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[Kalessin]

"Huh? For me?" Lars asked with big eyes when Alex gave him the blue lemur. Holding it with both his hands, he turned it so it faced him and stared at the stuffed animal's button eyed face, then grinned widely back at Alex. "Thank you!" He loved the fluffy thing already, both its cute face and the fact that it was a present that would remind him of this day for a long, long time.


When the girls said they wanted to come to see him, he rubbed his neck. "I guess you can watch from backstage if you really want to come..." While they sounded genuinely excited, he really did not want to push them or anything like that. "Though the sound is a bit better in front of the stage. If you feel like coming, it starts at 8PM... or possibly maybe a few minutes later, but the Hall is definitely open by then." he explained because he knew that his shows rarely start perfectly on time, mostly due to his own fault. Instinctively, he looked at the time, even though it was obvious that he still had a few hours before he had to go in and prepare everything. He decided not to worry about all the business for now. "So, would you mind checking out the festival together? I don't know about you but I haven't seen an awful lot of it yet."


@demnkiller @Daniel reaving

 

[Tiny Cosmic]

@traveller


 the face was that of the boy Leo had met In the resteraunt, yet, not quite in the condition he could have hoped...


his is eyes where shut and his entire body was covered in bruises and cuts. He was wearing a plain white shirt covered in blood streaks and a pair of shorts looking as if they where Made from a potato sack. An oxygen mask covered his nose and mouth, occasionally fogging with his short and shallow breaths. The memory still rang through his head as he slept...


a woman had just given him a large sum of money, and he was simply ecstatic. He rushed through the streets to get back to his little friend, and as he does, he just so happened to pass the wrong Alley... Further description would have been excessive, as the human mind was more than enough to horrify the boy and likely scar what's left of his sanity.


the boy opens his eyes slowly, peering back at Leo with a sunken heart. He weakly reaches out for him, being situated in the bed next to him. He doesn't speak, and he doesn't move other than the gesture, which he soon drops from exaustion, although that didn't stop him from trying over and over again, growing weaker with each attempt.

 

[traveller]

Leonard stared in horror at the boy. "What happened?!" He was even more hurt than before. The oxygen mask... had he had an operation?


"Assault, I think," the volunteer said frowning, "they kicked him out of the hospital too."


Leonard felt a surge of anger; he tried to get up again but was still too weak. He asked the volunteer for food then remembered the food in his bag, and asked for that. The volunteer helped prop him up. He reached out to the child, taking his frail fingers in his own, ignoring the strain on the wound. Leonard gave his hand a light squeeze, saying, "you're gonna be alright." But he felt hopeless. Who keeps doing this to him? he wondered.


There weren't many people in the room, likely because of the festival, but there was a loud argument going on and somewhere a child was wailing. The volunteer went to get the nurse, who was busy with a toddler.


"He should be in ICU now," Leonard said when the nurse came, "there's nothing you can do for him?"


She sighed. "I'm sorry but I'm not a doctor and we can't offer that kind of care. Unless..." something flickered in her face as she trailed off. "I have a friend who might be able to help. She's a paediatrician" She pulled out her phone and made the call. After a minute she hung up and shook her head.


"I'm sorry," the woman told Leonard, "but I'm hopeful he'll recover."


@Tiny Cosmic

 

[demnkiller]

Alexandra chuckled at Lars's words. "Backstage, we will be seen as special people and women would be jealous of us." She winked jokingly. When he had offered to explore the festival with him, she smiled. "Of course! Join us. We were about to get a bite to eat." Looking around, she saw a bunch of food trucks loitering the sidewalks. She wasn't sure what Sam or Lars liked or preferred and shrugged at not knowing what she wanted. "Okay! Mexican, Chinese, Southern, Korean, Japanese, or Italian?"


@Kalessin @Daniel reaving

 

[Daniel Reaving]

"Anything as long as its food." Samantha said immediately to them her eyes gleaming at the thought of delicious food. It was one of her weaknesses as a boxer and that was food lots and lots of food.


@Kalessin


@demnkiller

 

[Tiny Cosmic]

"S-sir..."


Dom's eyes peer back at Leo with tears slowly filling them, the phrase slightly muffled by the breathing mask. He winces and covers his chest with his hands, over where the stab wound once was. They obviously hadn't given him any anesthetics, so it was logical that he'd be in extreme pain. 


