HOME | DD

Description
Previous: silasagnostos.deviantart.com/a…

“…Rezki?” was all I could muster the strength to say.

He returned with a scrunched face, teeth bared, and eyes blinded by anger and fear. With each slow step taken I shrunk away, wanting to be anywhere but here. The shop around me seemed to fade out of existence, like it was never there at all, with only the both of us remaining. Everything slowed to a still.

“I repeat: what are you doing here?” he growled, staring right through me.

“I…I do n—“

“We got rid of you. Why are you here? Those like you are not meant to survive! You were fated to die!” he snarled hoarsely, clenching one fist and taking another step.

Before I could find words, a small angry bat rushed between us, blocking him from getting closer to me. I was so lost in the tension that I could not hear the frantic steps.

“Now just wait a damn minute, here,” uttered Ruun, “I don’t know who you are or how you know Talon, but this behavior is entirely unacceptable and I recommend you rethink your position.”

Rezki was noticeably taken aback by this small faraden getting in his way so willingly.

“Get out of my way,” he ordered.

Ruun blinked and shot a look of disgust toward the tan giant. This would not go over well.

“You have some nerve coming into my home and telling me what to do,” she spat. “This is a place of business and medicine, not a ring. Either run along and carry about your business or get out.”

“Are you denying me service?” he mockingly retorted.

“I would never dream of denying service to a patron if they are looking for medicine, but I sure as hell will not accept violent advances against my beloved assistant,” she spoke, a tone in which I had not once heard before. “I give you two options, and only two: you either continue with your usual business, or you leave my shop. I will not deny you service if you need it, but whatever this is, is not a service I offer. Make your choice.”

To my surprise, Rezki waited a brief moment as though he was actually considering these options, grabbing at his braced arm and grasping lightly. For a few seconds some of the hate seemed to disappear from his eyes, only to quickly return and face me. His grasp on his arm tightened in anger before the hand parted ways with the brace.

“This is all because of you!” he screamed. “You cursed us, cursed me with misfortune upon your exile. You are not supposed to still be alive, and that is why it continues!”

His gaze cut through us and he reeled back to swing, eyes blinded by fury. No longer could he see us, or even see me, only an apparition, a curse which he had endured all this time. Somehow, my fear lessened even in this situation…

…Instead, I felt pity. I needed to be the one to stop this.

Time crawled as I hopped back up to my feet, grabbing Ruun’s wrist and pulling her behind me. She did not deserve whatever Rezki was going to do. I managed to be just fast enough to step back and miss his swing, which instead struck the shelf next to us. Luckily the shelves were sturdy enough and he was overall tired enough to only cause superficial damage to the shelf and dried herb bags which it held, resulting in a harsh but muffled ‘thud’.

As quickly as I could, I grabbed his swung arm and pushed it away. He came at me with the other and I met it with my other hand as well. I gripped his wrists as tightly as I could and I could feel him struggling, but somehow I managed to keep him immobile in this state. His stare melted away from rage and resentment to confusion and fear.

“Rezki,” I whispered.

“What…what more do you want?” he snapped.

“I do not know what has happened over the months. I know nothing of the condition of home, only how things are with the life I live here.”

He turned away from me and looked to the floor. His arms, once shaking from tension, slowly but surely relaxed just enough that I loosened my grip to accommodate.

“Rezki, what has happened? Why are you this way?” I finally asked.

“…I do not know why you look how you do, but something tells me it is not real,” he muttered.

My ears raked back and I felt myself choke. Could people really still tell? No…surely they could not, I looked no different from before. Unless…

…maybe it was not something visible.

“Please, just tell me what has happened. Why are you in this region? What did you need from this place?” I urged.

He looked toward his braced arm, wrapped in bandages underneath the hide. The bandages were stained a ruddy brown, a familiar sight for me. I could see that his other arm was also marred, as was his face, though not to the same severity.

“…Grey zones have become more frequent since your removal,” he finally confessed. “People are getting attacked more often. The zones are not big, but they are still spawning at a rate not seen before. We have not died out, but we have run out of our medicines. This…this was the only place close enough to the border with the kinds of medicines we need. The season is not right for us to find our own. I did not have a choice.”

