Fated (Chapter Nine)
Monday, July 20th, 2015 04:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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mindcrackloveYOU DO!
This is mostly a filler/character development chapter, which is half awkward and half upsetting. :3
Chapter list: http://tanadin.dreamwidth.org/382.html
Map of the continent: http://tanadin.deviantart.com/art/F
Character status spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet
Chapter Nine
Ashwatch, Minecraftia. September 12, year 573. Time instance 483Z.
Their first full day in Ashwatch had been someone uneventful- they had wandered around and talked to each other some, but nothing had really happened. The Skullblades insisted that the valk’vanor would hatch in about ten days, so they had that long to wait for things to get interesting.
Samuel had been hanging back from social interactions throughout the day. He was somewhat overwhelmed with having people other than Tranpar to talk to, and the sheer number of Skullblades was freaking him out. Tarsen, who had been down in the dumps ever since getting punched in the face by Fatewriter, seemed to notice this and had been hovering around him all day, saying passing comments about how lonely Samuel looked or similar.
It was starting to get weird.
Eventually, a little after sunset, Tarsen sat on the log beside Samuel, who had been watching the sky. Tarsen casually put an arm around Samuel’s shoulders. “You look lonely. Want some company?”
Samuel shot him an odd look. “Umm…sure?” He wasn’t sure how he felt about that, but he figured it would be rude to just kick Tarsen off the log.
Tarsen smiled at him slightly. “So. Not a lot of interaction with people other than Tranpar?”
“Not really. And lately I’ve had to look after him less- the others can take over sometimes. I should probably get back to watching him, though.” Samuel wasn’t entirely sure where this conversation was going and he wasn’t sure that he liked it.
“Awww, c’mon. He’ll be fine. Stay awhile.”
“Umm…”
“Did you get lonely with no one but the kid there? I would.”
“…What do you mean?”
“No other adults there. No one to really…spend time with.”
Samuel was getting very uncomfortable with how close Tarsen was getting and the way he was looking at him. He was pretty sure he understood what Tarsen was trying to do but he wasn’t sure how to make him quit. “Well…um…”
“I could help you there, if you’d like.”
Okay, yeah, no. Samuel shrugged off Tarsen’s arm. “You do realize that that’s not my kind of thing, right? You’re…kinda wasting your time on me.”
Tarsen pouted. “Straight?”
“Ace. That kind of thing does not interest me in any way.”
Tarsen sighed heavily and shifted away from him, slumping a little. “Even if you don’t get lonely, I do.” He mumbled.
Samuel raised an eyebrow. “You’ve tried to hook up with pretty much everyone we’ve run across that’s not a kid. Why do you jump to that immediately and not something less...” Don’t say creepy. “…forward.”
Tarsen sighed again. “But that’s not my kind of thing. I don’t want that. No commitment, no relationship, nothing like that. Can’t a guy just want to have some fun with someone and move on?”
“Well…nothing stopping you, I suppose, but that might be why people are turning you down. Plus, you’ve mostly been going after Skullblades.”
“No one else to go after, other than you. I am not hitting on kids. That is just wrong.”
“I agree and I have to thank you for that. I’d have you beat you into the ground otherwise.”
Tarsen snorted. “You think you could?”
“I might. You were a bandit, so it would be a bit of a toss-up.” Samuel hesitated. “What made you turn to being a bandit, anyway?”
Tarsen sighed. “It’s a long story.”
“I have time.”
“Well, it all started when I met these two lesbians…”
“Are you sure you’re telling me the right story?”
“Shush. Yes. Now listen. I grew up in the city of Tirisk, in northern Variat. When I was seventeen- three years ago- I met these two traveling sharpshooters named Vorna and Aldobiva. They informed me that I looked like a trashbag and that I did not belong in a city. They took me with them on an year-long adventure through Ilian and Traz’madar, and I found that I really did belong out on the plains.
“However, we got separated when we strayed too close to Dalania. One of the shatterbeasts attacked us and I ended up falling into a crevice, breaking an arm, and passing out. Fortunately I managed to grab the wall at one point and didn’t fall far enough to die, but when I woke up, there was no sign of my friends or the shatterbeast, even when I got out of there and came back on the surface. I ended up running into a group of bandits and talked my way into their ranks so that I could survive. I just…never really left, I guess. It was actually kind of fun, but they started crossing the lines of even my morals. So I turned on them and ended up here.”
A bizarre story.
“How did you talk your way-“
“I’d rather not share that. Gotta have some secrets.” Tarsen winked.
Samuel rolled his eyes. “Did your strategy involve seducing any bandits?”
“Absolutely not.” Tarsen winked again.
Samuel shook his head, laughing a bit. “Is that your solution to everything?”
Tarsen thought about that, then shook his head. “No. Sometimes the solution is to stab a bitch.”
“Fair enough.” Samuel laughed. “Fair enough.”
~~~
“It was awfully nice of Nessy to give me her cloak.” Niel noted, swinging it around his shoulders. “It might help me. I’m kinda a shitty ninja so I need to cheat.”
“It’s not cheating.” Adrian protested. “It’s using what you can get to your advantage. Is Teramelle cheating?”
