agentlenet | psychic thread

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psychic thread

[The gentle brush against the Strangers' minds comes in early evening. It is, as all mental touches are from Fayura, soft and unassuming, much like a polite knock at a door. Once as many minds are connected as she thinks will open the door to her, she speaks.]

I am curious, Strangers, what you would do with the young man who shot and killed Councilwoman Vera.

Many of you come from worlds where there are laws against murder. While we have no such laws here, when a Blood male in a Queen's Territory kills another without cause, she may demand a price from him. Sometimes, that is his own life if he was negligent enough with his temper and sometimes, it's something less.

My trouble is this: if I execute him according to the laws of the Blood, of which he is not one, the Guilds will rouse their people into a furor and attack not only me, but the people of Draega. If I turn him over to the Ebon Council, the Guilds will do much the same, and that will incite the Council to strike back. And if I return him to the Guilds for accolades instead of punishment for taking a life, the Ebon Council will have cause to rip apart the Guilds and anyone in their way to extract from him the price for murdering one of their own.

Were you me, what course would you take? And please try not to shout over each other; this is as many of you as I could reach.

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[ he can't help but blurt out: ]

That's awful. [ for both sides. the family of vera for losing her because she pushed for her convictions, right or wrong. the family of the young man for getting hurt in this, over and over again.

daylight mulls over this for a bit, wondering if his suggestion would even work. it sounds like the guilds and the council aren't friends and won't be anytime soon, but he knows it wouldn't hurt to try- ]

Would the Guilds and the Council be willing to work together? Form a group from, um, members of each side so they can choose how to proceed with this? With how extreme the situation is, I think it's only fair to hear from both sides.

Yes, this is something Lord Calvin has suggested as well! [She sounds excited, hopeful.] I don't think they would be willing to work together so much as prove the other party wrong. But if, in their fighting, they did reach a conclusion they all agreed on, it would keep both the Guilds and the Council from lashing out lest they be seen as petty.

Which, well. They are. But the social pressure might keep them in check.

He did? Oh- Wow! That's awesome! That's good to hear.

[ it really is. daylight is glad to hear that someone else had brought it up first during these talks. it means there's more credibility to this idea, which is a relief for him. maybe this will be chosen as the best idea and the more aggressive solutions won't be considered as much.

~~(/stares at haein down the timeline.)~~ ]

Maybe... Maybe it'll be a good idea to sit on this idea for a bit before proposing it? Tensions are still running high and I- I feel like someone might have a knee jerk reaction to this. Go 'no' simply 'cause they can and stuff. [ it's a petty thing for someone to do but, er, she did describe them as that. can't hurt to be too careful. ]

[ Points to eyes, points to Daylight. ]

Oh, yes. I've become quite skilled at putting off both Grand Master Niall and Lord Grejor when they grow demanding. Keeping them at bay for another week shouldn't be too difficult.

[It also helps that Grejor's Jewel is light and Niall doesn't wear one at all. When she's feeling truly petty herself, she can just shield the residence to keep them out.]

To be frank, tensions will likely never dim, but it is my hope that if passion on both sides can be overcome, we will see a just conclusion.

[ if actual sighs of relief could be heard through these psychic lines, then there's a good chance that daylight's is being right at this very moment. ]

That's good to hear. I hope they accept the idea. I think with this one? Everyone can win in a way. Not all the way-way but in some way, you know?

[ daylight realises he's babbling now and catches himself. no need to make himself look ridiculous in front of the ruler.

but there is something else he wants to say- ] I'm sorry, by the way.

[She laughs softly at his little babble.]

Yes, indeed.

[The laughter fades, and curiosity echoes between them.]

Sorry? What for?

That- [ how to explain this without sounding weird?

...

... nope. can't think of a way to not make it sound weird. gotta go with what he has and hopes earnestness makes up for it: ] That this is happening. I've only been around for a short while but I can tell everyone is, um, only trying to get by their own way.

I get people getting scared or angry when they feel like they're pushed to a corner but I wish it hadn't ended like this. For both the councilwoman and the guy. It's not only them who's affected by this. [ he keeps thinking about the families on both sides of this, wondering how they're taking it so far. ]

[Fayura lapses into silence for a long, long moment—long enough to think she may have abandoned the conversation except for the web of minds still connected. Finally, she speaks again.]

I, too, am sorry for these same things. Sometimes, I think...

[Though she keeps her mind tightly locked, remorse flavors the psychic link between them.]

