Jigano waited as Wessex gave her version of events, glossing over a few key points, he noted with bitter humor, and then running away like a dog with her tail between her legs rather than face those she claimed to rule. He held his tongue, letting Loren make his stand for kingship and listening to Oliver's questions - smart ones, he was pleased to note. He heard Phoebe's rebuttal, making valid points as much as Loren had, but putting no particular name forward, and he raised a brow at Sam's meandering statement that... seemed more than a little non sequitur, since the issue up for vote wasn't the use of the portals but rather who would control the one within the Spire. As Rexanna spoke he pushed himself off from the wall and made his way towards the ballot box, nodding thoughtfully at her words and the sense in them. It was what he had tried to do with Edy and Ronin, and what had fallen apart with Edy, Ronin, and Wessex. It was a good idea in theory... but so far they'd yet to prove that they could put it into practice.
"I've seen the fallout of Wessex's idea of 'negotiations' end in murder and death two times out of three," he said as he walked, for once not bothering to project his voice but speaking conversationally. "She's shown herself to be someone who can't handle being told 'no' and won't work to find other options that don't end in bloodshed - and is more likely to make us enemies than allies, as our current relationship with the Fae proves. That Zariah and the Launceleyns of Halo approve of her rule is not exactly a glowing recommendation." He paused for breath as he reached the front, nodding to Rexanna though she couldn't see him. "Rexanna's idea is a good one, but there is still the tarasque in the room. The current Queen, appointed to her position by the Launcelyens, didn't give us leave to vote for a council - only for another individual. Nor did she give those who might otherwise have tried to work out a council a chance to do so in advance, to present a fair challenge. And as Oliver has pointed out, any council she appoints will by its nature be biased." He took a scrap of paper and a pencil and began writing it. "So ballots cast in secrecy for various members of a council will split the vote, while those cast for her will have no real challenge. But I wish to walk in the Greatwood again, not just in the snows. I wish to see my friends among the Fae beyond a barrier we cannot cross because of one woman's bloodthirsty impatience. So I'll be open about who I'm voting for, in the hopes that enough feel similarly to help shift the balance.”
He glanced up to Deimos’s place with a wry smile of apology. "Deimos is already in charge of the defenses here. It makes sense that he continue to do that officially on whatever council may yet form. Evie comes from a respected family among the Naturals, and is herself respected as an apothecary. I would nominate her as well, to speak for the shopkeepers. Amalia is also from a respected family and has earned her own place among the leaders of the Hollowed Grounds, even if it’s currently unofficial, but many of us look to her already for advice and she can speak for the Attuned as few others could. Bastien is known among the artists and artisans and has shown himself willing to work towards building morale as well as foundations here. And Phoebe, though young, has been tireless in trying to improve the health of all people here, especially in her work against the Blight. There are others just as worthy, even among the more recent arrivals… but there is only so much space on the paper,” he finished with a light shrug as he folded his full ballot in half and dropped it in the box before returning to his place near the back.
"I've seen the fallout of Wessex's idea of 'negotiations' end in murder and death two times out of three," he said as he walked, for once not bothering to project his voice but speaking conversationally. "She's shown herself to be someone who can't handle being told 'no' and won't work to find other options that don't end in bloodshed - and is more likely to make us enemies than allies, as our current relationship with the Fae proves. That Zariah and the Launceleyns of Halo approve of her rule is not exactly a glowing recommendation." He paused for breath as he reached the front, nodding to Rexanna though she couldn't see him. "Rexanna's idea is a good one, but there is still the tarasque in the room. The current Queen, appointed to her position by the Launcelyens, didn't give us leave to vote for a council - only for another individual. Nor did she give those who might otherwise have tried to work out a council a chance to do so in advance, to present a fair challenge. And as Oliver has pointed out, any council she appoints will by its nature be biased." He took a scrap of paper and a pencil and began writing it. "So ballots cast in secrecy for various members of a council will split the vote, while those cast for her will have no real challenge. But I wish to walk in the Greatwood again, not just in the snows. I wish to see my friends among the Fae beyond a barrier we cannot cross because of one woman's bloodthirsty impatience. So I'll be open about who I'm voting for, in the hopes that enough feel similarly to help shift the balance.”
He glanced up to Deimos’s place with a wry smile of apology. "Deimos is already in charge of the defenses here. It makes sense that he continue to do that officially on whatever council may yet form. Evie comes from a respected family among the Naturals, and is herself respected as an apothecary. I would nominate her as well, to speak for the shopkeepers. Amalia is also from a respected family and has earned her own place among the leaders of the Hollowed Grounds, even if it’s currently unofficial, but many of us look to her already for advice and she can speak for the Attuned as few others could. Bastien is known among the artists and artisans and has shown himself willing to work towards building morale as well as foundations here. And Phoebe, though young, has been tireless in trying to improve the health of all people here, especially in her work against the Blight. There are others just as worthy, even among the more recent arrivals… but there is only so much space on the paper,” he finished with a light shrug as he folded his full ballot in half and dropped it in the box before returning to his place near the back.
