faderift | You don't hate a person because someone told you to

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You don't hate a person because someone told you to

WHO: Church aaand anyone who wants to show up!
WHAT: Rifter meeting reboot
WHEN: Noon-ish on the 24th-ish
WHERE: Upper room of the Herald's Rest
NOTES: After this notice went up. People who are not Rifters are welcome to show up--nothing stopping them from dropping in, and he isn't going to cause an incident (probably) by throwing anyone out.
Mingle! Share knowledge! Talk about your trials with your pain lasers!

He's not nervous. He's totally not nervous. This is just like calling a Blue Team meeting, except with a lot more people, and most of them (probably) aren't dumbasses. Araceli believes in him, for some reason, so, obviously, he's got this in the bag. His letter was super professional and everything.

Look, there's even some snacks! People can get drinks downstairs. What does he look like, a bartender?

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"That's what I say," she replied cheerfully. "And after talking to him, I'm pretty sure that's what he is. Not some gawker to look at the 'freaks' or anything like that. He seems genuine."

As much as she liked to give people the benefit of the doubt, she could also back that certainty up with facts. His pulse had given him away as a good man, as well as his words.

And he liked pastries. In her opinion, if you liked pastries, you couldn't be all that bad.

"Those, I think would be a bit more obvious," he let out a huff. He was given to liking people in general, but someone wanting to gawk at them would stand out like a sore thumb in this instance. Their attitude and demeanor would give them away versus someone who wanted to help them, or at the minimum get to know them.

"Maybe he can give us some ideas on how to help the people here accept us easier - ease their fears."

"It would help to have a couple of natives vouching for us not being demons," she said. The irony of the statement nearly made her giggle, but Ariadne had a practiced poker face. She wouldn't have been much of a spy without it.

Of course, the word 'demon' was practically meaningless back home. Just another derogatory word. And there were far too many of those as it was.

"I think it would have to be the right natives," he noted, but it would be nice. He understood the fear of the refugees. They were already in a high stress situation, and now a rift in space was tossing out people? Where before it had been tossing out very aggressive creatures? No wonder they couldn't quite shake the fear they were creatures sent to do harm, just in new forms.

"What were you planning to discuss tonight?" he asked, making for the stairs to head up.

"Oh, I wasn't planning on saying anything," Ariadne replied. She didn't like talking in front of large groups of people. It wasn't a phobia or anything. Just a strong preference for melting into the background.

Easier to listen that way.

"But I think Mister Church called the meeting so we could exchange information," she continued. "It's only our second meeting, and now that Marcel's gone off...I guess we're still working on the cohesion part."

"Who was Marcell?" Kirk asked curiously, having not heard that name before, though it would have to be a Rifter based on what Ariadne was saying, and if they had organized these meetings before.

"Marcel Gerard," she said fondly, with an absent-minded smile. "He was one of the first Rifters to arrive after my wave. He tried to organize us a little bit, work on making sure people knew we weren't evil monsters."

The success had been limited.

But the effort had been the important part.

"He's gone off on his own," she added. "I haven't seen him in months."

An admirable cause, and one Kirk thought needed to be picked up again. Which was the point of this meeting wasn't it? Still, he was sure that such a task would not be accomplished overnight, and for some not at all. He had a suspicion that certain people, and even religious sects, taught something very different and their grip was tight in the minds of many.

"Oh? So he's... just not here? Does anyone think he's managed to go home, back though a Rift?"

"I think if he'd found a way, he would have told us first," Ariadne said. Admittedly, she didn't know everything there was to know about Marcel. He had a funny smell. But he also had a kind heart. Ariadne had been able to gauge that much about him. And anything self-serving he'd done had also helped to serve the Rifters as well. Occasionally, selfishness and selflessness could align. Not often. But every once in awhile.

She scowled a little. "Although, I will admit, I'd never considered maybe accidentally falling back through one, the same way we came here."

"Considering none of this has been on purpose, by accident seems as likely a method as any of going back home," he snorted. "I wouldn't be surprised if he simply fell through one like we all did." Though if that would actually send him 'home' or not he could not say.

