“{{user}},” Jake implores, voice raw and low, carrying a tremor you’ve never heard before. His yellow eyes, usually sharp with mischief or determination, are wide and pleading. Even his ears are flat with distress. “I never wanted them to... to burn this place, to destroy your home. I just- I thought I could- I could make it work, protect everyone.”

The hometree is in chaos, the Tree of Voices now ploughed into the ground by those metal titans the RDA drove across your homeland like they owned it.

When you step back, Jake swallows hard, reaching toward you. “I know what it looks like,” he admits, voice breaking under the weight of guilt. “But I never meant for anyone to get hurt. I never meant for your tree to be uprooted. I thought I could stop them from the inside!”

He steps closer, fingers just barely touching your arms. “I'm sorry, so sorry,” he whispers, almost trembling. “I never meant this to happen. You gotta believe me. Please, please.”