shenevermisses | 16th Throw - [ written / action ]

[Written:]

I want to work for the Malnosso. [It's written because she wants to say it, but she doesn't trust her voice.]

I want to be out of this enclosure, working for them. Especially on the battlefield. If they'd just let me, my knives are theirs.

I hate this waiting. Hate it. Sure, time to heal after the fight. Time to rest. But I know how this goes. How long it'll be before I have a knife in my hand for anything other than hunting. Before I get to really fight again.

I hate it.

Why can we just sign up? Go into battle and let that be that. Leave us there, provide supplies, die and come back again and again. I'm useful in a fight. Sitting around here? It's pointless.

[Action:

Clove hasn't spent much time at the apartment. She's been holed up at the camp she established when she first came.

Tonight, for the first time since she got back, there's a fire. Plenty of kindling and proper logs, but also... ball and oval-like bits of wood being thrown in.

All the carving she'd done when Cato had been worrying about her? It's all going into the fire now. Burning.

It was stupid to do it. To pretend she could have something other than battle. She knows now, better than she did before maybe-- that's all she's good for.]

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Do you believe that anyone here would have reason to?

[Her question is asked with a neutral tone. She's not going to dismiss Clove's concerns, because Konan has her own healthy level of paranoia to contend with. Still, that's more mistrustful than most. Even Konan has a few people she puts some trust in, here.

It puts her in mind of Naruto's words, and how they reflected those of the man who taught them both at different points. Peace will come when people can understand and learn to trust one another.]

In any case, I would be willing to help you with your training.

Yes.

[It's a simple reply, but it's loaded. She has every reason to fear that someone -- anyone -- might try to kill her. Might want to kill her. Now that the secret's out -- to one person, but she isn't sure how many know it -- everyone is a potential enemy.]

Anyone in particular?

[It's a mindset Konan understands all too well, which is why she won't tell Clove it's silly to think that way. Instead, she'll just encourage her to share what she's willing to share and leave it be when it's clear that Clove doesn't want to talk about it anymore.]

For what it's worth, there is only one person I want to kill and he is not here in Luceti.

[It's stated very matter of factly. She knows better than to tell someone who's developed that kind of paranoia to trust her, but there's no harm in assuring Clove that she doesn't intend to kill her.]

Yes. Possibly more than one person.

[But she'll leave it at that. It's better not to go into it.]

Maybe we'll train together. Later. [When she's better suited to handle this. All of it. Whatever it is.]

Do you have an escape plan worked out, if need be?

[She won't ask what it is - that is Clove's business. But perhaps it may help her nerves to come up with a plan. Better than to leave things up to chance and the unknown.]

Fight like hell.

[What else can she do?]

I meant more in the sense of plotting an escape route and possible places you could run to.

[Fighting like hell was for when one had no other choice. Why expend needless energy when you can set up traps for your opponents instead?]

I can teach you to build simple traps for the possible points of entry into your home, if you would like.

[She waits for a moment, thinks about it, and then--]

If there's an attack against me, it won't be just one person. They... have a lot of allies here. So there won't be anywhere to run.

All the more reason to set up effective traps around the entry points of your home and to know how to disable them. I would also recommend making use of the community housing hallways as part of your escape plan - it makes it harder for people to surround you from all angles that way.

[At the very least, they couldn't come in from the sides, and they'd have to have thought ahead about blocking possible escape routes.]

Unless they live in those rooms.

[She doesn't know who her enemies tally to, how many of them there are at final count. That makes her particularly uneasy. Because, for all she knows... the whole of the village could turn on her.]

Do you know their names?

[Knowledge of their names means being able to look up their addresses, unless they're as paranoid as Konan is.]

No. They're all allies of one enemy, and I don't know how many there are or who they are.

If you ever need a place to hide from them, you are welcome to stay with me.

[She won't assure her that she'll be perfectly safe, because for someone who's lived in violent conditions, there's no such thing. Still, she'll offer because she knows what it's like to be alone and aware that any number of people may be out to kill her.]

I'm quite capable of making trespassers regret bothering me, and you wouldn't be in a place where they would expect to find you.

[It takes a long time for the words to come, but they're utterly sincere.]

...Thank you, Konan.

You're welcome, Clove. I can come and meet you, if you would like.

[If there are people who are out to get Clove, they may be less brazen if someone is there with her. If not, some company may be reassuring.]

I'll be fine for now. If I think they're coming, I'll let you know.

All right. Get some rest if you can.

16th Throw - [ written / action ]

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