Based on the way the slime-girl was acting, Lily was starting to realise that there might be more to the relationship between Carreau and his subordinates, than mere loyalty. It seemed as if she genuinely liked him as a person, and even looked up to him like a sort of father figure. The thought gave her a sour taste in the mouth; it hit too close to home. Nevertheless, it was something she had to consider going forward. The slime-girl was, if anything, an earnest personality who wore her heart on her sleeve, or at least it seemed that way. Lily had grown up with deceptions as her primary tool to survive, and she knew what trickery looked like, but the simple childlike enthusiasm with which she talked to Carreau… It irritated her that he might actually be trustworthy. Still, one person was an awfully small data sample to base any decisions on.

She glanced over towards Carreau, noting for a moment the miniscule look of displeasure on his face, followed by a smile soon as he turned his head in the direction of where Mouse was eating. She doubted people other than herself would have noticed. Micro expressions were difficult, if not impossible to be rid of. It was one of the more beneficial gifts her transformation had given her; superior eyesight to normal humans, but especially tuned towards movement. She could guess the reason easily enough. Owing to having the head of an owl, his eyes would be tubular, as opposed to spherical like most other creatures, which also meant that when he wanted to look at things, he had to turn his entire head. The trade-off was eyesight that rivalled her own, perhaps even superior to it. In the end, how well he saw was of little importance. What mattered was that the crease between what would be his eyebrows, appeared as he looked up at her ears; one of which had always been turned his direction. He knew she was being wary of him, and it displeased him. It was something to capitalize on, she thought. If nothing else, it could force the truth out from him, and give her something she could [i]actually[/i] trust, rather than just honeyed words and vague promises.

In the time she had been deliberating, Mouse had been given, and finished, his second helping and Verinne had returned with the damaged drone, only to be sent off to get it repaired. Carreau addressed her again, and she realised she might not have a better opportunity than now. She reached down to pick up Mouse, using the time it gave her to give Brucie the impression of sound as she had done before, giving him a message only he could hear.

[i]”I am about to say some things this Carreau might not like. Keep calm, and just watch. Please don’t say anything.”[/i] Their eyes met as she straightened up and put Mouse in her lap, and though he didn’t nod she knew he understood.

She turned to Carreau and silently ran her hand along Mouse’s back for all but a second before she spoke. “You’re displeased with me,” she said. It wasn’t a question. “Before we discuss anything else, would you be willing to tell me why?”

The owl-man’s eyebrow-tufts sank a touch, the golden peepers below fixed on the little dog. If not masked by his hidden mouth’s strange anatomy, including the feathers around it, Carreau’s wry smile would have been all too obvious. Voice steady, he shrugged and after a second of careful thought replied, “It’s more me than you, to be honest. I cannot at all blame you for having misgivings about our acquaintance and arrangements, but I would have hoped that I might be charismatic or genuine enough to inspire at least a little less dislike if not distrust. Selfish of me, I’m sure, but can anyone claim to like being doubted? But I will content myself with the prospect of earning your esteem in the future, if I can.” Reaching out, he selected his glass and sipped some water from it, tilting his head back—eyes averted as he did so—to ensure that nothing spilled.

Brucie gave Lily a pointed look, as if silently telling her that she had been wrong in her assessment. As it turned out, Carreau hadn’t been angry by what she had said, but rather had put the blame on himself. If not for that smile of his she might have actually fully believed him, but as it was she would only take his words for a half-truth. He was trying too hard to be disarming. But he had been candid with her, to a degree anyway, so maybe she should give him some truths as well? [i]I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.[/i]

She let out a breath and leaned back in the chair. She glanced over towards Brucie, who gave her a shrug and nodded his head towards Carreau. “He doesn’t seem to be lying,” he said in a low voice that was nowhere near a whisper, “so should we…? Y’know, also tell the truth. Whatever is your truth anyway. Can’t mindread like you.” He shrugged again and just sat back, watching her. 

She raised an eyebrow at him, but didn’t otherwise reply. She resolved to give Carreau a few truths, if nothing else. She ran her fingers through Mouse’s short fur, mulling it over, then said, “you’re right that I don’t trust you. Not entirely. When you refused to make the oath I requested, it told me that you will betray me should I no longer be your best option. For that reason, I cannot simply trust your word. As for charisma, that is wasted on me. Honeyed words will only get in the way of any sort of relationship between us, whether built on trust or convenience.” She paused, brows furrowed. She hoped she hadn’t said too much, or crossed any boundaries. She was in his home turf, and if she made the wrong move she might risk a… bad outcome. “So,” she said slowly, “I would rather you be honest with me. Don’t try to charm or impress me, but rather be honest about what you want from me, and I will extend the same courtesy to you. [i]That[/i] I can trust, and that is how you can, ‘earn my esteem,’ as you put it.” Mouse, if Lily were to decide, made his agreement known with a short, happy bark. 

