Skip Navigation
Getting Away (Leith Hunt)
|
Post by Leith, Veemon, and Shoutmon on Sept 10, 2018 18:32:46 GMT
"Ah, geez..." The fact that Leith couldn't handle his own digimon made the poor guy slump his shoulders in shame for a moment when Luke and Bellamy shared their suggestion. The newer twin Tamer was just too mentally tired to fight them on it, though. "If you guys would do that... nevermind. We're done with the 'owing' thing, I guess, but still. You get the picture." The young man rose, then, headed back for the cabinet he stashed his digivice, took it back, and asked it, "You guys cooled down yet? Realize."
The pair of digimon emerged, but neither of them was real thrilled. Veemon frowned with arms crossed, and Shoutmon more confrontationally raised a fist and demanded, "What the fuck was that for?"
"You know damn well what it was for! I'll admit I shouldn't have trapped you like that, but you two are gonna drive me insane if I don't get a break. I'm separating you two!"
"Oh, you're separating us? You and what army?" Shoutmon challenged, followed by summoning his mic stand. It was clear, though, this wasn't because he intended to use it as an instrument. From there, it escalated quickly; Veemon sensed the threat to his Tamer and instinctively tried to leap forward at Shoutmon. Good thing he was such a little guy, else Leith wouldn't have been able to grab Veemon from behind by both upper arms and keep him back.
"Hey, hey, back off!" Leith demanded as he heaved and pulled the blue digimon back with him. Jesus! That's new! When separated, Veemon seemed to understand just how badly he'd messed up, so he went limp and hung his head. "Humor me, Shoutmon. Back away." For a second, it didn't look like the red dragon wanted to give up his clear advantage. Perhaps it just wasn't worth the trouble, though, because at that point he banished his mic, gritted his teeth, and growled as he stormed away.
It looked like Veemon was about to apologize when he weakly muttered, "Leith-" but the young man was having none of it.
"Don't even. Just step away." Well, at least Veemon looked remorseful as he walked off in the other direction. As Leith sat back down, he sighed before addressing Luke and Bellamy. "I think that's your cue, guys," he spoke in a low voice, his attempt to keep the other two from hearing. "Good luck." Then to Colin, "Think we can watch Zooto- I mean, you know, the other one. I really need a break."
|
|
|
Post by Colin, Luke & Bellamy on Sept 11, 2018 10:39:44 GMT
When Veemon and Shoutmon were re-realized again, both of them seemed to be entirely miffed. At once, Bellamy and Luke jumped to positions between them. "Whoa, whoa, let's calm down here for a moment can we?!" Bellamy asked, but despaired internally when Leith's aggression made matters worse. But Shoutmon overstepped the line with his statement. At once, Luke glared at him. "Well, I don't know what you grew up learning, but here, you're our guests and it's simple politeness that as guests you don't fight battles in your hosts' home, so, please take it down a notch?" he asked, trying to tacitly say that without a threat. Well, indeed, that had escalated hard. As Shoutmon stormed away, Colin gave the nod to his partners to try and calm the situation down a bit. At once, Bellamy ran after Shoutmon, while Luke approached Veemon. "Hey, Shoutmon, why don'cha head with me to the kiosk?" the Impmon asked, inviting Shoutmon to a small bar at the back of Daedalus's cabin. There was a small refreshment bar set up here. Given that Colin was underage, there was no alcoholic drinks. but there were plenty of drinks that Bellamy could make that tended to please others. Meanwhile Luke smiled at Veemon. "Hey, let's take a seat at the front, it's a great view, how 'bout it?" he asked gently. Hopefully now that the two dragons were at opposite ends of the cabin they might be able to make some headway. At the bar, Bellamy quickly made a couple of fruity mocktails that he and Shoutmon could drink, while Luke invited Veemon to sit in a berth at the front where the blue dragon couldn't see what was at the back, Luke offering a bowl of chips, nuts and crackers for sampling. "So, Shoutmon... everything okay there, pal?" Bellamy asked gently. "So, Veemon, everything going alright, buddy?" Luke asked the same, both twins hoping to calmly discern exactly what the problem was here in a more relaxed setting. But they both asked in a way where 'yes' would not be an acceptable answer, given the identical looks of concern on their faces.
