[Canon] - What's a small fry to do when his pond dries up?
What's a small fry to do when his pond dries up?
The mid-morning sun shone upon the savanna on the way to Tessen. There was not a single cloud in the sky and the only respite from the rising heat came from the lonely trees scattered through the landscape. The only thing out of the ordinary was the band of condors circling above in the distance.
Wiljem pulled on the reins causing the lizard he was riding to slow to a stop. When Tam made a questioning noise behind him he merely pointed at the gathered birds before turning their lizard and heading in the birds direction. Normally Wiljem would chalk it up to a wild animal kicking the bucket but with the increase in banditry he wanted to check just so he didn't leave some unfortunate victim unburied in the middle of nowhere.
As he crested a hill he saw the ruined form of a settlement. The leader of the Wall frowned as he looked it over. It was small, built mostly above ground and of shoddy construction, the wall surrounding it was better but apparently not enough as something had punched a hole straight through it as well as some of the shacks before going through the wall again on the far side on what he hoped was the way out. Wiljem sighed when he could spot no signs of fields anywhere. While he would normally pay no mind to a bandit camp getting what they deserve he still felt the need to investigate if only so he could warn the guard of a potential mutant or machine roaming around.
And so with a groan Wiljem jumped down from his lizard and unhooked his spear from where he had stored it. "Stay on the lizard" He told Tam before his lover could think about following him. "Whatever tore through the wall is probably long gone, but it never hurts to be carefull either way." With that last reassurance along with a quick kiss for good luck, Wiljem began to make his way to the ruined camp.
---
Laz'ro carefully pried the hatch open a couple of inches. When he could not see nor hear any monster around him he pushed it the rest of the way and crawled up and out of the cellar. He looked around, his room was the same as far as he could tell, his ratty sheets were still unmade and his spare clothes lay on a pile on the floor. So the monster probably hadn't come in, the boy concluded with a sigh that turned into an ugly wet cough. More distressingly, Gabbel's stuff was also untouched, so his brother hadn't come back either.
He then pushed the curtain separating his and his brother's bedroom from the main room. It was quiet, to the point that it set the little boy on edge. He knew that mom had told him to hide in the cellar until someone came to look for him, but he had run out of food and he was hungry.
He first checked the pantry, standing on the back of a chair to reach the shelf. There were some veggies and meat, but they smelled funny and he had been warned to not eat anything that smelled weird so he didn't touch them. He then went into mum's room and found a half-empty packet of crackers. He quickly snatched them and went back to his room where he scarfed down his prize. It calmed the rumbling in his belly though at the cost of making his sore throat worse. He drank from a water bottle he brought from the cellar, though not too much as he had been taught not to waste water.
But he was now out of food again, and he only had two other water bottles. The boy peeked his head to the main room again, he could see daylight streaming in from an old gash in the main door so it was daytime. Laz'ro swallowed, his mother had told him to stay in the cellar until either she or Gabe came for him, and he had done so until the food they had stored for emergencies had run out. He knew he would get hungry again and this time there would be no more food in the house.
A little while later he stood before the door, clutching the sheathed knife he had been given as a birthday present in one hand. He would be brave, brave people were hunters, weak people were prey. He reached up to open the door and stepped outside.
The bright light blinded him at first, and it took him a few moments before his eyes adjusted. The camp was quiet which was a new experience for Laz'ro. Usually there was always someone moving about, even when there was a hunt going on at least one person stayed behind to guard the village. He was not afraid, he was just clutching his knife in case he had to use it. Weak people were prey, he was strong, a hunter, his brother had said so and he was never wrong.
The child made his way to the main street, still finding himself alone. He could see that some houses had been smashed and there were some brownish stains on the ground and on some of the walls. Movement on the corner of his eye startled him and he blindly brandished his knife towards the perceived threat, but when he opened his eyes he saw it was just a crow casting a shadow from where it was perched on top of a roof. Laz'ro huffed and began to walk faster towards the communal kitchen, not wanting to be outside much longer even if he had been told that crows meant the coast was clear.
It was a little while later that a loud bang echoed through the empty village, causing the boy to duck into an alley for cover. He peeked his head over the wall just in time to see a stranger kick open a door to one of the intact houses. The stranger was tall and, luckily for him, turned away from him as he entered the house he had just kicked open. They were also mutated given the tail that swung from their back.
