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LOCKED TO istheindustry

Summer was coming to Johto, and quite frankly, Logan was glad it was nearly here. He had been spending his time up north with Reaver, travelling to Mahogany Town, a remote little town that housed one of the Gym Badges they were in the process of collecting. Logan hadn't expected it to be so cold, even in spring. Finally it was beginning to feel like that awkward transition phase between spring and summer, and the heat was a welcome change.

They had arrived in Mahogany last night and had spent the better part of the day travelling to the Lake of Rage. Both of them had seen it on the map, but Logan hadn't expressed any desire to visit it until they had stopped in Mahogany. Yes, he understood that the badge challenge was important (he was the one who had been so determined to start collecting the badges anyway), but the badge wasn't going anywhere. Neither was the lake, but that didn't change the fact that he wanted to see it for himself.

Logan had always loved the water. The royal family had a small place in Millfields that they visited during the summers when the Hero Queen simply couldn't stand the heat anymore. Logan had loved exploring Bower Lake as a child, and it was something that never really left him even after all this time. He had only been to Bower Lake a couple of times since he took the throne, and had only brought his sister with him once. They had both been a bit too old to frolic in the ocean like children - at least, that was what they said until night fell and they were certain they wouldn't be spotted by any of the nobles that lived in the area. He remembered that evening fondly; but there were very few things about his sister he didn't remember fondly.

He brushed that thought aside, not interested in dwelling on the past. It never ended well. He was here in Johto now; he had to look out for himself - and only himself - though it was still something he was in the process of learning how to do. He was getting used to not having control over people, but taking care of himself was still something Logan hadn't really adapted to.

That said, he did look quite a lot healthier than he had in Albion. The darkness was still present around his eyes - and likely would always be, he was tainted, after all - but he had put on a bit of weight and the constant travel was doing some good for him physically. Of course, it didn't help that he was travelling with Reaver who would run on ahead if he was allowed. Logan still had difficulties keeping up with the ever-energetic industrialist, but he hadn't reached his breaking point yet.

The travelling today had been relatively light and easy; there were trainers to fight and plenty of grass to wade through, so speeding to their destination was out of the question. He was thankful for that. It did put them a bit behind schedule though; they would have to spend the night up at the Lake of Rage and return to Mahogany in the morning, but Logan really couldn't say he minded that any. If the lake was anything like Bower Lake, then he doubted he'd want to leave so soon anyway.

Speaking of the lake, it finally came into view amid the trees and Logan stopped short, staring. It was huge, possibly even larger than Bower Lake. The water looked clean and clear from where he was standing (though admittedly, it was still a bit hard to judge and it could just be wistful thinking on his part) and the shores were completely clear, no people anywhere in sight. Apparently this wasn't a very popular tourist destination for whatever reason. Logan found himself releasing a breath he didn't realize he was holding, glancing side-long at Reaver for some sort of confirmation that the industrialist was as pleased with this as he was.

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That earned itself a rather derisive noise out of him in response. "When you've been around as long as I have, Logan, you learn that everything has a price - everything can be bought and sold, no exceptions, as long as you know the right people. Make the right friends and you can have just about anything. Life itself included."

He paused for a moment. His voice had remained completely even throughout that explanation, if it could be called that, and his gaze remained unwavering; at the same time, there was something extremely taut about his posture, and his hands had tightened sharply where they were folded against each other on the table, to the point of nearly shaking from the tension. "You asked me how it is that I don't age? I pay the price required of me. The collateral was higher than I would have preferred, but if that's what it took then so be it."

Logan was silent for a long moment, staring at Reaver and trying to fit the pieces together. Reaver had been scared of death, so to avoid death, he had made a deal with someone and had managed to gain eternal youth. Was he following so far? Because this was making less and less sense as time went on.

"Let me see if I'm following this correctly," He finally started, cautiously, "you made a deal with someone for eternal youth, that way you wouldn't die - at least not from natural causes. Is that right?"

Logan didn't sound upset or concerned, just confused. He supposed he could see where that would be a valid line of thought - if one was completely crazy and willing to pay whatever ridiculous price this person charged (and he was certain it was a ridiculous price) - but surely Reaver would have gone in there with some plan to persuade them to lower the price, or something along those lines.

