[center][h1]Kirta and Madeleine[/h1][/center]

Kirta leaned against one of the pillars in the station. He was not accustomed to waiting, but he had already been there for an hour. Who was it he was waiting for again? He could not for the life of him, remember her name. All he could recall was that she had blonde hair, green eyes, and nice tits. At least, that is what the others told him. He'd never seen her or spoke with her before, so he couldn't judge her physique. She could be an ugly hag for all he knew.

He decided to let his mind wander while he waited for her to arrive.
Pulse had attacked Cocoon. That meant that a lot of people would die. Especially by his blade. Kirta had been eager to go out to the front and battle with them, but he ended up getting stuck with this boring mission in stead. They had to meet some guy that had information to end the war. Not like he hated it. He got to hurt others. His favorite pass time. A smile danced on his lips at the thought of slicing someone up.
Still, he'd rather be on the battlefield defending his home than running around trying to find some guy that might not even exist. Why did he have to deal with this? Surely there were other, more suited people to meet this guy... Kirta wasn't exactly friendly. Diplomacy was not his strongest quality.

A train had pulled up, bringing him back to reality. He watched carefully as each person exited, certain he would see some crooked old woman matching the description he was given. He was delightful surprised when it actually turned out to be a beautiful young woman.
Kirta narrowed his eyes at her. She passed him by, so she was not as lucky to get a description of him. This gave him a chance to observe her.. more alluring assets. She had some decent ones. Still, she looked like she had never held a weapon in her life. What exactly did she do?

[color=1a7b30]"Hey."[/color] he paused, her name still escaping him. He was going to have to give her a name he would remember. [color=1a7b30]"Hey, Blondie. You here for the mission to Bresha?"[/color]

Madeleine did not know what she thought she was expecting, but the man had succeeded in catching her off guard. At first she was not sure that he had even been talking to her, but as she turned to face him, as calmly as she could manage to pretend, there was no doubt that his piercing green eyes were bearing straight down on her. This was surely the one with whom she had been directed to meet, the second member of the special team that was being assembled for unknown reasons. He certainly looked the part in his white button shirt, black jacket and slacks. Madeleine sensed that he meant business in the way that he carried himself. A draft in the station swirled about them, ominously breezing through his black hair and clothes and giving her the chills.

[i]And did he just call me ‘Blondie’?[/i]

Madeleine gathered her thoughts as she regarded the man and pulled her cloak closely around her. [color=ec008c]“Yes, I am going to Bresha,” [/color]she said to answer his question. [color=ec008c]“I suppose we have been expecting each other. I’m Madeleine.”[/color]


Keeping her staff in one hand she extended the other and smiled sweetly, relieved that she was no longer in this situation alone.

Kirta looked at this woman's hand with a raised eyebrow, as if he was unaccustomed to such civility. He did however, extend his own hand to take hers, grasping it firmly. He smiled at her, but it never reached his eyes.
[color=1a7b30]"Good to know. You can call me Kirta."
[/color]He looked at her staff. It didn't really look like something one would use to bludgeon someone to death. Dammit, what the hell did she do?
He pulled back from her, considering if he should ask what her profession was. Then again, if he was disappointed, it would be a very long train ride out of here.

As if by coincidence, over the loud speaker, it was announced that their transportation had arrived. Well, the sooner they leave, the sooner they get there. [color=1a7b30]"Shall we go?" [/color]Kirta asked, and swept his arms toward the locomotive. He didn't exactly wait for her to answer, and started walking off toward the car they would need to board. It didn't even occur to him to look behind him to see if she was following or that he had the tickets. On the way over, he tuned into a conversation he thought might be interesting.
"I heard they're doing something big down there. Said it was goi-"
"Shh! You shouldn't be saying these things, you are going to scare people!" 
"I suppose you are right, no sense in it.. is that guy staring at us?"

The two that had been speaking now stared in Kirta's direction, he had inadvertently looked at them over long and the pair ended their conversation and walked away. Oh well, they didn't have anything useful to say anyway. He walked up to the open compartment, then remembered the chick he was suppose to be travelling with. What was her name again? Maybel? Magpie?
He turned and was able to spot her in the crowd. He shouted to her,
[color=1a7b30]"Come on, Maggie, don't want to miss our ride!"[/color]

Madeleine took note of Kirta’s reluctance to take her hand and the bored expression he gave her. And his obvious disinterest in conversation. And his lack of care in remembering her name. And his complete disregard for weather or not she actually boarded the train. And-

[i]Did he just call me ‘Maggie’?[/i]

It was confusing, to be sure. At length, Madeleine attributed it to a sense of urgency that would normally come with being on such a dangerous assignment. He yelled at her to hurry as she remained paralyzed in analysis, and so she shook it off and trotted quickly to catch up with him, dodging frantic citizens along the way, so that she would not be left behind. They stepped into the train car just as the doors closed for departure.

