden Highness likes you training with blondie."
Maeyune glanced up, and for the second time that morning, she found Reo's eyes on her. And again, he diverted his gaze. She frowned, endeavoring to ignore the sudden twinge in her chest.
"You're right," she replied to Clover, keeping her voice level. "I should not be dividing his team."
"That's not what I meant," Clover responded, his tone flat.
After looping her boot's ties, she eyed him carefully with a sidelong glance. She had heard the implication in his words, but she chose to disregard it. Clover simply did not understand.
"I think he is afraid of me," she stated.
Clover's eyebrows shot to the top of his forehead. "Really?" he snorted. "Well, who isn't nowadays with your dark moods?"
Maeyune knew Clover was not a conversationalist. Exhausted from his candor, she rose from her seat. Before she could pass him, he smirked and added, "All you have to do is stop scaring him."
She turned back to him in mid stride. Irritation flickered across her face. "And what am I doing exactly that scares him?"
His hand rubbed his stubbled chin in thought. "I don't know," he answered. "For one thing, you always look like you want to murder him."
Maeyune gave Clover an even glare.
Unaffected, his dark eyes twinkled with amusement, and he pointed at her face. "See?" he said. "Stop doing that."
She let out a long breath of exasperation. "I would prefer not to talk about him anymore, Clover." Warning laced her tone, and although it shut Clover's mouth, it did not wipe the broad grin from his face.
Maeyune turned and found Aerylis listening to their quarrel. The wind celestial leaned a hip against a tall weapons crate, her arms crossed and eyebrows raised. She had pulled her brown hair back into a short tail, and it emphasized the eagerness on her angular face.
Maeyune held her hands out to the sides as she regarded the tall celestial. "Do you think I'm scary-looking, too?" Maeyune questioned.
Aerylis's bottom lip curled up in speculation. A moment later, she shrugged and gave a thorough nod.
Defeated, Maeyune rolled her eyes to the ceiling in a look of disbelief.
In that instant, a man's deep voice bellowed across the open space. "Miss Ereni!"
The voice drew everyone's attention toward the back of the steel hangar. An officer with a trimmed beard had emerged from the facility and now waited at the door for her. He pivoted his head to the opposite side of the building.
"Mr. Castell!" he called.
Maeyune gave her friends one cursory look before making her way over to the military officer. She saw Reo do the same.
When they reached the bearded soldier, she and Reo exchanged brief glances with each other. She hoped she looked as judiciously reserved as Reo did.
"Beg your pardon," the man said, lowering his voice. "You are both needed in the operations room. The Wobeck have resurfaced."