Yay, update~
"What do you see in Zabanya, anyways?" demands Wendy on a sunny afternoon in between probing jabs of her spear, her strikes impeded by the large slab of metal that is your buster sword between the two of you on the training grounds of Faulkren Academy.
Don't look at me, I'm on Team Vesna.
"Wh-What?" you blink, inexplicably suddenly feel a little nervous at the question.
"Aren't the two of you going out?"
*snicker* Alas, poor Neianne, once again victimized by the Faulkren Rumor Mill.
Mortified, you stammer, "W-W-We're not going ou...!"
Which is as far as you get, because in your hurry to clarify yourself, you provide just enough of an opening - in your assumption that this explanation is more important than your spar - for Wendy to slam the shaft of her spear into your spear. You're reduced to clutching your face in pain, wondering if you're suffering from a bloody nose.
sword
Unless that was meant to be a metaphor, in which case she's grabbing the wrong place *fleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees*
Wendy gives you a speculative look. Slightly concerned again, and a little suspicious. "So, the two of you talk about girls now?"
Neianne, you ain't digging out of this hole without going on the offensive.
"Zabanya is..." Wendy trails off, looking like she's struggling with some kind of justification. After a moment, she seems to find her footing as she frowns and her voice is colored with anger: "You want to talk about 'because we thought we'd get away with it?' She did get away with it! She knew that she's a noble and we're nothing, and she's an elf and we're only human trash. The whole Confederacy revolves around people like her, and they can just...step on everyone else that's in the way. She is everything that's wrong with this country!"
"How do you know that?" you demand.
That question seems to flummox Wendy, and she stares for a long moment, unable to give voice or reason to whatever feeling is stuck within her heart. "I...don't..."
To be fair, the blighted underclass holding resentment at the upper class and holding them as responsible for their ails is the standard and expected response.
In this case, her attitude isn't even entirely inaccurate, because Elizabeth certainly isn't one to want to do much about the current system.
"Did Penelope even come here to Faulkren to learn what was wrong with this country?" you press. "Has she read anything about how the Confederacy works? Why things are the way they are, if they're different in other places? What's been tried before? Scholars have written about this for years and years!", Elizabeth's dry lilt comes back to you, knowledgeably listing off names of scholars and intellectuals who have written on the subject without any visible effort.
She probably just came to learn how to hit things better and, y'know, warm roof and food.
An awkward moment passes before you murmur, "I didn't mean to say th-things about Penelope."
But it's so easy!
Wendy regards you for a long moment before observing with a hint of unhappiness, "She's really rubbing off on you."
You blink, caught off-guard. "Wh-What do you mean?"
But Wendy doesn't seem to be in a hurry to answer that question, instead half-heartedly quipping, "And not in the fun kind of way either."
I'm aware this is going to be contentious but I want to highlight this bit again right here. This is -not- the first time we're seeing this comment/complaint and likely not going to be the last. Neianne's social selections matter because she was such a undereducated wallflower beforehand. She's going to be heavily influenced by who she hangs out with--hang out with one person overmuch and everyone is going to notice and point out that they think it's affecting her growth in negative or particular ways.
The more realistic among your number don't foresee much beyond rescuing kittens out of trees, but the most imaginative float ideas such as hunting boar with the dryads of Roldharen.
When the assignments are finally posted onto the bulletin boards, there is a rush of apprentices all milling around the back wall with a fair amount of good-natured jostling and vying for the best spots. Predictably, several apprentices have their excitement turn to disappointment when they discover that many of the assignments in questions are actually quite mundane. "It feels like it's just an excuse for the townspeople to foist their chores on us," you hear one girl complain.
Is...is it time for D-Ranks?
"It may," the instructor allows with a shrug. She takes another sip from her cup before adding, "You may wish to know that the Sheriff of Apaloft is passing through."
Your eyes widen. "Lady Almsyre?" As one of Apaloft's highest-ranking lawwomen, most Apaloftians have at least heard of Sigrid Rossfeldt Almsyre, a younger daughter of a minor noble house who has had an illustrious career in tracking down some of Apaloft's most horrendous criminals and bringing them to justice.
