[color=goldenrod]“Ah, so you have.”[/color] 

When she had stepped through the door, Francis had just stepped from the office portion of their room. Though she didn’t need it because she had her own separate office a few doors down from their bedroom, Francis, however, did. Even though he had one in Archadia, he had been spending most of his free time here and had taken a leave of absence from Second Judge Magister for personal reasons. Although he never specifically stated it, Francis knew Roman understood exactly what this meant. He had stepped down from being an Imperial Judge to officially become a member of Utena, bearing the moniker of Lupine. 

There was a rare sight for Shion as Francis had appeared in casual attire. Usually, of course, he was in his usual golden armor, but that was during the times he served as Shion’s stand-in when she was out and about, doing what she had to do for the good of the organization and Ivalice. He understood that, so he did what he could to make sure her garden was well-taken care of. And, as she had seen upon her return(he was assuming), he was just as strict as she was. After all, he was the one who trained Michel and his son was someone who had a lot of potential. His magickal reserves was even greater than Francis’ had been in his youth. Though he lacked the conviction to become a judge, Francis was relieved that he found his calling in Utena.

The dark-haired male gave Shion a kiss and a hug as she seemed to be fixated on taking a seat. [color=goldenrod]“How did it go? With Jackson, I mean.”[/color] Francis said, stern eyes on Shion. [color=goldenrod]“Unless something happened during the transfer?”[/color]
[hr]
How was someone supposed to react to comments like that? Grant practically insulted Jaakuna, but then he also gave him a compliment. Talk about sending mixed signals. As he would round it out, it was obvious where this was heading; it was the same thing he had noted previously: the surprise that Jaakuna had doubts.

Of course he had doubts. The weight of the fate of the entire world was being placed on his shoulders and, if Jaakuna was being completely honest with himself, he felt a bit overwhelmed. He, of course, knew that he was the only one who could do it because of this power that he had, yet that did him no good with actually drawing upon it. Sure, Wesley was right about how he had used Belias’ powers to rid Emiri of Venat’s influence, but here’s something that he probably didn’t consider: The Creature isn’t just one fucking seed of Venat/Zodiark. It is a literal embodiment of that dark influence. In other words, it would require not only the confidence to use that power but also the willpower to draw upon it whenever the situation called for it.

But guess what? Jaakuna hadn’t been able to feel that power since that night in Henne Mines. The most he could do was manifest the weapons. 

[color=ed1c24]“Yeah thanks, I hadn’t thought of that.”[/color] Jaakuna rolled his eyes. [color=ed1c24]“Have any other bright observations? Maybe this one: the sun is yellow!”[/color] Jaakuna feigned shock. [color=ed1c24]“What are your thoughts about that, huh?”[/color]