[TheSpatialWeeg]

Rider sat down next to a balcony, looking around, timidness reflecting from her eyes. "So...this is that...Busy Bee Lobby I've heard about...?" she asked to herself. "Eeeh, this place looks pretty nice...!" she thought to herself.

Then again, she didn't have much expectations for a lobby in the first place. She expected something rather simple. Too simple, in fact. Something nicely arranged, yet not much on it. Well, she was pleasantly surprised, to say the very least.

Serving herself a bit of pumpkin juice, Rider began reminiscing about her times...back home.

Back at Primp Town...

"I wonder if everyone's all right...mmmn..." she mumbled as she slurped on her juice. "..."

[Deleted]

Curious...
This place is so... blissful.
Yet so full of faces I dare not wish to look at.
Perhaps I shall find solace here.
Even in the most daring of ways...

---

The somber rattling of chains shuffled out and up the stairs behind Rider. He was unsure how to do this, but... Here went nothing. Chumai approached with clear uneasiness in his steps. Those manacles were done back in such a way as to not obstruct his movement as he went forth. His eyes glanced over the sitting person's form. She seemed... Preoccupied. He recoiled at the thought; should he leave? No, he'd come too far. Steeling himself a bit, the outcast Lavistan would sigh, and begin to speak...

"Hello... ehm... I hope I'm not intruding. But... May I take a seat with you, miss?"

Chumai was never good with words, he was always better with fighting than talking. She wasn't a threat, but... he knew he needed the interaction. Perhaps he could share a story or two, get to know someone for once, and make a difference in his normally isolationist nature. Folding his hands together, he simply looked to either side, as if worried of being followed. He clearly was not used to conversation in any means or regards, nor was he versed in human interaction.

---

Some mood music, if you wish))

[TheSpatialWeeg]

"H-huh...?" Rider turned her head to see the newcomer. She didn't knew exactly what to make of the man, but he clearly looked a bit...abnormal.

Just like her. Then again...no one seemed to be normal in this world. Which was a shocker for Rider at first...but hey, maybe she'll get used to that one day...
The mysterious man asked for her if he could take a seat. Rider, bring the gentle soul she ever was, motioned for him to sit down to the chair near her.

"U-um...have a seat, mister..." Rider quietly said, finishing her pumpkin juice. She wondered if she could calmly interact with him. Rider thought she wasn't exactly the most sociable person to have a chat, not because she despised people, no, it was the complete opposite. She wants to communicate, but fear always held her back.

And will probably hold her tight for years to come.

Unfortunately, this low self-confidence and fear also translated into her thoughts on her own fighting prowess. One could say she was decent, or even great at fighting, but she always thought it was never good enough. Considering how the people over here looked extremely strong, it just meant she was but a punching bag to anyone. This made her extremely reluctant to go to the Sunshine Stadium as well. A place to fight against other people mano-a-mano? Not her cup of tea, and probably never will be.

She thought it was much better for her to be back home than over here.

She quickly snapped out of her train of thought, and turned to the man, tilting her head a bit.

"W-what's your name...?" She shyly asked him.

[Deleted]

"Th-Thank you. My name is Chumai. I'm... Thankful you'd allow someone such as myself to be in your presence."

The battered and beaten looking man gazed off from the balcony for a second, as if gauging who was beneath them before looking back to his kind acquaintance. She so prominently let him sit here at his request, and such a kind gesture was not to go unthanked. Now that he'd thanked her and introduced himself, the persistent gnawing of the Hra'goth seemed to be quelled, allowing him to focus a little more. With all issues aside, he could grasp that she was a rather pretty little individual. Not romantically speaking, heavens forbid, but a sisterly sort of cute.

"As we all are, I'm not from around here... Nor am I given to be so bold as to ask you for a seat, but I was feeling more... open than usual today."

He nervously began to fidget with his thumbs again, casting his gaze down and away, but back to her in the end before continuing his thought. He was prone to getting lost in his own ideas and internal conflicts, rather than staying focused externally. Still, in the end, he was able to keep eye contact for longer than he'd ever done outside of an arena.

"I-I shouldn't go on about my problems. May I know your name?"

[TheSpatialWeeg]

"P-pleased to meet you, Mr. Chumai...!" Rider said,  a small smile on her face. Well, she was off to a nice start...He at least sounded like a patient person.

Chumai went on to talk about how he felt more 'open' today and how he wasn't from this place either. Did he have problems with interaction, just like her? Was he also displaced into this world? Guess that was a common occurrence over here. She was going to confront him more about this later, she needed to introduce herself. He asked for her name, she shouldn't ignore that!

"M-my name is Rider...I-I know I've said this before, but pleased to meet you...!" She stuttered. Not out of fear, but from shyness.

