"There once was a young _________, who lived far, far away, in a place of cold, uncaring stone." Kiddo read to himself, deep in the labyrinth, illuminated by one of the little orbs of light hovering over the tables. Not only were the illustrations completely different from anything he had every seen in a children's book, the writing was incredibly advanced as well. The story followed an undescribed main character, named only _________, who was taken by an evil god. The god would eat an enormous feast all day and night, even foregoing sleep to eat more each and every day. And _________, along with many other random people, were chained to the wall, forced to watch, while only being given bones to eat. The god would watch and laugh, seeing the scrawny prisoners gnaw on bones, weeping, just trying to stay alive, as he gorged himself on the most luxurious of foods.
_________, however, never ate any of the bones they were given. Each and every day, they just stared at the bones, never once looking up or reacting to calls from guards or the god himself. This often led to beatings or harsh verbal punishment. As time moved on, and _________ defied the god's whims more and more, his focus narrowed solely on _________. Every day, as the prisoners would beg for their bones, _________ would sit silently, staring at the ground. The god would finish a chicken, and give the bones to the first prisoner, then a pig, the bones would go to the second prisoner, and so on. As he finished a rack of lamb lamb, he threw the bones to the final prisoner, _________, one by one as he munched away. As the god kicked his fingers, finally done with the portion, he turned to _________, and saw the at they had not reacted to a single one of the bones. The god frowned deeply, and slammed his hands on the table "What is this game?" He shouted in his fit of rage, "Every day, you do not eat, you do not cry, you do not even beg! Who are you to defy my needs?" _________ didn't respond. They continued to look into their pile of bones. The god sucked the meat off of a whole leg of lamb now, and tossed the bone at _________. The bone collided directly with their head, and they snapped out of their trance, "Now let me ask you again, cretin, as you have returned to us," he snivels and spits and smacks his lips as he chews disgustingly, "How dare you survive without eating a single bit of food I have given you?"
_________ reaches their hand up as far as it can go, and brings their head down the rest of the way. They wipe their eyes, and calmly state, "I'm not hungry."
The god was enraged. His tantrum increased tenfold in magnitude, and he threw dishes and bones and whatever he could grab randomly around the room. Several of the prisoners were hit and injured, and were carted out of the room. Several were able to grab actual portions of food during the chaos, and they shared amongst themselves. As the man next to _________ tried to hand them a piece of ham, _________ did not even look at him, they just repeated, "I'm not hungry."
The behaviour during the chaos was noticed by the guards and the god, and the blame was placed solely on _________. "They are to receive daily beatings for the rest of their stay." The god ordered, "But, she can reduce the amount of beatings a day from 5 to 1 if she accepts the food that I gift her," the god offered.
But _________ was not hungry, and so they refused the bones that were forced upon her by the god, and so she received 10 beatings a day. It was obvious to the other prisoners that not even the guards approved of this, but they continued with their duties, and pounded away at _________. No matter what, three things occurred: _________ was not hungry, the guards dealt _________ brutal beatings, and _________ held on to life each night, barely breathing, covered in slashes and bruises and broken bones. As time went on, the god began giving larger and larger portions of food to the other prisoners, and still just bones to _________. "Look, look," he would say, "Look what good people get when they follow instructions. You can start now, and maybe you'll earn the same as them." It didn't matter though, because _________ wasn't hungry.
_________'s very existence, the fact that nothing seemed to thwart them, and how they never were hungry enraged the god to no end. He had never encountered anything so frustrating. So one day, after the god had finally and completely lost his patience for the girl's protest, he ordered everyone out of the room for a whole week, besides _________. The guards and other prisoners happily left to another of the god's homes without even a word of argument. As they spent the day together, they slowly began to fraternize, and they all shared a giant feast. They laughed, drank, and began to talk. That night, all of the men and women and boys and girls, unhappy with their horrible treatment, decided that they would overthrow the god. Surely, he would be distracted with _________, and would not be expecting them back until the end of the week. It would be the perfect opportunity to catch him lacking, and take him out. They went to bed that night energized, ready to surprise the god, who had grown fat and lazy.
When they arrived at the god's compound, they all got in position surrounding the god's main room, armed and prepared for a spectacular fight. The main leader of the revolt, a former veteran hardened from several tours in several different wars, opened the door and scrambled backwards. He held in vomit, and sprinted as far from the compound as he could. Inside the room, the dining table, the walls, ceiling- everything- were all coated in dripping red blood. Notably missing however, was the god himself. Or, rather, everything but the god's bones. Hunched over on top of the table, right next to the bones and breathing heavily, was _________. They wiped their mouth, and turned to those still left frozen in horror. "I lied." They muttered, and made their way out the compound.
