vatheon | 7th - They just slipped under the water. Unless Mat was watching.

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7th - They just slipped under the water. Unless Mat was watching.

Who: Teenage Mat and whoever notices
Where: All over the bubble
When: All week
Style: Whichever you prefer, starting in [ ]
Status: Open!

[So the one-eyed man is nowhere to be found this week, his hat and polearm also gone.

But there is a gangly teenager getting into an awful lot of mischief... He may have dusted your dog with flour, stolen a pie or something else you just cooked, let a badger loose in the plaza while you were watching, climbed up the side of your house or apartment to look around (or at least tried to), took apart something that he shouldn't (like a firework), or he might be standing outside the Winespring 'inn', staring at it.]

(ooc: replies will be from

badgerbane! )

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[Mat, are you sure you want to steal that pie? It looks like someone else got to it first. That pie is now smeared liberally all over the face and hands of a three year old boy in red.]

[Aw man! Someone else took it...Mat grumbles, looking at the boy.]

I was gonna eat that one...

You want a pie?

[Lloyd blinks at Mat, then holds up his hands, offering sticky, smushed bits of pie. Don't worry, he knows how to fix this, Mat!]

I share! I share a pie wi' you!

[He blinks back down at the kid.]

Um...Thanks? [That works. Taking it himself might've been more satisfying, but the boy seems nice enough.

He'll take some of that offered pie, tossing it into his mouth and chewing.]

Does your Ma or Da know you're out here by yourself? [He looks really young after all...]

Y'welcome!

[Not that that pie belongs to him any more than it belongs to Mat, but he was hungry and the pie was there. Self restraint isn't really his strong suit, nor is thinking before he acts.

He does stop, though, when Mat asks about his parents. Worry and fear flash across his face.]

I don't know where they are...

[Wait, so the boy had wandered off and gotten lost? Blood and ashes!]

O-okay. Let's eat the pie, then go look for them. They must be just as worried as you are.

[That'll help him, right?]

[His fingers grip the piece of pie he's holding, not really noticing how that makes it squish.]

I looked an' looked an' I can't find them. I even shouted really loud. What if they got losted like me?

[Burn him! He wanted to reassure the boy, not make him worry more! Mat raises his hands up to try and soothe him, half expecting this to backfire too.]

It'll be fine! If we don't find them, then I'll take care of you until we do. Because even if they did get lost, they've got to be around here somewhere, right?

[A positive attitude is a good way to go when dealing with Lloyds in any form. Bitty Lloyds are especially susceptible to them, because he wants to believe in them. He wants to believe what Mat's telling him.]

You'll help me find mommy an' daddy?

[Good thing he isn't Dagger!Mat then. He'd be calm around the bitty Lloyd, but...a lot less willing to help.

He nods. Thank the Light that worked...Finding the boy's parents would've been harder if the boy was still panicked.]

Yeah. [He may not be used to cities, but tracking animals is easy enough; people shouldn't be much harder.]

[Okay, Mat promised, so that's good enough to mollify and reassure him a bit.]

Okay.

[Sucking some of the pie off his fingers, he brightens at a thought.]

You think mommy an' daddy want pie too?

[Yeah, um, good luck tracking Lloyd backwards. It's not that he hasn't left a fairly easy trail to follow, is that halfway through the forest, the trail will completely change, little footprints becoming big ones with no apparent explanation.]

[Good, because Mat doesn't break his word. Ever. It's just usually harder to get him to give his word.

Mat chuckles.]

Who doesn't like pie? Let's take some with us.

[Blood and ashes.]

Okay!

[Cheered by the prospect of finding his parents and giving them some of the pie, Lloyd gathers up the still-whole second pie he hadn't gotten into yet. It takes both arms for him to carry it, and he makes a show of how heavy it is. See, look at him! Look how strong he is!]

I got a pie for mommy an' daddy! Let's go find 'em!

[Mat chuckles at Lloyd's antics.]

Let me know if you want me to carry it for a little bit.

[He spots the trail easily enough and starts to follow, looking back often to check on Lloyd.]

Nuh uh, I'm big! I can carry it!

[He toddles after Mat, holding the pie with both his hands, maybe crushing the edges a bit, but see? He's doing just fine! For now. Give him another few minutes.]

...are we there yet?

[He chuckles again, smiling back at him.]

Nope, not yet. Give it a few more minutes.

Oh.

[He shifts his hold on the pie, awkwardly adjusting its weight. It's starting to feel really, really heavy. Ugh.

Thirty more seconds...]

Is it a few minutes yet?

[Mat sends Lloyd a look.]

No, it hasn't been a few minutes yet.

[The trail is still clear, but Lloyd doesn't look like he's holding up so well with that pie. He doesn't say anything though. If Lloyd asks, he'll take it. He won't hurt the kid's pride by asking again.]

[At this age, Lloyd's pride is nowhere near as strong as his arms, and his arms are really starting to wear out. The boy manages a little longer before he finally just sinks down, making upset noises as he sets the pie down.]

It's too have a me...

