Prodigal [Sunil]

[Poet]

"And the days they all turn black...
And our dreams all start to fade.
But there's no turning back.

She had done it! It was done! She was out of Tyrgere, and into Aver! Well, it wasn’t the ‘into Aver’ part that mattered to Vivi, more the ‘out of Tyrgere’. After all, if she wasn’t even in the same kingdom anymore, her guardians couldn’t find her, right? Or at least they’d have a lot harder time finding her, for sure! Honestly, she was surprised that she had managed to get this far away from her house, but it was probably because she had been planning this escape for weeks, instead of the usual days. After all, she could definitely do it this time!

And she had! Vivi beamed brilliantly to herself, before turning that thousand-watt smile onto Evan, as her silent companion had stayed with her the whole time, with his steadfastness and unwavering approval. He didn’t like her guardians and their emptiness, either, so he was totally okay with her running away. In fact, her best friend was okay with almost everything she did, as long as she didn’t get herself hurt. Didn’t mean they didn’t argue, though…

Grasping Evan’s hand, the tired and kind of dirty girl surveyed her surroundings, plopping on the ground with a sigh (which Evan echoed, but without the sigh). The ocean and shore were definitely pretty, but it was a tad chilly… Probably something about watery air, or something like that. Vivi thought she had read a chapter in a book on it or something, but it wasn’t coming back to her a hundred percent, so she dismissed it, uncaring. Did it matter why, as long as she knew that it was? She should probably move, then, but she was tired… The ground wasn’t exactly a good place to take a nap, though.

Looking over at Evan’s tugging of her sleeve, she watched where he pointed, towards the water, smiling as his idea connected with her brain. “Good idea, Evan!” she told him, uncaring about the volume of her voice. There was no one around to hear it, at least that she could hear, so it didn’t matter!

Jumping to her feet, with Evan following doggedly in her steps, Vivi stepped carefully over to the bright white sand, quickly planting it and then laying down. Ahh… The sand was far more comfortable than the ground, though she would probably have it in her clothes later on, and maybe she could take a nap in it? Just a quick one, that’s all…

Blinking up at the sky, the girl noted that it was definitely past noon, but not yet bedtime. Huh, so she was tired earlier than usual? That never ever happened to her! Then again, she had been walking all day long, so maybe that was normal… Whatever, she was tired. “Evan?” Her silent, invisible to all but her, friend glanced at her, his eyes questioning. “Ken ya keep watch? Ta make sure my guardians don’t come?” Evan nodded at her, ever stoic, and she shot him a quick smile in thanks.

