Restoration...maybe

Remi listened. He felt...surprised. Even so his expression remained attentive as he took in the bard's words. "On what evidence do you base any of this?" He asked gently. "I do not know you Jigano, not really, and nor do you know me. If you refer to times you have off-handedly and curtly offered me council, I am not sure why you think that I should simply accept your suggestions or guidance as gospel. I have done nothing but hear you out, but yes, I am still free to choose what it is I do. That does not mean at all that I simply do what I want, regardless." He continued. "As for the barrier, what is it you think you saw? I have never in my life sought praise, nor do I believe that I sulk." Well. That might not have been true. He had indeed sulked quite regularly with Vai, but surely that is what friends were for? "And recently, I asked your opinion of all this. It was you who said that giving the ascended options was better than giving them none, and after I mentioned my worry about Sam and a temporary solution, you gave no further advice. Yet you stand now and criticize me for doing precisely what we spoke about, and then further your criticism to include not having suggested Sam come and do this on his own, despite the fact that neither of us thought of that route before." Raising a brow at the suggestion that Remi would deflect blame caused the alchemist to turn his head, and politely shake it in firm disagreement. If anything it was in the alchemist's nature to accept blame even when it wasn't owed to him, if only because that was how he had been trained by society. Indeed as Jigano continued, Remi's expression grew more and more skeptical. Rushing into danger, to make himself feel better? The alchemist could not think of a time when that had ever been the case. "I cannot believe you have good reasons to think that true at all, Jigano. You do not know me at all if that is what you think, nor do I believe that you do know me. But there is undoubtedly little evidence to support your claims." His words were gentle, his expression muted. It was not hubris or stubbornness, it was the truth. Remi might not know as many things as Jigano did, but he did know himself, well enough at least to know that whatever snippets of his life Jigano was extracting these details from, it was an imperfect picture at best. The final bit merely made Remi shake his head sadly, but the sadness was not for himself. "You are wrong Jigano. Truly I am not sure what I have done to deserve such animosity, but puppy-dog eyes? You go so far as to accuse me of manipulation now?" Remi shook his curly head. "I am not sure what has made you so jaded, nor why you feel the need to control and criticize rather than offer genuine guidance and help." Pausing, Remi's eyes narrowed slightly at the mention of mutual friends. "I assume you mean Samuel. But would you have me stay away from Isla too? Since I am such a danger to those I care about?" REMI How do you steal what you really want When what you really want is free?