Post by pepsi on Apr 3, 2024 13:14:59 GMT -5
Lola's expression hardened as she was reminded that, in fact, Billy had been left behind too. Billy was truly a person that suffered a lot, even more than she herself did; and all that suffering, instead of turning him into a bubbling mess, actually made him resilient. Like the legendary steel of Wano Shido always talked about, folded and struck a thousand times.
The wolf was not entirely convinced piracy was a good path for Billy to follow. To Shido, "pirate" was synonymous with "conqueror". Because every pirate he ever came across was one, he believed that eventually all pirates would settle into a place and steal people's land to rule on. Lola knew that, and if she wanted to get through that thick skull of his, she had to address that belief. "So..." she started saying, "your idea of a pirate is a person who is totally free, right?"
"Free to make their own choices. Free to live the life they choose." It was a particularly mature way of phrasing that, even for Lola. She looked over in Shido's direction, noting how the mere mention of the topic was already making a dent in his stoic demeanor. The wolf glued his gaze to the ground, seemingly lost in thought. "I want to be someone like that, you know, one day."
That simple expression of desire pierced Shido's heart like an arrow. He realized that if he kept Lola in her cocoon forever, she would always grow up stunted; she would never become her own person. And the idea that Lola couldn't fully realize herself was pure torture to him.
After a few minutes of walking, Shido sighed. "Billy, you're a good sort" he said. "If you want to fix the world, that's a noble idea. But it's so easy to take the wrong turn and become someone like Kaido." Unprompted, he extended a hand and placed it on Billy's shoulder. "You're going to need someone to watch your back and make sure you always walk straight" he said.
Would he be that someone for Billy? Shido did not dismiss the thought. He would watch over Lola, and if Lola was going to look up at Billy for inspiration, he would watch over him too.
The wolf was not entirely convinced piracy was a good path for Billy to follow. To Shido, "pirate" was synonymous with "conqueror". Because every pirate he ever came across was one, he believed that eventually all pirates would settle into a place and steal people's land to rule on. Lola knew that, and if she wanted to get through that thick skull of his, she had to address that belief. "So..." she started saying, "your idea of a pirate is a person who is totally free, right?"
"Free to make their own choices. Free to live the life they choose." It was a particularly mature way of phrasing that, even for Lola. She looked over in Shido's direction, noting how the mere mention of the topic was already making a dent in his stoic demeanor. The wolf glued his gaze to the ground, seemingly lost in thought. "I want to be someone like that, you know, one day."
That simple expression of desire pierced Shido's heart like an arrow. He realized that if he kept Lola in her cocoon forever, she would always grow up stunted; she would never become her own person. And the idea that Lola couldn't fully realize herself was pure torture to him.
After a few minutes of walking, Shido sighed. "Billy, you're a good sort" he said. "If you want to fix the world, that's a noble idea. But it's so easy to take the wrong turn and become someone like Kaido." Unprompted, he extended a hand and placed it on Billy's shoulder. "You're going to need someone to watch your back and make sure you always walk straight" he said.
Would he be that someone for Billy? Shido did not dismiss the thought. He would watch over Lola, and if Lola was going to look up at Billy for inspiration, he would watch over him too.