vatheon | N-no... no, I'm scared...!

Entry tags:

N-no... no, I'm scared...!

Who: A very young Guy Cecil and a bunch of scary strangers.
Where: Yutopil Apartments and the alleys near the plaza
When: Monday morning - afternoon
Style: I prefer [Action], but I'll match.
Status: Open

[It was such a blur. He remembered it being dark and loud. There was shouting. They were running, his arm being pulled just a little harder as a window shattered in one of the front rooms. A scream echoed from another part of the hall, and he felt the urge to do the same, quickly biting his lip in fear. The shuffle of feet. The slamming of a door. There were soldiers. So many soldiers.

He was frightened.

Mary had said something to him. That he needed to hide. That he needed to live. Why? Why was this happening? This was supposed to be a happy day, right? Why were the soldiers here to hurt them? Why did his sister have to look so sad?

Mary... M-Mary, come back... I-I'm scared...!

He'd ducked away, knees to his chest and lip quivering, still trying to keep his older sister in his sights. And then, as if he'd fallen down a hole in the back of his hiding place... he was somewhere new. Mary was gone. And he didn't like it one bit.]

[Residents of the lower floor of Yutopil might here a thumping crash from Apartment 1-5 early Monday morning, followed by a loud wail. That's because one little blonde boy has literally fallen out of his bed and hit the ground a bit too hard. Nothing to truly hurt him in the end, but... well, he is a bit of a coward, and the impact is enough to startle him to tears. What is this place?! Where is he? And now his head hurts and oh no, oh please, what is he going to do????

He will eventually wander from his strange quarters, although the outside world isn't very inviting. Every face is strange and hostile, and with what he's just seen and heard he can't help but flinch away. So don't be surprised if you come walking through the plaza and hear the sniffling sobs of a young child, not even a day past five, huddled in the alleyway behind a building, head buried against his knees or hands wringing at clothes of the finest quality (dusted with the clouded markings of soot). He may look like an animal caught frightened in a bright light. But for as much of a man as Mary wants him to be, a stranger is still a stranger, and strangers are still frightening.]

((OOC: All replies will be coming from

heirofhod.))

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What's your deal?

[The voice is beyond haughty, belonging to an older boy who looms - arms crossed - over the blond, hair fire-red and eyes ice blue and frigid. His clothes are at least as expensive as the young Gailardia's, possibly moreso, and impeccably clean.

Zelos Wilder is thirteen years old, has no idea where he is, and has decided to take it out on the first person he's come across.]

Aa-aaaah!

[The voice is sudden, loud, and unfamiliar, and the boy can't help but scream. Gailardia scrambles backwards, hands curled in front of his head as though the older boy were preparing to strike him, but still watching the redhead with wide and fearful eyes.]

Edited 2013-01-14 06:18 (UTC)

[Scowling, Zelos rolls his eyes at the younger boy's scrabbling about.]

Jeeze, stop acting like I'm gonna hurt you. Why would I bother? Who are you anyway? You look rich but I know every noble in Meltokio and I've never seen you.

[His scowl turns derisive.]

Are you an escaped half-elf?

I... no, I-I-I... [He hiccups, messily rubbing the the sleeve of his tunic against his eyes.] 'm G-Gailardia ...M-my sister, I-I-I think I... I lost her...

[A fist presses up against his mouth as he looks over his shoulder. Gosh it's dark... and this older boy seems to know what he's talking about. Or, well, it sure sounds like it.]

...W-what's a hafluff?

[Ugh, you're staining your clothes with those tears you know.

Zelos' expression softens just slightly with the mention of a sister and he sighs again, looking away and putting his hands on his hips.]

Half-elf, and I doubt your sister was dragged here, wherever we are, but I guess if you want you can go find her.

[...he's alone here too. Damnit.]

If you're such a coward that you need help, I guess I can go with you too.

[This boy would help him find Mary? Really?? The blonde hesitantly rises to his feet, fingers wringing together... until he processes all of what the redhead had said.

Congratulations, you're getting an angry pout.]

N-no, nono, I-I-I'm not a coward--!

[See, see look, he can put on his tough guy face--! Never mind that his eyes are still full of tears. Mary kept telling him he had to be brave. He can be brave, he can, he can!]

[See this face? This is a most dubious of faces.]

Right, sure. Your face is covered in snot and tears because you're not a coward.

[Zelos flips his short ponytail over his shoulder and turns to go back out of the alley.]

C'mon and keep up or I'll leave you here.

[His lips press into a frown, but he whimpers quietly before taking up step behind, keeping a couple feet away with his eyes to the ground like a kicked puppy. The older boy frightened him in the same way Mary often did - he was confident and kind of mean. It made Gailardia keep his hands rung in the edges of his tunic, struggling not to cry again.

If only Van were here...]

...um... um, s-so, what's your name?

How stupid are you that you don't know who I am?

[That's unfair, he may just be way too young to know, but Zelos isn't in a mood to be terribly charitable.]

I'm Zelos Wilder and I'm a Lord and the Chosen, so you better treat me with respect.

[Because the only way he'll ever get respect is through those younger than him. The adults... they pretend, still calling him Chosen and trying to buy his favor - or silence - with gifts, but if they really respected him, they wouldn't do what they do with him behind closed doors.

Whatever, the joke's on them. The more they do it the more power he has over them later. Then he can make them do whatever he wants.]

Ahh, b-but... but you aren't a grown-up...!

[He's never met another child that had a title like that! He'd heard of a girl far across the sea that was a princess, but that was special. So did that make this boy special, too. And he said he was chosen...]

I-is that what you're chosen for? Why, h-how come?

Tch. More grown up than you, whining about your sister.

