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Taking another large sip from the now second glass of Wine, sighing a prolonged release of air as she glared down towards the crimson liquid. Thinking.
"It... will not distract from the problems... They are a peculiar kind, why would they want to hurt their own people? The distraction would work if we were perhaps actively terrorising their colony, but... well... We aren't. "
Another large gulp, seemingly using the substance as a pain relief.
"So illogical... What a waste of life, of resources... why did I waste my years helping them...? Such a fool. "
He smiled Only one part fool. You, unfortunately, cannot predict the future and few probably anticipated things going the way that they have. Betrayal was not an unfamiliar feeling, nor was it an unused tool that he never employed, if the conditions required it and he saw no other option, he would, by necessity, betray someone for the greater good. Or at very least, the greatest possible good as he saw it. That didn't mean he was happy about it, but sometimes, it was required. I'm not going to promise you anything my dear. I can't and even if I could, the future is not mine to see either. Thing change, and try as I might foresight is not a natural gift I possess. Today I am going to help you, because I believe you...oddly. I know you don't trust me. I know you think of me as the cold and calculating intelligence officer. In some ways I take that as a compliment. He flashed a darker smile at her as he spoke I wouldn't be any good if you could see right through me after all. But I should think that I am at very least a man of my word. I don't give it very often, when I do I try to abide by it.
Subtly was not his strong suit, he had to learn it from Dagon and even then she could read him like a book. But you need to know I do not agree with everything the Government does. Few Intelligence officers do I suspect, we do not possess the power we once did. I don't think we want to have it again either. Nevertheless, Auxesia is our enemy, at least on paper. But as today has shown, if there is something truly dangerous, something you my possibly need help with. I can offer my assistance. Me, personally, not the Service. Just think on that as you brave the darkness of the void.
He reached into his jacket pocket and produced the rosary beads he had given her before and placed them on the table in front of her. Take it. I should hope that it will be a small light in the dark when you need it. And if it is not, then maybe it will serve as a reminder of me and a slightly happier memory. Frankly he wasn't going to take no for an answer, it was a gift. One he gave freely.
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Lowering her glass, she was satisfied by his answers once more - giving a brief smirk, yet the headache was pounding more and more. He couldn't be fully trusted, not even half, not yet. He would have to prove himself to her. And hopefully, the offer of helping him resist the Sentinels was the first step to building that trust.
"Such a division is only going to inevitably hurt yourselves."
But the principle of being united with one's own people was a concept that she noticed that Bretonia did not understand. She felt as if indirectly helping him may harm her own to some degree. That she is her kin. Glaring down at his offer, she took a brief sip, placing the glass down on the table,
"Dark times are ahead - everyone is going to need to put their differences aside. Chaos is truly going to give everyone a test in the coming storm... I needn't your physical gift, it wouldn't be wise to have something to trace back to you, hm? I will bare it in mind.
... I admit, that I do have some familiarity with you. Had it been anyone else, I wouldn't have come. That is why I am taking the chance to be here today. To help you with the City. And, I hope, that you see my intentions are genuine. That those rumors are merely paranoid theories spawned from envy, from what I have learned. "
He looked at her blankly, for all the requirements she placed on him he had mentioned few of his own. There weren't many to mention, he didn't trust her. Not at all. If he had to question her intentions, the meaning behind her words, her teasing then it was very clear he didn't trust her at all. But her 'weakness' if it could be called that, was knowledge and the seeking of it. He could trust her at very least to see her interests through. We shall see
There was little more to add, he wasn't going to take her word for it but he wasn't going to flatly state she was lying either. Time would tell, he had prepared for both possibilities.
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A warm - yet drunken - chuckle emerged.
"That we shall... I'm sorry that these things have turned out the way they have. A shame we couldn't stomp out the Corsairs together then."
Humoring herself, she picked up the glass once more. Despite all the years that passed by - all the betrayals and changes of circumstance, her utter hatred of the Corsairs had always remained true. Some self reflection was had in that, wondering what the political landscape may have appeared, had Bretonia's demand for subjugation was never made.
In the end, the thoughts of the city loomed over her mind, pondering whether they'll try to restrain her after her offered help. A risk, no less. But, other thoughts emerged, particularly about a certain Elder Nomad. Relieving with a sigh,
"Perhaps things could be far worse... You're not as drab as most spies are." - teasing him once more, she perked a smirk. But she was thankful that he gave a chance, and that his attitude was not as horrendous as most individuals are in Sirius. Even if he was playing a long game too, no doubt was held in her mind that he was expecting it from her too.
