forum "Loud Thieves, Clumsy Princesses, Kleptomaniac Witches and Pyromaniacal Knights"

Started April 25, 2023 by @lord-of-the-carnival group

tune

Naveil fought a smile, and an odd half-smirk came instead. Cold and inconsiderate? A bad thing? That's cute.
"The Everchill doesn't take too well to 'kindness.' I'm not raising him to make play-pals with everyone he meets, I'm raising him so he doesn't get stabbed in the back."
The smirk threatened to spread across his face. He relaxed, and his face dropped back into its usual stoicism. His voice betrayed his pride, though, and he sounded more like a kid showing his friends a particularly cool-looking rock.
"…And as for 'higher-ups'..? We've had some experience leveling things out."

"Yeah? Well. . . screw this 'Everchill.' Whatever it is, it's not of any worth to me, you, or your friend. And I'm not saying to raise him to make play-pals. I'm saying to raise him to be a goddamn decent human being, unlike you. Just because your life was fucked up and you're annoyed about it doesn't mean you get to make sure the person you're trying to 'help' has a shitty, unfulfilled life as well." Killué growls, their eyes starting to glow a bright acidic green, the brightly colored parts of their body also starting to glow.

Salmook wasn't a fan of the arguing.
He'd stopped crying now, so why were they still fighting? He didn't understand most of it – Common-tongue wasn't exactly his best language. And these funny accents? Forget it.
He got the idea it was about him, though, and he didn't like it.
He cracked a particularly sturdy shellfruit and chewed thoughtfully. Now that his arm was free, he could do something.
He walked off, deliberately keeping himself in Naveil's line of sight, and he sat on a mossy stone.

Juni stares at Naveil. Her staring isn’t nearly as intense as Resh’s staring, but for now she wants to keep an eye on him. It seems like he’s mistreating this child, and she knows how it feels. She feels a pang of sadness for Salmook. He doesn’t deserve that… It seems like Killué has a handle on the situation, though.

Naveil took step back, calculating everything about the forest-vomit. What were they getting at?
He was taking care of Salmook the best he could. Who were they to say otherwise?
He wasn't in the mood for a fight. Not right now, at least. Another step back.
"I'm all the kid's got. You'd rather some kid without any survival skills or sense of direction just runs into the Everchill, hoping for the best?"
"Because that's exactly how I found him, and he was half-dead then."

Killué growls.

"You're twisting my words. I never even implied that's what I wanted. I have been saying what I want you to do. It's not my ears that aren't working right now." they snap. Wind starts to swirl in a slow moving but harsh cyclone around Killué, accompanied by the harsh rattling of branches as it swept through the forest.

Stars above. What kind of trouble did he get Naveil into now?
Salmook slid down and hid behind the mossy rock. He couldn't risk a peek, he couldn't.
He wanted to go home. But he wasn't even sure if they'd get out of this forest, much less where they'd even start.
Who's to say one of the strangers here wouldn't jump at him with Naveil busy? He should've stayed by Naveil's side, he should've.
You marmot-brain, why did you move?
There was a mounting guilt inside of Salmook. He wouldn't cry again, he wouldn't.