=== Louis & Jade ===
--- C ---



[Jade]
Louis...you've been staring at me for a troubling
amount of time. Do you need something?
[Louis]
Good knight of Brodia, please pardon any
offense I have caused.
[Louis]
My profound interest in you drives me to act in
perhaps inadvisable ways.
[Jade]
You call staring an "interest"?
[Louis]
You carry out each mission with such grace,
and never question an order from your prince.
[Louis]
Moreover, you are so merciless in battle that
some might unfairly deem you to be inhuman.
[Jade]
Ah. We seem to be well beyond "interest" now.
Are you trying to be cute?
[Jade]
If you think I'm dangerous, I won't argue. I don't
completely trust you either.
[Louis]
Dangerous? Not at all. I fear I've once again
given you the wrong idea.
[Louis]
But it's undeniable that there are certain things
you keep carefully concealed, yes?
[Louis]
Secrets that only a select few are privy to.
[Jade]
...
[Louis]
But I know all about them.
[Jade]
I have no idea what you're talking about.
[Louis]
You have a new novel in the works, don't you?
A comedy that is frivolous in the extreme?
[Jade]
Louis, I'm sure I didn't hear you mention a new
book just now.
[Louis]
Please. I am a paragon of discretion.
[Jade]
Oh, I believe you will be. You already know well
enough to describe me as merciless.
[Jade]
Take a break from your "interests" and enjoy a
long, natural life of minding your own business.
[Louis]
Very good, Jade. I shall take that under
advisement.
--- B ---



[Jade]
Ugh...
[Louis]
Here's a story idea: a group of close friends
convene and have a lively conversation.
[Jade]
What are you talking about?
[Louis]
I saw consternation on your face and thought
you might be struggling for ideas.
[Jade]
No use hiding it at this point, is there?
[Jade]
You're right. I'm trying to land on the theme of
my next novel.
[Louis]
Well, there you have it. Write a story about
a close-knit circle of friends.
[Jade]
How close? Do you mean a story where a circle
of friends navigate a shared experience?
[Louis]
If you like, but I would be thoroughly satisfied
just to read about them chit-chatting.
[Jade]
You think I should write an entire novel about
friends having polite, everyday conversations?
[Louis]
Without question, it shall be your finest work.
[Jade]
Louis, most of my novels have been built
around this thing I call a plot...
[Louis]
Counter-argument: is plot more important than
memorable scenes?
[Jade]
Hmm.
[Louis]
"Enter late, leave early," they say. An enjoyable
scene justifies itself without "plot" scaffolding.
[Jade]
Hmm...
[Jade]
The story idea is too simple, but that sort of flat
narrative structure is a joke worth exploring...
[Jade]
Huh, I think you just helped me crack this egg.
Thank you, Louis.
[Louis]
I'm pleased to be of assistance.
[Louis]
I have high hopes to read your vivid rendering
of our characters' spirited conversations.
[Jade]
Hm.
[Louis]
Oh dear, you're tight-lipped again. Is something
else troubling you?
[Jade]
No, Louis. That was my laugh.
[Jade]
You are so blatant that it's genuinely funny.
[Louis]
Haha, your eye for comedy is indeed
impeccable.
--- A ---



[Jade]
Hey, Louis? There's something I wanted to ask
you.
[Louis]
And what might that be, good knight?
[Jade]
Why are you trying to get close to me?
[Jade]
You've been watching me for a while. And you
threw me off balance with your story idea.
[Louis]
Mm.
[Jade]
Have you ever encountered a spy? The best
ones use fast-talk to steal information.
[Jade]
They carefully cultivate a sense of trust, then
strike while their target's guard is down.
[Jade]
We're allies, but you're still a soldier from
Firene. I have to wonder.
[Louis]
Very impressive, Jade.
[Jade]
Ah, so my hunch was right.
[Louis]
Oh no, it was wide off the mark. I am no spy.
[Jade]
Huh?
[Louis]
What I found impressive was your imagination.
[Louis]
It takes a deep wellspring of inventiveness and a
way with words to pen such captivating stories.
[Jade]
Don't dodge the question. Why were you
watching me earlier?
[Louis]
Why, because I wanted to get to know you.
[Jade]
That's all?
[Louis]
It is indeed that simple.
[Louis]
I observed you only in order to hit upon
a suitable conversation starter.
[Louis]
I see it as crucial that we connect. We come
from disparate countries with different values.
[Louis]
Yet we must put these differences aside and
risk our lives daily in combat together.
[Louis]
In order to facilitate this, it is vital that we come
to understand one another.
[Jade]
That does make sense.
[Jade]
It would be better for us to understand and
trust each other out there.
[Louis]
Just so. These bonds we make now will last,
even after the war.
[Jade]
I apologize for...assuming your intentions, Louis.
[Jade]
I could spare some time to get to know you a
bit better.
[Louis]
In that case, shall we sit and chat over a pot of
my favorite tea?
[Jade]
I'd like that, Louis─as long as I can take notes
on awkward conversation for my book.
--- S ---