Scene #8882: GFF3: The First Song and Dance Number

Owner	Pose
Kale Hearthward	THE SITUATION IS THUS: About an hour ago, private messages were sent out from a pseudonymous source, which Kale identified as trustworthy (but didn't want to identify). The situation in the Gale Empire is escalating - the protests haven't stopped, and neither has the factory project which the robotomized Quicknest citizens are being put to work on. With neither side stopping nor conceding, something's going to escalate eventually - and according to the source, that day is today. Getting into the Gale Empire is an inconvenience for everyone but one person. That person being Aidan - who, as a Gale Empire citizen, can waltz right through the warpgate checkpoint with only a momentary delay. Kale, by contrast, is the first to arrive at the checkpoint... and the last one to be let through. THE SITUATION IS THUS: Any good protest needs a frontman - a public face, someone for the general public to associate with the movement - and, often, for the protestors themselves to look to for guidance and a morale boost. "And while I stand here today, free to draw breath - I yet find myself choking as I think of the fate of my countrymen. Bound in shackles of metal, suffocating inside a shell of steel - kept there, we are told to believe, not by malice but by a vaguely defined 'necessity'. A necessity for 'what', we are left to wonder. We aren't even being done the courtesy of knowing why this is such a 'necessity', what 'project' my friends and neighbors are being forcefully put to work towards." The protest here found their frontman in Larkspur. "I was lucky enough to be freed - the rest, not so much. Are we going to wait for chance to free those shackled by steel, or are we going to show the Empire how acceptable such base behavior truly is?" Larkspur, a mole, was one of the 24 people freed during the last trip into the Gale Empire. And now he is standing up on a soapbox in front of the factory, talking to the crowd of protestors there. Despite the warning, things seem to be... peaceful, for now. The crowd is agitated, and the Empire has guards posted, but - nothing seems about to boil over. On approach, a few people from the protest - possibly the leaders - break off and get the Elites' attention. Aidan and anyone else with him get brought off to one side for a talk, while Kale, Ishirou, and everyone with them get pulled into the protest group - and brought towards the front of the crowd, if they let it happen.
Ishirou	Ishirou catches word, thanks to Kale, about the escalation that is possibly happening today. Which side was going to escalate, he didn't know, and honestly not even sure what side should he jump in. Well, no... he does know what side he wants to jump into, but the escalation that would bring is... he isn't sure if it's necessary. On the other hand, at the rate things are going, the Gale Empire isn't giving them much of a choice. Things are going to explode, and it's their fault for using the robotic workers like this. Arriving, Ishirou is in casual clothes today. He wears a pair of jeans and a red sweater. He's not here to fight, yet, and the message from the mole man is heartening. Things are still peaceful, for now, but that could change at any moment. He's pushed towards the front and Ishirou lets himself be taken by the momentum of the crowd forward. Ishirou also uses his sensors to look around. He's looking for anything out of the ordinary. He's trying to keep a lookout for anything that might be a spark to light this gas fire, while eventually being carried up to the front of the demonstration. Though in this crowd it might be a bit hard to look everywhere like he normally would like to.
Aidan Proudpick	The fact he can get through is completely surprising to Aidan. He tried several days ago, figuring he could escape if they caught him for a crime. And... They don't. Aidan's hackles rise. His ears are constantly moving. His tail twitches in agitation. He's clearly dressed for a fight in his new armor. Arm guards, chest plate, and leg guards. Breath weapon on his arm. In an emergency, he might be able to get a gun. He is the one waiting patiently for Kale and Ishirou this time, nodding to them with a smile. "Sarracenia couldn't make it. But I think we can stop anything that comes up, right? Got the Multiverse's best supporter and the strongest Wind Knight. They won't do anything stupid." He nods to Ishirou and Kale in turn. A voice tinged with only a bit of worry. Aidan has faith that this couldn't POSSIBLY get lethal. At the situation! Aidan steps out of the walkway to look at the protest. To see people out. To see them okay. Tears well up in Aidan's eyes. This small joy. A ray of hope. Combined with his foothold in Quicknest, he feels a light bloom in his chest, a smile growing on his lips. He feels it. The old rebellious feeling, a dozen friends standing up against an Empire that stole something from them. Aidan's fist clench and unclench within his woven gloves. Barely keeping his urge to fight down. Once among the leaders, he can't help but smile, tears in his eyes again. "You're all okay. I got some word, but, I had to see it for my own eyes. What's happening?"
