Orias

vroom vroom closed starter ✦ @elllano

❝ Don’t be intimidated by him. ❞ Saffron is hardly the timid type. Atlas knows that better than anyone, yet the warning leaves him with unusual sincerity. Something about him feels off today. The man who is normally composed down to the smallest detail carries a quiet strain beneath the surface, tension tucked neatly behind practiced calm.

And he has reason for it. This is not the media. Not some overeager reporter fishing for headlines or controversy. This is someone with actual weight behind his opinion, someone whose influence reaches far deeper than public perception ever could.

The decision to bring Saffron onto the team had been criticized from the moment the offer was made. Atlas ignored most of it. He did not particularly care what journalists or rival teams had to say about his choices. Their opinions meant little. The board, however, was harder to dismiss.

Signing the young driver had created far more upheaval than he originally intended, with one investor in particular openly opposed to the decision. Atlas does not take the criticism personally. Motorsport has never been sentimental. This is an investment above all else, and Saffron is either going to become a champion worth every cent poured into him or an expensive mistake that drains the team dry.

That reality makes today important.

❝ Be polite, ❞ Atlas says evenly, voice lowered as they approach the meeting room, ❝ but don’t be shy. ❞ His gaze stays fixed ahead. ❝ I picked you for a reason. He needs to understand why. ❞ The seriousness of it all is made painfully obvious by the fact Atlas is attempting reassurance at all.

His hand settles against the door handle before he pulls it open, allowing the prodigy to step inside first.

The older man waiting within looks thoroughly unimpressed by the entire situation. Cold eyes settle onto Saffron with immediate scrutiny, the smile he offers nothing more than polished formality devoid of warmth. He is the sort of man who has long since stopped caring about fan favorites, media buzz, or inspirational narratives. All he cares about is winning.

❝ How strange, ❞ Allen remarks casually, gaze drifting over the fresh team colors spread across Saffron’s shoulders. ❝ Must take some getting used to wearing that. ❞ His expression never changes, though the meaning behind the words lands hostile enough regardless. ❝ Hopefully the team's colors make it easier to tell your teammates apart from the competition. ❞ And just like that, the meeting is off to a tense start.

However; this felt completely different. From the moment he walked into the facility and noticed the concern in some staff members faces he could tell there was more at play. A couple more security surrounded the building and multiple dark SUVs stood outside. He shook his head. Must be the nerves of a new setting, right?

How different could it be? Im sure Atlas has it handled. Seeing Atlas play his usual role of the analytical, calm and collected team owner helped. If someone understood the nature of the business better than Saffron it was him after all. Though as soon as they started walking towards the meeting room, Saffron knew something was way off.

The reassurance from Atlas far from being comforting felt like a spike of cortisol followed aggressively by adrenaline. Before he even had time to process the rush, he felt the frigid eyes. This was no simple meeting, this felt like an examination. One he had no choice but to pass.

“…easier to tell your teammates apart from your competition.”

The immediate memory of the crash and the subsequent events was all he could see. The face of his judge, jury and executioner was but a blur. The vivid recreation of the crash Saffron's brain had provided was all he could see.

“Y-yeah, there is a strangeness to it” his mouth moved on its own, managing to kill the silence. It felt like his body was trying to move forward while his brain had hit the breaks. He looked down. The air felt heavy to him, or more so turned to water. He was drowning and couldn’t help but avoid the stare from the being across the room. “But I- guess it’s easier to see y- our teammates in green” a faint and dying laugh left his body.

Rainbow

⋆˙⟡ closed starter for @elllano ✦ spy verse

Any minute spent away from her counterpart feels like a blessing. More often than not lately, she finds herself dragged into some secluded corner or half-empty storage closet so the traitor can speak with her privately.

Though she is hardly much better. Dakota’s only real redeeming quality is that she cares very little about either organization involved. She was paid to be here. When all of this is over, she will walk away without guilt weighing down her conscience. Hopefully.

It should not bother her as much as it does. Maybe the irritation has less to do with morality and more to do with her handler himself. Being referred to as his hound is enough to make her want to break his jaw some days. She really should have negotiated for more money.

Regardless, conflicting emotions are best dealt with in only two ways: missions or training. Today, unfortunately, it is the latter.

Her sparring partner finally yields after a decent fight, sporting the beginnings of bruises that will darken by morning, but it still is not enough to dull the violence simmering beneath her skin. Dakota barely pauses before preparing to go again, willing to keep fighting until her body gives out or someone physically drags her from the mat.

Then he appears. No, not appears. He has been there the entire time, standing off to the side watching her.

At first she could almost convince herself it was simple evaluation. Monitoring weaknesses. Taking note of near failures. But something instinctive twists in her gut, warning her it is something else entirely.

❝ Do you need something? ❞

Her tone is flat as she begins rewrapping the fabric around her knuckles, fingers pulling the material tight with practiced ease. She has never particularly enjoyed being watched.

Training the hounds to improve their hand-to-hand combat was just another of his many, many, services. One million here, one million there, its two million closer to eternal sunsets by the beach.

He wasn’t trying to stand out. Usually, he’d blend in amongst the other trainers. Let them deal with the hounds. He came up with the training regiment and gotten the staff to execute it with military precision, just the way he liked it.

And yet, she made him feel something he was unfamiliar with. Intrigue. All that rage, that raw visceral look in her eyes. It was captivating. She was beating them and he was entranced. Erik had seen so much fighting, killing, but seeing all this emotion out of someone; in simple training at that. It was a flame that had caught the glimpse of this moth.

Her words couldn’t help but bring out an empty smile out of him. “I do, as a matter of fact.” He uttered, in a calm tone.

All the trainers immediately turned to look; after all, he had built a reputation for never intervening and barely ever speaking. But he had a purpose, he wanted closer seats to the show.

          miraculously, she had managed to survive yet another week of school. unlocking her door through a series of practiced motions, leah immediately slipped her shoes off, threw her backpack down, and let her body collapse onto her bed stomach first. it felt so good to be in her bed again in the air conditioned building, and with how much sunlight still left outside, she still had plenty of time to enjoy her friday without any worries of impending deadlines and assignments. she could take a nap right then and there, honestly, but a single thought made her suddenly rise and grab her phone from her bag. she almost forgot — she was suppose to reply to someone!

          this wasn't the first time something like this had happened; when it came to chatting with her online friends, everyone was guilty of forgetting to reply once in a while. but in this particular case, leah really wanted to reply, especially because she seemed to have been hitting it off with the other since they first accepted each other's friend requests.

          [ message from leelee win ] hi hi omg i completely forgot to reply but i'm home now!! thank god, i'm so tired 😭

[message from ASaf69] hey, glad you survived! Hope our late nights didn’t make you fail your exam 😅