Red Roses Upon a Grave [Lockland, A.R.E.S, Open]

[Shadis (DELETED 7818)]

A gentle breeze caressed white fur as a white body quietly moved amongst the graves. The darkness did little to hide the moving colour, as she stood out as brightly as the night that she had first shifted. It was the quiet that calmed and stilled the emotions within the white wolf as she padded and weaved through the tombstones. The path was rather familiar and Shadis could probably navigate them with her golden eyes closed. The scent of old and fresh flowers, filled her nose as damp rotten leaves were trodden into the fresh snow. Snow, which had begun to seep into her thick coat of fur. However, the cold itself didn’t bother the wolf while she walked amongst the familiar graveyard, no it was a feeling that she was simply immune to.

Once a week Shadis would visit her mother and lay a fresh bunch of roses upon her grave. The habit had begun the moment that Trahir went missing and she noticed, once she had come up for air after burying herself in amongst thick tombs, that Lancaster was also gone. No one had heard from either of them and she had Elena keeping an ear out for them, but so far there was not even a whisper. Darkness had coloured her world grey and she felt sadness pull at her entire being. Once she could have relied upon Lancaster to keep her world from darkening, as he had turned her in order to save her life. However, he was gone, at least from what she could tell and once more she had no one except for the thrall.

Elena, kept her moving, kept her doing things and reminding her when she should slake her thirst, the silly thrall had even offered her own wrist to the vampire, but instead Shadis would always go out and feed from an unknown human and let them go. A tactic that Trahir had never understood. Shadis wasn’t a killer, she could never kill like most vampires did, but once she had killed someone, because it was her or them and she had chosen to fight in order to survive. That was when she had first shifted into a white wolf. Now, every time that she found herself away from civilisation, she practised the shift and now it almost seemed as natural as breathing.

Her mother’s death had rocked her and her mother had been her only solid anchor until she had lost it. It had been her intention to join her in death if it hadn’t of been for Lancaster, whose blood turned her into the vampire that she was today. The anniversary of her mother’s death however, was fast approaching and she couldn’t believe that it had been almost two years since she had lost her. Often she wondered what her purpose was, but it wasn’t until recently that she realised that she could serve a purpose within politics. Trying to get humans, vampires and even sirens alike to work together, to come to a peaceful solution that wouldn’t involve a war that would destroy Harper Rock.

Harper Rock, which was the final resting place for her mother.

White paws came to a slow stop in front of a particular grave, where upon the gravestone it read, Lily Divinus, Died upon the 17th of January 2016. “Gone but never forgotten.” At the time Shadis couldn’t really remember why she had put those words upon the gravestone, but at the time it had felt right. Now she understood, because she would be able to live forever and she would never forget the mother who had basically given up everything for her.

Slowly, she bowed her head and placed the bunch of red roses that had been clutched tightly in her maw, upon the grave and watched as a few white flakes softly landed upon the petals of the red roses. Who else was she going to lose next? Elena? It was precisely that point that she had pulled away from society almost in its entirety. Why she hadn’t been bothered to build connections and gain more friends, for fear that she would lose them. However, she realised that she couldn’t live like that forever, that she had to do something in order to tame the misunderstandings that happened between vampires and humans. Something had to be done, before more lives of those that she knew and loved, were lost.

[Lockland]

Locklands life had been normal once upon a time. Just some guy going about a daily life. Then there were vampires, and he was seeking a way to protect himself and others, and suddenly he was a paladin, and vampires were no longer the only threat but they were still a serious one. Emotions of disgust stirred within him anytime he saw them, a readiness to attack them the moment they were spotted. It started while fighting ancient zombies in defense of the cure, and just kept developing. Being fed on repeatedly didn't help his frustration and seemed to make it go faster. Now, he'd find himself ready to strike them down at a moments notice. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn't really stop himself every time because he just wasn't always aware of it.

Today, he was on a search. Not necessarily only for vampires, but for any undead that might crawl out of this place. The tombs were once a place he considered as a thing that should be almost reverenced and silent, respecting of the people who left the world to those after them. He still believed it should be, but that's not how it was. The crypts were a perfect place for vampires to hide, but once they came in or out, they were all to visible to Lockland.

His eyes scanned the tombs as he walked with careful footsteps among them, his weapons at belt and on his back. He was calm right now. Almost pleased with how quiet it was. It was just so easy to walk around the graves without worry. To look at the many names there, he enjoyed that, the names of so many people.

