[Is it a mystery for someone else, Gepard? Or is it a mystery that you'll be solving anyway, whether you like it or not?]
[What's in front of Sampo right now is the mystery of why Gepard Landau has turned into a sadsack. The Captain that Sampo knew never had looked so... ground down, even after months of fighting hard at the frontlines. There had always been something unyielding in him, something unshakeable. And, sure, Sampo did just say that years could change a man, but it feels like it would take more than just time to wear down Gepard's iron will.]
[What had happened, in the years that he'd been gone? Sampo couldn't go back and undo all those years-- nor would he want to, really, he'd had important things to do and he wouldn't change that-- but context might at least provide some understanding of how they got here. How Gepard went from a paragon of the Preservation to... this.]
[More reconnaissance is in order, then. At least Sampo will be able to keep himself busy.]
Apology accepted! I think it's the first one you've ever given me. [Gepard wasn't exactly the apologizing type. Probably still isn't, this is just a special case.] And, well, we can change that last thing, can't we?
[Gepard barely knows him, but that's not immutable. They can make progress on that, go from former antagonists to compatriots. The good ol' enemies to friends (to lovers?) trope, that's a real crowd-pleaser.]
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[What's in front of Sampo right now is the mystery of why Gepard Landau has turned into a sadsack. The Captain that Sampo knew never had looked so... ground down, even after months of fighting hard at the frontlines. There had always been something unyielding in him, something unshakeable. And, sure, Sampo did just say that years could change a man, but it feels like it would take more than just time to wear down Gepard's iron will.]
[What had happened, in the years that he'd been gone? Sampo couldn't go back and undo all those years-- nor would he want to, really, he'd had important things to do and he wouldn't change that-- but context might at least provide some understanding of how they got here. How Gepard went from a paragon of the Preservation to... this.]
[More reconnaissance is in order, then. At least Sampo will be able to keep himself busy.]
Apology accepted! I think it's the first one you've ever given me. [Gepard wasn't exactly the apologizing type. Probably still isn't, this is just a special case.] And, well, we can change that last thing, can't we?
[Gepard barely knows him, but that's not immutable. They can make progress on that, go from former antagonists to compatriots. The good ol' enemies to friends (to lovers?) trope, that's a real crowd-pleaser.]