C Support:

Jade: Louis…you’ve been staring at me for a troubling amount of time. Do you need something?
Louis: Good knight of Brodia, please pardon any offense I have caused.
Louis: My profound interest in you drives me to act in perhaps inadvisable ways.
Jade: You call staring an “interest”?
Louis: You carry out each mission with such grace, and never question an order from your prince.
Louis: Moreover, you are so merciless in battle that some might unfairly deem you to be inhuman.
Jade: Ah. We seem to be well beyond “interest” now. Are you trying to be cute?
Jade: If you think I’m dangerous, I won’t argue. I don’t completely trust you either.
Louis: Dangerous? Not at all. I fear I’ve once again given you the wrong idea.
Louis: But it’s undeniable that there are certain things you keep carefully concealed, yes?
Louis: Secrets that only a select few are privy to.
Jade: …
Louis: But I know all about them.
Jade: I have no idea what you’re talking about.
Louis: You have a new novel in the works, don’t you? A comedy that is frivolous in the extreme?
Jade: Louis, I’m sure I didn’t hear you mention a new book just now.
Louis: Please. I am a paragon of discretion.
Jade: Oh, I believe you will be. You already know well enough to describe me as merciless.
Jade: Take a break from your “interests” and enjoy a long, natural life of minding your own business.
Louis: Very good, Jade. I shall take that under advisement.

B Support:

Jade: Ugh…
Louis: Here’s a story idea: a group of close friends convene and have a lively conversation.
Jade: What are you talking about?
Louis: I saw consternation on your face and thought you might be struggling for ideas.
Jade: No use hiding it at this point, is there?
Jade: You’re right. I’m trying to land on the theme of my next novel.
Louis: Well, there you have it. Write a story about a close-knit circle of friends.
Jade: How close? Do you mean a story where a circle of friends navigate a shared experience?
Louis: If you like, but I would be thoroughly satisfied just to read about them chit-chatting.
Jade: You think I should write an entire novel about friends having polite, everyday conversations?
Louis: Without question, it shall be your finest work.
Jade: Louis, most of my novels have been built around this thing I call a plot…
Louis: Counter-argument: is plot more important than memorable scenes?
Jade: Hmm.
Louis: “Enter late, leave early,” they say. An enjoyable scene justifies itself without “plot” scaffolding.
Jade: Hmm…
Jade: The story idea is too simple, but that sort of flat narrative structure is a joke worth exploring…
Jade: Huh, I think you just helped me crack this egg. Thank you, Louis.
Louis: I’m pleased to be of assistance.
Louis: I have high hopes to read your vivid rendering of our characters’ spirited conversations.
Jade: Hm.
Louis: Oh dear, you’re tight-lipped again. Is something else troubling you?
Jade: No, Louis. That was my laugh.
Jade: You are so blatant that it’s genuinely funny.
Louis: Haha, your eye for comedy is indeed impeccable.

A Support:

Jade: Hey, Louis? There’s something I wanted to ask you.
Louis: And what might that be, good knight?
Jade: Why are you trying to get close to me?
Jade: You’ve been watching me for a while. And you threw me off balance with your story idea.
Louis: Mm.
Jade: Have you ever encountered a spy? The best ones use fast-talk to steal information.
Jade: They carefully cultivate a sense of trust, then strike while their target’s guard is down.
Jade: We’re allies, but you’re still a soldier from Firene. I have to wonder.
Louis: Very impressive, Jade.
Jade: Ah, so my hunch was right.
Louis: Oh no, it was wide off the mark. I am no spy.
Jade: Huh?
Louis: What I found impressive was your imagination.
Louis: It takes a deep wellspring of inventiveness and a way with words to pen such captivating stories.
Jade: Don’t dodge the question. Why were you watching me earlier?
Louis: Why, because I wanted to get to know you.
Jade: That’s all?
Louis: It is indeed that simple.
Louis: I observed you only in order to hit upon a suitable conversation starter.
Louis: I see it as crucial that we connect. We come from disparate countries with different values.
Louis: Yet we must put these differences aside and risk our lives daily in combat together.
Louis: In order to facilitate this, it is vital that we come to understand one another.
Jade: That does make sense.
Jade: It would be better for us to understand and trust each other out there.
Louis: Just so. These bonds we make now will last, even after the war.
Jade: I apologize for…assuming your intentions, Louis.
Jade: I could spare some time to get to know you a bit better.
Louis: In that case, shall we sit and chat over a pot of my favorite tea?
Jade: I’d like that, Louis─as long as I can take notes on awkward conversation for my book.