But it didn't last. His eyes fell on a white wolf. Had it merely been a wolf, he would have probably smiled. But, he could see past facades now, almost to his dismay. And he could see what it truly was. A vampire. A sudden feeling of disgust rushed up into him and he scowled as he set one foot more sturdily into the ground and rushed forwards drawing his weapon with haste as fury reached his eyes. He wasn't there yet but he would be soon.

And when he was, it would be time to send the vampire back to where it belonged like all the other zombies and wraiths that escaped.

[Shadis (DELETED 7818)]

Caught within her own mind, she didn’t pay any attention to the approaching danger and perhaps she should have. Perhaps she should have known that the graveyard was where paladins were likely to continue to strike at her. It wasn’t the first time that they would attempt to kill her and killing a paladin had been her first and only kill. A kill to simply defend herself against those who sought to kill her. An ear flickered in the direction of the rushing male, but the wolf didn’t pay any attention to how heavy the footsteps sounded, in fact, she had simply assumed that it was Elena coming to check up on her and to give her the low down on the lack of news about Lancaster. Instead, she suddenly realised that the heavy footsteps had picked up pace and there was suddenly two sets of rushing footsteps.

As Shadis rose up onto four paws and turned to face her attacker, Elena’s human body was suddenly in the way of the attacker and she threw her arms out to protect Shadis while the wolf snarled at the stupid girl. Why the thrall was so intent on doing such silly things, the allurist didn’t understand and she heard the human girl speak. ”Stop! She is not your enemy!” She cried out as she threw the bag that she had been holding towards Shadis. A low growl of annoyance was forced out as Elena kept her form between the paladin and the wolf.

Why must the girl be so stupid? The woman questioned again as she felt the shift begin. Joints popped and dislocated only to pop back into a different place. White fur, shuddered and shrunk back into pale white skin, while long, black hair cascaded down her pale back in waves. Brown eyes glared at the human girl, before she opened the discarded duffle bag and began to pull on clothing as she spoke. ”Elena, for god’s sake. Why are you always doing such stupid things?” Shadis scolded the girl, regardless of the fact that she was half naked and standing behind a human girl who was standing in between her and a paladin that wanted nothing except to kill her.

”Are you serious? He was going to try and kill you and do you remember what happened the last time? You got seriously injured and tomorrow is a full moon!” The girl protested as Shadis pulled on a pair of black pants that flared out from the knees. Brown eyes flashed golden as wolven like eyes glared at the girl again, before she pulled on a pair of bootie heels and knelt down to lace them up. ”That doesn’t mean that you throw away your life to save my own. I’ll come back.” Shadis sighed as she tied the knot and rose to finally slip on a silver bracelet. If one was facing death, at least she could do it with some semblance of style.

Elena’s mouth gaped open and the vampire moved around the girl's form to lightly place two fingers under the girl’s chin in order to close it. Finally, she turned back around to face the paladin with a smile firmly in place upon her red painted lips, regardless of the fact that he held a bladed weapon that was now pointed right at her. She could remember the last time that a bladed weapon had pierced her stomach, but this time, she didn’t have Trahir or Lancaster to help her out. No, if she had to kill this one as well out of self defence, she would, but the guilt of it afterwards would more than likely kill her anyway. ”Ignore her, she does silly things all of the time. Honestly, it gets a tad tiring sometimes.” Shadis said as her golden, lupine eyes shifted back to a gorgeous chocolate brown. ”Oh, sorry, excuse my manners. My name is Shadis, Shadis Divinus.” The vampire said as she held a pale hand out to the paladin as if offering to shake his.

[Lockland]

Lockland was so focused on merely severing the wolves head from its body he didn't even realize someone else was showing up until they were standing right in front of him, a human, telling him to stop and not to kill. He hesitated. Not to kill? A human defending a vampire? His face contorted from confusion. He breathed in and let his sword dip more towards the ground, if hesitantly still. And pressed one hand against his face. One side of him was practically shouting to kill, no it felt more like a desire to kill her. An urge of great for like hatred but not quite. But it was receding the more he focused on the matter at hand. Still, she was a vampire.

