Zanru crossed her arms and gazed at him until he'd finished. Did he even realise that he'd just proved her point for her? Probably not. He wasn't that young, not too young to realise how badly he was behaving--it was appalling how much he expected things to revolve around him. In point of fact she'd been running a series of blacksmiths for twenty-four years--one of them her own, others owned by members of her immediate family, but all under the same umbrella and all businesses.
Not that she was going to say so. She wasn't around to get into a he-said/she-said argument, especially since she'd been unwise enough to get into that with Aya. Aya had been the first Foreigner who asked to meet, and one of the most accomplished--Zanru had been rattled, unsure of her footing, wanting to be recognised. She'd overtipped her hand, somehow. She just hadn't quite figured out how yet, and it had bothered her at first; then she remembered how much she hated that kind of politics and second-guessing and chose to move forward instead.
But on this occasion Zanru's qualifications weren't important to the conversation, and the fact Stark felt the need to whip them out only said a lot about where he put his focus: in all the wrong places.
"It's not your company," she told him. "Just because it's got your name on it doesn't make it yours. It was funded by someone who shared your name but it was built by kedan, and the fact that you took advantage of our having been brainwashed doesn't mean you have an inherent right to something you didn't even know existed until you got here."
She snorted. "You think you were the only ones kidnapped? When the kedan were brought here Eshai removed our ability to be curious. We were brainwashed into not having any ambition. We were sitting here, waiting to be guided because a part of our selves had been stolen. Did you ever see us as anything other than tools to be used? Sorry. We're not anymore. If that means you don't get to build our world to your specifications, tough. Come back and apply for a job when you're willing to work with others--and I mean actually work, not just expect them to do what you say."
Zanru turned to face her desk, putting her back to him in clear dismissal, and bent to start sorting her paperwork.
raise your hand if you're surprised
Not that she was going to say so. She wasn't around to get into a he-said/she-said argument, especially since she'd been unwise enough to get into that with Aya. Aya had been the first Foreigner who asked to meet, and one of the most accomplished--Zanru had been rattled, unsure of her footing, wanting to be recognised. She'd overtipped her hand, somehow. She just hadn't quite figured out how yet, and it had bothered her at first; then she remembered how much she hated that kind of politics and second-guessing and chose to move forward instead.
But on this occasion Zanru's qualifications weren't important to the conversation, and the fact Stark felt the need to whip them out only said a lot about where he put his focus: in all the wrong places.
"It's not your company," she told him. "Just because it's got your name on it doesn't make it yours. It was funded by someone who shared your name but it was built by kedan, and the fact that you took advantage of our having been brainwashed doesn't mean you have an inherent right to something you didn't even know existed until you got here."
She snorted. "You think you were the only ones kidnapped? When the kedan were brought here Eshai removed our ability to be curious. We were brainwashed into not having any ambition. We were sitting here, waiting to be guided because a part of our selves had been stolen. Did you ever see us as anything other than tools to be used? Sorry. We're not anymore. If that means you don't get to build our world to your specifications, tough. Come back and apply for a job when you're willing to work with others--and I mean actually work, not just expect them to do what you say."
Zanru turned to face her desk, putting her back to him in clear dismissal, and bent to start sorting her paperwork.