photographs and still frames [griff]

[mikaelrogers]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #eeebe3; width: 450px, bTable] [style=background-color: #e0674f; width: 100px; border-right: 4px solid #edd4ca; float: left; padding: 10px; height: 520px; font-family: arial; font-size: 20px; color: #f1efe9; letter-spacing: -1px; ] notes more angst y/y? count 608 tags griff [/style][style=background-color: #fbfaf8; border-right, border-top, border-bottom: 4px solid #e8e5de; -webkit-border-radius: 2px; font-size:10px; line-height:13px; padding:8px; text-align:justify; color: #6d6d6d; padding: 20px; overflow: auto; height: 500px; overflow: auto;]A meeting was a meeting. Mikael hadn't had any intentions of declining Griff's invitation. Then again, the other man had practically made the decision without any consultation on his part. He wasn't complaining though. It just meant that Griff trusted him to show up at the Magnet Station the next day. Mikael wasn't in the best of moods due to a lack of sleep. Although his humble dwelling did boast a bed, he often preferred to retired on the couch. It was to the side of the living room, which meant that if he had a mission to run off on, he wouldn't waste time rolling out of bed. He figured by now, he should be used to the old couch, but last night's events had also kept him wide awake. All that trouble over a plum pudding recipe. But from what Mikael remembered from Griff's facial expression, Griff was probably in bigger denial. After all, he was the one whose blood was shed. Mikael still felt pretty awful for turning the gun against him. But Griff would forgive and forget, wouldn't he? He didn't know the other guy to hold grudges anyways and was still pinning on the fact that their bond was still there even after not speaking to each other for months. Admittedly, Mikael was still a little bitter for not hearing from the other man. He'd picked up that Griff had been tossed into Saffron's penitentiaries from the general public. Griff kept his head low, generally speaking, but Mikael had been in Saffron all his life and he knew where to go depending on what he wanted to hear. So he'd heard of when Griff had gotten out of the place as well. Didn't... Didn't he care about Maria's state? Didn't he care about what had happened to the two of them? Mikael told himself that Griff probably hadn't heard of Maria's condition yet, but seemed impossible for him to eradicate that slight trace of doubt in the back of his mind. But this would clear up everything. Closure seemed like the best thing to sort everything out. Mikael was seated at one of the wooden benches inside the Magnet Station. The high-speed trains zoomed through the station, stopped occasionally, then continued on their way. People got on and off the train and the train took them to places. Where they went was only for them to know. Perhaps it had been wrong for Mikael to expect Griff to tell him where he planned on heading off to. He leaned against the back of the bench, fidgeting idly with the goggles on his head. All he could do now was sit and wait. Mikael generally was not an impatient person, but today was a special exception. The gun was still strapped to his belt. If he could, Mikael would have left the weapon home. But this was Saffron City. One might turn a corner, only to have a desperate person jump them. He did have his Pokémon with him, but they'd been battered in last night's battle, especially Laelia. The Eevee was a tough cookie, but she hadn't been looking too well after the Shadow Sneak and Low Kick. But he'd left her in the care of Nurse Joy. By the next morning, she was up and kicking again. The Eevee was growing stronger each day and it wouldn't be long before she evolved. Mikael's eyes dropped to the tiled flooring of the station now, still deep in thought. The station was one of the few areas in Saffron City that was kept clean. Mikael wasn't complaining. Now if only Griff would come around. [/style]

template by jetplane of love stamp

[griff]

[atrb=style, width:100px][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign,top][style=font-size:10px; line-height:15px; text-align:right; width:100px; margin-bottom:-12px;][/style] [style=background-color:#151413; font-size:10px; line-height:15px; text-align:right; width:97px; margin-bottom:-12px; padding-right:3px;]he's not getting over the plum pudding thing anytime soon[/style] [style=background-color:#151413; font-size:10px; line-height:15px; text-align:right; width:97px; margin-bottom:-12px; padding-right:3px;]432 words[/style] [style=background-color:#151413; font-size:10px; line-height:15px; text-align:right; width:97px; margin-bottom:-12px; padding-right:3px;]mika[/style]

