//------------------------------// // Xavier Breakthrough Project, Day 2: Honesty // Story: Days in the Mind of One that is Great and Powerful // by The REAL Mister Pkmn //------------------------------// The next day, Trixie and her friends, along with Sarah,  found Maestro sitting at a table alone at a nondescript restaurant. He was having a meal, seeming to wait for somebody. The group of eight sat down near him, and he noticed them. “Ah. What brings you here? A friendly visit?” He noticed that Sarah had tagged along with the friends, but said nothing about her. Trixie recalled what she overheard when she last saw Maestro, and posed a question. “Say Maestro, yesterday, I overheard you answering a phone call to somebody you referred to as ‘cuz.’ Who was that? Does it mean you have more family that you haven’t spoken about?” As Trixie’s friends murmured about this, Maestro held up a hand as he sipped his drink. Once he was done, he addressed people that seemed to not be there. “I know you’re eavesdropping. There’s no need for that, you know. Why not join us?”  Twilight and her friends came out of the shadows, each a little a embarrassed. They gathered around the food table, and were attentive. Maestro cleared his throat. “To answer your query, yes, I do have other family that I’ve never had the opportunity to tell you guys about. First, there’s the person I was talking to- Natalie Lumis, a cousin of ours that lives in China. There are others too- Charles Umbris, who lives in Brazil, and the twins Mark and Mary Voie, who live in Spain. Also I have a full-blood brother and sister, Eric and Erin, who are twins. They’re currently in Russia.” He then turned to Ayumi, who had just recently shown up. “In fact, you might have seen them and not known it.” Ayumi raised an eyebrow. “Depends. What do they look like?” Maestro smiled a bit. “Well, they both are a bit on the tan side, and their eyes are both hazel. Erin’s hair is a dirty blonde, and Eric’s is almost black.” Maestro seemed to hesitate for a bit, and shook his head. “There is one difference between them of note, though. Erin has a bit of trouble with her balance at times, and Eric… he’s blind.” Ayumi shook her head. “No, I’ve never met them. I might’ve liked to, though.” After the conversation, they went to meet with Xavier, who had once again arrived at the appointed place ahead of time. He looked immensely miffed. “I thought you guys wanted to break through to me or something! The least you could do is try and not make me wait forever for you to get here so we can get this nonsense over with!” The group nodded, sending forward Ashley and Rae, as well as Kimara. Ashley started her section first. “Honesty is more than just telling th’ truth all o’ the tahm. It entails knowing when it’s okay to tone things down, so it’s not so blunt.” At this, Xavier blinked. He half expected something else, but he wasn’t about to give them an inch. “So what? You craft a ‘softer truth’ for them to swallow? Is that really the best course of action?” Noticing Xavier’s attack on Ashley’s argument, Rae decided to interject. “Not always- Honesty is sometimes better received when it’s a bit more blunt, but gauging when to use bluntness is key. If you’re blunt too often, you come off as hostile or abrasive. If you’re sugar-coating too often, you come off as eager to please, or dumbing things down. A balance is important.” Xavier grinned smugly. They thought that they were so smart, didn’t they? Well, he’d show them. “Really now?” He said with faux interest, “Then tell me- what is more important: honoring your word, or being careful with what you say?” Kimara knew that things were in a tough spot, but she wasn’t about to give in. It was now that she decided to strike. “I believe that it’s both. It’s not impossible to judge how to say an oath. With friends, you know which need more care. With friends, you know with which the full truth you can bare. Though, I must admit it get harder with those you don’t know. My best advice is to let the honor of your heart show.” But Xavier wasn’t impressed. This was the best they could do? He refused to show that anything had resonated- not that anything had. “Ha! Do you really think it’s worth it to put in such effort?” He grinned, and shook his head. “I won’t lie to you- I certainly don’t think so. It’s far simpler to just lie to everyone.” He then walked off a little ways, then called back. “You guys gotta try harder. If this is the best you have, then you’ll never get through to me. Later!” He then went on his way. After Xavier left, Flora and Diana got together, concerned. Diana voiced her concerns first. “Okay, so how are we going to fare better? I’m not too sure…” Flora was terrified of the aspect of trying to speak to him but steeled her nerves to try and answer. “W-well, he used to be kinder, so we try and appeal to that.” “Maybe.” The two turned to see Janice’s Caucasian friend. Neither of them had noticed her arrival. “However, that doesn’t mean it’ll be easy- he’s quite set in his ways.” Diana approached her first, seeing as Flora was too timid to do so. “Well that’s nice, er… what’s your name?” She extended a hand. “Valerie Richards.” Diana shook it first, then Flora. Valerie looked to the two of them. “If we’re going to work together, we need a strategy. Why don’t we go to my place to discuss things? It’s not far from here.” Flora seemed concerned about something. “Wh-what about your parents? Won’t they be concerned if strangers come over?” Valerie shook her head. “Nah, I’ll say that we’re working on a project together, and they’ll leave us to our own devices pretty much.” She raised an eyebrow at the looks she was getting. “What? It’s not like I’m lying to them. Plus, I’m pretty sure they’ll take a real shine to the both of you.” That left no room for argument, and the three went off together. Trixie was a little down that they hadn’t gotten through to Xavier yet. What was his deal, anyway? All this stubbornness over a singular event? Or was there more to it? During her musing, she didn’t notice that everyone had left, and that Gearbox had come onto the scene. He went over to Trixie, and she played it cool. “Hey Gearbox. What’s up?” Gearbox smiled, and sighed. “Clyde. He’s getting out of the hospital soon. It’s good to see he’s recovered enough for that.” He then turned to Trixie. “Hey, I was wondering… Are you free this Saturday? I’d like to have that second date.” Trixie’s eyes widened. “R-really? Of course Trixie is free this Saturday! Where do you have in mind?” Gearbox chuckled a little at Trixie’s blush due to her lapse into third-person, but smiled. “Oh, someplace fancy. Bring your best dress. It’ll be fun- Dinner, Dancing, then Desert. Maybe if this works out, we’ll make this a regular thing.” Trixie smiled widely. “Certainly! I won’t disappoint!” She and Gearbox then went their separate ways, at least for now.