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 Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2010 5:09 pm
✖An Unexpected Surprise Jerrik's careful eyes studied the Commons as he walked through the bustling port town of Witness. Some sneered at him. Others even spat in his direction. While some were just too scared of his hulking form and moved out of his way as he moved through the crowed. The armor that adorned his body clinked against each other with each step he took. He really did hate being here. Around so man Commons. It was enough to make any sane Garrion chew off his own head. Or a Common's head. He smirked at that thought, revealing a line of razor sharp teeth and was pleased when a few Commons, close by him, made a squeaking sound and ran off in the opposite direction.
Sighing, he finally came to his destination and shook his head. He would never understand why someone would choose to live in such conditions. Why they left their home to live, and serve, those who would sooner give you up than to protect you. No matter, this was an old friend of his and he was here because she needed help with something. What, he wasn't sure. Slipping to the back of the worn down building, as instructed, he tapped lightly on the old, worn door. He heard some shuffling around and a few minutes later the door creaked open.
"Amice..." Jerrik sucked in a breath as he took in the features of his old friend. "What have they done to ye?" His jaw twitched with the need to rip into whoever's throat was responsible for his old friend's condition. The hatred for the Commons could be seen in Jerrik's eyes and Amice shook her head at him.
"Come. Come in old friend." Amice muttered as she opened the door further and wobbled back into her small house. "I'm sick, Jerrik. That much must be obvious." She said as she sat down in an old rocking chair. Jerrik followed Amice into the small house. Eying the dying fire he stooped to add more wood then took a seat across from Amice in an equally old chair. "Thank you..." She muttered as she pulled her wings closer to her body, as if to keep her warmth from escaping her body. "I am sorry for dragging you here. I know how much you hate this place. I fear, though, I have no other choice. My dear husband is dead and I fear I am soon to follow."
Jerrik frowned, his warrior heart not really sure how to handle such news. One side of him wanted to grieve the loss of such an old friend already. However, another side of him, the hardened warrior, said to move on and forget about it. She was, after all, going to a much better place than she currently was in. He would deal with these emotions later. Had to. Right now, he was here because of a wish from his friend. He would see to her wish and then worry about his own emotions. "What is it you want from me Amice? Take you home? Give word to family? What?"
Amice sighed and shook her head. "No, I have no family left to go back to. Might as well stay here." As she said that a faint crying could be heard from a room further back in the small building. "Excuse me, friend." She said as she forced herself up out of the chair and toward the sound of the crying. A few minutes later she emerged, slowly, from the room with a small child in her arms. "This. This is why I have asked you here." She held her arms out, revealing the Garrion child wrapped up in old blankets. The kid couldn't have been more than 10 months old.
Despite the conditions of his living quarters he looked pretty healthy to Jerrik. However, the Garrion warrior was confused. What could Amice possibly think he could do for such a small child? Surely she didn't want him to take him in. A warrior take in a baby? However, his suspicions were confirmed when Amice started talking again, not stopping 'til she was finished with her story. About how her husband had died shortly after the baby was born. How ever since then her health had started to fail her. She had given the baby all of her own food, cared for him the best she could. Now though, she was dying and she didn't want him to end up in a Common orphanage. Didn't want her baby, her flesh and blood, to be treated like trash.
Despite his misgivings, Jerrik finally agreed to take the child. His hard heart had melted the instant he'd held the small thing in his rather large arms. "I will miss you dearly my old friend." Jerrik said as he looked up from the baby and at Amice. "I'll do my best." Amice nodded in response and said her goodbyes. The last thing she said to him was to tell him the baby's name. She only really had one condition, that Leif, that was his name, take Jerrik's last name. Of course Jerrik had agreed.
With his business done he hurried out of that retched town and back to his own home. It had taken a few days to get back but he was glad when he stepped into his own home. Sighing, he looked down at the bundle in his arms and shook his head. "Just what have I gotten myself into?" He asked aloud as he allowed his thoughts to wonder to his friend he'd never see again.Word Count; 933
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Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2010 8:15 pm
✖Enter, the Dumbass Jerrik had arrived home late at night. No one seeing him enter the village with the small child in his arms. He wondered what others would think of him taking in something so fragile. Really, he was now beginning to wonder what he had been thinking when he'd agreed to this. He didn't know a thing about how to take care of a child. He'd settled down that night, thankful that the baby seemed to stay content through the rest of the night.
