Rapport in Dark Blue (Archon)

Archon had gone through a hell of a journey to get here. To get to the village of "Rosewood" from where he had ended up on this new continent from the Dark Area, he had to trudge through a region called the "Backup Bayou", a region of swampland that was Archon's next piece of hell. The only way he could have gotten through it was probably the perseverance he had built up from the Dark Area. He had faced worse hardships there, he told himself, as he trudged through the boglands, but, there were a few moments where he had almost failed to continue.

The first was when he had misjudged the depth of a bog that cut off his path, and he had almost sunk under as he forced himself forward, every step straining him of so much energy. But, this was nothing to what he had experienced back home, the phenomena of that hellscape, the vile monstrous digimon that lived there and delighted in tormenting him. Several moments, when it was just his eyes and nose above the surface, he forced himself onward. He would not let himself be buried here. And so when he emerged on the other side, dripping with muck, he saw that as yet another defiance against whatever had caused this series of misfortunes that had been foisted upon him.

But that would not be his only trial through the boglands. A stinking, putrid landscape was of course the perfect home for stinking, putrid digimon. And Archon was then challenged by a bunch of them. It was only wits that had got him through that, when he had managed to trick the bastards into attacking each other while he escaped.

And so, when he emerged into the region of the continent called the "Eastern Timberlands", he gave himself a moment to collapse from exhaustion, thirsty and hungry, as through the whole bayou he had only been able to seemingly come across mud and poison. Dressed in nothing but his black and white lizard hide, he had gone through that with nothing but his own sheer will to live. And for that, he felt proud of himself.

The first stream he came across in the forest, he at once immersed himself in it, washing off the mud, drinking the water. But the hunger was still there, so any food he could come across, he'd eat, no matter how bad it tasted. Underripe meat apples, strange berries and digital mushrooms, yeah, those made him space out a bit, but at least they filled the void in his stomach.

So, the state that Archon was in when he finally entered Rosewood, he wasn't in the mood to be stopped. He saw the town guards ahead, then scowled, aiming to walk past them.

"Stop there!" the Armor Champions snapped, halting his path. "Who are you?"

Archon had to restrain himself from just trying to rip them apart. He took a deep breath, then spoke in a deathly calm voice.

"I am a newly arrived Rookie digimon. I have had to go through hell to get to this village. I am told that Rosewood is meant to be a sanctuary for Rookie digimon, so, may I enter?" he asked. The guards blinked at his words for a moment, then let him on his way.

"Alright, but no trouble, BlackVeemon" one said. If Archon had the energy he would've given that bastard 'trouble' right there, but he did not. He just wanted to find the biggest building in the village to crash down into. He soon found it, and was glad to see it was an inn. Good.

The BlackVeemon entered, still somewhat fuming at how terrible his journey had been. And when a simpering Floramon started bothering him at the entrance, he found he couldn't hold his temper anymore.

"Ah hello there, sir, how can our humble establishment possibly provide you of assistance this fine day~ May I indulge sir with our men-"

"Look, I don't have any money, so, just gimme a fucking quiet table and some water!" Archon spat. The looks given back to him were shocked, and he realized he wasn't actually still in the dark area, he probably could do with learning some manners. So, clearing his throat with an abashed expression, Archon corrected himself.

"I'm sorry, it's been a long trip" he said. "Can I please have some water? I... kinda need to find a way to pay you for some food later, if that's okay".

The Floramon was at least glad for that courtesy, then gave a cautious nod. "Of course, sir, this way" he was thankfully directed to a single table. Archon slumped down in the seat, exhausted. So, here he was in Rosewood, what the hell was he meant to do now? He didn't know anyone here, and given that everyone was staring at him, they probably thought he'd be a monster and he might be cast out at any time. Just great. Did that Toki guy send him here as a sick joke?

Archon then glanced around, noticing there was a digimon kinda like him present. Only where Archon's scales were black, this guy's was blue. Archon couldn't help but stare for a moment. Just... what was he? While curious, Archon just needed time to recover for the moment. If anyone wanted to talk to him, they'd have to be the ones to initiate conversation.

Archon was a little startled when the Veemon he had been looking at looked straight back at him. Out of embarrassment, he immediately looked away, but realized he was probably staring longer than what was thought acceptable.

He realized this when the Veemon stood up and walked toward him. Oh, god, what was this about? Archon didn't want to have a confrontation, not now. Had he done a mistake in looking at this digimon? The BlackVeemon began to look a bit scared now. Staring at someone longer than accepted in Fragment Village often meant a beating one couldn't recover from easily.

Well, if Archon was going down, he'd go down fighting. At once, he stood up from his chair as Veemon approached, bracing his tired body for an altercation. But before he even raised his fists, the Veemon's words were kind and concerning.

