It seemed like Kenny was stuck in a loop inside of Era, given what had happened. He had come all this way with someone who he thought he cared about in what was nothing more than a facade. There wasn’t much to it; he lost, what did he lose? It wasn’t important, not anymore. What did matter was that he had nothing left here. The only thing that came to his mind to take his mind off of his failure was to visit the Rune Knight HQ; it wouldn’t be for any particular reason other than to gawk at those he once wanted to be. There was no point in wanting to realize that dream. However, knighthood was a far cry away for him. Kenny had no dream anymore; he had nothing but a fresh wound, a wound that would never heal, it would always be there his greatest failure; the act of losing in a game that he had never played.

It was weird; he was right back where he started, sitting on a bench slumped over defeated and hopeless. This time Aonaka wouldn’t come, a woman wouldn’t be there to lift his spirits, no one would be walking up the street for him to call out to, he was defeated and had little to nothing to look forward to other than the brittle hope that he would fall asleep and never wake up. It had been raining while he sat on the bench, hard drops beat down as he stared at the ground with defeated, dull amber eyes. The once eager, enthusiastic, and optimistic warrior that he was was dead. Life had turned on him, maybe he was overreacting, but the pit of despair growing in his stomach told him otherwise.

“What did I do wrong?” he’d ask himself staring at the pool of water that collected under his feet. Kenny let out a sigh and sat up, looking at the darkened, dull sky as rain beat on his face. Maybe he was being cleansed of the pain? The pain he felt in his heart, to never have had his heart broken before, soon to have it shattered into millions of pieces. Why did it hurt? Was this how those moody teens he used to mock when he was young felt? Alone and wanting to curl up in a ball so he could mope all day? How easy it would be to end this pain on his own, he always boasts his emotions, and now he feels so broken, the only relief would maybe to fall on his sword and let the feeling of sinking take him.

Finn had been making his way through the town, umbrella in hand to protect him from the rain. The sky was crying, though whether it was driven by joy or sorrow eluded the boy. He hadn't been prepared for this weather, but luckily others who were kind enough to lend him their gear had. While the adventurer considered it borrowing the item, they had given it to him without the intent of getting it back. Their only request was that he use it to help someone else who might be stuck in the weather.

Looking up, slightly tilting the umbrella so that he could see the light grey clouds, he wondered whether he needed it at all. The umbrella was nice in keeping him from getting wet and a potential cold, but he rather liked the rain. It was clean, fresh, and usually cool. It washed the problems of the world away and cleansed all it touched. While the boy had nothing he needed wiped away, he wondered whether or not he should just toss the item away and bask in the nature.

Before he could decide to do so fate decided it should intervene. Turning the corner, he'd see a single man out in the weather. He had run into others while on the street, but this individual seemed to be completely alone and unprepared. His hair and clothes were plastered to his body, indicating that he had been out here for a while. Sitting up and looking into the sky, the angle allowed Finn a side view of the mans face while making it impossible for him to see Finn. His face seemed pained, or was that just the wetness of his face?

Walking over, Finn's footsteps were quiet. His shoes fit well and his feet were light. There was a chance of the man hearing the approach, but if he was lost within his own mind than it would be unlikely. Regardless of how deep he was within his own mind though he would see the light blue shield go over his face. Having moved the umbrella to the side, the rain was now starting to pelt the top of the blonds head. Now that he was close, he noticed that the man had on both armor and, beside him on the bench, a sheathed blade.

"As much as I love the rain, that's not a face of someone who's enjoying the weather." His words didn't delve into the mans personal life, but rather opened up the option for him if he'd like. Finn may have been a stranger, but his eyes were pure and his smile was genuine. He was an individual that many were driven to open their hearts to, even if he was a stranger. Should the man begin talking, Finn would take a seat next to the bearded mans sword, leaving his own sword on his back.

Kenny looked up at the darkened sky, his lips parting to catch some of it in his mouth. He felt his tears being wiped away, though given what was said, one would question why he was so down. Why he felt like dying. He missed them, but he would get over it! He was a man of action, but whenever he thought about those swaying hips leaving his view he felt troubled… Sad even.

He wiped his eyes, but the tears, erm, rain kept falling and his tears kept coming. Why? Why didn’t he listen? Why didn’t he go in for the kill when he had his chance. Could anyone save him from this pain? He didn’t hear him come, but soon someone would change his feeling.

