Arc 15 Post 68: A Hand in Hope Extended
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A Hand in Hope Extended
13th of March 2007 A.D.
The sigh almost slips though, instead you maintain a smile as you offer. "Look I'm not here to threaten or interrogate or God forbid draft you into a war you don't want to fight. I am afraid of what the potential for harm this power bears, my first day was basically hyperventilating about a different thing I could technically do every two hours, but I don't think anyone here is going to deny our ability to do good." At least they had damn better not after all I did for the Council. You understand the concern, but that is not the same thing as agreeing with the way it's addressed.
"I don't do that anymore," Silver, yeah Silver sounds good, says after a moment. "I still need to breathe and blink and all the rest, but it's like I'm stuck in neutral unless I'm trying, unless I'm putting on a mask."
"Everyone's acting, you're just better at it," Thomas shrugs, earning a hard to decipher look from Lara, but now's not the time to get lost in that.
Shadows Revealed: Shattering Mirrors and Eerie Stilness
"I don't know what all of this means, but I believe it makes us something to each other". A dry sort of smile darts across her face "If nothing else, we're going to be sharing this world for a very long time and I'd like it to be as friends."
"I... don't think I'd make a good friend." She looks like she wants to say more, but her eyes keep going to Listens to the Wind and Harry. She's still talking about the Exaltation and its curse, but about what she might do or wish to, you're sure of it.
"People who make shitty friends rarely signpost it," you shrug. "Trust me I've been through Middle School in an all-girls Catholic school." That last you say in the same tone as 'I've been in 'Nam' and that gets a smile, more even, a chuckle.
"You just don't give a damn do you?"
There's other reasons for this, coldly rational ones, she seems stable, Silver is the sister of one of your employees as much as the sister of the de facto White Queen, it makes sense to keep her under observation so you can maybe figure out something about the others, but right here, right now this is true too: "Not really, no."
"So the part where you aren't recruiting my sister to go look for her highly dangerous and most emotionally compromised peers...?" Lara frowns at you, deliberately unamused, the very picture of a reasonable authority figure. It's easy to forget sometimes that she isn't just good at playing the temptress or the ruthless queen, she's good at people, able to don and set aside roles as needed.
"Draft, the thing I'm not doing is drafting her. If she wants to come along I'd certainly welcome the help." You raise an eyebrow in silent question.
In response Silver Phantom does nothing for a few seconds then her lips move, though no sound comes out. Still you can read on her pale lips: 'Something's better than nothing.'
"Sometimes," Lara grumbles looking between her siblings present. "I wonder how the hell two of you came out this way? Did they put something in the water?"
Harry seems to find her exasperation funny despite himself, Tiffany has no such conflict, she just smiles.
Despite your relief at the end of the stand off you have little reason to share in the good cheer. Titck tock... another 23 minutes. You could do the ritual again, but would that even give you enough information to dind the newly Exalted before they go to ground? Or... or you could ask a question of Inari, her Exaltation and theres was released at the same time, but there's a chance that she might notice. How much do I trust her really?
What do you do?
[] Perform the Ritual again
[] Use your crown with Inari as a focus
[] Write in
OOC: Some trully ludicrious social rolls here. I'm not going to show you Lara's roll because it'a a minor spoiler, but dear god by Exalted standards you rolled well.
