((Collab post between [@Letter Bee] and [@BrokenPromise]))

Ashton tilted his head a little to the right, his eyes fixed on Fritzi’s cloaked form. He then said, as calmly as possible, “I came here to see if you needed help. And I don’t mean cleaning help either; I came here to give you my allegiance.”

A pause, “Don’t laugh at that, don’t scoff at that; I meant what I said. Oppression is oppression as long as you’re sapient, which Demi-Humans are. I know what you’re fighting for; better conditions and an end to human oppression. And I know what you expected to gain from Hiro, Aerith, and Chieko.”

Fritzi threw back her hood, and her skin became visible in a puff of black smoke. The cloak only seemed to hide the identity of it's wearer when the hood was up. [color=peachpuff]”Perverted, posh, and pretentious! Oh my...”[/color] For someone who had just been found out, Fritzi's mood wasn't down at all. [color=peachpuff]”Ashy, you may be young, but you know how it goes. I can't just accept anyone into my cloak and dagger fun club. You say you want to join, but do you really? Are you prepared to kill on command and fight beside people who hate you because of your round ears? ”[/color] Fritzi sighed. [color=peachpuff]”Lets take a step back before you dramatically offer to help me. Surely you must have questions right? You can't understand the full situation already.”[/color] She raised an eyebrow. [color=peachpuff]”Right? I know I do.”[/color]

Ashton let out a breath of relief, “I’m glad you’re sparing my life, at least for a while. So, what’s the full situation, then?”

Fully joining up with Fritzi carried risks, the boy knew that, and he was glad he didn’t have to take said risks for now. So he would indulge his curiosity and get more information to analyze…

The wolf girl raised her eyebrows.  [color=peachpuff]”Ah, what I meant to say is that you don't seem too surprised to see that I'm with the demi-human bandits, and you're also aware that we suspect Hiro of being a clairvoyant.”[/color] Fritzi ran her hand through her hair. [color=peachpuff]”Despite knowing what might happen to him... Do you know everything?”[/color] She folded her arms with a huff. [color=peachpuff]”You don't seem too surprised to see that I'm the mastermind behind this whole thing.”[/color] She stroked her chin. [color=peachpuff]”Maybe you do know everything? I was expecting a lot more shock an awe when I was inevitably discovered. But I guess it must have been obvious to a clairvoyant like Hiro.”[/color] Fritzi chuckled.

Ashton nodded, then added, “[i]And me[/i]; I have a lesser version of ‘The Gift’, but I prefer to. rely on my ability to analyze and deduct things instead of using my power as a crutch.” A faint purse of his lips, “To be honest, I actually defended you before Aerith; she viewed you as an… Antagonist before we received a vision about your motivations.”

Another pause. “There’s nothing I’d want more than for sapient beings to just get along; call me an idealist. There’s also the fact that oppressing others just causes the oppressors to rot inevitably. But you’re right that I have reservations about killing or fighting beside people who hate me.” Then the pursing of Ashton’s lips widened into a full smile. “But that doesn’t mean that I can’t offer other services to the cause. This is purely my deductive skills talking, not my precognition, but the [i]immediate[/i] cause of your troubles is a corrupt city government, right? A corrupt city government that is acting on its prejudices even in a time of crisis…”

[color=peachpuff]”Corruption huh?”[/color]The wolf girl lifted her hands up to her face and covered her mouth, but her smile was extending just a bit past her hands. [color=peachpuff]”You know what the funny thing is, Ashy?”[/color] She was still giggling. [color=peachpuff]”I have just as many human friends as I do demi-human ones. Maybe more! I even consider you guys friends, even if we've only known each other for the duration of a chance encounter.”[/color] Fritzi gave Ashton a sideways glance. [color=peachpuff]”We're oppressed, but that's to be expected. We just lost a decade long war. I hardly call that corruption. It's going to take a long time for that anger to subside..”[/color] Fritzi sighed. [color=peachpuff]”hmmm, that's not quite right either. The humans won, so they will heal faster. No one gained anything out of this war, but they can at least say they won it and trounce over their fallen enemies corpse. Their sacrifices had meaning. They were all heroes who contributed to a victory, however small.” [/color] Fritzi lowered her hands, she wasn't smiling anymore. [color=peachpuff]”The demi-humans do not have this luxury ”[/color] With a grin, the wolf girl placed her hands on her hips. [color=peachpuff]”All of my human friends look at me as an equal. Even my non-friends are quick to warm up to me before our first encounter is over. They are always happy and smiling. I can't say the same for my Demi-human friends. They've lost too much to this war to be happy. Donovan lost his wife when she was three months pregnant. A mercenary had their way with Quill and left her for dead in her own village.”[/color] Fritzi shook her head. [color=peachpuff]”Too much blood has been spilled. Donovan can smile all he likes, but deep down there's a sorrowful flame that can only be extinguished with blood. It burns in virtually every Demi-human in this city.” [/color] she giggled. [color=peachpuff]”I do find it amusing though, because I'm perhaps the only demi that doesn't feel this way. My parents weren't killed, I wasn't raped, my life is exactly the way it's always been.” [/color] When she blinked, her eyes became hard and stern. [color=peachpuff]”While I share in your desire for us to unite and hold hands, there's always going to be a wall between our races. Even if I don't share their pain, my side was selected at birth. I'm going to let them smile again.” [/color]