He watched with a cocked head as she transformed into a woman and only then seemed to start putting on clothing. He grimaced, this wasn't what he was expecting to happen today. They continued to speak to each other almost as if he wasn't there, it occurred to him with one swift strike he could probably shove the human out of the way and down the vampire or at least harm her. But, it also occurred to him from the side of reason that it wasn't because of reason he had that instinct.

He breathed in and shut his eyes for a moment gritting his teeth as she introduced herself, You have to remain calm or you'll go after her again most likely. Put the sword away and the urge will decrease like it usually does, whatever you turn to to attack first always needs to be placed aside or at the very back of the mind to make sure you don't turn to it again straight away. he thought before sheathing the weapon and opening his eyes again, outstretching his hand hesitantly in order to shake hers as she'd offered. His eyes were only partly cynical, and dipped back to the human behind Shadis still with confusion.


"Lockland Winters." He said simply, then ran a hand forcefully across his forehead, trying to regain composure, "I'm afraid, attacking has become instinctual the moment I spot a vampire. I'm fairly certain it has to do with me being a paladin. I'll have to apologize for that." he said gesturing to the fae like tatoos particularly present on his left arm and hand and partially up one side of his neck.

He furrowed his brow and gestured to both of them, "Why did she protect you? You are very clearly a vampire and she knew it. So why? I have honestly not seen that happen before. However right or wrong it may be."

He was still suspicious, although he couldn't tell if it was real, or if the urge to get rid of her was trying to rise its way back up to his mind.

[Shadis (DELETED 7818)]

Shadis had squeezed the man’s hand firmly, to let him know that she wasn’t going to be a pushover, no matter what he thought of her, but the smile remained firmly in place. He apparently was confused by Elena’s behaviour, who was standing behind the vampire with her arms crossed over her chest looking very unhappy with what was transpiring before her. Well tough, The allurist thought to herself as brown eyes noted the man’s every movement. Something was wrong, that much she could tell and then it formed behind the man in the form of a shimmering form that stood directly behind the other paladin.

It took all of her willpower not to do a single thing, to not give away the fact that she was apparently seeing the ghost of the only person that she had ever killed. A ghost of the paladin that had tried to kill her which was now circling the paladin with slow deliberate steps. The smile that rested upon her lips was now feeling more forced than anything as her brown eyes watched the ghost for a moment. ”Why don’t you kill him as well?” The ghost finally asked her and she scrunched her nose up. Shadis felt the guilt that she had originally felt on the day that she had killed him return and she bit her bottom lip to not make a sound.

If only Lancaster was around.

Slowly, she exhaled and shook her head; she just had to try and ignore it. ”That’s because Elena is my thrall. Back when vampires were still a secret, I fed from humans, but I let them go. I still do, I don’t take much, but she happened to stumble across me feeding from her friend. Her friend was bound to forget, but Elena wasn’t. I was no longer thirsty and I didn’t want to kill her to keep my secret, so I accidentally enthralled her.” Her shoulders rose and fell in a simple shrug then as if it was simple logic that dictated the decision. In her eyes, she had saved Elena, because if she didn’t kill her, then it was likely that another vampire would, just because Elena knew that vampires existed.

Elena, shifted then to begin gathering up the discarded bag and pulled out her phone, pretending that she simply wasn’t there while the two talked. ”Trust me, having a loyal thrall isn’t as glamorous as some people think, but she at least keeps me on my toes.” Shadis stated as her brown eyes shifted to lupine once more. Lupine eyes that flickered to look over Lockland’s shoulder as she pursed her lips. The ghost was simply shaking his head at her words, as if they were just not acceptable and she bit her bottom lip. She wanted to tell him to go away, that it wasn't her fault, but it didn’t seem as if he would. At least not for the moment and she sighed.

Was this a side effect from her guilt about that single death on her vampiric record? The woman didn’t know and Lancaster wasn’t around, so she couldn’t exactly ask him. ”As for your instinctual need to kill, I get it. At least I think I do, but I’d rather not die with my ashes being scattered over my mother’s grave.” Shadis said as she stepped aside so then the paladin could have a clear unhindered view of the gravestone that had her mother’s name engraved into the headstone. ”It would be morbid and rather ironic if that did happen. I go to visit my mother’s grave to place some roses upon it, only for my ashes to be scattered all over it, two years after I had originally tried to kill myself.”

A roll of those golden eyes were given then as she watch the ghost suddenly pay attention to the grave. “It’s a shame that you were not successful,” the ghost said and she felt an urge to punch a ghost in its ethereal face.