Meanwhile, Colin tried his best to focus on the film that was playing, given that he couldn't really pretend that all was fine in the cabin. Yet there wasn't anything else he could do other than to try and keep Leith relaxed. So all he did was quietly turn up the volume.
|
|
|
Post by Leith, Veemon, and Shoutmon on Sept 11, 2018 21:12:08 GMT
Though each of Leith's digimon's tone of voice was a little different, their answers quite unintentionally were near simultaneous. "No," Shoutmon bitterly spat while Veemon more mumbled.
"Hey, Colin," Leith then whispered to the Tamer across from the couch. Instead of saying something, though, he did the opposite: he put a finger to his lips to signal that he wanted Colin to remain quiet. Next, he held up his D-3 very clearly for Colin to see. The metalhead wanted his counterpart to watch very plainly as the young man ticked his Tamer-partner comm program on. Is it wrong to spy on their private conversations? Not if it helps settle this. Greater good and all that nice stuff, the young man reasoned. Leith actually did try to listen to the movie, though, between parts of the two simultaneous conversations.
"I can't believe he drew on Leith like that!" Veemon shouted half at Luke and half at the world as a whole. "I mean... he's supposed to protect Leith! What was he thinking? I was a little angry, too, but..." The blue dragonling was a sad combination of angry and confused as he sat beside Luke, noticing the snacks available but uncharacteristically ignoring them. "That's not what partners do. That's the whole opposite of what partners do!"
Meanwhile, Shoutmon was a little less intellectual when it came to describing his feelings. "Fuck that little fucker! He's just been a little shit ever since I met him. I should'a nailed him when I had the chance!" Before going on, though, Shoutmon accepted the drink offered a little too hastily nearly spilling it. Actually, he did spill it when he raised it and chugged it like it was a dare. "What, really? Is this because of the kid?" he asked, referencing its clear lack of alcohol. When he put the empty glass down, he got back on topic. "And you saw that, right? You've seenit all day he's been acting like it's both our fault. I got the fuckin' shaft from the start."
It was a little tough to distinguish both conversations and the movie, but he was at least able to hear enough to facetiously remark to himself, Oh, great. They're off to a good start.
|
|
|
Post by Colin, Luke & Bellamy on Sept 12, 2018 1:23:15 GMT
Colin noticed what Leith was doing with the D-3, but didn't let the others know. "Alright, just try not to get angry at what they say" Colin mentioned, thinking that would just make things a whole lot worse.
Luke listened patiently to what Veemon had to say and remained silent for a little while as he processed it. It all happened so suddenly, he didn't know why Shoutmon had reacted so violently. But seeing the situation as a whole, Leith's family life being so troubled at the moment, it was understandable that tempers were riding high.
"Sounds like things are tough for all three of you, huh?" Luke said, sympathetically. "It can't be very easy, trying to deal with it all and just ending up stepping on each other's toes. What's the V-Pet program like by the way? Is it painful or anything like that?" Luke hadn't thought of that. He had never experienced its use before, and if Leith was hurting his partners by using it without knowing, perhaps he should? After all, Shoutmon only really lost his temper after it was used.
Luke didn't want to take sides here though. He'd wait a little to calm down before asking about Shoutmon.
Bellamy meanwhile was a little startled by just how angry Shoutmon was. Was he referring to Leith or Veemon though? Still, the Impmon wanted to get him out of his blind rage first. "Easy there, pal, deep breaths, bein' angry won't solve anything" he said gently.
"And yeah, sorry, Colin's 15, his parents would probably get kinda pissed off if he had liquor around" Bellamy clarified further. But he would have none of Shoutmon's one-sided opinion though. "Shoutmon, the guy's been kicked out of his own home, how do you think he feels about that?" he asked, still gently, but in a way that showed he wasn't impressed at the other's behaviour. He prepared Shoutmon another mocktail - a lime flavored one, he generally found those to be a bit more calming than the sugar-filled ones.
|
|
|
Post by Leith, Veemon, and Shoutmon on Sept 12, 2018 3:36:17 GMT
Leith didn't say, "I got it," out loud, but he did mouth it to show he understood, even if he already looked a little hot under the collar. At least he was able to get a little chuckle as rookie cop Judy Lops and her Renamon partner got stared down by a crime boss played by a tiny Chuumon.
