Don't Bring a Knife to a Gunfight [Castle]

[Vincent Valentine]

I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
--

As was his custom, Vincent waited until the very late afternoon- a few moments before sunset- to emerge from the Crystal Fissure. This did very little to disprove the local rumor that Vincent was in fact a vampire. But Vincent did very little to disprove the rumor himself, preferring a nocturnal existence.

The setting sun had cause the Ravine Trail to take on a purplish hue. There were distant sounds of civilization, but they were very distant and were only audible in between footsteps. As he wound his way down the trail towards the ruins of the castle's gate, he became aware of a second set of foot steps.

He stopped to listen. He didn't recognize that particular cadence. He had come to know the foot steps of his friends quite well, especially Yuffie who was usually sent out as a runner to retrieve him. Now, who would be on this trail at this time besides someone looking for Vincent? He was quite aware that perhaps he wasn't the only one who took this path in order to think, but he had never met anyone on the way to or from in the entire time he had been here.

Rounding a corner, Vincent came face to face with the individual with whom he shared this path.

[Castle]

Being trapped on a foreign world, one would think that the most important course of action would be to find some way to sustain oneself, perhaps finding shelter of some kind, or maybe even someone to help one with one's situation. In Castle's mind, the most important course of action was the most interesting, and the most interesting happened to be the exploration of every place he could get into. He would get help when the time came. Heck, maybe that merchant would get the gummi pilot to come back for him. Until then, why not take a look at all there was to see?

He eventually strayed out of the populated areas and into some sort of big ruin. He realized the transition rather suddenly. The city was so ruin-ish in itself that he could hardly tell where it ended and the actual ruins began. There was a definite path before him, however, and so he chose to follow it.

It brought him through a wide area full of blue and green tiles, and beyond that was a rocky trail that overlooked some sort of wasteland or basin or something. The colors of the place were interesting to Castle, and there was something about the smooth slopes of the stone that he liked. He proceeded contentedly, hardly paying attention to anything but the scenery.

Suddenly, there was a person in front of him. Castle stopped dead, startled by the sudden inconsistency in his surroundings. His eyes locked with the stranger's, and he noted with brief interest that their eye color was almost exactly the same.

He recovered his composure. It was just a guy, after all. He only took him off guard for a moment when he rounded the corner so suddenly.

"Hey," Castle said casually, wearing the usual smirk now. This person looked like one of those types who thought they were tough, what with that long cloak and dead serious expression.

[Vincent Valentine]

"Hmm..."
--

Vincent didn't say anything. Not for a moment or two. He could almost feel the arrogance dripping off this boy, even though all he had done so far was greet him. It was just something about the way he held himself, the way he sauntered up the path, the way he smirked.

"You really shouldn't be on this path after dark, kid. It's dangerous,[/color]" Vincent finally said after some silent consideration. Just like that, no greeting or anything. Just a polite warning and with that, he began to walk past the young man and back towards the castle gate.

It really was dangerous, especially after dark when visibility was low. There were ledges, cracks and piles of rocks- all of which posed considerable safety hazards to passersby. Not to mention there were Heartless and lately the security system designed to help fight them was a little lacking. Vincent blamed it on lack of maintenance. Yes, there were many ways a kid like that one kind find himself hurt, dead or even worse. But Vincent wasn't a babysitter and the kid had been warned. So, the man simply left the boy to fend for himself. He would either take Vincent's advice and leave, or else he was stupid and would continue in which case... he deserved it. A cold approach, perhaps, but it hadn't let Vincent down yet.

[Castle]

Castle's smirk faded as the guy walked right past him. He was always irritated when somebody called him a kid, but the way this guy did it was just plain annoying. Yep, he must be one of those guys. No doubt about it.

"You think I can't handle myself?" he called after him, his hands now planted on his hips. "As if you can say that to a guy you don't even know," he added with a teasing scoff.

He wasn't as young as his size led people to assume. His mom even said he wasn't a child anymore, and she was absolutely right.

