Somethin' Else [Clive, Lillian]

[Nothingness]

You're Still a Kid

Well, he was quite glad that she took it much better than he anticipated. No screaming, no calling for help. Just sweet, sweet silence. And yet, he was finding this silence irritating. More than irritating, actually, it was getting to the point of infuriating. A soldier? This girl? He tells her that he's a killer, and her only response is silence? Luckily for her, she spoke up with a response, though not much of one, and it was a timid one at that. Sad...

Her shadow fell over the spot where he was painting, but he continued to paint as she apologized and offered to finish the job. To make matters worse for her, she was offering him munny. "That's it." Clive thought with finality as he set the brush in the can and stood up. Finally looking at her, and not just talking note that she was there, he saw just how much of a kid she was.

Taking the munny out of her hand, Clive gave an irritated sigh and began somewhat sternly, "Alright, kid, you find out who I really am and start cowering like some pup? You call yourself a soldier? Where I come from, if you tell a soldier that you're a murderer, they'll kill you on the spot--no questions asked." He knew that he probably shouldn't be going off on her like this, but she had prodded the wrong spot at some point, and he just had to say this. "Do yourself a favor and get some confidence. Stop getting scared every damn time you look into that ship of yours. If you want to feel better, do something about it." He pronounced that last part sentence somewhat harsher than the rest of what he said, but his point still stood.

Sighing, he shook his head and looked at her again, a much softer expression on his face this time. Something he hadn't used in quite a while. "Still such a kid." He said softly. Taking her hand and setting the bag of munny into it, he said with an almost fatherly tone, "I never said anything about payment. Let's finish this; I hate leaving a job half done." Turning around, he began to work on the spot he'd been painting earlier. The kid could do what she wanted too.

[Fate]

I Just Can't Win

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. That was what she was telling herself right now. She should have just kept her mouth shut and stayed painting. She should have never asked this guy questions and let him talk if he wanted to. But no, now he wasn't too happy with her and she would have to take it and deal with the consequences. She couldn't cower now either; had to firmly stand her ground and take everything that he was saying. In his eyes, she was still only a kid and not a true soldier. Because she didn't try to kill him after he told her that he was a murderer? She gave him the kid remark-- just about everyone called her that-- but not that one.

He wanted confidence, eh? She could give him a little bit of that. With well controlled fierceness and a low tone, she spoke again. "Then I guess I'm not a soldier. Because I'm not going to kill someone when I see them doing something good. I don't see you murdering people right now and you've had plenty of opportunities with me. I see you helping out this world and a person you don't even know. I'm not going to kill you just because you told me who you are when you're doing something good. If that makes me not a soldier, then so be it."

That was all she was going to say. She put the munny back in her coat pocket, which she took off her waist and put back in her ship. She didn't see the shadow, or whatever it was, move this time, so she simply walked off her ship and went back to painting on the other side. Her strokes remained controlled and precise. She was going to stay quiet now and just finish her ship. If he wanted to talk, she'd answer. That was doubtful of course.

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[Nothingness]

Points for Trying

Clive certainly felt a little better that this kid had enough gall to give him an actual response instead of whimpering out some apology and going back into that little shell of hers. Unfortunately, she more or less missed the point of his claim of not calling her a soldier, but he decided to ignore that--her response was adequate enough. At least now it looked like she wouldn't be talking to him for a while, which was certainly a good thing in his mind.

It didn't take particularly long for the two of them to finish the rest of the painting, and when they finally did Clive took a few steps back to fully take in the work that the two of them did. A sleek coat, all the scratches and marks covered, the damaged pieces replaced. Yeah, it was looking the way it should now. And the way the sun shone off of the nose, and glinted over the cockpit's windshield? Picturesque was the first word that came to mind. This was probably his favorite moment when he set down his tools: seeing the finished product in its entirety.

"If that's all," Clive said, turning around and walking slowly back to the Marketplace. "Later, kid." If he got so much as a "goodbye" out of the kid, he'd be somewhat surprised, though he couldn't say that he'd complain if she said anything else.

