Hubert-- I am not the Lorenz that you know. Although I realize now that he may have indeed made the better choice out of the many possibilities, there may be things I know that he doesn't.
...Like there may indeed be something your little helper is trying to tell you. Is cleverness really such a bad thing?
[Hubert pauses in his task, sharp eyes flickering over to and lingering on the faun. It wasn't uncommon for them to speak about several things at once, but this conversation was beginning to take on too many layers.]
At times, [the mage says with a subtle sense of finality, like a parent asserting themselves into an argument.]
Cleverness is a tool; it can be of endless utility, or squandered to rust, or misused to the point of detriment. That vermin falls under the later. [Because it was clever; he'd been shocked by the degree. Painfully so, given that its prior escapes. Those could be... disastrous, if Hubert wasn't careful.]
[He shakes his head.] And where you fall remains to be seen. Just as you seek to control Gautier with the Bond, don't think I'm blind to the way you bow your head and offer endless honey to me.
[Ears drooped at the thinly veiled accusation, and Lorenz heaved a sigh in disappointment.]
... Is it really that hard for you to believe that someone wants to get to know you without any ulterior motive?
[Perhaps the idea was too difficult to grasp for someone so unused to trust. Perhaps Lorenz tried too hard. But with Hubert's dislike for tea and socializing Lorenz was left with little option but to try to meet Hubert where he was.
In that forbidding environment, with all the cloak and dagger tactics that they employed as people who often found trust to be too difficult to consider as an option for anything in their lives.]
It's unbecoming to ask questions for which you already know the answer.
[They were alike, in that regard, growing up in an environment where everyone was polite and respectful and hid fangs behind blunted teeth. He might be a Crestless heir and his House devoid of any holdings, but the Vestras dealt in priceless knowledge and puppet strings and the hidden workings of the Empire.]
[As far as Hubert was concerned, ulterior motives was the only reason. His value as a piece was immeasurable, and his value as a person... less so. The look that crosses Hubert's face is the same one as when Lorenz praised him under the full moons, something equally indignant at the thought of his words being disingenuous as sincere.]
[But sometimes's different this time, something so subtle it could be imagination. Accustomed to social intrigue as he was, Lorenz might be able to spot the hairline fissure in Hubert's composure: uncertainty.]
[While he's busy glaring at Lorenz, the grey rat gnaws at the twine.]
[The pawing goes unnoticed-- for Hubert was right. Lorenz did know the answer to his own question. After all, the only denominator for Lorenz in every iteration of Fodlan was the power plays enacted by his own father, the current Count Gloucester. What was he to be, but a pretty puppet to place wherever was necessary on the board?
A puppet though he ultimately was, he was thankful that he was graced with the ability to observe and the wit to understand. Perhaps, just perhaps, this was getting somewhere.]
...A wise person once asked me what I thought about the possible benefits of crossing the threshold between that which I knew and into places that I didn't yet understand, and if there wasn't any benefit in communicating with the people there to bridge the distance between us.
At the time I didn't entirely grasp his meaning, but it was an idea I pondered quite a bit over the course of the last five years-- one that I ponder still to this day. Perhaps there truly is benefit in such optimistic sounding niceties. Perhaps, in talking to others, breaking bread, or solving problems together, a greater understanding can be found.
....Ultimately, I do not know the answer. I'm hoping to find it.
There is always benefit in further knowledge, and the shoring of weaknesses through collaboration.
[That was never a question to Hubert. He was raised to be a shadow by the spymaster whose duty he'd inherited; it was a very different framework, but still one of observation and understanding and networking. His long contention and eventual cooperation with Ferdinand was a painful lesson in that shared understanding and bridging, but that was an opportunity few and far between. Hubert shook his head, as if explaining something to an inattentive student.]
What you are describing is a luxury I do not have. Many of our number may be content, even eager, to forget Fódlan's limitations and politics for a time, but I cannot. One of us must remember that the history many of us know has been twisted. Or even what is at stake in residing within Aefenglom's walls with those that would put blades through our necks. Perhaps there is freedom in such forgetfulness, but it is my role that I cannot.
