For the first time, Fiona wondered whether she had been right to encourage Lachlan to bring his sister into this. Was she truly obtuse enough not to know their common objective, or was she pretending for some hidden reason? Neither option appealed, although the former was perhaps the less potentially damaging... depending on what that hidden reason might be. Barely brought in, and already planting seeds of dissent, as if she had earned the right to question people who had been risking their lives for years, while Morrigan had been content to work for the Cloves, with no hidden agenda? Had only recently been awakened to the need to drive them out?
And that personal dig at Lachlan hardly belonged here, and only added to Fiona's growing doubts.
Fiona needed a moment to make certain she wouldn't add fuel to the fire herself, so to speak, and Reagan spoke up, admirably stating just what was on Fiona's mind. Calmer now, she opened her mouth to elaborate when Lachlan cut in first, and Fiona felt another swell of affection, and admiration, for her friend, and his self-restraint in that moment.
Fiona took a step forward then, to bring everyone's gaze back to her, but her focus was on Morrigan, and her tone calm as she stated simple facts. "You're new here. We've been at this for years. The way we work might not seem ideal to you, but it is born of necessity. We learned the hard truth of that in the wake of the war. We had to adapt, or the Resistance would've died. So we did."
Now her gaze traveled over the small assembly. "We all want the Cloves out of Aurelle. That is what unites us. What has always united us. This is nothing like fighting a war, not the way we understand it. It is a different kind of fight altogether. One that will take years to bear fruits. It is long, arduous, and thankless. Our own people are often working against us. Those are all things we know. None of this is new. We must stay united, if we are to stand a chance against our oppressors.
"But no one who disagrees with this mission has to have a hand in it. Will has volunteered to spike the liquor, and all that is asked of any of you is to keep your peace and let this play out."
If Morrigan or anyone else wanted to cast blame, Fiona would happily shoulder it.