A Couple of Special Kids

Storytellers

“Once upon a time, there was a boy that lived alone in the forest. He didn’t have parents, never had a permanent partner pokemon, and never even knew what a Pokéball was. He wore the same old raggy jacket, and any scraps he could recover from an abandoned building just outside the forest. Though it was a place for clothes and some food, the place was always felt sad and lonely, so he never used it for shelter. All he knew was that he was a protector of the little shrine in the heart of the forest. It’s the only thing he saw as important. Everything else in his life was a little meaningless. Sure, he had to survive, that was a thing, but the shrine seemed to hold bigger value than his lifetime. So he went on, day to day,  keeping bad people away from the shrine. And then one day, another boy appears. He looks scared, and he holds onto a small, frightened creature that he urges to escape into a bush.  The first boy approaches cautiously and asks, ‘who are you? What business do you have here?’ and gets shushed by the second, warning of two evil demons approaching, saying ‘run away if you want to live!’ but the boy was stupid, and rushed ahead to put a stop to the evil demonic intruders. The foolish boy was no match. He thought the last blow he felt was the one to kill him, but oh no. it was just the beginning. They just knocked him out. He awoke in a cage, like a little beast.” Trickster began.

Once the scar was no longer bloody, bruised, or infected, Trickster moves his hand to Rust’s eye, continuing with healing.

“The boy was tortured endlessly by the demons. Subjected to their little spells and experiments that made him cry out in agony. It was like that for days. He barely saw sunlight, or people or pokemon. Nothing but his dark cell, the occasional food, and the devils that kept him trapped. But one day, a familiar face showed up. It was the boy that had told him to run. At first he seemed distressed, upset by the first boy’s actions, but as the first boy had started to cry the other quickly explained that he was angry with himself and the devils, not the boy. He couldn’t be. They started talking after that. Whenever the devils weren’t looking, the second boy would slip away to see the first, and tell him all sorts of things and stories. He’d calm the first boy when he cried, hold his hands through the bars of his cage, and kept telling him everything will be okay. They’d find a happy place. And he never said goodbye; the second boy never really cared for such farewells. He always said, ‘I’ll see you tomorrow. Hold out until then, okay?’ and he’d carry through with the promise as often as he could. With the days that passed so slow and painfully, turned into months, maybe even a few years, the first boy grew very attached. He looked forward to the times they’d get to talk, and his wish to die slowly washed away with all the promises the second had fulfilled. His heart beat faster in the time he spent with him, he felt so much more alive when he was there with him. The second boy had even got a hold of a special pokemon that let him come into the room, no key required. When he did it the first time, the first boy hugged the second as tight as he could. He never wanted to let go. Ever. But he knew he’d have to eventually. It opened up a lot of freedom between us. He’d bring me all sorts of little trinkets and stories and so many things… as many things as you could bring that wouldn’t attract attentions. Just the two of us, hidden away in the shadows of the little prison. As much as I hated that place, he always made it so much brighter and happier. He was the most amazing person… right up to the last… night…” Trickster trailed off.

He moves his hand beneath Rust’s shirt, just to finish up the healing job. Rust was too busy listening and waiting for him to continue to even notice that he was healing the wounds on his chest.

“Our last night together… he went all out. Brought me stuff I never got to taste before. We got to have a meal together. He tried to stay happy, but I could tell he was hiding a bit of sadness. I could sense it. I wanted to ask, but he didn’t let me ask. Whatever distraction he could use to bring my attention away from it, he did. It kept me happy enough, and I made him happy too. This special day went on into late night. We were tired. I was sad when I thought about him leaving. I thought he had to. But he didn’t. he stayed in the corner with me, puts his favorite grey hoodie on me, and had me lay against him. At that point, I’d do anything he wanted me to. Especially if it involved a little cuddling like that. His body was nice and warm, and  I could hear his gentle heartbeat. He sang me a nice lullaby in a soft voice and I never wanted it to end. I was so happy. I was so at peace. I slept peacefully for once. It was easy to forget that there were demons. And they saw everything.” Trickster continued.