[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/Ud7PeKw.png[/img] 
[@PlatinumSkink][@Ariamis]
[color=fff79a][s]But that’s forbidden love![/s][/color] [/center] 




Valkyrie wasn’t the sort who judged others based on their preferences. After all, it was not something that truly mattered. It was still rather jarring to hear to her, but it was not like she allowed Ronin to comprehend her current emotions aside from an ever-glowing shade of red appearing upon her face and the continued stuttering of her speech. She longed for love, but she never really had a clear definition of what that meant to her. Perhaps, in a way, Yury was correct. She was rather jealous of this “little girl”. 

Valkyrie would never admit it even to herself though. 

[color=fff79a]“W-Well we have no time to lose then!” [/color]

Valkyrie carried the girl as quickly as she felt the other could handle. After all, the turbulence would cause issue to someone not used to moving as quickly as Valkyrie was used to. 

If anything Valkyrie was just happy to have someone to talk to for the time being. It has been a while since she had much interaction with others. After all, she was rather standoffish in terms of outward expression, often leading others to believe that she was a lot more serious than she leads others to believe. And if what Ronin was saying was true, then at the very least she had someone she should be able to rely on when it comes to combat. While she was sure of her ability, protecting another was a completely different ballpark. 

After all, she was not able to protect ____ 

Approaching the gate, Valkyrie was stopped by the voice of the two guards, ever vigilant. 

[color=fff79a]“Valkyrie; I wish to travel to Penrose in search of someone, whom of which I have reason to suspect is in danger. This girl with me is under my protection as a traveling companion with the same goal,”[/color] Valkyrie says, being curt and to the point with the guards(wo)men more so than even her previous tones and mannerisms, and her flushed face was replaced with its normal pale. Of course, while Valkyrie herself might not have ever served in the military, her father was a commander and she and the other kids in the steppe would often play soldiers together. 

It was not common for a woman to want to play such aggressive games, but due to her previously tomboyish personality and slender figure, no one questioned her about it. Her father might not have enjoyed having a daughter who would skip her music lessons to play with the town boys, but he never did more than give her a scolding. He was never the same after her mother had died, but she could tell that he cared for her in his heart. 

It was not the first time she had used the gate, and would likely not be the last. She understood that these girls were just doing their job, but they were often more of a nuisance than she would care to admit. However, without them, it was likely this place would not have such a level of standard, keeping unwanted “others” away. What tends to be annoying might be overlooked as an important and integral cog in a greater machine, and Valkyrie knew that. Hopefully it would go smoothly; after all, guards might have the same goal but might go about it in completely different ways. However, she felt if she simply told the girls the truth, there would not be too much of an issue with her actions. 

Valkyrie simply waited in response, her weapon sheathed as to not appear like a threat. After all, peaceful posturing would do a lot more good in this situation than any aggression might. While Valkyrie was confident in her “quick draw” technique, it would be near suicidal to force the gates open in such a manner. 

[color=fff79a]“I would wish to be granted access.”[/color]

It was rare for Valkyrie to arrive at these gates. To begin with, her position tended towards passivity more than action. In her heart, she was a coward. Someone who would prefer to run than to engage in combat, only fighting if backed into a corner. She was not the sort to actively search for monsters to fight, but rather her kills were the result of her actions. 

But even if she considered herself a coward 

Even if in her heart, she hardly wished to fight. 

There was one thing that caused her to press forward, despite these conflicting thoughts swirling around in her head. Beyond her cowardness, there existed a burning feeling in her chest that pressed against all others, like an inferno that consumed her down to the very last being. 

Once Valkyrie decided in her heart to act, that deed has already been done!