genessia | (no subject)

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private text/action for whitley; wednesday night, home
We need to talk. Are you still awake?

[ The text came from just the bedroom over. They lived in the same house and Weiss had gotten ready for bed already, but honestly? She hadn't been able to sleep. She'd been going over something over and over in her head. It was something that would be life changing for her and while she didn't trust Whitley, one thing that she had learned in Genessia was that sometimes you needed to give people a chance to become someone new before they'll try.

She'd left Whitley all alone with their father. He couldn't fight. He couldn't prove himself in another way. That had been what he'd been left with as a path, and the more she thought about it, the more she wondered if she wasn't capable of fighting, would she have followed that same path? It was a question she'd never have an answer to, but if she offered Whitley a path where his only option wasn't to follow the only path set out for him, maybe he'd find his own footing now that their father wasn't there to show him where to place each step. And even if that weren't the case... Weiss still needed to do this for herself.

Weiss watched her device briefly, standing up when she doesn't receive an immediate text back from Whitley. If he'd gone to sleep already she could probably just wake him up. Be patient, Weiss. She'll give him twenty more seconds. 20, 19, 18... ]

action for cassian; thursday midday, SC:NC
[ Nova City had seen a busy day today. For anyone near the prison, they would've heard alarms going off, blaring lights to alert the staff that there had been a prison break. Three escaped convicts. The news was buzzing across town. By noon, one had been reclaimed by the City Guardian's office and two were still at large. The second would reveal himself very soon. Considering they weren't pendant-toting criminals, it wasn't as though they could really hide for very long. Robot police at the archway's gate would catch anyone if they got help, but that sort of trapped feeling would be why the second of the three escapees would take a different tactic with his short-lived freedom: Take something from the woman who put him away, Weiss Schnee.

The most public place, the best place to send a message, would be Schnee Company's front-and-center branch right at the entrance to Nova City. Which would mean that Cassian's wonderful, peaceful security job would be interrupted by a rather large sonic explosion of one of the building's walls as a cyborg with a green-illuminated set-up that looked like the world's most pretentious speaker system somehow gone weaponized stepped through the rubble, declaring some nonsense about how they weren't being very welcoming as the dust cleared. ]

action for jaune; thursday evening, guardian skyrise
[ It'd been a while since they'd really talked, and Weiss wasn't particularly going out of her way to do so. Jaune had said a lot of things, and even if he'd clarified that he didn't blame her, he still accredited her presence to the reason he can't get over her. He still had a lot to go through and figure out and even if she had been helpful at one point, unless he approached her first she wasn't sure it was a good idea to try to be the one to fix this. Which was really hard for her, because Weiss's first instinct is to go attitude first at the problem.

Which is probably why she's a little quiet while she walks past his office as she starts trying to head out of the Skyrise, tip toeing so her heels don't clack on the floor, but the sound of the elevator binging as it hits each floor is probably a dead giveaway, especially when Weiss makes a little surprised sound at the first one as if she forgot it was going to make the noise. If he spots her, he'll see her moving her Pokeballs out to her belt. She likes to go train Pokemon after work, especially since she has enough to do it on her own so even if she doesn't find anyone else out, she can do it on her own. Though having the balls out certainly helps advertise now that more people have Pokemon. ]

text; anon, OTA
Favorite adventure ideas and spots in Genessia, Fayren, et al.?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Weiss wasn't the only one avoiding talking. Jaune was aware Weiss staying away. Even if he hadn't noticed how her ponytail trailed as she turned a corner, or heard her talking only to always manage to miss her, he was doing the exact same thing. When she was at the Skyrise, he stuck to his office as long as possible, both to make things less awkward for her, but also because he didn't know what to say or do anymore. How were you supposed to go from close friends to merely coworkers after ruining someone's trust? He didn't understand why Weiss even wanted to try that much when she could just dismiss him, unless it was out of some self-inflicted sense of responsibility regarding being the one to hire him in the first place. He didn't ask. He poured himself into his work, and when he wasn't doing that he was either training, living with Dave and Jeff or hanging around other people outside of Weiss to try and figure out what he was supposed to do in order to move past her. He thought he might have found the answer, but he continued to avoid her out of months of mostly silence from both of them and his crushing guilt when he had come to terms with everything.

Tonight would have been the same, if he hadn't heard people talking about Weiss stepping down as CEO to Schnee Company to give it to someone else. The company that was his main source of income. If it had been a year ago, he wouldn't have believed it, but Weiss had made several decisions that could have looked dramatic to any outside observer. They could argue and fight constantly, but Jaune trusted that her decisions were made for her own wellbeing.

So instead of pretending not to hear the elevator, tonight he steps outside his office, hovering in the doorway as if afraid to approach her any further. And he kind of is. His chest feels tight with anxiety, and he holds his arm, glancing at the Pokeballs before trying to speak up.

He just wants to make sure she's okay. And it's probably time they actually talked.]

Uhm... Heading out? I mean, hi. I mean-- Haven't seen you in a whi-- Weiss. Ms. Weiss? I heard about Schnee Company. And as a coworker, who's concerned, I just wanted to ask if...

