Almost like a Fairytale

[Corporal Light]

Ballad grimaced with every word spoken by the wannabe gangster looking kid, his fist clenching tightly around the handle of his gun. A part of him couldn't believe the kid was as criminally incompetent as he looked, especially since he had the gall to challenge him when he CLEARLY had a revolver in his hand. The gunsmith had already deduced that the world he was in was way behind his own in terms of technological prowess, but he was fairly certain that even the goat farmers of the current one held the universal idea that guns equal superiority. Which counted double for someone like Ballad.

In just a few short hours of studying and listening, the sharpshooter could make a fair estimate as to whom this guy thought he was. He certainly thought he was humble, but that was merely an act. The kid was cocksure, haughty, and pretty damn brave. That, or we was really cranky when he didn't get his beauty sleep, just judging off of how he had strutted up to him like he owned the damn place. Guess we all have to show our bad side every once in a while.

Ballad stood in the middle of the field, watching the kid head back to his tent, probably intent on grabbing a weapon or two. It was uncanny how much the green man had rubbed off on the kid, as he couldn't remember anyone else confronting a gunner like.... well, him. Unlike the kid, though, Ballad always won or at the very least put the idiot down before he himself got too injured. He did occasionally lose, he had to admit, but those were rare occasions. Even the other ones. Those were moral victories.

All of a sudden, the intentions ran like a pickaxe through his brain. The green miner quickly snapped his revolver upwards, aiming it at the gangster's stomach as a look of surprise washed over him. He gave off a threatening growl, clearly not allowing the swordsman to take another step forward.

"Don't think you can just walk up to me just because we talked for a total of two minutes and expect not to get shot, understand kid? I dunno where you lived before this place, but back where I came from, I constantly pulled this shot and been on the receiving end of a shooter as well. Difference? I'm a whole lot better at it than you." The gunner said pompously. The gangster kid kept still, not wanting to incite any more anger from the revolver-wielding gunslinger.

"To top it all off, I invented this thing" Ballad ranted, twisting the gun to his left while still pointing it at Lynch, "I know how it functions. You don't. So don't think you can simply get close because you think you know how this thing works. The fire rate, how long you have before a shot could be fired, how many shots I have. You know NOTHING about it, and you know NOTHING about me. You'd be better off wrestling a snow cat than fucking with me right now, kid."

The rider had had his hands help up in a surrendering motion the whole time, and was slowly dropping them to his side as Ballad continued his rambling. He started off with insults, then personal achievements, and then a minute or so later was instead talking about how the kid shouldn't have been screaming in the middle of the night while he was trying to rest. Each accusatory word stung as it reached Lynch's ears; he balled his fists as he closed his eyes, rage overcoming his emotions.

"Now that I AM awake, I feel more like hell than when I first GOT HERE. I'm thirsty, my stomach feels like it's gonna cave in at some point because I got no damn food, and now I'm TIRED because YOU can't sleep without waking everyone up in the forest! I mean-"

"I SAW MY MOM GET KILLED, YOU ASSHOLE!" Koal shouted at the top of his lungs, catching the gunner completely off guard. The green man took a step back, his index finger almost pulling back on the trigger. Ballad glared at him, though his eyes held a hint of surprise as the conversation became dominated by the apparently orphaned kid.

"I had a nightmare where I saw my Mom get dragged out into a street and SHOT," Koal yelled, tears forming in his eyes "And I did NOTHING to stop it! I COULDN'T do anything... it was all my fault..."

Koal looked down towards the ground, tears flowing down his cheek before splashing into the dry grass. A loud whimper erupted from his throat as he brought his hands to his face, as if to hide from the only man around to hear him. Ballad gazed at the crying man, still reeling from the effects of what had just been said to him. He lowered his revolver to his stomach, his eyebrows continuing to frown, but the black dots in his bisque eyes appeared to dilate, turning glassy-eyed. He did not dare say anything else, simply allowing the kid to weep. Weep for whomever he was weeping for. But this time, he didn't, nor couldn't, muster the effort to interrupt.