Flashback Hero (Garland)

[Aventis]

Summer 11th, 501 AV

The world is gray. Dark gray.

It's dead.

No longer wishing to see, to hear, the small boy placed his wiry figure against the hard stone wall of the Welcome Home orphanage, being abducted to it by an anonymous knight the day before. His sleep was restless and brutal, and he was plagued with images of the last night with her. His mother. Seeing her slip away from him again and again. Watching her grasp for his hand, watching her hand fall before touching his own, cold and devoid of the life he loved. The life that kept him living. That was the night that his name died with the woman that gave it to him. The adults of the house paid no mind to the child, who wrapped himself in a cloak far too large for his size.

And it was in this moment he sat watching the other children, frightened beyond description, through the folds of Ma's old cloak, trying to seem as inconspicuous as possible. The other children... They were all so... Big. And all the child had was his height, which was maybe only an inch above the other children. He was an easy target. He had to stay hidden. Had to stay.

"Who's the rat in the corner?" He heard in the distance. One of the larger children loudly took notice of the child to his friends. The child tried to sink into the inky blackness of Ma's cloak before the rest of the boys took notice, but it was too late. There were enough of them. He didn't see how many exactly there were... But there were enough. A sly grin spread across the inquisitive child's face as he approached the mass of cloth, laughing to his friends.

"Go... Check." The closest one called out to one of the other boys, probably to check for adults. There was a quiet "Clear!" before an explosion of light and sounds surrounded the child's senses, the cloak tossed somewhere else upon the floor. The child curled up, wearing cheap clothes, dirty and ripped from running from home the night earlier. He did his best to cover his dirty, ragged face with the four of his bruised and battered arms, becoming a mass of pale skin and bone. After their discovery, the children engaged in a chorus of disgusted moans upon discovery of the four-armed boy. Already, soft and salty tears were streaming down his cheeks as the oldest-looking of the boys, the one that ripped his cloak away from him, grabbed hold of his wrists and dragged him from his position on the wall.

"No! No! Let go of me!" The child screamed, afraid of what might happen.

"Shut up, runt, or I shut you up. I don't ask twice." The older boy said quietly, whispering into the child's ear tenderly. This reduced his screams to whimpers and silent cries.

Through his teary eyes he could see the children wincing and cringing at the extra set of arms. Ma said it was a blessing... He thought. She said it was a gift...

The older boy once again spoke to him. "They're stupid," he told the child, referring to the other older boys, of which were the only one left. This, apparently was a normal occurrence, and the other children had left the room. "They don't know nothin'... All they ever do is follow me. They're brainless. They're stupid." He told the child, his grip on the child's wrists loosening a bit. "What's your name?" He asked.

The child didn't know how to answer. He whimpered, turning his head away as so the older boy couldn't see his face. He didn't have a name, really. He wasn't Lloyd anymore. That name died with the woman that gave it to him. So he remained silent.

"Nothing to say to me, huh?" The older boy said again. "You're ungrateful. You're as much of a dumb pinprick as the rest of these petchers. When I ask a question..." He said, releasing the child as he stood up, and raising his voice a bit so his posse could hear him. I get an ANSWER." He yelled, shoving his foot deep into the child's stomach, the group of them laughing as the child buckled in pain, all four of his arms gripping his stomach to cope with the feeling. Through his pain he heard "Take where he needs to go." With that, he was dragged off his feet, two boys on either end holding him up. He was about to scream when a third came behind him and wrapped a scarf around his mouth to prevent noise. He screamed at the top of his lungs as the children then brought him to a large window and lowered him out, the boys directly after to catch make sure he couldn't run. After a moment of struggle they subdued the child again, walking to an alleyway adjacent and throwing him against the wall.

The child that had spoken to him before addressed him now. "I'll ask you again, bug." The other children giggled when he called the boy "bug", and so did the dominant child. "What is your name?"

The boy stood now, back literally against the wall, and remained silent, his four arms in fists and to his sides. He knew he couldn't fight. The second he made that mistake, he regretted it. Before he could even see it coming, a fist was slammed into his cheek, knocking his head against the stone wall. The child fell to the ground only to be bombarded by kicks to his face, torso, and ground. Tears streamed down his cheeks and he wanted to scream, but he knew he couldn't. They would just hit harder. The eldest of the boys picked him up by the collar of his shirt, turned him around so he was facing the wall, and with all his might, slammed the child's face against the stone.

