2017-08-30: A Much Needed Talking To

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  • Log: A Much Needed Talking To
  • Cast: Jacqueline Barber, Ethius Hesiod
  • Where: Wayside Village
  • Date: 08-30-2017
  • Summary: Sometime after their infiltration of the Kislevi military camp to rescue Catenna, Jacqueline sits down with Ethius to discuss his behavior.
============================<* Wayside Village *>=============================

Wayside Village sits at the midst of a road exchange leading into the neck of the Badlands. Decades ago, this village was abandoned due to increasing pressure and risk from roadside thieves and bandits, as well as aggressive wildlife, but it was resuscitated recently by the Ebony Wings.

Now, Wayside Village stands as a haven "for those who have been left by the wayside" - it houses an orphanage, school and a homeless shelter and soup kitchen to aid those that have been abetted. A vulnerable, but growing community has gathered here, slightly odd in shape, size and appendages, owing to them being mostly "Tainted" -- rumored to be broken Metal Demons, or perhaps just Beastmen and other demihumans; the real story isn't quite widespread. Besides, those that have nowhere to go seem to be happy enough to coexist here.

For Drifters, a large roadside saloon called the "V4L-H4LLA" acts as an inn, a watering hole and a stable all in one. Those with vehicles that require repair can also find some mechanics who can enact some basic maintenance and a top-up of common fuels. A dojo with all kinds of martial training equipment has been set up near the village centre.

Wayside Village sustains itself largely by trading and selling water for other services, owing to its recently repaired water purifier unit - served to the village via a Qanat with a robust irrigation system stands at the edge of the village, where a Garden with simple hardy crops and other agricultural pursuits can be followed.


<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Night was falling over Wayside Village. Ordinarily Jacqueline would be getting ready for bed around this time, but tonight there were other matters on her mind, other matters and concerns that needed to be addressed.

Particularly, the matter of one Ethius Hesiod and the behavior he had displayed during the Caravan Kinship's mission to infiltrate a Kislevi military base and rescue their captured friend, Catenna.

She had selected a more quiet, isolated area of Wayside: away from all the hustle and bustle of the still-forming village. She preferred even the rest of the Kinship not hear about this. This was, at least for now, a personal matter.

She had asked for him to meet with her here, though a part of her wondered if he would go along with it or if she would need to track him down.

For now she sat in one of the chairs she had brought over for this purpose and waited. 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius has been largely loitering around Wayside after the rescue operation came to an end. This was probably true for the vast majority of the CaraKin. He's seemed especially restless as of late, having found a number of very strange places to stand around and watch things. One would have imagined it a crapshoot as to whether or not he would have properly heeded a summons against a backdrop of seemingly unquenchable wanderlust and other erratic behaviors that suggested the man was never at rest - even in the closest they could have found to relative safety for the moment.
"Miss Jay." Came Ethius' voice as he stood behind where she took a seat - he got here fast! His arms rested behind his back, as though he were standing at attention.
"You requested my presence at the appointed time."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline bolts from her seat as she hears Ethius standing behind her all of a sudden. She...had expected to at least see him arriving, but perhaps she had just been so distracted she didn't see him? She supposed she should have expected punctuality out of him of all people, however, but it was just a tad alarming.

"Y-yes, thank you for coming." She replies with a nod, straightening out her skirt before gesturing to the other chair. "Please, have a seat."

With that said she resumes her own seat, and waits for him to get seated before continuing.

"Ethius...first of all, I'd like to thank you for your assistance in rescuing Catenna, and everything we've been through thus far." She says with a nod, and her expression falters a bit.

"However...do you know why I've asked you to meet me here tonight?" She asks. She wanted to see whether or not they were both on the same page before continuing. 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
There is a subtle power play in motion right then and there - Jacqueline pointedly waits for him to take a seat. It seems to take Ethius a moment to recognize that he must take a seat before she's willing to open discussions. It is a power play that Jay ultimately wins, as he goes to take the opposite seat set aside for himself. His unspoken desire to prefer to handle discussions while standing at attention is, in that instant, denied.
"I am to assume it concerns our difference in opinion in concern to our engagement with a hostile Gear and its crew." That is still fresh in everyone's memory, after all - Ethius' declaration that none are to live. The way he retrieved a dropped ARM and moved to try and shoot a fleeing engineer, only for them to be saved within a split second by one of Jay's earth pillars.
A moment that seems to have shaken many just as much as the idea of being beset upon by a military grade Gear itself.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline listens he confirms that, yes, he's aware of why she asked him to meet her here. That made things easier.

"Yes, that's right." She confirms with a nod, resting her hands in her lap. She didn't want to appear aggressive.

"Ethius...I understand why you felt that was necessary. But...that's not how the Caravan Kinship deals with things. We're not killers, Ethius." She explains. "We do what we can to protect our own, but we only resort to drastic measures when necessary. We're here to help people."

She hesitates for a moment before continuing.

"And...I also can't condone your attempt to shoot that man in the back as he fled. That was..." She shakes her head, unable to find the words.

