flameguard | mygod | pc catchall

[ they lost one of their brethren today that's fair. he rubs at his eyes, sniffling, drawing his composure together. ]

...I see... so, the ranch, then...? Did you see anything...?

Found some sort of sack full of who knows what. I have no idea what's in there, but with all that blood...

[Best case scenario: it's weapons used in murder. Worst case scenario...

.........

She doesn't know yet Pickles wasn't found, and me, Nick, is dreading he might be in there. Erin will feel pretty awful if that turns out to be it]

[ hm! concerning. ]

...Something we will surely have to look into, tomorrow. [ gross. ] Miss Erin, if it's too much... we can look through it, I'm sure. We can all share the load together.

Oh, it's too much, but there's no choice but to deal with it, is there.

[Erin definitely is frustrated, and she's trying her hardest to shove down how stressed she feels by disguising that with her usual brand of foul mood. It's not entirely successful, really. Her hands are trembling]

Well, no, but - we at least can rely on each other as much as we can.

[ thankfully rondo is not put off by frustration. he rubs at his eyes a little, gaze drawing back to erin for a long moment before they go to the fire. ]

...will you come sit for a moment?

[Silent, she comes to sit down, clutching her hands together tight enough to make her knuckles pale]

This all feels like a bad dream.

[Three people died...and tackling it will be a mess, she's sure]

I know the feeling.

[ the worst part is knowing you can't wake up from it, either. he looks down at her hands, and then, asks, quietly: ]

... is it alright if I touch you?

[ because he is a Nice Boy ]

Yeah, it's fine.

[At least she's pretty sure she got rid of all the blood, it should be fine, she figures]

[ he reaches over and puts his hand on top of hers, and squeezes. rondo is a very warm person - it radiates naturally off of him, and the gesture is genuine and sincere. ]

...We mustn't lose hope in that we can unravel what happened, or in the fact that we can find our way out of this at all.

[It's a comforting gesture, and although Erin doesn't seem to soften she appreciates it]

...I have never been one for hope. Whenever there's trouble I just want to tear it down -- hope has done nothing for me.

[Part of the reason why doing something instead of waiting fits her better, normally. She didn't get to where she is by hoping]

Well... that's something we can learn to rely on each other for, too.

[ rondo smiles a little at that, reassuring, an unvoiced question. hope is what he deals in. hope is the light in the darkness, the flame forward. ]

Bolster each other's strengths, right? It's the only way we'll make it through this experience, I think.

Fine. I'll try. It's not that I don't want to, I just--guess I'm afraid of what will happen.

[But alright, bolster each other's strengths. She'll attempt this, see how it goes. She's pretty sure this will end being pretty rough, but she'll try]

Thanks, I suppose. You really are a soft one, aren't you?

I don't think there's anything wrong with being afraid, either.

[ fear and hope go together, as far as he knows, but the ability to take both and use it to solve problems is courage. it's strength. it's what makes him capable as the flameguard, being able to see the light, even if he's not really realized.

he gives her hand a little squeeze, and then - laughs a little, ducking his head when she calls him soft. a little embarrassed... ]

...maybe. I don't know. I just walk the path of the Flame - and I follow what my heart tells me, Miss Erin. It's how I keep moving forward.

I was queen of Hell once, you know. Got there by outsmarting everything that could have killed me and kicking everyone out of my way. It's not really working out all that well here.

[Since it's more about teamwork, instead of coming out on top. Kind of a necessary change of pace and it's one she's not used to]

[

HAHA, ]

You - what?

I said it's not really working out all that well here.

[That's probably not the part he wanted repeated, Erin]

[ truly startled out of immediate distress by this lore fact ]

... were you... how did that happen?

Oh, that.

[Her hands stop trembling]

Some things happened in my town years ago. I was sixteen. It ended with me being banished into hell by accident. Old story, not really all that important these days.

It was pretty scary at first, but then I decided that since I got screwed over by everything I'd make everything regret that and from there on force my way out of trouble myself.

[So she ended up as the head honcho before she was even old enough to drink]

Would have been great if that worked like that here too.

[At least she's not going to on purpose shove everybody here down to sacrifice them so she gets away intact]

mygod | pc catchall | erin

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