Kiddo slowly puts the book down. The last couple pages were incredibly disturbing, and he had a hard time getting through them, despite being fascinated. He looks back in the direction he came. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, this is not a children's book, he thinks to himself. He hears a shuffling behind him, and remembers that plinth was there as well. The construct peers over Kiddo's shoulder, and as he turns around, awaits a response. "Can you read this stuff?" Kiddo asks, "I mean, like do you understand it?" Plinth nods. "It's just so," he trails off. After staring at the cover for a minute, he hops out of his chair. "Did Robahg write any other books?" He asks Plinth. The construct seems to hesitate for a moment, then shakes its head. "Interesting," Plinth nods again, "I guess I should just ask him myself. Can you lead me back to the front?" Plinth nods twice quickly, and hoists Kiddo onto his shoulder. Kiddo had to figure out what he was going to do. He thought about it as he rode to the lobby. He felt like he might be imposing on Robahg, but Shini up and left him out of nowhere. He could go somewhere through the tunnels, but then he'd just be in a different place thinking about the same thing. Plinth arrives in the lobby, and sets Kiddo down, "Thanks," he smiles to Plinth, who bows slightly. "Am I allowed to go in?" Kiddo points to the door behind the counter. Plinth scoots ahead, holding the door open and gesturing inside. Kiddo spots Robahg sitting in a cozy corner of the room, opposite to the kitchen. He looks up as Kiddo enters the room.
"Hello, Kiddo, right?" Kiddo nods, "Have you been entertaining yourself in the library? I noticed you took off pretty early."
"Yeah, Plinth has been helping me out, showing me around and stuff," Plinth nods.
He sets his book down, and takes his glasses off, "I'm very glad to hear that. You know, I made Plinth not too long ago."
Kiddo finally climbs down from Plinth's shoulders, "No, I couldn't tell. He's very experienced," Plinth blushes.
"Yes, he's done a terrific job, too marks so far," Robahg states honestly, and Plinth sways side to side, "Now, sorry to talk your ear off, did you need anything?"
"It's totally fine, and I'm sorry that this situation has kinda been forced upon you"
"Oh, that's fine," Robahg groans as he gets up from his chair, and starts making his way back to the kitchen, "This is sort of just what I do, and it's not like it's anyone's fault anyway."
"Right," Kiddo says as he follows Robahg, "I just wanted to ask if you had written any books."
Robahg laughs, "Found one of my riddle compendiums? Ah, I've got some fond memories of writing those."
"No, not exactly," Kiddo hops up onto a barstool, and places the copy of "The eye Hungry _________ on the counter. Robahg is facing away, looking in the pantry, "How many have you written."
"Well, I used to be a bridge troll, and then one day I figured," he turns around, holding a bag of flour. Immediately, he clocks the book. He immediately thinks about Shini, which Kiddo finds odd. He frowns when he sees the book, and steps to the counter, "Where'd you find this?"
"It was actually what I wanted to ask about."
"It's nothing."
"I can read minds," Kiddo admits.
"Are you playing a joke?"
"You just thought of Shini when you saw the book," that was true, which made Robahg try to not think of Shini, "that'll just make it harder to not think about her."
"Well, I have to try something," he rubs his forehead, "Alright, I'm gonna think of a riddle, and you have to tell me the answer."
Kiddo stares at Robahg for a second, "I can't guarantee that I'll-"
"Good, I'll go," he presses his fingers to his temples and focuses hard. His mind is filled with pie.
"Did you think of the riddle yet?" Robahg nods, strained, "You're just thinking about pie."
Robahg exhales deeply as he relaxes, "I know. I'm baking a pie. I'm excited."
Kiddo scratches his head, "Did I prove myself then?"
"Yes, yes I believed you when you first said it. I've just always wanted to do that." He composes himself, "Sorry, I'm not used to dealing with someone able to do that."
"Most people aren't, but they don't ever know that."
Robahg stops thinking about the pie he was going to make, "So why are you telling me?"
"Shini is," he lingers on that for a second, catching Robahg's eye, "interesting."
"She would be extremely offended if you called her that," Robahg states sternly. Kiddo makes a mental note. "What makes you say that?"
"Her thoughts are," he lingers again, "different. People usually present honest beliefs, what they really feel, in their heads."
"And Shini didn't?"
"Well, that's what I'm unsure about. It felt like there was a," Kiddo lingers again.
"Look, I have no problem with it, but try not to make a habit of those pauses."
"Sure, sorry."
"It's no big deal. I just used to use them a lot as a bridge troll. They lose the dramatic effect rather quickly," they sit in silence for a moment, "anyway, sorry, continue," he gestures forward.
"Right. It just felt like her thoughts had some kind of filter over them. And when they weren't, they were kinda troubling."
"In what way?" Robahg immediately straightens, his voice and demeanor full of hidden concern.
"Just a lot of self-doubt. Very," he looks for the right word, "overly negative, anxious-"
"Neurotic?"
"Yeah, that's it."
Robahg calms down about, but his expression remains the same, "Yes. That's normal for Shini," a timer on the counter goes off, "Pie's done," Robahg says blankly as he gets up. Kiddo follows him as he walks into the kitchen.
"And what about the book?"
"What about the book?" Robahg stops as he asks, and Kiddo bumps into him. Robahg thinks back to a time where he saw Shini effortlessly throwing her sword up and catching it.
