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CREE.
Owner of the discreet Gilded Cage hideout. Cree has traveled all of El Nysa and established his spies, or "little birds" in every corner of the world. He knows intimate details about important figureheads of both factions, and suspects that the refugees are not all that they seem to be. Despite being a known criminal and the apparent orchestrator of the VIOLET 2710 attacks, he provides work for the lower class and seems to have a generally positive reputation. He has a strong dislike for Ashti.
Cree is almost never seen without a small bird on his shoulder. You might find that you have seen this bird before, and if you listen closely enough, you will hear it speak common to its owner. If you specifically request contact with the the bird alone, it is entirely possible it will carry out a conversation with you.
A character's first interaction with Cree is free of any favor, but they will be required to take up a job (thief, enforcer, informant) before they can return for more information. Sign up at the EMPLOYMENT THREAD and direct any other inquiries by characters here. IC consequences for breaking silence on his whereabouts to their other NPCs will be discussed by PM.
[ This is so not his scene, his forte, his area of expertise - his anything, but here he is, regardless. After chasing the Shady Man's associates all over Olympia, this is the only real lead he'd been able to come up with, and everything else he'd heard - true or otherwise - has only served to frustrate his conscience further. It's probably a bad idea - no, it's definitely a bad idea - to get tied up with this guy, but...he has some things he has to know.
So he'll sit across from Cree, tight posture forcefully relaxed as he leans back in his seat, knees bouncing wildly. This is going to be...something, he can tell. What's with the bird? ]
Weeellllllll, full disclosure: I'm totally winging it right now. [ When in doubt, employ puns. ] But I-I'll make it worth your time. This place gives me the heebie-geebies, anyway.
[ So, he'll try not to mince words. Keyword being "try" - his nerves are not kind to the way he runs his mouth. ]
So...you know a lot about all this - [ he gestures vaguely ] - all this? Heard some pretty, uh...interesting things before we left Olympia. About...about Ashti.
[ He swallows hard. Ashti is someone he'd looked up to, someone who had given him a chance to prove himself without too much scrutiny. He'd thought it generosity at the time, but after the last few weeks...he's not so sure anymore. ]
[ It's been increasingly obvious this boy is a sheep among wolves since he stepped through the door, and Cree can't help but feel sympathetic. It wasn't the first time he's encountered young men who only wants to make the truth known, even if it puts them at risk. And, well, the bird pun does earn him some brownie points. ]
You're with the guard, are you not? [ His tone is gentle, despite his smile becoming strained at her name. ] Tell me what you think of her first, Prompto. Then I will tell you what is not true and more.
[ His eyebrows fly into his hair at the mention of his name. ] W-wh - you...you know me?
[ Maybe it shouldn't be terribly surprising, considering how doggedly he'd chased down the Shady Man's accomplices, but still. Prompto isn't the least bit used to being anybody worth knowing about. It takes him a moment to recover. ]
I-I... [ His mouth thins, thoughtful, as he glances down. ] ...She gave me a place in the guard, and... [ He'd helped a lot of people that way. ] I dunno, she's sort of scary - or really scary - but she's always been fair. But...it doesn't sound like I know the full story.
Of course I know you, Prompto. You seem a very capable young man— capable enough to find this place.
[ Cree's eyes never leave the young man, seeming intent on meeting his gaze should he lift it. ]
Ashti is indeed Wyver-born. Her parents abandoned her outside of this city at a very young age, leaving another couple to raise her in Olympia. I trained her when she was a fierce young recruit, as you are now. When she had morals.
She has changed since she took my position. There is little hesitation in the pain she inflicts on people who cannot help the side they are on, even her own kin.
[ Surprise flits across his features as he does look up then - apparently, that's going to happen a lot during this conversation. Cree used to be Captain of Olympia's Guard? Well, boy, if that doesn't fill him with a load of questions. About Cree personally - about how someone who used to be doing something like that ends up - well. Doing what he is now. ]
Like...like the fugitives. [ That hadn't sat well with Prompto at all, and was at the root of the questions he asks now. He'd had friends among those accused, and they hadn't even had a chance to explain themselves before they'd been called out as criminals. ]
So...why are you here? Why leave a position like that to do something like this? I mean, no offense, but - are you really the sort of guy who should be throwing around the word "moral", all high-and-mighty?