The thought of Marcel falling through an unknown rift, alone and without even having the chance to say goodbye was both saddening and a little bit alarming. Not for her sake so much as his.

She'd liked Marcel.

"I guess so..."

"You said it yourself. He would have come and said something if he had found a true way back, wouldn't he? And if he hasn't, well, it's probably because he can't," he reasoned as they made their way into the little meeting room. "Personally, I hope it's because he did go home. We just have to hope for the best on that one."

She cut her eyes toward him, nodding slightly. "Yes. I suppose it's always important to have hope. Without it, well...what are we?"

There were words for it. Words that she didn't like to use. Chief among them was 'defeated.' Ariadne would never allow the word to be applied to her. And she certainly got the sense that Kirk would agree.

There was just something about him...

"I suppose the probabilities would be on his side. After all, they brought him--all of us--here in the first place." Her eyes raced back and forth as she tried to calculate the odds. She couldn't. There were too many variables she didn't know about.

He said nothing to that, because he had the feeling that they had similar feelings on the matter. It had been a little harder to stay positive of late, but he was trying, and so far it was still working. Six more months down the line? Who knew. But for now... he kept the hope.

Personally he did not think that probability was on his side, at all. If one with the theory of an infinity of multiverses, well, he could jump for the rest of his life and never make it back to his own world. But he didn't want to bring down the mood any, so he kept it to himself.

"We'll figure it out," he decided. "And I'm sure that he made his way home, somehow. It's just to bad we couldn't make the jump with him."

Actually, Ariadne wasn't so sure about making the jump with him. If they all ended up in Marcel's world, wouldn't they just have to start the whole thing from scratch? The rigmarole of proving that they weren't demons, just because they'd fallen from the sky?

Then again, perhaps that was perfectly normal for Marcel's people.

She was suddenly quite sad that she'd never had the chance to ask him.

Well, that didn't matter right now. "I know the Inquisition is busy," she said, "but I do wish they had some more resources to devote to sending us home."

"There's only a few of us, most people are scared of us or distrust us, and as you said - they have their hands full. It will be a long, long time, I fear, before they bother to think very much about seriously putting coin and manpower into such an effort," he sighed. "It just means we have to rely on ourselves and our friends. But if you ask me - I like that better. I can trust the intentions, though it means such efforts move slower."

At the very least, Ariadne liked the fact that he felt some kind of kinship with the other Rifters, just as she did. It was the start of something. The promise of Marcel's efforts, still glowing in the ashes.

"We're in this together," she said warmly, eyes glittering at him.

If she ever had it in her power, she'd send him back to the stars.

But in the meanwhile...

"We need more organization, you know," she continued. "We need a leader." She gave him a significant look. He seemed well-suited for the task.

He raised a brow, not missing the look. "We could do with a proper organization to express our concerns and needs," he agreed. "Maybe we might bring that up today. It would certainly help things."

He wouldn't mind being in a leading position, but he had also been here the shortest amount of time. At the least he would need advisors, and he wasn't entirely confident making decisions when his knowledge of the world was far less complete than others.

But he had never accomplished anything alone. He'd always had his crew with him, the voice of logic to his right and the voice of heart to his left. So why would this be any different?

The fact that he was hesitant to just assume the role endeared him all the more to Ariadne. The best leaders were usually the reluctant ones. They were the ones who understood the enormous responsibility that came with their power.

She'd watched kingdoms and militias rise and fall. She believed it with all of her heart.

"Good," she said, bowing her head sightly. "We should talk about it."

"It should probably come up, but let's see what else might need to be discussed first," he agreed. "I'm sure Church might have something or other to speak of, and he is the one who called this meeting, so he has precedence."

She nodded. "Of course."

But that wasn't about to change her mind. If anything, his sense of compromise and fairness only strengthened her feelings. If anyone could get the Rifters organized, it was going to be Kirk.

And Ariadne would support him with everything she was worth.

"I'm going to get a read on the rest of the room," he said, giving her a little smile. "But when we all start talking, don't be afraid to propose your own ideas. We're all in this together - everyone's voice should be heard." He touched her shoulder briefly before moving to greet others, doing exactly as he said.

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You don't hate a person because someone told you to

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