Changes of Pace [Liltotto/Alastair]

It was like one nightmare into another, but it seemed like they finally reached a calm in the storm. She had an unsettling last few days, but everything finally seemed to shuffle back into equilibrium within her with enough hours. Once again she was feeling that dream-like haze going about her day, as she had walked to attend a meeting she set with, to her surprise upon hearing the news, the new Grandmaster. A hand grasping the door's handle was what brought her back to the immediate, a disgruntled sigh leaving her. She really hoped that'd stop happening, at least it seemed to be petering out in it's severity.

"Sternritter Lamperd for you. Afternoon," She'd call in, her droopy gaze poking into the office until she would introduce the rest of her self in, a slight smile on her face, "Hah, so it really is true huh? Would be lying if I said I never expected to see you in this seat."

Sure, they've had their disagreements and she may not be on the same page as the young man, but she definitely saw potential in his leadership, and seeing it formally being put to the test had her looking forward to how things would be in the future.

"But, pleasantries aside..." That friendly expression vanished into a concerned, tired look, arms crossed, "It's about Shirohime..."

The borderline between night and day had soon blurred for the Grandmaster, the line between his life inside and out of work quickly disintegrating as the scope of what he had taken charge of came into view. Many might have found it exhausting, the stress alone was likely enough to squash anyone without an all-consuming drive, but Alastair did not enjoy making such comparisons. This was not some thankless task that had been thrust upon him unwillingly. It was the culmination of his dreams, a mantle upon which to manifest his will upon the world. It was progress.

He was standing with his back to the door as Liltotto entered, a mop of vibrant red hair encased in an unblemished uniform of white and gold. Still, it was that same orange gaze which she had seen before that was cast in her direction. Alastair did not match her smile with one of his own, but that was hardly surprising. Behind closed doors, he was the first to admit that one might call him a dour individual.

"Good afternoon, Ms Lamperd." Turning stiffly, the room was large enough that his footfalls echoed in the background as he headed for his desk and offered out a wave towards a chair for her to take if she wished. "Perhaps it will feel like my seat one day soon, but for now I content myself by accepting its reality."

"I had not expected the matter of Ms Shirohime to be the concern of many. Her absence is not something that is considered public information, but neither was her presence, so what about her concerns you?"

Quietly having taken her seat upon it being offered, the blonde's expression had faded to proper neutrality as she sat, though clearly attentive of Alastair's answer to her brief inquiry. Shoulders relaxed, she seemed to take a moment to collect her numerous thoughts, and with a slow blink would it yield a response,

"I'm familiar with just about everyone within the City, especially within the Vandenreich. Even if we didn't go on a mission together prior, I would've been aware of her presence in the city. She seemed like a frail woman with an 'off' presence, so that only further caught my attention even with keeping my distance. I'd notice if someone like that vanished, even with current events and... Not quite feeling my best, I couldn't help but notice the traces of her get older, and older, even subconsciously..."

Her amber eyes held deep thought, though her expression would make the less observant think the opposite, her mind was in a few places as she spoke, "I noticed they started petering sometime past the attack on the city, but i'm only now getting the time to catch my breath and think about that... Is she alright? Did she leave on her own? Did something happen? I need to know, even if she isn't a part of the Vandenreich, she was still a citizen of the city - it's in my interests and responsibility to assure the safety of everyone here, so if something happened... Please sir, I need to know."

Alastair's eyes studied Liltotto quite intently as she made her case, silently weighing up the merits and demerits of several different possibilities. The truth was not exactly a burden that should always be shared, it could cause as much harm as good in the wrong hands, but deception was an equally flawed game.

"Ms Shirohime is a member of the Vandenreich, she will remain as such until she tells me otherwise herself. But she was taken by Ichigo Kurosaki when he attacked the city, our best assumption is that this was the goal of his infiltration. Her current whereabouts and conditions are unknown, but I would assume she has been taken as a prisoner to his base of operations somewhere in Hueco Mundo."

