<div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>The Old Man and the Fox</strong></span></div><br/><div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/f9p8l32.png)</div><strong>NAME:</strong>Albion<br/><strong>DAY:</strong>September 28th, 2018, Afternoon<br/><strong>LOCATION:</strong>Outdoor Shooting Range<br/><strong>TAGGING:</strong>Nerissa<br/><strong>EXTRA:</strong><br/><strong>WEARING:</strong>Standard SOPHE uniform<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Somewhere in all of this, Nerissa had grown a spine... Or, no, Calder demon. Maybe she simply hid her true self, her true feelings, behind a mask of foolishness and carefree behavior... No matter how he looked at her, Nerissa had turned out to be a surprising force. If he met his end here and now, there would probably not have been any regrets... Of course, that was before Nerissa had imposed a deadman's trigger on her life... Killing him would seriously kill her? No one deserved to have their life intertwined with his.<br/><br/>"... Hmph, when I saw you stumble out of that car, never did I expect you to come up with this kind of backbone. I belittled you and paid no stock to your capabilities and ambitions... And now here I am. You're absolutely right though; I don't want you to try your best, I just want you to get things done." Albion spoke... Usually only Toshiro could get him to talk this much, and usually only over drinks. How did this fox manage to get under his defenses like that?<br/><br/>She didn't want his blood on her hands... That was why she wanted her life to expire too of his was taken. He could understand the weight of another's life on ones' hand... He'd taken many in his life, but a very small few of them actually mattered to him... And none of them were alive anymore. Time and again the specters of his past weighed on his soul, and often he thought to take the easy way out... He even had a means. So then why could he never do it? Maybe it was just simple fear... To regretful to live, too fearful to die.<br/><br/>How irresponsible then, to foist his life on someone else. He truly wasn't worth knowing.<br/><br/>The gun was aimed, both present taking slow, deep breaths. The seconds silently passed before the audible gunshot rang out. Fluid splattered the man's hair and the grass behind him as his eyes didn't even flinch... Only slowly close as some of the excess liquid trickled down from his head.<br/><br/><em>'I suppose you aren't my reaper... Not yet, anyway...'</em><br/><br/>With hands pocketed, Albion slowly strolled forward to where Nerissa had collapsed, looking down at her from above. He bent his knees, lowering himself to the ground... Before his hand slowly moved forward to run his fingertips through her hair. Whether she asked or not, the man pet her head gently, and for the first time that day... Could see the corners of his mouth curled upward, even if his eyes still seemed a little empty. Was that...<br/><br/>... A smile?