Promotion Party! Congrats Lovelace and Guiscard!

[Fox]

Vaun sat at the desk in his office, rifling through papers practically glowing with sheer excitement. He’d called in the newest members of the 22nd Division for a very special mission! That, and, well, he wanted to spend more time with them. He’d been away for a long time due to administrative business that ended up falling through in the end. He was desperate to make up for lost time, and he’d just gotten the stamp on JUST the thing! It was all approved and arranged. He just needed to enlist some helpers. He’d called in Rakka specifically because he had something special for him as well.

Chuckling mischievously, Vaun’s blue eyes darted over to the door impatiently. Maybe he would check if Rakka was close? He stood up from his chair. Was there anything else he needed to do aside from decorate? The cake was arranged… Oh! Music would be a good shout. He didn’t know what the young people were into these days. Vaun glanced down at the various pictures scattered around his desk.

There was one with a younger Vaun and his lovely silver haired wife Selene. There was another featuring a very young Wolfric throwing a tantrum. Her pout made him smile bittersweetly. The last picture on his desk was of a much younger version of himself, Kurt, and Killian. Killian, of course, being one of his best friends. He’d definitely need to pack these. Oh! Packing! He forgot to pack! Vaun rushed to the door, opening it before stopping himself.

“Oh right… I’m waiting for them…”

-MEANWHILE-

Ensign Lovelace sat in her office, pouring over the most recent reports. It was dull work, and she was eager to get back into the lab or some actual combat herself, but it had to be done. Her office was sparsely decorated save for a small collection of plushies near the window. The vast majority of them were pink and horrendously ugly, but one distinctly stood out from the others. It was a plush of a white tiger, comparatively cute next to the other plushies.

Setting down her pen, Rosie stood and stretched. Well, that was that. She had scheduled training with Reynard today. Captain Hertz had put them on the roster together despite the fact that she had argued her time would be better spent in the lab. Mostly, she’d just wanted to finish her projects for Rakka and Reynard, but Captain Hertz had been weirdly insistent. She didn’t think much of it, though, because she found the man utterly incomprehensible most days.

Heading out of her office and toward the training facility, Rosie pondered on what to drill Reynard in today. Her mind drifted back to their encounter with the pirates from the other day. He’d frozen up and called for her help, which is what he should do when he was overwhelmed, but perhaps she’d break out her latest training contraption. It needed testing anyway.

---

Rosie | #fad7f6 | Post Count: 1
Vaun | #00bfff

[Fennec]

The life of a seaman was arduous, but at least Reynard had the hopes of someday raising the ranks. This hard work would pay off later. At least those are the thoughts that crossed his mind as he patrolled the outside of the facility. There were more fulfilling things he’d get a chance to do later. More fulfilling than standing outside in the cold at any rate. Besides! He had some training with Vaun to look forward to later. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out an old pocket watch reading the time. It seemed that his training was more than due. He huffed as he looked around for the replacement and soon saw Seaman Ward approaching. The seaman saluted him and Reynard followed suit.

“Seaman Ward!”

The bronze skinned man tipped his cap and promptly took his position. Rifle in hand he got ready for his patrol looking back on last time at Reynard as he left.

“Good luck with your training, Guiscard.”

With that Reynard began to make his way to the training grounds. The cold cutting wind blew across his face but he didn’t mind his thoughts were now racing wondering what they would want to train him in. As he walked Reynard reached into his coat and pulled out a chocolate bar which he promptly started to munch on. His reaction on the ship was still haunting him. But this is why he was training. To become stronger. To defeat tougher enemies. If he was to be a hero saving others… he had to first learn to save himself. Not just that… but also trust himself…

---

Reynard | #fa8128 | Post Count: 1

[Kami-Gaz]

It had been a good while since Rakka had been on Tequila Wolf, not since he had been well enough to walk under his own power after the Night Patrol Incident. Well, it was his second day in fact, he had arrived back pretty late in the night and was ordered to get some rest by one of his many superiors. It had given him time to get back into the marine mindset, especially his recruit mindset. He was going through the standard recruit routine when a runner found him and delivered an order to visit Captain Vaun in his office. Now that was something the young man was not expecting to receive, outside of a few visits in the hospital bed Rakka had never really met the man in an official capacity. He did however give Rakka the tip about seeking out Martial Arts Master Bubbles in the mountains of Goa Kingdom.

