All 18.2 - Truce

Lucca was laying on his bunk flipping through a book when someone entered the room. His gazed flicked over instinctively at the sound, but who he saw he didn't expect. Ryuji came in, his demeanour seeming more depressed than usual; he looked about and identified one of the empty beds. Going to the locker beside it, he began to move some items out of his bag into the recepticle. 
"Yo, Ryu, whatcha doin'?" the druid asked casually.
He glanced over quickly before looking back to the task at hand, "...It seemed like a waste, to keep the private room, considering. Someone else can take it."
Lucca considered this before shrugging, "Fair enough, fair enough." He fell silent for a bit, his attention seemingly returning to reading. Suddenly putting the book facedown, he spoke up once more, "Hey, can I ask you something?"
Ryuji froze for an instant, then looked over. "Mhmm," he said as he nodded slightly.
"Do you got how you're gonna take care of eating from here on out figured out? Do you need a hand or anything?" His tone was carefully nonconfrontational, his expression one of genuine concern.
"Oh. Um. No," he fumbled a bit at the question, looking away again. "I haven't made any arrangements yet."
"Oh...uh..." Lucca hesitated and bit his lip slightly, his eyes darting around slightly. He sat up and continued, tentatively, "If...uh...there's any way I can help...lemme know, eh? With that...or like...anything else too."
"...Thanks..." he finished putting his things into the locker and closed it, though he kept looking at the door. "...I don't know. I guess I figured that I could wait until we got to land again and just buy an animal or something. I don't know though. If the trip is as long as the last one, and it looks like it will be, it's probably too long." He sighed slightly, and muttered almost inaudiably, "...Nuisance..." 
"...I can summon an animal for you...or animals, plural, if you need..." he hesitated once more, "Or like...whatever, you know? Just let me know..."
Ryuji stood for another moment before sighing. Pushing his hand through his hair, he sat heavily on the edge of the adjacent bed. "Eating animals is like trying to live on grass. And they're pretty much the only way I'm going to be able to be recovered in battle, if it comes to that. Unless someone can channel negative energy and hasn't spoken up about it yet." He slouched over and muttered something under his breath to himself. Rubbing his face, he added more clearly, "Sorry. I shouldn't whine." After a moment of silence, he said, "...I don't want to impose on anyone."
"People are better for it, I remember that." Lucca took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling, pursing his lips. After a long moment he closed his eyes and offered haltingly, "...I'll...help...if you want...?" His tone made the meaning of his words clear. "...if you'd like, I could probably ask Victor for you, too...?"
Ryuji looked up and considered him silently, his expression trepidatious. "Why am I the only one who finds this so repulsive?" he mumbled. Sighing, he said more clearly, "Thank you. I'd be an idiot to refuse the offer, really. I guess...I absolutely have to eat once a week, at least. Any less and it would get to be too much."
"No problem." The druid murmered quietly, nodding and opening his eyes once more, his gaze still fixed on the ceiling. "Thats certainly do-able...for sure..." He looked like he wanted to ask another question, but held his tongue.
"What?" Ryuji asked. Lucca looked questioningly at the comment. "You looked like you were going to say something..." he trailed off.
"I...was just wondering about...how it all works is all... like...you said a week 'at least'. Is that the best way to go about it?" His words came tentatively.
Ryuji looked thoughtful. "I'm...kind of guessing, honestly. I've never gone more than a few days. But, if I keep getting hungrier like I did then, then I probably...I'd probably start getting...weird, in a week." He rubbed his arm self-consciously, "But I know I don't have to eat every day, so..."
"Kay...every few days then...cool." Lucca nodded pursing his lips "And...how...much?"
"Oh! Not much, not really much at all." He still fidgeted about uncomfortably, "I forgot that you wouldn't know, I'm sorry. I can heal minor bloodloss as well, so it won't...leave any harm." He looked downcast and added quietly, "I'd...Caitlyn had me eat every day, and it didn't seem to hurt her any..."
He nodded once more at this, looking intrigued and perhaps a bit relieved, "Oh. That's good. I had no idea...Thanks for clearing that up."
"I'm sorry," he apologized again. "I guess, since you offered, I assumed..." he trailed off again.
"Don't be, nothin' to apologize for. It's cool."
"Alright..." he said quietly. Running his hand through his hair again, he said, "I didn't eat this morning, so...whenever. I don't know. Should I...schedule this?" He chuckled sadly, "I don't know what would be considered polite."
"O-oh!" The druid looked startled, but quickly composed himself, "Um, yeah, whenever...you don't need to...schedule...that seems kinda weird...unless you'd prefer? Otherwise just, like...uh, let me know when you...want to..?" He paused, then asked tentatively, "...do you need to...? Like...now?"
