Bring a Coat [Cecil/Yuri]

In a room in a certain warehouse, the air was deathly cold. The sound of gunshots followed by ice shattering could be heard. Bang bang bang bang bang bang! The Yuri stopped firing. You see, his revolver only held six bullets at once. Pulling the trigger any more would be useless. Luckily, he came prepared. Snap snap snap snap snap snap snap snap snap snap snap snap snap snap snap snap snap snap snap! Rogziel could fire nineteen shots in a row. That's thirteen more than his gun. Thank you, Rogziel, very cool! Breathing heavily, the Yuri began to load his gun once more. He needed as much target practice as possible, and ice was a great target due to his ability to create it out of nothing. The room began to freeze over once more...

The sound of gunfire was distinct. Scarcely audible outside the room, but unmistakable in nature. Someone was here honing their craft.
Revenant stepped into the training room to feel a sudden chill, the form of Yuri there in the room as his persona coated it in a thin layer of ice. The boy seemed tired - maybe from overuse of their persona. "It seems you have been busy. I didn't believe that this place was so warm that you felt the need to freeze it over." He cast a glance over the room as the ice built, gradually getting thicker. "Using your persona so greatly drains you. I'm sure you can feel it."

It was to be expected that the noise might have drawn someone inside. Yuri turned to see(cil) standing there. "Good evening, Revenant." He almost said that the previous temperature was fine, before realising that was probably a joke. "I'm fine," Yuri lied, forcing a smile. "I have to practice as much as possible. A government is a strong force to go against." He figured they may get into a firefight eventually, so he decided to perfect his aim. "Did you come to practice as well, or were you just idling by?"

The knight gave off the impression that he didn't quite believe that. "You are not inccorect in that. The government has a wealth of resources at their disposal, the trust of the people, and forces such as the Cadet and their subjugated demons in order to combat us. It is all the more important therefore not to overwork oneself. Your health will suffer for it, and that will lead you to falter in crucial moments." He knew well himself the negative effects overwork could have. Admittedly, they didn't tend to come with such a risk to freedom, life and limb in his instance-
Only because you weren't out. People already suffered for it without you fighting anyway.

He buried the treacherous thoughts.

"I am merely here to be there for those that may visit. While less frequent of late, we receive visitors unfamiliar with the nature of this place or what their new life entails, and I would be remiss to leave them in the dark."

The Revenant was right, overexertion damages the body. Luckily, there was a bed in Yuri's dormitory. He could get a good night of sleep later. "That's right. I know to rest when necessary. I won't strain myself." He would never do something so stupid.

"That's rather considerate." Perhaps it was due to coincidental timing, but Revenant was the only one he'd come across here. "Are you a higher up here?" Based on everything he'd seen, Yuri felt Revenant was probably more experienced than most of the other Playhouse members. "If not, that doesn't necessarily mean it wouldn't be good to speak of it with you, but regardless... Those District Leaders and their crimes. The persecution of Persona users. Does the corruption spread all the way up to the Queen? Is most everyone from the absolute top down behind this city's sins? The public hails her as a saviour." He paused for a moment. "There are many things I wish to discuss. Allow us to continue this conversation in a different room." The energy he spent had kept him warm, but now that Yuri was idle, he was feeling the chill. He motioned for Cecil to follow him into the chapel-like room adjacent to them, taking a seat. "Changing the public opinion of District Leaders will be easy," if only that were truly the case, "though I'm sure you acknowledge the public's devotion to Isla. Overthrowing a Queen will be twice as challenging when the public supports her. The Playhouse intends to take her place as the city's leader, the government? When a figure viewed as righteous is forcefully overthrown, and the coup declare themselves leader, we'd face opposition from the people." It was something that needed to be considered.

Revenant shakes his head. "I would not say so. Merely a member like any other. Not as new as some, but there are others here more senior than I."
Behind the metal, he quirks a brow as Yuri questions how far the corruption goes, and follows him back out of the frozen training room. He almost sighs as he sees that the main area of the playhouse has returned to the form of the church, knowing full well it wasn't like that when he left it a moment ago.
This was something to do with Yuri, he was sure.

He takes a seat by him, and listens to the concerns he raises. Honestly...it was a lot more thought given to their next steps then many of the people surrounding him had. He'd pondered on it himself somewhat, but it just wasn't something he could determine alone. It was...a hard thing to deal with.
"I doubt the Cadet forces are educated on the misdeeds of their government, else there would be a lot more dissent in the ranks. It would be hard to imagine them so loyal to the cause without either keeping them ignorant or taking grip of their minds. But the District Leaders...I cannot imagine she didn't know of their natures, and was completely unresponsible for their states."
He pauses.
"There are demons in these people, Yuri. They purport to be celestial, and take guises to aid the delusion, but were they truly the angels that people believe in they would not call the things they are accomplice to just. And if the Queen were truly innocent in it all, they were have to be ignorant of a supernatural force hosted in their own agents, which would have reached the people they trusted most and bonded with them all without anyone ever knowing. I find that...unlikely, to say the least."

