Aftermath [Retuo/Armando]

With pretty much all of the people whom have come around to assist in the demon ambush having bailed right afterwards, Retuo found himself essentially the only person staying behind still. He had technically been staying over already, but even had that not been the case, to him it was simply far too rude to run off like that. Fighting demons wasn't just a matter of some quick excitement before one moved on to do something else for fun, at least in his opinion.

Regardless, in the wake of things slowly settling down, he would choose to stick around and tag along with Armando this time around, somewhat curious about the fact that the man appeared to be the only one of the crew here with the ability to battle the demons. It was definitely intriguing, and besides, the man was a good choice to stick around in general as him and Rosario appeared to be the two main figureheads around here. If he was going to stay around and assist, might as well hear what was needed from a reliable source.

"You okay?" Armando knelt beside a young boy, handing him a small bowl of warm, baked beans that Rosario and Retuo had found at the Supermarket earlier that day. The sun had already set, and most of the refugees were hiding close to the fireplace in the foyer. "Y-Yeah, I'm alright, Armando. Thank you..." The young boy replied with a smile, wiping some snot away from his nose using his sleeve. Typical of a kid his age. Huey couldn't have been more than 5 years old. Poor boy... Lost his father at such a young age, and forced to live out the rest of his life out here in the Paris Desolation. Fortunately he was not alone. The door opened behind the pair, a faint shower of white snow forced its way in with the cold wind, along with Rosario. "Hey, mind taking overwatch?" He asked Armando, handing over the pistol to his friend. "Retuo's out there, waiting for you." He smiled, satisfied with how the day had turned out. "I have to say, you got an eye for good people. I'm grateful you brought him here." A faint chuckle escaped from the spaniard. "You should be thanking him, not me. He chose to tag along. Either way, you shouldn't keep him waiting. He's not too fond of the cold." And with that, Rosario sat down next to an elderly woman by the lit fire. Armando cocked the gun, and walked outside, shivering slightly as the outside world hit him in the face like a sack of ice.

"Everyone's doing fine, from the looks of things. In no small part due to your help-" Armando approached Retuo from behind, a bright smile on his lips. "I don't know what we would've done without your or the others help. I owe you a great deal, Retuo. Well, both me and Rosario, that is. He owes you a favor too." He chuckled, bringing a bit of that inside warmth with him.

"Mmm." Retuo would hum under his breath faintly as Armando approached him, shifting his stance to fold his arms behind his back before glancing over at his companion and offering him a polite nod. "I did what needed to be done. It is not necessary for you to think you have to owe me. Not being the kind of person who'd purposefully leave others to die is accomplishment enough for me. Besides, you have all your people to care for. I wouldn't ask you to focus your favors on me instead." Not to say that he'd decline were they to insist on repaying him, as that would be rude in its own way, but he hadn't done this with the intention of winning himself rewards to begin with, and he didn't want people to feel like they had to owe him for it.

"Although..." He'd eye the man contemplatively. "...If you are in a talkative mood, I was wondering something. From what Rosario has mentioned to me earlier, I assume you've had the power to fight back before this incident happened. Did you find that out in a battle as well?" That appeared to be the common denominator here, at least. There was also the fact that summoning a separate entity was different, but he had noticed that Eden did that as well, so perhaps there were several ways to use powers like these. Unfortunately, he couldn't really ask the rest about their thoughts at this point since they all left too fast, but one step at a time perhaps. Not like he had much else to concern himself with outside of staying alive of course.

"Haha, I can get behind that. Not much for this "owing people favors" deal either, if I'm gonna be frank. But Rosario insists, and to him? It's hard to say no. Especially when he's so eager to make even." Armando chuckled, a frozen haze leaving his lips out in the cold, dead night. "I suppose we should consider ourselves lucky that the others showed up when they did. I don't know how, or even why, but at this point? Why question it?" Though he sure would've liked to know what that vision was all about. "Hey Ret... Before the whole assault... did you also happen to see a vision? I saw a woman. Purple hair, red eyes... She was running from something. I got this odd feeling about her. What's your take on it? Something worth pursuing? " He paused, giving Retuo some time to air his thoughts.


