[ If he sounded anything less than tired, she'd have been irritated beyond belief by the question. Even so, of all the damn stupid things to ask... Her gaze follows him as he makes his way around the desk. ]
I never gloated in the first place, Silco. You know that.
[ Because she hadn't. She couldn't even recall what this mysterious future her had said, or done. Had she gloated? Had she simply told him everything he never wanted to hear? She didn't know, yet all the blame still fell squarely on her shoulders. ]
[ Maybe she hadn't, but Silco had certainly built it up in his head. Every comment, every little thing the "future" version of her had said felt mocking in retrospect. Something that made him furious, and angry.
He's mad because to him, it sounds like they capitulated. To him, everything that he had done was for nothing. He'd done so much, given up more than he'd created. He'd become a monster because there was no other way, that was the only way that worked β wasn't it? It had to be. It had to be, because the alternative was... ]
You didn't.
[ She did. In his mind, it was obvious. Dangling that over his head, asking questions like he'd know the answer. ]
So?
[ He sits in his chair. It's like there's a weight there, a dark cloud over his head. ] I assume then, you came here for a purpose?
[ An apology was never going to happen, no matter how much Sevika felt she deserved one. That woman he met hadn't been her and yet she's catching all the flack... Unfortunately, it just wasn't how either of them worked. ]
I didn't quit, Silco. I only left to let us both cool off.
[ So why would she not be here? In the end, this is where she'll return, every time. ]
I can't take back that I took the council seat. Piltover's in the weaker position for once, so I figured it was worth a try, but come on. You know me. If I decide it's all bullshit, I'll tell them exactly where to shove that chair.
She wouldn't get one, either. Whatever was reality, Silco imposed his own, and he refused to put himself in a light where he was in the wrong. Everything he'd done, had it even mattered? Had it ever mattered? Would they have ended up where they were without him? Would they have still been quiet, meek, and destitute without?
The thoughts plague him. Constant circles in his mind, over and over again. ]
No, I suppose you can't. Too many people will look towards that with hope now that we have it. Even if it ties both us and them together. Irreparably.
[ She could try, but this was their way of enacting power on them too. He'd wanted a schism, a clean break. He hated them. How long, until the old habits slipped back in. Until the balance of power tips back toward Piltover? They would never be seen as equals, they would never be treated like they should be.
He had to believe that. To believe that they could capitulate, it...
His lips twitched. Almost peeling back, but he stops them. ]
And if you tell them to shove it, you know they'll put a power-hungry stooge in their place. A chembaron, most likely. More will fill the gaps soon enough, carving the lost territory into pieces and then squabbling until they find a new balance of power.
That would have happened if I hadn't taken it, too. At least this way I can keep them out of Zaun long enough to handle the fallout of all the chembarons dropping like flies.
[ Piltover was worse off, sure, and Zaun had come together, for now, but there was always going to be a time limit on that. She would have to work fast. All the more reason to be irritated by being stuck here instead of doing what actually needed to be done. ]
Others will try to claw their way to the top and I'd rather pick who that ends up being. [ She won't even think about mentioning the Firelights. Having any of them on her own little council would only set Silco off all over again. ] I'm not going to let them tear down everything you built... You let Zaun out of its cage. We aren't going back in.
[ Of course, that brings her to a faint snort of... well, not quite amusement. She smoked a bit and breathed it out again in a cloud. ]
But you should have seen their faces when I walked into that shiny golden tower of theirs. I'm pretty sure I'm on a time limit there, anyway, no matter what this "older" me may have said.
Sevika is truly the only one that has a chance to convince Silco of this. He hates them, Topside. He knows Sevika does too. They both do, they always have. It was always going to go this way, be this way. They hated them for what had been done to them, for every little slight. Every sneer. Every dead body. They had been looked down on for long enough that they both understood what it was that they were fighting for. Sevika was the only one that could have convinced him.
Oh, if only it hadn't been for Vander's big damn mouth, telling him to "be a mentor". The thought rises to the surface, and Silco feels that old asp lash out, a strike Anger. Hot like molten lava. Anger at them, for trying to manipulate them into compromising. To try to draw them into being theirs. To continuing to work together. ]
And if it isn't?
They aren't letting us go. They'll never let us go now. Not if we're working with them. Not if they're going to continue to get our profit.
The... other you said that you were manipulating them out, but I know them. They'll hold on by any means necessary. You can't guarantee that they still won't have holdings. Not without shell structures, investments, or otherwise.
