Welcome to Gaia! ::

Lilith smiled kindly as she led Aila into the noisy cafe, but worry still creased her brow. Now that she got a closer look at her young friend, she noticed how pale the girl looked. She looked as if she might topple over if a slight breeze picked up. Lilith could not help but feel a tad over-bearing when she attempted to steady Aila with her hand as she sat down, but the woman just tried to tell herself that it was merely her concern. There was no way Lilith would want Aila to get hurt.

Their table was near the walls of the cafe, and thus was out of the way enough for any commotion to find its way over to them. Lilith sighed and pushed a piece of her long brown hair behind her ear. She wasn't quite sure what she was supposed to do at this point... Then she remembered: food. That was her mission. She looked to Aila questioningly. "Okay, is there anything in particular you want to eat? Or something you know for sure that you can stomach? If you want, I can get you something warm to drink; that might help your dizziness."

Meanwhile, as her human chattered away like a flustered Chatot, Nerezza lazily floated out from behind the two Grunts and positioned herself comfortably on the table. The cafeteria was loud and crowded, and it was not at all where the Gastly wanted to be, but she had no choice in the matter. All she could do was sit and wait for something interesting to happen.

Trying to be as reassuring as possible at the moment, Lilith smiled and began walking towards the ordering line. "All right: one warm drink, coming up!" She turned herself around, quickly heading her way through the crowd.

Nerezza, feeling rather left out, stayed behind and floated around the pale young human. Her face scrunched up into a sort of disapproving scowl, and she floated back down to the side of the table opposite the girl. Scowl still on her face, she lifted a gaseous-like tendril and made a waving motion at the human. "...Gast," she said. [In the layman's terms, one would consider this to be a "hello."]

Nerezza frowned at the younger human girl thoughtfully. Another Ghost that she knew, hm...? Perhaps the girl had a Ghost Pokemon of her own, or perhaps she had only known one. Either scenario was entirely possible. In any case, the girl still looked deathly pale... sickly, one could say. It was because of this girl that Nerezza was lacking training today, which was one of the very few days when she was cheerful enough to want personal contact with others! Stupid compassion, getting in the way of productivity.

After a few impatient minutes, Lilith returned with the drinks and such in hand: one chamomile tea for Aila, one chai latte for herself, and a small pack of candy for her temperamental Gastly. She located the table at which her young friend sat and carefully handed her the scalding hot tea. "Here you go. It's chamomile, so it should help soothe you a bit." Lilith then tossed the bag of candy to Nerezza, who caught it in her large maw. She then sat herself opposite Aila, taking a sip of her latte before speaking. "Is there anything else you need, Aila? Anything I can get for you?"

Nerezza, of course, knew nothing about the little murder at that mission, and as such, she was perplexed by the human girl's sudden apology. She blinked, confused, then pursed her lips and made a shrugging motion with her gaseous body. "Gastly-gast." ["Apology accepted, I guess."]

Lilith smiled as she took another sip of her soothing drink. The warm spices warmed and filled her senses as she swallowed a large gulp, nearly burning her throat from the hot temperatures. She looked at Aila in slight surprise as she asked permission for a question. Lilith placed her cup on the table and propped up her elbow and rested her chin in her hand. "Sure, go ahead." She wasn't quite sure why Aila needed to ask if she could ask something. Usually, if someone asks if they can ask something, it means that said question has some gravity to it. Lilith wasn't terribly sure that she wanted to be the listener to the bearer of bad news, but this was a request from a friend, and she would not be someone to turn it down.

The burning question caught Lilith off guard, and her eyes widened in surprise. What on earth was Aila talking about...? Did she not even trust her own words? Unless... something happened after their meeting in the desert? That might be possible, but it seemed improper for Lilith to inquire about it. Instead, she took a moment to ponder her response.

"I think," she began, "that... if it's for the right reasons, any regret over past actions is a waste of time and energy. But, of course, any action can be justified from a single point of view." Lilith closed her eyes.

"If you consider every point of view for a past action and determine it just, then regret is pointless. If not, then... atonement might be the course to take." Her eyes opened again, but this time, they looked away from Aila. "Actions and words, once made and spoken, can never be taken away. But there is such a thing as forgiveness for ones mistakes. I believe that."

The first question that popped into Lilith's mind was 'What on earth had Aila done to say such things?' She did not dare ask, out of fear of hurting her younger friend somehow, but... The idea of Aila committing some unspeakable crime sent a shiver down Lilith's spine.

"Promises are meant to be kept, rain or shine. Too many people make shallow promises that are easily broken nowadays. If atoning for your actions - whatever they may be - means breaking that sacred bond, then that might not be the right path. At the very least..." Here, Lilith paused to take a sip of her chai latte. She set the cup back down and continued speaking.

"...At the very least, you should come to terms with your action and all who might have been affected by it. You might be able to attain closure that way." Whether those involved would react civilly or not could not be said; it would depend on what kind of people they are.

For a moment, Lilith truly wanted to leave right then, if not to just spare herself from getting too deep into this predicament and spare Aila from having to explain it in words. That moment quickly passed, though, as Lilith realized that Aila must really trust to reveal such a dark secret to her. She wouldn't dare break that bond of trust now.

Her eyes met Aila's as she spoke. "If you want me to hear what you have to say, I will listen. I'm no psychologist, certainly..." Lilith shrugged. "...But I do hope I'll be able to help." She smiled, silently wishing that her smile would offer some reassurance to her friend.

Nerezza was, understandably, uncomfortable with the current situation and looked to her human with a look that conveyed 'I want to leave.' Unfortunately for the Gastly, Lilith did not acknowledge her concern. And so, Nezz was forced to sit through some little girl's sob-story. Pffth... Humans were so sentimental.

It felt like someone had slammed a sledgehammer upside Lilith's face. Aila had to... kill someone? Her brother, no less? It was a promise she had made, and so it was something she had to keep, according to Lilith's own words. It was no ordinary promise, either: it was one made to a dying person - a dying mother - and so breaking that promise would be unspeakable dishonorable and crass. What on earth did Aila get herself into?!

Lilith placed her chin in her hands and closed her eyes. Ooh, boy. "...A promise made to a dying person must be kept, especially if that person is a parent or relative. I don't think there can be any alternative." A pause. "If forgiveness is still what you seek, it's not out of your reach. You can feasibly still ask forgiveness from your brother before you... well..." She trailed off, unsure of what else to say. Finally, she found the words to speak.

"Whether you truly want that forgiveness or atonement is up to you - no one can control whether you do it or not. All I know is that this is your burden to bear and it's on your shoulders to carry it. Just know that if you ever need my help - or anyone's help here - help will be given."