audience: nico di angelo

[becomemod]

Comments

[resumed]

[ hey qq how much is his cr with phoenix going to tank once he gets arrested jw.

but. ]

Just another thing to add to the list then. If that's all we can do is search for answers, then...one has to lead to another.

I don't think it's selfish to want to keep your team safe. I understand that. I'd do anything to keep myself, you and Will safe. But is it wrong to push limits to see how far we can risk things?

[becomemod]

[ they are tired, ty. ]

That is what we're trying to do, but the leads we have aren't turning out to be particularly useful.

[ irritated. ]

No. Pushing the limits is the only way you can see what you're capable of. But I'm going to think about these things for as long as you're under my wing, Nico di Angelo. My priority has always been and will always be getting my team home safe, above all else.

[resumed]

[ :pensive: he'll make it up to you nix ]

...maybe I'll try to look some more on my own, too. If your leads aren't helping yet I wonder if something else will show up somewhere unexpected.

[ that seems to resonate with him at least enough to shut him up. ]

Understood. [ he wouldn't argue that. ] I know you have an additional responsibility by having all of us here. But likewise, if something like this happens again I don't know how to not think about how unfair it is. Or that it could be one of us next time. If this is allowed now, what happens if there's another incident? We just kill that person,too?

[becomemod]

It's always a possibility, so we have to keep our eyes open.

[ they cross their arms, silent for a moment. ]

I think... it may be safest to assume that will be the case. [ that they'll have to kill someone else, if this happens again. ] That way, we can be prepared for the possibility.

I'd like for it to be wrong, though.

[resumed]

[ even bigger frowny. hey. hey no. hey. ]

I've always lived under the assumption things will get worse. [ so he can assume that, is the thing. ] Do you really think there's a way for other people to prepare for having to put people on trial and sentence them to death though?

[ he would like to be wrong. he does not think he and phoenix are the type that have to prepare for losing people by these means. but he's well aware of how many people here won't like that consequence. and even nico himself is thinking of how this isn't the right answer. ]

[becomemod]

No. This is the sort of thing that most people will never have to deal with, and shouldn't.

But we don't seem to be able to stop it when we don't even know where the order came from in the first place.

[resumed]

[ ... ]

Who told you the orders to execute Mika came from above the mayor? Was it the mayor himself?

[becomemod]

The mayor and all the other officials we spoke to.

[resumed]

[ ... ]

I know your hands are tied, Phoenix, but it just feels hard to accept that at face value. Especially when our other orders came from the officials to begin with.

[becomemod]

[ they sigh. ]

I understand that. Something is off, and they've been giving us the runaround.

I can trust you to keep looking for anything odd, right? It is difficult for us to do too much digging when we're high-profile, but I'd still like to know what's being hidden from us.

[resumed]

I'd keep looking even if you didn't want me to. [ almost-cheerful, for nico, because sometimes you cause problems and sometimes you just want to find answers to unknown questions. ]

I don't like the idea that there's something hidden from you guys, too. So as long as we can work in the background, that'll be one of the things I focus on.

[becomemod]

Good.

[ they can respect that. ]

Thank you. I plan to keep you all in the know as well as I can, too. That's what working with a team means, after all.

[resumed]

[ there's a nod to that. that's a good agreement.

but then he pauses, looking back toward the private room. i assume you mean the actual private room and not the locked floor. ]

...I'm not keeping you from training, am I?

[becomemod]

Not really. It was more that I was going to blow off some steam, after the day we've all had. Going alone doesn't have quite the same effect, but it'll do in a pinch.

[resumed]

[ . . . ]

I have time for a few rounds. [ wait. ] If you want.

[becomemod]

If you're up for it, I won't say no.

[resumed]

[ phoenix probably gets as far as "up for it" before nico's already walking to open the door to the private room and trotting ahead to grab a practice sword.

fight him!!! ]

[becomemod]

[ it's been a long day, but somehow this brings a slight smile back to their face. they follow to pick up a second practice sword, giving it a test swing. ]

I always liked training with real blades, too, but these do well enough. Whenever you're ready, Nico.

[resumed]

I don't think I've ever used a practice sword to be honest. Even at camp we always used real weapons. [ there's a few test swings of his own, just for weight and balance. once he's got that down though, he does not bother asking if phoenix is ready before he just kind of dashes forward for a quick strike.

you do not have a whole training room if you don't know how to fight, he thinks. phoenix should be fine. ]

[becomemod]

We're supposed to where I'm from, but I find it's not as fun.

[ nico is right; they don't seem bothered at all. their smile becomes more genuine, in fact, as they dodge to the side and swing toward nico's back. ]

Eager one, aren't you? Not bad.

[resumed]

[ oh good. a worthy opponent. he's twisting around to bring his sword up to block before jumping back out of the way to readjust his stance. ]

People like us are kind of born for this. And I haven't trained for a few days. [ since coming here, he means, as he lunges with a side swipe. i suddenly remembered fight scenes are the bane of my existence sometimes. ]

[becomemod]

Something else we have in common.

[ this one hits their arm as they move to dodge, a little slower than they'd like. ]

And it's been a while since I've had a partner.

[ but they recover quickly and go for a straightforward jab. ]

[resumed]

[ the thing is that now that he's in motion he's relaxing bit by bit, unwinding from the tension of earlier. he's keeping his eyes on their form, and the jab catches him off-guard and he wobbles back and turns enough to take the brunt of the jab to his side instead. ]

A while as in six months? Or even longer? [ he shifts, moving back in with an upper slash. ]

[becomemod]

At least a month.

[ they'll meet this slash with a head on block. ]

...Some of the others were good fighters, but even the best may not survive every battle.

[resumed]

[ the block is effective, and there's something in what phoenix says that kind of makes nico internally wince because oh boy, does he know it. it's enough that he lets his guard slip, blade going slack briefly. ]

I asked Goat about them. Before I realized perhaps I shouldn't have. [ because goat seems pretty damn normie and nico knows he can be a bit too matter-of-fact about matters of life and death. ] They mentioned they were all pretty good in a fight, too, but it felt wrong to press for more about them when it obviously was hurting them.

[ he says that but he's also going for a straight jab of his own. ]