The next morning he awoke to a knock at his door. Stretching his limbs out he rose from bed and lazily made his way to answer his door. As he opened the door he was shoved back as Belial forced his way into the house. "Jerrik you old fool! Where have you been?" Jerrik rolled his eyes at the younger warrior and hurried to shut him up.
"Lower your voice, damn it." Jerrik muttered as he flinched and listened for the crying sounds of Leif waking up. Thankfully, no sounds came from the room Leif was sleeping in and Jerrik let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding.
Belial rose an eyebrow and looked in the direction that Jerrik had been watching and listening. "What have ye got back thar?" Belial asked, curiosity instantly taking over the younger Garrion's mind. "Were you off finding yourself a female?" Belial's sharp edged smile widened at the prospect of a female Garrion being around. Though there were others in town, they were either warriors or spoken for. Belial knew Jerrik would never settle down for one woman. Without waiting for any comments from Jerrik he started to make his way into the back of Jerrik's home.
"What the hell are you doing?" Jerrik muttered as he took off after Belial. "Stop lurking through my home!" It was all he could do just to not smash the Garrion's head in. He hated people who snooped. He also wasn't sure he wanted the most annoying warrior to find out he now had a baby to take care of. Before he could stop Belial, though, he arrived to the room where Leif was still, amazingly, sleeping.
"What the..." Belial's armor clinked as he came to a sudden stop. "Is that what I think it is?" He sneered as he looked back at Jerrik and laughed. "Where'd...THAT...come from?" He asked with such hate Jerrik wanted to rip the Garrion's head off its shoulders. Already, the protective instincts of a father had taken root inside the warrior's heart.
"THAT, my idiot friend, is a baby." Jerrik said as he shoved past Belial and over to the now waking Leif. Just as he went to pick Leif up, Belial shoved Jerrik roughly to the side. A low growl escaped Jerrik's mouth at being treated so in his own home. The Garrion really was asking for it.
The growl intensified as Belial picked the baby up out of it's crib. Holding Leif up into the air, he tilted his head to the side. "What in the hell are you doing with a baby?" He blurted out as Leif seemed to mock Belial's movements of his head. Belial bounced Leif a few times, as he inspected him more. Small black wings poked out of the baby's back and fluttered with each small movement. Jerrik watched as Leif's mouth opened, revealing a mouth already full of razor sharp teeth. As Belial lowered the baby down Leif reached out and latched onto the Garrion's arm. Tightly. Howling in pain, Belial's grip slipped from the baby's waist, however Leif did not let go, instead, he clamped hard down onto the stupid warrior's arm.
Jerrik let out a huge laughter as he watched the scene play out before him. With each moment, he grew to like this kid even more. Even at 10 months old, the kid seemed to know who to attack. "You're an idiot Belial." Jerrik muttered as he finally intervened and pried Leif away from the warrior's arm. Blood instantly gushed out of the open wounds on the man's arm. "C'mon. Lets get that cleaned up so you don't bleed all over my floor." Jerrik said as he held Leif close to his side and headed off to get some bandages. In no time, Belial's wound was cleaned and wrapped up. Preventing the stupid fool's blood from flowing on to Jerrik's floor.
The Garrion guest eyed Leif, who was now sitting on the floor and playing with random things Jerrik had thrown down there. Really, Jerrik needed to stock up on supplies for the boy. "What the ******** is with that thing?" Belial managed to get out as he rubbed his clawed hands together. For a warrior, that's suppose to be tough, Belial looked like he was about to pee his pants.
Jerrik scoffed. "You shouldn't have done that to him." A smile spread across his face, his jagged teeth shining through. "He is a vicious little booger, is he not?" Jerrik asked as he looked back up at the terror in Belial's face. Maybe having the tike around wouldn't be so bad after all.Word Count; 858
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Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2010 9:48 pm
✖Curiosity of a Child After that first day, news traveled fast through the small town Jerrik currently called home. The warrior everyone seemed to fear didn't seem so fearful anymore. A child now lived with him. Of course, rumors were spread about the child as well. Though Jerrik tried to squash those as soon as he heard them. Tips and suggestions were given from the various mothers in the village and soon, Jerrik was going at the father thing like a pro. Each day brought him a bit closer to the orphan he'd taken into his house so reluctantly.
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Over three years later and Jerrik had bonded even more with Leif. Reluctant as he was to leave him by himself he even took the child with him to training. Leif would sit and watch his father train his body, and mind, against all kinds of attacks. The little mind took in every detail and stored it away for future use he had yet to realize was coming. Leif was known as the quiet one of the village. He didn't pick fights, despite being around mock ones all his life.
A curious creature by nature, Leif was full of questions that he constantly threw at his dad. "Why do you fight?" Leif asked one day, completely catching his dad off guard. "I fight for you." Jerrik answered simply, not wanting to go into much more detail for fear of scarring the child at too early of an age. Oh how he wished he could shelter this boy forever but knew that it'd do him no good to be treated that way.
Days went by and Jerrik had put off hunting for far too long. He didn't like leaving Leif behind but knew that he couldn't bring him along on a hunt for food. Jerrik would be too distracted. Trying to keep an eye on both his son and his prey. No, it wouldn't due for him to be distracted. So with a heavy heart, Jerrik left Leif with a female Garrion, he knew would be trustworthy, and headed out for the hunt.
Leif kept quiet as he watched his dad head out the door of the Garrion lady's house he'd left him at. He was curious as to why he was being left behind when his dad usually drug him every where with him. His little brain running through all kind of possibilities and situations. Was he leaving him? Was he going to see someone important? These questions filled Leif's head and he tried to get answers from the Garrion ordered to watch him. "Where ith my daddy going?" He asked innocently. The Garrion lady shook her head and continued on with her work, refusing to answer the little boy's questioning eyes.
This did nothing to sooth Leif's curious mind. So like any good kid, he decided to sneak off and follow his father. While his keeper was busy, with her back to him, Leif quickly snuck out of the house and made his way into the forest that his father and a few other warriors had disappeared into. Soon, he could hear the foot steps and the light clink of armor ahead of him and knew he was close to finding his father.
Leif was careful not to make a sound, lest his father find him and punish him for disobeying him. He crept closer, holding his breath in attempts to keep his advances secret. Leif's eyes widened when the small group came into his line of vision. The small boy stopped in his tracks and watched as the three warriors descended up a few Common folk. Sure Leif knew his diet consisted mainly of the Commons but he had never actually seen a kill before. A small gasp escaped Leif's lips, giving away his position to the warriors in front of him.
With a growl, they all three turned, ready to pounce. Leif fell back at the sight of their eyes, seemingly glowing brightly in the dim light of the forest. "s**t!" Jerrik muttered as he shoved the other two warriors back away from his son. "What are you doing here Leif?!" Jerrik wiped the sleeve of his clothing across his mouth, cleaning any blood that might be smudged there from the kill. "I thought I told you to stay put?" Jerrik asked as he knelt down in front of his son, intentionally putting himself between his son's line of sight and their kill.
Curious, and ignoring Jerrik's question at first, Leif leaned slightly to the right and looked over his father's shoulder. After the initial shock of seeing the fearsome warriors bringing down their pray had worn off, Leif had became even more curious. His eyes watched as the two Garrion warriors stalked back over to the bodies now laying on the ground and picked them up. They headed in the direction of the town. Still, one body was left. His little mind wondered who it was for as he looked back at his dad. "Ish that ours?" Leif asked of his dad.
Jerrik was caught off guard with how calm Leif seemed to be. Despite Leif having seen the warriors train constantly he had lead a pretty sheltered life. It never ceased to amaze Jerrik at how calm and collected the boy was around things like this. It only served to remind of what he was and what he could possibly accomplish in the future. "Yes." He finally answered as he stood up and ruffled the boy's hair some. "But you shouldn't have followed us. You could have been hurt." Jerrik hurried to pick up the body and started walking back to the village. His free hand reached out to Leif's own, small hand that had yet to be stained with the blood of his victims. For this small while, he could enjoy being a child and not have to worry about things that Jerrik wished didn't exist.
"Yesh dad.." Leif muttered as he took his father's hand and walked back to the village with him.Word Count; 1,005
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