[atrb=style, width:450px, bTable][atrb=valign,top][style=line-height:13px; font-size:10px; text-align:justify; padding-left:8px;]Plum pudding. Fucking plum pudding. He was never going to eat that shit again. Hell, he wasn't too sure he'd ever eaten that shit ever before in his life. Griff had gone straight to his hostel last night--more or less a bunk in the local barracks provided for him by Lux, but at least the neighboring bunks were mostly unoccupied, providing him some privacy as a nurse tended to his wound. The jury: it was better than Griff expected, but according to the nurse, apparently worse than it looked. He'd flirted with the woman when he first arrived into Saffron City, but last night he'd ignored her to the best of his ability even while she bandaged him up--at least, he did up until he realized he had a woman in a nurse's uniform right by his bed. Sometimes, life is a porno. This morning, he'd still be unable to maneuver with his left arm, shoulder in more pain than he liked to admit, which made crawling out of his bunk awfully difficult considering that he had to navigate around a sleeping nurse. Plum pudding--if he ever met that Lux officer face-to-face, Griff wasn't sure that he wouldn't punch him in the balls. In fact, he was quite certain he would. Because that's what finding out about the fake papers felt like: being punched in the balls, and Griff believed in an eye for an eye. At least he got laid. Griff entered the magnet station with a cigarette at his lips, a trail of smoke leading back the way he came. It wasn't hard to find Mikael--the dude with the goggles. There weren't that many of them, and it wasn't like the magnet station was a huge complex anyway. "Hey." He took a seat next to Mikael on the bench facing the trains as they came and went. Okay, now what was he supposed to say? "So I got out of prison a while ago, sorry I didn't, you know, send you a memo or something," Griff said, nonchalant as ever. For the most part, it wasn't even an act. Griff didn't think he had to worry too much about what he said to Mikael, but there was a reason why he'd avoided contact with him and his sister. He didn't know what to say to them, for one, not to the mother of a dead son, nor to her brother. So he'd avoided them, as if that were the smart thing to do. Yet here he was. Because of that goddamn plum pudding. "What's wrong with her?" he asked. Griff didn't need to elaborate on who he meant by her. [/style]

[style=font-size:9px; font-weight:bold;]THE LINES BY HONEYBEE[/style]

[mikaelrogers]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #eeebe3; width: 450px, bTable] [style=background-color: #e0674f; width: 100px; border-right: 4px solid #edd4ca; float: left; padding: 10px; height: 520px; font-family: arial; font-size: 20px; color: #f1efe9; letter-spacing: -1px; ] notes Mika's feeling pretty bad about it himself lolol count 486 tags griff [/style][style=background-color: #fbfaf8; border-right, border-top, border-bottom: 4px solid #e8e5de; -webkit-border-radius: 2px; font-size:10px; line-height:13px; padding:8px; text-align:justify; color: #6d6d6d; padding: 20px; overflow: auto; height: 500px; overflow: auto;]Mikael gave Griff a slight nod as he sat down at his side. The smoke from Griff's cigarette floated lazily towards the ceiling of the Magnet station. Technically, it was a non-smoking facility, but it wasn't like anyone was actually following the rules around here. Certainly not Griff. And much like how Griff managed to find Mikael by the goggles, all Mikael had to do was look for the dude in the suit and the long red hair. Griff always believed in dressing smartly. Mikael wasn't sure if he'd ever actually seen him in casual clothing before. "Yeah, word reached me not too long after you got out,"

[/color] Mikael replied to Griff as he clasped his hands together. He shook his head. "What's done is done."[/color] He knew he shouldn't feel bitter about something that was already gone and done with. After all, Griff was here now and that should be all that really mattered.

So Griff wanted to cut right to the chase. Good. Mikael wasn't typically the one to beat around the bush either. "The same as before,"[/color] he explained, "just a little worse. She has to be careful since it's probably her immune system that's been getting weak."[/color] Not to mention, Mikael knew that she got exhausted fast. It was a real shame too. He remembered when she was vivacious and sprightly, and now she'd been reduced to being constantly bedridden. It wasn't particularly life-threatening, perse, but it was still serious enough that she was constantly indoors. He wasn't sure how she did it. It must feel like a prison, being locked up in a high room like that.

"She doesn't say much, but I think she misses you."[/color] Of course she did. Mikael knew very well that Maria had taken a liking to Griff, but he hadn't quite realized that she had liked him much more than he'd originally thought she did. He wondered if telling Griff what had happened would even make a difference. It appeared that he honestly had not been aware that her state had worsened. Maybe that would be enough to make him pay her a visit. Mikael wasn't about to force him into seeing her. It would have been nice if he did though.

And again, another train rolled into the station, only to shoot back out when the conductor saw that there was no one waiting for a trip. The Magnet Station had once been busy and bustling with people. It was the fastest, one-way trip from Kanto to Johto, but ever since the war, transportation was incredibly limited. Generally speaking, Lux members had the benefits of riding it, but travel was dangerous. Nox could hijack the train at any given moment. it was safer to fly on the backs of flying type Pokémon now.

