The First Step [Amelie & Rinji]

After a few seconds of not hearing any sort of reply, Rinji finally noticed the commotion further towards the back of the tavern. His antennae perked up in interest; what was going on?

Then, seeing Amy wave to him from the crowd, he breathed a sigh of relief, quickly forgetting about the toilets (at least no-one had been inside them, that would've been very embarrassing.) Scuttling forwards, he greeted her with a relieved smile. "Amy! I was worried something'd happened," he admitted to her, feeling slightly guilty about it. 

"A digivice was stolen!?" Rinji said after hearing Amelie's explanation, evidently shocked. Finding out that nothing bad had happened to Amelie was a relief, but to hear someone's digivice get stolen?

"That's awful," he commented, his antennae drooping as his expression fell into one of concern. Even he knew that digivices were precious. They couldn't be replaced nor repaired, if the damage was bad enough. And only Drasil himself could say where they even came from.

Amelie appeared to be equally uneasy over the whole situation, Rinji noted. Although he wasn't an expert at reading faces, she seemed anxious over it as well. Listening to her explanation, he nodded. "I suppose they think you're a potential witness or something," he guessed, trying to fathom exactly how Terminus' police force would think.

Then again... why would they expect her to know anything? She was in the toilets, wasn't she?

"I couldn't imagine it," Rinji replied to Amelie in respect to losing something so irreplaceable. "And why anyone would steal one..." He trailed off, a sense of justified anger creeping into his voice. If anyone had done something like that to one of his friends - he didn't even want to think about it.

"Oh, it's alright," the Scolomon said in reply to Amy's apology. "There wasn't much you could do about it, anyway. Yeah, let's just pay for the meal, and I think we can book our rooms with Meicoomon too. I'm exhausted."

Rinji reached down to pick up the bag's he'd left on their table as they arrived back in the main seating area. In hindsight, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to leave them unattended, but a cursory pat-down of the pockets assured him that nothing important was missing. 

"Well, no one stole our stuff," he stated, still bewildered over the whole situation. Why steal a digivice that was worthless to anyone but its owner, but leave a bag full of goodies untouched? "With the theft... do they have any clue who did it? Do you think he's already left?" He asked Amelie out of curiosity.

"Uh, I can pay for us and we can sort out splitting the bill later if you want," Rinji said once he'd finished collecting and donning all the bags left on the table. It would be easier if only one of them had to pay, and Amelie could always pay him back her part of the bill if she wanted to.

Then he paused for thought. This was going to be a bit of an awkward question, but it needed an answer and Amelie deserved a say. "Do you want to book separate rooms? Or share?" He stared at her, an owlishly innocent expression on his face as he waited for her answer.

At any rate and according to Amelie, it seemed that the digital police force had it all under control. They were the most well-equipped. It was a contained situation, locked under strict procedure. They'd probably done similar things a hundred times before.

Probably not with a stolen digivice though.

"You think it was a human?" Rinji had replied to her quizzically, in the sort of hushed gossip-like voice that would've found itself at home in the break-room of an office. The only issue was that this was a far more serious issue than anything in the realm of break-room chatter. 

A pause in the conversation was all it took for Rinji to quickly sweep the room with his eyes. A few humans here, a few there, not many by all accounts. The digimon population still took the majority in both the city and its taverns. Occasionally his eyes locked onto certain humans a few seconds longer than others, before drifting off to the next.

None looked particularly suspect, however. They looked as average as humans could look. How would he even know what the Devimon equivalent of a human would be, anyhow? Not to mention judging based on appearances in the Digital World often got you less than nowhere. Cute digimon could be vicious. Scary digimon could be gentle.

Would that be any more or less true for humans?

He did the centipede equivalent of a shrug before skittering off to pay the bill at the counter. The question could hang.

When he came back a few hundred bits lighter, he nodded at Amy, considering the situation. It'd been an indifferent answer, not leaning strongly one way or another. Without thinking, Rinji already knew which way he was leaning. After all, it'd be more economical for them to share, not to mention they'd be spending their nights together from here on out.

