[closed]

[katabasis]

WHO: Yseult, Thranduil, Flint
WHAT: Interpersonal conflict management
WHEN: Time is fake
WHERE: the... Gallows??
NOTES: Keep it action spammy; turn order is whatever makes the most sense. See here for context.

[In the Forces division office, a conversation is already in progress:]

—Which is evidently why he felt the pressing urge to come forward now, months after the fact. A report will have to be made and one of us should speak to Rutyer, that much seems obvious. Beyond that point however, it appears we have some decisions to make.

Comments

[katabasis]

Leander wasn't invited either.

[bouchonne]

It is my hope that my opinions and concerns are worth rather more than his in this situation, dear Captain, being the injured party. Yet my exclusion makes me feel as though they are not given much weight.

[ He spreads his hands. ]

But perhaps I am being paranoid. Perhaps you were going to speak with me the moment you heard that it was I who was affected.

[hassaran]

For Maker's sake.

[ Yseult's gaze takes in Flint as well, though it's Byerly she's looking at most directly. ]

We were discussing it without you first because the whole business is bizarre enough to raise questions. The man stabbed you in the gut. Why would you not report it so that something might be done? It's not a personal matter if we are employing a man who might casually stab a colleague at any moment.

[bouchonne]

[ Her incredulity is enough to give him pause. She wouldn't fake being so exasperated, he thinks. Not on his account.

And so, with a bit less of his usual fey doublespeak, with a little more directness, he answers: ]

These sorts of things ought to be taken care of by the people involved.

[ Sometimes, he is very, very Fereldan. ]

He cut me for his pleasure. He did so because he believed we were locked into some sort of perverse game, and it gave him a thrill. And if you all don't already know that he's a pervert, you clearly haven't talked to him for more than a few sentences. [ Then, with a heavier sigh - ] Anyway, truly, it would be impossible to hand down judgment upon him now. Perhaps before I was appointed to this position, but not now that I'm our diplomat-in-chief. I suspect that's the game he's playing now - trying to provoke us, singly or jointly, into appearing tyrannical.

[katabasis]

You're suggesting we do nothing.

[bouchonne]

[ A shrug. ]

It's an ugly look for Ambassador Rutyer. To seek vengeance only when the crime is magnified by his stature.

[hassaran]

[ There's distaste lingering in the tightness of Yseult's mouth and jaw, the slight lowering of her brow. How much of it is for Byerly's response and how much for Leander is difficult to say. ]

Are you so convinced he poses no danger to anyone else?

[bouchonne]

[ A short, sharp laugh. ]

Of course he poses a danger to others. He stabbed me and got off on it. [ For just one moment, there's a ripple of anger in his voice, there and then gone. ]

But be honest: what are we going to do about it? Because the only rational response is to exile him - to eject him from Riftwatch - and we're not going to do that, because we're too desperate. Am I wrong?

[hassaran]

[ Yseult makes a little gesture with head and fingers, like exactly, but Byerly goes on before she can interject to make her point more clearly.

When she says, ] ejecting him would only shunt the danger onto someone else, [ it doesn't sound like agreement. ]

[katabasis]

Casting him out on the basis of a nine month old incident that you didn't even see fit to report in the first place is absurd. But if it's as you say and he is dangerous, we have an obligation to do something. A report should be made, he should be stripped of his position with Jeshavis, and be done with it. I see no reason to allow him to continue in an official position of authority [whatever that even means to Riftwatch] at present.

[Much as he would prefer the Esteemed Lady Asgard not be left to her own devices.]

Should his knife find more work, I see no reason not to turn him away. Desperate should not equal stupid.

[hassaran]

If he's the kind of man you say, then he'll have done it before and will again. Why give him the opportunity?

[katabasis]

He came forward to confess. [There's no reason to keep that from Byerly. Not really.] He could have avoided the subject entirely and simply reported his dealings with Colin and Athessa over a matter that we might have resolved weeks ago.

[Here, finally, a nod to Thranduil. Fucking Artemaeus.]