Of course, Mikael did not wish to get off topic, but he still had to ask. "How's your shoulder...? Better today?"[/color][/style][/td][/tr][/table]template by jetplane of love stamp[/center]

[griff]

[atrb=style, width:100px][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign,top][style=font-size:10px; line-height:15px; text-align:right; width:100px; margin-bottom:-12px;][/style] [style=background-color:#151413; font-size:10px; line-height:15px; text-align:right; width:97px; margin-bottom:-12px; padding-right:3px;]...I am not used to writing him with fweelings.[/style] [style=background-color:#151413; font-size:10px; line-height:15px; text-align:right; width:97px; margin-bottom:-12px; padding-right:3px;]mika[/style]

[atrb=style, width:450px, bTable][atrb=valign,top][style=line-height:13px; font-size:10px; text-align:justify; padding-left:8px;]In hindsight, Griff wasn't sure what had made him assume Maria had just upped and gotten better while he'd rotted in his cell. Faith in the world? Maybe. Probably not; Griff didn't have much faith in the world, or at least no faith in regards to the world doing things right. After all, it'd allowed him to exist. That was probably a sign that a benevolent higher being either didn't exist or didn't care; Griff wasn't sure which case would be more depressing. "I always thought she'd recover fine," he said. That was an excuse, but for Mikael, probably the closest thing to an apology. He should've visited, dropped or something, at least he could've put his ear to the ground and caught word of how Maria was doing. Then again, no one was quite as good as Mikael for staying out of sight and out of mind. Griff had always survived the city's ugly streets by doing his part to make them uglier; Mikael had preferred to not tempt fate, or at least not tempt the cops. "It just doesn't seem--" Griff broke off his sentence, running a hand through his hair in a rare nervous gesture. "I couldn't imagine her staying like that forever. What've the doctors said about her future? ...She has doctors, right?" Griff stared expressionlessly straight ahead of him, but his mind didn't register the scene of passengers boarding the magnet train. Instead he saw a bit of guilt, a bit of lost time, and a whole lot of should've beens that he'd made sure to never think about. Then he frowned. "She misses me? I'd sort of hoped she wouldn't notice that I'd gone. You, too."

[/color] Since when had anyone ever missed Griff?

He didn't miss Maria--not as such; Griff wasn't sure how he felt about Maria, when it came down to it. He missed the boy, but Griff had long since come to terms with the fact that he always would. He couldn't put his own son behind him, that was the sort of past that stayed in the present, lurking in the corner of your eye where you know better than to look. Women though? Easy come, easy go. Griff liked telling himself that. For the most part, it was even true, and perhaps that included Maria--but it didn't include those brief months where he'd claimed Mikael's sofa for his own and woken up cursing in the middle of every night to check on a squalling baby. It wasn't domestic bliss (he'd slept on a couch, for crying out loud--and Apollo had cried out loud often and always), but it was as close to happiness and Griff had ever gotten.

Griff didn't shrug. That would've hurt. "Sore, but it'll be fine. You took off a lot of skin, but besides for blood, I didn't lose anything important. Good shot, by the way. Unless you meant to catch me in the eye. Then I take back that drink I offered."
[/style][/td][/tr][/table]
[style=font-size:9px; font-weight:bold;]THE LINES BY HONEYBEE[/style][/center]

[mikaelrogers]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #eeebe3; width: 450px, bTable] [style=background-color: #e0674f; width: 100px; border-right: 4px solid #edd4ca; float: left; padding: 10px; height: 520px; font-family: arial; font-size: 20px; color: #f1efe9; letter-spacing: -1px; ] notes Character development? count 552 tags griff[/style][style=background-color: #fbfaf8; border-right, border-top, border-bottom: 4px solid #e8e5de; -webkit-border-radius: 2px; font-size:10px; line-height:13px; padding:8px; text-align:justify; color: #6d6d6d; padding: 20px; overflow: auto; height: 500px; overflow: auto;]So had Mikael. But Maria's health had taken a turn for the worse. It hadn't been declining further and had, thankfully, come to a standstill. She was still quite frail and sickly, but for the most part, she'd be all right with help from Saffron's hospital. Or so he hoped. "... me too,"

[/color] he replied honestly, and that was probably something he would only ever tell Griff. Not another soul would know. And Mikael wasn't sore about Griff's excuses because half of him agreed with them. It was what had kept him optimistic. Of course, he was still very happy that Maria was at least alive. There wasn't a day when he'd been afraid that he'd come home one day only to discover that she wasn't breathing anymore, and his greatest fear was not being able to protect her. Things changed after Lux stepped in though, so he kept his mouth shut when it came to the organization.

