"Don't worry, TJ. I just came by to have a quick conversation." Sven's voice filtered up the hallway until it strangely filled his head. Still on alert, TJ checked with the System if he'd suddenly started suffering from any afflictions or anything. Nothing appeared, and he waved for the two teens to stand down.
"Keep an eye on Luz, just in case. I think we'll be fine." He spoke at a normal volume, assuming that Sven, if it really was him, could hear even if he whispered. Then, once he'd gotten affirmation, he spoke down the stairs, "I'm coming, Sven. One sec."
Though he cursed the lack of a Storm, there was nothing he could do about it for now. Instead, he put the Shroud on and hoped that, if push came to shove, Stealth would bail him out of an ambush long enough to transform and start the slaughter. Then, with confident steps and realizing he didn't have any shoes on, TJ walked to meet with the Monarch. Sven stood leaning against a wall, a cigarette dangling from between his lips. The smoke coiled around his face, and for a moment, TJ swore he saw Sven's irises flash with a smoky green. Though Sven leaned forward with a grin and arms outstretched for a hug, TJ didn't disbelieve what he'd seen. Strange, given the dark sclera Sven's eyes already had.
"My friend! You've been busy!" Sven pulled TJ into a hug. TJ hated every second of it, remembering that this was a man whose Class probably gave him at least 13 Strength every level. Even if unintentional, the move was threatening, and TJ couldn't hurry enough to get out of the Nordic giant's arms.
"I figure everyone worth their salt should be." TJ shrugged noncommittally. "Anything you needed from me?"
"No! Nothing that I need you to do. However, I have heard that you brought more Copper tiers into the New Republic today, is that true?"
"Something like that. Can't say for sure if they're going to join in under you, but I'd guess two of them will be here longer term. Seth might wander, but who's to say."
"Ah, that would be a shame!" Sven grinned. "He is the one whose Class changed into something different, no?"
"Right. You'll have to talk to him about that if you want specifics." TJ didn't want to give anything away, especially not so easily.
"I will. See what he has learned!" Sven sounded genuinely excited at the thought. "And the other two? I've been told that it seems like you know all the people you brought today. People from the life before? Or others from your Tutorial? Or is it simply your winning personality and smile?"
TJ allowed a small smile to crack his face at Sven's infectious enthusiasm. "From my Tutorial. I'm not willing to tell other people's secrets without express permission to do so. I'm sure you understand that."
"Oh, of course!" Sven replied. "I appreciate it greatly! You haven't been spreading anything about me, my people, or my plans, so I am glad to have made a friend like yourself, one who walks with caution!"
"Great." TJ nodded. "Well. If that's all, I have a couple things I wanted to get done tonight."
"I am sure that you have many things to do! I do not wish to stand in your way any longer than I must. I do need to ask, though, if you have made a decision regarding entering my Pantheon? There are precious few thrones that I am willing to offer at this time, so I hope you understand that I am demonstrating my faith in your abilities and your power when I do this."
"I believe it." TJ nodded. "However, I don't think I'm ready to join any pantheons at this point. I'm not looking to establish one of my own, and I'm not particularly hungry to gather people under my wing to follow me to battle or the heavens."
Sven grunted, his smile dying a little. "I will continue to be patient with you, TJ. I see you have genuine potential. However, I will not hold this door open indefinitely. I do hope that you choose to follow me. There is so much that the New Republic can offer, and will. All that we require is some form of loyalty."
"I know." TJ nodded. His stomach twisted with not nervousness, as it would have before the Integration, but anger. This snake thought he could pressure him? That he could push the ruler of the skies and souls into a corner? A sneer fought to cover his face, an urge so strong that TJ couldn't hold it back. He didn't say anything else, but his face told the story he wasn't able to hide. To his surprise, Sven grinned again when he saw TJ's reaction.
"Yes. You are not one of those without futures." He hissed the words, though not threateningly. "You are a king, one who will rule. That I dare to challenge your sovereignty is an affront to who and what you are. Do not forget that, do not be cowed by the vestiges of society that cling to you. Rise to the occasion, rise to something more than your old self could have dreamed of."
Sven moved to clap TJ on the shoulder before he left, but TJ sidestepped the movement. The Jormungandr's descendant smiled approvingly as TJ dodged. Then, without another word, he turned on his heel and walked down the hall. His steps faded as TJ shook his head. TJ listened to the wind following the breeze of Sven's passage as he jogged back up the stairs, where he came across the two eavesdropping kids. With Wind Manipulation, he'd known they were there, and he put a finger to his lips as he gestured for them to come with. When he felt something outside the window of the room, he sighed, pulled the air in around the three of them, and once he was sure eavesdropping was nearly impossible, he spoke.
"I'm sure you're aware, but don't talk about what I say here outside of my presence. Especially around the people that you spend time with on hunts. Most people around here are going to basically worship Sven, because he's bringing order and peace to a chaotic, dangerous time. Anything that can even remotely be interpreted as critical of him will probably be met with distrust or even outright hostility. And this is going to be actually critical.
