I froze in surprise, my mind coming to a stumbling halt. The word's he had said were so blunt, so random, so unexpected, I was stumped. He was, in all honesty, a random man I had just met. Sure, he was one of my figurative hero's that had saved my life, but still a stranger, nonetheless. I mean, how was I supposed to answer him?
And speaking of answering, he looked a bit anxious, almost worried he had made a mistake in saying such a thing. I would have chuckled if I was watching this exchange as if this was some other kid who had been given this offer - but it was me instead. Hm, unexpected but not unnecessarily unwelcomed. Maybe I could gain something from saying yes?
So, slowly, I looked to him. Peering into his eyes for any signs of deceit or to determine this as some sort of weird joke. But all I saw was seriousness, worry, anxiety, and many more emotions stirring within those orbs. Sure, I wasn't exactly someone who cared for trying to figure people's emotions out by reading their facial expressions or the looks in their eyes, but I could get glimpses of stuff if I actually paid attention.
And thus, we stared at each other in relative silence. Technically it wasn't silent, with all the monsters roaring below, the gunfire, explosions and so fourth - not really any semblance of the word 'quiet'. Though, our staring seemed to hold a certain volume. He could tell I was I was trying to figure out what he was getting at, and I knew he knew.
Which led to him sighing and nervously rubbing the back of his head. Giving an apologetic look my way as he gazed at me with an expression I couldn't quite determine.
"Listen, kiddo, I know this is all so sudden, but I have a reason as to why I'm asking you." 'Marcus squatted down to my height, gazing into my eye's, carefully choosing his words.' "This world is unforgiving, ruthless, and downright scary. The fact you've been alone, outside the walls, surviving all by yourself...it's a miracle in its own right."
His gaze turns somber, putting a hand onto my shoulder and softly squeezing it.' "And I'm sure you've seen some things that'll help you understand what I'm getting at." 'Which I had to nod, agreeing that I had seen some stuff that made me realize that this world was not safe. I wasn't blind, nobody would build such giant walls for fun. They built them for a reason, and it was obvious as to why...
Upon seeing I knew what he meant, he gave a small smile, a sad yet hopeful one.' "That's why I need to do this, in hopes that maybe I can keep you safe." 'Turning his head to the side, he looks to the opposite direction of the battle, to the inner parts of the giant city laid before us.' "Down there, in the streets, poverty is to be expected." 'He looks to me, a more serious expression adorning his face.' "You may have been surviving in the wilderness, but living on the street's will be just as hard. Thieves, hunger, the cold, a lot to worry about."
With a resigned sigh he stands up, gazing to the sky.' "Honestly, saying no would not be a good choice for you. I mean - I am giving you an option, but would you really want to be living on the streets as a bum?"
Vague and blunt, and damn was it working. I mean, I had no clue as to how this world functioned. Maybe poverty was a really big thing here, not like it was nonexistent from where I came from. But what if it was worse here? Heck, I really didn't have a choice. I had no credentials, no parents, friends, nothing. This was probably the best viable option; one being served to me on a silver platter.
This left me in a bit of a pickle. On one hand, I could try surviving on my own, nomad style - but as a homeless child, maybe get into an orphanage. Or! I could say yes and just become his kid - a child being adopted by a random person. Not exactly uncommon when it comes to adoption. Adoption is usually putting your trust in the parent - with the adoptive parent or parents doing the same.
And so, leaving me with little choice, I nod.' "Yeah, I uhm - guess so? I mean, it's..." 'I sigh' "Thank you." 'I didn't really have much to say besides yes and thank you. I knew this was going to be a new task for him that he was not familiar with. I could tell with the way he seemed so nervous about it!
Thus, leading Marcus to smiling in surprise and jubilation, but the worry was still there. He knew he had signed himself up for something that he didn't expect - especially in such a young stage of his life. "Th-that's great! Damn great! I mean, dang great!"
Huh, trying not to cuss in front of me to set a good role model image. Already a few brownie points in my book. Maybe this won't be so bad after all? Eh, the worst that could happen is that he's a secret serial killer. Hopefully it doesn't end up like that, and I swear to God if I just jinxed myself, I am going to scream!
And thus we stood in relative silence, just staring at the battle happening before us. Some popcorn would have been nice for this. Maybe a camera or some sort of device to record this battle for later viewing?
~~~
Over time the battle slowly started to die down. It was more of a slaughter for our supposed 'oppressors' then it was for us. I felt barely any pity for the foul things that had tried making me their snack. Such feelings were reciprocated whenever I glanced at anyone else watching from atop the wall. Heh, suck it you ugly creatures of evilness! You've got nothing on us and our big guns!
