As Gippal hit the ground groaning in pain, Maximus was wide eyed at the sight and was suprised that he was still concious. His eyes closed as he lowered his head and sighed, covering his eyes. What did Lenora just do? The guard who had come in and was super excited to meet Gippal had a look of Horror on his face at his captain. As she yelled at him to show some respect to his elders. 

He didn't know what to do, either stand there or help Gippal up or what. After a moment as Gippal slowly rolled to his hands and knees. The guard quickly moved to Captain Lenora and whispered in her ear. "Miss Lenora...you just struck the leader of New Yevon's only son! Gippal the Blitzer and Gippal the son of Baralai are the same!" He took a step back to look down at Lenora's reaction while Gippal was helped up by Braska and holding his forehead. The Captain remained frozen in the position she had been in when launching the glass ball at Gippal for a moment. Then she looked at the guard, then at Gippal, and back again. She blinked a few times before relaxing her stance and rubbing her chin.

The Captain strode past the three men and her guards and stepped out into the hall, closing the door behind her. The one's left behind stood in awkward silence for a bit. The guards not daring to say a word as they looked everywhere but at the three men. Gippal was gingerly touching his forhead now and could already feel a massive goose egg forming quite quickly. Hissing as he winced in pain as it started to throb. Maximus waited a moment before leaving the room to find Lenora. Quickly slipping through the door with just enough space for him to exit and gently closed it, looking around for the short blond fireball. 

Lenora was leaning up against a column outside the room, her face in her hands in a look of utter horror and strain. She was nearly hyperventilating with shock and glanced up at Maximus. As soon as she saw him, she straightened, smoothed her face out back into its usual deadpan expression she wore for authority's sake and began clicking her way back to the room. As she grew closer he raised his hand to stop her as he stared at her with a soft glare...as a parent would give a child who they were trying to help learn from their mistake. "Lenora... are you calm now?" He asked gently. He was not about to let her back in if she was still emotional like he had just seen her. Even if he had to stand infront of the doors. 

[color=lightseagreen]"I'm always calm,"[/color] She hissed, turning her head away from Maximus so she wouldn't have to look at her childhood idol. 

"Behemoth shit..." He scoffed very frankly. 

[color=lightseagreen]"What do [i]you[/i] know?"[/color] She leered at him, looking at him directly now with her lips curled back. [color=lightseagreen]"Or rather, why do you even care?"[/color]

He placed his hands behind his back and gripped the right wrist with his left hand, his eyes never leaving Lenora's. "I've been in more high ranking meetings than you have little one..." He said slowly, calling her by the nickname he had given her while he was in Bevelle still, and she was much younger. "...I know that you just threw away your post by the way you acted in there. You know as well as I that Commander Lucil would have stripped you of your rank right then and there." He stood up straighter and added, "Don't throw it all away just because he is playing the part of a lawyer in there."

Looking to the room and then back to her he then finished with, "What have I told you about asking questions you know the answer to already?" He said, mentioning her second question. Lenora looked at him ludicrously, scowling.

[color=lightseagreen]"Do you enjoy kicking me when I'm down, old man?"[/color] She was very tired all of a sudden, rubbing her eyes as she let herself lean against the wall. [color=lightseagreen]"This couldn't be worse if you all somehow were escorting a summoner too."[/color]

"I am not trying to kick you down, I'm trying to help you get your to your feet again." He said softly as she leaned against the wall. He grew quiet at her next comment.He also leaned agianst the wall next and sighed as he folded his arms over his chest and had a very small pained look on his face. As if he didn't want to throw another crate of bricks on the girls head. Lenora took a breath and closed her eyes.

[color=lightseagreen]"I can salvage this..."[/color] Lenora stepped away from the wall and entered her office, more composed than before as she took a seat at her desk and folded her hands over each other. [color=lightseagreen]"Gippal?"[/color]

Gippal turned around with his hand still over his face when Lenora entered the room again, one eye open and watching her. Then at Maximus as he followed in. Lowering his hand,  he watched as Lenora made it back to her seat. Gippal answered with a simple "Yes?" His tone was surprisingly calm, his father had always taught him to always keep calm while in situations like this, it would only serve him better in the end anyways. Though his father was known to have a short temper at times, despite his public side was always calm and polite. But on the inside he sooooo wanted to teach this girl some manners....though he never hit a girl (outside of Blitzball) He wanted more than anything to humilate her, for acting all high and mighty and hitting him...TWICE. For asking a simple qestion. 

[color=lightseagreen]"Here..."[/color] Lenora closed her eyes as she slid some paperwork over the table. [color=lightseagreen]"Just sign here... the girls will be branded with bands showing their identity as criminals and be free to go."[/color]

Gippal walked over to the desk and pulled the paper to him, quickly reading over it. He then pushed back the paper slightly. "First off, I want to find out the story of what happened from my friends, Alex might be a hot head and get herself in trouble, But she wouldn't just go up and attack somone with out a cause." He then looked to her and added, "Please. If that is alright with you miss Lenora." As much as he wanted to order her he bit his lip and held back. Lenora glanced at him before sighing and resting her cheek against her palm, her elbow on the desk.

