Chapter Text
“-and that’s the end of the report. Feel free to ask any questions, Lady Bronya.” Gepard finished, lowering the set of papers in his hands to observe her reactions.
“Sounds well, Captain Gepard, good job. If we keep heading in this direction then Belebog will soon be the prosperous city it once was.” Bronya nodded, a small smile breaking the mask of her usually neutral face.
The sound of strong footsteps piqued the interest of the pair, both looking in the way of the Supreme Guardian’s office doors. They opened abruptly, a familiar face appearing at the frame.
“Seele!” Bronya blinked, a soft smile and gaze directed towards the other woman. The Supreme Guardian stood up from her desk and circled around it, heading towards the Underworlder.
Gepard stepped back from her path as the two met closely, merely a foot away from each other. He tilted his head slightly at the energy between them, it was… peculiar. Both of them observed each other carefully and with… kindness? No, it seemed a little more than that.
He shook his head, it wasn’t his place to stick his nose into matters that weren’t his. “Then I’ll be on my way Lady Bronya, Lady Seele.” Gepard bowed his head slightly, hand over his heart.
Before he could close the doors behind him, Seele called out to him, “Captain, wait.”
He turned towards her, “Lady Seele? Is there something you need?”
“Not really, but… Have you seen that crook lately?” she winces, as if remembering said crook was distasteful.
“Crook?” Gepard thought for a moment. A crook? One they both knew?… A well-know smug face with vibrant green eyes and a head of dark blue hair filled his mind. “Are you talking about Sampo?”
“Yes. Him.” Seele sighed, crossing her arms. “He’s been quiet lately. Suspiciously quiet. So I’m afraid he’s trying to pull something stupid right now or… Or he’s in trouble.” she mused, a hint of worry breaking through her irritated tone.
She shook her head, her expression once again annoyed, “Anyways, I was just saying that cause you know.” she glanced at Bronya, “Everyone in Belebog is worthy of worry or something.” her annoyed expression fell into a content one when she saw the other woman give her a single nod and a smile.
The Captain blanked for a moment, he opened his mouth but abruptly closed it, teeth hitting teeth.
He cleared his throat before speaking.
“Sampo? If it’s that worrisome to you Lady Seele, I’ll look into it.” Gepard bowed his head.
“Huh.” Seele’s irritated expression returned, “I’m not personally worried about him, just to make that clear. The- the government is worried about him, yeah, that’s it.” she glared, ears burning red— and only burning redder when she heard Bronya give a quiet chuckle in the background.
“Oh. Apologies, Lady Seele. Of course, I’ll look into it for the… The government.” Gepard bowed once again and left the two to their own devices. Hearing quiet and rapid chatter as he did so.
***
As Gepard left Qlipoth Fort, a familiar building caught his eye: Serval’s Workshop.
Seeing as he was mostly free right now from usual Captain duties, he decided that a visit to his sister wouldn’t be so bad.
He headed towards her place, a smile breaking his serious demeanor and brightening up his eyes. Just as he was going to open the door, it opened itself with Serval on the other side. They both stopped, wide eyed at the sudden appearance of each other.
“Gepard!” Serval broke the silence first, grinning from ear to ear. “I didn’t know you’d be visiting.” she closed the door behind her and took him by the arm, “Come with me, I’m getting some flowers.”
“Flowers? Are you sure…” Gepard grimaced, remembering the many little plant lives lost at the hands of the Landaus for a green thumb did not run in the family. In fact, it was quite the opposite.
“Hey! I know what you’re thinking about, it’s not for me little bro, it’s for some friends.” she pushed him slightly with her body, both straying from their path for a moment.
“You have friends?” he questioned, not remembering any particular person or persons she was close to.
“Umm. I have many thank you. I can even name some off! We have Pela, we have you, we have the Trailblazers, and we have who the flowers are for! Two former bandmates of mine wanted to hang out for a bit so I decided to get them a present.” Serval explained, separating herself from her brother as they reached the flower shop and entered.
“Former bandmates…” for some reason, this made him think of Sampo. He remembered that at some point the mischievous man had played with Serval for a short time. A very short time. Because soon they found out that he’d been stealing parts here and there from Serval’s shop.
He still remembered the betrayal both of them felt when they found him selling said parts to some guy in an alleyway. Instead of chasing after him, he’d been holding back Serval so he wouldn’t have a sister in jail for attempted murder.
After that, he only ever heard tales of all his scams and thefts, of disgruntled victims and shady characters— which Gepard kept an eye on in case they tried anything violent against the man.
And it wasn’t because he cared about him, no- It was because he was the Captain of the Silvermane Guards, it was his job to stop any crime even if it was on a criminal.
It was true, apart from that it’s not like he had any other intentions. Well, it was true that he didn’t have any other intentions for a while .
But then for some reason, the more he saw him, the more he felt…
“Geppie? Geppie!” the embarrassing nickname broke Gepard out of his thoughts. He stared at his sister, realizing she had already bought her flowers and was waiting for him to say something.
“Oh. Sorry, I was assigned to investigate a person today by Lady Seele.” he opened the flower shop’s door and let his sister through.
“Like a missing person? Or another criminal?” she questioned as they walked towards her workshop, arm in arm once again.
“Both. She wants me to see what Sampo has been up to, apparently, he’s been ‘suspiciously quiet.’” he sighed.
I wonder what trouble he’s brewed up now. He knew well that Sampo Koski was capable of getting himself into huge trouble and getting out of it without dealing with the consequences, it’s a trait of his that Gepard has come to get used to.
After all, it’s been years he’s been chasing him. And-
“How long has he been missing?” Serval asked, her voice surprising him out of his daze.
“I don’t know. I suppose since the Trailblazers left? I haven’t seen him since around that time.” he shook his head, unwinding his arm from his sister’s as he opened the door to her workshop for both of them.
“Well, as annoying as he is, I hope nothing bad happened to him.” she smiled at him gratefully before walking in.
Gepard observed her curiously as she set down the flowers on the front counter, feeling a little surprised about what she said. “You’re worried about him, even after what he did to you?”
“Of course. Yeah, he’s a jerk for after what he did but in the time we shared, I had fun. You know, he’s a great singer.” Serval laughed, pulling out her phone and typing away. She stopped, frowning at her phone before looking up at her brother. “Make sure he’s alright, okay? He helped the Trailblazer’s out when everyone thought they were criminals.”
Gepard stared at her for a second, observing the scrunch of her eyebrows and her pursed lips. It was true she was worried about him. How interesting. “As Captain of the Silverman Guards, I will not fail in locating him.”
“Pfft. Okay, Captain , well, I have to go meet with my friends.” she laughed, the mood returning to normal. “Good luck and be careful, see ya later Geppie.” she side hugged him and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek before leaving.
He stood there, thinking of the people so far that had been worried about Sampo. Seele, Serval… Hi- No.
Gepard wasn’t worried.
As a Captain he was worried for another civilian’s safety and that was it.
As himself, he was not worried at all.
Not at all . He thought, the sound of his creaking gauntlets filling up the room as he clenched his fist.