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"Paracelsus?"
The red-headed girl's questioning tone immediately drew the attention of the large golden key strapped to her back. The two large eyes on its bow shifted to her.
"Do you think I'm too harsh on people?"
Such a query caught the demon-axe off guard. This was far from the first time she had asked him for advice, especially in regards to other people, though she usually never dropped her questions out of the blue.
"Sometimes, though I'd say it's never directed towards individuals who didn't deserve it."
A.B.A didn't reply as she kept walking, her eyes focused on the numerous mountains and cliffs in the canyon surrounding the pair. Though they were pretty enough on their own, the gorgeous sunset backdropping the apricot rock only added to their beauty. Normally, the homunculus would stop to admire the view. Not tonight, however. Her artificial brain found itself far too occupied to appreciate the moment.
"...how do you determine if someone 'deserves it' or not?"
"I'd say..." Paracelsus would pause for a moment as his mind pondered how to word what would come next. "It's entirely up to what you believe."
"What if I don't... know what I believe?"
The key didn't have an answer for her this time. It was an unexpectedly complex question. Eventually, he'd decide to answer with a question of his own.
"A.B.A... you're usually quite the headstrong girl. What's placed this question into your mind?"
"Well, back there..." A.B.A said, her gaze shifting back over her shoulder to look at her weapon. "The guy I... beat up."
If Paracelsus had an eyebrow to raise, he would've.
"Even if he had a bounty... he didn't seem all too evil. He was even scared when I showed up, and he cried after..."
"A bounty implies they've done something deplorable enough for somebody to offer money just for their capture."
"But his bounty was from several years ago... he could have long since redeemed himself for what he did."
"Maybe so, but you couldn't have known that."
"But the only reason I couldn't have known was because I didn't even try to talk to him first..."
Well, that was true, and he didn't want to lie to her. She was rather abrasive towards people when meeting them, especially those who she assumed to be bad people.
"Even if you had opted to talk to him, he could've just deceived you into thinking he had bettered himself."
"I could've at least tried..."
With those words, silence returned to the pair. The sunset had begun to fade, giving way to a proper night sky. At least it was starry without all the lights of the city polluting it.
However, Paracelsus wasn't satisfied with this conclusion to their conversation. He had been with the girl longest, after all. He cared about her significantly, and seeing her bothered like this didn't sit right with him, especially with him commonly being her voice of reason.
He must've been in thought for 10 minutes or so before he formulated what he wanted to say.
"A.B.A," the key would let out a small sigh before continuing. "With a profession such as bounty hunting, there is truly no way to really know if what you're doing is entirely right or wrong."
The homunculus's eyes would look back at him once again.
"Sometimes, it may be hard to tell if you're choosing the right actions, and you may doubt yourself as you are now."
A.B.A's visage shifted to a slightly dejected expression from his words.
"But," he continued, replacing her downcast look with one of curiosity. "You've always been a girl who sticks strongly to her principles. Even if you may not know the right path in your mind, I believe your gut will always know what you think is the correct choice. So long as you can follow that feeling, I have a feeling the path in front of you will always be a bright one."
Just as her dispirited look had shifted to one of interest, her expression of interest quickly melted into a soft smile directed towards her companion.
"Thank you, Paracelsus..."
"It is nothing. I simply couldn't stand to leave you restless."
Once again, a silence occupied the air surrounding the two, though it was far more comfortable this time around. They were both looking up to the now completely night-covered sky dotted with countless shining stars. It really was beautiful tonight.
"Hey, Paracelsus?"
"Yes?"
"I love you..."
The axe would chuckle slightly.
"Likewise."