[i]Abandoned.[/i]

Zoe wasn't there; she had just stood by as her younger brother's physical body was destroyed. In fact, she had just been quiet since coming into the subway. Why did this happen? He thought he could depend on her! He thought their bond was unbreakable! William Ascot, sitting on the grassy plain, breathed in and out; he couldn't allow himself to appear patethic and weak...even though he was.

[i]Forsaken.[/i]

Do not whine. Do not bitch. That was what he had learned from being bullied, from being beaten in school. Breath in, breath out. He shivered as he breathed in. He allowed himself to cry; he loathed himself for being so self-centered. Then, he forced himself into something resembling calm. He longed for greatness? Well, it was time for him to grab it! Ascot forced himself to think of becoming more powerful, of becoming better than he once was. Then his emotional state collapsed once more.

[i]Lost.[/i]

He couldn't do it; he was nothing without his sister, nothing without someone to guide and support his efforts. He lacked resolve, and copying Anime cliches without seeing what said cliches were built on, it would not give him that. He had to find strength...from within.

[I]Now, calm down.[/i]

As he waited, as he stamped on his impatience, Ascot realized where he did wrong. He lacked moderation. He either depended too much on others or cut them off entirely for 'weakening' him. He had to find a middle ground. He breathed in again, letting his sadness and anger and despair settle. He was stronger than this, he knew it. Deep, deep inside, he knew that he had a shard of decency within him, one that kept him trying to get better.

[i]Life may be one constant struggle for survival...but it shouldn't be.[/i]

That was true, but where did it come from? That was less relevant than his other thoughts. He was William Ascot; he was The Prodigy. He will not yield to mere internal demons. Nor will he be so engrossed in it that he was going to ignore others and their plight. The young man looked around, seeing who else was there with him. Saffron was first in his mind, then the Emotionally Wounded Man who had shot himself in the mouth. After that was the Cop, the Girl in Hoodie and Stormy. All else? All else faded into the background.

He walked forwards, wondering who to choose to approach first. He chose the Emotionally Wounded Man, although it was only because Saffron would have refused his aid. Walking towards Tristan, he would say once he was close enough:

"Hello, I'm William Ascot. What's your name?" A light smile graced his face as he asked the question. His gloom had lifted and he was in his element once more. But Ascot didn't ignore Tristan's potential mood, the storm of emotions he was going through as well. He just hoped to shine some light inside that. Why? Because he enjoyed helping people IRL, as opposed to online. He sat down beside the former cult member, gazing into his eyes and seeing the pain. It drew him like a moth to fire.

Gazing at Saffron again, the boy would feel ashamed for not being there for the person he admired. But at the same time, he felt that he couldn't just force a bond to form; not when he, Ascot, was selfish and egotistic. But the emotionally wounded man? He radiated pain that Ascot cannot just ignore, and issues that, although they were not curable at all - most traumas were not - called out for someone to show the person who held these scars kindness. Or maybe Ascot was just deluding himself?

[@Redward][@MechonRaptor][@Etranger][@Viatos]