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“Let’s head up, the whole council is waiting for you, right?” Reina asks, tilting her head towards the stairs behind Parrot.
“Y-yeah.” Parrot stutters slightly, he turns to lead Reina up the stairs.
“’Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.’” Lettuce mockingly echoes down the hall.
Parrot stops and closes his eyes, breathing for a moment, “Reina, go ahead and tell Theo what we learned. I will be up in a moment.” Reina hesitates for a moment, but the look on Parrot’s face seems to convince her and she continues up the stairs. Parrot takes a deep breath, turning around and heading for the end of the hallway. Towards the permanent resident.
Lettuce is sitting on his carpet, looking at his claws before he drags his eyes up to the avian through the bars, only a momentary glance at the crown on his head before looking back at his face, “William Shakespeare.”
“I know.” Parrot monotones at his former rival.
Lettuce laughs and drops his paw to his lap, “I was just curious if the rumors were true. How many more war crimes are you going to commit?” Lettuce tilts his head, “I mean,” the cat chuckles, “You are almost worse than me now.”
Parrot frowns at the caracal, “I’m doing what I need to for my kingdom, for the server.”
“Are you now? “For the betterment of the server”? I think Leo spoke about someone we both knew who said that to him.” Lettuce remarks, resting his elbows on his knees and crossing his paws under his chin, looking up at Parrot with a canary-grin, “The server is starving, resources are dwindling, and your army is full of inexperienced players. I, at least, had combat experience to back up my army.” Lettuce’s tail sways leisurely, “What do you have?”
“Allies and plans.” Parrot says, but even he knows it sounds weak coming out of his mouth. Lettuce simply laughs. Parrot takes a breath and turns away from the cat.
“How much blood will it take to weigh down your wings? How many more of your friends will you lose to your “plans”?” Lettuce points his left paw at Parrot as his right still supports his chin, “When do you think your…” Lettuce looks up at the ceiling, “Council will decide that it’s better to sacrifice the one for the many?” Lettuce grins at Parrot again, his right ear flicking softly. His left paw returns under his chin.
“Do you have anything important to add or is this just to waste my time?” Parrot asks sharply, turning his head to look at the cat.
Lettuce hisses a laugh, “I await the day that your plans fold on you. How far will you go, little bird? Whose blood will drip from your feathers next?” Parrot leaves the cat laughing in his cell, trying to calm his rising unease. “”Power reveals who we are, not who we pretend to be.””
Parrot begins to ascend the stairs but looks down at his feathered hands with a disconcerting frown. He sets his face with confidence before he faces anyone else.