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[img]https://i.postimg.cc/L5r26P82/Star-Fox-Final.png[/img]

[color=5edaf6]Level:[/color] 5 (29 -> 36 -> 38/50)
[color=5edaf6]Location:[/color] Sandswept Sky - Al Mamoon; Grimleal Headquarters
[color=5edaf6]Word Count:[/color] 826 (+2 EXP)
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Their various businesses concluded and ongoing, the divided Yellow Team soon reconvened in the marketplace where they left off, barring appearances from Sly (expectedly) and the rest of the Phantom Thieves, absent on some unspecified account vouched for by Panther. Those who had new information shared if and as they saw fit, which Fox did. That much would suffice for options/direction. Any who cared to could go take on any one of the publicly available jobs from the board. The rest, should they not have other ideas, would be following Fox back to the palace temple to meet with the Grimleal, to get a better read of them and the situation at large.

That marked the first oddity in their rendezvous for Fox; that the Grimleal were apparently attached to a religious order rather than serving strictly as a high guard or para/military contingent, perhaps acting as all three? Far be it for Fox to care who anyone prays to, but he couldn’t help getting the immediate impression that the Vizier’s ‘elite’ troop were more of a ‘personal’ one, which he didn’t mind, of course. He knew a little something about working with the people he best liked and most trusted. The question stood of whether or not they could trust these people, and what it would speak of Validar if he put his own faith in them. No points for shared tastes in dark, chthonic motifs.

On the subject of ‘faith’, it was hard not to notice the imposing visage of the violet-lit dragon, the presumed subject of their worship. If that was what they called their ‘god’, then they might find themselves disappointed to learn that it too is likely just another slave to the Light; that far greater powers reside over the World still. Even for the theologically uninclined or uninitiated, one could no longer claim to not be a believer after everything that had happened, upon learning of it all, or having experienced it for one’s self firsthand.

The Grimleal generals were… [i]eager[/i] to say the least. They seemed to be under the impression that the Yellow Team participants would show up ready to go right away, no questions asked. As much as that fit Fox’s usual model, this wasn’t his usual case. He knew that same eagerness for action over planning, but would not readily act on it if it chanced meaning he would be fighting the wrong people, and potentially [i]for[/i]the wrong people. This once, at least, he would have to--and willingly--make an exception, and more carefully consider his approach.

[color=5edaf6]“Then I hate to tell you this, but you may want to temper your enthusiasm for a bit longer,”[/color] he said to the bow-wielding hare woman as a start. [color=5edaf6]“Because I [i]would[/i] like to know more. I think I speak for all of us on that,”[/color] he iterated more broadly to all three generals, gesturing referentially to the rest of the team that accompanied him. [color=5edaf6]“Call me old-fashioned, but I like to actually [i]know[/i] who I’m being hired to fight.”[/color] Midna’s following citation of war philosophy corroborated as much.

Provided his definitive participation, this would hardly be the first war Fox threw himself in the middle of, and far from the biggest. That said, stakes and morality every time secretly factored into his decision on who was worth helping and why, and thus who to take a paycheck from. He nor any he represented were just some common mercenary ilk of lax standard to be exploited by the highest bidder. In as few words and as little mounted suspicion as possible, he thought he might impress that upon them--preferably from a purely pragmatic/strategic perspective. The last thing they needed was the zealous denunciation of moral propagation to be followed with a catered preaching of morals intended to coerce them into premature action. They were there to gather information, not debate ideology; a sentiment the generals might surely agree with.

Midna obligingly laid out a short list of starting inquiries for valuable information they would want regardless. To it, Fox added, [color=5edaf6]“Let’s start with where we can find them.”[/color] This, first and foremost, would be best to know. That way whatever they couldn’t learn in their meeting they could go find out for themselves, but truth be told, Fox already had every intention of going to look when they left. On that note, he also bore in mind that they boasted the distinct advantage of political anonymity and, until such time as they acted, neutrality. That the Resistance were unaware of them or their affiliations made them prime candidates for an ‘infiltration’ pitch, with the rebels of their group being even more qualified, even in the unlikely event that they could actually be used for such a ploy. The generals didn’t need to know any of that just yet anyhow, so he kept it to himself for now to gauge them and their intentions by their responses.