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 Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2015 9:03 pm
"How do ya do it, Walpurgis...?"
"Hm?"
Karina rolled over on her side to face her fellow rocket in the dark and sighed. "Yer family in Lilycove. Ya get tricked into killin' 'em, one of 'em, anyways, and ya don't even complain about it after that time. How're ya so strong, Walpurgis...?"
Walpurgis turned his head to face her, his eyes adjusting to the darkness, taking in hers before dropping down, then shooting back up to her eyes again. He had momentarily forgotten that Karina was topless. His flailing wasn't lost on the woman, who snorted. "Walpurgis, ya saw a lot more o' me than my tits, no need to be embarrassed."
Walpurgis mumbled something under his breath before sighing. "If that's why you think I'm strong, then you'd be wrong. I'm still living with that day, and I probably always will. But there's nothing I can do to change what happened, and so I've come to accept it, more or less." He paused. "Why do you ask? We haven't talked about the Corbins in years."
Karina's throat suddenly felt very dry. "Do ya know anything about agent Charlotte?" Walpurgis shook his head. and the woman sighed. "She was my first partner, back before ya came to Zatao." She broke off.
"Ah killed her."
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Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 12:41 pm
Walpurgis listened as Karina spoke of how her first mission with Charlotte had gone dreadfully wrong. When she finished, she was in tears. She hadn't told anyone about the mission besides the higher up she had reported to. Walpurgis closed his eyes, remembering their meeting with Ems. Remembered how he had basically dared her to shoot him. "Karina, I had no idea. If I had..."
Karina cut him off. "Don't, Walpurgis. Just... don't, please. Ah don't want to think about it." She averted her eyes, unwilling or unable to meet his. Silence fell over the darkened room.
Finally, Walpurgis had an idea. "Y'know, Karina, I know someone who might be able to help more than I can. You don't know her, but she's a good friend of mine, and she's helped me more than I can say. Come with me to Katarina tomorrow, alright?"
Karina was silent a moment, then nodded. "Arright."
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Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 1:34 pm
After a long trip to Katarina, the rocket duo stood in front of a large building. The words 'Katarina Orphanage' were super imposed over the door, and Karina looked at Walpurgis with confusion plain on her face. "An orphanage...?"
Stepping up to the door, Walpurgis nodded. "Yeah. She's in here." Opening the door, he nodded at the matron, who smiled back at him. Leading Karina through the orphanage, he stopped in front of a door with a sign that said, "Urthemiel's Room". He knocked twice, and the sound of foot steps approaching echoed in the building. The door swung open to reveal a teenager with long, strawberry blonde hair. She looked at Walpurgis with sparkling light blue eyes and smiled. "Mr. Lothar, it's so good to see you!" Turning her gaze to Karina, she continued to smile. "And I don't believe we've met, Miss...?"
Karina forced a smile. "Ya can just call me Mary."
The girl bowed her head. "It's good to meet you, Miss Mary." She turned her attention back to Walpurgis, her smile never leaving her face. "Is there something you needed today?"
Walpurgis nodded and smiled back. "Actually, Urthemiel, Mary is the one here to see you, today. She has something she needs advice on, and I recommended you. I trust that's okay?"
Urthemiel closed her eyes, still smiling. Opening them, she looked at Karina. "Absolutely. Would you like to come inside, Miss Mary?"
Karina looked to Walpurgis, and he nodded. Turning back to the teenager, Karina nodded as well. Urthemiel stepped to the side, ushering the woman in before closing the door, leaving Walpurgis in the hall.
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Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 3:02 pm
Urthemiel gestured to a pair of chairs inside her room. It was a plain room, probably identical to the other orphan's rooms, and Karina sat down. Urthemiel took a seat in the chair opposite and cast an expectant gaze at the older woman. Karina took a deep breath and began to tell her tale, leaving out specific details.