"Hm?” he looked up at the blonde, “I guess not…” he mumbled, shaking his head, “I’m sorry.. I must look like a total eyesore.” He looked over at the other.

The man was a defeated warrior, though judging by his appearance there had been no actual combat. Whatever was going on must have been an internal struggle. Such a thing would have made Finn scoff in the past. Not literally or anything, but it would not have been taken seriously. How could one be wounded without a physical show of damage? It was something he hadn't learned until only recently, his psychological wounds from the Martial Arts tournament having lasted much longer than the physical counterparts that came with it.

"Not at all." His words were short, a bit of the maturity that he had picked up only recently. To have lived his life the way he wanted for so long had also prevented him from picking up on any of the maturity that he should have gathered over the years. He had been ahead of the game in his own way, of course. A much better understanding of life and the severity behind it than most of his peers, or even those countless years ahead of him. It was only just recently that his social maturity and his emotional understanding had begun to catch up though.

The umbrella had moved further over by this point, completely sheltering Kenny while letting Finn himself become showered. His hair had already started plastering itself to his skin, the rain droplets slowly becoming indistinguishable in his dampened shirt. "My name is Finn." He didn't ask the stranger for an introduction. If he wished to, he'd give it. If not, then Finn would be content just sitting here with him for the time being.

This was an interesting development for his day, a kind stranger offering to help him,someone on the cusp of giving up on everything because of a sliver of relationship drama. Maybe, just maybe, in Kenny’s mind he was little more than a pawn in his own right. He never gave himself credit nor did he ever try to defend himself whenever he was mocked or put down by someone he partially knew. A question arose from all of this moping. Maybe he was too busy talking to listen, maybe he needed to slow down and start listening maybe it was time for him to stop saying maybe and just go for whatever he had on his mind.

The young man’s words were short and sweet, he held himself well. In one hand an umbrella in the other nothing…Keny sat silently, maybe in his years he did have issues and what happened earlier today was just the kick in the pants he needed to wake up and become his own man. That was a thought at least. There was nothing like getting dumped, or dumping in this case to make you think about yourself. Though, in this same case he looked pathetic, nearly begging her to stay after he told her to move on, then he tried to make a promise… Maker he was so delusional for them.

He heard the name Finn and nodded his head. An introduction was in order, it was the least he could do and perhaps this stranger could be the distraction he needed whilst his mind settled over… That person. What was their name?  If only he really had forgotten. “Name’s Kenny.” he pushed the young man’s hand, an attempt to put the umbrella over him, “And you should keep yourself dry,” he spoke solemnly as he sighed. The first time he had tried speaking in a tone less than enthused and feignedly optimistic, “I’ll be ok. But what brings you into the rain?”

The man had responded in kind, introducing himself as Kenny. A smile grew upon Finn's face at the sound of the introduction. His voice was pained, but not nearly as much as his appearance had been moments ago. It looked as if whatever internal struggles were occurring, they had been fought off at least for the time being. As the stranger pushed at Finn's hand, hoping to redirect the cover to shield the Blue Pegasus member from the downpour, he inquired as to what brought Finn out into the elements.

To that, Finn placed the umbrella down between them. Now it covered neither of them, instead defending the part of the bench that separated the two. Closing his eyes and tilting his face into the sky, the water began to patter onto the young mans face. Slowly but surely his clothes dampened, his hair beginning to stick to itself and cling to his skin whenever possible.

"I love the rain," he finally said after allowing it to fall upon him further. Whatever dryness he had maintained upon his approach to Kenny, it was now all for naught. "It washes away everything, you know? Everything feels so clean after it rains." He wasn't as articulate as perhaps another would have been, but there was something to be said about the directness of his words. Turning his head and quickly shaking it to a single side to whip the droplets away from his eyes, he opened his gaze and stared at his new friend.

"What about you?"

The formalities went well between the two, the young man seemed delighted to be acquainted with the disgraced warrior. Kenny did his best to not look pained, though it was a difficult task. Even with this new demeanor he was processing into his mindset couldn’t help him mask what he felt, what he couldn’t give up. It made no sense, it was only a day’s worth of contact, yet he felt like he couldn’t get over what could have been. He didn’t have a clue as to what he would’ve had, yet he just couldn’t let it go. No, no, no, he wouldn’t give in to those thoughts, there was more to life than failed relationships. It was time for him to forget, that’s it, he’ll forget her.

