Under the circumstances, the Clan has (IMO) good reason to just truss Rio up and gag him for longer than we'd want them to as roleplayers. They're going to Defcon One WRT the "Consumers" that have landed, they're trying to hide from them for the time being (and Rio, released, could go straight to them and tell them everything he's seen), and Rio's gun would seem to be
very useful (it's the only one!) in their situation.
That said, here's my best go at a plausibility structure for a "Rio Early Release Program:"
Esme examines Rio's gun and ammunition, and the machete. She deduces that the gun is a 100 year-old relic, and not necessarily safe to use. Rio grew up as an abandoned child in a cave; his bio doesn't say anything about learning how to field-strip and clean the gun, and who knows how well or poorly it was cared for before he got it. It's been on a tropical island (thus, subject to humidity, etc.) for a hundred years, though we'll assume Rio has been careful enough to keep it from rusting solid. :) (For roleplaying purposes it'll prove safe to use if Koda wants it to) Being a shotgun, its effective range isn't longer than that of the Clan's bows anyway. Therefore, it won't be a matter of "national security" for the Clan to keep it.
Esme might ask him a couple questions, but she'll be nice about it. His answers, behavior, and appearance (he's younger than she is, his clothes are also 100 year-old relics, not fresh from a Consumer space station, etc.) will persuade her that he's not an immediate threat.
Then River Swiftpaw returns to inform her that the Consumers have landed...and they're a bunch of unarmed kids, WTF?! At this point, Esme decides that honor and justice call for Rio's release and letting him keep his weapons, and that he can't cause an immediate strategic debacle even if he does go to them. She urges him to stay away from the 100 because they are still the heirs of the people who
destroyed the world, and their coming is
not a good thing for the island or the people who live there. She tries to smooth things over with Rio (maybe giving him some food or something) in hopes that he will not become an enemy of the Clan, then has him released.
Does that work for everybody?
@Koda
@Brea
@Freyalise
@*~Nightjade~*