“No.”
“Exactly. She gives me an edge over regular swordsmen or people who also fight on horseback, but she’s not cheating. So a camouflage cloak isn’t cheating.”
Niel shrugged. “If you say so. It might be a waste to give it to me, though. I don’t know how to use it.”
Adrian stopped walking and look at him. “Samuel or Nessy could teach you. It’s not a waste. You’ll be fine.”
“But I’m a waste.” Niel mumbled.
“No, you’re not!” Adrian said, making Niel jump. “Just because you’re not the best shadowwalker in the world doesn’t mean you’re a waste. You’re sweet and kind and with some practice you could be a great fighter.”
Niel looked surprised. “You think so?”
“I know so!” Adrian grinned at him.
Leave it to the one in the red cloak to encourage others.
“But…what if that’s not all that’s wrong with me?” Niel hugged himself a little, flinching at how it hurt his chest.
“What do you mean?”
“N-nothing. Ignore me.” Niel looked away.
“Niel.” Adrian said slowly. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing! I’m fine.” Niel lowered his arms and stepped back hesitantly. “It’s nothing.” He stumbled and almost fell, catching himself and sitting down instead. “Nothing…”
Adrian frowned and sat beside him. “It’s clearly something.”
“I…I don’t want to talk about it, okay?”
Adrian nodded and put an arm around him. “Okay. You don’t have to. But I’m here if you want to, okay?”
Niel nodded, not looking at him.
He didn’t want Adrian to see the tears threatening to spill from his eyes.
-~-
Etho leaned back in his seat, a suspicion beginning to form in his mind about his descendant. He wouldn’t voice it, though- not yet.
Instead, he tapped Vechs’s shoulder. “How are they going to survive the Hostiles?” He asked softly.
Vechs sighed. “That’s what I’m afraid of. I don’t know if they will.”
“I’m really concerned about Niel. He couldn’t fight off a mildly annoyed cat.”
“I am too.” Vechs admitted. “I hope that Adrian and Nessy can give him a few pointers for fighting. Otherwise…”
Etho shuddered. He didn’t want to consider the alternative.
-~-
“Look, see, you can climb just fine!” Adrian informed him. Niel grinned from where he was perched in a tree branch. It was midmorning the next day, and Adrian was trying to help Niel figure out what he was good at.
“I can fall, too. It’s hard for me to hurt myself while falling.”
“That’s great! Can you go any higher?”
“Um…maybe?”
“Can you jump from branch to branch?”
“Not really?”
“Try it.” Adrian insisted. “All you need is practice.”
Oftentimes, famous last words.
Niel nodded and carefully judged the distance to the next branch. He jumped, grabbing it and hauling himself up. He grinned at the applause from Adrian, but when he leaped again, he missed and fell. His shirt caught on another branch as he fell and ripped open the side. He grunted as he hit the ground.
“Niel!” Adrian raced to his side. “Are you okay?”
“Y-yeah.” Niel shuddered and sat up, flinching. “I didn’t fall far…”
Adrian nodded and then paused, noticing something. “Niel.” He said slowly. “What’s that?”
Niel glanced down at where Adrian indicated and covered the white cloth of bandages wrapped around his upper torso with his cloak. “N-nothing.”
“Niel…”
“It’s nothing, okay? I’m just…I…I’m…injured. Y-yeah, I’m injured, and I’ll…I’ll be okay soon, I don’t want to talk about it, I’m okay!” He jumped to his feet and stepped back defensively, looking like he wanted to run when Adrian got to his feet.
“Niel, wh-“
“I’m okay!” Niel turned and ran, vanishing into the trees.
“Niel!” Adrian raced after him. “Niel!”
Unfortunately, Niel lost him relatively quickly. He might not be the best runner in the world, but he was better than Adrian. Adrian quickly realized that he couldn’t catch up and stopped, sighing and leaning against a tree. He rested his forehead against the bark.
He was very, very confused and very, very concerned.
~~~
Niel dodged between the trees, blinking to keep his eyes free of tears.
He couldn’t let Adrian know. He couldn’t know. He’d lose his only friends in the world and he’d be alone again. Eventually he fell, out of breath and gasping, as tears streamed down his face.
He couldn’t know.
Niel crawled into a bush, still wheezing for air. His lungs couldn’t take in oxygen fast enough and his sobbing wasn’t helping. He was tempted to loosen the bandages around his chest but he didn’t, he couldn’t, he couldn’t take that right now.
Hating himself.
He remained sobbing in the bush until something prodded him in the back. He jumped and whipped around, eyes widening at what was behind him.
His eyes met the purple eyes of the first, and smallest, dragon he had ever seen.
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Date: Monday, July 20th, 2015 10:36 pm (UTC)PS HI IM SOLLUX IM SORRY MY ACCOUNT WASNT AUTO LOGGED AND IM LAZY
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Date: Monday, July 20th, 2015 10:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Monday, July 20th, 2015 10:45 pm (UTC)draagooooooon :3
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Date: Wednesday, July 22nd, 2015 02:31 pm (UTC)