TAKE A BREAK [S/PAX]

Pax followed behind Marth begrudgingly. He could sense his party member's unease at being near him, and he certainly understood. He mentally scolded himself for going off the rails like that. He figured it had something to do with the realistic feeling of combat paired with his already shaken nerves. He took his eyes off the road to look up at where Marth was going. The Inn of Beginnings. He nodded to himself, he at least owed the kid some breakfast.

"Well, as long as you don't order one of everything they have," he smiled a bit.

Inside the inn, and sitting down at the table, Pax rested his hands on his lap and closed his eyes. He tried his best to gather his thoughts. It had been one hell of a morning so far. He opened his eyes and smiled as the waitress walked up to their table. He considered for a moment and decided on an omelette. He'd found the omelettes weren't quite the same in Aincrad, but they were still delicious in their own right. He sighed as the waitress walked away, following her programmed route throughout the inn, taking orders from the few groups and players that were up already, or like him hadn't gone to sleep yet. He rested his chin in his palm, elbow propped up on the table.

"What happened, huh?" Pax frowned and turned his head to look out the window at the crowds that were just starting to gather in the streets. He took a good long time thinking, frown deepening as he thought about it. His eyes moved back and forth between random details of the scene before him. He was silent for what seemed like ages to him. In reality, only a few seconds had passed. He debated a couple of things to say and turned back to look at Marth with a solemn nod.

"Well, snapped is certainly the term," he began a little weakly, he shook his head and continued a little more confidently than before, "I know I can't go through all of the tiny details of every event that lead up to this point, but it's been rough, you know? Hell, who hasn't this been rough for? Everything's been building up for me, though."

He looked about the room at the other people who paid no mind to him, and he waved a hand about, gesturing at all of them, "I started pretty quick. Hit the ground running kind of deal. I've been running myself ragged, though. I think I've gotten about six or seven hours of sleep overall these past three days. Give or take."

He inhaled through his nose and focused back on Marth, "That was the first time I've fallen apart like that, though. I don't know. I'm sorry, I'm not very good at using words to explain myself."

Pax was just nodding solmenly. He forgot sometimes that he was older than a lot of the kids that were in this game. He was fully aware that his sleep schedule was dangerous to him, though. He raised his brow curiously as Marth continued to speak. Objectively, Pax wondered is he was doing his best. He reminded himself that he was running on empty, though. It wasn't that he wasn't trying, it was that he was running himself into the ground. Grinding his own nose on the grinding stone. He looked down to his omelette as it was placed in front of him, and he felt his stomach vibrate in anticipation of food.

"I've never worked well with anyone, you know?" Pax mulled over his biggest problem verbally, picking up a fork and spinning it in his grasp, "My sister is here, but I've pissed her off to no end. I've been going at it alone for the past day and a half or so. I came back to help a few people out, maybe make a couple allies."

He dug into his omelette like a starved wolf. It was delicious. After a few bites, he took a moment to chew, and then continued a little more slowly. After all, he hadn't been able to actually properly enjoy a meal yet. He looked up at Marth with a very serious look, pausing between bites, "You'll be a very safe person to be around later on . . ."

He was about to say if you survive, but decided against it. He looked back down at his already half-finished omelette and smiled. This kid probably would catch up to him quickly. Probably even surpass him if this game went on long enough. He had no real skills when it came to MMO's.

"Yeah, that'd be nice, and I- . . ." Pax froze and put his fork down on the table, closing his eyes and taking a breath, "Friends? With someone who very probably almost just got you killed? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you had a death wish."

He shook his head with a small laugh, "Oh what am I saying? It'd be more of a death wish to not make friends, wouldn't it? I'll agree on one condition. Knowing myself, it probably won't happen again any time soon, but if you ever are in combat with me and I snap like that? Just leave me. It's gonna get someone killed, and I'd rather it not be you."

With that, he flicked through his menu deftly and sent Marth the friend invite.

"Silly kid," he muttered.