tbate - Confrontation

Reunion

ELEANOR POV

Lance Bairon slammed the table, "We should send a scouting team to see the situation, the information isn't reliable."

"The information was sent within the last week, the if we take the time to send an unnecessary scouting team chances are we lost our window. Not to mention the danger we would put the team in, just to confirm." Lance Varay protested.

"But if it's too dangerous to send a scouting team then how so we know we can beat the enemy?"

"It's not about the danger, it's about time." Varay let off a icy pressure in her last words, slightly startling the people in the room.

"Sorry." She sat back down without another word.

Another chair moved, this time it was Virion, "We could all use a bit of time to cool off, I've been in here for over twelve hours now," he gestured across the room with his hand, "as have many of you. We will continue our plan regarding the castle in thirteen hours. Until then rest, we still have much time."

As Virion pushed his chair back under the weathered table in the room's center, I could see the burden of losing all that is dear to him in the war. No matter how much sleep he got, he would never get rid of the bags under his eyes.

I got up to push my chair in with everyone else in the room when I saw my mother enter the council room. We all stared blankly at her.

Virion was the first to speak up, "Mrs. Leywin, nice to see you, why exactly are you here?"

She gazed around the room as if looking for the answer herself, "Was it not you who summoned me here; a guard came by my home to tell me I was being summoned to the council room."

Virion gazed at the Council before snapping his eyes back on her, "We did no such thing. I wonder-"

Virion's next words were caught in his throat as a familiar head of gunmetal hair ducked under the curtain. She took a glance around the room before running straight to her grandfather. A man I didn't know with wheat colored hair and reflective golden eyes followed her under the curtain as well as Feyrith. The man glanced at my mother and I, after seeing no reaction cast his gaze downward. Feyrith quickly made himself at home in the corner of the room.

"I'm back grandpa." Tessia said with her face buried in his chest.

Virion was holding onto her so holding her as if she was going to slip through his fingertips. Tears falling from his eyes gave way to pure happpiness.

"I missed you little one."

They hugged in near silence for a few moments. Everyone in the room was wondering the same two things, who is this man, and how is he involved with Tess's rescue? 

Tess eventually pried herself away from her grandfather and turned to the room, "I brought everyone a present," she walked over to the man with wheat colored hair. After seeing him looking at the floor she whispered in his ear and he gazed at the room again. "this is Arthur Leywin, back in the flesh."

I stared at Tessia blankly, she claimed this man was my brother. Not only had my brother died, but he looked nothing like him. 

As these thoughts were running through my head my mother walked over to the man carefully, in even steps. She stopped right in front of him, only for a moment before giving him a hug. Tears streamed down her face as she cried into his chest. 

"I missed you Arthur, never leave us again." 

As I looked closer I could see he had similar facial features to my brother, but this was a whole other man. No matter what way I see it, this isn't Arthur.

The man returned the hug my mother had given him and began gently stroking her hair, "I'm back mother, but you know I can't promise that..."

No one else in the room could believe this was Arthur, but also knew Tessia wouldn't lie about something like this. 

After a while my mother let go, and was at the man's side, she clearly had more she wanted to say, but thay would likely be a private conversation. I walked over to my proclaimed brother and looked him up and down. He gave me a pat on the head which unleashed a familiar feeling of relief throughout my body, everything was going to be okay. 

"Tess was right, you have grown strong." 

I couldn't believe that this man was my brother, even as I hugged him and told him horrible things about how he made mom and I feel after he died, it wasn't real. No matter how amazing Arthur was, he couldn't come back from the dead. I believed this all until a familiar white fox crawled out from under his black tunic. Sylvie gently kyuued as she jumped on top of my head. As I stepped away from Arthur she rested in my arms.

Everyone seeing the evidence with their own eyes now stared at Arthur in disbelief.

"Arthur!" Kathyln threw her hands over her mouth and ran toward into Arthur's arms. She embraced Arthur and cried in his chest. Tess had a clearly sour look on her face but didn't interject.

"Arthur, what happened to you? Did you have to crawl out of hell to look like that?" Bairon said in a disgusted tone, however his face betrayed him. A genuine smile was plastered across his face in sight of Arthur.

"Something like that, it's great to see you all again," he was released from Kathyln's embrace as he walked towards Virion, "except you gramps," he looked him up and down, "it looks like you got 100 years older since I last saw you, if I were any later you would have turned to dust." 

Elder Virion, commander Virion broke another genuine smile as he spread his arms towards Arthur, "You cheeky brat, I missed you." a firm hugged was shared between these two, something more than mentor and disciple, family.

After all the greetings were settled Arthur took the head of the table and put on a serious tone. 

"I'm sure you all know this already, but the asuras are not our friends. At soon as I stepped in this room they became our enemies." 

There was a slight murmur through the room because it was never said, but this was implied by their most recent actions. It was already on everyone's minds.

"Even though we are at war with these self proclaimed gods, we will win. Why you might ask? Because I will win us the war." 

No one at the table knew Arthur's strength, even though we know he is powerful, he couldn't beat the gods.

"I'm sorry for doubting you, but I need proof if you want my cooperation." Bairon raised his hand.

"I'd also like proof." Lance Varay raised her hand in agreement, something rare between the two these days.

"Of course, do you mind if we do this before we carry on, I wouldn't want anyone to doubt our chances and everyone needs to know where we stand." Arthur got up from his seat.

"What exactly are we doing?" Virion asked.

"Sparring outside."

[A/N]
Writing this chapter was super fun. The next chapter will be a fight chapter obviously, it'll be my first so it will take a while to write and the quality might be low, but I'll do my best. I'm going to start uploading a chapter of this and then a chapter of my other story the next day so go check that out. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed.