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[counterattack]

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[crimsoncrow]

Should you really b

_{[ the ink blots, and for a good while zephyr just sits there staring at the words in his journal. and then - ]}

I tried to forget about that particular walk of shame. I'd
rather skip a repeat of that part if it's all the same

[counterattack]

i'm fine.

( whiplash that way, and then whiplash back the other way )

guess i can live without that this time, yeah. you'll probably find some other way to embarrass yourself

[crimsoncrow]

The only embarrassing thing about all of that was having to come up with an excuse as to why I was walking like that. And to explain the bruise.

I can't be the only one talking about the things I've missed from your birthday. C'mon, out with it or I'll be forced to get my old behind out of this bed to shake it out of you.

[counterattack]

wasn't the truth a good enough story?

( sweet, summer child... :/ )

i just haven't really thought about it much since i left! but i guess
i don't know

what about the time a lizard got in the pinata pot and i thought it was for me to keep as a pet? i called him scaly and i picked out a place for him to sleep and everything
then you said mom took scaly out for a walk and WEIRDLY we ate lizard that night
i didn't catch onto that until like
three years ago

[crimsoncrow]

And give your mother something else to never let me live down? Hell no. Bad enough she always brought up that time when we were about your age just to watch me squirm.

_{[ OUT OF LOVE OF COURSE but boy his pride would've suffered b i g t i m e if he'd told the truth about that little incident. ]}

Yknow I think I remember that one. Black and orange, looked like it was covered in bumps? There was no way we were gonna let you keep that thing. I'm still surprised it let you hold it for as long as you did especially with the both of us trying not to lose our cool over the whole situation.

[counterattack]

wait what time?

yeah that was scaly. i thought he was so cool. like a miniature dinosaur
i kept asking for a pet too, so i thought you guys finally caved!
i can't even tell you how mad i was when it finally clicked. this whole time i thought he just ran away on his walk!!!

[crimsoncrow]

Depends. Either the time I nearly got myself killed, or the time I came damn close to shattering my entire arm.

You do know that Scaly was
venomous
right

[counterattack]

dad
you "nearly got yourself killed" like 600 times before i even left home







wait he was?!?!

[crimsoncrow]

Nearly getting myself killed fighting for what we were fighting for is a little different than nearly winding up dead over a bracelet.

And yeah, he was. Though now that I think about it a lizard probably wouldn't have been such a bad pet if there was something to keep them in... They didn't make a whole lot of noise.

[counterattack]

a bracelet???

the twists just keep coming on the scaly saga. i had no idea. i just thought he was cool
i guess it would've just been an extra mouth to feed anyway. and we didn't have a lot of space
but it was still kind of a fun birthday anyway

( and that's it, that's the best he can do. )

[crimsoncrow]

He was pretty cool looking, I'll give you that.

_{[ and that gives him an idea too. nOW IF HE CAN GET OUT OF BED LONG ENOUGH TO START DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!! ]}

She never told you that story when I was gone, huh? Gimme a few minutes and I'll tell you, then you'll get it.

[counterattack]

i don't think so...
this wasn't the case every time, but we didn't talk about you a lot when you were away. i think she just tried to keep my mind off of you so i wouldn't worry
sometimes though. yeah. but i don't remember a bracelet story

( he's just... flopped over in bed with his book and a pen, having the best birthday ever obviously. )

[crimsoncrow]

Huh...

Anyway, this was back before I popped the question. By this point we'd known each other for a year or two so I wanna say... 19? Give or take a couple odd months, but either way I was still smitten with her. I know by the time you were growing up we both had Our Things that were just... always there. My necklace, her bracelet, and the rings. It wasn't anything flashy but she'd told me it was the last thing she got from her old man before he wound up like so many other people did so... she cherished it. One day we were taking time for ourselves for once, got home, and she noticed it was gone.

She was trying to hide it, but I knew her well enough to know when she was trying not to cry. Making another one wouldn't be the same, you know? So... I slipped out before she woke up to backtrack and try finding it.

Took about half a day but I did, eventually. Only thing was a couple soldiers from one of the previous lords found it first. I know she'd have told me to just leave it, but that thing meant everything to her. What you gotta understand too is I wasn't always the man you know today. Back then I was young, stupid, reckless and still full of so much hurt and anger.

[counterattack]

( as the writing goes on, law sits up and bed, bending his knees and propping his book up against them. by the end of it, he's emotionally devastated and would kind of like to cry, but doesn't. it's a happy memory, there's no need for all that. )

so you fought them for it?
i would've done the same thing, who cares if it's stupid

[crimsoncrow]

I didn't get the scars on my head from some giant zeugle or a renan lord like Grenar liked to believe. When I say it almost killed me, I meant it.

[counterattack]

wait
THAT'S how you got those scars?! i knew those stupid rumors couldn't be right! grenar was always full of crap!!!

( hate that guy... u`///u )

geez, you're lucky mom didn't give you any more of them when you got back looking like that.

[crimsoncrow]

Grenar just assumed and I never bothered correcting him. Not even Nayth knows the story behind them and he was my best friend after you and your mother.

_{[ so many things could've been avoided if he just said something!!!! ]}

I was lucky she didn't cut her losses with me after that. She'd patched up a few things here and there - scrapes, cuts, a broken bone or three but never anything like that. I wouldn't have blamed her if she thought I was too much of a disaster and didn't wanna deal with it but... You know what? Given the chance I'd do it all over again.

[counterattack]

( best... friend... if this is how the rest of the day is gonna play out he is Not getting out of bed. it's too emotional already. )

well, i always just figured it's because the scars look cool and girls are into that, right? so it's fine if you were a dumbass

( time to have this theory proven once and for fucking ALL )

[crimsoncrow]

I'm










actually, you know something? All those years and I never did think to ask why she was
as you said
"into me"
I sure as heck wouldn't have let someone like me court me if I were in her shoes.

[counterattack]

you never asked?????

[crimsoncrow]

Not seriously, no.

_{[ in the end the only answer that really mattered was that "yes" when the proposal came around. ]}

[counterattack]

well
then
it's gotta be the scars! and because you're cool??
were cool

still are
i guess i dunno whatever
i can't believe you never asked her

[crimsoncrow]

"Were"? When'd I stop?

_{[ WAS HE EVER COOL... ]}

I must've never felt the need to beyond asking her the more important question. You'll realize it once you start falling head over heels for someone, kiddo. Just make sure whoever it is they treat you good, yeah?

[counterattack]

( when you gave your final words to alphen and not him and then died like an asshole, dummy. )

fine, you still are. when you aren't telling lame jokes

i don't know about all that. i was hoping i'd have an idea of how to act first, but i don't think almost dying and screwing my face up helped in this case.
not that there's anyone like that around or anything
i'm just saying.

[crimsoncrow]

You might need 'em one day, son.

But... I don't think there's ever one right way to act. Everyone is different so you just gotta kind of figure out what sort of person they are but your best bet is to just be yourself. Don't go putting on airs to act all tough to get their attention or pretend to be something you're not. I've seen plenty of people try it and it usually comes back to bite 'em in the ass. And sometimes what you're looking for...

Mine was right in front of me the whole time after the old man took me into the fold and got me out of that hellhole I was in. Even if things didn't work out we'd have still remained friends, and things like that are more rare than the most precious gemstone any slave could've dug up under the renans.