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I didn't mean-- and That's not what I-- and If that's true then--

A million different objections lived and died in Blarney's throat, not even one escaping his lips - it was a measure of self-control he hadn't completely thought himself capable of, and one which would have stunned those who knew him well. But stay quiet he did, listening to the Code and Valhalla, and he really did try to listen. This was what he was here for.

Finally, he nodded. He did best with direct instructions, and he had gotten them, sort of. He assembled them in his head, loosely:

1. Learn to fight
2. Learn to teach (??)
3. Help like a Knight not like a martyr
4. Find a Mauvian to make a Page-detector/signature-increaser (???)
5. Always show up no matter what
6. Start small
7. Share information (but not too much and only with the right people) (????)

Start small seemed like both the easiest and the hardest place to begin. On the one hand, it was reassuring that he wouldn't have to do this all by himself; that other people were also concerned about and trying to fix the problems he had run into. However, aside from those loose guidelines, most of what they'd said was what not to do. Don't assume. Don't try to help everyone. Don't expect the Code to solve your problems. Don't count older Knights out. Don't reinvent the wheel.

Blarney sighed, plucked his flowercrown off his head so that he could, finally, run his hand through his hair as he tried to untangle his thoughts. Carefully, he put it back on, then looked between the two of them.

"Thank you," he began, because it was important to be polite, and he could see that they really were trying to help him - trying to give what answers there were to be had to his bazillions of questions.

"I guess...if you guys are saying all this stuff exists...where? Tell me who to talk to and I'll talk to them," he said. "I'll talk to Viatrix about the Page senser thingy, but like--won't that also be a problem if it points them out to the Negaverse? I guess maybe if we made it so it pinged off our rings or phones..." Blarney trailed off, a slight frown creasing his brow as he went down that particular, distracting, rabbit hole. He shook his head, refocused.

"I really didn't mean to say that like--I'm the only one who's noticed this, or cares, or wants to fix stuff. I wasn't trying to be like, I'm the only and the best one, or anything like that, or that I'm--I'm not trying to demand anything from anyone, I'm really not," he said, the words not even a little bit what he was planning on saying, but he did feel like it needed to be said. "I'm sorry if it came off that way. I just--" Blarney sighed again, pursed his lips, and suddenly felt much, much older than he was.

"If I don't have to reinvent the wheel, awesome. Tell me where to pitch in, or point me in the direction of someone who can tell me what to do, and I'll do the rest, as much as I can. I just--you're telling me to do it myself," he said, gesturing to the Code, and then to Valhalla as he continued, "--and you're telling me that there's a bunch of other Knights who are doing it and have been doing it longer and better and more organize...d...ly...that's not a word..." Blarney ran a gloved hand over his face.

"If I can help build something that's already in progress, great, let's do that, and I'll keep wandering around looking for Pages who need help or answers, without assuming that I know what answers or help they need, while accepting that some of them don't want help or community, and that some of them shouldn't get all the information because they could be working with the Negaverse." This seemed like an impossible contradiction in terms, but nobody ever said Knight-ing was easy. "I get that the answer is both things, do both, but I--how--what now?" Blarney finally finished, shrugging helplessly. He was starting to get a headache. Did they have enough oxygen on the moon? Blarney wasn't so sure.

"I just want to help. If I'm thinking too big--" which, this was maybe the first and only time anyone had ever accused him of that-- "--then tell me what small means, specifically, and I'll do that instead."

Valhalla let out a small breath, some of the tension easing from his shoulders now that Blarney seemed to be easing a little as well.

"No one's upset with you," he said gently. "Concerned, maybe. But you came here to ask questions and try to figure out how to help others. That's the important thing."

He glanced over at the Code for a moment before looking back at Blarney. "You don't have to figure this out alone. Have you actually used the Connections app yet? Really used it?" he asked. "That's one of the safest ways to meet others who care about the same things you do."

He paused for a moment, a small smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. "And not just Knights. Senshi too. My wife is a Senshi," he reminded him. "A lot of what I know came from working with people from different walks of life with different experiences. Knights aren't meant to be helpless, but we're not meant to stand only on our own, either."

There was another pause as his expression grew a bit more serious. "The difficult part isn't finding people. It's learning who to trust and how much to share. Once information gets out, you can't take it back," he explained, but there was nothing harsh in his voice, just concern born from experience.

"So start small. Make sure your ring is upgraded, use the Connections app, talk to Viatrix about the scanner, and ask around before assuming no one's working on something already. You don't have to stop caring so much. You just need to be prepared. And you're taking good steps forward by asking for help. I'm proud of you for that, Blarney."