"She has doctors,"[/color] Mikael said. "It's Lux who provides them. They agreed to take on all the medical bills."[/color] That was one deal that Nox probably could not afford. After all, the majority of Lux was comprised of elites and people with money whereas Nox's forces were comprised of common people. The fact that he was on Lux was not a secret to Griff and similarly, Mikael knew very well that Griff with Nox. Bumping into him had been enough to confirm his suspicions. At first, he didn't quite believe that Griff had sided with Nox. He'd expected the redhead to side with Lux since that was probably where most of the money would be rolling in from. Then again, Griff's position was still fuzzy and Mikael was simply making inferences.

Although Mikael preferred to stay out of trouble, especially now that he had to stay on Lux's good side if they were bringing in doctors, he had his share of silly shit that he'd done with Griff back in the day. And anyone that was good to Maria was good in his books. He knew his sister well and that she liked him more than she ever let on. He figured Griff liked Maria enough to aid with watching Apollo. Mikael too had spent many sleepless nights tending to the screeching baby. The boy had screamed bloody murder, oftentimes at 3 o'clock sharp in the morning. At first, he'd been surprised at how Griff was willing to crash on their crappy couch and deal with Apollo. In fact, there were plenty of times when Griff was up and running off to check on Apollo before Mikael could. He didn't think that he'd ever seen Griff being so diligent about something, especially a baby of all things.

It wasn't like it was his child, was it? It had been Maria's baby and some random man who'd somehow coaxed his sister into a one-night-stand.

Mikael glanced at Griff's injured shoulder. Even if Griff had offered him a drink, it would have taken him some convincing before he took the first sip. He knew his alcohol tolerance was nowhere near Griff's. The two of them weren't exactly the ideal drinking buddies, though he figured that Griff probably got him drunk for his own amusement.

He changed the subject quickly. "I guess you won't see her then?"[/color][/style][/td][/tr][/table]template by jetplane of love stamp[/center]

[griff]

[atrb=style, width:100px][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign,top][style=font-size:10px; line-height:15px; text-align:right; width:100px; margin-bottom:-12px;][/style] [style=background-color:#151413; font-size:10px; line-height:15px; text-align:right; width:97px; margin-bottom:-12px; padding-right:3px;]writer's block won't go away, but at least I can write Griff easy.[/style] [style=background-color:#151413; font-size:10px; line-height:15px; text-align:right; width:97px; margin-bottom:-12px; padding-right:3px;]mika[/style]

[atrb=style, width:450px, bTable][atrb=valign,top][style=line-height:13px; font-size:10px; text-align:justify; padding-left:8px;]"Her life for a bit of loyalty--I see how that makes sense. I guess that puts us on different sides of this war,"

[/color] Griff replied with a dry smile. The thought didn't bother him much; standing on opposite ends of a battlefield wouldn't end their friendship. Griff was much more worried about certain details about parentage and infants and Maria. Now that sort of thing could have Mikael at his neck with an honest urge to kill, and of all the ways Griff could die, he'd really prefer not to die because he slept with his best friend's sister.

"Doctors, here? She must be pretty bad then, if they won't risk moving her out of the city. Go figure, Lux is good for something besides throwing people like me behind bars,"[/color] he said. Honestly, it was surprising; he wasn't used to hearing about any of the good things Lux did, but then, they weren't really in his line of work. They paid him to ignore his sense of morality. All this talk of freedom or order? Ideology wars were beyond him, probably beyond both of them--as far as Griff had noticed growing up on the wrong side of the train tracks, it didn't matter who was in charge. Sure, Lux's bright dreams of a perfect world were a nice thought--clearly, they were even trying if they were supporting Maria--but Griff knew it couldn't be that perfect, not if they were willing to employ him.

Griff was silent for a moment. In the end, he didn't have anything to say to Maria. Hey, I heard you're, like, straddling somewhere between death and a really shitty existence. But otherwise, how ya doin'? Griff doubted he'd be much of a welcome presence, and even if he were, he wasn't so generous to show up for her sake alone. It was easier for him to fall of the face of the planet. He didn't know where he stood with Maria, and he wasn't curious. He was, in fact, the exact opposite of curious, willing to avoid the question for forever.

