Butterfly Wings - 05/19/22
[Tadashi]
Tadashi paces outside the Mercy estate, anxiously waiting for Eligor to arrive. In his nervousness, he had already made a couple laps up and down the yard, eventually seating himself around a table in a corner of the yard, his eyes darting around quickly. He took a couple deep breaths, but could feel the butterflies in his stomach.
[Eligor]
Eligor watches from above on the balcony for a while before opting to appear on the ground in a wisp of smoke.
“What is it?”
[Tadashi]
Tadashi startles slightly as Eligor appears before him, clenching his hands to collect himself before speaking.
“I would like to request your assistance in making a gift for Novine. A while back I took her out to practice sneaking around to avoid being seen if necessary. One of the challenges she mentioned was not being able to hide her aether, so I was wondering if you could make a cloak to help mask her aether if it should be required.”
[Eligor]
“…..That is a problem that is not exactly worth solving. Assuming you want it done in the right capacity, it is a waste in general.”
[Tadashi]
He gives a confused look at Eligor. “What do you mean not worth solving? Are you saying Novine could mask her aether on her own?”
[Eligor]
“Yes and no. With practice she should be able to reduce the presence of her aether. You’ve surely noticed differences around me by now. In my case, I have trained with monks and can generally…close myself off. But if we are speaking of sensing aether, then not only is that something that requires a bit of work and practice, it also has the side effect of noticing discrepancies.”
He raises his arm and produces a spinning orb of aether at the tip of his finger.
“Think of it as you seeing this. What you want is…”
The orb disappears.
“Something like this. You do not want her to be seen. Only this is not invisible, it simply is not there. If I were to reproduce this, it would look like a moving hole in existence to someone capable of looking.”
“In order to do it correctly, we would need to over every bit of her capable of emitting aether….which is basically all of her, and not a cloak. The closest match would be something capable of emitting something like a field to say….reflect and mimic the surroundings. This is possible if we copy some beasts, but the problem remains because those capable of looking would still be capable of noticing the odd lump moving around. It would be like an air pocket underneath the grass. You would not particularly mind possibly, but you will notice it is there and not the way it usually should be. If you are looking to sneak into someplace where those capable of seeing aether might be, it would be far easier to simply distract those senses entirely for long enough for you to infiltrate. Understand?”
[Tadashi]
Tadashi nods, and follows the explanation carefully. Once Eligor finishes, he leans back and looks up to the sky, sighing. He sits for a couple moments silently, thinking.
“I agree that for infiltration, the better plan is to distract people, but what about for escape. Could you make it so that her and my signatures look the same? So that an enemy would have to check both locations to find her?”
[Eligor]
“Checking the signature would be far more specialized. For example, my…people are generally born with the ability and it is still something that requires concentration. Duplicating the signature would not be difficult, but if the goal is exfiltration then what you’re suggesting does not decrease the risk, but instead does the opposite. You do not remember every single face you see, correct? But what if you see two of the exact same face in close sequence? It would stand out, and stick in your mind. You could create a device that replicates this on a larger and more varied scale but it is also like announcing what the bad signatures are, and to remain effective you would need more devices.”
He pauses
“What reason could either of you have to sneak anywhere? It is not something she should need to do when she can assign it to someone better suited or disposable.”
[Tadashi]
“It always helps to have more tools in your kit. I don't have any plans, but Novine seemed to enjoy the lesson on sneaking, so I thought I would try and help nurture that. And it is always fun to challenge yourself to learn all that you can.”
He hums slightly before continuing.
“Plus by trying new things, we come up with new ideas that can help us in the future. For example, with your last point, if we had an army with a few key soldiers, being able to cloak where they were in the army would cause uncertainty and confusion, which could give us an upper hand.”
[Eligor]
“But you’re proposing this for my daughter, not your forces. If you wanted to steal technology you did not need to dress it up as a gift for someone who shouldn’t be in danger.”
He pinches the bridge of his nose.
“…Whatever. Anything else you needed? I’m also failing to see how this conversation is dangerous for you.”
[Tadashi]
Tadashi raises his eyebrow and shakes his head.
“I have no forces and will never lead any to battle. I was merely suggesting a potential application. And the gift was intended for Novine, however it is clear I lack some understanding of the subject.”
He shrugs and looks off towards the estate for a moment, before looking back to Eligor.
“I have an apology to make. When your first hired me, you wished that I didn't get too close to Novine. However, after spending as much time as I have with her, she is now a close friend…”
He trails off, looking between the table and Eligor uncertainly.
“I am sorry.”
[Eligor]
“She brought you into business you clearly had no place being present for. I have long since noticed this lack of distance.”
He points at Tadashi, frowning.
“But your need for purpose and belonging needs to stop before you interfere with your duty. She is too young and emotional to listen properly, but there is no such need to hold my tongue with you. Your job is to protect her. The moment you fail to do so because you put your feelings of gratitude or whatever else before that to cloud your judgement, you are not needed. You understand this.”