“These marks do not look very old,” I observed, knowing better. “There is something you are not telling me.”

“…Entalonus, I…” he began.

“You can tell me. I am right here.”

“I… Some of them have taken to following me. What…does this mean?”

It did not take much to hazard a guess, but with his condition it was best to focus on aiding those cuts and scrapes first.

“’Rezki’, is it?” came Ruun, her hands now holding some supplies.

“…Yes, that is my name,” he said quietly, turning away from her.

“I would like you to come over to the table here, if you wouldn’t mind,” she nodded to her left, toward the far side of the shop. “I want to take a look at those cuts given how red and angry they look. I have some things I can put on them to cool them and make them less painful, but I will need you to cooperate, alright?”

“…Alright,” he whispered.

“And no more trying to harass my hazelnut, okay,” she said, winking at me. “I promise that we are here to help you however we can.”

“…O-Okay…” he hesitated, but conceded, giving me a quick confused glance before following Ruun to the shop table and I left to get some rags to clean the spills.

***

I took one seat and offered Rezki the other as I placed some ointments and other such goodies on the table. He slowly descended to meet the chair, confused by everything I’m sure.

“So, you know Talon from back home?” I asked, trying to break some ice.

“…Yes, I know him,” he replied, taking off the hide brace and fussing with the bandages. He looked back toward where Talon was soaking up spilled oils.

“Don’t worry, he’s far enough away he can’t hear us. Just speak quietly. Now, would you mind telling me about this ‘exile’ you spoke of?” I continued. “I find it very hard to believe someone so shy and careful could have done something to warrant such an action.”

“I do not think that is something I can tell you,” he replied curtly.

I figured that would be the response.

“Tell you what,” I offered, “For all the medicines I will be sending home with you, as well as for the care I will provide you right here, that can be your only payment. All I am asking is for a little information about my assistant, and that information will not be shared outside of this house unless he is the one to do so. How does this sound?”

His ears drooped and he stopped fussing with the bandages. After a few seconds, he admitted defeat and accepted the proposal.

“Thank you, that is all I wanted,” I said, relieved. “Here, lay your arm on the table and I will get to work on these scrapes.”

I grabbed my wet cloth as he laid his arm on the table. Slowly and carefully, I cleaned around the cuts to get rid of any excess dried blood. He grimaced a little, as I’m sure it wasn’t the best feeling ever, but no use putting medicines on dirty cuts.

“…We are both from the same settlement in lowland Psycrhel,” he began. “His family was of a low status so my family tried to ensure they follow the standard for our race. I am, um, not sure if Entalonus has told you anything about us, but this is normal for our societies.”

Small thuds of pottery and glassware could be heard in the distance as Talon cleaned broken pieces and sorted out the items on the shelf.

“I’m listening,” I assured, folding over the cloth and continuing dabs. “Go on.”

“…His father was a strange one. Very open about feelings and affections with his mother and young son. This behavior is frowned upon as reckless and short-sighted, always leading to more problems than it ever cures. We try to harden our feelings to focus on surviving instead of comfort. Psycrhel is a desolate and unforgiving region. People often get sick and die at a young age, so guarding ourselves from these pains is all we can do.”

“I can’t say I blame you. Please continue.”

I motioned for his other arm and proceeded to clean.

“Entalonus’ father tried to urge his family to turn away from the stoicism and embrace their feelings, believing that maybe that was a better answer to the problems of our region and race. He was affectionate with his wife and child, even outside the home, which was greatly disliked by our people. Despite this, his family was happy, while mine grew more upset with their happiness.”

I put down the wet cloth and reached for a small bottle, opened it, and drew the eyedropper full of the dark liquid, and dropped small amounts on each cut.

“There was an accident that led to his father’s death. I…I was still young at the time, but I recall him dying from a fall. He had…died from trying to forage a well-loved fruit for his wife, as the rock was slippery from an early frost. The others in town, they…used his death as a weapon against his family and others, how that behavior only leads to misfortune.”

I switched to the cloth to carefully pat the liquid around the cuts as evenly as possible to aid in disinfection, nodding to reassure that I was still listening.

