un: starburst, toward the end of this arc.

[valeas]

( Emilia di Carlo has seen better days, by the look of her. Her battle leathers are torn, soot and cuts still on her face — but she doesn't give in to the exhaustion just yet, nor the bile in her throat. First, she addresses the people of Alem, dignified and resolute. )

Prince Haiva sacrificed himself and leaves his sister, the young Cle-Florens, spared.

I was witness.

( A pause, then, as she allows that to sink in. )

Hell is sealed.

You fought with valor so others might live. I'm glad to have fought beside you, and will remember your fallen just the same.

If you've yet to evacuate, the time is now. Hassir awaits.

Comments

private.

[valeas]

( Emilia cants her head to the side, a slight thing. She can't quite tell if this line of questioning is a trap or naivety, but she carefully chooses to enter the conversation in good faith until proven otherwise, having discerned he is from their group and not Alem.

Her capacity for brutality is very real, but it is not senseless or without purpose. She'll be feared by those she deems enemy and not those she seeks to protect, much less those who only wish to protect themselves. He is right to worry.

When she speaks again, it is direct but not unkind. )

We find ourselves in a world at constant threat of being consumed by the undead, with unscrupulous figures who will weaponise the war for their own ends. There are those within our group who will engage with its violence as they believe necessary, albeit not exclusively so.

( Irenia is a key example of this, perhaps. It would have been easier to kill her, and she was freed instead. )

If you are asking me to point fingers, I will do no such thing without fair reason. Haiva is my responsibility.

private.

[nachocheese]

Mm. I'm not-- asking for fingers, exactly--

[He tries to think of how to clarify this. He understands her stance. It's good that she doesn't want to throw anybody under the bus. He respects that.

But he can't bring himself to give up quite so easily, either.]

But I want to know who I can trust. You feel?

[Will that satisfy her? Probably not. But it's worth a try. Idly, he wonders if he should try to speak more like the way she does, to make her more comfortable -- all old-timey and shit. But he'd sound so stilted and obviously fake trying to do that.

Better to be honest about at least this aspect of who he is and stick to talking the way he normally would.]

private.

[valeas]

I don't, if I'm honest. I prefer to make my own assessments.

( Emilia would not simply trust the word of another, certainly not when they've only just met. But then, she is a skeptical person by nature, one that does not like to walk in the dark, and she doubts he's revealing the true extent of his motivation as it is.

She can't exactly fault him for that. It's smart to be cautious. )

Our group is not homogeneous by any means, but I've yet to meet someone within it who would sabotage our efforts to reach the beacons that might take us home. You can trust in that.

( They work toward that goal, however else they might differ. )

If it is its history you seek more information on, then I advise you speak to Wei Wuxian. He was among the first to arrive, and well knows the dangers we face and the personalities you'll meet, including the Merchant. I trust his judgment.

private.

[nachocheese]

[ Making her own assessments? That's smart, in a place like this.

It's not the system Nacho is used to, though. Where he's from, you know a guy, who knows a guy, who knows a guy. And everything happens in secret. Someone's reputation has to precede them to an extent. You have to do it that way, because not everything can be done openly enough for everyone to make their own candid assessments about everyone else.

But he gets the sense that's not the case for her.

She mentions Wei Wuxian, though, and he has to bite back the smallest of smiles.

Yeah. That'd go great for him right about now.

But he appreciates her candor. He offers only: ]

Thanks, Emilia. I'll keep everything you said in mind.