No, we didn't. How can you think that going from a occupying the island to moving towards withdrawal and some sort of happy-go-lucky hand-holding garrison is bringing Zenith to heel? It's letting them put their feet even more solidly in Alenroux, it's letting them
[And perhaps that is the problem, that they will not agree here on what they should have been doing, what they were doing...
But she isn't cutting him out. She's trying, she's trying to understand, just-]
... If I work against this foolish agreement, if I call it what I see, all of Meridian will once again dismiss me despite all I have done. How can you ask me to give it a chance when I have no other choice but to suffer and bear it or become the enemy of my so-called allies?
I won't dismiss you. I hear your concerns, and I appreciate them. If this doesn't work, I'm fully prepared to drop the concept altogether.
Cyrus and Yima might not even agree to it, you know? They gave their blessing, but that doesn't mean they'll approve everything we come up with... To say nothing of the pressures other parts of Springstar have been putting on the Tribune.
But if it does go ahead, I just hope you won't work against it without a good reason. [Reasons like more suspicious, if not outright hostile Zenith movements, for instance. He's sure he doesn't need to spell it out.] You might not trust mine, but I trust your judgement.
You had better hope that once you realize it doesn’t work, once Zenith sends someone in to sabotage the efforts and somehow again manage to blame it on us… that there is still time to repair our military presence damaged in pursuit of “neutrality”.
[She views it as a matter of “when”, not “if”. Either the one-eyed gaki, the demon, or “Melshi” and Jyn- Jyn, who had the bravery to pretend to be an ambassador when Hayame wasn’t seated there among the Meridians to call her a liar and a spy to her face…
Gods, she hopes Cyrus refuses. She hopes General Zaman refuses. She hopes this would all just be easier somehow, that he would see what she sees-]
I am leaving for the northern forests of Alenroux on a mission from the General.
[There's a spike of concern he can't quite hide, though he tries to push it aside hurriedly before it can cause offense. It's not that he doesn't think she can take care of herself, but he worries all the same.]
I'm sure you'll all handle it, but just tell me if things get bad and you need emergency backup. Naira and I can cross the island in no time.
[He'd be the first to concede he wasn't exactly an expert on Alenroux's affairs, and such knowledge would have been useful with the benefit of hindsight. Still, it's something that's been bothering him too, so perhaps the mission can finally offer some answers.]
All right. How long do you expect the mission to take? Want me to keep an eye on your home while you're gone?
[She mentioned magical locks on it, but he has no idea what other protections it might have if she's gone for days or weeks at a time.]
Someone might lay traps if they know you live there, if not just wreck the place outright. It'd be a shame for anything to happen to it after Liem's hard work.
[... Plus he's just kind of nosy, and wouldn't mind seeing it for himself.]
Protecting your body and protecting your Shard go hand-in-hand. Are you really going to count on a friendly face just happening to find and protect your Shard for you in the right place at the right time?
Dying like that is the epitome of cutting off your own nose to spite your face. I'd never forgive myself if something like that happened and I did nothing.
That is what everyone else seems to do. Preaching about how we shouldn't crush shards because then everything will escalate, that surely shard-bearers will respect each other's "souls"...
[Akua... that god woman... that dog pants freak...]
I did not say I would not check for traps.
[Just, you know... Do her a favor and blame Zenith if there is one and it gets her.]
All right. Hopefully it's fine and nothing happens, but... better safe than sorry.
[He doesn't think certain people will respect each others' Shards, and he thinks a cavalier attitude to death at all is obscene. But he'd be preaching to the choir if he pressed the point, he feels.]
(But she's also... something. That she had come to him with her disagreements and unlike the rest... He never responded that she was categorically wrong, or stupid... It does not change how she thinks about the issues, or how angry she felt about the compromise she couldn't view as strength like he somehow did, and yet...)]
Then I am off.
[... She will save her worry for the northern woods.]
