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[latkje]

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[trueltning_fury]

I've known the Lizard Clan a lot longer than you have. [whippersnapper!] If nothing else, they respect the Fire Bringer and the agreements we've always had. I believe Dupa wouldn't make a move on a True Rune unless they had the Flame Champion's express permission.

[which still isn't a guarantee, for one Hugo might not be ready to start giving orders like that, for another they might consider True Wind a gift to the Flame Champion, but the Lizards are fighters, not mages. They'll err on the side of not messing around with runes if they don't have to.]

[latkje]

Uh huh. Maybe not Dupa. But what about one of his ambitious underlings? Or even outside the Grasslands. You might trust Wyatt's daughter, but what about the Zexen Council? [ Does anyone trust the Zexen Council? ]

Don't pretend any of these scenarios wouldn't be a threat to the peace the Fire Bringer forged. Including having the Flame Champion's express permission.

[trueltning_fury]

If I expected any of the scenarios to be more likely than Harmonia trying to get their hands on it, you would be right. There's no predicting one person's sudden attack of ambition, no matter which country that person is from. [giving him a sly look over the rim of his tankard] But you and I are both in the business of calculating risks. It's impossible to predict every outcome so w can only throw our greatest weight behind the most likely ones.

That said, I know Lizards. I know Karayans. There's a new Council in Vinay. [as yet untested, true, but...] The big picture isn't going to be as threatened by a rogue factor among them compared to a threat from outside.

[latkje]

[ He raises a mild eyebrow. ]

Harmonia isn't on the outside of this. [ Not the war, not the peace, not the treaty. It was their rune to begin with.

In a valiant show of restraint, he refrains from making a one-eye joke. But for the record Nash thought of several. ]

[trueltning_fury]

That's a matter of perspective.

[he may not be a native Grasslander but he's as good as, after nearly eighty years of this. Come traipse on his protected land at your own risk, Harmonia]

[latkje]

[ Really making it hard not to make a one-eye joke. The depth perception punchline basically writes itself, c'mon. ]

I guess I forget how living on the border makes you feel further from your neighbors.

[trueltning_fury]

[do it, he would be the first to dare you]

That's more true than you know, Nash. But I've also had a very long time to let certain feelings...mmm, fester isn't the right word. I'm not sure how to explain it.

[latkje]

Oh, I usually tell the exact amount of truth that I mean to. [ He tries to come up with a more appropriate word. ] Settle? Condense?

[trueltning_fury]

[yeah he figured as much. birds of a feather.]

Both are more like it. Too much time and even grudges can wane. Some, not all.

[latkje]

I don't know. [ He doesn't hold many grudges, and never has. Part of running away from things is not looking back. ]

But I spent a while trying to understand it. [ Grudges, he means. The resentment the conquered feel toward Harmonia. What it would be like to carry something inside you for a century— what it might be like to live for a century with nothing inside to carry you. ]

[trueltning_fury]

[his gloved fingers curl around the top of his mug but for now, Geddoe leaves it on the table. Sometimes you just need to know the drink is there.]

Have you? That's more than most would.

[even if the destruction of his birthplace was a factor motivating him to wage his little private war against Harmonia originally, he doesn't still consider it even slightly important. But everything done in the Fire Bringer War, yep, that's still a hard knot of resentment somewhere deep inside.]

What made you give up trying?

[latkje]

I've lived a life of unusual circumstance. [ A shrug. ]

Who said I've given up?

[ Maybe he'd given up understanding what Zaj was trying to do, but Zaj was dead. ] Part of trying to understand is knowing when you don't.

[trueltning_fury]

Fair point. [slow nod] I was going on the past tense, there.

It's not as though I expect anyone who's never held a Rune to understand. Some things you just can't explain no matter how many words you have to make the attempt.

[latkje]

Geddoe. [ He raises the glass to his lips, but doesn't drink. ] You don't have that many words.

[ Then he drinks. ]

[trueltning_fury]

[NASH...

...no, it's fair. Probably closer to the truth than not.]

Just because I don't blather on like a bishop doesn't mean I couldn't if I wanted to.

[latkje]

[ Nash's expression as he puts the mug down is one of clear skepticism. ]

Have you ever tried?

[trueltning_fury]

[well...

Geddoe actually visibly gives it a thought, rubbing his chin]

They never did let me give the motivational speeches before battles.

[they being Wyatt and that other guy thanks bros]

[latkje]

"They?"

[ Maybe there was a reason for that, Geddoe. ]

[trueltning_fury]

[snort. there might have been]

My fellow Fire Bringer. Wyatt always said it was because there was only one Flame Champion and not a Lightning Champion.

[the twist of his lips before he takes a sip of his ale suggests he's aware of this hypothetical reason.]

[latkje]

You can always interrupt, you know. Not everyone asks permission.

[trueltning_fury]

[sure, he could, but would you interrupt your best friend in the middle of an epic speech to inspire the troops to victory, Nash? Geddoe sniffs and brushes it off]

I'll remember that if you start running your mouth.

[latkje]

[ Very possibly. But heroic speeches aren't his favorite things to use words for. ]

I'm surprised you used if. [ Not when. ]

[trueltning_fury]

[unintentional, but he'll roll with it]

There's always an off chance it could be highly entertaining to me. Such as, if you try to talk your way into Alma Kinan and end up just digging your own grave.

[highly entertaining]

[latkje]

Not a believer in the gift of gab? [ That goes without saying. But even Nash would admit he's talked himself into at least as much trouble as he's talked himself out of. ]

None of your ridicule could match my wife's wrath. My grave's been dug for a while.

[trueltning_fury]

[that is the perfect opening to needle him about his marriage, what fun]

Do you know how hard it is to believe that some poor woman has decided to put up with you? She must be a saint, longsuffering and delightfully world-weary.