Achilles eagerly finished breakfast that morning before he and Light Master headed for the location of the last of this week's interviews. This application had come in last, but he was curious about this "Rose" person. Surely they'd have a nice Miracle as well. Every applicant so far had been so promising - despite what Lightning had said about some of them.
Speaking of Lightning, she was going to meet them there as per usual. He didn't know why she didn't just come live at HQ with the rest of them, but to each their own.
She was already there when they reached the back alley, standing with her arms crossed and flickering her gaze over everything in her sight. Almost like a sentry.
"Lightning!" Achilles smiled brightly at her behind his mask and she nodded back.
"Achilles. Light Master. I think our applicant's here too." She looked at one corner and Achilles followed her gaze. Before long, a face poked out from behind it.
"Hello!" Achilles called. "Are you Rose?"
The person came out from behind them, nodding. Achilles was somewhat surprised to find that he was a man. 'Rose' and 'Fiore' both sounded like more feminine names to him, but again, to each their own. Rose was a lanky guy, who looked like he was in his late teens, with long hair that hung in his face. The hair didn't seem to bother him, though, as he walked over to them like a gloomy teenager.
"Hey," Lightning said. "Sorry you were waiting for a bit."
"Wait, how long was he standing there?" Light Master asked.
"Dunno exactly, but I noticed him a couple minutes after I got here," she replied.
"How long have you been here?" Achilles asked nervously.
"About ten minutes."
We were late!
The thought stabbed into Achilles' heart, but when he checked his phone, it was still five minutes before the appointment time.
We weren't late, we weren't late. These two were just insanely early!
"Well, sorry to leave you both waiting," Achilles said sheepishly, trying his best to act normal. He was definitely not freaking out at being the last one to arrive to a Legion function.
"Sorry I'm early," Rose muttered. "Anyway, I guess you're Achilles?"
"Yes I am! And these are my associates, Lightning and Light Master." Achilles pointed to both of them in turn. Lightning nodded, while Light Master waved with a bounce.
"Fiore. Or, I guess I'd be Rose." Rose shrugged and leaned against the wall, looking at them carefully from behind his hair.
"What's your Miracle?" Light Master asked. "Something to do with flowers or something?" His voice seemed a bit suspicious, as if he didn't believe Rose could have a very good Miracle.
"Kinda." Rose raised his hand and flicked his wrist. A long green vine appeared in his hand, with several thorns lining it. He flicked his wrist a few times, and the vine danced with his motions, almost like a whip.
"That looks dangerous," Lightning said.
"Probably is. I don't have to put thorns on it, so I guess you could also use it as a rope or something." Rose put his other hand over the vine for a moment and all the thorns disappeared. With another motion, a few flowers of various types bloomed along the vine.
"Whoa." Achilles agreed with Light Master's sentiment. It was a beautiful Miracle.
"Not sure what the flowers'd be useful for," Rose said, "but I guess it's a thing I can do."
"Do the flowers do anything other than bloom?" Lightning asked.
"Spit pollen, which could aggravate someone's allergies. I think there's also one or two that cause severe skin irritation. My favorites are the edible ones, but I guess that's not useful to you, huh?" Rose laughed self-deprecatingly.
"Sounds more versatile than you let on," Lightning replied. "Why do you wanna use it to fight?"
Rose looked away, a bit of something like a scowl on his face.
"If I've been granted this power, it's my duty to use it for good. Use it to protect people from those who'd do them harm."
Achilles grinned broadly. Here was someone who really got it! He'd get along splendidly with Rose, even if he looked suspiciously like a moody preteen in an adult's body.
"I'm so glad to meet someone else of like mind." Achilles grabbed Rose's hand to shake it. He looked a bit taken aback, but didn't protest or pull away. "So many others would have some kind of selfish or ulterior motive, but not you! You're like me. You were chosen and you'll do whatever it takes to fulfill the duty you were chosen for."
"Achilles," Lightning sighed. What was she so exasperated about? She was probably just suspicious. Like she'd been suspicious of Hot Rod, the Alchemist and Barrier Maiden. Actually, wasn't she suspicious of everyone now that he thought about it?
"I know right?" Light Master asked, hopping up beside them and giving Rose a thumbs-up.
"You seriously have a kid in the Legion?" Rose asked uncertainly.
"Of course we do. Light Master was chosen, same as we were. We can't discriminate based on age, gender or social class if we want to battle the likes of Paris."
He couldn't quite read the expression on Rose's face at that. Probably admiration for how open-minded the Legion was!
"Anyway," Lightning said, gently pushing Achilles back. "Tell us more about yourself. What do you do, what do you want to do?"
"Uh..." Rose looked at her blankly for a moment, then sighed. "I just graduated from studying agriculture. If I hadn't gotten a Miracle, I'd probably be aiming for a job at the Top. My dad's a florist and I've liked plants for as long as I can remember. In my spare time I guess I read books and watch shows. I live with my parents, but I've been looking at getting my own place for a while. I'm turning 23 next week I guess. Anything else?"
23? Wow, this guy was older than he'd thought. But, still, he was pretty young. Most Legion members were, actually. Prime and Alchemist might have been the only exceptions, with Achilles and probably Lightning sitting in the latter half of their twenties.
"Why not work at the Top?" Lightning asked. Rose sighed.
"I have a Miracle, so it is my duty to use it for the good of Arx and its people."
Ah. She was asking him basically the same question as she had earlier. That was why he looked irritated. Somehow, Lightning didn't get it.
"Couldn't you find a way to use it without joining a vigilante hero group?" she asked. "Like, maybe see if you could apply your abilities to growing food or something." Rose grimaced.
"Aren't Miracles meant to be used to protect from those who would use Miracles for evil? If I used it in that way, I'd just be squandering my potential."
"Says who?" Lightning asked. "We know a guy who's using his Miracle in a hospital setting."
Ah, yes! Bruce. If only he could be convinced to join the Legion, they wouldn't have to put up with all that nonsensical hospital red tape.
"That's that and this's this," Rose said with a sigh. "Would you mind not questioning my life decisions?"
"Just trying to make sure this is the right one for you," Lightning replied.
Rose looked at her with a strange expression on his face. Achilles couldn't quite read it.
"Anyway, Rose, we of course have to discuss everyone's interviews back at Headquarters before we make any solid decisions," Achilles said, saving him from Lightning's scrutiny. Really, why did she have to be so skeptical of everyone?
"Right," Rose replied, looking down at the ground.
"We'll call it here for today, if you don't mind. We'll talk about everything and let you know next week whether or not you're in. Thank you very much for your time." Achilles reached out to shake Rose's hand again.
"Thanks," he said, putting his hand in Achilles'. Unfortunately, the handshake was like shaking a dead fish. The kid was probably tired after Lightning's interrogation, so Achilles left and led the rest of the Legion back to headquarters to discuss the interview.
Predictably enough, Lightning didn't want to let him in. But, since Achilles and Light Master both agreed that he had a splendid Miracle and the purest of intentions in joining the Legion - just the sort of person the Good Miracle-Giver would choose.
In the end, she was outvoted.
On Monday, Achilles sent emails to everyone they'd interviewed, letting them all know that they were green-lit to join. They'd meet up on Wednesday for introductions, a tour of headquarters, patrol scheduling, a discussion of who would be living at HQ, and a brief jog down to Louise's to get uniforms sorted out. Of course, he called Louise ahead of time to reserve the shop for them.
The next week was going to be fantastic.
