(Sunstone) Exit 185

[Star]

The rest stop.

The ubiquitous, but necessary, fixture the concrete spiderwebs between cities. A place to stretch one's legs, relax, and get a breath of fresh air (excluding the rest area rest rooms).

It's also a great place to let a thirty year old van catch a breath and cool off.

"Oh, hey. Avis?"

Shoes scuffed on gravel, skittering rocks and raising a small cloud.

"Like, July, Ermac, and me, yeah, like the three of us, I dunno, we don't think Emrys is working out."

It's a great place for a nice quiet conversation, right?

[Arthur]

Two pings flow into the Pattern as Arthur renews Sight and Protection. Looking at his phone Arthur mulls the options before turning it off. Any Fallen Angel could track any of the phones. Maybe a book would have been a good idea, read up on local history some more. There's no way the town hasn't been swayed by an Awaken at some point.

Eyes glance over at Star and Avis before going back to looking past the van and towards the road. This is going to get awkward.

  Unseen Shield and Read Matrices

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2015-11-17 22:08:47		Arthur rolls 7 to Exit - Read Matrices (10 Again)		2, 3, 2, 4, 2, 5, 8		1 success
2015-11-17 22:08:35		Arthur rolls 7 to Exit - Unseen Shield (10 Again)		6, 6, 5, 2, 6, 8, 6		1 success

[Avis]

The Warlock came to an abrupt stop, the circuit she'd been pacing around the van obliterated by the loss of momentum.

"Um...you do realize that Emrys is just over there, right?" Avis asked, her eyes falling on Star, then July, then Ermac. They landed on Arthur last.

"And it's really not a good time to piss someone off when you're counting on them to support you. You know that right? Like, people might try to kill us soon. I'd really, really prefer to have us at least pretend shit is ok until that's over than have someone shit themselves in rage before we even get to the actual conflict."

[Emrys]

Emrys stretched once he got out of the van and continued to do so until his name was first said. Furious eyes flew first to the one who spoke it like heat seeking missiles, then to July and Ermac. When Avis pointed him out he only shook his head.

"It's pretty deliberately timed. Almost half a year since we were last together as a group and he picks now to have this talk?" He said as he turned his attention to Star. "You chose this to try and give me the chance to defend myself or so our group as a whole could have this discussion. Not sure which though."

The Enchanter twisted his mouth up into a smile that did nothing to diminish the anger in the rest of his expression. As annoyed as he was, someone had finally taken the step to talk to him about it.

"Thank you for having the basic strength of character to say something in my presence rather then whispering behind my back like the sniveling cowards that tried to hide behind you, but I do think Avis is right. I'd prefer not to have this conversation before a combat scenario when someone can very easily say something they can't take back."

[Star]

Yep, there he is.

A bland look is shifted from the Warlock to the Enchanter. More rocks are kicked. Can you skip stones on gravel? Or pavement?

"Uh, actually? Nah. It just felt like a good time." Some people's bad times are other people's good times. True story.

"Plus, the drive's been a little boring."

So there it is. The invisible elephant is now officially In The Room. Sure, people can ignore it, or even procrastinate, but it's there. And everyone knows it.

"But, like, calling people 'sniveling cowards' sure didn't, uh, help."

Like, at all.

[Avis]

"Alright, ya know what? Fuck it," Avis cursed throwing her hands up in the air. "Let's get everything out in the fuckin' open then, since we've already opened the goddamn can of bullshit."

"You three," she continued, throwing a limp hand in the direction of Star, July, and Ermac, "don't like Emrys here because he's an opinionated ass. Emrys here is an opinionated ass because he feels the crushing pain of our enforced solitude and takes out all of the frustration and angst at being unable to connect with others by trying to bully his opinions onto them. Almost as if, by agreeing to his opinions, he'll somehow reach a connection with them. A synthesis through tyranny. Yeah, you fuckin' heard me, Emrys, you miniature fuckin' tyrant. What do you have to say for yourself?

"I'd ask Ermac, but he's too used to being ostracized, and I'd ask July, but I sense that he prefers to talk with gunpowder and slide actions."

[Star]

"Whoah, whoah, WHOAH."

Eyes widened and fingers splayed outward.

"Dude. Really? Reeeaaally? Like when did, ever, someone being an opinionated ass ever bother me?"

Seriously. Let's do the roll call. Zoey. Einstein. There's two, undeniably. Is there a big third name missing? Maybe. Also: Lycus. Gyges. There's a long list, yo. A super long list.

"I don't like him because he stabs people, people he should be cool with, in the back."

[Emrys]

An uncaring shrug was the only response Star got for his opinion on Emrys' coward remark. Emrys blinked at Avis almost hitting the nail on the head and Star's accusation of treachery.

"Few things." The Enchanter started as he folded his arms and leaned back on the van. "I don't really give a shit if people agree anymore, and as close as you are to me generally that actually has nothing to do with why I'm thoroughly disgusted by July and Ermac."

Eyes like daggers settled on their first target, and Emrys' mouth twitched just slightly at the sight of July. "Within weeks of becoming our cop July had his first trailblazing meeting. He wanted the voices of the subcommittees to be united as an official council of their own without the need to report back to the actual council. I told him that undetermined the sovereignty of the existing committee and was completely unnecessary because we already did reports every meeting, and his solution was to get up and scream in my face. During his little tirade he disavowed the importance of our laws and society, only focusing on the violence his title justified him to do."

"My problem with July, is that right after becoming one of our cops he not only refused to talk about the rules of our society but attacked me for trying to talk about them in his presence. He openly said he'd go behind the backs of the people that didn't support him and I think his only desire is to do violence under the mask of cop. He's toned down his rhetoric until the last meeting, but I don't think that was the result of a change in philosophy but a result of his total lack of a following among our path. He's said he'll break our rules to do violence and has gotten in my face twice, so no I'm not pretending to do more then tolerate him."

Emrys shrugged before turning his attention to Ermac. "Ermac used his position in my philosophy club to try and tell one of our people she didn't have the right to hold an opinion she had. Sure, archery is a lie is bullshit, but rather then show her the good that can be done with them he tried to silence her and say she didn't have the right to have an opinion he didn't approve of. Since then he's shown a total lack of a spine. He practically ran away when July flashed his guns at a waitress at a bar, he's refused to even talk at length about volunteering with the Sacramento State problem, and I've seen him whisper behind my back. He's been an immediate obstacle for me and Arthur who have been ready to get at the University and help since early to mid July."

"As for the accusations of treachery," He said looking to Star. "I'm not entirely sure what you're talking about. Was it the issue at the Lorehouse or something else?