Haunted (Scrappy, Shade)

[Scrapper]

Year 4, November 15, Early Morning

Scrapper woke early, as he normally would. The events of the previous day revealing themselves again, and the sound asleep Shade that had chosen to sleep with him the previous night. He slowly lifted himself up so Shade would not awaken, the last thing he wanted was to wake Shade up.
Once he was up, he took a look at Shade. For the first time, he saw Shade look peaceful. Her expression showed no anger and no sorrow. For all he knew since he met her, this could be her first peaceful sleep in a while, especially in her line of work. Even more reason not to ruin it.

He gathered what he needed, making so little sound, and carried on with his normal routine. Leaving the hideout to scavenge for things, leaving Shade in the safety of the hideout while he went out and put himself at more of a risk for both their benefits. He couldn't complain, he's been doing this for years. As of yesterday, he has a promise to keep. Even if it means scavenging in bad weather, like he has to do now. Heavy rain hit him as soon as he opened the manhole, he was not amused in the slightest. Far from it.
For the next few hours of searching, his mind was focused, but Shade had kept a place. Occasionally, she would cross his mind. He did not mind it, but he had to stay focused while he did this. Or he'd probably miss something or make a mistake as he tried to leap from building to building.

After a good few hours, he would eventually have enough of Scavenging. And would head back to the hideout, besides, he didn't know what Shade wanted to do next. But he had a pretty good idea on what her objective may be.

[Syron]

Shortly after Scrapper had left the hideout, Shade's sleep began to get restless. It began with small twitches, soon joined by unintelligible muttering and quicker breathing. One of her hooves wandered to where her combat knife would usually be, but found only her coat. Her equipment was lying not too away on the floor, but out of reach for the sleeping mare. After a few more minutes, she was heavily sweating, and her muttering grew more and more desperate. Words of denial came out for nopony to hear, with names mixed in between the incomprehensible parts. Quicksteel, Jade, Rolls, Ceive... One by one she saw their death in her dream. Followed by Apollo, and then the last one remaining.
SKYLIGHT!!!
Just as a few days before, she reached out for her friend when she jolted awake, only to find the warehouse she'd just been in to be replaced by a large, dark tunnel. For a moment she had the hope that it had only been a dream, that everything was the way it had been for the past years. A hope that was crushed when her memory started delivering information about this place, and what has happened here. If she hadn't started crying in her dream already, she would have started now. Instinctly she looked for Scrapper, but the dying torchlight didn't reveal him. Scrapper?, she called out, but no reply came. SCRAPPER? Silence. She was alone. Alone...

With the thought the fear from the nightmare came back in full force. She had lost all her friends and was clinging to a pony she had met for the first time only three days ago. A pony that wasn't here, and she had no clue how to find him. She had no clue when he would be back. Or even if... No, he wouldn't break his promise! But could she really be so sure after three days? Yes, she could. But he still could get into trouble.

An hour had passed when she finally realized what she feared: Losing yet another friend. It had killed a part of her when Skylight died, another part has gone with her other friends. She couldn't let it happen again. But there was no way she could keep him safe. None he would accept. What other solution could be there? She had a few more hours to think about that.

When he finally came back, the torches had burnt out, and the silence didn't give a hint towards Shades presence. She was still lost in thoughts, and hardly in control of them. Scrappers return went unnoticed, an event she currently feared as much as him not returning at all. She simply lay where the earth pony had left her, staring blynkly into the darkness that would have been there even without her spell being active, but she cast it anyway.

[Scrapper]

Scrapper returned just as the afternoon had come. It was dark, the torches had died. So the first thing he did was re-light them, he lit one and used it to light the others. Aware of the un-natural darkness where he left Shade that morning, maybe her sleep wasn't as peaceful as he thought it was.
Once the place was lit up again, he put the bag of things he found down and approached the dark wall. Something made him feel bad, should he have left Shade like he had? maybe not. Even so, he shouldn't have been gone for as long as that either. He should have cut it short, but it slipped his mind.

He stayed outside the dark this time around, he quietly called out, "Shade, you doin' all right there Las?"