Kenny could feel droplets of rain hitting half of his crown and body, the umbrella was moved between the two of them. His eyes shifted to the other, he seemed content in getting wet as he peered up at the sky with a closed gaze and letting the rain beat down on him. The image of the stranger doing this reminded him of himself just a few minutes ago. The rainwater pummeling his body, though, unlike the other Kenny’s armor prevented his clothes from sticking to him his hair was still an issue, however, black strands collecting, splitting, and sticking to his forehead as it matted down.

The silence was soon broken, Finn declared that he loved the rain. Kenny didn’t answer for a brief moment as he listened on to the young man’s words. For someone who appeared so young he seemed to have wisdom well beyond his years. “I couldn’t have said it better myself,” he nodded his head, “It does kind of do that doesn’t it? Washes away the pain and refreshes us all at the same time.” he stared at Finn, for the first time since he had arrived in Era he cracked a slight grin.

“I can definitely say that it’s helped me feel better, but as for why I’m out here, I made a mistake, well, a row of mistakes and now I’m just hoping the rain can wash away the memories of my time here before I move on.”

The man spoke, and it caused Finn to maintain his lighter gaze and smile. A single hand went up to sweep the hair out of his face, keeping it from getting into his eyes with its strands or the water it held. The blond couldn't have known it, but he had just helped Kenny crack his first smile since he had come to Era. All he could know for sure was that this was the first time the knight cracked a smile around the young adventurer.

As he continued to speak, talking of his own thoughts on the weather, Finn nodded and offered a grin. Bending his left arm up into an L shape and putting his right hand into the bend of the elbow, Finn made an almost victorious gesture while simulating a joking uppercut. "Just find some monsters and bunk em up!" Finn's voice held a kick to it now, offering a broad smile after his words.

Dropping his hands back down, he'd lean back into the seat and slap his thighs as if he had finally made a decision. "Best way to forget old memories is to create new ones. You should go do something you love to do! For me, I like to beat up creeps and crawlies." Nodding to confirm his own words, a quick chuckle was heard. "What type of stuff do you do in your spare time man?"

It felt good to smile again, despite the cloudy weather, his smile beamed on in a toothy white grin that separated his dusky beard. Perhaps this smile was just as refreshing as the rain. Again, it was the first he had made in this new town, and right now he was sure it wouldn’t be his last. His expression would have to soon waiver as his cheeks began burning, sadly it wasn’t from the fire of rebirth, but more so from the from the stretching of unused muscles. It felt damn good to smile again and he owed it to Finn.

His energy caught Kenny off guard as he declared what Kenny should have done, accompanied by a fierce looking uppercut. Bunk up some monsters? Kenny’s lips curled into another smile, eyebrows raised and out of his mouth came a bellowing cackle as he thought of the idea of him of all people fighting monsters. By no means was he mocking Finn, in fact it sounded like the perfect stress reliever, but the delivery of the message was so electric and dauntless that Kenny found himself so delighted by Finn’s actions that he couldn’t help but happily laugh in approval.

Soon his laughing would stop almost as fast as it started when a question was aired to him and the blonde slapped his knees, “You’re right again my friend,” he would once again nod, a hand craning up to his chin as fingers laced underneath his chin in thought, what did he love to do? He drank, he fought, and he sporadically did quest to put jewels in his pocket every now and again. Once he collected his thoughts he spoke up, “Well I guess you can say I enjoy drinking, but I guess that wouldn’t be a good way to create new memories.”

“I do like to take jobs in the city, and from time to time I dabbled in my sword play.” he shrugged, this was a harder question to answer than it seemed, “I think I need to find my own “creepy crawlies” so I can slay them.” he spoke figuratively, creep crawlies meaning a hobby. He could take a hand at fighting monsters, but that was a fresh idea on the swiftly emptying table that was his psyche.

Finn laughed a little bit. "I feel you there, always fun to fight. I don't really drink though." His voice still held its chipper sound, despite him dismissing that specific idea. He was in no way bashing or or talking against it, simply pointing out that he didn't normally drink. He'd tried wine with Jake once, and either rum or whiskey though he couldn't remember which. Still, it all just tasted gross to him. It caused a weird, not unpleasant burn in his chest, but the rest just tasted like heavy medicine.

"Do you belong to a guild? I know a lot of people end up in one, if only to have a group to take the bigger requests with." He, of course, belonged to Blue Pegasus. While he hadn't mentioned being part of a guild himself, he was in no way hiding it. He just didn't necessarily see the point in bringing up things about himself when they weren't either relevant or necessary, and right now it wasn't particularly either. If Kenny did ask, though, Finn would pull his shirt to the side to show the tattoo with a bright "Yup!"

