Ethan was trying his damnedest to cheer Cecil up but it was equivalent to banging one's head against the wall. He knew nothing of Machina, he'd not even seen his first until just days before meeting his friend. He could stand here and argue all day for Cecil's sake and yet it made him no more of an expert than he was now, which to say was he had no expertise whatsoever. It was a worrisome feeling, knowing that someone leaving or staying may potentially hinge on what you said in the moment. They may or may not be okay without Cecil while traveling but that was hardly the point he was making here: they had traveled together so far and should keep doing so, it was not only safer for everyone but most had grown accustomed to each other. 

"I don't remember where I came from either. I mean... I do, but I don't remember being born, no one does. I remember some things about being a kid but not much, and that goes for everyone. So just because you don't remember doesn't make you that different, loads of people don't remember." Though perhaps it wasn't the same thing, again he couldn't be sure. What Ethan was certain of was that he didn't want Cecil to leave them, he was concerned for his friend if he struck off on his own. Watching as Cecil backed away and became defensive Ethan stopped in his tracks, a sad smile on his face as he was accused of ignoring Cecil. "I'm listening loud and clear, I am. I just don't have the answer for you or the right words to say, and I'm sorry I don't. But leaving us isn't going to help anything, I'm just worried about you if you go off alone again."

It didn't appear as though anything he might say would convince Cecil to come back. Ethan was trying everything he could think of, saying anything that he thought might help and it only seemed to make matters worse. What was he missing? He was sure he was listening to Cecil, his friend felt like he didn't belong and he was a threat right? So all he needed to do was convince him otherwise.

"And you're a Machina," Ethan said in agreement, smiling slightly as he pointed to Cecil, "A Machina named Cecil, with thoughts and feelings and things he wants to do, and friends. We saw other Machina, remember? You're nothing like them, you're your own person. It doesn't matter if you were born or made, you're in the world like we are, experiencing it like we are. And I don't know about a lot, I know that. I'm just some idiot kid from a small town and most of this is new for me too. But I do know you can't pretend to be happy, or sad, or to want things or to have dreams. Those are yours Cecil, you're experiencing those, it makes you alive in your own way. We've never thought of you as a drone or a tool, we've only seen you as a friend."

All of that and still Cecil appeared to be too distraught to listen. How could he make the Machina come back at this point, when he argued against everything and still had no success? He couldn't just turn around and leave like Cecil was telling him to, leaving meant they would likely never see each other again. Looking at the roof beneath his feet, utterly beside himself, Ethan was about to plead again until an idea finally occurred to him. 'Your friends...' A knowing smile crossed his face as he looked up at Cecil, putting his hands up and nodding towards the edge. 

"How about this... Let's go back down, together, and go see everyone. I can't be the only one that doesn't want you to leave right?" Ethan posed, slowly approaching Cecil as he lowered his hands, "If the others want you to stay too then don't you think you should stay? I think its only fair you hear everyone else out first, if you leave before telling anyone else about this then... I mean they would be upset, right?" That had to work, if more people wanted him here then he'd see it was all in his head, that the others wanted him around too. Now he only had to hope that Nymira wasn't going to be her usual curt self and say something off-putting, or that Amuné could forgive Cecil enough to have him stay.

-----  

For the first time since their meeting Nymira couldn't offer rebuttal or argue with what Zander had said, he was right. Telling these kinds of stories to the sort who you couldn't care less for made it easy, you didn't need to concern yourself with judgment or opinions. Funny, that, she was pretty sure it implied she bothered to care about what the others in the group had to say. People she'd known for barely a handful of days at that, what a ridiculous notion. "I've always truly been myself, that doesn't change. I don't waste time putting on masks like people here do," the Dimuran remarked, "Negotiations and agreements should be made on trust, and you can't build trust when someone's playing another part."

Zander's laughter threw her back for a moment, she hadn't expected him to burst out like that. Thinking for a moment he may be laughing at her story she was tempted to hurl a well cooked potato at his smug face, refraining when she figured it was over her threat. An odd thing to laugh about yet she had to commend him she supposed for not cowering. The faintest of smile's played across her lips for a second before she grabbed her cup to conceal it, watching as the healer collected himself from his outburst. 

"I'm not looking for pity for what happened. They are merely a reminder to me of what I am trying to accomplish here, I wouldn't say they're my driving force." No, her driving force was the very future of not only the Rumia clan but other Dimuran clans as well. If her kind continued to isolate themselves they would die out eventually, they couldn't let that happen obviously. This idea that they could ignore the rest of the world was idiotic, it was a decision only those who had never been outside could settle on. It was obvious even from her brief time away there was so much her people were missing and ignoring this would be fatal.

Nymira and Zander settled into a comfortable silence for a time as they ate, the former somewhat surprised no one else had come back yet. Had her comments really been that shocking? For a machine it seemed that Cecil had rather thin skin, and Amuné was behaving as a child, not too surprising, that. It would be inconvenient if everyone were to split up now just after they had begun moving, she'd hate to have to find a new group to travel with. That aside she had become accustomed, somewhat, to this group. To Amuné's naivete and simple outlook of the world, of Ethan's idiotic view that there was good everywhere you looked and Cecil's unique company. It was hard to say if she enjoyed Zander's presence yet, or Geoffrey's for that matter, but it was easier to retain what she had now than to start over again.

When a question was posed to her Nymira paused in her eating, glancing up at Zander with an emotionless stare. For a moment she simply looked at him, her eyes drifting once to the paper in his hand before finally casting her gaze back to her food. "I could reduce it to cinders in a heartbeat no doubt. Unless some powerful magic is preserving it," the Dimuran answered simply, taking another bite of her food, "But you're asking me, in the middle of an inn, to perform magic. I know enough of this place to understand the state of magic, and how foolish it would be for me to cast anything right now. I'll have to respectfully ask you to refrain from being such an idiot from now on Zander, can you do that for me?"