Not as much as I need to know yet, but I am in a much better position now, yes.
[he keeps his posture straight, his voice even.]
And I suppose the kind of assistance I can give you depends on what you might offer in turn. I am willing to help you for his sake, but I still do not intend to do something like turn from Merriment for that alone.
...I wouldn't ask you to switch from him anyway. [A beat.] You know I liked the kid, too, right? I was training him last week. He would've done well under my leadership but he ultimately went somewhere else. Same with Zoe.
[So. He's been feeling this week's deaths, too.]
I need a way to secure a win in order to uphold the bargain I made with Piety. Right now my numbers aren't high enough, so I need to break apart the clusters that are higher ranked. Make sense?
...I know. I feel as if many of us must have, even if we...
[failed him in the end. he doesn't say it aloud, just shaking his head and pausing for a moment before moving on, resting his chin in his palm.]
Higher ranked ones such as Ambition's? I know she was quite distressed on your behalf, but... she has been doing surprisingly well for herself, and her followers have certainly made it difficult to keep an eye on the numbers, among other things.
That's exactly what I mean, yeah. The thing I worry about her followers is that they're only with her for safety and security instead of believing in her. She's good at what she does and I'm proud of her, but I'm not here for people disappointing her or faking for her.
[Oh. A protective dad.] ...if I win, I can at least assure she'll be taken care of and she'll be at my right hand alongside Piety. She has a lot to learn. She's...a kid, you know? You can't just expect a kid to be thrust into this kind of thing without crumbling under the stress. I know she's doing her best but she's still lacking the overall experience needed to lead all of us.
Plus I'm worried about some people being unhappy they were beaten out by her.
I do not believe I would approve of her winning under those circumstances, either. I have nothing against her myself, but-- I do agree that something should be done, and that she would not be qualified as she is, although I do not know her particularly well myself. She seems too young to carry that sort of burden, even if she did have everyone's full support.
[there's a pause, there, before he adds a little more quietly:]
I believe it was one of her followers that got away with it, as well. I do have some personal investment in seeing one of them go; she likely does not need that sort of person to be too close, either.
You're not wrong. I won't tell her that she's too young because I'm not going to insult her, but she is. I want her to work within her limits, and I want her to stay focused. The more people that follow her, the more pressure she's gonna be under to do everything perfectly for them. I don't like it.
[...but.] You think so? [Interesting...] What're you going to do about it then?
...try to locate them. I know three out of five, I am fairly sure, but what Ray-kun left us could apply to any of those three in some way, not to mention that it could also be one of the two I do not know.
[he pauses, the fingers of his other hand tapping idly for a few moments.]
I'm not about to discourage that. [There's a thought.] Any idea how to make yourself more sure of the three you think you know about already? Ambition's the hints girl, but I'm pretty sure she won't give you hints about that kind of thing.
That's precisely why I am looking elsewhere, even if that is her specialty. I did not think she would be very willing to help cast suspicion on any of her own.
... I know there is only so much any of you can do or say, but there are few things I am unwilling to do in turn. I have been trying to press the ones I am able to for information, but while I managed to force one to confirm their alignment-- I did not get much else that was of use out of them, unfortunately. Speaking with the second did make me a bit more suspicious of them, and the third I don't know well enough to deal with personally. I am leaving them to someone else.
Fair enough. I've always found that if I'm lacking information, I go directly to the people nobody else really talks to. You'd be surprised what you might find out. [Is that his own hint? Probably, because it's not a very good one.] You ever hear the phrase "a wolf in sheep's clothing"?
Some of the innocent might not be so innocent after all.
Mm. I will see who else I can meet with, then-- I am sure that I can get some more ground covered.
[he can run around more, that's fine? especially if the others help. but his brow furrows at that last comment.]
Some of the innocent... but I know everyone in Merriment and Sincerity's following, and unless we were lied to then Justice should have been cleared as well... would I be correct in assuming you mean someone was involved but not technically considered guilty?
In my opinion? That's a pretty high possibility. You'd be surprised how smart people are when it comes to things like how murders and trials are handled.
... we've been looking at one in particular thinking that perhaps Ray-kun's symbol meant two people. I'll have to see if we can't press her further, then.
I'm not sure what his whole thing would've meant, but you want some advice? If you've got a hunch, it's worth pursuing. The worst is already happening here anyway.
...nothing I can think of at the moment. I'm not exactly in a good position thanks to what happened with Guy, but it's not like you can do much about that, can you?
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[he keeps his posture straight, his voice even.]
And I suppose the kind of assistance I can give you depends on what you might offer in turn. I am willing to help you for his sake, but I still do not intend to do something like turn from Merriment for that alone.
It is, however, an option.
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[So. He's been feeling this week's deaths, too.]
I need a way to secure a win in order to uphold the bargain I made with Piety. Right now my numbers aren't high enough, so I need to break apart the clusters that are higher ranked. Make sense?
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[failed him in the end. he doesn't say it aloud, just shaking his head and pausing for a moment before moving on, resting his chin in his palm.]
Higher ranked ones such as Ambition's? I know she was quite distressed on your behalf, but... she has been doing surprisingly well for herself, and her followers have certainly made it difficult to keep an eye on the numbers, among other things.
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[Oh. A protective dad.] ...if I win, I can at least assure she'll be taken care of and she'll be at my right hand alongside Piety. She has a lot to learn. She's...a kid, you know? You can't just expect a kid to be thrust into this kind of thing without crumbling under the stress. I know she's doing her best but she's still lacking the overall experience needed to lead all of us.
Plus I'm worried about some people being unhappy they were beaten out by her.
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[there's a pause, there, before he adds a little more quietly:]
I believe it was one of her followers that got away with it, as well. I do have some personal investment in seeing one of them go; she likely does not need that sort of person to be too close, either.
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[...but.] You think so? [Interesting...] What're you going to do about it then?
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[he pauses, the fingers of his other hand tapping idly for a few moments.]
But if I locate them, I intend to remove them.
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... I know there is only so much any of you can do or say, but there are few things I am unwilling to do in turn. I have been trying to press the ones I am able to for information, but while I managed to force one to confirm their alignment-- I did not get much else that was of use out of them, unfortunately. Speaking with the second did make me a bit more suspicious of them, and the third I don't know well enough to deal with personally. I am leaving them to someone else.
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Some of the innocent might not be so innocent after all.
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[he can run around more, that's fine? especially if the others help. but his brow furrows at that last comment.]
Some of the innocent... but I know everyone in Merriment and Sincerity's following, and unless we were lied to then Justice should have been cleared as well... would I be correct in assuming you mean someone was involved but not technically considered guilty?
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[he bows his head, there, leaving it for a few moments before he straightens.]
-but I did say I would assist you in turn, as well. Is there anything you would ask of me?
[-because yes, trying to get information was definitely a reason he showed up.]
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