[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/180715/2faf224be0a0f6df351a8560c77e7562.png[/img][/center]

Penrose harbor was an interesting place. During the peak seasons it was a surprisingly sedate place despite the fact that there was a decent beach for people to spend time at. Perhaps it had something to do with the small shipping company that held warehouses in the area that kept people away, or perhaps it was simply not a very often thought about location due to the lack of good seaside activities.

Either way, with the city in lockdown, and it being winter, it wasn’t a very visited part of the city. So when a flash of light deposited a rather plan looking kid atop one of the warehouses overlooking the water late one evening no one was around to see it.

The kid in question was exhausted, not in a physical sense, more in a mental one, and he had come here to get a piece of solitude. A rare thing for the normally affable member of Beacon, but if Kyle was being honest, and he did try to be so to himself whenever he could, he needed a break from the normal ebb of the city. It was depressing, doubly so when one could actually feel the emotional flow of the City. The rave, the Riots, the everything. It wasn’t a good place at the moment, but Kyle knew that was only temporary, just sometimes it takes a moment for things to start getting better.

… Of course he shows up on top of a building. Why wouldn't he? He finally appears where she’s been waiting for him, and he appears where she can’t get to without transforming. It's like he's intentionally annoying her.

[center][url=https://i.imgur.com/vtjrpf2.jpg][img]https://i.imgur.com/MFZNjhX.png[/img][/url][/center]
Freya closed the phone she'd been dragging along, hurried over to grab the ladder they’d prepared just in case, and placed it on the opposite side of the warehouse in question. She ascended, sighed a bit as she reached the roof, and then started her calm walk over. Still, based on her past experience, he likely already knew she was here…

Some time into Kyle's respite, gentle steps could be heard from behind him. It was the sound of sandals walking across the roof towards him. 

[color=abc8d6]‘Don't turn around. I’m not here to fight, but I'd still rather you do not see me. I wish to speak to you, trickster,’[/color] Freya said, untransformed, wrapped perhaps oddly in a traditionally eastern outfit, for that was her attire of choice untransformed.

True to Freya’s assumptions Kyle did in fact know she was there before she started talking to him, though it had more to do with the fact that moving a ladder around isn’t exactly a quiet affair, than anything magical. On the other hand the only reason he was able to hear the ladder being moved from up here was due to innate magic so it was perhaps a moot point.

He would let out a contemplative hum at Freya’s request, but he didn’t bother to move from his seated position, not seeming to care overly much that she was advancing towards him. [color=57441E]“Well, I can tell that you have in fact met me”[/color] He would say after a moment a smile on his face at being dubbed trickster [color=57441E]“And I’m fine with a conversation. Normally I’m the one hunting others down so that I can try and get one started, refreshing change of pace if I do say so”[/color] He was still facing towards the water as he spoke and it seemed like he would honor the request not to turn around.

That hope was quickly dashed as he turned his head to look over his shoulder at his new guest. [color=57441E]“Not going to go without knowing who I’m talking to though”[/color] Kyle would say with a shrug. Taking in Freya’s untransformed appearance for a moment before turning back to watching the sunset [color=57441E]“What is it you wanted to talk to me about?”[/color]

Freya, [url=https://i.imgur.com/vtjrpf2.jpg]in her untransformed state[/url], had short black hair, brown-yellowish eyes, and wearing this definitely Japanese-inspired garment, in addition to that she was pretty short and underdeveloped, her stature disguising that her body was as old as a Magical Girl’s body was normally allowed to be… and she gave him a mildly unhappy frown as he looked over her, but not acting past that until he had finished. As a reply to the question…

[color=abc8d6]‘… I see that your arm is back in its socket. That’s good. I’d prefer if you didn’t hold a grudge against me for it,’[/color] she said, and then kept quiet for the simple reason to gauge his reaction to her reveal.