[Syron]

Despite the new light only reached her as a faint glow outside her personal world of darkness, it easily startled her. Scrapper was back. She should have left before his return, it would have made things so much easier. She knew she couldn't stand losing another friend, but she had failed to protect her friends twice already, as long as she had a friend there was the risk of losing him. Seeing it like that, the solution was obvious: Don't grow so close to a pony that his death would be a problem. Leave Scrapper before it was too late. Only that wasn't easy either. She hadn't gotten herself to actually do it while he was gone, now that he was standing before her again, it seemed impossible. Was it already too late? Again she told herself that it had only been three days. A futile attempt to convince herself that she was doing the right thing.
Promises have been made, he's my friend now. There's no turning back.
But it will end the same as before.
It had been the same thought pattern for the last few hours, with hardly any change. The answer to Scrapper's question was obvious, she wasn't doing all right in the slightest. She stood up and dismissed her spell, making her inner conflict clearly visible through tears and slight trembling. She didn't know what to say.

[Scrapper]

Scrapper knew what Shade was talking about, what she was scared of. He was her friend now, she blames herself for her other friends deaths and if the same were to happen to him, she couldn't handle it.
Funny enough, he was confident that would never happen. His ego refused to make him think different. But he went ahead and tackled this knew mind battle his friend was having, "Las, your worried about losing me. Aren't you?" He lifted a smile under his mask, and went closer to Shade. "Aye, It would be to much to ask for you to think like me about those things. But your talking to a pony who can cheat death! Falling off a freezing cliff into even colder water couldn't kill me! Not even a bloody army can take me down, I can take care of myself Lassie, don't fret about it." There it went, his ego jumped out of its box again. An ego that's only gotten bigger as the years went on, he truly believes of his own immortality. Where as years ago, he only believed it take a lot to bring him down. Hell, at least it can inspire others. Hopefully it can do the same now.

[Syron]

Unfortunately, Shade couldn't share his confidence. She wanted to believe him, but there was always the possibility that something goes wrong. Over time, it will happen. Nopony can guarantee not to die, she answered. We were sure that we couldn't be found out all at once, we were spread over the country and every single one of us was perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. There should have been no way for the griffons to take out everypony in such short time, but it happened anyway. Now that they know of me, the risk is even higher than before. You can't tell if they'll get you eventually or not.

[Scrapper]

Scrapper saw her point, but it didn't even scratch his confidence. It's all well and good that he was confident, but Shade wasn't the same. She really didn't want to lose another friend.
"Lassie, I'm telling you. Don't fret about me. If I wasn't capable I would have kicked the bucket years ago. I have a promise to keep now, I'll stay with you." He just realized he was drenched, the rain did its number. He really wanted to take his gear off, but not until Shade had chilled out and gained a bit more confidence in him.
"Unless... You have any ideas that you think would keep me safe. I'm all ears Las."

[Syron]

Shade looked at Scrapper while she went through her thoughts again. Before she had noticed, he had done it again. It didn't ake him more than a few words and just being there and Shade was calming down. She still feared that she might lose another friend if she stayed, but now that he was here again, it was obvious to her that it was already too late. If she went away, she would have lost her newest friend. Or, probably not.
There is no safety, she answered, doubts still lingering in her mind. But you wouldn't let me go anyway, would you?

[Scrapper]

Scrapper acknowledged the question, and spent a couple seconds thinking about it.
"Well, let's re-cap. I'm going to assume that you've lived your life with things to care for. Other ponies who cared for you in the same way, It isn't easy to give up on things like that. When you thought you lost it all, you flipped. If you were confident that leaving me now would work, you would have done it already." Scrapper tipped his goggles up, so Shade could see that he was looking straight into her eyes. To show he was serious. "I know what it's like to feel so alone, because I had no bloody choice in the matter. And after what you showed of it, I don't think you can do it. Even just being near each other, something goes on that's better than if we were apart. So yeah, I'd rather keep my promise, and stay by your side, Las."

