Berrod Armstrong lifted his eyes to the short, dirty-blond highlander who sat opposite him at a table in the Quicksand. The crowd buzzed about them, but there were as a rock in the stream of activity. He had just finished reading the article out loud -- his companion had not been fortunate  or privileged enough to be taught his letters and numbers, munching on some bread and cheese while he listened. Even having heard the entire ordeal, the fellow narrowed his eyes in confusion. "I understand what the article says," He established. "But not what it means."
"What it means," Berrod began as he folded up the large print, "Is that they're backpedaling from that awful attempt at slandering to take another, proper try at it. Notice how they distanced themselves from it in the beginning of the article and then took forward on their own steam. They're trying to do it properly this time, Steeljaw."
Steeljaw the Highlander nodded slowly, then frowned. "But if what they wrote is true, doesn't that make them right?"
Berrod leaned back on the chair and set a hand onto the edge of the table, drumming the leather gauntleted fingers on the wood with a series of muted thuds. "I won't go into right and wrong about this," He murmured, "But it does not make them accurate, if that's what you mean. Two Sultansworn, three at the most, out of scores, if this is all to be believed. They're trying to paint the entire organization with the colors of the bad ones."
Steeljaw nodded again, clarity gaining fast within his countenance. The expression stalled for another grimace of bewilderment. "Wait -- are you defending the Sworn? I thought you despised them?"
The red-haired Highlander made a noise between his teeth. "I despise their hypocrisy and penchant for showing off. As people, I don't bear a grudge. Not anymore." It seemed physically painful for him to allow the admission. "I'm not sure what their end is here, those who wrote this article, but it's short sighted and foolish. These...irregularities in the Sworn should be taken up with the proper people to handle them. It'll just cause unrest with the people, and the last thing we need is another reason for the Blades to kill more refugees."
"...I didn't think of it that way."
"That's because I'm the one who took it upon myself to protect our people. I suppose we have some digging to do about how true all of this rubbish is. Hurry up and finish your bread so that we can get moving."
"What it means," Berrod began as he folded up the large print, "Is that they're backpedaling from that awful attempt at slandering to take another, proper try at it. Notice how they distanced themselves from it in the beginning of the article and then took forward on their own steam. They're trying to do it properly this time, Steeljaw."
Steeljaw the Highlander nodded slowly, then frowned. "But if what they wrote is true, doesn't that make them right?"
Berrod leaned back on the chair and set a hand onto the edge of the table, drumming the leather gauntleted fingers on the wood with a series of muted thuds. "I won't go into right and wrong about this," He murmured, "But it does not make them accurate, if that's what you mean. Two Sultansworn, three at the most, out of scores, if this is all to be believed. They're trying to paint the entire organization with the colors of the bad ones."
Steeljaw nodded again, clarity gaining fast within his countenance. The expression stalled for another grimace of bewilderment. "Wait -- are you defending the Sworn? I thought you despised them?"
The red-haired Highlander made a noise between his teeth. "I despise their hypocrisy and penchant for showing off. As people, I don't bear a grudge. Not anymore." It seemed physically painful for him to allow the admission. "I'm not sure what their end is here, those who wrote this article, but it's short sighted and foolish. These...irregularities in the Sworn should be taken up with the proper people to handle them. It'll just cause unrest with the people, and the last thing we need is another reason for the Blades to kill more refugees."
"...I didn't think of it that way."
"That's because I'm the one who took it upon myself to protect our people. I suppose we have some digging to do about how true all of this rubbish is. Hurry up and finish your bread so that we can get moving."
![[Image: tumblr_ojgu7zoaag1robwlio1_540.png]](https://68.media.tumblr.com/80be4033cdf57fb6268473ef9ce37db6/tumblr_ojgu7zoaag1robwlio1_540.png)
