This sucks (open)

[Bailey Oleander]

Bailey made a sound of agreement, setting the papers she'd brought in the nearby chair before continuing.

"Still, there's a difference between fighting a territory and fighting someone from your own home."

[Blake Oleander]

"Numbers."

That was a lie. But he didn't want to open the can of worms of what he was feeling. He wasn't ready for that yet.

[Bailey Oleander]

The one word answer was all she needed, and she didn't even have the details. Clearing her throat, she would continue.

"Sai mentioned you wanted to speak to me about something?"

[Blake Oleander]

"You said your people were dying a slow death. Elaborate."

[Bailey Oleander]

That was an unexpected turn. She pursed her lips, but saw no reason not to. She'd already given him some information about her home, and while he could technically use it against her, he was in no condition to do so now.

"Our resources are running dry." She shifted her weight to her other foot, lacing her fingers lacing behind her back as she had nothing else to do with them that wouldn't lead to her fidgeting. "We have the means to continue for a while yet, but technology and labor can only go so far." Her fingers tightened around each other.

[Blake Oleander]

"Would they be open to moving? We have resources but most of my people died in the battle. We have more space and resources than we can harvest and use."

He was just laying it out there for her.

[Bailey Oleander]

She'd opted not to mention their seeking a place to relocate; hearing Blake offer it now felt a little too good to be true. It was harder to accept that their resilience meant this option was available.

"We were considering alternative possibilities before I left." The pressure on her skin started to turn the flesh red. "I believe they would be open to the suggestion, and the move."

[Blake Oleander]

"I would be grateful if you would be willing to set up a talk with their leader about it."

[Bailey Oleander]

That got a smile out of her, albeit a small one of relief as she nodded.

"Actually, I was already working on something similar." She reached for the papers she'd set down, pausing for a moment before nodding to the chair.

"May I?"

[Blake Oleander]

"As you'd like."

[Bailey Oleander]

Bailey nodded in thanks and pulled the chair closer, mindful not to brush against the sword with anything as she did so. She didn't recognize it as one of the ones he'd carried while at Cabal, but chose not to comment as she took a seat and smoothed out the map, the notes sliding to the side a little with a key. He'd notice the circle around her home area specifically, minor paths noted with travel times, but still within her territory. 63 had notes about the forested area, and the territories around it marked but left blank with no indication of the known resources.

"When I left," a small wince in her tone, but Bailey decided to push on rather than dwell on her leaving him, "I was working on the possibility of having a delegate reach out to your home to look into possible resources and drawing from them. It would have been faster to get the groundwork started, at least, and I'd originally advised them of who to avoid bringing to avoid extra conflict. I just don't know what other resources are available in the area, or common places there's likely to be fighting over what you do have." Hence the blank spaces.

[Blake Oleander]

"I control territory 64 as well."

It still felt weird to say.

"In addition to the forest and lumber, we have a quarry with tools and equipment and land suitable for farming."

He winced as he shifted position to get closer to her papers, pointing out some locations on her map with what he'd found.

[Bailey Oleander]

There was a moment's pause as his ruling not only more than one territory, but the one he'd gone to destroy sunk in. Had she fallen into a wormhole and ended up in a different reality? Or was this a weird dream due to some bizarre lack in caffeine she'd missed?

She noticed the shift and wince, immediately shifting her own position to be closer to the bed with the papers in reach, making notes as he marked the other locations and distance between them per the map scale. The focus on work rather than their new dynamic eased the tension in her posture as she focused.

"Tools would be good. We can always bring our own, but some are likely to be too big to bring with us." Another mark on the map for the quarry.

"What others do you know of?"

[Blake Oleander]

"I have not had the time to scout things further in my new lands. The morning after you left was the battle."

[Bailey Oleander]

"Ah." Her focus shattered for a moment, pen set aside with no further indications of what they had to work with as she shook her head. She cleared her throat and picked up the pen again.

"Well, it's still a start. We can always have a look at what more there is to work with after you've had a chance to heal and I bring this to my council. They'll want to know more before agreeing so we know what to expect, so they may want to send a scout or two to take a look at the area, as well."