Ryuji looked very self-conscious again as he replied, "Well, not if it's a bother. I can wait until tomorrow, or later...or, or I can ask someone else, if it bothers you, that's fine, I understand it's...weird."
"No, no it's cool! That's fine. It's just...yeah, kinda weird...I'm sorry." Lucca shifted slightly, "I don't mean to make it awkward, it's just...strange...new...yeah..." He suddenly cleared his throat and sat up straighter, turning to face the other man, "Um..." He looked unsure of what to do next.
Ryuji smiled warily, "I'd make a cut on your wrist, drain your blood for about 10 seconds, then heal you. I...should have been more clear."
"Nah, that's kinda what I figured," Lucca offered a wry smile in return, "I just kinda wasn't sure if you were, particular about it or whatever...or if I should do something first, or if you wanted to go somewhere else, or...yeah...but you know what...here," As he spoke, he drew one of his knives and held it against his wrist, glancing to the Yetoman for confirmation before proceeding.
Looking at him inscrutably for a few seconds, Ryuji then got up and walked over to the other bed where Lucca sat. Kneeling down, he looked at the proffered wrist and nodded. With a swift motion, Lucca drew the knife across his arm, leaving a bloody gash. Taking it quickly, Ryuji said, "Thank you," quietly and put his mouth to the cut. Lucca flinched slightly and drew a sharp breath at his touch, biting down hard on his lip as he felt his blood being gently drawn out. His expression took on a look of determined focus as he kept himself from pulling back through sheer force of will. Suddenly, a few seconds later, Ryuji choked. Pulling back, coughing and trying not to spit blood everywhere, Ryuji covered his mouth and tried to compose himself.
"What the hell!? Are you okay?" Lucca jerked back and clamped his opposite hand to the gash, trying to stem the flow of blood.
When he stopped, he said simply, shaking his head, "Your blood changed."
The colour drained from the druid's face and he swallowed hard, "What do you mean? What like?"
"It...it changed. It...it's like, imagine you were, I don't know, drinking tea? And suddenly it was salt water?" Ryuji's expression was simultaneously embarrassed, fearful and apologetic as he continued, "That's, that's a bad example, because it wasn't bad, it was just really sudden and I wasn't expecting it. Something about the aftertaste is...really different. I'm sorry. I didn't...mean..." He sighed and dropped his gaze; he whispered sadly, "...Can I try again?"
"...Aww shit...I didn't know it'd do that...I didn't even think...fuck...I'm sorry." Lucca looked away, his expression equal parts frustrated and dismayed. Turning back to the Yetoman, he hesitated, then offered him his wrist once more, "Yeah....yeah for sure, go for it..." Pressing his lips into a thin line, he looked worried as he asked, "It's okay though...? Other than being weird...?"
Considering this, Ryuji shook his head, "No, no, it's fine, it just caught me off-guard." He made a small, self-depreciating smile, "I guess, that's what I get for...for eating the same thing for 7 years...?" Shaking his head, he continued, "I don't need too much more..." before leaning in again. He drank for a few more seconds, this time without the fit. When he finished, he sat back, but continued holding onto Lucca's wrist. Closing his eyes, he muttered something to himself. He began to glow slightly; waving his hand over the cut, it mended itself, and Lucca could feel the weakness of blood loss pass almost as quickly as it had come. The glow faded away, and Ryuji let go and sat up, kneeling upright on the floor. He bowed forward, "Thank you. I'm sorry for choking like that."
Lucca relaxed visibly when the other man let go of his wrist, rubbing at it absently as he replied, "No problem, dude." He gave a brief nod of his head in return, offering a faint, reassuring smile, "And no worries, it's cool. If anything, its my bad for having weirdo blood, I'm sorry about that."
"That's a really silly thing to apologize for, the taste of your own blood," Ryuji grinned slightly. He wrinkled his nose and rubbed at its bridge. Sighing, he commented, "And it's up my nose. I literally have blood up my nose."
"Way to go, champ!" Lucca laughed lightly, flopping back on the bed.
Sighing again, he stood up and muttered, "God, I'm an abomination." Glancing over at him, Lucca made a disapproving face at the comment, but didn't say anything. "Well, hopefully it comes out. I accidentally inhaled water once, and some of it froze before I could cough it out. Took days to fix that," he said wryly.
"That...sounds like a bad time. The hell do you even fix something like that?" the druid looked puzzled.
"Well, it had to be removed. If my lungs are frozen I can't breathe, which means I can't talk. Well, I actually can, but it sounds wrong, since it stops being my voice. But it wasn't actually hurting me, so it couldn't be healed." His facial expression was awkward as he continued, "Eventually, I just got frustrated and ran out of options, so I took it out by hand." He rolled his eyes, "That was one of the more disturbing things I've done by far."
"How...? How does that even...work?" Lucca had sat half-way up again and was staring at him with a look of perverse fascination.