"Oh, me? No. My powers decided to 'awaken' when Vault Lemuria was attacked. I Had to use them to get the group to safety. So I've had it for about a week." Armando shrugged, sitting down on a broken car bonnet. "Can't say it was particularly pleasant, but hey, its thanks to Hayk that both me and Rosario are alive right now. Unpleasantries aside, This power has proved itself rather useful. But... yours is different than mine. I guess that's to be expected though. Not everyone's gotta have the same thing." He chuckled faintly. "That's some power you have though. I'm jealous. Powers like yours could be indispensable when it comes to living out in the wild. Seeing as you can move the very earth itself, shelter should hardly be a problem. All I can do is make ice. And well... there's enough of that to go around, at least around here."

"I see. To each their own I suppose. Nevertheless, I do not intend to demand repayment. If he chooses to do so, it is entirely on him." Retuo would shake his head with a half-amused smile crossing his face. If that is what Rosario wished to do, he wasn't going to actively oppose the man at the end of the day. "Hm. Ah, that. Perhaps...although from what I can recall, the woman was somewhere in the Highrise area as well. It is also probable that some of the ones who came to our aid originally came here because of that. If anyone did find her, it might be too late to seek her out now. It's worth keeping her existence in mind though." Whoever she was, she was most likely in some way connected to this event. He hadn't paid it much heed at the moment it happened, given the immediate incident that needed to be dealt with here, but the timing had by all means been impeccable.

Amber eyes would flicker about absentmindedly as he listened to Armando's take on the whole power business. It was a difficult matter to address, for he was very aware that his abilities were most likely rather different, in more ways than one. Raising one of his hands in front on himself, he would tighten it into a fist with a light frown. It was strange to be honest. "You could put it that way...my power isn't exactly some strange being out of nowhere after all. Albeit, I cannot say a whole lot when it comes to the specific abilities in question. Each probably has its uses. Ice can build sturdy structures as well, and would by all means be a great benefit in other parts of the city. Earth may be versatile, but it is not always the best option." He wouldn't go so far as to say that his abilities were better by default. It was all dependent on the circumstances at hand.

"Hmm..." Armando crossed his arms, deep in thought. "Yeah. Finding people here based on looks alone is like trying to find a needle in like ten haystacks. If anything, I think she'll most likely find us. Personally I wouldn't mind having more hands on deck, even if it makes moving around more difficult. As a group we can just do more, and Rosario wants to help as many other survivors as he can. I'm not inclined to disagree, but... we can only support so many." Right now the goal was to get everyone out of the Highrise, and aim for western Paris, in hopes to find Vault Dorado. With any luck, it was still intact, and could provide shelter for them. Worst case scenario, they'd find the Vault compromised, just like Lemuria... And even then, that wasn't too bad, if the vault door still functioned.

"I suppose you're right. But at this time, I'd rather have fire abilities or something. Seems a lot more useful than being able to create ice. I guess it does give us a constant source of water, if we can find someway to melt it. Though I can't say for certain. Here, it's quite difficult to try." He laughed hollowly, looking up at the night sky. The stars above twinkled softly, as they had back in the days before the Fall. The one thing that remained a constant. "Right now, it's looking like the Generator's gonna last us one, maybe two more days. Then we need to get going. Our goal is to hit Western Paris, and look for whatever Vault's waiting there, pretty sure it's Vault Dorado. Rosario's optimistic that this plan will work, splitting up and all that. I remain... unconvinced. Sure, splitting up does lower the risks of being found, but in the off-chance that one group gets compromised? They'd be fighting an uphill battle, with no reinforcements coming. We're already stretched thin enough as is, between me and Rosario." He looked towards Retuo. "I hate to ask this of you, but we need more hands on deck if this evacuation is to be a success. Rosario told me you're already on board, but... I feel having only one person with the ability to fight demons per group just won't cut it. Seeing as both me and Rosario have our Resposibilities here... Do you know anyone who could be of any help? We'd greatly appreciate it."

Personal Quest:

"Fair enough. It is never an easy decision, but taking on more people than you can reasonably support could result in everyone suffering in the end. It is important to maintain a certain sense of self-preservation as well." It was not a bad ideal...to want to help everyone, but it was also not always within the realm of being realistically possible. Failing to protect everyone instead of just a few because you overextended yourself would be the worst way to end, and would only result in a lot of regret.

