|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2016 12:00 pm
A Boy Brushed Red"Seven days?" he asked, arms folded over one another on the kitchen table. He'd poured them both a glass of milk, a reach for normalcy among the strange, but he hadn't touched it yet. Shiloh's story of returning to the court made it hard to pretend like nothing was wrong.
Picking at the skin of his arm, he hmm'd under his breath.
"What's... going to happen?"
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2016 2:28 pm
A Boy Brushed Red
"That's what it—Pax—said." Shiloh tested the words carefully in his mouth, glazing over the exhaustion that stuck to every syllable. The past few nights since escaping court felt like a contiguous blur. He couldn't tell anything apart; what was real? What was dreams?
He looked out the window at the freshly risen sun, sky still streaked in crimsons and violets.
"I don't know..." he admittedly quietly, "It said not to make plans or go anywhere. It's..." Shiloh shrugged, clicking his nails against the glass, wanting to take a sip but hesitating. "Fair game, I guess."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2016 2:59 pm
A Boy Brushed RedJamie was the first to break the unspoken embargo on their milk, taking a short sip and wondering why it already tasted warm. He knew it had to be mental, an anxious reaction ruining his tastebuds, but he put the glass down in vague disappointment.
"Pax... Heliodora's handmade. She said it protected her so... maybe we can trust it." Head slouching into his hand, he realized Shiloh might not recall who Heliodora was. "Anyway, um... you should stay here. I-I mean, it might be safer not to risk going out in case something crazy happens."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2016 3:41 pm
A Boy Brushed Red
Jamie broke the ice first and Shiloh immediately followed suit, motions fluid despite the shakiness in his hand. The milk doesn't taste warm. It doesn't taste cold. It tastes viscous in his mouth—thicker than water—like the consistency is all wrong. He nearly gags, but he doesn't. It wouldn't be graceful.
"It's... one of the deer siblings," he added to the thought, "Though I... I never did meet The Sorrowful one, I don't think..." he shakes his head.
"It said we were... Nobles. Like, of the court." the glass nearly slipped from his hand, palm sweaty with anticipation. "I-I don't..." Shiloh's shoulders slumped. "I don't... get it. It said we would be mentors, teachers, it..."
Shiloh was still overwhelmed with the information of it all. He shook his head.
"It mentioned Moonwalkers, too." he added dryly.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2016 5:54 pm
A Boy Brushed RedThere was a definite difference between Jamie, who slouched like he hardly cared, and Shiloh, who still held onto the manners that had been engrained in him by Melany's hand. Not that he realized it, though he did straighten up some as Shiloh's voice grew more and more overwhelmed. He didn't mention the change, but he looked more attentive.
"Nobles... like the council from-?" he stopped, not quite wanting to bring all that up again. It made no sense not to, unfortunately. "But... I didn't get that sort of vibe from them... H-How can it just... expect you all to do this?"
Covering his face with a hand, he rubbed at his eyes, only dropping it away at that one familiar word. "Moonwalkers... W-What do we have to do with this?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2016 6:44 pm
A Boy Brushed Red
"Like the council from the Ball, yeah." Shiloh said it without remorse, but his eyes were cast downward in the subtle swirl of the milk. "I guess—Nobles can take tithes, and... if they survive the trials, they..." thrum, thrum, "They become nobles themselves. I—"
His breath hitched, poise finally breaking as his hands shot up to catch his face.
"I don't want this! I don't—"
Compose yourself Beaumont for ******** sake.
"I don't—" his shoulders shook "I... I-I do, actually. We—I—Pax said... nobles were on equal footing with each other. So Mada—"
He chokes on the word. It's still too much. He shakes his head, lips trying to mouth the bit about the Moonwalkers, but his voice refused to come to him. Pax said they couldn't hurt each other without consequence, but Melany was still such an imposing figure in his mind. The fear squeezed around his heart, and it felt very real.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2016 4:44 pm
A Boy Brushed RedIt was challenging to discuss all of this as if it were nothing more than current events in the morning paper. Jamie had tried, though. Between his stutters and his hesitation he'd made an attempt to stay cool and collected. Maybe it would make the situation easier to talk about, he thought. Maybe he was doing a good thing. Except in the end it was just too hard.
Shiloh may have been the one whose mask broke first, but Jamie wasn't far behind.
Their situations weren't exactly the same, but it yanked at Jamie's heart the way Shiloh tried to deny his apparent new station. The confusion, the fear, it was the same way he felt when Lady told him he had rabbit ears.
He scooted his chair around the table until it was right next to Shiloh's, hoping it would be a comfort and not an imposition. "W-Will she..." his voice was wavering, "leave you alone now...?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2016 6:45 pm
A Boy Brushed Red
"I don't know." His palms cradled his head. He sucked in another breath. "I don't know." he repeats like a broken record. It's a scratch that'll keep repeating forever. Buy a new one
"P-Pax said—" he attempted again, voice hoarse, cracking with something between exhaustion and fear, "Intra-clad... violence is punishable by death." he shook his head again. "Equals. We would all be equals, but—"
Shiloh was tense as Jamie moved around, head slowly lifting from his hands, eyes peeking over his fingers to look at Jamie. They're red and bloodshot and not at all beautiful. Shiloh hates how sore they feel, how sunken they feel, how much of a shell he is.