[Ceaseless, tireless vigilance. If Edelgard and Bernadetta saw fit to explore these new freedoms, then all the more reason he could not waver.]
Cooperation you shall have. But you are an unknown to me. As far as I'm concerned, we've only met, and talk as you will about a wavering heart to Claude's cause, that is not something I can validate.
So long as I cannot validate that, you are a variable, and a threat. [To Edelgard, goes unsaid. After years of cooperating with the snakes in the dark, Hubert failed to see why alliance and friendship couldn't be mutually exclusive.]
[But for all the tension, Hubert's voice was not angry.]
[Unspoken was the fact that it was Ferdinand who had put forth this notion for Lorenz to consider. At the time Lorenz had brushed it off with a quip about a common-bred child asking him where h is tail was, but in truth he had needed further time to consider the deeper ramifications. Such a notion had the potential radically alter everything he had based his beliefs and actions on.
And, after conversations with sweet tongued young women who called him out on his own biases, those preconceptions were long swept away. Like cleaning off so many years of dust and patina that had built up within a locked library, Lorenz found himself with a world that was overflowing with knowledge to be uncovered.
Nodding quietly, he listened to Hubert's words-- quietly musing that this may have been the most words he had gotten out of the man at one time.]
No-- your position is valid, and likely more necessary here than any of us realize. We do not know what lies ahead; but, likewise, we cannot forget from where we came.
[Because, Hubert's words were true. He did seek to control Sylvain in a small way through their bond. As much a strange comfort that it was to know that Sylvain had felled him before he could commit other acts he'd regret, Lorenz did not know the full extent of how Sylvain thought. They had a rapport, but Sylvain in many ways eluded him more than Hubert did.
At least Hubert was rational. Sylvain was far more prone to impulse than he had realized, and a Bond was the only real way he had found to safely keep tabs on the man.
In the end, he truly was a predator among the deer. He sought to protect them, but that alone did not change the kind of person he was.
As admirable as Hubert's stance was, Lorenz knew better than to say such thoughts aloud-- lest he risk seeing a glimpse of something less controlled in Hubert's demeanor. Instead:]
Unless something happens that brings significant risk in this realm, [Unspoken was the reference 'to Edelgard',] There is going to be no way for you to validate anything. I will not ask you to trust... but I do like these conversations with you. There are few who use words quite the way you do.
[Another shake of his head.] I imagine there are many that consider such a blessing.
[Felix might rip out his hair if there were more people that spoke like Hubert.]
I would not grow accustomed to them. [They were the same kind of predator, in that regard. Even these "friendly" conversations gave away too much of each other and their inner workings.] Perhaps—
[A little sound, a creak of hinges, pulls Hubert's gaze back to the cage—the door swung open, the brown-and-white rat standing precariously atop the ceiling bars, sniffing the air. Hubert spun back around, finding the grey one zipping towards the cracked cellar door.]
You little devil! [His hand flung out, and with a pulse of magic, the rodent floated into the air, feet still scampering for a moment before her tail started wheeling in panic.]
[Where Hubert made for the one scurrying for the door, Lorenz moved to secure the little brown and white rat sitting upon the cage before it could go any further. Though he had a distaste for rats as pests, clearly these were in more controlled settings-- and smart.]
That little one is too smart for it's own good!
[Lorenz blurted, careful not to hold the confused and squirming rat too tightly in his hands. The snuffling of it's little nose at his thumb and fingers was almost charming.
This, [Hubert hissed as the telekinetically-seized rat floated toward him,] is exactly what I meant.
[He returned to the table with his prisoner in tow, glancing at Lorenz. The spotted rat's squirming died down after a moment; the creature twisted about in his hands, head poking out and forepaws feeling along at his fingers. Little curious eyes looked up at the deer-man as it tried to squirm out onto his wrist.]
[The squirming would get the little creature nowhere. Escape had eluded the rat once now and would continue to do so until a solution was found-- no matter the depths of the innocent curiosity that lurked in it's beady eyes.]
If you want to stop the escapes, they need a different habitat or more tasks.
