hadriel_logs | Event Log: The Hope of a Child

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Event Log: The Hope of a Child

Who: All characters participating in the event
What: The event log for the The Hope of a Child event
Where: All over the city!
When: January 23rd-Feb 1st
Warnings: Youths

By now, the gods have probably done enough weird crap to you while you're asleep for you to be a little suspicious- but it's not like you can just not sleep, especially when there are a few supernatural forces making your eyes droopy and your body feel heavy.

And now, when you fall asleep, you'll wake up somewhere else and you'll likely have quite a different temperament- you'll be younger, maybe a little more naive and innocent, and you won't exactly remember all the wild stuff that's happened to your adult self. Maybe now you'll be a little more trusting and emotional, hm? The gods could definitely use a little boost in power, and what better way to do it than to harness the power of overemotional kiddos!

Or maybe you aren't affected at all and find yourself surrounded by youths. What are you going to do when your best friend doesn't know how to cook for themselves? Or your bitter rival is throwing a temper tantrum because they broke their favorite toy? Nobody asked for this kind of responsibility, but think about what would happen if nobody was around to take care of these babies...

► This log covers January 23rd-Feb 1st.
► Feel free to make your own logs as well!
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► If you trip over a kid and die, please let us know here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

... You knew?

「He stares at her for a moment, not really knowing what to say. How is it that she knew? And even more, how... did she know he didn't want to be alone?」

You shouldn't have. It's cold...

[The girl gives him a skeptical look.]

You shouldn't, either. It is not safe out here. Not only is it cold, there are things that can eat you.

[And yet, here she is, just like him.]

I know. I just want to go home... They need me there.

「He pads to her, in fact, he attempts to walk pass her — he needs to go back and start following the other side of the river, maybe then he'll find something — but even in the dark it's obvious to see her naked feet and how much she's shivering.

He stops. He stares at her for what seems to be a long time, scanning her more than actually seeing her with reproaching eyes.

With a tired sigh, he starts taking off his footwear.」

Put t-these on.

You will. That is not something you need to worry about now.

[Her visions aren't that strong, but it's more of a sense that she has about this. A lingering intuition that she's always had, be they something as small as a pot falling or as big as a woman nearly being run over by a carriage. It just happens.

[Yehudit's eyes widen slightly at Atem's offer.]

N-no, you shouldn't! [She ducks her head, arms pinned at her sides.] It... It's okay, I-I'm used to this.

「But... no, he needs to worry about it now!

How dare she say no to a king... He frowns.」

D-don't be stubborn. 「lawl, hello, kettle.」 Mine hurt anyway...

[It's because he's a king that this just doesn't feel right. She's never met royalty before, and while she'd never involved herself with the politics, it was impossible for her to shut out the noise of people on the streets. Workers, soldiers, threats of a siege...

[Her fingers tighten around the fabric of her clothes.]

There's a... c-cave nearby, against the rocks over th-there.

[She points the way. How she knows this without having strayed far from Atem... Well, those are details she thoughtlessly omits.]

「She doesn't take the sandals but Atem doesn't put them on back again, he wasn't lying when he said his feet hurt, unused to walk through such terrain for long, so he just carries them instead.

He glances towards the general direction she speaks of, turning to look at her with doubtful eyes, how does she... know that? But he has no reasons to doubt Yehudit, she's been a good friend, and she's there, when no one else is, he's more thankful about that than his little frowny face can express at the moment, however. He gives her a little nod, starting on that route. Even if he really wants to go back to the town and start again, it might not be the wisest, not in the cold, or the dark. They had been lucky not to find any monster so far.」

[Indeed, she would rather not risk them running into any creatures in the dark. There are many that are hungry, and wouldn't hesitate to rip a child to ribbons. Yehudit wouldn't blame them, but that isn't how she wants to die. Actually, she doesn't want to die at all, but that's inevitable, isn't it...?

[Without another word, she starts to head towards the cave, jaw clamped shut to keep her teeth from chattering in the cold. She can barely feel her feet over the freezing earth, so much so that she can't tell just how badly damaged they may be. They've stopped bleeding a long time ago, but the prospect of rest has her limping, nearly stumbling on her way to shelter.]

「He has to notice how bad she's limping, he cannot see her suffer like that, it adds a terrible weight to his already heavy heart. She came all the way for him, so this is his fault, he needs to mend it, somehow.

