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Lightning felt his blush deepen. "To you," he muttered. Well, at least she thought it was funny. He, on the other hand, would've loved nothing more than the earth to swallow him whole in his sleep. He glanced at her when she yawned, even more embarrassed at her comment. Was she flirting with him? Nobody flirted with him!

His speculation came to a screeching halt when she all but tackled him. He felt every fiber in his body tense in reaction and instantly move to remove the threat. This time, though, he caught himself before he'd done anything more than uncurl and pull his chest from the mud. 'It's just Ithil, it's just Ithil. Not an enemy to engage in battle. Not a bully trying to humiliate you in front of his fling. It. Is. Just. Ithil. Do not engage. Do not move.' He forced himself to return to laying down completely, Ithil's upper body still resting against his back. Even so, his muscles remained tensed and he had his eyes shut as he recited his mental reassurance to himself--and tried to slow his racing heartbeat. His body gave an involuntary shudder as his imagination brought to mind what could have happened if he hadn't stopped himself. The image wasn't a pretty one.

Eventually he got his throat to relax enough to speak. "Warning next time?" he asked wearily, his lightning blue eyes opening to stare at his front paws. Or at least, the mud that contained his front paws; he'd shoved them into the soil to prevent any unintended injuries.

"I didn't expect you to launch yourself on top of me," Lightning growled irritably. "Even 'banzai' would've been a better warning." At least that sounded like a battle cry. Ithil's so-called "warning" had been irritated, but calm--and definitely didn't make him suspect she'd tackle him. "And I'm not a pillow." At her mumbled comment, he scowled. "Wouldn't have happened if you hadn't snickered at me," he grumbled.

Lightning's eyes narrowed, his gaze burrowing into the mud that he'd shoved his paws into. He tried to keep his mind off of the memories that Ithil's weight on his back brought. He could feel the claws digging into his flesh, the wild laughter and jeers echoing in his ears so clearly it felt like their owners were right there.

'Focus on something else,' he ordered his mind. A second later, Ithil's voice cut through the phantom ones haunting him. "Um what?" he replied flatly, despite his effort to remove his sour mood. He couldn't blame her too much, he decided. After all, she had no knowledge of the mental monsters her actions kept trying to unleash. And Lightning had, as usual, made a point of not voicing his distress in a normal manner. He did not yelp; he did not whine. The Gladier just silently endured it. Ithil wasn't a mind reader--or if she was, she wasn't a very good one. Even so, the half-tackle still irritated him. He wasn't used to anyone being that close to him. Well, in a non-violent scenario. Not since he was a kit. What was Ithil thinking? Even some friends felt uncomfortable at this much physical contact. More flirting? A joke? Or was it just her? Maybe she was trying to push his buttons... she'd definitely been doing that a lot.

"Banzai. I think it means 'charge' or something. It's some sort of battle cry." Lightning sighed irritably as she pounded him with questions. "Because other than just now, girls snickering means that their man's setting up a prank for me or about to pounce on me," he snapped. "I get attacked a lot, ok?! I don't exactly get quality time to relax." Unless he counted storms, and even if he did, this one had been anything but relaxing. When she ranted and cut off, he looked up at her. He watched her walk across the shelter and curl up by herself. He was tempted to just leave her be and get five minutes of guaranteed sleep, but he felt bad. Lightning pulled his paws from the mud, retracting his claws and trotting over to her. He curled up beside her, facing away but letting his back touch hers. After several moments of silence, he sighed and tried to explain himself. "I don't know why I'm not afraid of the same things everyone else is afraid of. They just doesn't bother me. They've never bothered me. And apparently that bothers everyone else." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I have more scars than I can count because I was bullied as a kit. Eventually I ended up stronger than my bullies, and... they don't take well to being pummeled by their punching bag. I freak out over what you see as odd things because they are all tied to the one thing I am terrified of--and something you're most likely very familiar with. Sorry that I'm infuriating and that I'll probably end up staying that way." The instant his explanation was done, his throat tightened and refused to let him ramble further. Had he really just told her all of that? Why? Ithil was clearly upset and probably didn't even want to be on this subject anymore. She'd asked the questions, yes, but that didn't mean he should've told her so much.

