November 7th, #2
((Brawl, Lunar)) (D,D)

Oracle walks into the Blaster.
Brawl smiles sa he sees oracle 'Ory!! yer back!"
Oracle nods and walks over to Brawl with a smile on her face.
Brawl says, "how're ya feelin?"
You say, "Much better. I'm in the Blaster, aren't I?"
Brawl says, "Yeah .."
Oracle looks over the menu, hmmming to herself.
Brawl says, "whatever ya want ill get for ya"
Oracle smiles at Brawl. "I'll have an Icee thank you very much. I don't think I wan't anything intoxicating just yet."
Brawl says, "allright GIMME TWO ICEES"
Brawl loudly places his order.
Oracle leans over and kisses Brawl on the cheek. "Thank you Brawl."
Oracle takes her drink and sipps away at it.
Brawl smiles at watches her.
Brawl smiles "She kissed me.." he sighs a happy man.
Oracle laughs and continues sipping her drink. "What have you been up to lately Brawl?"
Brawl says, "just tyring to find yer attacker and you?"
You say, "I've been doing nothing. Now that everyone knows who attacked me, I've been pretty much left alone."
Brawl says, "who attacked ya?"
Oracle hesitates. "Lunar did."
Brawl says, "LUNAR IS A DEAD MECHANISM"
Brawl transmits a radio message.
Oracle puts a hand on Brawl's shoulder. "Brawl, there are many others after him. You don't need to join the mob."
Brawl transmits a radio message.
Brawl says, "but yer my girl and hes dead."
Brawl transmits a radio message.
You say, "Tread carefully Brawl. He won't be as kind to you as he was to me."
Brawl transmits a radio message.
Brawl says, "I can beat him up"
You say, "I'd rather you didn't."
Brawl says, "oh..allright...not..now anyways"
Oracle nods her head and finishes her drink.
Brawl says, "Im tryin oracle. I won't let him hurt me"
You say, "Are you certain? Lunar is a very crafty individual."
Brawl says, "yeah but im smart too"
You say, "There's a difference between smart and crafty. Some people call me smart, but I'm not crafty at all. I don't think you're crafty either. Most people I know aren't crafty, but Lunar is."
Brawl says, "i'll still beat him up."
You say, "Just don't get hurt, Brawl. And don't hurt him too much...the militia wants him for questioning and I think your boss might want you to cooperate with that."
Brawl says, "oh okay. i'll just rip off his arms n legs."
Oracle sighs. "You're good at violence, aren't you Brawl?"
Brawl says, "yep. its what the boss pays me fer."
You say, "It doesn't solve everything though."
Brawl says, "it makes it so people dont do what they were doing, if its wrong. its like a punishment."
You say, "I'm not fond of violence, but I know it is necessary sometimes."
Brawl says, "oh yeah. like when someoen beats on your woman.."
Oracle smiles. "I suppose you have a point there. But the Militia wants him in for a trial."
Brawl says, "when im done they can have him okay?"
You say, "I guess I shouldn't try to stop you, Brawl."
Brawl says, "He is bein a coward and hiding but he can't forever"
You say, "Well, if you were in his shoes, and knowing that a certain Brawl would come after him, wouldn't you hide too?"
Brawl says, "Heck yeah if i was in his shoes I wouldn't touch a pretty lady."
You say, "What would you do Brawl?"
Brawl says, "I wouldn't hurt you thats for sure."
You say, "Even if you were 'evil'?"
Brawl says, "hey. im not evil"
You say, "But if you were in Lunar's shoes, you /would/ be evil."
Brawl says, "whys that.."
Oracle sighs. "Never mind; it doesn't matter. I just hope you don't get in trouble. Doesn't your faction frown on fighting amongst yourselves?"
Brawl says, "yeah but im not fighitng with myself im fighting with lunar"
You say, "I meant, I don't think your boss will appreciate you attacking another Decepticon."
Brawl says, "yeah i guess yer right"
You say, "I got that impression when Onslaught was at the Hospice."
Brawl says, "he was/"
Brawl says, "so he's behind this too?"
 Lunar made your faction look bad. There's that treaty between the City and your faction, I believe."
Oracle stands up and stretches.
Oracle heads for the door. "Good evening Brawl."
Oracle stands outside the doorway, looking at the building as though confirming that it still stands.
Lunar conceals himself in the shadows once he realizes that someone's outside.
Oracle runs a finger alongs side the building, she sighs to herself.
Lunar flattens himself against the wall, moving near the doorway.
Oracle shakes her head to herself.
Lunar slowly, silently, extends his claws to their full length.
Oracle mutters to Oracle: "Everyone will think you're insane. You can't ... ... ... ... ... bound ... cause you trouble."
