Tomoe couldn't help but crack a wider smile and chuckle lowly when Rinni suggested that he was someone special. He shook his head with full confidence, seeing now that he was being put on some kind of pedestal despite only having just met each other.
"Nah, you're not correct there, I ain't special. I'd say I can be strong when I need to be, but in this world nobody needs to do anything, do they?", Tomoe retorted, not showing a moment's hesitation in shutting down the idea that he was special or exceptional.
He had always been a street rat, lurking and scavenging to get by. Â There was only a small step that he had taken since his younger years as a mere thug, and it wasn't one that he could even properly describe. There would be no effort made to go into details on such things, especially towards somebody he had just met, and thus shrugged once again to signify his dismissal of that point.
Once more he retreated to the position of listener, allowing her to explain her first time she had killed something... someone? Once she had concluded her side of it, finding her own way to justify it, Tomoe nodded with the same relaxed expression on his face. It was a grim subject, but not one that he was uncomfortable discussing.
"There's nothing to it, as awful as that might sound. The first kill is almost always the worst of it, but in this line of work and no matter which side of the law you might find yourself on, you're gonna need to kill a lot as you get further up. That's what it means to be a guild mage, or even just to explore. We all die, and to postpone that for as long as possible, we also need to kill. That's life, y'know?", Tomoe responded to her honesty with his own, holding back nothing of his beliefs based on the things he had experienced while moving through life.
"...But, yeah. I think those are the exact situations which you can do good. There are gonna be people and things that ya just can't reason with, and when your options after that break down to kill, be killed or run away and let other people be killed instead... it's obvious what ya need to do, right? Whether you wanna or not, you can't deny that magic is inherently twisted and inseparable from death. Magic 'n death are a pair, and ya can't have one without the other.", the ronin spoke with confidence, knowing that while it wasn't a viewpoint everyone would agree on, it was the one that he personally knew to be true and refused to back down on.
For how glorified magic was, it was a curse in equal parts to being a blessing. There was no love of it for wizards of the modern age, instead seeing its practical breakdown and large scale manufactured potential rather than the mystery and romance of it all. In an age of such cynicism, Tomoe himself couldn't help being a cynic.
Tomoe's perceptive eye caught the girl's blush, but chose to say nothing. He got the feeling that any kind of teasing or verbal jabs towards those types of emotions would kill her instantly, based on his prior interactions with her. Thus, he kept his mouth shut, letting her react how she would; she truly was a stray puppy, but just so happened to be one with a lot of attitude and ambition. He could respect that far more after getting to know her somewhat, as adorable as it was to see it play out in the early stages she was still in.
"Me? Plans? Pffft, you're barkin' up the wrong tree, I do things my gut tells me to. Just wanted to make sure you were fine, 'n then I was gonna be on my way.", Tomoe admitted, running a hand through his hair and realizing that perhaps he had overreacted with his rush over here in the first place and getting a small flush on his cheeks as well thinking about what a try-hard 'hero' he must have looked like.
With the clearing of his throat shortly after and to save face in front of a person he had just given a small lecture to, Tomoe continued.
"There's Rush Valley, which is pretty close. It ain't much, but it's better than sleepin' on rocks, eh? I know where it is if you wanted some help gettin' there. I don't mind."
Tomoe reached into his traveller's bag and pulled out a flask, holding it out for Rinni to take.
"Water? Said you were thirsty 'n all.", Tomoe offered, taking a long swig from it first to prove that it wasn't a trick or anything of the sort.
Afterwards, whether she accepted it or not, he would shrug while staring up at the sky above, thinking about what he'd do next. There wasn't much left for him out here in the mountains, and admittedly it wasn't as exciting a place as he'd expected at first. He whistled, the shrill noise filling the wilderness, and after a few moments the fluttering of wings and intensifying of wind could be felt. From the sky descending before the two adventurers was a pure white Pegasus, which Tomoe walked over to casually. Petting its mane, he gestured for Rinni to follow with a grin equal parts welcoming and wild.
"After takin' you over to Rush Valley on this guy, I'll be on my way back to my guild over in Marigold. You got a guild of your own? You should come say hi some time if not, I'd love to see ya in action. Think ya could do some real good.", Tomoe continued, offering her a place in Penumbral Guard if she wanted it.
It wasn't something he would push for, and would simply ask once - but Tomoe did need to admit to some level of interest in seeing Rinni's progress and potential as an adventurer grow. He saw a spark ready to ignite before him, and if she would rather ignite on her own, so be it.
"No pressure though!", he concluded with a smirk and a wink, making sure to make eye contact with her if she looked away so she could know that it wouldn't affect anything regardless of her answer.
Regardless of her response, the Joyan would safely escort Rinni to Rush Valley in record time on the back of a Pegasus for a well-earned rest. He was satisfied with his adventures in Sieghart Mountains, and the conversation he had randomly stumbled across with a humble yet ambitious archer girl out in the middle of nowhere. While he didn't feel yet like he was a hero, it was moments like these that made him consider a single thought on the roads leading to Rush Valley and the brief reprieve from danger it offered.
Maybe this is enough.
- Exit -