dragonwarder | (no subject)

You don't know me - nobody here knows me, but I'm used to being the center of controversy. Also innovation. This information was suppressed. Deliberately. What we found up there - what's in these findings. The world should know, Daenerys.

( The scientists can't do it themselves. )

Precisely. I do not know you. But I do know you are not the one who will reap the worst of the consequences of your actions.

[And saying that forces her to confront the fact that many of the people involved in this are likely dead, and may not face any direct consequences at all. For a moment, she looks furious — like she might reach for a knife. If William has particularly good eyes, he mighty spot some shifting skin under the arms of her labcoat.

But a slow exhale, followed by the drifting of her eyelids, prevents further change from taking hold. It isn’t his fault, after all — and there is nothing to be done for it.

When her eyes slide open again, she looks more tired, and there is a redness to her eyes that was not there before.]

Do not misunderstand me — I agree that the findings should be shared, but the work is not your’s to share. They deserve their credit, and you should seek their blessing to proceed. [But — he did not know them. She was at least better connected.] Or perhaps I should be the one to do so.

( He tenses up. He's screwed over people who deserved it and saved countless others before. But, he still feels the weight of her sudden anger. )

If they survived. I'll do my part and see if there's a trace of any survivors. If there are, then you should reach out, seek their blessings, but Dany. If they ask me to stand down, I don't know if I can. I'll wait. But, not long.

[She will not entertain the thought that there were no survivors.]

You witnessed the conditions that they were working under. They are stronger than you give them credit for.

[There is a moment of tense silence following. Truthfully, she had wondered if it was wise to allow so many Displaced along for the ride — and now, perhaps this was a consequence of that.

But she would go back for them, before too long. She did not leave her people behind.]

You always have a choice, William. It is not a matter of can or cannot. It is whether or not you will stand down.

You're right.

( Hopefully, there are survivors. And hopefully, they see the merits of releasing - with their names and findings attached. )

They'll see what I see. ( He spoke to them, he saw their conditions. He heard from them firsthand. )

Let us hope so.

[But truthfully, she doubts, just as she doubts that William will take her words to heart. Not because he was a particularly nefarious individual, but because she trusted little and left even less up to chance.

She reaches to adjust one of her gloves, pulling it so that it smoothes down the receding scales beneath them.]

I will reach out to them once I return home. I do not know if they will receive my messages in a timely manner, but I plan to return for them regardless.

There might not be anything to return to.

( He doesn't say the word, anyone. )

Be in touch, okay?

( He's reachable if she needs anything. He liked Dany, a lot in Antarctica. She's intense and regal. Overly serious. She's warned him. Whether he heeds her warning or not. That will remain to be seen. )