[His face goes even more sour with the question of what he's Chosen for. Since the world's prospering it really seems all he's Chosen for is to get passed around. Sometimes he wonders if it wouldn't be better just to tear everything down. It's all so bothersome and terrible.

With an irritated sigh, Zelos recites the load of crap the Church shoved down his throat.]

I'm Chosen because I'm from the mana lineage and if the world goes into decline then it's my job to awaken the goddess and regenerate the world. Only the world's fine so mainly I just have to go to all these stupid church things and meetings.

[Well, so much for not crying. The insult produces a choking sob from the blonde, although he buries it into his sleeves when the older boy starts to talk again. Maa nah lih nee uge? Which goddess? Did he mean Lorelei, or Yulia?

He swallows, taking in a shuddering breath and bracing for the older boy to respond harshly again.]

B-b-but.... y-you dun look happy. Y-y-you s-should be happy, you... you're special.

I'm unhappy because everyone here - wherever here is - is stupid and doesn't know who I am and I can't find Sebastian or any of the maids. And being "special" isn't all it's cracked up to be. I never get to do what I want. I have stupid dinners with stupid church people and nobles and I have to go to services and do what the priests say and...

[And keep quiet when the noble ladies decide he needs 'a woman's touch' in his life for awhile. He kicks a rock, shoving his hands deep in his pockets and hunching his shoulders.]

...it's more trouble than it's worth.

[The whole world is more trouble than it's worth.]

...it sounds m-mean...

[Really mean. Priests and nobles and being involved with a bunch of strangers... and he seemed so mad about it. Why should he be mad? It was a bunch of adult-sounding stuff, but--]

You don't have anyone w-who will play with you? W-where's your family?

Haven't you heard? The poor little Chosen doesn't have a family.

[He says it as if it doesn't matter, just another fact of life. It does sting, though. His parents are long dead, not that he's sorry about his father, but times with his mother weren't all bad. At least she paid him some kind of attention. And Seles...]

I don't know where my sister is. They took her away because her mom killed mine.

[He's not sure why he's telling this to a kid he doesn't even know. Maybe because they're searching for his sister, maybe because that gives him a small sense of kinship in this weird and utterly unfamiliar place.]

...Your momma is... she's gone...?

[Oh. Oh, that was horrid. No one deserved to be without a mother. He certainly can't begin to imagine how sad he would be if his own mother was gone.]

Why'd they hafta take your sister away, though? W-w-why couldn't you be together?

Because they said she might try to kill me so she can be Chosen instead.

[He looks up as they walk, pace slowing.]

I don't think she would. I mean... she's my sister. Would she really come to hate me that much, just because of being the Chosen?

[He's mostly talking to himself now, frustrated that there's little he can do to really find out.]

Maybe it would be better if she was the Chosen instead.

B-but... but then she'd just be the one who had to be unhappy...

Can't you just both not be the Chosen?

[That way they could be together, like a brother and sister should be! Like him and Mary.]

No. Don't be stupid! There always has to be a Chosen.

[He spits the words at Gailardia, angry that he has to say it outright, that he's just that trapped in his own life.]

The only way would be if the whole world was destroyed.

[Some days, he'd rather that were the case.]

De... destroyed...

[He shrinks back at the outburst, his voice growing quiet and timid.]

You... you mean with soldiers and... fighting... and... [No, no, don't think about that. Thinking about that will only make you cry--

--okay, well, too late. He's sniffling.]

Why... w-why can't you just... chose someone else?

Soldiers?

[The redhead glances back at his follower.]

Like, for a war?

[There'd never been a war so far as Zelos knew. Sure, thousands of years ago maybe, but not now.]

[The little boy nods shakily, wiping a wrist against his face with a cough, a faint trail of soot left behind. He doesn't seem to notice.]

Th... t-they're loud and they destroy stuff... the ones that don't protect people. D-do you think they... t-t-t-they would destroy a whole world? They're mean a-a-and scary and... [He bites at his lip with a sob.] They... they hurt lots of people... they made Mary g-get r-r-r-really mad and t-t-tell me t-to h-h-hide... and... a...

[There's another chocking sob before the boy just stops in his tracks, face buried in his sleeves and failing to produce any words that might have been legible. Was this what the world being destroyed would be like? No, he didn't want that! He didn't want that at all!]

[Zelos stops walking then entirely, his normal urge to yell at Gailardia to stop crying completely absent. There were some things that you could cry about, and if Zelos was right, then... well, the death of someone in your family is one of them.

He stands awkwardly for a moment, just watching the small blond sniffle into his sleeves before kneeling and wrapping his arms around the younger boy stiffly.]

It's okay. You're safe now.

[He's not sure that's really the case, but since there's no soldiers or burning building's here, he feels justified making the guess.

And he knows how it feels to lose someone you care about.]

Edited 2013-01-29 22:08 (UTC)

[The fear of the cruel boy kneeling in front of him is overrriden by the hug that followed afterwards. Gailardia's posture is tight, but only temporarily - there's a temporary feeling of security here, even if it's with a stranger. Someone's wanting to protect him, even if it's only for a few seconds.

Fingers curl into weak fists against the redhead's shoulders, the boy's head tucking down.]

But... but I-I-I want Mary to be here... I... I dun wanna be alone...!

Edited 2013-01-29 22:50 (UTC)

Well... maybe she was brought here too, you know? I mean, we were. And I said I'd help you look so please stop crying, okay?

[There's a more plaintive tone to his words now, nothing so commanding as before. He understands the smaller boy's plight, feeling alone in the world, separated from the person you know cares about you. And knowing that person may well be dead...

But he can't say that.]

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heirofhod - 2013-01-30 21:33 (UTC) - Expand

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