"S-Sir... Am I in y-your... Way?"


he barely managed to eek out over the pain

 

[traveller]

"No..." Leonard said, shifting in the bed.


The nurse brought some painkillers, then hovered, uncertain. It was clear she wasn't accustomed to such situations. Should I take the mask off? she wondered. Accepting this was beyond her experience, she excused herself.


@Tiny Cosmic

 

[Tiny Cosmic]

Dom watches the nurse leave with a sinking heart, as he knew he wouldn't receive the relief he wanted and so desperately needed. His pale eyes return to the gaze of Leo, now noticeably full of fear and anxious desperation


"a-am I gonna die, s-sir?"


he ended up giving utterance to the phrase with a shiver, as he was beginning to feel the chills brought apon by the autumn weather nights, regardless, not having a blanket didn't help...


@traveller

 

[Kalessin]

Lars scratched his chin. He had already eaten - literally minutes ago - but since the portion sizes for street food were usually barely reasonable for him, he could have another bite, he guessed. "Well, if you two can't decide, let's try Southern..." He wasn't exactly sure what it even was, but out of the things Alex had named, it was the only cuisine that he could probably not get in his hometown, whereas Italian and Asian was around every other corner.


@demnkiller


@Daniel reaving

 

[demnkiller]

With a nod, Alexandra was excited to go to a southern food and gestured for them to follow. Once she arrived to the food truck, Alexandra looked over the menu. "Can I have a burger and fries?" She asked followed by her paying for her food before the man went to work on her order. Alexandra turned to Lars and Sam. "If you guys want, I can pay for the food. You have done enough. Today has been a wonderful day."


@Daniel reaving @Kalessin

 

[Daniel Reaving]

"Could you please Alexandria? I kinda gave that child all my pocket money so I'm broke now hehe." She said with a hesitant chuckle before speaking again. "I'll pay you back when I see you again I promise." She said to her


@Kalessin


@demnkiller

 

[traveller]

Leonard felt pity and helplessness as he looked back at the child. "It's Leo," he said, heaviness in his chest.


"No." His voice was firm. "You're not gonna die." He hoped it was true. Seeing the boy shiver, he felt a chill himself, alongside a stab of pain. Leonard called to the volunteer from earlier, "Hey! Can you get this kid a blanket?"


The volunteer laid the blanket over the child. He nodded as Leonard said, "thanks... Cheng," He remembered the volunteer's name as he read it off the name tag.


"Do you have any paracetamol, painkillers? Please." Leonard asked as he rubbed the bandages. As the volunteer walked away, Leonard turned his head back to the child, thinking. Surely he could take that thing off for a second or two.


"Can you swallow pills?" Leonard asked him. @Tiny Cosmic

 

[Tiny Cosmic]

The kid removes the mask and breaks into a coughing fit, which was likely the reason he was on a respirator. He finally finishes and lays back down


"y-yes... Are you gonna leave me when you get well? I-it's okay, I-I'll understand..."


The kid slowly recludes down within the blanket, obviously enjoying the warmth of what he was provided with


@traveller

 

[traveller]

Leonard watched the violent coughing fit with pity and said, "Nah, I'll be here for a while anyway." He grinned, trying to lighten the atmosphere. "It's rough out there, so I'll stick around. Honestly, I feel safer out there. These shelters can be... hard places, but I'll hang around as long as you're here."


When the volunteer handed Leonard the medicine, he took a couple of tablets out and held them out to the boy with a glass of water. His thoughts flicked back to the festival as he remembered the food in his lap. @Tiny Cosmic

 

[Tiny Cosmic]

@traveller


he weakly takes the two objects in his feeble little hands, looking like you could cut them apart with a butterknife. He swallows all of the pills at the same time and chugs the glass of water. He looks back at Leo with his eyes widened 


"t-thank you, sir... B-But why are you s-so giving? I don't D-deserve this..."

 

[traveller]

"I don't know why you feel that way," Leonard said, his dark eyes serious. "Has anyone…?" he trailed off, unsure how far he should inquire into the boy's life.


Leonard drank the rest of the water after taking some tablets. Scanning the cuts and bruises on the child's skin however, he began again: "Who hurt you?"


