After a short few seconds of falling, we landed onto the top of the wall. Surprisingly not being turned into mincemeat or a pile of red paste. The guy did some sort of weird trick that allowed him to slow his descent before impact. Which only proved my suspicions that people in this world had powers or were not ordinary, of course my norm for ordinary had long since combusted into flames and jumped off a cliff... e
But all that was beside the point. I was momentarily safe for the time being. Obviously, these people weren't going to hurt me - because if they had wanted to do so, they would have done something by now. And for that, I was a bit grateful. Alas, now I had to worry about the man still holding me as if I were some damsel in distress.
So, I reached up my hand, poking his cheek' "You can let me down now." 'He looked to me, raising an eyebrow in amusement' "Oh yeah? Why should I? You seem more than comfortable to be in my arms."
Any retort I was about to make halted in my mouth, the realization that I was indeed quite comfy in his grasp. Truth be told I didn't want to move a single inch. My assumption on my leg's being numb and my body being sore were utterly correct. The adrenaline from before having all but faded from my body, and any cuts and bruises still lingering with a slight sting. My hands were the worst compared to everything else.
Which led to me slowly nodding in agreement' "OK, yeah, I don't even want to walk. My feet hurt, my bodies' numb, my hands are a mess, so yeah, I would rather you keep holding me...please." 'Softly I ask, just snuggling into his embrace, just not caring at this point. Unlike most people, I barely cared about how others viewed me, alas I was in a younger kid body. So, I could tell he wasn't going to argue with my decision.
The decision to stay in his grasp appeased him, before only realizing what I just said. His mind catching up to some off the stuff that I spouted. With a glance he could see my hands, and he grimaced at the sight. They were a blooded mess, nails missing, gashes, cuts, gushing blood from deeper sliced areas. It startled him for a moment at how bad they looked. Which only made him set me down softly to start checking out my entire body.
I gave no argument, but a soft huff of disappointment at no longer being held. Of course, he just gave me an apologetic smile before tentatively grasping my hands, flipping them over, moving them around, all the while poking and prodding at other parts of me. Making me wince sometimes when he poked a certain area. One spot made me grunt in pain, the left side of my chest. I didn't realize until now that it was hurting like a bitch.
His face became more and more frustrated, and assuredly annoyed.' "The hell happened for you to end up like this? I've seen some kids get into nasty situations before, but hardly anything like this unless they've gotten into a situation they shouldn't have." 'Ugh, the worries of an adult, sweet but unneeded.'
Only, I could just nod and sigh' "Not really my fault to be honest. My uh, family was nomadic...more or less. Mom died after my dad died when hunting, mother died a few years later thanks to the same thing." 'It was a lie, but I had to give some sort of background story to appease him, which seemed to work. At least my words were somewhat more believable thanks to my childish appearance. He had no reason to doubt me, so he could only believe what I said for the time being.'
Such an explanation made him look up, and he frowned even more.' "Sorry kid, didn't know that. But I guess it explains why you look so roughed up." 'He scowled, reaching into a pouch at his waist. Grabbing out a cloth and a bottle of water, pouring some water onto the silken material to begin gently wiping some grime and dirt off my head.' "Make's sense then, how you ended up in this situation. Did you uh, have anyone else? Or was it just..." 'The man paused, words getting stuck in his throat before he grimaced.' "You." 'They finally came out, much to his displeasure.'
Looking to him I just nodded but chuckled. This guy was a big softie, I like him already.' "Yeah, it's just me. I, uh...I've been surviving on my own for a while now. More or less taught myself to read and write, plus other things to survive, but I've barely been scrapping by over the years." 'Some half-truths and lies, couldn't go telling him everything, now could I?'
Whatever I said made him just give me a pitied look, reaching up to ruffle my hair affectionately.' "Ah, life sucks sometimes kiddo. I know what loss is like, but glad to see you're handling it so well." 'That stumped the older man a bit, but he had seen his fair share of tough little pipsqueaks, so this wasn't exactly uncommon to see a child handling such strife so easily.'
Gestures of affection I had been deprived of, and I needed the touch. So I leaned into the patting, honestly just needing some means of love. Being alone so long in a forest and my life constantly being on the line just made me a bit more needy to affection and attention. Finally having someone to talk to made my day just a bit better!
And he seemed to notice, just softly smiling as he continued to tend to my cuts and bruises. Spreading what seemed to be some sort of healing salve on different cuts and bruises, while even casting some sort of healing like glow from his hands directly over my own hands. I was a bit surprised but not startled when the skin and nails on my hand began regrowing.
