genessia | [Video] | Here for all your egg related needs

[Colette smiles and waves to the camera, an egg on her lap.]

Hello! It looks like everyone got these eggs yesterday, but so many of you don't know how to properly care for them! You can't kick your egg, you can't put it in a fridge, and you definitely cannot drop it out a window. You have to treat it with love! These poor things have been separated from their mommies, so it's up to us to keep them safe and warm. Wrap them in a blanket, keep them on your lap, or sit on them like a chicken does. It also might help to talk to it and give it little kisses so it knows that it's still loved, right, Little Egg?

[She pecks the top of her egg and rubs her cheek against it, giggling lightly.]

Now I know that some of you are really busy with work, and you're worried that you won't be able to care for your egg properly. So if you need it, I'm willing to come check on your eggs while you're away to make sure that they're getting all the love and attention that they need to stay healthy.

If you have any questions about caring for your egg at all, please let me know! These babies are counting on us to keep them safe, and we can't let them down!

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[ ...and he has definitely given away too much. This is why you don't talk about the assassin part of the job.]

We are soldiers in wartimes. We have done many things we don't like to remember.

[ There, that's much better than admitting that he has killed before, and would do so again if he got the orders, or considered it necessary. ]

I can't imagine becoming friends with someone who has tried to kill me. How did that happen?

[She shakes her head.]

I think it's important to remember all of the lives you've taken. They all had names and families, and just because they had to give their lives to follow orders doesn't make them any less of a person than you. If you start to forget that, if killing becomes second nature... that's when it gets to be a problem.

[Which is why, as much as it pains her, she tried to remember the face of every opponent she fought. It was impossible, of course, to recall each and every one, but she did her best.

The solemn face turns bright when he asks about Sheena.]

Sheena was only trying to protect her world. See, where I'm from used to be two planets that had to fight over mana, and I was on the Journey of Regeneration trying to save my world. But saving mine meant dooming another, so Sheena was sent over to kill me. But she's a really good person so we became friends and then she told us about her world and then we worked together to save both worlds.

That's very generous of you.

[ But he, he doesn't sound particularly impressed, anyway, too ill at ease with what Colette had said about remembering all the lives he has taken. ]

As for my enemies, I know their lives have value. I don't dismiss it. But they made their choice, and I made mine. I will never enjoy it, but empathy won't keep me from doing what is necessary. My war is not the result of a misunderstanding. Entire planets are being wiped out by the enemy. I won't sacrifice billions of lives to spare a few war criminals.

[ Colette shakes her head. ]

Sometimes... sacrifices do have to be made. There are bad people who want to prevent good things, and you can't let them, no matter what the cost. But sometimes there are good people that get stuck in between. When Sheena told us about her world, we agreed to try to find a way to save both worlds instead of just my own. But... [She bites her lip and looks down, troubled.] But if it came down to one or the other... I told her that I would choose my own. I can't say billions, but I was willing to sacrifice millions of innocent lives to keep my people safe.

It didn't come to that, but I guess that makes you a better person than me.

[ He listens attentively and nods, but his face doesn't soften. ]

I'm not a good person. I have done terrible things, you know nothing of them. But true sacrifice is to sacrifice yourself and your loved ones for the greater good. We must take great sins upon ourselves for the cause we serve, but we must also be willing to let others go to their death. The cause is more important than individual lives.

But it's not as easy for you, you had to choose between two causes of equal value.

I don't know that letting someone walk to their death is the best thing to do... If there's a way to help them, then you have to try! [Her friends doing that for her is the only reason she's still here, after all. She'd walk to her death if it meant saving her friends in a heartbeat, sure, but Lloyd taught her that she should always look for a third option first.]

[She shakes her head adamantly at his last line.] I don't think the two worlds are of equal value. They're both very important, full of so many people's lives. You can't measure that. The only reason I chose my own is because I was selfish. I loved Sylvarant and I couldn't bear to watch it be destroyed. Traveling the world allowed me to see many bad things, and I couldn't just stand by and let them keep happening, not when I could do something.

[ He goes quiet, thinking about it for a while. ]You're probably right, that the value of lives and worlds can't be measured or weighed against another. I still have to weigh them in my line of work, but... You're right.

[ It's just a necessity. He has to kill some people so others or his cause, can live. ]

I don't think it's too selfish to choose your own world. I don't know if I could sacrifice Fest for another world.

But by choosing my own, had it gone the way we planned, millions of people would have died! And it would have been my fault. [She could really use a hug or twenty right about now. These were things she tried not to dwell on, things she never brought up because she didn't want her friends to worry about her. She always put on a brave face and a smile, trying to be strong like the rest of them. But now that it was out there... Well, it was clear she was beyond bothered by what could have been.]

You must really love your kitty to feel that way.

My...?

[ He blinks. That's a very jarring change of topic, and it takes him a little while to make the connection. ]

No, not my cat. My planet. Kay named the cat after my home planet. It's a nice planet, though I haven't returned home in a very long time. But I'd still find it hard to sacrifice it.

Oh, that's a cute tribute. Is it covered in snow?

That just means you love your home planet too. You should go visit it when we go home. I'm sure your family misses you.[Whenever that is.]

Ah...

[ Awkward. ]

I don't think that's possible, but I appreciate the sentiment.

[ You'll have to forgive him for sounding rather stiff here, but... Awkward. ]

[Colette is baffled by his reaction. Not possible? Did they not get along?

Oh. Oh no. They had died hadn't they? And she just had to bring it up.]

Oh my goodness, I am so sorry! I didn't mean to bring up any ~~more~~ painful memories. I'm sure that they're watching over you, though.

Thank you.

[ He could smile and brush it off, but there's no real reason to put on a mask, and odd comfort in letting the discomfort spread. Real emotions are precious, even when uncomfortable. ]

It doesn't matter. They've been gone for a long time... and I can't go back. I died.

[Video] | Here for all your egg related needs

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major ToS spoilers in the second paragraph. I can edit if you want there to be less

spoilers are fine!

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