The silence stretched on.
The Enforcer Cadet returned rather quickly, his cheeks rosy as he tried to hide just how out of breath he was from presumably hurrying so much. He continued to look between Mercy and the Guardsmen, flashing looks of admiration and apprehension at the corresponding parties. He opened his mouth several times, seeming about to speak before catching the taciturn disposition of the group, and knowing better. It seemed the boy, though lively, was no fool. He knew when to hold his tongue. That would make him a good Enforcer one day.
It did not take long for the 'messenger' to bring back the response, the Enforcer Cadet bringing one arm to allow the small hawk to land there. It was a recent trend that the Sanctum had begun to use, taking the wild birds and using both training and a variation on Binding techniques to have them serve as message carriers. The exploit was a small one however, it only really existing in this city as far as she knew. It had been a while since she had been in civilization.
The red headed boy made easy work of removing the message from the canister tied to the hawks back, before handing the paper off to the Guardsman, who eyed the bird warily. The senior officer cleared his throat noisily, almost causing Mercy to flinch. She hadn't realized how tense she had become. Some distant corner of her mind seemed to be screaming about how wrong all of this could go, one that was fighting to be heard and simply make her do everything in her power to stop this unfolding madness. It was a voice she was an expert at ignoring, as fear was not something an Enforcer acknowledged. They chose their course, and went forward without faltering.
She only hoped that this was the right one.
The Guardsman cleared his throat again, fighting with the scroll to open the seal on it, his hands shaking. This was something undoubtedly out of the ordinary. Did this man suspect them? The Enforcer fought from twitching her hand to one of her knives-- a reflexive action that would little good if combat where to arise, her hands still functionally useless.
The man cleared his throat a third time, before glaring over at the Cadet, "Can you get rid of that ruddy bird? Can't stand those things."
"Oh, uh..." The Enforcer Cadet, who was checking over the bird (and turning his attention away from Mercy for the first time since seeing her) stuttered, "Sorry, sir. Forgot you don't like them." The bird had been staring at 'Emilian' almost nonstop since it had landed. Luckily, the Cadet didn't seem to notice and hefted his arm into the air, causing the hawk to fly away.
"Well then," the Guardsman said, finally snapping oven the scroll, "It seems like your clearance passed. You can wait in the atrium for your parents... er, for Researchers Revan and Revan to meet with you." The man snapped into a salute, followed more slowly by the Cadet.
Mercy returned the salute, before moving back at-ease. The Guardsman moved quickly after that, opening both the gate and removing some of the other protections there. With this, they were allowed to continue onward.
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