It was the earnest plea that won him over, for he knew that feeling all too well. The longing for something that was out of reach was a terrible thing, unbefitting a soldier of her calibre and yet entirely within her purview. But knowing was only half the battle, what would likely follow this revelation was perhaps the true motivation for his leniency.

Eyes watched the newly instated Grandmaster carefully as he'd contemplate his response, sensing the gravity of the situation long before an answer was given - her concern was in how truthful he was willing to be on the matter, her shoulders relaxing as her arms would cross, brows furrowed. Her expression was calm, unreadable even with such troubling news, parting the momentary silence with only an, "I see..."

Deep in thought for a moment, one she sorely needed for this news. The idea that one of their own was potentially in danger, even possibly dead brought instinctive dread to her, but she didn't let it control her nor her actions. She, just, thought, of how these details connected with what she could gather on her own.

"If Ichigo Kurosaki had come to take her... I don't think she's dead or in worse shape," Her gaze was low to the ground as she would speak her thoughts to him, a teasing memory of recent pleasant talks reassuring her, "Something about it didn't add up, so I talked to Richter and Gewelle about it the other day. It didn't sound like he was looking for a person, at least not at first. I don't know, it could be nothing - but I just have a feeling, from his history to his current movements, I don't think he'd hurt her... The motive for stealing her away is beyond me though; it wasn't like she was unsafe here until he attacked. So that begs the question..."

Looking at him directly, her concern ever more evident in that stone gaze, "Two, actually - Do you have any thought to what her significance to him may be, and is there a plan to go rescue her? If there is a snag or fault in doing so now, I am interested in having a hand in this, if I could so be allowed."

The nature of Shirohime was something that Alastair had often pondered even before her abduction, and well before his ascension to Grandmaster, but there were more questions surrounding the woman than he had answers to even now. Cyrus has always treated her with the highest level of respect, the relationship between them certainly being something that he had always felt was beyond his station to inquire after, so perhaps Helle possessed more of an inclination for their true nature. But that was a different can of worms, and another that Alastair was reluctant to open.

“It would be foolish to assume there was no significance, given how it all played out, but whether it was Shirohime herself or her abilities that Ichigo Kurosaki deemed significant still remains to be seen. Certainly, if he had wanted to harm her then he could easily have done so then and there.”

It stood to reason that whatever purpose Ichigo had for Shirohime, it might well be part of a greater scheme. In recent years, there had been several prolific attacks by powerful Arrancar across the globe though no particular rhyme or reason to any of it. Another struggle to overcome, he supposed.

“Naturally, her safe return is of great import to the Vandenreich. We are not in the business of leaving any of our own behind. What concerns me is what would happen if we were to succeed. Assuming we were able to arrange a team to extract her, then Ichigo Kurosaki would likely simply come back here and resume where he left off. Even if we could potentially best him, I believe the collateral damage would be quite catastrophic.”

Reassuring that these were things considered by the young man as well, she'd be shocked if he hadn't in the slightest - this was a tricky situation with no easy answer at the end of it all. She'd spent hours thinking of how to handle this in a way that wouldn't leave the city to be targeted nor any more lives ruined or harmed in the making, one possibility kept coming to mind but again and again she tried to think of some other way, but those theoreticals kept ending in 'buts' that went down a path least ideal.

"I've thought about this quite a lot myself, the means and the potential nature and motives of Kurosaki. Even if we managed to slip past him, or somehow best him, you are correct - he would simply come after to collect her once again. The chances of actually putting an end to him are slim, but... Apologies, I may sound out of place, but I don't think trying to end him just to retrieve miss Shirohime would be in anyone's best interest, both in plausibility and peace of mind. It's possible he has allies, or at least sympathetic parties, that wouldn't take his death very well. It'd just be an endless swing of violence back and forth, i've seen it before and i'll probably see it hundreds more times... But i'd rather not bear witness to another pendulum of revenge if I can help it."

