london ♔ put me on a ship that is sinking

[wynn]

if rain is what you want - slipknot

WHO || The Knights.
WHAT || I'm sure it's nothing.
WHERE || Knights castle 
WHEN || April 18,2016
HOW || Actionspam

It's been a week since Sir Jeanne Gar was abducted by agents of the Church of the Lord's Humanity, despite the Knights' efforts to thwart the attempt.  Several of the younger Knights learned a harsh lesson as they watched the Mind Master shake even the seasoned Sir Hasmed, and turn some of their number on each other.   While Wynn has announced that they are determined to find a way to save Gar, it''s certainly obvious why he's hesitant to send agents out, after what the Mind Master alone has done to several Knights, including Finnick Odair, who may never be the same.  

A dark cloud hangs over the Knighthood, either way, dampening any enthusiasm won from their victory in finally taking down Dimitris Sarandis and two other notable members of the Shadow-hating Church led by Draken Crombe.

The sun is still up in the late evening, on this day, but there's a heaviness in the air.  

Comments

[nepotism]

And that's what you'll get, but not until Wynn's figured out what we're dealing with. [ as they reach the giant mural that depicts the War in Heaven and masks the entrance to the round table room, he steps in front of it and stops. ] He's doing his job, and he didn't waste a moment coming here to do it.

He won't let this go unanswered. But he knows how this has to have looked to everybody. How it has to have looked to you.

He's not going to waste your time with platitudes either, but it's his call how we respond to this, and we have to put enough faith in him to not come out of there until he does, or-- [ he struggles for a second, visibly frustrated as he tries to figure out how to put this, his hand clenching into a fist as his eyes drop to the ground ]

Or they've done exactly what they clearly came here to do. Not just take Rafael.

But undercut his authority.

Why else do you think Crombe insisted on making a show of it?

[slay]

I don't care. [ In fact, his words seem to incense her further. Which is actually kind of comforting, probably, because it means she's expressing some sort of emotion and not just shutting down like an overheated robot. ] Wynn's authority isn't more important to me than Rafael's life. [ She enunciates slowly and clearly as she demands, ] Now move out of my way before I make you move.

[ She could engage him, argue the points back and forth, make a plea about what she plans to do inside, but the fact of the matter is that Fred is slowing her down and she doesn't want to waste time on that. ]

[nepotism]

If you've gotta toss me around like a ragamuffin, we both know you could. But how do you think I felt when Dimitris took Kat? I wanted nothing more than to just go bust in there myself, to be the one making the plan, but I knew I wasn't gonna be objective about it either. I wasn't gonna be smart.

Look what happened when I lost sight of that for just a moment. I literally got myself killed, Buff. Maybe I just don't wanna see that happen to anyone else, especially somebody I care about.

If you don't like what Wynn comes up with, it's not like he won't listen to reason, but he needs to step back and look at the situation so that he can try to save as many lives as possible here. Including Rafael's.

You really think it's gonna help him do that to have you right on top of him? Reminding him of how much he just failed you by letting it come to this at all?

[slay]

That's why you're out here and I want to be in there. You believe that Wynn thinks he failed. I don't. He did exactly what he always tries to do, what he does best—he protected his Knights, over everything else. Over someone's life.

I don't believe for a second that Wynn is going to do the same for Rafael that he did for Kat, or Thomas, or Gar. I don't believe for a second that Rafael is even a priority of his, or we wouldn't be in this position in the first place. [ her voice raises to a fever pitch. ] He was the one who told Rafael that he wasn't good enough to be one of us, and now he's in there talking about how to make sure we get Gar back. He wouldn't jeopardize that for a chance to save Rafael.

You think I'm biased? Everyone here is. There wasn't a soul in that lobby that wouldn't have traded Rafael for Gar, and you're going to tell me to keep my nose out of it? Where were you when Jack went in there?

[nepotism]

[ he listens to every word she says, and every single one furrows his brow, but not with anger, so much as a sort of heartbreaking sorrow. his voice is quiet, as he shakes his head once. ] After all this time, that's really what you think of him?

