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( good. she's contented in natsuno taking her advice, and can now just only sit back and watch. hope it wasn't in vain and her impression of vance hopper wasn't too far off the mark. she makes a mental note to check in on him soon, then literally sits back — leaves mizuki's friendship bracelet in one hand, and slides the other back on the mattress to lean on. )

That's good. To take your time. Just — don't forget why we were all there.

( and mildly circling around to an earlier point: ) In the end, it doesn't matter if Tayrey just wants to run. We don't need everyone around to finish him off, but we need whatever they can offer to even get to that point.

[Natsuno nods, feeling slightly better. He'll talk to Vance and then focus on making his mind about the others. Take his time, but not too much.]

That's true.

What do you think about Tayrey and Cassandra?

( clarke takes his nod as assent and cooperation. she makes the mental note to reach out to vance in the following week, preferably in person, and take a beat on where he stands after learning their best estimation of the truth. but for now: )

Tayrey is... rigid. Like you said, the way she doesn't believe in impossible magic that's staring her right in the face is difficult. ( sort of like rita not believing in ghosts until they were trying to kill them all in october, but she doesn't bring that up. ) But she's incredibly driven. We don't need her to believe everything in order for her to be useful.

Cassandra is ( admittedly a little more an enigma. clarke remembers sitting on the floor of tauva with the other woman and marveling over spoons and ice cream. that's a nicely hazed memory, but absolutely useless in reality. ) ...polite and firm. I don't see anyone swaying her from her ideals. And I hope no one does. I'm... wary. But I think she could be the second person you tell.

( and now it's his turn. ) What do you think about Dimitri and Dedue?

[Natsuno is less charitable when it comes to Tayrey, but - she is on their side, and he agrees with Clarke's assessment of Cass. She wears courtesy like a mask, but she's firm and honest. She can be as rigid as Tayrey when it comes to collecting information, but her experience with magic and the supernatural makes her easier to talk to.]

Dimitri's heart is in the right place, but he's emotional. His objections to binding the captain sound more idealistic than practical, so that can be a problem with the others, but like you said about Tayrey - we don't need to agree on everything for him to be useful. Dedue... he's pretty quiet, but he and Dimitri seem close and will probably keep presenting a united front.

( the charity train just keeps derailing, because clarke's even less sold on dimitri and dedue — simply by never having had a one on one conversation with either — than ari and cass. but she also agrees with natsuno's assessment and hums. )

Dimitri was quite emotional in the desert. ( this comment smacks of unimpressed. she'd been driving mostly, but in the rearview mirror he'd seemed absolutely unable to be reasoned with. and then fell off the fucking rover. one can be as good hearted and idealistic as humanly possible, and still be a liability. but every cause needs its soldiers.

as for the other — )

I don't know how to feel about Dedue offering protection to Darcy and Skulduggery. I'd really like this to end without bloodshed, but it — ( is starting to feel inevitable, now different parties have formed and each staked their flag on the hills they're willing to die on. but clarke doesn't say that, she just pauses and gives a weak attempt at a humorous huff. ) Feels like only a matter of time before Darcy just punches me in the face. Am I not allowed to hit her back now?

He was a mess in the desert.

[It's been six months, but they have no way of knowing if he managed to pull himself together since.]

I think that Darcy won't let him protect her if she punches you in the face. She's the type to want to beat someone into submission on her own.

Anyway, it just means that Dedue doesn't want Skulduggery murdered, not that he agrees with him. And since murdering Skulduggery means retribution from the captain, one passenger's declaration isn't going to change things.

( okay but that's like, fucking hilariously accurate in the middle of an otherwise tense conversation. and clarke outright snorts; rolls her eyes and allows the rueful smirk to curve at the edges of her mouth. eventually fist fighting darcy is un-scratched out from her to do list, because natsuno is absolutely correct in his assessment.

but weird moment of levity done. back to seriousness, and the topic of retribution. )

Honestly surprised I made it ten feet from him after the rib thing, but — yeah, you're right. It'd be stupid to ignore the crossover of ideals and friendships on this ship. Being at odds with the people you care about is awful, though.

( ... )

I'm still sorry. About... what happened at the Bridge. ( and she looks at him carefully, like even a wrong glance might cause his skin to start callousing over and sloughing off again. ) I won't do that again.

It's my fault as much as it yours. [He chose to push the plunger.] But apology accepted.

[He's not fully recovered yet, a slight feverish glint lingering in his eyes even when he's just sitting on the bed. But there's no lasting damage and his body made the foreign substance its own. Natsuno hopes the residual illness will go away soon.]

When you say you won't do that again... [He looks her in the eye, serious.] Do you mean doing something this reckless, or telling me you're doing something reckless?

( there is a pause that stretches so long it'd be comical if not for the weight of the conversation....... then: )

I'll tell you next time. I promise.

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