With a spring in his step and a bright smile on his face Rakka finished up his task and made way to go and see the captain, his planned route deliberately taking him past Lieutenant Lovelace’s office. That was someone Rakka really looked up to, a woman who had sheer determination and a dream to see the World Navy being a better organization. Just as the young marine was passing her office the door opened and he nodded to the woman and saluted. “Auntie Rosie! I’m just heading to see the Captain, but can we chat later? I need to ask you some things.” Rakka asked in a guerilla warfare style fly by question. Not stopping, but slowing down long enough to hear any potential reply as he put his hand on the captain’s office door handle. The lieutenant looked off in her own world so she may have missed him… that was no worries, he could always go back and try again later.

With a content sigh, Rakka pushed the door open and entered the office of the captain. “You called for me Captain?” He asked, his bright smile making his words seem bright and jovial. The young marine pushed the door to behind him with a soft click and made his way further into the office, a place he had never been in before. It was quite homely, something that reminded him of his mothers own office when he last saw it.

“It’s really nice in here…” Rakka spoke softly, his eyes wandering over some of the pictures.

---

Rakka: Post 1

[Vio]

^{Mari #1}

---

The life of a Marine was far from an easy one. Many youths went in and enlisted without fully understanding how arduous such an undertaking was. The rigorous training drills and hard schedules that governed the life of every cadet were just too harsh for some, weeding out the suitable soldiers from the overconfident and the egotistical. Even after completing their first year, many seamen debated whether or not this was the correct choice in life, but those that found answers to those questions often became diligent troops. Eventually, they would even find their way to becoming great Marines.

That was the same struggle a young Anette Gepetto had gone through. Decades on, after his retirement and eventual passing, it was his own granddaughter that was experiencing the same. A meek and timid girl with fair complexion and almost doll-like qualities despite her slightly above average height of 5’6”, her typical demeanour alone made her seem smaller than she was, perhaps not helped by her habit of shrinking away from the more outgoing folks.

She wasn’t officially a cadet. By all legal accounts enforced by the World Navy, Mari was just a little too young to enlist by standard code. Sixteen years of age, yet fast approaching her seventeenth, she had still shown such conviction as to find her way into the Marines after a chance encounter with an officer. It was far from forced. If anything, Ensign Lovelace would have likely shooed the cherry blossom-braided child away had it not been for that oft concealed drive the youth possessed shining through.

But despite her standing and lack of real accomplishment so far, Miss Anette—a mere chore girl—was still being considered an established member of the Twenty-second Marine Division. She didn’t understand exactly why that was due to how little interaction she had had, especially in the field, but who was she to refute it? Good Marines followed orders. Dressed in her simplified uniform marked with her effective rank and with her wooden companion, Mahogany, held in her arms so that her head rested just beneath the puppeteer’s chin, she approached the Captain’s office and extended a hand, but nervously pausing before she knocked…

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
A nervous Mari approaches the door of the Captain’s office…

---

NOTE: New Pending Profile

---

Anette Mari | #ffb7c5 | Cherry Blossom

[Fox]

“Ah,” Rosie uttered, noting that Rakka was one of the people passing her by in the hallways as he spoke up. He insisted by calling her Auntie Rosie after that whole incident that nearly resulted in his death. She felt utterly undeserving of such a title - not to mention that it was very informal for a setting such as the Marines - so she was always at least somewhat taken aback when she heard it. He asked her a question without stopping in the usual energetic style of youth, earning him a crooked smile and nod from her.

“Very well.”

Sure that was enough for him, Rosie walked down the corridors at her usual somewhat leisurely pace. Given her stature, this leisurely pace basically matched the very brisk pace of her younger subordinates. Rosie arrived at the training grounds in short order, stepping inside and taking off the coat needed to stave off the frigid winds of Tequila Wolf. The indoor training facility was heated, though there were training areas outdoors, Rosie didn’t see the need to unnecessarily give herself or any of her subordinates frostbite.

She began doing some stretches, loosening up her body after hours of deskwork while she waited for Reynard to arrive. She had a few things prepared for him today. She drew out her latest contraption out of the broom closet that it had been unceremoniously stuffed in. She made sure that all of its pieces were still intact. They were. Good, good.

-MEANWHILE-

Vaun had closed the door to his office, pacing impatiently in the small space. He immediately whirled around to look natural when he heard the door suddenly open behind him. It was exactly who he had wanted to see first! His face lit up with a bright smile.

“Rakka! Yes, indeed, my boy! Please! Sit, sit! I have some exciting news!”