Madeleine looked at Kirta as the train began taking them towards the Outer Rim. He paid her no mind, and after a few very long and awkward moments of silence Madeleine decided to initiate some conversation.

[color=ec008c]“So, how did you get mixed up in all of this?” [/color]she asked apprehensively. [color=ec008c]“You don’t look like a soldier. I mean, not that you don’t look like you could be a soldier, because you do, but not like a normal soldier. Which isn’t to say that you don’t look normal, it’s just that…”[/color] She cut herself off when she realized that she was rambling, and that Kirta did not appear to be listening anyway.

[i]Just shut up, Madeleine...[/i]

She sighed and looked out the window as Cocoon, falling more and more into calamity, rushed past them. [color=ec008c]“But I’m glad you're here and I'm not alone,”[/color] she softly said out loud to nobody in particular. 

Kirta stared at the woman as she continued to ramble, an eyebrow raised. As she quieted down, he solidified his impression that she wasn't accustomed to this type of situation. Which meant she was probably useless on the battlefield. Just his luck. How did he get stuck BABYSITTING?! Of all the tasks he could have been given, he was an escort? There was a war going on. He began to fidget with bottom of his shirt, his face masking the anger he felt. Maybe if he ignored her, she would go away!

After a few minutes of silence had passed, Kirta glanced over at the woman. She seemed kind of nervous. Damn it. Even if she was useless, there was probably something he could do with her. Meat shield? Might as well answer her question and try to be friendly.
[color=1a7b30]"I'm part of the Guardian Corps. I volunteered for the mission because I was told it'd be dangerous. We are going to the battlefield, after all. Plenty of enemies from Pulse."[/color] he looked down into her eyes and a gentle smile spread across his face, again, not reaching his eyes, [color=1a7b30]"I'm not like those other soldiers." [/color]He leaned forward and whispered into her ear, [color=1a7b30]"I will kill you if you slow me down."
[/color]As he moved back, the smile had faded and now his gaze was dark, frightening. [color=1a7b30]'So much for friendly.'[/color] he thought, amused.
He made no more attempts to converse with her until they reached their stop.

Once the train had pulled into the station, Kirta was happy to finally get out of the stuffy thing. He pulled the female with him so she wouldn't get lost. She seemed the type that would either wander off or lose sight of him. He didn't mind hurting women, but if it was as perilous as he was told, he would need assistance. Why bother though? He could easily take out any Pulsian he came across. The excitement of combat was almost too much and an evil grin threatened the adjacent area. Anyone that saw him instinctually moved away. He grabbed Madeleine's wrist a bit roughly and looked into her eyes.
[color=1a7b30]"Let's go, Maple."[/color]

At first Madeleine was in utter shock at how Kirta was acting towards her. She had never been threatened by someone so directly, least of all by someone whom she had just met and whom she had assumed was to be fighting this war on the same side as herself. As the situation began to sink in a little deeper, her emotions progressed quickly from complete surprise to fear, and then, as she began to wonder just who in the hell Kirta thought he was, shear anger.

She yanked her wrist free from his harsh grip before he could pull her any further.

[color=ec008c]“My name is Madeleine!”[/color] she yelled at him as he turned to face her. She met his gaze with fists clenched angrily and tears of humiliation welling in her eyes despite her best efforts to hold them back.  

She had never been so insulted in her life. This was not her first mission nor her first time heading into battle. Madeleine had accompanied some of the finest soldiers in both the Guardian Corps and PSICOM, many of whom still drew breath as a direct result of her presence in their patrols. She would not be treated so disrespectfully by this man.

[color=ec008c]“I don't know what you have been through that you would be so willing to kill me.”[/color] Madeleine spoke softly but there was fire in her eyes. [color=ec008c]“I would do anything to take that pain away from you. And I will give everything while we are out here to make sure you don't go through any more. I know that I don't have the power or strength that soldiers like you possess. But please do not mistake my kindness for weakness.”
[/color]

Madeleine's anger had subsided into sadness now; sadness that Kirta seemed so full of hate, sadness that this war would only continue to bring her loneliness. She walked by him then, heading towards the man sitting calmly in the middle of the battlefield, the man whom she could only assume was their contact.