[Flashback] What's in a name?(blythe)

[Jokor]

79th of winter 498Av

A small kid, looking like he couldn't be older as 4, was digging through one of the many piles of trash laying in the alley's of sunberth. Desperately looking for something to eat or keep him warm in this weather. The freezing winds blowing through the rather torn rags the kid had wrapped around him.
A small exited smile forming on his face as his little hand pulled something that vaguely resembled an old moldy piece of bread. He shoved the thing in his mouth and quickly swallowed the old thing, gagging a few times as the rancid taste almost made him puke before he began digging through the heap again for more food, or something that could be passable as it at first glance.
After having almost spread the entire pile of thrash apart and not finding anything that would be of use the kid pushed himself upright and pulled its rags closer around him, futilely trying to warm himself up. Before slowly waddling towards the exit of the alley going to try his luck in some other alley. As the kid arrived at the end of the alley it carefully looked around before stepping on the street and stood at the entrance of the alley shivering in the cold and generaly looking like a lost puppy in the rain.

[Blythe]

Blythe was wandering around the streets of Sunberth, disgusted, her family's warning was not enough to prepare her for this. People digging through garbage, the occasional, or maybe not so occasional mugging, (she honestly tried to ignore it), rats scurrying about.

Blythe was frustrated that Briar's friend had decided to come here, and now, she, as the youngest, had somehow been asked to come and look for him here, and to bring him home safely. This was ridiculous, she thought, as she pulled the brown cloak her mother had lent her more tightly around her, gripping it close to her face. Maybe it's because I never want to go anywhere, she thought, or maybe it's just the fact that I'm the only one not pregnant now. She shrugged, and kept walking.

Blythe passed an alleyway, and peered in at it, a small child was bent over a garbage pile, digging for what she assumed to be either food or money. Having found something, he quickly shoved it in his mouth, and nearly gagged. She nearly gagged to. Certainly anything found in the trash couldn't be good. Blythe walked towards him, trying to get a closer look. But it was hard to see, all she could tell from his size was that he couldn't be more than six.

As she tried to get closer, the kid wrapped the rags he wore more tightly around him, and began to move away from her. She decided to follow him. Not wanting to startle him, she chose not to speak. If he noticed her, so be it. Surely she wasn't scary? Sure, she was thirty now and all, but she didn't look any older than your average 15 year old.

Pulling her cloak more tightly about her, considering the cold, which now sent a chill down her spine. She ran after the child, who was now peering up and down the street, as if wondering where to go.

[Jokor]

The kid looked over his shoulder as he heard footsteps closing in on him. His eyes widened in fear as he saw a big person wearing a brown cloak running towards him. He immediately assumed that it was a bad person and ran away as fast as his little legs could carry him, He ran down the street not really caring which way he went as long as it took him away form the person who was trying to catch him right now, He gulped as he looked over his shoulder to see if the thing was gaining on him. before he know what hit him The little kid was sprawled on the ground, a rather pissed of looking man turned around and leaned over the kid.
"Say kid watch the hell out where you are going!" The man yelled, in a drunken voice before he grabbed the kid by the scruff of his neck and lifted it to eye height. The smell of cheap alcohol and other stuff filling the kids nostrils, facing away from the mans face to try to get out of the smell.
"Hey! Look at me when I talk to you!" The man roughly grabbed the kids head and turned it so that he was looking at him, ignoring the fact that the kid gave a small yell of pain as he did so.
"You ran into me ye little shit! So the least you could do is hand over some money for some pints!" The man said, to drunk to realize that the kid probably didn't even have enough money to buy a simple water.
He balled his fist. "Now cough up or I'l gotta hurt.." The man was interrupted as another man patted him on the shoulder. "Dan leave the kid alone, your not going to get some drinking money out out of that vermin anyway, I'l just take the tab for your next drink." Dan just looked at the kid in his hands with contempt before dropping him on the hard stone street. "Fine, your getting off lucky damned rat!" he spat on the little kid and left it there, Ignoring the whimpering form the curled up boy.

[Blythe]

The boy had started running away from her. Had she scared him? Blythe did her best to run after him, but the kid was fast, and she wasn't much for running, so she had a difficult time keeping up. She had lost him as he ducked into a narrow alley way.

Blythe looked all around her, turning as she stood. Now where did he go? She thought as she ran down another side street, holding her cloak close. Unable to find him, and then, she saw him. She listened from the shadows as a man, who she assumed was drunk, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and held him at eye level. Oh Avalis, I can't stand the sight of him, she thought as he asked the boy for some money for his drinks. Like he needs more, she thought.

The boy was trembling in his grip, she could see that from where she was standing. Of course, she wanted to help, but she wasn't good with that sort of thing. Besides, she didn't have a weapon. Now one of those would probably come in handy in such a sticky situation.

Another man slunk out of the shadows, "Dan leave the kid alone, you're not going to get some drinking money out out of that vermin anyway, I'll just take the tab for your next drink," he said. "Fine, you're getting off lucky damned rat!" Dan spat on the little kid and left him. Wow, what a vile creature, Blythe thought to herself, as they boy lay in a whimpering, crumbled mass upon the curb.

Blythe felt sorry for him. So she tip-toed out of the shadows and walked over to him. Lowering her cloak just a little so that her face was exposed. She bent down when she had reached the boy, so that she was level with him, and patted his back. "You ok?" she asked, her lavender eyes searching for his face.

