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Mint doesn't pull out a knife. If he had been thinking, that would've been the optimal choice. A stab to the torso which the looter had perfectly exposed for him. Bucatini's mega evolutions body, and the megastone that still shimmered with the power of her and Mint's bond. Instead he just punches hard, gloved hand sinking into downy and flesh before pushing at the figure. They're knocked off balance, slipping from the ice statue and slamming into the ground. [break][break]

Snow is squashed under them as the scramble and roll to safety. They seemed confused anybody was stopping them. "How dare you." Mint's force is loud, harsh. Emotion threatening to pour out of his eyes as he stays on them, as quick and unrelenting. [break][break]

Aw fuck is right. Mint's pissed as he kicks and missed the scoundrel as they slide forward on partially compacted snow. "Come BACK here!" he snarled as he fell to the snow and began the process of getting up again.

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It's almost like a game, with Mint fighting reckless on snow. What should be his natural environment betrays him with every slip and snag of his balance. The way the thief dodges puts the ice specialist to shame. But he doesn't budge, eyes locked onto them and only them. [break][break]

Mint runs without tiring, and every slip and dodge makes him angrier and angrier. And then he nearly bumps into them again at Jayden stops then, pinning them down easily with his foot. They protest of course, but Mint is only frustrated. He's frustrated Jayden had them pinned, preferring the chance to take them down himself. [break][break]

The looter struggles against Jayden's strength and Mint burns with envy. He then offers him a knife, and Mint is further incensed. "What's this for?" he blurted out before the robber spoke up, protesting. His attention back on the thief, Mint grips the handle of it as used it to backhand the guy. It's sounded harsh as metal bumps through flesh and hits gums and teeth. He's sure he had made the man bite his cheeks. A bit of red spittle goes flying into the nearby snow. [break][break]

"I don't care about your family." Because that isn't the kind of guy he is. He didn't even love his own brood, why should he care for another's to survive? What were they gonna do? Hunt him down and kill him? Not if there was no story to tell. "What were you doing?" he asked, urgent, furious. "How many other mega pokemon have you stolen from?!"

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Jayden’s words cut through his anger and for a moment Mint is unfocused, caught between the outlet of his rage, and his friend. The dagger suddenly felt heavier in his hands. He almost forgot the idiot under Jayden's foot. [break][break]

He knew better than to question the suggestion in front of the potential victim, but that didn't keep Mint from showing his protest in other way. Or at the very least, his expectation for Jayden to say something else. To elaborate. [break][break]

But that's not like Jayden. And maybe that's why it was so jarring. He meant it. He gave him the knife to kill them. "So you climb MY pokemon to mourn yours?!" The excuse was so stupid it almost made him want to cry. [break][break]

But its the story and they stick to it. [break][break]

The thief argues, he insists, he begs. And Mint feels something so sticky, so acidic building in the back of his throat. Bile. Hatred grips him, from top to bottom. Kyurem was responsible for the loss, but he had chosen to fight it. Bucatini had paid the price. But her frozen grave was under his protection. Even at this distance, the keystone on his earring glowed faintly with rainbow iridescence. [break][break]

Even throughout all this, he felt sick. Because something in the back of his mind was going, 'Maybe he should die.' How many others- No. [break][break]

No it didn't matter who else had been affected. Mint didn't actually care. He just cared about Bucatini, and her last moments on earth spent helping him.

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Jayden is a wall he cannot read. As usual. That's not true. It's not that Jayden is a wall, it is that there is no additional meaning. He said what he said, there's no other meaning attached. No nuance, no euphemism. As straightforward as ever. Something that's utterly disarming to someone as two faced as mint frost . [break][break]

And again, perhaps its the bluntness of his words or the chill of steel in his hand or the sin itself. He doesn't realize he's breathing harder and harder at the thought. His body shooting adrenaline into him as he entered a fight or flight reaction. It's just like the Tree of Life with Cillian Quinn . Except where Gavin chose to spare some of the savagery of it, Jayden only encourages it. [break][break]

"Cut the shit!" he snapped as a grating voice makes him break eye contact with his friend. In that moment there doesn't need to be another reason. He was angry, hateful, and that was enough for Mint. Even if this whole thing felt like a mother teaching its young to hunt, even if some of the satisfaction is take from him, he can't help but feel satisfied with how they writhe under Jayden's heel. [break][break]

The knife goes from a familiar grip Rowan Wrynn had taught him, to simply holding it, ready to plunge it down. He doesn't think, because thinking would lead to hesitation. He just aches. He misses her even though he shouldn't. [break][break]

Even though he'd resolved himself since Gelatto to stop. fucking. caring. [break][break]

But he can't. He has always been soft. He has always struggled, more than others, with his emotions. He had always held Jayden aloft as his idol, his ideal. To be as composed, as calm, as staunchly loyal to Rocket as him? A dream. Because he hated thinking. He hated doubting and waffling. He hated his own indecision. [break][break]

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This isn't your first murder is it? He'd held the knife, just like this above their head. And it hadn't been Jayden but fern delaney who held down their prey. Heel pinning that stupid boy to the ground while Mint plunged blade down into his chest over and over and over again. [break][break]

He's not right, screams muffled in his ringing ears as he cries angry at the memory. Of Buca, of Michaelis. Of the realization of what he was actually doing for himself, for Bucatini, for Rocket. [break][break]

Blood drips and melt the snow laying on top of Kyurem's GLACIATE. And he knows they probably need to leave. The screams of his thief most likely echoing across the icy plains and alerting rangers nearby. But he can't stop. Not until his arm tires, not until the begging, the desperate screaming, and the gurgling all stop. [break][break]

Until all that's left is white hot bitterness in his belly. A crime of passion. Second degree homicide. Revenge. But it's not like Jayden. He didn't do it for Rocket. And amongst the emotional turmoil of his crime he felt an inkling of disappointment. His knees are wet from kneeling in the snow. His hands and sleeves are damp and red. There's a puddle of dark red slush around a body. No longer a person, just a thing. Without thinking, he stabs the knife into the neck like a knife stand, and searches pockets.


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TW: MURDER