Retuo would hum faintly. "Perhaps. Although, if the ice is sturdy enough, you can create structures out of it just like you could out of earth, so I don't think it's a total loss in that regard. With some creative thinking, a lot is possible." He wasn't going to say that ice wasn't perhaps a little less exciting in an area that was already full of snow and frost, but the ability to manipulate said element wasn't a complete bust either. It could possibly be used to restructure the frozen environment according to one's wishes, and that could have its applications. "Ah..." He would frown lightly as he turned his gaze towards the frozen land spanning all around them. "Every plan has its risks, unfortunately. Even a bigger group size would not be guaranteed to make it through a surprise attack, so it is essentially a blind attempt one way or another." There was no saying how strong a demon was when one did show up after all. He would give Armando a contemplative glance. "I can...try. I am somewhat acquainted with two of the people who assisted today, so I could perhaps seek them out and ask. I cannot force anyone to come help though, so I can't exactly offer a guarantee." To just come around and help a bunch of people was a large request to drop on anyone. Still, it wouldn't hurt to try. He wasn't sure where to find the girl exactly, but at the very least he did know how to seek out Eden if need be. Other people were a large question mark, for someone random with no ability to combat a demon threat would only add another headcount to protect instead of proper help.

"Yeah... and that's the problem. It really hurts having to leave people behind. We had to, for a few. A necessary decision, but it was one we had to make, to ensure as many people made it out alive as possible." Armando had a rather grim look on his face. While he certainly didn't like Bryn one bit, it still felt wrong to just ditch someone whom had been such an integral part of their lives uptil that fateful day, despite so many people hating him... He didn't deserve that fate. "Yeah. Making those tough calls is really what separates a good leader from a great one. Rosario has been doing just that. Can't say I envy him one bit. Leading us all like he does, all that responsibility, and what comes after should something go wrong... it's all on his shoulders. I'm out here doing what I can, but... sometimes, even with all the power I have, I just feel like it'll never be quite enough, you know?"

Armando chuckled faintly. "Haha, that's true. I could make an igloo out here to give shelter from the wind, should it come to that." The thought hadn't actually crossed his mind until Retuo had pointed it out. He could build using the ice. Create structures, makeshift tools and anything else they needed, save for actual food and warmth. Granted, they'd be a bit less efficient than using a real tool, or proper stonework, but it was better than nothing. Previously he had only seen his ice as a defensive tool to shield his people from the Demons. "It really puts things in perspective when you say it like that." He chuckled lowly looking up at the hotel. "Y'know... the hotel could really use some windows, huh?" Verlaine had certainly become a bit of a new home for him. He had just started getting used to this new lifestyle too... and soon, they'd have to leave again. Shame.

"That's true... This situation doesn't really have an easy, clean solution to it." Armando smiled wryly. "I really wish we didn't have to be stuck out here, y'know. I miss my Vault. Hell, I wish we could go back to the Golden days. Y'know, before the fall. All I've heard are stories... Can't really say if any of them are true." Considering he had been stuck inside a vault his whole life up until last week, it was understandable that he'd come to doubt the folktales of the Olden Days, before the Fall. It all sounded like such a dream.

"Well...it's better than everyone dying as a result of not knowing when to pull back, I can agree with that. It is never pleasant to have to make the hard choice." Some would call it unfair to those who did get left behind, and in a sense it was, but what was one to do when there was no other way at hand? You either made a sacrifice, or waited too long and failed everyone instead. Retuo would shake his head lightly. "I think both of you could stand to believe in yourselves more. I think neither the leadership duty, nor the defender with powers one is superior over the other. The group probably needs you both equally at the end of the day. No use in selling yourself short." It was kind of ironic, given Rosario said a similar thing about feeling like he was the one who was not enough earlier. These guys were trying a little too hard perhaps, but then again, who was he to judge them for it?

"Ah, perhaps. Igloos sound like a good way to use ice, yes." He hadn't even been thinking about that specifically, but it was ultimately not a bad idea. "Hm?" He'd blink, looking up towards the building. "Are we talking literal windows, or is that meant to be a metaphor?" It felt like it could be taken either way, as in windows as perspectives, or making literal windows out of ice. Maybe he was just thinking too much though. "Well...possibly, although it is true we have no way to verify each story. I doubt people would be making absolutely everything up though." What would be the reason for that? "Maybe one day things could be improved however...still, I definitely don't think it would be the exact same as it once used to be." They couldn't go back in time, only forwards.

