The Knights Next Door

[Lunamor she/her]

3 hours ago, Eluvianii said:

Twinkle almost started flying up to tell Ed someone was talking to him, before she realized the other spren was addressing her. That had been a whisper too, she figured Ed wasn't supposed to hear.

This was a first for her. She didn't talk to the other spren much, or the other Radiants for that matter, partly because Ed wasn't that social to begin with. It was a good opportunity.

After making sure he hadn't realized anything, she went down to where Glint was waiting. 

"Hi, Glint. Is something wrong?" she said, lowering her voice too.

@Lunamor

Twinkle was ok. Edwin wasn’t a murderer. Glint paused for a moment, unsure how best to answer Twinkle’s question. Things were bad, but nothing appeared to be wrong with Twinkle.

”Things are very wrong, so I needed to check that you weren’t dead. You are not, so that is one not-wrong thing!”

That seemed sufficiently tactful to him. He’d added that last bit in an attempt to be cheerful. Now that there was less risk of Edwin hearing, Glint’s voice had stopped shaking.

”Are you hurt?”

He hadn’t heard of a radiant hurting their spren before without killing, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t possible.

Edited April 13, 2024 by Lunamor

[Eluvianii he/him]

"No, of course not, why would I-" Twinkle hurried to answer, but trailed off.

The question wasn't really worth asking, was it? She just had to look around. Rob had betrayed everyone, but one person above all of them. His spren.

Cup was no more, and Twinkle had avoided thinking about it. And who was to say it wouldn't happen to the rest of them?

Ed is not like that though.

Cup must have thought the same about Rob.

Rob probably felt backed into a corner. He must have thought he had no choice, like I told Ed.

And how do you know he will never feel like that too?

I know him well, he won't.

You know him? When did you bond, four months ago? Humans hide things. And even if he isn't, they change.

If that happens, so be it.

...

The other voice finally shut up.

So be it.

"I-" she started. "I'll be careful." she had been whispering the whole time but the sound now came out even quieter than before. It was barely audible.

"Are you alright, Glint?" she said. "I-I mean, I'm not implying-" she trailed off again. I'm not implying I suspect Ben of anything. She couldn't bring herself to finish.

Quote

This actually took a while to write. Doubt wasn't in my plans but I admit it's fun. So yeah, thanks.

@Lunamor

[Lunamor she/her]

6 hours ago, Eluvianii said:

"No, of course not, why would I-" Twinkle hurried to answer, but trailed off.

The question wasn't really worth asking, was it? She just had to look around. Rob had betrayed everyone, but one person above all of them. His spren.

Cup was no more, and Twinkle had avoided thinking about it. And who was to say it wouldn't happen to the rest of them?

Ed is not like that though.

Cup must have thought the same about Rob.

Rob probably felt backed into a corner. He must have thought he had no choice, like I told Ed.

And how do you know he will never feel like that too?

I know him well, he won't.

You know him? When did you bond, four months ago? Humans hide things. And even if he isn't, they change.

If that happens, so be it.

...

The other voice finally shut up.

So be it.

"I-" she started. "I'll be careful." she had been whispering the whole time but the sound now came out even quieter than before. It was barely audible.

"Are you alright, Glint?" she said. "I-I mean, I'm not implying-" she trailed off again. I'm not implying I suspect Ben of anything. She couldn't bring herself to finish.

@Lunamor

“I’m alright!”

Glint pulsed slightly brighter, both at Twinkle being alright and her willingness to be careful. Thinking more about what he had said, however, he dimmed again. He’d lied. Cup was dead.

“Well, not alright. I am very sad.”

Had Twinkle been implying that Ben would hurt Glint? He briefly felt indignant about that before realizing that he had just implied the same thing about Edwin.

He could trust Ben. Ben didn’t hurt people like Rob had. Like all of the others did, or were at least supposed to… So many radiants were made for violence… Sometimes Ben made Glint be a sword, but he didn’t hurt people with him. He preferred him as a shield.

