>>5205483Sathriel sat on the same bench she was using when she first arrived to Wishbone Village. Within an hour of the case's conclusion, the village held a meeting and by unanimous vote lifted the restriction on skintalker abilities from the village.
And yet in an ironic twist, Sathriel still hated it.
She hated being a skintalker at times. It wasn't the secret whispers in her ears nor the runic texts floating in her vision unnoticed by the others that bothered her. It wasn't the hidden thoughts that lie unspoken from the lips of others regurgitated by the fleshscape that bothered her. It was the meaning of those messages that got under her skin, despite months of exposure.
Corrupt. Betrayer. Criminal Scum. Undeserving of mercy...All this and more as the village residents now gave the two convicts a wider berth than when she first entered. It was a reminder to the Obsidian Arbiter about an undeniable facet of reality: Court cases are seldom clean in this era.
[Your Honor? Is everything alright?] asked Solomon over the neuromantic channel. [You look rather...glum.]
[We held court, rendered our verdict, but...it feels so unsatisfactory. Did we do something wrong in this case?]
There was a long pause before either of her bodyguards responded through the call. And when Solomon replied, he used a term rarely addressed directly to Sathriel.
[Mother, if I may speak for myself and brother Yan... We believe it would be best to let them be the judge of their crimes.]
[You've delivered your verdict Mother, it would be fair if they allowed to give theirs in their own minds.] added Yan Wong.
[And if they're guilty?] asked Sathriel.
The two brothers were silent as they considered their next words. [Then we can only hope for the residents to forgive the two should they survive the encounter with Mrs. Loupe.] said Solomon.
[How are they?] asked Sathriel.
[They are cooperative if anything.] reported Yan Wong. "The weight of the sentence seems to have settled in.]
[And what about Lisa Loupe?]
Solomon glanced over at the aforementioned girl who was trying her hardest not to directly stare at the Arbiter. [About that...She and officer Baerns wish to talk to you before Susan Loupe arrives.]
Sathriel pulled her feathered cloak closer together, staring at the translucent Crucible sunrise. Even without a Phantasmal Conduit field, she could sense the nervousness in the air. She couldn't blame them for their anxiety and the forecasted arrival of Susan's Warband. And yet Lisa still doesn't get it. Sathriel frowned.
[Fine.] she answered. [They shall have their 'talk'.]
(cont.)