"Yeah... though it still sucks to leave people you grew up with behind. I mean, I know it was for the best, but fuck. That kind of decision hurts to make. Even when it concerns an asshole like Bryn." Armando clenched his fist. "I don't even know what happened to the old fool. And to be honest, I'd rather not find out. I dunno if my conscience could handle knowing what we forced upon him." As much as both Armando and Rosario hated Bryn, leaving him behind... it hurt. "I'm sure if he's still alive, he'd hate our guts. Doubt he'd ever understand. Old bastard's too stubborn."

"Oh not you too." Armando chuckled, giving Retuo a toothy grin. "Lisa keeps telling us that too. That we should be more confident. I guess we have to. Keeps telling us to stay strong." He ran his fingers across the bonnet of the car. "Be brave... They all say that. It's a different kind of pressure knowing everyone's looking at you for guidance. We weren't ready for this. We never asked to be in charge. But now that we are... We have to make the best of it." Wiping away the snow from his hand, he'd place it on Retuo's shoulder. "Thank you for keeping me grounded, friend. It's easy to lose oneself under the pressure." Retuo was right. Both him and Rosario needed to stay confident and strong, as people looked up to them. The shoes were big to fill, and while the two didn't quite fit yet, they had plenty of room to grow.

"Haha, I know right? I'm suprized I didn't think of that myself earlier." He said with a hearty laugh. "Literal windows, Ret. The winds here get rather cold somedays, and until now, we've just had to persist through it. With Ice windows... we might be able to live here just a bit more comfortably. Hayk and I should be able to cover it." He looked at the hotel. Looked doable. Well, maybe aside from the broken top floor. That was a bit much. Besides, that opening made for a very good lookout, and had proven itself quite useful over the past week. "I suppose you're right. I doubt we could ever go back to those golden days, eh? Not after all this. I mean... how would you even go about getting rid of this ice-storm to begin with?" It'd take more than what his persona could currently supply, that was for damn sure. Maybe someone could just... make a miniature sun?

Retuo would frown lightly. "To be fair, if you didn't shove him towards demons on purpose, you didn't force his fate on him, I don't think. Besides, it could also be said that the real fault is on those demons who destroyed your Vault. You couldn't have known that would happen, and you did as much as you could have in such a circumstance..." It was certainly a difficult situation though. "I can see why he might resent you however. Most people put in such a situation would, even if just to have a target to vent their frustrations at." It was the easiest thing to do to cope for many people.

"Ah..." He would offer a breathy chuckle. "I actually didn't mean it quite like that. I mostly think that it's worth to trust in yourself. You don't have to be the bravest ever, or pressure yourself to always be in charge...but if people around you seem to think that you are in fact doing a good job with what you currently are doing, there is nothing wrong with taking that at face value instead of telling yourself you still aren't good enough. Trusting that you are doing well at the moment is a form of confidence as well." He doubted that people actually expected the two to be excellent at all times, but there was nothing wrong with honestly appreciating what someone was doing for you, no? "You don't have to thank me for that. I am merely giving my opinion after all." Perhaps his calm attitude just had that effect.

"I see. With enough finesse that would probably be possible. I'm not sure how long structures created through these powers last, but hopefully it would be a while. Good luck with it either way." It would be extremely powerful if ice created that way lasted infinitely as long as an equal power didn't shatter it, but then again, he wouldn't rule it out as impossible. None of them knew the full extent of these abilities just yet. "Hmm..." He would glance off in the direction of where the heaviest storms were. "That would probably depend on what its source is. It does appear to be fairly unnatural, so if we were to assume that it could be of a demonic origin...then that does give some possibilities for how to stop it. Not pleasant ones however." Seeing as that'd involve finding and taking down some potentially powerful creatures, and that was never an easy task.

