Support
And here's one I planned on uploading Tuesday, but I felt like it needed to be posted. This one was made to help a friend who was feeling down in the dumps. He gave this a read and it helped a bit. :)
Digimon (c) Bandai
Ba'al and other characters (c) Me.
Ba'al stood behind the sulking Strabimon, a scowl on his face. The mutt had been like this ever since he found him wandering around the Network Plains by a complete accident. The demon wolf digimon had been curled up into a ball in his own little location littered with claw marks and small holes that indicated some sort of fight. He wasn't going to get any answers if the guy wasn't willing to talk. With a sigh, the variant digimon took a breath before poking the digimon on his back to get a reaction. The Strabimon turned his head around to see the fellow child level with the same scowl plastered on his face. The Strabimon's face was enough to send the digimon reeling back.
He looked so sad, and it sent a jolt of sympathy through the rabbit hybrid. The digimon's orange eyes were puffy with small tracks of red, indicating that he'd been crying. With a sigh, Ba'al spoke up. "Hey, are you okay? Looks like something happened here." The child level said, pointing out towards the battle scarred location. The demon wolf remained quiet, returning to his little ball. Scowling once more, The gazimon x poked the Strabimon once more, this time a bit harder.
He got a reaction this time, as the wolf's arm sprung out to try and bat him away, but the rabbit hybrid simply moved out of the way with an irritated look on his face as his ears flattened. Getting to this guy was going to be annoying. Through the course of a few minutes, Ba'al had kept up his poking fest, testing the Strabimon's patience until he had finally snapped.
"Licht Nagel!"
The demon wolf had suddenly stood up, claws glowing with light and attacked the rabbit hybrid relentlessly, growling in anger the entire time. "Get away from me!" the strabimon said with every strike. Each and every claw strike were easily avoided by the gazimon before he jumped into the ground and quickly digging a hole big enough for him to hide in. The strabimon had stopped his assault once the digimon was out of sight and sniffled, attempting to return to his spot.
Ba'al's head poked out of the hole he had dug, ruby eyes narrowed at the wolf. "Just what the hell is your problem!?" He cried out.
"Just leave me alone! You can't help me!" The wolf said, a sniffle slipping out from his mouth before he curled into a ball again, rocking back and forth. With a groan, the rabbit jumped out of his hole and began walking back towards the demon wolf. Instead of poking him and trying that approach, he went face (or rather ball) to face towards the digimon and put a paw on him.
"Alright. Whatever is wrong, I probably can't help get rid of the problem. The least I can do is hear you out. I think you at least need that." The variant digimon said calmly. The demon wolf began moving. Ba'al closed his eyes, bracing for another blow.
It didn't come.
The strabimon's face was staring right into his and he could see the obvious tear marks on his face. Inwardly, the rabbit sighed. This was going to be difficult. Ba'al was by no means a sensitive digimon. He could sympathize and hear others out, but coddling and that sort of stuff was beyond him. Either way, he was going to give it a try. The guy looked like he needed some support. At the notion of being heard out, the strabimon sighed, sitting down and sniffling once more. "Well..." The demon wolf began. "I was here with a friend today just hanging out before we were ambushed by a few thugs just looking for some 'mon to screw up. We won, but..." At that moment, it looked like the digimon was going to cry again. Even the thought of everything that happened was enough to make him a sobbing wreck.
At that point, Ba'al understood the situation. "So, you couldn't save your friend and he got deleted, right? Was his data absorbed?" The rabbit hybrid had been fiddling with his ring as he asked the question due to not wanting to say something that stupid so soon. The strabimon hadn't reacted the way he had expected and just shook his head. Okay, so his friend's data was deleted, so he was most likely going to reform.
"Then what the hell's the problem!?" The rabbit cried out, paws up in surprise.
His sudden outburst had shocked the digimon, making him let out a yipe before the demon wolf glared darkly at him. Ba'al just glared right back. Orange eyes met ruby red as the two beasts glared at each other. "It's my fault is why he's gone. What if he comes back and doesn't remember me? What if he does and he's mad at me? Wha-" before the Strabimon could continue his rant, he was quickly silenced with a punch to the face.
The demon wolf digimon reeled back and was sent going a few feet before landing on his feet and launching himself at the gazimon, one of his legs glowing a bright white.
"Licht Bein!" The wolf cried out as he struck the variant digimon with the glowing appendage.
Normally, the gazimon's instincts would kick in and he would dodge the move , but he didn't. The leg collided with the rabbit hybrid's face, sending him flying into the air. Ba'al was not new to pain and quickly turned in the air, landing on all fours. Before he could gather himself, the strabimon had attacked once more. This time he did dodge.
"Will you stop being such a wimp?!"
"Who the hell are you to tell me that?! You have no idea how I feel right now!"
"I know enough to tell you that taking out your anger on me aren't going to help in the slightest!"
At that point, the intensity of the demon wolf's attacked had lessened, and Ba'al took the chance to strike, landing a punch on the strabimon's face. He allowed himself to take the previous hit, but that didn't mean that the rabbit hybrid was above hit backs. The strabimon crumpled to the ground as the variant digimon nursed his bruises.
"...Look. I know that losing your friend, no matter how bad hurts. I almost lost someone I really didn't consider a friend before I realized it." Ba'al sighed, the memories flowing over him like a river. Seeing his human half fall to the ground lifeless was something he didn't want to see again. In the back of his mind, he wished horrible things to the one that forced him to play that stupid game and longed to rip him limb from limb, but he had other things to deal with now. "I can't tell you to stop worrying or anything like that. That's stupid. But what I can tell you is to think about your friend. Would he want to see you like this?"
The strabimon simply shook his head.
"Exactly. Stuff happens. What matters is how you take it. Yes, there's the chance that your friend will reform without his memories of you, but there's the chance that he will. If the former happens, try to be friends with him again. You need to put up or shut up and show some support for your friend by waiting for him regardless of what happens." The digimon finished, crossing his arms.
As much as the wolf hated to admit it, the rabbit had a point. Another sniffle escaped the digimon's throat before he stood up at his full four foot height, dwarfing Ba'al by at least a foot. The rabbit hybrid braced for another blow, closing his eyes. He opened them a bit, and saw an extended paw. He shook it hesitantly. "Umm...you're not gonna hit me again?"
"As much as I want to, no." The strabimon commented. "You've got a point. I might as well wait for him at the Village of Beginnings despite being scared and worried out of my head. I should be strong for him. I owe him that much for screwing up. He'd still be alive if I hadn't made those stupid mistakes..."he said.
"Do I need to punch you again?"
"No thanks. I think I got enough of that for one day. You pack a pretty good punch."
Ba'al's chest puffed up at the compliment. "I don't like to toot my own horn...Oh who am I kidding, I'll play all damn night long if I want to!" he cackled happily, garnering a small chuckle from the strabimon.
"Guess all I needed was a good support smacking, huh?"
"Yup! If you need another ass kicking, feel free to find me. As sappy as it sounds, everyone needs a shoulder at some point. Or a good but whupping, whichever comes first." The rabbit hybrid shrugged his shoulders.
The fellow child level rolled his eyes. "I will take you up for a match though. I can't let those hits slide."
Ba'al jokingly bowed in front of the strabimon. "Bring. It. On."