text;

[rideme]

[It's late in the evening when the text post pops up on the network. With no formalities or ceremony. Just:]

hey
anyone seen charlie ? little blonde wizard guy
offered to enchant crap a while back

[A pause. Is that all you want to say, Bull, or--]

didnt touch the shit i got him for that holiday
cant find him at his usual places



messages wont go through
preciate it if someone's seen him, let me know

[CLICK. There's no more. And Bull will be around his house if anyone wants to talk face-to-face. Because... what the hell. Why this?]

[Why right now?]

Comments

[amadaman]

... I'm kidding. Please don't take it so seriously. Come on.

[Out comes the silver gun and Ken steps forward onto the grass.]

I'm just gonna summon.

[rideme]

Right.

[Please don't mind if he looks away while you pull that thing out, Ken. He's. Still sort of bothered by it.]

Ready then.

[amadaman]

[Ken notices, and he doesn't mind, though his eyes narrow with a sad light in them. Back home, the adults he ran into who knew about Persona had regarded him with sympathy, often pity, and some of them apologized about putting him in his situation, but all of them, he knew, also saw him and his friends as their only possibility. Nobody truly stopped him from taking up that gun.

It's strange to see someone like the Iron Bull so bothered by it.

He makes quick work of summoning Kala-Nemi before closing his eyes, focusing his mind so stabilize her presence. When he opens them again, he's absolutely focused.]

... We're ready.

[rideme]

[The Iron Bull can tolerate a lot of things. A lot of fucked up things. But kids... when it came to kids, his tolerance was pretty low. Especially where dead kids were possible.]

[Or suggesting dead kids.]

[Those... he'd seen way too many of those.]

[He doesn't look back until Ken speaks up again, taken aback -- again -- by the thing suddenly THERE in front of them.]

... How do you want this to go? Just want me to hit it?

[amadaman]

Mmm, yeah. I mean, you can do whatever you want.

The only thing I have a weakness to is darkness, and I don't mean turn-out-the-lights darkness. It's magic. And I don't think we have to worry about that with you.

[He thinks for a moment, looks up, and Kala-Nemi responds by shaking her fist in a punch not aimed at anyone.]

And we can hit back if you want that.

[rideme]

Heh, I was going to say. You don't strike me as a kid afraid of the dark.

[Mostly because of all the shit Ken has already been through.]

[Slowly, he tilts his head up, watching the huge creature pretend to punch. There's a moment. And then he just straight up throws a punch at its leg.]

[amadaman]

[He grimaces.]

Well, I'm not afraid that there might be boogey monsters under my bed. The darkness has monsters; I know that as a fact. [He steps back as not to be in Bull's way as Kala-Nemi takes that punch, barely moving from the impact and holding her place.

He waits a moment before he looks up at her and Kala-Nemi moves, quickly spinning at where her waist would be to swing a punch at him. Ken knows he can stop her with just a thought so he doesn't hold back.]