"Got it," Kiddo looks up to Robahg, who looks over his shoulder, "Sorry." Robahg grunts, and continues on to the oven, "What kinda pie is it."
Robahg sniffles, "Plitchfruit."
"In a pie?"
"I've been on a kick recently," he puts on troll-sized oven mitts, "We'll see how it turns out. It needs to cool." He sets it on a wire rack, and throws his mitts on the counter beside it. He wipes his hands on his shirt, and turns to face kiddo, "Oop, sorry. Didn't expect you to be right behind me," Kiddo takes a step back, and Robahg steps to the side, "I'll let you know when it's done if you'd like to try it," Kiddo nods, "In the meantime, enjoy the library and help yourself to anything you want to eat."
"Even the books?"
"I would prefer if you didn't," Kiddo punched the air, "And, I uhh," he wrings his hands. It was kinda funny to see someone so big look so small, "I wrote some other books. Plinth can show you to them," Plinth squints his carved eyes and tilts his head, "It's okay Plinth, he has clearance," Plinth nods dutifully, "You're smart, alright? I bet you can put it together without asking me about any of it."
Kiddo is slightly confused, but overall intrigued, "Sure," he states hesitantly. "What happened to the other guy that came with us?"
"He will have to stay here for a while so his bones can heal," he gestures to the room Chris was staying in, "He's in there, if you want to check on him."
"Oh, gotcha. I'll let him rest for a while, but I'll definitely see how he's doing later."
"I believe that's wise," Robahg smiles, "he didn't seem in the mood for visitors."
"Yeah, I wouldn't be either. Although, I've never had my legs broken."
Robahg laughs, "Nor I, but I can certainly imagine," they share a moment of laughter, "are you both friends of Shini's? I'm sorry if I came off strong in our introduction, it was just a lot to take in."
"It's really no big deal," Kiddo scratches his head, "we all met today."
"Oh, I see. So not really friends then, eh?" Robahg smiles sadly.
"I wouldn't say that," Kiddo thinks about something for a moment, "It's just gonna depend on how open she's willing to be."
Robahg sighs, "I can hope, I suppose. I appreciate your openness towards Shini, it's not something I see very often," he frowns.
"I've never really been liked all that much either," Robahg tilts his head slightly, "I guess it's just natural for me to see past the person she's presenting," Robahg's expression softens, and he nods. "The mind reading helps a lot too."
"Gods," Robahg laughs again, "I've wished for something like that to come to me, just so I'd be able to," he sighs and shakes his head, "I bet it is incredibly helpful, not just with Shini."
"It's a blessing and a curse. But, yeah, more blessing," he taps the counter in front of him, "I tend not to try to read random people's thoughts- I feel like it's kind of invasive-"
"You don't say," Robahg raises his eyebrows, then smiles.
"Who would've thought, right?" Kiddo matches his smile with his own, "It's kinda like when you're sitting close to two people talking. Sometimes the idle chatter breaks in, even if I don't want to listen to it."
"Am I really the first person you're telling all this?" Kiddo nods, "Must've been pretty hard to keep that in for a all that time."
"I've tried to give people hints, but it's a little hard to pick up on, I guess."
Robahg nods, "Not very likely for someone to put that together with just subtleties. Or maybe some people do figure it out, but are worried about seeming crazy."
"Yeah, I guess, maybe."
"Have you wanted to tell people? I doubt you'd be giving out hints if you didn't."
"Well..." he trails off and looks away. Robahg clears his throat.
"Sure, I get it."
"Sorry," Kiddo says matter-of-factly.
"I didn't mean like that," Kiddo looks back up, confused, "I just mean that, it seems like a traumatic experience, and I'm sure it's littered with a lot of doubt from a lot of people." Kiddo purses his lips and looks down, "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." There's a silence for a while, then Robahg knocked on the counter, "Well, like I said, feel free to stay as long as you like. This is as much your home as it is mine," he beams. Kiddo can't help but smile as he looks at him.
The truth was, he did want to talk about it, and he wanted to talk about it badly. Or maybe he didn't. He wanted to get over the feelings associated with his past, and he knew he would eventually have to talk about them with someone. He knew Robahg would listen, he knew that he would care. It was different to understand, though, and no matter how much someone cares, sometimes they just don't get it. It was mean to think, and pretty reductive, but Kiddo felt strongly that there was a great bit of truth to it. It wasn't right to close Robahg out like this, especially after his generosity, but it wasn't wrong either. It just wasn't the right time, both because Kiddo wasn't read, and because he hadn't proved to himself that people were worth trusting. Outside of that, Robahg had read him like no one else ever had. He was, seemingly, able to understand a lot about Kiddo just from subtle things. If there was gonna be someone to understand, it probably was Robahg. "You said you wrote other books, yeah?" Kiddo asks as Robahg is walking back to his chair.
"Yes, Plinth can show you if you like."
"Great, thanks. I might check some of them out," Kiddo smiles, hops off his stool, and makes his way to the door.
"If you like them," Kiddo turns back, "please do let me know," he nods, "and if you don't, don't. It'll hurt my feelings."