...But no, Reaver had been younger then, less experienced. He probably hadn't expected the price to be as high as it was, and he couldn't back out in time - or maybe he hadn't wanted to back out. "What was the collateral?" Another pause and then, "What happened to you back then?" He was beginning to suspect that something was very wrong with all this.

Reaver's response was immediate, though it was no less tense. "Tell me how familiar you are with the southern shores of Albion. I'm not referring to Bloodstone, but the surrounding area. What do you know of it?"

"Not much, I'm afraid. I haven't visited the area. I wanted to attempt to get to Bloodstone, but mother warned me against going to Wraithsmarsh." Smart move on her part, since the Banshees probably would have killed Logan. "Why?" He had a feeling he really didn't want to know.

"Wraithmarsh wasn't always known by that name; it was a village, once - very peaceful and idyllic, actually, with a rather extensive history. It was known as Oakvale, back when it was still intact; there was a rather well-known Hero from that village, actually, responsible for the defeat of Jack of Blades. But that was well before my time."

He paused for a moment; that strangely dissonant expression was still rather present. "The destruction of Oakvale was swift; no one saw it coming. All living things within the village were killed over the course of one night, taken by flames and torn apart by Shadows; the structures themselves were reclaimed by the marsh. Just about the entirety of the population perished.

All because a fragile, weak-willed coward who feared death more than anything in the world agreed to sacrifice literally anything to overcome it. Do you understand?"

Oakvale? Logan had heard the name in passing, but he had never studied it. As Reaver continued his story, he felt uneasier; surely this wasn't going in the direction he thought it was going...?

"You... sacrificed all the people in Oakvale?"

He felt his blood run cold. He had known that Reaver was a terrible person, a murderer, but he never would have thought that he was capable of this. That wasn't what he chose to focus on though, because something else Reaver had said caught his attention.

"Shadows killed everyone...?" It wasn't really a question, despite being posed as one. It made sense now, why Reaver was as uneasy about the Crawler coming as Logan was; the Crawler would bring the Children with it, which were shadowy creatures as well. It would be like the destruction of Oakvale all over again.

He didn't know what to think. Reaver had clearly cared more about his life than the lives of everyone else in his village-- wait.

"You said you didn't know what the collateral would be." Logan said slowly. "You had no idea this would happen." That wasn't a question either, but unlike the previous statement, this one required an answer.

Reaver's expression flickered a bit then, strangely uncertain; it took him a moment to answer. "No, I didn't."

It was the change in expression rather than the words that confirmed it for Logan. Reaver hadn't had any idea that this would happen. He had been responsible - that certainly couldn't be argued - but Reaver hadn't meant to kill them all.

Logan didn't say anything for a long moment. He wasn't sure what to say in response to that. Reaver had seen far more than he had - he had gone through more than Logan had as well. He had always known that much, but he had never thought that this had happened to him.

He didn't say anything, but he did move from the bed to stand beside Reaver. Even from this position he couldn't read what Reaver had been writing, but he wasn't looking at it anyway. He had a feeling Reaver had already told him something very few people knew about - assuming any of them were still alive.

Physical contact wasn't something Logan usually offered, if only because he was never really sure what to do. He moved to touch Reaver's hair, stopping himself before he could and glancing at the industrialist warily, as if asking for permission.

"I'm sorry." It was sincere, if a bit stunted. "You shouldn't have had to go through that." He shouldn't have made such a deal in the first place, but Logan knew better than to condemn him for that now. Reaver had probably been told what a horrible person he was for doing this numerous times before. That wasn't what he needed right now.

Reaver glanced up at Logan, looking at him a bit oddly for...whatever he was doing with his hand; he certainly wasn't protesting, at any rate, though he did close that diary he'd been writing in after a moment.

But then his attention was refocused on Logan, and his expression was back to being strangely dissonant given what he had just told him, and the coldness in his eyes was rather present again. "There's nothing to be sorry for, my dear. It was regrettable, surely, but what's done is done."

Well, if he wasn't going to protest... Logan ran a hand gently through Reaver's hair; the motion was oddly satisfying for some reason he didn't want to contemplate.

"I see." It was obvious that he didn't. He didn't see how Reaver could be so calm about this, or how he could be so distant from what happened. "It's still not something anyone should have had to go through."

That hand running through his hair got a rather soft, pleased noise out of him, actually; he leaned into Logan's touch a bit, eyes sliding closed for a moment before he looked back up at him.

