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[arcanegrasp]

Elias is often out and about, but he's always glad to hear out anyone who needs to speak with him. Visit him in his home within the lighthouse, catch him out in the bustling city streets, or leave him a letter! He'll get back to you as soon as he can.

((OOC: Gonna get a proper code for this later, don't worry about the format now!!))

Comments

[arcanegrasp]

"Unfortunately not."

For the first time, an air of guilt rises to Elias' features, and his frown deepens.

"I wasn't able to finish the ritual before they were able to bring the Enforcers to interrupt. I had just gotten far enough to hear him speak, before I was arrested. I know he knows something, though. I don't intend to try again, of course, I've done my time, but... augh."

He lets out a short, frustrated breath. Not at Cerrit - the frustration seems entirely directed inward.

"If I'd been able to raise him faster, I could have heard him. Maybe gotten some justice for him, poor man. Anything that might've helped."

[maltesefalcon]

"Justice..." And the deal he made strangles the rest of the sentence he might have been about to say. He clicks his beak in frustration, and tries again. "It's a deeper matter than one death." That's no secret, Elias surely already knows that.

"For what it's worth, I think that assigning blame will not resolve the current issues at hand. There's a lack of information-sharing because of existing tensions, and it's hindering progress and I might not have much room to talk, because I have information I am incapable of sharing and..." Click.

Sigh.

"Linette disappeared mere months after that incident. I don't think you were involved in that, but I wonder if the timing had some relevance. Like someone out there might have thought she overheard something during your ritual."

[arcanegrasp]

"Of course, I know it goes so much deeper than that. Not to mention, that if my suspicions are correct, the perpretrators are already gone," Elias tuts. "But the point stands."

There's a contemplative moment, and Elias tilts his head, ever so slightly, eyeing Cerrit for a moment.

"Information you're incapable of sharing, though? Am I to assume these tensions impact you, much the same, or is it a more personal interference that keeps your hands tied? I wouldn't think such a thing should extend to the Enforcers."

[maltesefalcon]

"It doesn't extend to the Enforcers as a group. Honestly, there are members of the force who I think might have acted similarly to you, to discover truth where it was being concealed, in the same situation. People who care more about what is right and what is best than about those in a position of power feel is necessary. Which is good, it truly is."

He says this even as Dahlia's newest adoptive father figure. Someday, Leon and CT and Shen Qingqiu will discover truths Cerrit can't share, and the world within the bubble will change. But he has some trust in them, regarding what comes next.

He wishes he'd pushed Laerryn for truths sooner.

[arcanegrasp]

"So you do understand, then?" Elias asks, tentatively optimistic. "I've not gotten much regard in what I did beyond admonishing or lost favor in the public eye. I appreciate that you can see why I've done what I've done, even if your social ties would've prevented anything similar."

There's a strange mix of vindication and judgement, from someone who doesn't understand the inner-workings at play. He leans into the vindication, however; though he's, for better or worse, never allowed tensions to keep him from prying at the truth, he's certain there's a good reason Cerrit has to.

"Regarding what you said about Linette, though... I've worried about that, for some time. She didn't hear anything that I didn't, but someone who didn't know that could have easily assumed that she did. I don't believe the extent of Jasper's attempted resurrection were ever publicized, and you know how the rumor-mill spins."

He pauses, for only a fleeting moment of quiet, and his frown returns. He glances away for a moment, weighing his options, deciding whether or not to say something. He's never particularly trusted Enforcers, at this point, what's the worst that could happen?

"I've wondered, as well, why... her? If I was the one who'd ostensibly heard something, likely a fair bit more than she did, and I've got no ties to the Leeds family, nor any other family on this island..."

Why am I still here? The question remains unspoken, but a glimpse of survivor's guilt peers through the cracks.

"Perhaps the rumors of a Leeds family curse has some merit, and marriage into it counts. I don't know."

[maltesefalcon]

What can Cerrit say? What words can he use without saying anything Elias does not know, to drive his point home?

"There's a lot of rumors about the Leeds family out there. There's not a Leeds family anymore. Just one woman, in the aftermath of everything. Her parents made choices before she was born, and now she lives with them. I don't know everything, Elias, but...it's all pretty fucked up. What happened to Linette, what happened to all those boys and girls."

He clicks his beak again, looks right at Elias. "You were taken off the board for a year, put in jail. Perhaps that kept you safe. Perhaps someone thought that was sufficient to nullify you as a threat. It's not like you've been talking about all this to just anyone."