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Maes was a bit sheepish as he padded in on the meeting. He still felt bad for causing such a scene, so he tried to go unnoticed as he walked in. Usually he would have shrugged off such things, but this had been pretty chaotic. Not even Roy was on his side this time. But he could understand, since it was such a taboo thing. Still, even though he kept telling himself that, he couldn't get it out of his mind. The idea ran around in circles, taunting him.

Instead of going and sitting beside his friend, he takes a seat towards the back, still trying to avoid attention. But of course, his plan fails when Starry announces his promotion. He's a bit surprised, and there's a feeling of familiarity to it, like when he was first promoted back then--He quickly shakes his head and dispels the thought. He needs to stop thinking like this and move forward. "Thank you, Starry. I'll do my best," he says with a tip of his head.

"SPEECH"

While Roy was concerned for his friend, the flame alchemist didn't look for the lab in the crowd. Roy still felt a great amount of anger directed at him, and decided it would be for the best if he doesn't approach Hughes until he's calmed down. Thoughts ran through the bobcat's mind, causing the Flame Alchemist to get distracted, not paying attention to much of Starrynight's words. And then, he heard his own name and his ears quickly pricked up, his attention falling back onto Starrynight. Starstruck Guardian? He was surprised that he was promoted to the rank, considering the attitude he's expressed to Starrynight in the past meetings. For sure, he thought those actions would prevent him from getting promoted, but he was wrong. He supposed he can take the offer, it will just be weird having a different rank than what he's grown so used to. "I accept your offer," The flame alchemist said with a firm nod.