[Lockland]

Lockland remained skeptical despite slightly smiling, mostly out of politeness. But also out of the fact he still felt kind of sorry for so quickly heading on the offensive. It bothered him that there wasn't a way to calm that completely, perhaps he'd eventually get good enough at controlling it that he didn't have to worry about it at all. Unfortunately, that was not the case yet. He was totally unaware that Shadis was seeing an apparition of sorts. Still only aware of the two in front of him. But the attention he had was kept quite well.

He looked back over at Elena as Shadis explained how she became a thrall. It was, worrisome, and had he known it while he was still in a frenzy he might have just shoved her out of the way so he could kill Shadis since being a thrall made him assume she may simply be required to protect her. Fortunately, he hadn't known she was a thrall, and that was almost a relief or he'd have an unneeded death on his hands.

The woman's treatment of the situation as so casual was still very odd to him. And he licked his lips trying to consider just how he really should be treating the situation. He had just attempted to kill someone, even if it wouldn't last, but the person he was trying to kill had just acted as if it was nothing.

He noticed his eyes had dropped to the ground in thought and picked his head back up as she spoke again about the instinct to kill, and then mentioning the ashes being scattered over her mothers grave. He frowned and took a step to take a better look at it. More then that, she mentioned having tried to kill herself two years ago. Was that when she ended up being a vampire then?

"I'm sorry." He said still looking at the gravestone, "The world got pretty cruel didn't it. Or, I guess it really always was this way. Conflict, death, vampires, killers, it's everywhere and people just don't always notice until it effects them."


He lifted his head, "I can't say I have any sort of terrible backstory really though. I just thought I saw that vampires were out of control so I did my best to find a way to fix that. But, I later realized it was just that there was conflict in general, not just vampires. Stuck with being a paladin though, gotta be careful or I end up trying to kill the vampires I come across, like just now."

[Shadis (DELETED 7818)]

Shadis watched as the ghost continued to shake his head and circled the paladin once again, what was the ghost thinking and why was he haunting her right now? A shrug of her shoulders was given then, ”Don’t be sorry, I’m not sad about it all. I’m still alive thanks to my sire, but I now realised that my mother would rather that I live instead of dying.” The vampire said, more to the ghost than to Lockland. As she said that, the ghost said something low under his breath before his ethereal form shimmered and dissipated. Well, at least he is gone now, she thought to herself before a smile returned to her lips and her golden lupine eyes shifted back to their normal chocolate brown.

”Some people are simply ignorant of these facts until yes, ultimately it affects them in earth shattering waves. However, I believe that it’s the fact that vampires were brought to the light, that people are far more fearful. That conflict is in escalation, because humans don’t know how to react to the situation at hand. Then throw in the sirens, another unknown factor and we have a recipe for disaster. So I cannot blame you for wanting to be able to defend yourself.” A nod of her head was given as she reached out slowly to lightly place a hand upon the man’s shoulder should he allow it. It was a motion meant to comfort him, not harm him.

Most of the time she never understood paladins, never understood why the paladin that she had killed, had even attacked her to begin with. Was it because that she had been with a killer, a killer who took pleasure in killing others? Or had it been because she was simply a vampire? The fact was, Shadis didn’t give off a vampiric aura, only a mortal one so it would be difficult either way for someone to pick up the fact that she was even a vampire to begin with. However, a wolf placing flowers on a grave, didn’t exactly scream pure wolf or the actions of a normal wolf. Next time, she would have to be much more careful.

Slowly, if her hand was touching the man’s shoulder, her hand lightly fell away and she angled her head slightly. ”Mind if I ask you something?” The vampire asked with a pause. ”What’s it like? To become a paladin? I mean, I’ve had interactions with the fae myself, I interact with them quite a fair bit. Sometimes it’s not always pleasant so I wonder about the process that paladins go through to become what they are. To become who they are. What ritual is used that turns normal human beings into paladins? Something that I want to one day see myself. Call it, curiousity.” She said with a chuckle.

The woman angled her head to the right, before she stepped away, ”I mean vampires and paladins don’t necessarily have to be enemies, in fact I feel that some vampire are… Out of control, so it does make paladins necessary to help us handle them. It would also mean that paladins, in all theory, would help other humans feel much more safer in the community. Knowing that specialised fighters are around keeping an eye upon the vampiric community as a whole...” Shadis said more in thought than to the man himself. What if it did put the humans more at ease knowing that paladins were around to keep the serial killing vampires in check?

