Soup Spoon |Discontinued|

| Ch. 3: The Boy |

[Light dysphoria trigger warning; nothing too drastic, just talk of one being uncomfortable with their body and a destructive binding process. Stay safe please!]

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            Sampson was running, sprinting, flying over fallen logs and thick underbrush. Thorns scraped at his legs and tore his clothing, and thin branches overhead slashed at his face and got caught in his unruly, curly hair. He'd been running for who knows how long, his chest and ribs burning with every breath; he hadn't been able to stop and loosen his bandages, hadn't been able to do much else than try to flee. Tears were running down his face, mingling with the sweat trickling from his brow, and he knew he couldn't go on for much longer. He had to take a break, but he couldn't, not when he had to find--

            "Hey, Sampson. Sampson, wake up!"
            Sampson shot up in his bed and nearly knocked foreheads with Aiden, who was standing over him with a concerned furrow in his brow. He could barely make out his older brother, and when he looked to the window and back to his brother he realized it was still dark out.
            "What... what time is it?" Sam's voice was hoarse and nearly gone, and he cleared his throat several times whilst sitting up, wiping the sweat from his brow.
            "Just past six. I came to wake you up to help with the firewood before school, but when I came in you were thrashing about like a man possessed," Aiden was looking at him in a way he hadn't for a while. "Are you okay? Have you been troubled lately?"
            "No, I'm... I'm fine, it's just," Throwing his legs over the side of the bed, Sampson stands to start throwing on some of his work clothes over his sleep shirt, putting on a knitted cap and coat as well. Aiden also finishes dressing, lacing up his boots and keeping an attentive gaze on Sam as he continues. "Do you remember the dreams I used to have? When I was little, and we lived here?"
            "Dreams? The ones where you were always running around and the like?" Aiden gives a small smile, looking a little relieved that that was it. Sampson didn't mean to worry him, but it was still nice to talk about it. "Yeah, I do. I can still hear Deirdre's whining about bruised shins. Why do you ask?"
            "Well, I've been having them again. Ever since we moved back to the Willows," Lighting a lantern, Sam leads the way out of the boys' room and heads down the stairs as quiet as possible, waiting to continue until the two were walking down the steps of the front porch. "They're different this time around, though. I don't know why, but they just are, and they're starting to get confusing and... concerning."
            Aiden is quiet for a moment as he grabs the ax from where it was lodged into a stump in front of the house, spinning it around at the handle once or twice before the two began walking towards the tree line, Sampson once again leading the way with the light. Small puffs of mist dispersed in front of their mouths every time they took a breath to speak, and Sampson couldn't help but get the childish thought that we was once again a dragon, ready to slay whatever knight life threw at him.
            "Well, we could ask grandfather about getting you some sleeping medication. You'd have to go into town by yourself, but it wouldn't cost much and I'm sure he'd be willing to fund the expense," Aiden gives a small grin as they come upon the large stack of logs they'd began chopping yesterday evening. "If you don't get good sleep, you don't do good work. If you don't do good work, grandfather won't be too pleased."
            "Maybe you're right. Would you mind talking to him about it for me? He doesn't seem to take much stock in my words, my being the youngest and all, as well as..." He trails off, hanging the lantern on a nearby tree limb, but Aiden just nods and gives him a reassuring smile.
            "Of course, Sammy. I'll talk to him, no worries. Now, prop that log up for me will you? I'm going to show you how to split this in less than two swings!" With a laugh, the two begin their morning work while the world wakes up around them.
            By the time the two were done, the sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon, and Adelaide was ringing the bell for them all to come in for breakfast. His morning meal passed by quickly enough, conversation mostly about how his first day of school was, how good the eggs were that morning, and what chores the grandchildren would have to do later that day.
            "Sampson, if you leave your dirty clothes on the floor of your room one more time I'm going to tug your ear so hard it'll come clean off!" Deirdre shouted after him as he made his way up the stairs to change.
            "Not from down there you can't! Not talking about the stairs, either." He snickers, knowing she hated it when he made fun of her height. Once upon a time he used to be the shortest out of all of them, and while he still is for the most part, he now stands a good inch or two taller than Deirdre and she was hating every second of it.
            "Why I outta--" From Deirdre and a laugh from Adelaide is all he heard before he closes the door to his room, finally alone for a moment with Aiden heading back outside. With a small sigh that helped release some of the pent-up nerves in his chest, he quickly begins dressing himself, getting the hardest part over with first and as fast as possible.