victory_road | [002]- Ecruteak Inn (Video/Action)

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[002]- Ecruteak Inn (Video/Action)

[Angel held up a small hand, waving to the screen that she faced. Since the last time she posted, her cheeks had filled out a little, and the shadows beneath her eyes had faded. While the ghosts of whatever had befallen her in another life still remained -- her eyes are still sad, and the hair on the side of her head has yet to make any significant strides growth wise -- this time, she was smiling at whoever found her feed.]

[Also since her last post, her flock had increased. Behind her, a blue flabebe floated by, occasionally brushing over Angel with her flower. Each time, Angel's eyes crinkled, a laugh catching in her throat. An eevee, still rather young, rested in her lap, napping pleasantly. A sentret scurried around beside her, chasing after Mari in a simple game of tag.]

Hello, friends. It has been awhile since my last post. [At the sound of her voice, each pokemon stopped what it was doing, giving her a quick glance before going about their business once more.] I figured it best to post something a bit more positive after my last... announcement.

I am doing well. I am happy and safe and I have a great many friends. [The flabebe gave a cheerful cry, reaffirming her statement] But that does not mean that I am not welcome to more friends, of course!

I just... wanted everyone to know. There are so many wonderful people here, and I would love to get to know you under better circumstances so... take this as your invitation to talk to me! Whenever you want!

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[He shortens his stride to match hers, and begins walking toward the eastern town exit. If there's a bit of a spring in her step, there's a matching spring in his - he's just as happy to spend time with her as she is to spend with him, and he's excited to claim her company for the morning.

They've been here for over a month now - a whole month! And Krieg's spent almost all of it rambling outdoors, exploring the paths and forests and routes outside of town, and training with Murder Chicken. There's no need to worry about getting lost, Angel - Krieg definitely knows where he's going.]

The chicken is stronger! Buried memories are quiet and the voice in my head is too, and Angel is safe! And! Happy!

[So, in a word, yes. He's been very well.]

I suppose you could say that you and I are getting stronger too, then?

[In any case, Angel was relieved that Krieg was feeling better. She wouldn't pretend to know what internal illness plagued both him and his mind, but it was obviously distressing. And if she knew anything, it was that Krieg had suffered enough in his life. It was good that his new start was helping to, in more ways than one, ease his mind.]

But you are right. I am safe. And I am happy. [She looked up at him, smile shy and sheepish. Thanks in no small part to you and Murder Chicken, of course. You have been a good friend to me. I owe much to you.

Mnahaha! Angel's noodly meat haunches can take her far, now!

[Well, farther than they could when she first got here, at any rate. She should definitely be able to make it out to the lake, no problem. He knows she's not going to be running - or walking - any long-distance marathons anytime soon, but! It's a huge improvement as far as Krieg is concerned, and there's evident pride in his voice as he states his assessment.]

The Psycho may be getting soft, though.

[Daily brawling matches with his one small Pokemon are keeping him in physical shape, but they're not even comparable to the action in his day-to-day life on Pandora. He doesn't miss his old life, exactly, especially in the face of this unarguably better one, but he still feels a strange sense of loss all the same.

He habitually walks with Angel on his blind side, instinctively trusting her eyes in that direction the same way he always did with the other Vault Hunters on Pandora. So when she continues to talk, he turns his head to look at her. The sight of her shy, sheepish smile does funny things to his heart, which just confirms the truth of his earlier statement about mushy psychos.]

Friend for friend, help for help. I'd do it again and again for nothing.

[She doesn't owe him anything, as far as he's concerned. Truthfully, it's the other way around. There are words to describe the enormous, astronomical help she's been to him, but he doesn't know how to express them. Maybe one day, but today is definitely not that day.]

[Angel's brows knitted together for a moment. Krieg losing his edge was oddly concerning to her. He had always been the towering, bulky paragon of strength. She didn't like the idea of him becoming weak. It just wasn't Krieg...]

[But then...]

The rest of the world is soft too though. [Her steps slowed and, upon noticing his gaze on her, she stilled entirely. Hesitantly, she grazed his fingers over his arm, noting the mottled and scarred flesh that held his body together.]

You don't have to fight as much anymore. That's why you have Murder Chicken, and why I have Mari.

