[IC] Swords Beneath the Starlight

At Milo's words, Sunny loses her smile again.



"I see." She says simply, turning away. "It is a failing on my end, then. I suppose it would make more sense for the toxins of falsehood to be subtle, rather than overt." She sighs. "My apologies. My upbringing pulls me further from the fact of the matter than I would like..." Sunny again pauses, hands balled up in front of her mouth.

"To hear those students beseeching Progress to save them..." Her voice grew quiet. "Had I taken a different path, it could have been me teaching them, me sending them out to this fate... Though would a truth from the inside be better?..." Her words sound more musing to herself than anything else. Sunny suddenly directs her words back to Milo, eyes sharp. "This is not His will, far from it. I thank you greatly for your insight. You're the only person here who can help me in this way."

Sunny takes a step back, then pivots on her heel, glancing at Milo as she does. "I need to... reflect on this. I am coming to realize that my path is far wider than participation in this war. But I again thank you. You've done more for me than you might realize." She offers him a warm smile, though her eyes bubble with ambition.

---

At Roland, Sunny just blinks. She takes an evident moment to work up a response.



"You'll... have to forgive my hesitation, your highness. It's... not frequent, really, that I'm invited to explain myself. Closer to never, in actuality, but I've come to see this as just another hurdle to overcome." Now that she's talking again, Sunny smiles and seems to get back into the groove of things.



"In my limited time outside of the Republic, I've found it much easier to simply offer my life as collateral." That draws a chuckle from her. "It's much easier to offer my services if I'm able to be cut off at any point. And before I continue, in fact, I'll offer the same to you! I mentioned earlier that you may do with me as you see fit, and I mean it! If you think of me as a threat, you may deal with that in any way you must, though I must reiterate that I mean you no harm. I see you and your allies as just that: allies."

"Ah, but I've moved away from the matter at hand." She clears her throat and runs a hand over her shirt. "Like any religion, the worship of Progress has its own intricacies, and while I would love to speak of everything I know, I get the feeling that doing so would mean... nothing to you. So! There are many different topics I could cover. Ones that come to mind are some blessings of Progress Himself, basic relationship values between Progress and Nature, topics of cycles, the importance of balance..." She rattles a few things off, then turns to Roland.

"I don't think I should take up your time with too much talk. After all, your attendants may think of me as an even bigger threat than they already might! If you're interested in some talk now, I can share one of those topics with you, and we can perhaps continue this discussion later, if you don't tire of me by then!"