Kenny shook his head, made sense that the kid didn’t drink. He seemed young, or, maybe he was one of those folks who had sprank a fountain of youth through exercise and diet and just so happened to look young. It took Kenny back to his first drink, he was about as old as this kid looked, early teens maybe? Yeah, he remembered it fondly, he had gotten into his dad’s liquor cabinet and took the entire bottle to one of his friend’s houses. A long story short he had ended up with a pair of his friend’s mom’s undergarments on his head as he ran through the streets singing the chant of his father’s mining team. It was maybe one of the happiest days of his life, mostly because he had managed to see a much older woman in a very… Risque position before he stole a pair of unmentionables.

His bearded maw stretched into yet another smile as he thought back to his childhood, his imagination was vivid of that time, how he used to be so young, energetic and optimistic. Finn asked him a question and Kenny turned his head to answer, a guild? Kenny had thought about joining one for quite a while now especially with his dream of being a knight on the rocks as it slowly dissipated into nothingness like all of his others hopes.

The gruff, lumber man shook his head as he looked just past Finn. There was his reflection in a window pane belonging to a nearby cot. He eyed his beard and looked at himself for a moment before giving a full answer, ‘What happened to you?’ he asked himself, had eh let himself go because of stress? That wouldn’t do…. He would need to make a change soon, very soon, and perhaps this young man could help him.

“No, i’m not in a guild at the moment.” he narrowed his eyes at his image, but would break his concentration to ask Finn a similar question, “I have been looking though, it’s been a bit of a process and I have yet to find any.” he answered, “Are you?” He would get his answer swiftly as Finn pulled up his sleeve revealing his tattoo.

Kenny studied it for a moment, so that was what a Guild tattoo looked like, “Oh, what Guild are you in?”

Finn smiled as he slid his shirt back down. "Blue Pegasus. I don't use any magic, but I'm pretty tough!" With an enthusiastic nod as if to confirm his words to himself, he quickly spoke up again. "I'm technically registered as an Adventurer, since I've never learned any magic. Honestly, I don't think I can. I've tried before, but it didn't work."

Finn had no way of knowing that Jake's magic was unique to him. When he had tried to learn his brothers abilities, he had fallen short. Not even able to do it in minor senses, he had given up on magic at all. For all he knew, there was a way to learn him a magic after all. Whatever it was, though, he'd never be able to discover it. Even if he could, he now thought of his lack of magic as a strength.

Standing up, Finn grinned at Kenny. "If you want we can do a sparring match? You have your blade, I have mine. We can definitely cross blades!" Stretching as if reaching for the clouded sky, he opened a single eye to glance at Kenny. "And regardless of who wins, it'd be fun. We'd both be able to learn a lot! Besides, fighting someone is the best way to get to know em!"

“I can tell,” Kenny nodded, so Finn was a man after Kenny’s heart, as Kenny too was an adventurer, though this fellow may have been far more weathered in the field of well, monster slaying, fighting, traveling, socialising, pretty much anything that one would need to go out and have an adventure, many things that Kenny wasn’t all that well versed in.

Kenny scratched his head as Finn spoke once again, something about a sparring match and crossing blades. Was Finn joking? Surely he was, there was no way Kenny could defeat someone who was in a guild, well read in swordplay and possibly superior to him in combat, but Kenny wasn’t one to back down from a challenge so he would clear his throat and think it over.

Standing, he nodded his head and reluctantly spoke, “Sure, we can spar. Shall we begin?”

Finn smiled to the man, and once there was an acceptance he backed up. They were in a street in Era, which was both wide and long. This would be a full out battle, but certainly no war. They would not be using the terrain, endangering citizens or causing collateral damage. Instead, this would be a clash of blades to see who could come out on top. One of them would have to be the one to pull ahead, and by looks alone it would be Kenny.

Finn had absolutely no doubt in his mind, though. He was a fighter, a warrior, and a predator. His entire life had been devoted to training and improving, and he'd not been one to expect himself to lose in any circumstance. Drawing his blade into his right arm and holding it at the ready, Finn would have set the distance between them to five meters while Kenny would stand up and get into whatever position he liked, including putting his sword in his hand. This would tell a lot about him, and it would lead to Finn understanding him better as a person.

