zenderael_mmo | [Guild Leaders] This Is It, Boys, This Is War

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[Guild Leaders] This Is It, Boys, This Is War

Who: Ezra, Gabe, Jordan, Lera, Rhys
When: Friday
Where: Mianeh
Before/After: After Lera and Ezra talk.
Warnings: N/A

QUICK NOTE: feel free to do side threads before/after the briefing!

[So the announcements were all sent out: it was time to discuss war plans and the plans are getting moved up. A location in Mianeh was secured, thanks to French contacts; they have a conference room in a hotel and the Saftan embassy sent over a few guards to keep an eye on things and one of the Earth ones swept it for bugs.]

[Lera is standing at the front of the room. She isn't obviously the Mazda; she has regular Saftan civilian clothing on to give her a surprise. The exception, of course, are those sharp golden eyes.]

[There are also some chocolate chip cookies, soft drinks on ice, and shrimp with cocktail sauce. She's waiting for everyone to arrive -- and is here early, like she always is -- before they start the spiel. Besides, they all need to get to know each other first. Of course, Ezra and Gabe probably came with her.]

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[ he's still standing there, looking at the outline of their battle plans, arms folded but a little slouchier, now that they aren't in Official Business mode. it still doesn't feel sorted, but there's a lot riding on this. he shouldn't feel comfortable with it. there's a lot that can go wrong and he's just not good at thinking this way. he's too straightforward with too few tricks up his sleeve.

just get bastan back and clear everea of aerveas' influence. everything else feels less than important. but that's not a good way to think, either. is it? once everything is sorted, they'll all be dealing with their own problems post-war, and he'll be in the least position to help anyone else that needs it.

but it feels shortsighted to just focus on the now, too. he'll go crazy if he does, knowing there's more to consider lurking in the wings.

ugh. he can't think on it but he can't not think on it. ]

[once it's over, of course he needs to see ezra, but rhys watches a moment before he approaches. ezra is worried. tense. there's a lot that's happened and a lot's been lost, but he doesn't think any of them feel it as much as the spenta has.

but it's going to be okay. they'll get bastan back. the undertow. the hunters' base. they'll show zenderael that they can protect it. they'll not alone, either. in some ways rhys wishes he was. no one else would be at risk to be hurt. but he needs them. he has to admit that.

he finally steps up beside him, hand on ezra's shoulder with an affectionate squeeze as he smiles in greeting.]

Eh? Oh! Hey. [ he starts at the touch- it's a reflex, he can't help it- but once he recognizes who it is he relaxes automatically, his smile turning a little on the dopey side, albeit still a little nervous. of course he worries what rhys thinks of him, thinks of this, of course it's hard to watch him get on with old friends, but he's still so stupidly happy to see him that his angst over it is almost all but forgotten in that moment.

How are you?

he signs it without even thinking about it. but it's not just a simple question, not with the look on his face that accompanies it. he's concerned, there's regret- he couldn't do anything and no amount of munchkin cat pictures will fix that. petrification might, in a sense, save his people, make his situation better after the war is over, but this isn't a matter of 'better'. he knows what it's like to be helpless in such an amazingly overwhelming situation.

so, how is rhys doing? ]

[his smile softens, warmer, when he sees ezra smile back. it's dopey and it's ezra and just for a second, the worry's nearly gone. there's no better thing to see right now.

he brightens at the signing, but that fades as he reads it with ezra's expression. it's not asked as a formality. none of what they do ever is. rhys appreciates that, but it means he can't sign back that he's fine.

They took it out on me, but most apologized. We can still fight. We'll get it back.

and he believes that.]

[ he sees that look and that determination and his smile is small, almost shy about it, nodding like he doesn't quite believe, but he wants to, more than before. poor lera, having to put up with his mopey ass- it's harder when it's with someone who hasn't been through as much as you have.

and not that he wants her to. but they've been through a lot in a short time, these two. it means a lot to ezra.