Closing her eyes, and curling up on her side in the sand, Vivi fell into a very light doze.

~~~~~~

Word Count: 519 words
Song: What If by Simple Plan

[SUNIL]

It was becoming easier and easier to find spare time these days. Aver virtually seemed to be reconstructing itself at this stage of its existence, each one of its members humbly bustling about their duties without complaint or any other cares in the world. These were safe times, and with the stability came a quiet lull over the shores of this corner of the great island. Though ever wary and dutiful, even Othallim, Aver’s Head Advisor, had taken brief periods of time to catch up on his reading or walk amongst the crowds to learn the names of those whom he had not met. It was commonplace to see the man in quiet places of nature, murmuring prays to his beloved gods and thanking them for the newfound happiness of his peoples.

He had woken up early this morning to tend to his duties, but it was another day where little was required of him. It wasn’t long after lunchtime before Othallim found himself free for the rest of the day, and his feet carried him out of the silver walls of Aver onto the shores that surrounded the great wall on three sides. Luxurious, white sands glistened on clear days like these, when the sun stood gloriously high in the sky, the sole sovereign to the heavens for the clouds had decided to hide today. He peered through the shaggy black bangs that blocked his vision on occasion when they caught the wind, momentarily concealing the white tattoo of a sun that encircled one of his gray eyes. There weren’t many people on the beech today, so he would be able to enjoy its song with little interruption.

Othallim was an individual who had grown up in the tundra; even though it was becoming autumn, the days seemed hot to him. The heat of the sand radiating onto his dark skin was enough to make him remove his boots and roll up his pants up to the knee and his sleeves up to the elbow, though long bandage-wraps still concealed his forearms down to his palms. Then, he stepped into the tide, the chilly water washing over his bare feet, and a wave of relief swept over him. The familiar sensation of goose-bumps stood his hairs on end and he sucked in a breath of air. These were the moments he missed! Othallim smiled and took one step farther into the water, before he turned and walked parallel to the ocean, his toes digging into the sand with every step.

It didn’t take long for the man to become lost in the sounds of the surf, his gray eyes down in the sand, and he drifted off into a state of serenity. No worrisome thoughts came to mind, no troubles or fears, and he allowed his mind to clear itself from all the clutter that had built on top of it over time. He followed where his feet willed without question, so when a little girl was suddenly not far in front of his feet, he jerked out of his trance and stopped abruptly. The first thing that he noticed was that she was an unfamiliar face; not highly uncommon, since many orphans were running around Aver due to the loss of so many people during the war. But this child seemed out of place…

Othallim looked around but saw not a single soul keeping an eye over her. She seemed so peaceful, resting there in the sand, but responsibility and duty over-ruled any nurturing instincts he had. He was, without a doubt, awkward around children, so even with her asleep, he rubbed the back of his neck with a hand and let out a little sigh before speaking. “Hello there, child. Where are your parents?” his voice was musical, soft, quiet enough not to lurch her out of her sleep unpleasantly, but authoritative enough to demand that she wake. He did not come closer to her and stood some ten feet away still. As soon as she awoke, he would know even less on how to act, and he was well aware of that.

[Poet]

"And the days they all turn black...
And our dreams all start to fade.
But there's no turning back."

Vivi had always been a light sleeper, even when she was completely and utterly asleep. Maybe it was the fact that sometimes her parents had come in late, and she always wanted to hop out of bed and greet them, or it could’ve been what her parents said, that she was “always afraid life would move on without her”. Either way, she was easily woken by a light touch, a softly spoken word, or even some raised voices going on a few rooms down. It was the bane of her caretakers, which instantly made it a loved trait of the little girl.

At the moment, though, considering she wasn’t even fast asleep, and was barely dozing, ironically called the ‘cat-nap’, Vivi was far, far easier to wake. The sound of footsteps, even those on the sand, prodded her into faint wakefulness as she opened her eyes slowly, though only the sound of a voice actually brought her into herself as she sat up, rubbing at her green eyes with her mouth on autopilot. “M’ name’s Vivi, not child,” was the first the first thing that popped out of her mouth, with the tired kid only vaguely coherent, before she actually looked up and saw the man speaking to her.

He looked… big. That was pretty much the only word that she could think of to describe him, even if it wasn’t a hundred percent accurate. That she was short for her age and sitting in the sand may have both been contributing factors to that assessment, however. Oh, wait, there had been a second part to that question, right? “M’ parents are dead,” Vivi informed the man, her voice filled with the callousness that comes when one is long used to the words they have to say, and no longer associates any sadness with them. At first, saying those had inspired tears in her, but it had been years, and she was quite used to explaining that to strangers, so she had long gotten over it. It wasn’t even a factor anymore.

Remembering something, Vivi shot a dirty look at the semi-disappeared Evan, who merely shrugged his shoulders. “Why dinna ya wake me up, Evan?” she asked, disapprovingly, which only garnered another shrug, before her best friend faded out completely. Stupid Evan. Disappearing when she was talking to a stranger. Even if she had long broken her Mom’s rule about talking to strangers, she shouldn’t have to talk to one alone. Honestly!

Huffing a tad indignantly about her friend, the girl returned to looking at the strange man… And promptly spotted his tattoo. Forgetting all of her parents’ rules about pointing, Vivi quickly stuck her pointer finger in the direction of the man’s eyes. “That’s so cool!” she squealed, finding the sun very, very awesome. She wanted one just like it! Well… Maybe not around her eye, that’d look weird. On her shoulder, maybe? Or on her forehead, that’d be cool! Maybe on her cheek… Still, no time to get lost in awesome theories about tattoos, she was with a stranger! Although… Anyone who had a cool tattoo like that couldn’t be bad, right?

Oh! Perfect way for him to not be a stranger! “Hey mister, what’s yer name?” Vivi asked, blinking her green eyes up at him as she stood up, before she promptly made a face of disgust and proceeded in wiping sand off her butt. White sand didn’t match with her blue dress, no sirree, and if she wanted sand on her, it would definitely not be on her butt! Who wanted things on their butt, for that matter? Only stupid people, the girl concluded, before amending that thought to include weird people, as well, because some of those teenagers… Well, they may not’ve been stupid, but they were just plain odd.