[Lorenz said, watching the telekinetically floating rat squirm in mid air.]
They're fairly intelligent, which is why they can be so difficult to get rid of if an infestation occurs. They're also persistent.
Yes, yes, you do not need to lecture me on the vermin. I'm quite accustomed to eliminating the beasts.
[Hubert's scowling as the little grey one floats back into the cage, as if it would understand scolding.]
This is where they will stay. A "different habitat" is not an option. [The Witch examines the frayed twine, shaking his head before digging through his things. There; wire.]
[Was Hubert seriously this stubborn? Perhaps-- but this was also ultimately Hubert's project. While Lorenz was busy acclimating his cat to a lead so they could walk safely outside of the home, not every cat owner had the patience for such matters. Likewise, no two rodent keepers were the same.]
If you insist then, maybe try copper wire in the future. I've heard tales from farmers suggesting that the little things don't like it, for whatever reason.
[Then again, copper was a curious compound. Liquids stored in copper vessels tended to stay clearer for longer than in other kinds of containment.]
Nodding, Lorenz took the suggestion and gently deposited the little rat back into the cage with it's partner, taking a moment to watch the two creatures sniff at each other after the escapade before returning his attention to Hubert.]
Perhaps you should come to dinner at my place, to make up for this inconvenience.
[Lorenz said suddenly, smiling.]
Not now, of course. Unless you wish to get your laughs out at my expense tonight.
[He leveled a brief Look at Lorenz as he wrapped the cage's latch shut with the wire. The sudden bright tone has Hubert suspicious.]
Listen to yourself—offering recompense for a distraction with more lost time. What reason do I have to accept that? Besides the fact, I can laugh at your expense at any time.
[Food and fresh air carried about as much weight with Hubert as sleep did. Which was... uh, not much. It's not a hard guess to make, considering the man had perpetually persistent eyebags that he'd lacked five years ago.]
[Those persistent eyebags were a worry, like everything else about Hubert.]
Is it a crime now to try to understand someone with whom I am to be working with? You're an interesting man, Hubert, but there is a certain imbalance here which I find... frustrating.
[He has not forgotten his debts, and he planned to hold to them--but he wanted to get to better know the man to whom he was indebted.]
[Those debts, and Lorenz' ingrained (abusable) sense of honor, were the only reason Hubert allowed him so close so casually. The debt itself was more valuable than whatever it might be traded for. He couldn't forget that this was not the Lorenz he knew; that he stood across enemy lines, as much as Lorenz spoke of his new knowledge.]
[Hubert shouldn't even be permitting him this close. He's silent for a long moment, then shakes his head.]
Such are the dangers of the wolves of noble society. You show your teeth, but such a smile is indiscernible from fangs. Even if your intentions are honest, that does not exclude you from using such knowledge of me to leverage something—a duality befitting an Alliance aristocrat of Adrestian lineage.
[Satisfied that the cage door was wrapped tightly shut, Hubert turned back to his experiment.]
If you must ceaselessly insist on doing something, go weed the garden.
[Lorenz could be useful. Insightful. He held a diplomatic skillset Hubert lacked. It really could be a beneficial allaince.... but Hubert's inscrutability, honestly, was one of his greatest assets. Outsiders could expect him to be reasonable, and to always work in Edelgard's best interest. Beyond that... letting such mystery go could be costly.]
[Quiet settled over them at Hubert's cold dismissal, and Lorenz frowned in a visible show of his continued frustration. While it was a rarity for anyone to call others out on their heritage within the Alliance, there was truth to Hubert's words. Duplicity was an inherent factor in both of their natures.]
... Wolves are also community creatures, much like deer. Their hunting style is only effective because they work in tandem with each other.
[stepping backwards to allow some physical distance between them, Lorenz shook his head.]
In the Alliance, we function by compromise. There are a great deal of disagreements and divisions, but we survive by making agreements and making good on our dues.
I do not know what it will take to have you see my as someone to rely upon here, Hubert, but know that I will not yield to Edelgard as my Emperor if that is on your list. I will work with her and support her in her work for the grander cause, but my family foreswore our subservience to the crown generations ago.
