A lie by omission is still a lie.he repeated in his mind over and over, reflecting what had been said.That includes me,unfortunately. I don`t trust them, but I also can`t lie lest I become part of the lie. Oh, this is tricky.he thought, annoyed, being caught by his own omissions, all the while having fun with his nonsensical word-games. After all, he couldn`t well call Puck out on it if he was guilty of the same thing. He did knowthough, that the concepts the network embodied would be much harder for them toaccept though.
Practically impossible, since I`m sorrounded byMystagogues, a traitor and Winter, who I still can`t place. so he stopped short of going into a FreeCouncil speech on freedom of information transfer and the values of debate.
"Yes, this network is a thing. Haven`t checked it in a while though." he briefly told Chambers in a side note, outwardly avoiding an incredulous look as if Chambers had been living under a rock.
Besides his mental dilemma, what was important to Philip that moment was Aurora`s terse rebuke of Puck`s presence not being welcome in the Athanaeum, which almost made him flinch. Glad I didn`t make that joke about Corn. he thought, relieved he`d dodged a bullet and stuck to his crisp nod of assent. Other than that, she was mostly just interested in talking with Chambers about the barbecue.
"Yep, far as I see it, it`s a go." he added, excitedly although he was slightly less-than-excited about their puns now so he ignored that as best he could.
Winter again cut to the chase, with his few words completely forestalling a big part of the leadership discussion that was ongoing. And he had a point. That being, the newcomer Corn had been presumptuous again with his idea to have the Duel Arcane be the end all-be all of governing the consilium.
I sense a pattern forming about Corn. Presumptuousness and divided loyalty, complete in a somewhat? new take on the Mysterium package. he chuckled inwardly to himself. As for his `free` advice, Philip was taking that with several bags of salt, his argument basically being:
So he`s strong, he takes out an abyssal spirit and that should influence my judgement? I mean it shouldn`t but it`s making me trust him more and more though I`m still not completely sure. Why do I get the hard one?
But it was Puck who really surprised him. So he`d defend the Athanaeum and doesn`t care about their `toys`. Promising. And he gets a full apology from Corn. Still doesn`t completely let him off the hook as he mentioned the actual Mysterium break-in as a hypothetical. Perhaps he`s not as bad as I first thought. Weighing his options he took a long think, trying to come up with a measured response that took in the reality of the situation.
After all, he did already agree to defend every person. While I kinda locked my position with that comment about requiring the same of him as I expect of myself, not acknowledging him might earn me the ire of Corn, Puck and perhaps even Aurora or Winter as they seemed to know each other. When he spoke, it was measured, conveying as much metaphysical weight on his words as he could:
"Puck, you say you`ll agree to defend everyone part of it, even arcane secrets that aren`t your own, such as those in the Athanaeum. Corn has also vouched for you as a powerful fighter."
he said, gesturing to Corn before continuing:
"As I understand it, you won`t defend the Circle itself partially because you don`t know what the organisation still is and you cannot label it."
He was surprised himself as he forced himself to say those words based on his understanding of what Puck had said.
As an Acanthus, and likely a quite powerful one, he should know what he`s getting himself into, despite his claims to have problems penetrating the wards of the Circle. Curious that that isn`t so. he thought, holding back a scoff as he continued:
"Perhaps though, with the addition of you the Circle might be able to become something you can feel proud to defend again and that you can identify with. So, despite certain misgivings I still have, I`m willing to look past them and acknowledge you in this Consilium. Welcome to Sacramento."
he said, stretching out his hand again and offering it to Puck to shake.