( Yuuji is in a little over his head, which isn't anything so unusual—no more so than the way he's currently arguing with a small, bright flame while sidestepping its contentious sword swipes. Like others, he'd been taken by the allure of a heft prize, especially since so far he's taken most of his payment in food and lodgings. Fushiguro was right, and he needed more money to get by, and this job had seemed like the easiest and fastest way to make up the difference. Of course, no one had really given him the fair warning he deserved about getting to and from the Hinterlands, so, at present, he's blissfully unaware that this spar with an elemental is still the easier half of this excursion. )

Wait, wait! You've got me all wrong, little guy! I'm basically the polar opposite of the two voices inside me!

( He barely dodges a bull charge, and his eyes widen in surprise and, for the first time, concern, as the ground lights up like magma in its wake. There's a brief but powerful tremble deep within him as he recalls the horrible things his hands have done, though not by his own command. Well...except...

He shakes his head and barely saves his fingers from being singed as he yanks his arms back, curling them against his chest. )

Would I really be sticking my neck out here if I was a bad guy? I'm just trying to help out my friend! Because that's what friends do! Like talking about crappy B-movies together to get through a bad day, or letting them pick the pizza toppings!

( Do heroic tales come in different sizes? Maybe someone a little more prolific [or smarter] will have some bigger and better stories. )