you will always be a monster
there is no turning back from it
there is no turning back from it
Nephele, for a distracted moment, follows Juniper's hands as they idly lay the woven blanket in a better location. Perhaps any other day she would have asked for it, or inquired as to who made it. Anything more social and kindly than that which has driven her here today. Admittedly it's a shame. Nephele wishes for a moment that they met on different terms. That perhaps they could be friends before allies, sisters before fellow soldiers. It is Juniper's soft, lilting voice that breaks her from her moue of thought, and she nods in silent appreciation of the vow. Though it is clear as soon as the news is broken that perhaps it was one made in haste, once Juniper realizes the gravity of what Nephele is asking of her. "Yes, she is dead." What more can she say? Their tongues are incapable of holding lies, but she speaks the words in return because they are far more blunt and powerful with the words Juniper herself had used. Fewer ways to misunderstand exactly the message she means to impart.
"If we tell them before we have a structure in place to promise them protection, to comfort them that we are not falling apart, we could have a civil war on our hands." Their people have a bloodied history of it between clans already, Nephele doubts they'd need much more incentive in the wake of all the stress that has befallen them since the Barrier was destroyed. "We cannot have a bloody revolution as everyone attempts to claim the spot of leadership for themselves. Please, Juniper. I don't hold it from them lightly." There is a quiet plea in her golden eyes, asking for more than just understanding. Asking for Juniper to stand beside her against this potential tidal wave, to help keep it at bay by merely holding her tongue.
At least the girl does not get consumed with news of Delah's death. Nephele leans back, unaware she had even moved forward in her chair to beg Juniper's silence. "Unlike the others, I have explored the human sanctuary of the Hollowed Grounds. I have interacted with them, studied them. Perhaps my interest began more scientifically, but I do not hold the same disdain that our fellows do for their kind." An olive branch before she asks of Juniper what she must. Letting her know that she is not alone in her thoughts and feelings - if she has followed in her grandfather's footsteps, as Nephele so desperately hopes she has. "Alina has agreed to allow me to handle negotiations, and I have convinced her that our only hope of survival - of thriving, instead of scraping by - is to embrace them. I cannot accept the Ascended, and I will not, but I am of the mind that it is time we integrate. That we can possibly be stronger together than at odds." Sharp, hawklike eyes never part from Juniper as she says this, awaiting any reaction that may surface. "I know your grandfather was effectively exiled for his love of the humans. I cannot apologize for all of us, but I believe it was wrong. And I would like you to be our liaison, in an official and encouraged capacity." Oop, there it is.
"If we tell them before we have a structure in place to promise them protection, to comfort them that we are not falling apart, we could have a civil war on our hands." Their people have a bloodied history of it between clans already, Nephele doubts they'd need much more incentive in the wake of all the stress that has befallen them since the Barrier was destroyed. "We cannot have a bloody revolution as everyone attempts to claim the spot of leadership for themselves. Please, Juniper. I don't hold it from them lightly." There is a quiet plea in her golden eyes, asking for more than just understanding. Asking for Juniper to stand beside her against this potential tidal wave, to help keep it at bay by merely holding her tongue.
At least the girl does not get consumed with news of Delah's death. Nephele leans back, unaware she had even moved forward in her chair to beg Juniper's silence. "Unlike the others, I have explored the human sanctuary of the Hollowed Grounds. I have interacted with them, studied them. Perhaps my interest began more scientifically, but I do not hold the same disdain that our fellows do for their kind." An olive branch before she asks of Juniper what she must. Letting her know that she is not alone in her thoughts and feelings - if she has followed in her grandfather's footsteps, as Nephele so desperately hopes she has. "Alina has agreed to allow me to handle negotiations, and I have convinced her that our only hope of survival - of thriving, instead of scraping by - is to embrace them. I cannot accept the Ascended, and I will not, but I am of the mind that it is time we integrate. That we can possibly be stronger together than at odds." Sharp, hawklike eyes never part from Juniper as she says this, awaiting any reaction that may surface. "I know your grandfather was effectively exiled for his love of the humans. I cannot apologize for all of us, but I believe it was wrong. And I would like you to be our liaison, in an official and encouraged capacity." Oop, there it is.
but what type of monster you become
is entirely up to you
is entirely up to you
