how can you rise
if you have not burned?
She does manage a smile at that, and there’s a little more light to it even if it doesn’t last long. ”Well I was bound to rub off on you eventually.” There is something in that statement that sounds a little more like her, even if she had no idea who she was anymore. Warden Hale. It felt so strange, so wrong...and yet. And yet if not her, then who? Hadn’t she said it all? They were her people, and this was her home. She’d fought and hunted, bled and drank with them. She’d saved and been saved by them.”Perhaps,” she says at the mention of Zariah, noting the venom in his voice. There were questions she needed to ask, though she doesn’t quite yet. ”And yet I cannot throw her to the Tundra, where she can strike another deal with the Eirachi. I can strip her of all titles and power, but I may make things worse by doing so. I have half a mind to leave her as Headmaster of the Academy only, but I am sure that will start a riot.” Still, Weaver has always preferred to keep her enemies close, where she is more likely to know what they are doing. To send Zariah away was to have no idea what the mage was plotting. She could rot in prison, perhaps, but did her crimes fit the punishment? Maybe Weaver needed to form a jury. They could decide.
She nods at the mention of Neron. ”I had him sent to a room in the Academy. He will not be treated as a prisoner. Though I make no promises, as I would like to speak with him first, he will likely receive such mercy. Which of course means Morgan will regret her decision to back me.” This is the problem with politics, though perhaps she can make Morgan see reason. Stripped of all title and power, Neron was little threat. He’d handed over his title and Weaver did not think he would be plotting to get it back, and she needed the information he could provide. After all, he’d done this job for two years.
She takes the bottle back, taking another swig, though not as large this time. The burn of the whiskey down her throat makes her feel alive, at least, something she sorely needs reminding of. He shifts, and she slides into the space he makes for her, surprised that he can still hold her after all she has done. After all she has just ripped out from underneath of him. ”Not only because of her, though she was the catalyst. I meant what I said. These are my people, and though I had no reason to dislike your brother, he made a choice that his entire region suffered for. I can’t sit by and watch Zariah and Neron tear Halo apart when I know I can do something about it. Maybe someone better will come along, because gods know I am not fit for this job, but until then? Until then I cannot and will not desert the people that I love.” She leans in to his touch though, closing her eyes slightly. She is thankful for the out he offers, but still, she cannot imagine simply giving up because it was going to be hard.
WEAVER
