caramelbox | don't be in doubt and stray

["I shouldn't be alive."]

[It's been seven days since the otters found him when he bleeding to death on the edge of a cliff. He can't remember it clearly. All he can remember is stubbornly moving forward, putting one foot in front of the other, until his weak ankle--(the one with the sprain that keeps coming back)--gave out and he didn't have the strength to rise to his feet again. Then there is a period of nothing, before waking up to pain and a circle of concerned, cheerful voices.

What's your name? Are you lost? Did a monster attack you? Where is your family?

They talked and talked in talk, sometimes two or three at the same time, in high, cheerful voices that made his head ache. None of them seem to mind that he doesn't talk back to them or answer any of their questions. On the contrary, they take his silence as a sign that he has nowhere to go and needed to be taken care of. It's not necessary. It doesn't make sense to him.

Jay honestly doesn't understand why the otters have brought him into their home, tended to his wounds, and have insisted, over and over again, that he should stay and rest for them for as long as he needed to. He would have left days ago, but his own body had refused to cooperate with him--and after the first time he had fallen out of bed, he's certain they started slipping some sort of medicine into his food that kept the pain away but left him sleepy and complacent.

Tonight, he had left the stew on the tray they had brought him untouched. It's been seven days. He's lingered for far too long in this house, small and round and colorful, when he should have been out looking for Master. He knew that he shouldn't be alive: he had failed a mission and, in his escape, brought the enemy in overwhelming numbers to Master. It was only natural that, when it became necessary, Master hadn't hesitated to throw him away.

Without him, Jay doesn't know what to do. All he knows is that he can't stay in this village. He can't stay with the otters. So, after the house has fallen still and quiet, he crept silently out of the room they kept him in. Every movement is painful, but Jay takes care to keep his footsteps silent; if one of the otters woke and found him wandering about, they would certainly shoo him back to bed. His dagger. Once he finds his dagger, he can leave the village and begin his search for Master. All he has to do is make the journey one step at a time.]

Edited 2014-07-27 03:16 (UTC)

[ Seven days.

That how long it had been since the boy had been brought to their—to Quppo, Pippo and Poppo's home. Just like she had. Although his injuries were much worst than the ones she had sustained. Much, much worst...

Not knowing how to help, and feeling useless for being unable to, she kept her distance. She didn't even speak to the boy, despite be encouraged to do so. He never talked anyway, so why bother? There was nothing for her to say to him, nor did she really want to say anything to him.

...No, that was a lie. There was plenty she wanted to talk about—who he was, where he was from, why he was here... But mostly, she wanted a name. Names were important. That's what she taught her.

Most nights, she couldn't sleep—at least not throughout the whole night. Laying down at night and waking in the morning uninterrupted was rare. When she slept, all the horrible thoughts she kept bottled while awake seeped into her dreams, turning them into nightmares. More often than not, she woke up in tears. After her crying woke the Orosoren countless time, she had learnt to at least keep her sobs and sniffing in check.

Tonight was no different. Blinking back tears and letting her eyes adjust to the darkness, she slipped out of bed. Just laying back down never worked for her—her mind would wander too much, but pacing around before stopped that from happening.

It didn't take her too long to noticed that she wasn't the only one awake and about... ]

U-um... [ Her voice is quiet, barely above a whisper, but it's still enough to break the silence. Awkwardly, she tugs at one of the sleeves of her nightgown—a simple thing made by an inexperienced twelve year old. Her brain tells her that she should say more, but her mouth is dry and her lips are firmly shut. ]

[Miriam finds Jay at the foot of the stairs, clinging to the rail with in order to keep his balance. His ankle is still bothering him, He looks at her, expression cold and unreadable.]

... [At least it's just the girl, not the otters. Her name is... Miriam. She's been in and out of the room the otters have kept him in, bringing him food and asking him questions that he can't answer. (It's strange. What is a girl doing living with a bunch of otters in an underground village?) He stares at her, warily, from underneath a fringe of dark hair. Without anything to tie it back with, it's getting in the way even more than usual.

What does she want? Is she going to wake the otters up and make him go back to sleep? He's tired of sleeping, of wasting time lying about when he should be picking up Master's trail.]

