Into the Night (Sam)

[Wolfe]

Brendan drew back the curtains on the hotel room. He was exhausted. It had been a pressing enough day, with all of the drama and sarcasm. Exhausted, he fell onto a chair that overlooked all of West Wind. It was a nice view, seeing the bright lights of the city in the face of the sunset. After a short dinner at a nearby cafe, which was, Brendan had to admit, quite nice, they had crashed into the room for the night. He had plans to go to the nearby park to train before the upcoming gym battle, but wanted to rest a little first. The wound itself wasn't too bad, actually, it had healed up without too much drama. No swelling or anything of the sort. Brendan was glad for that, too.

Looking back at the setting sun, the city seemed to shine. Far in the distance, the ocean roared and giant cruise ships honked their horns. It was city life, with the bright lights everywhere. Fang had settled down a bit, choosing to hover around the TV antennae, watching as the pictures on the television flickered and faded. It seemed fun for him.

Celeste, on the other hand, was grinding her jaws on the bed, in anticipation for more battles to come. Hopefully, they would all get a good night of rest before the battles ahead. Brendan stood up again, in the new clothes that he had changed into. Rose seemed...uneasy. Well, he couldn't blame her. They had all had a long day. He walked over to her, then asked, "Hey, I'm going to the courtyard to train a bit before the battle. Care to join me?"

[Sam]

Rose looked up from stroking the soft, beautiful bed covers. It was everything she had ever dreamed of a nice, city hotel. Soft mattress, warm, clean covers, and a nice, quite cafe to recover in after a long day. She'd been distracted from the drama of the day for a little while, during their nice little dinner in the cafe, but now it was all coming back to her. She felt the guilt, the horror, and the shock once again of realizing that he was back to haunt her again. She was afraid of sleeping tonight, but knew it was going to happen anyways.

She shook her head to Brendan's offer. "In the morning, of course, but not right now. My Pokemon and I are worn out and I really want to sleep." This was a lie, of course. She wanted to do the opposite of slepp, but she just didn't want to fight any more. Then, suddenly, the words came out of her. Just like that. "I need to talk to you about today."

[Wolfe]

Brendan stared awkwardly back at Rose, thinking of some kind of witty comment. None came to his mind. In truth, he just wanted to train because it would give him a distraction. He was still thinking about last night's dream. About death. He sat down, crossed his arms, and looked back at Rose. "Anything you want to tell me, go ahead."

[Sam]

Rose took a deep, shaking breath, not completely ready to get this off her chest. But she had to. So she began with the words, "What happened today was my fault." She paused and waited for Brendan's outburst, then continued. "When I was young, my father liked to boast about me in the streets. More then just his friends, but just aquaintences that he didn't know by name, but knew them nonetheless. An old women in the streets heard his arrogant words and warned him not to continue, promising dark times. He pushed her away and that's why everything bad is happening now. See, that women, she wasn't human. That was Darkrai, wandering the streets in the form of an elderly woman. He told my dad as he killed him that I would be cursed."

This was the part that Rose didn't really want to share, but felt the need to get it off her chest. "Last night, the dream I had, I was warned that my life was in danger. And not in a helpful way, but in the way that this...thing that told me is the cause. It was like I was drowning in darkness, it was terrible. And then today, when Skorupi came at me, I don't know if the grunt knew it, but I could easily have died from a poisonous attack. And then you...you're making it worse for yourself by helping me. It was Darkrai in that dream, it was Darkrai's fault that you were injured today, and it's Darkrai's fault that this journey won't turn out the way either of us expected."

She broke off there, her speech done. She muttered one last, barely audible sentance. "Just thought I should get the truth out."

[Wolfe]

Brendan nodded in understanding, knowing that kind of feeling, that everything was your fault. It never helped in life. He looked at Rose, again, meaningfully. "It's alright. I know. I probably deserve it. I'll....tell you...why." All traces of humor, sarcasm, everything left his face. All that remained was a solemn expression. "Look, I need to explain some things. Some things, that which....." He trailed off, gathering the strength to say them. "Which...you won't like me for." He looked down, then back at Rose. "I....killed a person. He wasn't the nicest ever. Every day....he taunted me, beat me. I killed him. With his own gun. It was during fifth period. I remember it like a dream. He threatened me in the hallway. I had enough of it. I took his gun, and shot him." He looked away, his voice breaking, a single tear streaking down his face. "No one ever found out."

[Sam]

Rose widened her eyes. Brendan had killed someone. Her first instinct was to back away from him, but she didn't. She stayed exactly were she was. She even managed to form a twisted smile. She felt sympathy for him. "I left my mother to die in a fire and saved myself. We all have those times were we care for no one else. I won't tell. Just forget about it." She looked towards her pillow, which now seemed rather inviting. The only light now was the one coming from a lamp. The sun was down.

"I think we should go to sleep," she said, heavily. "It's been a long day and we'll need our strength for tomorrow." She flipped open the covers of her bed and crawled in, snuggling deep into the warmth. Rose had never slept in her own double bed before. And this one was very comfortable.

[Wolfe]

Brendan nodded, understanding completely. Drawing in the covers, he said one last, "Good Night" before turning off the lights, plunging the room into darkness.

END THREAD