Nathaniel was no ignorant man. He has been alive for a long time and has seen much of the world. The depths of man's greed and the dark shadows that the government hides from the public are not new things to him. So, when he believes himself to be strong it's because he truly is someone to be feared. Though this was true Nathaniel also knew that he was also far from infallible. He has glimpsed at the height of strength before and yet still he has failed consistently too even touch the shadow of his own father.
This Legacy brought Nathaniel a confidence boosting amount of strength but it did not make him arrogant. Arrogance was for the young and foolhardy Nathaniel was none of that.
As Nathaniel was pondering about all the things that he could possibly do with his abilities he noticed June out of the corner of his vision. She was fishing again and looking bored while doing it. But on occasion, she would take glances at Nathaniel as he was practicing with his powers. Nathaniel noticed this and felt a bit of discomfort in his heart because of how he has been mistreating and neglecting June's feelings.
June was his benefactor, yet he has been treating her like a miscreant. Though he was definitely in the right for doing so he was still a good man in the end and couldn't stomach such mistreatment for long. After a bit of internal debate on what to do Nathaniel just decided to talk to her normally.
"Hey, June I've got to ask you about something. This has been bothering me for a while so I've got to know. Why did you always come to steal my food out of everyone else on the street? Did I look like that much of a chump on the street that you felt you could take advantage of me? ".
With wide eyes June turned her head towards Nathaniel surprisingly quickly and answered," I already told you why I stuck around you a long time ago. It was around the time we first met. Weren't you listening to me?".
Nathaniel tried to remember this exact moment but came up blank. June barely ever talk to him he distinctly remembered her always popping up out of nowhere and eating half his stuff. Her mouth was practically always full of something. She did constantly look at him while she ate and looked like a bit of a slob while doing so. But the closest thing he could associated with her talking to him was when she made those odd sounds while eating. Upon thinking about this it was then Nathanial realized the truth.
"Wait a second every time you mumbled something with your mouth full that was you trying to speak to me. ".
June nodded her head in agreement, " well duh, what else was it's supposed to be. I've spoken to you about my problems for about an hour straight, yet you barely responded. I always thought you weren't much of a talker and just like the listening to me".
Nathaniel's eye twitch an annoyance, " listening to you, I didn't even know you were trying to say. I mean come on who speaks to someone with their mouth full? Don't you have any manners? To me, you were just this weirdo who always came by to rob me of my stuff on occasion.".
June was a bit offended by that, " weirdo! how was I a weirdo I provided a lonely man great company. If anything you should be thanking me.".
"Thanking you! If anything you should be thanking me. I kept you fed for a long time and I did so despite only knowing your name. Feeding you was not cheap you know. You could have eaten a normal man right out of their home.".
"I know I eat a lot that's why I stuck around you. When I found you, you seemed like you ate just as much as me. But unlike me you could afford to eat like that. When I left the world Navy I didn't exactly have much money to take care of myself with. I didn't even have enough to rent a room even at the shittiest of Inns in town.
I survived pretty decently on my own but I was still just scraping by. I slept on other people's roofs with a lawn chair because I had no other choice. It was tough by myself but when I found you I knew it was a sign from the god of steam. Out of everyone I saw in town you had an aura that stood out from the rest. Unlike everyone else you burned like a raging Fire.
It's hard for me to describe but your aura was intimidating. it looked as though it would consume everything around it but instead of mindlessly consuming everything in its path it left everything untouched as though it was uninterested in all around it.
It was quite beautiful to witness and it's feeling made me comfortable. By color alone I could see your personality and from it I could tell you were a kind of man with a pure and focused goal. The volume of it showed your intense desire for what you sought out.
To me you were just this massive beacon in town. No matter what time of day it was you were so easy to find even in a large crowd".
June sounded like she was pouring her heart out but Nathaniel had an unshakable look skepticism as he listened intently.
" So, let me get this straight you were able to find me no matter which restaurants I went to because you could see my aura".
June shook her head in agreement. While Nathaniel scrunched his brow disbelief." so, what you're telling me is that in addition to being a cannibal you're one of those people that believe in auras. I had a witch doctor in a carnival tell me a very similar thing you know. Her Spiel was quickly followed up by her trying to sell me a pound of magic rocks that would help cleanse my energy. Am I to believe this is what's you're talking about ".
