In Retrospect...

Solus opened the door that led into the mundane, average house that was—technically speaking—his home. And his alone now, since his father had apparently gone the last mile and straight up abandoned him. Solus didn't care about that, though. His father was, in fact, the last thing he cared about. THe room behind the door was just as he had left it earlier that day; the table in the centre of the room had two shattered legs, causing it to the slope. One of the three chairs was smashed to pieces. The window to the left of the fireplace was smashed. Yep. This is home.

The buizel assisted his friend, Xeno, into the house and offered him a chair—it probably wouldn't be a good idea to try to stand unassisted, considering his condition. "Sorry about the mess," Solus started, drawing the only other unbroken chair closer to sit by his companion. "My dad isn't coming back anytime soon—ever, probably—so you don't have to worry about that. I don't think anyone ever liked him anyway so you probably don't have to worry about anyone else showing up here, either." He paused for a moment, looking at the ground. He looked back at Xeno and added: "And for the record—none of this was your fault."

After being thoroughly shook from the events in the forest, there was nothing Xeno wanted more than to just curl up in a corner and cry himself to sleep in order to forget his insignificant existence. As he walked into the house with immense apprehension, he realized that actually (with a bit of sarcasm), that a mildly worn-down house is actually much better than sleeping awkwardly in a tree that you could fall out of at any moment. The house itself looked basically how you would expect it to, couple of walls and a roof, which is more than anything Xeno could've asked for. Inside there were pieces of broken furniture here and there. Looking upon the scraps of woodwork and handicraft inside, Xeno gave a small inward shudder. There's just us here... It feels like... they were here... or it the atmosphere is like my... where I used to live... Right?... Yeah you're right, I should just try to calm down. Bui's giving us a place to stay. I'm... I'm grateful. Even if it gives us... Well a reprise of repressed memories. We can do it. Managing to form a small, sad smile on his face (even though it looked as if he found it physically painful), Xeno turned to Bui who was sitting in one of the few remaining whole chairs. "I-It's fine. I c-can live here?" The last sentence was a statement, but the anxiety in his voice made it sound like a question.

After pausing for a second to hear Bui's response, Xeno felt a chill go down his spine. "none of this was your fault." Xeno's expression became neutral. "N-No. I... I shouldn't have gone alone. I would've been fine, and you wouldn't have gotten into that mess if I hadn't been... a burden." Looking out the nearest shattered window, he reminisced for a moment. He was still in pain from earlier. Life's really cruel sometimes...

An exasperated sigh escaped Solus. "Yes, you can live here. My house is your house. I planned on inviting you the moment I found out my dad had left for good." The buizel stood and paced around the broken table. He wanted to address Xeno's statement—reassure him that nothing that happened was his fault. But he needed to think for a moment on how exactly to say that in a way Xeno would accept; if that was even possible. They had both come from bad homes, they both had bad parents—or parent, in Solus's case—but the specifics were likely very different, as were the effects each home environment affected the two buizel.

Solus decided to continue discussing the house as he collected his thoughts. "Three rooms. This main one serves as an all-purpose room; dining, kitchen, storage, whatever. On either side is a bedroom. This one," He gestured to the room left of the fireplace, "Was mine. The other was my dad's. You can take your pick, they're near identical." Solus stopped his pacing and faced his companion again.

"And stop saying it was your fault. It wasn't—I'm not letting you take the blame. If I remember correctly, I was the one who suggested you go ahead of me and... Cirrus." His tone grew ever so slightly bitter at Cirrus's name. He didn't look for her as they left, and he never heard or saw her afterwards. "Look," Solus gentle placed his paws on Xeno's shoulders in an attempt to be reassuring, but also to make sure he had the buizel's full attention. "None of this was your fault. You were the victim here. I should feel guilty for letting you go alone. The one who attacked you should feel guilty for what she did. And you? Well, I don't know what you are supposed to feel right now, but I know you shouldn't blame yourself for any of this. It was not your fault."

Looking around as Bui gestured to the various rooms. He decided that he'd probably be a bit more comfortable in Bui's room, purely for the reason that if Bui's dad were to come back on some astounding terms, Xeno would rather be somewhere else than in the room where Bui's dad would sleep in. As Bui turned around and put his paw in his shoulder, Xeno hesitantly listened to Bui's statements. It's not your fault. You were attacked.