Kale Hearthward	Aidan gets pulled aside. "Yeah - we're all okay.Things are fine so far. What word? From whom?" The protest leader, having pulled Aidan off to the side, gestures up at Larkspur on his soapbox. "So - that's one of the people that you pulled out of the robots. Larkspur was one of yours, specifically, we managed to find out from one of the factory workers who sympathizes with us." "So we wanted to get in the person who had freed him, to stand with us..." "... But it's fine if we say it was Hearthward who freed him, right? It's just, you know..." "... You need a lot of work?" --- Kale has his headphones in. The ones that he can't possibly hear anything through, but he's managing to nonetheless, due to being psychic now. So far, there's nothing out of the ordinary. There's guards outside the factory, they're armed, but the guns and swords (and etc) are all holstered right now. "- And, I wanted to personally thank the people who so bravely freed myself and the others," Larkspur is saying. And he's pointing at someone in Ishirou's area. Oh, wait, he's pointing at Ishirou. The crowd moves away from Ishirou a bit. He seems to be expected to say something.
Ishirou	Ishirou takes a moment to realize he's being pointed at. He looks towards Kale, expecting him to say something, but then realizes it's /him/. He looks taken aback, with the spotlight suddenly on him. He swallows and takes a step forward. "S-sorry, I think you got it mixed up. I didn't free you..." he says. He motions towards Kale, "He did the freeing, I just backed him up and helped get him out of there when things got too heavy. But..." he says, looking around. "I do know what it is to have your home taken away." "I used to have a home, but Eggman did something similar to the people who lived there. The circumstances were very different, but it forced me to make a choice, and I chose those who he had entrapped and to give them a new life than the one they had trapped in the bodies they were forced into..." He swallows, "This is wrong, and the Gale Empire should stop putting itself over the citizens of other nations. I offered to them before that the Paladins would be willing to absorb the displaced Quicknestians, but it seems they want to exploit them while claiming they have no choice. I urge you to keep protesting and keep putting pressure on your government to make the right choice."
Aidan Proudpick	He isn't about to pass up a chance to show how good a job he did. "I have friends. They were offered jobs in the Empire, so they took them." His smile brightens, "They've been helping out the refugees. I ain't getting anything concrete. They ain't really spies." "... You need a lot of work?" Aidan's smile slowly wanes. It doesn't disappear entirely. It hurts, but not as much as it would have. He's accepted that. But the knowledge that he's earned a sentence like that runs pretty deep. The pit he's climbing seems deeper. But the urge to climb still burns strong. He stood up to the Emperor, suffocate you. That takes a lot! "He's the celebrity around here," he manages to keep most of the petulance out of his voice. Most of it. He sucks in a deep breath, looking back at the leaders, "I don't know if you really wanna have him make any speeches though." He turns his head to watch Ishirou. The same baseline. Still, it's a good speech and he nods eagerly towards him.