Griff shrugged, pulling at his wound. Whatever concern that easily spilled into a murderous rage that he'd shown last night was gone. He should visit; he didn't want to. The choice was easy: Griff would do whatever he damn well wanted to do. "I don't think so, no. ...Unless you've already told her I'm in town, then I guess I might drop in."[/color]
[/style][/td][/tr][/table]
[style=font-size:9px; font-weight:bold;]THE LINES BY HONEYBEE[/style][/center]

[mikaelrogers]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #eeebe3; width: 450px, bTable] [style=background-color: #e0674f; width: 100px; border-right: 4px solid #edd4ca; float: left; padding: 10px; height: 520px; font-family: arial; font-size: 20px; color: #f1efe9; letter-spacing: -1px; ] notes Well this kind of sucks. count 383 tags griff[/style][style=background-color: #fbfaf8; border-right, border-top, border-bottom: 4px solid #e8e5de; -webkit-border-radius: 2px; font-size:10px; line-height:13px; padding:8px; text-align:justify; color: #6d6d6d; padding: 20px; overflow: auto; height: 500px; overflow: auto;]It seemed Griff had the same ideas on the war as he did, which gave Mikael a little peace of mind. Although, quite frankly, he had a good idea that Griff would probably forgive him for turning a bullet against him. "... the war's the last thing I'm worried about. Wouldn't even be involved if..."

[/color] His voice trailed off into the distance and he never finished his thought. He knew he didn't have to. Griff knew very well what was to follow. The redhead was pretty good at reading Mikael's mind. In fact, Mikael relied a lot on Griff's perceptiveness when it came to their fairly one-sided conversations. But as of late, he'd become a little more talkative. After all, it had been a few months since Mikael had last seen him. It was only natural that he had some things to say.

Mikael shrugged. He knew Lux had their own tainted side to them just as Nox did. Neither were entirely blameless and one was not 'better' than the other. Now, that would have just been acting self-righteous. Each side played dirty and he knew this for a fact. What was each side fighting for anyways? He'd heard plenty of times the way Lux preached about justice and a perfect, utopian era where crime would be eliminated. Crime came from free will, they insisted, when presented with the choice to do bad. But wasn't that what life was all about, learning from mistakes? Mikael thought it was close to impossible to eliminate such human error, but he nodded his head to whatever they said anyways. In general, Mikael wasn't too rebellious, but at times, even he thought Lux had the wrong idea of bringing about positive reform. Or conforming.

"I haven't told her,"[/color] he replied with his hands folded on his knees. He was bent over a bit with a thoughtful expression while he stared at his feet. Bumping into Griff again had been a surprise for him as well. And he still hadn't decided whether or not he'd reveal that Griff was in town to Maria. It might open up old wounds that had finally begun to heal over. But... she at least deserved to know that Griff was alive and well, sans for a bad shoulder? "... you should visit her though whenever you're free."[/color]

[/style][/td][/tr][/table]template by jetplane of love stamp[/center]

[griff]

[atrb=style, width:100px][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign,top][style=font-size:10px; line-height:15px; text-align:right; width:100px; margin-bottom:-12px;][/style] [style=background-color:#151413; font-size:10px; line-height:15px; text-align:right; width:97px; margin-bottom:-12px; padding-right:3px;]I guess you can wrap up?[/style] [style=background-color:#151413; font-size:10px; line-height:15px; text-align:right; width:97px; margin-bottom:-12px; padding-right:3px;]mika[/style]

[atrb=style, width:450px, bTable][atrb=valign,top][style=line-height:13px; font-size:10px; text-align:justify; padding-left:8px;]Griff understood fine. The best way to survive a war was to stay out of it, and while Griff took it well into stride yesterday, it'd surprised him when he saw Mikael working on Lux security. The idea of Mikael actively involving himself was a strange one to digest, but it had all made sense as soon as Griff found out that Maria had never gotten better. In hindsight, Griff was glad that Mikael had broken the news to him when there had a whole slew of other things on his mind. Under any other circumstances, Griff wasn't sure how he'd have taken it, but yesterday made it seem like a faraway concern that he was helpless to do anything about, and now--now, it was already old news. That didn't mean it didn't hurt. It just meant that Griff could afford to ignore that persistent, lingering guilt for as long as he damned well wanted to. A silence passed as Griff considered his options. This wasn't a heist or a con, he didn't need to consider his options. Why couldn't he just do what he wanted to do? He could leave now, and Maria would be none the wiser; Mikael wouldn't ever mention it to her if he knew Griff would prefer otherwise. That's what he wanted; that was the only smart choice. He could go back to Celadon as if all was the same as before--Lux was his mask, Nox his soul--or he could even ask for work in Hoenn or Unova, somewhere far away. His every instinct told him to put Saffron City at his back. Mikael was an old friend, Maria too, but this was baggage. Griff had abandoned plenty of women in the past and felt none the worse for it. This was no different. He missed her, sure. Did he want to see her? Nope, not at all. Life would be easier for the both of them if they never met up again, and the remnants of his icy cold heart clung to that idea. "Which hospital is she staying at? I'll drop by for a visit before I leave town,"