“H-His mother, she was…especially hurt by everything, both the incident itself and how people acted about it… She grew more distant from her young son, who did not understand what was going on. At the time, neither did I, but…to see people break in such a way, even for us, I could not help but feel bad. At home we were encouraged to…’temper’ the both of them, especially young Entalonus, to be with the standard for our race…for our survival.”

I winced hearing this, getting a bad feeling of what was to come. I moved to the other arm, applying disinfectant and nodding.

“The treatment we had to administer was meant to give him reason to withdraw his feelings. Push him around, destroy things he liked, exclude him from group ordeals…things that I cannot help but regret. We were taught all our upbringing that is was in their best interest, but something about it…something about causing that kind of pain to another just…it made me angry. I do not know how else to describe it. The one thing in his life he liked was a small patch of flowers which grew by his hut, which he watered and tended to religiously…but we trampled them, as we were taught to.”

I put away the cloth and eyedropper and grabbed my last bottle. Off came the top, with a brush attached covered in a thick green-colored paste. Dabbing off the excess on the side, I began brushing some of the paste on the worst cuts. He winced just slightly, but slowly relaxed after the paste started to work.

“Is there more?” I asked.

“Y-Yes…” he stuttered. “Over time his eyes started to darken. We did not know why this was, but assumed it may be from aging. Over the years, the color of his eyes changed more and more and we all grew more concerned. Not long ago, he had not come out of his hut for several days, so myself and some others were sent to find out why. What we discovered was…the whites of his eyes had grown very dark and the color had reddened like the corruptions. The others alerted the rest of the settlement and pulled him from his hut…”

My ears went back, preparing for the worst.

“…Entalonus was blindfolded, his hands bound behind him, and we were made to physically remove him from not just our settlement, but all of Psycrhel. We…forced him some distance into Faradus, then left him behind as we went back home. We did not think he would live…as he did not know his way back home and he was considered ‘too weak’ to survive alone.”

I stopped brushing the paste and simply sat there, looking down, feeling like I just got slapped in the face. All of these behaviors…

“I do not know any of what proceeded after then. I am sorry. This is truly all I know.”

…The shyness, the fears, the persisting hesitation…it all made sense. These behaviors weren’t new, but deeply instilled and ingrained into his being. From so early he had been made to feel ashamed over nothing, to feel like nothing. I finished up what I was doing, then rested my hands on his.

“Ruun?” he asked, confused at the gesture.

“Rezki, thank you very much for telling me these things,” I said. “I really, really needed to know and no other payment would have ever come close. There is something I must say, though, but I need you to promise that you will think all of it over and not just shrug it off. I want to help you and those in your settlement.”

Rezki leaned back and turned slightly to one side, facing me indirectly. It looked like he was bracing for something, and, well, that was probably a good idea.

“I have some idea of why the grey zones are spawning more often and why you seem to be sought out by a few of them,” I whispered, looking back toward Talon cleaning the shelves and floor. “Do you promise?”

“…I have not a choice, do I,” he sighed.

“Correct,” I stated, patting his tense hands. “I think that they are attracted to the grief you and your neighbors are feeling since Talon’s, uh, ‘exile’. You seem particularly upset about it, though I can only speak on what I’ve personally seen. I think that you, having been bestowed some kind of backwards responsibility by some superiors, have been slowly suffering in your own way while Talon has. People theorize that corruptions are attracted to those feelings, those personal energies, depending on the type of negative energy you hold. If you’re angry, you will suffer a similar shift as Talon has, and aggressive corruptions will keep finding you.”

His hands clenched and a look of shock covered his face. I could feel him begin to shake from strain so I lightly squeezed his hands to try to reassure him.

“But listen, I don’t think that’s the end of the story,” I continued. “There is no saying that these things can’t be reversed, and I have seen it happen for myself. I’m glad that you’re owning up to your feelings about this whole ordeal, but you can’t stop there. You need to help others come to terms with their own feelings and grief, which won’t be easy. As you can see, having and expressing those feelings is not at all a bad thing, and I think Talon’s father was on to something when he tried to show everyone another way to live. Even though he died, he died happy.”