Now that there was a danger in front of him, Laz'ro abandoned his mission and ran deeper into the alley, intent on circling back to his house and hiding in the cellar until this threat had also gone away. Unfortunately, he didn't get very far before he tripped over a piece of debris and tumbled into the ground. He wiped the dirt out of his face but was interrupted when he was wracked by another bout of nasty, wet sounding coughs. He was finally able to get his breathing under control before he noticed another shadow falling over him. He looked up but instead of a crow a huge condor was perched on the roof, and it was staring right at him. He scrambled back until his back was against the wall, though it did little to distance him from the bird.
Both bird and boy stayed at a standstill for a few moments that seemed to last an eternity. Sadly, it would only last until another cough caused Laz'ro to double over and the condor pounced. He screamed and put his arms over his face and fell to the floor but it helped little when the bird landed on his back and began to peck at him through his threadbare shirt. He couldn't dislodge it no matter how much he tried and the bird only took the chance to peck at his sides instead.
Then all of a sudden the condor let out a panicked shriek right before it was flung off his back. He didn't dare move a muscle but he heard footsteps passing him followed by another shriek silenced by a crunch. He didn't raise his head until a new shadow had fallen over him and saw the stranger from before now crouching in front of him. He had long black hair and round, fuzzy ears. One of his eyes was yellow and the other was white with a faded scar going over it. He didn't look that scary, not how Gabbel had described them.
The stranger was speaking but Laz'ro couldn't hear him as the day's events finally crashed into him. He would be strong, even if his back hurt a lot. Even if he was scared, he would not show it. He would be like his brother. He would not be weak.
He broke down in tears.
---
Tahmid looked at the small child as he finished packing up their medkit. It had been quite the surprise when Wiljem had come back running with a crying child in his arms. Thankfully, none of his injuries looked severe, though a couple of the deeper gashes might need stitches, so they were able to patch him up with what they had on hand.
Though it was a most curious thing. The child could not be older than seven, thin but not starving and with a dark mop of hair on his head. He also had no visible mutations, he knew that it was possible and even common for two mutated parents to produce a fully human child, but they were normally given up for adoption in hopes of giving them a better life. How had this child survived when the rest of his village hadn't?
The boy was now sitting a few feet away from them, hugging his knees and giving them his best attempt at a scary expression, he honestly looked kind of adorable. Tahmid decided to try and get more information from the child. He put their medkit back on the lizard and instead pulled out a small cloth bag of biscuits. He had bought them right before the left Norqod so they were a couple of days old but they had enough lard to still be plenty delicious.
He then slowly approached the child and sat down next to him extending the treats towards him. "Want some?"
The boy looked at them with clear want, but refused to move. " Mom said that I should never accept gifts from strangers, and especially from humans." He replied instead.
Tahmid hummed. "Well we should fix that shouldn't we?" He pulled back the biscuits and offered his open hand instead. "Name's Tahmid, and the big guy over there is Wiljem." He pointed to Will that was keeping watch but still listening in.
The child still made no move to take it so Tahmid pulled one of his favourite party tricks. With a bit of concentration, he made a small lizard appear on his arm and then made it move across his skin towards his outstretched hand, where it curled on his open palm.
It had the desired effect, as the boy lost all of his previous fear and surged to grab his hand, wonder clear in his hand. "That's so cool! Can you do other stuff? Other colors?" He then seemed to realize what he had just done and dropped his hand, red creeping into his cheeks. "...Name's Laz'ro"
Tahmid chuckled. "To answer your question, yes and no." He showed his point by turning the lizard into a star and then a butterfly. "I can control the color of my skin, so I can make it darker or lighter to make shapes, but I cannot change it to blue, for example." He made a few more shapes in different shades to make his point and Laz'ro's delight.
"I wish I had a cool mute like that." The child said, still looking at his hand. "I can only breathe underwater, or so mom says." Trust a child to think an invisible mutation is lame. "I'd like to have Gabe's teeth or mom's scales instead" The boy touched a serrated shark tooth hanging from a cord around his neck as he told this, which made Tahmid repress a shudder at the thought of a mouth full of them.