Edwin wasn’t strong enough to know how to hurt people very well, yet. Cassie could, though only recently. James could, but Glint doubted he’d be able to kill the Nightwatcher. And Shana… her purpose was killing. But Ben loved her. Mahad loved her. Rob had loved her too. But Rob had seemed to like Ben… this was so confusing.

Edited April 14, 2024 by Lunamor
Made Glint less extreme

[AonEne he/him]

On 4/4/2024 at 6:29 PM, Wyndlerunner said:

James walked over to where Cassie was standing, across the remains of what had once been his room, and gave her a weak smile. "Hey, Cassie" he said, "Could I talk to you in private for a minute?"

"Yeah, of course," she said, turning to face him and attempting to make a similar expression. She still held a little Stormlight - somehow she used it more efficiently now - and wasn't physically tired, but...it had been quite the day. She stopped even trying to smile, sure it just looked like a grimace, and nodded toward the hall. "Downstairs?" 

[Wyndlerunner he/him]

23 hours ago, AonEne said:

"Yeah, of course," she said, turning to face him and attempting to make a similar expression. She still held a little Stormlight - somehow she used it more efficiently now - and wasn't physically tired, but...it had been quite the day. She stopped even trying to smile, sure it just looked like a grimace, and nodded toward the hall. "Downstairs?" 

"Yeah," James agreed, "probably not too good for any of us to stay here in this room at the moment." 

As James moved out of the doorway and into the hall, he let himself release. The brave face he'd been putting on for the others now shattered, his true exhaustion and confusion plain for anyone to see. He would let Cassie see him like this. She would understand. 

[Eluvianii he/him]

On 4/13/2024 at 3:07 PM, Lunamor said:

“I’m alright!”

Glint pulsed slightly brighter, both at Twinkle being alright and her willingness to be careful. Thinking more about what he had said, however, he dimmed again. He’d lied. Cup was dead.

“Well, not alright. I am very sad.”

Had Twinkle been implying that Ben would hurt Glint? He briefly felt indignant about that before realizing that he had just implied the same thing about Edwin.

He could trust Ben. Ben didn’t hurt people like Rob had. Like all of the others did, or were at least supposed to… So many radiants were made for violence… Sometimes Ben made Glint be a sword, but he didn’t hurt people with him. He preferred him as a shield.

Edwin wasn’t strong enough to know how to hurt people very well, yet. Cassie could, though only recently. James could, but Glint doubted he’d be able to kill the Nightwatcher. And Shana… her purpose was killing. But Ben loved her. Mahad loved her. Rob had loved her too. But Rob had seemed to like Ben… this was so confusing.

Twinkle paused for a moment, at a loss for words. Well of course he'd be sad, the loss, the betrayal. The killing. Things weren't supposed to be like that in a group. 

"I think. The others probably feel the same. We should probably be careful of course." Her voice lowered to a whisper at the end. Saying that stil felt wrong after all. She shook her head before coninuing. "But I still want to be there for Ed, well, for everyone. We already got one trai- We. Lost two friends already. I don't want to distrust the ones we have left." 

After a moment, she kept talking, not wanting to end on such a sour note. "And I mean, this is our job, right? We're not much use going with our knights to prom." She made a sound at the end, hoping it sounded like a laugh. 

Edited May 19, 2024 by Eluvianii

[Lunamor she/her]

24 minutes ago, Eluvianii said:

Twinkle paused for a moment, at a loss for words. Well of course he'd be sad, the loss, the betrayal. The killing. Things weren't supposed to be like that in a group. 

"I think. The others probably feel the same. We should probably be careful of course." Her voice lowered to a whisper at the end. Saying that stil felt wrong after all. She shook her head before coninuing. "But I still want to be there for Ed, well, for everyone. We already got one trai- We. Lost two friends already. I don't want to distrust the ones we have left." 