Kyle would chuckle slightly at Freya’s annoyance of him looking at her [color=57441E]“Face for a face is only fair”[/color] He would say before waving his still healing limb [color=57441E]“Nah, no need for a grudge. I mean I kinda figured it was what was going to happen with how focused you were, and I’m just not the type to hold grudges, I don’t like carrying around the toxicity”[/color] He would explain, not bothered too much on if it tipped his hand with his magic, he pulled some pretty esoteric tricks back at the park as it was, not to mention they could have had a Third Eye there as well.

He wasn’t too worried about his question being dodged, she had come to him after all, he was confident they would get around to it eventually.

Freya nodded slightly in reply, her initial annoyance quelled by how accepting he was about having had his arm ripped out on the field of battle. Then she could go straight to the point.

[color=abc8d6]‘You trapped me with your magic, and made me feel what you feel being part of Beacon. I had a less than positive reaction. You told me that one can still find warmth within this world. This made me wonder, how you’d react if I told you my story. I wanted to speak to you again. It’s been a long time since I’ve actually [i]wanted[/i] anything. I’m not going to tell you anything that may give Beacon an edge against my companions, and this includes my name, but… do you mind if I tell you a story?’[/color] she asked, standing in place, looking intently at Kyle.

Internally Kyle had already decided he was going to stick around and listen. Honestly it wouldn’t really matter who it was on the other side of this conversation, Kyle liked helping people. The only reason his response wasn’t as instant as his decision was so that he had a moment to temper his hope and his dread. He doubted that it was a pleasant story(‘Duh’) but he also needed to remind himself that there was no guarantee that he would be able to do anything more than be a willing ear.

Still [color=57441E]“I’m willing to listen to anything you want to say”[/color] Would come the honest reply [color=57441E]“I’ll let you know that I’m likely to turn around during the telling at some point though. I don’t like talking to people without seeing them, it always feels disingenuous, dubbly so when they are telling me something personal.”[/color] He would tack on as a warning, even if he hadn't turned back round to face her just yet.

[color=abc8d6]‘... Alright, that’s fine. You’ve already seen me, after all, and there’s probably a high likelihood some representative of Beacon is watching me now, anyway, so the reasoning of keeping my untransformed appearance secret probably didn’t apply anyway,’[/color] Freya said with a sigh. [color=abc8d6]‘Alright. Here goes. So…’[/color]

[color=abc8d6]‘I'm from a different world. That world looked a lot different from your world, as the existence of Magical Girls was public knowledge and our governments were employing us as military. This, of course, meant we had villains upon villains doing anything they could to take control of the world's magic, to make themselves more powerful. But time and time again, we were sent and successfully destroyed the villains. I was a part of a mighty empire, I was one of their strongest warriors, I had friends and family, all of that. All of that which you were offering me, I had plenty. Yet…’[/color] 

[color=abc8d6]‘A sort of creature appeared. We called it the were-lamia. It was created from some sort of mad magic scientist experiment. It was a fast, ferocious beast, and anyone they bit also became a were-lamia. Each one of them was so strong it needed five magical girls to reliably destroy one without casualties. We acted as we always did. We sent a massive force to destroy them at range with powerful magic, rendering their physical might useless. What reason did we have to think this was anything but just another threat to deal with? We were dealing with these things once a fortnight…’[/color]

[color=abc8d6]‘We eliminated the first batch without issue. Yet, one of them must have gotten past us, and entered a city. The next day, we woke up to havoc, with the were-lamia’s numbering thousands. We tried to nuke them, but they were so fast, they’d already reached neighboring cities. They tore apart our world, sparing nobody. We battled them in a long, arduous war, with far more setbacks than victories. I faced them more times than I could count in bloody battles to save our world, to defend the last walls defending everyone I cared about. Yet, I wasn’t enough. I was finally bitten, and the last I saw as the beast’s transformation overtook me was how the were-lamia were breaking through the walls of the last bastion of my people…’[/color] 

