[SP-F1] Courageous Beyond Measure VI (Complete)

[Azide 0]

"Days...?" repeated Azide, his voice caught in a mix between incredulity and a whimper. How could he have possibly been out for days? Surely McGonagall was just being an idiot again- he wouldn't put it past the man to be reading the time upside down or something. It had to be some sort of mistake or oversight. He shook his head and laughed at his partner's foolishness as he opened the in-game menu just to confirm the time. Surely it could have only been a few hours at most, from the way the sun had set. But when the screen flickered into sight, he simply stared at the numbers.

Edited October 1, 2015 by Azide

[Azide 0]

His eyes opened wider, and he opened his mouth to make a comment about how the time must be glitched, or something to that effect. But he didn't. With a flick of his wrist, he dismissed the virtual panel and said nothing. There was no way that it had been three days since he'd last woken up- and yet, never had a single glitch been reported in Sword Art Online. Nothing legitimate, at least- only rumors, but he was not the sort to take them to heart. So it really had been days, hadn't it? Confirming that in itself meant many things, but the most pertinent was that they were already three days off track.

[Azide 0]

Azide repeatedly turned the apple in his palm and inspected every last inch of the bright red fruit- after all, it had been foraged by McGonagall of all people. But before he could begin to test the specimen on a molecular level, his stomach growled loudly, and he reluctantly decided he'd taken as much caution as he could afford. There were no external holes, so at least it was effectively clear of worms. "What a standard," he thought, as he took a measured bite of the apple. "To think that I'd one day be back to worrying about eating wormed apples..." With no obvious taste of poison, he chewed slowly and swallowed the morsel before attacking the offering more ravenously.

Edited September 30, 2015 by Azide

[Azide 0]

Several more fruits of varying colors and sizes were soon devoured mercilessly, and even after the last had been downed, he could hardly describe the feeling in his stomach as full. "Thank you..." he mumbled, without looking away from where spot where the final fruit had rested just moments before. Throwing a tantrum had been bad enough in itself- his was a family where fits of anger had not been looked upon with any degree of tolerance or appreciation.

[Azide 0]

But to now be left facing a man who he'd lashed out at, and not even have the benefit of higher ground? That was a crushing thing. Perhaps McGonagall was not the sharpest tool in the shed, nor the brightest bulb in the bunch- but he'd meant well. And not only that, but the man had placed at least some pair of eyes on him while he'd been at risk in the wild. While a familiar was not his first choice for sentry duty, their party was admittedly lacking in superior options in that regard. Clearly this had been a man making the best of the little he'd had.

Edited September 30, 2015 by Azide

[Azide 0]

After taking some time to himself to regain his composure, Azide stepped back out into the open and waved meagerly, as if he'd just entered a courtroom with very little going for him. "Listen, McGonagall..." he started, rubbing at the back of his neck as if it were a sore spot. Even though he'd outlined his talking points, it was proving to be noticeably harder to actually execute than he'd expected. Perhaps it was because apologies were usually only given when he was in the wrong- and he was not often wrong.

[Azide 0]

"You're not gonna apologize or somethin', are ya?" asked McGonagall. From the way the man spoke, he was not asking a question that he did not already have an aswer for. At the same time, he large man's steady, brassy tone intonated in a manner that did not suggest confrontation. Nor had his eyes hardened in the least as he addressed his partner. Jamie the eagle touched down on the man's covered shoulder, though her owner did not react to the landing. Mirroring a familiar gesture, McGonagall set a mammoth palm atop Azide's shoulder.

[Azide 0]

"Don't be silly. You think you went off and hurt old McGonagall, don't ya?" The big guy bellowed out a rumbling laugh which made his hulking chest shake all about. "See this?" he asked, raising one massive arm and flexing it a few times as he tightened his grip on Azide's shoulder. "McGonagall is a big guy- a tough, strong guy. Toss him in a room with Molten Hydra, Yamato, and the Phoenix and there'd only be one boss left standing." He pointed a meaty thumb at his own glowing mug. "And that would be me."

Edited September 30, 2015 by Azide

[Azide 0]

It was a bold claim, and an admittedly clever statement. This unexpected flash of wit actually compelled Azide to laugh for once at McGonagall's brazen words. He guessed that this was McGonagall playing to his strongman persona, trying to rebuff an incoming apology. It was an honorable play- one that would have saved Azide some face, and spared him the burden of apology. But for all of these efforts, Azide would not let him be cheated out of an honest chance to right the wrong he had inflicted. Or at the very least, attempt to mend it.

[Azide 0]

Azide shook his head, though the twitching smile had not left his lips. "While I have no doubt that you could, infact, take on multiple floor bosses single-handedly- even a tough guy like you is still just a man, at the end of the day," he began, shifting to a more sincere tone towards the end. "Sometimes when you get caught in another person's faults, it's easy to forget that. I should have given you the benefit of the doubt, and I guess what I mean to say is..." he trailed off as he paused to take a deep breath. "I'm sorry McGonagall. I was out of line back there, accusing you like that."