"Speaking of your mother, where is she?" He asked, hoping the child would open up now that they had broken the ice. "Why are you all alone?" He could already make a guess based on the state of the village and it was not a pretty one.
Laz'ro opened his mouth, but before he was able to speak he was wracked by coughs. It had not been the first time he had done so and it worried both mutated. What if the child was sick and had been left behind when the village was abandoned?
It took a few moments and a sip of water from Will's canteen before the boy could speak clearly again. "...A monster attacked and mom made me stay in the cellar until she came back for me." He began, looking down at the canteen in his small hands. "And I didn't leave! Not even once. I even ra-tio-ned food like I was told to so it would last longer" The boy sounded proud of that last statement, but to him it was just sad. "But then I ran out of food, so I had to come out to get more and then… you know…the birds."
It was a tragic tale, a black hole village turned bandit probably out of desperation only to get wiped by a wandering mutant or rogue machine, leaving behind a small child as the only survivor. Worse, it would not even be the first time he heard a similar story. But sad as it was, they now had to deal with the boy. It was out of the question to leave him here to die of starvation or to a wild animal, but they couldn't just drag him with them kicking and screaming either. Two guys dragging an unwilling child would look sketchy, Pilgrim or not.
Tahmid looked at Wiljem who had probably arrived at the same conclusion. He went over and sat down next to him, trying to make himself the least threatening he could considering the size difference.
"Hey, kid" He began "Why don't you come with us?" So he was going straight to the point. "You can't stay here all alone."
"Why not? I can do just fine on my own!" Another bout of coughing poked holes in his argument, but he still wouldn't back down. "And-and Gabbel was supposed to be back days ago, so he should be here any moment." Tahmid didn't know if he wanted to convince them or himself but it was sad nonetheless.
Will made a show of considering what the boy said, putting a hand on his chin and humming loudly. "Then how about this?" He began in a lighter tone. "You are still sick and need treatment, so how about we take you to the city and when you get better we bring you back here." The lionman's face was open and showed no deception. Wiljem and his sister were more alike than they thought.
Laz'ro seemed to think about it, looking from one man to the other without saying anything. Tahmid smiled, hoping to reassure the child.
"Why would you help me?" All the false bravado had left, leaving behind only a scared and lonely child.
Wiljem smiled at that. "Because we are Pilgrims. That 's why." His confidence in his religion showed, stating such with no hint of hesitation or reluctance.
Laz'ro's brows furrowed in confusion. "Pilgrims? What 's that?" It was testament to their growth that it had been years since they were asked that question. But how to explain their religion in a way a small child could understand?
"Pilgrims are people who made an oath to help people." Tahmid replied when Will looked stumped on that same question.
The child made a soft sound of understanding. "Like knights? Mom told me stories about them." He then made a small gasp. "Are you knights?"
Will chuckled at the boy's growing excitement. "Not quite, while we do protect people the same way knights do, Pilgrims also give them food if they are hungry or treat them if they are sick." He explained and it seemed to make the boy think.
"Then, will you make an oath to take me back home once I'm all good again?" Laz'ro said after being quiet for a couple of moments and another bout of coughing.
Will smiled and extended his hand. "We solemnly swear to protect you until you are ready to live by yourself." He spoke as if he were an actual character in a cheap novel and it would be ridiculous if it wasn't so adorable. The child put on a serious face before grabbing Wiljem's hand with his own tiny one and shaking it like they were merchants finalizing a deal.
Once they were both satisfied and Tahmid had fought down the urge to burst into laughter Wiljem helped Laz'ro get to his feet. "Why don't you show us the way to your house so we can pack some of your things for the journey?" The lionman asked and the child nodded and began to make his way towards a side road, the scratches on his back making him slow down everytime he made any sudden movements.
Both lovers followed behind at a similar pace. Now that the child was no longer paying them much attention he took the chance and leaned close. "So we are lying to a child now?" He whispered low enough that they wouldn't be heard.
Wil frowned, and replied in an equally low tone. "His parents are most likely dead and we need him to come with us willingly." He explained. "It will be easier to break the news to him once we are in a clinic. Less chance of him running off."
Tahmid still didn't like it, but saw the necessity of it and said no more on the subject.
-----
This is Part 1/2 since I couldn't finish it entirely before exam season turned up.
