Scene #8938: Your Path

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Hibiki Tachibana	Aidan will very easily recognize where he's been called out to, even if it might not be a spot he was expecting. It's a place he's been plenty of times already, one that he's forged and reforged himself, that reflects a part of who he is like a mirror. In a way, it's an ideal location to bring him after he's had probably the most dramatic and changing few months of his life. It's Balan's Wonderworld, of course. At Aidan's own Stage, in the same state it was left in after their fateful goodbyes with Niko and the WorldMachine - statues and walls and training equipment and obstacles crumbled away, having transformed to become a cobblestone path lined with brick and log homes, bustling with voices. The sign on the longhouse that showed his knight's code had also disintegrated away, back then. It's all insight as to how he felt and thought at the time. Well, it might all be liable to change again, when he sets foot here once more. That's insight, too. Hibiki is there first and waiting for him, which isn't much of a surprise. After the battle with Petra, she's in about the physical condition you'd assume; a gauze pad and a few bandages covering where she took blows to the head, a few more hiding away wounds on her legs, and - with her jacket worn open - a glimpse of dressing tied beneath her tanktop. Every movement seems stiffer than normal, probably from that nasty hit to the ribcage. "Aidan." But her eyes are still sharp and attentive, and leaning against the wall of one of the buildings on the outskirts with her arms folded, she settles a stare his way when he approaches. Her expression is decidedly neutral. Not especially happy to see him, not disappointed or judgmental, just impassive. "First things first, how are you feeling?"
Aidan Proudpick	Aidan is out of his knee cast, but he's not looking too good otherwise. Head dressing, shoulder sling. His team has two medics on standby, and they are skilled for tailors. He's ready for work, though. Loose tanktop, basketball shorts, carrying his bucklers, and a side bag. He's stiff as well, but pushing himself not to show it. The second that Aidan steps onto the Stage and through it, the houses and longhouse disappear. Nothing replaces it. He looks up, his eyes determined. But just determined. Focused. Any merriment he had about rivalries isn't present. He is very clearly ready to do business, however. "Hibiki." A turn away as Hibiki asks that question. A breath. And then a nod, turning back. "I'm ready. Ready for training. All that other stuff is just... stuff I gotta deal with." Punishments he earened, punishments he will take.
Hibiki Tachibana	With everything in the Stage disappearing, Hibiki pushes off the wall right before it vanishes without seeming terribly surprised, standing up straight to face him down. Her hands go into her jacket pockets as she looks him over - the look in his eye, the way he's carrying himself, the change from how he felt about rivalries before, the way he's straining to not show how much his injuries are getting to him. She's quiet for a few seconds. "Any training or teaching I give you is gonna be useless unless you got the right mindset for it." She lets that sit for a moment before elaborating. "I've been around the block a few times, y'know. I know you know." "You're at your lowest. And every time you think it can't get any lower, the hole gets deeper." After a glance around at the now-empty surroundings, she shuts her eyes and exhales. "'All that other stuff' is stuff I'm gonna make you face today too, like it or not. You don't really know where you're even gonna begin actually dealing with it, do you? ...I'm gonna make sure you get yourself together." One hand slides out of her pocket as she focuses back on him. "But before that-- if I asked you to hit me as hard as you can, right now, how would you do it? What /could/ you do?"
Aidan Proudpick	"Any training or teaching I give you is gonna be useless unless you got the right mindset for it." A wince. "Sorry." He straightens his shoulder, "I just got some more news on Tuesday, I can do this." You don't really know where you're even gonna begin actually dealing with it, do you? Aidan puffs a breath out, turning his head away for a second. "Do better. Do what I'm supposed to do." A pause. "They exiled me. Quicknest exiled me. I'm not allowed to ever go back. People are blaming me for this whole thing." He shrugs his shoulders, "They're right." He briefly opens his mouth as if to share something else, but that's even too hard for him to bring up. 'Disgusting. Loser.' He wasn't sure he could get any lower. He looks ready to climb, but the sort of climbing that one doesn't plan on getting to the top. Refocus. He looks at Hibiki, already knowing the answer, "There's a trick I can do where I can get more Lifebreath than normal into me. I can use it with my shield swings. It's not as flashy as the Aegis, but it still can do plenty of damage to someone. If I pushed out every last bit of Lifebreath in my entire body, I bet I could knock someone down."
Hibiki Tachibana	Do better. Do what I'm supposed to do. They exiled me. Quicknest exiled me. I'm not allowed to ever go back. People are blaming me for this whole thing. They're right. "Yeah," Hibiki agrees quietly, after a slight squint of her eyes that might be able to be taken as sympathetic. "You get that. Saying it out loud, to yourself, helps it sink in better. I want you to make sure that you really, really get it. I can guess Kale probably ground it in at some point or another, but I'll tell you as a member of the Watch." "...If you can't pick yourself up some, make yourself less of a burden than a benefit... Liza's gonna make good on what she said eventually. She'll take care of you, and it won't make her lose any sleep. If you're afraid of that, if you think you can't do it... this is your best time to throw in the towel. I'll be the last person who'd judge you for it." Some very tense silence follows, where she simply stares at him as if gauging his reaction. And then, "But I figure you're serious about wanting to try and take responsibility. And I'd rather not see things go down that path. To be honest, it's a miracle /I'm/ still in the Watch, after everything with Petra, so maybe it's natural I wanna see someone in your position start picking themselves back up." If I pushed out every last bit of Lifebreath in my entire body, I bet I could knock someone down. "Good." Hibiki nods, shifting her stance. "If that's the absolute best you can manage, then it's the basics we're gonna work on. Ground up, since you're at the bottom. Both when it comes to protecting yourself, and when it comes to operating as a member of the Watch. I'm not a great example of it, but you don't need things like my Gungnir or the Aegis to be useful." "You have to know how to work with people. People you don't agree with, who have different values and goals from you, but you can still stand next to them, ask for their help, and give it back in turn. That's what the Watch is built on." "I'm sure it'd be easy enough for you to work with me. And you've shown that you can take Ru Li's orders. As you are now, do you think you'd be able to work next to Liza Grier? What about Petra, after Quicknest? ...Lilian?"
Aidan Proudpick	A roll of the shoulders back, a lift of the chin, a straightening of the back. Resolve. Resolve in the way of a man determined to walk to the gallows. A wince at the mention of Kale, a tightening of the fists. He slowly lowers his fingers back. Everything he said was right. Everything was something he created for himself. 'Disgusting. Loser.' this is your best time to throw in the towel. "I can't. I still got favors I owe. A lot more people to save. And after that." He nods his head, "I'll do what I'm supposed to do." A slight lie. He's thought about giving up after Quicknest. What he owed Kale. Save the people and just... go somewhere. Fade into the background. "you don't need things like my Gungnir or the Aegis to be useful." "I've got medical training lined up with- Kale's crew. And if my team is still willing to work, they are looking for infiltration training. And I'm gonna try and build up my wind magic. I can do this." A reassurance that he's not dead weight. "I can swallow my pride around Lilian. I've swallowed my pride around Petra." Then, the awful thing that Aidan's been realizing. "I can't... I WON'T kill anyone. Even if Liza Grier asked me." Even now, there is at least SOME fire in that statement. "I know I said I would. I know words need to mean something. But I could never do it." He grasps his hands into fists, "I don't have much of a code, but that. That I can't do."
