responsibilities

There's all these secrets I can't keep
Like in my heart there's a hotel suite

He doesn't mean to give her the wrong impression, it's just so much. It's no wonder she's so overwhelmed and upset, especially when they both clearly feel the same way about the fact she's only eighteen. Jude has full faith in her abilities, yes, but he's wise enough to know they're not well-rounded abilities in the least. Not yet.

The existence of a council is reassuring, though Jude also wonders why none of them had taken the position instead. "Then you've already got people who can help you. Not just emotionally but politically." Jude lifts his hand to gently touch her cheek. "You've got me, and dad, and all your friends on a personal level. We'll support you. But your council is supposed to support the leader. You've got people on both sides." His own opinion on her age and new leadership aside, Jude is meant to be comforting her right now, so he abandons those opinions in favor of trying to find the bright sides.

As she wilts he wraps his arms back around her, the two of them sitting on the floor with limbs tangled together. "You didn't make a mistake. There wasn't another option." Tilting their foreheads together, Jude rubs her back slowly, methodically. "And it doesn't have to be permanent. If there are changes you want to make you start there." Jude has full faith that her early ideas are trustworthy, even if they may need some shaping. "Over time maybe someone on your council will see the appeal of leading. Maybe someone else will be interested. Just...think of yourself as a bandaid." Deciding to take the analogy and run with it, Jude keeps the verbal ball rolling now that he feels he has his metaphorical feet beneath him. "Stormbreak may have been bleeding slowly, but it wasn't stopping either. Maybe you're not the perfect bandaid for it, but it was better than nothing. Either you leading will be what it needs, or it will slow the bleeding down enough to give time for someone else to take over." Maybe she'll grow with the role and never end up leaving it as the best-case scenario. Which feels weird to even think given how young they are - Sohalia making roots here forever as a leader, setting the course of their lives on a path from a young age.

Feeling like he has said more in this moment than he has all week, Jude's steam runs out. "It's not a death sentence. And if they haven't had any leader at all, they'll forgive your mistakes because at least they're made for the sake of progress." Progress that certainly wouldn't happen with an empty seat of power. "And hopefully your council will advise you well enough that you won't make them in the first place." If she trusts them enough to call them friends then they could surely be relied upon.

And you lived there so long
It's kinda strange, now you're gone

Jude