solas_ion | ☘ 016; [video]

[Lancer seemed to be in an infinitely better mood than when he last broadcast from his own Pokegear; being in the company of someone like Saber that actually put up with him was a wonderful remedy for loneliness.]

[Not that he was lonely. Lancer would have sworn otherwise to his dying breath. One hand idly petting the Tauros walking at his side, he spoke with a casual grin on his face.]

Yo. I got a question for you guys--see, my fight at the Azalea gym got a little out of hand.

[It would forever be known as The Incident, of which there was no record past Lancer's second badge. But this was the guy that called a berserk rage that wiped out half an army 'a rough day', so 'out of hand' was clearly A Big Deal. He was still replacing the parts of his inventory that had gotten incinerated.]

So I figured I might as well know what I was getting into for once--what can you guys tell me about the leader here in Goldenrod?

[You know what they say about 'speak of the devil', Lancer? Did they have that in ancient Ireland?]

Ohmigawd! [As Lancer and his Tauros pass by the aforementioned Goldenrod City Gym, a girl practically leaps out of nowhere--her eyes may or may not have been replaced with comically oversized pink hearts.]

Uh...yeah?

Ohmigawd I never get to see a guy as good looking as you around here! [Or she's just conveniently forgotten the hundreds of fangirl bait challengers that have gone through her gym in the past. Before our grinning idiot's ego could inflate any further, he's interrupted by the girl being distracted by OOH SHINY.] You have to tell me how you get your hair that nice!

Well, I- [You know that ponytail of yours, Lancer? This mysteriously unbalanced girl is now taking hold of it and dragging you offscreen.] Ow--ow! Hey, what the hell do you--ow, knock it off!

[Left onscreen is a mildly confused Tauros just watching this in silence. Whitney's squealing and Lancer's cursing in what sounds like a foreign language can be heard offscreen until the Pokegear shuts off.]

[Good luck getting responses. He's kind of busy.]

[Video; roughly half an hour later:]

...Y'know, there's a story in my country now about a knight that literally couldn't keep women off of him. Some kinda curse or something.

But somehow I doubt one ever pounced on him, dragged him off, and refused to let go of him until she'd brushed and braided his hair.

Who the hell was that girl and what just happened?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'm sure a lot of heroes have regrets, Saber. If nothing else you're not alone in that much.

I know.

[ Another deep breath, her hand moving from his hair to grab at his shoulder. Face first into blue, she just rests there, trying to regain her composure. Yes, those are her fingers digging between flesh and bone. ]

[If it bothered Lancer at all, he didn't show it. Or he was too distracted to care.]

...I'll tell you about mine, if it'll make you feel better.

Would you?

[ A soft voice with a hint of pleading behind it. ]

Yeah. I don't mind, really.

When I said earlier that I fought someone I shouldn't have? ...It was Connla. The only son I ever had, and I killed him before I realized who he really was. When I met him again in this place...I don't think I've ever been that happy in my entire life, and now that he's gone it hurts all over again like he just died yesterday.

[Lancer spoke honestly, and did so for the first time regarding how he truly felt about Connla's disappearance.]

I was stupid and made a mistake back then, and I probably screwed up my second chance here somehow. I just..dammit, Saber, it never stopped hurting. Now it's just gotten worse.

[ Resting against him, her hand opposite of where her head laid goes to run itself through his hair as he speaks, piecing together his words from earlier and the ones spoken now. Weaving it into the truth as she knows it. ]

I apologize for having you talk about such painful memories, Lancer.

Don't worry about it. It's probably not the worst I've done, depending on who you ask. I met my best friend on the opposite side of a battlefield a little while after that, and killed him too.

Before that war was over I went into a berserk fit and killed I don't even know how many hundreds of people. Their army, ours, I couldn't tell the difference until I woke up.

...what I'm getting at is that everybody's got shit they regret, Saber. Even us--especially us. But we've got a second chance whether we deserve it or not, and being miserable all the time would just waste it. Don't you think so?

[ That's two secrets he has told her, so that meant she had to tell him of two of her own, right? ]

I was betrayed by someone who called me their father. I.. I do not think he was truly my child [ you know, she might actually remember having a kid. ] as the way he was brought into this world was vile, but he had become one of my knights. I trusted him and yet I..

[ 'had to kill him.' ]

No.. this is just too much. How can you bravely speak of the transgressions in your life with relative ease?

...because I have to live with them regardless. [He glanced over his shoulder at her, smiling despite the current subject.]

Whether I'm happy or miserable, it won't change what happened. And going around miserable is sure as hell no way to live.

I can't change what I've done, so I won't waste my life on regrets and 'what if I did things differently'. I'm going to live for everyone I know that can't--Ferdiad and Connla especially. So I'm damn well going to make it a life worth living.

[ Wow, how does someone like Lancer come up with such a simple solution like that? Stunned, she just gazes back towards him with a dumbfounded expression. ]

You are right, Lancer. Where did you begin?

[Clever though he could be, Lancer really wasn't a complicated person. And it took a simple mind to come up with a simple outlook.]

Don't really remember--pretty sure I've always lived that way. Ever since I was a kid I knew I wasn't really like anyone else. Hell, I've known I'd be a hero since I was seven years old. So I figure as long as that's the case, why bother looking anywhere but forward?

Ulster needed a guardian. So what kind of loyal hound would I be if I spent all my time looking back at what I couldn't change rather than thinking about whatever came next?

[ A significant amount of silence follows as she listens to his words, taking them into her mind to consider them dearly. Ever since he was a child, this was how he felt. Could she really begin in her adulthood to follow the same path? ]

...?

[He looked over his shoulder at her, smiling as he always did.]

What, did I say something strange?

You have said a lot of strange things today, Lancer.

[ Mostly at his honesty with her. Ah, but when has he been anything else? ]

It must be difficult. Losing the innocence of childhood at such an age and growing up. Although it does explain your lack of maturity regarding most situations.

Hey, hey, I can be mature when I need to! [/HUFF] It's just not as fun taking myself seriously all the time. Never has been.

...Difficult? I never really thought too much about it. Being a hero's going to be difficult no matter when you start, isn't it?

I have never known you to be mature, Lancer.

... Hm, I never thought it to be too much trouble myself. [ HA HA. ]

☘ 016; [video]

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