83 Weak Leader

"E-Excuse me?" I looked to Tavian, turning completely toward him.

"Look at you. A Corrupt Stone who can't lead. Your only advantage is your ability to heal and kill people. What kind of talent do you really have? Lia can do that as well, can't she?" Tavian asked me. I felt old anger start to resurface.

"Not to mention, you're also really easy to mentally disturb through conversations. You're more inclined to respond to anger than genuine suggestions from people you apparently care about. If they make you angry, you then decide to respond. Even on that beach, you let Raven boss you around until his words made you angry enough to corrupt your system." He said. Tavian didn't move his body at all, refusing to make eye contact with me.

"Raven did a LOT more than just talk to me, he made me eat a damn cat in front of him, and he put Dani's life in danger," I yelled at Tavian.

Tavian shook his head again. It kind of made me want to punch him in the face. "Again and again, you let that anger take over you and you corrupted. You defected from your natural-born leadership role to give in to your primal desire to kill and your emotions. You have no control, and your role as a leader in that group is specifically made as an illusion, as nobody is courageous enough to corrupt their morals to finish the job."

"And what about you? Didn't you kidnap children and eradicate their villages just because a White Stone told you to do so?!" I yelled at him.

"I did, but now look at you, listening to a person that would dare do such a thing just because your role as a leader is so whimsically thrown about that you can't do it yourself. You can't gather together the same volume of people I have to fight off Orion, you sapped off of me to gain success. That's fine, as a leader, success isn't the priority, it's about making sure my people are happy. And, as your leader, I must ask, are you happy? Wait, no, I know the answer to that. Children like you don't like being wrong, so I assume you're angry right now, correct?" Tavian continuously teased me with no end in sight. What was the point of this?

"Not responding. Pretty typical in a child like yourself. I wonder if Red or Domin would be proud of you." As those words left Tavian's mouth, I unclenched my fist, wrapping my hand in a tight grip around his collar and slamming him into the wall behind him.

"You can pep talk me all you want about my leadership, but the second you bring Red or Domin into it… the second I beat you to a bloody pulp in front of everybody," I told him, but he only smiled.

"And I'm right again. You can't come to terms with their death so to satisfy your selfish desire to make amends, you put yourself in the leadership position to make their deaths mean something. Aren't you noble?" Tavian muttered.

"What I do for whatever reason is mine alone! It's not your business to barge in and act like you're better than me! You told me just a while ago you want to stop Orion from ruling over this Isle, isn't that selfish as well?!" This time I yelled at him. Tavian slipped out of my grip, but this time, he looked directly at me.

"Look who I benefit by taking down Orion, look who you benefit. A measly group of just about fifty people you brought here that you want to make sure don't die, versus an entire Isle. I think it's clear who's set out to help the world a lot more." Tavian told me. I scoffed. He couldn't be serious.

"And? Why should I care about the civilians of this Isle who all look down on me for being a corrupt stone? I respect you and your wishes to take down Orion, so I thought I'd help you, not for them, but for my group." I clarified.

"And that's why you'll never be a good leader in that mindset. Not a single, innocent soul is to be looked over. You look over every single one in your own selfish desires to preserve their lives. That makes you a terrible leader and a terrible person." He said. Tavian didn't understand how these people treated me and look at me, I don't expect him to get it.

I shrugged, "Why should I care? Respectfully, I don't have feelings for the people that live here and I only care about those who respect me as a fellow member of their group. These people ostracize me because of the color of my stone and my status." Tavian shook his head.

"To overlook the thought of being ostracized is ignorant, but to work to prove your worth is the characteristic of a true leader. If you're so concerned with your status between my people, then do your best to prove to them that you're more than a corrupt stone. I saw you like that even as you were in your corrupt state because I believed you could be more than that, but it seems that's all you'll ever be." Tavian went to turn around after his next comment, but I stopped him.

"Work to prove myself? To what benefit? I don't see the need to overexert myself to fit the views of other people when my family sees me as good enough." I told him. Tavian reached over to my shoulder and pushed me back.

"Being content with being average is the worst thing you can do as the leader of your family. You should always strive to be the best you can always be. Some people bring that out in you, others don't, but it's not their responsibility." He clarified. I stumbled back and held my hands against the temples of my head. They started to ache sharply.

"Why should I even care about being a leader?! I didn't choose to come back with this damn stone on my hand! These responsibilities were assigned to me when I woke up, I never asked for any of this! Why is it my responsibility to try this hard to be a good person?!" I realized how bad it sounded after it came out, but unfiltered, that's how I truly felt.

"It doesn't matter if you asked for it or not. Your character and how you are shown to the world depends on what you do with those responsibilities. Being merely average will not grant you a life of peace after you've finished this mission, but being the best leader known to man will grant you the ease of leading like it is your second nature. People will constantly look up to you and they wouldn't dare recite the color of your stone, but the content of who you are as a person. Are you okay with being referred to as the Corrupt Stone, or do you want to be called Sky?" Tavian asked me.

I answered and he smiled. "You have many flaws, an excruciating amount. If you vow to change though, you've destroyed the largest one: Contentment. Always strive to be better. When you accept that, you've destroyed your title as a Corrupted Stone and restored it as Sky. It seems like I have a lot to teach you as a leader, but I know you'll catch on quickly." Tavian said, putting out his hand to shake mine. I gladly took it.

"I had to do that to find your true intentions. You're by no means a good leader yet, but you will be. You are fighting for who?" He asked, waiting for my newfound response. I knew my mission now.

"I'm fighting for the people and their future; an opportunity to live a life unshackled by Orion's grasp," I said.

"Who is your family?" He asked me again. I started to smile. I caught on.

Tavian's ideals and mine will always be different... he doesn't get it as I do. Tavian has lost people, sure, but my one true family will always be the people I woke up with on the beach, no matter what he says. It's important for me to consider the possibility that his people are important, but nothing will surpass the importance of those close to me.

I was confused about how I should word it. I don't want to have this conversation with Tavian anymore, but I want him to understand that I know where he's coming from.

"My family will always be the fifty I woke up with, but they won't be my main focus. My main focus will be the future from now on, and that includes anybody, and everybody directly affected by my actions moving forward." I told him.

This way of thinking was hard, it took effort. Even if this wasn't how I truly felt or thought right now, reciting it now would be easier to act upon it later. I think Tavian knew that as well, as long as I can reach what he's trying to preach to me.

"That's more like it. I look forward to working with you… as fellow leaders, right?" He asked. I shook Tavian's hand.

"Right," I said to him.

With Tavian's help, I was forced to realize that I was being a selfish child leading my group. I had no concern for those around me, mainly because I couldn't protect them all. I knew who I could protect, but as Tavian described, that's not being a leader. Protection isn't the main thing, as I've learned. I need to understand that, above all else.

"Now, let's regroup with the rest. They should be in the armory." Tavian said, taking the lead forward to the armory.

It was an odd talk, but I certainly learned what I needed to from it. I smiled, walking right next to him.

I will be better from now on.