How much of the supernatural world had the general populace been informed of? Research had to be done. Fear was stemmed from the unknown, this much Shadis was more than aware of, for she herself feared death more than anything because she didn’t know as to what would happen to her afterwards. Maybe she could quell the humans and bring about an uneasy peace if she herself were elected into office by bringing about some understanding of the chaos. Vampires had lived amongst humanity for years and granted it wasn’t perfect, but that meant that some vampires had control, some semblance of humanity left. If she could maybe… Her thoughts wandered off and brown eyes proceeded to stare off into the distance as she delved into her thoughts.

”Oh.. You’ll have to excuse her, she is always like this, thinking about stuff and how best to either present or fix certain things. Before it was rituals, now I’m not so sure.” Elena said as she tucked her phone away and approached the vampire only to lift a finger to poke the woman between her eyes. Shadis blinked and she focused upon the human woman that stood in between her and the paladin yet again. ”Wake up. Killer paladin still present. I don’t want to have to find you dead in a ditch because you didn’t pay attention to your surroundings.” Eyes came back into focus then and she looked over Elena’s shoulder with an apologetic smile for Lockland, ”Sorry about that, I could get lost for days if Elena wasn’t here.”

[Lockland]

Lockland still felt rather sorry about his actions despite that she said it was nothing. Only now however did he notice her eyes change colors, and he couldn't be sure if that was just the light, or if her eyes had legitimately changed at some point. They certainly didn't look quite right in his memory, not like they did now. But, he couldn't be sure. And vampires were strange afterall, perhaps merely a power he was unaware of.

As she continued to speak he considered it, it was definitely true that the sirens and especially the vampires reaction to the sirens, was what put people most on edge. Somehow it was odd that it wasn't that there were vampires that had originally worried him, but rather their reaction to the sirens and the cure. He mentally flinched as he saw her hand move forwards, but forced himself to remain still. Once it was there, he did in fact feel less tense. Perhaps merely out of the fact that vampires weren't always taking violent actions.

It was so peculiar the way the world worked. So beautiful and yet so terrifying all at once. How did the vampires truly begin? And paladins, they could only possibly have begun after them right? Nevertheless, there wasn't much he could do to change the world. He couldn't change nature itself or an entire race, he could only change himself to do his best. But that might never be enough.

He cocked his head as she then moved onto a question. It made sense, paladins were the counter weight for vampires. Maybe had that instinct perhaps because not every paladin would actually want to go through with killing vampires as time went on. Even as he was considering how to answer, Shadis slipped off into her own thoughts. Only for her thrall to later speak up for her. And then speak to Shadis, while reffering to him as killer paladin.

He shook his head, "It's not a problem. And, as for the question. It hurt. They had me hunt down zombies first I think, then pay them. But the ritual itself." Lockland ran a finger along the fae-ish runes on his neck, "I was chanted over, and these things burned into my skin. It was...well it was very painful, like burning up from the inside. I was also told, that not quite everyone makes it from these sorts of things. So I was one of the fortunate ones I guess.

He shrugged and smiled, "I will say this though. I'm pretty sure that I excelled at it after it was done. I'm not the most violent person, well, not before it anyway, but I've gotten very good at the powers I have considering I don't actually have all that much experience in this sort of thing."

Lockland paused and looked at the sky for a moment before speaking again as he looked down, "Harper Rock is really screwed up you know. I don't know who to go after. I'm sure there are plenty of paladins just gong crazy. And on the other end are the vampires some of which are also crazy. I have a question I guess, do you think there's even a chance of organization in this chaos? Or is everything just stuck in permanent conflict."

[Shadis (DELETED 7818)]

Shadis wasn’t at all surprised that the ritual itself, hurt, there was always that risk when it involved the fae and now she was far more curious than ever about his markings and found herself inching closer towards the man. As he spoke about the ritual, the vampire nodded her head as brown eyes began to inspect the man’s arm, she even went out of her way to lightly take his arm into her hands, should he allow, just so she could look at the fae markings. If he didn’t, well she would clasp her hands behind her back, but remain looking at the markings. She could remember when a fae had escaped a ritual circle and slashed her upon a full moon. It wasn’t exactly pleasant and she shook her head, blood had been everywhere and she had lost quite a bit before Lancaster had turned up to help her out.

