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You really want to find out if Hanno has anything to hide as quickly as possible. It’s better to recognize if this will be a waste of time or not now than 40 minutes later when your brain cells are fried.
“What’s up with the color of your flame?” You evade looking at it to not give him an extra hint. It's already a red flag mentioning it, but it’s supposed to be a rare ability to be able to see them.
“Is there anything particularly strange about it?” Hanno sounds like he has never seen a flame aside from his. And talking about it, it remains stable, so he isn’t panicking.
“They’re usually just one shade of color.” You retort. His is dark by the center, and white by the borders — it’s strange to look at it.
“I remember that. Mine was completely dark until my buddy here and I made a deal with the White Flames. They told us we should be able to communicate with the other members telepathically, but it never happened. When we asked, they told us their <span class="mu-i">soundwaves</span> are blocked.” Hanno does air quotes. “The Judges’ doing as far as they could tell.”
“You work with the White Flames?” You scratch the back of your head. This could turn into a headache.
“That I do.” Hanno nods. “I hope this doesn’t present a problem. My allies have enemies, but I don’t harbor any ill will, and I’d like to keep it that way. If you’d like me to keep this conversation between us, I will.”
“That’d be great. It’s just, huh, you’re pretty open about all of this…” You scratch the back of your head.
“I like to be honest, what can I say?” Hanno shrugs. “How I see it is that if you see the humanity in me, at some point, we will be able to put our differences to the side and work together if the situation necessitates it.”
“That’s oddly calculating.” You comment.
“It only works if I’m convincing.” Hanno knows the flaws of his approach. “I trust your kindness. I saw it at work.” The big man smiles.
“Gentlemen, may I join you in this idle chat?” Your mentor, Dempsey appears! He’s banged up but doesn’t seem to be hurting.
“Go ahead, sir. The more the merrier, as they say.” Hanno has no issues with it.
“You’re feeling okay?” You show some concern.
“Dandy, even.” Dempsey chuckles. “Please continue, it wasn’t my intention to interrupt. But it’d be so impolite if I eavesdropped.”
“Now that both of you are here, I want to ask: Nobody seems to know what happened to Sasha, do any of you two have a clue what happened to her?” You have one person missing.
“Me, sir? None. My apologies.” Dempsey is being reserved. “I know as much as everyone else. She suddenly disappeared without any of us noticing. Particularly strange with the amount of people on the lookout.”
