The Beginning PV Lucas Hunter | Maeve Lyndon Cl

There was no hint either way what Lucas thought of what he'd said, but the fact that he hadn't exploded into preaching about 'good and bad people' and how the world would be fine because of 'good people' was a pretty satisfying sign. Matthew's father had always told him categorizing people into one of the two was a mistake. No one's completely one way or the other, so don't take it to heart if someone says you're not a good person. It's a trick. People who can't do things for themselves try to say it's a negative thing if you don't automatically help them. Don't believe it. But pretend you do - people don't like when you don't play along.

Too late for that, though, he'd already done away with playing along when he'd given Lucas his first answers. May as well continue on with it. This time he kept his eyes trained astutely on the other boy's face, watching for any tics or minute tightening around the eyes to say what he believed one way or the other.

"Depends. If it has nothing to do with me or my family, why should I care? It's their problem. I don't know the full story - maybe they deserve it. Of course I'd do something if it was my dad or uncle or grandma, but beyond that..." He spread his hands with a matter-of-fact shrug. "Unless it helped me in some way, like I'm captured with someone and saving them increases my chance of escape because they can help, they're on their own. What would you do? Risk yourself trying to help someone you don't even care about or let it slip?"

The expression Lucas held remained neutral as his questions were answered. There was no strain in the corners of his eyes from sudden judgment nor did his smile shift in any way. It was normal for someone to want to protect their family. The clarification of Matthew's disinterest towards strangers, however, was what caught Lucas' attention the most. Normally, anyone else would've answered with heroic words that deemed them a good person. In today's society, any other sort of answer was simply unacceptable. You were labeled as a bad person and that was that.

A small breath escaped the boy, his stature slumping in relaxation. There have been instances before this where Lucas was heavily judged with his decisions because they were different and morally 'wrong'. Perhaps meeting Sir Silver was fate, why else would he find him alone?

"Mmm.. I'd probably save anyone I come across. Not on purpose, just for the thrill of fighting and adventure. Like if I bumped into someone being chased by a monster, I wouldn't mind fighting it. If it was between two humans? I think I'd stick around to see what's going on, and then decide which side I want to be on." They both seemed to be morally grey when both of their answers were compared, which is why Lucas felt so content. There was no right or wrong answer, just experiences."It'll give me the experience I need to get stronger. Getting stronger means being able to explore more places. Of course, if both sides were boring and it was no threat to me, I think I'd just leave and find something better to do. Is that wrong?" He couldn't help but ask, not in fear of judgment but curious if they truly did have the same perspective.

The sudden relaxation was curious, Matthew tilting his head to one thoughtful side before Lucas started speaking. It spoke not only of a lack of negative judgement, but also the fact that the boy in front of him tended to hide his true feelings, not fully relaxing around anyone because people tended to (incorrectly, in Matthew's opinion) attach 'good' or 'bad' labels to his actions.

The words only confirmed it. Lucas was different from him in that he'd risk things to become stronger in life - and risk things out of a passing interest - but their underlying views were similar. Suddenly Matthew implicitly understood the other boy's posture losing its tension and slumping. The words set off a chain reaction within him too. A loosening of the shoulders, an easing of abdominal muscles, an unclenching of fingers. It was one thing to be accepted. It was another entirely to have someone share the same views, and one side of Matthew's mouth quirked into a lazy grin as he folded his hands behind his head.

"Right and wrong are too dependent on the times," he yawned, half an eye on the countryside placidly rolling past them. "Two thousand years ago it used to be right to crucify slaves for trying to escape. Now having slaves is illegal and you can go to jail for threatening to kill someone. Thousand more years, it might be right back to how it was, though, so right or wrong doesn't really matter. What stays the same is that people are selfish, even if ninety percent of the population won't admit it to themselves. Your views are selfish. Mine are, too. But accepting that you're selfish makes you dangerous because it means you're not scared to admit and accept your flaws. It makes people lose power over you. Do you accept that you share human flaws or are you one of those people who tries for an impossible perfectness?"