[Tadashi]
Tadashi looks up at Eligor, not expecting his response.
“What do you mean she brought me into business I have no place being present for?”
His gaze grows serious before continuing.
“I understand that my job is to protect her. That will always be my main goal. I will also be her friend when she needs it, and I believe that is another aspect of my job. As for my purpose…”
He grows silent.
“I will work on it. I want to learn as much as I can, but I don't know if that is good enough.”
He pauses again, his voice carrying more uncertainty.
“If you don't mind me asking… What would you consider your purpose to be?”
[Eligor]
“What kind of retainer is meant to speak for their charge? You did not belong because you hampered her growth. Your desire to protect her blinded you to the disservice you were pushing onto her. She should not NEED you to speak her mind for her. Nor was it an issue where it was appropriate for you to speak.”
He lowers his arm.
“And I consider my purpose to be none of your business.”
[Tadashi]
Tadashi stands up and frowns, his voice gaining a little bit of edge to it..
“I spoke little for Novine. All you have taught her is wrath and rage, so it is no wonder she cannot contain it. I agree she shouldn't need me to speak her mind, but when you haven't given her the tools for overcoming the frustration and fear she felt, then I will be there to lighten that burden. As for what happened, I know little. My presence was requested, and the rest I can forget if it is easier for you.”
He pauses, taking a deep breath and stopping himself from saying more.
[Eligor]
“If all I taught her were wrath and rage neither of us would be here. As for tools…she has a headquarters. Workers. Worthless friends. A capable family that loves her. An arsenal of personal weaponry capable of helping her grow and better herself. Her needs were more than met—arguably too much so.”
“That she clings to old dead memories and projects that frustration onto my actions, compounding this invisible tally of sins in her mind into the utter nonsense that is the belief she is being neglected is far from failing to give her tools to cope. She failed to use them, and you failed to be of any assistance towards giving her incentive to learn.”
He scoffs a bit and clicks his teeth.
“Do not presume to understand my relationship with my children.”
[Tadashi]
“And this is where we disagree. The headquarters, workers, friend and family are all supports to help her grow, no tools. And there is a lot to work with, and no good direction on where to start. Sure, you may know what you want her to do with all of these advantages, but does Novine? And as for what she clings to, who are you to say what is important to her or not? Whatever happened between you and Yami certainly holds a lot of weight to you, but does it hold the same weight to me? I wouldn't be able to say. I don't disagree that she could probably be using the resources at her disposal better, but that is part of her learning and growth. Plus she has an eternity to grow, so let her take her time and understand it.”
[Eligor]
“Then which is it you want exactly? Either she needs to learn quickly or slowly. Your criticism makes no sense BECAUSE you are lacking as a proper retainer. She cannot learn without experience, and she cannot acquire that experience if I tell her everything to do and feel. You ARE a tool. That is your function. Your worth. You should take pride in it. Pride in how useful you can be.”
He looks to the fence nearby.
“You would not pretend a brick is not a brick. That you would pretend being a tool is somehow an insult to yourself and those you work with means you are putting your ego in a place it does not belong. It is disappointing that you believe yourself qualified to lecture me on the growth of another when you have so much refining to do for yourself.”
[Tadashi]
“It is not a matter of how quickly or slowly she learns. That is for her to decide. But to give her so much to work on at once and expect results in all fields is unreasonable. There is also a difference between telling her how to do everything, and providing an example or a guideline of what to work towards.”
He shakes his head, his gaze moving towards the estate.
“I won't argue I am not a perfect retainer, or a perfect anything. But that just means I have room to learn and improve. And unless Novine has been complaining about me to you, I haven't heard anything from her about my performance either positively or negatively. If it would make you feel better, I can ask her opinion on the matter. And if I recall correctly, I am assigned to guard her, not you.”
He looks at Eligor carefully.
“And as for if I am qualified to give advice or not, I could say the same to you. I feel you aren't qualified to lecture me either. That being said, there is a difference between lecturing and giving advice. I will take your critique and reflect on it, because I like to know how I can do better, especially in things I am not confident in. It is part of the process of learning and getting better at things.”
[Eligor]
“I do not care enough about you to argue on the matter. Is that all you wanted from me? A consultation for a cloak?”
[Tadashi]
“Yes, that was all.”
[Eligor]
“Then you should speak to someone capable of designing to your specifications. I’ll think of a means to modify the cloak to replicate what you wanted in the mean time.”
[Tadashi]
Tadashi blinks at him in surprise, and then nods.
“I will work on getting the cloak ready then. Thank you very much.”
[Eligor]
“Mhm.”
He disappears into smoke before fading away entirely.
[Tadashi]
Tadashi lets out a deep sigh, before smiling and heading into the estate.
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