Atem stops her, placing his hand on her shoulder, then he crouches before her, showing her his back.」

H-hop on. I will not go on until you do.

[She knows he's not lying, or just saying that. Either they stand out here and freeze to death or she gets off her feet for a change.

[Reluctant, Yehudit steps forward, wrapping her skinny arms over his shoulders and linking them before she concedes. There's no time to talk about how undignified this is, more so for Atem's sake than her own.]

Ready...

[Fortunately, she's hardly heavier than a little sack of flour.]

「He's carried Mana like this many times before, this is nothing for him, in fact, she's much, much lighter, even though she's older. Plus she's warm enough for him to appreciate the closeness. He secures her so she won't fall and sets way to the small cave as fast as his tired and numb legs allow him. He tries very hard not to think of how much his own feet hurt, he cannot complain, especially not after how badly Yehudit's looked. He's so spoiled, so dumb... Surely his father wouldn't like it, that needed to end.

Sooner than later they make it into the cave — he remains outside for a second before going in, scared at the though of even more darkness surrounding them, but the cold chills him to the bone. He drops the girl gently on the ground, close to a wall. Before she can say a thing, he sits next to her, bringing his cape around her.」

[Once she's off her feet, Yehudit feels her muscles go limp as she rests against Atem's back. Between the silence and her own pain and fatigue, she almost falls asleep right then, but is roused when he sets her down. She quickly curls up, gripping the cape he drapes over her shoulders, and glances over to him sitting beside her with a half-lidded look.]

Aren't you... cold, too? [Neither of them are exactly well-dressed for this hour of night. Well, maybe Yehudit more than Atem, with her robes and all.]

I-I'm fine. 「But he does lean on her a little as he hugs his knees, seeking for some heat. His thoughts barely on himself and more in home and her.」

Sleep. I'll keep you s-safe.

[Yehudit doesn't believe that for a second, and she doesn't need to see things that most people do not to know that.

[Taking the cape by the edges, the girl links her arms around Atem's neck again, her cheek pressing to his shoulder. Only this time it's to help share the warmth. Even if her skin is colder than it should be, it's better than before.]

I am s-sorry. I-I didn't want you to be-- ah... alone.

「He curls up a little more against her when she wraps his arms around him, she might be cold, but it's only a matter of time that heat starts rising, right? He can only hope that. She said that already but hearing again doesn't make it any easy either, it's a little reminder that he is alone anyway. Whether he's with people or not, his most important person is gone.

It's good that the cave is dark, he doesn't have to have the fact that he's let tiredness and sadness take over for a moment as hot silent threads run down his cheeks.」

[It's dark, but that doesn't mean Yehudit is deaf and numb to Atem's grief.]

I am sorry-- [she says the words again, but different this time, as her arms squeeze around him she includes:] --for your loss.

[He never said anything about losing anyone, but he doesn't have to. Not even with Yehudit, who feels what she feels and sees what she sees when they are not her own emotions and experiences.]

「She holds him tighter and he cannot contain himself, he's so awfully tired to put on the mask — a metaphorical one at that — it's heavy and he doesn't want to carry it right now. He allows himself to be held, and moreover, he allows himself to mourn his dad as any other child would. A few tears he had shed over the past days, but never so abundant. He didn't want to worry his friends, he didn't want to seem weak, his father wouldn't like it and his people wouldn't want a weak Pharaoh. He had heard them, the whispers along the corridors, wondering about his capabilities, about his age, if he would be able to take the responsibility of if his Visier would have to do it all. He had to show them he could follow his father's steps.

It takes him more than a moment to realize that he never told her about his father's passing, maybe, it's just so very obvious, later, he might realize that she already told him how she told people things she shouldn't know. But right now, he doesn't really care, he doesn't need to explain why he's so heartbroken and it helps.」

[This is who she is supposed to be. Not as Yehudit, but as Ravine. To be a comforting force during the hardest period of one's life -- or, rather, their death. People process their grief differently, as she will find when she is Ravine much later in life.

[For now, she is Yehudit. She is that strange little girl who fears what she will say and yet can't hold back. Not when she sees someone hurting so bad. And if Atem had been alone, it would have been so, so much worse, wouldn't it.]

