lifetothefullest | [IC Inbox

We started running into trouble in New Beijing. Restaurants wouldn't serve us, and we were... you know. Getting a bad vibe. That's why we left early. And they searched us about a million times on our way out.

[That gives him pause a moment, causing him to furrow his eyebrows a little.]

That's it? Were you out of the building before they figured out what had happened?

Yeah. Easy peasy.

[It's... sort of a joke.]

So I probably shouldn't go back to New Beijing for a while. Or ever.

Probably not.

[He isn't going to argue that, though ultimately this was a much more mild reaction than he would've expected; either Riverstone is planning something, or they don't want to risk outright antagonizing Displaced in a way that would prompt retaliation and instead are just relying on intimidation. Either way that's good to know, he supposes, though of course it would've been better if it weren't an issue in the first place.

But before he starts making commentary, he promised he'd hear her out, so--]

Is there anything else?

Um... No?

[She crosses her arms, clearly bracing herself.]

[He sighs quietly, finally deciding to move from where he'd stopped just after coming in the door, shoving his hands in his pockets and wandering toward the table as he responds.]

I don't think this was the exactly the best choice of action, but it's done now, so what matters is figuring out what to do with it.

[Somehow, this is about ten times worse.]

You're not going to... lecture me?

[Please lecture her.]

What exactly would be the point of that?

[It comes out a lot more defeated than he meant for it to, and he immediately tries to cover that up by continuing.]

I mean, if you really want me to break down all the places this was a bad idea, I can. But that's not going to undo it, it's just going to be a waste of time and make us both feel terrible.

[Ouch. Something in the tone of his voice hits her like a blow. It's too close to the way her brother reacts when he's particularly upset with her, that sort of resigned disapproval, and she can't hide the hurt from showing on her face.]

I'm sorry.

[It comes out uncharacteristically quiet.]

You don't need to apologize to me.

[He's frustrated with this situation on many levels, but she hasn't actually done anything wrong, exactly. Not to him specifically, anyway; maybe the Displaced as a whole, since this will affect them all, but he's already accepted that people are going to make those sorts of decisions without thinking them through. He just hadn't necessarily expected Kyna to be one of those people.]

[Kyna bites her lip again, suddenly fascinated by the floor.]

It was just us. No one else had any problems.

They know you're going to tell the rest of us what you found out, which... Well, I'd say it 'ruined' their plans, except almost everyone already knew they had some underhanded motive, but they may not have realized that.

[Riverstone--and a lot of people and organizations here, actually--seem the type that thinks they're many steps ahead, when in reality they're not.]

But either way, it's going to be more difficult for them to accomplish what they wanted, and so we've all lost value to them.

Yeah, but there were a bunch of people who were convinced they didn't. And isn't it good if we don't have as much value?

There were maybe ten people.

[Which is not exactly a bunch, as far as he's concerned, unless he vastly underestimated how many people might've been interested in participating since he's basing his number on the interest shown on Rey's post plus the possibility of some people who stayed quiet.]

In some respects, maybe; they might have less interest in actively interacting with us. In other respects, no; holding value to them means they may not want anything to happen to us, because we could benefit them in some way.

But we know that they don't care about our powers. The science excuse was a front. We didn't know that before.

Sure, maybe.

[He can't necessarily argue that, though a large part of him wonders if it matters. Maybe it's useful though, so he won't discount it outright without having time to think about it.]

But is that worth everything else?

What do you mean, "everything else"?

I mean Riverstone knowing that Displaced broke into their building, poked around in it, and then used one of their powers on someone who worked here in order to find out information they didn't want to share.

But a bunch of us handed ourselves right over, too.

Do you think that's going to just cancel out and they'll let it go?

No. But if Meredith Ling is that obsessed with us, I don't think she's going to punish everyone for what four people did.

Maybe not, but if she wants to get something out of us and you have proof of that, it's going to make her job very difficult. Are you planning to tell the rest of the Displaced about this?

[She was going to, but...]

Do you think we shouldn't?

No, I definitely think you should.

Okay.

[At least there's that.]

You think this was a huge screw up, don't you?

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