12.22.2132 - A Saturday Night Interlude

[Johan]

"Naturally." Temmit replied evenly. "Didn't you yourself provide a name of who's idea it was to pair the Wardens with the Rim Patrol? What name was that?"

Temmit knew quite well that the name was the same on that he himself had targeted in his first thoughts: Fresenius Keepsake. He was sure that this piece would make as much sense to Renee as it did to Temmit. Who else disliked the Gifted so much? How else cared so little for anything but his own power?

[Dray]

Renee who had continued to pace now stopped behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder. She didn't want to speak his name for some reason, for she said, "not only does he control the government due to the weak will of the Council of Five, but the Church he leads grows stronger each day."

She paused a moment, then walked purposely around the small table and sat opposite of him. Her hands were visibly shaking and she wrestled her fingers together to stop their betrayal of her frayed nerves.

She leaned in towards him and said with her lower lip quivering, "but to get back to your reasoning."

"In order to successfully pull off that level of deception, an entire Third Reich within the armed forces would need to be formed. An arm either above the law or unseen by it, one that according to your supposition is not only aware of us, but is indeed operating  to destroy us. One that could be led by High Priest Fresenius Keepsake, the Kingdom's most sacred and noble of Protectors, the very Voice of God[/i]" she said, her face becoming hot with rage.

Temmit now understood that Renee was accepting his supposition as an already surmised belief she didn't want to face as truth. He watched as a lone tear escaped from her eyes, spawned by the anger against the injustice of it all.

[Johan]

For years Renee had been an interesting study for Temmit. She was always rock solid under pressure. But sometimes, like now, when Temmit was on a theoretical fishing expedition, she got worked up in the absence of proof or data.

Temmit had to admit that this theory of his made a lot of sense, and it could be tied up rather neatly, but she was owning it emotionally without evidence.

"Renee," he said. "We don't have any evidence, only theory. For all we know the Karh'Thul learned how to fly above the dogs, thus avoiding them, and they gain more energy from eating the Gifted. Could be that Fresenius knows nothing of the Gifted in the Wardens, and legitimately suggested their partnering with the Boarder Patrol. That would make sense. We need evidence." He looked at her meaningfully, hoping that she would come back from the edge that he had pushed her out onto.

"And we need rest too." He added. "Let's mull this over and sleep on it. Perhaps other options will present themselves in the morning."

[Dray]

Renee was taken off guard by her friend's backpedaling on the issue, and as she wiped the tear from her face, she glared at him. Temmit saw (in her eyes) that she had noted his judgment of her emotional state, and now she looked angry with him.

"Emma told me a week ago that The House of Kaine Elite Guard[/i] quietly added five Judges to its ranks eight months ago," she said.

"This after the House had only three Judges for the past two hundred years[/i]. That piece fits quite handily in the puzzle that is your supposition. For the Judges, and their subordinates, within that Elite Guard command the Outer-Rim Defense companies assigned to the Holy Flame barrier itself."

"You sure you want to get some sleep? Or can you put up with my petty girly nerves a bit longer?!" she almost shouted.

(OOC: This is one of those typical male "what did I do?!" moments)

[Johan]

Temmit took in this additonal piece of information and fitted it into his theory. "That does seem to track with the greater thinking of mine." He admitted. "And why do it so quietly if not for this very purpose. Still, I'd be happier with hard evidence."

He mulled this a moment, purposefully ignoring her enflamed emotions. "Truth to tell though, I'm not likely to get any real sleep anyway...I rarely do (just cat naps, really). I do think that you should get some though; you have been poisoned, after all."

"One other thing, you can't be too angry with me for not reaching the same conclusions that you reach, when you have more actual information than me. I'm working on supposition, mostly."

"Interesting that so many new judges are added at about the same time that the attacks escalated." His theory became a bit more concrete.

[Dray]

"You are right," she began a bit softer, "I do indeed have more information than you, or anyone else in the guild. Until recently however, I thought it was in your bests interest to not have any knowledge of all this. But as the past weeks have gone bye I haven't seen any changes in the downward spiral that may be our fate, and I am starting to think differently."

She got up from the table and gave stepped beside him to give him a strong grip of assurance on his shoulder. "My apology Temmit."

She walked over to the bed and lay back down, pulling one blanket over her without much fuss.

"I am wondering if we should just tell everyone in Whisper all of the facts as we know them. If we are rapidly approaching a day where we will be hunted by the entire world, it may be the last gracious thing one does for them in this God-forsaken Kingdom."

[Johan]

"That's another thought that we should sleep on." He chuckled a bit then. "That you should sleep on." He amended.

"My first thought is not to do that though. I think that breaking us up into smaller teams, as you mentioned earlier, is a good idea, and tell only the leaders what's going on. The younger kids should be allowed to be kids. That's one of those things that every kid should have." He was a little melancholy as he finished. "When we have solid evidence, perhaps we will have a different thought. In the meantime, I think that you should discuss this theory with your Warden contact. They may or may not have thought about this yet.

[Dray]

She smiled back at him, agreeing with her eyes, which then closed.

He awaited for another reply but soon realized that he wasn't going to get one. The day had finally caught up to her.

He listened in envy as her breathing became calm and even and wondered, as he often did, what it must be like to sleep without fear.

TO BE CONTINUED in 12.23.2132 - Interview in Church