He fell, holding his nose, blood mixing with the tears and staining the ground.

Oh gods... He thought to himself. Help me...

Aventis

[Garland]

Garland had a nothing, but his pants, and a sleeveless shirt on. He wasn't much of a fighter, in fact he hated the idea of fighting, in general. Though anybody with a pair of eyes could see that his body was built for fighting, he was bigger than most kids, mostly because of his fast growth, but it would slow down sooner or later. He had been walking around the area, he was sort of the one that the younger kids would look up to, mostly because of his height and age. He saw a few of the bullies picking on the new kid. He didn't pay much attention to it, at first glance, but after he saw the cloak get torn off, and then see the four arms, he knew that these boys were going to extra tough today.

He decided to try and follow them. Silently, he crept about a corner away from them, trying to keep silent and avoid any creeks in the floor. He made sure his steps were light, and slow. As they made their way down through a window, he kept close and waited for them to get down the window. He waited for them to move a little away from the window and he peaked out of it. The bullies were rounding a corner, into a desolate alleyway.

In the light, he could see the boy that was leading the bunch of idiots around like a pack of dogs, FrancisHope you don't mind me, putting him here. I'm gonna make an NPC request soon I guess. The big bully of the Orphanage. Garland tried to stay clear of him, mostly because he hated his guys, and was a tiny bit scared of him. Though, honestly, every child here was afraid of the boy.

He had his back against a wall as he listened in on their conversation. Oh, how that boy made his blood boil. He clenched his fist into a tight ball and waited... He leaned to peek over the corner, seeing that the four-armed child was being pinned on the wall. He couldn't hear the conversation that was going on, but he did hear the word "bug", after that, he saw the punch, followed by the loud smack and the thud when the four armed boy fell to the ground.

Soon after, he was started being beaten on by the other kids with kicks and punches, even some spitting involved. A fight? Him? No, he had no clue about the first thing about fighting, it would suicide to help him now... He turned back, looking at the window he got out of. He turned back to the alleyway, hearing the sound of laughter and kicking, he can't just leave with a clear conscience now. He sighed, and took a deep breath.

He was scared, more scared than he had been his entire life, but that boy down the alleyway, getting a beating like a punching bag had to be much more scared right now. He needed the bravest face he could muster. That's when he stepped out.

"Oy! Francis! Why don't you and your brainless lackeys fight someone your own size?" He said with a fake cocky smile.

What have I gotten myself into...

He spread out his arms in a taunting manner. "What's the matter? Chicken?"

That had gotten their attention. They had stopped their beating and looked at the newcomer with a sadistic smile on their faces.

Oh Shyke... Right, you can do this!

He was about to break his code of pacifism, but for a good cause, no regrets. Time to break a few bones...

[Aventis]

The salty tears began to burn ever so slightly, only enough to notice. The pain, the beating had become regular. It still hurt, god did it hurt, but it was becoming regular. The boys began spitting on him, now that too mixed with the pool of blood and tears. His nose still bled profusely and he began to lose hope of getting out alive, and for just a brief moment he was thankful.

Mama… I miss you… I’m coming… I can hold your hand now… he thought to himself, closing his bruised and aching eyes in blissful acceptance. It was going to happen. he would not leave this alley living.

That’s when it happened.

“Hey Francis! Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?” he heard from the streets. The pain, the sharp plague that pained the child stopped.

“You wanna’ come over here and say that?” The leader child yelled out, stepping over the bloody and beaten four-armed child to walk towards the newcomer. “Actually… I’ll save you the time. You wanna’ help the bug, Gnarly Garly?” He said, moving closer, his posse again giggling. “I’m going to be a gentleman, you little shyke. I’m going to let you walk away from this right now. Think about it Garly. You walk right on back to our Welcome Home, lie in your filthy little cot, dream your filthy little dreams, and forget you ever saw this. Either that… Or… We beat you…” He snapped in the direction of the poor child, and one of the other children walked over to him. “... We beat the both of you.” He said, calm as ever. “There are no knights here, Garly. Only us. So you can either turn your ass right around and get the petch outta’ my sight, or you can step into my alley and introduce yourself to my boys. They’ve been dyin’ to meet ya’.” He said. “Hm? What’s your choice, Gnarly Garly?” He said, waiting.

