A hero never has regrets., Avery x Cole

[Avery Simmons]

"I did. He was killed early in the zombie attacks. He had just proposed a few weeks before he did." Her voice was soft, but he had every right to prod the sensitive areas of her life. After all, she had started it. Avery just hadn't realized how painful memories of Zephyr were until she had begun to talk about it.

[Shutter]

Another one like him? Could he really meet two people in these times that had gone through what he had? It seemed absolutely preposterous that he could, yet here they were and Avery had experienced the same as him. They'd both lost loved ones. In his case a wife and unborn child, in hers a fiance. Yes, he felt sorry for her and he would most certainly express that.

"Sorry to hear that."

He glanced out the window for a few moments more before he was satisfied and then moved over to sit on the couch with her. There wasn't any sign of zombies outside so for the moment they seemed safe. It had been hours since he'd taken the time to sit down. Granted he was well trained in standing for long periods of time as he had the need to do at times, but he needed rest at some point. Now it seemed he would at least get to sit down for a while.

"I know it's hard. Hurts all the time."

[Avery Simmons]

"You're finally sitting down and relaxing." Avery reached over to touch his hand in a friendly gesture. It was comfortable, sitting here with Cole. It felt almost as though there weren't zombies invading the town she loved, almost as though her heart was a place of mangled pain and grief.

Sitting here with Cole made her feel like the world was as it had always been- two friends, sitting down and enjoying a quiet moment together. It was nice.

Her finger ran along the back of his hand.

"You should rest more,"

[Shutter]

It did feel nice to be sitting there on the couch with her. Definitely a lot better than sitting around on his own and staring at the ground because there wasn't anything else to do while he was resting. That was one reason he rarely rested. It bored him since he was alone. And usually ended up thinking about Alex. Thinking about Alex was the most painful thing in the world for him. He could hardly stand it, but it was slowly growing less and less of a burden.

But now he was sitting here and Avery was running her fingers over the back of his hand. He found that odd, yet pleasing. He liked it. Alex had done similar to him when they were together. She always said it soothed him, which it certainly did. It calmed him down more than anything.

"If I rested more I wouldn't be helping as best I can. I am inconsequential. Everyone else is important."

[Avery Simmons]

"What happens if you falter because you haven't rested? What becomes of us then." She smiled sweetly. "Some of us can help you, some of us can take care of ourselves, but we need leaders like you."

After a moment, she realized what she was doing, and moved her hand from his with a slight blush. It was something she would have shared with Zephyr, and that she shared it with this stranger was somewhat alarming to her.
"Well, you have time to rest now."

[Shutter]

"True..."

She had a point and it slightly disturbed him that it was very similar to what Raven had said to him before. Still, he was starting to realize that they were right and that's what mattered. If he didn't rest, if all the Guardians didn't rest, then all would be lost because it was them that were looked up to. They were the ones everyone looked to for guidance, even though sometimes it worked the other way. When she pulled her hand away he frowned slightly, but then looked back to her.

"Time, I suppose. Until tomorrow when we'll have to move again. They will find us eventually."

[Avery Simmons]

"Yeah, they will. But that will come later, and I can keep watch tonight while you rest." She smiled and stood, moving to sit near the window, where she could watch the activity below.

"So what's keeping you from resting?"

[Shutter]

He shrugged.

"I don't know. I just don't rest that much. A few hours when it's dark and the zombies can't see. That's about it."

Why didn't he tell her about Visio? It wasn't like she was a bad guy. He could trust her, he knew he could. He kind of liked her, too. She was... well... beautiful was the only way to say it. But, it seemed much too soon for that since they'd only just met. He'd have to wait for her first.

"I was attacked by a being from another realm, Visio. He controlled me and if I slept he would take over my body and kill people. I beat him with some help from a friend."

[Avery Simmons]

Cole was sweet, and calm, and very inch the hero that Avery had needed to meet. But the hero couldn't take care of everything, and Avery knew that Cole needed someone to take care of him.

"But Visio is gone now?"

[Shutter]

"Yes. He was trying to kill my friend Raven. Well... he would have done more than that. It made me angry."

Cole angry? She probably didn't envision him as being angry. He was always calm when he was working, calculating at the most. He did his job because he had to, not because he enjoyed killing people. Zombies or not, they had been people and they looked like people. No good. He offered her a small smile.

"I beat him because I had to. I was close to dying from lack of sleep. I slept for a couple of days afterward."