Pueltown Hotel - 10/9/14

Lucius: ...Easy for you to say...

-He doesn't elaborate, though this might have something to do with the fact that he's starting to look like he's on the verge of passing out.-

Nimbasa City - 12/9/14

-After being whisked away to a hospital here and spending a night in the wards, Lucius is now sitting in his therapist's office, looking sheepish as Dr Yamada gives him a stern stare.-

Dr Yamada: So, I trust that you now understand the consequences of what you tried to do, Lucius?

Lucius: ...Yeah.

Dr Yamada: You had the entire ward in a panic, you know. Hoarding perscription medicine, disappearing from your therapy sessions without warning, hiding yourself away in Almia like some sort of hermit... we almost sent someone to collect you. In hindsight, I wish we had. When you feel as though you are unable to cope, you should be coming here more often, not shutting yourself off from the world. Tell me, do you honestly feel as though the world and everybody you know would be better off without you in it?

Lucius: ...Sometimes...

Dr Yamada: But not always. And that's the most important thing, in my opinion. Everybody has bad days. Yours are more frequent than most, but that does not make you a bad person because of it. Next time, please try to think before you act. Think of your family, your friends, everything else that you would be leaving behind. Try to imagine how they would react, without allowing your own poor opinion of yourself to warp your view.

Lucius: I... I will. I'll try, at least. There's no way I'm going to let myself be such an idiot again.

Dr Yamada: Good. Because I'm not allowed to call you one in a professional capacity, even if you need to hear it.

-She quickly signs off a couple of forms before looking up again.-

Dr Yamada: You're free to go.

Lucius: Wait, what? Now?

Dr Yamada: Yes. Now. You appear to be in good health, and have mostly recovered from your blood transfusion with no ill effects.

Lucius: ...You aren't going to have me sectioned or whatever?

-Dr Yamada smiles. The expression looks somewhat out of place on her lips.-

Dr Yamada: Lucius, despite what you might believe, my goal is not to have you committed to some sort of asylum. I'm here to help you function as a healthy and productive member of society. Cases such as your own are hardly remarkable, and sadly, they are not uncommon either. Over seventy per cent of people with your condition self-harm at some point in their lives. Those in your age group are particularly at risk. However, with your help, we can start to reduce those numbers. You have both the capacity and the desire for recovery. Because of that, I don't think there's any need to keep you on constant watch.

-The smile fades.-

Dr Yamada: Though I will insist that you return the remaining antidepressants I gave you.

Lucius: Oh. Right. Yeah, those...

-He takes the bottle of pills out of his bag and hands it back to his therapist.-

Dr Yamada: Thank you. If you don't mind, I'd also like to ask for your Alakazam's Pokeball. Not only does having him around more often reduce the chance of something similiar happening again, it also allows for a quicker response.

Lucius: So you're telling me that I need to have Maul out of his ball at all times from now on? If anything, that's going to put me at more risk of a repeat incident.

Dr Yamada: ...That wasn't funny, Lucius.

Lucius: Oh, um... yeah, I kind of realised that after I said it...

-One awkward silence later, and Lucius is out of the therapist's office minus Maul's Pokeball. He pulls out his Pokegear, notices Jason's text, and sighs before sending a response.-

Teakwood Forest - 12/9/14, a little later

-Lucius is now here, Maul levitating a couple of feet off of the ground behind him.-

Teakwood Forest - 12/9/14

-Upon seeing Jason, Lucius' gaze drops to the ground. He looks rather ashamed, as well as a little pale after having just been discharged from hospital.-

Lucius: I've been keeping to myself for the last couple of weeks... after everything that happened, I couldn't bring myself to talk to anybody except for Duke. But I'm here now, and I've come to apologise for being such a jerk towards you and everybody else around me.

Teakwood Forest - 12/9/14

-Lucius' shame starts to give way to guilt.-

Lucius: Yeah, I heard about what happened to Shingeko... which is one of the reasons why I've decided to hang up the mask. I can't let myself turn into that kind of person again, so obsessed with revenge that I end up hurting the people closest to me... I know I gave you a lot of shit for being reckless in the past, but at least you didn't force one of your oldest friends to turn against you. So you can carry on being mad at me, if you want. Arceus knows I deserve it...

-He starts fiddling with the end of his scarf upon Jason's last question.-

Lucius: ...I always look pale. Must just be the light out here or something.

Teakwood Forest - 12/9/14

-Lucius leans back against a tree, starting to look very reluctant about answering Jason's questions. His gaze is still firmly focused on his feet.-

Lucius: ...Sarah and I had a fight. We talked again a few days back. That's all I want to say about it. As for why I'm so pale... training mishap. You know what overexertion can be like...

-He's still clearly lying, but this time he appears to be trying to imply a desire to change topics as soon as possible.-

Teakwood Forest - 12/9/14

-Lucius raises an eyebrow.-

Lucius: You do? What would that be, exactly?

Maul: ~Mutual moping.~

Lucius: ...Even if that is what Jason's proposing, I'd rather hear it from him first.

Teakwood Forest - 12/9/14

-Lucius tilts his head.-

Lucius: Seriously? I thought you still had that weird hatecrush on him, considering that you tried to kick the crap out of me for saying that exact same thing when we first met. Still, I do need to get some more training in...

Maul: ~Because now is the best time to do it, what with being overexerted and all.~

-This earns Maul a glare from Lucius, though the boy doesn't say anything.-

Teakwood Forest - 12/9/14

-Lucius sighs.-

Lucius: Act like a jerk enough times and the reputation starts to stick... I should know.

-He shakes his head and leans himself into a rather relaxed stance, a small smirk starting to form on his face.-

Lucius: Now then, ladies first.

Teakwood Forest - 12/9/14

-There is a flash of blue light as Lucius uses Detect to evade Jason's chakram, sidestepping the attack and darting in with a Force Palm aimed at his opponent's right arm.-

Lucius: Only fair to give you a fighting chance. Or something close to one, at least.

Teakwood Forest - 12/9/14

-Lucius mimics Jason's technique, summoning a light grey sword at the last minute to parry the sweep. The effort clearly takes a lot more out of him, however.-

Lucius: I don't doubt it... but I've been Duke's student for a lot longer than you have. No reason to let myself get flabby now that I'm hanging up the metaphorical cape.

-He feints at Jason's head and steps back, shifting back into his relaxed defensive stance once there's more distance between them.-

Teakwood Forest - 12/9/14

Lucius: Oh, really? I don't think it counts if you're self-taught.

-He starts circling around Jason, occasionally making the odd sudden movement or feint to try and bring his guard down.-

Lucius: (Duke has a thing for taking needlessly reckless students... but today both of us are trying to play it defensive today. Maybe if I get him a bit riled up...)

Teakwood Forest - 12/9/14

Lucius: My mistake, then. You've been taking lessons from evil spirits. I'm sure they're the most trustworthy tutors anybody could ask for. Absolute pillars of integrity.

-He allows his sword to lower a fraction, still giving a smirk evidently intended to irritate.-

Teakwood Forest - 12/9/14

-The short comment manages to succeed in pushing one of Lucius' big red buttons.-

Lucius: WHO ARE YOU CALLING A MEASLY LITTLE SHORT-

-He stops himself, then forces out another smirk.-

Lucius: At least I can actually keep my attention focused, rather than making goo-goo eyes at every girl who so much as gives me the time of day.