Too bad he was the only one in anything close to a good mood. Luke deserved credit for taking a slick approach, though; the question did indeed get Veemon to simmer down a little. "It's really not bad," Veemon a little more calmly assured the Elecmon, "I don't like not being able to walk around on my own, but it's not- you know, painful or claustrophobic. It's like..." The view seemed to help Veemon decide on his simile. "It's like riding on Daedalus, I guess, just going where you're taken and watching. Except it's completely empty inside... or, it used to be."
"Probably feels like shit." Despite Shoutmon's acknowledgement of that, he didn't sound very sympathetic as he said it. Despite the red digimon's earlier show of disappointment, he took the second offered beverage and chugged it just as quickly, though slightly less sloppily. Actually, it seemed to have the desired effect, too; Shoutmon set that glass down more gently than the first and sat a little less stiffly after it. "But I feel like shit, too! How was I supposed to know I was just a dirty secret?" Shoutmon didn't so much show anger with that as a sort of solemn resignation. "You know what I think? I bet they blame me. Both of 'em. Or Veemon blames me, and Leith likes him too much to say anything. Or Veemon's just a dick, I dunno. I just know he's the favorite." The anger returned, then, but not with the passion from earlier.
|
|
|
Post by Colin, Luke & Bellamy on Sept 12, 2018 9:51:08 GMT
Colin had to admit that seeing the digimon on-screen seemed to provide a much more polished performance than the CGI animations he was used to. Mainly because two years with Luke and Bellamy had taught him that even if they did look like talking animals, digimon were capable of feeling and expressing raw emotions very effectively, and these actors were more than mere parody, they were putting their all into it.
Luke was glad to hear that the V-Tamer program didn't hurt, and just seemed to be a means of taking the digimon off the scene so to say. Still though, in his honest opinion, it would be a better thing for Leith in the long run to at least get his digimons' consent before using it. Putting himself in their shoes (even if they had none), if Colin did something like that, he could take it, while Bellamy would probably be pissed as all hell if it happened without him agreeing to it.
"So, uh..." Luke then proceeded, cautiously. "I remember when we last met, after... that incident on the Network Plains. Leith ended up with an egg somehow, and that hatched into Shoutmon then, right?" He hoped he wasn't being too forward with this, but he felt he had to try and home in on what the problem was if he wanted to help solve it. "Did... something happen between then and now?" he prompted gently. If some kind of quarrel had happened that had caused this toxic atmosphere to rise, he felt that it would need to be addressed first.
Meanwhile Bellamy was at least glad to hear Shoutmon give some acknowledgement that he might understand Leith's feelings. He then listened quietly as Shoutmon said his piece. That was what Luke did after all, listen for the full details, then try and help once all the pieces were gathered.
And at the end, there it was. It seemed that since Veemon was the first partner and Shoutmon was the second, it seemed Shoutmon felt like he was given the short end of the stick here. If Bellamy ventured to guess, it might seem that he felt that Veemon was given more chances to bond with Leith and since they seemed to be so different in personality, it seemed that Shoutmon was feeling like he was being spurned in favour of Veemon. The Impmon nodded a little as he poured a lighter version of the previous drink, less lime, more water, but still tasting similar.
"Y'know, I think I'm startin' to get the picture here" he said, cautiously. "In the beginning it was Leith and Veemon, then you come along and are also Leith's partner, and you don't feel like you're being treated fairly, right? Because if that's true, well, I'm sorry to hear ya feel that way, but, lashing out won't really help things get better, y'know?"
|
|
|
Post by Leith, Veemon, and Shoutmon on Sept 12, 2018 14:03:19 GMT
Leith’s lips pursed as he listened. So that’s what Shoutmon thought? Leith began frantically scanning his own recent memories, looking for examples where he might have shown some favoritism for Veemon over Shoutmon. ‘But how has there even been time for that?’ he wondered as nervously pulled his hair back from his face repeatedly. ‘I’ve known him for four days... or, like, sixteen hours of real world time.’ Leith frowned as that thought led to another. ‘Has that really been it? God, I wonder if that’s even enough time for the others to even think about missing me.’
The question remained, though, what Veemon’s problem with his ‘twin’ could be. His answer to Luke’s version of that question was, “Of course something happened. He got caught.” Veemon blinked very slowly. “I was almost happy, to be honest. I thought the other Crowthers were gonna be more open-minded. But Leith’s parents just got instantly scared. Not even of us! They got scared of danger they thought we’d bring to Leith and his family, and I... I couldn’t even say they were wrong.” Veemon sniffed and was trying to look away from Luke. Was he trying to keep his face hidden? “But I’m supposed to be Leith’s partner! It’s my job to protect him, and I wanna protect them, too! But Shoutmon just... ruined it all. Because of him, Leith has no home and no family, and he’s supposed to be Leith’s real partner? While I’m just... an accident?”