[/color] Griff replied after the moment's silence, speaking lightly as if Mikael had suggested he should try the blueberry pancakes at a local diner--yet his mind recoiled. He was used to spewing out words; the right ones tended to come out of his mouth whenever he needed them, no prompting required. This was the same, except he didn't like what he heard.

"Next time you see her, tell her I'll be around sometime soon."[/color]
[/style][/td][/tr][/table]
[style=font-size:9px; font-weight:bold;]THE LINES BY HONEYBEE[/style][/center]

[mikaelrogers]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #eeebe3; width: 450px, bTable] [style=background-color: #e0674f; width: 100px; border-right: 4px solid #edd4ca; float: left; padding: 10px; height: 520px; font-family: arial; font-size: 20px; color: #f1efe9; letter-spacing: -1px; ] notes Guess we're done here? count 588 tags griff[/style][style=background-color: #fbfaf8; border-right, border-top, border-bottom: 4px solid #e8e5de; -webkit-border-radius: 2px; font-size:10px; line-height:13px; padding:8px; text-align:justify; color: #6d6d6d; padding: 20px; overflow: auto; height: 500px; overflow: auto;]Mikael would have been lying if he said that he wasn't surprised by Griff's reply. Perhaps that was why he was so blase about about assuring Griff that if he'd wanted, he wouldn't breathe a word about the redhead to his sister. He blinked at Griff and watched the other man for a moment before giving him a small nod. "Yeah, will do,"

[/color] he told Griff before fidgeting with the pair of goggles on his forehead. Rarely were they straight on his head and he didn't exactly wear them unless he was diving somewhere, assigned to a desert area, or a generally windy place. They'd probably have their own use if there was suddenly a need to hop onto a motor cycle, though he hoped that wouldn't be soon since Mikael had no idea how the hell to ride on one.

"Leaving again?"[/color] Mikael knew that he shouldn't have been surprised to hear that. Griff had... never stayed too long in one place, and given the war, opportunity would float from one place to another. Griff would follow those waves of chance. Perhaps Mikael too would travel depending on where he'd be able to benefit the most from, but he never wanted to stray too far from Saffron City. It would make seeing Maria difficult. He never thought of her as extra baggage or as a burden. How could he? All the two of them had was each other, and from the beginning, he knew it was his job to watch over her and to protect her. To put it simply, he loved her and was willing to do whatever he could to ensure that she did not have to face unendurable hardship. Of course, deep down, he knew it was not physically possible to accomplish that, but he tried anyways.

He finally lowered his hands back to his lap after being satisfied with where the goggles were situated on his forehead. "It's the one across the street from us. ... Same one."[/color] He knew no other details were required. The hospital's name was "Happiny Heart Hospital", which Mikael thought was a cringe-worthy one. It certainly wasn't much of a happy place. Ever since the beginning of the war, the building only had injured soldiers. Even the sick were pushed back one notch of priority if they were not, in some way, involved in the battles. So although Maria herself was not fighting, Mikael was. He just had to make sure that he stayed alive and well enough to take on the missions that Lux assigned.

"I'll let her know,"[/color] he said to Griff with a slight nod of his head. Even if Mikael knew that Griff could be a smooth-talking criminal at times, he wouldn't lie to him, would he? Mikael had enough faith in his friend to believe that. In a sense, he was happy that Griff had decided to pay Maria a visit. It would, hopefully, make her happy, and although he couldn't quite place a finger on it, it seemed as if the two of them had something unfinished between them, maybe something they had to say to each other. With that, he rose from the wooden bench. "See you around,"[/color] he said to Griff, silently hoping that the next time they met, it wouldn't be under the same circumstances as they had earlier. "... and stay out of trouble."[/color] After giving Griff a slight wave, Mikael disappeared down the Magnet Train Station's platform, exiting the building to greet the open Saffron City air.

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