Dreadwolf, Lord of Runes

For a moment, Kane and Aelia stared at each other. Kane with intensity, and Aelia with surprise and scepticism. Yet, as they continued staring, and Aelia noticed not even a hint of deceit or humour, she eventually started to accept that he was serious.

And then she began to grin, widely. "Alright, then. I look forward to it," she said, as desire for vengeance dripped from her lips, and her loyalty to Kane skyrocketed. "I'll let you know when it's time."

"You do that," Kane, having lost his intensity, now leaned back in the chair and smiled softly.

Then, Aelia became serious again. "But, where you serious about going after those our girls want dead? Because there's plenty of grudges out there, most of them related to why they became outlaws in the first place. If you let me spread the word, I'm sure they'd become even more motivated and loyal."

Kane frowned and became a little thoughtful. One on the one hand, he really had very little trouble killing people to further his own ends, on the other hand, there did need to be limits. He was no monster, after all, and discipline was important.

So, he raised a caveat. "I was serious," he nodded slowly, fingers resting on his chin. "But remember, I said 'just about anyone', not actually anyone. I'm willing to help settle true grudges, where one or both parties caused harm to the other. That means, nothing petty!"

He put down his arm, thought back to some of the stuff he encountered back in Riftshade, and rolled his eyes, "I know how some people can blow the stupidest shit out of proportion. I'm not condoning the killing of an old lover who cheated, or a sibling who showed them up."

Then, frowned thoughtfully, "In fact, let it be known I won't allow pointless killing or cruelty in general. Killing is a fact of life for people like us, but discipline is important, understood?"

"Understood, Boss. And I couldn't agree more," Aelia nodded seriously. Something that didn't surprise Kane, as he'd realized his new bandit leader was a pragmatist with some basic principles.

"Did you want me to do anything else during your seclusion?" she then asked, helpfully.

After being brought back on track and reminded of what they were talking about, his eyes lit up and he nodded, "Right! I also need you to coordinate with Ella to flesh out this contribution system. I trust you both to to make it fair, without making it too easy to earn rewards."

"And finally," he continued before Aelia could respond. "I need you to start looking into potentials for those officer positions. Start with seeing who's interested, then let Ella help you test their Mystic talent. She has the criteria, so I'll make my final decision among those you selected."

Although Aelia had expected his first request, his second made her a little uncomfortable—mainly because she had yet to decide for herself if she wanted to get involved with Kane in that way. Her pride told her to simply rely on her own talent to keep up, but the rapid improvements she'd seen in both Luna and Mira made her wonder if that was possible.

And if Kane was really able to boost Luna to the top of the first stage within a month, then it was definitely impossible.

So, she coughed a little. "G— Got it, Boss," she stammered slightly while avoiding his gaze. "What about Anna, Mira, and Lyra, though?"

Kane couldn't help but grin a little at her discomfort. 'She'll come around,' he thought to himself confidently.

Meanwhile, he shook his head at her question, "Leave Anna to me. As for Mira and Lyra, I still need them to do the same test as everyone else, but if they end up passing, they are lock-ins for a spot each."

Then he raised an eyebrow curiously, "Assuming Lyra accepts, and you won't make an issue of it? I know you're particularly protective of that one."

Aelia's eyebrows twitched and she flinched a little. "I—" she began, but then sighed and shook her head. "It— It's her decision, and I won't make a fuss… I'd probably just damage my relationship with her if I tried to stop her, anyway," she finished wryly.

"But if you harm her…!" she finally threatened with narrowed eyes, arms crossed in front of her chest, while leaving the words unspoken.

Kane chuckled as he looked at her, "I told you once not to threaten me, right?"

Instantly, some fear crept into her eyes when she remembered the inexplicable dread she felt the last time he warned her. She also knew perfectly well there wasn't anything she could do. Yet, she still remained steadfast, which once again rose Kane's opinion of her.

Tension rose as Kane continued looking at her with twinkling eyes while his question remained unanswered. At the same time, crimson light passed through his eyes and the fear she felt increased.

Finally, however, he stopped using his power over fear the tension left when he chuckled and relaxed. "Don't worry. Setting aside that I'd be a fool to damage your loyalty to me, I'm not in the habit of harming those I care about."

Although this wasn't the first time he'd said something along these lines to her, it somehow felt more real to Aelia now, so she breathed a sigh of relief when the fear left her body, and she was able to relax. "Thank you," she nodded, a little meeker than normal.

"Of course," Kane grinned lustfully. "Now if only you'd both accept, maybe we can have some fun with the three of us sometime, hmm?"

Instantly, a heavy blush appeared on the blue-haired woman's cheeks, and she groaned while palming her face. "Never!" she grumbled from behind her hand. "In a million years!"

"I guess we'll see…" Kane chuckled while wriggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Then, to Aelia's relief, he became serious again. "But for now, I have one more thing to discuss. First, though, do you have anything else?"

Happy to leave this topic behind, Aelia sighed and removed the hand from her face, before nodding, "Actually, yeah. There's one thing I haven't mentioned yet, because it's still three weeks away, but if you're going into seclusion for a month…"

Kane raised a curious eyebrow and indicated for her to continue. A few moments later, she'd told him the problem, and he frowned thoughtfully. "I see…" he mumbled, but then smiled softly. "There might be opportunity there. Here's what I want you to do…"

Aelia couldn't help but continue to be surprised by Kane's plans and ambitions, yet she'd also learned by now not to question it. She'd save her objections for the truly insane stuff.

Finally, they were almost done, but before Aelia left, Kane had one last to talk to her about. "It's about those prisoners…" he began.