Hibiki Tachibana	I can't. I still got favors I owe. A lot more people to save. And after that. I'll do what I'm supposed to do. "You're not a knight," Hibiki says plainly, in the same vein as reminding someone of an unfortunately painful fact. "You don't have any obligation to stick to your word. I doubt anyone you owe favors to is that interested in cashing them in from you. ...Quicknest - or I guess, what it is now - doesn't need your protection anymore. The only one beholding you to any of that anymore is yourself." Another pause. She sure likes those. "If you try to do any of that right now, you'll be in over your head. Going back to Quicknest after you've been exiled, or attacking the Gale Empire, will get you arrested or worse. Even going after Eggman like Lilian said, which I also do think is the most useful thing you could be working to do, will just end up with him having another thing to gloat about... if he'd even care enough to." "That's part of this," Hibiki adds on. "Making yourself an asset worth something isn't just to avoid getting burned. It's because they're things that can't be done alone, and you're just going to get yourself killed desperately trying to do them just because you said you would. If you're useful to the Watch, it'll be useful to you." I can't... I WON'T kill anyone. Even if Liza Grier asked me. Hibiki, of all people, would naturally be approving of not wanting to kill. It's the second part of that where she takes a few steps closer to Aidan. "Would she do that, though? Tell you to kill someone." Before he gets the chance to answer, she shakes her head. "She wouldn't. She's always, always talked about how she'll do the things nobody else will. There might be her saying something about how you don't have the balls to do it yourself or whatever, but she wouldn't even bother asking." "That's part of the problem, Aidan. The same one that came up with Petra more than once these last couple months; the entire deal with the hostages, where saying she'd start killing them if you said anything stupid became you thinking she'd kill them just for defending yourself or fighting her - even ignoring how she wasn't planning to be going around actually killing anyone in the first place. I don't even have to bring up the times it's happened with Lilian, or even the Gale Emperor, do I?" "I feel like you get these ideas of people. Maybe because it makes it easier to put off doing things, or just because you misunderstand them. That they'll do things they wouldn't, that they never said they'd do, and you let that idea spiral around in your head. I think that's probably why you like Ru Li; because you know, for a fact, he always says precisely what he means." Hibiki stops, in front of Aidan. "You have to be able to do that for everyone. Especially everyone in the Watch. Or else you'll just run into another situation where making assumptions and talking too much buries you deeper."
Aidan Proudpick	Aidan shakes his head. "I KNOW I'm not a knight. I know I don't have vows. But I promised. I have to make my words mean something, Hibiki." He throws his hands up, finally some emotion boiling, "I could go up right now, Kale might have the Aegis again, I could break into his home and get it. Then people wouldn't trust me! If I break my promise on favors owed-" He lowers his hands slowly, realizing how he looks. I doubt anyone you owe favors to is that interested in cashing them in from you. 'Disgusting. Loser.' But he's firm, this time looking right at Hibiki, full eyecontact. "No. No, you said the Watch is built on helping others. Kale pulled my ass out of the storm, it's my fault he lost the East Wind. I almost ruined the entire Gale Empire mission. I owe him one. Even if he despises me more than anyone, I have to make my word mean something!" "For some reason, the Gale Empire won't arrest me. I'm not even sure why at this point, still keeps me up a little at night. But I'm going to free those captives. I'm going to be useful to people. That's why I'm here for training. To be useful." He is riding that wave of emotions, they aren't good ones. "I'm being more careful with my words! I don't say I'm gonna be something, I just try and do it." "Would she do that, though? Tell you to kill someone." He frowns, confused, "But. She made me promise. I know I didn't know how to deal with Petra, but she made me promise to kill someone she said to kill. I... she wouldn't?" Even more confused. "I... I've never been on a mission with her, and she made me promise." "That's part of the problem, Aidan." He sags. Tired from holding the weight of his resolve. "I just don't know how to deal with Lilian. She was almost chatty with me in Lycia, and then, she just turns around and spits venom every other time. I don't understand her. Or Petra. Or the Gale Emperor. But I'm not going to let any of them trick me again. I WANT to know what makes them tick. I don't want to sling hate at them. I remember what Flamel said. There's no evil in the brain. Just, behavior built up over time." He nods, "Get over myself. And the stories in my head. But, Lilian and Petra, they are just so hard to deal with. I can't even figure out when they are going to attack me or not."
