sheep_game | (no subject)

It is . . . a hope. I can not yet judge . . . your capacity for growth.

Yeah? Me neither. So guess that's fine.

Shall I . . . update you, on my findings?

Sure. Go for it.

[what could it hurt?]

[ nods. they will absolutely give him his future grades in Humanity Potential, a thing that is real to perceive and normal to communicate. ]

[he's gonna fail at Humanity Potential despite being human and he's fine with that]

... so. What did happen to the other kid?

[ oh. right. the worst thing I've ever done. they take a measured breath, most pointedly not looking at him now. ]

As a consequence of insubordination . . . I left him to die.

Yer mentor guy order that?

[what a fucker. fucking asshole.]

Yes. And I obeyed.

Yeah, 'cause if ya didn't, he might've killed ya too.

[ huffs out something that may be distantly related to a laugh and shakes their head ]

You're . . . misunderstanding. My junior was left behind because . . . he couldn't survive on his own. I . . . could have. I could have.

[he understands just fine. that was clearly a test of loyalty. fucked up.]

Why couldn't he survive on his own?

He had fallen . . . from a tree he wasn't supposed to climb, and a snow storm was . . . blooming. Rhys Vasys said there was . . . no way to get us all to shelter in time. That he would lose the leg. That he had no further potential.

"It's not a punishment, just a consequence."

[... when it could have been a good lesson on how to survive in an emergency situation? seriously???]

Yeah, no. That's just a rejection of duty and care.

Yes. It was . . . a choice. Emotional and flawed.

And I, likewise, chose to obey.

[... hates that he gets it. he did choose to kill, after all.]

Y'should still kill 'im.

[ their expression flows into something hard to read. rueful, certainly, but with a softness they rarely express. ]

Yes. There should be . . . no more.

[just nodding. not really much else to say. they got a group back home, so. it's fine.]

[ it does seem like that's all Mute has to say either. for a long time they are silent, even go talk to a definitely-not-murderous Minuet about their friends. But then they speak to Styx again, without prompting: ]

He's not evil. He's . . . a hero. I . . . want you to know.

Edited 2023-08-09 18:24 (UTC)

Person doesn't gotta be evil to do evil things.

[don't he know it. but also, he's not sure if it's a brainwashing thing or not. but either way, abandoning a kid to the elements for breaking their leg? not something a GOOD person would do, so.]

[ nods, OK good he does get it. and in a way, isn't ALL raising a child to fit to the ideals of their society brainwashing, if you think about it? ]

His rangers . . . we're protectors. . . heroes as well. We are . . . a boon to the weak in a dangerous place.

[ It's a weird feeling for them to want to explain this. They usually like to play their cards way, way closer to their chest. They don't always see a lot of value in being understood; they also don't put much weight in morality, either, only causality. Maybe that's what makes this case different: that this is someone who can understand why this has to be the exception. Why ends can not justify means. ]

Maybe . . . it is an evil thing to stop him. To . . . end the line. To leave my homeland unprotected. But I don't want- no, I can't . . . have more juniors. I should never . . . have been just his senior. I should have been his older sister. I should have been her little brother.

[ nods to where the memory played ]

So, I will be, even if neither will ever know.

Do you understand?

Edited 2023-08-09 18:43 (UTC)

[god, he needs a drink on top of all the smokes.]

... orphanage I was from was a place a group of assassins got their young blood from. Dunno how many were taken and didn't make the cut before me, but made damn sure as much as I could that none would come after.

Not a boon to society. Person runnin' it was no damn hero or protector.

But yeah. I get it.

Edited (words are hard) 2023-08-09 18:59 (UTC)

[ “Is this a time to hug?” they wonder. Their nascent How To Be A Person senses suggest this is a time to let physical contact reaffirm the established emotional connection. So maybe it’s time to hold a hand? Probably not time to ruffle hair. Definitely not a hair ruffle. Unless . . . ?

They dither for a moment and then just settle on placing their hand flat against his heart. ]

Edited 2023-08-09 19:01 (UTC)

[someone is not as familiar with these things, so he just kind of looks down at their hand with the frown of knowing there's significance to that but not sure how to respond.

...

well, hair ruffles works, right?]

Don't gotta get emotional 'bout it.

I think . . . I do gotta get emotional. Maybe . . . maybe you gotta as well.

[ their shoulders sag a little and they let their hand drop. Neither of them seems to know exactly what they’re trying to communicate or how to do it, but somehow they’ve managed anyway. Gold stars for both of them. ]

Maybe that is capacity for growth.

(no subject)

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