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Anya tried to give a small smile, but it was just empty... she wasn't sure if this was better than not seeing him again... he was in such bad condition. It was almost hard to look at. She thought that after spending time in the castle and getting him strong would get him ready to go back out into the village... to not just live in the slums, but thrive there... but he was dying. He wasn't healthy, not at all. She helped pull him up and wrapped an arm around his side to keep him steady. She thought he looked bad when he was on the ground, but he only looked worse when he was up. She sighed slightly before taking a couple of steps forwards to get her bearings then marched him over to the tavern. "I've got you," she murmured almost to herself as they wandered into the building, of which was still buzzing. She chucked some cash on the desk and they were handed a key in return before wandering up towards the rooms. She helped him in and then set him down on the bed. "There you go," she huffed before handing him the little loaf of bread. "Can you try and eat at all?" She asked lightly as she went to go and sit in the corner. |
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Sage tried, he really did, but the girl ended up pretty much carrying him into the tavern and up into the room. Luckily, there wasn't much to carry. He really was just focusing on not yelling out in pain as he moved....that definitely wouldn't help the situation. His head swirled as they moved, and he basically flopped down on the bed with a slight shiver and grunt before looking back over at Anya and shaking His head slowly. "I'll just throw it up," he told her, almost apologeticly. But he didn't have the energy to move, so if he threw up while laying down, he'd probably just end up inhaling his own puke and suffocating. That was definitely a way he wasn't a fan of dying. |
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Anya gave a slow nod at his response, though she assumed that was what he was going to say anyway. He never had been very good at eating. Or, she'd never seen him eat particularly well. "Well you can try and drink something then," she huffed before disappearing out the door for a few moments and returning with a glass of cool water and a bowl with slight warmer water and a cloth. It was so strange to think about... she'd been in this position so many times with the boy, but there was no sense of urgency about her. No reassuring smiles or hugs, it was just like she was trying to get a job done. She placed the bowl down on the side table and handed him the glass. "At least try and drink something. You'll feel worse if you don't," she murmured as she perched on the bed next to him. |
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Sage sighed and took the cup from the girl, since he didn't really have the energy to argue or resist the girl. His hand shook slightly, which was annoying. He managed not to spill very much, though, and also managed to take a sip of water before handing the cup back to Anya, chest already heaving from the effort for holding up a cup to take a drink. It seemed so odd for him to be like this...but that was just his reality, he supposed. "Thanks," he murmured. He really was grateful...and it meant she at least wanted him alive. Or, she just wanted him to die in peace. After a few moments of silence, he spoke up again, though almost shyly. 'Att looked wonderful." |
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Anya gave a small smile when he mentioned the child before shaking her head. "He's a good kid," he hummed gently. "Everyone likes him," she murmured before taking the glass off him once he'd had a few shaky sips. She dipped the cloth into the warm water and tilted her head slightly. "Do you mind?" She asked with a cocked head... she needed to get. His face cleaned off or he'd just end up being sore... or, that's what she thought£c at least. "He reminds me of you a bit," she chuckled quietly, shaking her head again. "He's good though." |
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Sage smiled softly and nodded. "He's easy to like," he hummed. He blinked in surprise when Anya offered to wipe his face off and then shook his head. She could clean his face off if it made her feel better...he supposed it would feel nice. He'd added plenty of new scars...well, his father had anyway, and there were plenty of bruises all over him too, since his body never actually healed. But she could help he supposed. He chuckled slightly and shrugged. "What? Stupid and reckless," he chuckled softly. Really, the boy wasn't either of those things....and he didn't see very many comparisons between the two of them. But he supposed Anya knew the boy better than him now...which hurt, too. Ugh, everything hurt. He flopped back so he was laying on his back and closed his eyes wearily. What was he doing, allowing Anya to help him? Why did he still care so much? Well, he just hoped that the scars from the tavern didn't freak the girl out too much...his whole neck and shoulders were covered now. |
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Anya gave a slight smile as she thought about the child... Att was so... good, so pure, such a genuine little kid. Considering they'd been so ready to send him away to live with some other family, she couldn't imagine their lives without him. He was brave, and smart, and everything about him just seemed to attract people, despite him being so young. People just seemed to like him. "No, no, he's a lot smarter than you are," she noted quietly before shaking her head. "Luther is good with him too. Things are really starting to come together with the three of us," she smiled lightly as she thought about her little family. She'd had reservations about Luther for a long time, but the boy was growing on her... and she was sure they'd make this marriage of theirs work out so that they'd all be happy. She grabbed the cloth and rang it out before shifting the boys hair out of the way and gently starting to wipe the mud from his face... god, she was surprised she'd managed to recognise him at all. His face was covered in scars, and when she went to wipe his neck off she was met with hundreds of tiny bumps and lumps... she was confused for a moment as she cleaned off the rest of his neck, then forced her gaze away and glanced back towards his face before putting the rag down and giving him a kind of bright smile. "So handsome," she chuckled quietly before. Really, the boy looked sickly... more so that she'd seen him before. Still, her little comment was more to get a smile out of him than anything. A small snippet that told her he was still fighting, at least a little. Her eyes kind of fell back onto his neck... god, how could he let so much of it happen in the tavern of all places. She felt the impulse to reach out and run her hands along them, but held back as she looked back to Sage. "You still work here?" Well, that was the only real explanation for it. She just couldn't wrap her head around why he would let people be so rough with him for so long. |
