Jack looked around at everyone, nodding at those who entered but saying nothing else. She did not want to distance herself, but she knew how to command respect. After the first meeting, she would act buddy-buddy with them. But she had not stepped up to be their friend. She had stepped up to be their leader. Whether or not they liked her was up to them. She, honestly, did not care. She wanted them alive. She could not control their happiness.
"Okay, I think that we better just start, no one else is going to show up, and if they are, I'm not going to give them a detention for being late." She smirked. "When you guys get here, you get here. Just don't be obnoxious about it and make a big deal of it." She shrugged. She was a casual person and this was sort of a banned club. Attendance was not her biggest concern.
"Okay, look." She paused. "I'm not going to baby you. If you want me to, let me know, and I'll hold your hand through this, but that's not why I'm here. There's a war going on. I'm not going to say between good and evil, because that depends on where you stand, now doesn't it? That's what causes these conflicts. 'No man truly thinks himself evil.'" It was a famous quote, that usually applied- unfortunately, Jack knew too many exceptions.
"When we do these meetings, I am not your teacher. I am not a professor. I do not expect you to treat me like I am. But I expect every single person in this room to be respected. If you can't do that, I'll send you off. You have all agreed to keep quiet about this, so I expect that as well. Otherwise, show up when you can and come with an open mind. If you have something you want to share, some idea, let us know. We are supposed to be supporting each other.
"Now some of you get it. There are people out there who want to hurt you, who would enjoy it. Some of you, don't. I hope you won't have to learn that personally, but take my word for it. I want to spend some time on practicing defending yourself against nonverbal spells, and producing quick shield charms. First though, I want to hear from you guys. What do you want to get out of these meetings? What do you think we should focus on?"