[color=abc8d6]‘I was spared. The patron I now serve stopped the transformation part-way, giving me the strength of a were-lamia yet retaining my own mind… as long as I feed regularly, that is,’[/color] she said, shuddering a little as she shared that. She didn’t know what Kyle thought of devourers. [color=abc8d6]‘… Yet, I was alone. Should you visit my world now, it’s dead. The were-lamia devoured everything until there was nothing left, and when other sources of flesh vanished they started preying on one another, until finally the last ones starved to death. And I had lost everything.’[/color] 

[color=abc8d6]‘What I learned then is that we only need to fail once. One time is all it takes, then all we care about vanishes. I’d been part of the force that stopped each apocalypse-of-the-month for decades, winning hundreds of battles… yet one loss. One loss, and it was all ruined. With this in mind, I decided never to feel companionship again, not to care about anyone. I am but a warrior fielded by my patron, surviving as I can, for there is nothing else left for me. I don’t want to feel that pain, ever again,’[/color] she said, breathing out, feeling… a tad miserable.

[color=abc8d6]‘… And that’s why I declined your offering, that day in the Penrose Gardens. I hoped to make you understand my reasoning a bit more with my story.’[/color] 

And that was the story of how Freya became known as the Union Beast. A union between Freya’s human mind, and the murderous beast known as the were-lamia. With that told, Freya looked to Kyle, once again looking to gauge his reaction.

True to his word Kyle would have turned around mid story. but he didn’t speak up, he just sat there attentively letting Freya tell her story. No smile on his face, as he knew going in that it wasn’t going to be a happy one. He would take a moment to more fully digest what he was told before saying anything but when he did [color=57441E]“I think you and Penny would get along”[/color]

[color=57441E]“Or at least she could be a good friend for you.”[/color] He didn’t seem too worried about the seeming non sequitur [color=57441E]“But I also think you took the wrong message from what you went through, or at least you’ve not thought it through very deeply since.”[/color] He would go on to say as he leaned back on his arms, letting his gaze drift up to the darkened sky. [color=57441E]“I can’t say I can really grasp the enormity of what you went through. I could understand the emotions sure, but I know well enough that wouldn’t do it justice. Closest I can relate it to would be the Rave I suppose, but that’s getting a bit off track”[/color]

He would shake his head before returning his gaze, soft and to a degree understanding, to Freya [color=57441E]“As I said I think you took the wrong message, closing yourself off while it will make it so that you never feel the pain of sudden loss that is true. Yet I don’t need my magic to tell that you feel miserable, I mean it helps, but we are ostensibly enemies. You don’t owe me an explanation for why you turned me down. Yet you must have been looking out for me with not an insubstantial amount of effort to find me so quickly after touchdown. To me, that seems like you're lonely, and as an Empath take it from me, I know how self destructive that can be.”[/color]

[color=57441E]“And yeah, you are right about only needing to lose once to have everything fall apart. But Apathy? That’s not a solution. Because it spreads. And eventually not even your own life is worth anything anymore.”[/color] He would explain with a shake of his head and a shrug [color=57441E]“I’ll take the ups that come with the downs over that bleak grey any day, because there is always a chance of things getting better but only so long as you are willing to keep trying.”[/color]

Freya kept quiet and listened, raising an eyebrow at the mention of Penny but otherwise remaining as she was. When Kyle got though the bulk of his point her expression looked unconvinced. She spoke first after numerous moments of silence.

[color=abc8d6]‘I’m just going to say my process of thoughts out loud right now,’[/color] she started with, and then opened her mouth again.

[color=abc8d6]‘It would have been so easy for me to write you off as just another naive child. So often have I seen my companions play together, and I'd seen them as children yet to mature from a proper tragedy. I even encouraged a hesitant one to take part in their innocent games, likening myself to an adult telling a child to play before they grow up and no longer have the capability. All this time, I viewed their random bonding as setting themselves up for disaster, distastefully distancing myself from all forms of entertainment and companionship for I knew what reward eventually awaited them. I did not envy them in the slightest, but kept quiet knowing I wouldn’t change their ways by simply talking to them. But you’re saying, all this time, [i]I’m[/i] the one that held onto the wrong lesson? I feel a bit insulted,’[/color] she said and sighed at the end, but then removed her frown and stared at him decently blankly.