Rushing over to Rakka, Vaun gently put a hand on his shoulder and ushered him to one of the seats across from his desk. Whipping around to the other side of his desk like a hurricane, Vaun shuffled through a scattered mess of papers heaped on it until finding the one he was looking for. In a barely contained smile, Vaun cleared his throat.

“It is my honor to let you know that Ensign Lovelace… has written you a glowing letter of recommendation for your promotion!”

Vaun’s excitement settled as he let that statement sink in for a moment. He offered Rakka an apologetic smile.

“I’m ashamed to say that I haven’t seen your growth and progress due to my absence thanks to some administrative matters, but! I believe every word that Ensign Lovelace has written here. There’s some things I want to go over with you in preparation, group training exercises, making up for lost time, things like that, but I wanted you to know that this recommendation has already been processed so you may hear some good news relatively soon! On the topic of good news actually… there’s more!”

Vaun stood up from his desk. The two others he’d called needed to be present for this! He’d heard from one, but Mari was still yet to arrive. He moved over to his door and pulled it open, only to see the girl in question. He smiled gently so as to reassure her and moved aside to allow her to enter the office.

“Ah, Mari! There you are. I was just looking for you. Please, come in and have a seat,” Vaun said, leaning out to look for the last, “You too, Nora, dear, everyone’s here now!”

Retreating to the spot behind his desk, he gestured to Nora as she entered.

“Mari, Rakka, please, meet the latest addition to the 22nd Division, Nora LeBlanc!”

---

Rosie | #fad7f6 | Post Count: 2
Vaun | #00bfff

[pepsi]

-- NORA #1 //

Everything about her was sharp, and threatened to cut.

She sat, cross-legged and cross-armed, by the office of the person she had been instructed to follow. His name was Vaun Hertz, but she had forgotten his title; all she knew was that she had to follow him closely. And closely she followed, as she had been hanging outside of his office for the rest of the day, without ever saying a single word.

The letter Vaun had received was plain and simple. She was on paper a Seaman Recruit, and on paper part of the 22nd Division, but there were no actual records of her joining the Marines through any regular process. She had been planted there, in no small part thanks to the power and influence that her father held over the Marine force. Vaun had also been told about her past exploits with a treacherous gang of pirates known as the Seven Deadly Sins; she should've been in jail, for all he knew, but any and all records of her past bounties vanished without a trace. It was all silence, mystery and strangeness, much like herself.

To Nora, being chained to a Marine's ankles was jail enough. She watched with piercing eyes as a young man passed her by to enter the office. Nice hat, she thought, and that was the extent of her attention for him. Likewise, she witnessed the same scene unfold with a girl, who looked too young to be part of the Marines, carrying something that looked like a very ornate doll. Nora followed the doll with her perceptive eyes for a time, letting the details and the proportions etch into her mind.

Nice doll, she thought. Perhaps she could make a similar one and play with it herself.

Unfortunately, she did not have time for herself; a few moments later, she heard the sorely familiar voice of Vaun Hertz call out her name. So was it really time? Did she have to meet with those people? She hoped she'd be able to just hang out in a room by herself all day, every day. She had been planted into that Division to avoid jail time, but she really didn't also want to play the role of the good little soldier.

Perhaps it'd be a one-off thing, she rationalized. With that hope in her mind, she stood up from her seat and quietly slid into the room. She awkwardly motioned a greeting with her hand, and found an empty wall to lean against. She overheard the fact that a celebration for someone who wasn't her was in order, and for that reason, she preferred to stay by the wayside.

-- NAME // Nora Leblanc

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Fennec]

It didn’t take long for Rey to arrive at the training room opening the large metal doors. The inside wafting him with warm air which contrasted the frigid outside. To his surprise, Rosalyn was already there waiting for him. Hopefully he wasn’t late… he thought to himself as he checked the pocket watch. Well he should be on time by all accounts. Placing his coat on the rack he turned to Rosalyn waving at her.

“Ensign Lovelace reporting for duty!”

This of course was followed up by a salute of respect. Rey didn’t dare to be as casual as Rakka with his Ensign. Even if he wanted to be a bit more open and friendly… he was a soldier in the marines and needed to act the part. After all, good soldiers got medals and ranks! If he ever wanted a chance to become Fleet Admiral he’d need a good attitude.

“Ensign Lovelace… will I be allowed to remove my weights today?”

As he rolled up his sleeves he revealed the black colored weights around his arms. Another pair were on his ankles each labeled 10 tons. It took him a while at first to get used to wearing these but now his motions with them were becoming very fluid after a month with them. Even so, he couldn’t wait but to remove them already since sometimes they woke him up in his sleep.