After a moment, she kept talking, not wanting to end on such a sour note. "And I mean, this is our job, right? We're not much use going with our knights to prom." She made a sound at the end, hoping it sounded like a laugh. 

Was that a laugh? You were supposed to laugh when other people laughed, right? Ben tended to laugh whenever other people did. Glint attempted to imitate the sound that Twinkle made. The noise he produced sounded vaguely like a laugh if a laugh was someone slamming wind chimes against concrete.

Glint then remembered that you weren’t supposed to laugh when you were sad, so he sniffled again to cancel it out.

”You are right. Not trusting isn’t fun. But humans are scary. Violence is scary, too. That makes violent humans extra scary.”

He brightened slightly.

”Maybe we can politely ask them to not be violent. Humans respond positively to the word please.”

If they quit being violent, then they logically wouldn’t be inclined to hurt their spren.

Edited May 19, 2024 by Lunamor

[AonEne he/him]

On 5/18/2024 at 10:36 PM, Wyndlerunner said:

"Yeah," James agreed, "probably not too good for any of us to stay here in this room at the moment." 

As James moved out of the doorway and into the hall, he let himself release. The brave face he'd been putting on for the others now shattered, his true exhaustion and confusion plain for anyone to see. He would let Cassie see him like this. She would understand. 

Cassie huffed out a half-laugh-half-groan when they were out. "Wow. Wow. What even was that." It was more rhetorical than genuine - they'd all seen the same thing, and James probably didn't have any more information than she did; she just needed to say something. "Why would Rob..."

She trailed off, closed her eyes, breathed out, looked up at James again. "Right, okay. We've got this," she said resolutely as they started downstairs. "What did you want to talk about? Other than what just happened, I mean, more specifically." 

[Wyndlerunner he/him]

On 7/25/2024 at 6:21 PM, AonEne said:

Cassie huffed out a half-laugh-half-groan when they were out. "Wow. Wow. What even was that." It was more rhetorical than genuine - they'd all seen the same thing, and James probably didn't have any more information than she did; she just needed to say something. "Why would Rob..."

She trailed off, closed her eyes, breathed out, looked up at James again. "Right, okay. We've got this," she said resolutely as they started downstairs. "What did you want to talk about? Other than what just happened, I mean, more specifically." 

James looked at her as they walked, and let the tears fall. "I don't know what we're doing Cassie" he said in a voice just above a whisper, "I swore my 5th Ideal in direct opposition to one of the people I thought I was supposed to be leading." He laughed hollowly, mingling with his tears to create a noise halfway in between a laugh and a heaving sob. "I couldn't let the others see me like this," he admitted, "They need a strong leader now more than ever, especially with how rough this has been on Ben and Shana. I swore my 5th, but even I don't know if I can be that leader for them right now." 

James rubbed his temples. "God, Theo would be disappointed in me." 

The name slipped out without James even meaning it to. He hadn't thought of Theo in a while, at least, not before the memory he'd recalled before swearing the 5th Ideal. Why was he all of a sudden so concerned about what Theo might think?  

[AonEne he/him]

On 7/30/2024 at 4:51 PM, Wyndlerunner said:

James looked at her as they walked, and let the tears fall. "I don't know what we're doing Cassie" he said in a voice just above a whisper, "I swore my 5th Ideal in direct opposition to one of the people I thought I was supposed to be leading." He laughed hollowly, mingling with his tears to create a noise halfway in between a laugh and a heaving sob. "I couldn't let the others see me like this," he admitted, "They need a strong leader now more than ever, especially with how rough this has been on Ben and Shana. I swore my 5th, but even I don't know if I can be that leader for them right now." 

James rubbed his temples. "God, Theo would be disappointed in me." 

Cassie winced. She couldn't say she didn't relate to the responsibility, to needing to keep things together for the rest - that was what had gotten her into her current mess - but at least her order wasn't the one specifically known for leadership, for keeping groups strongly united. No wonder James was having a hell of a time. 