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Sage chuckled slightly at Anyas comment about Att being smarter than him. Really, the girl was right...Att had no reason to be anything like him whatsoever. Though, he felt a pang in his chest when she mentioned how she and Luther were getting along so well. He was happy for the girl, of course, but he wished things could be happy for the two of them. Or, at least him...the girl seemed perfectly fine without him there. He had no doubts that they'd be a fine couple...they worked well together. "You'll be good rulers," he murmured softly. He wished he could be there to see her take the throne, but he wouldn't. And...well, he was ready to go, really. Maybe he could watch over the girl and visit her in dreams or something from time to time... Liz had showed up for him. Though, would the girl even want that? Or was he just a figure of her dumb teenage years? Was she only helping him because she was a decent person or did she really, truly care for him? He didn't know, and if he was being honest, he was much too afraid to ask. He didn't want her to tell him he wasn't important anymore. It did feel good to get the mud off his face, so he let the girl work. He relaxed a little after a moment, almost as if he was reliving the times where she'd caress his face like that because she still loved him. But no, he couldn't torture himself like that...she was cleaning him off because he was filthy, nothing more. He let out a snort when she called him handsome...he absolutely wasn't, and she knew it. Maybe she'd thought of him as handsome years ago, but he certainly wasn't now.He shrugged slightly at her question, and sighed. "Dad seems to be living out of pure spite," he muttered. "I worked until I couldn't anymore." He blushed again, the sort of anger and sadness at himself for being so pathetic. The girl could probably see it this time, too, which probably didn't make it any less visible. |
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Anya gave a bit of a smile at his comment... hopefully he was right. Hopefully, they'd be good rulers, and the people would like them enough not to cause too much issues for them. Years ago, she would have wanted for him to be there at her side, a shoulder to hold onto, but now that wasn't even a thought. She didn't really care if he was with her, or if she never saw him again. She'd been subconsciously looking for him, but she expected to feel more when she saw him... joy, or regret, or... well, at least something. She didn't feel anything for him. She was getting him comfortable like she always had, but then she just... wanted to leave. She'd been upset about loosing him at first... then she got angry. Angry that he'd left, she didn't get a goodbye or even a note... if he'd left something for her, she didn't get it. But, he did leave her with a child to raise, and that had to be the thing she was most angry about. She loved Att, but she hadn't had a clue what to do with him at first, and Luther wasn't much help. She pursed her lips a bit when he mentioned his father. In truth, she hadn't expected the man to be alive still, and she definitely hadn't expected Sage to still be providing for him. "I told you to leave him years ago," she noted quickly. "And the tavern, too. Now look at the state of you," she noted with a huff. In truth, she probably sounded like a disappointed mother... and really, she was a bit disappointed in him, and that seemed clear on her face. |
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Sage winced slightly when she started lecturing him...she felt nothing for him anymore, that much was clear. And he couldn't blame her. He'd been...well, awful to the girl. He'd stormed off and left her to care for Att, and had barely left a note. If she'd even gotten it. No doubt his room had been cleaned up to erase any sign of him before she could even get to the place....if she'd even wanted to at the time. "What else am I supposed to do," he asked the girl, hissing it out slightly. She didn't need to lecture him about this, it wasn't helping anything. He knew what was happening. "The man hunted me down, and waits. I can't leave the tavern without him catching me," he all but snapped. "Even if I pay him off, he just sends me back in the damn place." Well, fine...if the girl was so disappointed in him, then she could leave. She could go live her life and forget about the poor old tavern boy she'd once claimed to love. He broke a promise to keep in touch, but that had only been to protect the girl. But she'd broken a promise too....more than one in fact. She'd promised to love him, to help him, to keep him as safe as she could. And what had happened? She'd let Luther chase him away, without argument, and she'd barely looked for him before forgetting him completely. She hadn't even looked herself...two guards had came down for a day or so, glanced around, and left, and that was the end of it. She didn't have to point out all his failures....he was well aware of them. "Luther's probably waiting for you," he finally whispered, closing his eyes again. The words hurt, but he'd be gone soon anyway, and Anya would quite apparently be happier with him forgotten. |
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Breezy and Pleasant
