[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/231108/f93ba5f96cecd177ca78468c60714d23.png[/img][/center][hr]
Against his better judgment, Tyler followed orders. He should’ve been out there searching; every second the knights looked was a second the Kaudians got further and further away with their prize, but Tyler had to make no such concessions. He could trade seconds for minutes with ease. Of course, the weight on his shoulders made no attempt to help with that; Lucas in top shape was still a liability to carry along, let alone the sorry state he was in now. There wasn’t a spot on the planet Tyler trusted to harbor him while he searched right now either. If they could infiltrate the Giles estate in force, they could get anywhere.

So he made his way to the rendezvous point wordlessly, no matter how Lucas snapped. Ulysse wasn’t the priority here, the Scions were - [i]he[/i] was. Even safely inside the fortifications of Stern Hill, Tyler kept Lucas draped across his shoulders, despite how his back ached for a respite. Nothing could be trusted and he would need to bolt at any moment. It wasn’t until they were all ushered onto the train that he finally let his Scion down. Far more gently than he had been the entire night prior, Tyler tilted his body and deposited Lucas onto one of the train seats. Unceremoniously, he dropped into the seat next to him and leaned his head backward with a sharp exhale. Yeah, he was gonna be sore tomorrow.

[color=00ccff]“You okay?”[/color] he questioned, head lulled to the side enough to barely catch sight of Lucas out of the corner of his visor.

Despite every single protest and curse and complaint he had on the way, Lucas was more relieved to be put down. At Tyler’s question, he lifted a hand, trying to see if whatever had happened was finished. He still felt extraordinarily weak and if something else happened he would just die, but at least he could move somewhat on his own. 

[color=lightblue]“I’m alive,”[/color] He replied, letting his head rest against the wall and staring at a spot on the ceiling.

Tyler huffed in response, somewhere between a chuckle and a noise of exasperation. [color=00ccff]“Good enough.”[/color] He stayed slouched in his seat for a few moments, letting the noise of the train coax his heartbeat back to a calmer rate. It hardly worked.

[color=00ccff]“You know when I said shoot people that get too close, I didn’t mean literally right that second. I meant get the people I missed.”[/color] It was a petty gripe, but it was the first that came to mind. It was doubtful that Lucas knew the first thing about protecting himself - more likely he had a royal approximation of what he thought would protect him - so Tyler wasn’t exactly mad, but he still didn’t trust that idiot with a gun under anything but the most dire of circumstances. 

Lucas let out an irritated huff. [color=lightblue]“I haven’t shot a gun in months, I needed to make sure I could still aim,”[/color] He replied curtly. [color=lightblue]“Pretty sure you missed the last dude that grabbed me. Or is that one my fault, too?”[/color]

[color=00ccff]“Well if you found out you couldn’t aim, that’s a civilian with a new hole in her head to deal with,”[/color] Tyler spat back, then sighed. [color=00ccff]“I’m not mad, I’m not blaming you. I’m giving you feedback on how you handled a shitshow, it’s never gonna be pretty. I’d rather iron out the issues now before this becomes a regular occurrence.”[/color] Evidently these bastards had a vendetta against him in particular or something. Or the Estoras, which probably made more sense.

Lucas’ eyebrows were knit together in frustration, but he decided to calm himself down before he would respond again. It was bad enough that the past few hours were essentially orientation for their Scion-Templar combination and he had to admit he hated how things turned out. He thought it was business as usual with the addition of some church knight following him around, he didn’t think he’d be getting attacked like this. The thought came with an unfamiliar anxiety that he hated.

[color=lightblue]“It sure sounds like you’re blaming me,”[/color] He muttered to himself. There was a tiny pause before he continued at regular volume with, [color=lightblue]“You really think that’s going to happen again?”[/color]

An annoyed puff of air escaped Tyler’s lips. Of course this guy couldn’t take criticism, why did he expect otherwise? Of course, he’d rather let that no-limbed moron run him through than try something like [i]reassurance[/i] for his ever-so-pleasant Scion, so Lucas would just have to deal with whatever he considered Tyler’s nagging.

[color=00ccff]“It’s already happened twice,”[/color] he muttered, [color=00ccff]“And they showed their hand this time. That was a declaration of war, by someone if not the Kaudian government.”[/color] Especially if Irina couldn’t follow through on the search for Nadine. A second Scion captured would only embolden them. Even with Nadine recovered, they had no reason to relent after that display. The fact that they managed something like that in the heart of Veradis and killed a blessed Templar would be rallying point enough.

Gone were his carefree days, he supposed. Lucas hated the idea of having to constantly watch his back for enemies and jumping at moving shadows. But it would be necessary; if they sent that tin man after him, they wouldn’t be satisfied with the captured Scion of Lightning. He had debuted [i]today[/i] and already there was some asshat after him–except now that the thought came to mind, how [i]did[/i] they mobilize so quickly? The tin man knew where they would be, could manipulate time, could [i]override[/i] his own control…was it possible that metal man could have visions, too?