There is no need to be ashamed. The hurt is a process. [She knows this well, not as Ravine, but as a child being raised in harsh conditions under harsh times. Yehudit doesn't move when she speaks, just rests her head against his shoulder and offers her own to cry on.] You will be a good king.

[The way she says this, they aren't mere words of assurances. She tells him like they are indeed facts.]

Edited 2018-03-09 03:49 (UTC)

You-- 「You don't get it... 」

I c-cannot... 「They can't see me like this... He's supposed to see this divine being, not a sad child. But instead of refuting a little more because how can he possible be a good king when he is this weak — he's too tired to do it anyway — he takes the unspoken offer, burying his face on her shoulder. She sounds so convinced about what she says, could it be true someday? Can he make his dad proud? It's a little hard to believe right now.」

[Yehudit gets it a lot more than he would think. Not from personal trials and tribulations, but from what she can't help but see in people. Both the good and the bad.

[She brings her hand over the back of his head, offering solace through her actions as much as her words.]

Do not worry. I won't tell. [An unnecessary promise, but sensing his trepidation so much on what others would think of their king like this, she feels that Atem needs to hear it.] You are a good person. That is what matters.

「She won't tell... That's more appreciated than he can express at the moment — even though he squishes her a little tighter when she says so — she's not wrong, hearing it helps. She's certainly not the first one who had offered her help or a shoulder (less literal) to cry on, in Hadriel and at home, but at this point, maybe, she might have been the first one he allows in. It's probably the tiredness and the strangeness of the situation in which he can no longer keep himself together. While he doesn't really do other much than let his silent tears fall, he doesn't quite restrain himself from it either, taking comfort in the company of his new friend. There is no need for him to explain anything to her, or at least, it doesn't feel necessary, and it also helps. It's like, if she knew what he's feeling.

So long passes before the boy falls dozes off, fortunately the night is short and sooner than later the air doesn't feel as chilly as before. At least, maybe, they can rest more comfortably now.」

[Even as he falls quiet, she doesn't let go. Perhaps Yehudit just remembers the way her mother or father would hold her when she was first assaulted by the many thoughts inside her head, unable to tell the difference between which is hers and what belongs to someone else. It's hard, even now, to live with that. Is the pain she feels even her own at all?

[Yet she's reluctant to tell Atem this, afraid that he might feel like her empathy means any less or that he would reject her if she did. In a way, she's selfish, not wanting to be alone.

[Despite her determination to stay awake long enough to look after him, before long the girl drifts to sleep as well. The images in her head are but flickers of another's memory rather than dreams.

[When Atem wakes, Yehudit will still be there, nestled against his side and bundled in the cape he had lended her again. Her arms having slid under his arms and her head rested to his chest, both for warmth and comfort.

[She really misses her parents...]

Edited 2018-03-17 05:17 (UTC)

「He tried so hard to stay awake, he had told her he'd keep her safe after all, but, sadness can be absolutely exhausting. It hardly is a restful sleep, but it's better than what he'd had gotten so far. It's strange, however, to wake in such unknown location, and actually holding someone. It takes him a moment to get his bearings. Ah, yes, the pain in his little feet is enough to remind him of everything.

He doesn't move too much so he doesn't wake her up. She, of the two, is the one who seemed to need the rest the most. At least he doesn't feel like bursting into tears anymore. In fact, it was like he didn't feel much of anything, he can't say he likes this better.」

[She doesn't hold it against him for falling asleep. Yehudit tried to do the same, but in the end they were both just as tired, and the brief darkness of night was oddly comforting as daylight flashes over.

[Atem doesn't have to wait very long before Yehudit starts to wake as well. It takes her more time to remember where she is, who she's with, and what happened. And when it reality finally dawns on her, her heart skips and she jerks away from Atem.]

S-sorry. [She rubs her eye with the back of her hand, now alert from embarrassment.]

You say sorry a lot...

「It's not accusatory, at least. It's just a thing that he might have caught on in that moment, in which his mind seems a bit more calm, a little blank, even. Thoughts pile up but don't seem to stay for long, his main concern, going home, even seems a little distant.

It is really hard trying to fall asleep again with how the day already is shining, it's a force of habit, staying awake when there is daylight, not that he doesn't wish he could sleep a little more.」

How did you know, where I was?

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