[color=lightseagreen]"Eyewitness reports tell us that tha Mayor's son felt like throwing a rock at the mage girl. The mage girl fled before... One moment,"[/color] She paused to shuffle through some paperwork. She pulled out a piece of paper with handwriting on it recounting a witness's testimony. [color=lightseagreen]"'A behemoth red haired woman with a scar across her nose lumbered right for him and wrapped her huge hands around his neck. She picked him up off the ground. It looked as though she was going to snap his neck. The woman then said something like, "You want to attack monsters? Try it so I can beat your face into the back of your skull," before choking him some more, dropping him, making threatening looks to everyone gathered around, and going off after the mage girl."[/color] Lenora looked up over the paperwork at Gippal. [color=lightseagreen]"We have at least a dozen more testimonies like this. She's frightened the people of Kilika, and the mayors son had to be placed in the hospital with a collapsed wind pipe."[/color] She set the paperwork down and slid it across the table towards him as well. 

He nodded and sighed, shaking his head mentally. As much as he agreed with Alex, and probably would have decked the guy if he saw him hit Nai. But assault was assault. " I am terribly sorry to hear that the man had a collapsed windpipe, and do hope he gets better soon." He said softly and quickly, more of a formality than really saying sorry. He narrowed his eyes, as if showing he was slightly confused. "But the mayors son did throw a rock...at a handicap woman. Yes Alex may have gone overboard with what she did, but do realize that Nai was just hit in the head....[i]With a rock[/i]." With how frail she can be because of her sickness, that could have been a fatal attack." (Despite surviving what happened the last two days.) he thought to himself. He then added, "I do hope the man survives, but If Alex and Nai are being branded as Criminals, then to be fair, he must as well. I do realize Alex must wear the band, but making Nai do so, while she did threaten to attack the town, she was also very emotional and hurt. I would ask that she only have a warning on her record, as she did not attack at all. "

[color=lightseagreen]"He has already been dealt with, with punishments acceptable to his crime."[/color] Lenora's eyes narrowed. [color=lightseagreen]"What matters right now is that your friend attacked someone of high nobility, crushed their windpipe, assaulted an officer, resisted arrest, and is verbally abusing my men. Understand that when you sign this waver to set your friend free, Alex will be branded as a high level criminal and will be unable to enter any major cities. As for Naisha, she will be placed at low level risk and be able to come and go where she pleases. Do you understand?"[/color] Lenora looked at him, her eyes rather stony. 

He looked at Lenora for a minute. "I do agree with this, but can we at least allow Alex to enter the cities? She is a Guardian for a Summoner we are escorting, it will be difficult for her to perform her duties if she cannot be near our Summoner. Perhaps with..." He glanced to Maximus. "A Chaperon ? Escorted guard..." 

Maximus narrowed his eyes. "Babysitter." He said bitterly. "Not in my job discription." 

Gippal's shoulders dropped. "It's only logical It would be you Maximus, you were apparently apart of the youth League at one time, also a Guardian." Maximus didn't answer, only narrowed his eyes and glared more at Gippal. Who then turned back to Lenora.

"Is that Acceptable?" Gippal asked with hopeful eyes. Lenora could scream. Summoner. He just said summoner. She took a breath to keep her cool.

[color=lightseagreen]"No. It isn't."[/color] She straightened some more papers on her desk. [color=lightseagreen]"No offence, but, were I you, I wouldn't keep her with me any longer than necessary."[/color]

Gippal straightened his posture and felt the urge to point at the lump on his forhead...But he didn't, he did not want to stoop down to blackmail. It was one thing he hated about politicians. But he now understood the usefulness of it, and saw why he saw such among the higher ups. He closed his eyes, "Fine." He reached down and signed his name, then Braska, and then finally Maximus. 

"Alright, do you mind taking me to my friends?" Gippal asked Lenora. At this, Lenora stood up from her desk and nodded, grabbing a ring of keys and passing off the signed document to a guard, who brought her two bands, one red and one white. 

[color=lightseagreeen]"This way, then."[/color]

[hr]

At the answer of Alex and Nai, Urick looked at Hector and shook his head as well. He didn't want to say that Saina wasn't his woman. It would only give Hector the green light to pursue her, and now that he was realizing he was enjoying Saina's presence more and more...he didn't want to be cut off by the Casanova behind him. He did notice how Alex stated firmly how they were just friends. He realized he probably never had that chance with her growing up with and the others if that was how she felt. 

Hector then turned to Nai, as she was sitting down, for her meditation. "For your information, Urick and I are the most calm ones here, compared to you and Alex whooping and holloring like a bunch of monkey's. I also know that if she was contagious we would already have it." He raised the pillow. "This was for the smell." As he said it he wrinkled his nose and placed his face into the pillow again and took a deep breath before pulling it away and continuing. "It's clear she is just having a withdraw from some drug." He looked to Twi and studied her for a moment. "I've seen it many times with former...associates." 

Urick had looked over at both of them. Nai explaining how mediation is exellent for revenge, Alex almost acting like a schizophrenic with being like a caged animal to now trying to mediate. It seems that they have changed so much since he last met them. It was like he didn't even know them anymore. 

He reached up and rubbed his forehead, his thoughts turning to Saina. Thinking about Hector, and everything that had happened, only a few hours before. Her question she asked on the dock came to his mind clear as day as his interpretation of it seemed to fall into place with what had happened today. Now to answer her when he saw her again.