[She'll feel the warmth of his hand on hers, a gentle, lingering touch to see her off. It seems to fade gradually and not all at once, as if to impress on her that a small part of him will still be with her, even while she's away.]
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leicesters) wrote2022-12-06 08:26 pm
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[And perhaps that is the problem, that they will not agree here on what they should have been doing, what they were doing...
But she isn't cutting him out. She's trying, she's trying to understand, just-]
... If I work against this foolish agreement, if I call it what I see, all of Meridian will once again dismiss me despite all I have done. How can you ask me to give it a chance when I have no other choice but to suffer and bear it or become the enemy of my so-called allies?
no subject
Cyrus and Yima might not even agree to it, you know? They gave their blessing, but that doesn't mean they'll approve everything we come up with... To say nothing of the pressures other parts of Springstar have been putting on the Tribune.
But if it does go ahead, I just hope you won't work against it without a good reason. [Reasons like more suspicious, if not outright hostile Zenith movements, for instance. He's sure he doesn't need to spell it out.] You might not trust mine, but I trust your judgement.
no subject
[She views it as a matter of “when”, not “if”. Either the one-eyed gaki, the demon, or “Melshi” and Jyn- Jyn, who had the bravery to pretend to be an ambassador when Hayame wasn’t seated there among the Meridians to call her a liar and a spy to her face…
Gods, she hopes Cyrus refuses. She hopes General Zaman refuses. She hopes this would all just be easier somehow, that he would see what she sees-]
I am leaving for the northern forests of Alenroux on a mission from the General.
Do not expect to hear from me for some time.
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[There's a spike of concern he can't quite hide, though he tries to push it aside hurriedly before it can cause offense. It's not that he doesn't think she can take care of herself, but he worries all the same.]
I'm sure you'll all handle it, but just tell me if things get bad and you need emergency backup. Naira and I can cross the island in no time.
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I only wish the order had come down sooner so I could have armed you ambassadors with the knowledge and watched you-
[Not even fucking use it.
But she bites it down before the more bitter part slips out, leaving her fuming instead.]
I will not need back up.
I have selected a team already.
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All right. How long do you expect the mission to take? Want me to keep an eye on your home while you're gone?
[She mentioned magical locks on it, but he has no idea what other protections it might have if she's gone for days or weeks at a time.]
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[It depends on what they find… and she hopes it is a lot. She hopes she is gone for a week.]
- Why would you need to do that? There is nothing inside to steal.
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[... Plus he's just kind of nosy, and wouldn't mind seeing it for himself.]
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[If it is wrecked or destroyed... She supposes it would be more likely the Alenroux residents themselves to blame.]
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It has been impressed upon me that I care far too much for my body and far too little about that blasted gem.
Let it protect me from death if it is so important.
We can all just live and die and come back like nothing ever happened in a godforsaken loop.
[... okay, even she knows she's letting her anger simmer into dramatics but she also... can't... stop that easily.]
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Dying like that is the epitome of cutting off your own nose to spite your face. I'd never forgive myself if something like that happened and I did nothing.
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[Akua... that god woman... that dog pants freak...]
I did not say I would not check for traps.
[Just, you know... Do her a favor and blame Zenith if there is one and it gets her.]
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[He doesn't think certain people will respect each others' Shards, and he thinks a cavalier attitude to death at all is obscene. But he'd be preaching to the choir if he pressed the point, he feels.]
Good luck on the mission.
1/2
... How did this become her not yelling at him and him wishing her good luck?]
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I'll help hold down the fort, don't worry.
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(But she's also... something. That she had come to him with her disagreements and unlike the rest... He never responded that she was categorically wrong, or stupid... It does not change how she thinks about the issues, or how angry she felt about the compromise she couldn't view as strength like he somehow did, and yet...)]
Then I am off.
[... She will save her worry for the northern woods.]
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[She'll feel the warmth of his hand on hers, a gentle, lingering touch to see her off. It seems to fade gradually and not all at once, as if to impress on her that a small part of him will still be with her, even while she's away.]