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“Alright, break time’s over.” Adaman sighs, stepping back to the head of the table with Irida. That cup of Chai had been over far too soon, but, duty calls. This meeting wasn’t going to resolve itself, after all.
“Where were we?”
Irida gives him a look. “You haven’t forgotten already, surely?”
Yeah, well, maybe he had! Did she have to act so judgemental over it? No matter how friendly relations became, she never could seem to help herself from taking a jab at Adaman every now and then. …That was alright, though. He does- secretly- enjoy the back and forth.
Giving her a haughty look of his own, he takes out his notes, unable to resist flaunting them, just a little. “That’s what these are for, genius.”
“Oh, do excuse me. I suppose we can’t all have perfect memory, after all.” She smiles and hides it behind a modest hand much too late.
Adaman just rolls his eyes. “Right.”
Funnily enough, though, he can feel her looking over his shoulder at his writing. But now’s not the time to smirk.
“Here we go. With regards to an inter-clan outpost; we need to decide whereabouts in the Highlands would be the most practical to set it up.”
Bracing for the worst, he turns to the other side of the table, knowing that, if anyone, they would have a problem with the whole thing. “Melli, as one of the wardens stationed in that area, do you have a prefera-“
Aaaand he’s talking to an empty seat.
“Melli?”
He and Irida share a confused look.
“Where’s Melli?”
Palina shakes her head when her clan leader’s glance turns to her. “I haven’t seen them in a while-“
“Being overly dramatic about something small, no doubt.” Mai smiles.
Adaman pinches the bridge of his nose and mutters a silent prayer to Almighty Sinnoh. “I pity whoever’s on the receiving end. I suppose I should go rescue them, whoever they are.”
Irida sighs at him with a shake of her head. He can tell she wants to say more, but given the presence of all their wardens and the nature of the meeting perhaps, she refrains.
What they do share, is an exasperated look.
“I’ll be right back.”
He tries to temper his own frustrations as he steps outside into the corridor, sliding the paper door shut behind him. It won’t do to lose his cool. Even so… that damned Melli. Couldn’t they pull it together just one time for such an important meeting?
The hall he’s in is empty as can be, so he picks a direction without thinking too much about it and starts walking, the floorboards creaking noisily below his shoes. Now, if he were Melli, then where would he be? Certainly not wasting his time (like he was now). No, Melli’d be doing something alright, something ridiculous, but a thing that they had deemed important nonetheless.
He sighs to himself, dragging his hand through his hair as he pauses for a moment, trying to think. He doesn’t want to miss out on more of this meeting than he has to, so he needs to start searching strategically. Mmmhhhgh. Perhaps he should check outside? He really can’t imagine what his warden would be doing elsewhere in this building—
Oh?
Was that..? It sounded almost like…
His hand drops back to his side as he strains his hearing, but there’s nought but the sound of his own weight shifting on the rickety flooring.
Hmm. He must have imagined it. Are his nerves really getting so fried that he’s conjuring up voices now? He chuckles weakly, giving his head a quick shake to clear it.
Back to business… he’d do a quick sweep of the nearby rooms, and then he’d go ahead and give outside a glance. If worse came to worse, he could always request Ingo pass on the information they discussed when he returned to the Highlands. Melli would likely fuss over not getting to offer their input, but that wouldn’t be Adaman’s fault, now would it?
Although come to think, had Ingo been there when he had left? Perhaps something important had him running late. Most likely, he’ll end up running into him while searching for his runaway.
“Melli! Where are you? Stop shirking your duties.”
He opens a door that comes up on his right, only to find the room it leads to devoid of any signs of inhabitance. The door is closed again as gently as his temper will let him.
“You’re in for an earful this time, Mel.”
A muffled squeak makes his ears prick up.
This time, he definitely hadn’t imagined it.
It could have been those annoying floorboards again, but intuition tells him otherwise. It sounded much too human.
Cautiously, he changes course to follow the direction where it came from. It seemed fairly close by, so he doesn’t have to search far before he finds another door that seems roughly the spot where he heard it. Isn’t this a supplies closet, if he remembers correctly?
He raps on the door with the back of his knuckles. “Hello? Anyone in there? Melli?”
“…”
Nice try, he scoffs to himself. He knows the difference between natural silence and the tense breath-hold of someone trying to remain undetected.
