My record is evidence enough. I have proven myself to the Guard and this city. I do not require your approval.
[Nor, frankly, does she want it.
This time she does smile, sharp and mean.]
I respect those who have proven themselves. You have not. Out of respect for another, I listened to you. I should not have. And unless you have something useful to say to me, I have work of actual importance to complete.
[Lance takes a deep breath, trying to avoid rolling his eyes, and just stares back at her as she speaks. He doesn't respond himself immediately, mentally going over his options and the point of this conversation instead of zeroing in on the obvious weak point and opening; he could be utterly vicious, but he chooses not to.]
I really don't care if you respect me, Maketh. I'm pretty sure I've told you that before.
[And it's the truth; he's no stranger to being disrespected, and people usually end up regretting not having listened to him anyway.]
However, being in contention isn't getting either of us anywhere. I didn't come here to argue with you over whether you should listen to me or not; the point was to figure out what your problem with me was, so we could work out some way to deal with each other without devolving into insults.
[He'd be fine going with the strategy of just ignoring her entirely, except--]
There's too much overlap between what the Clinic does and what the Guard does for us to be unable to work together.
[Truthfully it's something that both annoys and confuses her. Of course he should want respect - if not from her, then from the world at large. A person is nothing without their reputation and liable to be crushed the moment they reveal a weakness, no matter how small. It seems impossible that he does not feel the need to be respected. Thus, he must be lying to save face.]
[He narrows his eyes slightly, the look he gets when he's taking note of something interesting, but decides not to correct her on that she's the one who typically mentions the issue of respect first, not him.
The rest of her response is incredibly unhelpful, though, which is straining his patience slightly despite his determination to stay professional.]
I thought the implication was pretty clear, but fine, I'll say it outright: we can't be fighting constantly, because maintaining a professional relationship between organizations is a little more important that whatever insults you'd like to get in.
[He'll get blunter if he has to, but he'd like for her to come to her own conclusion to agree to at least pretend to be civil.]
The Guard and the clinic have a mutually beneficial arrangement, one that has been in place for a long time now. I see no reason for that to change.
[Just as she sees no reason for his presence before her.]
Do you wish to discuss our continued alliance? Suggest improvements to our patrols or protocol for establishing triage when dealing with newcomers? By all means, do continue.
[She'll be perfectly professional if he has something to say that's worth listening to.]
[The incredulousness in his tone is probably easy enough to read; he's pretty sure the current staff, or at least the current staff running things, is not exactly aware of any arrangement. He'd personally only heard about it second-hand, and he's pretty sure Rosen only knows what Lance has told him himself.
He also raises an eyebrow at her questions, and this time he can't help but ask--]
Why would I do that? If I wanted to plan anything of the sort, I'd talk to a member of the Guard who might actually listen to me.
[He's not about to name names, but there are a few people he'd much rather--and is willing to--discuss those logistics with. That's actually on his agenda, but he'd hoped to come to some sort ceasing of hostilities with Maketh first; he's pretty sure that's a lost cause, though.]
An arrangement doesn't continue when no one knows it exists.
[He's just going to ignore her question entirely for now; he's coming to the conclusion very quickly that no, there's no point to this conversation after all.]
[He could just leave. He should just leave; there's something he wants to say so badly, and something she really needs to hear, but he doesn't think it'll sink in. There's no point other than to make himself feel better, and he's not going to do that.
So he takes another deep breath, reminds himself that he's done his part and he can't force anyone else to do theirs, and forces himself to walk out just as he would if he were dealing with some jerk of a suspect at the FBI. Sometimes people have to learn their lessons the difficult way, and he's pretty sure that's the case here.
In the meantime, Lance will just have to handle things without dealing with Maketh--or by extension Henry, who he can't trust not to back her up on sheer loyalty--and try to avoid any conflicts that might arise from that.]
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mismanagement) wrote2016-01-25 02:02 pm
no subject
You haven't exactly proven anything either. Everything you're claiming you expect others to take on your word.
[He also refrains from adding an easy jab that what she has shown doesn't inspire confidence.]
You can't pick and choose whose experience you deem valid while expecting others to respect yours.
no subject
[Nor, frankly, does she want it.
This time she does smile, sharp and mean.]
I respect those who have proven themselves. You have not. Out of respect for another, I listened to you. I should not have. And unless you have something useful to say to me, I have work of actual importance to complete.
no subject
I really don't care if you respect me, Maketh. I'm pretty sure I've told you that before.
[And it's the truth; he's no stranger to being disrespected, and people usually end up regretting not having listened to him anyway.]
However, being in contention isn't getting either of us anywhere. I didn't come here to argue with you over whether you should listen to me or not; the point was to figure out what your problem with me was, so we could work out some way to deal with each other without devolving into insults.
[He'd be fine going with the strategy of just ignoring her entirely, except--]
There's too much overlap between what the Clinic does and what the Guard does for us to be unable to work together.
no subject
[Truthfully it's something that both annoys and confuses her. Of course he should want respect - if not from her, then from the world at large. A person is nothing without their reputation and liable to be crushed the moment they reveal a weakness, no matter how small. It seems impossible that he does not feel the need to be respected. Thus, he must be lying to save face.]
You asked a question. I answered it.
[She gives him a sharp look.]
Do you have anything useful to say or not?
no subject
The rest of her response is incredibly unhelpful, though, which is straining his patience slightly despite his determination to stay professional.]
I thought the implication was pretty clear, but fine, I'll say it outright: we can't be fighting constantly, because maintaining a professional relationship between organizations is a little more important that whatever insults you'd like to get in.
[He'll get blunter if he has to, but he'd like for her to come to her own conclusion to agree to at least pretend to be civil.]
no subject
The Guard and the clinic have a mutually beneficial arrangement, one that has been in place for a long time now. I see no reason for that to change.
[Just as she sees no reason for his presence before her.]
Do you wish to discuss our continued alliance? Suggest improvements to our patrols or protocol for establishing triage when dealing with newcomers? By all means, do continue.
[She'll be perfectly professional if he has something to say that's worth listening to.]
no subject
[The incredulousness in his tone is probably easy enough to read; he's pretty sure the current staff, or at least the current staff running things, is not exactly aware of any arrangement. He'd personally only heard about it second-hand, and he's pretty sure Rosen only knows what Lance has told him himself.
He also raises an eyebrow at her questions, and this time he can't help but ask--]
Why would I do that? If I wanted to plan anything of the sort, I'd talk to a member of the Guard who might actually listen to me.
[He's not about to name names, but there are a few people he'd much rather--and is willing to--discuss those logistics with. That's actually on his agenda, but he'd hoped to come to some sort ceasing of hostilities with Maketh first; he's pretty sure that's a lost cause, though.]
no subject
[She gives him a flat look.]
I assumed your presence here had a point. Was I mistaken?
no subject
[He's just going to ignore her question entirely for now; he's coming to the conclusion very quickly that no, there's no point to this conversation after all.]
no subject
Then, quite deliberately, she picks up her pen and begins working on her reports.]
no subject
So he takes another deep breath, reminds himself that he's done his part and he can't force anyone else to do theirs, and forces himself to walk out just as he would if he were dealing with some jerk of a suspect at the FBI. Sometimes people have to learn their lessons the difficult way, and he's pretty sure that's the case here.
In the meantime, Lance will just have to handle things without dealing with Maketh--or by extension Henry, who he can't trust not to back her up on sheer loyalty--and try to avoid any conflicts that might arise from that.]