" It is the same thing but unlike them I'm not lying to you. Auras are real and everyone has one. Just because you can't see something doesn't mean you shouldn't believe it doesn't exist. Not everything in science can be seen or proven but people believe in it nonetheless.".
" That's completely different and you know it. But fine I'll throw you a bone here and go along with auras existing. If that's true then what's your aura like? ".
June shrugged her shoulders then replied, " I don't know I can't see my own aura but I have to imagine it should be a beautiful shade of green. Most likely emerald green since it's such a nice color.".
" come on you can't even see your own aura yeah if you want me to believe in this stuff. ".
" I may not be able to see my own but I can see everyone else's. for instance you're not the only one with an interesting aura on the ship. Howell have a very unique aura about him as well.".
Nathaniel a bit intrigued by this even if it is a sham listening a bit more. " Howell you say now that does sound a bit interesting tell me what is his Aura like? ".
June smiled as she seem to have gotten Nathaniel interested in her unique Talent." Howell's aura every time I see it is a vibrant Black Gold. His aura is honestly a bit more interesting to look at than yours because while yours is focused and goal oriented, Howell's Aura isn't the like that. His aura comes off as honest and protective kind of like a parent with a child.
But it's more than that it has a purity that a grown man his age shouldn't even be possible of possessing. Apart from that his aura is corrupted by a darkness even blacker than what I saw when you Rampage in the street a week ago. Since people's auras constantly change and fluctuate I could tell that you were experiencing distress for a number of days since we met.
When you finally reached the breaking point it looked as though your aura consumed the light around you. it was horrible for me to see such an amazing aura of yours turn that way. I know this is late but I'm sorry I knew that you were going through rough times but I said and did nothing. I thought that it wasn't my place to intervene by the apparently I should have from the beginning.
It could have possibly change things for the better. This guilt I had is kind of why I took responsibility to kick your ass and stuffed you in this boat. Though this is true what I see in Howell is different. The darkness Howell has is deeply intertwined with his on being.
The corruption is small kind of like looking at veins on arm but it's still there and it seems to always be restrained by the purity of Howell's own soul. It's a very strange and delicate balance he seems to have dealt with on his own".
Nathaniel listen to June's words and took it all with a grain of salt. What she said about him was accurate but for all he knows she could just be really observant. It wasn't like he was making any grand attempts to hide his emotional state from people anyway so anyone with enough social skills would probably have noticed how he was feeling anyway.
Though this was true for him he couldn't accurately say that about Howell. He knew little about the man and though there was a part of him that deeply didn't care about his own personal reasons for his actions. There was still a part of him that was worried about Howell as a person for his own safety.
"All right so we're on a similar page about Howell then. He looks like a trustworthy guy and an honest man but everyone has their past and their own dark secrets so that darkness you seeing then could be anything. I have my own darkness with me as well and you saw firsthand what it looked like. So, I'll leave it at that and let the subject rest entirely.
Now let's put that to rest and let's talk about your future shall we. Do you really have no plans on what to do with your life because I could really use someone like you. Your questionable taste in food a side you managed to single-handedly restrain me. I know from experience that this task isn't easy. I once beat up five men and almost set a house on fire the last time I was drunk. After all this shit I went through now I doubt that I was easy to bring down. Needless to say, your fighting skills and possibly even your insight into other people could be quite valuable whiles I am recruiting for more people on my travels. Apart from that I am still in debt to you so providing a bit of aid and potentially job is the least I could do".
June had a cheeky grin as she looked at the panel, "see I knew I was right you are a good man. Auras aren't completely useless now are they, Nathaniel".
In defeat, Nathaniel sighed, " I guess no it's not if your that accurate with your guesses.
" I'm glad to hear that but I'm sorry to tell you that I still do not know what I want to do with my life. I didn't leave the World Navy with a plan in mind beyond just leaving. But since you're willing to shelter me and pay for my food I'm still more than willing to stick around for the fun since you'll just get in trouble again without me".
Nathaniel didn't disagree with June's statement because what she said was most likely true. In the end he was going to do more than just get in trouble he was going to shake the world with his actions.