(meridian. the hope of a people. after walking through springstar and experiencing its charms, it is difficult to believe that something sinister may be at work there. and in highstorm, too, where its palette is darker but its soul is more accepting. they may both be factions that lie to draw in their followers or they may have been propagandized negatively as a result of the war; does it matter?

xiao would be right to choose either or neither. there is no "correct" or "incorrect" course of action now.)

... I love humans. (their hands part, but lessa stays close at his side. though he looks elsewhere, his attention feels inextricable from xiao.) I would watch them every day waiting for them to die so that I could talk to them. Bring them back into my care. They live for such a short amount of time, but they are bright sparks, aren't they...?

(xiao strikes him as vulnerable then. despite this, he carries himself with grace. he is quiet and unassuming, yet honest and unafraid to be so. these pairings of qualities are charming, and lessa gives him a brief little smile for encouragement.)

I owe it to them to honour their memory. I would not desecrate their souls' unending journey by forcibly reconstituting a world that has already been destroyed. (and should he discover that he would better serve their soul cycle in the meridian faction, he will go there at that time. presently, lessa does not feel that this is the case.)

You could never betray them or the things that you believe in by moving forward. Everyone is deserving of that right. It is sad—yes, of course, it is sad. But it is nature's course.