Lucas closed his eyes for a moment, his hand to his head. The one advantage he had was gone and he really was entirely useless. No, he had been useless before the realization with a myriad of hazy visions and headaches that drove him to his knees. He winced a touch as his leg began to get restless. He figured he accidentally touched a bruise or something, as efficient as Tyler’s manhandling was, he ached all over.

[color=lightblue]“Great,”[/color] was his only response after a long pause.

Tyler didn’t respond at first. Lucas was thinking loud enough for both of them, and the Templar still didn’t know if he was the type of person who needed to be dragged out of his own head or just left alone. Not that he had much left to say anyway. Lectures on security were wasted on someone that would forget half of it to an adrenaline dump by tomorrow, and he was far too exhausted to bicker with him right now.

[color=00ccff]“I’ll kill them next time,”[/color] he announced in place of anything substantial, [color=00ccff]“I’m gonna take back whatever they took from Theo and then I’m gonna kill every one of them.”[/color] Tyler didn’t know how to ask the question he really wanted to, namely whether Lucas intended to be a burden. It was one thing to say he’d dedicate himself to the investigation of Theodore’s murder; it was another to contend with armed terrorists. 

Carefully, he continued, [color=00ccff]“Going forward, I need to know whether you want me to do all the heavy lifting or not.”[/color]

Lucas wasn’t stupid, he knew what Tyler was trying to say. He dropped his hand and stared at him, clearly displeased. It wasn’t like he was [i]trying[/i] to be useless! How in Incepta’s name was he supposed to know all this was going to happen?! But as quickly as the anger came up, it dissipated as he caught himself. No, it was a legitimate question. He couldn’t do anything against the tin man and he was sure he’d come back. Tyler won that time with his swordsmanship and tactics but would he get away with it next time? If Tyler fell, what then?

Then Lucas’ life was forfeit and he’d meet the same fate as Theo.

[color=lightblue]“I’ll do what I can,”[/color] He didn’t mean to give a non-answer, but for the first time in a long time, he was unsure. [color=lightblue]“But I wonder…if they took time from Theo, what do they still need me for?”[/color] It was a question with no real answer, but it bothered him the same way his magic failed him, troubling him greatly.

Tyler fully turned his head to look at Lucas now, a curious squint leveled at him beneath the impassive visage of his armored helmet. What did that mean? Was that an admission that, yes, he was useless, but he intended to do better, or was that a simple way to save face when confronted with the fact that he’d done nothing but hide behind Tyler’s leg the whole time?

[color=00ccff]“Maybe Captain Dickless wants a friend. Can’t have too many time-stoppers in your army, I’d assume.”[/color] If they could mass produce the capacity to stop time off Theo alone, there never would’ve even been an attack, they would’ve just whisked all the Scions away in the span of a second and left everyone but Lucas woefully confused.

[color=00ccff]“And I think you can do a little better than you did today. We’ll work on it.”[/color] It was a goad, but there was no bite to it. Tyler mused as if it were a passing comment about the weather. Not praise, not condemnation. It simply was.

More than one time-stopper? Then again, tonight was proof that it was possible. Somehow. Lucas almost wanted to reply with some senseless joke about not having any interest if there wasn’t a dick involved, but he kept it to himself. He’d have to work on keeping his calm, he had to admit that Tyler had a point in not exactly handling the situation well. If he had kept the man talking, he could have tried to get some answers.

He didn’t get a chance to think on it too hard as Tyler spoke again. Guess his Templar wasn’t deeming him a hopeless case just yet. Even if it was half-hearted or just a thought Tyler decided to think out loud, Lucas nodded. [color=lightblue]“I’ll do better,”[/color] He replied quietly. He almost regretted saying it out loud, feeling like a little kid trying to get approval.

[color=lightblue]“And if not, I’ll have to play along with Father’s house arrest,”[/color] Now [i]that[/i] was another thing that had bothered him earlier, but considering the shitshow that went down, it was understandably put aside. He must’ve done something to piss his old man off, but he couldn’t really think of any one thing. It could’ve just been a culmination of everything, but why now then? Oh well, that was a problem for Future Lucas.