She had to consider it, it was their best shot of possibly ending this peacefully, "... Grandmaster, I understand full well this is the man who brought destruction to our city, brought harm and terror to it's citizens and protectors, and even... Crippled my guardian," She looked unsettled, remembering Giselle in the state she was, so badly hurt and poisoned to the point of powerlessness that she had to discharge. Yet, she righted herself, "..But encouraging a blood feud isn't the way. I think we should talk to him, or at least try. Arrancar are still burdened by their instincts, but they're still capable of being reasonable people at the end of it all - maybe if we approach him carefully, and just talk to him, this doesn't have to end bloodily."

Something between hunger and a lingering anxiety coaxed tension into her hands, "..I'm just not sure what we can do if he decides to attack anyway. But if we perhaps present ourselves as uninterested in just "stealing" her away, maybe he won't be as on guard... But if it does come to blows, then we screwed up any possibility of conversation."

"I would plot for Ichigo Kurosaki's end immediately if all that concerned me was his allies. But his impact is not simply measured by the threats that might emerge should we seek to see him be defeated, there is also the matter of the void it would create and what that might mean for Ms Shirohime. At this moment, with the resources we have, it would be imprudent of us to commit ourselves to walking down a path that would invite our own destruction. Of that, I think we are in agreement."

There was a spark of frustration that kindled behind Alastair's usually muted gaze, a hint of annoyance at this situation. Which aspect of it was not something that he was willing to give up quite so easily though, as that sparked burned away into embers no sooner than it had burst into life. His posture straightened as she sought to know what they could do, losing a shade of its former rigidity as he offered a solemn nod.

"That he offered us no terms is not reason enough to refuse him that same courtesy, of that you are quite correct. When we stop talking and all paths to peace without bloodshed are expended without having a foot set upon them, all hope will have faded from this world. I will not let that fate come to pass for as long as I live, of that you have my word Ms Lamperd."

Of course he would have wished for Kurosaki's end with little hesitancy, this was something she knew, that she felt, that she had put behind her with a proper gaze to the bigger picture. He had come in and destroyed their city, harmed friends and comrades with little provocation or attempt to communicate; anyone would want to see his head roll after such a flagrant disregard of life and security, that was perfectly natural, perfectly human.

But, she was at ease that he did consider the other aspect - Shirohime herself. If Kurosaki had seen value in her, she had put together the likelihood of them having known each other in the past, and the big question of how she would feel if he had been slain - the act itself would be stained with the interests of vengeance far above her safety. It wasn't a clean matter to solve, but for Liltotto herself, she just wanted this to be resolved with the mysterious woman back if she so desired, without needing to spill blood.

But there was no predicting how Kurosaki may react when confronting; although she wished to hold hope, the cynical part of her mused that it would not be a situation triumphed without staining sand.

"Thank you, Grandmaster. My wish to avoid bloodshed isn't a frivilous one - that is the most ideal, but we have little information; if it unfortunately comes to it, I am willing to fight with everything I am. The search shouldn't take too long with me present, I have his scent well memorized - what I came home that day will never leave my memory."

Her mind wandered to Reida in remembering that day, having come home from a mission with her, but she kept herself mum. If she could at least get one of them back...

"Then I will second some Albedochiffren resources to you, enough to the task fulfilled to a satisfactory degree. If we can track any pattern or frequency of his movements then perhaps some insight can be gleaned into his greater purpose beyond the kidnapping of Vandenreich agents. Whilst we have the opportunity, this may be a valuable usage of your time, but there may still be pressing matters that will require our Sternritter to be at full strength."

Alastair did not ponder upon her words for long, his mind made up no sooner than she spoke her intent. The pros and cons had been weighed up and this was the correct path. Even if it might invite further trouble to their door, he was prepared to take the risk.

"Keep my office appraised of any information gained, or if further support is required."