Kale Hearthward	The leader picks up on Aidan's changing mood, and tries to explain things, defensively. "It's just, well, people do watch what's going on in the wider multiverse..." "... And, uh, it'd help if maybe you just... stood up for yourself a bit more?" "We need to have someone with a strong backbone to be in front. Because there's going to be a lot of pushback. And a lot of, you know, we're a small group trying to push back against the big empire here, and we need someone who'll go tilt at windmills even if he's going to lose." "Like, even if you lost, if you went and challenged that Lilian person? Stood up to her? I think people would respect you more if you did that, even if you got your tail handed to you. Then we'd be having a different conversation. Right now if someone looks you up, they'd see you running away from her a lot. If you fought her, or even if you get on the radio and fight her now, we'd be having a very different conversation." "Like, it's fine if you're not up for that, if you can't do that, if you can't go pick fights because you're afraid of losing, or if you can't stand up for yourself because you don't think you can win, then - that's fine, but that's not what makes a hero, right? At least, not a hero that'll stand for the people." "Whereas - Kale Hearthward's an idiot, everyone knows he's an idiot, but he went and challenged Petra, and Lilian won't even accept his challenges anymore because she's tired of fighting him, and - that's the sort of hero we need for this." Aidan gets patted on the shoulder. "You understand, right?" Meanwhile, here's cheering at Ishirou's statements. "Yeah! We're not going to let what happened to that dude's home happen to our home!" calls one of the protestors. Ishirou, despite being recognized, apparently isn't known by absolutely everyone yet. "The Paladins are here to help!" calls another, to more cheering. "And there's Kale, even!" calls another, and the attention of the crowd shifts to Kale, who'd been passively trying to blend in. (Ishirou can hear him sigh when he's pointed out.) "Right okay, so-" Kale says, trying to improvise something. "Hey - didn't the Empire kick him out?" calls someone in the crowd. "Yeah - they took his title! Took his citizenship, too! All because he stood up!" "And he's here to support us, even so!" calls another. "I'm not-" says Kale. "Three cheers for Kale Hearthward! He's here to stand up to the Empire!" "I'm definitely not-" "Yeah! With him and the other guy on our side, the Empire will have to back down and free everyone!"
Aidan Proudpick	THAT gets Aidan riled up. The frustration rises up in him. Anger. Heat. "I've tilted at windmills. I've fought the Queen. I fight in wars. I'm going to punch the Emperor in the face." He points a finger at the man, stepping closer. "And you want me to fight a duel with someone who is going to burn down my home just because it bothers her? Someone who lies about me? Someone who tells others to fight her battles for her because she's so suffocating high and mighty? Someone who is a complete waste of my time?" Aidan pokes a finger into the leader's chest. Fire burns through his veins. A savage toothy grin forms on his face. "Fine. I'll show you."
Ishirou	Ishirou smiles at Aidan and his cheering on his speech, it was nice to see the backup even though he can tell something is bothering him in return. It's just a bit loud right now to be asking questions, and he is still a bit farther away talking with those other guys. 'Other guy' "It's Ishirou..." he says, trying to correct the record before that gets put on his wiki page. The last thing he needs on that is that his new nickname is 'other guy'. Though he does hear others making claims about what they are here to do, he looks back towards Kale who seems uncomfortable with this. "Well, if not that, then what are we doing here, Kale? We're supporting one side or the other.." he says quietly to Kale, and he knows because he's psychic he can hear the words regardless of how loud he says them. Still, stopping things from becoming a gas fire is one thing, sure... but eventually, they'll have to pick a side. Ishirou isn't about to side with the Empire on this. Not after everything that's happened. Especially not after he saw what it did to Kale to see what was happening to those poor people.