Hibiki Tachibana	That outpouring of emotion, apparently, seems like something she prefers to see compared to how he walked in here. It's a subtle shift in the way she looks at him. And she's silent about it, long enough that it doesn't seem like she's going to say anything in response, until she does. "As long as you can stick to that - the same feeling you had when you were just following Ru Li's orders for the sake of Quicknest, the same feeling now that makes you want to pay Kale back - I'll keep thinking there's a chance for you." Hibiki half-turns to the side, looking off into the distance towards different Stages. "...Trying to shove your emotions down, how crappy all of it feels, isn't going to do you any favors. That determination you're working so hard to keep up has to help build up your resolve, instead of breaking it down." I know I didn't know how to deal with Petra, but she made me promise to kill someone she said to kill. I... she wouldn't? Her other hand slides out of her pocket. "If you're remembering the same talk I did... Liza made you swear to shed your blood for the Watch if she told you to. She gave you the choice on doing that, or folding up and being burned as a liability. And you told her you'd bleed as much as she wanted." There's a shake of her head. "Nothing about that ever involved killing anyone else yourself. Just putting yourself on the line." She looks back to Aidan, with a tilt of her head that expresses all it needs to - 'you see my point now?' And after a moment, "That deal hasn't changed, either." But, Lilian and Petra, they are just so hard to deal with. I can't even figure out when they are going to attack me or not. "The first thing you gotta understand, Aidan. None of them have to go out of their way to trick you." Hibiki exhales, just to wince slightly as a hand comes up to rest on her side. "...By that I mean, they don't have any reason to lie. Especially not to you. Petra always means exactly what she says, without any room to misunderstand. That's why Ru Li has a high opinion of her, too." "They're hard to deal with, because they know what's most important to them, and everything else comes second. A lot of the time, they're mean and cruel and difficult-- because there's not any reason to spare you any care. Making them easier to deal with means becoming a person worth caring about." Pause. "Or who at least doesn't make everything harder."
Aidan Proudpick	Aidan smoothes his hair back, causing both of his ears to fold then pop back up. "I don't got a home. I can't see my family, Hibiki. I hurt the one person in the multiverse who mighta been willing to talk to me because we came from the same place, because I saw a relationship that wasn't there. And I have to go to training with her! The one person I wanted to help out to most-." 'Disgusting. Loser' "I did this all." He staggers into the main area, finding a rock to sit down on. "I did it all to myself. So all I got left is work. If I think about it, any of it, I might explode." He looks back up, clearly trying to force everything back down. "I don't want to hurt people I want to care about anymore. On accident or because I just don't think. But it keeps happening. There are people who I just want to be happy, and I keep making things harder for them." Liza made you swear to shed your blood for the Watch if she told you to. Had he been misremembering this whole time. Been thinking of Liza Grier as a butcher. Aidan sinks his head down, putting his hands over his eyes. "Hurricanes." ...By that I mean, they don't have any reason to lie. "But Petra DOES lie. Lilian DOES lie. She lied to Sarracenia. She made her believe I was just manipulating her. I don't mean on a mission, I don't mean how they think of me as a non-person. I mean how they are just petty and cruel out of spite."
