[AUTUMN and UNDINE sit together on the curb next to AUTUMN's car after school lets out.]
UNDINE: I wish he would let us help him.
AUTUMN: If we could talk to the Council, I'm sure we could get him help.
UNDINE: Yeah...
AUTUMN: He is iron-touched.
UNDINE: Too bad both of us are warriors rather than healers.
AUTUMN: Yeah, but we are Guardians and all Guardians are warriors.
UNDINE: Right...
AUTUMN: There are a few with talent around here, and healing is more common for humans to master than anything else.
UNDINE: We should keep an eye out for one.
AUTUMN: Right.
UNDINE: Autumn...
AUTUMN: What is it?
UNDINE: I dunno... It just seems... nevermind.
AUTUMN: Undine... What if...
UNDINE: What is it?
AUTUMN: I've been thinking...
UNDINE: About what he said, right?
AUTUMN: Yeah.
UNDINE: Me too... I mean, what if he's not iron-touched...
AUTUMN: Why do Guardians really--
UNDINE: --serve the Council?
AUTUMN: It doesn't make sense. We don't serve people because we owe them, we serve because -
UNDINE: - they're in need. And unfortunately, that means that Mainyo may not...
AUTUMN: - Be iron-touched as we first thought.
UNDINE: Therefore, the things he said about the sages -
AUTUMN: - They might truely be corrupted.
UNDINE: Not might. ARE.
AUTUMN: And that means, there are a lot of corrupt Guardians who never knew they were breaking the Code.
UNDINE: Who will not believe that they were breaking it. Meaning...
AUTUMN: If we decide we do believe him, we suddenly have a whole slew of enemies.
UNDINE: This could be a very unwise move.
AUTUMN: But, at this point, how can we do otherwise?
UNDINE: We can't.
AUTUMN: How do you and I always manage to find the biggest possible messes to get into?
UNDINE: We're lucky little arseholes...
AUTUMN: Isn't it the truth though...
[They both remain silent for a while, fingering the identical pendants they each wear, three curling branches of silver beginning from a single joined point, the symbol of the Guardians.]
UNDINE: Speaking of our damnable luck...
AUTUMN: [arches an eyebrow] What?
UNDINE: Remember what he mentioned about us being born so closely together?
AUTUMN: That it was unusual and probably meant something...
UNDINE: I'd love to know just what it might mean...
AUTUMN: I as well... but...
UNDINE: The way he spoke, it seemed as though the chances of us finding anyone who knows the meaning...
AUTUMN: Is impossible. What if...
UNDINE: Hmm?
AUTUMN: Well why would the realm need two Guardians that were trained to work tgether? Why were we born so closely?
UNDINE: This Mainyo may be the only one who can answer that...
AUTUMN: I don't particularly care for that idea...
UNDINE: I know...
AUTUMN: I was thinking, what if our being born so closely was nessecary because something really bad was going to happen in Faerie... Something where it was nessecary to have two Guardians capable of working well together without much talking.
UNDINE: Guardians that could mindspeak with one another, huh?
AUTUMN: Right. I mean, you and I have trained together since we could hold weapons... We practically can mindspeak... I've never heard of any Guardians that can do what we can. What if we're like that for some reason, to fix some catastrophe?
UNDINE: Like all the Guardians forgetting what it means to be what they are? The High Council Sages becoming corrupt and terrorizing the innocents of Faerie? Stuff like that maybe?
AUTUMN: I'm just starting to believe that...
UNDINE: ... that Mainyo's right... I'm thinking so as well. The problem now is...
AUTUMN: We're stuck here, and...
UNDINE: We've pissed off the only one who might be able to give us answers.
AUTUMN: Only one thing to do then...
UNDINE: We have to help him...
AUTUMN: He is in need.
UNDINE: It's the only way to get a chance to get our answers and make things right.
AUTUMN: Only thing is, what can we do?
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