"...wha-?!" Archon asked, stunned. Nobody had spoken to him like that before, other than Toki. At once, Archon relaxed. He realized now. Now that he had received this kind of communication from two individuals, he was convinced that just maybe there were nice digimon on this continent?

Still though, the pride he had armed himself with over his years in the dark area didn't exactly make him a soft guy to speak to. In response to this, he plopped back down on his seat, giving a curious look back up at him.

"Yeah I'm doin' alright" he lied at first. Actually... he realized after he said that that no, that wasn't true. He needed help. And turning down someone that offered it so quickly wasn't something he wanted to do. "Actually... not really, I got no idea what this village is about, I'm tired, hungry, broke and pissed off, and if you could do me a solid and solve at least half those things I'd be happy to do somethin' for you in return... down the line".

Yeah, he supposed he must look pretty pathetic right now. But Archon was limited on options here. He might be prideful, but he wasn't the type to reject a lifeline.

Archon gave a wary glance at Levi as he seemed to smugly repeat the problems he had mentioned. The only reason he tolerated this was because hopefully it would result in some help being done. But if this guy was just gonna speak in riddles and be annoying, Archon would quickly tire of him.

However, he was more reassured by the follow-up statement. That the blue Veemon seemed to be aware how odd he was acting, and that it seemed to be all part of his act. Archon felt a little more at ease with this honesty, but, wouldn't fully trust these people until something solid had actually been done as a favour.

Archon watched as the other Veemon consulted his human partner, then returned with an offer that stunned him.

"Y-you'd offer me that much for nothin' in return?" he asked, totally astonished. If he hadn't already met Toki he'd be absolutely perplexed by this, but, this was the second person that offered him something for nothing in return. Why did they do this? Was it for friendship? Charity? Archon had only heard of those words in abstract theory, he didn't know what they meant in actual actions. But still. He appreciated the generosity, but felt uncomfortable in accepting it without offering something in return.

"So, uh, I'd like to accept your offer, but, I kinda want to repay you however I can" Archon admitted. "So if you need mercenary work, or general help, uh, I can do that". He hoped he wasn't sounding too desperate or inappropriate, but he was just acting out what he knew from his upbringing.

Archon scratched his head with confusion at what Levi was telling him. Where the BlackVeemon had come from, everything was a favour or a favour owed. Nobody ever did anything nice for someone unless there was something in it for them. And, for most of his life, Archon had lived by that. So, this was a whole new area of learning for him, the concept of simply doing nice for someone else. At first it felt foreign and disturbing to him, but, this following Toki's generosity, he was starting to catch onto it as a good thing.

"So... if you helped me, I wouldn't have to do anything in return, is that what you're saying?" Archon asked, still very confused. "Well... I can't have that, not at all, you do somethin' good for me, I do somethin' good for you, I might be from the dark area but I'm not an asshole like they are" he scowled.

Archon was then a little confused at what happened next. He tilted his head when Levi mentioned that there was something in return he might like, and then he formally introduced himself. Complete with a gesture that Archon recognized as human. Well, it wasn't exactly malicious, so the BlackVeemon returned the handshake. "The name's Archon" he answered, simply. Then, Levi pointed out his human partner. Archon's initial reaction was a flinch, but he made no other reactions other than that. Just a simple thing of a digimon with a human partner. He had already met a human for the first time in Toki, so, he knew they weren't all bad.

Levi said they were both new to town theirselves and probably wouldn't be much help to newcomers. But, Archon appreciated the offer of an ear to speak to.

For a moment, Archon was thinking about inviting Levi's partner to listen too, but, in the end, thought against it. He didn't trust humans quite yet, so, he'd simply speak quietly to Levi.

"To be honest, I don't know what to think" he said, quietly. "Last thing I remember is being thrown into the blood sea, that's the ocean off the coast of the Dark Area. Usually digimon drown when that happens, but I end up alive off this place called the Binary Archipelago and meet this human spirit wielder called Toki, who... was probably the nicest person to me in the world at that point".

He didn't mince words here. Toki's kindness had changed Archon's entire worldview about humans.

"Toki then directed me to Rosewood, so I went, and, had to go through the Backup Bayou. And when I was nose-deep in the bogs there I thought I was back in the dark area again... I know Toki didn't mean that, but, when I washed up on that shore I thought things might get better, but, I barely got out of that swamp alive, and, I'm left thinkin', "Is everything in the world just this absolutely toxic?".

He finished with a bitter look on his face. That something bad would always happen in everything. He just hoped for some kind of reassurance from that if he was honest, but, he wouldn't say that directly.

After speaking his problems out in full to someone, Archon felt himself somewhat calmer than before. That Levi seemed sympathetic, that made him feel happier too. That his unsatisfaction of his experience was validated. And that maybe he could cheer up somewhat, if Levi would help him to do so.