"Perhaps; perhaps not. It's not anything that matters anymore."

"If you say so." He couldn't understand how Reaver could dismiss this so easily. It had been a long time since this happened though, so perhaps Reaver had just accepted it and moved on. Logan couldn't have done it, he was sure of that much.

He continued to play with Reaver's hair though, since Reaver seemed rather pleased with that. "If you ever need to talk about it, I'll be here." He finally offered, awkwardly.

It wasn't that Reaver had simply accepted it for what it was and moved on, as he hadn't; really, it was probably more accurate to say that he had distanced himself so far from it because it was something he wasn't going to be able to accept. It had shattered him at the time, but he had been weak back then - fragile and vulnerable and scared and so, so utterly breakable - and the experience of breaking so thoroughly had changed him; he would never return to the way he had been, to the way his life had been, but as far as he was concerned there was nothing to return to anymore, as the person he had been was long dead. There was nothing left of him, and it was better that way. It wasn't to say that the transition had been easy; Reaver had been scarred deeply, perhaps, in ways that couldn't be seen, but the lovely thing about scar tissue was how much stronger it tended to be than the original.

"While I appreciate the offer, Logan, there isn't much to discuss."

"It's there if you need it." But he was willing to let the subject drop, simply because he wasn't sure what else to say. He wasn't comfortable with this by any means, but there wasn't exactly any other choice, now was there? This was out in the open and he had no choice but to deal with it.

Still, this told him a lot about Reaver. Reaver clearly trusted him with this. He continued to play with Reaver's hair, content to remain silent for the time being.

...Logan, welcome to everything you have ever told him.

Just the same, that hair-playing was rather nice indeed; he allowed it for a while longer before speaking again. "I think that's rather enough unpleasantness for one evening, don't you?"

Hey, he was nowhere near that bad! ...Really!!

"Yes, yes it is." He smirked, though the expression was clearly because he had no idea what to do. "Are you going to try to sleep again?"

"Perhaps." He was returning that smirk, however; he seemed to have settled some from that odd coldness he had been showing earlier. "Why do you ask?"

That was a promising sign. It seemed Reaver was calming down some. "Just curious." It wasn't like he would be getting any sleep after hearing about that.

"Well, I can't say I know what you're planning on doing otherwise."

"You get even less sleep than I do, Reaver." Logan rolled his eyes. "I'll be fine."

"Oh, I've no doubt you will be, yes. Going elsewhere, then, or are you staying in?"

"No, I'll be staying here." It was still a bit too dark out there for his comfort. "Just try to get some sleep." To be quite honest, Reaver sort of looked like he needed it. Then again, he always looked like he needed it, so that was probably an unfortunate side effect of his horrible morality...

That, among other things...but at least Logan had the common sense to keep such thoughts to himself, thank you very much.

However, he didn't see much of a point in arguing, although he doubted he would be sleeping well, if for very long at all; he tipped his head a bit to concede the discussion. "If you insist, then." He rose easily, brushing off whatever Logan was doing with his hair and moving back toward the bed, smirking a bit as he went.

"Joining me?" The comment was light, though...slightly less made of innuendo as it might have been some months ago, at least.

Logan didn't mind that, he realized that Reaver didn't get much in the way of sleep, but it had never really occurred to him why Reaver got even less sleep than he did. Reaver had encountered the Crawler in some form, Logan was sure of that, but that wasn't the reason why he didn't sleep, was it? It was this thing with Oakvale.

"Yes, of course." Logan rolled his eyes though; the innuendo wasn't lost on him and as usual, he ignored it. He did join Reaver in bed though, immediately curling up next to him as usual, gripping the front of Reaver's shirt awkwardly. He still wasn't sure what to do with himself when it came to cuddling like this at night.

Reaver pulled Logan against him, holding him tightly and starting up again immediately with that gentle stroking against his back, his other hand burying itself in Logan's hair; this was...comfortable, at least. Familiar.

"I trust that no one else will hear of anything mentioned to you tonight." It wasn't a threat, as it might have been with someone else; after all, he had held his silence for Logan for years, it was only natural to assume that he was owed the same courtesy. If he thought Logan would say anything, he wouldn't have told him; just the same, seeking confirmation was something he could hardly be faulted for doing.

LOCKED TO istheindustry

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