[Jokor]

the kid just whimpered as he heard the men leave and curled himself into a ball, just letting the tears flow freely.Silencing down to a whimper when he heard someone else walk towards him, unable to even try to stand up, let alone run away from the person. So he did the only thing he was able to do at the moment and tried to brace him for the coming abuse.
Imagine his surprise as the person bent down next to him. As instead of beginning to search him for valuables or using him as an means to get their frustration out of their system the person gentelly patted him on the back.
"you ok?" The little kid slightly lifted his head of the cold street and tried to look up at the person, catching a small glimpse of a blond lady with strangely colored eyes looking down at him. "No," the kid tried to say, though it was almost impossible to understand through the sobs. "It hurt." though you didn't have to be a genius to figure out what the little kid meant. It looked up with watery eyes towards ,the still rather scary, figure looming over him. "Don't hurt me." it managed to force out in a way that it would be understandable if you strained your ears to hear.

[Blythe]

"No," the kid tried to say, though it was almost impossible to understand through the sobs. "It hurt." The kid looked up at her, tears welling in his eyes. Blythe's heart nearly broke, her lavender eyes filled with sympathy. "Don't hurt me," the boy said next.

Blythe was startled, now why would she try to hurt him? She rubbed his back, trying to calm him. The kid was sobbing uncontrollably. "Shhhhh... Shhhhhhh," she said. "No one is going to hurt you," she whispered, as she scrunched her nose up a bit. Something smelled awful.

She snuck a quick sniff of the boy's rags. Yup, whatever it was, was coming from him. Maybe it was the stench of garbage he had been sifting through earlier? Blythe did her best to simply ignore it, but it proved to be rather difficult.

The boy continued to tremble. "It's ok, no one is going to hurt you," she kept saying. "It's going to be ok." The top of her cloak fell off, exposing her face completely, her blonde hair, which she kept long, and straight. It ended in the middle of her back. She lifted one end of the cloak, and wrapped it around the boy, the other end was wrapped around herself. She hoped it helped to keep him warm. "That better?" she asked, hoping that she wasn't terrorizing the poor thing.

[Jokor]

The figure began rubbing his back in a comforting manner and tried to calm him a bit down by making soothing noises.
""No one is going to hurt you." The figure whispered in his ear, definatly sounding like a . The boy just continued to tremble even through her best efforts.
"It's ok, no one is going to hurt you." She said, repeating herself again and again. the cap of the woman's cloak fell off. as she lifted one end of her cloak and wrapped him in one end of the cloak, The boy's eyes went as big as saucers in fear, not knowing what she was trying to do.
"Its going to be okay." The woman repeated herself, a genuine look of concern on her features. the kid relaxed somewhat as he saw her features, calming down for a bit as she wrapped him into half of her cloak, feeling himself warming up a tiny bit.
"That better?" He heard the woman ask, The little kid just nodded, feeling very tired and rather comfortable in the warmth of the cloak and was slowly nodding of to sleep. "ye." the kid mumbled out. "tired."

[Blythe]

"Ye," there was a pause. "Tired." Blythe nodded. "Maybe we can find somewhere to rest," she said, "the streets are no place for such a thing. Where do you live?" she asked, as she took the top of the boy's arm, urging him to at least stand, hoping that doing so would wake him up enough where they could go somewhere else and talk, or rest, or whatever they may need to do.

"Don't be afraid," Blythe said, fearing that the boy may not want to come along, considering what his typical day must be like. What he usually experienced as far as adult-child interaction was concerned. After all, he had said, "don't hurt me," before. Perhaps he really did expect her to, even though that certainly wasn't her intention.

Blythe pulled up on his arm a little more. Smiling down at him, doing her best to make sure the cloak stayed around them as well. Hoping that her smile would calm him, get him to listen to her.

[Jokor]

""Maybe we can find somewhere to rest,"the kid heard the woman say to him,"the streets are no place for such a thing. Where do you live?" She continued and shook him a little bit by the arm to. Groaning the little boy opened his eyes and looked towards the smiling of the woman, who was carefully pulling up his arm,
"Don't be afraid." She gentily said to him, urging him to stand up. Wearily the kid pulled himself up, the woman making sure that the warm cloak stayed around the kid.
The kid pointed more or less to the direction of the alley he came form.
"Home there." He pulled the warm cloak closer to his body and wiped his face with it, leaning a bit against the woman in the progress. To tired and sore to care what she would do if she really was a meanie like those other two people.
He pointed back towards the alley for the second time and he yawned. "Place sleepy."

[Blythe]

The kid pointed more or less to the direction of the alley he came from. "Home there." He said. Blythe looked over at the alley. That was home? she wondered, not seeing anything that even remotely resembled her notion of home. She looked back at the boy dressed in rags, as his eyes opened and shut, tiredly.

The boy pulled the cloak closer to him, and began to lean on her a bit. He was easy enough to support, being so young, and slender. More than likely malnourished. He pointed again to the alley. "Place sleepy." He said. Blythe nodded. "You can sleep as soon as we get over there," she said, as she practically picked up the boy and started to lead him in the direction of the alley he had pointed out. Coaxing him on, "almost there... come on," she said.