At this point Veemon was looking completely away from Luke, but he betrayed his whole reason why when he raised a hand to apparently wipe his face.
An equally perplexing but slightly less urgent question was where Shoutmon kept putting all the drinks he kept being served. Obviously he’d had plenty of things to drink earlier of a night (though of a different persuasion), and yet after he downed the lime-water, he was already holding out a hand like he expected another. Without taking it back, he responded to Bellamy, “I ain’t lashin’ out against anyone,” with a tone similar to that of one who is lashing out. “They give me shit, and I give it back. I ain’t a perfect digimon, but I only fight in my own weight class. Or, whatever the saying is. And come on! If my ‘brother’ can’t get it, at least my fucking Tamer should.”
Similar to Veemon, Leith at this point was starting to turn away from Colin.
|
|
|
Post by Colin, Luke & Bellamy on Sept 13, 2018 11:33:01 GMT
Luke continued to listen patiently to Veemon. It seemed that emotions were still raw over the event, that all of this had happened as a complete surprise and shock. It seemed natural of them to blame each other for this terrible misfortune. Luke admitted the night he and Bellamy had revealed themselves to Colin's parents he was scared that something like that might have happened too, but their reactions were far more rational. Was it because they had made more preparations? Was it because Colin's elder sister Sophie had been there to vouch for them? Well, it wasn't his place to judge that right now.
The Elecmon noticed that Veemon was very emotional at the moment. He was a little taken aback by him blaming Shoutmon for all this, but, supposed he couldn't blame him for that. A misfortune had happened that had shattered their lives and it was only natural for them to seek blame. But still, it wasn't the right thing to do. When he saw Veemon wipe his face, Luke reached forward and gently patted his shoulder.
"It's alright, Veemon. I saw how closely devoted you were to Leith, that day on the Network Plains. You're meant to be his partner, that I know" he said. "And Shoutmon... do you really think he meant for all this to happen? This isn't anyone's fault. It just seems to be a big misunderstanding to me". He'd describe it further as a situation where everyone seemed to just throw their anger in the air and let everything explode, but supposed saying that description out loud wouldn't be particularly helpful.
Bellamy meanwhile hesitated before serving more. Three glasses of liquid downed so quickly was probably a bit much, so he simply leaned against the bar as he listened to Shoutmon. He paused for a moment, wondering how Luke would respond to this. Nothing accusatory, nothing that involved presuming what was going on, just gentle questions. Yeah. That seemed to be the right style.
"And what kind of 'shit' have they been givin' you?" the Impmon asked, wondering if Shoutmon had any examples of atrocious treatment he had suffered. He said nothing else for the moment, even if he had much more to say, but would just like to hear exactly what Shoutmon was being so angry about.
|
|
|
Post by Leith, Veemon, and Shoutmon on Sept 13, 2018 18:36:23 GMT
Shoutmon didn't instantly answer Bellamy. Instead he kept his hand out and maintained eye contact with the Impmon, his way of nonverbally demanding more. Soon enough, however, it became clear this was a standoff Shoutmon wasn't going to win, so he reluctantly pulled his arm back. "Don't joke with me, man. You've seen it. Veemon's always correcting me, insulting me. He's 'sorry for my behavior.' He's 'adventerous,' and I'm 'reckless.' And Leith does nothing! Never says a damn thing or agrees with Veemon if he does." Shoutmon's eyes narrowed. "I'm not gonna lie down and take that."
Neither did Veemon answer right away either. As Luke both reassured Veemon of his purpose and Shoutmon's innocence, he sniffed and used both hands to wipe his eyes. When he turned back around, though, he looked very cool and stoic. This was because he was determined not to show too much negative emotion, perhaps. "I know he didn't mean it, Luke! I know he's not gonna replace me! I still feel like that!" Despite his own efforts, his tone was one that was scolding Luke for thinking Veemon didn't already know this. However, he changed his tune real fast when he frowned and looked down. "That's awful of me, isn't it?"
