BLAME IT ON ME | MEETING 6.3

[Roy Mustang]

Roy couldn't but feel a sense of relief run through his chest when he heard Bastilleprisoner demote Radeken. When the former Cleric arrived at the border a few days ago, Roy was furious. He was grief stricken, he partially blamed Maes death due to their absence. While Bastilleprisoner was correct at the time, Hughes was found dead and wouldn't have been saved whether Radeken was around or not, Roy didn't want to accept it then. He firmly believed that maybe Radeken would have discovered Maes sooner, but now with a few days passing, he knew it wouldn't have happened. Hughes would be just as dead as he is now if Radeken was around. To be honest, he felt more relieved that her position was striped from her due to her large, unexplained absence. Clearly she has proven she isn't capable and isn't responsible enough to hold the job. Roy felt more relieved with Warringkingdoms as their new Cleric- while Roy doesn't know her that well, she certainly seems to care for her clanmates and is always trying to help them. That's far better than a Cleric that is known to steal, at least he can put his trust in Warringkingdoms.

He listened to the rest of the announcements, ears pricking up as he listened closely to what else Bastilleprisoner had to say. So there were a lot of new members- there were no new names that Roy recognized, which wasn't surprising. Roy wasn't one to show up to every joining, as he isn't as welcoming and friendly as others might be. So if Roy was to show up at a joining, it's actually a rare occurrence, as the bobcat isn't that open to letting people in so easily. His own joining took longer than expected because he ended up bombarding everyone with questions- back then he had little to no trust in the group he called home. Two months later, there's certainly more trust in his clanmates, but not enough trust to be extremely friendly and welcoming to new joiners that are particularly strangers to him. Just like the rest of his clanmates, his trust will have to be earned by any new member if they wish to call him their friend.

So, something was finally being done about the conflict with Tanglewood? What confuses him is that he and the group knows that Bastilleprisoner hates their guts. Roy understands why the peace talks were going to be set in place- to prevent a war. But from what he's hearing right now, it sounds like Bastilleprisoner is only continuing them because Starrynight started one. If Starrynight never got the chance to hold one, would Bastilleprisoner be up there right now, telling his clanmates to not hurt Beck if they see him at the territory and that he's going to have a future talk with the Tanglewood leader? Highly unlikely. "If you're continuing the peace talks because Starrynight already had one in progress, then I believe you're heading in the wrong direction." Roy spoke up with a confident, yet calm, voice, hoping he'd grab the Astral Seraph's attention. "If you're really continuing these peace talks with to complete Starrynight's unfinished work or to make him proud in a possible afterlife, then that's the wrong motivation. Instead, the reason as to why you should continue the peace talk with Beck should be the future safety of your clan."

"You should use your clan's safety as your motive through these talks- as I'm sure they won't be easy. We all know you hate Beck and his group- and we can't blame you for it. But if you're going to go in with a mindset that you're doing it for Starrynight's sake, rather than the future safety of a clan that's on your shoulders, then the peace talk is going to be ten times harder for you to complete."