“…Is it really worth it, do you think?” he questioned.

“I came from a place that is like the complete opposite of yours, and trust me, they are doing just fine,” I giggled, thinking of home. “I’m not saying you need to be a carbon copy, but I think that learning to accept emotions as part of life and still strive to be happy is something worth consideration.”

I looked over to Talon, who was putting away some more bottles on one of the shelves and quietly humming to himself while working.

“Talon has grown a lot and recovered greatly since he’s come to live here with me, and I can tell he feels much better,” I nodded towards him. “You can see it in how he carries himself, how he speaks, and the decreased nervous fidgets. He can only keep getting better until he’s fully recovered, just like you can. Please think it over, because I wouldn’t say these things unless I truly believed them.”

“…I…I will,” he murmured, “…and I am sorry about earlier.”

“I understand why you did that, and now you do too,” I said as I gathered up my supplies. “Stay right here and I’ll put these things away and start readying a list to pack for you.”

I went off into the apartment to prepare the necessary supplies and to give them some time.

***

“Entalonus?” Rezki called.

I jumped and peered around the corner of the shelves.

“Y-Yes?” I answered.

“…Could you please come here?” he asked in a strange, shy tone.

I cautiously walked over to the table. He seemed to be alright, but I could never be too careful. I stayed just outside of his reach.

“Yes?” I answered again.

“I know that I cannot make up for your young life, what all we did and caused…and I know I cannot take back the ordeal from earlier today…but I want you to know that I am sorry,” he said, looking up toward me. Never once had I seen his eyes beg so badly for forgiveness and I was quite surprised and confused.

“With how things are getting at home, and with seeing you here…I do not know if this ‘recovery’ matter is real, but I cannot deny how much better you appear. Even though something in my gut tells me there is still something off with you, it is…very different from how you were just months ago. Ruun tells me that if you can manage to recover, even a little bit, that we could, too…and that I could, too…” his words trailed off.

“I do not know how much I believe it, either, but I know I feel better than I did months ago,” I admitted. “I think that, at least for now, I will stay open to the possibility of full recovery given my experiences. I think you should, too, Rezki.”

I do not like to see others upset, especially in such a way. I thought that, if he was willing to try, maybe these theories would prove to be correct. After all, I thought I had noticed a gradual lightening of my eyes under these contacts since I had gotten here. Maybe I was only imagining it.

“Do you really think…this is something we can do?” he inquired, grabbing at his sore arm.

“I think so, yes,” I replied. “I think that, if nothing else, anything worth keeping is worth fighting for.”

Rezki met my words with a small smile and we both waited a brief moment for Ruun to return. Finally the apartment door opened to reveal a small bat and a box full of remedies and bags of dried herbs.

“Alright, this is a little heavy, but someone your size should be just fine,” Ruun laughed, setting the box on the table. “I have more than just this if it’s ever needed, but all of these should last at least a good while. There’s a list in the box of what all is in here as well as what it’s used for. I put a copy of Talon’s translations in there as well if anyone can’t understand faraden.”

Rezki could not help but be surprised, perhaps a bit amazed with the generosity. He rose to his feet, carefully picked up the box, and thanked Ruun for everything. I thought I saw his eyes welling up just a bit as well.

“Will that be everything?” Ruun asked cheerily.

“Y-Yes, I could not ask for more,” he sniffed. “Thank you…thank you very much for everything.”

“It’s no problem,” Ruun nodded. “You are always welcome here if you ever need anything.”

“I…I will remember this… Thank you,” he uttered, giving one last confused, apologetic grin before making his way out the door and starting his long journey north back to Psycrhel.

A pause of silence swept through the shop upon the parting of our guest. Ruun breathed a deep sigh of relief before turning to look at the clock. I turned my head as well.

“Ruun, um, I am out of bottles,” I eased. “The one from earlier today broke, also. I am very sorry.”

“Oh, hazelnut, things happen,” she patted my shoulder and gave a little squeeze. “I don’t blame you for them and I saw you pick up all the pieces. You are doing wonderfully.”

I felt my face warm up a little and gave a small grin of my own.

Some plodding from outside continued to grow louder, followed by the bell above the door giving a little ring.