"Umm, well, I'm, kept together by negative energy, right?" He seemed a bit flustered at the interest. "I already knew that, if I'm hurt, well, damaged is probably more correct. I don't feel pain at all, except from heat, that still burns, but nothing else. Anyway, any damage to my body repairs after I eat. Even if it's something that's removed; I've cut my hair off before, filed my teeth, and it all regrows. So...yeah. I..." he looked a bit embarrassed and squeamish as he explained, "...took out my lungs?" 
Lucca stared at him gravely for a long moment before finally chuckling, "...You are one hardcore dude, you know that?"
Looking embarassed, Ryuji scratched behind his head, "Well, I probably wouldn't go that far...I don't feel pain, don't breathe and don't bleed, so it wasn't really hard. I just got...hungry." He frowned a bit, "That's really not the right word, it's different than that. I keep using words like hunger and eat and taste, but it's not really like it at all." He shrugged and looked a bit ashamed again, "Anyway, that's why I know I'd get weird if I didn't eat for too long. If I get damaged, I get hungry faster. If I get too damaged, I start to...lose it, a little." He winced, "A lot. Depending." Fidgeting, he continued, "I guess, I'm really only talking about this because, if we get into a battle and I...go mad or something, it won't be a surprise."
Considering this for a bit, Lucca finally replied, "Nothing that can't be dealt with, I'm sure. You've just gotta eat to heal, and then that takes care of the...'weirdness' too, yeah? 'Cause that don't seem so bad, we can work with that. Just gotta make sure you don't get too hurt before dealing with it, right?" He paused before asking, his tone careful, "What exactly are we lookin' at, in terms of 'losing it', anyway?"
Ryuji dropped his gaze, and said quietly, "...You know..." Sighing, he clarified, "It just...starts taking over. I don't think it would break me altogether? At least, not without time. But if I flip out and bite someone if I'm injured...that's why." He gave a weak shrug. "If I can't control my own actions, I leave how to handle me at everyone's discretion, so...just know that hitting me more probably won't help?" With a sidelong glance, he added, "Unless you wanted to kill me, but I'm kind of hoping it won't come to that."
"Pretty sure I made my position on that clear years ago, dude." Lucca narrowed his eyes as he replied, his tone tinged with defiance. Softening slightly, he continued, "Nobody wants to kill you, and nobody is gonna so much as try. If something like that happens, we'll find a way to get you back under control and fixed back up, don't worry." He gave a brief, faint smile, "Thanks for the heads up though, it's appreciated."
"I...was...kind of being...sarcastic," he said haltingly, looking uncomfortable. "I really didn't think anyone would try to kill me. You're keeping the sociopath alive and around, I should be lower on the list than him." He blinked and continued quickly, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up. That's an argument waiting to happen." Bowing slightly, he sighed and said with all sincerity, "I'm...really sorry, we don't get along, all the time." He looked at the floor as he added, "I don't really get along with anyone here, so I'm trying to stay out of the way. I don't want to start fights, as much as people might think otherwise, so I'm really better off being ignored, before I give more unpopular opinions."
Lucca regarded him stoically for a long moment before answering quietly, with equal earnestness, "I'm sorry for that as well. For what it's worth, I can say for myself and probably at least a few others on this boat that it's really good to have you with us; I'm glad you're here. I know the whole thing has gotta feel pretty damn shitty...but I really respect that you made the decision to come." 
Ryuji's face took on a hard tint. "I had to break a promise either way. I love Caitlyn, so much, but, if I have to spurn someone, I know I'd regret betraying my word to God more. And that's assuming Materia survived without my help. Not that you wouldn't succeed without me or anything," he added quickly, "but, I know I have skills. And weird but probably useful...undead...stuff," he said, seeming to have trouble qualifying his traits. Becoming serious again, he added, "I won't be swayed from my duty to Materia and it's people."
Lucca nodded solemnly at this, his expression sympathetic. Moving slightly to sit up fully once more, he looked away awkwardly as he continued, "Look, about the not getting along thing...I think we should just...let that be water under the bridge, you know?"
The Yetoman smiled warily at this, "That would be good. Just...assume that, when I say things, self-depreciating things, I just...have a really bad sense of humour."
"I can do that," he replied with a reserved smile of his own.
The paladin smiled, with less hesitation than before. "Thank you, again." He looked about, "I'll let you get back to your book."
"No problem dude," Lucca said cheerfully with a nod, flopping back once more and picking up his book, "Good talk, glad we had it!"
"Yeah, me too." With that, Ryuji put the last of his things away and left the room again.
Lucca read a few sentences before his internal voice was interrupted. ...He's still a prick.
A faint, impish grin spread across the druid's face, and he chuckled softly to himself. Well duh!
Category:Advent of the All