But those weren't the reasons why he knew what he was going to say next. Why, when he said, "I don't mind sharing either, I'll rent us a room for two," his earlier concern vanished, to be replaced by a simple feeling of contentment.

Those earlier reasons were excuses. Alibis for his own behaviour.

Despite outward appearances, Rinji had lead a very solitary life. Only now did he realise, that maybe, just maybe, he'd lived alone for too long. It felt strange to admit that he'd rather be with Amelie than alone, regardless of privacy.

Without further pause, he turned around and went back up towards the counter to pay for the room. He smiled, almost ruefully, at the receptionist when she'd assumed Amelie was his partner. He hadn't bothered to correct her.

When he'd arrived back to Amelie for the second time, he found himself having to consciously remain expressionless. Otherwise it would've seemed a little strange for him to return with a tired but grinning face, considering the receptionist hadn't actually said anything funny.

To be honest, nothing about the situation was funny at all. Somebody had lost a digivice, both he and Amelie were exhausted, not to mention they were about to embark on a potentially deathly mission.

"We were given room 19," he said as he mentally reminded himself. "She said it was this way." Of course, by 'she', he meant the receptionist. As he lead Amelie down the hall and up the stairs towards the first floor, he couldn't help but let the stupid smile that'd formerly been on his face creep back.

He really hoped he wasn't going to scare Amelie at this rate. It was just... why did everything suddenly seem so funny and stupid all of a sudden?

"Don't you think it's funny," he started, wanting to put into words why he was suddenly grinning like an idiot. "How this all started?"

"I mean, you know, when we first met... I'd actually been trying to get to Terminus. But I'd taken the wrong train, because I couldn't read the print properly. And next thing I know, I'm in a human train station being carried away by a drunk girl," he continued, smiling again. It felt weird calling Amelie a drunk girl, but what else had she been? That's all he'd known about her at the time.

"Then we're both being carried away by another human who'd just digivolved into a Devidramon, so we can get to your apartment," he recounted, having learned the word after their encounter.

"And even after I go home, the next time I see you, you're running through the woods like a Deramon with his bush on fire," he said, not even sure if she'd remember running through the woods. "Then we get locked into some ridiculous, pointless fight. Now we're going to be heading off into the unknown to find out what your spirits are and what they want."

It was the summary of their adventures and it was bonkers. Even for a digimon living in the Digital World, where anything was possible. Most digimon were like most humans: they lead mundane, relatively boring lives. Not all digimon vied for power or set out on life-threatening adventures.

"Sorry Amelie, it's just..." He trailed off, not really knowing what to say. He wasn't normally the humorous type of digimon. Maybe it was one of those laugh or cry situations. The past couple of days had been relatively stressful.

"You know... I think the tiredness is starting to get to me," he admitted to her as they approached the door to their room. He was starting to look more weary than amused now.  "Uh... do you...?" He asked her, presenting the keys to the door he'd been carrying. It just seemed polite to offer her the opportunity to enter first. 

---

OOC: Sorry for the delay, got swept up in real life with a few things. I made it up with a 900+ word text dump though ; ). I also assumed that both Amelie and Rinji would head straight for their room and nothing significant would happen inbetween, but if you were planning to do something like that, then I can edit my post so it doesn't assume that Amelie follows Rinji all the way to the room. 

The absurd retelling of their tale together may have been the most that Rinji had said all night, but judging by Amelie's reaction, she was just as willing to think back on their adventures as he was.

Even if, he realised, they hadn't known each other for the longest of times... it didn't change what they'd been through together. Being thrust into each other's lives to cooperate in at least two bizarre and dangerous scenarios, it was one of those things that quickly made you realise who your friends were and exactly how precious they are.

Rinji was pulled out of this tract of thought by what sounded like a gentle snickering from his friend. As he looked to her for an explanation, she'd continued and his puzzlement was answered.

Being bound together... like fate? Or destiny? More than a friendship?

Any further misunderstanding was quickly swept under the rug by Amelie, and Rinji could swear he could feel the blood that'd drained from his face returning again.

He couldn't help but let loose a bark-like laugh as Amelie stumbled over how suggestive it had sounded. It was an honest mistake that'd left him smiling again. Still, he nodded as she tried to continue her thoughts; he still wanted to take whatever she had to say seriously.

