A belated social postmortem

[Edward Heinrich]

Edward nodded, agreeing with the Prince, all while ruefully looking forward to the day he could see his mistakes in that kind of even-handed light.

"I do not wish to build a house on sand, your Grace. My seeking closure is my seeking a foundation. But, the separation is unlikely as clear-cut as I make it out to be." He would be careful not to overfixate.

Edward nodded again, accepting the warning to not be chained by shame. He further accepted her caveat of a perfect storm without comment. She wasn't wrong, but Edward had always felt like a fraud in the house of those elite Kindred. It wasn't as bad as in the guild hall, among his brothers with their barbed wreathes, but a pervasive sense of inadequacy still poisoned all.

Edward shook his head, "on the contrary, your Grace. You are making it as easy as fairness permits, and I am grateful."

"I am aware, your Grace, but I am not afraid. It will not be hard to exceed the expectations most have of me." A small smile.

[Alessandra]

A foundation.

“Nothing is ever as clear-cut as it seems to be.” Simple fact right there.

Was she making it fair? Maybe too fair?

“I’ve made my own mistakes and have been allowed to redeem myself for them. As such, I told myself that I would allow others the chance to redeem themselves if I could. Some show great growth from it, and some, well, don’t. You sound like you want to show your own growth, and I’m willing to see if you have.” But only once.

Was he truly not afraid? She didn’t know, and she wasn’t going to dig to find out. Edward knew what he had done and who he pissed off, whatever came of it would unfold over time.

“Then I wish you luck.” Did she mean it? Hard to tell. “Thank you for taking the time to talk with me this evening. Feel free to reach out to Gabriel if you wish to talk further.” from her tone, Edward would hear that he could ask question and continue the conversation if he liked.

[Edward Heinrich]

"It was my pleasure, your Grace." Edward gave a slight bow in his chair. There were questions Edward wished to give voice to but now was not the time. "I shall do so. A good evening to you, your grace." Edward rose, bowed again, and departed.