Ranbu no Izayoi and Esben Mathiassen
"Izayoi. Care to talk for a minute or two?"
For the love of the gods, could she not get a single moment to herself?! Torn from her ruminations about her newfound blood relations, Izayoi could only fix Esben with a withering glare that she knew he wouldn’t be affected by. It was freeing, in a way. With Esben, she could express as much as she cared to without holding back, and he was composed enough to handle it in a way that certain other members of the party weren’t.
”No. I do not.” She replied bluntly, turning away from him in a deliberate show of her irritation. ”But I suppose you will blather on regardless. So out with it. This had best be worth the time, Esben.”
”Well, if you’re just going to give me permission to ignore your answer...” Let no one accuse him of being unwilling to play along, even when they might prefer he didn’t. ”Drana Asnaeu has barely kept above the level of an unmitigated disaster since the moment we stepped off Bikke’s ship, no? Not all of that is due to things under our control, but two of the sources are, and I’m afraid they won’t listen to me alone.”
It certainly wouldn’t take a genius to figure out just what two he was referring to, or why—so he brushed right on past without a second thought, unless Izayoi would decide now was the time to play dumb out of frustration. ”I’ve already tried to impress upon one of them the importance of adjusting our methodology to our circumstances, and didn’t get particularly far. I would like to enlist your aid speaking to the both of them about it.”
There was a moment when Izayoi felt like being particularly difficult about this. After all, she had her own issues to deal with right now, and Esben should rightfully be back inside that damned tent. But she would humor him nonetheless.
”And supposing I agree with them? Drana Asnaeu has given me little reason to do otherwise thus far.”
Well, she was a terrible liar, even to herself. It seemed she wanted to be just a little difficult after all. Esben couldn’t have it his own way all the time, after all.
Esben’s flat stare was all the reply she received.
He received a roll of Izayoi’s eyes in response.
”I am not their keeper, SEED.” She groused, staring out at the treeline. ”That, and you presume the dragoon would listen overmuch to his brother’s killer to begin with.” A beat passed, and she decided to show some amount of grace in this matter.
”But you are not entirely incorrect. Éliane, at the very least, must be reined in should we have to negotiate again. To say nothing of the fact that I believe her threats to be idle, if I understand Skael’s chain of command correctly?”
”You do,” Esben replied without a wasted moment. ”You may not be their keeper, but I imagine they both respect you—something I am not entirely certain applies to many of the rest of us. Galahad, perhaps, could use the reminder of everything at risk from someone that lost as much as, if not more than he did, I think...Éliane could use the understanding both of you have, even if she continues to persist in her belief that she was sent as something more than a token of good-will, and not an expendable demonstration piece.”
”I killed his brother, boy.” Izayoi snapped, her nerves thin thanks to the revelations that Miina’s father had so ungraciously imposed upon her. “That, or a man under my command did. I would not have been so gracious in his place. Éliane, however, is a matter I will assist you with.“
Esben stared silently for a moment, before turning to look up at the stars himself with a sigh. ”Gracious or not, that’s part of the connection, part of what I’m counting on, Izayoi,” he muttered. ”A generation of two countries, decimated. For nothing, leaving both weak to invaders from across the ocean. It’s easier to ignore when it’s still a statistic, a number from years back.” He glanced back at the tent, shaking his head.
”He’s not a general. He should know skills beyond the belligerent, beyond counting the statistics—and yet he was nearly as inclined to feed into them as Éliane, in front of the Grovemasters. I know I can’t get everybody to let me do the talking for that all the time, nor would that be the best choice in a host of circumstances, that’s why I want to check in, make sure whether or not he could use the reminder before he gets himself hurt with his own frustrations, not to speak of everybody else around.
”Consider it part of my personal interest, or part of my country’s, whichever makes you happier,” he scoffed. ”I’d rather avoid any unnecessary hostilities, no matter the scale. But that’s all why I don’t think he’ll listen to me alone. Éliane and I don’t have any of that experience, and I’m the only one that works for an organization that actively tries to prevent others from having it. You’re the only one that shares it with him, and like it or not, you’re the fount of wisdom we have to rely on.”
”A fine way to call me old!” Izayoi groused, folding her arms and shaking her head. ”I will aid you in this matter, but, for the record? I do not care how we deal with the Grovemasters. At this point, I fully support putting every last one of the three to the sword. I have my doubts this will be an issue going forward, regardless. Éliane will obey Skaelan authority. The same goes for Galahad and that fop on the Edrenian throne. Have you considered that the issue is with the Grovemasters and them alone?”
”We were going to have pushback regardless,” he replied noncommittally. ”To assume otherwise would be blind optimism. But we didn’t have to out ourselves entirely at the harbor. We didn’t have to give in to the urge to threaten them and their land when there’s enough of a threat knocking at the doors already.” There was little need to speak regarding the conclusions he’d been coming to about how to deal with the Grovemasters, because he’d made a point to consider only those that wouldn’t require active input from the others to see them through.
It certainly made matters easier on that front that the only way he could imagine the others making themselves terribly useful would be if he wanted to storm Brightlam’s gates, anyways.
He glanced upwards again, a small frown turning down the corners of his lips as he took in the starlight. ”Thank you, Izayoi. And—awkward and unwelcome as it may be—I am glad for you.” Without turning back to the tent, he walked alone down the path, one arm raised in farewell. ”I’ll leave you with your thoughts, for now. Just be ready when I can get the two of them to hold still long enough to chat.”
A noncommittal, annoyed grunt was all Esben received as Izayoi fully turned away from him, descending into her own thoughts once more. She scowled.