~Always~
A Brigadoon Fanfic
=Chapter 7=
Moe couldn't help but laugh at the Gunswordsman that stood in front of her. He wanted to hurt her?
Not even noticing his stunned face, she giggled helplessly, a hand attempting to smother the sounds.
He reminded her of Melan and Erin. One silently noble, the other razor sharp yet kind. They had saved her, so why would a companion of theirs want to hurt anyone? Moe decided then and there that he was the tough and gruff type, the kind that hid their emotions deep inside.
But that was okay: she'd still help him. He was a good guy, she was sure of it.
"Why are you laughing? Perhaps my appearance has broken you?" To her surprise, one of his paws stretched out and poked her stomach almost cautiously. His rumbled tone was almost apologetic. "I don't know how to fix humans..."
"O-oh no, no! I'm fine. Really. I just thought of something funny, that's all. Thank you for your concern, Mr...?" He tilted his head in confusion, and Moe had to resist the urge to giggle again.
"I do not know who this Mister is, but I am Kuston Brown."
Her presence both bewildered him and irritated him at the same time.
One, she was so unbelievably small. Two, why in Pasca was she laughing at him? Had he not just threatened to end her existence? His pride stung more than a little from her laughter.
Then later, when he had reached out to see if she was broken, he was startled to find that she was just as soft as she looked. This confirmed fact made his head reel, and his original thoughts of eradicating her faded entirely.
How could anything survive with such a fragile frame?
Kuston hurriedly removed his paw: he was more likely to hurt her than fix her. He wasn't pleased when the thought upset him. It was an unfamiliar emotion.
"K-kuston?" His attention instantly swiveled back to the human girl.
"Yes?" She smiled sweetly up at him, and Kuston had to resist the urge to stare blankly at her. No one in their right mind would smile like that at him.
"My name is Moe." Her gaze traveled over his body, and her eyes grew worried as she remembered his wounds. "Come inside, I can get some bandages and hot water to clean you up."
Kuston hesitated, unsure of what to say and do. He growled angrily at himself: he was a warrior of great skill and strength! Why was he so nervous around this human?
His growl was cut off short when she flinched, and with a sigh he knelt before the delicate girl, trying to put her at ease for reasons he was unable to understand.
"Why?" She jolted at his question.
"Why what?"
"Why do you wish to help me? Do you even know what I am? Who I am?" Moe blinked in confusion at him.
"W-well, your hurt, why wouldn't I want to help you? And your a monomakia like Melan Blue, right? Besides, you just told me who you are..." She trailed off when he stiffened at Melan's name. "Is something wrong?"
"You know of Melan?"
"It sorta hard not to know of him when he hangs around Marin all the time-" Kuston reared back and stared at her suspiciously, ignoring the guilt that flared when she jumped at the sudden movement.
"You also know of the false Creis?"
"Yes, she's my best friend."
"...friend?"
"Yeah, you know, somebody that you can trust with your back and who you can tell your most sacred secrets to without worry?" The Gunswordsman's blank face unnerved Moe. She tried again to explain. "Someone who you have no doubt that cares for you?"
Kuston just stared helplessly at her, completely astounded at the thought of such a person existing. Someone who actually cared...?
It sounded like some exotic mythical creature.
He leaned in toward her, and she leaned back, nervous.
"Such things exist?"
Now it was Moe's turn to stare at him.
"You're serious, aren't you?" He just blinked slowly at her, gaze solemn.
"Completely."
For a long moment, Moe could only sputter uselessly and wave her arms from the sheer sympathy and sadness that had suddenly burst into being in her chest.
He didn't know what a friend was. And that meant... Moe gasped. That meant that he didn't have one! Moe found herself sniffing desperately, trying to keep the tears in.
She resisted for a second the urge to hug Kuston, but her emotions won out and she practically glomped him, burying her face in his chest and sobbing all the while.
"Oh, you poor thing!"
Kuston's eyes widened comically as he fell back into the bush from the force of her hug, a loud "Oof!" escaping him. He snarled, more startled than angry.
"G-get off of me! How dare-" His tirade suddenly came to a halt at the sight of tears. "You are leaking H2O! Why are you leaking?"
"Be-because you don't know what a friend is! It's j-just so sad!"
Kuston tried to figure out just what was sad about that fact. He quickly gave up when his brain started to hurt. He mentally snorted.
As if it was sad that he didn't have a mythical creature for a pet.
"But it's okay." Her soft voice caused him to glance down at her and meet her gaze. He raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"I'll be your friend!"