The child hugged his knees, trying to keep his body covered, his face and clothes stained with his own blood, waiting for the next kick, the next hit, the next ball of spit, because it’s all he could do. He sat there and he hurt, hope depleted, and waited. Because that’s all the skinny boy could ever do. Wait.

Aventis

[Garland]

His false bravado was not flattering one bit. "Tempting offer, you petching idiots! But I got another offer for you." He pressed his hands together in a tiny clap. "Are you brave enough to fight me, mate? One on one? Or I could take on your idiot of a gang and then I break your face? Come on, pussy." He said while he was smiling and walking back in forth in a calm manner. Right now, he was feeling a rush, a rush he had never felt before, like a long overdue sugar rush after eating a ton of candy, with this, he stepped forward and spread out his arms. "You seem so confident beating up someone that doesn't fight back, what about me, eh? Chicken?"

Francis was having enough of this. "You're not worth my time, Garly. Boys, get him." With that, his posse circled around Garland, he gave a confident smile, he had a plan. Though it was more of an after-plan after he either gets beaten up or he fights them off.

There were four of them all in all, excluding Francis, which was busy watching the fight. "Hey bug! Get up, look at what we do to would-be heroes." With that, he grabbed the beaten boy and by the shirt and lifted him up to see the fight.

Garland raised his fists, he was no fighter... not yet anyway, but he had a body like one, and deep inside, this felt right. His stance was sloppy, but he had good footing. He had his senses raised, there was one in front of him, to his right, left, and the back, all eager to start beating on the metaphorical white knight.

The one at the back gave a loud battle cry before he ran up and swung at Garland. This was a bad move, because Garland heard the cry and ducked, something inside stirred, was it instinct or something more dark, but he clenched his fist and raised it up hard, right at the boy's jaw, he heard a crack and the boy stumbled back, and falling on the ground with a loud thud, followed by pained moans.

Everyone seemed surprised by the sudden ferocity of Garland's uppercut, even Garland was surprised, but he didn't have time to think about it, as a fist from the guy on his right closed in on his face. He couldn't react fast enough and got clocked right in the nose, right after that he was grabbed by the shirt, and pinned to the wall, the other two were closing in on him.

Shyke! Come on... Use that empty head of yours!

With that, he had gotten a brilliantly dumb idea. He grabbed the boy that was pinning him to the wall and headbutted him, while he was stunned he used the wall as leverage, he raised both his feet and kicked him, sending him back and hitting another guy on the way down.

With the last guy standing, and the other two recovering, things were looking up. The last one, threw a hard punch, but Garland had just barely dodged it. His fist landed right on the wall, he winced and took back his hand, shaking it like it was on fire.

With that Garland grabbed the boy by the collar, and forced him down, while he raised his knee, hitting his stomach. Garland did it a few more times for good measure, and then he aimed a bit further back, aiming for the head.

With a powerful knee to the head, the last boy was sent back by the recoil and sent to the ground. The other two were just getting up from their earlier stumble. He looked around seeing the two knocked out bullies on the ground. "Did I do that? Oh I'm sorry, you guys are just so weak I swear I was fighting you in my sleep." He wiped off the blood from his nose, grinning, ready for more. This was a strange savage feeling he had. It was weird, but he liked it.

[Aventis]

The child rolled over, facing his back to the older boys' foot, trying not to hurt. There was talking, but the boy didn't bother to listen. Noise had become just noise. He knew what was going to happen. The newcomer that Francis - the oldest boy - was speaking to would leave, the boys would snicker, and resume beating him. Hope was worth nothing at this point, because relief was an amenity he couldn't afford. As predicted, the boy felt the swift pain in his back, another kick. His body rippled with pain, knocked forward slightly with the force that the child used to kick. He bit his lip once again, his teeth cutting the muscle and leaking yet more blood.

Another kick. Another scream held inside. Another drop of blood on the ground.

Another.

And another.

The boy was about to give in, stop holding back his pain, and just die. Right there and then. It would be fitting. He would be happy. Damned be what could be if the end to all of it is now. Damned be what could be, he thought to himself. Damned what could be, damned, damned what could be, damn it all, he repeated over, his tears burning his eyes, the warm, salty fragments of his broken hope stinging even after they had dropped from his chin and onto the ground. I just... Stop... I want it to stop... Damn it all... Stop... he begged. He begged every god he could think of, any who might listen. Stop this... Just let me die, now...