Leith hastily switched the comm off and tossed his digivice down in front of himself, landing on the table in the center. "I can't hear this anymore," he explained curtly. "God. Am I an asshole? I feel like one."
|
|
|
Post by Colin, Luke & Bellamy on Sept 14, 2018 11:51:45 GMT
Bellamy was kinda waiting for a true excuse for Shoutmon to be angry and resentful, but it hadn't come. Sure, being disrespected like that wasn't pleasant, but, not really a valid cause for Shoutmon to lose his temper like before. But he wondered how to word his response. Should he be gentle and risk Shoutmon ignoring him? Or be forceful and risk saying the wrong thing and end up making him angry? Still, he supposed he'd best pour him another drink. Another lime-water should do it.
As the seconds went past, his initial harsh words faltered, then faded from his mind. To him initially it seemed like Shoutmon was demanding respect without its due and throwing a tantrum when he wasn't, but, thinking about it more, as the Impmon looked over at Veemon at the front of the cabin and Leith in the middle, there were serious communication issues with the three of them.
"Have you... tried bein' nice to them?" Bellamy eventually asked. "Like... ask them something that they might like and then help 'em get it? Don't get me wrong, I'm not sayin' you should roll over and take it, but, yeesh, Shoutmon... Leith's your partner. And Veemon is too. Ya gotta make it work somehow, since you're not gonna get another chance. And also, have you even told them this? That you don't like bein' treated that way?"
He hoped that this had given him something to think about, and not something to rage back at.
Luke meanwhile understood at once what Veemon feared. That he was scared that he might be an inferior digimon, so along comes the loud and boisterous Shoutmon to act as an alternative for Leith's companionship.
"It's a hard situation, I understand" Luke answered. "I might not have experienced it myself, since my brother and I met Colin at the same time and he treated us both nicely, but, I can see why that would make you scared". He then remembered where they were going in Whitewater when they first met tonight. "But... Shoutmon was trying to do something nice for you earlier, right? I mean... he might not know that you didn't want to go to the nightclub, but, maybe that was his attempt at making peace with you?"
Yeah... that made sense. In fact Luke felt a little bad now that he had interrupted that, then he and Colin and Bellamy had invited the three of them aboard Daedalus where all of these problems were still raw, and... oh dear, that might not have been the best thing to do.
Colin had heard the conversations as well, and understood that Leith felt pretty upset to hear his partners talking this way. Leith then asked if he thought he was an asshole, but Colin shook his head.
"No, Leith, I don't think that at all" Colin said. Even though Colin was four years younger, he was going to grow into a large man and was about the same height. He cautiously patted Leith's shoulder gently. "You're just going through a tough time. It's... not easy being a tamer. Especially to two partners. I only managed it myself with help from others".
But he wanted to provide some practical advice as well. He thought for a moment on what to say, then spoke it. "Don't give up on them. Veemon or Shoutmon. It's been a rough start, but, they can be good digimon". How he knew that? Well, Luke and Bellamy were still talking to them, and he trusted their judgement.
|
|
|
Post by Leith, Veemon, and Shoutmon on Sept 15, 2018 3:05:46 GMT
“I’m not gonna give up on them, Colin.” The truth was the young man thought that was off the table, so he didn’t appreciate the implication that he was thinking about it. This was something the young man tried not to let slip in his voice, but as his stress began to build his normally flat monotone was becoming something he couldn’t so easily control. “I had that chance, remember?” Leith’s voice was starting to crack. “I’m just n-not thrilled t-to hear it’s my f-f-fault.” By this point the movie was just background noise to the new twin Tamer’s own fairly negative thoughts.
Surprisingly, Shoutmon took the fourth mocktail from Bellamy but didn’t drink it. Instead he just peered at it and set it down. “What do you think I been doin’ this whole time? I’ve never said a thing bad at about either of ‘em - not one - unless they start shit. I want everyone to be friends and blow some shit up together, but I ain’t gettin’ the warmest reception for, you know, existing.” Maybe Shoutmon was making some progress; he leaned forward and held his head in his hands, a clear sign he was dealing with something. “Shit, you know what? If they just apologized even once, I’d get the fuck over it... ‘cause I’m that frickin’ nice. Hell, I’m still HERE after all that! But, you know, like a real apology.” Shoutmon’s eyes narrowed. “And I don’t see that happenin’.”
