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[reshapes]

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[reshapes]

And yet here we are. [The stairs level here; he cuts into a side alley.] So what's your plan?

[rathercommon]

[ She looks over at him. ]

My plan for what?

[reshapes]

To keep that pretty little head on that surprisingly thick neck of yours.

[rathercommon]

[ What - ]

You - My neck's not thick!

[ It's not! But - she can't stop herself from reaching up to check. Ugh. Is it thick...? ]

It's - There is no plan.

[reshapes]

[He's not appalled, exactly. He's just a little surprised is all.]

Well that seems short sighted.

[rathercommon]

[ That sends her back into a glum mood. ]

Yeah, 'cause it's obviously 'cause I haven't given it thought. What is there to do? I can't run away - This stupid thing will send me running back before too long. [ She waves her hand with its anchor-shard. ] And I'm not going to turn over the information. So.

[reshapes]

So? So what! [A scoff. Come on girl, where's you creativity?] Take it from me, a lifelong prisoner beholden to the whims of masters who want something specific - you always have options, and they never have you right where they want you unless you think they do.

[rathercommon]

Yeah?

[ She looks over at him miserably. ]

So what are my options here?

[reshapes]

[He counts off on his fingers:]

Tell someone you do trust about it so they can help you beat them to the punch by doing whatever it is you want to do with these people in Tevinter before Riftwatch gets to it. Skulk around and get blackmail on the division heads. Trade what you know about something else to get them to reconsider whatever it is they're considering. Drop a brick on each of them from very high up. Cut your hand off.

[rathercommon]

I'm not -

[ Okay, those are all options. But they're all terrible ones. ]

I'm not killing anyone. Or cutting my hand off. I doubt that'd even work.

[reshapes]

My point is, you need to find yourself a bit of leverage.

[rathercommon]

[ She shakes her head. ]

Yseult's some sort of - I think she's actually a professional spy. Flint's a pirate, there's no embarrassing him. And Thranduil - Thranduil's already on my side.

[reshapes]

Now we're getting somewhere. Are either of them on Thranduil's side?

[rathercommon]

Meaning...What? Do they like him?

[reshapes]

A gross simplification of the power dynamic, but yes. [An eye roll.] Do they like him?

[rathercommon]

I guess.

[ A little shrug. ]

Everyone likes Thranduil.

[ Kitty's good at lots of things. The subtleties of interpersonal politics is not one of those things. ]

[reshapes]

That's a start. Then the next step, seeing as you're too squeamish to deal with either of them directly, is find out what Thranduil has in common with both of them.

[rathercommon]

What, so he can try to convince them?

[reshapes]

You said he was on your side, didn't you? May as well see him properly armed if it's going to be two against one.

[rathercommon]

They don't trust me at all. They'd never let me get close enough to find out what they eat for lunch, never mind what they respect and value.

[ Of course...someone unknown to them might be able to get close. Unbidden, her eyes slide over to Bartimaeus -

And then she shakes her head and looks away again. ]

[reshapes]

[It's a good thing he enjoys the sound of his own voice so much so as not to notice that so he can merrily continue on his way deepening this hole he's digging.]

And you're going to let a little thing like that stop you? Honestly Kitty, what kind of secret rebel operative were you? The lying down kind? It's as if you've never learned how to snoop properly. If you can't do it, then find someone else who can. Half of those scoundrels on Riftwatch's roster list probably want the same kind of dirt on the Division Heads that you do.

[rathercommon]

[ A bit quietly: ]

I don't trust any of them.

[reshapes]

[Here, a pause as they make their way through a particularly cramped turn in Kirkwall's maze of back alleys. He looks at her askance.]

What - none of them?

[rathercommon]

I mean -

[ Maybe that's a little harsh. Lexie - Lexie's on her side. But Gwen...Gwen had immediately rushed to defend Flint. Hadn't even heard Kitty's side, not really. And she'd counted on her. She'd really counted on her, really trusted her. So honestly...Honestly, is Lexie even to be trusted, or is she just subtler about it? Quietly planning something else? Or - Or - And what about Nikos? Nikos is liberty-minded, too, but she'd thought that about Flint, and he'd...

She stops dead in her tracks and slumps backwards against a wall. She knows it's dramatic, and that she's being dramatic, but she feels like she just can't take it, that she needs to scream. ]

I don't know. I don't know. It feels like - like everyone's got an agenda, or secrets, and I thought I understood the people here but I guess I don't at all, and I just feel so stupid, Bartimaeus, and I just don't know. There are people who I really thought would help me but they're not, they're siding against me, and I don't know who I can count on except for -

[ Except for you. But that's so stupid, isn't it? ]

I don't know.

[reshapes]

[She stops and he draws up short in response, standing there half turned as if caught between the natural desire to keep moving and expect her to buck up and do the same and-- well whatever the opposite of that is, without the impulse to comfort. Yes, yes. It's all very sad.

But also, it's a little novel isn't it? Not the part where she's miserable - let's be honest, humans have an incredible capacity for it -, but the part where they're... well, where they're having a nice conversation about something that doesn't have anything to do with magicians or spirits or what he does or doesn't owe her. Hard for her, maybe, but that's not really his problem now is it?

Poor kid.

The boy shifts all the way back around to face her properly. He stands there in the narrow of the crooked alley and regards her with hands on hips. After a moment in which he allows her to wallow, Bartimaeus says:]

I hate to break it to you, but it sounds like you might have a few agendas and secrets of your own.