Kale Hearthward	"Yes! Yes, that's exactly what we're wanting you to do." "We're out here putting a lot at risk - everyone here is. We could lose all our homes. We could lose our livelihoods - or our lives. The people that got turned into robots already lost all of that. If you want to lead from the front, instead of just supporting everyone from the back? Then you'd better be prepared for at least risking your life." He nods when Aidan gets on the radio and issues his challenge. "There. That's a start. Once you follow through on that, we can see about putting you at the front." Meanwhile, talking 'quietly' to Kale, like thinking the words hard while subvocalliziing them, seems to actually be easier for him to hear than normal volume talking? "I just don't want things to break out in violence - this is still my home..." says Kale to Ishirou. The crowd does, generally, start getting Ishirou's name right now, after he corrects them. Ishirou's wiki page is saved. "... I don't know," Kale starts to whisper to Ishirou. "I'm not-" "Okay - whatever's going on here? It needs to stop. Now." That's a new voice. It belongs to a new bird a falcon, flying in from above, on a... snowboard? A hovering snowboard. "All of you are in violation of - a lot of laws! Like, a lot a lot of laws. That's wrong. Breaking the law is wrong." "I'm going to need you to move along, right now, like now right now. By the authority of the East Wind." "I'm not-" Kale starts to say, but then he realizes. The snowboard, and the falcon's uniform, both have the E-> insignia on him. The one he used to use. "... Oh," says Kale, quietly, and then he narrows his eyes.
Ishirou	Ishirou is happy about his saved wiki but also upset that Aidan is now picking a fight with Lilian on the open frequency. He turns his focus to Aidan... only to hear the last bit from the others he's surrounded by. His face turns into a very big frown, and he puts both hands on his hips towards Aidan. He's distracted by the guy in the sky coming down on the snowboard and telling them they're violating a lot of laws. Ishirou rises from the ground to the sky, after transforming into RESCUE, and comes up to meet the new guy, face to face. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but according to the laws of the empire there is a right to peaceful assembly in the Gale Empire, so as long as nobody throws a punch or anything like that, this protest is protected under law..." "Which means you are in violation under the same laws you are pretending to up hold. I think you should leave before you instigate something, sir."
Aidan Proudpick	Aidan snarls now. "You don't think I wouldn't lead from the front?" He waves a hand back at the guards. "Just because I respect Kale for his strength?" He didn't go after the robots first. He let Kale do it. Passive. Passive passive passive passive. "You don't think I'm out there risking my l-" Aidan bites down hard. God damn Lilian. God damn her. Real anger boils in him. He's a defender. A protector. He puts a hand on the man's chest and shoves him back. "She won't even FIGHT ME. Don't you get it! She's got a god damn crazy person as a pet who will kill a bunch of Quicknesters. Do you get why I ignore her yet?!" And now it's already crashing down around him. Haru slamming him, someone he looks up to. This wasn't supposed to go this way. When the East Wind shows up, Aidan is already radiating the same energy when he was going to fight Kale, though down a few degrees. He doesn't know this guy from Adam. As he gets closer to the rest of the group, he turns towards Ishirou. Hurt. Anger. Disappointment. Everything he said to Ishirou. Practically begged and apologized. Why. He's boiling now. "You are gonna tell me how you know about the books later." He steps up to the falcon on the snowboard. Aegis flares up in Aidan's hand, spreading out into a heavy shield. "No, yer not." Aidan swings his shield in a rough arc, hammering the snowboard away from underneath the falcon. "I admire the East Wind. Yer no East Wind."
Kale Hearthward	"What, no, of course it's against the law because I'm saying it's against the law. I'm basically the arm of the Emperor. Like, the arm arm. What I say goes. I'm the East Wind, part of the Emperor's Regalia Four." (That's still not correct.) "This is the kind of guy they picked out to replace me?" asks Kale, who's (mostly reflexively) risen into the air alongside Ishirou. Then, a moment later, "Stale winds, was I like that?" "Ah - you're violating my airspace! Like, my air and my space. That's against the rules, too! Maybe you don't know who I am!" The falcon on the hovering snowboard poses. "I'm Perry Talon, the East Wind!" "And," continues Perry. "I'm saying - everyone here needs to worry about their tailfeathers first, and get lost. Like, lost lost. Before I gotta make them get lost." There's chanting from the crowd below. "Kick his ass, hero of Quicknest Kale!" "Wipe that smug grin off his beak, Ishirou!" "Wait, isn't Hearthward the East Wind?" (There's always someone a little slow at keeping up with things.) "Fight!" "Fight, fight fight!" Kale's looking increasingly distracted, or possibly frustrated, or more likely both. ... and then Aidan launches the first attack. Perry doesn't see it coming. The snowboard gets smacked out from underneath him. He starts falling...