[Mat sighs, hiding a smile as he walks back the short distance to Lloyd and the pie.]

Then I'll carry it. [And he'll just pick it up, carrying it easily. He smiles down at Lloyd.]

Ready to keep going?

[Lloyd rubs his arms, a childish, over-dramatic gestures to show just how tired his little arms are. But he's a big boy, see? See, he's still following Mat.]

Yeah, I ready. Are we almos' there?

[Such a big boy! Though he's reminding Mat a little of one of his younger sisters...He won't mention that though.]

Maybe. Looks like this trail won't continue much longer...

[The clumps of forest bits is thinning in this part, and then...Are those bigger footprints? Mat stops, looking at the tracks.]

What...? Lloyd do you remember your Dad putting you down and climbing a tree? [Because really, that's the only thing that'd make sense.]

[Daddy climbing a tree? Why would Daddy do something like that? Lloyd shakes his head. Digging up his last memory, he frowns worriedly.]

Daddy fighted a monster.

A monster? [What? Lloyd, what? Monsters aren't real; they're just legends...]

You're sure?

Uh huh. I losted mommy an' a monster came out. Noishe save me an' Daddy p'tected me!

[Even so, he edges closer to Mat, seeming to seek reassurance.]

[Well then...Mat gives him a smile.]

Your Da's strong right? So he took care of the monster and he's fine. All we need to do is find him and your Ma. And we will; this place can't be that big. We'll try other ways since something happened on your trail.

Yeah! Daddy's really, really strong! He can lifted me an' mommy!

[Clearly this is an amazing feat. Anxiety still tugs at him, though, despite Mat's attempts at reassurance, and his arms seek out the older boy's leg. He wants a hug. He wants his parents. He wants his dog.]

I want daddy.

[Wait, really? Mat blinks.]

Is he a blacksmith or something? [Unless Lloyd and his Ma were really light, carrying them both...would be hard.

Mat adjusts the pie to ruffle Lloyd's hair.]

We'll find him. I promised, didn't I?

[What? No, really, what? Lloyd blinks, baffled by the question.]

Um... no...? Daddy's kinda pink an' b'own like me, an' he's got kinda red hair.

[Oh, right, he did promise. The reminder mollifies Lloyd a little, enough that his eyes are no longer threatening tears.]

I wanna find him now!

[Being a blacksmith has nothing to do with colors...not really. Mat just shakes his head and smiles again.]

Finding him this way didn't work, so let's go try a different way.

That okay with you, Lloyd?

[Seriously the tracks were really weird, changing like that...]

[Lloyd hesitates, looking uncertain, then finally nods at the question. His fingers search for the leg of Mat's pants, looking for something reassuring to clutch.]

Okay...

[But his little legs are tired from all of that walking. He looks up at Mat hopefully.]

Pick me up. P'ease?

[Kind of forgetting that Mat's holding a pie.]

[...Then let's see if he can carry Lloyd with one arm and the pie with the other. He'll just have to carry Lloyd like women carry kids; it should work!

Mat puts the pie down, picking up Lloyd and grabbing the pie again.]

This isn't very comfortable, is it?

[Lloyd squirms, trying to adjust his position to something more comfortable. Mat, you're not very good at this. Lloyd's mommy is whole lots better! Even so, Lloyd isn't willing to be put back down just yet. What Mat lacks in grace, Lloyd makes up in grip.]

Nooo, I don't wanna let go!

[It's the first time he's had to do this! Usually he just held the hand of whatever kid he's with if he needed to or just picked them up completely. None of this kid on hip stuff.

He lets out a laugh.]

Alright, but let me know if you really feel like you're gonna fall.

Okay!

[Anything that lets Lloyd continue to cling sounds fair enough to him! And cling he will, quite tenaciously, turning his head to watch where they're going with wide-eyed curiosity.]

Where're we gonna go? Do you think mommy an' daddy're at a house?

Back to the main part of this place. It's possible, right? Maybe we'll find some other people too, and ask if they've seen your parents.

[Though Mat's starting to think that maybe they were kidnapped or something...Because he doesn't know how he got here either.]

You really, really think so?

[So much hope in such a tiny face.]

Let's go ask 'em then! We can ask e'ryone!

[And that's enough hope to keep him content for a least a little while longer.]

[Little Rolo just watches him staring at the inn, trying to figure out what's there to see.]

[Is someone watching him? He looks around and spots the boy.]

You lost? [He doesn't mean to be rude, but why else would the kid be just staring at him like that?]

[Little Rolo looks at him a moment before nodding a bit.]

[O...kay. People usually actually say something, but maybe he was told not to talk to strangers. Mat gives him a smile.]

I don't really know where we are, but I'll help you find your way back if you want.

But... I don't know where back is? I wasn't allowed to see where we were going when they took me here.

[Wait, what?]

You don't know where you were before you showed up here?

[he nods]

No one ever told me.

[to keep him from revealing the location of the Order should he fail in this - his first mission ever and get caught]

So...You have no idea where you were before you showed up here. Light, that might make getting you home hard.

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7th - They just slipped under the water. Unless Mat was watching.

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