Greif(Sat)

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Toji falls onto his knees, seeming to collasp in on himself, his face morphed into a mask of pain and greif.Shuddering, shaking groans pushed their way out of his mouth, and his body vibrates in suppressed misery." Why....why her...." He looks angrily at the carved wolf statue on the other side of the small,church like clearing, getting up with a stagger as tears pour out of his black and gold eyes. The halfling eshambles over to it, gripping the object around its neck, fury and greif overwhelming him, and lightning shoots into the sky as he screams." SHE WAS PACK!!!!! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO WATCH OVER HER...S-SHE WAS....SHE WAS....." He falls to his knees." She was innocent....W-what did I do?.....how did I fail?.....I loved her.."

Kristen was roaming the park when she felt Toji's familiar half-demonic presence go off the charts, rising to a thickening dread and falling to a deep despair before roiling into an incandescent anger that permeated through the park and into the sky, causing lightning to strike when the sky was clear. Worry and concern written on her face, she took off towards the direction of the halfling's distraught presence.

The Nephilim girl heard Toji yelling as she arrived at the Okamian shrine. Kristen could only assume he was grieving over the loss of Ruin, a member of the team that had recently been grievously defeated by a vampire's thrall; she heard about this through the news and other people on the team. Toji had been in a relationship with the other halfling only for a short while before her downfall.

"Toji... " she walked up beside him and crouched down to where he was collapsed on the ground, "It wasn't your fault... " she paused, looking for words to say but found none. Kristen, clad in civvies and not wearing any holy armour in particular that would harm Toji, pulled the halfling into a hug. She was having some difficulty counseling her teammate as she had no real attachment to Ruin, so she would just be there for Toji for now, and if he wanted to talk about it, she would be there.

Toji clutched his head tight in his head, shuddering. For five years, he'd suffered. But...something like this...is was all new to him. To he sure,he'd lost others, but this...this was something he had nothing to defend against. Unlike his mother, he actually remembers Ruin. Everything they did together..all the fun, the joy...the love...It made the pain worse, knowing he wouldn't be able to see her until death, if ever.And knowing her last moments were of suffering only sharpened it.Lightning crackles around his hands and from his hair, his emotions forcing his control to weaken...He here's someone speak, but its muted, his agony drowning it out.Then, he feels a hug. The halfling stiffens, but wraps his arms around his sister, clinging to her like a drowning being, sobs distorting his speech." Mine....miiiiiiine...I-I should have...b-been there...I-it should have been me....." Tears coating Hus face, the greifplagued warrior gets a terrible,tragic idea."A....a trade...."

Kristen did her best to comfort a grief-ridden Toji, and continued to hug him as he cried. When he mentioned a trade to save her life, Kristen's eyes widened in shock. Was such a thought normal for a half-demon to consider? Kristen wasn't sure. She knew though that regardless of that, it was a very bad idea.

"Toji, I know you want her back... " she started, "But things happen for a reason. You may not know it and I may not know it, but there's a plan for each of us out there... maybe it was just her time."

She sighed. "You know, there's gotta be some kind of afterlife out there. I mean, your god has a place where all of the Okamians go after death, right?" she then frowned as she was going to make a connection to her own people's deity, but was unable to draw any such correlation. As far as she was told, the god that the Nephilim had originated from had abandoned them. Irrational despair pushed it's way to her mind momentarily before she put it out of her mind again. This wasn't about her right now, she would dwell on that later.

"Ruin may have not been an Okamian, but I'm sure she is in some kind of afterlife anyways. She was close to you, and was aware of your beliefs, so maybe she is in the Forger's hands now... at peace."

"A trade... would not be a good idea, Toji. Because she is at peace now and you still have your whole life ahead of you. You still have things to do here, people to save, a world to protect. And when you have fulfilled your destiny and your purpose is complete, you will be with her again in the Forger's afterlife."

Toji, nearly shook by greif, shakes his head at first, not wanting to hear it and only wanting to get her back, but his sisters words push their way past the emotional toxins filling him." A-a plan...What k-kind of plan would require her to suffer like this..Its not fair..S-she didn't get to experience this world..n-not really..." The halfling considers, frowning." Afterlife...yes...there's that..M-maybe he w-will watch over her.."He clenches his eyes shut." I-Im so weary, sister. I fight,and fight,and fight....But there's still pain..still people suffering..." His head sinks, the weight,the responsibility, he had taken upon himself beginning to crush him.

Kristen sighed, "I admit, I don't know, Toji. But sometimes we just need to have faith."

Then Toji started to talk about how he was world-weary, worrying about why he fights but there is still suffering. "I know it hurts... but maybe that's a huge part of being a hero. It's taking that pain and suffering and turning it into something good... something right." she smiled a little despite herself, "And you never have to worry about carrying this burden alone, Toji. You have me, the Titans, and all of the other independent heroes out there. We're all in this together. Even such a being like Onyekachi is helping to fight against suffering. If that all isn't a sign of unity for a force for good, I don't know what is."

Toji sighs, the maddening sadness and rage leaving him. Though his sister had managed to pull him back from the figurative(maybe) cliff, he was still very much hurt and weakened."....you k-know...I came here, and found her, found all of you...Its...weird. When I knew she was close, I didn't have nightmares. I...we were happy, finally happy..." Tears flow down his cheeks, though not nearly as much as before." I understand I have people beside me..that i have a job..a duty..but I can't deal with it...I can't fight.." He wraps his arms around himself." I can't do W-what I'm meant to do..not for now, at least.....I...just can't..."

"I understand. You need time to grieve." Kristen nodded, "Then, let us fight for you, until you feel you are ready to take up the burden again. Even then, we will always be ready to back you up - I think I speak for the whole team and myself."

Toji nods, still shaking, his voice soft and weak." O...okay..." He hugs her again, grateful that he still had his pack..his family. He speaks, his voice a choking gasp." T-thasnk you..." He let's out a shuddering breath, getting up and glancing at the statue, then sighssighs, shambling his way out of the clearing.It was evident just by looking at him that the halfling's spirit had been badly shaken, if not completely broken.

Kristen sighs as Toji walks out of the clearing. She would keep a close eye on him in the next few days to see how he was doing. Rising from her position, she looked at the wolf statue herself, taking a deep breath. 'I hope you're watching over him, Forger. And for his sake, I hope Ruin is in your hands as well.' With that, Kristen walked off, the notion of her own final fate a fresh thought in her mind.