[She'll sit down, then. And then considers the question, thoughtful as usual. Going over the things she feels critical of, the things she feels were mistakes like this is a performance review, or a meeting with her thesis advisor.
But bizarrely, even though her energy is still very nervous and there's an undercurrent running under it too, extremely worried and sad and uncertain. But she hits on an unusual answer.]
. . . One can criticize how it went overall, and my decisions in particular, in terms of fairness or bias. We didn't really take it seriously or try, and perhaps that was cold to those who wanted answers, or who previously lost someone to a false accusation. I didn't intend to be dismissive of either.
But I find I don't really care about that, overmuch. I would say that I am satisfied with this outcome.
[it's hard to say what greed is feeling about that answer since there doesn't seem to be an emotion attached at all. he simply watches her, listening and sipping from his tea as he thinks of how to respond.]
...then I suppose I can only offer my congratulations. [naturally, this isn't exactly how he would have done things and it feels a little too familiar to old tactics he's pulled, but he's always said he would let harrow make her own choices. she's managed to do so, so who is he to say anything about it.]
A no-vote was a big challenge. You rose to the occasion fairly well.
It wasn't possible until this week. [Not with Mahito, or Childe, or a fair few others around.] So I won't waste time regretting that we hadn't done it already.
[She'll take the cup of tea, but she's quiet in response, aside from more of that nervous energy.]
You and I have that in common. [wry. it's an unfortunate shared trait of theirs.
he ponders then before nodding.]
I think you've held on to enough secrets for now. So for your payment...I'd like you to share information you've kept to yourself with three people you haven't.
[She reaches for her cup of tea to take a sip of it.]
There are a lot of things that have been hidden, and often admittedly for selfish reasons. I've never pretended I don't prioritize certain people over others.
It means it's a two-fold problem. I believe there's information being withheld from you as well that may benefit you if you find it. By offering your own information, you'll likely to net something new.
[She considers this, but there's a swell of something a little like disappointment.]
That's very practical, and I will be glad to do it.
I don't particularly value the truth for the truth's sake. Maybe I'm too accustomed to lies, but some things won't do anyone any good to know, and are dangerous. But I suppose you probably understand that, too.
[even if it's minor, the disappoint is enough that he takes some damage from it. there's a flutter of unease for reasons he refuses to acknowledge and it's immediately replaced with something like determination.]
I do. It's another reason I've no intention of stopping you from proceeding in the way you think is best going forward.
[very glad i botched the english language and just called it disappoint. anyway. sometimes you're an idiot and you want to desperately try to be a better person because of a million mistakes and you've been trained into perfection so even the slightest amount of disappointment is alarming.
granted, usually emotionsharing isn't a thing and it's easy enough to hide it all.
there's something else then. similar to pride, similar to understanding and similar to something pleased.]
Very well then. [what else can he say to that? he wants harrow to continue.]
[I didn't even notice but I register his disappoint. Anyway, really all she wants from him is for him to make it easy and just acknowledge it first. Of all of the Avatars, he's the one who she just can't believe intends to hurt them.
But she has such a bad track record with this sort of thing, doesn't she?
She came here on Saturday night because she said she would, but she's not ready to talk about it yet. Not when she can't decide what to think about any of it, and she's so furious she wants to burn the whole thing down.]
That's really all I had for you. I'll talk to three people, as agreed.
[thanks for that. and also she's so valid. given the way he's reacting it's kind of clear that he wants to give her a better answer but he's holding back until harrow decides she's ready to actually ask the questions she wants to ask. he's not stupid. and they're similar. he's aware of the kind of mo she has.]
Alright then. [a pause.] My office is always open whenever you have more to discuss.
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But bizarrely, even though her energy is still very nervous and there's an undercurrent running under it too, extremely worried and sad and uncertain. But she hits on an unusual answer.]
. . . One can criticize how it went overall, and my decisions in particular, in terms of fairness or bias. We didn't really take it seriously or try, and perhaps that was cold to those who wanted answers, or who previously lost someone to a false accusation. I didn't intend to be dismissive of either.
But I find I don't really care about that, overmuch. I would say that I am satisfied with this outcome.
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...then I suppose I can only offer my congratulations. [naturally, this isn't exactly how he would have done things and it feels a little too familiar to old tactics he's pulled, but he's always said he would let harrow make her own choices. she's managed to do so, so who is he to say anything about it.]
A no-vote was a big challenge. You rose to the occasion fairly well.
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[She'll take the cup of tea, but she's quiet in response, aside from more of that nervous energy.]
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[She considers the question for a moment.]
You said I would need to make a payment for the grant of the power. Which I am willing to do.
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he ponders then before nodding.]
I think you've held on to enough secrets for now. So for your payment...I'd like you to share information you've kept to yourself with three people you haven't.
[it's a very lenient price.]
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[It isn't bad at all, although.]
What sort of information. Anything I know? About the murders? About the. . . bigger picture?
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[She reaches for her cup of tea to take a sip of it.]
There are a lot of things that have been hidden, and often admittedly for selfish reasons. I've never pretended I don't prioritize certain people over others.
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[...still the avatar of greed!]
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That's very practical, and I will be glad to do it.
I don't particularly value the truth for the truth's sake. Maybe I'm too accustomed to lies, but some things won't do anyone any good to know, and are dangerous. But I suppose you probably understand that, too.
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I do. It's another reason I've no intention of stopping you from proceeding in the way you think is best going forward.
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She hasn't made any decisions yet, so she doesn't react to that, besides the general mood in here being a little bit unusually cool.]
Your intentions are noted. I don't intend to be stopped.
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granted, usually emotionsharing isn't a thing and it's easy enough to hide it all.
there's something else then. similar to pride, similar to understanding and similar to something pleased.]
Very well then. [what else can he say to that? he wants harrow to continue.]
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But she has such a bad track record with this sort of thing, doesn't she?
She came here on Saturday night because she said she would, but she's not ready to talk about it yet. Not when she can't decide what to think about any of it, and she's so furious she wants to burn the whole thing down.]
That's really all I had for you. I'll talk to three people, as agreed.
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Alright then. [a pause.] My office is always open whenever you have more to discuss.