"Honestly, I don't know either," she admitted. "I mean, I'd love to say it doesn't matter, journey before destination, whatever happens happens, but it still does. If you're not sure what journey you're taking, and there's no destination at all..." She lifted her shoulders in a tired shrug and stopped going down the stairs, facing him. "I don't think any of us know what we're doing, really. Yeah, we have the bones of a plan, but..."

She shook her head. "I'm not a Bondsmith, so maybe I don't get it, but I wouldn't worry about keeping up a perfect front. Sometimes a group can be united without any one person taking charge as the leader. Doc sure didn't do much to organize our craziness, but he still made us a family. Maybe you're free to embody your order and unite in more than one way." Maybe we all are. 

"Who's Theo? I don't think you've mentioned them before," she said abruptly, changing tack to hopefully distract him a bit and give them both time for the more serious thoughts to process. "Can't imagine anyone being disappointed in you." 

[Eluvianii he/him]

On 5/19/2024 at 1:35 AM, Lunamor said:

Was that a laugh? You were supposed to laugh when other people laughed, right? Ben tended to laugh whenever other people did. Glint attempted to imitate the sound that Twinkle made. The noise he produced sounded vaguely like a laugh if a laugh was someone slamming wind chimes against concrete.

Glint then remembered that you weren’t supposed to laugh when you were sad, so he sniffled again to cancel it out.

”You are right. Not trusting isn’t fun. But humans are scary. Violence is scary, too. That makes violent humans extra scary.”

He brightened slightly.

”Maybe we can politely ask them to not be violent. Humans respond positively to the word please.”

If they quit being violent, then they logically wouldn’t be inclined to hurt their spren.

Twinkle considered it for a second, and concluded they probably wouldn't listen. Then again, Glint looked like he could use the reassurance.

"Sure, I guess I can do that..." she hesitated. Would not being violent imply not fighting Voidbringers? Reasoning with Rob instead of hunting him? She couldn't deny that sounded wonderful, but it was unrealistic.

The more Twinkle thought about it the simpler it got. She was scared.

The previous weeks hadn't been bad really. Sure, there had been fighting. Sure, their lives had been at constant risk. But at least they were united, like a tightly knit tapestry. Violence itself wasn't the issue. But now one of the threads had broken loose, and it had taken another one with it, burned it to ashes. And she was afraid the whole thing would unravel from the tear they left. She was scared.

Well that wouldn't do, would it. She stood by her earlier resolution to trust Ed, but she didn't have to do it passively. None of them did. It was a spren's role to support their knight, and that included keeping them in check when needed. Trust was a two-way street after all, watching in silence would just make things harder for both parts. Rob had betrayed Cup. The spren had to make sure their knights knew they were not allowed to let it happen again.

"You know what? Yeah, I think that's a good idea. I'll talk to Ed. I'm sure he can handle not being violent, he's not that good at fighting anyway." elsewhere in the room, Edwin sneezed "And you can talk to Ben, I don't think he'd hurt you, but you make him listen anyway! You're there for him, I'm sure he'll be there for you. Maybe they can talk to the other knights, make sure they all remember to care for their spren!"

That had cheered her up for some reason. It was a bad day and about to get worse. So letting herself be a bit more assertive, just trying to grasp that chance at being able to trust the remaining members of the group. Well, that sounded nice, even if it was a small hope. She laughed softly, and it was more genuine this time.

"Thanks, Glint."

Quote

I know we're not super organized yet, but I figured this wouldn't disrupt things. Let me know if this is too big a tonal shift (I promise I don't try to make every post this dramatic, this was a short "sure, let's" but I can't look at a post for 1 minute before I start to tweak it and then I never stop and an hour later it turns into this. I'm pressing submit now before it gets longer). Sorry for keeping Glint in conversation limbo for 2 years