Transparent Sexy Pink Heart

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1 Nov 2019

Tire, Warn, Linger

3

⤆ Chpater 2 ~ ~ ~ Chpater 4 ⤇

He was at a crossroads and whichever path he chose would ruin someone's life, regardless of whether that was what he wanted to happen or not. Tsela's head slumped back against the wall, and he just sat there, breathing in and out, very deep in thought. The situation was terrible. He didn't understand why he was the one forced into the position to make the decision. Why should the power to destroy someone's dreams - someone who was causing him no harm - even been an option on the table at all, let alone an inevitable consequence of his decisions. Why did he have to even be involved at all? He wasn't exactly an important person. He, technically wasn't even an adult - not yet. That's why he was in this position in the first place. Why on earth did he have to choose which one of his friends would be allowed to take the next steps in training to be the future advisor to the Chief - essentially second in command.

He closed his eyes, and continued breathing. He wished for nothing more than for someone else to make this decision for him. For someone else to take this burden, this weight, away from him. For someone, anyone, to step into the room and say, "There's no need to worry! I've taken care of everything for you." But he knew that was never going to happen.

With a sigh, he stood, and took a few measured steps around the room, brow furrowed, a hand loosely toying with his locks. Maybe... just maybe... there was another path he had missed. A solution that would - if not benefit all, at the least reduce harm caused. What information was he lacking? What about his circumstances made him the best candidate to solve the problem? His mind raced, but drew blank, again and again and again, and he let out a small shout in frustration. At this point, the only conclusion he had come to was to just leave, and never come back. Or at least not for a very long time, and hope that it had solved itself by then. But that would most definitely still cause it's own problems.

Why him?

What was special about him, Tsela, that caused him to be tasked with this as his trial?

What he was good at was helping people. Healing people. But it seemed that was impossible to do right. None of these people had physical wounds that he could just magic away with a wave of his hands. Nothing about the situation seemed to match his skills.

He groaned once more, and rested his forehead against the nearest wall, closing his eyes in thought yet again. This would be much easier if he didn't know any of these people. But he had grown up with them. They were his family, even if not in a literal sense.

If he didn't know any of them, care about any of them, it would weigh on him less if someone had to suffer. He could be purely logical about it. But his emotions were clouding his judgement, and he didn’t know how to handle the thought of causing great harm to someone he loved.

The three of them wanted it badly. They had worked so, so hard over the years to reach this point. He had seen, and even helped some of them, with their struggles to get to the point they were at now. They were his friends. And all of them deserved it. And he honestly couldn't say that one of them deserved it more over the others.

Sure, Sasa was leagues above the other two in communication and debate, but she fell short when it came to keeping her emotions in check. Yes, the passion helped her argue for what she believed, but it also made her prone to not thinking things through all the way before acting.

Yiska, on the other hand, was an exceedingly good tactician. Good at out-thinking others, and maneuvering others in exactly the right way to get desired results. But he was fairly cowardly. In some ways, that made him shrewd. But at his worst, he would be unable to act at all. Granted, things only rarely got that bad, but it was still something that needed to be considered.

And then there was Noya. Unlike the other two, Noya was not so great with words. She was intelligent, but she sometimes had trouble either making sure she was heard, or in general, just being understood. She sometimes had a tendency to phrase things in a curious manner, or would seem to be commenting on a matter that was completely unrelated to the topic at hand. Or at least it would seem that way at first glance. If you actually understood Noya and her way of thinking, her insights into nearly any situation were invaluable. While she did not necessarily have great plans, she looked at things from a completely different angle to everyone else, and after working with her time and time again, Tsela had quickly found that her outlook on things helped him solve problems with greater ease.

Tsela offered a half-hearted smile to himself. It was a shame he couldn't talk to her now about this problem. And, honestly, if he had been choosing an advisor just for himself, it would be her, hands down.

But he wasn't choosing for himself. He was choosing for someone else. Whoever he chose would have to work with multiple people that were not him, and who may not understand Noya. Who may not have sympathy for Yiska. Who may not have patience with Sasa. There was too many unknowns. Too many complications.

Why did he have to make this choice?

How would this mark him as an adult?

He paused on that last thought, and ran it through his head again. And again. And again.

Just what kind of adult did he want to be? What was it that he cared about? What was it that he wanted to be good at?

He wanted to bring people together. He wanted his friends - his family - to be united, happy and healthy. He wanted to fix problems, so that everyone he cared about would be happy with the outcome. He wanted to do whatever was necessary to make sure that those he loved were happy.

How did that relate to the situation at hand?

To choose any one of them would be to ruin the unity, ruin their friendships - both with him, and with each other. That was the opposite of what he wanted to do for them. Yet to choose none was not an option. He was in no position to do so, and to say that they all had failed would still result in him losing his friends.

He focused on his breathing once again, turning his back to the wall, and pressing his whole body against it, letting the cool, smooth surface wash over him and clear his thoughts for a brief moment.

Unity. Whatever was necessary to make sure his family was united and happy.

Something in his brain finally clicked. A confident smile slowly crept its way across his face, and he finally reopened his eyes.

This was probably a terrible idea, but it was the best one he had. He had been tasked with deciding who it would be, and he had. And he was going to do whatever it took to make it happen. Taking a final deep and measured breath, Tsela pulled himself to his full height, and pulled his locks back, tying them in a loose knot at the top of his neck.

Tsela wasn't necessarily the best at convincing people of anything, but still he felt more confident than he had in hours, as he walked, calmly yet purposefully, towards the exit of the room. It wasn't going to be easy to change the minds of the Chief and other leaders - especially with something that had been done a certain way for as long as he could remember. But he was going to do everything in his power to do so.

⤆ Chpater 2 ~ ~ ~ Chpater 4 ⤇


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