Is there something specific you had in mind with this "careful testing"?
[ Because he'll admit, he's curious. ]
Yeah, godhood aside the whole living forever thing isn't really something I'm interested in either. I have to imagine that's the case for most of us.
[ His muddled memories tell him he thought that way even as he'd started to age more and more, without actually aging physically. Maybe humans just weren't meant to live that long, and so they'd had no choice to become something else. ]
Honestly? I wish. For as magnanimous as the Free Cities claims to be towards us, there's too many unknowns yet about where exactly the boundary is in what we're allowed to do for lack of a better term. The first step would be prodding along that to find out where it is, though even the options from there are endless. Then again, the extremely public hanging from a few months ago comes to mind with those possibilities.
[ He's not forgotten about that, nor is that a risk he's willing to take for himself or anyone else. ]
The easiest way would be to get involved with the military but I don't think I need to expand on my reservations with that when I know we both share them. Aside from that, the next logical step would be to find some other sort of in with the government if we have a few centuries ahead of us to spare. Those are risky odds, though, and the last thing I'd want to do is endanger anyone here.
I feel like they must know how bad of an idea it would be to publicly target any of us like that, but I don't blame you for being concerned about it. I wonder if using the Conclave to test our limits is the best option, although that means all of us have to be on the same page.
[ It means all of them, as a group, would be implicated in those choices. Which is a double-edged sword from Steve's perspective. ]
Finding an in to the government might be something you could do without the rest of the Summoned getting dragged into it, but it's a dangerous road either way. On the other hand, it would get us a little closer to the inner workings of the Free Cities.
[ If anyone could handle that sort of balancing act, it would be Claude. ]
They likely do, but my worry is there'll come a point where they no longer care as they've decided what they want to do will be worth it. Should we ever get to a point where tensions are openly rising again, I suppose we'll find out.
I've thought about the options, and should the Conclave ever make way for real changes I'd hate to risk that for anyone else or anything in the future unless it was something everyone was on board with happening. If not, it'd have to be something separate and carefully thought out for an extended plan. Or perhaps I'm overthinking it since we have being here for a while now on our side as a bit of trustworthiness at this point.
It feels like that might happen sooner rather than later, but on the other hand, it also feels like we've been on the brink of war for a while now.
[ Meaning it's hard to say for certain what might await them. That's kind of the whole problem. ]
Yeah, it's hard to know just how much people like Reiner trust us or our opinions. It's not like Solvunn where the Summoned are revered. We feel a lot more like we're just pieces on a chessboard to them. Still, we do have some kind of bargaining power just by nature of being Summoned, I think.
It does. At this point I think we're just waiting for who will make the move into that again when there's only so long the last mediation can hold.
[ Truthfully, it's sort of impressive to Claude that it's held this long. But maybe he could work on being less cynical, just a little bit. Maybe. ]
Sometimes I'm torn between whether Solvunn would be better or worse. Better for the fact that it'd likely be easier to get what we wanted to know, but worse because of... well, whatever it is Solvunn has going on there. Us being chess pieces here is a good description of exactly what it feels like, though. All the more reason to find what to do ourselves before we get played in whatever Reiner's next move might be.
[ Steve is also pretty surprised it's held this long, but it makes him wonder if it will only be more explosive when things come to a head again. He hates being on tenterhooks, waiting for the other shoe to drop, but he's not going to reiterate what he and Claude already know. ]
Especially after everything that we just experienced with supposedly being worshipped, I gotta say that I prefer how things are here in the Free Cities, even if it means that we're going to have to work harder to get a seat at the table.
You and me both. I'll take that over feeling like somehow that cult was right and there is something we're supposed to be ascending to, much as I don't believe it and want to avoid it as we've spoken of here. But while I don't believe that the Free Cities isn't keeping a close watch on us of their own, perhaps it'll mean it'll be all the easier to leverage what they know about us when the time is right.
If I hear of anything happening now that we're back, you'll be the first I'll let know.
[ Which maybe goes without saying, in some ways, given how they've worked together on various things - and while this would be something different yet, there's no hesitation in Claude's mind about keeping Steve in the loop now or any other time. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[ Because he'll admit, he's curious. ]
Yeah, godhood aside the whole living forever thing isn't really something I'm interested in either. I have to imagine that's the case for most of us.
[ His muddled memories tell him he thought that way even as he'd started to age more and more, without actually aging physically. Maybe humans just weren't meant to live that long, and so they'd had no choice to become something else. ]
no subject
[ He's not forgotten about that, nor is that a risk he's willing to take for himself or anyone else. ]
The easiest way would be to get involved with the military but I don't think I need to expand on my reservations with that when I know we both share them. Aside from that, the next logical step would be to find some other sort of in with the government if we have a few centuries ahead of us to spare. Those are risky odds, though, and the last thing I'd want to do is endanger anyone here.
no subject
[ It means all of them, as a group, would be implicated in those choices. Which is a double-edged sword from Steve's perspective. ]
Finding an in to the government might be something you could do without the rest of the Summoned getting dragged into it, but it's a dangerous road either way. On the other hand, it would get us a little closer to the inner workings of the Free Cities.
[ If anyone could handle that sort of balancing act, it would be Claude. ]
no subject
I've thought about the options, and should the Conclave ever make way for real changes I'd hate to risk that for anyone else or anything in the future unless it was something everyone was on board with happening. If not, it'd have to be something separate and carefully thought out for an extended plan. Or perhaps I'm overthinking it since we have being here for a while now on our side as a bit of trustworthiness at this point.
no subject
[ Meaning it's hard to say for certain what might await them. That's kind of the whole problem. ]
Yeah, it's hard to know just how much people like Reiner trust us or our opinions. It's not like Solvunn where the Summoned are revered. We feel a lot more like we're just pieces on a chessboard to them. Still, we do have some kind of bargaining power just by nature of being Summoned, I think.
no subject
[ Truthfully, it's sort of impressive to Claude that it's held this long. But maybe he could work on being less cynical, just a little bit. Maybe. ]
Sometimes I'm torn between whether Solvunn would be better or worse. Better for the fact that it'd likely be easier to get what we wanted to know, but worse because of... well, whatever it is Solvunn has going on there. Us being chess pieces here is a good description of exactly what it feels like, though. All the more reason to find what to do ourselves before we get played in whatever Reiner's next move might be.
no subject
Especially after everything that we just experienced with supposedly being worshipped, I gotta say that I prefer how things are here in the Free Cities, even if it means that we're going to have to work harder to get a seat at the table.
no subject
If I hear of anything happening now that we're back, you'll be the first I'll let know.
[ Which maybe goes without saying, in some ways, given how they've worked together on various things - and while this would be something different yet, there's no hesitation in Claude's mind about keeping Steve in the loop now or any other time. ]
no subject
[ But they've talked about that at length, too. ]
Sounds good. I'll do the same. Thanks, Claude, and I'm sure I'll see you around either way.
[ He's at the inn frequently enough that they're sure to cross paths. ]