"Not a lot, no," he corrected with a wistful smile. "Though I was... dismayed... by his impulsiveness in that meeting. And the one before, in truth. Ashetta and I..." his eyes hardened for a moment, and he looked down, tickling Isuma to distract himself. "She... reacts, but I do not think she plans ahead. Remi I know much better, but he prefers to follow rather than lead. He would have trusted his friends to make the choices for him. My interaction with Roana has been brief, but... unpleasant." He shrugged. "But as she is your relation, I will leave it at that. I have no wish to stir up anger over something that cannot be changed by either of us."
"When did I say 'everyone hates Northhaveners'?" he asked gently. "You have friends you have known for years, people you trust, and at least some of your family left who will support you if you need help. You have a web of alliances that those of us who came alone can only dream of, or have had to work madly to build from scratch. That is a strength, Phoebe. Yes, some of your countrymen have made enemies, but others have made friends. But you are correct in a sideways sort of way... why would people listen to you, if you don't have confidence in yourself? You have just told me that you are smart, to be a widwife so young. You are talented, or you wouldn't have been selected to join such an elite force. You might not have magic or shifts, but did Ronin have those things?" He gave a little shrug. "I don't think Remi is that much older than you. You were both in Northhaven, yes? You both experienced the dangers of that place together? But just because Remi seems to attract trouble like iron to a lodestone doesn't make that part of him admirable," he chuckled, voice wry. "It just makes him phenomenally unlucky. Which is not something you need, not in your line of work!" Stone golems attacking the clinic or getting snowed into a cave with a patient weren't the sort of experiences he hoped she wanted, to catch up to Remi!
The alchemist was also capable of taking himself for granted just as much as Phoebe was, but the bard wasn't sure that was his tale to tell, especially since the girl seemed to know Remi much better than Jigano did... surely she knew that much about the pup?
"No one controls the decisions of other people?" he asked gently. "But isn't that what Ronin and his people did, making a decision for all of the people in this barrier, Natural and Outlander alike? When some of them strongly disagreed with his actions, that would affect everyone?" He shook his head slowly. "We are outsiders, Phoebe. We didn't ask to be here... but the people who live here didn't ask for us to come here, either. This is their world, and we have lived in it for, what? less than three seasons? Not even a full year, since the Northhaven portal opened, from what I understand. How would you feel if someone walked into Remi's shop one day, and claimed that he was doing his alchemy wrong? Oh, he was trying his best, poor thing, but it wasn't good enough? That the stranger knew more than he did, and could do it better, and had more training and, in fact, that Remi wasn't needed at all anymore, now that the stranger was there and so much better at doing than such a timid man? Oh, sure, Remi could still stay there, still use the tools when the stranger isn't using them - the stranger isn't cruel, after all. He has the best intentions. And it would be best for everyone if the stranger takes over, seeing as he knows so much more and is so much better at the job..." Jigano paused, the smallest of wry smiles tugging at the corners of his mouth, as he considered that Remi probably thought of him in the role of that putative stranger. "Would you still be grateful? Would you tell Remi to be grateful? That he should accept being brushed aside and ignored, that he shouldn't mourn or get angry over the loss of his work, the things he has trained all his life to do, all he has known?"
"When did I say 'everyone hates Northhaveners'?" he asked gently. "You have friends you have known for years, people you trust, and at least some of your family left who will support you if you need help. You have a web of alliances that those of us who came alone can only dream of, or have had to work madly to build from scratch. That is a strength, Phoebe. Yes, some of your countrymen have made enemies, but others have made friends. But you are correct in a sideways sort of way... why would people listen to you, if you don't have confidence in yourself? You have just told me that you are smart, to be a widwife so young. You are talented, or you wouldn't have been selected to join such an elite force. You might not have magic or shifts, but did Ronin have those things?" He gave a little shrug. "I don't think Remi is that much older than you. You were both in Northhaven, yes? You both experienced the dangers of that place together? But just because Remi seems to attract trouble like iron to a lodestone doesn't make that part of him admirable," he chuckled, voice wry. "It just makes him phenomenally unlucky. Which is not something you need, not in your line of work!" Stone golems attacking the clinic or getting snowed into a cave with a patient weren't the sort of experiences he hoped she wanted, to catch up to Remi!
The alchemist was also capable of taking himself for granted just as much as Phoebe was, but the bard wasn't sure that was his tale to tell, especially since the girl seemed to know Remi much better than Jigano did... surely she knew that much about the pup?
"No one controls the decisions of other people?" he asked gently. "But isn't that what Ronin and his people did, making a decision for all of the people in this barrier, Natural and Outlander alike? When some of them strongly disagreed with his actions, that would affect everyone?" He shook his head slowly. "We are outsiders, Phoebe. We didn't ask to be here... but the people who live here didn't ask for us to come here, either. This is their world, and we have lived in it for, what? less than three seasons? Not even a full year, since the Northhaven portal opened, from what I understand. How would you feel if someone walked into Remi's shop one day, and claimed that he was doing his alchemy wrong? Oh, he was trying his best, poor thing, but it wasn't good enough? That the stranger knew more than he did, and could do it better, and had more training and, in fact, that Remi wasn't needed at all anymore, now that the stranger was there and so much better at doing than such a timid man? Oh, sure, Remi could still stay there, still use the tools when the stranger isn't using them - the stranger isn't cruel, after all. He has the best intentions. And it would be best for everyone if the stranger takes over, seeing as he knows so much more and is so much better at the job..." Jigano paused, the smallest of wry smiles tugging at the corners of his mouth, as he considered that Remi probably thought of him in the role of that putative stranger. "Would you still be grateful? Would you tell Remi to be grateful? That he should accept being brushed aside and ignored, that he shouldn't mourn or get angry over the loss of his work, the things he has trained all his life to do, all he has known?"
