Scene #8208: No you're the one who's having relationship problems

Owner	Pose
Kale Hearthward	AN UNASSUMING METROPOLIS The restaurant district is getting a higher than usual amount of unscheduled deliveries, surprise health inspections, and other things that would necessitate a disguised figure having access to back rooms and storage areas. ... Trying to ferret out Watch bolt holes, in other words. This isn't terribly successful, in much the same way that you can't find a needle in a haystack by checking every piece of hay. There is however at least one watch safehouse in the area that's set up in a sympathetic chef's basement, but Kale hasn't found it yet. He'd have to keep searching for hours to find it, at this rate. ... There is every indication that he's going to keep searching for hours. The sometimes deliveryperson, sometimes inspector, sometimes pest control sprayer, sometimes handyman has been at this for most of the day already, and is pursuing his search doggedly, going straight from location to location with barely enough time to switch disguises or approaches. At the moment, he's headed down a dimly lit back alleyway, using it as a shortcut to get to a different part of the district...
Xion	AN UNASSUMING METROPOLIS, It has taken Kale hours to throw the particular city in the Jade Empire and it may continue to take him hours. Tossing every eatery, hookah and coffee lounge, and dumpling shop with a backroom or a private sitting area was an efficient way to learn many new things about cuisine, and creative swears that the citizens of the city level on their service workers when the chemical spray guy has to get past the soup and bother the customers. Mostly Kale delivers to rooms of the wrong kind of criminals. But quick random encounters and repeated use of Heat Moves dispatches the lesser criminal element, and then it's time to deliver bug spray to the next shop. . . But no luck. It is because Kale Hearthward has forgotten an adage that may not be so direct in the language of birds and the kingdom of animals. 'You do not crap where you eat.' There are plenty of shady people in the backs of bars, but the Watch is a hair more discrete -- at least, in their choice of bolt-holes. Not in their choice of wardrobe. An extremely iconic black hood and coat (and silhouette) moves past the alleyway without looking, carrying a grocery bag with both arms. It might be Xion - or another of the mysterious Nobodies, but -- The hooded figure stops right at the T of dim alley walls and the street perpendicular, turns, and looks two almost-glowing blue eyes right at Kale in the shadows. The noirette blinks, and -- starts running. Kale, breaking into the street, hears the Nobody shouting as she jogs off. "I don't want to give you relationship advice today! I'm supposed to make dinner!"
Kale Hearthward	Kale, who happens to have a hard hat and clipboard at that particular junction, stares back. Is that Xion? Did he finally luck out? Is he about to crack something wide open here and so have something new to focus on and put his relationship troubles off for another day? Oh, she's running. He's not sure what gave him away, but trying to think on that would eat precious time and focus right now. "... Hey!" Precious time and focus that should be spent on running. He goes after her. Kale's usually got his various magical-technological (various combinations of those words being copyrighted by various evil empires, so long form only) going to give him speed and mobility, but using them here would cause a scene. And he doesn't need to - he's fast enough already, he figures, and as he QTE's over a dumpster to try to catch up to Xion by taking the crow-flies path, he's plenty mobile without them. The chase goes out into the street - which unfortunately just happens to be a major street market day here, full of crowds and stalls!
Xion	What gave Kale away: Xion is effectively a very powerful psychic. Hero of Everyone's Hearts', and all. Also, the stage timing required Kale to start a chase with a brief lead for start-up purposes. Kale wouldn't go before the start beep, would he? Actually: Kale sees Xion running and all those avian bird-of-prey instincts kick in. She's even got Doormouse Energy, with the big coat hood and whisking-open tails of her outfit. Kale begins with a sprinting advantage, pouring on speed as he QTE's through the stalls, to see: Xion doing much the same, largely one or no-handed. She frontleaps and rolls, with a hand over the top of her grocery bag, crinkling in flight - Kale dives headfirst and can transition with a hanging bar straight on. He gains, and yet - golly is Xion fast. Her light jog eats up terrain and she has a Time Attack Ghost level of programmed reaction, ducking through timings in the crowd and openings among the stalls that reveal themselves just as she takes them, sensing the hearts before her in motion and intention and simply flowing along through them with her nimble feet. An uproar grows louder behind the pair, as the wake of Highly Agile Sorts leaves befuddled civilians and a pile of turned-over Parkour Garbage Events. After the third left turn, it may become clear: Xion may be running in a large circle! To evade pursuit? To evade giving relationship advice? Mysteries!