... Compromise isn't something I expect of you. You are an Adrestrian aristocrat, that isn't what you do. But, I do hope that you would one day see that I have no reason to leverage anything on you, nor do anything to put yourself nor who and what you represent in jeopardy. Even if I did, there's no reason to follow through because such acts are useless and would be nothing but a wasted effort.
[Frustration's rising on both sides as exasperation starts to crack Hubert's statuesque veneer.]
Compromise is not my privilege to offer—it never was. You have your cooperation already; I will not stand in the way of that lest you hand me a good reason why.
[Hubert glances over his shoulder.] Rational or not your actions, purposeful or not your efforts, I bear the burden of remembering exactly what is at stake on the other side of those mirrors—for each involved. For every danger, every possibility of it.
Or do you mean to tell me, when you return to the other side of the glass, you mean to lay down your spear? To abstain from the war, and accept amnesty with your treasured cooperation?
[Hubert didn't expect so, with that bit about the crown.]
[Running a hand through his hair, Lorenz peered at Hubert with a careful, calculated distance.]
We cannot predict whether or not we will even recall these conversations when we arrive back in Fodlan; making such vows is beyond foolish.
And, I did not ask you to compromise... but I am compromising quite a bit in order to get to better know you in a manner that I never would have in the Fodlan I hail from. It would be much appreciated if you would at least recognize that much.
[He turned his gaze back to the worktable, shaking his head.]
Compromise. You keep using that word. To settle a dispute by mutual concession; to weaken something by accepting standards that are lower than is desirable. I don't recall offering anything for you to accept, other than my occasional aid. This—[Hubert spreads his arms vaguely at the lab, since he can't really gesture to Lorenz with his back turned.]—Is this not ceaseless wheedling your way into a distraction?
You know what I stand for; I should think that speaks for itself. What else would you need to know?
At this very moment? No, it isn't distraction-- for you.
[Folding his arms, Lorenz canted his head to the side and regarded Hubert with every ounce of the condescension he could summon from the depths of his person. If the man really was this dense, Lorenz wondered why he was even bothering.]
You told me just earlier to focus on which sentiments were only my own. This conversation-- as frustrating a conversation partner as you are-- I know for certain is entirely my own.
[He shook his head, at a loss for what else to say in that moment.]
...Neither of the Witches I am Bonded to have asked for my input in their work. Their reasons, whatever they are, I likely understand-- but after a while biding my time and lying in wait while I gather the threads of rumors and gossip I hear while on shift at DiplomaTea grows rather tiresome. Plants only go so far-- I was never a gardening aficionado.
[He was frustrated and bored, Hubert. At least give him something.]
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no subject
Date: 2020-03-21 02:14 am (UTC)Problem, or opportunity?
Hubert-- I am not the Lorenz that you know. Although I realize now that he may have indeed made the better choice out of the many possibilities, there may be things I know that he doesn't.
...Like there may indeed be something your little helper is trying to tell you. Is cleverness really such a bad thing?
no subject
Date: 2020-03-21 04:53 am (UTC)At times, [the mage says with a subtle sense of finality, like a parent asserting themselves into an argument.]
Cleverness is a tool; it can be of endless utility, or squandered to rust, or misused to the point of detriment. That vermin falls under the later. [Because it was clever; he'd been shocked by the degree. Painfully so, given that its prior escapes. Those could be... disastrous, if Hubert wasn't careful.]
[He shakes his head.] And where you fall remains to be seen. Just as you seek to control Gautier with the Bond, don't think I'm blind to the way you bow your head and offer endless honey to me.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-21 11:16 am (UTC)... Is it really that hard for you to believe that someone wants to get to know you without any ulterior motive?
[Perhaps the idea was too difficult to grasp for someone so unused to trust. Perhaps Lorenz tried too hard. But with Hubert's dislike for tea and socializing Lorenz was left with little option but to try to meet Hubert where he was.