[Deleted]

The outcast's eyes widened as he listened to how grateful she was to have him here. Rider, as her name was revealed, was a kind individual. A small smile, however painful to stretch, formed across his cheeks, faint as it may be, to show his return of gratitude for her friendliness. Despite this, he still felt... out of place, as if something weren't entirely right with him even now. This was apparent when his smile faded, and his eyes drifted back towards the general lobby's bustle. With a drag in his movements, he gazed back to Rider, rolling his shoulder to try and have his tattered garb cover him further.

"What was your home like, before it was all taken by the merging? ...of course, you don't have to answer if you don't want to."

There was a hint of uneasiness in his voice, as if his own memories were less than favorable. In truth, he was afraid to go back afterwards, he didn't WANT to return to his home. He was an outcast, no matter how much of a hero he'd been when he struck down Zaivora. He was still a bearer of a Hra'goth, and people would scorn him even after his return as a hero of Li. He wished to learn more about other homes, and planes of existence, perhaps this apartheid didn't exist everywhere, did it?

[TheSpatialWeeg]

...Huh? What did he mean by her world 'before it was all taken by the merging'? Was Primp Town a part of this Li planet now? She wouldn't know...and maybe it was for the best that she didn't know.

"Um...I don't think I know if my home merged with this planet...but...Primp Town was...beautiful...to say the least...." Now Rider kind of regretted not having a map or a picture to show it to Chumai...or to look at it and reminisce her moments back there...Just one more thing to regret.

"I wouldn't be able to...give you the details...sorry, Mr.Chumai..." Rider hung her head low, her tone spewing apologies through and through. 

[Deleted]

"That's... that's okay. My home was... not nearly as desirable. It was abhorrent, full of bias and strife. I simply wanted to know what your home was like. Mine was..."

He shifted in his seat, clearly unnerved and even regretting bringing up the subject now. He only felt it fair to tell her what it was like to be where was once. Chumai slumped a bit, biting a quivering lip as he thought of his home. The whips and chains, the knives and altars... Those terrible vistas of death that so gladly wished to whisk him away to oblivion. He refused each one, allowing himself to grow stronger. His emotions were beating at him, but taking a deep, shaky breath, he steeled himself.

"...Forgive me, some memories are rough to begin unearthing. I... I shouldn't have wasted your time with that."

Chumai shifted in his seat, as if readying himself to try and leave, but... He really was just moving to get some space. His hands were on the table, moving outward as he went to move. They were very easily in reach, a simple grace of another hand to one of those manacles, or even one of his callus, rough hands could stop him.

[TheSpatialWeeg]

"O-oh...I see..." Rider mumbled.

It was clear to her that Chumai had gone through a lot. And trying to remember it was bringing painful memories. Seeing the hurt on this man made her feel hurt. "Th-there's no need to say anything that hurts you...Mr. Chumai...!!" Rider tried to reassure him. She had the idea he was trying to leave considering his body language.

She didn't knew why she did that. Maybe it was wild instinct, maybe it was the need to help him. Whatever was on her mind...it didn't matter much. She only hoped it wasn't her damnation.

She wrapped her large sleeves (but her hands could be clearly be felt holding) around one of his hands.

"..." She stood silent, looking at Chumai with an apologetic look on her face.

[Deleted]

"Wha..."

He stopped for a moment, had something landed on his hands? Did something drop from the ceiling? No... it seemed Rider wanted him to stay, but... Why didn't she just tell him to shut up, like all the rest? His useless drivel wasn't worth the breath he spoke it on, but... She... She reminded him of that cutesy little Wakusho... Breathlessly, and with tears forming, the man began to break down. He tried and tried, but... This was too much to bear... He scooted back, dropping his head over the table, his forehead making a dignified 'thunk' as it rattled the table. He began to sob quietly...

"They took everything from me... My home, my future... Oh poor Wakusho..."

He continued to sob, reliving the grief of his sister... His poor little sister. That little, blue eyed angel, they ripped her from him... He could still see the look in her eyes, those wild, frantic screams for poor 'Chummy' to save her... When he did move... he wasn't himself, he remembered turning into the Hra'goth that day... He tried to compose himself, only giving sniffles between his sobs... 

"Forgive... me... They took..."

Between each word was a few more tears, but... He managed to compose himself now, finally. He bit his lip in frustration with himself, not yet getting up. She seemed to have cared for the emotions of others, no matter how foreign they were. Wakusho, that sweet, little goober was the same way... He couldn't let her slip by... He couldn't risk them coming back, and taking this one, he'd do anything to stop that. He should at least finish his thought... So he did.

"...my sister."

[TheSpatialWeeg]

Silence overtook Rider's mouth. She watched as Chumai helplessly sobbed in front of her, as he mentioned his sister being 'taken away'. She immediately thought the worst had happened to Wakusho...all the pity she had for Chumai had increased that very instant. She moved her hands to his body in an attempt it hug him...

