holyrelic | Fourth Shot

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Fourth Shot

[Shockingly enough, Shinon is not in a dungeon or field for once! Rather, she's sitting for a break in the Warp Gate room in Mac Anu, her beloved Hécate II propped up beside her. She's also... incredibly zoned out. To the point where she probably won't notice other characters unless they actually come up to her and call out to get her attention. By the looks of it, she's fairly worn out despite it only being the afternoon.

The people most close to her (particularly guildmates) are free to note that not only has she not been around the @Home much lately, but she also seems to have lost a level somehow.

Somebody's been pushing herself a tad too much as of late...]

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[Roy's first instinct is to ask all sorts of questions -- how, why, what, explain, that doesn't even make sense... But at the clear evidence of Shinon's turmoil, he suppresses all of that and puts a comforting hand on her shoulder.]

I'm sorry.

[She buries her head in her arms. There aren't really any tears to hide, but... she's just tired. For a lot of reasons.]

...I trusted him. More than anyone else. And now... I don't know if that will change or not.

[Roy can only imagine how much time and effort it took for her to trust him, and he can understand her frustrations in that respect.]

Just because he doesn't have those memories doesn't mean he's not the same person. I'm not saying that makes it easier on you, but it does mean that whatever qualities he had that made you like him, he still has.

...That's not true.

[She hesitates, trying to decide just how much she's willing to say to explain it.]

...He and I went through similar experiences. [Yeah, that should be vague enough.] But right now, I'm not sure if he's been through that yet.

[Her voice becomes flat.] It's probably better if he didn't.

Traumatic and unpleasant experiences that nonetheless led the two of you to bond in a way you're afraid you won't otherwise?

[Flinch.]

...Something like that.

Trust me, I understand. I went through a lot of that myself, back when I was first forming my party.

Still kind of waiting for it, for Belkar.

And having been through it, my opinion is honestly that the idea that two people would never bond without a specific event is wrong. I mean, take Elan -- who you never met, but let's just say he's got a lot of heart and not a lot of brains. His behavior used to drive me so far up the wall that I actually almost abandoned him to a horrible fate for a while. Yes, there were events that meant I finally came to appreciate him, but those events didn't change him, or me. If they hadn't happened, something else would have, that would have led me to appreciate his qualities anyway.

Now, obviously this guy means a lot to you. [Because for Shinon, this is practically outright bawling.] So you'd be crazy to just give up on his friendship. Whatever he liked in you before, you still have, and it doesn't have to take some disaster for him to see that. Just try to befriend him again.

[She sighs.]

It's... not like I'm worried about being friends with him again. [Like seriously she's pretty sure he'd try to befriend her even if she blew him off for no good reason.] I guess I just...

...I don't know what I'll do if I'm alone again.

Alone?

What's got you worried about that?

[If she befriends him again, that's no worry, right? And even if she doesn't...]

[It takes her a long while before she is able to put the feeling into words.]

I thought... I was the only person who had been in that kind of a situation for a long, long time. Nobody else understood.

[And, a little bitterly:] Nobody even tried to understand.

[Roy folds his arms in his lap and leans on them as she thinks. When she finally does speak, he just lifts an eyebrow slightly.]

Well, I assume you don't like to talk about it, because otherwise you should know by now I'd listen.

[She shakes her head, her eyes narrowing in frustration aimed mostly at herself.]

The details are still... difficult. Sorry.

[Even now, she's trying so hard to keep her mind off of it as much as she can.]

[Roy has to think about this for a moment. When he does finally come up a decent sentence or two, he delivers them slowly, feeling his way through this situation carefully.]

Well... look. I'm not really good with the touchy-feely stuff. That was always Elan's department. Most of my skills, even as a leader, are focused on reducing foes to experience points.

But the adventuring party isn't just a team on the battlefield, and that's not the only place I've got your back if you need someone. Difficult events or not.

[He must have said something right, because that gets her expression to soften into a... wait, is that a smile?]

...Thanks, Roy. I... appreciate it.

[Whoa! She MUST be having a rough time and be stuck in a period of emotional vulnerability to let THAT slip out.]

[But Roy isn't about to comment on that, he just returns the smile.] Hey, what are friends for?

[It's still weird to think about, how easy it had been to make... friends here. But then again, this place had also lent itself to completely obscuring her history.

She can't help but vaguely wonder how much that has to do with it, but... No, let's not think about that.]

Guess so. It's just... taking some getting used to.

It's a lifelong process, and a strange one. You can end up with connections to the most unlikely people, at the most unlikely times. ...Probably something you already knew though, huh?

...Maybe a little.

[She exhales before raising her head a little. Definitely still tired, but at least she looks less strained than before.]

I should probably give up on grinding for today. I don't think I can solo a field right now without risking my levels again.

Not that I wouldn't come with you, but you need a break anyway.

[And this is Roy saying that.]

[She smirks briefly as she stands, but it's gone as quickly as it came.]

Then I'll head back to the guild for now.

[He pats her shoulder again.]

Give yourself a little time. Tomorrow we'll go stomp a dungeon together, okay?

I'll hold you to that.

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Fourth Shot

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