Lightning flinched when the first words out of her mouth were stating he as an idiot. He had just relaxed again when she made her 'make a lake' comment, which made him stiffen. The fact that she sniffled after that made him even more uncomfortable. Still, he listened to her words intently, and in doing so realization suddenly struck him like a brick. 'I remind her of someone.' That's why she'd trailed off after saying he was worse than... someone. It was why she freaked out when he was doing reckless things. He thought about inquiring, but it seemed he was already pushing enough buttons with her.

Agreeing to get along? That didn't sound too bad. Even if she did keep insulting his intelligence. "Kay," he mumbled, shifting so he was facing the same direction that Ithil was. Then... "J-Just don't faint again, ok? That freaked me out."

Lightning relaxed a little when she didn't make any snide comments to his request. It may have seemed silly to her, but to him...

Ithil's question caught him offguard. He opened his mouth to reply, then closed it again. It took him a couple of minutes to formulate an answer. "Well, I tend to hang out where other Gladiers don't. I usually stick to the forest or those glowing fields." He didn't even bother trying to place names to the places; he'd never been good at remembering them. "Sometimes I head into the mountains, but only when there's a storm..." He looked up at the remnants of the storm for a moment before fixing his gaze on the once-again-muddied Ithil. "... It's not really a home, but.. there's this old, half-dead tree in the forest that I visit a lot." Usually when he was tired; the tree's roots made a nice shelter, one where it was harder for others to prank him in than it would be for them to prank him in a cave. "What about you?"

"Know the feeling," Lightning mumbled, thinking about the place he'd spent a good chunk of his childhood in. He shrugged. "Guess so." He sighed at her look, but at least she didn't say it for the umpteenth time. "That's because neither I nor the person I'm hoping to see there are what normal Gladiers consider sensible."

When Ithil mentioned the storm, he nodded without looking at it and got to his feet. "Yeah... It'll be completely gone in a few minutes." He followed her to the entrance, yawning. "Probably a good idea..." He glanced at the female and then gently pressed his nose to her cheek. "Are... you ok?" When his mind caught up with his impulsive action, he jerked his head back and looked away in his embarrassment. "Y-you were sniffling earlier and I-I w-wasn't s-sure if you'd caught a c-cold or s-s-something," he stammered, each word less audible than the last. After a moment, his embarrassed explanation was nothing more than an incoherent mumble and he gave up, returning to silence as he stopped at the entrance. He stood slightly off to the side, as if waiting for Ithil to pass through first.

She called him incredible again, a happy feeling rising in his chest. Well, she'd inferred it, as well as inferring that he was reckless, but a compliment was still a compliment--even if only implied. He'd take it for what it was worth.

When her eyes widened and her body stiffened, Lightning was afraid she'd yell at him again. He was surprised when she barked a laugh and openly admitted she'd been crying. He was about to inquire further when she said she'd be fine and walked out. 'Did I upset her? Or maybe...' He followed her out, not pressing the subject further. The Gladier kept glancing at her, however, as they walked towards the lake. She looked more... violet than she had before. Was it just the light? 'You're over-thinking things,' he told himself. 'She said she'll be fine, so she'll be fine.' But how soon would that be? Saying that she would be fine... didn't that mean she was still upset by something? 'Ugh... my head hurts. Understanding women is hard.'

Lightning didn't join Ithil in the deeper water. He stuck to the shallow edges of the lake and cleaned himself there. He was shaking the water from his fur when Ithil made her comment. The Gladier was about to take off at his usual lightning speed when he paused to contemplate her phrasing. "We," he parroted. So she was coming with him? He looked away. "... Right." He glanced at the Gladiers coming from the forest and then at Ithil before scanning their surroundings. "... There's a quiet spot over there," he said, starting forward at a pace he wanted to cringe at; a leisurely pace. Still, going slower--even this much slower--than he usually did was better than having Ithil yell at him for running off. And no matter how strong and fast the female was, he wasn't sure she could keep up with him; he hadn't found many who could.