[ Cree laughs, but it's terribly hollow one. The flames of the fireplace reflect in his eyes as he elaborates, and there's a restrained anger seeping into his tone despite his efforts to keep himself collected. ]
You have me on all but one thing, dear boy—I did not leave. I was ousted. My relationship with the Empress became strained as years went by, as I had seen all that these "civilized" people would do out of senseless hate and became weary while she remained indifferent. I finally suggested we stop this cycle, she suggested I stand down. Of course, Ashti was always strangely silent about the conflict, and seeing as she would never oppose Simwe's word... she took my place almost immediately.
These tensions are not to be taken lightly, Prompto. She is wrong to do so. There will come a time that they will make it seem you have to make a choice of where your loyalty lies, and there will be people you know on the other side of things. Only there will be no chance at redemption, as the fugitives have had. They will get hurt. They will die. It may become your fault.
[ The effect that Cree's words have on him is evident in the way he twitches in his seat and his fingers fidget and bounce on the table. He doesn't like it at all. At least back home, lines had been clearly drawn, the side in the wrong clear to everyone but the Empire itself. He doesn't want to have to make a choice. This...shouldn't be their fight.
But it is now, and besides, he can hardly explain that to Cree. Instead, he sniffs, scratching at his nose, and glances across the room at some undefined point. ]
I-I only...I only wanted to help keep people safe.
[ But he hadn't been able to even stop that bomb from going off in the Market District. His district. ]
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action.
So he'll sit across from Cree, tight posture forcefully relaxed as he leans back in his seat, knees bouncing wildly. This is going to be...something, he can tell. What's with the bird? ]
Weeellllllll, full disclosure: I'm totally winging it right now. [ When in doubt, employ puns. ] But I-I'll make it worth your time. This place gives me the heebie-geebies, anyway.
[ So, he'll try not to mince words. Keyword being "try" - his nerves are not kind to the way he runs his mouth. ]
So...you know a lot about all this - [ he gestures vaguely ] - all this? Heard some pretty, uh...interesting things before we left Olympia. About...about Ashti.
[ He swallows hard. Ashti is someone he'd looked up to, someone who had given him a chance to prove himself without too much scrutiny. He'd thought it generosity at the time, but after the last few weeks...he's not so sure anymore. ]
So - what's her deal, anyway?
no subject
You're with the guard, are you not? [ His tone is gentle, despite his smile becoming strained at her name. ] Tell me what you think of her first, Prompto. Then I will tell you what is not true and more.
no subject
[ Maybe it shouldn't be terribly surprising, considering how doggedly he'd chased down the Shady Man's accomplices, but still. Prompto isn't the least bit used to being anybody worth knowing about. It takes him a moment to recover. ]
I-I... [ His mouth thins, thoughtful, as he glances down. ] ...She gave me a place in the guard, and... [ He'd helped a lot of people that way. ] I dunno, she's sort of scary - or really scary - but she's always been fair. But...it doesn't sound like I know the full story.
[ A beat. ]
Is she really from Wyver?
no subject
[ Cree's eyes never leave the young man, seeming intent on meeting his gaze should he lift it. ]
Ashti is indeed Wyver-born. Her parents abandoned her outside of this city at a very young age, leaving another couple to raise her in Olympia. I trained her when she was a fierce young recruit, as you are now. When she had morals.
She has changed since she took my position. There is little hesitation in the pain she inflicts on people who cannot help the side they are on, even her own kin.
no subject
Like...like the fugitives. [ That hadn't sat well with Prompto at all, and was at the root of the questions he asks now. He'd had friends among those accused, and they hadn't even had a chance to explain themselves before they'd been called out as criminals. ]
So...why are you here? Why leave a position like that to do something like this? I mean, no offense, but - are you really the sort of guy who should be throwing around the word "moral", all high-and-mighty?
no subject
You have me on all but one thing, dear boy—I did not leave. I was ousted. My relationship with the Empress became strained as years went by, as I had seen all that these "civilized" people would do out of senseless hate and became weary while she remained indifferent. I finally suggested we stop this cycle, she suggested I stand down. Of course, Ashti was always strangely silent about the conflict, and seeing as she would never oppose Simwe's word... she took my place almost immediately.
These tensions are not to be taken lightly, Prompto. She is wrong to do so. There will come a time that they will make it seem you have to make a choice of where your loyalty lies, and there will be people you know on the other side of things. Only there will be no chance at redemption, as the fugitives have had. They will get hurt. They will die. It may become your fault.
no subject
But it is now, and besides, he can hardly explain that to Cree. Instead, he sniffs, scratching at his nose, and glances across the room at some undefined point. ]
I-I only...I only wanted to help keep people safe.
[ But he hadn't been able to even stop that bomb from going off in the Market District. His district. ]
People like you make that pretty hard to do.