I will finish this...after my exams are done. Probably.
The mid-morning sun shone upon the savanna on the way to Tessen. There was not a single cloud in the sky and the only respite from the rising heat came from the lonely trees scattered through the landscape. The only thing out of the ordinary was the band of condors circling above in the distance.
Wiljem pulled on the reins causing the lizard he was riding to slow to a stop. When Tam made a questioning noise behind him he merely pointed at the gathered birds before turning their lizard and heading in the birds direction. Normally Wiljem would chalk it up to a wild animal kicking the bucket but with the increase in banditry he wanted to check just so he didn't leave some unfortunate victim unburied in the middle of nowhere.
As he crested a hill he saw the ruined form of a settlement. The leader of the Wall frowned as he looked it over. It was small, built mostly above ground and of shoddy construction, the wall surrounding it was better but apparently not enough as something had punched a hole straight through it as well as some of the shacks before going through the wall again on the far side on what he hoped was the way out. Wiljem sighed when he could spot no signs of fields anywhere. While he would normally pay no mind to a bandit camp getting what they deserve he still felt the need to investigate if only so he could warn the guard of a potential mutant or machine roaming around.
And so with a groan Wiljem jumped down from his lizard and unhooked his spear from where he had stored it. "Stay on the lizard" He told Tam before his lover could think about following him. "Whatever tore through the wall is probably long gone, but it never hurts to be carefull either way." With that last reassurance along with a quick kiss for good luck, Wiljem began to make his way to the ruined camp.
---
Laz'ro carefully pried the hatch open a couple of inches. When he could not see nor hear any monster around him he pushed it the rest of the way and crawled up and out of the cellar. He looked around, his room was the same as far as he could tell, his ratty sheets were still unmade and his spare clothes lay on a pile on the floor. So the monster probably hadn't come in, the boy concluded with a sigh that turned into an ugly wet cough. More distressingly, Gabbel's stuff was also untouched, so his brother hadn't come back either.
He then pushed the curtain separating his and his brother's bedroom from the main room. It was quiet, to the point that it set the little boy on edge. He knew that mom had told him to hide in the cellar until someone came to look for him, but he had run out of food and he was hungry.
He first checked the pantry, standing on the back of a chair to reach the shelf. There were some veggies and meat, but they smelled funny and he had been warned to not eat anything that smelled weird so he didn't touch them. He then went into mum's room and found a half-empty packet of crackers. He quickly snatched them and went back to his room where he scarfed down his prize. It calmed the rumbling in his belly though at the cost of making his sore throat worse. He drank from a water bottle he brought from the cellar, though not too much as he had been taught not to waste water.
But he was now out of food again, and he only had two other water bottles. The boy peeked his head to the main room again, he could see daylight streaming in from an old gash in the main door so it was daytime. Laz'ro swallowed, his mother had told him to stay in the cellar until either she or Gabe came for him, and he had done so until the food they had stored for emergencies had run out. He knew he would get hungry again and this time there would be no more food in the house.
A little while later he stood before the door, clutching the sheathed knife he had been given as a birthday present in one hand. He would be brave, brave people were hunters, weak people were prey. He reached up to open the door and stepped outside.
The bright light blinded him at first, and it took him a few moments before his eyes adjusted. The camp was quiet which was a new experience for Laz'ro. Usually there was always someone moving about, even when there was a hunt going on at least one person stayed behind to guard the village. He was not afraid, he was just clutching his knife in case he had to use it. Weak people were prey, he was strong, a hunter, his brother had said so and he was never wrong.
The child made his way to the main street, still finding himself alone. He could see that some houses had been smashed and there were some brownish stains on the ground and on some of the walls. Movement on the corner of his eye startled him and he blindly brandished his knife towards the perceived threat, but when he opened his eyes he saw it was just a crow casting a shadow from where it was perched on top of a roof. Laz'ro huffed and began to walk faster towards the communal kitchen, not wanting to be outside much longer even if he had been told that crows meant the coast was clear.
It was a little while later that a loud bang echoed through the empty village, causing the boy to duck into an alley for cover. He peeked his head over the wall just in time to see a stranger kick open a door to one of the intact houses. The stranger was tall and, luckily for him, turned away from him as he entered the house he had just kicked open. They were also mutated given the tail that swung from their back.
