|
Everyone empties out, and Lumi's in the process of pouring herself another cup of coffee when she realizes that Sturm hasn't left yet. "Go ahead," the other Snowskin prompts, sitting back down with her fresh cup. Well, relatively. The coffee's been on for a while. Doesn't seem to bother her, though.
"Marjorie mentioned I might speak with you about a few things - the kinds of skills a Sun Banisher ought to have?" She joins Lumi by the coffee pot - waiting patiently for the Left-Hand to finish so that she can pour her own cup. On account of having finished hers off pretty early into the dramatic-face-hide-behind-cup maneuver she pulled. "Words and Wording, specifically. Magical and mundane."
"What, you mean like, finding out if people are lying, or the part of the job where sometimes we have to break into their houses?" Lumi asks in her impeccably calm way. Snowskins! A thing which Sturm knows all about. "She mentioned you wanted the job."
Sturm's expression stays stoney. "Doin' just fine as far as breaking into places goes." She takes a sip of her freshly poured not-fresh coffee. "Detecting lies - and, perhaps, how to better word an Oath - so that someone can't just find a loophole and wriggle out of it."
She sits still. "There's no Oath so secure that a person can't find their way out of it, and breaking an Oath is an easy enough thing to do without intending to," Lumi notes in her ice-flat way. "We can work on detecting lies together. Mostly, it's about watching people's faces. They give away more than they intend to, always. The little gestures."
"Suppose that's true enough. Much as I don't like it." She shrugs, letting Lumi continue. "That's... mostly what I've been doing already. Have a few tight-lipped friends, so. Plenty of chances to practice." Beat. "Beyond looking for tells, do you have any advice for how to catch half-lies in cleverly worded statements - or techniques for getting people to trip up when recounting facts?"
"Mostly it's just listening and practice. And -- " Here Lumi pauses. "Ask a lot of clarifying questions. I find it is very helpful to pretend like I just don't understand what people are trying to say, every so often, and I'm just seeking clarification. If you ask the same thing several different ways, sometimes people will make a mistake. Just enough for you to see through the lie."
Sturm grunts, following along as best she can. "So. Sounds like more listening, less talking. Will keep that in mind - and will take you up on working with you on reading tells." Beat. "... but can I ask you another question? Unrelated to the current topic? Curious about something we discussed in the meeting."
She gestures with one hand as if to say 'go on.'
"Who was Ari referring to when they mentioned the Life Debt?" Her voice is low and measured - and she's peering at Lumi intently with those tired, sunken eyes of hers.
And here Lumi actually shows an expression, letting out the longest sigh. "That old drama queen," Lumi mutters, and then she rubs a hand over her face and turns her attention back to Sturm. Springs. What are you going to do? "Queen Marjorie owes her life to Robin Kovacs. When King Michael Zloof died, Marjorie had some -- problems. Clarity issues. No one expected her to end up Queen -- or so I'm told. I wasn't here at the time; I was still living in Vienna." But she knows about it, of course she does. "Robin helped her. I don't know if it actually rises to the level of a life debt, but I guess Their Majesty thinks so, and maybe the Queen does too."
"Alright. Seems really dramatic of them to drop it in the middle of an important meeting, then, but..." She sighs. "What can you fuckin' do." She sets the coffee cup down, and her hands disappear into her pockets. "When Marjorie asked me to work with Lux - like I mentioned in the meeting - I was kind in attributing it to the ignorance of an outsider - rather than deliberate malice - because I didn't want to consider otherwise." She scrunches up her face. "Not that I suspect Lux is responsible - I doubt they'd have showed up if they were - but seeing their broken oath has got me thinking," she peers at Lumi again. "Do you think it's possible this is coming from inside the Freehold - or the Court?"
"Spring." That's all that the Left-Hand Knight has to say about the fact that, you know, that was dramatic of Ari to say that. "It's a good point, I guess. They could have said it in a less dramatic way." A pause. "I suspect everyone," Lumi answers mildly. "That's my job. I think it's possible."
"... and if you had a list of people you suspected were capable?" She quirks an eyebrow.
"Any good Winter is capable of pulling off a large operation," Lumi points out, finishing her second mug of coffee. "And doing it without getting caught. That's what would make them a good Winter. If you mean to ask me if I think Robin did it, ask that instead."
The corner of Sturm's mouth wobbles just a tad. Like she might possibly know how to smirk. "Do you think Robin is responsible?"
"I think it certainly looks that way with the information we have now." Lumi folds her hands together in her lap. "So I think what we need is for you and the rest of the people working on this to get more information."
"Understood." She drains the last of her cup of coffee, and sets the empty mug aside before shoving her hands back into her pockets. "... why would Marjorie ask to bring me into this clusterfuck - and then not give me that information?" She clears her throat, and sets her jaw. Like she knows she's about to ask a very loaded question. "... and if Marjorie considered her debt to Robin a life debt like Ari seems to, would she protect her? Even if she was responsible for something like this?"
A little shake of Lumi's head. "Who can say why the Winter Queen doesn't give away her secrets, Sturm? Maybe she thought it would bias your investigation. Maybe she just didn't want to." And at that, she rises to her feet. "I don't think she would protect her. I think it's a case of not wanting to believe it could be true. Robin has been part of this Freehold for... a long time. Years. But I suppose we'll find out."
"Fair. Would probably trust someone I'd known for six years over someone who didn't express an interest in helping until a week ago." She fishes a half-crushed pack of Camel menthols out of her pocket - along with a lighter - and then stands up. "Anyhow." Beat. "Appreciate you letting me pick your brain - about this, and that. Could use a smoke, so I'll let you get back to your business."
|