Ishirou	Ishirou can feel the anger and disappointment from Aidan, but right now he's feeling just as much disappointment at him for just challenging Lilian out of the blue like that. The things he said to her as well. Then almost putting the Quicknestians under Petra's control in danger... /again/. There is a lot to be mad about, but right now it wasn't about Aidan and himself, but this guy who calls himself the East Wind. "That's not true," he says to the new East Wind's first point. "You still have to follow the law like everyone else, that includes /NOT/ incitement to riot. Right now you could be held i-" And then Aidan throws the first punch. Ishirou reaches down with his VCRS's ability to manipulate objects at range and attempts to grab onto Terry before he splats on the ground and holds him up slightly. It won't be a soft landing, but the only thing that should be hurt is his pride... He thinks is important for a new East Wind to get a few bumps too. "No! No fighting. Can't you see that's what the empire wants right now? To sweep this whole thing under the rug. If you fight and give into things like..." he motions towards Perry, "...provocations, then the empire will crush the movement easily, and sweep what they are doing under the rug. Right now the best thing you can do is not fall to their level of doing things and keep the protests peaceful!"
Aidan Proudpick	Hero of Quicknest. It burns. He doesn't want to feel like. He doesn't want to run off rage. He just wants to save people. The crowd chants behind him. Pushing him. Goading him. Aidan slowly flexes his fingers. Show them. The hurt from Ishirou. The sense of betrayal. It's too much. The emotions are pulling in. He can feel everything overwhelming him. Aidan puts his hand to his head as his shield brings him down to the ground. His fingers dig into his forehead, trying to focus his thoughts. What would Lucien do. What would Xion tell him. What would Madeleine say. Aidan sucks in a harsh breath, letting it out slowly. The screaming crowd. This wasn't what he expected. He expected the guards to attack first. Aidan squeezes his fingers on the shield, flexing them to try and focus. He closes his eyes, thinking of what Lucien would think to see this. He turns back around to the crowd. "Stop it!" He walks up to the crowd. "Do you think we can just beat the East Wind up? Then what? How many more Winds are they going to send after us? How many people you got here? We don't live here, we can't defend you every second of the day. We can't go up to every fight in this whole Empire. How is that going to save anyone?" Aidan grips his shield tight. Then slowly, he straightens up. He turns towards the leader who spoke to him before. Why did he ask about his people. Aidan flashes his hands out and creates walls around him. "Fucking. PLANT!"
Kale Hearthward	Ishirou does the actual work of keeping Perry from hitting the ground hard enough, but Kale shares in the recognition. Spurred on by either some genuine desire to not see anyone get hurt, even the person who's taken his beloved title, or his new psychic power giving him an insight into Perry's terror as he's falling to what would be major injury or death... Kale dives after him, and grabs the falcon by the arm, halting his descent further. From there, the New East Wind gets lowered gently to the ground. "Did you see that - some maniac with a Breath Weapon tried to knock him out of the sky..." "Kale and Ishirou saved him, though - even though he's part of the Empire..." "And what's that squirrel yelling about not fighting - right after trying to kill him.." Someone has a phone out, and is recording all of this. Perry picks himself up, and makes a show of dusting himself off. "... Hmmph. Didn't need your help. Like, didn't didn't need." "Sure," says Kale, still sounding a little bit dazed. And meanwhile, Aidan's brought up wind walls, isolating the resistance leader he was just talking to. "A plant?" "There's a spy?" "Where's your proof?" "Maybe you're the plant!" "Are there more plants? Can we trust anyone?" The crowd's starting to get riled up again. "Ishirou, this is some sort of nightmare, please pinch me," says Kale to Ishirou.