[ He doesn't believe it. He can't.
It couldn't have worked without him. Right? There couldn't have been another way. ]
We can't let them have us.
[ That's what it boiled down to. He didn't want them to have any part. They'd been so close ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
I never gloated in the first place, Silco. You know that.
[ Because she hadn't. She couldn't even recall what this mysterious future her had said, or done. Had she gloated? Had she simply told him everything he never wanted to hear? She didn't know, yet all the blame still fell squarely on her shoulders. ]
no subject
He's mad because to him, it sounds like they capitulated. To him, everything that he had done was for nothing. He'd done so much, given up more than he'd created. He'd become a monster because there was no other way, that was the only way that worked β wasn't it? It had to be. It had to be, because the alternative was... ]
You didn't.
[ She did. In his mind, it was obvious. Dangling that over his head, asking questions like he'd know the answer. ]
So?
[ He sits in his chair. It's like there's a weight there, a dark cloud over his head. ] I assume then, you came here for a purpose?
[ She couldn't expect an apology, could she? ]
no subject
I didn't quit, Silco. I only left to let us both cool off.
[ So why would she not be here? In the end, this is where she'll return, every time. ]
I can't take back that I took the council seat. Piltover's in the weaker position for once, so I figured it was worth a try, but come on. You know me. If I decide it's all bullshit, I'll tell them exactly where to shove that chair.
no subject
She wouldn't get one, either. Whatever was reality, Silco imposed his own, and he refused to put himself in a light where he was in the wrong. Everything he'd done, had it even mattered? Had it ever mattered? Would they have ended up where they were without him? Would they have still been quiet, meek, and destitute without?
The thoughts plague him. Constant circles in his mind, over and over again. ]
No, I suppose you can't. Too many people will look towards that with hope now that we have it. Even if it ties both us and them together. Irreparably.
[ She could try, but this was their way of enacting power on them too. He'd wanted a schism, a clean break. He hated them. How long, until the old habits slipped back in. Until the balance of power tips back toward Piltover? They would never be seen as equals, they would never be treated like they should be.
He had to believe that. To believe that they could capitulate, it...
His lips twitched. Almost peeling back, but he stops them. ]
And if you tell them to shove it, you know they'll put a power-hungry stooge in their place. A chembaron, most likely. More will fill the gaps soon enough, carving the lost territory into pieces and then squabbling until they find a new balance of power.
no subject
[ Piltover was worse off, sure, and Zaun had come together, for now, but there was always going to be a time limit on that. She would have to work fast. All the more reason to be irritated by being stuck here instead of doing what actually needed to be done. ]
Others will try to claw their way to the top and I'd rather pick who that ends up being. [ She won't even think about mentioning the Firelights. Having any of them on her own little council would only set Silco off all over again. ] I'm not going to let them tear down everything you built... You let Zaun out of its cage. We aren't going back in.
[ Of course, that brings her to a faint snort of... well, not quite amusement. She smoked a bit and breathed it out again in a cloud. ]
But you should have seen their faces when I walked into that shiny golden tower of theirs. I'm pretty sure I'm on a time limit there, anyway, no matter what this "older" me may have said.
no subject
Sevika is truly the only one that has a chance to convince Silco of this. He hates them, Topside. He knows Sevika does too. They both do, they always have. It was always going to go this way, be this way. They hated them for what had been done to them, for every little slight. Every sneer. Every dead body. They had been looked down on for long enough that they both understood what it was that they were fighting for. Sevika was the only one that could have convinced him.
Oh, if only it hadn't been for Vander's big damn mouth, telling him to "be a mentor". The thought rises to the surface, and Silco feels that old asp lash out, a strike Anger. Hot like molten lava. Anger at them, for trying to manipulate them into compromising. To try to draw them into being theirs. To continuing to work together. ]
And if it isn't?
They aren't letting us go. They'll never let us go now. Not if we're working with them. Not if they're going to continue to get our profit.
The... other you said that you were manipulating them out, but I know them. They'll hold on by any means necessary. You can't guarantee that they still won't have holdings. Not without shell structures, investments, or otherwise.
[ He doesn't believe it. He can't.
It couldn't have worked without him. Right? There couldn't have been another way. ]
We can't let them have us.
[ That's what it boiled down to. He didn't want them to have any part. They'd been so close ]