[ Careful to not slip, she slowly takes a few steps down the stairs—enough that they're somewhat closer, but there's still a decent distance between them.

Tugging on one of her sleeves, she looks at her feet to keep eyes off him. The less chance of eye contact—even in the dark—the better. ]

Y-you should be resting... s-so you can heal. [ Whether or not he got better... didn't matter that much to her personally.

...But the Oresoren surely want him to heal, to be healthy and happy... just like they want her to be. So, for their sakes, she'll care too. ]

[Jay shakes his head, dark hair flying in front of his eyes. No. He can't stay here. It doesn't matter if his injuries weren't healed yet; it will take weeks, months before he's completely healed. By then, it will be far too late to catch up with Master.

It's fine. Although these injuries are worse than what he's used to working with, he can manage. ... probably.]

[ ...Was he ever going to say anything? Was it that he couldn't, or that he was too good to talk them? Even just a yes or no would be nice. It was... annoying.

But she couldn't get angry at him for that. She was the same once as well. ]

I-It's important to t-them that you recover... S-so you have to... [ Her small hands ball into tiny fist while her lip quivers. He had to get better, or the Oresoren would be sad.

That wasn't something she was going to let happen if she could help it. ]

[Get ready for a really annoying next few months, Miriam, because you are not hearing a word from him for a long time.

It doesn't really matter what the otters or this girl think is best. They don't understand the situation... and he's not allowed to explain it to them. Instead, Jay turns away from the stairs and limps towards the main area; without the rail to support him, he has to walk very carefully, favoring his injured ankle, to keep his balance.]

[ She'll get use to it eventually, or at least tolerate it. ]

H-hey—! W-wait, you shouldn't—! [ Instinctively, she reaches out to grab him—which isn't possible, of course, considering the distance and height between them. So, naturally, she fumbles and falls down the remaining steps. It's far from quiet tumble, but at least she doesn't scream or break anything. ]

[Normally, it would have been as easy as breathing to slip away from Miriam's outstretched hand. But his ankle is sprained, there's a long gash across his chest, and his ribs feel like one big bruise. All of it impedes his mobility and reflexes, leaving him unable to react quickly to her fall.

Although he tries to move out of the way, he just isn't fast enough. Miriam lands on top of him and he falls again, his bad ankle twisting and folding underneath him. The two of them land with a loud thump on the carpeted floor. Tears of pain swim in front of his eyes, but Jay refuses to allow himself to make a sound.

Crying is a sign of weakness. He's already a failure--he can't stand the thought of being weak. With shaky hands, Jay reaches out to try and push Miriam off of him... but there's no strength in the gesture. He might have been in bed for a week, but just walking down the winding staircase of the otters' home has taken a great deal of energy out of him.]

[ Luckily for Jay, even with no strength to actually push Miriam off, she doesn't waste time to scoot away from him. Although she scuttles too far back and hits her head on the railing of the stairs. While she wasn't crying before, the thump to the head is certainly does it.

She just wanted to help. But she failed—just like always. She really was useless. Useless useless useless uselessuselessuselessuseless.

Tightly pulling her legs to her chest, she silent cries to herself—well, tries to. There's a few sobs and hiccups that escape. ]

[Jay doesn't acknowledge the sound of crying; it doesn't to matter to him why she's started, only that her soft cries will eventually wake up the otters. He doesn't even look at her. Whatever narrow margin of time he had to escape is rapidly disappearing; if he wants to leave, he needs to act quickly.

But his limbs won't properly obey him. He tries pushing himself up, palms flat against the floor, again and again, until the last of his feeble strength fades. Then he lies on the floor, shoulders trembling, and swallows down a thick knot of pain and despair.

He's... so weak. A pathetic failure, who couldn't carry out his mission. He couldn't even properly die, which is how he got into this position in the first place. Why... did he even bother trying to escape? Even if he did, there's no way Master would want something as useless as him back.]

don't be in doubt and stray

CONGRATULATIONS, YOU HAVE A LITTLE BROTHER NOW

SHE NEVER ASKED FOR THIS CAN SHE GET A REFUND

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