Nero snorted as the silhouette of the Flame Sergeant eventually disappeared from the corner of his eye. His arms remained folded, and he did not turn to face the paladin whom he now addressed.
"That was a thorough waste of time," the smuggler commented idly. "He expected me to prostrate myself before him, to insist that it was for the people's sake. What an incredibly dull and short-sighted man he is." The splashing of the sea against the pier almost drowned out Roen's response, so quiet was her voice.
"He needed to believe...he needed to see that it would all be worth it." Another snort ejected itself from Nero's nostrils.
It had been a week since they had last spoken, and the two of them had not parted on good terms. Nero had demanded that she show some results, and the Flame Sergeant's presence was the culmination of that effort. As for the smuggler, it had been a week of planning, a week of deals and compromises, a week of thoughts and contemplation. The blazing rage that Daegsatz' death instilled within the Hyur had cooled to smoldering coals. To surrender his plan to the whimsies of revenge was pointless. What was required now was cold, mechanical efficiency.
"Why must you be....so cold. And arrogant," came the displeased voiced that muttered behind him.
"What would you have done in my place, Roen?" he asked idly.
He could feel her gaze boring into the back of his head. "You should have trusted me enough to know that I brought a good man to you. Someone who could have helped you. You should have trusted me enough to lower your guard for just a moment, to let him not stare at your back, but to look into your eyes. To not let him hear your cold rehearsed--"
The smuggler tilted his head slightly, not enough to show the full extent of his expression but enough to glare at her from the corner of his eye. "The last time I trusted a good person to help me, my first mate was executed like a dog in Ul'dah's gaols." His tone was steely, and his grip tightened against his arms. "You will excuse me if my trust is in short supply at the moment," he practically spat the words.
It had been a week, but it seemed that the smoldering coals still had enough heat to burn.
He tilted his gaze forward again, showing the paladin naught but the back of his head. "I am cold and arrogant because the circumstances demand it of me. Because simple words of altruism are cheap. My opponents are ruthless, and I must be just as ruthless if I am to succeed."
He could practically hear her stiffen behind him.
"..I am sorry for his death," she said quietly, her tone gradually growing more pronounced. "I am. I do not know how to make this right!" When Nero did not deign to respond, she continued.
"Is that it? Will you hate and distrust everyone from here henceforth? Is the world no longer worth considering at all? Is no one else worth your trust, or even a glimpse of the rest of the truth?"
Venomous words boiled beneath Nero's veneer of placidity. No, he wanted to shout. The world is not worth considering. Everything I am doing is in an attempt to change it into a world that is.
In that moment, it was as if the smuggler was viewing himself from a void in the outside. A realisation struck him like the blow of a hammer. Had his extremism grown so wild? Nero had just shut out what could have been a valuable asset. A ranking officer within the Immortal Flames.Â
My plans.. He had been willing to go to such length for his plans, but now it seemed he was self-sabotaging. He had built a tall, thick wall of jade around himself, and it was only now that Nero could sense how badly that wall would sabotage his ambition.Â
For was that not the reason why he fought? For his ambition? Was that not why Liam and Martin and Daegsatz died? For his ambition? If he did not carry out his plans to the fullest, if he did not succeed in every avenue, their deaths would have meant nothing.
And that was unforgivable.
He felt his legs grow weak. His arms dropped to his sides; his head turned to Roen briefly before he turned his gaze away, unable to maintain eye contact with her. "You..." Nero said quietly. "You are the only one...who has seen even a fraction of the truth." Despite everything, despite her indignation, her own arrogance, her anger at his killing, despite everything that threatened to keep them apart....Roen had stayed with him. She had resolved to see his plan through.
In the wake of Daegsatz' death, though Nero would never admit it to himself, Roen had become his stabilising agent.
"I know," she responded softly. He still could not bring himself to look at her. "And...I betrayed you. I did not free him. I wish for all that I could give, that I could change that."
Nero turned to face her, at last, and gently gripped the sides of her arms. "The fault..." he murmured, his voice threatening to crack. "It is not yours. My mind...has been trying, endlessly, to convince my heart of that truth. You are not at fault, Roen Deneith." He shook his head. "You...you have never been at fault. You have only ever been at the mercy of that city...like me."
Her eyes lowered as she shook her head slightly. "I should have. I should have..."
Nero tilted her chin up to look at him. "I...do trust you. Even if I trust no one else...I trust you. But there is a time and a place for kind words and altruism...but that time is not now. Not while the city suffers."
His gaze hardened slightly. "Your friend is concerned with the people. He is only concerned with the present, with the immediate loss of lives. He did not give an ounce of thought to the city's future. He did not think about what a new system can give them."
The paladin blinked away what moisture rose to her eyes as Nero shook his head.
"Lives will be lost. But this plan...it is not about the people who live now. The change I seek to enact is for the people who will inherit the city in the future. It is for the children who deserve to grow in a brighter world." Nero exhaled softly as he continued.
"I would not convince Melkire with lies. Had I told him that I believed in the people, that would have been a falsehood, for I do not. I do, however, believe in the future, a better future, and I believe that the possibility of that future is worth more than the lives of people living today."Â
The smuggler could not help but grin wryly at his own words. "Listen to me. A perfectly capable ally searched for the words that I speak to you now...yet, the only one I can say them to is you." He could not help but let out a small chuckle. "Perhaps I should lie more often."
