All 35.2 - Sorry Isn't Enough

The camp was small, designed to be abandoned in an instant. Tents and comforts were eschewed in lieu of speed. Victor, Lucca, Cress and Pierce were arranged closely in the shelter afforded by a rocky outcropping, determined to be clean of the spying Shares. Ryuji, Nisa and Cohen, without any need for sleep, spread out around the surrounding desert to keep watch while the other four slept.
Cress was already asleep, as he possessed the coveted ability to fall off in a moment’s notice. Victor had settled, but Pierce sat hunched up, staring into the middle distance between his knees. He fiddled with something in his right hand. Lucca had folded himself up as close to the rock as possible while still being reasonably comfortable in an effort to reduce the visibility of his firey wings to any potential onlookers. He sat reading silently.
Eventually, Pierce got up and moved closer to the druid. He sat down, near enough that he could speak without raising his voice, but far enough to not impinge on Lucca’s space. He looked like he wanted to say something, but was unsure of the words. The younger man eyed him harshly, watching him from the corner of his eye. After a few seconds, he said, “Catch,” and tossed the item he was playing with lightly over to the younger man. Catching the glimmering item deftly, Lucca eyed it suspiciously. It was a ring: a tasteful band with harsh runes inscribed in it, runes he recognized as Infernal. Pierce began to speak, “He gave it to me. After...that, after I ran away, I was convinced that you were going to kill me. That I had screwed up so badly, that I hurt you so much that there wouldn’t be any other outcome.
“He showed back up again, and passed me that. I didn’t call him, I didn’t ask, I was just panicking at that point. He said that if an ally tried to attack me, it would activate and he would protect me. I don’t know what it does, exactly; the magic is all in Infernal. I think...it’s some sort of siphon. A damage siphon; wounds inflicted on me would get transfered somewhere else.
“Anyways, he just gave it to me and left again. I didn’t know what to do with it. It seemed like a good defense. I just kept it, in case.
He paused for a second, before continuing, “It’s...it’s cowardly. I know it is. A cowardly effect for a cowardly person. I want nothing more to do with him. I don’t want to be indebted to him. I don’t want to go around feeling like I’m inferior to him, that I need him as a back-up plan. I don’t...I don’t want to think that I actually need that thing. I turned into a wolf on the boat, and if you were actually the sort of person who would take revenge, that would have been your opportunity. And, the thing is, not that you didn’t do anything, you obviously didn’t do anything, but...I didn’t think that you would do anything. I didn’t realize until afterwards that I obviously trusted you to be in that state and not take advantage of it. So...so that thing is pointless. Since I trust you to not be...medieval, about my reparations, there’s no point to that ring.
“I don’t want it. It makes me a worse person than I already am. I don’t care what you do with it, sell it, destroy it, throw it in the sand. I’m not carrying it around anymore.”
He sighed, “I’m sorry, again. It’s pointless to keep saying it, but, I have to until I’ve paid you back somehow.” He chuckled slightly, looking up at the sky, “I don’t even really know why I’m bothering you with this. I’m sorry I didn’t trust you enough to throw that thing away immediately.” He dropped his gaze back down to the sand, “I’m a weak person. I’m ashamed at how weak I am, I guess. Might as well admit it.”
Lucca had continued to study the ring as he waited for Pierce to finish, his lips pressed into a thin line. Now he dropped it into one of his pockets, his eyes flicking back over to regard the older man stonily. Eventually he said quietly, "Only an idiot would trust me enough to chuck something like that right away; even I wouldn't trust me that much, not in a state like that." He shook his head slightly and a faint, twisted smile flitted across his lips."You are a lot of things, many of them shitty, but an idiot doesnt tend to be one of them. Usually." He stared off across the sand, chewing absently at his lip. After a long moment, he spoke once more, his voice low, "Thank you, I suppose. For the gesture, and the trust." He pursed his lips, then gave a heavy sigh, "I'm not gonna try to kill you, or hurt you, or do anything at all to you, honestly. I definitely wanted to for a while there, especially right after it happened. But not now, and not after we're done with the All or anything, either. You fucked up, bad. And I don't forgive you, at all." He paused and took a deep breath, "But it wasn't entirely your fault, and I know that. And as stupid a thing to do as that was, I know you were trying to help. You just had the bad luck to pick a devil with both a talent for fucking with people, and personal beef with Victor, and it bit you in the ass. And maybe you shoulda seen it coming, but we can't all be perfect, right? And I guess it coulda ended a lot worse, when you think about it." He fell silent, staring thoughtfully into space before eventually saying quietly, "I don't forgive you, and I won't forgive you. But I'm willing to forget about it, once we're done this crap. Bad shit happens when you're saving the world, right? There's no sense in holding onto it when it's over; it's not like there'll be anything you can do about it then anymore than you can now. Might as well let it be, eh?"
"Yeah...yeah," Pierce said hesitantly. He looked agitated and nervous, thinking about something. He said 'yeah' once more, quietly, before standing up and moving further away again. "Goodnight..." he added quietly as he walked a few meters away, back to his things.
Category:Advent of the All