Hibiki Tachibana	I don't got a home. I can't see my family, Hibiki. I hurt the one person in the multiverse who mighta been willing to talk to me because we came from the same place, because I saw a relationship that wasn't there. The one person I wanted to help out the most- "...Yeah," Hibiki says, not quite in the same neutral tone as last time. It's quieter. "...I get it. So believe me when I say that if you try to turn your head away from it, it'll just stay bottled up and end up making it all worse for you later." She follows Aidan into the central zone. Unlike him, she stays standing, even if she's still favoring that injury. "If you gotta explode to vent some of it, then explode. I won't tell you that you shouldn't. Better in here than out there. There won't be any consequences for it when it's just us two." "You won't be able to undo the mistakes you made, or hurt you caused. But those busted-up relationships can still be made into something else, down the line." Aidan sinks his head down, putting his hands over his eyes. "Hurricanes." "Don't get me wrong," Hibiki says, with a grimace. "Liza and me are probably never gonna get along. I don't think I'll ever come to terms with how she does things. The way she is about taking lives. No matter how good she might be to Rita." Now she looks like she's considering taking a seat herself, but decides against it. "I don't like her." "That makes it that much more important to see her for what she actually is." But Petra DOES lie. Lilian DOES lie. She lied to Sarracenia. She made her believe I was just manipulating her. Hibiki, unfortunately, does listen to the radio even when she's not on it. She did hear about that. It's with another heavy - and wince-inducing - sigh that she tilts her head up towards the sky over the Wonderworld. "They don't have a reason to hold back the spite and how much they don't like someone. But even besides that, Aidan..." She pauses, and then puts it as carefully as she can. "Have you considered they weren't lying? But that they actually believe that, even if it's wrong, because of what they've seen from you and think about you?"
Aidan Proudpick	He rubs at one eye tiredly with those weird palms animals have, "Yea. This place is probably going to be open to me for a LONG time." Finally, that gets a little tiny smirk out of himself. He shakes his head as if to toss it away. "I just dunno if I have anything left. Everything I've put my heart on is gone. It's like trying to turn a windmill by hand. I don't know if I can go long enough to fix those relationships." A turn of his head to the stage. A stare of concentration. Think of anything. Move it. Form something. All that forms is a hovel. A small dingey one room wooden house that needs a patched roof. About the current sum total of Aidan's self-worth. "It's better than sleeping in the Gale Empire, I couldn't sleep very well there." His attention turns back to Hibiki, arms now hanging loosely, elbows on his knees. "I guess the running away thing. But the..." He shakes his head. "I guess. If you think about it in some fucked up way." He tries to re-run that conversation through his head, frowning in concentration. "If Lilian were me, she probably would try and manipulate money out of Sarracenia, wouldn't she?" "I'm sorry, Hibiki. I came here ready to train, not to have you listen to all my fucked up problems. Really. You are one of the people I look up to, I hate to just fall apart when yer trying to help me become a better Watchman. It's not fair for you."
Hibiki Tachibana	"It beats the whole Ohio thing," Hibiki says with rub at the back of her neck, giving a singular nod to the hovel. She'll absolutely give it that. At one point, she might've suggested Watchhouses for him to operate out of, but until he proves himself even halfway reliable, probably best to avoid that. He's gotta give before he can take - and she's been explicit about saying he'll need plenty of help if he wants to accomplish much of anything. She glances back to Aidan, at what he says next. "It'd be easy for her to, but I don't think she of all people would. You didn't hear about it, because you had already clicked off the radio after she said you should go after Eggman..." Now she decides to find an especially large rock to... not sit on, but lean against. Same way she had been leaning against a building when he got here. "She was actually, in her own way, stopping Sarracenia from using up her kingdom's funds on helping things out after Quicknest. She just wanted an apology for something the Princess said about Tamamo once. Simple as that. Nothing else. It was still harder for her to get it out than it should've been." For whatever reason, Hibiki turns her head off to the side, going quiet for a moment. "But just like that, Lilian put fifty million toward it. Give her a little credit." I'm sorry, Hibiki. I came here ready to train, not to have you listen to all my fucked up problems. Really. You are one of the people I look up to, I hate to just fall apart when yer trying to help me become a better Watchman. It's not fair for you. "Don't be. And not just because I'm not a model Watchman myself. If you didn't bring them up, I would've. Training by itself isn't going to solve all your problems, Aidan. If you don't know how to approach those 'fucked up problems' and deal with them, all the practice in the world wouldn't help you." "The Watch is made of people who all have their own idea of justice and the right thing. If you don't know what yours is, if you're only throwing yourself into 'work' because of piled-up obligation and because it hurts too much to do anything else, then you're not fighting for anything at all. Get yourself together, and everything else'll fall into place after." Her head tilts his way. "You told me back at Quicknest, you knew what your heart wanted." Her eyes scan over the Stage, otherwise empty aside from the just-made shack. "Is that still true now? Do you really know it?" Before he gets the chance to answer, she brings a hand up, out from where her arms are furled. "Don't answer right now. Think about it. Seriously think about it. About why those two don't see you as a real person. And why everything you've said has only seemed to make things worse." Pause. "I'll make sure you train enough to hold your own. Kale's crew is gonna handle your medic lessons too, it sounds like." "So tell me a month from now. You'll tell Kale, too. And if we both like your answer, we'll see what happens from there."