Anything you need, let me know.

it might come out a little weird- he's rusty without rhys to use it on. without rachel. what will bastan even be like when he gets back? the druids have taken to patching it up as they see fit. will the hq even look the same? will he even be able to look at the prisons without feeling that sick fear?

How was the trip here? Have you decided where you'll go afterwards?

it comes out a little excited, too. he knew he was going to see rhys, but actually getting to, it's different. he's still full of nervous energy that sitting around in a conference room won't help and it comes out in the energy he transfers into the signs ]

[rhys has gotten better with it. it's not in its correctness, necessarily, but his willingness. he didn't quite meet people-- even ezra-- in the eye before, and each sign weak with reluctance. now he finishes each with sign with a solid kick to it and holds them firmly before continuing to the next.

Too cheesy to say seeing you is enough?

he grins, brief, but unguardedly goofy.

Uneventful, thankfully. if aerveas had prices out for the mazda and spenta, he images he'll pay for an ahura or a mano. or any of the rest of them, really. Not yet.

he'll have to confer with jordan on that.]

[ a laugh escapes him, strange in an otherwise silent conversation ] God, yes. [ stupidly cheesy, but it makes him smile anyway. he spent a lot of time worrying about this. he feels a little easier about it now, if just for this.

It shouldn't be enough. But thanks.

he can accept it because that's how he feels seeing rhys. though it seems a little different, with gabe there. there's a previous friendship there he worries about.

I'd offer if I could, but it's not my place to. Lera might anyway, though. She's good about stuff like that. ]

[that reaction only makes rhys laugh himself, though his is silent. ah, he shouldn't. with gabe it's easy. gabe does it all the time, so rhys knows it goes both ways.

shouldn't, but does. rhys exhales to let the laugh go and pulls ezra into a hug. he and jordan have to get back, not just for their own guilds, but for the armaiti. their time here is too short. for now.

he finally pulls back, forcing a little smile to overtake the frown he fell into while ezra couldn't see.

We probably can't stay the night.]

[ he's more ready for the hug than he wants to admit, an arm tight around rhys even as he's being hugged himself. embarrassing, maybe. he can't keep himself straight some days, and sometimes he feels like just having this friendship is too much, undeserved, distracting. but the whole thing is hollow without having this friendship to ground him, to remind him of who he is.

will that fade? he doesn't know. it's something they'll have to find out for themselves as time passes. he doesn't know when will be the last time anyone calls him ezra. he'll be a hundred and twenty-four years old before he knows it and maybe he won't even remember when the last time was he was called ezra.

it's frightening, to think that could happen. he'll become spenta. his life already isn't his own now, not the way it used to be, and he wasted that. would trying to regain some sense of self now be another waste of time...?

he hesitates to let rhys go, giving him a pat on the back before he does, holding him out at arm's length, hand on rhys' shoulder.

can't stay. and the look on rhys' face...

You'll tell me when you can?

both to the staying over and that mysterious other thing. it makes him nervous. what could have happened that they won't tell him...?]

[that smile wavers and rhys nods. he leans forward, just a little, into ezra's hand, and nods again. it's killing him that he can't say anything. it's not that he thinks ezra will tell, but if the act of doing it at all gets out, even after the fact, so many lives will be put in danger on principle. virelai, he thinks, was made to stand out too much.

but the truth will get out. it always does. ezra can give him what for and rhys can apologize.

When this is over, we'll have plenty of excuses to work together.

they'll get their homes back, and they'll help each other pick up the pieces. maybe meetings like these should be a thing. maybe peace zenderael didn't have before could be a thing...]

[ he nods in return, gripping his shoulder and giving him a small shake. whatever it is, if it keeps rhys safe, he'll accept it. he won't think on it too hard. small blessings. even if they won't look like blessings when he knows what they are.

he drops his hand and watches the sign. his grin comes back a little.

I'm sure I'll have a lot on my hands.

there's always the possibility of further merges, but- well, that's never been something he could control.