Now that there was a danger in front of him, Laz'ro abandoned his mission and ran deeper into the alley, intent on circling back to his house and hiding in the cellar until this threat had also gone away. Unfortunately, he didn't get very far before he tripped over a piece of debris and tumbled into the ground. He wiped the dirt out of his face but was interrupted when he was wracked by another bout of nasty, wet sounding coughs. He was finally able to get his breathing under control before he noticed another shadow falling over him. He looked up but instead of a crow a huge condor was perched on the roof, and it was staring right at him. He scrambled back until his back was against the wall, though it did little to distance him from the bird.
Both bird and boy stayed at a standstill for a few moments that seemed to last an eternity. Sadly, it would only last until another cough caused Laz'ro to double over and the condor pounced. He screamed and put his arms over his face and fell to the floor but it helped little when the bird landed on his back and began to peck at him through his threadbare shirt. He couldn't dislodge it no matter how much he tried and the bird only took the chance to peck at his sides instead.
Then all of a sudden the condor let out a panicked shriek right before it was flung off his back. He didn't dare move a muscle but he heard footsteps passing him followed by another shriek silenced by a crunch. He didn't raise his head until a new shadow had fallen over him and saw the stranger from before now crouching in front of him. He had long black hair and round, fuzzy ears. One of his eyes was yellow and the other was white with a faded scar going over it. He didn't look that scary, not how Gabbel had described them.
The stranger was speaking but Laz'ro couldn't hear him as the day's events finally crashed into him. He would be strong, even if his back hurt a lot. Even if he was scared, he would not show it. He would be like his brother. He would not be weak.
He broke down in tears.
---
Tahmid looked at the small child as he finished packing up their medkit. It had been quite the surprise when Wiljem had come back running with a crying child in his arms. Thankfully, none of his injuries looked severe, though a couple of the deeper gashes might need stitches, so they were able to patch him up with what they had on hand.
Though it was a most curious thing. The child could not be older than seven, thin but not starving and with a dark mop of hair on his head. He also had no visible mutations, he knew that it was possible and even common for two mutated parents to produce a fully human child, but they were normally given up for adoption in hopes of giving them a better life. How had this child survived when the rest of his village hadn't?
The boy was now sitting a few feet away from them, hugging his knees and giving them his best attempt at a scary expression, he honestly looked kind of adorable. Tahmid decided to try and get more information from the child. He put their medkit back on the lizard and instead pulled out a small cloth bag of biscuits. He had bought them right before the left Norqod so they were a couple of days old but they had enough lard to still be plenty delicious.
He then slowly approached the child and sat down next to him extending the treats towards him. "Want some?"
The boy looked at them with clear want, but refused to move. " Mom said that I should never accept gifts from strangers, and especially from humans." He replied instead.
Tahmid hummed. "Well we should fix that shouldn't we?" He pulled back the biscuits and offered his open hand instead. "Name's Tahmid, and the big guy over there is Wiljem." He pointed to Will that was keeping watch but still listening in.
The child still made no move to take it so Tahmid pulled one of his favourite party tricks. With a bit of concentration, he made a small lizard appear on his arm and then made it move across his skin towards his outstretched hand, where it curled on his open palm.
It had the desired effect, as the boy lost all of his previous fear and surged to grab his hand, wonder clear in his hand. "That's so cool! Can you do other stuff? Other colors?" He then seemed to realize what he had just done and dropped his hand, red creeping into his cheeks. "...Name's Laz'ro"
Tahmid chuckled. "To answer your question, yes and no." He showed his point by turning the lizard into a star and then a butterfly. "I can control the color of my skin, so I can make it darker or lighter to make shapes, but I cannot change it to blue, for example." He made a few more shapes in different shades to make his point and Laz'ro's delight.
"I wish I had a cool mute like that." The child said, still looking at his hand. "I can only breathe underwater, or so mom says." Trust a child to think an invisible mutation is lame. "I'd like to have Gabe's teeth or mom's scales instead" The boy touched a serrated shark tooth hanging from a cord around his neck as he told this, which made Tahmid repress a shudder at the thought of a mouth full of them.
