Moment of Truth

## Roleplay

Lance was sitting on a bench in the courtyard taking on his scroll with his mom. "I'm doing fine" He smiled. The young man's mom had always worried about him seeing who he took after, but Lance knew better than to get into trouble. "I have some friends here, don't worry" Lance chuckled as the other end become muffled ".....Are you hugging the phone again" He laughed "Alright, I love you too" Lance sighed with a smile as he leaned back in the bench, closing his eyes and enjoying the cooling evening air.

Today would be...interesting, that's for sure.

Iris was soaring through the skies at a reasonable speed for once. This was because she was looking for someone. Specifically, she was looking for the mortal who had come onto her the other day and even asked her to accompany him to some masquerade ball. She had responded by saying that she would accept, but only if he could do something for her to prove himself. She hadn't said what he would have to do because at the time she didn't know what this task would be.

Today, however, she knew what it would be, and so she was searching for this mortal. She was starting her search by flying over the Shade Academy campus.

Lance stretched giving a wide yawn. It had been a rather boring day, but boring was better than running for your life. A figure flying through the sky caught his attention. When he say that it was Iris he gave his usual smile and wave.

Ahh, there he was. And so it would begin.

Iris slowly flew down to the mortal and landed in front of him. For once, she didn't feel full contempt. This mortal was willing to take her test, and so she would test him.

The strange part was, she was just the tiniest bit hopeful that he would pass.

Perhaps she was tired of seeing all mortals as irredeemable? She didn't know herself. But either way, she would test him, and if he passed, then she would allow him to accompany her to this upcoming event, and if not, then not.

"So we meet again," she said, sounding rather aloof.

"Indeed" He said, giving his usual charming smile "I assume now you need me to do the task." He said "What may this task be? I certainly hope it's challenging, I love a good challenge"

Now came the moment of truth.

"It is not so much a task as a test," Iris said to the mortal. "I am going to give to you a hypothetical scenario. You will tell me how you would respond to it. Your answer will determine my answer to you. Do you accept?"

This was meant to analyze the mortal's morals. Having already witnessed his physical capabilities, Iris decided to test his morals instead.

"Indeed I do" He smiled

And so it would begin.

"Very well then," Iris said, maintaining an air of aloof neutrality.

She took a small breath before continuing. "The scenario is as follows," she began. "Suppose there is a girl who has lost faith in humanity. She has lost faith because she has watched her family slowly waste away as the result of the greed of others. And though her family remained inactive, she has decided to deviate from this norm. This girl has decided to seek revenge by going after the leader of those who have wronged her family.

Now, the people responsible for the degradation of the girl's family were the executives of a corporation, and this girl, blinded by her rage, decided to foolishly attempt to get into the corporation's building via the front door with only a katana. Of course, she didn't make it past the entrance before she was met with stiff resistance by armed guards. She was swiftly pinned down by gunfire, and even the cover of the marble pillar she hid behind couldn't save her from the grenades that were thrown her way.

"When the grenades went off, the girl found that time had seemingly ground to a halt around her, and she saw a divine figure had appeared before her and was offering her a chance for the power to exact her revenge, though it would come at great cost. If she wanted justice, the girl would have to suffer for it. If the girl didn't take the offer, she would die.

"The girl had two choices: survive, gain the power to get revenge for her family, or be killed by the grenades.

"Now, my question for you is, what should the girl do? Should she accept the divine being's offer? Or should she refuse, and die?"

As she'd told the story, Iris had managed to maintain her composure...at least, mostly. Her eyes had begun to ever-so-slightly tear up, though she didn't know why. That story shouldn't have affected her.

Lance crossed his arms and began to think, noting Iris' slight change in mood. He did manage to put some pieces together. This must've been a bit of the woman's past. "Well, if she was offered a second chance at life, then she should take it. True she may have to suffer but it couldn't be as bad as watching her family die." He sighed "There aren't many who are offered second chances, or are really all that lucky." Lance smiled, he tried not making it too obvious that he had figured out the relevance of the scenario.

So, he wasn't as dense as she'd thought.

Iris was somewhat impressed, though she'd never admit it. Perhaps she should have given him more credit? Or perhaps her own weakness had given him the answer.

Either way, he had given an answer, and she supposed it was satisfactory. Not to mention, she already knew he was persistent, as well as an excellent fighter.

"What is your name, mortal?" Iris asked.

"Lance Oliver" He smiled "If you don't mind me asking angel, what's yours" Iris was certainly an interesting one but he could tell she had a soft side.

An interesting name for a seemingly interesting mortal.

"Well, Lance Oliver, you may call me Iris Azura," she replied, giving Lance the pseudonym she was using while undercover at Beacon. It had been decided by both her and her Lady that her last name would draw too much attention, due to the fuss that had been caused when her family's oil company had been bought out. So, she had decided to use a fake name on her transcripts. It was a good thing lying came naturally to her.

"A beautiful name" Lance said giving his smile "It's a pleasure to finally know it" He placed his hands in his pockets "So, will you go accompany to the ball?" Lance asked. Granted he wasn't one for formal events, but it sounded like it could be fun.

And there it was.

A ghost of a smile crossed Iris's features. "Why thank you," she said, sounding somewhat pleased, though she had no idea why. Why should this mortal's opinions matter to her? It was all an act. That was what she'd tell herself. An act so that she could blend in.

"I suppose that was our agreement," she said. "So yes, I shall."

Well, thus had turned out better than he thought "Well, shall I meet you there or are we traveling together?" Lance asked. He would need a suite for such an event. For that, he'd have to ask his mom to send it to him.

He was taking initiative. A good sign.

"We may wish to learn more details of the event before making such plans," Iris said. "I believe it is taking place in Mistral." She had heard rumors that it would be taking place in the Fěnhóng mansion. If this were true, she'd have to be in complete control of her emotions to keep from bringing the building to ruin and slaughtering the family.

"That sounds like a good idea" He nodded in agreement. "We should also figure out the time it starts and ends. We wouldn't want to be late" Lance stretched. His granddad always said to always be on time be on time.

One had to admit, his foresight was admirable.

Iris smirked. "A good point," she said. "Though I'm sure we're both fast enough to make it in a pinch." She had been very surprised when she'd seen firsthand that Lance could keep up with her. It was a feat that should have been impossible, and yet he'd done it.

"This is true, however, it would be very ungentlemanly of me to even allow such a thing to happen" Lance's charming smile broke through "I will find out the time and notify you when I do. After that we can plan further"

How amusing.

"Very well," Iris said, maintaining her smirk. "I shall await your updates. Until then, I shall bid you farewell." Perhaps she would have an ally yet...

Lance gave a slight bow, his smile's charm as strong as ever "Until then beautiful" This would certainly be interesting.