Too bad Shoutmon wasn’t privy to things on the other end of the airship. “That wasn’t for me,” Veemon fairly certainly denied in response to Luke’s theory. “But... it was for Leith. He thought Leith would come eventually and wanted him to find us there.” Veemon knew that was him admitting his twin wasn’t as anti-Leith as he’d accused earlier. “I think he was wrong, but... still.” Veemon hung his head still lower. “I can’t believe this. I’m the one making all the problems, and I made Leith not even want to see me. That’s... I just want-“ That was more of a hasty cutoff instead of a soft trail off; whatever it was Veemon had almost said, it was something he didn’t want known. He managed to change tracks quickly, though. “Luke, do you think they can forgive me? I’m not sure I would if I switched places with one of them.”
|
|
|
Post by Colin, Luke & Bellamy on Sept 15, 2018 13:57:54 GMT
Colin immediately knew he had probably hit a raw nerve with Leith. He withdrew with a timid expression. "S-sorry... I didn't mean to imply..." he tried to think of a way to finish that sentence, but couldn't. He was never good at this sort of thing. He wanted very much to help Leith out and bring peace to him and his partners, but, at the moment he just felt like all he was doing was treading on eggshells around him. Maybe the best thing was to just shut up? He had never encountered a situation like Leith's. Colin was less experienced than he was in life and just didn't have the maturity to help him. If only Sophie was here, maybe she'd know how to approach things?
But when Leith continued, it seemed clear that he felt very upset that his partners thought this way of him. Colin thought hard and rapidly what to say next. He wanted to say something, especially since it was now clear Leith was upset about the situation. But he knew it had to be the right thing. For the moment, the boy wondered what he would do if he was in Leith's situation. Colin had taken care from day one to let both Bellamy and Luke that he loved them both. Even in the early days there were rocky moments, like when Bellamy burned his homework accidentally and Colin's rage at him stunned him so much he thought he wasn't welcome anymore, but, they had made up with a long hug afterward. And another time when Luke had accidentally electrocuted him with his tail spikes, the same had occurred.
Colin eventually opened his mouth, and eventually he spoke a sentence. "Digimon need to know that they're loved, Leith" he said. For a moment he scolded himself internally, that just felt like a stupid thing to say, but, he thought back to his moments with Luke and Bellamy. They seemed at their happiest when Colin showed affection to them, when they shared delightful moments and comforted each other in the hard times. And it was the truth too, digimon were creatures that were very sensitive to the emotions of their partners. Colin then looked at the older young man, wondering how he would take that.
Bellamy listened to Shoutmon's reply, giving a sigh. "Okay, I get that..." he said. "But sometimes... ya just gotta be more obvious, you know? Yeah, I get it, it ain't cool to spill out all your feelings and such, but, sometimes, ya gotta let it all out, you know? Let the others in your life know exactly what you're feeling, because they can totally get the wrong idea about you, and you can totally get the wrong idea about them"
Shoutmon just seemed to want to get an apology. Bellamy was uncertain about that. The way things were, if he demanded an apology, that could result in a response of "Fuck you, why should I apologize to you for?" given the current air of the cabin.
"Shoutmon..." Bellamy began, speaking carefully. "You feel wronged. I get that. And I'm sorry you feel that way. But, I'm talkin' from experience here, if your plan is to get them to start kissin' your ass outta nowhere, it ain't gonna work. You gotta approach this amicably. Give 'em a reason to like you. I get what you're sayin', you're Leith's partner and you don't feel you've been treated right, but, maybe you gotta give a little more for him and Veemon to appreciate that, y'know? Then once you've got 'em listening, let them know your feelings. We'll be here to stop it getting outta hand".
Luke also listened to Veemon, realizing that there was indeed something salvageable from all this. The Elecmon simply patted Veemon's arm again.
"Leith loves you, Veemon, like Colin loves me and Bellamy" he said. "And if you give Shoutmon the chance, I think you can get along with him too. Just don't think the worst of him, and I think you'd be surprised by how much you guys can get along". He smiled, but paused, then added to that thought. "Just... learn your boundaries, that's my advice. And... try to respect each other?".
|
|
|
Post by Leith, Veemon, and Shoutmon on Sept 17, 2018 18:35:49 GMT
"Letting people know they're loved?" Leith quipped wittily but rather humorlessly, "You've found my one weakness: showing affection for others." This was a struggle the young man had known from day one. For him, it was a kind of zero-sum power struggle to find out how others felt without showing his own emotional hand, so to speak. "So that one rears its ugly head again, huh? I'm kind of an 'actions speak louder than words' kinda guy.'" Still, he had to admit, "But it sounds like you're still right."
