[Rome isn't sure if he's entirely comfortable with this sort of talk, particularly aimed at Maketh. He's no stranger to seeing his handlers scolded, but it's different when she isn't in the room, when the scolding is less about the way orders were executed and more about outright treason.
It doesn't seem to be a particularly easy topic for Nick either, and Rome knows that Maketh cared for him very much- he must have cared for her in turn, even if he's disparaging her now. He's growing to learn how that kind of care works, how friends will correct one another without a structure of power in place adhering them to one another's judgement, but it's still foreign enough to him that he has to consciously think about it when he sees it happening.]
I understand.
[And he does, sort of. He understands that Maketh acted against the principles of the guard, and he understands that he went with her anyway, that he treated her word as law above Nick and Henry's, and that that was a mistake. He understands that the morality of his current superiors is in contrast to Maketh's viewpoints, and in order to prove his loyalty, his own morality should align with Nick's and not hers... it shouldn't pose too much of a problem. Rome has never particularly cared for the gods one way or another: his duty has been to the people here and to those who would give him orders. Whether they want to sacrifice their own to kill the gods, or protect the civilians here, it makes no difference to him.
That counts for something though. He doesn't know what that something is, but- well, Rome has been operating by his own will since Maketh left. His own will brought him back here, to Nick. That counts for something, apparently.
Doesn't it?]
I understand if you don't deem me as trustworthy, [he says, focused again now that the topic has moved away from his own beliefs,] but I put the Guard above everything else in my life. I hope that you understand that. I know that my needs are- unique.
[Schedules operating around the lunar cycle, whatever this handler business is, and apparently now education in morality.]
-but the structure is- I can't operate without it. I will do anything you ask of me, without complaint or hesitation, but I'm... I'm not good on my own. Since miss Maketh and now Morgan left, I'm not...
[How does he even end that sentence? Admitting weakness isn't necessarily easy for him, and the thought of listlessness or melancholy is not one that he'd be able to come up with on his own. Romulus is a little like a greyhound, trained to do one specific thing and do it well, and when there's no challenge, no order, no game to make of it, he's going a little out of his own head.
He sighs.]
...I'm not being utilized well. Many here were uncomfortable with the idea of a handler, but- it's helpful, to be guided. I believe I perform better with one.
no subject
It doesn't seem to be a particularly easy topic for Nick either, and Rome knows that Maketh cared for him very much- he must have cared for her in turn, even if he's disparaging her now. He's growing to learn how that kind of care works, how friends will correct one another without a structure of power in place adhering them to one another's judgement, but it's still foreign enough to him that he has to consciously think about it when he sees it happening.]
I understand.
[And he does, sort of. He understands that Maketh acted against the principles of the guard, and he understands that he went with her anyway, that he treated her word as law above Nick and Henry's, and that that was a mistake. He understands that the morality of his current superiors is in contrast to Maketh's viewpoints, and in order to prove his loyalty, his own morality should align with Nick's and not hers... it shouldn't pose too much of a problem. Rome has never particularly cared for the gods one way or another: his duty has been to the people here and to those who would give him orders. Whether they want to sacrifice their own to kill the gods, or protect the civilians here, it makes no difference to him.
That counts for something though. He doesn't know what that something is, but- well, Rome has been operating by his own will since Maketh left. His own will brought him back here, to Nick. That counts for something, apparently.
Doesn't it?]
I understand if you don't deem me as trustworthy, [he says, focused again now that the topic has moved away from his own beliefs,] but I put the Guard above everything else in my life. I hope that you understand that. I know that my needs are- unique.
[Schedules operating around the lunar cycle, whatever this handler business is, and apparently now education in morality.]
-but the structure is- I can't operate without it. I will do anything you ask of me, without complaint or hesitation, but I'm... I'm not good on my own. Since miss Maketh and now Morgan left, I'm not...
[How does he even end that sentence? Admitting weakness isn't necessarily easy for him, and the thought of listlessness or melancholy is not one that he'd be able to come up with on his own. Romulus is a little like a greyhound, trained to do one specific thing and do it well, and when there's no challenge, no order, no game to make of it, he's going a little out of his own head.
He sighs.]
...I'm not being utilized well. Many here were uncomfortable with the idea of a handler, but- it's helpful, to be guided. I believe I perform better with one.