Work to do

[Sage Sudeki]

Spike would also wait for the answer, but he wasn't putting down his drink.

[Lucifer]

"Remove you from the board."

As if that answered everything.

"There are ways to get you out of the Lightning Family business. Without anyone losing a finger."

Mathew said holding up his metal hand to Spike before he even went there.

"And you said yourself, Rai said he needs you to be stronger. Whatever plan he has for blood and Prota I can tell you, the hint of a whisper from blood to Prota that Rai is not under Strike's control will likely result in everyone in the territory being murdered as he sterilizes it. If you are not strong enough to be of use, then he can't use you. The easiest solution is you live a normal life, get a job, and put all of the Sudeki and Dragon stuff behind you."

He picked up his cup, looking at the drink with a small smirk.

"Killing you could also work though. The point is there are options."

[Drake]

Hmph. At least this one was being straight with him. Drake cooled back down and took another sip.

"I appreciate the fact that you're being straight with me. So, I'll be straight with you. I have no intention of dying, now or any time soon. I also need to get stronger for personal reasons. I have a promise to keep and in order to keep it I need to be better than I am in every way."

He would turn to Spike.

"As for abandoning the Mafia, I didn't even know about any commitments to them until you showed up. So if there is a way out of them, than all I need is to know how."

He would turn back to Mathew.

"I could also pledge to never return to Blood, but that would be a foolish claim because I can only assume that if he wants me to come back he has something up his sleeve to ensure that I will... so, why not do what you said? Tell Prota of Rai's disloyalty? I'm not a citizen of 235, which can be backed up by the fact that I am currently a part of Leon's Mafia. So, that would wipe Rai and all of 235 off the board, and that would no longer be an issue."

[Sage Sudeki]

Well this was getting spicy. Spike would turn from Drake to Mathew to see where that went, cause now this was getting good. Though, Spike was willing to cut a pinky off to get Drake out, he was interested in the other idea he had for that. He was also interested in the whole see what Rai will do with Prota dropping down on his people.

"The only problem I see with outing Rai, is there is a chance he will survive, and Dragons tend to take it personal when you try to get them or their family killed."

[Lucifer]

"Rai might, but thousands of innocent people wouldn't. But you really are okay with the genocide of a people because you don't want to settle down over some promise?"

[Drake]

"No, I'm not ok with any of this. But you keep coming at me as if I'm the singular issue her, and quite frankly I don't believe that for a minute. But you're gonna keep throwing shit plans then I throw out a few of my own. God, Dragon, or insert whatever fuck off else title you want. I don't see why what they are doing is any of your business. Especially when all we have is the concerns of one individual that for all I know-"

He would turn to Spike.

"No offense-"

Back to Mathew.

"Could just be some dude that got paranoid because my father told him a bunch of shit that MAY be true. You suggestion to me, is to give up everything I find important, or give up my life. Easy for you to say. Sitting pretty on top your throne with your happy life and family. Well, some of us aren't so fortunate, and some of us don't like to stay down when we are kicked. So I refuse to let someone tell me to stay down because I'm just some Pawn in a game. Fuck that game. I'm my own man."

He would sipping more hot cocoa. Some whip cream on his nose.

[Sage Sudeki]

Spike would put his cup down for the first time.

"It may be paranoia, that is true. But, it's paranoia from experience. Over the ten years I spent fighting in the war with your father, my father, him..."

Spike would say nodding his head at Mathew at the ending.

"Nothing in this world is worse than any one of those three men making moves unchecked or being allowed to move machinations that could plunge the world into another war. If you are the key or not things didn't get suspicious until you were involved. You have a bloodline power which puts you in political limelight, and you are the heir to Bloodland which makes you an even larger political target. Beyond that you are basically a Prota territory heir, which attracts every shadow government you can think of."

[Lucifer]

"You mistake singular issue with most solvable. You are far to close to the issue to see things rationally, clearly. Which is why you were brought here to me."

He finished his drink, placing the cup in the sink as he'd start to rinse and wash it, turning his back on the boys.

"Nothing about my life has been easy, you are simply witnessing it twenty to thirty years past my battles."

The metal of his missing arm clanked against the sink, a constant reminder of the physical cost of his path.

"I am not convinced you know what is important in your life. They way you have described your path to this moment was a series of moments where you chose to have no agency over your own life. You chose to stay with your Mother being beaten or berated or whatever because of your lineage? You take no responsibility for joining the Sudeki family, you use the word convinced to go to blood territory. Leaving behind the obligation you just made. And from there it sounds like everything was simply inflicted upon you. And now you whine because we suggest that the simplest and most peaceful solution to stop a genocide is for you to get a job and try to be satisfied living a good life.

It's well and good to declare you are your own man. But your life story as you tell it says otherwise."

He might say he is no pawn, but every pawn wants to be the Queen. Most are killed and taken long before they reach the other end of the board.

"The fact that Spike has to explain what a Dragon is, or the turmoil that any of us playing our games unchecked would have on the world at large demonstrates how dangerously naive you are."

[Drake]

Drake rolled his eyes.

"Right, and you were born enlightened and had great wisdom when you were 16. Make all the talk you want, but let's face it. You don't really care what we choose, you're just curious how I'll respond right? You've done shit little to actually offer something, but seem to have a hell of a time playing games with me. Maybe I was mistaken, you aren't being straight with me. You're behaving just like the other two Dragons. You have your own agenda, and you speaking to me in a way to twist me into following whatever it is you're looking for."

Drake stood up and wiped. His nose.

"Thank you for the Hot Cocoa. And for the time, but I'll be waiting outside when when you two have finished your conversation."

With that Drake would attempt to leave.

[Sage Sudeki]

Spike watched Drake and Mathew do a bit of back and forth before Drake leaves. He calmly finishes his own cup and sighs. He waited to see if Mathew would do anything from all that. If not Spike would walk his and Drake's cup to the sink.

"This is going to be harder than I thought... Maybe taking Lightning Country from my dad will be easier."

[Lucifer]

Mathew doesn't stop him from leaving with word or action. He was free to not heed his advice.

"Doubt it will matter. Things are likely in motion. And a lot of people are going to die because of it. His actions if he acts as he is, it will increase my power significantly."

Which is not a good thing.

"Disrupting Lightning will give an opening to the forces looking to start the next war. I assume you've heard about the assassinations?"

[Sage Sudeki]

Spike would sigh again.

"Rumors of Cabal senate members being assassinated."

At least thats what he had heard so far.

[Lucifer]

"Someone came to question me about it. I can only assume that means I'm a suspect. Though we both know if I wanted someone dead I wouldn't send a snake to do it."

The thought was laughable.

[Sage Sudeki]

Spike would ponder it.

"I'll look into it when I can, but I agree. It'd make too big an opening. I wonder if my dad will just say something if I ask."

He'd rinse the cups and turn to Mathew.

"Thanks for the advice. I'll see what can be done about it."

[Lucifer]

"He might, he was never one for the subtle game. I was going to offer to take him under wing and shield him here for a bit, but I fear it would not work. He is still too self centered, keeping him here would not help him because he does not wish to be helped."