In that forbidding environment, with all the cloak and dagger tactics that they employed as people who often found trust to be too difficult to consider as an option for anything in their lives.]
no subject
Date: 2020-03-21 09:18 pm (UTC)[They were alike, in that regard, growing up in an environment where everyone was polite and respectful and hid fangs behind blunted teeth. He might be a Crestless heir and his House devoid of any holdings, but the Vestras dealt in priceless knowledge and puppet strings and the hidden workings of the Empire.]
[As far as Hubert was concerned, ulterior motives was the only reason. His value as a piece was immeasurable, and his value as a person... less so. The look that crosses Hubert's face is the same one as when Lorenz praised him under the full moons, something equally indignant at the thought of his words being disingenuous as sincere.]
[But sometimes's different this time, something so subtle it could be imagination. Accustomed to social intrigue as he was, Lorenz might be able to spot the hairline fissure in Hubert's composure: uncertainty.]
[While he's busy glaring at Lorenz, the grey rat gnaws at the twine.]
no subject
Date: 2020-03-22 02:24 am (UTC)A puppet though he ultimately was, he was thankful that he was graced with the ability to observe and the wit to understand. Perhaps, just perhaps, this was getting somewhere.]
...A wise person once asked me what I thought about the possible benefits of crossing the threshold between that which I knew and into places that I didn't yet understand, and if there wasn't any benefit in communicating with the people there to bridge the distance between us.
At the time I didn't entirely grasp his meaning, but it was an idea I pondered quite a bit over the course of the last five years-- one that I ponder still to this day. Perhaps there truly is benefit in such optimistic sounding niceties. Perhaps, in talking to others, breaking bread, or solving problems together, a greater understanding can be found.
....Ultimately, I do not know the answer. I'm hoping to find it.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-22 03:07 am (UTC)[That was never a question to Hubert. He was raised to be a shadow by the spymaster whose duty he'd inherited; it was a very different framework, but still one of observation and understanding and networking. His long contention and eventual cooperation with Ferdinand was a painful lesson in that shared understanding and bridging, but that was an opportunity few and far between. Hubert shook his head, as if explaining something to an inattentive student.]
What you are describing is a luxury I do not have. Many of our number may be content, even eager, to forget Fódlan's limitations and politics for a time, but I cannot. One of us must remember that the history many of us know has been twisted. Or even what is at stake in residing within Aefenglom's walls with those that would put blades through our necks. Perhaps there is freedom in such forgetfulness, but it is my role that I cannot.
[Ceaseless, tireless vigilance. If Edelgard and Bernadetta saw fit to explore these new freedoms, then all the more reason he could not waver.]
Cooperation you shall have. But you are an unknown to me. As far as I'm concerned, we've only met, and talk as you will about a wavering heart to Claude's cause, that is not something I can validate.
So long as I cannot validate that, you are a variable, and a threat. [To Edelgard, goes unsaid. After years of cooperating with the snakes in the dark, Hubert failed to see why alliance and friendship couldn't be mutually exclusive.]
[But for all the tension, Hubert's voice was not angry.]
no subject
Date: 2020-03-22 03:38 am (UTC)And, after conversations with sweet tongued young women who called him out on his own biases, those preconceptions were long swept away. Like cleaning off so many years of dust and patina that had built up within a locked library, Lorenz found himself with a world that was overflowing with knowledge to be uncovered.
Nodding quietly, he listened to Hubert's words-- quietly musing that this may have been the most words he had gotten out of the man at one time.]
No-- your position is valid, and likely more necessary here than any of us realize. We do not know what lies ahead; but, likewise, we cannot forget from where we came.
[Because, Hubert's words were true. He did seek to control Sylvain in a small way through their bond. As much a strange comfort that it was to know that Sylvain had felled him before he could commit other acts he'd regret, Lorenz did not know the full extent of how Sylvain thought. They had a rapport, but Sylvain in many ways eluded him more than Hubert did.
At least Hubert was rational. Sylvain was far more prone to impulse than he had realized, and a Bond was the only real way he had found to safely keep tabs on the man.
In the end, he truly was a predator among the deer. He sought to protect them, but that alone did not change the kind of person he was.