[Syron]

Every single word was right. There was no way out for Shade anymore. She would have to live with the fear of losing him. And then there was the question why she was so drawn to him so quickly. And she had the impression that Scrapper was just as confused about that as her. How would you describe your feelings towards me?, she finally asked after a time of silence.

[Scrapper]

Scrapper stayed silent and scratched the back of his neck, "I... I ain't that good with describing things like that. uh..." He did take a few moments to think something up, he was okay with talking but... when it came to these kind of questions he couldn't think up much. "It's like.. whenever your around, I feel calm, relaxed and if I feel angry at all I just can't direct it anywhere around you." He was fiddling with a small knife as he was talking, one he used to throw. He was really unsure if he was even answering it right, and admitting how he feels is one of the rarest things he has to do.

"Is that what you were after? I answered that correctly, right?"

[Syron]

Shade smiled weakly at the confirmation, he felt the same. That's almost the same answer I would have given, she answered. I think I know a word for it. Her smile grew a little, despite the awkwardness she was feeling. Was the blush visible through her fur? It didn't matter. It was the only explanation that made sense. And if she already accepted that there was no way back, she might as well acknowledge how far in she really was. I think it's called love.

[Scrapper]

Scrapper's face did go red at that thought, again hidden by his mask, he was the last pony he thought would find out what love felt like. But if this is how it feels, he wasn't going to complain. Whats even more astonishing is how quickly those feelings set themselves up. He never even thought about that being the case, but what other explanation could there be?
"Well... Yeah, actually. I don't see any other answer to this, and I'm betting your just as confused as I am. So..." ...Now he didn't know what else to say. Being alone for most of his life didn't help his social ability at all. Instead he sat down slowly, still drenched and now pondering if what was happening, was actually happening. All whilst feeling that bit happier, and making a smile hidden under a skull-designed mask.

[Syron]

Okay, verbally she had admitted it. Mentally... Part of her still insisted that this was going too fast, and the fear of losing him was still there, but it had been sent to the back of her mind. Trusting her feelings like this wasn't what she normally did, but if it felt so good, she was willing to take the risk. She slowly approached him, her horn softly glowing as she took control of his mask and goggles and moved them out of the way. His scar could have not existed at all as much as it interested her. Her ruby eyes were locked onto his, reflecting a remarkable amount of serenity considering the state the unicorn had been in just minutes ago. For the first time in years she willingly let her emotions take full control of her, and everything happened on itself. She closed the last few inches between them and closed her eyes for her first kiss.

[Scrapper]

If his instinct had a voice, it'd probably be screaming at him that this was a bad idea in some way. To which now he'd politely tell it, 'Go stuff yourself.'
Scrapper didn't deny that his own emotions were doing more than they used to, and he didn't bother going against it. But when Shade pulled his mask down and gave him the best confirmation of her feelings she could, you can say he was more than surprised. He was completely caught off-guard by it, after a good few seconds though, he took the embrace and joined in. Red face and all.
Past encounters hadn't made this his first kiss, but none before had felt this good. He held onto the feeling for as long as he could, he didn't want it to end. He didn't feel in danger, he didn't feel nervous, he didn't even feel anything other than Shade's embrace. And that's the one thing he hasn't had his whole life, something he'll never forget now that it has happened.

[Syron]

Shade was living in a incredibly small world, a world only inhabited by herself and Scrapper. The rest... didn't matter, it was forgotten for the moment. What mattered right now was to make sure this unfamiliar wave of emotions wouldn't end, and so Shade willingly complied when she felt the need for more. The kiss hadn't broken apart yet when Shade began pushing Scrapper onto his back, ending up above him with a tempting grin. Time for the next round, she whispered as she went for another kiss while her magic began to remove Scrapper's wet sweater, as well as her own cloak, revealing a scar of her own reaching over her left side, starting at her shoulder and ending shortly before her cutie mark. Not that she really minded, she was already occupied otherwise.