"Yeah, I guess it is pretty impossible," he replied modestly. The enchanting thought that they could've had a partner relationship was shot down by the simple fact that Amy was a spirit user. "But maybe it's something else? I don't know..." He speculated, adamant that Amelie wasn't delusional, before realising that what he'd said may as well have been empty words. What else could there be?

The two made their way within the depths of the hotel room with Rinji shutting the door behind them with his rear legs. He then twisted his body to lock it with his forelegs, just for good measure. There'd already been a theft. It was bad security to leave the door unlocked.

The light's been left on, he realised, as he witnessed a moth scurry into the fixture. It was no big deal, but the waste of electricity disappointed him slightly.

He was still stood in the entrance way of the room when Amelie began removing the clothing from her body. The first thing that hit him was how strange it was to see a human shed the items that normally concealed the pink skin beneath. How he saw sections of her body that he realised he hadn't seen before...

With a startle, he felt the incredible urge to look away before it was too late. Suddenly, he appeared very interested in how the curtains framed the outer window. The instinct against the desire to witness the chaste nature of the human body was strong, even in a digimon that had only the barest clue of its sanctity.

His head jerked when Amelie called him, but he remained fixed on the window. "Yeah?" He answered, still looking the other way. "If I could find the culprit?" He repeated, imagining up the scenario of facing off against a wily, thieving digimon. What would he do against this imagined foe?

Maybe he'd tackle him to the down like a hero, snatching back the device, paying no heed to the type of digimon that'd commit a crime like that. Or maybe...

But no, he almost shook his head in realisation, Amelie had asked him what he'd do to bring them to justice. At that moment, justice felt as vague as the shape of Amy's form.

"Isn't justice just another word for revenge?" Rinji asked her, almost philosophically. The question may have sounded dangerous, but the way he'd said it, it came out sounding weak. Like an excuse to dodge the question.

"I mean... I guess I would try my hardest to get the device back if I could," he continued, trying to rectify his answer to a more fulfilling one. "I just don't know if I could give out... justice." He'd played the word ambiguously, but its implications to him were troubling.

Could justice turn from arrest, to capture, to restraint, to punishment? Could he forgive himself if his actions resulted in a digimon, or even a human, being punished?

Perhaps this was less of an issue to a human, under human law, to consider; yet what Rinji didn't realise was how much more expedient that digital crime and punishment was compared to what Amelie knew of her own laws. Digimon could take pain, far more than a human; digimon could take imprisonment, potentially indefinitely, but most importantly: a digimon could take death. And they could take it over and over again, if needed.

This was why his next question was so important. Why morality itself hinged on which way the answer would swing.

"It depends on why they stole it," he finally finished. "I'd try my best to stop them, I really would. It's just, before I did anything else, I'd want to know why." Why would someone steal something so precious, yet at the same time, so unequivocally useless? It was comparable to stealing a personal treasure, such as an old book or a rusted stopwatch. It was utterly despicable, yet at the same time, unexplainable. The possession was valuable only to its owner.

"I know maybe they'd lie to me," he admitted, seeing the holes in his own plan. "But the reason behind the crime is just as important as the crime." That had come out stronger than he'd intended, but he doubled down. "Maybe if I knew why, I'd be able to make a better decision, even if I don't know what that decision would be now." 

"I guess," he continued on, now sounding slightly exasperated, "it depends on the situation." As he finished, a tone of defeat had slipped into his voice towards the end. For some reason, he'd just wanted to give Amelie a definitive answer but instead it had slipped into a vague one.

But now, he supposed, the most important question was: had Amelie finished changing clothes?

A quick glance-over confirmed his question. Yes, yes she had. An inaudible sigh of relief escaped his lips. Now, he approached her more closely, although from his side of the bed. It wasn't really proper to talk to somebody from across the room.

Wait, his side of the bed? The realisation that it was a double bed slowly dawned on him. Oh, of course. The receptionist had assumed they were partners. Well, it wouldn't be too weird, if that's what partners did. Without paying it any further thought, he released the baggage that'd been strapped to him onto the floor, leaving him as bare as the day he'd digivolved. Barring the bandage over his back, of course.