Speaking of the future, his eyes flickered towards the tunnel. [color=lightblue]“We’re probably heading for Veradis Castle. There will probably be a medic team on hand for us. That includes you, too,”[/color] He looked at Tyler’s arm, then at Tyler himself. [color=lightblue]“Don’t go playing hero, just get it wrapped up as soon as possible.”[/color]

[color=00ccff]“Pssh, I’m fine,”[/color] Tyler huffed. Sore? Definitely. Bruised? Maybe a little. Hurt? Hardly. Then again, if that weird sword had done anything else that he hadn’t noticed yet, it’d be better to catch it early. If his arm fell off from wasting Kaudian death-sword disease, he’d be no better than his opponent. Okay, he’d still be three limbs better, but that was beside the point. [color=00ccff]“Can you walk?”[/color]

Lucas raised a pointed eyebrow at Tyler. ‘Fine’, huh? Did Tyler think Lucas wouldn’t notice considering how much time he was on his shoulders? He momentarily ignored Tyler’s followup question. [color=lightblue]“You’re fine,”[/color] He repeated, incredulous.

[color=00ccff]“Peachy. It’s a bruise. I’ve gotten worse from people I like.”[/color] Yeah, yeah, Tyler would see the medic like a good boy. Hopefully no one else had a real injury, or he’d probably end up walking away while they were being treated and hate himself when he woke up in pain tomorrow.

[color=lightblue]“Nice,”[/color] Lucas commented, scratching his chin. [color=lightblue]“The most I’ve gotten is bite marks, but those don’t last.”[/color] He didn’t think he would appreciate getting bruised on purpose.

Tyler was glad his face was covered; the look he shot back at Lucas could’ve curdled milk. He made a disgusted noise regardless. [color=00ccff]“Wrong ‘like’.”[/color] Lucas better have been able to walk, or Tyler was going to let him crawl inside at this rate.

Aw, that wasn’t as much of a reaction as Lucas hoped to get. Oh well, better not to push it. He did, however, wiggle a touch. He still felt off and weak, but he could probably walk alright. He was going to take a bath, get drunk, and pass out ‘til the morning. Or at least, that was what he wanted to do, but there was something he could get here if Elijah was also around.

As Lucas lifted his leg, he suddenly remembered how Tyler kicked the tin man. [color=lightblue]“How did you do that kick again?”[/color] He asked. [color=lightblue]“Like…do you lean back and put all your force into it?”[/color]

Now Tyler could only stare back at him incredulously. Was that a euphemism for something? No, it sounded like he really was asking about a kick. An amused snort escaped his mouth. Even without the sudden tonal shift, it was absurd, really. That was a question people asked after a sparring round, not after watching him boot a terrorist into a table of food. 

[color=00ccff]“Kinda? It’s a little more technical than that.”[/color] He entertained the question vaguely, mostly because he didn’t quite remember what specific kick Lucas was talking about. [color=00ccff]“Also depends if you’re kicking to make space or actually hurt.”[/color]

[color=lightblue]“So it wasn’t just for show, good,”[/color] Lucas nodded, a glint in his eye as he brought his hand to his mouth. It had been so unexpected and he hadn’t seen any knight do something like that before. [color=lightblue]“That’s the first thing I want to learn.”[/color] The element of surprise was vital, after all. 

Unless he was fucking with him. The visor didn’t help in that regard. Whatever, he’d take that chance. It reminded him of some show he saw once as a kid and thought it looked cool. Of course, that was something he was never going to admit out loud, but so long as he could replicate it, then it was fine.

Tyler stared a bit longer, then - fuck it, he laughed. [color=00ccff]“Yeah, okay. We can do that.”[/color] There was a decent chance Lucas had horrible timing and would end up with his leg cut off when he inevitably tried it, but he had to start somewhere. Desperate times or whatever.

The prince was decidedly in a better mood than when the conversation started. He did, however, finally feel the adrenaline and weariness creep up on him at last. He nodded once again before making some half-assed attempt at making himself comfortable–though he was starting to feel aches here and there with each movement–and let out a tiny sigh of exhaustion.

[color=lightblue]“To think I was going to stay up all night,”[/color] He said, more to himself than anything as he closed his eyes. [color=lightblue]“...wake me up when we get there, or just drag me to whatever room they give me.”[/color]

Tyler hummed in affirmation. He had the strangest feeling Lucas would scream at him if he woke up being carried once again, but whatever. He’d gotten permission. Not that he felt like carrying the Scion anymore himself, so maybe Lucas had lucked out.

When the train arrived at their destination - Veradis Castle, apparently - Tyler disembarked and gave the duchess only enough attention to figure out where he was ordered to go. No disrespect to the Bachmeiers’ hospitality, but Tyler was no longer in the mood after the travesty of a party they’d just attended. He paid his due diligence to the medic, letting the woman prod her scanner into the many dark spots on his skin and let him off with only a wrapping over his wounded arm and an assurance that it looked like any other bout of blunt force trauma. 

With that concluded, and without a Scion to babysit any longer, Tyler made for the ballroom. It felt wrong, allowing them to be separated - and even more wrong to think he was missing the prince’s company, if only in a roundabout, duty-bound way - but the debriefing sounded far more important than tucking His Highness in for a nap.

[hr][@Hero]