"That was a thorough waste of time," the smuggler commented idly. "He expected me to prostrate myself before him, to insist that it was for the people's sake. What an incredibly dull and short-sighted man he is." The splashing of the sea against the pier almost drowned out Roen's response, so quiet was her voice.
"He needed to believe...he needed to see that it would all be worth it." Another snort ejected itself from Nero's nostrils.
It had been a week since they had last spoken, and the two of them had not parted on good terms. Nero had demanded that she show some results, and the Flame Sergeant's presence was the culmination of that effort. As for the smuggler, it had been a week of planning, a week of deals and compromises, a week of thoughts and contemplation. The blazing rage that Daegsatz' death instilled within the Hyur had cooled to smoldering coals. To surrender his plan to the whimsies of revenge was pointless. What was required now was cold, mechanical efficiency.
"Why must you be....so cold. And arrogant," came the displeased voiced that muttered behind him.
"What would you have done in my place, Roen?" he asked idly.
He could feel her gaze boring into the back of his head. "You should have trusted me enough to know that I brought a good man to you. Someone who could have helped you. You should have trusted me enough to lower your guard for just a moment, to let him not stare at your back, but to look into your eyes. To not let him hear your cold rehearsed--"
The smuggler tilted his head slightly, not enough to show the full extent of his expression but enough to glare at her from the corner of his eye. "The last time I trusted a good person to help me, my first mate was executed like a dog in Ul'dah's gaols." His tone was steely, and his grip tightened against his arms. "You will excuse me if my trust is in short supply at the moment," he practically spat the words.
It had been a week, but it seemed that the smoldering coals still had enough heat to burn.
He tilted his gaze forward again, showing the paladin naught but the back of his head. "I am cold and arrogant because the circumstances demand it of me. Because simple words of altruism are cheap. My opponents are ruthless, and I must be just as ruthless if I am to succeed."
He could practically hear her stiffen behind him.
"..I am sorry for his death," she said quietly, her tone gradually growing more pronounced. "I am. I do not know how to make this right!" When Nero did not deign to respond, she continued.
"Is that it? Will you hate and distrust everyone from here henceforth? Is the world no longer worth considering at all? Is no one else worth your trust, or even a glimpse of the rest of the truth?"
Venomous words boiled beneath Nero's veneer of placidity. No, he wanted to shout. The world is not worth considering. Everything I am doing is in an attempt to change it into a world that is.
In that moment, it was as if the smuggler was viewing himself from a void in the outside. A realisation struck him like the blow of a hammer. Had his extremism grown so wild? Nero had just shut out what could have been a valuable asset. A ranking officer within the Immortal Flames.Â
My plans.. He had been willing to go to such length for his plans, but now it seemed he was self-sabotaging. He had built a tall, thick wall of jade around himself, and it was only now that Nero could sense how badly that wall would sabotage his ambition.Â
For was that not the reason why he fought? For his ambition? Was that not why Liam and Martin and Daegsatz died? For his ambition? If he did not carry out his plans to the fullest, if he did not succeed in every avenue, their deaths would have meant nothing.
And that was unforgivable.
He felt his legs grow weak. His arms dropped to his sides; his head turned to Roen briefly before he turned his gaze away, unable to maintain eye contact with her. "You..." Nero said quietly. "You are the only one...who has seen even a fraction of the truth." Despite everything, despite her indignation, her own arrogance, her anger at his killing, despite everything that threatened to keep them apart....Roen had stayed with him. She had resolved to see his plan through.
In the wake of Daegsatz' death, though Nero would never admit it to himself, Roen had become his stabilising agent.
"I know," she responded softly. He still could not bring himself to look at her. "And...I betrayed you. I did not free him. I wish for all that I could give, that I could change that."
Nero turned to face her, at last, and gently gripped the sides of her arms. "The fault..." he murmured, his voice threatening to crack. "It is not yours. My mind...has been trying, endlessly, to convince my heart of that truth. You are not at fault, Roen Deneith." He shook his head. "You...you have never been at fault. You have only ever been at the mercy of that city...like me."
Her eyes lowered as she shook her head slightly. "I should have. I should have..."
Nero tilted her chin up to look at him. "I...do trust you. Even if I trust no one else...I trust you. But there is a time and a place for kind words and altruism...but that time is not now. Not while the city suffers."
His gaze hardened slightly. "Your friend is concerned with the people. He is only concerned with the present, with the immediate loss of lives. He did not give an ounce of thought to the city's future. He did not think about what a new system can give them."
The paladin blinked away what moisture rose to her eyes as Nero shook his head.
"Lives will be lost. But this plan...it is not about the people who live now. The change I seek to enact is for the people who will inherit the city in the future. It is for the children who deserve to grow in a brighter world." Nero exhaled softly as he continued.
"I would not convince Melkire with lies. Had I told him that I believed in the people, that would have been a falsehood, for I do not. I do, however, believe in the future, a better future, and I believe that the possibility of that future is worth more than the lives of people living today."Â
The smuggler could not help but grin wryly at his own words. "Listen to me. A perfectly capable ally searched for the words that I speak to you now...yet, the only one I can say them to is you." He could not help but let out a small chuckle. "Perhaps I should lie more often."