~~~~~~

Word Count: 635 words
Song: What If by Simple Plan

[SUNIL]

The moment the little girl woke up, Othallim was already regretting that he had spoken to her. Of course, he had a responsibility to Aver to make sure all of its people were safe and sound, and that any outsiders were accounted for at all times, but he could have found a caretaker or someone else with more knowledge than him when it came to children. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, and the first thing that came out of her mouth was her name, but her correcting tone of it already sent the man into an abashed expression, and he rubbed the back of his neck again. “My apologies, Vivi.” he said quickly, hoping to soothe the girl before she launched into any other possible complaints. It was too late for Othallim to turn around and abandon the situation, so he smoothed out his face and offered a polite smile again. It was all he could do.

The absolute composure didn’t last for long, though. Othallim asked where her parents were and her matter-of-fact reply made him feel ashamed all over again. He should have known not to ask about parents; there were so many orphans around these days, and usually the mention of a father or mother sent tears into their watery blue eyes. This girl, however, seemed to have come to terms with their deaths, so Othallim offered no words of comfort. Even if he had tried to, he wouldn’t have a clue of what to say. In moments like these, the Advisor always settled for silence first, rather than making himself appear a fool, as much as he had already done that in these first few minutes.

But embarrassment rolled into confusion within another moment, as the girl started speaking to an ‘Evan’ who was apparently sitting right next to her, but Othallim was incapable of seeing. His gray eyes danced across the sand instinctively, but of course he found nothing, and he looked at the girl again with a new, perplexed expression. But again, the topic changed, and her squeal made his ears pull back just the slightest, and he reached up to graze the bottom half of the white sun embroidering his eye. “Why, thank you.” he murmured, still too befuddled to act in his appropriately calculating and professional manner. “And my name is Othallim. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” his musical voice caught back into the swing of things for a brief moment, now that he had a second to recuperate while she brushed the sand from her dress.

He glanced over her more carefully this time, now that she was standing. He definitely didn’t recognize her, not by voice or face, but she didn’t look ragged and neglected, either. She seemed talkative enough… perhaps the best thing to do would be to simply ask her. “You’re not from Aver, are you?” he asked, and tried his best to put on another warm smile. “I bet someone’s wondering where you are.” It was just an assumption, but one that he was comfortable with making. She was obviously tended to, in her young age, and Othallim would be glad to be the one to return her to them so he could rid himself of this awkward situation…

[Poet]

"And the days they all turn black...
And our dreams all start to fade.
But there's no turning back."

Immediately, Vivi blinked at the apology, surprised. It wasn’t that she didn’t get apologies, because she did, it was more because it was a stupid thing to apologize for. She hadn’t meant it in a mean way, but the girl had never liked being called ‘child’ or ‘kid’ or anything like that, because that was what the empty people usually called her, until they learned her name. This man certainly wasn’t empty, definitely, but he was quite a bit odd, that was for sure. A tattoo? Apologizing for stupid stuff? Just being plain… weird? Ah well, he was nice. “Dun need to ‘pologize, you dinna know. I just dun like being called child, thass all,” she told him, blinking up at the man. Yeah, he really was weird…

Wait… was he giving her those empty eyes? The man had a funny look in his eyes, sort of empty, but not, after she told him about her parents. That was… again, kind of weird. Still, at least he wasn’t being all empty like most of the people back home! That was definitely a step up, even if he was one of the weirder people that she had seen! Definitely great! Cheered by this information, the girl smiled at him, feeling quite delighted. After all, it wasn’t every day that one ran away and met a really nice (if like, supremely odd) man who was kinda fun to talk to! Absolutely one of the better days!