"Umm," he started, priming Amelie for his question. "Do you want to take the shower first? With my back and all... it might make a mess," he suggested, quieting down in embarrassment. The gory details of a wound were hard to admit to a friend, let alone the consequences.

Amelie's sentiments on justice and forgiveness somewhat mended Rinji's feelings of defeat. There was still more to be said on the matter.

"I'm all for repairing," Rinji commented light-heartedly. It was the part that held no moral obligation, that both sounded and felt good. Unlike justice, or its more primitive cousin: revenge.

Yes, Rinji thought, ideally, justice is good. Yet in practice, it had a tarnished record. Sometimes it was too harsh, at other times too lenient. At least Amelie had a good idea of what she believed in. "Yeah, that's probably the most sensible thing to do," he agreed with her. Leave the punishment up to the police and out of your own hands.

"But... what if you knew the police wouldn't do the right thing?" Rinji asked her, doubt creeping back. At this point, he wasn't even sure if it was hypothetical. "You'd still be responsible for what happens." Well, he wasn't sure if Amelie would see it that way, but he sure did.

Rinji paused in thought, considering another of Amelie's questions. She was being awfully inquisitive, something he wasn't used to, but he was happy to oblige. "I... I think so," he said, having pretty much admitted to it earlier. A bad act for a good reason; it was the better opposite of something else he was now thinking of.

"It's better than committing a good act for a bad reason," he reasoned, of which was quite possibly one of the sneakiest, vilest things one could do. "I mean, maybe they could be desperate or threatened into doing it. What if someone threatened someone you loved?" He'd said the question in a rhetorical tone rather than an accusatory one; he wasn't the type to doggedly defend the accused. But perhaps he was more worried about doing the right thing than was necessary.

"I mean it's a weird crime, isn't it? If there's more to it, then we have a duty to at least ask," he continued more generally. "Maybe a weird crime might have a weird reason," he suggested, going on a hunch.

"If it were easy, everyone would be doing it," Rinji finished quietly with a sort of defeating psuedo-idiom. In context, it was a bit meaningless, although it was true in its own round-about way. Law enforcement was a topic entirely in itself and only a few ever concerned themselves with it. That both he and Amelie were talking about it now was only due to an off-chance event that'd put it into the forefront of their minds. In all likelihood, it would soon be forgotten.

Maybe even as soon as they left for the bathroom. There were other things to think about; did Rinji really want to share the shower with Amelie? She'd offered quite graciously to help out, but he wasn't quite sure if he wanted to haunt her with whatever monstrosity was now laying in wait behind the bandage. It hadn't been changed for the entire day, he realised with dread.

How often were they meant to be changed? It didn't feel sore, at least not very much, so maybe his body had handled it appropriately. The thing still needed tending to, however. Most annoyingly, it was located just far enough up his back to be awkward to reach with his mouth, which was in actuality his most useful appendage.

"Yeah, maybe I could do with some help," he admitted, almost with a wince. Of course, he realised this meant that he'd be seeing Amelie's bare body, if what he heard was right. Before he had spared her the unnecessary gawking, but at least now it'd be entirely for practical purposes. Yes, that sat better with him, even if he wasn't even sure why he'd been avoiding it in the first place. This time, almost explicit permission had been given.

"Uhm, I can get the water running," he said, looking into the direction of the bathroom. Then, without another word, scurried over into the tiled room. His legs clicked on the surface and it smelled of damp and cleaner. It was also dimly lit, the only light being cast from the bedroom.

With the pull of a cord and the turning of the shower valve, the bathroom came to life. An actual bath would've been heavenly, but impractical for quite obvious reasons. He adjusted the temperature of the water with a bit of poking, until it was just between searing hot and lukewarm. The glass began to steam up as condensate collected on its surface.

Then he waited, watching the droplets fall from the silver overhead down into the basin and the drain. He didn't really feel comfortable just hopping into the shower until Amelie was ready. 

The speech given by Amelie in response to his question had shocked Rinji, to say the least. He'd only watched and listened with wide eyes as she went on, both impressed and slightly frightened by the amount of resolve that'd been lurking within the girl.

