See

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase groaned, his eyes reflexively tearing at the searing pain of the fist to his abdomen. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to straighten, readying himself for more. "Maybe letting her be was the wrong thing for you to do," he managed, choking lightly on the words. "You don't f~ing try, you're not gonna get anything back. So feel sorry for yourself, cause you're the idiot who let her go!" Chase's eyes had cleared, except for the flashing crimson. He threw another punch at Michael's head, fully intending to dizzy him, if not knock him unconscious.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael was down on one knee, leaning on the knuckles of one hand on the forest floor, the other holding his head. He watched, dazedly amazed, as the grass and twigs in front of him spun and the little stars danced on top. Blinking rapidly, he make himself stand, still holding his head. He tried to focus on Chase, but the world was spinning so badly he could barely concentrate on the general direction of him.

"When you love someone you're willing to let them go when you know that that's what's best for them," he said, stumbling a little over the words, and then launched himself at Chase. He threw his fist at Chase's head, unable to choose a more specific target, his other wrapping in the cloth of Chase's shirt to ground himself.

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase grabbed Michael's shirt with both hands as his vision swam, Michael's wild swing having managed to connect with his temple. Chase swung Michael around, slamming him back against a tree rather than trying to aim a punch while his head was swimming. "What's best for them is not giving up on them," he said, the words spoken to the darkness in general. Everything was tinged with green when it came back into focus, but Chase was able to locate Michael's face, to glare into his eyes.

"Dru got what she wanted from me," he said, his voice level again, but all the more dangerous for it. The words were as close to an acknowledgment of their connection as he'd gotten, not that Michael had any clue what Chase was talking about. "If you can't be happy for her, then go ahead, leave her alone, see how much stronger your friendship gets for it." Chase pushed against Michael again, then released him and stepped back, shaking his head to rid it of the lingering unbalanced feeling.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"Holy hell!" Michael said, glaring, "There is no pleasing you! Not that I particularly care." If he tried to help Dru, Chase hated him, if he gave up Chase hated him, either way he had an enemy. He brought the back of his hand up to his mouth and it came back slightly wet with blood. He spat on the ground, as much to get the taste out of his mouth as to show his distaste for Chase. "I'm staying away from you two, just," Michael looked away and made a gesture with his hand saying that he didn't know what else to do or say. "Treat her the way she deserves to be treated," he said, looking back up at Chase. Then he walked forwards, pushing past Chase to go back up to the castle, his hand on his head.

[Chase Firebrand]

The hard set of Chase's jaw didn't ease as he watched Michael go. He was left still feeling unbalanced, emotionally as well as physically. He wasn't sure what he'd said, but since Michael's parting words sounded more like a blessing than a curse, he decided to consider it a victory. Chase stood for a while longer, waiting for the vertigo to pass, then decided to just ignore it and headed out of the forest, taking a long, winding route to ensure he didn't run into Michael again.