ravenDivinity

When the Flames Die

"It wasn't one bad action that caused it, sir!" Gareth was fuming at the ears. "His soul is rife with self-righteousness!" He stuck by his psychoanalysis—Thomas gave him that impression at the trial, and there was no other conclusion. Thomas made a snide remark at Jezin as though Jezin's testimony were a stain on his perfect honor, and Gareth, by now, was greatly disconcerted by the Order's blindness to such a character defect as that. Sir Morgan had no humility, and it didn't matter what reputation he had with the Order; leadership was not meant for someone with traits like Thomas's. More and more Thomas seemed like a sycophant who only performed tasks for the Order to redeem himself, not to help the Order. "Bloody brown-nosing..." Harker grumbled. "Posing socialite fake..." He sighed, clearly exasperated.

When the Flames Die

"Thomas laid claim to the role of Commander of the Thistle." Gareth took one long drink, clearing roughly an eighth of the drink in one go. He felt uncontrollably furious, for he thought himself stuck under the headlock of a cocky, stuck-up knight's orders. He wasn't satisfied being ordered around by some bastard with an ego, and he intended to make it clear. "Why is he in charge? The trial is proof alone that he is no levelheaded man!" Beyond his personal convictions around whom he would prefer to serve, he showed clearcut consternation, not wanting someone so brash leading with his unguided leadership style.

When the Flames Die

Gareth didn't find Sir Walden in his office, so Gareth assumed the big man was elsewhere in the castle. He sighed and turned around, and Harker headed to the great hall. There he found himself lucky, eyeing Walden across the room, and Gareth strode over the floor to the middle table at the front of the room where he caught a seat next to the mammoth of a man. "G'day." He poured himself a glass, hand almost shaky with temper.

When the Flames Die

Fight the system, Gareth, fight the system.

When the Flames Die

Gareth nodded. "Very well then, I shall take my leave." Under his breath he cursed Thomas's name, wishing Thomas had been bitten instead. Unfortunately, the one humble commander he could hold sympathy for was dead. Harker stood abruptly, turning and leaving the room with feet moving briskly to signal spite, and he shut the door behind him quietly. Who the hell put Thomas in charge? He shuddered at the idea. For now, he needed to find Sir Walden again, and so he ushered himself to the other end of the castle.

When the Flames Die

Gareth nodded to Thomas. "I'd rather not leave Sophia unaccompanied." His words sounded a little friendlier, and clearly Sophia would be less insecure about having Gareth and Jezin around than four Order knights. Four Order knights, not to mention, felt over-the-top to Harker. Sophia would be getting the dangerous criminal treatment rather than the foreign princess one. He took his seat in the chair in silence, allowing things to proceed. When Thomas excused him to leave, he declined, saying, "Ah, it will be fine... I have nowhere important to be."

When the Flames Die

"No, I don't." Gareth looked at the floor, and stood by the door where he waited for Sophia to unlock the door and enter. While admittedly he had suspicions that the interrogation would include serious questioning about the snake, he couldn't give her a definite answer. Thomas's motives in extracting information from Sophia eluded Gareth, who knew the Lyoki party likely had nothing to do with it, given Sophia's seemingly honest nature even though he couldn't verify it with evidence. "But it might concern the murder today." In all honesty, it still laid in the back of his mind, and he still felt very distraught over the ordeal, materializing as a single tear. He saved his own skin from judgment, and now he had to assist Sophia through hers.

When the Flames Die

Gareth looked at Feril with dim eyes and pursed lips as he turned away with Sophia on his side, his gut feeling a degree of sinking concern, but he chinned up and sighed as they distanced themselves from Thomas and Feril. "Um... I beg your pardon, but..." His blues darted left, and to the floor in a fleeting blink, then they focused forward on the path ahead of them, Harker awkwardly skittish however comfortable he was with Sophia. This time around, any subject matter worthy of conversation escaped his mind, too scattered. And all the while, he still had no clue, so he stifled out quickly, "Where are your quarters?"

When the Flames Die

DrowsyPangolin said
Hey Rae, do you wanna just have Gareth and Sophia head on towards her room? I don't know when Sightles will be back on, so I think it'd be safe for us to go ahead.

I suppose we could...

When the Flames Die

Following along, Gareth shrugged. "I, uh, suppose I could." Something about taking orders from Thomas didn't particularly suit his fancy. True though, he didn't ever find himself easily giving in to the commands of someone he saw any sort of character defect. Despite this, it was his job to obey orders now, and he was too servile to openly refuse. Harker took Sophia's hand in his own with a gentle squeeze to communicate a sort of nonverbal assurance, and though it was only morning, he intended to stride with her as a pair would walk under the cover of night. However much the sun shined that day, the darkness of mankind crept around them, and Harker would rather escort someone through the dark than go on alone in the light. Feril, on the other hand, he couldn't take with them. She had to be alone in a prison cell until Sophia was done with her private 'interview'. Luckily, Feril was in less danger than Sophia, and the half-elf could assure the safety of both the courier and Sophia by attending Sophia's interrogation and escorting her around afterwards if Jezin wasn't back by then. After all, it seemed Feril didn't have much suspicion surrounding her but could be used for information on her contractors, and nothing could be gained from killing her. Sophia needed Gareth then more than ever not only for emotional support but also for personal security.