trueltning_fury | IC Inbox - Isle of Avalon [dropped]

I'm not sure why that's odd. We have a lot of assumptions about him that may not be true.

[which is, oddly, the truth. Even Geddoe would have assumed him to be hardcore bloodthirsty and all about death given that the asshole stole his Rune, but...he's learned a few things about his motives that weren't clear during the war. Times change. And so do his alliances]

I know the feeling. [ Nash is so often misunderstood. That may or may not be a product of being a professional liar. ]

But continue.

[ Let's hear about all of Yuber's secret motivations! ]

Continue what? What are you getting at, Nash?

[he's tired of dancing around and just wants to get down to it, if there's an it to get down to]

[ Nash's voice loses its usual tilt. ]

Yuber told me you made a deal with him.

[AHEM.

Welp, can't lampshade it any longer. There's a deep sigh before he responds]

So you know. Damn him, just coming out with it like that...

It was an attempt to keep him on something of a leash, even if it wasn't a tight one.

Yeah, I didn't even have to be clever about it.

[ Yuber, thy name is not subtlety. ]

And you obviously though I'd disapprove.

I obviously thought it was no one's business but my own, in case it blew up in my face. I don't need anyone giving me the 'I told you so' if it went sour or he wouldn't be able to control himself.

If it was ill-advised, I should have been the only one to face consequences.

You can't face the consequences while running away from I told you so. [ Secrets have their own consequences. ] But I'm not interested in that, right now.

Do you still think it was a good idea?

Yes, I do.

[firmly. If he's going down, he's going down owning it]

I don't even know if it's working well enough but the real problems in this place haven't been caused by him.

Of course not. But that doesn't mean we should be deciding who he gets to kill.

[ Of course, should might have nothing to do with it. It rarely does. ]

So, let him kill anyone he wants, then. [SARCASM. Man, he's been holding that amound of sarcasm in for a while]

You and I both know that we don't have the leverage to fully rein him in. Neither of us are Silverbergs. It's a stopgap, and I'm aware of it. The longer I can keep it in place, the better.

[ Nash's voice is mild. He's always been bad at righteous indignation. ]

Do leaves fall from the trees in autumn because you let them? [ Nash has personally given Yuber permission to kill exactly zero people. Yuber doesn't seem to care. ]

So, you're treading water.

[someday you'll find something to believe just enough in, Nash. Until then, fair's fair.]

Maybe I am. I don't even know anymore.

Just, don't tell Chris. You know what knights are like.

I can keep a secret. [ Which is not the same thing as him agreeing to keep this one. He's still not sure. ]

What if she goes against Yuber and doesn't think to use her words, first? She's going to try to take him down no matter what.

[if he doesn't, Geddoe is happy to show how punchable that face can be sometimes]

I'm aware. She won't rest until she proves he's up to something and arrests him, and we all know it isn't going to end well. We just have to stay a step ahead of her.

Or, and I'm aware that this is ironic, coming from me, you could just explain yourself and not need to worry about keeping pace.

[the long pause is for him to appreciate that level of irony. Thanks Nash, he'll relish it for days.]

...that would be an option.

[not one he's going to entertain until he has to but it is, factually, one option]

If you're honest, you never have to remember anything.

No wonder your memory is so bad.

[taken under advisement, Nash]

You know what they say about good advice. Can't do anything with it but pass it along.

[ It's never useful to oneself. ]

Seriously, you know this is going to blow up, right? You can't keep this a secret forever, because too many people already know. [ And one of them is Yuber. ] If you want to stay one step ahead, get in front of it. Good way to wipe out my leverage, too.

[sigh, yeah, he knows]

It's going to blow up even if I say nothing. Whether she finds out on accident or because I said something, it's not going to end well. There's nothing in it for me either way.

There's Elza, too. [ Also in on Chris's Yuber patrol. ] Unless she already knows? [ He doesn't think Elza would mind bits with the killing, but she might not want to be led on. ]

You're lucky I take dishonesty as a compliment.

Hm. I should check in with Elza, on that front. No one else knows anything at all, you're the first Yuber has apparently tattled to.

[he's gonna be on his way to the manor to have a few words with the weirdo over that]

You and I operate on a different level from the kind and honorable. I trust you grasp that I'm willing to do anything to strike a balance, no matter how underhanded? I assumed the risk the moment I came up with the idea. I'm not an idiot, I know how delicate the balance is, here.

I won't pretend to be a good person. [ Or even that he has a solid idea of what a good person is. That is the kind of thing that changes with the light. ] But when you get down to it I'm pretty simple. I don't like seeing people get hurt.

[ That means you too, Geddoe. Which is why he's not planning on telling Chris anytime soon. ]

Oh? I'll try to remember that.

[an interesting little tidbit, a suggestion of where he and Nash agree besides...well, almost everything else. Huh. Who'da thunk.]

Leave it to me, Nash. If this fails, I'll let you know immediately.

(no subject)

latkje - 2021-12-07 05:41 (UTC) - Expand