Reunion - Best Laid Plans

[Ancelas]

Ve'ra had no idea where to go to get some food, so after leaving the glade, she stepped in front of one of the castle servants and asked for insight in her characteristically direct manner. The flustered maid was able to take a request and direct Ve'ra and Sae toward one of the balcony gardens, assuming them to be visiting nobles of some realm or another. It was as good a place to eat as any, and the day was warm with a cool breeze coming up from the bay, so the temperature was nice.

The temperature outside was nice, at least. Ve'ra could practically feel the heat radiating off of Sae as she found a table with a view of the city stretching out to the bay below them. She pulled a seat out for Sae before sinking into one herself, then promptly leaned back and set her feet on the balcony edge.

And then she waited.

[redcoat]

Sae followed Ve'ra, distinctly aware that her own barely contained rage was not helping them put the poor servants at ease. Guided to a balcony, she sat heavily in the chair that had been pulled out for her, looking over the horizon. The sound of the city below, of gulls, and the smell of the sea air did a little to calm her down.

A little.

"I am very much done with people keeping secrets from me, and those secrets blowing up in my damned face." She said, frowning deeply at the horizon. "Alain and his fucking 'what do you mean you told the head of your order the relevant information they asked for' and Mirrai and Taliesin's 'No, actually, we're going to offer Kilamo a pardon' and even fucking Deschaine's 'Oh we're just going to pull all the gunslingers from the continent, you've got this all under control, no need for us to leave any protection despite the fact that you plan on leaving in six weeks.'"

Sae's jaw clenched.

"It feels like I've had the rug pulled out from under me three times in less than three hours, and in front of the gunslingers I'm supposed to be leading in a risky maneuver. It makes me look like a fucking moron."

[Ancelas]

Ve'ra nodded slightly, looking thoughtful, but did not respond just yet. She waited to hear what more Sae had to say, simply letting her vent her frustrations for the moment.

[redcoat]

Sae sighed, leaning her head back. "And why Kilamo? Should we offer all of Ruin's generals pardons before we kill them? Or just the ones that someone who fell out of the sky a week ago might be secretly related to?" Sae snorted, derisively.

"I am trying to be understanding. Sure, someone who is thrown into this might not be ready to fight. But to not be willing to fight in one battle, and then try to derail the next... I don't like it."

[Ancelas]

Ve'ra arched an eyebrow and looked over at Sae. "Understanding? My dear Sae, I am hearing a lot of frustration that things are not going the way you want them to, but little in the way of understanding why. I think that will come once the anger has subsided, however."

[redcoat]

"I meant that when we were fighting Velkyn, I was understanding about the fact that she didn't want to fight with us." Sae said with a frown. "As far as to the 'why' now, it's because it's been sprung on us now- after the battle plan was made- that Kilamo may or may not be her aunt, so we should definitely just ask her nicely to leave."

[Ancelas]

"Ah - so you mean the issue with Mirrai," Ve'ra observed. "Who never made any requests to alter the plan. And did not seem inclined to even mention her thoughts about Kilamo, had she not been put on the spot. Who was reluctant to communicate with the goddess when given the ability to do so, and was quick to point out that if her suspicions were correct, it could endanger the plan you had all committed to, which she claimed she did not want to do.

"I can see why you'd be so angry with someone so vehemently opposed to your established plan," Ve'ra mused, with an arched eyebrow and deadpan delivery. "If only she could have been more understanding of what you were trying to accomplish."

[redcoat]

Sae stood, moving to the balcony railing and resting her hands on it, silent in face of Ve'ra's clear rebuke.

[Ancelas]

Ve'ra waited a beat before drawing her feet back from the railing so she could stand and join Sae, also looking out across the city. "You've been angry since your meeting with that Gunslinger," she said, her tone a touch softer. "And because of that, you're looking for slights where none is intended. Take a moment to breathe through your anger - find your center, find the true source of your frustration, and attack that, rather than flailing at anything that comes near you. That's what I was taught, at least. Does it translate well?"

[redcoat]

"It translates." Sae said, taking a moment to try and do as instructed.


"I feel as if everyone is undermining the work that I have done. From Deschaine pulling functionally all the gunslingers from this area of the country- leaving our rear open for attack, to Taliesin- on Mirrai's behalf- wanting to grant Kilamo a pardon. And they aren't even doing the courtesy of tossing my work aside in private, instead choosing to publicly embarrass me."

She took another deep breath.

"Deschaine and Alain, Taliesin and Mirrai- it feels like a pair of clumsy attempts to use and manipulate me."

[Ancelas]

"And do you believe they are trying to manipulate you?" Ve'ra asked.

[redcoat]

"Deschaine, likely so, because I'm a gunslinger and his to use. Alain, yes, and clumsily. Taliesin and Mirrai..." She shrugged. "I'm not sure. Maybe. Mirrai does seem to collect protectors to fight her fights for her, and Taliesin wants more than anything to be someone's knight in shining armor."

[Ancelas]

"Mm. And you've confronted them about these things, to make certain your assumptions are correct, rather than let paranoia cloud their every word and action?"

She gestured negligently with one hand. "With exception to Deschaine. All authority figures are to be regarded with profound skepticism."

[redcoat]

"Deschaine aside, yes- Alain said he was depending on my anti-authoritarian streak to keep me from telling Deschaine." Sae frowned deeply at the city. "And I told Deschaine anyway, so now the consequences are on me, despite me getting no say in how any of it was handled, because I was kept in the fucking dark."

[Ancelas]

Ve'ra snorted. "You took a self-professed liar at his word and believe him to be a manipulator? Did you not see the expression on his face before you spoke? That idiot is at war with himself, and didn't stop to think about what he was saying - if you take that to be his true nature, then you are a terrible judge of character. But then, you are listening to a drow discuss how to read and understand people, so... maybe you are a terrible judge of character."

Ve'ra turned her gaze out over the city, her voice losing some of the light chiding tone. "Everywhere I go, I am judged by people who think they know me, simply because of the way I look. If I am dismissive of them, then I am an arrogant drow. If I say something they do not like, I am a lying drow. If I say nothing, I am a scheming drow. If I am found at the scene of a crime, I am a murderous drow. I have come to accept this from others, because they are ignorant, and I do not care about their opinions."

She turned her gaze to Sae, her eyes hard. "I will not accept it from you, because I care about your opinion. And I am telling you that you are letting your anger dictate truth, instead of letting truth dictate your anger."