Oracle mutters to you: "Everyone will think you're insane. You can't even understand yourself and that's bound to cause you trouble."
Lunar blinks as he hears the voice. His claws retract instantly.
Oracle mutters to Oracle: "... ... get ... before ... ... ... here or ... keep me under lock and ..."
Oracle mutters to you: "I'd better get moving before anyone finds me here, or they'll keep me under lock and key."
Lunar slides over to the door, hesitating just inside it.
Oracle sighs and leans against the wall of the building.
Lunar opens up the door and sticks his head out. "Will you get the Pit in here or go back to Crystal City before you lead the whole slagging militia to my doorstep?"
Oracle jumps as she is startled. Glancing around she sees a (random) Militia member in the distance. She ducks inside the building, knowing she will be seen if she tries to make it home.
Lunar closes the door after her. He glares at her with flame red optics. "What the Pit are you DOING here?"
You say, "I wanted to make sure you were still here. I don't think they would tell me if they caught you...they saw how distressed I was."
Lunar smiles tightly. "It takes a little more than a few militia memebers and your idiot boyfriend to find me."
You say, "He isn't an idiot."
Lunar snorts.
Oracle smiles. "I know he's not the brightest on Cybertron, but he means well. It's not his fault everyone exploits him instead of teaching him."
Lunar looks sidelong at her. "What do you see in him anyway? You know he doesn't care about you, he just likes the way you look. If you dumped him now he'd mourn for all of five seconds before hitting on the next femme he met."
You say, "Maybe, but maybe not. I still think he means well. And I'm nice to him, certainly that must mean something to him."
Lunar shakes his head. "Not a thing. I know Brawl."
Oracle quirks an optic ridge. "Really? I didn't see you sitting down and really trying to get to know him. If I remember correctly, you just took advantage of how gullible he is." She doesn't sound judgemental or reproachful, she's merely stating the fact.
Lunar laughs. "Yes, I did take advantage of his gullibility, didn't I. That was enjoyable." He stops laughing and looks at Oracle. "Is that when you started liking him? Because I hurt him like that? Sympathy and love are two very different things, Oracle."
Oracle's expression doesn't change. "That's not when I started liking him." She hesistates. "And what do you know of love? It seems to me that all your claims of being evil wouldn't know anything about the subject." She doesn't sound harsh or anything, just curious.
Lunar for a brief instant his optics are filled with sorrow and pain. He turns away quickly, hoping she doesn't notice. "Believe me, I know."
Oracle notices the look but doesn't comment. "And you think it's so impossible to care for someone like Brawl?"
Lunar struggles to gain his composure and turns back. "Of course it's possible. I don't think it's happened to you, though."
Oracle is silent for a long time, thinking. "Maybe you are right. But I don't know much about love at all. It's never been something that's aquainted itself with me. Compassion I know."
Lunar turns back and walks to the far wall of the room. "When it happens, you'll know. The fact that you don't shows that it hasn't happened. If you really don't want to hurt Brawl, you'll end the relationship now, before it proceeds."
Oracle thinks. "Maybe. But then again, who am I to know my own mind. I'm here aren't I?"
Lunar doesn't turn back. "Which I'm still not happy with. Why do you keep involving yourself with me, Oracle?"
Oracle shrugs. "I suppose I can't help it now."
Lunar frowns, though of course she can't see it. "What the Pit is that supposed to mean?"
You say, "I'm not certain. I just know it."
Lunar finally turns back to her, crossing the room quickly. "I'm the wrong person to become friends with, Oracle. My friends die quicker than my enemies."
You say, "Why?"
Lunar closes his optics and looks down. "Because everything I do fades into darkness. There's no room for friendship in evil, Oracle." His words are filled with pain, bereft of any hope.
Oracle quirks an optic ridge and says softly, "Yet you tell me what love is and that I may hurt Brawl?"
Lunar keeps his head down and his optics closed. "Sometimes, it takes someone who has experienced the depths of both love and hatred to understand them."
Oracle shifts a bit. "Maybe so. I haven't experianced much of anything. Perhaps that's why I keep seeking you out. You have that air of experiance."
Lunar says, "Some people can experience too much."
You say, "And you're one of them?"
Lunar nods, then opens his optics and looks at her coldly. "Are you surprised?"
Oracle shakes her head. "Not at all. You said some people when you could have just as easily said 'I'."
Lunar nods. "You have slightly more observation skills than I give you credit for.
You say, "Observing isn't my stumbling block, it's applying what I observe."
Lunar blinks once, and some of the coldness leaves his optics. "You're . . . you're good, Oracle. Before I would have said that was a weakness. Now I'm not so sure. But whatever it is, it is very different than what I am."
You say, "I don't think it's a weakness. Good people can get taken advantage of and are easily put into bad situations, but it's because they /chose/ to, not because they're too weak to prevent it."
