Move 2.7b Recap

The hallway outside Jedao's room: Reshad and Sasha; messages from Sulen

When Sasha steps outside, Sulen says in her earpiece, "Well, that's not how I intended this to go, but it seems to have been productive." Sasha responds, "I hope so. I think I had to, but I don't think Reshad saw it." She takes her scarf out of her pocket and covers her hair again.

As Reshad emerges, Sasha asks her, "Are we having this conversation in my office? Or over tea, with everyone?" Reshad says, "Let's debrief with everyone." Stepping close to Sasha and speaking quietly but sharply, she adds, "But first--Do not assume you know anything about Temuy culture." She then steps back, saying for all to hear, "I'll be there in five." Sasha tenses as Reshad steps closer, anticipating an attack, then says, "Understood. In return, do not pretend you comprehend a binding, when you do not. What you just said to him was cruel, even if you cannot feel it." Flat, Reshad responds, "Would you care to explain, then. How offering hope that things are different in the rebellion than the Heptarchate is cruel; how undercutting it is not."

Remembering her promise to assume Reshad acts in good faith, Sasha says, "You understood, I think, that the way the Shuos heptarch bound him was not clean. She used his strength against him, and she hurt him. I cannot guess the method, but that much was very clear, from how he spoke. You think, if you tell him it should not have happened, it will be a comfort. But it was his strength. He is the person that she aimed at, and he is the gun she aimed, both together. When you say this should not be, you tell him he should not exist. I cannot stand by and let you do that. Not to anyone, but particularly not to him."

Reshad agrees, "Yes; she hurt him. You are correct that I intend to comfort. I can only hope that he did not hear what you did, but rather that the rebellion is not the Heptarchate. I will ask you more about your binding when we debrief. Such ties should be well understood by those who need to work with them, and I am not convinced he knows Naxorian culture." With an inviting gesture toward the conference room, Reshad concludes that afterward, "I will inquire, and see whether I've done more harm than good." Sasha tells her, "I would have sworn to the Nirai, had they accepted me. I thought about the nature of the oath."

At the range: Mafyyil and Seyli

Seyli is at the range, thinking of target practice as a form of meditation. Mafyyil greets them cheerfully. Seyli greets them in turn, sounding strained.

Noticing that Seyli is upset, Mafyyil offers them a muffin with pink sprinkles. Bemused, Seyli says that they "don't think it's a good idea to combine shooting and muffins." Confused by this "barbarian" logic, Mafyyil clarifies, "You're supposed to eat the muffin, not shoot it." Seyli collapses in hysterical giggles. Confused, Mafyyil says, "It has sprinkles." She wonders if Seyli's agitation has a religious source, and apologizes, "I'm sorry I do not know the correct recitals for muffins. Maybe you can speak them, so I can learn?" Seyli laughs for a while longer, before collecting themself and taking the muffin: "No, I'm just being weird. Thank you, I can't remember the last time I ate."

Mafyyil eats a muffin of her own, though she feels some religious scruples about its bright blue color. She says, "Actually, I was going to clear my mind and just shoot some things, but I see you were doing something similar. Is this also about the saint's friend?" Seyli agrees, lacking the energy to provide better context, and offers, "I'll stay with you while you shoot, if you'd like?" Mafyyil thanks them cheerfully and prepares to shoot, putting away the umbrella from her muffin and sweeping her hair into a loose braid. She asks, "Have you actually seen him?" Seyli shows Mafyyil toward the shooting booth and steps back, saying, "Shuos Jedao? Yes, I've seen him. He's...a very unusual man." With real amusement, they add, "I'd like to see what he'd make of you." Mafyyil agrees, "He would have to be." She prepares to shoot, rummaging for various items, and asks with false casualness, "If I decide to write a poem to memorize the occasion, what kind of verse would be appropriate, what do you think?"

notes

Reshad: "She has a brief, spinning moment of wondering if this is what it takes. If aggression in response to aggression is the answer. Distasteful, but - this is not home. This is no assignment, where she can afford to assume and shuck identities like an out-of-fashion robe. " Sasha: "Reshad has a perfect diagram, now: she has seen every knot in the net of Sasha's current loyalties, and she knows the shape, if not the details, of the ways Sasha has been hurt before. Of course, if Reshad uses this to bind her, it proves Sasha was right all along. She smiles a bitter half-smile: that's a stupid way to win."

Mafyyil's religious worries