Twenty-Fourth Bolt

[mechaotaku]

[Dated just after White Horse]I guess I should be truthful with everyone, especially after what happened today

Comments

[grandtheftmecha]

Heavy stuff...

[Katina listens to the message more than once before responding. Responding, in this case, means tracking Zoe down face to face.]

Zoe.

[mechaotaku]

[Zoe nearly drops the sandwich she was munching on. She coughs a few times.]

Kahinah. Ahh.

[She swallows hard, coughing a few more times.]

Geez, don't sneak up on me like that when I'm eating!

[grandtheftmecha]

[Katina sighs in exasperation and smiles.]

And here I was about to get all serious on you...

[mechaotaku]

Sorry about that. What's up?

[grandtheftmecha]

[She crosses her arms.]

First of all... unless you really object, I'm still calling you Zoe.

[mechaotaku]

[She smirked. So that's what this was about.]

That's fine. Everyone else still calls me that.

[grandtheftmecha]

And second... I do not want to hear you suggest that we're worse off because you hid out here, or so help me I'll slug you and double your PT for a month.

[mechaotaku]

[She laughs somewhat nervously.]

Okay, okay, I won't say it. I don't really need you breaking my jaw.

[grandtheftmecha]

[She sighs.]

You know, I feel like I should be angry about all this, but I'm just relieved that you're alright.

...and, well, you've seen the kind of company I keep sometimes.

[mechaotaku]

Honestly, I was expecting people to be a bit more angry with me. I lied to them for about a year and a half. You don't know how good it feels to have that burden off my shoulders, but at the same time I feel terrible for not being truthful to everyone. Really, the only people who even had a clue were L'Angley and Setsuna, and they both had to practically drag it out of me.

[grandtheftmecha]

You coulda told me and there wouldn't have been any trouble, you know. I can keep a secret... but I guess it was for a good reason.

Still, it's not like we haven't accepted people who've done worse than stand up to oppressive governments, you know?

[mechaotaku]

True, but we've had people stab us in the back, too. Not saying that you would, but news travels around here. And I was on the run.

[grandtheftmecha]

Yeah, it's understandable even if I don't like it. It all worked out in the end too, just like a lot of things around here.

[mechaotaku]

[She nods.]

Hey, can I ask you a favor?

[grandtheftmecha]

Go ahead.

[mechaotaku]

Think you can up my training a bit?