[Valor City] Moon Lit Encounters -Closed-

[Thoughtless Poet]

Cale was touched, startled by the perspective the woman shared with him. He always saw his past as something to be ashamed of, to hide and lock away from the world. But could it be that his self-persecution was what kept him distant from the people? For the first time in his life, Cale wondered whether people could actually accept him without judging him for his past problems. Such a thing, he'd never considered reasonable...the fear of people getting too close to him was always something he had in mind. Now, though, the prospect of letting down that shell was something he saw as so inviting.

The truth was, he didn't want to live alone. He often thought of himself as a wicked monster, as someone that couldn't be loved by others. He felt that the stains of his sins stuck to his body like glue. Pushing people away just made life easier. He didn't fear being rejected, and being an outcast was okay, so long as he told himself it was by choice. Even though being alone made his life easier to accept, it made things harder to change. He wanted happiness, and he was starting to understand that you can't find happiness by chaining yourself to your past, or putting labels on yourself. Here was a girl who accepted him, who wanted to be near him...in the world of his self-loathing, this was an impossibility. She didn't live by his standards, though. To her, he was someone special...it seemed that the only one keeping Cale from his happiness, was himself.

Cale could only nod as he reached out, placing his hand on the young woman's. Tilting his head, he smiled honestly for what felt like the first time in his life. He wasn't going to settle for being alone. He wasn't going to accept his lonely life as being the way things were. He wouldn't bind himself to the burdens and mistakes of his life. No, Cale decided that from then on, he'd pursue what made him happy. He wouldn't hold himself back from a better life, any longer.

"Thank you." he said softly, his eyes staring serenely into hers...the two simple words, holding a deeper meaning than she'd probably ever realize.

[_Michael]

It was no surprise when she felt the sudden urge to flinch and pull away, but she tensed and stiffened, unwavering. Allowing his hand to place over hers. Her skin was smooth, and soft. Warm to the touch, even the hardened scales that spotted her flesh felt like silk beneath his hand. shook her head lightly, her free hand lifting to brush her hair from her face. "No need to thank me, just... youre welcome.." She said softly. Laughing lightly, She gently laid her hand over his and gave it a gentle pat. "Really Cale, you knew it all along, I just had to remind you." She stated. Leaning back on the bench and looking up at the night sky. Gently releasing his hand.

She remembered.. all the things she'd done.. everything she said.. all of it, felt so wrong.. and now she was trying do desperately to do right. To make it all better. But it wasn't really that it would make the past better.. but her future. In this she was confident. "I have a very dark past.. I've done a lot of wrong and evil in my life.. but that isn't who I am, it never was. It always felt wrong, and now.. now I'm desperately trying to make it right. My future. I want my future to be right."

[Thoughtless Poet]

Cale looked on thoughtfully as he watched Fyrei gazed up at the sky. He smiled lightly at the fresh memory of her hand on his, something that had made his body glow with an inner warmth that slowly creeped through his veins...filling the cheeks of his face with a slight hue of rose that probably wouldn't have been noticeable in the darkness that shrouded them. She looked so hungry for something, staring up at the stars as she talked about future hopes, dreams, ambitions. It was a hunger they both shared, another thing the two outcasts could find comfort in each other with. Cale leaned back against the bench, his head falling back to view the night sky with her as his own thoughts passed unfiltered between his lips.

"We all want that, I think...a better future. I left home, because I didn't like the road I was going down...but after I did, I became lost. It was like venturing off the beaten path; I knew where I wanted to go, but I didn't know how to get there. Then, I met Apidej..." Cale said, his voice trailing off as he recounted the moment he'd met his partner, and co-founder of their revolutionary group.

"He and I...we were both different than the people surrounding us. We both wanted something different...something more than what we were expected to have. Call it foolish or naive, but we thought we could make a difference in the world. I suppose you could say that my life started, when he and I met..."

He chuckled softly to himself, as though recalling a pleasant memory. Turning his head over to look at her, an earnest smile crossed Cale's lips as he nodded to Fyrei.

"But...I think it's time that I start living my life, for a change. You only get one, right? It'd be a shame for me to waste mine, as just a boring public servant."

[_Michael]

Fyrei smiled, and patted his shoulder. "You're right. You only get one, so start living it." With that being said, she pulled herself up off the bench and gave a soft little smile. "Best be heading in for the night." She moved across the courtyard to the tree nearest it's center and pulled from its base the daggers she had thrown prior to Cales introduction. She sheathed them, and placed them into their proper home before running her fingertips over the bark, and closing her eyes. Lips mouthed a sincere apology to the mother earth, and thanked her for allowing her to use her blessed creations.