"You heard us talk… Didn't you, Laziel?..."
The commander questioned as he stood adjacent to the door of the hospital room.
"I heard enough to know a coward like him only chooses to commit once it's too late."
Leith replied through the sobbing inside the room, standing on the other side of the doorway—his hands dug in his pockets as he leaned on the wall.
"You're saying you did all that… to give the general a push to properly address Draeven?"
He asked—irritated.
Leith sighed as he stood up straight.
"Take it as you wish, commander."
"You know?..."
"It really is difficult for me to believe a word you say whilst you hide beneath those dead eyes of yours."
The commander remarked—his tone dropping into a sharp, judgemental resonance.
"I never asked you to believe me."
He replied coldly—his uncaring footsteps retreating after him behind the corner.
The commander—frustrated, glanced inside the room as Leith walked off.
Inside, the general sat next to Drelan as he wept.
Just around the corner from the hospital unit, a lounge contaminated with both worrisome, and furious members of Drelan's party as they loitered inside.
The atmosphere was tense, considering the situation.
"There's no way they plan to let that bastard off the hook that easily!"
Roen lashed out, slamming his fist on the table.
Eris, across from him, jumped from the startle as she buried herself deeper into the book in her hands.
"Yeah no doubt about that—he almost killed Drelan after all."
Elian added—legs crossed as he let out a shallow sigh.
"Almost!?"
"Hey… how are you guys sure he's even still alive back there?"
Roen questioned—his leg bouncing nervously as he twidled his fingers impatiently.
"Hey come now—it wasn't that bad, was it?..."
"I mean, I heard his arm might still be recoverable–"
Eris hesitantly murmured, still hiding behind the book in her hand.
"Recoverable?—Print blew his entire damn arm off!"
He yelled out furiously.
"Either way, we're gonna need someone to captain this debut, and quick."
Vaan announced from across the room—his hand resting on his cheek as he scrolled through a tablet showing schematics of some sort.
"Look at you, sitting back without a care in the world…"
Elian remarked as Roen paced around the room.
"It's not that—we just don't have much time to spare is all."
"Is that why you're so insistent on going over those mech schematics right now?"
He chuckled mockingly, looking over Vaan's shoulder.
"Pretty much, and they're called Gravewalkers, by the way."
"Whatever you say Vaan…"
"Anyway, so which one of you are up for the gig, because I know I'm–"
Eris questioned cheerfully, before being suddenly interrupted by the door creaking open.
The room froze accordingly.
"Well!?"
Roen yelled out as he turned to face the door.
"You can spare yourself the trouble…"
Leith remarked, closing the door behind him.
The tense pressure in the atmosphere increased ten fold.
Everyone chose to stay silent, other than Roen.
"What the hell are you doing here?..."
"What?—Lest you forget, I also happen to be a member of this squad."
Leith replied boldly, stepping up to the front of the room.
"The hell you are after what you've done!—Who do you think you are, walking in here without so much as an apology!?"
Roen yelled out in a frenzy of fury—taking bold steps towards Leith as he grabbed him by the collar.
"What exactly do I have to apologize for?..."
"Did the shock of seeing your friend eat dirt make you forget that it was a consensual duel?"
Leith replied—a smirk plastered on his face as Roen clenched his fist.
"That's enough, Roen."
Elian commanded calmly from across the room.
Roen took a moment before he let go of Leith's collar—hesitant as his fists remained clutched.
"What did you mean by what you said?"
Vaan asked next to Elian.
"That's right…"
"I volunteer—to captain our debut."
Leith declared firmly whilst adjusting his collar, yet a cold, distinct tone clouded his voice.
"What!?—Is this guy nuts?"
Roen remarked lividly.
"Well I guess that settles that, right guys?..."
Eris quietly whispered, alongside a nervous chuckle.
"Surely you jest–"
"Is that what my expression reads, Vaan?"
Leith cut him off, staring him dead in the eyes.
"What makes you think we'd ever accept you as a member of our squad, let alone captain?"
Elian asked, his voice more bold and aggressive in contrast to before.
"And here I thought I was dealing with grown men willingly putting their lives on the line…"
Leith answered sharply.
"Do you really believe portraying ignorance is the way to go here?... Or will you drop this little childish tantrum of yours and listen to what I have to say?"
He added cruelly yet calmly as he looked at Roen—a calculated sharpness resonated in his voice.
"Why you little…"
But Leith didn't flinch—his gaze remained fixed on Roen as he took a step towards him.
The room regressed to a void of silence, not the tranquil kind however.
"Very well then, speak."
Leith scanned the room before voicing himself—anticipation as a result of the tense silence had filled every corner of it.
