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It was true; being a hero had an incredibly fulfilling aspect to it.  Her parents had always taught her, [i]"The key to happiness is purpose.  The key to purpose is duty.  The key to duty is discipline."[/i] Her mother had even once told her that even the beauty of marriage was almost as much about duty as it was about love.  It had sounded so strange to her at the time.  It still did.  But when it came to this Gold Contract, the discipline and duty they had shown had brought them success.  And a heroic purpose certainly did feel like happiness, even the with injuries and fatigue.  In this moment, she felt an extra pride to be a Trydant.  She missed her family so much, but she knew she would be making them proud, if they knew what she was going through.


"To be honest, MacKensie - and this is gonna sound pretty mad - but I'm over the whole 'getting hit by a bus' thing.  Truly.  I'm a pretty simple guy. Adaptable.  And I'm here now, dealing with it.  And I can live with that."

[Colour=Pink][i]How!?[/i][/colour]  A question she found herself asking over and over when it came to this man.  Underneath all that bravado, it would seem that he really was as tough as he portrayed.  Physically and mentally.

"...Especially with you around."

And always knew how to make her go red as a beetroot.  Thank goodness it was dark and they were out of eachothers sight. After a silence that was very awkward for her, he continued, and she would agree quite emphatically.  [Colour=Pink]"Yes, I do [i]not[/i] intend to go anywhere else in Valhiem until we find out what is in that Source Comm. I must know who or what is behind all of this."[/colour]  She was so deadly serious, but couldn't help but chuckle at the previous phrase that had been rolling around in her mind since he'd said it.  He'd turned her special attack into a McDonalds icecream product.  [Colour=Pink]"A 'MacFlurry.'  When do you have time to come up with this nonsense?"[/colour]  Her smile was for the dark, but indicative in her tone.

"Thanks too," he admitted.  In her surprise, she looked in his direction, although from this position, she was simply looking at a view of stone.  "For blowing up at me on the temple roof, this afternoon.  With great power comes great responsibility.  Sounds pretty damn cringe, but it's true."

[Colour=Pink]"It is not [i]cringey[/i], I do not think,"[/colour] she answered sharply, straightening up with an air of haughtiness.  [Colour=Pink]"It is noble and dignified. We are heroes now and we must act accordingly."[/colour]

"Being a hero ain't half bad.  I'll try and take a little bit more seriously."  And of course, he couldn't help himself and added, "A teeeeeny little bit."

She shook her head.  [Colour=Pink]"I suppose every journey starts with a small step in the right direction."[/colour]

"How about you doll?  You doing alright?"

She sighed.  [Colour=Pink]"I will be fine, I think.  I am not so adaptable as you.  Many things weigh on me.  And I miss my family so much.  My friends.  My life.  I am not sure if it is fortune or misfortune that; I do not have much time to dwell on these things.  My problems in this world are as much as I can handle.  But I [i]can[/i] and [i]will[/i] handle them.  I will do my part for the success of our team.  For the friendship and bonds we have."[/colour]

"You manage to stop overthinking that problem of yours?"

[Colour=Pink]"Oh, ummm..."[/colour] And she thought of a way to lie without lying.  [Colour=Pink]"Actually, yes.  And I have you to thank in many ways for it.  Whenever I had time to think, my balance would fail me.  My reflexes.  My agility.  The deaths of Clive and Arthur had made me so fearful of my life.  I became so precoccupied with failure to execute my Ranger abilities.  The more I was careful... the more I concentrated... the worse this problem became.  I was certain I would never be able to be zooming and flipping around like I was in our previous battles.  But I realised that in last battle just now:  When thinking about every aim, every foot-placement, every precise angle of my grapplehook... it is impossible."[/colour]  Her mind went to when James called out to her to go get the phylactery.  How she responded. [Colour=Pink]"But when all of these thoughts simply cannot be organised - or even thought of, in the first place, for there is simply no time - that is when I can be [i]MacKensie Trydant, the Ranger[/i]."[/colour]  She knew that he would understand, in spite of her long-winded and possibly confusing explanation.  [Colour=Pink]"I must sometimes trust 'not to think,' when it comes to my ability."[/colour]

And now [i]she[/i] was the one who could not help herself, and added, [Colour=Pink]"I must be a mindless gorilla like you."[/colour]  She covered her mouth to hold back any noise of her laugh until she could control herself.  [Colour=Pink]"Now go and get some sleep, Zell Brooks.  I hear it in your voice - you are dying in pain just to stand there.  [i]Go[/i]."[/colour]

Whether he left or not, for her she would stand for a while longer at Temple Hill steps.  Eventually she would grab her bedroll and make a semi-comfortable seat at the foot of the pillar, wrapping her cloak tight about her and maybe managing a few hours of sleep.

One thing was for certain:  She would not be caught dead sleeping in that Temple.  It creeped her out, to no end.