"I guess that was a pretty productive morning. Time for a break."
The tamer stretched his arms out with a yawn.
"...oh man, I think I could do with some fresh air. You wanna join me if I go for a walk?"
"Of course, I would not neglect my duty to protect you."
The tamer just rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, that was a stupid question. Come on then."
He headed out the front door, with Ren following closely behind.
He would sometimes go for walks to get out of the house. He never had a particular destination,
just wandering aimlessly by himself and enjoying the neighbourhood.
However, this time he was not alone. He glanced back to the digimon following him.
"So, you'd been here a while before we met, right?"
"Yes, I bioemerged... hmm... I believe twelve days before becoming your partner."
"Did you get familiar with the area at all?"
"I had explored parts of the region before settling in this area."
"Region? How far did you go?"
"I do not have a good sense of the distance in this world. But I can tell you I started in a heavily wooded area near a river. It was in that direction."
The digimon pointed back over his shoulder.
"North-west, huh? The nearest river I can think of is in the State Park. But that's hours away. You sure it was that way?"
"Yes."
"Uh, wow. How'd you make it all that way? You hitchhike or something?"
"I travelled on foot."
"You just walked the entire way?"
"Not quite. I am a rather capable sprinter."
The tamer gawked, before coming to his senses.
"You know what? I'm not even gonna question it."
"That may be wise, at least until you become more familiar with digimons' abilities."
"Yeah, probably. But back to our travel plans, I was talking more about the local area. Did you find any places you liked to hang out around here? Preferably somewhere I can walk to."
"Not especially. I had spent the last few days simply observing people around that cafe. It seems quite a popular place."
"Yeah, they're definitely one of the better ones around. Know how to make a decent coffee."
"I saw many people ordering this coffee. Personally I find the smell off-putting, yet it seems many find it quite enjoyable."
The tamer shrugged.
"It's not for everyone, I guess. Anyway, I normally just sort of wander through the neighbourhood. Since you're already sort of familiar with the shopping strip, I guess we could go through the park. Any thoughts?"
"I will follow your lead."
"Come on Ren. Don't be so boring. You gotta have some sort of opinion."
"It seems... like an acceptable idea."
The tamer gave a sigh. He hoped he could get Ren to move away from the 'whatever tamer says' mentality, but it seemed it would take some time.
"Well, that's something I guess. Park it is."
They walked for a few more minutes before the tamer had an idea.
"You know, sometimes they have friendly digimon battles down at the park. Can be a bit of fun to watch. You interested?"
The digimon hesitated. His ears pinned back and his eyes were downcast, revealing how uncomfortable he was with the idea. The tamer imagined that he must be debating internally, torn between following his tamer and avoiding the battles.
"...something wrong, Ren?"
"I… do not find battles to be... entertaining. It seems like poor sport to watch others fight to the death. I always tried to avoid battling unless absolutely necessary."
"Uh..."
"...well, that's certainly a much stronger opinion than the last one. How does he manage to go from impassive statue to bleeding heart just like that? Damn, I forgot there was something about battles that bothers him."
On Earth, battles had become a bit of a pastime, with digimon trying to improve their skills in friendly contests. It was easy to forget that battles were primarily for survival in the digital world.
"...sorry Ren, I didn't really think about it like that. I guess I forgot how you have to fight for your life in the digital world."
"Unfortunately, yes. My world has become an increasingly hostile place, which is why I chose to leave. The strong prey on the weak, absorbing their data to become even stronger. I was reasonably competent as a fighter, but skill cannot overcome massive differences in power."
Ren took a deep breath before continuing.
"...unfortunately, as a rookie level, my strength is relatively limited compared to the many higher level digimon. When I came here, part of me hoped to find a tamer to form a partnership. It would be preferable to become stronger like this, rather than having to delete other digimon to grow."
"Look Ren, I still don't really get how I'm supposed to help you get stronger, but you don't have to worry about that..."
He clapped a hand on the digimon's shoulder, trying to comfort him. Ren glanced to his tamer's hand and his expression perked up a bit at the contact.
"...nobody's gonna force you to fight from now on."
The tamer let his hand slip from Ren's shoulder, but the digimon caught it with both paws before he could bring it back to his side.
He just stood there staring at the paws clasped around his hand.
"...uh..."
"...are we having a moment?"
The digimon looked him straight in the eye.
"Thank you, Tamer. Your support means a great deal to me. I will try my best to not let you down."
Ren held on for what felt like an awkwardly long time, before finally letting go.
"Damn, we were totally having a moment. Maybe he appreciates a little bit of reassurance? Guess he wouldn't have gotten much of that in the digital world."
"...um... no worries. You didn't think I would force you to fight, did you? That would be pretty messed up."
"I... was not entirely sure what to expect when partnering with a tamer. I had heard there were digimon battles in this world, although it was supposedly far less common."
"Yeah, some people like to battle, but I don't want you to fight if you don't want to. I mean... unless we're really in the shit."
He saw Ren tilting his head in confusion and clarified what he meant.
"...I mean if we're really in trouble, Ren."
"Oh, of course. l would not hesitate to protect you if needed, Tamer."
"Uh... thanks. Anyway... these battles aren't like that. They're more like a sparring contest. No lethal force. Call it... a test of skill. But I get how it could make you uncomfortable. We'll go somewhere else and just relax."
He turned to head in the other direction but Ren's voice stopped him.
"Tamer, wait. They do not permit digimon to be deleted?"
He turned back with a confused look
"No, of course not. That would be awful."
The digimon pondered for a moment.
"Maybe we could... watch one battle. I... am curious."
"Uh, really? You change your mind already?"
"The way you describe it... it reminds me of something back in my world. I mentioned Primary Village before. It is where digimon come from, starting as digitama. A place to learn and grow. Myself and the others there would practice our techniques with each other. We were not strong enough to do much damage at the time, so it was focussed on developing technique."
"You reckon it might remind you of that, huh? I guess this would be sort of similar. Alright, we'll go watch one. And if it makes you uncomfortable then we leave."
"Agreed."