Well. Draega has had many opportunities to start fresh, and now her people are screaming like toddlers because an outside force is dragging them toward something better. They are the children who know that this direction is best for them but are mad they didn't choose it first.

[ it's... it's weird being able to feel someone else's emotions.

yeah. that's the only way he can describe the experience when he waits for the queen to finish her words, curious to hear what she has to say. the silence from earlier had him really worried, wondering if he had said something wrong, so being able to hear her again is a relief.

not wanting to have that happen again, daylight is quick to be bubbly and positive again. the situation is pretty sticky, yeah, but! they're all here to help each other! they're here to help. he's definitely going to help, for sure. ]

I guess it's a good thing we're here to give a hand, huh? [ he does his best to sound confident, though his end stills reflects uncertainty. there's optimism, of course, but the uncertainty cannot be denied. ] We'll do what we can to help you and everyone else here out! I promise!

[His positivity filters back to her, and it buoys her somber mood.]

Your optimism is rare in Draega, Lord Dayli—

[She stops, abruptly, and for a moment their psychic connection riots with different feelings. Surprise, excitement, tentative hope. She's realized something that's locked behind shields in her mind.

With a laugh, she continues.]

We need more people like you. People who hope, who look toward the future with optimism.

[ day is pretty new to this physic connection thread... thing, so he's still grappling with moments like these and, more importantly, how to react to them.

he doesn't know if that's a good weird or a bad weird or a perhaps funny in later hindsight weight so - he'll go with the positive option and go with good weird. he's honestly proud to have helped her spirits. ]

You gotta believe in what you believe in. What kind of guy would I be if talked about wanting to help but didn't believe in it? [ a pretty lousy guy, is what. ] I hope this works out for the best for everyone in the end, I really do.

And- Before I forget- Thank you for reaching out to us. To discuss this. It's nice to know we can help you out. Even if it's to only hash things out and stuff with you.

You're here because what the Blood and the landens have been doing is not enough to fix what's broken in this world. We need an outside perspective. People with fresh, new ideas. I had the means and the power to bring capture that in a web and bring it to Draega, and so I did.

Not listening to you would be like blinding myself to witchlight I've created to find my way out of a cave.

That sounds bad.

[ an astute observation, daylight. he makes up for it with the genuine sincerity and concern that he shows.

from what he understands, that sounds like a pretty thing for her to have done. twice, too, if he recalls his conversation with the others on his first day correctly. he's surprised (and, honestly, a little worried) that she's still doing so much.

which may explain his next words: ] Besides this- Is there anything else we can do to help you out on this? Or something else?

I feel like as part of helping out here, that means we gotta make sure you're not carrying the workload alone. It isn't fair to you!

[Gently:] I'm the Queen of Hayll; the entire Territory is my responsibility. While I may ask you to assist me in specific tasks, the consequences of failure fall on me.

Do what you can to build trust. That's all I can ask.

But- [ daylight struggles to find a way to explain his feelings and thoughts on this. without putting his pede down his intake because wow. he sure can do that in times like these.

let's see if he can avoid that now: ] But that isn't fair to you. We're here to help everyone. That includes you! You shouldn't shoulder that all alone.

[ okay. he's going to stop here because it officially feels like he's toeing at some lines now. ]

That is the burden of a Queen. In another time, I would have District and Provence Queens to share the task. I would have a court of Warlord Princes who care for regions in the absence of a Queen. But there are no other Queens, and there are few Warlord Princes who can be trusted to protect the people who remain. This is what the Blood have brought on themselves. Now, we do what we can to stop that final decline.

...

Understood. [ reluctantly so.

because- daylight gets what the queen is saying here. it makes him think of what his auntie laura and uncle leeds had to deal with in the past, what his mom and dad had to shoulder by themselves when they took both role and responsibility of being someone in power.

he gets it and he hates he gets it. he wants to bulldoze over these lines and boundaries to help except he gets what's going on here. he knows it won't be the right thing to do if he tries to persist. it'll be the easy thing to do but not the right thing to do. urgh. ]

If you need anything that allows someone or anyone to give you a hand, please let me know! No- Let us know. We're in this together! Everyone here who is talking to you and supporting you!

[ and with that all said and done... ] Um... I'll let you talk to the others in peace now. Sorry for, um, chattering so much and thank you for chattering so much back.

No, don't apologize. I invited the conversation and I appreciate it. Talking to all of you has been quite helpful.

Have a lovely evening, Daylight.

[Her mental touch fades a moment later.]

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