Lunar frowns. "Perhaps. But regardless, I change everything that comes in contact with me. Light doesn't kill the darkness, the darkness smothers the light. If you keep up this . . . this fascination with me, you may find there's a price to pay."
Oracle quirks an optic ridge at the word 'fascination.' "The light also isn't something forceful that swallows, it's something to be embraced, accepted."
Lunar nods. "Yes. The darkness, on the other hand, is invasive, consuming. You don't have to accept it, it accepts you. And I fear you're not prepared for that, Oracle."
You say, "I may be weak in some ways, Lunar. My frame isn't strong. But I don't think I'm so badly off as you suspect I am."
Lunar looks at her coldly. "I used to be like you, Oracle. I had a future, kindness, idealism. That was crushed out of me."
You say, "Which wasn't my fault, nor Brawl's, nor Patrols. I don't know who, or what, changed you, but I know it wasn't me or any of the others you're so bent on hurting."
Lunar laughs wryly. "Oracle, I don't hurt out of revenge. I hurt out of hatred. I hate this slagging world, and every slagging thing in it."
Oracle is silent for a moment, her serene green optics scanning Lunar's face. "Why?"
Lunar frowns. "Everything I ever cared about died with my idealism. I mean EVERYTHING. Everything I loved, everything that was ever good or kind to me."
Oracle speaks gently, softly, almost in a whisper. "What destroyed it all?"
Lunar sighs. He sweeps his hand out in a gesture that takes in everything. "This world. Life. The darkness. The specific details . . . I haven't thought about them in a while." He knots a hand into a fist, squeezing it tightly closed. "And I'm not going to now."
You say, "You said the darkness destroyed what you cared for. So why join it? Why let it swallow you too?"
Lunar looks close to breaking. "There was nothing left to keep me in the light. After she . . ." he trails off, blinking, realizing that he had almost said too much.
Oracle leans against a wall, not pressing the case. Some innate knowlege tells her that it wouldn't be a wise thing to do.
Lunar moves to a table and sits on it, saying nothing. You've never seen him look so vulnerable.
Oracle just watches him.
Lunar remains silent, looking at the floor.
Oracle says softly, "Would you prefer I left now?"
Lunar looks at her, optics filled with sadness, unable to hide it. His voice is still hard, the last vestige of his facade. "If you wish to."
You say, "It's not me that I'm trying to oblige right now. This is your home, not mine."
Lunar gives a hard laugh. "This? This isn't my home. This is the home of the best parts of my life, the life that was squeezed out of me. I only take refuge in it now because of necessity. Too many ghosts of the past in here."
You say, "Well it's more your home than it is mine."
Lunar says softly, "I wish I could leave."
You say, "I'm sorry I put you in this position. If I hadn't confessed to the Militia, you might still be with the rest of your faction."
Lunar shakes his head. "Not your fault. The product of my torture was a little difficult to hide. I'm surprised you even tried to protect me, after what I'd done."
Oracle shrugs. "I don't think it was all that surprising."
Lunar says, "I hurt you, I tortured you, I did everything I could to prove I was evil. Then you try to protect me. Why?"
You say, "I get this hunches sometimes. I can't explain them, but I always follow them against my better judgement.""
Lunar says, "And you got a hunch about me?"
Oracle nods mutely.
Lunar arches an optic ridge. "If you protected me after all I did, that must be some hunch."
You say, "I can't explain it. There are strange things in this world that don't make any sense and never will."
Lunar sighs. "Believe me. I know that."
You say, "So how long are you staying here for?"
Lunar shrugs. "Until I can safely return."
You say, "And when do you think that will be?"
Lunar chuckles. "A megacycle, a decicycle, a stellar cycle, who knows."
You say, "Do you have everything you need here?"
Lunar nods. "I ran with the gangs for stellar cycles. Both before and after my life fell apart. I'm no primal, but I can get by on my own."
Oracle nods.
Lunar chuckles wryly.
You say, "What's so funny?"
Lunar sighs. "I'm back where I started. Before the world fell apart. An outcast, no friends, no future, nothing. Then I only had my idealism and my dreams. Now I don't even have those. Just tortured memories."
You say, "Lunar?"
Lunar looks at her, saying nothing.
You say, "What do you consider me?"
Lunar narrows his optics, then widens them again and shakes his head. "I don't know."
Oracle just nods her head. "I'd better get back to the city, or they'll come looking for me."
Lunar says, "Oracle?"
You say, "Yes?"
Lunar says, "What . . . what do you consider me?"
You say, "I'm not sure either."
Lunar takes a deep breath, closing his optics, and when he opens them again his normal, emotionless expression is back on his demonic mask. "Take care no one sees you leave."
Oracle nods. "I will."