Honestly, I was mesmerized by the sight. This, this was magic at its finest. Or whatever they considered their powers to be in this world. What I was seeing was something that I greatly wanted. The power to help others, to strength to fight off the toughest of foes, the speed that would allow me to dash across great distances to reach those in need as quickly as possible.
Of course, he saw me staring. Which only led to him chuckling as he spoke whatever was on his mind.' "I bet you've never seen something like this before, huh? It's called an aspect, or an ability. It's some I'm proficient in. At first, I was dejected at first when I received such a power. But then overtime, it became something I treasured." 'Wistfully he looked up to the sky, staring at a passing cloud. The sounds of artillery or gunfire not even fazing him. Then, he flicked his gaze back down to mine. And that's when I began to chat with him even more...'
~~~
(POP Swap) - Marcus
When I first picked up the little guy, he seemed so light. Malnourishment must've been racking his body. I could see some definition of muscle, that was certain. But it wasn't enough, definitely not enough. I had seen my fair share of malnourished children living within the slums of bastions and strongholds and whatever you could count for as a fortress to protect the remnants of humanity.
And then there were the wounds. At first, I simply glossed over him with a glance. Then that's when I saw how tired he looked, and how his breathing seemed a bit labored. That's what led to me prodding at his little body. And it left me worried, and it wasn't no small amount of worry. Some wounds were more prominent, others superficial at best.
When I saw his hands, I felt aggrieved at the sight. Such a bloody moss, both figuratively and literally. The palms of his small little hands were a sight that was ugly. Scraped away skin, constantly leaking blood and also a ton of dried blood. Even some nails were missing. I had no clue as to how his hands turned out this way, but it gave me a few ideas.
Then there was the other cuts and bruises, most were shallow or barely noticeable. But his labored breathing gave rise to a small dose of concern. I had at first thought it was exhaustion from running away from Nightmare Creatures, only to see it was the telltale sign of something else. Leading me to prod at his chest, which got a reaction out of him.
A singular grunt of pain and a small wince. Which, truth be told, I felt somewhat...proud? Proud for him being so tough for someone so young. By estimations wise he wasn't even eleven or twelve, probably around nine or ten. But that was only an estimation on my account. I'd need to take him to someone who was actually more accustomed to treating the wounded and dealing with more medically inclined stuff.
Alas, I could tell when someone has a cracked or broken rib. He most certainly only has a cracked rib, luckily not broken. Alas I couldn't prod at it anymore unless I made it worse. Luckily thanks to my aspect I could heal his wound quite effectively. The smaller wounds and blemishes only needed a healing salve and they'd be all gone within a few hours. The hands and rib needed a touch of my ability to ensure they were better with no lingering aftereffects of healing on their own. I honestly still questioned how he got such a wound, but oh boy was I a bit surprised when he told me as soon as I asked.
Apparently, the litter bugger jumped a ravine, a small one, but wide enough to where he still didn't make it. Barely hanging on thanks to catching his fingers onto a sturdy ledge. Of course, it all made sense when he told me about that. His hand's having had their flesh scraped away as he tried grabbing a good hold of rock, or even a branch, only to slide down more and more as he tried grabbing a hold onto something. And before that, he must have smacked into the side of the ravines wall which lead to the cracked rib.
I couldn't help but praise the little guy's bravery. Most kids definitely wouldn't do that. The fact alone he did it was impressive. Which led to me giving him some candy. And yeah, he was a bit skeptical when I offered it. But as soon as I said the word 'chocolate', he all but DEVOURED it. Such a sight made me burst out in laughter. He must have been craving something sweet for a while...
I-I didn't like the fact he had no one else to rely on. The fact alone made my gut churn. When he talked about his mom and dad, I could tell he tried keeping the sadness from his words. He did good, damn good at that. But...I could hear a small tinge of loneliness in his words. The fact alone that he got over it so quickly made me even more pissed, pissed at the fact such a child had to suffer!
Maybe I appeared like a slouch and a lazy bastard on the outside. But I was definitely a busy man when it came to helping others. And seeing this small boy before me? It made me realize I had to make a choice, a choice that needed to be made. A choice that would forever change my life. One that would either be for the better or for the worse.
So, with my mind made up, I spoke some words I would have never expected to say. And his face at my sudden choice of words was all sorts of worth it...
"Kid, how about I adopt you?"
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