Bo couldn't help but laugh. More of a laugh to release tension at the memory. "Yyyyep! It was really messed up, haha! But I escaped and that was a whole 'nother traumatic experience and this dude's been through a bit," he said, pointing to himself. "But I came out of it a better man! Thanks to people here, mostly. And Mickey."
"It's good you made it out the other end," Kratzer said. "A lot of people don't." More specifically, himself, but he didn't want to say that.
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
Bo patted Kratzer on the shoulder. "I was lucky. Mickey? He's a solid guy. Helped me through all of my mess with more patience that I would've ever expected from any reasonable person. Which is why I try to be like that for others." He smiled.
"And I believe everyone can make it out of whatever mess they're in alright too."
"I used to think that," Kratzer says. "That there was always hope. But then...after seeing humanity, what it can do, what it will do to itself..." he shakes his head. "Some of us are just in it too deep to get out. The harder you struggle the more you're trapped."
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
"I used to think that," Bo admitted. "But then I realized the people that are really deep in that are because a part of them doesn't want to be different. Be it pride keeping them from changing, or whatever it is in their hearts they don't want to admit to, the darkest of people are that way because they choose to give in to those parts of themselves. And it's sad, really. A lot of it could be avoided if they just had a voice of reason, or someone to just listen and be there for them, you know? But I've noticed, with people - like you, I guess - you're not in too deep to get out."
He shook his head. "I've tried before and it only got me in deeper, Bo. Maybe here things can be different, but..." he paused. "What's the use? It is what it is and that's that. What's happened happened and I sure as hell can't change it."
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
"You make the road to recovery sound like it's a five-step plan and if you fail that, it's over," Bo said with a chuckle. "It's not that simple, and sometimes you take ten steps back before you take a step forward."
"Not if you're dead, enslaved, an experiment, or trapped under thrall or a contract," he says. "Sometimes holes are just too damn big to get back out of and sins too serious to forgive or forget."
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
"Okay I've been like half of those," Bo countered with a grin. "And sometimes you just need someone to throw you a rope in those big a** holes. But I mean, if you want to be a big 'ol pile of mushy pessimism, I'm not gonna force you to fit my mold," he laughed.
Somehow, things had gotten very real very fast and the mercenary shifted a little uneasily. "And what if there's no one to give you that rope, then?"
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
Bo slowed in his walk, and stopped, looking over at Kratzer. He mimed with his hands as if he was throwing a rope down into a hole, holding the role with one hand and waving down below.
"Helloooooo down there little Kratzer, beloved cool vampire friend. I have a very long rope and very buff arms to pull you up with," he said, speaking as if his voice was a faint echo.
He didn't know whether to laugh, be surprised, or be grateful, so he just stood there in stunned silence for an admittedly awkward amount of time.
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
Bo looked over to him expectantly and grinned with a little laugh. He put a hand beside his mouth and leaned down next to him, as if it was an aside amidst the whole act. "This is where you like, grab the rope and go: oh cool! A way out! Or something!" he whispered, before his voice devolved into laughter. "Really though, I'm glad you ended up here. I'll gladly toss a rope for ya, man."
He had absolutely no idea how to react to this, so he opened and closed his mouth a few times as he tried to work out how to respond. "I...uh...Danke..."
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
Bo simply gave another pat on Kratzer’s shoulder. “It’s all good, Kratzer,” he began to walk again, heading towards the training grounds. “But oh! We’re getting close. Yay.”
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