"It said... that the moonwalkers were the ones that enforced that law." he was mumbling, if only because his hands remained clasped over his mouth, "D-Did... you know that...?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2016 8:48 pm
A Boy Brushed RedPunishable by death was not a phrase Jamie ever assumed he'd be glad to hear, but in this case it certainly was. If that was so, if what Pax said was true, then Melany wouldn't be able to lay a hand on Shiloh again. Not without repercussion, at least. He hoped it wouldn't come to that, though. What he truly wanted was for Shiloh to feel safe without the cover of some death sentence law.
Leaning closer, arm just barely brushing against Shiloh's, Jamie found himself surprised a second time by the mention of moonwalkers.
"I... I heard from one of us that... he'd learned we were supposed to be protectors. Except I never really knew what that meant. No one ever told us what we were supposed to be or what we were supposed to do... We just kind of," he gestured vaguely, "ended up like this."
If Pax's words were truth, then maybe he could protect Shiloh. He was weak, but he wasn't ready to give up yet.
"I hadn't heard that... a-about enforcing that law, but..." when he looked at Shiloh, he was serious, "if it ever happened I... I'd try... I would."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2016 7:40 pm
A Boy Brushed Red
That word tasted funny in Shiloh's head and sounded sour on his tongue. "Protectors..." he echoed the sentiment as he tried to ignore the static in his mind. It was like the walls of his skull were soundproof except all the sound was inside not out. It was deafening. It was scary. Shiloh never needed protection, he was always the protector.
But then he remembered Beel and how Jamie stood up for him and how deep those cuts were in his shoulder. Actually...
"How is..." his mouth continued to move even though the words failed him, anxiety riddling him with temporary aphonia. He shook his head, reaching out with his shaking hand as he motioned to Jamie's arm with a brush. "Is...?" he repeated, voice hoarse. It's at least obvious enough that he doesn't like this situation at all. Would it be better to live life in bliss, not knowing? Ah, but if Jamie was anything like him, he would want to know what his role as a moonwalker meant.
God knew Shiloh had plenty of questions.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 6:45 am
A Boy Brushed RedPlenty of questions was almost an understatement. A lifetime of questions would've been more accurate. It was hard to tell now, huddled together at the kitchen table of his parents' place, whether either of them would get all the answers they sought, all the ones they deserved to know. The feeling of ignorance was sobering, always had been, but as selfish as it was, at least he wasn't alone in it.
"Hmm?" he questioned, not immediately catching Shiloh's meaning. Realization came quick enough, though, and the feeling that thudded against his rib cage was a mixture of gratitude and ache.
"I'm okay." Delicately touching his own shoulder, the wound bandaged beneath his shirt, he managed a smile. "It still... hurts a tiny bit, but it's really not that bad."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 8:46 am
A Boy Brushed Red
"Okay..." it's the faintest whisper of a voice, but he looks placated enough by Jamie's reassurance. With a gentle bend of his neck, he dipped his head into a gentle bump against his shoulder, letting it linger there in a show of solidarity. With an ache in his own chest, he realized he missed Noeh. He missed the routine and the stability and—
In some weird, ******** up way, he missed Melany too. He missed her praise and the sense of wholesomeness she granted him. He missed purpose. What was he now, sitting in the kitchen with Jamie?
He sighed, exhausted and obviously done speaking for the moment.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 7:50 pm
A Boy Brushed RedThere wasn't much Jamie could add to the moment. He didn't know Shiloh's thoughts, he barely knew how to parse through his own head. All he could do was react, set his own head lightly against Shiloh's and let the silence fall over them for as long as it would. Things hadn't been easy. Life hadn't been easy for either of them, not for the past eighteen years, not for the past four months, and Jamie was sure the future wasn't about to let up on them either. One step at a time, one day at a time, that's all they could do.
For now, he remained at a loss and tried to tell himself that was okay. For now, he was done speaking, as well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 7:58 pm
Just pour
It comes a day or two later, something so subtle that Shiloh doesn't even think twice about it. He's laying in his bed—well, the guest bed at Jamie's house—alone with his thoughts, trying to bear them by himself, wondering if he should reach out to the boy in the next room over. Everything feels like a flood. Worse yet are Pax's words and the anticipation of... something.
He takes a deep breath, and it smells like rain.
The window is closed, the sun is shining, but his curtains are drawn and he doesn't really care so much about the light outside. Eventually, he caves.
He knocks against the wall that splits this room from Jamie's, waiting for response.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 8:16 pm
Just pourIn his own room, Jamie was playing a game. It helped pass the time when he wanted to do other things, when his mind raced with questions, asking him why he was laying in bed when he should be up doing. Doing what? Making himself useful? He sighed, mashing the A button. Sometimes he wished he could take a vacation from his own thoughts.
That's when he heard it, though, a familiar knocking from the room next door. Without missing a beat, he closed his 3DS, the Pokemon battle theme stuttering into silence. When he knocked back it was exactly three times—there wasn't a reason for the number, not really—and waited for one last response.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