Finished with his drink, though not at all with rumination on his response, Carreau set his glass down before running a talon back and forth across where his chin would be, if owls had chins. “Hmm…” he said, clearly a touch perturbed by his guest’s implications. “While I don’t like to suggest that anyone with whom I wish to keep myself in good esteem is wrong, I would venture that you’ve been a bit...well, paranoid. I’ve been forthcoming from the start. But I suppose I could explain my viewpoint a bit better. You see, since both Clotho and Verrine were eliminated, there is no other route to the wish other than to cast my lot in with a generous...ah, pardon me, you just mentioned the needlessness of honeyed words. I meant, try and persuade someone who still had the chance to include me. But, as much as I’d like the power to make changes in my world, it’s ultimately wish-fulfillment on my part, and not worth compromising my moral compass, or the safety of my guild, over.” 

He placed both palms on the table, his owlish look serious and a little sad. “My refusal to bind myself by your oath was not borne out of a pragmatic desire to achieve that wish by any means possible, but my overriding desire to not risk a single proverbial hair on the head of any of my people. There’s so much I don’t know about how magic and power work in this bizarre City, where realities seem to converge, that I’m afraid to say I’m too afraid to take any risk. Truthfully, if the question came down to seizing that wish by putting my guild in jeopardy, or sacrificing even one member of it, I would refuse. In fact, I’m only pledging their allegiance to you in combat out of confidence that they could take on any foe you might face, based on analysis of the average strength of contestants performed by my scout Marotte.”

Carreau then clasped his hands together. Talking slowly to make sure he formulated his sentences before voicing them, he continued, “But I’m getting off topic. What I want from you is the same trust and cooperation that I wish to extend, both of which are crucial to the only route to my wish after the conclusion of which I could sleep at night...Yet, what I want even more than that is the preservation of my guild and all those in it, which is the end that my wish -though an end in and of itself- would serve. By bringing you into my home, and leaving you alone without supervision in hallways where you could slip away, or leave you with guild members I know you could at the very least hurt, I hoped you would see my own offering of that trust and cooperation. If you are unconvinced, allow me to make sure you’re aware that you would be free to back down and leave unharmed at any time; it is my assumption that you knew of this potential route that leads me to be unhappy with myself for you continuing to doubt while still being present.” His statement seemed to taper off without a strong conclusion, leaving him with a furrowed brow, trying to think of a final statement to tie everything together.

“If you knew my story,” she said slowly as she petted Mouse, “you would understand why I have a difficult trusting. The number of people I don’t distrust, I can count on my fingers.” She allowed herself so lean back into the chair and relax for the first time since she’d arrived. Her guard was by no means down, but she didn’t need to stay on edge anymore. He had… proven himself, in a way. He spoke of Verrine and one known as Clotho being participants in the tournament, and their subsequent losses, and if they had been eliminated then, that meant he had no other option than to ally with her, and do as she willed. She’d known it from the beginning, but now more than ever did she appreciate the fact that she truly sat with all of the power in their relationship. He needed her, but she didn’t need him. Oh, he was convenient and a great asset provided he remained loyal, but unless he danced to the tune of her flute… 

She allowed herself a tight-lipped smile, scratching one of Mouse’s ears. “But I’ll let you in on a secret: I like you a whole lot better now, that you’re not trying to be charming. It doesn’t suit you. Your honesty is also appreciated. I won’t say I trust you yet, but I do distrust you less.” She let the smile widen, her eyes narrowing in mirth. “Doesn’t this work a lot better?” 

For a moment, the owlman looked relaxed, though he hadn’t completely relaxed, either. “I am gratified,” he responded after a moment, “That you do seem markedly more comfortable.”

Beside her, Brucie looked curiously between the owl-man and the fox-woman, wondering what was so funny that Lily had actually [i]chuckled[/i]. It looked odd on her, that smile, and that sound coming out of her mouth. Almost like she was happy, but not quite. Had he had eyebrows, they would’ve been up under his also non-existent hairline in something like sheer bewilderment. Finding no better option, he made an effort to alleviate his confusion by asking, “so… are you two friends now? Or something. Agreed to work together, right?” 

Lily quietened and looked at Brucie, then at Carreau. “I suppose we have,” she said. “Now all we need is to decide who will go with us for the coming fights. You said you would go yourself, Carreau… What do you think, Brucie? Where are we strongest? Weakest? And what do we need the most when fighting.” 

