Pearl
He laughed with a nod, "I certainly enjoyed hearing about them. It made time pass much more quickly." He smiled, looking up as he remembered the stories and antics, then he glances at Alde. "He made sure they were never caught from my understanding. Did his best for them."

A pause and smirk as Alde began to tease a bit more, seemingly coming out of his shell a little more at a time. "Oh? Is that what you'd say?" He asked, smirking with a bit of return fire though it all sounded good natured. 

"Well, I need armor then, and ah..." Amos hadn't really considered Knuckle Dusters before, but then he also had his own natural weaponry at hand. Still, it might not be a bad idea. "I could give those a go. Haven't tried them before given most pits don't allow lethal moves. Bad for business I suppose." He then glanced at the weapon on Alde's back and smiled. "I'll take those lessons though."

"Perfect stories are boring really. But," He says, cheerfully, "I told one of mine, or one I know, so I believe next one will be on you unless you find someone else to join up. Which might be motivation enough to find more prospective mercenaries if you're not sure about your own stories."
Karen
He listened, scratching his chin. "Sometimes a good story, even if it has been heard before is all it takes to make the bad times be forgotten. While it won't match a good meal, sometimes a good tale can make one forget hunger, if only for a time. I know sometimes as a child storytime was more to keep us from being impatient for dinner than for a real purpose. But maybe that only works for kids?" He said, with a small shrug.

"I assume those who don't like you might." He said with a little laugh. "Or maybe they just want you out of the ring in general."

He thought over the idea of training Amos, and shrugged only a little. "Well, I imagine dead contestants don't exactly sell tickets to a pit fight." He joked. "Perhaps I will, a good training buddy would be nice though... So that will be something to think about." He agreed.

"Perfect stories indeed are boring, but they certainly are something to talk about, if nothing else." He agreed. "I'll have to try and remember some of my own for next time, yeah. We'll see how that goes. Not much that are super interesting, that I can think of at the moment, but oh well. I know I have a few, that I'm forgetting about."
Pearl
"An escape is an escape," Amos says, nodding to Alde's poignant ideas of how a tale can make bad times and even hunger seem distant. "It might not be literal and it may not last long, but sometimes people need an escape from what's happening around them. If that escape happens in the form of a child's story, or reminiscing over good times, well, nothing wrong with either of those then."

"Oh gods, definitely," Though he sobered up slightly at an uneasy memory. Visibly shrugging it off, he sighs, "Well, they'll get over it one way or another."

"Well, yes, finding new fighters is difficult if you keep killing them. Also finding *Good* Ones is harder, and it would be irritating to keep updating the contestant board, don't you think? Though some would argue it heightens the thrill," He smirked then paused and nodded, kissing the Macen's temple. "Well, that sounds fine then."

Amos pauses before nodding an assent, "Better than nothing at least. Though you did say you were told a few in your childhood." He smiles. "Wouldn't mind hearing those sometime. See if they're anything like what I heard when I was young enough to be told stories."

"Not much that are super interesting, mm?" He debated briefly, then took Alde's hand and picked up his pace slightly.
Karen
He listened smiling as he nodded. "Yeah, that is true. Sometimes an escape from reality is good. It is something we all do need at times. And true, nothing is wrong with reminiscing old times, or a childhood tale." He agreed, smiling. "I can't imagine what someone would have to go through to have to really need to use such methods to protect themselves... Well, I guess I kind of do, with hunger." He admitted.

He laughed a little. "I had a feeling..." He noticed Amos seemed to remember something, and felt a little bad about it. "Uh, sorry... And yeah they will." He agreed. "If they don't it is their problem."

He nodded. "Yeah, I imagine finding new blood can be hard in those cases, where you then gotta train them, and see them fight and just die against the better trained experienced fighters." He said, agreeing. "No one wants to die in their first fight anyways." He relaxed into the kiss to his temple, with a smile. "Yeah, I guess it would add to the thrill, and it does sound fine overall."

He smiled and nodded. "Yeah, it certainly beats nothing when needed. I'll be sure to try and remember then." He promised.

He stiffened a little when Amos took his hand, and he blushed a little. He coughed embarrassedly. "Well, I don't know if they'll be interesting to you, I should say..."