Said monsters had all been pretty much obliterated to smithereens. But such an assumption was wrong. From what I saw, people were leaping over the walls to go down to the battlefield. I actually had to move up to the railings to see what they were doing. You'd think being so high up would make it difficult to see what they were doing, and it was somewhat true. That said, it didn't stop me from trying.
So, I peered at a woman that had approached a mangled corpse. Already holding a sword out, only to thrust into the beast with a swift stroke of her blade. And that's when she inserted her other hand in, taking out something I could barely make out. It seemed an odd hue of purple, was it a gem? Treasure? Some sort of valuable intestine? Such questions made me look closer, and I was bit surprised.
Whatever she was holding softly glowed, only for her to crush it in her grip. She then repeated this process with a few more corpses, before inevitably holding onto any other objects she grabbed out of the bodies lying on the battered and bloodied dirt beyond the walls. I had absolutely no clue what she was doing, but questions had already been running through my head at a mile per second. Or well, as fast as my mind could work.
I had questions to ask, but my attention had been diverted to my two saviors. Realizing that the man that had healed my hands wasn't alone. Another taller man was standing next to him, and I immediately recognized him, only to point and exclaim in glee' "You were bad-ASS! Like, the first time I saw you swing your sword, I barely got to duck down to avoid being beheaded, then I saw you like, kill that other monster and behead it instead!" 'Rushing up I just spread my arms out, smirking with an amused and excited look in my eyes.'
"TEACH ME!" 'I loudly exclaim, jumping in place. ...What? He beheaded a giant beast the size of a truck with a single swing of his BLADE, I had every right to act immature for someone my age! ...Even though I was older on the inside then the outside...'
Such an energetic exclamation of wanting to be taught made the other man stumped. Only to crack a smirk, patting his friends' shoulder.' "Heh, seems I've got a fan already." 'Laughing jovially, he smacked his friends shoulder a few more times before finally relenting.'
Said other man just sighed at his friend's antics, seemingly already accustomed to his more boisterous friend's nature. Jeez, were these guys related or something? Mmm, nah, I didn't see it. The one who healed me seemed more of a laid-back person and a likely jokester, the other guy seemed to be overly loud and happy. Hehe~, gives me an idea. Best to use my innocence to tease them~!
Knowing what to do I began to tilt my head, humming in supposed 'innocent' curiosity.' "Are you two in a relationship? 'I oh so 'innocently' ask, inwardly chuckling when I saw them freeze on the spot, the taller man sputtering in indignation and turning away with a slight blush, and the smaller shorter man freezing like a statue. As if having a thousand-yard stare, and said stare made me have to hold back a snort of amusement.'
Both of them then awkwardly rubbed the back of their heads, looking to me in exasperation. The taller man clearing his throat as he coughed into a fist, and he began to speak.' "A-ah, o-of course! We're great friends after all!" 'He bumped shoulders with his other friend, trying to make sure he was making sure his friend understood what he was trying to do.'
Which seemed to work as he snapped out of whatever stupor he was in, quickly nodding.' "Yep kiddo, best of friends! I mean, our relationship is pretty great!" 'Clearing his throat he looked away, whistling and trying not to make me notice his barely noticeable blush.
...Huh, so my teasing had an unexpected result. I was just wanted to honestly screw around with them for a bit. I didn't expect them to actually be embarrassed about it. Hell, they DID say they were the best of friends, not even denying it. Hm, we're they trying to play it off and think I didn't know what I was talking about? Eh, I'll just play along for now...
Which led to me nodding and acknowledging their words.' "Oh, that's great! Best friend's is a great thing! You two look very happy together." 'Heh, that made them just sputter even more. Hehe, I knew just the right words to mess around with them. I didn't want to blow my cover, if I could conceal myself a bit, they'd be perfect targets to tease!
Even though this was funny and all that, I think it was time we introduced ourselves.' "Oh, um, my name's Zarus by the way. Thank you for uh, saving me." 'Only to realize how embarrassing this was, and I realized I was feeling a bit shy. I could definitely be a people person, but I was a mix of an extrovert and an introvert. So, boy was this a bit awkward now that I realize it.'
Both gentlemen seemed to realize that I had given my name, so they got out of whatever embarrassment they had, deciding to give me their names as well.' "Ah, just glad to see you're okay." 'Looking to the smaller man he just smiled, smirking as he walked up and ruffled my hair.' "The name's Marcus, and this big lug" 'He points to the taller man' "Is Carter, biggest goofball there is, and your so-called hero." 'Upon realizing he was being called out, he just smirked, sticking out his tongue like a child. Much to mine and Marcus's amusement.'
Oh boy was my life going to change, for better or worse...