[Scrapper]

Scrapper found himself unable to resist, not by physical means, but by sheer temptation. His previous question of whether this was happening or not was definitely answered now. He saw the look in Shade's eye's whilst he was having all his gear taken from him by her, he knew exactly what she had planned. He grinned wildly and gently broke the kiss to say, "Bring it on, Lassie." following that by reconnecting the kiss and closing his eye's, concentrating on nothing but the embrace he was getting from Shade.
He could already tell he was going to like what is going to happen in this 'Round' and those to come.

--Several (Necessary) Hours Later, Around 8pm--
Scrapper was the first to awaken, the torches he lit hours before still going strong. As well as the thoughts of the goings on before he fell asleep. He lifted his head and looked around tiredly, the first thing he saw was a peacefully sleeping Shade. Who still put good thoughts in his mind, even though she was not awake. The next thing that caught his eye was his gear, bundled up along with Shade's cloak.
The first thing he wanted though, was a shower. He leaned over to Shade and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek before quietly getting up and heading over to where he could make the water run, and quietly doing what he needed to start it.
He just stood under the shower of water, although starting it was quiet enough, the water making contact with the floor wasn't. Shade would possibly wake up to that, but once he was done he planned on getting his gear back on. Although this time he didn't plan on leaving.

[Syron]

Shade already awoke when Scrapper stood up, but the only reaction she showed, a soft smile forming after the kiss, could also be considered to be entirely subconscious. She only opened her eyes when the sound of rushing water told her that he was taking a shower.
Good idea.
Scrapper still held her mind occupied, especially the time before they fell asleep, and so her mood was quite good. She silently walked over, approaching him from behind to snuggle up to him under the water.
Finally you get up at a reasonable time, she said grinningly and enjoyed both, the cold water washing through her fur and Scrapper to her side.

[Scrapper]

Scrapper leaned on Shade and snuggled with her, grinning at her comment on his wake-up time. "Heh, not suitable for most Las. But I may as well fix my routine, just for you." He did see it as an obvious thing to do, you can't see much coordination if one of them is exhausted. He was still pretty tired, it didn't help he was feeling comforted by Shade. Even under the cold shower. But in the end, he'd rather that than being fully awake. "How do you feel?" he whispered in Shade's ear, following it with a kiss.

[Syron]

Shade happily accepted the kiss, but when it ended her content expression was gone and even though her face was completely wet, her eyes were clearly teary. I didn't think of it until just now, she responded and nestled her head against his neck.

[Scrapper]

Scrapper put a hoof around Shade and held her close to him, "What's wrong?" he asked quietly. He should have expected this to happen, sadly you don't lose memories over a few hours. Not including his own past which as far as he knows got wiped in a meer second at one point.

[Syron]

Honestly, that's a stupid question, Shade responded with sorrow tainted cynism. Sorry, she added shortly after. I'll probably be quite moody for some time. For some time, sure! It took years after Skylight. It would probably take even longer now. But she didn't want to think about that. She concentrated on the feeling of Scrapper's body pressing against her and tried to enjoy the shower as long as it lasted.

[Scrapper]

Scrapper smiled, "Don't worry I completely agree with that, It was stupid. My brain doesn't like to think when I'm tired." And he understood why Shade would be quite unhappy at times. It was blatantly obvious in fact. "Don't worry about it Las, I've taken far worse than a moody attitude. Even from you."
He stayed silent through the rest of the shower, just enjoying it with Shade snuggled up next to him.
When the time came to turn off the water, he did it slowly. Himself kinda wanting to stay in it longer, but not because of the water. He gave Shade a quick cuddle before heading over to his gear, it was still a bit wet but then again so is he. He put all his stuff on again, remembering the reason it was taken off, but he left the mask down and the goggles up. Shade had seen his face anyway, and he's seen her scar too. Any Scar face jokes pop up and he has his own comebacks stored, ready for use.
He picked up Shade's harness and cloak and brought them to her, "Your very own waiter's service, Las." Following that with a grin.