"...you are right, however. The queen is lauded as saviour by many. Even should she be ousted, resentment will fester against those to take her place, if outright revolt does not occur." He sighs. "As with every other foe, faith in them must be undermined before they may be felled. And once that has taken place, we will need to swiftly replace any protections that were actually provided by her. Her enforcers may be corrupt or mislead, but their roles must still be filled to maintain this place and its safety. We will not be accepted if we cannot protect the people."

Yuri crossed his legs. "Yes, it would be hard to imagine that if every Cadet knew of the government's sins, that there would not be an internal rebellion." Though, perhaps there was one, and they never knew due to how terrible it failed. Revenant was right, taking the government's place by providing protection, upholding laws... y'know, everything that a government does was important. "All things considered, it seems we must expose every last District Leader first. After breaking all the public support there is, we'll have a solid grip on the government from all sides." District Leaders... He'd heard passing talk of them and the war against them, but being new to the Psyche Terrorist experience, hadn't been a part of said war. It all sounded akin to a story of a gangster looking to take out a cruel rival kingpin. Something else had been on his mind for a while, and now was as good as ever to mention it. "If I may deviate a bit, 'Platinum Playhouse...' It sounds more like a nightclub than a political revolution. It may seem an unimportant topic, but our public image is important. It's related to our trust, which as we just discussed is, of course, highly important. The 'Playhouse' might want to rebrand in the future." Perhaps that might have come off as a bit rude, especially to Larsinny, but he had everyone's best interests in mind as he said that. They needed to be taken seriously.

Revenant paused as Yuri mentioned that stray thought. He couldn't say it was entirely wrong. But he didn't quite thing it was quite as much an issue as Yuri might think either. "From what I understand, the Playhouse is not a new group. Its history goes back a reasonable way - enough for others hiding in the night to know it and have expectations of it. Truth told, a name like that just as well may work well for us even if this was a newer group anyways - that harmless, carefree presentation is less threatening than something aggressively political. For a group seeking freedom to live ones lives, it's rather appropriate."

His head tilts to one side a little, and he readjusts in his seat. "Even if it were a problem, after the public broadcast, a change such as you suggest would be more hurtful than all else to faith. Above all else, the weight of this group is not tied to its name, but the actions associated with it. Working to aid the public and earn their favour is more important than managing titles."

Perhaps it wasn't that big an issue. People like fun, after all, and it was indeed a fun sounding name. And Revenant was right, it was too late to change names now. They'd already begun making moves, people knew them for it. "I suppose your right. We can disregard the notion." Perhaps it was about time he got to know Revenant's casual features more. They'd only ever spoke of serious business up until this point. "What's your favourite drink?" That's a real ice-breaker. Joke explained: Often ice is broken and put into drinks to make them colder. Hopefully it was juice.

Black metal hid the surprise on Revenant's face at the sudden turn in conversation. It was a little jarring truth be told, going from such serious conversation to something so casual. "I...lemonade, I would suppose? I had not expected you to ask." He shake his head clear, somewhat bemused. "And what of you? And for that matter...why ask that? It's a behaviour I hadn't expected."

Learning trivia about people humanises them. Supposedly, people work better together when they're good friends, so it was vital that Revenant viewed Yuri as more than just a fellow fighter. "Lemonade, huh? I love it, too," he lied. "I simply want to learn more about my new friend is all." Where do people usually like to hang out these days? "Do you want to have some fun sometime? What do you like to do?"

Friend? Hold on.
"With...all due respect, Yuri, we are neither close enough nor familiar enough to call each other friends at this juncture." He suppresses a wince, remembering what happened when he said similar words to someone else. "No offense intended, but interactions before now have been few and businesslike. Not to say I find the idea repugnant, but...it is soon to say such a thing."

Yare yare daze, It seemed it would be harder to get Revenant into a casual mood than he thought. No matter. There will be the future. "Is that so? Alright." He wasn't any bit hurt by that. "Back in regards to the district leaders, I suppose I'll look about the Backlight. I'm more familiar with that district than any other." He spent most of his time there, but it wasn't where he'd ideally live. Someplace scenic like Sunlake Palms or East Eden would be better. "Unless there's anything else you wish to discuss, I'll take my leave." He needed to rest up for tomorrow.

Revenant breathed a small sigh of relief as Yuri seemed to take what he said well enough. He nods in response to what he says, and starts to pick himself up. "That seems reasonable. I have nothing else on my mind thus far, so...I suppose I shall take my leave as well."
With a small nod, the knight exits the pews and heads to the exit. "Look after yourself, Yuri."
And with that, he leaves.