BASTIEN
Bastien didn't notice the light or lack thereof; he often had to be reminded that those without the Voice's gifts couldn't paint by just a few aesthetically pleasing candles. In fact, there were many elements of Ascended life he'd grown very used to and thankful of; being able to stay working all night or knowing any injury could be upgraded away...people wondered why a hedonist would take on the Voice, but Bastien had never regretted it.
He sat down too, smiling at the first thing Wessex had to say. "Well, that's probably for the best. In most of the ways you are skilled, I am not." And vice versa, but that wasn't really the point. There was no doubt Bastien would be a very different kind of leader from Wessex; a new approach, one he wasn't even sure of yet.
"I will be honest with you. I do not yearn for this position. But, right now...I believe I am the one who should take it on my shoulders. Whatever the future holds, and none of us can know...I believe I will be able to keep the people of the Grounds safe. I'm not a general or a tactician, but I am a smart man - I hope you will permit me that -" He glanced over for a moment, pausing. "-and I know how to speak to those opposed to me. I am not too proud to retreat if we have to, to help the Ascended disappear if we have to until we can make a better plan. I would obviously consult the Voice as well, about what I do."
He looked out of the window, put his chin in his palm. "I can see the Grounds as something new, somewhere reborn; a place to show the glory of the Voice and her goals. Beauty has a significant effect on people. If we can display a competency equal to those outside of the Grounds here, we can began to prove our legitimacy among the world we have found ourselves bonded to." These were all things he'd been thinking for a long time, just not from the perspective of being the one to lead them; Bastien stopped there to see what Wessex would have to say.
He sat down too, smiling at the first thing Wessex had to say. "Well, that's probably for the best. In most of the ways you are skilled, I am not." And vice versa, but that wasn't really the point. There was no doubt Bastien would be a very different kind of leader from Wessex; a new approach, one he wasn't even sure of yet.
"I will be honest with you. I do not yearn for this position. But, right now...I believe I am the one who should take it on my shoulders. Whatever the future holds, and none of us can know...I believe I will be able to keep the people of the Grounds safe. I'm not a general or a tactician, but I am a smart man - I hope you will permit me that -" He glanced over for a moment, pausing. "-and I know how to speak to those opposed to me. I am not too proud to retreat if we have to, to help the Ascended disappear if we have to until we can make a better plan. I would obviously consult the Voice as well, about what I do."
He looked out of the window, put his chin in his palm. "I can see the Grounds as something new, somewhere reborn; a place to show the glory of the Voice and her goals. Beauty has a significant effect on people. If we can display a competency equal to those outside of the Grounds here, we can began to prove our legitimacy among the world we have found ourselves bonded to." These were all things he'd been thinking for a long time, just not from the perspective of being the one to lead them; Bastien stopped there to see what Wessex would have to say.
Still my heart is heavy
With the hate of some other man's beliefs
With the hate of some other man's beliefs
