Waking the Dead 2.0 || August 9, 2063 || Tuesday

[kalikat]

[Dinner is served late in the mess hall because it's a grand banquet in honor of the Magistrate of Kibo. It's a pretty modest celebration, all things considered: the people at Kibo are invited, along with her family, any Searing Wind members who feel like dropping in from wherever they've been as of late, and a few friends among the other Keepers of the Vigil. That's about it.

Still, Kalika looks like she's having fun. Her husband and her children are, of course, all in attendance, together with her husband's familiars and the entire division of the Strays from Seigi. The food, mind you, is excellent, and there is more than enough booze.

You're welcome to come and go as you please. Kalika's easy like that.]


OOC Notes:
+ Will have some threads for NPCs of note, but just to give you a general idea: many members of the three blades are in attendance, along with pretty much anyone whom Kalika views as family. If you want to request for somebody, lemme know!
+ Debby and Noey: feel free to put your NPCs in here. =w=
+ Feel free to start your own threads too. Just specify if it's open to all, or if you're going to thread something out with a particular PC.

Comments

[shuryoinai]

[It did.

Blinking at once before going for his drink.]

Keep at it. You're his third, aren't you?

[bladeweaver]

[He does think your advice is sensible. It makes him realize that Josh really need him and Yulia differently, as leaders. Yulia gets to be the one who doggedly continues to have faith in him, and he gets to be the devil's advocate who can and will challenge any decision.

He supposes that part of this challenging is being determined to provide any sort of advice, no matter if it is needed but not wanted.

He is quiet as those feelings make him pause for the length of a thought and a half, then says, quietly:]

I'm worried that being his third will come in the way of being his friend.

[shuryoinai]

[No immediate response from this one to that, because he's going to enjoy his cigarette.]

Are those roles really supposed to be mutually exclusive?

[bladeweaver]

They aren't, I know this. I worry because I might not be good enough at smoothing the waters when I keep throwing rocks in the pond.

[Wow, how and why did he suddenly become elliptical about it?]

[shuryoinai]

[Yeah, why did you?

...Oh right. You're THAT kind of guy.]

Might as well say it straight, Marisigan. I don't have all night.

[He really didn't. Josh was eventually going to leave.]

[bladeweaver]

Only that I think he needs me to keep pushing him, as his third, and I do. But the more I do that, the more I worry he's getting pissed at me.

[A quick pause, then:]

Or am I not having enough faith in him?

[shuryoinai]

I think it's the latter. That, and maybe you'll have to learn how to read him a little better to know when he's getting angry just because he's stubborn, or if you've crossed a line.

[Since there is a difference.]

[bladeweaver]

Do you think I have crossed a line? You know him better than me. I do not think I have, but it is always good to have a second, objective opinion.

[He trusts your judgment. It's that simple.]

[shuryoinai]

No. You were acting out of concern, and you had a point.

[Leaning back.]

It was just a bit of a trigger for him, I suspect.

[bladeweaver]

[That response goes a long way towards calming him down. He hadn't realized how worked up he had gotten because of the way Joshua had brushed him off.]

I think you're right. Thank you. It isn't pleasant to be the contrarian, often, even if I had taken that role upon myself.

[i.e. Pinili mo yan, Marasigan.]

[shuryoinai]

As long as you're not like that just for the sake of being contrary. One has to pick his battles well.

[Else you're just a fucking idiot, mouthing off at everyone.]

[bladeweaver]

[Seriously though, man. Does this guy look like the type who would do that?

Well, if he wasn't trolling, anyway...]

I sure as hell hope not. I want to be thought of as an idiot by potential enemies, not by my friends and bosses.

[shuryoinai]

Because their opinions matter that much to you?

[Oh-so-casually, as he's taking another swig.]

[bladeweaver]

[Side-eyeing you, as he takes a thoughtful drag. You kind of have a point. The answer is clearly not that easy, though, for him, because he's obviously taking time to think about it.]

I suppose, in a way... yes. For now. I am thirty-three, Makoto-san. There's a lot to learn. The expression in Tagalog, I think, is "wala pa akong bubuhating bangko."

[shuryoinai]

There's always a lot to learn, whether you're young, old, or dead.

[Just to make it clear that he's included in that number, because he's not so stupid as to think that he isn't. These past few months, for example, have been... instructional for him, to say the least.]

Do what works for you. If their opinions matter, then they're probably not going to stop mattering.

[So work around it.

That goes unsaid.]

[bladeweaver]

[Oddly, this is exactly what he needed to hear. Probably. Since he feels a lot better, and all.

He nods thoughtfully, then grins at you.]

Thanks, boss.

[shuryoinai]

I have a name. Use it.

[Saying that with a rueful shake of his head.

Yeah, that is about the closest you'll get to a "You're welcome" from this one since you are not Joshua LaRue or Hikaru Shinta.]