Ciradyl stepped into her personal room after the tense atmosphere settled down and she had gotten a chance to speak with Izayoi. Muscles ached as she unstrapped her armor and changed into a modest, white nightgown that flowed loosely just above her knees. She did not feel the pull of the soft, silk sheets next to her just yet. There was too much on her mind to let her fall asleep anytime soon. A bit of shame came over her as she realized she had not properly expressed gratitude to the Skaealan who had made tonight possible. Honestly, it was an excuse to pry whatever information on subterfuge she could pull from him.
She wandered around the safehouse a little until she managed to find him. Renzo had given her directions but the look on his face told he was a little curious. The Faye cleared her throat as her eyes laid on him
”I hope you are finding the accommodations suitable.” Her voice projected
”I wanted to thank you for what’ve you done tonight. I understand it may not have been in Skael's tactical advantage but you’ve helped give Osprey a fighting chance to be a nation again.” Ciradyl looked for any signs she could read off the man while speaking as honestly as she could.
Esben glanced up from the plate he was currently snacking from as Ciradyl slid open the door to his room. His face remained studiously blank as she spoke, although the movement of his eyes was obvious as he looked her over once. Certain habits were hard to break, especially when deep behind enemy lines—but there was nothing on the tall Faye’s person or about her demeanour to be immediately worried about.
He hadn’t expected the nightclothes, however...
Are all Ospreyans so forward?”Now he owes us and he knows it,” he replied with a shrug, not letting the other thought be known.
”Valheim is the greatest worry right now, and after you made Hien’s involvement in spearheading this rebellion clear, that he wasn’t just a figurehead, it made rescuing him the smarter choice.” Unspoken, but obviously implied, was that his recommendation would have been different had Hien
just been a figurehead for the resistance.
As he finished, he held out the plate towards Ciradyl, nodding at one of the other cushions on the floor to sit on in the sparse room—other than offloading some of his gear and changing into clean clothes, he had yet to do anything else with the space, not even rolling out the mattress to actually get ready to sleep.
”Care for some manjū?” he asked, as conversationally as if he hadn’t just been discussing the possibility of martyring one of Osprey’s last loyal nobility.
”One of your people suggested them for a light snack. I couldn’t wait until they came back with the tea to try a couple.”Ciradyl tilted her head innocently
”Is there something wrong?” She softly asked, knowing full well his attention would have been drawn to her attire.
She then nodded at his new spoken assessment, glad that he was seeing it as such
”His rescue would not have been so critical otherwise.” Silently she bit her tongue at this statement, stating it rather coldly. There was a quick reset on her features as she took his offer and sat neatly on a cushion facing him before continuing
”Hien is a capable leader and warrior that can unite Osprey against Valheim. I have done everything in my power to ensure it.” The coldness of her previous statement lifted, and a sense of hope accompanied her words.
The Faye plucked one of the better pieces on the plate
”Thank you, though it is better with tea.” She cracked a small smile before taking a bite out of the manju, glad that her people were fulfilling their duties well.
Ciradyl spoke again after finishing her snack
”I would like to hear your thoughts on how we may proceed from tonight.” Her voice direct
”I am sure you have more knowledge on these matters than I do so I wish to draw upon it, if that is agreeable?” Her tone and manner of speaking remained mostly formal. She had spent the past year carefully adjusting the way she spoke and words she chose. Now it was difficult to speak semi-casually without actively thinking about it.
Esben chewed thoughtfully on one of the little steamed sweet buns, thinking over Ciradyl’s request slowly before giving any answer.
”Asking me how to proceed on the resistance, ja?” he clarified once his mouth was no longer full.
”I should warn you, partisan warfare and such active destabilization isn’t really my specialty. But I can help with what I know, although I know that none of you will really like the first suggestion I have.”Ciradyl nodded once to his question, finishing the last bit of her sweet bun as Esben continued
”Whatever counsel you can provide would be appreciated. I would like to hear it all the same.” She shifted slightly in place, wondering what his proposal was. There was little at this point she would not consider, not when everything was finally coming together.
”Outsource your planning and leadership,” came the blunt reply.
”If not to Edren, then to Skael, although I’d pick the closer option if I were you. Based off of the trouble you all have been having, what you started to have with Hien’s capture, it sounds to me like things are too centralized, and you’re not nearly at a point where that’s a good decision here. If he’s got a place outside of Kugane that’s more-or-less free from Valheimer control and can be made its own little island of independence, great, but that still makes for too prominent of a target if they bring their might to bear. The only people that should have any idea of the existence of every cell involved, able to coordinate them with each other, should be in a relatively unassailable position beyond Osprey’s borders, and the cells themselves should have no clue who is who outside their own groups. Anything else is both overly risky and overly open to dissolution via infighting should the snake’s head get severed.”Ciradyl admittedly was caught off-guard by the proposal, shifting side to side. Nevertheless she remained quiet and listened to everything Esben said before forming her own ideas. He had been right. She didn't like it. Hien and Izayoi would no doubt be outraged at the thought of placing Osprey's fate in another foreign country's hands
”I admire your forthrightness. You speak without fear.” It could be considered a threat under different circumstances but she was being sincere. Slowly she stood up and smoothed out the edges of her nightgown, and gently bowed towards Esben
”It is getting late and I have taken enough of your night. I hope we can have another talk soon.””Come back any time!”With that, Ciradyl exited from Esben's room and returned to her own with much to think about. Her caution had gotten the Ospreyan resistance this far, but as a result everything rested on her shoulders and the weight was begin to break her. It would be up to her to convince Hien and Izayoi if she were to go ahead with the suggestion. Her only fear would be that they would end up the puppet of another rival, but perhaps a puppet was just slightly better than a slave.