[color=abc8d6]‘But now I’ve gone through all the effort to find and talk to you about this. This because I couldn’t possibly have spoken about this with one of my companions, they’d have felt obligated to try to befriend me, and want it or not, I’d potentially have grown fond of them by virtue of the connection forged by me opening up to them. With that in mind, let’s take this experiment a bit further,’[/color] she said, taking a break again now.

[color=abc8d6]‘So. What would you have me do?’[/color] Freya asked, seemingly serious.

[color=57441E]“In my opinion, yes”[/color] Kyle would say sitting more forward [color=57441E]“Because you are either still consumed with the pain or are still ruled by the fear that stemmed from your loss. You haven't moved on. To borrow your analogy. You’re still a child, now simply using a nightlight because you are afraid of the dark”[/color]

[color=57441E]“So it shouldn’t be very surprising that I would recommend finding a friend”[/color] He would go on to say shrugging as he did [color=57441E]“I'm a rather big proponent of the power of friendship after all. I’d offer, but even though we are talking at the moment I get the feeling that we are still on opposing sides.”[/color]

[color=abc8d6]‘Ugh,’[/color] … Yeah, that didn’t feel good to hear. She wasn’t even convinced he was right. [color=abc8d6]‘… Not going to happen in one day. I’m going to need to sleep on the idea, if it’s going to go somewhere.’[/color]

She then looked over Kyle a bit, her expression blank. [color=abc8d6]‘We don’t [i]really[/i] have anything against Beacon. It’s just, we’re monsters, you’re typically hunting us, so it’s good reasoning to research what new stuff you acquire to possibly use against us… I think the reasoning was. I don’t know. I was just following orders,’[/color] Freya said, shrugging at the end.

[color=57441E]“Yeah I get that”[/color] Kyle would agree with a nod as he leaned back [color=57441E]“If you do find out that you want to try making a friend I would once again recommend Penny. She’d understand where you are coming from better than most, as she went through something similar”[/color] He would explain.

[color=57441E]“And the White coins aren't weapons. They are for purification. Granted they override Patron connections, but that is more to help those stuck with Horror’s as Patrons then anything.”[/color]

[color=abc8d6]‘Yeah, I understand. I don’t particularly believe my companions would do anything to mess that business up for those who actually want to use one,’[/color] Freya said about the White Coins, and then looked out over the view again.

[color=abc8d6]‘Penny, huh. I’ll keep that name in mind. … Do you have anything else you’d like to say before I leave?’[/color] Freya asked, because she felt pretty done.

[color=57441E]“Thank you”[/color] Kyle would say after a moment of thought [color=57441E]“For being willing to come and talk to me. With the Ascendency in town I was afraid that no one was willing to talk to Beacon anymore.”[/color] He would say with a nod and wide smile.

Those words said, Freya’s look at Kyle softened somewhat, breathing out lightly from her nose as she turned away from him. [color=abc8d6]‘I will say the same. Thank you for being willing to talk to the likes of me, as well. If everyone was a bit more like you, it would have solved a lot of problems,’[/color] she replied.

[color=57441E]“Anytime”[/color] He would say as he turned back to the water, his smile having grown due to the compliment. 

With that, Freya started walking back over the roof of the warehouse, and eventually descended the ladder on the far side again, in order to depart away into the city and out of sight.

Kyle would wait until he heard the ladder being retracted before he would vanish in a small flash of light. He had come here to get a bit of solitude and received something much more valuable. So it was time for him to get back to work.

That and paperwork, once again he was thankful that he had the foresight to add in a clause about non hostile interactions in his contract but the paperwork always sucked.