Kale Hearthward	"Oops, sorry!" Okay maybe causing all of that property damage and overturned cabbage carts isn't a good look for a Paladin. It's a good thing he's in a disguise. Kale's route takes him less through the crowds and obstacles, and more above them - taking opportunities to gain and keep altitude, jumping off off of even the walls as necessary. Kale doesn't quite pick up that he's being lead in a large circle. He's got extreme tunnel vision for the tiny mouse - er, the Xion that's running away. "Hey! Come back!" he calls needlessly. Come back, and have a heartfelt conversation about gay bird relationship dramma. Come back, Xion. Open up your heart to the gay birds.
Xion	It's not really that Xion has to slow down -- it's that if she's going in a big circle around the market rather than indicate her local home, she's going to go in a cicle. Eventually she's held up by a large crowd trying to clean up: a large pile of garbage. Skidding to a stop rather than smash into a crowd of surly merchants and 'aghast, it's garbage!' useless onlookers, Xion kicks up two clouds of dust and turns around, mouth a thin line. The meaningfully smushed groceries hugged to her chest disappear into a cloud of black voxels and motes (which disappear into her inventory-space). Xion grits her teeth lightly, clearly flustered and annoyed as Kale approaches fast, spending long frames knocking the dust off her coat and knock loose the detritus that gathered on her knees. Having clearly switched from Comedy Running to at least ready to throw hands, Xion instead goes right for exactly what Kale asked for: "So... Do you want me to say 'you've been dumped cold', or do you want to get yourself to it? When's the last time you've actually talked to them, and not just caught up? No, when's the last time he's been vulnerable, to you? I'm not gonna check you to figure it out. I could figure it out, it's important if you can." Maybe he would have preferred the invincible flash kick.
Kale Hearthward	There! He's gaining on her now, she's stalled out- WHAM The advice smacks him head on. "Wha-" He skids to a halt. "I don't - we just need a bit of time to - I mean there's..." Kale absolutely would have preferred the invincible flash kick. "You... don't know anything about that!" He tries to no-sell the spot-on accuracy that those words landed with. "What, do you... keep jumping around into other peoples' lives because you don't have one of your own, or what?" "He makes time for me! He built all my gear! He wouldn't have done that if he didn't care about me!" With that, he clicks the heels of his boots - which turn out to be jet boots hidden underneath the thick 'safety inspector' boots, which burn away rapidly as he flies at her to tackle her (and/or overshoot her and end up in the garbage)!
Xion	Xion has fought Kale a few times now - mostly in bars and eateries and other sorts of places. She had not, specifically, fought him with his actual wargear on, and she was genuinely trying to stay out of Kale's head: But he was leaking. Shouting with his inside voice. Perhaps it was the way of birds to sing out their every feeling? Tackling Xion, she just isn't tuned up enough to expect Kale using his real gear with his real feelings, and rides on Kale's expectation instead of her own. Crumpling, Xion 'oof!'-s and distorts around the impact. WHAM---KA-KLANG! goes the pile of garbage behind Xion and the jet-charging avian, tumbling solid detritus - and a rug - over the pair. For a moment, it's a struggle in the dark, a flailing of limbs and swinging fists! "Not what I asked, bird!" She snaps, sharp. "I didn't ask 'is he your friend', I didn't ask 'is he your ally', I asked you if he's been genuine and open to you, as an open-hearted confidant? Has he been bare, before you, in a way that doesn't involve clothes?" She swings a fist right at his beak. Kale, being 'on top', has to deal with a blanked all over his back. Xion, for once on bottom, merely has to deal with talons. Merely.
Kale Hearthward	WHAM This time it's Xion's fist instead of the advice. The advice still stings again, though. "He's..." The hit was solid enough to get him off of her, and the remnants of his disguise have flaked off by now. It's all Kale underneath. "He's... maybe. Once. Years ago. When we started out. And since then..." "... Never." And then it all clicks into place. Everything Kale's been avoiding admitting to himself. The good news: Kale's finally realizing the shape of things and making the hard decisions. In the end this is going to result in a better outcome for him, and really for everyone around him. The bad news: Kale's really upset. Like, if before Kale was shouting with his inside voice mentally, he's throwing a temper tantrum now. He hasn't had to deal with a breakup before, not of a serious relationship like this. His face darkens, lagging a moment behind his inner thoughts. "You can... shut up about it!" He swings at Xion. There's no artistry or skill behind the punch, but there is a lot of thought behind it, technically.