---

Reynard | #fa8128 | Post Count: 2

[Kami-Gaz]

Rakka was guided into a chair by the excited captain who seemed more than eager to see the young cadet. The fact he started expunging the fact that he had some great news for him was something that filled the boy with a new sense of anticipation, bringing a smile to his face. The mews that Rosie had recommended him for a promotion, and the letter that she wrote was glowing?! It brought the smile on the lad’s face to a dazzling brightness.

The fact there was more was cut off by the entrance of Mari who had a nervous look on her face… that he understood. He himself had that nervous pit now that he knew a promotion was on its way… what he was going to report about his goings on during his vacation may change it.

The next surprise was the fact the girl that was outside he almost didn’t notice was called in added a new layer of complexity to the situation. As described Captain Vaun Hertz was a very eager man, brimming with energy and excitement. He introduced the new member of the 22nd division to them… a woman called Nora.

Cadet, soon to be higher ranked, Hoshiko stood to attention and looked at the new member and gave her an earnest smile and a small salute before extending a hand out to her. “Hey Nora. You can call me Rakka,” the young man spoke examining her and trying to gauge her fighting ability out of habit. He then turned his head and put the other hand up to take his Stetson off.

“Oh… Sir, about that promotion… I need to tell you some things that might affect it… firstly the fact I lied about being a paramecia fruit eater.” Rakka spoke, his smile shifting to something that was filled with apprehension. “I’m a logia.”

---

Rakka: Post 2

[Vio]

^{Mari #2}

---

Just before her knuckle could tap the door, the catch clicked, causing Miss Anette to hastily withdraw her hand as it was opened from within. The tall and silvered figure of Captain Vaun Hertz loomed in the doorway. At least, he loomed in comparison. If anything, the man hardly had the capacity to loom over anyone, but perhaps that was a part of the man’s charm. Between him and Ensign Lovelace, Mari was glad she had met him first on the fateful day, though that didn’t stop her nerves from getting the better of her when faced with his presence.

^{“There you are,” he greeted:
“I was just looking for you…”}

“O– Okay,” she mustered mousily, barely even audibly, as she entered the Captain’s office. Almost immediately, Mahogany’s head tilted back just a little bit, almost as if to lock eyes with the one other person who occupied the room at present, with whom both puppet and puppeteer were familiar. Seaman Hoshiko—Rakka by given name—was positively beaming, as always bringing a constant smile to the scene and wearing that same hat. Semi-regular meetings in hallways and the like stymied the necessity for anything more than a nod of recognition. Courtesy would dictate a person doff their hat upon entering a building or room of such kind, but for some reason he did not.

“Please, meet the latest addition to the Twenty-second Division,” Captain Hertz announced, taking pride of place behind his desk, as always adorned with papers and pictures. The wood was old, worn, and the front left leg was slightly loose; not enough for a casual observer to spot, but enough for somebody with experience in woodwork and joinery to hone in on. Perhaps, she considered, it was worth trying to get the materials to replace the leg, if not build him an entirely new one. Eyes of rosé had only dwelt upon the carpentry as a means of distraction, but her attention was required.

LeBlanc, is it…? Repeating the name a few times in her head, the meek Marine tightened her grip somewhat upon the carven companion who now sat on her lap as they occupied one of the seats before Vaun’s desk. Where Mari observed with cautious use of her periphery in an attempt to avoid any and all eye contact with the new presence, Mahogany’s amber irises seemed to focus upon Nora’s own. An unblinking gaze, inanimate yet charged with personality, conveyed a test of resolve, albeit unbeknownst to anyone in the room save for the wooden warrior herself.

^{“H– Hello,” the teen managed to talk:
“A– Anette Mari… and this is Mahogany…”}

“Oh… Sir,” Rakka spoke up, focusing on whatever was on his own mind as courtesy finally got the better of him and the stetson was removed. Somehow, he looked even stranger without it. “I lied… I’m a Logia.” Silence smacked the entire office with the force of a speeding Sea Cow. That probably wasn’t that fast, but to Mari the metaphor had about the same impact as Rakka’s lie, if only for the fact that these terms were almost completely alien to her…

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synopsis:—}
Inside the Captain’s office, Mari and her wooden friend gauge the newcomer and the situation…

---

NOTE: New Pending Profile

---

Anette Mari | #ffb7c5 | Cherry Blossom
Cpt. Vaun Hertz | #00bfff
Hoshiko Rakka | #ffffff