Zouichi did have a point that Howard's being a hypocrite about dodging that whole Cedric issue. Not that Howard thinks that makes it fair to point it out.

And naturally the totally adult thing to do is go throw rocks off the cliff instead of address anything. Throw rocks off the cliffs and swing his feet off the edge, watching his shoelaces dangle and trying to work out exactly what he sees in a good-natured dummy who's about a foot taller than him and still believes individual lives are worth something.

There's still a part of Howard that doesn't believe Cedric; he has trouble accepting that someone can see the world up to the moment of their death and walk away with a positive outlook and an open heart. Where horrible things and near-certain death left Howard stilted and twisted, Cedric has just accepted things. And in a way, that makes him serene and whole.

Or maybe just resigned. Maybe Howard's stupid no-good dumb useless idiotic fricking teenage hormones are making him go easy on Cedric and see everything he does in a flattering light.

Howard picks up another rock and clutches it in his palm until it's warm. Then, rather than tossing it off the edge to join the others, he puts it back down on the ground and runs his dirty hands all over his face, as if wiping the day off himself. When he looks up, he notices exactly the subject of his thoughts near the base of the cliff.

After a few seconds and few fingernails bitten down, Howard waves and calls out to Cedric.

"Hey!"

Which is clearly the most charming and witty opening line ever.

When Howard was younger, before the FAYZ, he and Orc would occasionally hang out at the edge of the cliffs, throwing things off the edge. It was typical teenage destructivity, layered on top of the thrill of doing something their parents had warned them against. "Those cliffs are unstable! The edge could crumble off right under your feet!" And of course, all the teenagers knew that the edge of the cliffs were fine, and that the rumors of rockslides were horror stories based less in fact than in scare tactics.

Howard sits on the edge of one of the cliffs, dangling his feet over the edge, flicking his pocketknife open and closed. It's weird that here on Stacy, the cliffs overlook the City, rather than the ocean. It makes everything look wrong.

He gathered an armful of small stones before taking a seat here. They sit next to him now, and between clicks of the knife, he occasionally tosses one over the edge. It's far enough down that he can see, but not hear, the impact when each rock hits the bottom.

He's not alone from the FAYZ anymore. That should make him glad, that there are other refugees besides him and Albert. And that's what they are, really. Not Stacy's abducted crew, but practically unintentional stowaways, freeloaders running away from the nightmare of their home. But he can't find it in himself to be happy about it. Instead he just feels frustrated and tired, like there's a cloud between his brain and his face, holding him back from really experiencing anything.

He just misses Orc, he tells himself, before flinging another rock in the City's general direction. It falls short, just like all the others.