[Azide 0]

There was no dramatic catharsis as the words left his lips- no heart growing three sizes that day. But there hadn't needed to be. The words had felt right, and they'd deserved to be spoken. For all of McGonagall's dunderheadedness, carelessness and lack of attention to detail, he was an honorable man. True, several unfortunate events had stemmed from the towering man, but none had shown even the slightest sign of ill-will. If anything, McGonagall's intentions had always been pure, through and through. Though the laundry list of criticisms for the man as a contractor were long and winding, it could not be said that McGonagall himself was anything short of a good man.

[Azide 0]

True to his nature, McGongall reacted to the apology by lifting the smaller lad into his arms for a tight bearhug which had the latter nearly gasping for air. "McGonagall is sorry as well- he should have carried you over his shoulder when he went to gather food. He's strong enough to do it, but he hadn't thought of that idea before." The man squeezed tighter, before continuing, "No hard feelings, buddy. We're in this together, aren't we?" When he noticed that the green-clad boy had started kicking his legs around in the air, he loosened his grip and allowed Azide to drop back to the ground.

[Azide 0]

Landing on all fours, Azide took another moment to regain his composure for the second time that day. His hair was ruffled, his clothes were wrinkled, and his lungs and chest felt slightly battered from that unforeseen assault- but he was nonetheless glad that his apology had been accepted. McGonagall was an idiot, and he probably wouldn't even hire the man if it were up to him- but he was a personable man. A likable oaf, ultimately- in a way not dissimilar to a Homer Simpson-esque character.

[Azide 0]

After his breathing had finally normalized, and his lungs began to inflate once again to their usual capacity, he straightened himself up. "Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I think we'd better get a move on," he remarked, straightening his jacket  as he spoke. "We're three days off schedule on a task that was only supposed to take a day at most- I have a feeling the missus wouldn't take too kindly if we were to take another just to navigate through this valley." He shuddered as he imagined the old woman who'd sent them off in the first place. Even if they were to return to plop a Bezoar right in front of her at this very instant, he somehow doubted that they would be receiving any compensation at this point.

[Azide 0]

McGonagall nodded his head and looked up at the sky dreamily, making his partner frown slightly in disapproval. But Azide was pleasantly surprised when McGonagall met his eyes again only moments later, looking as if he'd just had an epiphany. With a showy and over-the-top snap of his hands that rang throughout the whole ravine (which he swore had dislodged a rock in that canyon somewhere beyond view), McGonagall quickly shifted his hand to display a spirited thumbs-up. He turned to the bird perched atop his shoulder and whispered to the creatures, then smiled as it went flying off shortly afterward.

[Azide 0]

Azide stared blankly as McGonagall simply stood there with a wide grin on his face. After a while, he glanced down at his wrist, only to remember that he did not posses a watch in this world. "Although I really should commission one," he thought, recalling how many other instances he'd reminded himself to do just that. It would be a relatively pointless trinket in terms of usefulness- the time and date were only a tap away in the world of Aincrad. And yet, that had also been the case even in the real world, with phones having become akin to jewelry than anything after the popularity of cellphones had surged.

[Azide 0]

But this was neither the time nor the place to commission a watch. Having had just about enough of the stupid smile on his partner's face, he finally decided to break the silence. "So are you planning on telling me what you just whispered to that bird?" he asked, crossing his arms. Things had quickly returned to normal, though he wouldn't have preferred it any other way. He and McGonagall were too different, too incompatible to ever truly get along on a day-to-day basis, even if he could begrudgingly respect the man's lionheart.

[Azide 0]

Looking smug, McGonagall laughed in the way that smug people tended to laugh. That was to say, smugly. The mammoth man shrugged his mammoth shoulders and turned to look up at the sky, where Jamie the eagle was now little more than an airborne speck. "It's simple, really. You and McGonagall have only two feet, right?" he asked, speaking as if he were addressing a wide-eyed kindergartner. It was actually quite condescending, and his 'pupil' did not bother to entertain this with a response.

[Azide 0]

The fact that Azide had not answered his question seemed beside the point, as McGonagall had continued without missing a beat. He pointed to his forehead, then tapped on it repeatedly while making some remark about brains, making Azide expect some sort of resulting hollow sound. However, nothing of the sort came, eliciting a sigh from the dagger-user. Apparently, there had to at least be something cooking in there, although it was still up in the air if whether or not that something was palatable or even edible.

[Azide 0]

"People only have two feet, but what do birds have?" he asked, flapping his arms wildly. "And I know what you're thinking- yes, birds also claws, but what I'm talking about is wings!" He looked proud rather proud of himself for having drawn these conclusions, and so Azide allowed the tool to revel in his pride for the time being. "Anyway, McGonagall can see that you are still confused, so he will put this plainly. Jamie will fly around and search for a shorter route from the air, since we cannot see past these rocky walls. Simple, right?"

Azide nodded, having realized what the man had been proposing quite some time ago. "Yes, outstanding, McGonagall. You've really outdone yourself this time," he answered, moving his mouth into something that he hoped would be interpreted as an encouraging smile.

Edited September 30, 2015 by Azide