"Hahaha, I'm sad to say that Bryn wouldn't see it that way." Armando gave an amused chuckle, thinking back on the old coot. "He always liked to play the blame-game. We just kinda took it, at the time, back in Lemuria, I mean. Nobody gave him any lip, so to speak, knowing he had the authority to force people into Exile. After the first time, well... nobody argued against him. You can probably see why he wasn't too popular. Still, despite his rather shitty behaviour, he was a very capable mayor. Made sure we all had food and drink, and that everyone was doing alright... too bad he was such an ass." He painted Bryn with a rather bittersweet brush. He didn't doubt the man's abilities as a leader, but he couldn't take valid criticism. Though being faced with being less than perfect when the situation demanded it... Armando could see where Bryn came from. Rosario and Bryn were both similiar in that regard, though their response was on opposite bad ends of the spectrum. Galeas tended to doubt himself when faced with criticism, while Bryn avoided it altogether with threats and blackmail. Neither great, but... Armando preferred his friend's way of dealing with it, even if it made for an overall weaker leader. Hell, he shared this trait himself. "He'd probably strangle us both if given the chance."

"I... I guess that's true, yeah." He huffed, quietly thinking back on everything. "You're quite something, you know that? Got wisdom beyond your years. I guess the world above taught you a few things, huh?" He couldn't imagine what struggles Retuo had persisted through to get where he was today. Surviving outside of a Vault for any length of time, lacking powers or any sort of way to defend yourself... It sounded crazy to him. But he figured Retuo had his ways to stay alive. Hiding, scavenging for food. Maybe he could even hunt? He had to, right? "Couldn't have been easy, living out here for that long. In such a hostile world, like the one we now live in." He sighed, staring at his own palm absentmindedly. "Have you ever wondered... Why us? Why do we have to live through all this?" Bad luck? Or perhaps fate had wanted this? Some unknown force out there, orchestrating everything from the shadows? To be honest, it could be anything. After seeing the demons, Armando wasn't sure what logic he should follow anymore.

"Well, there's only one way to find out, right?" He smirked at Retuo. "I mean, now that I've thought of it, might as well give it a shot. Who knows, such a skill might turn out useful later on." Being able to create shelter from wind and weather alike was a gift he would make sure to use whenever possible. "Well, whatever it is, I'm sure we'll find a solution to our plight. This has to be reverisble. In some way." He did want to reclaim Vault Lemuria at some point. Bring his people home, to where they all belonged. Well, those fortunate to survive the attack. "So, what's it like north of this cold area? I'd like to know where I'm heading. All I know is of this Vault on the west side of Paris, Dorado... But I have no idea where it is exactly, nor what we're getting into."

"Hm. Sounds a little hypocritical. If he was so willing to exile others who spoke out against him, can he truly be mad that for once he was the one booted out? I can understand why people would not like that. It doesn't paint a person in the best way. Maybe it's for the best that you don't associate with each other in the end, even if he is still alive. Sometimes cooperation simply cannot work." Whether the guy had valid reason for his behavior or not, it sounded like it'd be for the best for him to not come back to the group regardless. Maybe he'd be better off finding more like-minded company for himself after all, unless he was willing to change adapt but it didn't quite sound that way from what was being said right now at least.

The amber-eyed man would shake his head lightly. "Perhaps...or perhaps it is simply the way I think. Wisdom doesn't come only from surviving after all. There are a lot of people out here whose outlook on everything is extremely grim in comparison. It's a matter of how one chooses to interpret their experiences..." He was by no means an optimist himself, preferring to stay mostly in the middle and just go with a more realistic approach. Things could both go well but also fail terribly. The best one could do is trust in themselves and prepare as much as they were capable of. There was never a guarantee that a situation was doomed, nor that it was going to be alright. He'd glance towards Armando contemplatively. "At some point...although I'd like to say it is not something I dwell on a whole lot, for there is no answer to be had to such a question. Is it fate, or is there someone orchestrating it? We can't know. One way or another, we have to simply deal with what is in front of us. We may wonder why 'us' now, and hundreds of years in the future other people will question the same in a completely different world, just as those in the past probably have as well, so to speak. Yet, we can never have a satisfactory answer to it, can we?" There was a benefit to thinking about it in some cases, but overall Retuo found it to be a lost cause. In fact, there was a high chance that it wasn't even a matter of there being a reason. It could have happened at any point, to any generation of people and there was likely no specific reason for why it just so happened to hit the people who were alive right now. One could ask 'why us?' about any big conflict, war or in general any unpleasant era that passed, but there was never a way to answer that.