Reluctantly, Xeno nodded as he realized that Bui would probably not let Xeno blame himself, so he decided to give up on the matter, even though he still resented his own self. "A-Alright... I-I'm still... Well...S-Sor-... T-Thank you." He barely managed to mutter this string of almost incomprehensible words as he stared at the ground, small tears welling at his eyes. What should I be feeling. I guess... Grateful, right? That's how this works right? Gratitude?

While he doubted Xeno was actually willing or able to unburden himself with the undeserved guilt he felt, Solus did not press further. "Don't mention it..." He stepped away from his companion and turned to face the opposite wall. Solus had already made his decision, back in the forest. He didn't really know what Xeno would think of it, but in the event that he tried to persuade Solus into staying, Solus wanted to avoid seeing any emotional expression from the other buizel that might make him waiver.

"I made a deal with her, Krikka, the one who attacked you. I'm going to get your necklace back—or try to. I made a bet, sorta. I'm leaving for a place called Grima Outpost. I'm supposed to meet her there and we're going to settle this." Solus found that he couldn't keep himself from turning around part way to look at Xeno and gauge his reaction. They hadn't known each other for very long, so there was always the chance that he didn't actually care if Solus was risking his own safety or not. It'd be a bit upsetting to find out that he hadn't made an impact on the other buizel at all, but that wouldn't stop him from tracking down Krikka and retrieving the necklace.

At the mention of his necklace, Xeno suddenly realized that he didn't have it on his person. Instinctively he clutched his chest and looked down. Sure enough, it wasn't there. Right... Stolen... As in gone... Looking back up at Bui, Xeno could see that he was avoiding eye contact with Xeno.

He barely heard the last bit of Bui's statement. "I'm supposed to meet her there and we're going to settle this." Xeno gave a slight inward shudder. "N-no wait... P-please... the necklace isn't that important a-anyways. Y-You don't need to... do... that..." Xeno stared at Bui with the most desperate look he could. With a sudden realization Xeno started for half a second. Wait... Krikka? did she lie to me even with her name? Geez I'm actually an idiot. Giving an exasperated groan and burying his face in his paws, he muttered, "Man, why did I think it would be a good idea to trust anyone anyways?"

"It's not just for the necklace. Someone's gotta do something about her," Solus responded, turning around completely to face Xeno. "She did that," he gestured to Xeno's leg injury, "and this," he pointed to the part of the other buizel's face, where the umbreon had carved a rune of some sort. "I don't think I'll be fighting her. I'm... Really not sure what I'll be doing. But I have to do this."

Solus had just been able to make out what Xeno was mumbling and chose to address the statement directly. "Hey, one out of three is pretty good—assuming you do trust me. I'd hope you trust me, considering..." He gestured towards the walls of the room they were in, silently saying "considering you came to my house with me."

Do I trust Bui?... You're right... "I-I'm a bit reluctant t-to trust you... but I'll do it. I-I'm just suffering and if you turn on m-me also... I-I'll just take it..." Xeno gave a sigh. He didn't know who to trust, and if there's any reason to trust anyone in the first place. "B-But you've h-helped me. I-If you wanted to, you c-could've left me i-in the forest." Under his breath he muttered, "it wouldn't have mattered anyways. You'd just save yourself."

Glancing at Bui gesturing at the house, Xeno felt a sharp pain of regret. Why do I bother to trust anyone?

"I-I don't t-think I can stop you from going... J-Just... p-please be safe."

You'll just take it? No, that's not right. Solus attempted to meet Xeno's eyes again as he spoke. "Hey, no. If I turn on you or whatever—if I give you a reason to distrust me, don't just accept it. Hit me or yell at me or both. I don't plan on it, so if it happens something is wrong and you should be angry." Xeno was hurt too many times. His responses to wrongs weren't right.

He paused for a brief moment before continuing on a new subject. "But... Yeah, you're right. You can't stop me." Solus glanced toward the front door. He wanted to leave as soon as possible—partially because he wanted to deal with Krikka as soon as possible; partially because he was worried Xeno might somehow persuade him to abandon his mission. There were still several hours of daylight left—if you could call it daylight with the strange cloud cover. Still, it would be night sooner than later, and leaving in the morning would be most optimal.

"I'm leaving for Grima Outpost in the morning. I honestly don't know how long I'll be gone. Just remember that this house is as much yours as it is mine." He stopped there, unsure of anything else to say. They still had several hours before the night even came. Would they just sit there in silence for the majority of that time? Solus doubted Xeno would suddenly become talkative.