07.09l: Rights and Privileges

[misfit]

Harrune is obviously very startled by Spellbinder's reaction. It's already been a stressful day for him and this extra bit is all it takes to give us something rarely seen in Amber: an angry Harrune.

"Pass a law? What exactly would this law be and how would you enforce it for a city of this size? If you can give me a good answer to that question then everything is fine. If you can't, then we have a problem that's going to just keep getting worse. The people of Rebma are already angry over this. If it continues to get worse then there will be only two possible outcomes. The first is that everyone abandons Rebma and we lose an important part of our community here. Too many of us on land don't realize just how important Rebma is, but it would be a disaster to lose them. The second possibility is that they get angry enough to take things into their own hands. That means they would rise up and attack the city to defend their home. Yes, that's right. It would be full-blown war in the streets. A war that would continue until one side or the other, maybe both, is wiped out."

"What were you saying about that code of yours? Something about protecting the weak because you have the power to do something about it? These people need someone to save their homes and prevent a war. Are you saying that's beneath you? That you're too important for that? Or just too arrogant? Is it just not glorious enough for you?"

[Spellbinder]

"Wow! War? Melodrama much? It can't be that bad."

"And what is it with this place? Why does everyone seem to have an agenda that they want me to be a part of? Did someone put a sign that says 'sucker' on my back or something? Quin and Oberon take it as a given that I'll walk the Pattern. I've been warned that Dworkin will force the issue given half a chance. Now you're trying to use my ethics and traditions to get me to do your dirty work for you, literally! No one seems to care that I'm a person, you all just see me as some pawn to further your own ends. Well I'm not playing that game. I'm outta here."

With that Kevin takes to the air and flies back towards the castle.

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OOC - Spellbinder doesn't got through the steps of casting a racked spell...he just takes off.

[misfit]

Harrune sighs heavily. "Well, that could have gone better. Today is just not my day."

Alaror speaks. "It was hardly your fault. He was just being a jerk."

"Well that doesn't change the fact that I handle it poorly. I should not have gotten angry as well. I don't know what came over me."

Fillane puts her hand on Harrune's arm. "I do. You weren't angry with him. He was a convenient way to vent the anger you were already feeling. We missed a lot of what happened before, but clearly something significant happened and you're very unhappy about it."

Harrune sighs again. "That is an understatement. Let me explain..."

Harrune very quietly brings them up to speed as they walk through the crowd.

[Veyska]

((Apologies for vanishing quite so thoroughly. Holiday distractions were bad enough, but then I was offline most of the second week of visiting relatives and then got sick on top of that and got my first night of even merely semi-decent sleep in probably a week just last night...))

Asai abruptly materializes out of a swirl of the crowd and pads up to Harrune. "Here," she says, "you look like you could use a cookie." And indeed, a cookie is proffered. There may or may not be cookies available somewhere around the tournament, but there probably aren't duplicates of the astonishingly over-the-top cookies that were served back at the feast on the first night of the festival. Bizarrely, it's still fresh and warm like it had just been wheeled into the dining hall, except that was two days and quite some distance ago... Once the cookie has been accepted, Asai will comment in a somewhat sardonic tone of voice, "If his shadow's anything like the fictional ones I've read visual books on in some of the more technologically advanced shadows I'd think he'd be more used to such things. Seems like half the plots when the scriptwriters got bored involved the heroes doing what amounted to supernatural maintenance work on city infrastructures... Then again, he did just get here and Dworkin seems to be running sub-par for handling new recruits lately so maybe you just had the misfortune of being the last straw..."

[misfit]

Harrune gratefully accepts the cookie and takes a bite. While he's chewing, Alaror cuts in, "Or maybe he's just a narrow minded, short sighted, arrogant, self-serving, self-righteous...", he looks around and realizes that there are ladies present, "...jerk!"

Fillane looks shocked. "Alaror!"

Harrune sighs. "No Fillane, he might be right. Or Asai might be right. Or maybe it's some of both. We just don't know this Spellbinder well enough to judge yet. We'll just have to give him some time and see how he develops."

"Asai, how has the day been treating you?"

[Veyska]

"Better than some, it would seem. Other than Cameron's antics with that toxic paintbrush and my impromptu fire sculpture - and speaking of which, I still need to smack him for that, do you realize how hard it is to analyze something that fast to make sure there won't be any unwanted chemical reactions when it hits what is technically a hazardous materials fire?" despite the content of Asai's words, her expression and tone are quite cheerful, "-things have been downright ordinary for a Ht'gon festival. Why, only one of the mounts seemed at all interested in trying to take a bite out of this strange stripe-tailed creature and it was smart enough to find something else to occupy its attention when I gave it a reproving Look before it could attempt anything foolish."

[misfit]

"Well honestly, no I don't know how difficult that is. All I know is that you handled it with your usual skill and flair, so it became a thing of wonder and not a danger. Being able to create wonders is a great gift. That is far beyond what I could do."

[Veyska]

"It would be a rather imperfect analogy, given that I suspect I could, with enough time and study, do what you're doing... But I wouldn't be enjoying it once the learning phase was done and it would never be as natural and instinctive as it is for you. Each to their own and while this analogy's even less perfect than the previous, would you particularly want a Sleeth* filling your role instead of yourself or one of your kin?" Asai's tone is quite cheerful, even with a trace of light-hearted self-mocking in there, but there's also a faint but very much real undercurrent of something that's not quite chiding but at least some sort of distant kin thereof as well**.

(* Though Wyvern and I agreed Asai would be much more like some sort of bizarre Zi-ri/Sleeth hybrid than a straight Sleeth...)
(**There's a bit of Psyche behind this as well. As I described it to Wyvern a little while ago, it's kind of the verbal equivalent of gently bopping the nose of a dog with a dog biscuit which you then give to them. Like the inverse of a back-handed compliment, kinda' sorta'...)

[misfit]

"Oh, I know that we all have our own strengths and gifts. Mine just run along more...mundane...lines. Both have their value. I merely meant to acknowledge yours. You do keep things interesting around here and make sure that we maintain our sense of wonder. I think that we all need that."

[Veyska]

Asai opens her mouth like she's about to make some additional mildly snarky comment but instead closes it and settles for a faintly admonishing smile and flick of the ears*. She flicks the briefest of Looks** at Fillane and Alaror before commenting, "Well hopefully your new position will give your work a bit more attention, and not just of the current prickly sort. Wonder and craziness need something in which to ground themselves, especially in a subculture whose territory doesn't exist half the time and literally isn't grounded even when it does exist. Bit hard to go leaping off madly in pursuit of some strange new idea when there's nothing off of which to leap. Either it doesn't work at all or you fall flat on your face." Asai's eyes twinkle as she says this last bit though her ears twitch backwards the slightest amount for a moment***.

(*AKA, she can tell this conversation's going in circles and doesn't feel like enabling the chasing-of-tails any more than she already has. It's an entirely cheerful and good-natured sort of reproving though, like a nanny who caught her charge sneaking towards the cookie jar but knows full well the sneaking was only happening because being caught in this instance would be a shared joke of sorts. Hopefully that isn't too confusing... )
(**"Your turn now...")
(***Non-Cani might not catch it, but even though Asai's not Cani the basic body language is similar enough all three can fairly easily catch the implication that while Asai was/is in fact amused by whatever incident she was thinking of it was probably also at her expense.)