Board Thread:Role Plays/@comment-5999656-20151212055542/@comment-5999656-20160321052311

(Eyy everyone. I actually typed up a whole response yesterday, but then clicked 'cancel' instead of 'reply' and my effortfully written response poofed into nothingness, leaving me rather disappointed. Anyway, here's take two! I hope we can get on to the main attack soon :) I'm free to help control NPCs since now it's just my one OC.)

Fen tensed slightly at Brunhilde's proposal, but she remained staring back at the mysterious woman. Kill Cyzarine in exchange for freedom, huh? Sounded like a lucrative deal, in this position, who could possibly refuse? But it was out of the question for several reasons. Why not detail them out loud? She crossed her arms and cocked her head to the side.

"That makes no sense."

To the extent of the young heiress's knowledge, her parents' connections consisted merely of business partners and nothing more. The only times they every gathered were for work, or occasionally, high-end parties every now and then. So what the hell could the woman be going on about?

"A network of entrepreneurs and investors can't help me here, if that's what you mean," Fen said wryly. Her strategy was being pragmatic, not morally upright. So those were the types of arguments she would choose.

"If i die, there will be no 'fluctuations'. My life isn't worth anything on the market. But onwards."

Fen knew her friends well enough to have surmised that they had reacted strongly to her disappearance and had probably notified authorities not long after she'd been kidnapped. But they weren't so reckless or resourceful as to try and rescue her themselves. Instead, it seemed likely that at least a few of the organizations pulled into the mall incident had taken steps to eliminate their new, common enemy. And it was a waste of time and energy for a well-armed PMC to go after a few teenagers. Unless their strategy was to launch a full-out assault on beacon Academy, which was literal suicide on their part.

''Man, but this woman's argument is full of flaws. What, is she trying to scare me?''

Fen had been terrified at first, but after days of nothing happening, she'd come to the conclusion that she was valuable for some reason to this group, and that was providing her with some form of protection. But why? Of course if she pushed it too far here it'd place her back into jeopardy, but somehow she felt that her refutation had to continue. All the fear had faded and been replaced with a cold observant demeanor. Where it'd come from, Fen had no idea.

"I will not take care of Cyzarine. Do I really look like I'm in any position to be babysitting a deranged, dependent teenager? Do it yourself. I'm sure you have people to spare for that if it's so important". Fen's eyes narrowed. "I don't see any need for me to kill her either. Why would you trust me with such a crucial task? Me, an unreliable and inexperienced executioner? Like I said, do it yourself. "

 ''There'd be no way anyone outside would know about Cyzarine's death if she were quitely offed. Why are they so keen on making everything real? Illusions can be just as powerful.''

Even if it was for freedom, the murder of Cyzarine by Fen's hands would massively tarnish her own reputation, and by extension her chances of achieving success and forging her own connections in the future. it would be a public relations nightmare. She could not live with such a burden, nor with an unbreakable relationship to the Bluthardts as a result of it. ''So yeah, I killed your daughter to survive, so what, deal with it? ''Hell no.

Of course, all these elaborate points were just an attempt by the heiress to conceal her true reasons for not wanting to stoop to such disloyalty. To forgo any sort of moral code would be to define herself as a force of evil, which Fen swore she would never do. Just because she had no personal concern for the girl didn't mean she would be the one to seal her coffin.

"I'd be a fool to think that was your real reason for keeping me here. It's uncontrolled and flimsy. If I'm being held for ransom, then there's no need to make up other reasons. So then, Brunhilde: why am I really here?"

''That's some weak a.f. glass right there. ''If all it took was a tap from a finger with a pointy metal bit to dent it, then would it withstand the force of a full blow? Probably not. Brunhilde had revealed a real load of weaknesses in their setup with her efforts to sound intimidating. How helpful of her. On the other hand, perhaps this was all an overly-elaborate ploy to draw her to a false conclusion? But seriously, what was there to be gained from letting a prisoner have a chance to escape?

"Nice drawing, by the way," Fen nodded at the fading pawn. "Is that supposed to be you?"

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Okay, so she was actually pretty pissed at being held here indefinitely. And somehow it registered to her that she had gone too far, but she didn't care. Her sporadic recklessness hadn't changed.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">''Let's have something happen already. ''

<p style="font-weight:normal;">__________________________

<p style="font-weight:normal;">What Fen said was true. There was no organization stepping up to save her. Zanipher "Daybreak" Hei'An had pondered the idea of getting involved, but decided that it wasn't worth risking her family, connections, and business to rescue a sister who she didn't know personally yet. Better to let the situation play out and the government to retake control before making any steps forward. Thus the Daybreak Syndicate and The Nine Dragons of Vale continued business as usual.