nexus_crossings | Welcome Committee

There's been so many fresh faces to the Nexus recently, and more than a few of them have been children. Questions about finding a way home, about trying to decide if they want to go home. People wondering what to do now...

There are a few tables set out this morning in the Plaza in front of a small cafe loaded with several caraffes of coffee, breakfast pastries from more than a few different worlds and cultures, and a large pan of eggs and sausage kept warm over a chafing dish. On either end of the table are disposable plates, cups, and cutlery as well as a few welcome pamphlets in a small container. Along the front of the tables is a hand made banner.

"Meet and Greet"

Manning the tables is Katsuya Suou, red apron on and a cup of coffee in hand. He looks far too cheerful for how early in the morning it is.

"Right then, is anyone hungry? Have any questions about the nexus?"

((OOC: Feel free to mingle and threadjump in this thread. I'm trying to get people who have yet to meet to interact, so do not feel obligated to only reply to me!))

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"I am." She has to concede that. How to explain... "What I mean is- a better one. Stronger. A true warrior of the Light, like my commander or Wei Ning or Saint-14. Someone worthy to follow heroes like them. Not just a fledgling playing around with the enemy's cannon fodder."

It doesn't sound so bad, and she doesn't see it being- okay, dangerous, yes, but not in a bad way. She definitely suspects Hughes will have a different reaction if she tries to explain all the details, however...

"Blaze." Hughes makes sure he has her attention and acknowledges the stern look on his face before he continues.

"You're already worthy. You've done amazing things here, stood up and fought for so many. Hell, you've fought things that most people haven't rightfully understood. Demons, a spirit who tried to tear the Nexus apart... When others ran the other way, you ran straight into the thick of it and did a damn good job in bringing about the best resolution possible for all."

He doesn't want her doing anything more dangerous. He knows what he gets herself into already and the last thing he wants is to find out she's doing more than that.

Oh, Hughes. It's a good thing she can't blush, listening to that. And yet as much as she appreciates the kind words, she's mostly just thinking she should spare him some of the details to her plans. He looks unhappy enough as it is.

"You make it sound like I saved the day single-handed," she says, shaking her head in affectionate amusement. "Don't get me wrong: I'm proud to have fought alongside the people here. Alongside my friends." She pauses for a second, her voice low and firm when she speaks again. "But it's not enough, Hughes. I exist for a purpose, and our war deserves everything I've got to give it."

"You ran into close-combat against the guy who could freeze us solid with a single touch - I'd call that damn close to single-handed." He'd been worried as hell as he'd watched from afar, unable to do much after his own run in with the spirit, but Blaze was never one to give up or give in when she could fight and it showed that day. She was fearless and the intelligence officer respected her even more after that particular fight.

He frowns at her self-deprecation. "Why isn't that enough, though? You've given your all, I've seen it myself. I don't understand why you think you're not enough when you give twice what anyone thinks they could and then some."

"I kept him occupied. Our friendly Warlocks - and that sniper - took him down," Blaze corrects, still amused. "You can't have had that good a view." All she had to seriously hurt Reynard with was the Arc- and that one odd moment where her Light took a different turn. Her optics flick down to her right hand, fingers flexing idly for a second. That part of the fight still nags at her.

But first, she needs to comfort her friend... if she can't make him understand. "I'm grateful for the vote of confidence, Hughes, but- uh. If you'd seen some of the other Guardians in action, you'd know I haven't given my full measure. Not while the Darkness is still out there and I'm still- I can still be more than this. I know that."

She needs to be more, in a way she didn't just a few weeks ago. She doesn't even see any of this as self-deprecation, really - the point is she needs to be better.

"Keeping him pinned down was a big deal. They never would've had the chance to close in on him if not for you and we all might feel a lot colder right now if you hadn't. I think you're not giving yourself enough credit for what you did that day." And really, she isn't. He found out later about how she helped Steve and the others in addition to all the hand-to-hand fighting she did with the spirit himself. Blaze has a lot to be proud of, even if she doesn't see it that way.

His frown deepens as he continues. "You say that as if there's an easy way of measuring one Guardian to another. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses; What may be their best may not be yours, or it may not be obvious in the same ways. Don't discount yourself - you've done so much here that I can't believe for a second that you haven't given your all."

Blaze looks about to speak for a moment- then looks away, temporarily stumped. She is grateful - Hughes' opinion means more to her than her tendency to argue with it might suggest. She just doesn't know how to convince him of that. She doesn't entirely understand what she ought to reassure him about, never mind what to say.

She does know the answer to that last part.

"Trust me, Hughes. You'll know the day I do." She meets his gaze again as she speaks Shrugs at him. "I don't understand what you're suggesting I do. Give up on becoming more than a fledgling? Stay in this holding pattern? The Light needs to grow. I need to be stronger."

He's glad she doesn't protest (he was running out of new ways to say the same thing), but her answer still makes him a little sad. There's something he doesn't understand, he thinks, but he isn't quite able to figure out what that might be.

"So train a little harder and longer?" A beat as he tries to come up with something else. "The way you say it makes it sound like you want to go away and never come back because of this change."

"That's not what I meant." She shifts her weight, particularly uncomfortable at his last words. "I have duties here. I couldn't run from them. But my duty to the Light comes first, and that's about more than training. It's about honor, and strength, and sacrifice."

It may indeed mean 'never coming back' sooner rather than later, but that's not the point in her mind.

"...It's all right, Hughes. I'm talking about dedicating myself to a philosophy, not abandoning this place."

Honor, strength, and sacrifice. Core tenants of any military. Something he understands, even if he's rather at odds with his own right now. He feels like he's almost there in understanding, but he can't quite make the leap to the ledge Blaze is on.

"All right, but if you need help with anything - and you know I mean anything - you let me know all right? You can call me anytime and I'll be there as fast as I can."

Welcome Committee

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