Perhaps this was a struggle Shoutmon shared. "Do I look like a touchy-feely 'mon to you?" The red digimon leaned back and crossed his arms across his chest defensively. "You'd think anyone who can tell they fucked up when they get a good whack!" Even though Shoutmon's posture didn't change from there, his expression seemed to reluctantly soften from anger to personal frustration. "...fine. We'll try it your way. It ain't like mine's workin', is it?"
While Shoutmon was apparently only reluctantly on board, at least Veemon seemed to understand and fully agree. "Yes, I know. It's my fault. I just... I can't believe it. That I could just be a... I guess a bully like that." Veemon showed some teeth in his best attempt at a smile, which turned out to look more like a child with stage fright on picture day. But to his credit, he resolved before Luke, "I'm gonna fix this."
|
|
|
Post by Colin, Luke & Bellamy on Sept 18, 2018 8:06:32 GMT
Colin understood slightly the problems that Leith had with doing that. He had a friend once back in America that had been kinda like that, a little standoffish, but Colin had been nice to him because he had helped him once with math, and the two had become close. That was one of the things he had missed since moving away from Omaha to Japan in time to start junior high school. But he supposed it had been harder for his old friend.
Still, he gave a bit of a grin. "Well, if you're more comfortable with actions than words, a hug could do" he said. "Or if you don't think that'd go that far, just a pat on the back can work. If you let Shoutmon know you do appreciate him, I'm sure that'll make him happier".
Bellamy was glad at least Shoutmon was willing to try out a new method of getting things to work. He had the feeling that him just whacking things to get his own way had come over rather poorly with Leith and Veemon. "No need to get all kissy-feely, just, be approachable" he advised. "Like my brother says, bridges don't get built from one end, they gotta meet halfway". He was rather proud of himself for recalling that quote from Luke, ever the little fluffy engineer.
And Luke gave Veemon an encouraging smile and a nod. "Okay, you can do it, buddy" he said, then hopefully the three of them could gather in the middle of the cabin without fighting now.
Colin and his partners would thus take mostly passive roles as they hoped Leith, Veemon and Shoutmon could work out their problems without their interruption, but they were ready to mediate if things got rocky.
|
|
|
Post by Leith, Veemon, and Shoutmon on Sept 19, 2018 2:14:20 GMT
Leith thought on Colin's suggestion a little before responding, "Hmm... I did tell Veemon once I'd try and be a bit more open. I guess I still haven't fully realized that even though I really owe it to him at this point. Now I guess I owe Shout, too... though he's definitely not the hug type." From across the airship, Leith was able to catch Shoutmon approaching, and the red dragon was wearing an expression the young man couldn't quite identify. At least it wasn't plain anger, though. "Oh, boy. Better figure it out fast."
"Figure what out?" Leith wasn't able to see Veemon, who wasn't being sneaky but nevertheless made it back to Colin and Leith without the latter noticing, causing the young man to startle.
"Vee? Hey, Shoutmon's-"
"I know." Veemon didn't even look at his Tamer; he was watching Shoutmon like a hawk as the red dragon approached. Seeing what was going on, Leith promptly stood and walked around behind the couch, letting him both watch and avoid the anger he was sure was coming.
"First thing," Shoutmon asserted while pointing at Leith and Colin, "I'm not stupid. I know your boys were playing us. So... just wanna make that clear. Second of all, you two-" Shoutmon pointed at Leith and Veemon in sequence then. It looked almost like he was about to try 'getting them to kiss his ass out of nowhere' when Bellamy's suggestion kicked in. "...guys, gimme a break. I hate the way you guys treat me. Quit making me the new kid! I'm an equal partner here, and I want you to treat me like it. I'm sorry for getting caught, but I think you've been holding it against me from the start while you've been acting like our is a two-fault kinda thing. Just let me be your friends already! You two are-" Shoutmon apparently had to hold his own head and turn away to growl before turning back. "I'm three days old, and you guys are all I've got! I'm frickin' beggin' ya here!"
"I'm sorry."
"I said don't give me-!" Shoutmon had apparently spoken before thinking, for he interrupted himself before he could get angry again. "...oh."
|
|
|