As far as he could remember, she'd never been as forth-coming or strongly opinionated until now. It was a side to her he'd never knew, and he felt... privileged, in a way. At the time he'd nodded, listened keenly and... wished he could be as resolute and strong-willed as that. But as the matter remained, he had neither the knowledge nor experience to comment anything useful. It left him feeling empty in comparison.

A small spark of frustration nestled inside him. It wasn't that he vehemently disagreed with her, it was more of wishing he could add onto the heap of passion that she'd so freely offered to him. Problem was, there simply wasn't anything more he could offer.

Still, a flicker of pride flashed through him. An alien presence, gone as quickly as it'd come. Too fast for him to process where it'd come from, or why he'd felt that way.

Now he was contemplating everything she'd said while watching the falling cascade of water droplets. But as she'd said, there was nothing they could do. Although she kept saying that, didn't she? Was it possible she was suggesting to him, testing him? That maybe she wanted to know if he did want to do something about it, but didn't want to mention it outright?

He jolted slightly, whisked from his thoughts by the announcement of her arrival. Humans were quiet when their feet weren't clad in shoes.

"O-oh yeah, we need to take it off," he murmured, still a little surprised at seeing her unclothed. As he looked to her, he kept his focus to her face and the very uppermost region of her breastbone. What he could see in his peripherals, however, left him somewhat bewildered by (what seemed to him) the insignificant features that humans liked to cover.

He looked down, considering himself and the bandage straddling him. He supposed he wouldn't want strangers seeing what he looked like without his carapace. With a pointed inhale and a wriggle, the bandage loosened itself enough for him to slip his teeth under it. Then, with a tearing motion, ripped it off.

The soft, blood encrusted material didn't stand a chance. He stood there with rags hanging from his mouth before stepping over to the waste basket and unceremoniously dropping it in. "There," he said as an afterthought.

Rinji couldn't really examine his own injury, although he could see from the corner of his eyes that it'd congealed over into a greenish scabby mess. His mouth curled into a slight grimace. "I think I'll get in first, in case there's any run-off." Amy probably wouldn't appreciate it going all over her feet, even if it didn't disgust her as much as it disgusted him.

With more clicking of his feet and the pull of the shower door, he slunk into the shower pan. The drops rolled off his carapace, melting away the dried blood into painted droplets that were greedily sucked up by the steel drain. Other particulates - dirt, he realised - were also starting to peel off.

It was all a huge mess, really. "That's what I get for living in a forest," he commented, embarrassed by the idea that Amelie could see just how dirty he was. It must've been analogous to washing a wild animal that'd been rolling around on the ground. Although that had been what he'd done yesterday, he thought wryly.

"Alright, I think it's safe now," he announced once the water started to run clear. "And the water feels great!"

The water's warmth seeped through his joints, while the humidity dampened his spiracles in just the right way. Despite the slight stinging of the wound, which was actually strangely pleasurable, Rinji was in his own little heaven.

"You know, we should have showers more often!" He suggested joyfully to Amelie, a smile plastered on his face. 

There was plenty of room for Amelie after Rinji had stepped aside to allow her to get in. It was one of those extra large showers designed for 7ft+ digimon, which suited the two of them just fine.

"Nothing like the streams back home," he commented after Amelie had stepped in, the warmth of the water finally allowing him to relax. "You wouldn't even think about it in winter." The memory of the white-sheeted flood banks and their icy cold depths were a stark contrast to his current reality. It was a reality he was enjoying, however.

It almost made him forget the main reason why they were both here until he felt Amelie's eyes on his back. On his wound. Ouch. Without missing a beat, Amelie had then asked to work on it.

"Yeah, of course," he replied, turning his back in a way to allow her better access to it. "Thank you." He almost asked how it looked before he realised how much of a non-answerable question it'd be. It was gory, the end. It'd just be asking Amelie to lie to him. And maybe, just maybe, it'd hurt less if he didn't know what it looked like.

Which it was doing a lot of, anyway. The soap, water, and heat all conspired to make it sting as much as possible. Sometimes it crossed the threshold into pain when Amelie brushed against a tender spot. "It stings," he said simply. By no means was it any type of signal to stop. A bit of pain was expected.