[Vincent Valentine]

"Confidence is ignorance. If you're feeling cocky, it's because there's something you don't know." -from Artemis Fowl
--

Vincent sighed and restrained himself from rubbing the bridge of his nose. He turned to yet again address the young man. "I never said that,[/color]" Vincent said with a shake of his head. "Suit yourself.[/color]"

He knew this kind. He was loath to pass judgment on someone so quickly especially given that he didn't even know the kid, just like he'd said. But in this case, it was kind of obvious. He put his hands on his hips, really? As well as the premature accusation, scoff and the fighting gloves on his hands. Vincent could tell he was a trouble maker, and a cocky one at that, just looking for a fight. Vincent didn't want to fight. No, he just wanted to get home, maybe get some food and go to bed. He didn't have the time to teach this kid a lesson in respecting his elders.

And so again, Vincent began to walk down the trail, expecting another outburst from the boy. His type would never leave this alone. Of course, there was always the possibility he was dead wrong and the boy would leave him alone.

[Castle]

Castle suppressed a growl. He would never admit it, but the guy had just countered him pretty dang well. Fuming, and not really thinking, he began to jog after that tattered red cape.

"Hey, hold on a sec," he snapped irritably. He honestly did not know what he would do when he actually caught up, but Castle's brain did not acknowledge that particular issue.

[Vincent Valentine]

"Youth is wasted on the young." - George Bernard Shaw
--

Vincent did not, in fact, 'hold on a sec'. He kept walking, and sighed deeply when the kid finally caught up. He had been hoping to avoid such a situation, but that's what he got for being kind and warning the boy about the dangerous trail. He could have just kept his mouth shut and walked away.

He dearly hoped this boy wouldn't follow him all the way back to the town. Vincent was a loner by nature and didn't exactly want any company at the moment. Truth be told, he was still sort of disrupted after his latest trip to the Crystal Fissure. Too much thinking about depressing things, too many memories. Again, he sighed.

"What do you want?[/color]" he finally asked the purple-haired boy. Vincent stopped and turned, expecting a prompt answer. Vincent also expected him to answer defensively. No one liked to be called out like that. But there were polite and rational ways to deal with it. Vincent himself probably would have simply answered "nothing" and been on his way.

[Castle]

Castle skidded to a halt when the guy suddenly stopped. He opened his mouth to retort to the question, but for some reason, the response got lost somewhere in his throat. He was already off-balance from the last verbal counter, and now, he was drawing blanks.

"Well..."

Then he thought of something. Confidence returned, Castle relaxed his posture and let the small grin return to his lips.

"...what's so dangerous about this place at night, anyway? Who knows, it might be something I can take with a hand tied behind my back," he said.

[Vincent Valentine]

*awkward silence*
--

Again, Vincent sighed. Oh lord. He didn't have the time or patience for this, and he didn't really want to spare the words to explain to this obviously blind little kid all the dangers of this place. Did he not see the potential for a rock slide, or the ledges with only steep drops below them? Not to mention the possibility of becoming lost, which was less likely than the others because of the well worn path but so far the boy had yet to prove that his intelligence level was high enough to grasp basic navigation.

But as was stated before, Vincent was not a babysitter. Nor was he a nanny, scout leader or mother. It was probably fair, however, to warn him of the Heartless.

"This area is infested with Heartless and the security system is severely lacking this far out,[/color]" Vincent told him. There, the boy had been warned. Now there was nothing else to say. Vincent began to walk away again, hoping that this time he would be left in peace. At this rate, he wouldn't make it back to Merlin's house before midnight.

[Castle]

Heartless. Of course Castle knew about Heartless. They were an almost constant threat to Traverse Town, which is why a bunch of citizens had even formed a sort of "town guard" to defend everybody from their menace. Because of that group's efficiency, Castle only had a few brief memories of the Heartless themselves, glimpses of shadowy monsters running through the streets. From what he could tell, a good fighter could take them down easily.

As the guy turned to walk away from him again, Castle spotted the impressive-looking gun that was holstered on his thigh. If this person was as tough as he made himself look, what with that cape and that claw hand, what worry would he have about a few Heartless after dark?

After dark. The true meaning of that term was fully registered in Castle's mind only after his arrival to this world. This world, which had a "day" to separate time from its "night," unlike the constantly electric-street-light lit night-world of his home. He noticed the way the daylight turned orange as the transition into night began, just like he heard described many times before, but that was a subject for later consideration.

"Heartless bad enough to put a guy like you on edge?" he questioned with an edge of sarcasm. He was beginning to wonder how tough this guy really was. In fact, he was honestly curious.