Then it did. It stopped. All he could hear was his heartbeat ringing in his raw ears and the thundering thump, thump, thump as the boy who was beating him ran towards where he last heard the newcomer. It would explain why the other boys never returned... Was it possible that he was...

With every aching muscle, the boy pushed himself with his two right arms, rolling over to see the fight that the newcomer had participated in. The boys... They were all... They were all being beaten. It... It was justice.

It was a hero.

One by one, Francis' boys hit the ground, beaten senseless by the newcomer.

Until Francis stepped up to him.

"Impressive." He said, throwing a perfectly precise punch towards the newcommer. "For a pinprick."

The cruel child threw a powerful leg towards the newcommer's groin, then throwing a powerful knee towards the hero's face.

"You're puny. You're a bug. And I will step on you." he said, throwing yet another kick towards the hero's face, following with a punch hard enough to crack a knuckle.

"Pathetic little piece of shyke. No wonder your whore mother didn't want you."

Aventis

[Garland]

Garland was playing on the defensive for the most part of the fight. Now it was his turn to attack. He saw the two guys he had knocked down earlier got up. Though the other two were deeply unconscious, he ran in fast and punched the first one in the gut, following with another kick to the gut. The other one saw what Garland had just done and backed away slowly, trying to run.

Garland turned towards Francis a tad too late, getting clocked right in the face and followed by a kick to the groin, and then a kick to the face. Garland was one of the largest kids in the Orphanage at the time, emphasis on One of. Francis was the largest, strongest, and meanest bullies around.

Looks like things were not going so well now, but Garland's conviction was still not faltering in the slightest. Not even when he was kicked again and punched so hard he felt a bone crack, maybe. He looked up and spat a blood covered spit and grabbed Francis by the collar.

"My mom is dead, you petching asswipe." He gave a strong head butt that did little to the larger boy.

He saw the four armed boy, looking at him, a bit of wonder in his eyes. "Run!" He yelled, making Francis turn around, and drop Garland to go and attack the boy. Garland got up and jumped on Francis' back, putting his arm around his neck, choking him ineffectively. He had a lot to learn, but it did slow him down, and sooner or later he stopped with the boy and turned to throw Garland off of his back.

Garland raised his fist up to try and smash Francis' face to make him stop, but the bully blocked it easily, he slammed his head backwards, forcing Garland off.

[Aventis]

OOCI hope you don't mind... I'm concluding the fight. If you, like, really want to take more punishment from Francis, PM me, but I think it's just about time to wrap it up.

"My mom is dead." The newcommer said, solemn in both attitude and intent. But the hero didn't stand a chance. The hero threw a headbutt at Francis, stunning him long enough to yell "Run!" at the poor child, who began stumbling to stand up, his bruised and already weak limbs crushed under the pitiful weight of the child's torso. He fell, numb from the pain and barely feeling his teeth chatter as his jaw violently hit the ground. It was then that Francis would strike a devastating uppercut to the hero, took him by the collar, and do the same thing that he did to the child. He backed the hero up against the wall, and ran his hand almost through the hero's face, his fist hitting the wall space that the hero's head occupied. He had complete control. It was over.

Francis spat on the fallen hero, leaving his posse recovering in the alley. One by one, they started to leave, following the mostly unscathed Francis to wherever he may go, leaving the child broken on the ground, struggling against his own weight. The bleeding had stopped, blood and tears alike dry on his dirty cheeks. He hadn't died. And... He was... Happy. It was a wonderful feeling to have. To be alive, to be resurrected from the brim of death. By him. He could have sacrificed himself. He didn't. Why would someone do that?

