O Thou of Little Faith (Helle/Alastair)

At first, Alastair did wonder if he had suddenly mastered his heat manipulation. His body now wrapping itself in a blanket of Reishi as the water seemed to simply just fall off him. But, of course, that was well beyond his abilities and it only took a glance in Helle's direction to see her working that natural affinity. Straightening himself out again, cold no longer dulling his senses, he watched the City of Lights approach whilst the sunlight chased behind them.

"That is why I am here. To make a better future for everyone, the many over the few. I wish that were the case for all our peers, but there are always those with different agendas to our own. I hope that they can all be enlightened in time."

It was a cryptic response as far as Alastair went, but his informal meeting with Cyrus and Shirohime had alerted him to that fact. Surely Helle knew about what they had discussed, right? But the whole world felt a little different to what they had in mind.

"Of course, we are the protectors of peace and order. Violence should always be a final resort. That is my dream, a reality where people like you and I are nought but a distant memory because we are needed no longer. A pipe dream, I know, but therein lies my motivation."

He did not have any distant memories to recall and lament, only prospective futures that danced behind his eyes. That was why he remained hopeful, despite his naive ideals. If there was even the remotest chance of achieving his goal then he would cling to it ever so tightly.

As the bubble burst, Alastair was quick to fall in step behind Helle. The city loomed over them now, the tops of the skyscrapers already basking in the glow of the morning sun, but he felt like he could walk ever taller by her side. The gap between them in abilities was no less vast, but he had a slightly better understanding of what motivated her and in that it appeared they were alike.

How quickly the conversation turned on its head. No more the discussion of ideologies and the wider goals of the Vandenreich, just breakfast. Perhaps he had said something she disagreed with, but Helle did not appear to be the type of person that would just back down from such a debate. Rather she had heard all that she wanted to hear, and that was good enough for him.

Casting a glance to their surroundings, they were still on the outskirts but it was perhaps fortunate that was where Alastair was most familiar. It was the best place to watch the sunrise from, after all, so, of course, he had spent many a morning on this edge of the city. Pausing for a second to consider, he began to indicate a direction for her to head in.

"I believe there are a few cafes nearby, but most will not be open for a few hours yet. There is a breakfast bar a few streets across that should be serving though, and it has a nice view out across the ocean in the morning too."

"Any of them would be honoured by your patronage, I am sure, but we would not wish to put them in a difficult position. Besides, at this hour, we will likely have enough privacy wherever we end up."

He was all too aware of who she was and what she was no doubt capable of, Helle Armstrong was nigh a household name in the City of Lights after all. It did make him suddenly grow concerned about being spotted alone with her at such an hour though, and, of course, people would see them. Not that he ever gave much credit to such unsubstantiated rumours, but others did find amusement in such unpleasant business. They were still uniformed, at the least. Just a morning patrol or training regime or something of the sort. That was what this had been anyway.

Continuing to press onwards, Alastair moved up to walk at her side rather than slightly behind. It was at least a little less awkward than having to steer her like one might a pack animal. The distance to the diner was not considerable, for it did pride itself on having a commanding view of the waterfront that they were already on, but even the short time that they walked toward it was blessed with a rather uplifting view of the sun cresting over the horizon.

"Shall I place our order then, to draw as little attention to us as possible?"

"I imagine it is certainly possible, though I confess that few have ever thought to pry upon me. I just assumed that is what you desired, ma'am. Apologies."

It was not shyness that guided his actions, though he was also hardly a figure of renown and rarely recognised outside of official business. There had been a few isolated instances of such since Jefferson, likely by those that had taken a greater interest in the recent affairs of the Vandenreich, but most of his life so far had been that of a faceless cog in a greater machine. Quite the opposite of the fame of Helle, who could best be described as a prodigy on top of her role at the head of the Sternritter.

"I am in my twenty-third year, which should tell you whether you were correct or not in your assumption. Miss Geisleitt is thus my junior, though only by a matter of months."

He understood that she was taunting him to some extent, but he still answered properly. Quite unlike her, he was neither interested in nor had studied the intricacies of school life. This was a conversation between an employer and an employee, and he was hardly one to feel humbled by the fact that Helle was vastly more accomplished even if she was his junior. Still, if she wished to play then he could at least respond in turn just a little.

"But does my advanced age give you cause for concern, Director? I hope you will find me capable of still pulling my weight when it matters."