with knowledge comes great responsibility

[anythingforyou]

[What an absolute ordeal all of that was.

Today was certainly one hell of a day, that's for sure; they've managed to take care of another Guardian and gain it's trust (or at the very least, something resembling it), they managed to find Candice and manage to...well, maybe not get her back in a state that's altogether wanted, but ensure they managed to get her at least into a place where she could possibly regain herself. It will likely be a process, as such things are, but they've done their best, and they should have no regrets.

The center is definitely going to be a welcome reprieve for all of their suffering, at the very least. The Kompot is certainly more than enough to likely get everyone warmed back up and in a stable condition, along with the copious amount of blankets the locals have provided. They've got the time to rest and get ready for their next adventure.

Rest well, ye merry band of travelers. You've earned it.]

Comments

[bloodspent]

[Jake pauses in what he's doing at that, though he doesn't turn the face Yuri right away; he just...takes a moment to catch his breath, and he's quiet, and when he shakes his head it isn't to imply a negative answer, it's just to clear it before he turns around.]

...Fine. Let's fuckin' go.

[And that's...it, he's not going to ask how Yuri's doing right now because it's obvious they're both fucked up, and he's not going to bother asking questions because he gets it, he's just going to square up a bit because come on, let's just do this shit and work some stuff out of our systems.]

[fatalstrikes]

[Good, who wants to talk when you could fight??

Yuri can hold his own pretty well in a fight even without a weapon, but it's obvious within the first few seconds that Jake is much better than he is. He's fully aware Jake is holding back and by the time they're done he's out of breath and kind of hurting, but the physical pain's way better than dealing with feelings.]

...Shame I couldn't keep up with you. You're pretty damn impressive.

[bloodspent]

You'd probably kick my ass if I let you have a blade or something.

[Just saying.]

You gonna be okay?

[fatalstrikes]

[Yuri makes a sound at that; it's probably supposed to be a laugh, but it doesn't quite make it there.]

Yeah, I'll be fine. Maybe a little sore, but it's nothing to worry about.

[He'll definitely be sporting some bruises, but that's nothing new.]

[bloodspent]

Good to know. We're probably going to be moving soon, wouldn't want to hinder you any.

[...He's just going to flop down to sit on the ground next to one of those shipping containers.]

I beat the shit out of B.O.W.s back home. Kind of toughens you up a lot.

[fatalstrikes]

Yeah, I can imagine.

[He'll take a seat nearby, leaning back a bit to rest on his hands.]

Must be pretty dangerous to get up close to 'em like that, though.

[bloodspent]

Fuck yeah, it is.

[...He sounds like that's half the fun.]

After a while it's just fucking satisfying; they don't go down easy, it's good to finish 'em off.

[fatalstrikes]

Sounds like it'd be pretty fun.

We don't have anything like that. We've got monsters, and some of 'em are much more dangerous than others. There are these really big ones, Giganto Monsters, that are like nothing else. They're some of the strongest monsters I've ever faced, but taking 'em out is the most satisfying thing.

[bloodspent]

What're they like? Kinda like the Pokémon, or do they talk in ways you can understand and stuff?

[...Oh, wait wait wait- ]

...The...catfish thing talks to your friend, right? So you've got some that talk, at least.

[fatalstrikes]

Yeah, Ba'ul's an Entelexeia. They're not monsters, though they look more like monsters than humans. As far as I know there aren't any monsters that can talk. They do kind of remind me of Pokémon... just less cute and way more aggressive.

[bloodspent]

...So they're people. The Entelexeia.

[That's what Uxie and Bucky were talking about, right?]

They're not humans, but they're people, yeah?

[fatalstrikes]

Yeah, exactly. Ba'ul's just as much a person as everyone else in our group.

[Humans, Kritya, Entelexeia, Pokémon... there sure are a lot of different groups that can be identified as "people", huh.]

[bloodspent]

[But what the fuck is Repede, though.

...Anyway. He's kind of quiet for a moment before just- ]

You doing better now that you got to beat the shit out of someone for a while?

[fatalstrikes]

[we just don't know tbh.]

...Yeah, I think so.

[He's quiet for a moment before sighing heavily.]

It can be pretty frustrating not being able to do anything to help.

[He's a fighter, not a negotiator...]

What about you? Feeling a little less worked up?

[bloodspent]

Sorta, yeah. That was just kind of a lot, I guess.

[fatalstrikes]

Yeah.

[It was definitely a lot.]

...Do you want to talk about it?

[bloodspent]

...I don't know. Do you?

[fatalstrikes]

Honestly, I don't know either.

[He lifts his shoulders a bit, but it's not really a proper shrug.]

Usually I don't talk about it. I find something I can do and I just... do it. Take care of what I can, even if it's something small.

[...]

I don't really know what to do here.

[bloodspent]

I don't know if there's a whole lot we can do. This is just... It's fucked up, and it's sad, but it doesn't feel like we can do enough about a lot of it.

[fatalstrikes]

Yeah. Even if we find the next guardian and help it out... then what? I don't like being a downer, but it really doesn't sound like we stand much of a chance against Cyrus.

[bloodspent]

That's 'cause we don't.

[He shrugs at that, actually.]

So we're gonna kick his ass the same way we'd kick anyone else's ass - we're just going to be more bullheaded than he is. You'd be surprised at how fucking far you can get just by refusing to lie down and die, you know?

[fatalstrikes]

Heh.

[That gets him to grin and he sits up a bit.]

Don't worry, I've got no plans of lying down and dying. More bullheaded than he is, huh...? Yeah, I think we can do that. Just look at the people we've got in this group, I seriously doubt any one of us would be fine just giving up now.

[bloodspent]

[See, there you go.]

I don't know about you, but I don't like the idea of dying just because some random fuckhead decided I should. If I'm gonna die, it's because I'm doing something I chose to do.

Yeah, our odds are shit, but sometimes the odds are so fucking bad that they don't matter anymore and you might as well just go for it.

[fatalstrikes]

That's a good way of looking at it.

[...]

Thanks, Jake. I needed to hear that. I've been through some pretty bad situations, but nothing that's ever really seemed this bleak. The last time anything got close was with Ragou, and I just killed him so that took care of the problem.

[you could maybe be a little less relaxed about that, yuri...]

[bloodspent]

Hey, don't mention it.

[He seems pleased, though, in his own way.]

I've been through some shit that was pretty bad; I just tried not to think about it until it was over. Maybe not the best way to deal with it, but it kept everything from doing my head in.