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Facing Emil was not something Luke found easy, but it was something that was necessary no matter how much he wanted to avoid it. He didn't like the idea of being deserted by his friends, and after seeing the younger boy's response to the death, he was certain that's where any discourse would lead. But he'd found the courage to face Guy and that had gone better than expected, so maybe there was hope in meeting with Emil as well.

Unfortunately, Luke's ambitions were unexpectedly interrupted by the fact that Emil was no longer in the hotel room. Instead, there was a note detailing briefly that the boy was going home. The young noble frowned at this, recalling Emil's reluctance to even state his reason for returning home. Was he really willing to go back, or did he just feel pressured? The last thing Luke wanted now was to be responsible for a friend's return to misery as a result of his own naive actions, and so he pursued.

As Emil passed through Camphoreon's furthest reaches, a familiar Pidgeot would swoop down and alight a ways down the path, and a familiar rider would climb off her back and return her to her pokeball. "Emil!" Faced with the thought of one of his friends vanishing, there was no hesitation to meet his gaze. "You're not really...?"

An open book indeed; even Luke could tell that Emil didn't want to follow through with his decision. He was silent for a while, watching the boy's back as it continued away from him, but it would not be long before Luke appeared at his side. "I won't stop you," he said, "but only if that's what you really want." He increased his pace slightly to stand in the middle of the path, spreading his arms to block Emil's progress. "And you've gotta convince me!" Because he sure as hell wasn't convinced so far.

Luke blinked in surprise at the sudden outburst, but he listened dutifully to what his friend said. When Emil had finished, he put up a smile, "I'm not that strong, you know. I'm a coward too." He paused briefly to ensure the smile wouldn't falter. "When that guy grabbed you, I was so scared I passed out. I thought for sure Guy would hate me, and I was so scared I couldn't even look at him. And now," he grasped at the empty air behind him where his hand would usually find the hilt of his sword, "I'm so scared of what I did - of what I could do again - that I can't even carry my sword anymore." He raised a finger smartly, "And none of this 'because of you' business. No one should ever have to be in a situation where they have to defend their own life. If anything, it's my own fault for letting the guy get the jump on me before so he could go after revenge in the first place."

He lowered his eyes momentarily, then returned his gaze to Emil's, "I don't think 'strength' is about being able to fight, or not being scared, or whatever. I think it's more like... knowing when something's wrong, and wanting to make it right... Even that's pretty admirable." He shrugged with the earnesty of someone still searching for a better explanation himself.

Luke gave a somewhat reluctant smile, "If there's someone who's so sure of themselves that can face their problems head-on right away, I'd sure like to meet them." His gaze lowered, but the placid expression remained, "I think it's okay to run away. 'Cause you know, sometimes you just need time to think and come up with a solution. Sometimes if you try and resolve everything the second it comes up, you end up making a mistake you can't undo." The what-ifs were haunting, but he forced them from his thoughts. What could have been had no weight on what was, and it was the present reality that was burdening Emil more than any what-if.

There was something sort of unnatural, Luke suspected, about the way the boy reacted to mention of his family. Luke himself wasn't fond of his father, but he couldn't imagine a circumstance under which the very thought of the man could bring him fear. Hesitantly, still unsure whether or not Emil even wanted anything to do with him anymore, Luke closed the distance between the two swordsman and set a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I can't pretend to know what your situation with your family is, but I think if you're scared, it's okay not to face it right away." Speaking of facing fears... He withdrew his hand, directing his attention downward once more. "And, you know... Whenever you do decide to face it, I'm on your side - as long as you're okay with me being there."

Luke frowned in consideration and folded his arms, "Yuri doesn't count; he's too laid back. But I bet even he would have to stop and think about it if a really difficult problem came up." Jeez, Yuri, going around disproving people's points...

Emil's reaction was somewhat surprising, if not reassuring in itself. It seemed Luke wasn't hated after all... but that wasn't exactly the issue here anymore. If he was so permitted, then there was no way he wasn't helping his friend. "Well yeah," he said, putting on an encouraging smile. "You shouldn't have to take on something scary all by yourself, right?" He certainly didn't enjoy the thought of facing something frightening alone, and he wasn't about to send someone off to do just that.

He nodded briefly, but his curiosity was not far behind his reassurance. "So... I mean, if it's all right to ask, what exactly is up with your family?" Though curiosity was indeed a motivating force behind the question, there was also an obvious air of concern stemming from Emil's earlier display of fear on the subject. He remembered the boy's explanation of his reason for being in Camphoreon, given months ago, and how it had lacked any concrete details that described his situation. Luke's own situation had been similarly vaguely described, though, so he was well aware of the feeling of not wanting to divulge one's life story. He just couldn't imagine what kind of relationship Emil had with his own home, and it was bothersome.

"Oh... Uh, sorry..." Luke couldn't really imagine the feeling of losing one's parents. Of course anyone would feel nervous talking about such a thing; maybe he'd asked an unreasonable question after all. At the same time, it wasn't really fair of him to ask such information without volunteering his own part, and maybe offering his own story would help ease Emil's nervousness...

"I don't really get along with my parents myself," he said, kicking idly at the ground. "I actually lived somewhere else from the time I was born to ten years later, so they're always really distant and, well... kind of cold, I guess. Especially my father." Well, who could blame him? He'd had his son taken away and replaced with some other child that looked just the same but had none of the memories they'd shared up until then, a child that was essentially a stranger. It didn't forgive the lies, though, and it irritated Luke to think about the matter. "Well, it's more complicated than that, I guess, but no one's family is perfect, right?" And there he went once again, generalizing his personal beliefs and experiences as the norm as a whole.