Description
Previous: silasagnostos.deviantart.com/a…

“…Rezki?” was all I could muster the strength to say.

He returned with a scrunched face, teeth bared, and eyes blinded by anger and fear. With each slow step taken I shrunk away, wanting to be anywhere but here. The shop around me seemed to fade out of existence, like it was never there at all, with only the both of us remaining. Everything slowed to a still.

“I repeat: what are you doing here?” he growled, staring right through me.

“I…I do n—“

“We got rid of you. Why are you here? Those like you are not meant to survive! You were fated to die!” he snarled hoarsely, clenching one fist and taking another step.

Before I could find words, a small angry bat rushed between us, blocking him from getting closer to me. I was so lost in the tension that I could not hear the frantic steps.

“Now just wait a damn minute, here,” uttered Ruun, “I don’t know who you are or how you know Talon, but this behavior is entirely unacceptable and I recommend you rethink your position.”

Rezki was noticeably taken aback by this small faraden getting in his way so willingly.

“Get out of my way,” he ordered.

Ruun blinked and shot a look of disgust toward the tan giant. This would not go over well.

“You have some nerve coming into my home and telling me what to do,” she spat. “This is a place of business and medicine, not a ring. Either run along and carry about your business or get out.”

“Are you denying me service?” he mockingly retorted.

“I would never dream of denying service to a patron if they are looking for medicine, but I sure as hell will not accept violent advances against my beloved assistant,” she spoke, a tone in which I had not once heard before. “I give you two options, and only two: you either continue with your usual business, or you leave my shop. I will not deny you service if you need it, but whatever this is, is not a service I offer. Make your choice.”

To my surprise, Rezki waited a brief moment as though he was actually considering these options, grabbing at his braced arm and grasping lightly. For a few seconds some of the hate seemed to disappear from his eyes, only to quickly return and face me. His grasp on his arm tightened in anger before the hand parted ways with the brace.

“This is all because of you!” he screamed. “You cursed us, cursed me with misfortune upon your exile. You are not supposed to still be alive, and that is why it continues!”

His gaze cut through us and he reeled back to swing, eyes blinded by fury. No longer could he see us, or even see me, only an apparition, a curse which he had endured all this time. Somehow, my fear lessened even in this situation…

…Instead, I felt pity. I needed to be the one to stop this.

Time crawled as I hopped back up to my feet, grabbing Ruun’s wrist and pulling her behind me. She did not deserve whatever Rezki was going to do. I managed to be just fast enough to step back and miss his swing, which instead struck the shelf next to us. Luckily the shelves were sturdy enough and he was overall tired enough to only cause superficial damage to the shelf and dried herb bags which it held, resulting in a harsh but muffled ‘thud’.

As quickly as I could, I grabbed his swung arm and pushed it away. He came at me with the other and I met it with my other hand as well. I gripped his wrists as tightly as I could and I could feel him struggling, but somehow I managed to keep him immobile in this state. His stare melted away from rage and resentment to confusion and fear.

“Rezki,” I whispered.

“What…what more do you want?” he snapped.

“I do not know what has happened over the months. I know nothing of the condition of home, only how things are with the life I live here.”

He turned away from me and looked to the floor. His arms, once shaking from tension, slowly but surely relaxed just enough that I loosened my grip to accommodate.

“Rezki, what has happened? Why are you this way?” I finally asked.

“…I do not know why you look how you do, but something tells me it is not real,” he muttered.

My ears raked back and I felt myself choke. Could people really still tell? No…surely they could not, I looked no different from before. Unless…

…maybe it was not something visible.

“Please, just tell me what has happened. Why are you in this region? What did you need from this place?” I urged.

He looked toward his braced arm, wrapped in bandages underneath the hide. The bandages were stained a ruddy brown, a familiar sight for me. I could see that his other arm was also marred, as was his face, though not to the same severity.

“…Grey zones have become more frequent since your removal,” he finally confessed. “People are getting attacked more often. The zones are not big, but they are still spawning at a rate not seen before. We have not died out, but we have run out of our medicines. This…this was the only place close enough to the border with the kinds of medicines we need. The season is not right for us to find our own. I did not have a choice.”

