07-27-2016, 07:54 PM
Arturo listens as both take their turns, Margot's in favour of rebuttle and William in favour of respectful acquiescence. Both have merit and value, if only in how the responses are probably put away for perusal and consideration by the old man in time. It isn't really his best intention or even his worst, or even intentions at all, on display right now. It's just a simple matter of listening. Which he does. With apparent patience and studying. The kids have put on quite the show thus far and there are elements about them that present themselves, both in the lies they told as well as the honesty they seem capable of.
The certainty that clings to Nihm is one born of age. As William knows, such individuals don't amass this level of wealth, isolation (he's on the side of the god damned mountain with his own personal road FFS) and artifact without some semblance of experience and the knowhow to put it to use. That all there's been so far is the demand for an apology and a list of chores that need doing, sort of...says something about where these three are right now.
First though, they need to extract themselves.
"You have to keep in mind what you claim to be, Dear." Spoken at Margot and it is here that they will hear a different Arturo Nihm. A softness, minimally chiding with a sense of comfort that is as much a fatherly pat on the back as it is a frown of digression. "And what that entails. What you hope, want or need isn't as important as the future of what could be expanded on in this moment and, dare I say, other moments such as this."
He chuckles, leaning across the desk to stare up into her youthful face.
"You're going to find yourself making mistakes and potentially paying for them. The need to minimize those mistakes is important, but also in paying the smallest amount necessary to ensure they don't come back to haunt you. For your part, trust is something you should buy and sell as high as you possibly can, because it is a rare thing that you young folk give away far too often, seemingly for nothing short of a gaff or a bit of adventure-" His hand flaps about nebulously, as if to indicate the situation they are in.
"Each of us has means of treading the paths and the worlds and these moments that are difficult in various ways. Sometimes those ways come into conflict with others and repercussions are inevitable. What we do to minimize those repercussions is maintain a sense of distance from all those who can complicate them. That includes any orders, collectives, families, friends, religions, sects, industries and institutions that have hard and fast rules about why you don't do what you two have done today. That's dangerous..." A pause, eyes rolling upward. "For all of us, really, regardless of Identity."
He leans back again.
"Right now, payment for the lie and the situation we have here is measured in some chores and you still get yourselves some of what you were hoping for. You won't get access to my library, there's information in there you're not ready for and certainly won't understand but I can translate and parse down any number of avenues. Think of it as..." He scrubs at his goatee, looking for words. "A series of lectures you'll eventually come to appreciate in your enthusiasm to know more about the worlds."
Worlds. Plural. He's said it several times now. Whether this is an admission to something or an active, voluntary presentation of fact, is...like many things about Nihm...a vague certainty.
"You don't tell anyone. You don't speak my name to anyone. You keep it secret as long as you can and in the meantime, I make preparations to combat whoever may well be attached to you, voluntary or not in a purely defensive manner, as befits any isolationist, who has caught wind of intrusion. Thus ensuring my safety while ensuring your education as well which...I dare say, I have some vested interest in." A smile. Kindly, rubbing out much of the edge these words could have contained.
"Your services, Mr...?" Arturo will pause for William to provide a name. "Will be rendered for as long as it takes for me to shore up my defenses. That requires getting to know you two and what you're capable of-" A bit of scepticism there, healthy and clean and obviously a bit of a dig at their claims of Wizardry and Witchdom "-so I have a broader sense of what to expect should others of your kind present themselves as an issue." A hand held up toward the pair of them, forestalling possible woe or concern.
"I do not want or need to know about your organizations or the degrees to which you adhere to them. Merely a limited understanding of what harm could befall me or my estate should your mistake here today, bring about a threat in the now, near or distant future." A pause, eyes dancing between the two, before a brief moment of gravity, delivered with a sigh through his nostrils arrives.
"Other than this, very fair offer, we will have to go our separate ways and I will be forced to take a more active level of threat to ensure my safety and means. Which...really, will just get involved all those organizations that neither you, nor I, nor they would appreciate."
The certainty that clings to Nihm is one born of age. As William knows, such individuals don't amass this level of wealth, isolation (he's on the side of the god damned mountain with his own personal road FFS) and artifact without some semblance of experience and the knowhow to put it to use. That all there's been so far is the demand for an apology and a list of chores that need doing, sort of...says something about where these three are right now.
First though, they need to extract themselves.
"You have to keep in mind what you claim to be, Dear." Spoken at Margot and it is here that they will hear a different Arturo Nihm. A softness, minimally chiding with a sense of comfort that is as much a fatherly pat on the back as it is a frown of digression. "And what that entails. What you hope, want or need isn't as important as the future of what could be expanded on in this moment and, dare I say, other moments such as this."
He chuckles, leaning across the desk to stare up into her youthful face.
"You're going to find yourself making mistakes and potentially paying for them. The need to minimize those mistakes is important, but also in paying the smallest amount necessary to ensure they don't come back to haunt you. For your part, trust is something you should buy and sell as high as you possibly can, because it is a rare thing that you young folk give away far too often, seemingly for nothing short of a gaff or a bit of adventure-" His hand flaps about nebulously, as if to indicate the situation they are in.
"Each of us has means of treading the paths and the worlds and these moments that are difficult in various ways. Sometimes those ways come into conflict with others and repercussions are inevitable. What we do to minimize those repercussions is maintain a sense of distance from all those who can complicate them. That includes any orders, collectives, families, friends, religions, sects, industries and institutions that have hard and fast rules about why you don't do what you two have done today. That's dangerous..." A pause, eyes rolling upward. "For all of us, really, regardless of Identity."
He leans back again.
"Right now, payment for the lie and the situation we have here is measured in some chores and you still get yourselves some of what you were hoping for. You won't get access to my library, there's information in there you're not ready for and certainly won't understand but I can translate and parse down any number of avenues. Think of it as..." He scrubs at his goatee, looking for words. "A series of lectures you'll eventually come to appreciate in your enthusiasm to know more about the worlds."
Worlds. Plural. He's said it several times now. Whether this is an admission to something or an active, voluntary presentation of fact, is...like many things about Nihm...a vague certainty.
"You don't tell anyone. You don't speak my name to anyone. You keep it secret as long as you can and in the meantime, I make preparations to combat whoever may well be attached to you, voluntary or not in a purely defensive manner, as befits any isolationist, who has caught wind of intrusion. Thus ensuring my safety while ensuring your education as well which...I dare say, I have some vested interest in." A smile. Kindly, rubbing out much of the edge these words could have contained.
"Your services, Mr...?" Arturo will pause for William to provide a name. "Will be rendered for as long as it takes for me to shore up my defenses. That requires getting to know you two and what you're capable of-" A bit of scepticism there, healthy and clean and obviously a bit of a dig at their claims of Wizardry and Witchdom "-so I have a broader sense of what to expect should others of your kind present themselves as an issue." A hand held up toward the pair of them, forestalling possible woe or concern.
"I do not want or need to know about your organizations or the degrees to which you adhere to them. Merely a limited understanding of what harm could befall me or my estate should your mistake here today, bring about a threat in the now, near or distant future." A pause, eyes dancing between the two, before a brief moment of gravity, delivered with a sigh through his nostrils arrives.
"Other than this, very fair offer, we will have to go our separate ways and I will be forced to take a more active level of threat to ensure my safety and means. Which...really, will just get involved all those organizations that neither you, nor I, nor they would appreciate."