JUNIPER
you think i'm happy because i'm smiling,
but it's the easiest thing to do
"You do? Why ... ?" Then Juniper lets Sunjata speak, gives him time to finish, and she doesn't need to ask why again. "Ah. Samuel Wordsworth. Yes, that does make things ... more difficult."but it's the easiest thing to do
She sighed deeply, resisting the urge to let out a broken laugh. Of course the initiative for peace had to come from a man whose execution she sought. Whose previous actions had been anything but peaceful. Who had himself helped spark -- almost literally -- this conflict.
Maybe that was why he was trying for peace now. Juniper knew people could change; she could imagine that Sunjata was correct about Samuel's current intentions, that the Ascended genuinely wanted peace. She also knew that he was the exact wrong person to seek it. Whatever Juniper thought personally -- and she honestly wasn't sure what she thought personally -- she didn't have to tell Sunjara that the Fae would never accept any alliance with Sam as a person, even less than they would accept peace with the Ascended as a whole.
And yet Sunjata offered to help them speak anyway. Juniper thought hard about whether that was a good idea. She didn't want to shut down any avenues for potential peace, but as Sunjata had pointed out, publicly communicating with Sam could cause problems for her among the Fae.
"I ... should write him a letter," Juniper said slowly. It would probably suit both of them better to communicate in writing than to actually meet in person. Safer, physically, and less likely to make their intentions public -- unless the letters were intercepted. Or willingly handed to a third party. "If you could help make sure that our letters reach each other without ... making their sources obvious, that would be helpful."
Perhaps routing missives through Torchline would help hide the fact that Juniper was in contact with an Ascended -- with that particular Ascended.
if you looked a little closer,
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.