[Vincent Valentine]

"Hmmph.
--

[/right]

"Yes,[/color]" answered Vincent simply. He wasn't ashamed of his answer, which was what the boy was looking for. The Heartless were formidable enemy. The small ones weren't much of a worry, but the bigger they got obviously the harder they were to defeat. And defeat in a battle against a Heartless usually mean the loss of your heart. On this path, there were several large Heartless as well as countless smaller ones. Often Vincent had to battle against some of the smaller ones on his way home but thankfully up until this point he had avoided the larger ones.

Vincent had often wondered what would become of him if he had lost his own heart to the creatures. Already, so many monsters lay dormant inside of him, he was honestly frightened as to what kind of Heartless would be formed from his darkness. He had even heard rumors in his travels of another being that could be formed from his body when it was released of its heart.

By this point, he was almost hoping Leon or someone would send Yuffie out to rescue him. This kid didn't get the picture, and Yuffie wouldn't mince words. In fact, she would probably literally drag Vincent away although he had told her on numerous occasions to keep hands off, in more polite terms.

[Castle]

"Really."

It was a simple, flat statement, spoken mostly for the sake of something to say while Castle's mind moved deeper into analysis mode. How good would this guy be in a fight? If appearances didn't lie, it would promise to be an interesting battle. Traverse Town didn't see many people like this stranger for very long.

A gunfighter, huh? Would this guy really pull a gun on an "unarmed" individual like himself? Guns weren't fair play, anyway. If he was really a good fighter, he could take Castle on with his bare... or gauntleted and gloved, as the case may be, hands. Or maybe there were some tricks in those metal claws.

At any rate, Castle found himself eager to find out.

"Well, how edgy are you about going up..."
His fists curled and raised into a fighting guard as he launched himself forward.
"...against another man?!"

[Vincent Valentine]

I believe the winner here is obvious.
--

Vincent did not take even playful threats lightly. One could never be too sure what was play and what was a legitimate threat. There were people out there, believe it or not, that even confused the two, making it even harder to judge. So far, the kid was acting suspicious and Vincent wasn't going to take a chance.

Before Castle even had time to think about moving out of the way, Vincent had drawn Cerberus from its holster on his thigh and pointed it directly at the boy's face. His thumb rested lightly on hammer and he made no immediate attempts to actually shoot at the boy. Not even a warning shot into the nearby rocks. Instead, Vincent regarded him silently, carefully. Awaiting his reaction. Hopefully, this would be enough to knock a little bit of that cockiness out of him and send him on his way.

Vincent lowered the revolver, slightly, but didn't yet put it away. He had a feeling, one way or another, he was going to have to use it tonight. If they didn't get going soon, the Heartless would catch on and start swarming. That's just what he needed. Vincent sighed.

[Castle]

Castle planted his feet, halting himself so abruptly that he could have sprained something. The three barrels of the gun were mere inches from his face. His inertia made him teeter slightly until he could regain his balance, all the while never taking his eyes off the now greatly intimidating weapon.

"Sh-" The confidence in his expression drained away. He gritted his teeth in nervous agitation.

Only when the gun lowered did Castle look at the man's face again. This guy meant business. He had to acknowledge that.

"Harsh," he muttered, the anger in his voice not quite having a direction.

[Vincent Valentine]

Time to prove yourself.
--

Vincent lowered the gun completely, but he didn't put it away. Not yet. He didn't say another word, merely turned to yet again leave. No such luck. The familiar sound of Heartless rising from puddles of darkness on the ground grabbed his attention. There were two Shadows in front of him. He looked over his shoulder. It seemed the boy was going to have a chance to prove himself like he wanted because there were two Shadows near him too. Just small ones then, but it was imperative that they defeat the small fry and then get out of there.

"Fight them and then leave. I'm sure more are on their way and they won't all be small like this,[/color]" Vincent said, a commanding tone slipping into his voice. Did the boy really know how to fight against the Heartless? No time to think about that now because one of the Shadows decided to attack. Vincent simply stepped out of the way of the attack and shot the thing with Cerberus. It exploded after only one shot. The pink heart it contained lit up the rapidly darkening night as it floated away.

The weaker Heartless were no match for bullets, but the stronger ones would be a worthy battle.