Wow, great progress Neianne. At this time last year, I'm not sure you would've known who that was!
But you're halfway down the road to town when Stephanie finally rides up beside you, and in a hushed voice you suspect is typical conversation for every aseri aside from Mia, says, "Watching the two of you talk is so weird."
You're taken a little aback by that statement. "Wh-What do you mean?" you ask.
Stephanie makes a face. "It's like Zabanya likes you. I mean, I guess that's a given, seeing how she invited you to her fief, but. The only person I've seen her talk like that with is Sieglinde." She grimaces. "It's weird."
You fidget in your saddle. "She's tr-trying to be nice," you mumble.
"Yes, and that scares me a little."
Who knows, maybe Elizabeth realized that Neianne is the main character.
A week doesn't pass these days without someone crying to me about thievery or larceny. Poaching's gotten real popular. Drunkenness too. Some girl disappeared last week. No hint of foul play yet, and she probably ran off with some other girl her parents don't like, but they insist it's a kidnapping, and I can't not have people on it without residents getting on my case. Banditry is a new one, and I don't know if we're equipped to handle it.
Some of those crimes look a little familiar to me...
We're guarding a small town, not a big city, we don't usually have to deal with their kind of problems. It doesn't help that my numbers have been cut, both in terms of personnel and funding.
Bit of a mixed pressure on their roster too, I imagine. The very best might be poached or headhunted for the War while the very worst might be let go because of cut funding.
"That's the plan: You do the heavy lifting for her and keep out of too much trouble. Although I suppose you should also know that the merchants who were attacked said someone has gone after the bandits. There's a bit of disagreement on who she is, exactly, which makes me a bit suspicious. Some say she's a client, others say she's a caravan guard. But she was supposed to be transporting some ancestral sword or whatever, and was long gone by the time we responded. The merchants said they last saw her running south in pursuit of the bandits. Now I usually wouldn't care much about guards trying to play hero - the sheriff certainly didn't - and I'm not saying you should go look for her when we don't know if she's alive or dead, but just in case you run into her, maybe you can ask her what she found. Or at least tell her to help or get out of the way."
And just to introduce a potential wrinkle--that particular caravan guard could have been in on it and is just joining the bandits to split the proceeds on the sword.
For a moment, she swivels her head just a hair, as if trying to see where the nearest fae is. Her gaze eventually stops at a spot just over your shoulder, and a hint of surprise flickers across her expression.
See? Even the fae know the cool place to hang out is right over Neianne.
It is about now that you understand that your role as leader is not taken entirely seriously. It's not that you are disrespected insomuch as you don't have the kind of presence or temperament or force of personality that reminds people that you are a leader, and that the decision ultimately rests on you. The lack of a clear source of leadership leads people to make their own decisions, and you are failing to assert yourself.
Just pointing out that Stephanie was the one to start the ripple.
---
[X] Plan Override
-[X] Stop them before they leave and assert that the squad will be all going together to meet the Sheriff at the attack site instead.
--[X] She's still the leader, but if forced to explain, they have no provisions for long distance communication, whether for rendezvousing after the Sheriff team would have been done and trying to catch up or if the tracking team encountered complications. This places the tracking team at risk as they won't have a clear picture on the nature of the attack and the potential capabilities and numbers of the bandits, information that can be learned together from the Sheriff and the attack location first.
---[X] The caravan guard is also an unknown. They could already be in trouble, but they could be also uncooperative or otherwise detrimental to completing the mission. They even could actually have been cooperating with the bandits and are leaving with an alibi to meet back up with them. It's not appropriate to split the team at this juncture to go after them.
----[X] Further, yes, Elizabeth should have told you more details on the fae reading. As it stands, ill fortune isn't a reason to continue with a planned action if there are alternatives available.
Spelling out the line of thinking here for why the current actions aren't very good and to hopefully level up Neianne's leadership a bit and/or at least give her some reasons that Kei can ICify for why Neianne feels it's necessary to speak up and change things.