[Syron]

As soon as Scrapper stepped away, Shade noticed that she had no clue what to do now. Of course the goal was clear: Find Blackwing and let him pay for taking her friends from her. With a glance at Scrapper she added another reason. The earth pony had said that Blackwing was a torturer, and that the scar in Scrapper's face was his work. Shade looked at it with an expression of controlled anger. Probably most of his other scars were from the same source. Yes, Scanion would pay, and this time Shade wouldn't stick to her own rules and simply kill him. No, he'll get special treatment.

Shade only noticed her own staring when Scrapper brought her equipment, and frowned innerly at how lose her thoughts had been. She had to get her self control back up as fast as possible, she couldn't allow herself to get careless. Especially not while she was searched for. With Scrapper standing right in front of her it was easy to get on a sad smile again as she put on harness and cloak. Does this service happen to include breakfast?

[Scrapper]

Scrapper made various expressions and sounds, indicating that he was thinking sarcastically and that he had made his decision already. "Hmm, I don't know. That's a tough- Ok. One problem though, I don't actually know what you like. That's a little obstacle for me Las!"

[Syron]

Whad she liked? She hadn't thought about what food she actually liked for a long time. I'm happy as long as it's fresh and I won't complain as long as it's edible, I'm not picky, she answered truthfully, fresh food was luxury enough on the street. Though, if you want to impress me... I didn't have pancakes for a very long time. Her expression grew a bit happier at the thought. A pan wouldn't be a problem, a fireplace wouldn't be as well. Though, it could be smelled, in tunnels this could lead others into the hideout. Especially since the usual smell down here wasn't exactly "pancakes". Forget that, no cooking in here, she added sighingly, she already missed the prospect an upgrade in quality of living.

[Scrapper]

Scrapper didn't like the sound of that, at all. "Ooh, your kidding me!" He said disapprovingly, he liked pancakes. Among other things that still involved cooking. But in the end, it made sense. He shrugged and went over to one of the boxes he made up to hold their food and took what he needed to make a quick salad. A common thing he made himself, so it isn't hard for him to do it quickly. If he can't cook, then he doesn't know much else to make with what they have.

He was done in a minute or so, put it in a bowl, and carried it back to Shade. "Here you go my fair Queen." He replied smugly, "Or not so fair, whatever you prefer!"

[Syron]

Shade almost chuckled at the comment, she really wasn't somepony to care about beauty or anything. That depends, am I fair to you? she asked as she took the bowl with her levitation and looked him into the eyes. Most of her wet mane was tucked away under her cloak, leaving only the shorter hairs to fall forwards and around her now glowing horn. Her magic's blue light once again made her eyes shine in a soft purple, and her wet fur did it's best to be just as beautiful.

((*wraps the post in a gift box*))

[Scrapper]

((*Opens the box and reads it* Yaaay~))

"You're a little bit more than fair to me, your pretty friggin' generous. And by that, I mean only a few days ago. You could have ended me, and when you thought about tying me up. You didn't. I can go on." Scrapper looked at Shade, after the shower she looked really nice. Very much so he couldn't take his eyes off her without some effort. He walked up next to Shade and leaned against her, "Y'know, for somepony that doesn't really try for it, you look beautiful Las."

[Syron]

That wasn't the definition of fair I thought you meant, she said in surprise, but appreciated his compliment anyway. Scrappers words made her drift into thought a bit as she chewed on her salad. He was right, he hadn't been far away from dying back then. She would have killed him without regret. She would have eliminated the one pony that kept her going right now. But she hadn't, a fact she was confortingly reminded of when the earth pony walked up to her and completed his compliment with what Shade had thought he had meant with "fair". No, usually she didn't care for it, but coming from Scrapper it made her smile nonetheless. I must give Scintillance credit for keeping me from killing you. If I had been alone I probably wouldn't have been that generous.

[Scrapper]

Scrapper, did chuckle at that comment. "I guess he isn't all bad. Because of him, look at where we are." he said happily, following it with a quick kiss on Shade's cheek. He left Shade to eat a little while still leaning against her. He didn't see himself becoming a 5-Star Chef but by the look of it Shade is enjoying what he made. But whatever thought pattern he had, decided to trigger another event in his memories, Scrapper didn't want Shade to worry so he did his best to hide it. He was successful at most of it, but he couldn't hide his faster heart-rate, his increase in temperature and his fast, heavy breathing. That he couldn't hide, and they were the 3 most obvious signs.