[More embarrassed than ever, Angel turned back to the road, scrambling off as if she could leave her awkwardness behind. It didn't take too long for her thoughts to catch up to her, and she quickly found herself facing him once more.]

I am glad you don't have to hurt anymore because of me. What happened has happened. We are both free now.

[Today, that freedom meant enjoying the crisp air and "fire" trees. She cast her arms out, inhaling deeply. If Krieg hadn't been there, she might have done a twirl, and then laughed at the way her dress billowed up. Given her audience, however, she manages to keep herself to a giddy sort of laugh.]

[It was nice to not have to worry as much. Sure, she had her concerns about Krieg and his adaptation, but no one could hurt him here.]

[Excepting her father of course, but even he seemed to have been relatively tame of late.]

[A quiet Handsome Jack is not necessarily a good Handsome Jack, as they're going to find out shortly. Until then, though…!

He pauses mid-stride when she slows, and blinks when her fingers brush the skin of his arm. He blinks again when she hurries ahead, and follows her progression with his gaze. It feels so good, so right, to see her like this, walking under her own power, reveling in the freedom and the fresh air with joyful eyes and giddy laughter.]

Mng...No one to fight here, anyway. Monster battles are just child's play.

[Which is definitely a turn around from his initial impression of this weird world's even weirder custom. How can it be anything else, though, when no one ever dies, wounds are easily healed, and even children - literal children - participate?]

And the past is past.

[He agrees wholeheartedly there. As the days between their past on Pandora and their "now" here grow more numerous, the sharp teeth of his memories dull. The only part of his old life he regards with any regret is the people who were a part of it - the other Vault Hunters, and Lillith's group of resistance fighters. He misses them all fiercely.

He watches her for a moment more before twitching back into motion, his movements as graceless as always as he strides to catch up. He's smiling under his mask, though she can't see it. Maybe she can hear it in his voice.]

Now is better!

Much better. [How could she even begin to detail just how much better things were. Walking around of her own free-will. Associating with the type of men Jack would have killed. In some ways, it's amusingly fitting that her first close friend was Krieg. The things Jack would have done to have kept the psycho from her.]

[It felt nice to defy him in every little way possible.]

[Not that Angel was friends with Krieg simply to spite her father. She enjoyed the nuances of his personality, word salad and all. It was so refreshing compared to the staunch doctors and the arrogance of her father.]

[Moreover, it was easy to tell just how much she meant to him. She'd spent enough time with him, both observing on Pandora and walking with him in Johto, that she was beginning to pick up on his emotional expression. She could hear the grimaces and the grins in the way he spoke, and could tell a furious glare from a focused look.]

[She wasn't perfect, by any means. There were still things that she didn't quite understand. But now, the meaning of it all couldn't have possibly been any clearer.]

I am glad you chose to come with us, Krieg. It is nice having a friend as good as you around.

[If she's glad that he stuck around, then he's over the moon that she wanted him along at all. He doesn't normally spend a lot of time posing "What if..?" questions to himself, but her presence in his life now is such an important and unexpected event that it does cause him to wonder "What if..?"

What if she had never been pulled here?

He has no earthly idea how things would have gone down if she hadn't found him, and offered her friendship. Would he still be haunting the woods along Route 29, living like a wild dog and avoiding the towns and cities? Would he have allowed Jimmy to befriend him, if she hadn't done it first? If she hadn't shown him that if someone who knew the very worst things about him and his past could look beyond that and still be his friend, and that maybe he wasn't an irredeemable monster like he'd always believed?

They're serious "what ifs", and he doesn't know the answer to them, and he'd rather not think about it at all, but every once in awhile, his traitorous mind will pose the question and he'll be stuck with it.

Like right now.

Thankfully this time, Angel is right here, a good and thorough distraction. He shakes his head vigorously, half to dispel the pesky questions with no answers, and half to disagree with her grasp of the situation. There had been no choice, for him. A choice between going with her, or going his own way? For him, that wasn't any kind of choice at all. As far as he's concerned, there was no other possible outcome.]

You unlocked the door. You broke the silence and stopped the train and lit the way.

[Once again, Angel's translation of Krieg's diatribe was loose at best. Once again, it didn't matter. He painted a vivid enough picture that Angel only needed to think for a moment.]