"Speaking of your mother, where is she?" He asked, hoping the child would open up now that they had broken the ice. "Why are you all alone?" He could already make a guess based on the state of the village and it was not a pretty one.
Laz'ro opened his mouth, but before he was able to speak he was wracked by coughs. It had not been the first time he had done so and it worried both mutated. What if the child was sick and had been left behind when the village was abandoned?
It took a few moments and a sip of water from Will's canteen before the boy could speak clearly again. "...A monster attacked and mom made me stay in the cellar until she came back for me." He began, looking down at the canteen in his small hands. "And I didn't leave! Not even once. I even ra-tio-ned food like I was told to so it would last longer" The boy sounded proud of that last statement, but to him it was just sad. "But then I ran out of food, so I had to come out to get more and then… you know…the birds."
It was a tragic tale, a black hole village turned bandit probably out of desperation only to get wiped by a wandering mutant or rogue machine, leaving behind a small child as the only survivor. Worse, it would not even be the first time he heard a similar story. But sad as it was, they now had to deal with the boy. It was out of the question to leave him here to die of starvation or to a wild animal, but they couldn't just drag him with them kicking and screaming either. Two guys dragging an unwilling child would look sketchy, Pilgrim or not.
Tahmid looked at Wiljem who had probably arrived at the same conclusion. He went over and sat down next to him, trying to make himself the least threatening he could considering the size difference.
"Hey, kid" He began "Why don't you come with us?" So he was going straight to the point. "You can't stay here all alone."
"Why not? I can do just fine on my own!" Another bout of coughing poked holes in his argument, but he still wouldn't back down. "And-and Gabbel was supposed to be back days ago, so he should be here any moment." Tahmid didn't know if he wanted to convince them or himself but it was sad nonetheless.
Will made a show of considering what the boy said, putting a hand on his chin and humming loudly. "Then how about this?" He began in a lighter tone. "You are still sick and need treatment, so how about we take you to the city and when you get better we bring you back here." The lionman's face was open and showed no deception. Wiljem and his sister were more alike than they thought.
Laz'ro seemed to think about it, looking from one man to the other without saying anything. Tahmid smiled, hoping to reassure the child.
"Why would you help me?" All the false bravado had left, leaving behind only a scared and lonely child.
Wiljem smiled at that. "Because we are Pilgrims. That 's why." His confidence in his religion showed, stating such with no hint of hesitation or reluctance.
Laz'ro's brows furrowed in confusion. "Pilgrims? What 's that?" It was testament to their growth that it had been years since they were asked that question. But how to explain their religion in a way a small child could understand?
"Pilgrims are people who made an oath to help people." Tahmid replied when Will looked stumped on that same question.
The child made a soft sound of understanding. "Like knights? Mom told me stories about them." He then made a small gasp. "Are you knights?"
Will chuckled at the boy's growing excitement. "Not quite, while we do protect people the same way knights do, Pilgrims also give them food if they are hungry or treat them if they are sick." He explained and it seemed to make the boy think.
"Then, will you make an oath to take me back home once I'm all good again?" Laz'ro said after being quiet for a couple of moments and another bout of coughing.
Will smiled and extended his hand. "We solemnly swear to protect you until you are ready to live by yourself." He spoke as if he were an actual character in a cheap novel and it would be ridiculous if it wasn't so adorable. The child put on a serious face before grabbing Wiljem's hand with his own tiny one and shaking it like they were merchants finalizing a deal.
Once they were both satisfied and Tahmid had fought down the urge to burst into laughter Wiljem helped Laz'ro get to his feet. "Why don't you show us the way to your house so we can pack some of your things for the journey?" The lionman asked and the child nodded and began to make his way towards a side road, the scratches on his back making him slow down everytime he made any sudden movements.
Both lovers followed behind at a similar pace. Now that the child was no longer paying them much attention he took the chance and leaned close. "So we are lying to a child now?" He whispered low enough that they wouldn't be heard.
Wil frowned, and replied in an equally low tone. "His parents are most likely dead and we need him to come with us willingly." He explained. "It will be easier to break the news to him once we are in a clinic. Less chance of him running off."
Tahmid still didn't like it, but saw the necessity of it and said no more on the subject.
-----
This is Part 1/2 since I couldn't finish it entirely before exam season turned up.
I will finish this...after my exams are done. Probably.
