As much as I'd like to say there's nothing to worry about, I don't think you're wrong.
[With Amaya dead and no clear motive, it's hard to say what would set people off now. There's a small pause at the question though, as his smile drops.]
...I'm not sure. But that doesn't mean much from someone else on the suspect list, does it?
Not at all. But it was not the best act of protestation.
[ Ha. She nods, looking away]
It was easier to hear people call me Kimberly when I was doing things I didn't want to do. That way 'Nala' could be safe, and the people who loved her wouldn't be disappointed in her.
[It is true that sort of assertion wouldn't have been the best defense, with how caught up they were over the written symbol. Even so, knowing it now does help, however uncertain the outcome may be tomorrow.]
So that was your way of coping with it. [...] I'll admit I don't know much about your past, but love isn't about accepting the parts you like and discarding the rest. If they've accepted you as they are, they should be able to accept 'Kimberly', too.
[If it's been something weighing on her for a long time, that's understandable; natural, even.]
...Well, I'm not saying you have to force yourself to change. Just think of it as an observation from someone who's heard one too many corny lines lately. But for whatever it's worth, most people here seem pretty open-minded.
[So if she wants to talk, people will probably listen.]
I’m no Hansa, but I’m no stranger to stories of checkered pasts. That said, even I have my limits… Although, I suppose you won’t know unless you give it a go. How about it?
[And since it seems like it could be a long story, he goes to pull out a chair so this conversation isn’t happening while they’re both on their feet. He inclines his head slightly in the direction of another chair, but he won’t insist on it if she doesn’t want to. Regardless, he will listen patiently without interrupting as long as she has something she feels she wants to say.]
She was wonderfully kind to me, she was always so supportive and gentle...but to the rest of the world, she'll be remembered as the villain of the worst kind, a sell-out who played with state secrets for the fun of it all.
[Hmmm]
And because of her, people decided that my kind had to be hunted down and exterminated.
[Treason, it sounds like, and while the penalties for such a betrayal could be quite severe, there's executing a traitor and then there's condoning an outright massacre. Then again, it wouldn't be the first time people have used such pretexts for advancing some other agenda.]
That's rather extreme. [His gaze flickers to her claws, but only for a moment.] Just what were they so afraid of?
We're strong. Not just physically, we have artes that let us influence people. There was once a man who accused me of ensnaring a whole town with my voice, once, and that's why my bounty was so high. [Her voice goes distant] He ordered his soldiers to kill anyone who tried to protect me.
[For a moment, he thinks back to the sight of bodies strewn carelessly on stained concrete, limbs and torsos riddled by bullets as they lay cooling in pools of their own blood. It's not worth comparing terrorists to the elderly she's speaking of, but his mind automatically makes the connection regardless. They could only be described as massacres, after all.]
Do you feel responsible for what happened to them?
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2025-11-26 10:09 am (UTC)[Nala fidgets, looking uncertain]
Hey. Do you think I did it?
no subject
Date: 2025-11-27 06:11 am (UTC)[With Amaya dead and no clear motive, it's hard to say what would set people off now. There's a small pause at the question though, as his smile drops.]
...I'm not sure. But that doesn't mean much from someone else on the suspect list, does it?
no subject
Date: 2025-11-27 11:45 am (UTC)Maybe not. But I have a hard time believing you did it at all.
no subject
Date: 2025-11-28 05:09 am (UTC)I appreciate the vote of confidence. [...] You said before that you knew how to defend yourself. How do you usually fight?
no subject
Date: 2025-11-28 05:12 am (UTC)[She closes her eyes and thinks. Then she picks up a cup and tightens her fist. It shatters in her hands as she studies Wazy with a tilt of her head]
I only need myself. No tricks or weapons. Normally my orders are...snap their neck 'Kimberly'.
no subject
Date: 2025-11-29 04:33 am (UTC)So you wouldn't need anything as crude as a pot to finish someone off. [He looks considering for a moment.] Is Kimberly an alias of yours?
no subject
Date: 2025-11-29 04:36 am (UTC)[ Ha. She nods, looking away]
It was easier to hear people call me Kimberly when I was doing things I didn't want to do. That way 'Nala' could be safe, and the people who loved her wouldn't be disappointed in her.
no subject
Date: 2025-12-01 06:07 am (UTC)So that was your way of coping with it. [...] I'll admit I don't know much about your past, but love isn't about accepting the parts you like and discarding the rest. If they've accepted you as they are, they should be able to accept 'Kimberly', too.
no subject
Date: 2025-12-01 07:07 am (UTC)...I know they would. They accepted me even when the world was hunting me down. But even so...I feel scared.
[Terror is still gripping her now]
no subject
Date: 2025-12-03 04:32 am (UTC)...Well, I'm not saying you have to force yourself to change. Just think of it as an observation from someone who's heard one too many corny lines lately. But for whatever it's worth, most people here seem pretty open-minded.
[So if she wants to talk, people will probably listen.]
no subject
Date: 2025-12-03 09:17 am (UTC)...what about you?
no subject
Date: 2025-12-04 11:12 pm (UTC)I’m no Hansa, but I’m no stranger to stories of checkered pasts. That said, even I have my limits… Although, I suppose you won’t know unless you give it a go. How about it?
no subject
Date: 2025-12-05 01:47 am (UTC)I can try. If you're open to it.
no subject
Date: 2025-12-05 02:15 pm (UTC)[And since it seems like it could be a long story, he goes to pull out a chair so this conversation isn’t happening while they’re both on their feet. He inclines his head slightly in the direction of another chair, but he won’t insist on it if she doesn’t want to. Regardless, he will listen patiently without interrupting as long as she has something she feels she wants to say.]
no subject
Date: 2025-12-06 11:00 am (UTC)Hmmm...I suppose it all started with my twin sister.
no subject
Date: 2025-12-06 04:33 pm (UTC)I didn’t realize you had a sister. What was she like?
no subject
Date: 2025-12-06 09:31 pm (UTC)[Hmmm]
And because of her, people decided that my kind had to be hunted down and exterminated.
no subject
Date: 2025-12-09 07:17 am (UTC)That's rather extreme. [His gaze flickers to her claws, but only for a moment.] Just what were they so afraid of?
no subject
Date: 2025-12-09 10:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-12-11 06:32 am (UTC)...And what did you do in response?
[Run? Or...]
no subject
Date: 2025-12-11 07:11 am (UTC)[ studying her nails]
Maybe I should be glad he didn't think of using any commands
no subject
Date: 2025-12-16 05:53 am (UTC)[That's what it all seems to be leading up to, at least.]
Did they manage to free you in the end?
no subject
Date: 2025-12-16 11:30 am (UTC)[ with wrinkles and lines in their faces Nala had come to appreciate how they told stories about the passage of time]
no subject
Date: 2025-12-18 04:48 am (UTC)[For a moment, he thinks back to the sight of bodies strewn carelessly on stained concrete, limbs and torsos riddled by bullets as they lay cooling in pools of their own blood. It's not worth comparing terrorists to the elderly she's speaking of, but his mind automatically makes the connection regardless. They could only be described as massacres, after all.]
Do you feel responsible for what happened to them?