Archon did catch on to something that Levi said though. "You... said that you were convinced nobody wanted you around?" he asked, curiously. That was similar to how Archon felt in the dark area. Back then, the BlackVeemon seemed to get the impression that most other digimon couldn't care less if he died, so he stayed alive just to spite them, never quite bringing them over the threshold required for them to decide to just kill him there and then.

"Why the heck would that be?" Archon asked, finding himself needing to speak out on this. "You're a good looking Veemon, here on this continent of things that like other good looking things, why wouldn't anyone like you?"

Archon only mentioned that because it didn't make sense to him. Yeah, he'd understand if Levi was a dirty dark area digimon like he was, but, he didn't see anything unlikeable about a digimon that just approached him and even offered free food like this.

"I'll have, eh, whatever you're having, I'm too tired to be picky" Archon chuckled a little. He thought he'd be in a much better mood once food was in his belly instead of poison mud.

If Archon had never met Toki, he'd hardly care about what Levi's struggles had been. But, since the kindly human spirit user had helped him way back, when the BlackVeemon should have been dead from the sea, instead, he had given him nothing but kindness. And it had felt really good to experience. So, he'd do Levi the favour of sitting and listening to his story.

Archon's expression remained neutral to start with, then began to contort into an incredulous expression. But he didn't say anything, because he was familiar with that kind of behaviour. A shy digimon in the dark area? It was a common reaction for the residents to treat them cruelly until they acted in a way that pleased them.

Then, it seemed that Levi had received punishment in turn, another digimon had taken issue with his behaviour and had attacked him for it, and had forced him to flee in disgrace. And he had suffered more because of it. Seeing Levi almost on the verge of tears because of this, Archon felt he had to reach out here.

"Levi, pal, that's in the past, forget about it" he advised, leaning forward to pat the blue Veemon's arm. "As long as that won't happen again, don't worry about it, pal". After all, through his struggles in the bayou, that was one of the few things that Archon had used to bring himself forward. Struggling in the mud, that was something he could deal with. Had he remained in the Dark Area, he wouldn't have been able to make it most likely.

Eventually, food was ordered, and for the first time in his life, Archon looked upon a pizza. He curiously reached out and picked up a slice. It smelled delicious, so he took a bite. It tasted delicious. "Oh my god, Levi, you're awesome!" he grinned.

Then Levi mentioned Archon saying he was good looking earlier. Archon grinned back.

"Well yeah" he said, pausing while he chewed and swallowed a bit more of the pizza. "You're pretty fit, nice clean scales, cute face, you are pretty good lookin'" he said. Just the truth as he saw it was all.

Archon leaned back with a grin, glad he had cheered Levi up. "You look really nice when you smile, ya know that?" he asked, matter-of-factly.

As Archon dug into the pizza, heh, he couldn't care less about toppings and how others judged them for it. "Heh, who cares what they think?" Archon asked, eating another slice. "I'll take what I want on mine". Indeed, he knew little about good food, but, he supposed if he stayed here and had a meal like this every day, he'd soon learn what he liked and didn't like. Food was different when there was so much to choose from.

Archon then noticed that Levi seemed to really appreciate the compliments he had given him. On a level higher than something from a general acquaintance too. A sly grin crept across his face. Did... did this guy actually fancy him? Well, if that was the case, Archon would be flattered, and interested.

"Yeah, well, of course once I came across clean water I washed myself off, thankfully as thoroughly as I could manage" Archon said. Then Levi burst forth with the counter-compliments, which Archon playfully listened to, slowly chewing his second slice of pizza.

"Yeah, lithe, that's the word I've been meaning to find about a way to describe myself" Archon remarked. "Heh, thanks, you're a real peach, Levi" he meant that in an endearing way. Someone soft but sweet. Something he wouldn't have picked up on given his earlier story, but, of course, that was an admitted mistake that had been dealt with.

Archon had his suspicions confirmed with Levi's final babbling. The BlackVeemon chuckled. "You must be new to this dating thing then" he said, then realized what he had said, his red eyes widening. "...did I just say date?" he asked. "Uh... wow, left the cruise control on a bit long there, so, um, well... I take it that you'd... be interested in makin' this a, uh, date?"

Archon definitely didn't expect to be desired in this way, not so soon after his ordeal, but, the conversation was leading in this way, and, if he was honest, he was happy about that. That's how it was done in the dark area. Nobody was sure if they'd live tomorrow, so, if a digimon expressed a desire to be with another, it was fairly quickly taken. Nobody had stable lives there, nobody had the prospect of a good life to settle into. If something was there, then they would reach out and take it. And that was Archon's philosophy here.