Aventis

[Garland]

Garland waited until the others were gone, he slowly got up, groaning. He popped a few joints and his knuckles, he could feel a lot of pain on his face, a broken nose, bloody mouth, a black eye or two, but at least he stopped someone from getting beaten up more than he already has. He touched his face, feeling the sting of punches, he could feel a lump on the back of his head, possibly from being up against a wall as a brute smashed his face. He was on the edge of unconsciousness, but he needed to make sure that the four armed kid was alright. He leaned on the wall for a chime or two, taking a quick breather. He pushed himself off the wall and walked towards the beaten boy. He grabbed his arm and threw it over his shoulder for support. "Don't talk, okay? Save your energy." With that he started limping back towards the orphanage, taking the route through the main street. Mainly because they would have the knights to help out if there would be any trouble. News of his defiance to the lead bully of the orphanage would spread like wildfire, it would only be a matter of time until Francis would fight him for real, maybe even go and try to cripple Garland so he couldn't fight again.

He needed to build up his strength, his skill, and his speed. Though he still felt like fighting is bad, but right now he needed to fight, for the others that are being bullied by these guys, he was determined to protect, not to fight. Garland led the boy through the busy street, and into the main entrance. He was no doctor, but he knew that this guy needed some first aid, lots of bed rest and maybe some ice for the swelling.

Right now, he didn't know where to get those stuff or any of the medical personnel here, he didn't need to go to the infirmary very often, in fact he barely spent any time here at all. He was busy working for an old lumberjack most of his days, which would explain his slightly muscular form. So he led him to his room, and gently laid the four armed boy on his bed. "Don't worry, I'll be back with someone who can help." He locked the door, and put the key in his pocket, who knows if Francis would pick on him while Garland was away, luckily his door was one of the newer doors since the old one was pretty much rotted away. He walked down the corridor, looking for anyone who could help.

[Aventis]

The fight had broken, and left its participants likewise. Two remained in the alley. The boy crawled on his front elbows, burning himself with pain and regret, towards the fallen hero, but couldn’t make it. After his now third attempt to move on his own, he fell, succumbing to the wounds he had recently received. His eyes, without needing command, closed, condoning the darkness and condemning movement, the boy began to slip unconscious. He was now in the state where dreams form, lucidly aware of his surroundings but unable to react.

He heard footsteps, felt their presence, the vibrations reaching his ear as he lay helpless on the cobblestone ground. He felt his skin stick to the ground and eventually be ripped off. He felt zephyrs against his placid eyes, subjected to only what he felt. He was unaware of what was going on, but he could hear people. Not a lot. One voice in particular stood out, and as much as he tried, he could not strain his raw ears to hear it. It began to pain him to make even the slightest effort to hear, and he stopped trying, the world moving around him instead of vice verse.

The light that had reached his eyes even through his eyelids, which painted his vision a deep magenta, had faded, replaced by a calm darkness and a soothing purple, light blue. He felt himself shake periodically, and had deduced by now that either the hero - beaten nearly as senseless as he was - had him, or it was Francis. Maybe a knight. He didn’t know.

His four arms dangled from the figure’s grip, his weight shifting slightly as he heard the distinctive creek of a door. He felt the gust that the swinging open had supplied, aware of his thin hair moving gently across his bruised face. After a few more steps, he felt nothing. He felt comfort. He felt himself sink into something. He heard the door close once more, and then nothing else. He let himself slip, finally, into unconsciousness, resting at last.

Aventis

[Katelyn Marks]

Due Rewards

“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.”

― Philip Pullman

 

Aventis

Skills

• Observation 3
• Socialization 1

Lores

• The Death of Your Name
• Francis: Childhood Bully
• Missing Your Mother
• The Pain of Being Bullied
• Taking a Beating
• Garland: Childhood Hero

Misc.
Consequences: Aventis now has scars from this beating. They are long-healed and faded with age, so not extremely obvious aside for one across the left eyebrow, a nick on his lip, and a little mark beside his right eye. His nose will now always be crooked as well from being broken and not healing properly.

 

Garland

Skills

• Observation 2
• Socialization 3
• Unarmed Combat 1
• Stealth 1
• Intimidation 1
• Acting 1

Lores

• Francis: Childhood Bully
• Defending the Defenseless
• Intimidation: Standing Up to the Enemy
• Unarmed Combat: Throwing a Punch
• Unarmed Combat: Headbutting

Misc.
Consequences: Garland now has a few little scars on his face from this fight. They are long-healed and faded with age, so not extremely obvious at first until someone really looks at him.

Comments: Garland and I discussed this thread in private so I decided to remove my previous comment.

If you have any concerns or questions about your rewards please feel free to send me a message. Also, please edit your original grade request and mark it as graded. Thank you and enjoy!