Ashton nodded, bowing slightly. “Walls are always there, even amongst Humans. Despite that, your cause is just. That said, acting as ‘bandits’ and attacking people, sowing bloodshed and disorder… Would that not just deepen the effects of The War? Would not repeating the trauma and bloodshed of the past, even with precognitives on your side, lead to greater ruin for all?”

Another purse of the lips, “Nevertheless, I have a plan. You may have noticed that a significant fraction of the authorities are more dedicated to hunting down this ‘Witch Cult’ than they are with keeping the status quo intact. Not that they aren’t doing the latter, but they have greater priorities. If the city government and/or a significant number of the human nobility can be framed for collaboration with the Witch Cult - Yes, I know Cultists can be detected by smell by some people; there is a way around that - then the Crown would have no choice but to allow the Demi-Humans to have a greater share of power in Priestella, because that’d be the new default.

“And, not to admit my own limits, but although I haven’t foreseen anything regarding the city government and the nobles, I do hope that some of them [i]are[/i] those ‘Witch-cultists’ people keep mentioning.” Ashton then finished.

Fritzi looked down at her feet. Or more precisely, the shoes scattered about the floor. [color=peachpuff]”Ashy, as a man who loves other men, what's your favorite type of shoe? Do you prefer the thick leather of a working man's boot, or do you prefer something with a wooden heel to make you look higher? Maybe you're more of a sandal  person?” [/color]

Ashton gave this some thought and said, “I find merits in all three kinds, but if pressed for a choice… A working man’s boot.”

Either Fritzi was going to let him join her organization or she was going to kick him with the boot he selected or throw said shoe at him. Either way, all he can do is wait; his natural patience had been increased by repeated deaths.

[color=peachpuff]”Never change Ashy. Your ability to answer such a question with a stone face is quite funny.” [/color] She giggled and took a step backwards.  [color=peachpuff]”I'm sorry, I just really like shoes. You can tell a lot about someone by what they wear. And you're not exactly a cobbler because...” [/color] With a sigh, Fritzi turned her back to Ashton. [color=peachpuff]”I'm not good with analogies, but that plan isn't going to work for me.” [/color] She looked over her shoulder. [color=peachpuff]”It was nice to talk to you, but I really need to join the others. I know you can't accept it, but delaying this war is a mistake. Both the humans and the demis need to unleash all of their pent up anger. It's the only way we're going to find peace. Or perhaps in letting things run their course...” [/color] She pulled her hood up [color=orange][b]”I'm just being [u]slothful[/u].”[/b][/color] Ashton wasn't sure what happened next. But she was gone in the blink of an eye.

Ashton sighed at that, carefully storing Fritzi’s words in his mind. He then goes downstairs to finish cleaning; it wouldn’t do to leave the job unfinished. But once he had finished cleaning, gotten his payment from the employer - explaining away Fritzi’s disappearance as well - he would go off to find Flame and Alistair and begin their next move.

Unless Fritzi had a connection to those ‘Witch-cultists’ as well, his plan was still viable and he was pursuing it.

[h1]Flame Brooks[/h1]

All right, time to get reinforcements for the plan. And by that, [i]Alistair’s[/i] getting reinforcements for the plan while Ashton thinks up said plan. But, that does not mean Flame isn’t going to be doing anything. He then says a small, “Thanks,” to Mono and goes out of the guardhouse with his brand new passport. 

Then, he goes after where he had last sighted the ‘Warrior Monks’ [@Zelosse], asking passerbys, “Hey, have you seen two people - one a woman - in Monkish garb? Yes, I am talking about a female monk, not a nun; those exist.”