[Fate]

I Was Hoping To Not Have A Lesson At the End

It stayed quiet after that, the two of them just painting. She was thinking now instead of trying to talk, just about what he said. Not many people were able to put her in her place like that, or that quickly. Clive, without knowing her too well, was able to do it. It got her to think about what she was really doing right now. Right now, she was just world-hopping with Elrick, having a good time away from this world and not doing too much. There was a little fighting here and there, but not much. Meanwhile, she had something hiding on her ship and she had let that get to her. It was just a stupid shadow, not something to be frightened of.

That was just about all of the deep thinking she was going to do though. They were finished now and the ship looked a whole lot better than what it looked like when she flew in. The sun was accentuating the color perfectly. She walked around to the other side to get a full few of this, smiling a little bit. There was nothing like looking at a ship when it was completely done and looked this good. If she had a camera, she might have taken a picture of it.

Clive was leaving now with not much to say, as his custom. "Goodbye Clive," she said to him, "And thank you. A lot." With that, she picked up the paint buckets and the brushes to put back in her ship. Once put away, she got her jacket and put it back on; she may have not paid Clive for what he did, but she might as well get something to eat sooner or later instead of submitting herself to her own cooking. She stepped back outside and started heading into town herself, thinking she might go to that pizza place she went to with Castle and Emi; wonder if they were still here...

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[Nothingness]

A Parting Gift

He hadn't expected Lillian to head into town right after he himself left. Clive thought that she would just get on her ship and leave, getting as far away from this place as she could. Still, something about her saying goodbye and thanking him filled up some of his hollow heart. Stopping off to the side of the path, he pulled his dagger off his belt and looked at it--appraising its "value".

"How many men have I killed with this?" He thought somberly. "How many lives did I ruin with this? And how many more will I?" The dagger had been feeling heavier and heavier lately. If he was going to move on, then maybe getting rid of this excess baggage would help. He wasn't forgetting his past, but letting go of it, more rather. Why carry such a blood-stained memento around to remind him of just how wicked of a man he was?

"Hey, kid." Clive called out as Lillian walked a few steps passed him. Walking up to her, he held out the sheathed dagger, the black ribbon floating innocently in the wind. "Take this with you. It won't be doing me any good any time soon, and I doubt I can use it anymore, anyway." Looking at it longingly, he said to himself more than to Lillian, "I've killed more men than I can count with this. But, it's just a weapon--their blood is on my hands, not the tool." Lifting his gaze to Lillian, he said with an air of ceremony. "Do what you will with it, but don't give it back."

As he walked away, he felt a weight being lifted off of his entire body. And as he closed his eyes, letting the sun warm his body, he could see their faces, smiling more than he'd seen them in a long time. His soul, at last, had felt some semblance of peace.

[Fate]

Silent Parting Words

Lillian was definitely surprised when Clive called out to her again as she walked back, not expecting him to talk to her anymore after the job was finished. She stopped walking and turned to him, staying quiet. Her eyes widened as he held out the dagger, though sheathed. He was giving this to her? After all of the trouble she gave him, he was giving her his dagger? The weapon was not going to be of use to him nor did he think he could use it anymore. What exactly did that mean? Was he giving up being an assassin? Did he think he couldn't do it anymore?

There was probably good in that truthfully. It might have meant that he didn't want to kill anymore. Lillian wasn't about to ask him, keeping any thoughts to herself. She took the blade quietly, studying it for a minute. This blade had killed many, but that didn't mean by taking it, she was a killer. She wasn't about to give this weapon to someone else either, even though Elrick probably knew how to fight with bladed weapons much better than her. She could figure it out just fine on her own.

She didn't say anything as he left, watching him go. She held the blade in her hand for a minute before pocketing it and continuing onwards into town. The sun was still out, though starting to set a bit as Radiant Garden shifted into late afternoon. It lit the marketplace nicely, the rebuilding efforts showing through. They were doing a good job, even though they had a lot left to go. The Champion had devastated this part of town that day with ease and now this world needed all of the help it could get. Clive had chosen to be one of the ones to help, which was very commendable.

As she kept walking, she couldn't help but wonder what had persuaded him to help. But that wasn't a question she was going to ask anytime soon.

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