@Tiny Cosmic

 

[Tiny Cosmic]

"M-my father and brothers... T-They always said I was too weak. I-It's okay though, s-sometimes, they'd let the dogs eat me instead"


he quivers as Leonard asks the question and answers reluctantly, as if he thought he was going to get into trouble by telling the truth. The cuts weren't deep, but they where enough to scar and cause a decent amount of pain. 


@traveller

 

[traveller]

Leonard frowned, looking disgusted. "And you live on the streets, right?"


He stayed silent for a while; no words would come. The smell of pasta hit his nose and he felt a pang of hunger. "Hungry?" Leonard asked, feeling nauseous again.


@Tiny Cosmic

 

[Tiny Cosmic]

"Y-Yeah, Dad said he didn't want me anymore, I-I wish I knew what I did wrong... Can I have a piece? I-If I deserve it..."


the kid recludes farther into the blanket, looking like he was hiding from you. All Leo can see at this point is his big white eyes poking out of the darkness, shining in the dim light of the room 

 

[Daniel Reaving]

@Kalessin


@demnkiller

 

[traveller]

A thoughtful silence followed. "You know," Leonard began, closing his eyes as the room started to spin, "People, they do to you what they do to themselves." He rubbed his head, unsure how much sense he was making.


"They treat everything like they treat themselves. So it's not about you." He gave a weak smile. "Not saying it was right. Just…" he was mumbling now as he lay limp with weakness. "Just nothing wrong… with you."


The boxes lay untouched on his bed. "T-take it all. I'm…" he trailed off as exhaustion overwhelmed him, falling asleep. @Tiny Cosmic

 

[Tiny Cosmic]

@traveller


"wow... I wish I deserved to think like that..."


The kid grabs the box and opens it, staring at the food within it. He reaches out to take a piece, but hesitates and decides to wrap in it the blanket covering him and wrap himself around it, trying to keep it warm for Leo when he wakes up.


"I hope he wakes up..."


he he stares back at Leo with this worried look in his eye, generally concerned for his health.

 

[traveller]

Leonard stared. Before him, was a huge onion. There was sharp pain in his eyes as he turned away, the world flooding. Two huge hands chopped a tomato. Chik, chik. Leonard stumbled backwards as the surface was lifted. He could feel heat on his neck... ah. He shuffled back as he was moved towards a steaming pot. The hands pushed the slices of tomato into the pot and Leonard realised he stood on a chopping board. There was pasta in the pot, and soon Leonard would be in it too. His vision clouded.


Leonard started awake. He took a deep breath, feeling a stab around his midriff. It was dark. He tried to sit but his body wouldn't comply. Remembering where he was, he sighed. What time is it? Leonard thought, seeing faint forms in the darkness. Someone was sobbing somewhere, and he could hear shuffling, but otherwise it was quiet.


@Tiny Cosmic

 

[Tiny Cosmic]

@traveller


As Leonard awakes, he hears the sobbing from right next to him, more specifically, from the next bed over, where the kid is "sleeping". The moment he heard Leo gasp for air he immediately covered his mouth to conceal the sobs, but tears still streamed down his face. He tried his best to hide himself in the sheets, trying to hide his weakness from Leo who he hoped thought of him kindly.


his nigh silence was broken by a coughing fit. Leo could hear his throat being scratched and his vocal chords being strummed like a guitar. A few sobs got out before he could hide himself again, causing him to simply hope Leo wouldn't judge him. He removed the box of food he still hadn't touched from below the blanket and held it out to Leonard


"g-good morning sir... I-I promise I didn't eat any of your food, I'm sorry I let it get cold...I'm so S-Sorry... S-So terribly sorry..."


Leo saw his entire body tense up under the blanket, obviously being nervous and possibly even scared of him. His sobs resumed, but he tried to hide it as well as he could with his jacket, which he found laying near the bed.

 

[traveller]

@Tiny Cosmic"Ah, you're up," Leonard whispered, "seems like it's around 6am."


He turned his head to face the boy, his face obscured by shadow. "You uh, alright?" Leonard puffed out another sigh. The child needed therapy after all the abuse he'd suffered, and it was disheartening he could do little.


Stifling a yawn, he waved a hand saying, "No. I saved it for you earlier. Not really in the mood for Italian either..." he half-grinned. He was starving but he figured he'd do something about it later.


"Shhh!" someone whispered.