"Sven is dangerous. He's going to get everyone he can under his thumb. He says he's got the Monarch Occupation, and that's more than a little dangerous. I've seen the Skills a mere Bureaucrat can get, so I'd imagine that, the longer someone spends around this New Republic, the more they'll agree with everything Sven says. I don't think that he's an explicitly bad guy, but you don't get Occupations without doing something for them, you hear?"
"You wanna stage a coup?" Sam's eyes were wide and he couldn't hide the grin that grew on his face. TJ shut him down.
"Hell no. I couldn't tear down this town without leaving things at least as good as they were before, and I'm not about to step up as a leader like that. I'm just saying that I'm less and less inclined to just sit around in his influence. I won't raise Junior here, not with Sven as the leader he is."
"Do you think he's going to… do anything to us?" Mimi asked, and TJ read between the lines.
"I doubt it, but I've been wrong before." TJ shrugged, noncommittal. "There's not a whole lot of a reason for him to do that when it'd endanger the goodwill he's buying with the actions he's taken thus far. But even if he doesn't I don't want to weaken myself under him. Does that make sense?"
"So you'll make your own settlement and pantheon, and we'll have to fight against him eventually." Sam nodded seriously. TJ stopped himself from dismissing the point out of hand. Instead, he thought about it. He didn't want to be all alone. He didn't want to face the world without any opportunities to pass the torch or shift to someone else. Plus… he wanted to be in charge. He'd seen what other people in charge did.
"Eventually." TJ allowed. "I don't know what any timeline on that will be, but it wouldn't be anytime soon. Maybe if I could find Stanton, Rebekkah, Sarah, Connor, Farid, and Lailani. And Michelle, of course. If all of them were here right now, I suspect we'd be able to leave without any real troubles. Got good coverage of Classes, and I'd be amazed if they aren't all Copper tier by now. Since Molly, Tessie, and Seth are already here, we wouldn't need all of them. Zig, if she could work with me, wouldn't be too bad either. Laura'd be great for actually establishing a town, but she's in Kingman, so there's no way we get her any time soon."
As he continued mumbling to himself, the plan settled more and more firmly in his mind while the two people in the bubble of air with him got more and more confused.
"I'm sorry. People from the Tutorial. Having them with us would be reassuring, since I can probably trust them all to be focused and effective."
"So, is our goal to get them here?" Sam asked, his focus entirely on assisting TJ in this exodus/coup/whatever else the teen was thinking.
"Not really a goal." TJ disagreed. "If they show up, that's great, but I doubt Stanton's willing to go anywhere, and he's the one I most want around here. Farid, Rebekkah, and Michelle'd be great. Ugh. I'm spiralling again. Basically, we'll move out of here in the next week or two. Until then, I need you both to get to Copper, but don't take any Skills that say they'll let you evolve. They're traps. The Skill doesn't offer much, and locks you into one choice when you evolve."
Both nodded seriously as TJ sighed. Would he try to get Roger and Susan out of here as well? No. They'd expressed that they didn't want or need his help right now. Wasn't worth it. Instead, he'd focus on the people he could help, and those who wanted that help.
"Get some rest for now." TJ sighed. "I'll see if there's anything I can do to accelerate this process for you, or get you even better options provided to you when it's time to evolve, but I can't guarantee anything. Work hard at what you're doing, and get experience. In that same vein, stay right here, Mimi. I'm gonna need your healing in a couple seconds here. Before that, Sam, do you have any questions about the materials I've gotten for you?"
"Not really." Sam hedged. "But I'm not sure I'll be able to work with them, at least for right now. I don't want to call attention to Copper tier materials in the public spaces. Even if I say that you gave them to me specifically, I'm sure that some of the people there will demand that it be shared equally. After all, they're all focused on single things instead of their own progression."
"Sounds good for now, but make sure that you get practice making real things with these materials, and soon. It'll influence the Skills offered to you, so…" TJ trailed off, and Sam nodded in understanding.
"Great. Now, Try to see if you can learn Skills about things you want to do. For example, I'm trying to teach myself Lightning Manipulation so I don't have to use any Skill selections for it. Just food for thought. Oh, and do you have the Meditation Skill?"
A dozen things crossed his mind as TJ spoke with Sam and Mimi, and it wasn't long before they'd both found a space nearby to practice with whatever Skills they were looking to acquire. Mimi didn't walk far off as TJ sat, activated Stormcaller, and pushed almost exclusively his HP into the Skill. As soon as a storm that'd last for a couple hours with sufficient lightning existed, TJ pulled himself out of the Skill and gestured for Mimi to heal him to the best of her ability. She drained her MP, to do very little to his overall pool, but it was practice for her, and he didn't begrudge her that experience.
Then, losing himself in Meditation, he set about forcing the lightning to listen to his will.