Take some of the cookies with you. Virelai might like them. ]

[he looks back to the cookies. appealing to her sweet tooth is a good idea. she's been trying so hard to look cheerful when there's people around, but he's noticed the way she dismisses herself to wash bonecrush more often than a rhino cares to be washed.

I'll tell her it was your idea.

she'd like that part, too.

We're going to win this.

it's not much of a segue at all, but he suddenly feels the need to communicate it.]

[ the idea of even vivi breaking down is too much to handle. cookies seem like a shallow way of fending it off... maybe there'll be something more permanent...?

ah, right, what he and lera spoke about...

Maybe she could give me a few tips on how to use a hammer, too?

his new weapon of choice, somehow more in tune with his fighting style. he'd spent all that time worrying about the longsword... it was never his to use, either way.

the sudden move of conversation almost catches him off guard, and he looks at rhys a moment in the eye- hard for him to do, but he's trying- he has to try- before he nods.

Seems like a dumb place to lose. I want to see how this merging continues. ]

[rhys takes ezra's shoulder and it's hard not to pull in for another hug. he squeezes it in reassurance and manages to smile. the merge... that was rhys' original worry with aerveas' occupation of bastan. the rest of bastan has already gone to fall city. what if the rest does?

but they're working on it now, and they're already rushing into it. a week. his berserkers are ready. he thinks back on virelai, though, and how he was half a step away from telling her to denounce the ahura and flee to safta for shelter. she'd never run away, but...

She could teach you.
And with the alliance, maybe I should send a representative.
Ambassador? he has to finger spell that out, not knowing the sign for the specific title.

maybe "ambassador" isn't tough sounding enough...]

[ another hug would be disastrous, really, so it's for the best rhys manages to hold himself back. the smile is bad enough. or good enough. with lera and rhys on his side, it really just seems a matter of time before he lightens up in a more permanent fashion.

hm, considering all that's going on... he has no objections to virelai coming over in an official capacity, if it keeps her out of the way of the other berserkers. he can only imagine how it's working out now.

he sees the hesitation on rhys' face as he signs it out.

Maybe something more like...

he pauses while he thinks, rubbing his chin.

The Voice of the Ahura. Something like that. If you don't mind her being referred to as your voice, anyway. She doesn't quite match up with what I imagine, but...

he grins cheekily ]

Edited 2013-03-25 07:55 (UTC)

[rhys grins again.

There are recordings if you're curious.

there's no tug when he signs it. no lingering ache. he doesn't even notice that, already thinking back on virelai. it's a title she would take seriously without feeling less fierce, he thinks. for all her uncertainties and hesitations-- ones he gave her-- he trusts her judgment.

She'd like it.]

[ There are?

never having been big on current music, ezra had missed a good chunk of the new stuff that had been coming out, and whether or not he knew (or remembered) rhys as a rock star was debatable. never mind that his attention had been elsewhere for what was nearly becoming the past year.

he watches rhys consider it, folding his arms in the meantime. he grins a bit again and nods.

Whenever she's ready she'll have a place here.]

Edited 2013-03-25 15:49 (UTC)

[rhys had never mentioned it himself. he never did. that occurs to him with a pause, but then they were moving on.

Thank you.

he had no intention of coddling her. well, some. but he tried to respect virelai was a warrior. she would make herself useful with the paladins, or anywhere else, and might be more comfortable.

but rhys would miss her, too.]

[ whatever it is that has rhys recorded, he'll find out later. or not. it's not all that important now, is it? rhys has kind of transcended rock star.

We'll make sure she keeps busy. a warrior, yes, but an innocent as well, and there was something worth protecting in that.

It'll just be for a short time. he had a feeling he knew how rhys felt about letting her go. he felt the same without rasmus around. When this is over and everything is settled down, she'll be back to the undertow in no time. ]

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[Guild Leaders] This Is It, Boys, This Is War

ezra/rhys

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