[It made her heart do odd things, the thought of actually making a difference for him. True, she had guided him across Pandora, but back then was different. Guiding him was, at best, out of pure personal interest. At worst, it was for Jack. In truth, she hadn't been a very good friend to him or any of his teammates at the beginning.]

[She had been troubled by similar thoughts previously. She had considered herself a helpful soul, but what had she done that had ever been selfless? The roads she had paved for the vault hunters were always meant to lead to her own goals. The people she guided and offered advice to, it was always because Jack had plans for them.]

[But in that moment, Krieg assuaged those fears. Helping Krieg had never been about advancing her own purpose, not this time.]

Things don't have to be dark ever again.

[At least, that was what she hoped. Others had implied otherwise, that this paradise was fleeting, that one day they'd all be called home. She didn't like to think about that-- for her, there would be nothing. But she liked the idea of Krieg going back even less. She had seen the progress he had made. Where would that all go if he was tossed back into such a savage world?]

[And where would she be, who would she have, if not for him? She had made a great many friends, valued them all equally. But precious few would knock on her door every morning, precious few would walk at a snails pace just to make sure she wasn't overwhelmed.]

[Unsettled, she cast a sad glance back toward Krieg. She returned to his side, fingers once again brushing over his arm in that hesitant sort of way. It was a quiet reminder to herself. He was still here. They were still taking care of each other.]

[Draculaura had been right about one thing: it was best to treat each moment like the last. And with that in mind, Angel pushed the thoughts down as far as she could. She could dwell on the troubling things later.]

We aren't making a very good pace, are we? I keep talking away and getting distracted.

[Unlike Angel, Krieg doesn't spend much time thinking about the future. Or any time thinking about it, really. Living in the present is typically enough to take up all of his attention. He's always left "the future" up to the other people around him, especially once Jack had been killed.

She's beside him and brushing her fingers over his arm again, and he's not sure why. He doesn't mind it, of course, and he supposes it doesn't really matter why, in the end.

Still, she's done it twice now. It's obvious - even to Krieg - that there's a lot on her mind. Whether or not she wants to share it is up to her. She knows by now that if she wants to talk, then he wants to listen...although if she needs advice on something, he may not have any to offer.

He shifts his weight from one foot to the other, and then turns in place to face her and holds out his hand, palm up and fingers relaxed.]

No rush! The lake's not going anywhere!

[Angel stared at his hand for only a moment, held back by her earlier thoughts for only a second, before placing her hand in his. Once again, she found herself marveling at the vast difference between the two of them. Everything about him was so large, and her so small.]

[At least she didn't have to worry about any threats. The assassin back at the inn was certainly fearsome, but she would take Krieg's raw might in an instant. At least everyone knew, immediately, that he was trouble.]

Who knows, Krieg. The strangest things come alive here. Perhaps the lake itself might pick up and walk off.

[She laughed to herself, relieved that whatever dark thoughts had been present earlier seemed to have dissipated. She would undoubtedly toil over them later, but for now...]

[For now she needed only to focus on this.]

Do you suppose Murder Chicken could fight an entire lake on his own?

[He closes his fingers - carefully - around her small hand when she places it in his.

He then grins under his mask at her supposition about the lake, and outright laughs when she brings up his Pokemon.]

Mnahahaha! Murder Chicken would crush it!

[There's 100% confidence over here, folks!

And now, hand-in-hand, he oh-so-gently and briefly tugs her arm - shall they resume their walk?]

And I'd crush it, too!

[There's no way he would let the little orange bird have all the fun if, indeed, a monster as big as the lake were to show up.]

[The girl needed no more encouragement. She trailed after him, smile still plastered upon her lips. The distraction was welcome, and after only a few moments, her troubled thoughts had ebbed completely.]

With only your bare hands?

[While her voice hinted at some amount of doubt, there was none in her heart. Krieg could do anything, as far as she was concerned. Not only did he have the sheer amount of strength, but she knew he also had the confidence. There was no dissuading Krieg from a hopeless task.]

[It was just another reason she enjoyed being around him. It was hard to feel hopeless when Krieg believed he could pummel something like a walking lake.]

[Another laugh erupted from her lips.]

I would help in whatever way I could. I am sure we could handle it together. Just like the old days.