[Syron]

He didn't deserve to be thrown out, Shade answered quietly. But I can't have him near right now. We should at least see where he went off to. What she had said to the pony-shaped light bulb wasn't entirely false, he indeed was some kind of catastrophe. But despite his clumsiness, he always meant good, and in general his help outweighed the harm he accidently did. She continued to quietly enjoy the salad and let her thoughts wander around a bit, until she noticed the heavy breathing of the stallion to her side. And his high temperature... Scrappy, what's wrong? Shade asked worriedly and put the almost empty bowl aside as she tried to get a look at Scrapper's eyes, for which she had to take a step forward since he had slightly turned his face away. As had been Shade's guess, they were glowing. Your memories again?

[Scrapper]

Scrapper let out a sigh, mixed with a stuttered grunt from the pain. Obviously he failed to hide it, what else would he do? "I didn't want you to worry Las, It is normally worse but... Y'know, you help a bit." Despite it all, he took note of what Shade called him. Catchy nickname. She was actually the first to say it as well. He liked it, and he wasn't in any state to tell Shade it was a nice name either.

[Syron]

Quickly a smile returned on Shades face, he had said that before. She was helping against the pain by simply being there? Then she would make sure she was the only thing he could possibly think about, and there was a very enjoyable way to do that. Shade took him into an embrace and gently pressed her lips against his. If her presence helped, this would hold back the memories completely.

[Scrapper]

Shade was a faster thinker than he thought. She knew exactly what made him feel better and put that painkiller to use. Her embrace was all he could actually think about now, he couldn't even tell if his headache was gone or still there. He was enjoying himself, and he had a good reason to believe Shade felt the same.
After some time, he reluctantly ended the embrace Shade was giving to him. Feeling both satisfied and better, because his headache just disappeared on him. "I think you know more than your letting on Las." He said quietly whilst cuddling with Shade. "Your all the medicine I'd ever need."

[Syron]

I'm in war with my memories and emotions for years now, distraction usually is one of the more efficient weapons, Shade answered grinningly, before finally ending the cuddling. Let's find Lance, shall we?

[Scrapper]

"Sounds like a plan, well, a plan we haven't made yet. But it's something!" Scrapper went to his workbench, which have held large pieces of stone that he has been chipping into every so often. He had an idea of what he wanted but couldn't really describe it yet. What he did there, was finish making a new shank. To replace the one he ended up losing in a Griffon's neck. He still had that griffon combat knife in his bag, but he preferred the smaller kinds, they aren't as heavy and he can swing faster with them.
Whilst playing around with it, juggling it and skillfully throwing it behind him and catching it again, he went back to Shade. After the few minutes he spent at his workbench. "Well, if we're gonna find Mr. Bright we have 2 options, We can simply search for him together, or split up and cover more ground." He boded for the first one, but he left the decision up to Shade.

[Syron]

Split up, we still need luck to find him, she answered after a time of thought. That wasn't her only reason though. There was another one she hardly admitted to herself. Of course she also intended to stay on the lookout for information that might flow towards her, and she intended to encourage this information to find its way to her. She would visit the griffon HQ, and somehow she didn't want Scrapper with her there. She didn't want to risk him. But she didn't realize that as her reason.

[Scrapper]

Scrapper didn't want to split up from Shade, but it was the best decision. He was ready to go already, he fixed his mane a bit and went over to Shade, giving her a kiss. "Take care Las. I love you." that's the first time he said that word and actually mean't it, other times in the past were probably sarcasm or something else. But not this time.
With that he headed for the exit, looking back to give a smile and a nod goodbye, before pulling his goggles down and his face-mask up. Honestly, he left clueless. He didn't know where to start, but then again, Lance had a job with the resistance. Best place to start is the Undermarket you stupid dolt! So that's where he went, hoping to 'Literally' find a giant walking light-bulb. But that was a low chance indeed.

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