[This isn't working. Running a hand through his hair in frustration, he stops his nervous rambling and asks bluntly.]

Weiss can we talk?

[ Weiss's grip tightens slightly on the Pokeball in her hand, the last one that she'd been hooking to her belt, as Jaune starts rambling. She said she wanted to try to move forward and stop being awkward, then they'd argued, and now everything just felt.. wrong. She didn't feel comfortable in this conversation at all and it had barely started, and part of her wanted to just pull what she would have once with Jaune and step into the now opening elevator and hold the "Close Door" button...

But she did the next best thing, loosening her grip on the ball now that it's secured and turning around, crossing her hands. Her expression didn't exactly read as "yes Jaune how are you today?" so much as "no go away" like he used to get so often, though. ]

Regarding?

[He felt like his heart had just been frozen over and broken. His crestfallen look was probably incredibly familiar to Weiss. The only difference was Jaune explicitly knew he deserved that kind of reaction. If it weren't for the fact that she had to talk to him professionally, she wouldn't even be here right now.

It wasn't fair to her to ask her to do this. Maybe some things couldn't be fixed.]

Uhm... [Great start. Awesome. He starts fidgeting, looking anywhere then at Weiss.] Nevermind. It's late and I just remembered I have paperwork and stuff to do. Sorry. Have a good night. [He stares down at his combat boots, nervously trying to escape from this failure.]

[ She sighs. It's obvious that he's just giving up, probably because he's actually reading her body language now, so she puts her hands at her side and sighs, sounding more exasperated than irritated now. ]

Jaune, talk to me.

[He glances up, his mouth a flat line, and stops where he is. This response is more muted as he's trying to appear calm.]

Right here? Uhm. Okay. I heard you gave away Schnee Company, and I wanted to make sure you're okay. I know you probably are, but... I don't know about you, but I'm uncomfortable, so you probably are too so if it's about that then I can quit or something to make it easier because--

You don't have to be distanced from someone to place them on a pedestal. I didn't think I was doing that at the time, but that's what I did to you. [He looks down before glancing back at her, no longer able to reign in his anxiety.] I can't apologize enough for what I did, everything I've done, and I don't deserve any more chances. I care about you, and I miss you. This feels wrong. I met someone, and I really like her. She doesn't talk much, but I don't know. I feel like we understand eachother pretty well. And you said to get help and I have and you're right, you've done so much for this city. This is our home now, and I think I want to do the same. But not by relying on you-- I've done that enough. So, if you're okay with me trying again, and rebuilding our friendship... Are you okay with trying that?

[He's staring at her Pokeballs now.] And there's something I think you should see.

I didn't.. give away Schnee Company. I asked Whitley to take over. I managed to do what I needed to with Schnee Company and afford to pay for a more effective number of deputies so we can divide the city up among a more reasonable number of leaders instead of three people trying to care for the whole city. I was being stubborn about it before, when I wanted to hold onto everything, but I have people I can rely on now and I know what I need to be happy. I'm proud of what I've done at Schnee Company. It's a lot, and it's what this world needed.. but what I need is to find a way to make a difference in a way that only I can. Whitley may be a conniving pest, but he'll do Schnee Company right and he knows I'll come arrest him in his sleep if he tries anything like Father might have. I'm not running from you, I'm moving forward for me.

[ And she's a little hopeful that Whitley might come around to not hating her if she's not in the way of what he wants, but they'll see. Weiss's family is complicated, but that doesn't mean she doesn't want to try. At least as long as they're both here anyway and no one's stopping her from living her own life. ]

I'm glad you're getting help though, and that you found someone. [ She sounds sincere at least, even if it's clear she feels a little awkward. He's apologizing again, and Weiss wants to forgive him but it's not like that's something that's easy to get over even if mentally, she's told herself to do it. Last time she tried to reach out, they ended up arguing and it only seemed to get worse.. but now it seems like Jaune's made progress. ] What's her name?

What?

Okay so you gave it away to someone you trust. [He pauses and takes a breath, closing his eyes for a moment. As sad as a part of him is, he tells himself it's not loss this time. It's moving forward. Not everyone gets that chance.] I'm happy if you're happy. And Whitley seems pretty smart. He uses a lot of words I don't understand, so I'm sure he'll do a good job. [The arresting comment almost elicits a ghost of a smile, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes.] Just make sure he's in some embarrassing pajamas.

[Her reaction could have been worse. This wasn't really a conversation he had ever wanted to have with her to begin with, but his expression seems to warm with affection when he mentions the person's name.] Link. Her name is Link. Pretty fitting, isn't it? I think she's the link to fixing my heart--

Anyway. Oh, I saw your Pokeballs. It has to do with those. Pokemon are a pretty safe topic for restarting friendships, right? Unless we're not.

I don't trust him, he's a manipulative, spoiled brat. I'm mostly hoping he'll learn that he doesn't have to be when he's not around Father and that he doesn't have to lie to me to get what he wants. [ She's hoping Schnee Company is going to fix Whitley as much as Whitley is going to take care of the company. ]

Don't say anything like that to her and you might actually manage to get a date.

[ Listen if Jaune's taste in Weiss is any indication, she's sure she's right about this. ]

They're safe.