"Whenever you are ready."

Kenny stood in place for a moment and laced the hilt of his sword in his fingers, and drew it. He would give it a twirl in his fingers with a flick of his wrist before watching Finn’s stance on the battlefield. They were on the road, wide enough to allow the two of them to fight it out without issue and long enough to keep away from civilians. The rain was still going to be an issue, but his vision was alright for the moment, the droplets set the tone as he slowed himself down to stare at his sparring partner.

When the words, ‘whenever you are ready’ came out of Finn’s mouth Kenny sprang into action as fast as his bulky frame could allow him, instead of going for a conventional starting swing he made a go at the boy’s legs, dipping his body and extending his leg to sweep Finn’s from under him before using his turning momentum to take swing at the blonde at Finn if he jumped over his leg. In the case the boy jumped the broad end of the sword’s blade would careen into Finn’s side. But, this was Kenny’s first “fight” of sorts so he was obviously sloppy in doing all of this

As Kenny dashed forward and swung his sword, Finn began to react. The blade was brought back, ready to make a large swing towards Finn's lower body. Sweeping his sword from the inside and down, the blade would come into contact with Kenny's powerful swing. Even with a single arm, the immense strength held within the young boy would become apparent. Kenny's blade would have been deflected, had Finn's own blade not been in hot pursuit. Bringing his blade upwards and keeping it connected to Kenny's in a sweeping motion, the blade would be twisted up and over Kenny's head, brought to his other side.

Now that it was on Kenny's right side and Finn's left, Finn brought his elbow back. His elbow aimed at Kenny's chest, enough force to make him stumble backwards. Slashing his blade back inwards, the flat side aimed at Kenny's legs in a similar attack to what he himself had launched. With Finn's strength, if it landed, it would be enough to sweep the mans legs out from under him.

The blonde was fast, and strong as Kenny expected. He was obviously outmatched, but he continued on. The next few motions were far too good to register, Kenny didn’t do much to stop it, an elbow hit his chest, he doubled back. He was temporarily stunned by the blow and it gave Finn even more time to counter. The flat end of the blade hit his leg, another checkmate in a long move of defeating grace. Not only had he almost lost his head, but his chest throbbing. It appeared he wasn’t as prepared for the spar as he should have been and his lack of experience showed up as he was out played, out maneuvered, of it could be outed it was just about happening.

Oh boy and now in the end he was on his back looking up the sky, defeated, humiliated and embarrassed. This entire week was fucked. He let go of his sword and closed his eyes. Maybe he could just give in to darkness, there was no turning around, obviously this ‘Finn’ just wanted to show off his ability and humiliate Kenny, that was all everyone wanted to do, humiliate Kenny, take advantage of Kenny, mock Kenny. Kenny was a nobody, everyone hated Kenny, but Kenny kept trying, and Kenny always came out as a joke.

With any luck he would die right now and be done with this existence and would get to move on to the next, though he was curious, would a merciful god take someone so pathetic into their plain?

Finn decided to kneel down, his blade resting on the ground with the hilt still firmly gripped in his hand. Reaching a hand out, he firmly grasped the man by the forearm. Pulling the man to his feet, regardless of his own will, Finn firmly squeezed the mans arm. On his face was a smile, eyes light. His expression gave away many feelings, but they all seemed to meld into an expression of strength. "That was well done!" His words held no pity, nor did they seem to harbor any falsities. Rather, they conveyed a sense of confidence that could only be found by a man speaking his heart.

"When starting off, test the waters but don't be afraid to drown." His words were rather ironic, considering the ocean being one of his more primal fears. His eyes never looked away from the mans though, regardless of if he met Finn's gaze. There was nothing to be ashamed from in defeat, only in refusing to learn from it. "When fighting, there's two chances. The enemy can use magic, or they can't. Either way, you have to both know the extent of your strength and feel out the extent of theirs. That can't be done if you're scared, or if you hold back. But it won't make it that far if you dive in before knowing for sure."

His words stopped, and a laugh came out of his mouth as Finn's hand finally released the mans forearm. He punched his shoulder playfully, not putting in real strength but just enough to convey his respect. "Next time we fight, I can't wait to see how you've improved." With that, Finn looked at the sky as it began to part, revealing the blue that the clouds once hid. How long ago did the rain stop? "That's my queue. I have to go- But we'll see each other again." Flashing one last smile, Finn sheathed his sword and waved.

"Until next time, Kenny!"

[exit]