As admirable as Hubert's stance was, Lorenz knew better than to say such thoughts aloud-- lest he risk seeing a glimpse of something less controlled in Hubert's demeanor. Instead:]
Unless something happens that brings significant risk in this realm, [Unspoken was the reference 'to Edelgard',] There is going to be no way for you to validate anything. I will not ask you to trust... but I do like these conversations with you. There are few who use words quite the way you do.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-22 04:36 am (UTC)[Felix might rip out his hair if there were more people that spoke like Hubert.]
I would not grow accustomed to them. [They were the same kind of predator, in that regard. Even these "friendly" conversations gave away too much of each other and their inner workings.] Perhaps—
[A little sound, a creak of hinges, pulls Hubert's gaze back to the cage—the door swung open, the brown-and-white rat standing precariously atop the ceiling bars, sniffing the air. Hubert spun back around, finding the grey one zipping towards the cracked cellar door.]
You little devil! [His hand flung out, and with a pulse of magic, the rodent floated into the air, feet still scampering for a moment before her tail started wheeling in panic.]
no subject
Date: 2020-03-23 02:13 am (UTC)That little one is too smart for it's own good!
[Lorenz blurted, careful not to hold the confused and squirming rat too tightly in his hands. The snuffling of it's little nose at his thumb and fingers was almost charming.
Almost.]
no subject
Date: 2020-03-23 03:47 am (UTC)[He returned to the table with his prisoner in tow, glancing at Lorenz. The spotted rat's squirming died down after a moment; the creature twisted about in his hands, head poking out and forepaws feeling along at his fingers. Little curious eyes looked up at the deer-man as it tried to squirm out onto his wrist.]
no subject
Date: 2020-03-23 07:58 pm (UTC)If you want to stop the escapes, they need a different habitat or more tasks.
[Lorenz said, watching the telekinetically floating rat squirm in mid air.]
They're fairly intelligent, which is why they can be so difficult to get rid of if an infestation occurs. They're also persistent.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-24 02:18 am (UTC)[Hubert's scowling as the little grey one floats back into the cage, as if it would understand scolding.]
This is where they will stay. A "different habitat" is not an option. [The Witch examines the frayed twine, shaking his head before digging through his things. There; wire.]
no subject
Date: 2020-03-24 03:29 am (UTC)If you insist then, maybe try copper wire in the future. I've heard tales from farmers suggesting that the little things don't like it, for whatever reason.
[Then again, copper was a curious compound. Liquids stored in copper vessels tended to stay clearer for longer than in other kinds of containment.]
no subject
Date: 2020-03-24 04:12 pm (UTC)[The one in the fauns hand looked up, eyeing this antlers.]
I'll take that under consideration.
[He gestures to the cage. The other one, please.]
no subject
Date: 2020-03-26 03:09 am (UTC)Nodding, Lorenz took the suggestion and gently deposited the little rat back into the cage with it's partner, taking a moment to watch the two creatures sniff at each other after the escapade before returning his attention to Hubert.]
Perhaps you should come to dinner at my place, to make up for this inconvenience.
[Lorenz said suddenly, smiling.]
Not now, of course. Unless you wish to get your laughs out at my expense tonight.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-29 01:23 am (UTC)Listen to yourself—offering recompense for a distraction with more lost time. What reason do I have to accept that? Besides the fact, I can laugh at your expense at any time.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-29 02:12 am (UTC)[Clearly, they were not high priorities on Hubert's list. Lorenz could hardly imagine what a life like that would be like.]
How about an extra pair of hands, then? Clearly, an extra set might benefit you more immediately than a hot meal.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-30 03:55 am (UTC)Are you truly that desperate to be useful?
no subject
Date: 2020-03-30 02:17 pm (UTC)Is it a crime now to try to understand someone with whom I am to be working with? You're an interesting man, Hubert, but there is a certain imbalance here which I find... frustrating.
[He has not forgotten his debts, and he planned to hold to them--but he wanted to get to better know the man to whom he was indebted.]
no subject
Date: 2020-03-31 04:54 am (UTC)[Hubert shouldn't even be permitting him this close. He's silent for a long moment, then shakes his head.]
