#yet- despite that— still feel a lack of vindication in their actions . she’s just sort of ashamed

[worldsewage]

"much to Valentine’s dismay." oohhg can I know more...I got a bowl of rice to offer

Valentine is an Octarian elite who has no interest in abandoning her role as such, she is undyingly loyal to the Octarian Army and excelled in military school and was placed in a school designed for elites, she was constructing weapons for as long as she can remember and has ZERO thoughts of ever abandoning the domes. She has made something of herself here and she has issues with communication and comes off blunt and aggressive at times so she struggles keeping/making friends, so the approval of her superiors and the trust the army puts in her is a love good enough for her.

Until Satua, at least.

Valentine, also, has no idea how they found themself in the metro, she woke up with a sense of urgency and a few strange blank memories that made her piece together— with Craig telling her he needs help— that she (probably) needs to act, and help the people around her in order to save something. She has no idea what, and has a building frustration inside her that she can’t name. She thinks she’s doing something bigger than herself. She acts, for a moment, as a hero— an agent 8 in the metro, she plays into this role and feels angry and needed and vital, then more of her memories come back and she gets hit with the Guilt… feeling like a bystander who is trapped inside their own body, watching themselves do and say things they can’t control as her memories idly return, clueing her into the person she is, or was.

[bastardsunlight]

How the storm raged outside, roaring it's thunder over head, over this damaged and run down temple Raiden had brought them too, it was worrisome. Winds rushing through open doors and cracked walls, sending frigid shivers through the thin frame of the mortal woman standing here. But she paid it no mind, thinking not much of it, not that it mattered. Blue had long ago since come too terms with any sort of suffering or unpleasant feelings she may feel as those of her own short sighted thoughts, or her own fault in some sort of punishment for whatever she had failed to do with her hands or failed to live up with her spirit. She hated herself to not care what may happen towards her own being for so many years. That had been shown quite obviously within the damned asylum.

But now it all changed, since traveling as she had. Now arriving back with the closest friend she ever had. Despite how he'd admitted the truth of it all, the fate that should have awaited a mortal body, could still if nothing was done, still Blue counted Raiden as the closest she'd known, even if it had been a brief few months. When one had nothing and no one, then such tight bonds can be forged rather quickly within cold empty walls. Within that time, so much had been learned and understood. The tales woven, history revealed. Blue's long time love for history and mythology hadn't been wrong and only been vindicated with confirmations, and even corrected, by The Thunder God back then. When her moments of full lucidity could absorb it all. The mental state was in such shambles... After his escape, the assisted death and rebirth by her hands, that caused the divine blood to seep within her being, it had redoubled the spark of determination within her that had long ago been snuffed out.

"But, Raiden-" The way he spoke with such a strong tone left little room for argument. Blue was but one singular human, and not even one of any consequence. Should her death mean a return of some of his power, to help protect this world and those better that lived within it? That was a better fate than she could have ever asked for- yet that was the exact opposite of what Raiden wanted. He refused it. And then he came closer, prompting the poor woman to flinch ever so slightly. But the moment their foreheads met it was as if a rushing calm had beaten down the ever growing pressure that had been lingering within her soul. That was Raiden's own power within the woman's mortal spirit, she recognized it. Every ounce of power just melted into a calm vibration, while the warmth his physical body exuded put her fears too rest, soothed the aching tired bones. This was an action of emotional genuine care, one that she hadn't experienced since being a little girl. Even then it had been brief... No, this was real. And it put all her thoughts into a skidding halt.

Everything was quiet in this serene moment between two friends, their fates entwined, souls tangled. The dam broke, everything Blue wanted to keep bottled fell apart. Her hand that had tightened it's hold upon the Thunder God's own released, and both her arms were suddenly thrown around his larger shoulders, pulling the two of them into a tight hug then, while she began to cry into his shoulder. Not one ounce of fear from touching more. The thin frame of the mortal body was frail, showing the strain from hard travel, lack of food, or self care. But still strong enough to keep going. Her spirit, though damaged, was powerful on it's own. "Thank you, thank you- For... Showing me real kindness. For care. Your heart is strong, don't let it be hardened or break, Raiden. You're better... Better than you know." Then came her admittance there after. "It hurts. I'm scared."

Her gentle thanks were more than he could have ever asked for or needed or dared to want. Raiden had not realized just how very lonely he was until he had been trapped in that horrific place, deliberately isolated from even “other” humans. The poor souls also trapped within those walls sometimes had little idea what was happening, but he knew—forcing his divine perception down to even less than that of an average human being had been agony. He had actually felt his mind slipping away from him. The irony was not lost on the god of thunder. He might have laughed, but for the circumstance.

Was he truly better, or was it simply the delusion of a girl accustomed to being treated far worse than the lowliest beast that skittered the depths of Earthrealm’s joyless places? He was not yet ready to confront that question with any kind of authority and so set it aside in favor of what was currently needed. The removal of his power was foremost on his mind and would have to remain that way if he was going to extract the lightning without permanently damaging Blue.

“I know,” he whispered, wrapping his arms around her suddenly and tightly, pulling her close to his broad chest and enveloping her in his powerful embrace. She was crushed to him, but also protected from the rain that leaked in and the banshee shriek of the storm without. He was warm in a way no human was, a radiant sort of thing that buzzed with power. If it overwhelmed her, he would be there to catch her. Always.

“I am sorry. Please endure it a while longer.”