Aidan Proudpick	Aidan is heaving with breath. Trying to keep himself calm. This isn't going well. People are recording him. People are talking about him on the radio. He's digging himself a deeper hole. But he has to trust his gut. "If I'm wrong, Kale, kill me. Never trust me again. But the Emperor tried to get me angry the same way. Using Lilian to goad me. Call me a coward. Put you in charge of the resistance." He looks at Kale. "Do this one thing for me. Take off your headphones and read his mind. And if I'm wrong, I'll apologize to Lilian and do whatever you ask me to do. Whatever she asks me to do. I'll find some way to salvage this." He looks back at the leader in the wind cage. "And if I'm right, then I'll beg Lilian for forgiveness. And do whatever she asks me to do."
Ishirou	Ishirou sighs, as the situation goes from bad to worse. He frowns, looking right from the crowd, to Kale, to Aidan. Was he like this during that entire situation with Petra and Lilian..? He was, wasn't he...? He takes a moment to slowly float to the ground and shakes his head at Kale. "Be calm, there is no plant... just... some very confused people. Aidan, release the man and please stop..." he says rubbing his face and turning towards Aidan. "I think you've done enough today, don't you agree?" "That is what the empire wants..." he says turning back to the crowd. "Distrust between us, to break the laws so they can sweep us under it. United, together we can stop this. That's what they are afraid of! So let's stop these thoughts of plants and get back to what you were doing! Protesting these robotic workers!"
Kale Hearthward	Kale removes his headphones. He looks at Aidan. He looks... upset? Angry? Frustrated? "... Aidan." ... Tired. He looks tired. "I'd already read his mind, back when I was trying to figure out why you were challenging Lilian on the radio." "He's not a plant. He's genuine." He starts looking around, winces, and keeps looking around, before returning his attention to Aidan. "Everyone here is genuine." "He's pushed your buttons, and he's researched you so he knows what buttons to push. Even if he was a plant though, it's not worth attacking him for. It's not worth..." Kale winces, but in a different way, as though he has a genuine mundane headache instead of just a psychic one. "It's not worth attacking the new East Wind either." "From what I'm reading... right now, if I let this play out, things are going to go from bad to worse. The crowd's going to turn on itself looking for spies, if they don't go after you first. And it'll be your fault. You-" He jabs a finger at Aidan. "Owe me. And that owing doesn't include the genuine, heartfelt, sincere apology you're giving to the Dame Commander. And one to Ishirou." Kale turns to the crowd and raises his voice. "It's all a misunderstanding!" he calls. "Nobody here's working for the Empire, aside from this guy." He thumbs at Perry, who's trying to find his snowboard. "I'd know." He doesn't say how he knows. Between him, and Ishirou reminding everyone of what they're really here for, the crowd starts to calm back down, and starts focusing on protesting again, albeit at a little bit lower intensity and focus than before.
Aidan Proudpick	Aidan yanks off his shield. He slides it onto his back. He hands his tablet over to Ishirou. "Hold this. Point the camera at me please."
Kale Hearthward	Kale holds a hand in front of Ishirou to stop him. "No off the cuff apology videos. Put some thought and effort into it."
Ishirou	Ishirou reaches for the pad but then is stopped by Kale. He nods once to Kale and takes a step back. He doesn't say anything about needing an apology, but he does nod at giving Lilian one. "Once your duel with Xion happens, we need to talk I think, but... right now I think you need to cool down." Ishirou turns away, wanting to keep an eye on the crowd rather than Aidan right now.
Aidan Proudpick	Aidan takes the tablet back, contrite. He looks at the leader, confused, "If you aren't a plant, why?" He's honestly... sad. Just sad. It hurts to have disappointed so many people. Even if he's still mad at Ishirou, to disappoint him. And, disappointing Kale hurts a lot. Xion, Haru. Angela again. He's not going to fall into a vortex again. He's determined to climb. He has a goal to reach. Several goals. A person to be a worthy rival to. To be a compassionate knight. "Why?" "Why push me? I wanted to show some damn compassion. I wanted to help show these people how we can help. Why?"
