Deep into the mountains that best overlooked the zone of Stelli City known as Grand Central lay a well hidden outpost. It had served as the main base of operations for more than one foreign regime through different chapters of limited history the main residents of Zayin knew of. High-ranking zelestials rarely liked the mostly lower class beings here to know of the truth behind most things in life as they knew it. The current personnel were mostly Zimiirians, long regarded as being the most secretive of all.
They had their fill of all the chaos dictating what was known meeting what would be known soon or perhaps never at all stood to cause. Despite the vicious rumors one might hear about why their world had repeatedly been at odds with the residents of Zayin, they were a mostly peaceful lot, but there were exceptions of course.
"Come again?" Their latest commanding officer prompted.
"I think you heard me." Iz nodded bleakly.
She was pretty as a picture with or without any sleep, but Iz was quite certain Theta had gotten little recently. Her sandy blonde hair was tied up in a messy but nevertheless elegant bun with a few loose pieces left to frame her gray eyes. It was the easiest tell he could usually make out when she'd already had a day that was long enough before he set foot here.
"M'lady?" He repeated himself word for word from where he was bowing on bended knee. "I beg of you to reconsider if it's time to call your cousins."
While he had said it a bit slower, he knew her hesitation was born from the vow she had made to Zory. Theta was the fiercely loyal type although no one was ever certain where her loyalties had truly lied from time to time. She always had Zory's best interests in mind whether Zory agreed to whatever those interests in protecting the potential of her future were. When Theta's longest standing friend had come here seeking sanctuary under discretionary terms, the request was granted without a moment's hesitation. She hadn't reported Zory's presence to begin with and could easily face more than one firing squad for having yet to do so. The fact that she was still alive after rumors of her murder began to spread before they even had grounds to begin with, expected with time meddlers.
"I'm assuming I heard you incorrectly." She mocked.
"Lady Theta?" He implored. "I really am more than happy to beg you on the record if it helps."
As Theta lingered in further silence where she hadn't already been leaning against an archway by the balcony, he couldn't decide what to make of her expression softening only slightly. She was clearly too exhausted to put up much of a fight in a proper debate on the topic. She also had quite the reputation for never being willing to negotiate when it came to anyone's requests to override Zory either.
"Time for a pop quiz, Iz." Theta revealed hoarsely as her eyes remained glue to the extensive ruckus Zory was creating in Stelli City. "Just how stupid do you think I am?"
Only her tone was packing distinct irritation. Her overall aura was still entirely calm. He figured perhaps she was also far too exhausted to even make headspace for opening their latest debate with any sincere hostility.
"Zory's reign as prophetess will be unprecedented." She posed without any care for the slew of similarly robed but predictably disagreeable priests that were presently watching their transaction. "Our people are just as vested in keeping her alive as yours are, but we do respect the balance of knowing not allowing her to lead the kind of life she wants to in the meantime would strip away whatever value her journey will serve to add in how she decides to lead. Zory has every right to gamble her own future however she deems fit. She'll be beautifully martyred provided she does die."
Of all the response Iz had managed to anticipate Theta might give, the callous one she had just made threw even the avid loyalists at her service for a loop.
"M'lady?" One of them interjected.
"If she wants to die, we're going to let her." Theta went on to shrug in a way that sealed the deal on pretending she had truly ceased to care for people who didn't know her better, but Iz didn't buy it. "Their people will still gravitate towards her as ours and yours did, Iz… All of the hundreds of eligible pledges that have already sworn their fealty from both Greater Zayin and Outer Zayin and everywhere else will not hesitate to rebel the next time any harm comes to her."
"I know you don't want another war." He clapped back.
"It is my job to want for nothing." She thundered in true religious zealot form. "Regardless of what I want, the majority of this was already written in the stars long ago. Prophecies surrounding her time here were quite literally written in stone, truly… My cousins have direct access to more details of her trajectory than you can even imagine… Playing their hand too soon is not in the cards. They won't come even if I call."
In all reality, Theta was already fully expecting at least one of her cousins to call any day now. Their habit of keeping tabs on Iz promised that call would come within the hour or so of their relative standard. It was always hard to keep tabs on where all of her cousins even were as they were scrambling to backtrack through the wild goose chases Zory had left in her wake. She did not want it to be public knowledge that she was alive so much as a second faster than it had to be.
The Children of Tara had long been at odds with the family Zory really hailed from these days, but in true Zory fashion, all of that became irrelevant day one. She had won their hearts swiftly and she had earned their loyalty more times than she had ever run the risk of doing something stupid enough to risk finally losing it. Trixxie had the same effect on nearly all of the zelestial-types she had come across on her relentless pursuit of finding Zory time and time again.
After the conflict in the mountains brought her face to face with just how dangerous the Nova Alliance could be, Trixxie had sided with those who would rather see them be given the chance to change than watch them fall. Being supernovas had perks if you were truly built for the spotlight like either of them were. All of the havoc they were wreaking on what being a supernova even meant was going to be quite the show indeed.
"Word to the wise on the Ozzball effect?" Theta added.
"Understood." Iz clipped.
There was a lot to be said regarding his younger brother's temper in just about any important room these days. There was far more that went without saying regarding Zory's patience with him wearing thinner with every passing clash. There was no need for Theta to bother clarifying how highly disapproving the true zelestials were becoming regarding the guard dog who was likely to be more of an attack dog lacking the proper training to maintain control any day now. Animalistic tendencies were likely to make him seem more like a rabid mutt than the average person simply going red if Zory didn't start keeping him on a far shorter leash soon.