The Trail Beyond[Ajita, Natasha]

As a coordinator of the Sternritter, Natasha could wholeheartedly admit she had never embraced her position entirely, not to the degree of her other peers at least. It was self-inflicted, as a matter of course. The natural instinct to run away from her past, to wash her hands of the tragedy she felt she played a part in back in her hometown of Houston. She wanted exit and viewed the City of Lights as a escape route.

Why feel proud of marching under a banner with loyalty so fickle, built on a such false foundations? Like, cutting past the bullshit, beyond all the cute words and lofty phrases, what was the point in being half-baked when there were those who truly knew the path carved out before them?

The Grandmaster held great aspirations for the quincy as a whole. To take it a step further, perhaps it wouldn't be too far-fetched to say each member shared his vision, either. Maybe she was wrong, but as it stood, she had always felt as if she were little more than some country bumpkin hick who joined to escape a bad situation. To be certain, she held not an ounce of an idea about their cause or even his vision entirely, but she still signed up in spite of it all.

It bothered her, no doubt. She had learned to maintain some semblance of happiness, to embrace her peers and play the supporting role, but being a mere bystander or coattail rider had run its course. She wanted to step into her position, to be a leader, and hold herself accountable. She wanted closure, she desired to live the rest of her life as someone who stood for something. No more being a coward. No more being a pushover.

Today would be the first step. The Danava of Maitreyism had offered her just such an opportunity to meet someone to speak with, a voice perhaps, to reach the point of closure, to know that her fallen soldiers and her deceased husband would want her to be happy and live out her remaining years as a proud soldier who fought on until the very end. Perhaps, this was a great idea. Perhaps, it was a bad one. The options were limited, either way. Might as well take a shot in the dark, no?

Standing on a majestic hillside overlooking a fine coastline across the sea, Natasha peered towards a small shack, gazing down at the directional coordinates on her mobile device. This was the place, right? She didn't want to rudely call her name out. Pretty lass' might be sleepin'. She quietly approached the shack, rapping her fist against the door. A few knocks to politely make an entrance.

Straight to the point, huh? Natasha appreciated that. She hadn't exactly came to this shack to lounge around and catch up on lost times with the Danava of Maitreyism. There was a determination guiding her towards action. There was no longer any time to play around and simply coast through this life. To hell with that.

"Bingo. I've been livin' well enough, Aji. Did some soul-searchin', little bit o' vacation time. A little bit of training. Minor stuff. How about you? Find anything fun out there with your group? "

Natasha certainly desired to ask the woman what she found out there, how many people she had helped, if she helped any - indeed, there were plenty of curiosities floating around in her mind, but she held back from it. Idle-chit chat would only distract her from the endgame here.

"It's been on my mind since we exchanged contacts' in Calabria. This help... you spoke of. I don't know exactly what it entails, but I figured I'd give it a shot. I told you a bit of my past, so I won't bore you with a recap. You know there is turmoil within me, somethin' I feel holds me back from truly enjoyin' this new life I've been given with my peers. I want to fix it. No.. I have to fix this."

Natasha would step towards her, a measurable focus gleaming through azure eyes.

"I want to correct that, or else I feel I can never move forward. I don't even think I'll die happy if I never address this. I was wonderin' if you'd be willin' to help. I won't go and say I've got no other options here, but they are pretty limited right now. Worth a shot to go to those who desire helpin others' who've suffered, right? Well, here I am."