“These marks do not look very old,” I observed, knowing better. “There is something you are not telling me.”

“…Entalonus, I…” he began.

“You can tell me. I am right here.”

“I… Some of them have taken to following me. What…does this mean?”

It did not take much to hazard a guess, but with his condition it was best to focus on aiding those cuts and scrapes first.

“’Rezki’, is it?” came Ruun, her hands now holding some supplies.

“…Yes, that is my name,” he said quietly, turning away from her.

“I would like you to come over to the table here, if you wouldn’t mind,” she nodded to her left, toward the far side of the shop. “I want to take a look at those cuts given how red and angry they look. I have some things I can put on them to cool them and make them less painful, but I will need you to cooperate, alright?”

“…Alright,” he whispered.

“And no more trying to harass my hazelnut, okay,” she said, winking at me. “I promise that we are here to help you however we can.”

“…O-Okay…” he hesitated, but conceded, giving me a quick confused glance before following Ruun to the shop table and I left to get some rags to clean the spills.

***

I took one seat and offered Rezki the other as I placed some ointments and other such goodies on the table. He slowly descended to meet the chair, confused by everything I’m sure.

“So, you know Talon from back home?” I asked, trying to break some ice.

“…Yes, I know him,” he replied, taking off the hide brace and fussing with the bandages. He looked back toward where Talon was soaking up spilled oils.

“Don’t worry, he’s far enough away he can’t hear us. Just speak quietly. Now, would you mind telling me about this ‘exile’ you spoke of?” I continued. “I find it very hard to believe someone so shy and careful could have done something to warrant such an action.”

“I do not think that is something I can tell you,” he replied curtly.

I figured that would be the response.

“Tell you what,” I offered, “For all the medicines I will be sending home with you, as well as for the care I will provide you right here, that can be your only payment. All I am asking is for a little information about my assistant, and that information will not be shared outside of this house unless he is the one to do so. How does this sound?”

His ears drooped and he stopped fussing with the bandages. After a few seconds, he admitted defeat and accepted the proposal.

“Thank you, that is all I wanted,” I said, relieved. “Here, lay your arm on the table and I will get to work on these scrapes.”

I grabbed my wet cloth as he laid his arm on the table. Slowly and carefully, I cleaned around the cuts to get rid of any excess dried blood. He grimaced a little, as I’m sure it wasn’t the best feeling ever, but no use putting medicines on dirty cuts.

“…We are both from the same settlement in lowland Psycrhel,” he began. “His family was of a low status so my family tried to ensure they follow the standard for our race. I am, um, not sure if Entalonus has told you anything about us, but this is normal for our societies.”

Small thuds of pottery and glassware could be heard in the distance as Talon cleaned broken pieces and sorted out the items on the shelf.

“I’m listening,” I assured, folding over the cloth and continuing dabs. “Go on.”

“…His father was a strange one. Very open about feelings and affections with his mother and young son. This behavior is frowned upon as reckless and short-sighted, always leading to more problems than it ever cures. We try to harden our feelings to focus on surviving instead of comfort. Psycrhel is a desolate and unforgiving region. People often get sick and die at a young age, so guarding ourselves from these pains is all we can do.”

“I can’t say I blame you. Please continue.”

I motioned for his other arm and proceeded to clean.

“Entalonus’ father tried to urge his family to turn away from the stoicism and embrace their feelings, believing that maybe that was a better answer to the problems of our region and race. He was affectionate with his wife and child, even outside the home, which was greatly disliked by our people. Despite this, his family was happy, while mine grew more upset with their happiness.”

I put down the wet cloth and reached for a small bottle, opened it, and drew the eyedropper full of the dark liquid, and dropped small amounts on each cut.

“There was an accident that led to his father’s death. I…I was still young at the time, but I recall him dying from a fall. He had…died from trying to forage a well-loved fruit for his wife, as the rock was slippery from an early frost. The others in town, they…used his death as a weapon against his family and others, how that behavior only leads to misfortune.”

I switched to the cloth to carefully pat the liquid around the cuts as evenly as possible to aid in disinfection, nodding to reassure that I was still listening.