Giggling at his confusion, Vivi was quick to explain. “Tha’ was my friend, Evan. He’s invisible to ev’ryone bu’ me. Dunno why.” Well, okay, she did know, at least deep down, that her friend wasn’t real. She had gotten it explained to her before, and read it in books, and she was pretty sure that no one could disappear like that, but she didn’t like to acknowledge it. After all, he acted so different from her, and was his own person, and besides, who wanted to admit, even to themselves, that their best and only friend was just a figment of their imagination?

Grinning at his response, the little girl gave her own. “You’re welcome!” she announced cheerily, before nodding sagely at the name she was given. “Thass a cool name,” Vivi informed him, before deciding that the man, Othallim, was cool in general. “Is kinda long. Do ya have a nickname?” After all, her full name was Vivian and her nickname was Vivi, but she didn’t like being called Vivian, cause the only people that did that was people that didn’t know her and had only read her name on paper (AKA, her guardians), or her parents, before, when she had done something mean or stupid and they were mad. Reasonable not to like it then, right?

His question made her blink in surprise, though, and she tilted her head quizzically to the side. “How ken ya tell?” she asked, curious, before nodding her head in response to his question. “Yup, I’m from Tyrgere!” Vivi announced brightly, before lowering her voice to a faux-whisper. “Or could ya tell tha’, too?” Maybe he was like a super scout, or something like that? Really good at figuring out stuff just by looking at people and stuff? That’d be so cool! Maybe he could teach her some of it!