...And that triggered a lone memory from long ago....

She couldn't remember what was going on for the majority of it. But on the very last moments she saw the face of someone she would probably never see again.

Ms. Accord...her teacher...no, scratch that, she could be very well be called her mother.

An array of memories came flooding in, ranging from her younger years to recent events. A hopeless sniffle escaped from her bottled-up emotions. Burying her face onto Chumai's belly, she let her tears fall.

"P-please...stop...crying..." She pleaded between sobs. "I...don't want to see you cry...!"

[Deleted]

She moved in such a sudden manner that Chumai didn't account for. The outcast watched as she moved forward, her desperation. To...  Hug him. Such a thing he'd not felt in many years, so he was a bit apprehensive. However, the ragged man took kindly to her gesture, as uncomfortable as it may be to hug a man wrapped in chains, he reached to embrace her, not too tight as to worry about her safety. As he did so, to remember Wakusho's little hands that would so happily move to hug their brother, he moved his own up to Rider's head, and began to hush her as a big brother would.

"N-Now now... l-let's not... Shh... Shh... I-It's okay... It's..."

He sniffled yet again, not breaking down this time, and remaining strong. His brotherly, borderline paternal care for her suddenly sparked his need to help her more... He wanted to dry those tears. Moving a thumb, however rough, to her face, he wiped the tears away, smiling in a hopeless, faint way as a broken man would upon finding his road to redemption. His eyes tracking her every move...

"...You've shown me something today. A lesson I won't forget, Rider... You... I don't want you to cry. You're too precious, too... pure. Sit up. Dry up. Please..?"

[TheSpatialWeeg]

Rider let a few more tears fall down until Chumai ended up wiping a few tears of her face. She took upon herself to look onto his face.

She saw his smile as he asked from her a huge favor. To be honest, Chumai's request sounded like something impossible for the time being, but...she felt the heavy need to comply to him. Moving towards her chair, she sat down and pulled up the biggest smile her small face could muster. Her eyes were still a bit watery, though...they would eventually dry up, but it would take a bit of a while as the bittersweet memories were still there, lingering on her mind.

"Is...is this a little bit better?" She asked Chumai as she held one of his hands. Now, 'smiling' was a bit different than 'feeling better', and she wouldn't feel better until the man who was calming her down was feeling just a little better himself.

"...W-would you do the same for me....please? J-just this once...?" The young supposed imp girl asked him, using the sweetest tone she could ever put out.

[Deleted]

Chumai steeled himself yet again, he kept having to. A test of willpower and faith in his new friend. His battered, and beaten body trembled in the aftermath of tears as his hands approached his eyes with a careful and transient movement, as if just drifting around. They finally met his eyes, and with a fell swoop on each thumb's part, he wiped his own tears away. His now corrected posture and positive attitude clearly gave way to something he'd long awaited for... A friend. Finally.

"You and I... we're not far off from the path of experience in this world, are we? Having lost, having been outcast by our own folly or curse... You and I... we're one in the same with existence and adversity."

He seemed so quaint and pleased with this accepted fate, for at least he had someone to share it with.

"You are a valued friend, as I see it now. One I won't let go. Rider, I propose to you that I could be your... ally. Your friend. I am wasting my years doing nothing. Acting in camaraderie with you could give me true purpose. I would not be a helpless, and ragged wayfarer in your presence. I would be something... I would be your ally, your friend, your guard even... What do you say, Rider..? Would you give me this purpose, this... lawful conviction to finally do something worth while?"

[TheSpatialWeeg]

Rider was clearly shocked upon hearing this. She was--for the lack of a better word--amazed as to what she just heard. The man's speech really let on to the fact that she was his first real friend--or maybe company--in a long while. While she couldn't tell from experience, due to lack of experiencing such harsh events; Rider easily felt like she would be in the same position as Chumai.

What surprised her the most was the fact that she was able to make him open up, even if it was just a little bit. Rider never felt she had something special going for her. She looked like an Average Joe...well save from her ears and horns. The thing was, Rider finally felt she was somewhat special. She finally found some worth on herself. No...she found something to be proud of. Something that was hers. It was small, but a warm feeling crossed her heart as she finally felt like she could be proud of herself.

All because of his request.

Finally steeling herself (and successfully this time around), she took a deep breath.

"...Okay, you may be my ally, Mr. Chumai!" She nodded. "But...I humbly request of you that I should at least learn to fend for myself in certain occasions. I wish to grow strong, just so I can protect those who once protected me. I want to have some pride on my fighting prowess, just like I'm starting to learn...to be proud of being myself, thanks to you... I hope I am not being too confusing now..."