Such are the dangers of the wolves of noble society. You show your teeth, but such a smile is indiscernible from fangs. Even if your intentions are honest, that does not exclude you from using such knowledge of me to leverage something—a duality befitting an Alliance aristocrat of Adrestian lineage.
[Satisfied that the cage door was wrapped tightly shut, Hubert turned back to his experiment.]
If you must ceaselessly insist on doing something, go weed the garden.
[Lorenz could be useful. Insightful. He held a diplomatic skillset Hubert lacked. It really could be a beneficial allaince.... but Hubert's inscrutability, honestly, was one of his greatest assets. Outsiders could expect him to be reasonable, and to always work in Edelgard's best interest. Beyond that... letting such mystery go could be costly.]
no subject
Date: 2020-03-31 02:11 pm (UTC)... Wolves are also community creatures, much like deer. Their hunting style is only effective because they work in tandem with each other.
[stepping backwards to allow some physical distance between them, Lorenz shook his head.]
In the Alliance, we function by compromise. There are a great deal of disagreements and divisions, but we survive by making agreements and making good on our dues.
I do not know what it will take to have you see my as someone to rely upon here, Hubert, but know that I will not yield to Edelgard as my Emperor if that is on your list. I will work with her and support her in her work for the grander cause, but my family foreswore our subservience to the crown generations ago.
... Compromise isn't something I expect of you. You are an Adrestrian aristocrat, that isn't what you do. But, I do hope that you would one day see that I have no reason to leverage anything on you, nor do anything to put yourself nor who and what you represent in jeopardy. Even if I did, there's no reason to follow through because such acts are useless and would be nothing but a wasted effort.
no subject
Date: 2020-04-01 04:57 am (UTC)[Frustration's rising on both sides as exasperation starts to crack Hubert's statuesque veneer.]
Compromise is not my privilege to offer—it never was. You have your cooperation already; I will not stand in the way of that lest you hand me a good reason why.
[Hubert glances over his shoulder.] Rational or not your actions, purposeful or not your efforts, I bear the burden of remembering exactly what is at stake on the other side of those mirrors—for each involved. For every danger, every possibility of it.
Or do you mean to tell me, when you return to the other side of the glass, you mean to lay down your spear? To abstain from the war, and accept amnesty with your treasured cooperation?
[Hubert didn't expect so, with that bit about the crown.]
no subject
Date: 2020-04-02 02:13 am (UTC)[Running a hand through his hair, Lorenz peered at Hubert with a careful, calculated distance.]
We cannot predict whether or not we will even recall these conversations when we arrive back in Fodlan; making such vows is beyond foolish.
And, I did not ask you to compromise... but I am compromising quite a bit in order to get to better know you in a manner that I never would have in the Fodlan I hail from. It would be much appreciated if you would at least recognize that much.
no subject
Date: 2020-04-02 05:42 am (UTC)Compromise. You keep using that word. To settle a dispute by mutual concession; to weaken something by accepting standards that are lower than is desirable. I don't recall offering anything for you to accept, other than my occasional aid. This—[Hubert spreads his arms vaguely at the lab, since he can't really gesture to Lorenz with his back turned.]—Is this not ceaseless wheedling your way into a distraction?
You know what I stand for; I should think that speaks for itself. What else would you need to know?
[What else was there?]
no subject
Date: 2020-04-02 11:51 pm (UTC)[Folding his arms, Lorenz canted his head to the side and regarded Hubert with every ounce of the condescension he could summon from the depths of his person. If the man really was this dense, Lorenz wondered why he was even bothering.]
You told me just earlier to focus on which sentiments were only my own. This conversation-- as frustrating a conversation partner as you are-- I know for certain is entirely my own.
[He shook his head, at a loss for what else to say in that moment.]
...Neither of the Witches I am Bonded to have asked for my input in their work. Their reasons, whatever they are, I likely understand-- but after a while biding my time and lying in wait while I gather the threads of rumors and gossip I hear while on shift at DiplomaTea grows rather tiresome. Plants only go so far-- I was never a gardening aficionado.
[He was frustrated and bored, Hubert. At least give him something.]
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