He drained his glass and placed it on the table, turning his head away to look at the sunset over the mountains in the distance. I am what I am, as my brother would say. But I don't see the need to be rude or arrogant toward people, even those who are my enemies. The world of alliance is a fluid one, the very least I can do is be amicable. Although you, my dear Sapphire, are not one to waste time. You strike me as someone who holds your presence and time as valuable, which it probably is to be fair. I suspect there are a great many secrets you know that have coloured your opinions of people long before you meet them. People like O'Brian or Dagon, falling into some category or another. I should be very much opposed to being labled 'traitor' or 'lair', although with the nature of our work, I will say that this is almost inevitable.
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Stiffling a chuff, mildly entertained by his perspective that she may be organised.
"Sometimes I let my time be dictated by the erratic forces of chaos. You may never know where you end up, a gamble that can be... profitable at times. Finding the unusual. Most of the time, a bad idea - you end up with a bolt to your face....
Figuring out the angle of another person can be an arduous task at times. Most people are not as simple as they appear. Half of the time, I do not care. "
Picking up the glass once more, she took more sips, though the drunkenness was beginning to settle in.
Perhaps she was finally going to be honest with him, although he seriously doubted it, perhaps she no longer knew how to be. So what is my angle? he asked simply. He didn't doubt her perception, but he did doubt she was entirely honest. She could be, and had been, wholly cruel in the past, giving an open and frank opinion on his motivations as she saw it ought to be refreshing and certainly no trouble for her. He had no connection with the woman, there was no reason she would hold back, unless of course she felt as though insulting him would compromise his offer too her. He smiled at the thought, unable to take criticism, that didn't sound like him at all.
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"Your angle? Am I not sitting in it right now?"
Entertained, a drunken smile emerged as she sipped once more on the second glass of wine, avoiding his question with a soft chuckle. Releasing the moment of humor as a bygone,
"Well, it is clear you care for your home. And, perhaps... the taste of nostalgia, hope, perhaps some desperation, lingers upon your mind. You are right to be concerned about that City, but you'll likely dispose of me - but since I mentioned that - perhaps there'll be reconsiderations. And possibly me, oh - I am the terror of Sirius, did you not know?"
The befuddled humor remained, still finding some tipsy entertainment regarding hearsay of the Sector. The brief assessment continued,
"Maybe you like the danger. The plain and old gets boring. Politicians? Untolerable. Meek and drab. You quite enjoy the unusual, a little challenge to go about your day. And you will be happy with turning on others to gain an upper hand. You mindlessly serve the Crown, your family has an investment within this den of snakes, individuals uncaring of their subjects...
P-Ponder this yourself; I used to be a Bretonian, but I changed. The product of the Crown's apathy and self inflated interests. How many more people like me would be made... or have been?"
Towards the end, the self control lacked, the inebriation stirred a little fire within that could not be contained. The anger, the sheer regret of being a mindless minion to a subject that did not provide care, perceiving it little more than glorified mental servitude from the culture that indoctrinated them. A mildly agitated sigh was released, taking another swig from the glass, finishing the second glass, placing it down back onto the table.
"Perhaps I failed to mention, that I severely dislike the Crown for what they have done, and have not done. Pompous and ever so vain individuals with no class. Why do you even serve them? Is it truly because you have found yourself indulged upon nepotism?
Oh... Truly... Truly, I wonder what you shall do if they come to betray you, to leave you behind. Loyalty is not a feat of theirs."
So basically, she didn't know. Perhaps she didn't care to know or she didn't think of him as a threat, which was a nice thought but an unlikely one. She didn't trust him, fair enough he wouldn't trust him either if he were her. To him, it almost seemed like she was trying to lead him down the path of temptation, although she was going about it in an odd way if she was, but she was also watching and anticipating a fall of some sort, the 'inevitable' betrayal that would eventually cause something to 'snap'. She was sure it would happen to him, and she could be right, although he doubted it was going to happen to him any time soon. Interesting. He said, it was a lie, the first lie he had told her while she was here, but one that he didn't feel bad about telling. Perhaps you have had enough to drink for one evening? He looked her over, any more and there might be a problem with getting up in the morning, but refusal...well that had it's own problems. No doubt you are eager to get some sleep. Shall I have Warner show you to your room?