"Mm. It's never bad to develop new skills, no." He couldn't argue with that. "Perhaps..." He'd trail off for a couple moments, closing his eyes as he thought on the directions. "...if you mean straight north, it's not a good idea. That leads to the central areas of Paris which are full of poisonous gas. To get north to the most moderate area, you'd have to take a detour through the west, but the dryranges are the opposite of here and rather hot. Unfortunately, the journey in either direction from this area may prove to be somewhat arduous for a group not used to extremes. I can't really talk about Vaults much, but if one really is in the western area then you could probably try to look for it en route from here." He never really went out of his way to purposefully seek their locations, so that wasn't something he could really help with in detail.

"Hah, well. That's Bryn for you." Armando chuckled hollowly. "He was always a bit of an ass, to be honest. But deep down, I think we all know he only wanted to do good. He just... didn't have the best methods, sometimes. Regardless, if I end up seeing him again, I'd have to apologize. I owe the old coot that much." Despite all the bad Bryn had done, he wasn't really a bad person per se. His leadership ability was quite something, and he had made everyone's lives in Lemuria better. But Armando and Bryn never saw eachother eye to eye, even if Armando saw the good in him. Perhaps one day... The old man could redeem himself in the eyes of the people.

"I mean, if you put it that way, I guess it's all in a matter of perspective. Personal experience does tend to shift how you view things. Sometimes it is difficult to stay objective." He snapped off a small icicle hanging from the car and twiddled it between his fingers. "Surely not everything's been bad up here though, right?" He was genuinely curious about the life Retuo had lead to shape him into the stoic gentleman he was today. Surely, he could've ended up being a much less charitable man, had things gone worse. "I suppose there's little point in dwelling on trivial things like that. I just... I just want to know who opened the doors to our vault. We were all safe down there." He frowned, obviously angered. "So many lives lost... Rosario even lost his whole family. He hasn't gotten any proper time to say goodbye, or even grieve." Armando clenched his hand into a fist. "I just want to know why they did what they did, nevermind the who. I don't care. I just want to know the why."

"Poison gas...? That's concerning." He replied, looking at Retuo thoughtfully. "Well, at least now we won't be walking head first into a deathtrap. I'd rather take the heat of this western paris than subjecting my people to a deadly poison. Thanks for the heads up." He paused for a moment, before smiling at his friend. "What's the story there anyway? How'd you learn? Without... y'know... getting poisoned yourself. Sounds like quite a wild tale."

"Mm. Well, I wish you luck, whatever you decide to do. People are always an unpredictable variable." He'd just hope it didn't end badly. There were a lot of people who weren't willing to accept an apology, and this guy sounded like he'd possibly be that way from the description given. That said, it was not his place to make decisions for other people, so he'd let the guys hash it out on their own as long as nothing happened to drag him into the mess somehow. He'd tilt his head thoughtfully. "Ah...maybe not? I'm afraid I don't have much to make a comparison with to say whether life out here is always bad or not. I've come to not mind it however. I think humans are quite resilient, and can adapt to most conditions in due time." In fact, he'd probably struggle with Vault life if he were to try to get inside one now and settle there. He wasn't all that fond of rapid large changes in lifestyle if he were to be honest, and he would most likely be too restless when faced with a life of luxury. Well, something like that anyway.

"Hmm..." He'd frown. "The simplest assumption would be that someone wants you all dead. Though, there are many possibilities out there. Perhaps one day we will find out, perhaps not. You probably shouldn't dwell on it so much that it takes over you however. It's never pretty when people develop a desire for revenge after all." He would smile faintly, a somewhat sad expression on his face. Unfortunately, such cases were probably very common in these times with all the 'unfair' acts being done. It likely didn't bode well for the future of humanity, although that was just his personal opinion.

"Ah that." He would shake his head with a faint chuckle. "I'll have to disappoint you, but there isn't a fascinating tale to tell. Some things one simply learns with enough time. I've been out here for a good 24 years or so. Over time, you hear of the people who have wandered in and got themselves poisoned and died. It is also possible to walk the edges of the area where the concentration isn't high enough, even though I wouldn't recommend it because it can still mess a person up. There are ways to get in if people own working gas masks, but as you can probably guess...they're not exactly items that are found in abundance out here." It was possible to seek one out when determined enough, though was there any good reason to desire to visit that area so much? It didn't sound like a fun experience to go through.