[Though not entirely sure what this 'talk' is about or why Muscovy is having it in the first place, Nick keeps any inquiries he may have to a minimum, sticking with a simple response.]
Because while Bianca is not a bad person, we should tell her that she should be nice to Rey and not hurt her or run off with someone else, yes? When things are not going well it will help to know that there are consequences outside of your partner for not being nice.
[He would usually hear this as an argument why one should not break with the family for the sake of marrying someone, but Rey is obviously a different case. One, this is her first partner and she picked her herself, two, it's a her, so he doubts that any family would have picked that one anyway. But she's also immortal and infertile so she doesn't need and can't have biological children anyway.]
[Given what he's hearing here and what he's noticed as of late when Rey comes home and is sometimes vague regarding how things are going, Nick is starting to get a clearer picture of what this is about.
... Though he has to admit that Rey could have better taste.]
Intimidation isn't the way to go about things, Muscovy. Rey's an adult. She can handle herself, and we ought to respect that.
[But in the event Bianca ever hurt Rey, they would absolutely have some words.]
So you don't want to protect Rey like she would protect you?
[Rey might not be what one would call a good person, necessarily; and she has her issues with the concept of family. But from what he has observed, there and here, makes him absolutely certain that as reluctant as she may be to admit it, Rey will be a reliable ally to those whom she cares about. And he knows that she cares about Nick.]
[Sorry, Muscovy. Nick doesn't play the guilt-trip game, intentional or not.]
Protecting her doesn't mean taking away her choice in this. How do you think she'd feel if your "friendly warning" made Bianca decide she wasn't worth the trouble? If you chased her off without Rey getting so much as a say in it?
Bianca isn't my cup of tea either, but this isn't our place to step in.
Bianca isn't a person who would be chased off by a warning or even a threat. [That seems like a rather pointless objection to him. He gets the feeling that telling her not to date Rey (which is absolutely not his plan) would actually make her more intent on doing exactly that.]
And she's nice, just a bit silly. You should invite her for dinner so you'll know her better, yes? [She's not Muscovy's most favourite person in the city, if just because there's a few that he just likes a lot, but she's part of his household and Firo cares about her. So that are two important reasons to approve of this relationship.]
Now there's an idea I can get behind. I'll see if I can't set something up.
But no "friendly warnings," Muscovy. The point isn't that Bianca could be chased away, but that you might stir up trouble where it's not needed. Intimidation is not how we do things. Got it?
[Not that he thinks the kid actually would be intimidating to Bianca, but the fact of the matter is that it's a bad line of thinking Nick would rather not see him fall into. Too many people rely on it as it is.]
[So there is obviously no issue there. As much as he wouldn't change his plans if he would believe that she'd be intimidated by him telling her that he will have Rey's back without compromise. Because they're more than allies or housemates. They're family, even if Rey is still coming around.]
Because that is the case, I have to have it, because if I was intimidating, she would not need a warning because she would already know that she would have a problem with me, too, if she hurts Rey, yes?
No warnings. No telling people that they're going to have a problem with you if they hurt someone else. That's intimidation, Muscovy, and it's not what we do.
It means that things will escalate that would not have to escalate.
[Knowing that attacking someone would call allies, or that someone is strong enough alone to effectively cause issues to an attacker and their village can keep the balance in an area effectively and force people to play nice, preventing more death and destruction than necessary. It does of course not hold up forever, but what does?]
You conflate a threat and a warning, and that will get you in trouble one day. A warning is when you support something not happening by laying out consequences. A threat is when you make someone so scared or angry that they will attack you. They are very different.
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It would make sense if you are there too, yes?
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And why's that?
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[He would usually hear this as an argument why one should not break with the family for the sake of marrying someone, but Rey is obviously a different case. One, this is her first partner and she picked her herself, two, it's a her, so he doubts that any family would have picked that one anyway. But she's also immortal and infertile so she doesn't need and can't have biological children anyway.]
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... Though he has to admit that Rey could have better taste.]
Intimidation isn't the way to go about things, Muscovy. Rey's an adult. She can handle herself, and we ought to respect that.
[But in the event Bianca ever hurt Rey, they would absolutely have some words.]
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People can be very silly and not realize the obvious.
[=D It's not a threat if you can back it up.]
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Facts or not, it's still intimidation, and it isn't how I do things. It isn't how you should do things either if you have any respect for Rey.
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Withholding information is not respecting Rey.
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[Rey might not be what one would call a good person, necessarily; and she has her issues with the concept of family. But from what he has observed, there and here, makes him absolutely certain that as reluctant as she may be to admit it, Rey will be a reliable ally to those whom she cares about. And he knows that she cares about Nick.]
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Protecting her doesn't mean taking away her choice in this. How do you think she'd feel if your "friendly warning" made Bianca decide she wasn't worth the trouble? If you chased her off without Rey getting so much as a say in it?
Bianca isn't my cup of tea either, but this isn't our place to step in.
[text]
And she's nice, just a bit silly. You should invite her for dinner so you'll know her better, yes? [She's not Muscovy's most favourite person in the city, if just because there's a few that he just likes a lot, but she's part of his household and Firo cares about her. So that are two important reasons to approve of this relationship.]
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But no "friendly warnings," Muscovy. The point isn't that Bianca could be chased away, but that you might stir up trouble where it's not needed. Intimidation is not how we do things. Got it?
[Not that he thinks the kid actually would be intimidating to Bianca, but the fact of the matter is that it's a bad line of thinking Nick would rather not see him fall into. Too many people rely on it as it is.]
[text]
[So there is obviously no issue there. As much as he wouldn't change his plans if he would believe that she'd be intimidated by him telling her that he will have Rey's back without compromise. Because they're more than allies or housemates. They're family, even if Rey is still coming around.]
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It means that things will escalate that would not have to escalate.
[Knowing that attacking someone would call allies, or that someone is strong enough alone to effectively cause issues to an attacker and their village can keep the balance in an area effectively and force people to play nice, preventing more death and destruction than necessary. It does of course not hold up forever, but what does?]
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[And even then, he wouldn't be keen on it.]
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The answer is no.
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[He would need to be a lot stronger for that.]
Until we talk again.