"Honestly...I don't think I've even seen you shoot an ARM before. What made you decide to do that?" She asks. 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
For Jay's part, the decision to maintain a calm and rational tone with emphasis on clarity, opposite of the surges of emotion as they escaped the Kislevi encampment, seems to be paying dividends.
...But it is Ethius she's dealing with. He's normally good about keeping that same stoic tone and stiff lack of much in the way of body language through much of the situations they've been together.
"I understand your desire for a peaceful resolution without unnecessary bloodshed." Indeed, that's one of the hard rules Jay gave him for coming along for the ride. He doesn't seem to be much of a contributor to any of the actual trades that keep the merchant group going afloat - the least he could do would be to not do that, wouldn't it?
"Of the sorcery available on my person to the best of my knowledge, Miss Jay, none would have had appreciable and timely effect at the distance the soldier had managed to put between us." So Ethius says. Maybe that's why he was willing to risk running far, far too close to moving and burning Gear parts - a shorter distance to cover in which to line up a shot, but...
That really is the first time anyone's seen him do that.
"My concern at the time was to close off any avenue of retaliation and further investigation by the Kislevi forces. I vividly recall the evening in which we narrowly escaped with our lives." The sorrow, the frustration, the sheer shock of it all... the wounds, physical and emotional, some of which probably have yet to fully heal even as the reunited CaraKin now live the miracle of their timely reunion.
Ethius still hasn't moved all that much since taking the seat.
"Through the dropped ARM, I saw my sole opportunity to ensure Kislev would never revisit the events of that day." Ethius concludes. "Whether I am familiar with its handling or not was not a detail I was concerned with."
The thing is, he sure looked comfortable handling it. The bright spark made by the bullet ricocheting off the pillar confirmed, in itself, that the shot would have landed true. Beginner's luck could only be stretched so far as a believable superstition as applicable here.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

That had been largely why Jacqueline hadn't taken Ethius aside for a talk right away. She knew all too well that if she had tried to discuss this with him immediately after the rescue mission, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from shouting at him.

Taking some time to calm down had been necessary if she wanted to discuss this with him like a rational adult - she doubted emotion would sway him much.

"Then please, in the future, keep that in mind. This isn't the first time I've asked you, Ethius. Unless someone's life is in danger, please avoid actions that might involve killing someone." She states.

She proceeds to listen Ethius's explanation, letting him get to the end before saying anything. It sounded reasonable, even if the fact that he was able to consider such a thing in the moment was...a little chilling, admittedly.

"Ethius...I remember that night, as well. I...won't ever forget that, or anything that happened during the day." She replies, shaking her head.

"But...I doubt that shooting him would have had the desired effect. If anything, it might have angered Kislev further - given them more of a reason to hunt us down." She suggests. Was this true? ...Honestly, she wasn't entirely sure.

"I don't want to believe that responding to violence with violence is the way to do things. It hasn't helped Kislev and Aveh. And it hasn't helped our people and the Metal Demons." 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
All the while, Ethius is unmoving. His word choice suggests some underlying level of compassion and concern for Jay and everyone else, but very little would suggest he has any remorse for the attempt. Something about the whole incident saw Ethius gunning for blood (literally). The utter fury he was willing to visit upon the Gear through his sorcery, the instruction that none were to live...
He is already capable of taking life from a position of well-centered calm. To what lengths is this man truly willing to go to, for something he would care deeply enough about to be emotionally moved?
"It is a lofty ideal." Ethius says. This is the first time he's blinks the entire conversation. His eyes must feel like murder, going that long without a blink! "While I have not had the chance to better survey our environs, these lands seem far less hospitable than the ones of which we are both familiar."
The Badlands are very much called what they are for a reason!
"Please allow me to reassure you, such extreme measures I will pursue only when I believe them to be inescapable for our continued well-being."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline studies Ethius for a moment, trying to assess the man before her. Could she really trust him in this? She's quiet for a moment, before sighing, her eyes shut.

"...I know, Ethius. I've...I've been through the Badlands before. I was on my own, then. It wasn't a pleasant experience." She replies. "So...believe me when I say I know what we're getting into."

She opens her eyes again, looking straight at Ethius now.

"...Very well. I want to trust you, Ethius. I do. I want to help you find the answers you're looking for. I'll accept that for now, but...please don't give me any further reasons not to." She says.

He wasn't any easy man to trust, especially after everything she'd seen of him. A part of her wondered if it was foolish to even try...

...But for now, she would. 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Can this man be trusted? That is a question many have reason to ask. When Jacqueline opens her eyes to look at him straight again, his head turns imperceptibly to match her gaze. Those same eyes of his, as always.
The eyes that keep taking, but giving virtually nothing in turn other than communicating 'this is a person's eyes, they're looking at something.' A man whose word choices are so carefully measured, in most circumstances, as to only mean exactly as they say and little more. Some of it stinks of rehersal, like some of the words might be words he's so practiced at saying on command that he not need fear tongue-tying or other frequent mistakes that pepper human speech.
"Your continued trust is appreciated, Miss Jay," he says. This is the second time he's blinked. He radiates virtually none of the warmth one might expect of someone friendly, someone that could be counted on to be a part of someone's life day in, day out, in whatever capacity they might. Like a co-worker, or someone who helps run a store they frequent.
...
One might wonder if the whole situation is just as awkward for him, as it is for anyone else. At present, they share the same space and appear to have the same goals. Similar enough goals, anyway, to continue journeying together.
As for the world they live... is it the same?
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

There's another sigh, whether it is of reflief or resignation, and Jacqueline nods.

"As is your continued assistance, Ethius." She replies, then stands from her chair. "Again, thank you for agreeing to meet with me to discuss this. That's all I wanted to say."

She watches him for a moment, a hand resting on the back of the chair, before picking it up. With that done, unless he stopped her she would turn to leave.

She wanted to trust him, and she would try to...

But it was safe to say that Jacqueline would probably still be keeping an eye on him in the future.

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