Pep Talk

Kallista sat by herself on the edge of the goblin campsite, her back against a large tree. She held one of her shurikens, idly spinning it between her slender fingers.

For the last few days she'd been running on adrenaline and the thrill of the chase, but now that the search for the cultists and the Pack was over and the bad guys had been... dealt with... she found herself slowly slipping back into the strange depression that seemed to accompany any mission where her family reared its head.

She sighed and tossed the shuriken lightly at a nearby tree where it thunked solidly into the wood.

Vedran had finally had thew time to get himself cleaned up and out of his ruined clothing, and a little while to out his thoughts together. Part of that time, though, had been thinking about his team, his friends, and what he could best do to support them. He wanted to talk to Roscoe - stepping forward as he did to take responsibility for the cult members was something he really respected, and he wanted to make sure the warforged knew that. But right now, he was more worried about Kallista. When he finally found her lurking on the edge of the camp, he was sure his instincts were right. She seemed pretty focused, and he waited until she no longer had a weapon in hand before speaking up from a little ways away form the tree she was sitting under.

"Hey, Kallista. Copper for your thoughts?"

Kallista looked upand saw Vedran looking at her. She smiled slightly at his choice of phrases.

"Oh, heya Ved. I'm just... I'm okay, just... a little out of sorts, I guess. I always feel this way whenever we run into the cult."

"Ved now is it? Brenn's rubbing off on you, I think." He smiled and sat beside her. "I was really hoping it was going to be something else - if only because I know how much it upsets you. Did you want to talk about it at all?"

Kallsita shrugged.

"I don't know."

After a moment's pause, however, she looked up at him and sighed.

"Yes. Maybe. I just... why is it that every time we capture the bad guys alive we just end up killing them anyway?"

It wasn't what he was expecting her to ask, but he nodded, thinking seriously about his answer. "Well, I don't think it's true that we do, always. I could give you some examples, but... are you thinking about your cousin?"

Kallista shrugged again.

"Yeah. And also... what do we do when this all leads us back to Bael Hexott? What happens if we end up capturing my father and mother?"

She looked up and into Vedran's eyes, trying hard to mask her emotions.

"Do we kill them too? I don't know if I can do that."

"We're not going to ask you to act against your family. Does it bother you we - the Thunderbolts I mean - might be involved in acting against them at all? That anyone will?"

"Vedran... they're my parents."

Tears were welling up in the corners of Kallista's eyes.

"Of course it fucking bothers me. I know they're horrible... I know better than anyone else what they are. But gods damnit, they're still my family. How am I supposed to sit back and let them be killed? If things had been a little different... if I'd never found that book... I might be working for them instead of against them. What then? Would you have killed me?"

"Hey, I'm sorry, Kallista." He offered her a hug, not sure if she'd want that from him right now.

Kallista leaned into Vedran, resting her head on his shoulder.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm not... this isn't your fault. There's no way around it, I guess. I just... I don't know what to do."

He draped an arm around her and gave her a squeeze. "That I can understand. The rest is harder, but I guess I can understand what its like to care for someone who..." he paused, remembering that Kallista was friends with Jacinthe, and feeling like he was wandering too close into personal territory for his own comfort. This wasn't about him. "Who's hurt you. You have to remember that you can't make their choices for them. Whatever they do, it isn't your fault."

"It's not what they're gonna do that worries me," Kallista said with a sigh, "It's what I'm gonna do."

"What are you worried you might do?"

"That's just it. I don't know. One of these days it's gonna come down to us and them, and then... I don't know if I have it in me to do what it takes."

She sniffled and wiped her eyes.

"I don't want to be a killer, Vedran. That's why I left Bael Hexott in the first place. I want them to see how wrong they are. I want to save them."

"Kallista - I meant it. If it comes down to us or them - we're not going to ask you to choose sides. As for saving them - all you can do is make sure they know what their choices are. It's up to them to save themselves. But, maybe that's something we can think about, hmmm? How to let them know what their choices are, before it comes to any confrontation?"

Kallista shook her head slowly.

"I'm not gonna ask you guys to do that. They're my family. They're my problem. I can't put that on you.

"And maybe you're right, maybe we can somehow give them options. But I know my father. He won't stop until he's dead. Or everyone else is. I know what I have to do. That doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Kallista - this may be more personal for you, but it isn't just your problem. If the Geyr Hextor is threatening Nerath, they're everyone's problem. We have our own choices to make, in that regard. They're dangerous, and we need to stop them, somehow. And you're our friend. You're not putting anything on us, we're taking it on ourselves, because we want to help you, however we can."

"I know..." she said, "I guess I just wish there was a way that this could end without bloodshed..."

She lifted her head and turned to the half-elf, looking him in the eyes again.

"...but that's not gonna happen, is it?"

He sighed, but he wasn't going to lie to her. "No. I think the best we can do is try to make sure that there's no one involved who isn't sure where they stand."

Kallista shook her head.

"I know where I stand. Where I stand is with you and the others. I made my choice when I left Bael Hexott. My parents are evil; they have to be stopped. I... I'll do whatever I have to to protect all of you. I just wish there was another way. But there isn't. No one can change that."

Vedran gave her another hug. "I didn't just mean you, but we are glad to have you with us. Just remember that we're all in it together now, okay?"

Kallista put her arm around Vedran, leaning into him.

"I'll try," she said.