Brucie started at being addressed so directly and suddenly, and about something so important. Hed looked Lily in the eyes for confirmation, and found her just staring at him expectantly. “I mean,” he said drawing out each word to buy himself time to think, “you attack from far away, and so do I. But I can also be close, and… so can you now, if you know how to use a sword—” Lily nodded, indicating that she did “—but you’re… thin, and fast, but you get hurt easy. We’ll probably need someone who can stay in the front and be big and hard to get away from. Maybe someone who can be both far away and close, a bit like me? And… Maybe someone who can attack from very far away, maybe very difficult to see and make it easier to surprise our enemy?” He audibly breathed in, and exhaled through the contraption on his throat, then looked to Lily, with something like pride in what passed for an expression in a hammerhead shark. “Right?” 

She offered him a nod, her eyes lingering on him for a moment longer as she looked towards Carreau, something like pride showing in them. He couldn’t quite decide if it had really been there by the time he could only see the back of her head, topped by those large, furred ears. 

“I think Brucie has the right of it. Someone who can be up front to soak up damage and tank, in video game terms—I’m sure you’re familiar with them—a mid range fighter with some durability, and either a long-range or stealth-focused fighter. You know your allies better than I do. Do you have some who fit those descriptions?” 

Carreau offered a sagacious nod. “Yes. For the first, I.O. and Margot fit the bill, though of the two I.O. is sturdier and stronger while Margot is a bit deadlier and more flexible. Nobody is better at long-range than Mr. Solomon Screed, though Egon is a powerful mage. As for assassins, Penning and Marotte are likely the best bets, with Penning a bit better for open combat and Marotte the better fit for the stealth role.”

Still standing nearby, Verrine leaned forward, waving her whole arm excitedly. “I could tank, too! I’m very hard to damage, and a great distraction!”

An unbidden smile broke Carreau’s composure. “The best. But what’s your class, again?”

Verrine’s lower eyelids rose in embarrassment, though her smile didn’t waver. “...Apothecary!”

“Not combat-centric, wouldn’t you say?” The owlman spread his hands apart, palms turned upward. “You’d outlast most anyone, but since you’d be limited to fighting with your natural abilities, are you sure you’d be able to deal enough damage to make enemies focus on you?”

Looking off to the side, Verrine clasped her hands behind her back. “Well...they might, uh….just walk around me. Like in the tests.”

Carreau nodded. “From your manner I think you already knew, which is good. Don’t worry, though. I have just the thing for you in the meantime. But I’ll keep it a surprise ‘til then.” He returned his attention to Lily. “Thoughts?”

Mouse had started to snore quietly in the time it had taken Carreau to lay out the potential allies, Lily had to choose from. All had their advantages and disadvantages, but at the end of the day she didn’t need anyone who were hyper specialized for killing, merely restraining and hindering her opponent. 

“The one you call Iou, for his strength and ability to withstand damage. I don’t need him to be deadly, just strong enough to hold someone in place, if need be. Same goes for Egon, I don’t need a sniper that can kill in one hit, but someone with the versatility to be able to deal damage from a range, or cast spells that might aid me, or compromise my enemy. And Marotte, for her ability to surprise whoever we’re fighting against. Together with my speciality, I think she should do especially well.” 

Something Lily said seemed to amuse her host. “That’ll do nicely, I think. You’ll find I.O. as affable as he is capable for those purposes, and Egon’s firepower will not fail. And you’re closer to the mark than you think with Marotte; [i]his[/i] powers of stealth and diversion are not too dissimilar to your own. I’ll recall him from the soul-washed city.” Carreau stood, an air of satisfactory conclusion wafting about. “They’ll be by your side to fight tomorrow, unless you plan to forego sleep and pursue your next battle under cover of night.”

She made an effort to not roll her eyes. Instead she put down Mouse on the ground and stood as the owl-man did, shaking her head. “No. I know all too well the importance of sleep, I will see you in the morning, and you can do whatever you have to do in the meantime,” she motioned towards the exit as she said the last bit, indicating that she didn’t have anything else to talk about, nor any questions or comments. “Meet me outside at dawn, or what’ll pass as dawn down here.” 

When Carreau and the slime girl finally left, Lily exhaled sharply and muttered quietly to Brucie, “I hope you don’t mind sleeping outside. I’m not going to sleep in this place. Hard rock beats owls any day of the week.” 

Brucie shrugged. “I don’t really need to sleep. Not as you do, anyway. Shark, y’know?” 

She looked approvingly at him. “Good,” she said and made her way towards the outside doors. “Wake me if you hear or see anything, or even if you get a bad feeling.” 

“Will do.”