opportunity knocks

BASTIEN

I used to be an angry man, I wanted things that weren’t mine
At fifteen paces in the sand I left that all behind

"I see. Fascinating...so many things exist in this world I would have thought only for fantasy plays back home." Though as curious as he was, he was glad to only have the claws and not having faced the beast himself. He was not a fighter, not by nature.

Ronin told him he was calm, and Bastien laughed quietly. He supposed it probably did seem that way, but really he was anything but. He had always been skilled at burying his true feelings and keeping a persona of easy drinking and smirks; bringing out the deep feelings he kept in his art, or recently, when he was with Rexanna.

"Of course I don't. But I have found myself caught in a trap. Rexanna...she is working...or at least, in unwilling service to Zariah. So that makes it difficult for me to fight against her, in the fear it may hurt my love." He rubbed a hand over his face, clearly troubled. "But truthfully? I do not think I would like any leader. I see that it is maybe something necessary here, but...I have never been a fan of organised power. Of authority. It is a necessary evil at best and at worst, it is state-sanctioned cruelty. This...Queen is an example of the latter." Caido did not have the right political context for everything he said, but it was close enough.

"I think though...I think it will work out. The people will rise." He nodded, a confidence he didn't feel in his words.

Now my spirits rise when she turns out the bedroom light
I gently haunt my lover in the cold and tender night