[ he amends with slight more emphasis, pained disbelief and disappointment. ] What you think of us?

[slay]

[ A cool mask settles over Buffy's expression, disconnecting her from the injury she sees in his face. That, she can deal with later. But every minute that she's out here with Fred is a minute that Rafael is closer to getting auctioned off to his worst enemies and crucified. ]

You were in the same room I was. And this is exactly my point: Rafael is on his way to the guillotine, and we're standing here philosophizing about the Knighthood.

[nepotism]

Because if we lose sight of who we are now, when things are at their worst, that's when they win, Buffy.

[ he shakes his head again, but steps aside, a defeated, dejected look in his eye as he gestures at the glass case with the slot for a key card that serves as the switch for the secret entrance. ] Knighthood isn't about protecting our own over everyone else. And Rafael has been an ally for years - one Wynn's bent over backwards to help when he definitely didn't have to.

It was Rafael's choice to walk out that door for Gar's sake. Wynn doesn't own him. But he'll sure as hell fight for him.

[ he turns away, his shoulders slumping slightly ] You're not alone on this, Buff. Don't forget that we're your friends too.

[slay]

[ It didn't feel like she had many friends in that lobby, with most of them hoping that Rafael would turn himself over to certain death in return for unsubstantial promises about Gar stringing them further along. So she doesn't say anything now on the subject, uninterested in hurting Fred's feelings or lashing out, but equally uninterested in weathering platitudes about how many people are here for her when they'd actively hoped she would go through this. ]

[nepotism]

And Buffy...

I'm sorry. And this isn't over.

He wouldn't have gone if he believed any differently. [ believed in you, to be specific, something some of them couldn't help but overhear in that lobby. ]

[slay]

This isn't about what Rafael believes.

[ Or, in a certain capacity, it is. He believes in her, which is why she can't just sit idly by and accept orders as given. She moves up to the key card reader and swipes her ID. ]

[nepotism]

[ annnnd the little light... turns red and beeps at her. fred turns around at the sound, wincing a bit. ] ... I thought that might be the case.

[slay]

Oh, no way.

[ she swipes it again. ]

He's shutting me out?!

[nepotism]

Not you, specifically, Buffy.

It's a private conference. He probably wants to review what Crombe's asking.

[slay]

And we're not allowed to weigh in? It affects us too. He can't just shut himself off and hail orders down from above.

[nepotism]

That's never been his way, Buffy. But he doesn't invite us all in on his initial briefings or meetings when he finds out about any mission - not until he's got some kind of solid information or plan to at least propose to us. That's literally his job, and it's how he handles every other mission that passes over his desk.

It's not like he's not willing to listen to alternatives or trust people to make the right call in the field.

[slay]

This isn't every other mission! Just like Kat wasn't every other mission. Just like Gar has not been every other mission. He can't just push us out until he decides what's best for us, then pretend that our input is valid. It's not input if he doesn't want it until after the decision has been made—that's just the illusion of choice.

[nepotism]

What do you expect him to do, Buffy? There's protocol here for a reason. There's a hierarchy for a reason.

[slay]

Why? [ she throws her arms out to her sides and shrugs. ] What reason? If Wynn respects hierarchy so much, if he believes in protocol, why even create the Knights? Whose protocol is he following? Or is it just the rest of us who need to follow rules, as long as they're his?

[nepotism]

Buffy, he's not like that. [ he sounds frustrated, but tired, and still not unsympathetic ] See what he says. Just... give him that much.

If you don't like it, speak up. He'll at least hear you out.

[slay]

What good will it do? How backwards is it that no one can be heard until after a decision has already been made? What's the point, then? That's not for our sake; it's for his. [ Buffy shakes her head, frustration mounting on her own part, like she doesn't get why she can't convey this to Fred. She finally decides that it's a limitation of perspective and drops her hands, shaking her head. Moving past him, she makes for the stairs to the training room, freeing herself of the conversation to go collect her things (and Rafael's) because she can't just stand still right now. If she does, she'll fall apart. ]