A pang of sorrow formed within her stomach as she remembered the man and she closed her eyes for a second. Where are you Lancaster? Shadis quietly asked herself before she stepped back away from the man once more. ”I could not tell you if natural violence is a side effect of the ritual itself. I’d have to observe the ritual and hear what is being said in order to make any sort of constructive guess. Although, while I have only met two paladins, from what I can tell, it seems to be a trait that can be controlled if the individual has the willpower to do so. Again, I don’t fully know, you’re the first paladin out of two that I have met that has… restrained the urge to kill me.”

”And the last time that some paladin tried to kill you, it didn’t turn out so well for you,” Elena piped up again and Shadis waved a hand at the girl to silence her. A brow perked up as she remembered the rest of what Lockland had just said and her shoulders rose and fell in a simple shrug. ”Harper Rock is about as normal as it can be with the supernatural running around here. Remember this town is the central for supernatural so the supernatural presence is far higher than anywhere else. That is simply because the rift between here and the Shadow Realm is situated right here in Harper Rock, so we might as well be the capital for the supernatural.”

Another step back was taken so then she wouldn’t be in killing distance of Lockland while she lifted a hand to tug at a stray lock of black hair in thought. ”Yes, I do believe that there is some hope, but it needs someone to guide the chaos into some sort of order. I won’t lie, it probably won’t be an easy fix solution and it won’t simply happen overnight but with the right person in power I believe that some order can be restored. It’s just so much has happened in such a short amount of time that, it cannot be fixed within the same amount of time. I won't lie, it will be a long road to recovery, one that not everyone will ever get a chance to see. For there are many variables along this road that not even I can or will ever see before they pop up.”

The woman nodded as she thought about it for a moment. Did she truly believe that there was hope for Harper Rock? Or course she did, but there had to be some semblance of order restored before it was too late. Chaos acted quickly and could spread faster than anything that she had ever seen, but while a cure was slow working, once it got off the ground with a solid foundation, anything could be possible. At least, that was what she hoped for if she was able to get into office, but who else was running for it?

”Elena, I need you to do some research for me. Research on who else might be running for office, I need to form a strategy plan.” Shadis said as she turned back to Lockland and smiled, ”I think that as a starting point for my foundation, is that everyone just needs to see that vampires and paladins can get along and I think that you might be able to help me with that.”

[Lockland]

He didn't bother moving away when she went to touch it, although he still felt the instinct to do so he did his best to keep it hidden until it would pass away. Lockland shrugged as she said she couldn't say for sure too much about the ritual and it's possible effect on his temperament towards vampires without her being there. He hadn't really expected she would, although then again he hadn't put much look into rituals in the first place. They were far from his expertise.

Wow, really only two paladins? that's kind of surprising, well, maybe not. She doesn't seem too violent so she probably wouldn't have attracted as much attention as others might have. He thought, although he had to frown at the idea he was the first to be able to not actually try and go through with the kill, admittedly, it was primarily because the thrall had distracted him long enough, but still. [b]"Well I only really managed it because I was distracted remember. I nearly went straight to try and cut your head off."[/b]
he said nodding towards the thrall, somewhat apologetically about the situation still.


He cocked his head as Elena added a rather...interesting detail about the vampires last encounter with a vampire and raised an eyebrow. There was not exactly a broad set of possible meanings for that. The first to come to mind was death. But it was a comment Shadis waved aside and he figured it best not to push to far.

Lockland listened as she explained that there could still be hope for Harper rock. That there needed to be a leader of some sort who could help restore order. He nodded along with it. Leaders were necessary for anything to work properly, but with so many people with so much power, it was hard to get anyone to actually rally behind another because they all wanted to do things on their own, everyone else was just sort of there.

Then however Shadis became a lot more clear about her intentions, referring to her thrall to get information about any other candidates who might run for office. And more directly relating to him, that vampires and paladins could potentially get along and he might actually be useful.

Lockland smiled and nodded, "If it helps even a little I think I'm willing to do what I can. Plus I tried to kill you so helping you out kind of makes me feel a bit less sorry about that, at least a little.

He shook his head, "Honestly though, never thought I might get roped into politics so it's not really on any list of skills. Hope you don't mind if I primarily just stick to the sidelines unless I'm actually needed. I can talk and all, I'm just not quite as convincing unless I'm talking to the right people at the right time."