“H-His mother, she was…especially hurt by everything, both the incident itself and how people acted about it… She grew more distant from her young son, who did not understand what was going on. At the time, neither did I, but…to see people break in such a way, even for us, I could not help but feel bad. At home we were encouraged to…’temper’ the both of them, especially young Entalonus, to be with the standard for our race…for our survival.”

I winced hearing this, getting a bad feeling of what was to come. I moved to the other arm, applying disinfectant and nodding.

“The treatment we had to administer was meant to give him reason to withdraw his feelings. Push him around, destroy things he liked, exclude him from group ordeals…things that I cannot help but regret. We were taught all our upbringing that is was in their best interest, but something about it…something about causing that kind of pain to another just…it made me angry. I do not know how else to describe it. The one thing in his life he liked was a small patch of flowers which grew by his hut, which he watered and tended to religiously…but we trampled them, as we were taught to.”

I put away the cloth and eyedropper and grabbed my last bottle. Off came the top, with a brush attached covered in a thick green-colored paste. Dabbing off the excess on the side, I began brushing some of the paste on the worst cuts. He winced just slightly, but slowly relaxed after the paste started to work.

“Is there more?” I asked.

“Y-Yes…” he stuttered. “Over time his eyes started to darken. We did not know why this was, but assumed it may be from aging. Over the years, the color of his eyes changed more and more and we all grew more concerned. Not long ago, he had not come out of his hut for several days, so myself and some others were sent to find out why. What we discovered was…the whites of his eyes had grown very dark and the color had reddened like the corruptions. The others alerted the rest of the settlement and pulled him from his hut…”

My ears went back, preparing for the worst.

“…Entalonus was blindfolded, his hands bound behind him, and we were made to physically remove him from not just our settlement, but all of Psycrhel. We…forced him some distance into Faradus, then left him behind as we went back home. We did not think he would live…as he did not know his way back home and he was considered ‘too weak’ to survive alone.”

I stopped brushing the paste and simply sat there, looking down, feeling like I just got slapped in the face. All of these behaviors…

“I do not know any of what proceeded after then. I am sorry. This is truly all I know.”

…The shyness, the fears, the persisting hesitation…it all made sense. These behaviors weren’t new, but deeply instilled and ingrained into his being. From so early he had been made to feel ashamed over nothing, to feel like nothing. I finished up what I was doing, then rested my hands on his.

“Ruun?” he asked, confused at the gesture.

“Rezki, thank you very much for telling me these things,” I said. “I really, really needed to know and no other payment would have ever come close. There is something I must say, though, but I need you to promise that you will think all of it over and not just shrug it off. I want to help you and those in your settlement.”

Rezki leaned back and turned slightly to one side, facing me indirectly. It looked like he was bracing for something, and, well, that was probably a good idea.

“I have some idea of why the grey zones are spawning more often and why you seem to be sought out by a few of them,” I whispered, looking back toward Talon cleaning the shelves and floor. “Do you promise?”

“…I have not a choice, do I,” he sighed.

“Correct,” I stated, patting his tense hands. “I think that they are attracted to the grief you and your neighbors are feeling since Talon’s, uh, ‘exile’. You seem particularly upset about it, though I can only speak on what I’ve personally seen. I think that you, having been bestowed some kind of backwards responsibility by some superiors, have been slowly suffering in your own way while Talon has. People theorize that corruptions are attracted to those feelings, those personal energies, depending on the type of negative energy you hold. If you’re angry, you will suffer a similar shift as Talon has, and aggressive corruptions will keep finding you.”

His hands clenched and a look of shock covered his face. I could feel him begin to shake from strain so I lightly squeezed his hands to try to reassure him.

“But listen, I don’t think that’s the end of the story,” I continued. “There is no saying that these things can’t be reversed, and I have seen it happen for myself. I’m glad that you’re owning up to your feelings about this whole ordeal, but you can’t stop there. You need to help others come to terms with their own feelings and grief, which won’t be easy. As you can see, having and expressing those feelings is not at all a bad thing, and I think Talon’s father was on to something when he tried to show everyone another way to live. Even though he died, he died happy.”

“…Is it really worth it, do you think?” he questioned.