[Despite the darkness that loomed over most of her memories, there was still something pleasant about the days in which she could lend the Vault Hunters a hand. It had always been nice, feeling like she was apart of something.]

[Walking hand-in-hand with Angel makes Krieg smile too, although his expression is hidden as always by the mask he continues to wear.]

Don't have my axe, so it'd have to be! Fists and feet and elbows and knees and teeth!

[He's never actually used his teeth for fighting...at least, not that he remembers. Not since he met Maya, anyway. But he's got them, and they're in perfect working order, even if his mask makes the action of biting difficult.

...Although, truthfully, the mask is easy enough to remove.]

Mnahaha! Yes! Psycho and Siren make a good team!

[It doesn't matter that his elemental affinity and her siren powers have been suppressed by this place. He still has his muscles, and she still has her brain, and they're both perfectly adaptable. He's confident they can work things out between them, whatever those "things" might happen to be.]

Yes they do. [She'd seen it in action, the way Krieg had once meshed his skills with the blue-haired Siren. Maya had been a lot stronger than her, a lot different. But it didn't mean that they weren't ill-matched.]

We make a good team.

[Still, the thought of Maya brings back some amount of negativity. It was good to have Krieg, good to have the others, but what of their remaining allies? Was Maya faring well? Had Zer0 found any amount of satisfaction?]

Do you ever miss them? [Angel glanced up at Krieg, an eyebrow raised.] Our friends, I mean.

Good team, best team!

[He doesn't actually outright laugh when he says that, but there is an undercurrent of laughter in his voice as he pronounces the words.

And then she asks her next question, putting into words his feelings for the past months. The laughter dies away, and there's a small hesitation in his legs between one step and the next, the tiniest twitch of his hand on hers. He turns his head to look at her, then just as quickly turns away again, his gaze back to the path in front of them.]

Yes.

[She nodded slowly, a gesture meant mostly for herself. For him, she offered a squeeze of his hand, hardly making a difference in the bulky thing he called a palm. She hoped he understood it, at the very least.]

Perhaps they will find themselves here one day. [Even as she spoke, she both sounded and felt doubtful. Great as it might have been to have Maya or Axton here, she doubted she would be so lucky. Johto might have been some sort of paradise, but it had chosen to give her Jack instead of anyone else. She couldn't hope for much.]

[But then, she had Krieg as well, so perhaps she should be holding her breath.]

[Nevertheless, Angel felt a small shiver of guilt work its way through her. She gave him a look, one filled with both regret and apologies, before turning her gaze away once more.]

I should not dwell on what I do not have. This... this is enough. Life is enough.

[At least, it should have been.]

[Oh, he felt that hand squeeze, and he knows what it means. He misses the look she turns on him, because she's on his blind side and he's looking straight ahead, but he can kind of sense it, anyway, maybe from the feeling of her hand in his.

He squeezes her hand in return - carefully, always carefully - and turns his head briefly to look at her again, the expression in his eye thoughtful. She's watching their path, or at least looking ahead, so he returns his gaze forward too.]

Mng...Normal to want more.

[He thinks, anyway. He's pretty sure.]

To share good things with friends.

Perhaps.

[She shrugged her shoulder, the one free from his hand. She wasn't entirely convinced by his words. It felt selfish to want so much. She was holding the hand of a good friend, but she wanted more. She was alive, and yet she was bitter that she had to spend a portion of that life arguing with her father.]

[It felt silly to do.]

For now we will just have to share these things. And if the others come, we can show them together, right?

[It was hard to imagine there being any time in the future without Krieg. Athena and Janey were friends, but Angel didn't know if she could see herself with them in a few months time. Krieg had already followed her across the small island they found themselves on. It was not so unimaginable that he would continue to do so.]

Yes!

[He can definitely, happily agree to that.

He has no other goals or purpose anymore, other than to see Angel smile, happy and safe and whole. Maybe that wouldn't be enough for most people, but for Krieg, it's exactly what he needs. After all he's been through, after all the pain and violence and bloodshed he's both witnessed and caused, to be able to - for lack of a better word, retire - in such a manner, well. It's more than he could have ever dreamed.

If Angel has a hard time picturing a future without Krieg, Krieg can't even imagine one without Angel.]

We'll share all the things! And then share again when our friends catch up!

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[002]- Ecruteak Inn (Video/Action)

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