He’s done this way too many times before, since childhood, but doesn’t have the patience for it today. Whatever Melli was sulking about, they could damn well get over it.
“I’m coming in.”
“NO— noNoNONono—“
Ah, there we go. An answer. Adaman grumbles, fingers hovering just above the door handle. “It can’t be that bad, Mel, whatever it is.”
“I-it’s not about it being bad, you fool! It’s- well- it’s-!”
Adaman opens the door. Gawks.
Oh for fucks sake—
…And slams it shut again.
Almighty Sinnoh, either rewind time, or fast forward it to his death. Or better still just strike him down where he stands, because nothing will ever make this okay.
A wail comes from within. “I TOLD YOU! You never listen to me!!”
For good reason, he winces to himself, feeling the skin on his face soar to alarmingly high temperatures. He buries his face in his hands and lets out a muffled groan.
“… Get out here. Now.”
“What-?!” Comes the indignant squawk, “Did you not just see-“
“Oh, I saw alright! Make yourself decent, both of you!”
Melli whines, and does Adaman feel a little bad for blue balling them?
No. No, no he doesn’t.
He tries not to hear the clumsy rustling of clothes being pulled back into place, and even more so the soul destroying squelch that can’t be anything other than what he knows it is, all the while tapping his foot against the ground faster than a territorial Buneary.
What did he ever do to deserve to come into leadership at the same time of Melli’s existence? He wants to laugh. He wants to cry. He really, actually might end up doing both.
Finally the door creaks open, just a sliver. He meets Melli’s eyes, reading the thoughts behind them perfectly; yes, he’s still here, and yes he’s very much waiting for them to get the hell out here.
They pout, but obediently, sluggishly, push the door open just wide enough to slip out, still tugging at their tunic as they adjust it, their hair all kinds of wild falling over their shoulders. Ingo follows quietly behind, eyes firmly fixed on the floor, the tall collar of his coat not even enough to disguise what Adaman can see is definitely a love bite or two. Perhaps three. Not all of them look recent, either. Agh… he… really doesn’t want to know.
A tense silence settles between the three, only broken up by some raucous passing conversation drifting by an open window, which quickly fades awkwardly into the distance.
Well, no time like the present, as the diamond saying goes.
“You-!” He folds his arms and looks scathingly at his troublesome warden. Melli harrumphs and turns up their nose. Yeah, “I’m… Actually, I can’t say I’m surprised. But you, warden?!” He turns to Ingo, who can’t even look at him it seems, too busy hiding his ruby red face under the brim of his hat.
Unfortunately for the pearl, at this moment he can’t find it in himself to have much sympathy. “I pegged you for having more self restraint than shacking up in a closet of all places.”
Although that could be- no, definitely was- due to a certain bad influence.
Melli nobly thrusts an arm across their lover, as if to protect him from an imagined attack. “O-oh lay off him! As if you’ve never been caught fooling around with someone, Adaman! I remember when—“
“—Thank you, Melli. I’ll be generous and just remind you that I’m your chief, and to watch your mouth.” He snaps, glaring at them with the same force the latter is pouting at him with. And then, because he’s only human, he quickly adds, “And that was a long time ago. We were just stupid teenagers.”
“It still counts!”
“That’s enough from you! You’re lucky I don’t inform your colleagues just what was so important that you neglected to attend the second half of our meeting!”
Ingo has the good sense to look quite alarmed at this, whereas Melli, the brat, just crosses their arms and huffs in defiance.
“Now-“ He rubs his face with the palm of his hand out of sheer embarrassment, desperately trying to somehow undo the horrific image he had stumbled across and inadvertently burnt into his retinas. “Tidy yourself up and rejoin us. I’ll make up your excuses… just this once.”
He’s about five steps away before something quite urgent occurs to him. “—And don’t even think about..! About… tying up loose ends before you do! If you’re more than five minutes, I might just find myself getting talkative while we all wait.”
Alright. Now he can leave. And never speak of this again. That too.
Irida stops mid speech as the door is slowly slid open upon the diamond leader’s return. Honestly, it took him long enough! For someone who talks up time, he could certainly use with better management of it!
“Did you find them, Adaman?”
Oh, she startles, suddenly seeing his nauseous expression as he steps inside. “Are they… alright?”
“I’d say they’re doing just fine.” He replies through gritted teeth.