Xion	Xion's really ready for this to be over. An enormous avian has tackled her with some sort of exosuit that makes him even more air mobile, and demanded her advice as... A love councilor. She's the Hero of Everyone's Hearts, X! Except, actually Kale really was looking for Watchmembers. And, also and seperately, she hit a sore spot but didn't really intuit the shift in Kale as one that would be violent. If anything, she expected him to come off her -- especially after she socked him! "You have a close friend, and one you're physical with, but that's no-oo-ugh--" Xion just gets it in the face, her cheek distorting around the closed fist cracking into her, pinned to the floor. There's a really odd feeling to Xion that Kale is keenly aware of, an odd kind of wobble to her. Like the firmest sort of water bed, a cartoonish kind of inherent physics. It makes the emotion expressed by getting the Cross Counter to the Craw 'surprised, popped out shock, and indignance'. Head listing, Xion puff-exhales. "You jumped me!" If Kale's going to sit on her -- Xion aims lower, and twistingly rams her fist towards Kale's midsection, primarily to either force a movement or cause one, enough to get her knee and footunder her. Forcing her way out of the ground pummel with a long kick that sends her sliding back (through the market detritus) and into a portal, falling away into nothingness. When she emerges, a few paces away, upright, she does so with a transferred small gaggle of market items, which promptly fall on the ground and break even more. Xion cringes. "Are you done? Please be done. With this, and him. Take your time, but... you know, be done?" She complains, rubbing her discoloring jaw.
Kale Hearthward	KICK Kale goes skidding along the ground briefly, like a stone skipped across the water (though in this case it's more like a Kale being skipped along the stones?). "... Hff..." He's not direly injured, but the fight's been knocked out of him. There's a long moment of silence, staring up at the sky visible between the tall rooftops of the alleyway, and then another silent moment as he sits up and from there gets back up to his feet. "... Yeah..." "... I'm... done. With this. And him. Just..." Kale glances down at the ground. "It hurts, realizing it, you know?" he says, without a trace of sympathy for the person he was just in the middle of trying to physically hurt.
Xion	Xion, a rogue random encounter by trade, has not been maimed or had enough health bars knocked off to push her phase. She's probably fine. The street isn't, but two elites were having an emotional discussion. Sprays of stones and rifts of dust past them cause grumbling merchants to... Get right back to cleaning up and doing what they were doing. The Jade Empire is very used to high-speed street brawls over lovers. Dropping to a squat at her knees with the sound of Kale's affirmation on both counts, the noirette exhales a long sigh of relief. "You've been hurt, realizing it, Kale. Most people have a string in them, a core strand, like an instrument, and it's struck every kind of way. Strummed and played by time and moment," Her blue eyes fall closed, as her tone turns reminiscent and reciting. "And the you behind your eyes, that's just this electrical storm at the front of your brain, right? It's just the lever-puller and the mover and the doer-parts of the brain. You're bigger than that. There's so little of you that's the electrical storm, and so much of you that thinks and knows. You're bigger than your awareness." "You've been hurt for a while. I didn't ask the conscious you - I was hearing the rest. Crying." "It wasn't a good kind of song. So I knew the answer, but it's going to hurt to tell you, right?" Another sigh, and Xion rises. "I didn't really want to hurt you, even if it'd make you feel better after. You've got the answer, Kale. What're you gonna do with it? To fix it?"
Kale Hearthward	Kale listens to Xion's explanation. He's not much given to the sort of introspection that'd seperate out 'Kale the system of chemicals flooding his skull' and 'Kale the neuron pairs that think they do the thinking' and 'Kale who is more than just crude physical matter', but what Xion's saying is at least sounding like it makes sense. "I'm going to..." "... Not give some sort of ultimatium, to him. I don't... think that'd go well. This isn't like shouting demands over a border crossing mid-war..." "... I'm just going to end things. End it. And... try to figure out what comes after. I guess." "... And... take a break, I think. I shouldn't... try to work while I'm like this." He looks over at the destruction that, while not uncommon for elites, still is a reminder that he has more than himself to deal with. This isn't the standard he should be setting. Time to end things, then.