Having Guru Over

[Kaze]

Kaze holds his hands up in surrender or showing he's unarmed or something, a conciliatory gesture by any interpretation.

"Whoa, whoa whoa." Kaze says. "Everyone thinks I'm talking about Puck. I'm not. Remember when I got incarcerated for a month? Do you remember why? Basically no one ever went into detail and people kind said they thought it was extreme...but I still sat in a cell for a month, because nobody had any skin in the game for me."

Kaze shrugs. "That's my take on it anyway."

Kaze gets up and brings out two tumblers and sets one in front of Guru, obviously inviting him to pour as much liquor into his tumbler as he wants.

"As soon as I was out, there was someone trying to bring up something else to get me punished again. Campanella squashed it that time. The person who seemed like they had it out for me is gone now. I'm not saying I got a raw deal, like that you should feel sorry for me or anything; I was guilty of some stuff before that I got off without any punishment, where I screwed up and people died, okay? And yeah, I really did need to learn how to keep my mouth shut about our stuff, like, at all. So I had it coming, really, but the way it happened?"

Kaze shrugs again. "It could happen to anyone who doesn't have anyone to stick up for them."

Kaze sighs. "Anyway, I am fine with putting that to the side, and not making it what the Cabal is about. Covering each other's back and helping out with our magic is cool, plus you know, common defense of a place, like a Sanctum for just the Cabal. The rest...like I said, I don't want anyone getting dragged into something they don't want to be involved in, unless it's directly backing up one of us in the Cabal."

"And sorry; I did NOT mean to call anybody a Nazi. The basic tactical idea of someone deciding not to get involved and ending in a weaker, more isolated position when they get targeted by the same people was all I meant."

[Guru]

Guru popped the top on the Whiskey and poured a double for each of them neat. Bringing his glass up with a nod even as Kaze spoke on his experiences. He took a sip letting the warmth run down his throat and fill his stomach. He was almost the right amount of buzzed now for this deep a talk he thought. "Your experience is proof of my point man. If it wasn't one thing it would be another, if not with you with someone else. There is always an order and only those at the top get to use it to their advantage. We have to find other ways and means to survive and sustain.


"Ahhh but that's what you're saying." He snapped his fingers and whether that was the point Kaze was trying to get across with his story or not it was the connection Guru's brain made. "I see why you're doing it, I think. They say Quantity is a quality all of it's own." Though he went on and when he got to the bit about people dying Guru took a drink and nodded his understanding. "Sorry, I know that's hard. I guess it should be." A small twitch of a smile before it fell off again with a sigh.


"Skin in the game? I mean I liked Anima fine, I took up my concerns with my Councilor because we have no real power there. You going to try and change that?" He nodded seriously at Kaze his cheeks reddening as the alcohol took effect but still clear eyed and focused. "I like helping out strays as much as the next guy, but you can't take them all in, one of them will fuck you up one day. And then?"


He moved to take another sip as Kaze agreed to put that bit to the side and stopped. "Case by Case maybe, it's definitely something to be discussed as it arises. No arguments there. Otherwise it sounds good, but I still think it's about more than that." He chuckled winking at Kaze before he tried to apologize, Guru had to put the glass down because he couldn't help but laugh. He shook his head and waved his hands in the air. "Didn't think you were buddy, just poking easy holes in your argument buddy."

[Kaze]

Kaze listens, soberly and then sighs in obvious relief when Guru seems to let the whole Nazi accusing thing go.

He grins widely, "So...is that you saying, 'Yes'?" He asks.

He shrugs. "Seriously tho, if you are, the next thing is for all of us to meet and agree on, you know, exactly what we're agreeing to." Kaze says with a laugh and a disarming grin!

[Guru]

Guru chuckled giving his whiskey a slow swirl before taking a sip of it, and then keeping the glass in his hand for now. "Let's get the folks together and check the vibe yea? Make sure we're all on similar frequencies. Right now I don't see why not, the details still need hashed out anyway beyond you know just general help." He shrugged, they were his friends what Kaze was asking now was nothing he wouldn't do for his friends in the first place.

[Kaze]

Kaze grins. "Cool." He says. He sips his whiskey for taste.

"Okay. That's all I got. Seriously, all my cards are on the table. How about you? Any questions or anything you want to talk about?" Kaze asks.

I am good to close or continue, as you wish! Thank you for the excellent scene!

[Guru]

"I believe you. See what the others say then when we get together." He took another sip of the drink, hand idly swirling it as he look at it. He stayed like that for a second lost in thought before he looked up and shrugged. "Yea, see how it goes. I gotta sober up a bit first, if you got time I could hear why you left the Arrow." Seemed relevant to the current situation after all. "Don't have to, just say the word and I'll dip and you can let me know time and place for the meet."