“I came from a place that is like the complete opposite of yours, and trust me, they are doing just fine,” I giggled, thinking of home. “I’m not saying you need to be a carbon copy, but I think that learning to accept emotions as part of life and still strive to be happy is something worth consideration.”

I looked over to Talon, who was putting away some more bottles on one of the shelves and quietly humming to himself while working.

“Talon has grown a lot and recovered greatly since he’s come to live here with me, and I can tell he feels much better,” I nodded towards him. “You can see it in how he carries himself, how he speaks, and the decreased nervous fidgets. He can only keep getting better until he’s fully recovered, just like you can. Please think it over, because I wouldn’t say these things unless I truly believed them.”

“…I…I will,” he murmured, “…and I am sorry about earlier.”

“I understand why you did that, and now you do too,” I said as I gathered up my supplies. “Stay right here and I’ll put these things away and start readying a list to pack for you.”

I went off into the apartment to prepare the necessary supplies and to give them some time.

***

“Entalonus?” Rezki called.

I jumped and peered around the corner of the shelves.

“Y-Yes?” I answered.

“…Could you please come here?” he asked in a strange, shy tone.

I cautiously walked over to the table. He seemed to be alright, but I could never be too careful. I stayed just outside of his reach.

“Yes?” I answered again.

“I know that I cannot make up for your young life, what all we did and caused…and I know I cannot take back the ordeal from earlier today…but I want you to know that I am sorry,” he said, looking up toward me. Never once had I seen his eyes beg so badly for forgiveness and I was quite surprised and confused.

“With how things are getting at home, and with seeing you here…I do not know if this ‘recovery’ matter is real, but I cannot deny how much better you appear. Even though something in my gut tells me there is still something off with you, it is…very different from how you were just months ago. Ruun tells me that if you can manage to recover, even a little bit, that we could, too…and that I could, too…” his words trailed off.

“I do not know how much I believe it, either, but I know I feel better than I did months ago,” I admitted. “I think that, at least for now, I will stay open to the possibility of full recovery given my experiences. I think you should, too, Rezki.”

I do not like to see others upset, especially in such a way. I thought that, if he was willing to try, maybe these theories would prove to be correct. After all, I thought I had noticed a gradual lightening of my eyes under these contacts since I had gotten here. Maybe I was only imagining it.

“Do you really think…this is something we can do?” he inquired, grabbing at his sore arm.

“I think so, yes,” I replied. “I think that, if nothing else, anything worth keeping is worth fighting for.”

Rezki met my words with a small smile and we both waited a brief moment for Ruun to return. Finally the apartment door opened to reveal a small bat and a box full of remedies and bags of dried herbs.

“Alright, this is a little heavy, but someone your size should be just fine,” Ruun laughed, setting the box on the table. “I have more than just this if it’s ever needed, but all of these should last at least a good while. There’s a list in the box of what all is in here as well as what it’s used for. I put a copy of Talon’s translations in there as well if anyone can’t understand faraden.”

Rezki could not help but be surprised, perhaps a bit amazed with the generosity. He rose to his feet, carefully picked up the box, and thanked Ruun for everything. I thought I saw his eyes welling up just a bit as well.

“Will that be everything?” Ruun asked cheerily.

“Y-Yes, I could not ask for more,” he sniffed. “Thank you…thank you very much for everything.”

“It’s no problem,” Ruun nodded. “You are always welcome here if you ever need anything.”

“I…I will remember this… Thank you,” he uttered, giving one last confused, apologetic grin before making his way out the door and starting his long journey north back to Psycrhel.

A pause of silence swept through the shop upon the parting of our guest. Ruun breathed a deep sigh of relief before turning to look at the clock. I turned my head as well.

“Ruun, um, I am out of bottles,” I eased. “The one from earlier today broke, also. I am very sorry.”

“Oh, hazelnut, things happen,” she patted my shoulder and gave a little squeeze. “I don’t blame you for them and I saw you pick up all the pieces. You are doing wonderfully.”

I felt my face warm up a little and gave a small grin of my own.

Some plodding from outside continued to grow louder, followed by the bell above the door giving a little ring.