Kale Hearthward	"Because," says Kale, answering for him. "He doesn't think you're hero material." "He has more to worry about than just your feelings. He has all the people here that he's worried about. And he thought that if you were going to be the hero then it'd be doing a disservice to all of these people - putting them in danger, quite probably. And he got a bit rude about it and pushed your buttons in doing so. That's it." "I'm sorry he was rude to you. That doesn't justify anything else, though." "He's right, though. All those things, all those goals running through your head? Those mountains you need to climb? You need to actually climb them. If you want to be the compassionate knight, then you need to, if you see someone you want to punch just because they're being a jerk... not punch them." "And that's hard. Hitting someone is easy. Deciding you don't need to understand someone and just dismissing them is easy. Insulting someone is easy. Holding back is hard. And you're not going to get any credit for holding back, because that's the bare minimum people expect from you." "That's the bare minimum, even if the other person is rude, or a jerk, or pushing your buttons. Ishirou's not going to tell me 'Good job on not punching the new East Wind, Kale'. Even if it was hard and Talon totally deserved it and I'd feel a lot better afterwards. Being the compassionate knight means you actually have to be compassionate. Even to the people you're fighting against." Kale rubs the side of his head. "Is... this getting through to you? Any of it?"
Aidan Proudpick	Aidan stares at the leader, then over at Ishirou. He lets out a little sigh. "I thought I'd earned more than that. Any respect." He flexes his fingers, "I realized when everyone was demanding a fight. After punching Tom's board. I didn't listen to a damn thing that Lucien said. I didn't listen to anything anyone said." Aidan sucks in a long hard breath. It's the last thing he's hanging onto. The last thing he wanted. His pride. Where had he heard that. Breaking your pieces off and casting them into the fire. He heard it somewhere. It seems like something someone would say. The fire. He'd dropped everything else into it. But not this. His rapid thoughts blur past. Fault, disappointment. Anger at himself. But it's all directed at the climb. Fuel. "I threw a lotta fists at people. Every time someone called me a bastard. Standing up to my brother because I just wanted to see my mother once and talk to her. Stealing the shield. I thought it's all just standing up to people." He turns slightly to Kale. "Yea. I think this one is gonna stick with me a long time." Aidan's face draws into a faint smile. "I should have taken that knighthood. Or listened to Lucien better." He looks at Kale. "Thanks." He frowns at him. "Tell me the truth. Have you been trying to tell me that for a while, or am I just paranoid again?"
Kale Hearthward	Kale isn't sure if he wants to hug Persephone or scream at her right now. ... Probably both? "No. I haven't been telling you this specific thing before today." "But a lot of people have been telling you a lot of things, and maybe you need to listen to them more." > <Q-Conversation> Aidan Proudpick somewhat raw and tired. "Dame Commander. I humbly request a time and place to deliver my apology and supplication to you for the insults I have given you. Now and before." "Don't be surprised if she says no. Don't be surprised if she doesn't give you the time, or if she doesn't accept what you have to say. That's how it is, and she doesn't owe you that." "... It's still important that you do, though. I mean - it's still important that you try. I'll consider that a good first step." Kale rubs his face. "Really hoping that Talon showing up was the only thing the Empire had planned... I'm going to go see if I can find a spot to rest."
Aidan Proudpick	Aidan shrugs his shoulder. The thought of the fight with Sarracenia comes back to him. Justified swinging back or not. The punch with Petra. Backbone or not? He starts walking. "I'm going to take every punishment I get." Aidan pulls out a map, "Oh, you probably want... some place alone, right. I'm going to head down to the shelter." He stuffs the map back away, turning towards Ishirou, nodding. "We'll talk." He still wants to know about the books, but, there's a clear 'I deserve what I get look' on his face. He starts walking, "Thanks. Both of you."