"Ah accidentally killed a friend, years ago. Ah didn't mean ta, and no one wants ta blame me fer it. But ah do. It was mah fault, and she shouldn'ta died." Karina stared at the ground the entire time she spoke, talking about how she'd been able to ignore that fact for years until just recently, wondering what even possessed her to spill her guts to some kid she'd never even met. As her retelling wound down, she felt a tear drop down her cheek and hurriedly went to wipe it away. When she looked up, she saw that, for the first time, the teenager was no longer smiling. Instead, Urthemiel was staring pointedly at the ground.
"Mr. Lothar leads an interesting life, doesn't he?" Karina had no idea what the girl was talking about, and so she said nothing. "Please don't tell him I told you this, but Mr. Lothar came to me a few years ago with a similar story. I won't go into specifics, but he also killed someone accidentally. And now he has a friend that had the same thing happen to her." She looked up, and her eyes were a blue pool of compassion. "I couldn't fix what happened to him, and I can't do it for you, either. All I can do, is this." She abruptly stood up, walked over to Karina, and wrapped her in a hug. Karina's eyes widened at the contact, and she momentarily felt the urge to throw the girl off her, but her arms remained limp at her sides. The girl, much smaller than her, seemed to dwarf Karina in that moment, as if the girl was the mother she had lost at such a young age. The girl reached her hand up and began stroking the back of Karina's head in a motherly fashion. "I can't give you forgiveness for what happened. The only person who can do that is you." She broke off the contact, and smiled softly at the older woman, and for a brief moment, Karina thought she was looking at Tiffany. Tears welled in her eyes, but she didn't rush to wipe them away this time. Instead, she ducked her head.
"Thank you."
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Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 4:58 pm
The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Karina tried to break it. "So do ah owe you anythin' fer this, or somethin'? Ah mean, it feels like ya should get somethin' outta listenin' ta me whine 'bout mah problems."
Urthemiel shook her head gently. "Even if I wanted payment for listening to people, I couldn't accept it from a friend of Mr. Lothar. He has donated so much money to this orphanage, and some of the others have found homes thanks to his kindness; I couldn't possibly bear to take anything more than he's already given us." She looked at Karina and smiled. "I hope that, some day, you'll be able to forgive yourself for what happened. I'm sure your friend would want the same."
Karina gave a small laugh. "Yer prob'ly right. Tiffany was a nice girl."
She turned to leave, but the teenager caught her hand. "Miss Mary, although I don't want money, I do have a request, if you're willing to hear me out." Karina looked back to the girl and nodded. "Mr. Lothar is a very nice person. He's very nice, but I get the feeling that he tries to do a lot by himself. I would really appreciate it if you could help him out. I... I don't really know how you can, but if he ever seems tired, or something, please just be there for him? He needs friends like you. He treats himself terribly as a result of what happened, and it pains me to see it. So, please, stay by his side." She looked down before letting go of Karina's hand.
With a soft smile, the rocket woman placed a hand on Urthemiel's head and patted her. "Ya got it, kid."
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Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 8:37 pm
Urthemiel and Karina walked out into the hall, and Karina turned and bowed her head to the girl again. "Thanks again, kid."
The blonde smiled and waved her off as Walpurgis stepped over to them. Addressing Karina, he smiled. "Feeling better?"
"Yeah, thanks."
He turned to Urthemiel and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Thanks again, Urthemiel."
She smiled back and nodded. "Any time, Mr. Lothar." She inclined her head deeply as he removed his hand. "And thank you for all that you have done; we really cannot thank you enough."
Walpurgis and Karina waved to the girl and left the orphanage. As they stepped out into the sunlight, they intertwined their fingers and began walking hand in hand. The raven haired woman thought back to the girl's request and smiled softly. That settled it. Resting her head on Walpurgis' shoulder, she continued walking as she spoke. "Hey, Walpurgis. Let's get married."
Without skipping a beat, Walpurgis tilted his head so that his ear rested on her hair. "Alright."
As one, the two let out a small laugh, and Karina punched him lightly in the arm before looking at him. "Ah was bein' serious."
He matched her gaze. "So was I."
He leaned in and kissed her.
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