We can close it if you want, might be not enough time for that question.

[Kaze]

Kaze nods and smiles when Guru seems interested enough to take the next step towards officially forming a Cabal together.

Then he sighs and shrugs when Guru asks for the story about why he's not an Arrow any more.

"You know what? The real question is 'why was I ever an Arrow to begin with'?"

Kaze sighs again. "Sure, lots of people tell me I seem like the kind of guy that just would end up being an Arrow. Basically, I was on a whole redemption thing, trying to make my grandfather proud an my mother proud, even though both of them were gone already." He says.

"I screwed up on a mission, and three people died that didn't have to. Probably not nice people. Definitely not sleepers. Actually pretty definitely Banishers or working for them. But they wouldn't have died, at least not right away, if I didn't act impulsively."

"I didn't quit because I thought I couldn't do it though. I realized, I could get better and do the job better, but...I wouldn't like myself afterwards. Don't get me wrong; I have total respect for Phoenyx and all the Arrows, the Order and it's purpose. I just...don't believe that who I am meant to be at the core would make a good Arrow, and that being a good Arrow would mean being someone else than who I am, you know? It's just not the real me. So far, I've figured out more about who isn't me than who is, but...you know...it's a process."

Kaze smiles just slightly, and shrugs. "Same reason I quit working on my EMT." He says. "Basically, my job shouldn't be about life and death and being around suffering all of the time. It's just not me."

[Guru]

Guru listened, really listened for once. Kaze was opening up and being sincere and so he focused his attention. As best as he could at least, his fingers still fidgeted around, foot tapping a steady rhythm. Guru took a deep breath as Kaze spoke on the mission his face growing somber, fingers steepling and tapping on his lips.


"Couple thoughts. One. I might have a different perspective than you being called to the Primal Wilds but that's nature man. Kill or be Killed. You didn't kill them there and then? Then what? Do you think they'd stop hunting you, you think you could reform them? What was your plan after?


"Second thought was I ran into a similar situation out there tracking something. I tried to do the right thing. I tried every option I had, I even called upon my knowledge as an Alchemist but nothing would get the thing off. So the only thing I could think to do was a battlefield amputation...I didn't account for one variable. Maybe self preservation stopped me from seeing it. But because of me an innocent life was lost. It doesn't feel good, but right now that shit is locked down tight and no one's being attacked."


He shrugged, he couldn't say the ends justified the means. That was a cop pout, a lie people told themselves to give the monsters inside them permission. So Guru had to sit with that guilt until it faded away to be replaced by another wound. As Kaze continued Guru's lips pulled up in thought, his eyes flitting around the room. "Was it the pressure? The Stakes? Cause man, alright, this next bits a teaser probably since I'd need a bowl and a couple of hours for it. But Life and Death? Small fucking Potatoes compared to the shit we live every day."


He motioned with a hand to the birds kept well by magic. "Life and Death? Motherfucker we're talking your soul, your qi, the great shining light through the ocean of shit trying to call us home. Life and Death is shit in comparison. Like it or not, doesn't matter, wasn't your choice. Or maybe it was..." he rolled his hand forward into the future before shrugging again.

[Kaze]

"Oh wow. I...I'm sorry." Kaze says when Guru shares the outline of his own hard choice leading to someone or something dying.

"Yeah. I know. Being Awakened automatically means I make high stakes choices with...basically people's reality up for grabs, I know." Kaze admits. "I'm just saying, what I do the rest of the time...needs to not be about people living or dying based on my choices. I want to tell stories." He manages a rueful grin. "I'm not great at that, but it's something I want to get better at, unlike, you know, killing people."

This has been so much fun! Thank you! I'll close this tomorrow, so if you get to it, last word to you! :-D

[Guru]

"Picked a strange path to Master if you don't want it. I have this great movie you should watch, it has a great life lesson. It's called Spiderman. Stars a young Tobey McGuire." Guru shook his head and finished his whiskey setting it down on the counter. "You say one thing but are doing another, sounds like you're out alignment. Meditate on it a bit, really think about it."


He took a deep breath and began stretching, rolling his shoulders, stretching out his calves. "You act like it's one thing or the other. Many great warriors were also poets. You can be both, you can do both. It doesn't have to be all one or the other, it's about picking your moments." He let out a sharp exhale before turning and extending his hand to Kaze.


"Well it was fun, should do it again sometime. Well, heh, seems like we will. I'm gonna run to my car real quick and dip into your bathroom to change if that's cool. I'm gonna go for a jog and kickstart my metabolism to burn off the ethanol my liver is currently processing. Besides, it'll be a beautiful jog." He laughed and with hands shaken, wardrobe changed he'd go for a light jog before heading home.

Thanks again, it was fun!