Eastern Brisshal Strength Of Character

[Asher]

you are a weapon and weapons. don't. weep

"Have you ever thought about just...not logging back in?"

Asher's voice is a quiet whisper of words. And perhaps it was apt to be whispering in this late hour, as he and Hanno continued their patrol of Honeyhome. No one asked them to, no one suggested they do it; they took it upon themselves to always come back, to show up here, where the Starcalled fell, and to help. Because if they didn't do it, who the fuck would?

And it wasn't as if Asher was asking for recompense. He wasn't. He didn't want anything more than he already had. But the fact that he called himself a Lion, the fact that Levi had nearly sentenced a creature to death and therefore left them open to whatever the fuck was still coming, the fact that the only Lion he saw day after day was Hanno—none of it sat right with him. Thus, the posed question.

He turns his head to the shorter man and sighs, one hand pushing his long white locks back behind his ears. He gives a shake of his head. "I...wouldn't blame you. TerraSphere has been absolute shit recently." His chuckle is sour and his shoulders lift incrementally closer to his ears, the tension beneath the skin visible in the cords that bunch down his bare arms.

"I don't think I would, if given the chance." His tongue sneaks out, wetting his lips. "Or, I'd like to think I wouldn't, that I'd just...log out and never turn it back on again. Maybe I'd go get my Bachelors in computer science or...something. Anything other than this. But then, heh, I think about...about...this world. And there's nothing that compares to it. And I know that I'd be back."

A self-deprecating snort tumbles from his nostrils. "And I hate that."

---

[ @Hanno Futaba ]​

 

[Hanno Futaba]

Hanno's ears twitched at the question, and his eyes continued to face forward, until Asher slowed down, eventually halting their patrol for a second.

He peered over the beastfolk, considering his question, and not answering it just yet-

"This has been running in your mind ever since Accelerator said something about bringing the UI-Locked back?" Hanno asked, wondering why that was inside of his friend's mind, looking at the man for a moment, and letting out a brief sigh and shrugging.

"No one can blame you. This is the kind of place that the more you are in, the more you realize it is more real than it should be." He said, raising eyebrows and looking at Asher, with his gaze lingering on him before he added:

"You probably know this far more than me." Hanno muttered.

"It is real to me, and it is a place I can do something about." Hanno shrugged, then frowned. "I can't leave it. It feels wrong... And I think you wouldn't leave either."

@Asher

 

[Asher]

you are a weapon and weapons. don't. weep

"I don't even know what he would say that," Asher immediately replies, the anger in his voice making his words short and his voice clipped. "There is no going back. My body is dead and buried in a cemetery—no, mom wouldn't have had money for a funeral. I've probably been cremated."

A tight sigh pushes from his throat and he finds himself shaking his head, attempting to get his anger under control once again. These...outbursts had become a more regular occurrence and he wasn't happy about that. Then again, things had taken such a drastic change for him after the last raid, there was a part of his brain that expected there to be some form of whiplash. He just hadn't expected it to be this, specifically.

His gaze turns to Hanno and all the fight and bluster he felt collecting in his chest mere moments ago whooshes out him like wind through the canopy overhead. He swallows and sighs. He even gives a short, non-committal chuckle.

"I wouldn't," he agrees. "This game—this world is dangerous and I don't think people understand that. They don't treat it as something dangerous. Those who haven't died, who still can log out? They have so much to lose and they don't...even know it."

There's an ache that evolves in the pit of his stomach, a black hole that yawns wide and terribly inside him. Envy, perhaps? He does his best to ignore it, to keep the conversation going, to finally get to the point that he's been mulling over since the raid concluded.

"Levi does know it," he says slowly, his arms crossing over his chest. "He understands it, and yet he was willing to kill Szofrit when she's an integral cog in the machine. Excuse the pun." A muscle in his jaw ticks and his vision collects in the mid-distance between them, his body finally pulling to a stop. "He was willing to put more people in danger. How could he do that, Hanno? Why did he hesitate?"

---

[ @Hanno Futaba ]​

 

[Hanno Futaba]

His lips pursed for a moment, listening to the harsh truth, coming with an anger that was saddening to see in the minotaur. Memories of when he had seen Sean's family stung his mind, and the idea of a mother not even having the money to give her child a decent funeral made Hanno's heart quiver.

With Asher's steps halting, Hanno approached him again, giving his back a small pat and gesturing at a nearby fallen trunk, scooting closer and hopping on it so he could sit, inviting his friend to come along.

Hanno crossed his arms, pondering for a moment. "Because decisions are hard, honestly." He said, letting out a brief sigh. "He wasn't, and isn't, certain of anything, and the fact he changed his mind at the last second proved it." A small reminder of how the man had a change of heart when a silvery haired cat tried a more emotional approach with him made a small smile appear on his lips.

"For us, it is an clearer decision. We are considering finding a long term solution, and well. I saw Trinity speaking about Szofrit myself. Rael told you about what she had heard, and it doesn't take much to see that you care for her and is more than willing to believe her words." Hanno said, looking at Asher with a solemn expression.

"For Levi, as much as we disagree with his initial choice, didn't know any of that until it was time to make a decision, it wasn't so simple." Hanno tried to explain.

"And when your decision have the chance of being responsible of getting so many innocent lives gone, or even getting to the current situation we are having to deal with. Of Landers escaping from us, and with a barrier growing even more between us... It is tough, really. I myself have no idea if we made the right choice... We can only do everything we can to make sure this decision wasn't a waste."

@Asher