wooden doors, closed

[lurker2]

in a flash, she was home. not many people knew that it was her home, which was actually a pretty nice thing, less people wanting to target it. the guards gave them space again, knowing the professor didn't quite like the crowd and the forest was a relatively safe place.

"welcome to my 'hometown.'"

again, aurea tugged him along. "come let's go." she led them to a clearing. "you never got an answer, haven't you? why i wanted you here in the first place?"

[patroclus]

by now, he had figured out that she was an eager person. enthusiastic over her job, even. she tugged him along and he complied. the foot of his shoes squelched against the muddy grounds of the forest. the first signs of spring: rain, and more rain. it seemed that a downpour had just ended.

"it's a nice place," he complimented, "alright." her second tug nudged him into a quicker pace.

"no, i believe i haven't. does taking me to your hometown have anything to do with it?" he tilted his head slightly.

[lurker2]

"maybe? ... actually, not really." she laughed a bit sheepishly, now letting him go. "i wanted to show you isshu before i was going to tell you this." now she was acting hesitant. weird. "at least some of it."

"i wanted you here, but not as a spy or as a bodyguard." she shook her head. "charming as you are, i don't think you'd be the best speaker. you're more into the actions before words kind of guy." she was purposely stalling now, even when she was the one who brought it up.

[patroclus]

"isshu's a great place. i haven't seen anything like it. i heard nimbasa's great. castelia, too.

"your lab assistant, then? more lab work, less theories?"

[lurker2]

aurea giggled. "lab work?" now that was a surprising concept. why was it most people associated her with that during war? even before it, paperwork was the thing she avoided the - oh, well, there it was. "i haven't done anything 'professor-like' in a long while. besides, i did i ever talk about my studies?" she hummed lightly. "keep guessing ~ "

[patroclus]

"i heard you were a backpacker. travelled across isshu and other regions, if memory serves. you were always an uncanny professor. but i respect that. how about your messenger?"

[lurker2]

"oh? so you've heard of me even in kanto? i'm flattered." she grinned. he still hadn't answered her question.

"hm ... nope. not a messenger." she sighed. "what i have in mind is far more important than that." green eyes gleamed with mischief.

[patroclus]

"i have indeed," he said, "it's ... something of an open secret."

"not a messenger?" he quirked an eyebrow. "i figured it was of good, decent importance." i'm just a civilian. what would she want? "your right-hand man. decent job for an insignificant person."

[lurker2]

"... an open sec- you'll have to tell me later."

"ah! now there's heading in the right direction!" she shrugged. no cigar. "but nope. it's even more important."

[patroclus]

she couldn't possibly have.

him. a man who threatened his own platoon leader by holding him hostage and attempting murder. the one who had a military background but abysmal at handling weaponry.

just another soul amongst the walking dead in saffron.

"... your equal. you want me to be your equal."

but why?

"do not joke about the people, aurea. i will not see isshu fall into a state of disarray, or god forbid saffron," his voice was lethal, gaze intense, "get someone else."

he turned on his heels to leave.

[lurker2]

"you've got it!" she grinned, very much like those children back at the village bridge. it had taken him long enough to figure it out.

but then he changed.

"wait." aurea grabbed his hand, unwittingly grabbing the injured one. she completely ignored his glare and his tone. "i'm not joking. i've been serious this entire time." she squeezed his hand tightly. "i came for you specifically. at first to test you. now, i'm sure you won't let me down. no one else will do."

[patroclus]

he flinched when she pulled his right hand back. he had cut it earlier in the day. it served as a harsh reminder of his roots, the streets he had grew up in and the trauma saffron experienced daily. he quickly pulled it away from aurea when she squeezed it, the bandages coming loose as he did so.

blood trickled from the reopened wound. he, however, did not feel pain.

"it's not a joke. you don't joke with the lives of more than ten thousand people. you don't test to see if someone's capable for the job. who are you to even think that you have the right to pick someone and hope they'll listen to your goddamn suggestion.

"because you know what, pick someone else. i can go back to saffron."

[lurker2]

she faintly recognized the blood between their hands but pressed on. "give me one damn good reason why you shouldn't be. don't tell me it's because you don't feel 'worthy' of it."

aurea tugged at him again. she was determined to change his mind. "what are you so afraid of? what's stopping you from staying? what happened to helping me stop saffron from happening again?"

[patroclus]

"pulling me all the way from kanto to isshu is not a wise choice. pick someone from your own region. and yes, you're right. i'm not worthy of it.

"i'm not afraid. you're missing the point here. saffron - is in kanto. if i can't fix it - if i can't even fix what's happening back there, i don't deserve it."

[lurker2]

"isshu hasn't faced lux before, and i have no experience with 'military' tactics. you were at the top of your class. you know lux inside and out."

"i'm not asking you to 'fix' anything. i'm asking you to 'prevent' it. if you wanted to fix saffron, why didn't you try? why did you let me take you from there in the first place if you didn't want to hear me out?"