[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/NYrpWli.png[/img]

[h1]Luke Schwarz | Press 'Z' or 'R' twice[/h1][/center]

He listened quietly.

Luke wasn't too keen on his abilities for many things. It wasn't like he was being facetious in any respect in his surprise at the success of his attack upon the Manticore to follow Goodwitch's light show. 

No, he genuinely couldn't believe he had managed it once he had returned to operating upon conscious thought instead of instinct and the secretions of his adrenal glands. He never sold himself as capable of feats like that, because he never thought himself capable of feats like that.

He was behind the curve in combat, and drastically behind it out of combat.

It was little secret how much faith he placed in his abilities.

But if there was one thing he would claim himself to be any measure of "good" at, it would have to be listening. His entire life, he had been listening to people, be they ordering him around, teaching him a skill, or simply opening up their heart a little.

So he listened. To her reasoning behind going after these barrels and the reasons that drove that reasoning.

She wasn't happy, he realized, with where she was right now. 

She wanted to change that.

She wasn't doing this only because it was what she [i]wanted[/i] to do, but because it was all she [i]could[/i] do.

[color=fdc68a][i]Well, I can't say I've never been there.[/i][/color]

The lift creaked to a halt at the bottom, and her smile returned after the momentary dismay.

Lauren was Lauren, and Lauren got what Lauren wanted, one way or another.

He returned the smile knowingly. Even if he couldn't do much, he could listen to what she was telling him to do.

And if that meant being a helping hand so she could make tomorrow a little easier than today, well.

[b]"Yes ma'am."[/b]

He had no complaints.