"In the game of chess, the king remains the most fragile piece on the board."
"He hides behind his troops, yelling out the very commands he himself would fail to carry out if the hilt were to be placed in his own hands."
"Are you seriously quoting a damn game?... You–"
Roan lashed out as to interrupt him.
"Hey look, If you're just going to lecture us about chess, then you can beat it… How is any of this going to convince us you're fit for captain anyway?"
Leith paused for a moment before turning to face Elian—his expression stagnant as Elian's poke at him proved redundant.
"Tell me Elian… Why do you suppose I took Drelan on in front of the general?..."
He didn't respond—he couldn't.
The frustration could be seen seamlessly boiling and building up in their faces as they failed to answer.
"To crown yourself king, you must possess strength no other piece on the board can match."
"Otherwise, how can one possibly protect his troops?... Commands perhaps—as they sit back idly observing."
"In truth… That's not protecting anyone—but himself…"
"I believe—such a piece is unfit to be deemed king, the same way I believe Drelan failed to be captain…"
"And who decided strength is the only thing that deemed a king's value?"
Vaan question—a look of displeasure on his face.
"You did…"
Leith replied sternly without taking a moment to reply—he answered instantly, as if he knew they would ask this exact question.
Eris and Roen looked confused, whilst Vaan and Elian remained stagnant in their expression.
"If strength wasn't the deciding factor, then why didn't you choose to step up, Vaan?"
"Why even suggest the question… is it uncertainty perhaps? Or do you believe your intellect doesn't quite suffice?... I thought you were the sharpest one here, or is there simply something else stopping you from taking charge?…"
"I—don't like the idea of that absolute… Why must there be a king—when we're a team?..."
Eris asked, stammering.
"If that's the case, why did you resign so swiftly?"
Eris's face warped into one of guilt—a look telling she had answered her own question before raising it.
"Aren't you also a part of this 'team,' Eris?... If you truly believed in that idealism of yours, you would've stepped up, not stepped aside."
He answered again, dismantling each of them one by one.
Eris lowered her gaze downward as a result—her fingers grasping the book tighter.
"Who do you think you are to talk to her that way!"
"Roen…"
"That fist of yours is aching to slug me, isn't it?"
Leith asked calmly.
Roen's fist clenched.
"Why don't you go ahead so I can prove my next point."
His face—a glass display of the ticking time bomb underneath, yet it's exploding wouldn't get him to move his feet even an inch.
The brooding silence in the room acted as an affirmation to Leith's testimony.
He turned to Elian, as he stood there in silence—not trembling, but observing.
"Let me ask you another question Elian, why do you suppose Roen's too afraid to act on his impulses?"
Elian sighed.
Roen let out an irritated grunt.
The rest sat back in defeat.
"Very well, I shall too—step up to fill in the captain role."
"Captain role?—Is that how you see it?—Don't make me laugh."
Leith questioned mockingly as he attempted to hold back laughter.
However all prior emotion ceased abruptly—as if that reaction of his was superficial.
He looked to speak again.
"You're not looking for a captain, a leader, or teamwork…"
"You're looking for a saviour."
"Majority voting, shall we?"
Elian asked, dismissing Leith's words, yet visibly distressed.
"I can entertain that, sure."
"All in favour of choosing me as the squad captain."
Elian announced, scanning the room.
Roan buckled, before raising his hand in agreement.
Leith remained totally expressionless.
Elian's face twitched—confused and irritated.
He turned to visually question Vaan and Eris' lack of cooperation.
Their gazes were fixed on the ground out of shame.
He turned back to meet Leith's gaze—a sharpness that struck unease in his heart, like looking into a void.
"Good to see you guys finally came to a consensus."
The commander abruptly exclaimed from the doorway.
"If that's all the discussing you have planned for now, please follow me to the docks."
"The docks?"
"What for?..."
"What—are the docks exactly?"
Eris asked naively—still uneasy from the lingering suspense in the air.
"You're to meet the Gravewalkers you'll be using for next week's debut."
His answer accompanied by a faint sigh.
"Sounds like bad news if it has even the commander brooding."
Roen joked, a shallow recreation of his mood beforehand.
"Trust me, I'm definitely—not—going to be the one brooding in the end."
He chuckled, and they chucked along as he looked at everyone aside from Leith.
Their chatter resonated through the dimly illuminated corridor as they walked side by side.
"You really got us out of that one, man."
Vaan muttered to the commander as he matched his pace.
"What do you mean?"
Vaan took a moment to reply as he looked over his shoulder, glancing at Leith at the very back.
"That guy—scares—me…"