A prompt from Amelie spun the conversation into a different direction. A good distraction from the pain, although he was ruefully reminded how long it'd been since their last meeting. No less than half a season had passed since. Her next question came out of nowhere.

"Uhh," he felt his blood run hot, unbearably so under the heat of the shower. His mind had been thrown into the direction of Coolmon. It was undoubtedly a very different reaction from any earlier embarrassments concerning Amelie. Those were misunderstandings. This was love.

"Kind of..." He started, trailing off. A distant smile took his face. "There's this one 'mon... It's just..." The smile dropped off a bit. "I haven't really said anything to her about it."

"She's small, pink, and really sweet. I think you'd like her," he carried on. "I don't know if she feels the same way though. I mean, the way I do about her. I'm sure she'd like you." It was kind of strange, admitting all these feelings he had when he'd always kept them to himself.

"What about you?" Rinji asked her back as she worked on the wound. Maybe she was thinking of her own love interest? Though she didn't seem like the type to become smitten over another person. A more mutual relationship fitted her.

Between talking, he picked up a sponge with his mouth, wetted it with soap and started on one of his legs. He had a lot of body to clean; Amelie couldn't be expected to do all the work.

With a bit more scrubbing, Rinji dropped his sponge. "Yeah," he replied. "I'm pretty much done now." Everywhere that was reachable had been scrubbed, through and through. The hot water would take care of the rest.

To pass the time, they had each other to talk with. The enclosing privacy of the shower stall made it perfect for their almost gossip-y discussion, with the difference being that it was heartfelt and somewhat tender. Mentioning love interests might have had something to do with that.

"Thanks, Amy." He wanted to be happy, too. "Who doesn't want to be happy? I just hope she'd be happy with me." Having Coolmon be happy with him was what would ultimately make him happy, too. There was nothing better than seeing the smile on her face, or hearing the joy in her voice. But he was drifting away again.

"It's funny you called her 'cool' though," he paused for a second. "Since that's her name, kinda. Coolmon." Amelie deserved to know what it was, anyway. He trusted her. Friends shared these types of things together, and who knows, maybe she'd met her before?

Asking Coolmon out was a big proposition, "I'm not sure. I guess she likes me. But I don't know if she likes me. She kind of likes everyone." It was why he was sure she and Amelie would get along. Especially if Amelie was already friends with him. The friend of my friend is my friend; Coolmon was the type to agree with that, wasn't she?

Amelie's own love life was interesting to hear, even more so when she suggested she'd been drunk. Again. Rinji smiled anyway, albeit a little bit cheekily. "The less you remember, the better it is?" He suggested, although a little bit unsuredly.

The thought that Amelie had her own love interest off to the side lightened his mood for her, anyhow. Life wasn't always work and struggle. Although he did wonder what kind of human this had to be to catch Amelie's interest. If Amelie decided to advance the relationship, because he was sure she knew what she was doing, maybe they'd even get to meet one day.

"Maybe when this is all over we could all hang out together?" The thought was a pleasant one. It also implied that their mission wouldn't end in death, grievous bodily injury, or worse, which was probably why. "Uh, maybe only if he knows about Digimon. I do have a holosuit, though. Coolmon does too."

Throughout the entire conversation, he'd stayed stood. It was the natural position for him, like an Earth horse, although he could sit down to rest. Right now, he was just glad of the grips on the bottom of the shower. Otherwise the soap would've slipped him over long ago.

"Maybe I could invite her," he mused, as if anticipating what would happen if he did. To be honest, their mission would be a whole lot more fun. "I do have her number. We kind of have conversations sometimes." Or pretty much any spare minute he had. The past two days had been busy, but the last thing she'd sent him was a picture of Terminus' night time skyline with her paw pointing to the constellation of Big Callismon. It was now his background.

By now, the scab had likely softened enough for Amelie to peel it off. Rinji would brace himself when she went to pull off the blue-green scab. However, she'd likely find it as easy to peel away as if it were some kind of soggy rust. Afterwards, they could probably both leave the shower together, dry off and get some much needed sleep.