Heron Lake Plateau plight of the lemon children

So Screech wasn't suicidal, but while his posture said one thing, his words said another.  Quixote knew what it was like to not trust a leader, but that was for actual reasons regarding that person's ability to lead, not because of them as a person without any evidence they'd do something awful.  Quixote was trying and still incredibly wary of somehow falling into whatever pits of corruption had to be lurking around positions of power.  No, this had to be something personal or just not thought through at all.

He took a few steps forward as he talked, posture not changing from how he'd ended up previously.  The thing that shifted was his expression and voice, both of which were obviously annoyed at the fact this kid was so keen on making opinions on stuff without asking the right questions to fill in the gaps.  It was the kind of stupidity that didn't mesh well with him because it was so easy to fix, all Screech had to do was ask and maybe things would have been clear. Yeah, just some guy who Towhee asked to contemplate leadership before any of this happened. Okay, not entirely accurate, but it was before Towhee knew that he'd slept with Raven, so that was close enough to count.  Some guy who has been around more consistently than you seem to have been, and caused a lot less trouble, and was willing to fight in a war that wasn't his.  Someone who was actually specifically promoted with Raven to do this whole leadership thing that nobody seems to actually want.

I don't expect you to like me, and I don't really need you to, but I kind of expect a modicum of respect for the fact that Towhee and Raven were the ones who thought I should be here.  And if you don't trust their choices and you don't like the Blackthorns, why the hell are you even here?  He could sort of see why some would just beat the snot out of mouthy subordinates, but knowing that was the wrong approach and combining it with Raven's previous words meant he wasn't going to do anything rash, yet.  Someone else might not have been so lucky.