About to ask, the girl made a face at his second question, instead. “Yep, prob’ly,” she told him, semi-nonchalant as she considered whether or not he would send her back. “But this is like the gabillionth time I’ve ran away, so they’re prob’ly not so worried no more.” Why would they be? They like always found her… Then Vivi hesitated, considering, before confiding to Othallim, with happiness evident in her tone. “But I’ve never gotten this far ‘way afore!”

~~~~~~

Word Count: 630 words
Song: What If by Simple Plan

[SUNIL]

For an individual who had spent the majority of his years leading a rigid, stoic, disciplined clan across dangerous tundra, and the rest of his years as an advisor, making an attempt to piece together a frayed community, talking to a child, and an outsider no less, was completely beyond his vast expanse of knowledge. Othallim had a naturally paternal aura about him, but that was almost always reserved for those in their later teens or even beyond. But this young Vivi, with her imaginary friend Evan and her quick tongue, bewildered him into silence while the words kept flowing from her mouth. His gray eyes would dance over the sands where she pointed out her invisible friend, and then train on her again to try to make sense of this youthful rogue that had wound up on Aver’s beaches. She seemed to bypass his awkwardness well enough, so perhaps, with some luck, he would be able to gain more information from her.

When Vivi asked for a nickname, Othallim tilted his head to the side, and a corner of his lips twitched upward in a weak smile. Ahh… when was the last time anyone had ever called him anything other than Othallim, or ‘sir’, or other such references of respect. “You may call me Olim, if you like.” Just speaking the name caused a burst of memories to flash beneath his eyelids. Oh, how he missed the giver of that nickname… but those heartaches must be reserved for later. The Advisor had little time to wander off in his own bittersweet thoughts for now.

To Othallim’s great relief, Vivi openly admitted to not being part of Aver, or from anywhere near here. Tyrgere? He gave her another calculating look-over with his slate colored eyes and decided that the proclamation was believable enough. It was, however, impressive at the very least that a mere child had managed to sneak out of such a secretive fortress, beyond the guards and the massive ravine that protected the neutral peoples from any further wars. His smile grew only slightly, and he bent at the knees to crouch down more to her height, suddenly inspired to attempt to be more casual and inviting, rather than an awkward figure of authority. “I had my suspicions. With a job like mine, you must recognize everyone’s faces. Not just the faces of your friends.”

She also admitted that there were probably adults that were wondering where she was, although escaping seemed to be a common enough event, from the way she talked about it. The Advisor tilted his head to the sun momentarily, brushing the shaggy, black hair from his eyes. It was not yet late enough for the dark to be coming soon, and it was a shame that the child hadn’t gotten the chance to see anything far beyond her home city until today. With a little empathy, along with the whole amount of what miniscule rebellion lingered in Othallim’s veins, he smiled at the Tyrgerean girl and nodded towards the great white wall, a majestic ribbon that danced along the shoreline. “Well, Vivi, this is Aver, where Water and Ice live together in peace.” he bent over again and lowered his voice, as if he were sharing an important secret. “And if you promise not to tell your guardians, I can give you a tour.” without moving, he reached into the neck of his shirt and pulled out a skeleton key that was attached to his neck with a leather sinew. “I’m the Head Advisor here… and I can go anywhere.”

Perhaps the girl could be good for him. His lightened heart felt even lighter, and for once he allowed the barriers of his professionalism to come down... if not for a short time.

[Poet]

"And the days they all turn black...
And our dreams all start to fade.
But there's no turning back."

Olim? The girl tipped her head to the side, considering it and surveying the man standing before her, before nodding. “ I’ fits,” she told him, a smile blossoming on her face. “Kinda makes me thinka olives…” Mm, olives… “Bu’ they’re yummy ‘n yer nice, so iss good!” But yes, she was totally calling him ‘Olim’. Good name, to fit with a good man (…that sounded kinda poetic and like it should be coming out of someone else’s mind/mouth. Weird.), and he was fun. Yep, yep, looking like this was turning out to be a pretty fun running-away-time. ‘Bout time she actually had one.

He gave her a weird look, one that Vivi couldn’t really tell what he was trying to say with it, after she told him her country. Was it weird that she was from Tyrgrere? Of course, there was the fact that people from one country usually didn’t want to go to another country and talk to people there, but he had been able to tell that she was from a different country, so he shouldn’t be looking at her funny!

…Wait, what if he was trying to read her mind with his awesome spy magic skills? It was possible! Oh no, what were you supposed to do when someone tried to do that! Unable to remember, the girl simply decided to chant, mentally. The pickles are blue, the pickles are blue, the pickles are-

And then her thoughts were cut off as Olim crouched in front of her. Wait, what? She blinked at him, surprised that he would do such a thing. And that he could actually do that! Lucky Cat, she usually fell when she bended so low… He was good. Very good. Awesome.

Nodding slowly, the girl’s mouth formed an ‘o’ of understanding as he explained. “Thassa good ‘dea!” she proclaimed, grinning with delight and rocking back on her heels. “Yer neva gonna have spies if ya ken tell they not ‘posed to be dere!” With that, she stood on her tip-toes, lifting her hand to pat the man on the hand. “Yer very smart,” Vivi told him solemnly, a twinkle of amusement in her eyes as she dropped her hand. “Ken I keep ya?” That’d be so cool, if she really could (she wasn’t stupid, she knew she couldn’t keep a person)! She’d ask lots of questions, and he’d be able to answer them all so she’d learn a lot of stuff, and she’d maybe have a real friend that everyone else could see! It’d be great!

…’Course, there was the fact that she was pretty sure people weren’t allowed to ‘keep’ other people. And that he was from another country. Alas.

At his words, she nodded. “Is very pretty,” Vivi told him. Water and Ice lived together peacefully, huh? That was… nice. Didn’t sound like a warring place, not at all. Fantastic! ‘Course, she had already known it was called Aver, but not the water and ice parts. Very informative, Olim was. He lowered his voice, though, and she leaned in, eyes brightening with mischievous excitement. He would take her on a tour? Really? So cool! “Dun tell ‘em nuttin, anyway, won’ tell now,” she agreed, beaming from ear to ear. "So ken I see 'da supa' secre' parts?"

Ooh, wait, he was Head Advisor? Not a super secret awesome spy person? Aww… But, then again… “Ta be a Head ‘visor, do ya gotta be ‘servant?” Vivi piped up, curious. It would explain a lot, certainly, especially because- Oh, wait, how on earth did she forget that? It was the most important part! Definitely!

“Way, way, wait!” she told him, waving her arms as if to erase the conversation and stop Olim from doing anything else. “Gots one really ‘portant question ‘afore we go on ‘da supa’ awesome tour!” Demeanor and face very solemn, she leaned forward slightly, and asked one, single, highly important question.

“Ken I ride on yer shoulders?”

~~~~~~

Word Count: 651 words
Song: What If by Simple Plan