Aidan Proudpick	"Better than sleeping in a cot." Aidan nods slowly, "I know. I'm trying to help Sarracenia with that. She's got a little too much pride still. But she really wants to be a hero. And she really loves her people." He smiles a little more, "We all just need someone to care, you know." He isn't so sure Lilian's reasons are genuine, so he refuses to comment on them. He is fairly sure that Lilian is just trying to get him to kill himself, and the money just to spite Sarracenia. But, he knows better than to try to argue about Lilian with literally anyone. "If I can get anyone to go with me. Maybe. He is the one person in this whole multiverse I wouldn't feel bad about punching in the face." Aidan nods slowly. The top of the whole is so far away. But he at least doesn't feel like going until he is dead anymore. He doesn't feel like using himself up. Then again, he hasn't had to apologize to Hazelthistle yet and stuck in a room with her and Kale for several hours, feeling waves of judgment radiating from them, yet. R"I do. I think. I am just not good at practicing my form of justice. Not as much as I thought I was." He looks up, then back at the stage. He knows. He knows what he wants. It's the trying to find a path to it that's killing him. And all the hurt he left in his wake. He shakes his head tiredly, "Like Kale's going to want to know at this point." He looks back at Hibiki, his smile widening just a fraction, at least. "I can tell you don't think you are a good leader sometimes. But you are." He steps onto his Stage, and an acorn tree forms from the ground. It's...something.
Hibiki Tachibana	"We all need someone to care," Hibiki agrees, sincerely. If she didn't have someone doing for that for her, she wouldn't be here doing this. "And not wanting to give up on people who really have it coming somehow ends up being a situation I keep getting myself in." In one fell swoop, she reaffirms that Aidan /does/ deserve being in the ditch he's in - but she also doesn't sound too upset about going out of her way for him. The opposite, if anything. She pushes off the rock, hands going back in her pockets. She's already given Aidan enough to think about for today, so she'll start the training in earnest tomorrow - Aidan's going to have to be taught to play to his strengths as a wind mage, as far as combat goes. And she'll make sure he gets in on that infiltration instruction that his crew are getting, too. Everything necessary to be an independent and functional Watch operative who'll be able to contribute to missions. But it won't amount to much, if he can't improve what's inside. He has to be able to consistently be someone who can help more than hurt. "Don't brush off what I've said about Petra and Lilian, alright? It's fine if you don't like them. I'm not asking you to. I've fought both of them before. Loved both of them. ...Hated both of them. So if you really look up to me and value what I say, do that for me. Being at odds with you and being cruel a lot of the time doesn't mean they can't or don't do good things." "And you /will/ have to see them and work with them a lot, if you plan to keep being an Elite." I can tell you don't think you are a good leader sometimes. But you are. Hibiki doesn't give a reply to that, as Aidan heads further into his Stage. After a second, she starts heading towards the exit, back out into the theater proper. "...I'm really not. I'm just doing what I want to do."