[hassaran]

[ Yseult doesn't look much moved. ]

We were all of the opinion that he did that because it suited some strategy of his, not because he suddenly felt remorse. And he had reported the business with Athessa and Colin once already, and did not mention that he'd done far worse.

[bouchonne]

[ A slight purse of his lips. ]

Scoutmaster, what do you propose doing that will actually have any effect on him? In my estimation, the man is mad as a bereskarn. And nothing cures the Blight.

[hassaran]

[ The hint of irritation in the look she casts between them is outweighed by the growing incredulity, as if she cannot quite believe this is not equally obvious to them all. ]

I propose that we kill him. Kirkwall is dangerous, as are our missions. If he simply did not return one day soon, would that not solve all the problems we have identified?

[katabasis]

[Flint's laugh is a hearty, involuntary bark. Assuming no change in Yseult's expression, it abruptly draws short.]

You're serious.

[bouchonne]

[ Byerly, in contrast, has gone rather tense. That's the problem with shirtless lounging; you can't cover it up when your muscles tighten up. ]

Scoutmaster, the man is in our charge.

[hassaran]

[ She is 100% serious. ]

Precisely, he is our responsibility. If he's the sort of danger to others you've described, then we should deal with it.

[katabasis]

[Incredibly, Flint's accusatory look is shot in Byerly's direction. Mad as a bereskarn? For fuck's sake. Rounding on Yseult:]

You're suggesting we assassinate a member of our own company over an altercation whose victim evidently didn't even feel it was important enough to warrant reporting. Never mind the man's intentions, or the fact that to our knowledge he has done nothing since to validate the Ambassador's assessment - if that's all it takes, you'll forgive me if I choose to sleep behind a barricaded door.

[bouchonne]

[ By presses a hand to his mouth, trying to look pensive and trying to conceal how disturbed he is and successfully doing neither. ]

He did...endeavor to make the wound a non-fatal one. And attempted to heal me after, though I wouldn't permit his hands on me again. He is mad, but not fatally so.

[ A beat, then, reluctantly: ]

That we know of. Riftwatch would be a paradise for pleasure-killers, given our concentration of people who regularly vanish without a trace.

[hassaran]

[ who are these people and what have they done with the pirate and the spy ]

[ Slowly and calmly: ] You've described a man who is the type of mad that takes pleasure in causing grievous injury and is willing to do it at the slightest provocation. You seem quite certain that's what he is, and I've heard no disagreement from anyone else. I'm suggesting that someone we all therefore agree is unpredictably and incurably dangerous should not be allowed to remain in our company, free to travel about Thedas doing our work, on the hope that he won't take it on a whim to stab his next victim two inches to the left.

[katabasis]

I'm sorry. I was unaware you were looking for a specific watchword. I disagree that we make arrangements to murder one of our own who until this point - or in Bloomingtide [man alive, what a mess; he makes an impatient gesture - they all know what he means] - had done nothing but appear to be a willing and able hand for this outfit. All this on the opinion of the one person who has every reason to refuse to qualify his assessment and now is.

[With the requisite aside of:] —All due respect to your guts, Rutyer.

[bouchonne]

[ A little sharply: ]

Are you certain you don't want to switch jobs, Captain? Maker, you tempt me to change my vote from spite alone.

[ But. Perhaps shockingly, principle is stronger than spite for Byerly. ]

We should watch him, then. Post some of your spies - or mine - to track his behavior. Decide based on that. If he is a violent man, then surely we can catch him doing violence. [ A shrug - ] Violence against me doesn't really count.

[katabasis]

[The look Flint gives him in return is all raised eyebrows. Fine; next time, he'll keep even the barest instinct toward consideration to himself.]

[hassaran]

[ With an exasperated look: ]

And with all due respect to the rest of the Ambassador, I think you're both making this far too much about him. If it had been someone else--nearly anyone else--would you be so quick to dismiss me? Pretend for a moment that he had stabbed someone neither of you dislike. Would you care that he'd otherwise seemed polite and that it wasn't fatal?