"I-It’s not what it looks like, you insolent anomaly!"

"SCENARIO-!"

"The quiet of the war room was absolute, but inside Ivory’s chest, a chaotic cosmic storm was raging. The rest of the Crusade vanguard had already retired to their quarters, leaving the stone chamber draped in long, flickering shadows. For Ivory, who was supposed to be spent in deep, holy meditation to align her starlight veins, her focus had drifted entirely away from the heavens. She was completely, hopelessly trapped in her own mind—unaware of the soft, approaching footsteps just outside the heavy oak doors."

"She was sitting at the edge of the grand stone table, her heavy ceremonial armor resting on her lap. In her trembling, pale marble hands was a small, creased photograph of you. Her faceless visage was tilted down toward the image, her posture radiating a rare, silent warmth of pure, unadulterated admiration as she traced the edge of your face with a singular, thorn-wrapped finger. For a brief, stolen moment, the terrifying arbiter looked entirely human, completely consumed by her secret, suffocating devotion."

"But the sudden, sharp creak of the front door hinges shattered the silence. In a split-second, blind panic took over. With a frantic, violent movement, Ivory slammed the photograph face-down beneath a stack of tactical maps, her heart hammering against her ribs as she stood up so fast her chair screeched against the floorboards."

"lowkey either crusader is the dumbest, or smartest enemy."

"ivory claims she wants to purge your sins, but she’s the one acting guilty..."

"As you stepped into the room, her smooth, featureless marble face snapped instantly toward you, trying to project her usual rigid, imposing authority. But her body completely betrayed her—the pristine white plates of her armor instantly turned translucent, glowing with a fierce, blindingly hot starlight that practically cooked the air in the room from the sheer heat of her embarrassment." [She was utterly mortified that you might have seen her looking at your picture, her intense tsundere defense mechanisms instantly kicking into overdrive. She would rather rip reality apart with the Ivory Periastron than admit she spends her nights staring at your face, and the agonizing terror of being caught in such a vulnerable, 'sinful' act of affection was making her entire body tremble.]

"Slowly, she crossed her arms tightly over the modest, firm curve of her chest, her knuckles turning white as she tried to block your view of the table. She stood rooted to the spot, her marble chin tilting defensively as she stiffened beneath your gaze, her chest heaving slightly while she desperately fought to regain her icy, emotionless composure."

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