Solo (Flashback) The Darkness of Hearts (Part 2)

[Orion Michaels]

Orion, Day of Spring 7, 512 AV Previous Threads : The Darkness of Hearts (Part 1) The young man was finding out quickly how fast things could change. One day he was safely in his room, the next, in the caves, and before he knew it, a child was under his protection. Orion never was a fan of the idea of kids, especially when there was no fun involved for him, but in this case he had made an exception. He'd made a promise to a dying woman and in this case, he would do his damnest to keep his word. He was learning how difficult that promise was to keep. There seemed to be a little bit of a routine for this basic existence of life. Well, when it came to food each day. The knights would come a few times a day, in what were probably the approximate same number of bells between each meal. A meager amount of food would be passed out, and everyone would go on with their lives. Sort of. There was a lot of greed, a lot of anger, a lot of confusion, and understandably so. Yet there was little accountability for one's actions in this mess as well. The food that was passed out was a precious commodity. Food was what people needed, and so they would take it. It was likely that the boy's mother was killed over food. A woman and a child were no match for a man with a dagger, Orion had mused, realizing that if it came down to it, he would need to protect the child with violence. His hand rested on the handle of his small dagger, wondering if this deterrent would instead be forced to spill blood. He'd seen more than his fair share of the liquid in his years, but he'd never used a blade to maliciously inflict pain. If it comes down to it, will I be able to? "Mister, what are you doing?" the young boy asked his new guardian. Orion had never bothered to ask the child his name, nor had he told him his own. 'Mister' and 'boy' were good enough. Forcing a smile, he looked over to his little companion. "Just waiting for the Knights to come with our food." The child looked disappointed, his eyes glued to Orion's dagger. "Oh." How the petch are you supposed to entertain a kid down here? No where to run around, torchlight only, and of course, no one was happy, no one was smiling. Add losing your mother on top of it, it was really quite remarkable that the boy hadn't lost it. Orion was sure if he were in the same situation, he'd have been reduced to a mess of tears. There were no tears though, only waiting. Sitting around for chime after chime, bell after bell, and day after day. Orion didn't know how long they had been waiting, but he knew one thing. The grumble of his stomach let him know it was about that time for the knights to come around with the food. The thoughts of just what may happen when that came to be almost made the young man lose his appetite.

[Orion Michaels]

Orion It was almost as if life was breathed into the mass of people as the knights began to make their rounds to distribute rations. A generally quiet bunch grew more and more rambunctious as they were forced to wait their turn for the food they so desired. Orders echoed throughout the caves and bunkers as the Syliran Knights barked commands to the restless denizens of the city. They were angry, scared, hungry, and worried. Add the darkness and the cramped living situations, well; it created a very volatile situation. The air was tense, and it appeared as if everything was ready to explode with the slightest provocation. Orion and the child waited patiently in a seemingly endless line. The scene was a rough one. Despite the slightly lifted spirits, everyone still looked defeated. The filth was nearly unbearable, though the horrendous smells their temporary homes had long since become common to the senses. The boy would occasionally glance up at Orion, his dirty face expressionless and empty. He’s a brave one, Orion thought to himself, moving slowly as the line of people seeking a meal shrank. "I wonder what we'll have today," he muttered to himself. The food had been anything but good. Orion was certain they were getting the bottom of the barrel when it came to their dinner. What was good was likely given to the knights, then what was left was sent down by the importance that those in power had deemed. Broth and bread were quickly becoming the norm. He gave the boy a nod once they were at the front of the line, encouraging him to accept his meal. The knight served him in a small container, the contents exactly what was expected. The blue eyed man sighed and moved up to get his food for the evening. "I bet you're eating well," Orion snapped, his words almost dripping with venom. "We're all making sacrifices to survive. Mind your place." Orion shook his head and decided not to press the matter. He turned to leave and his heart stopped. The boy was no where in sight.

[Orion Michaels]

Orion Panicked, he began searching frantically through the crowds for the boy he had promised to protect. Fear overtook him, knowing what people would do when food was involved. Please let him be around here. Various children were by their mothers and fathers, but none of them were the boy he was looking for. "He was just by me! Where the petch has he wondered off to?" The food distribution area wasn't that large an area, so he had to be close. Up until now the child had been almost annoyingly close to Orion at all times, yet for him to suddenly disappear like this was annoying in it's own right. A sudden high pitched scream caused Orion to rush towards it without hesitation. Unfortunately, the scream led him to the realization of his fears. Slumped against a cave wall was the child, holding his hands against his side, the dirty clothing slowly turning dark crimson around that spot. Above him stood a man of an fairly average build. Middling height, neither skinny nor fat. Scraggly brown hair was covered in filth. His eyes were what truly scared the young man. They looked crazed. The man had lost his mind down here, even though it had only been a handful of days. The uncertainty had driven him mad. Bloody dagger in one hand, a fist full of bread in the other, he chewed violently on bite he had taken from the small loaf. Without any concern for his own well being, Orion pulled his own dagger from his belt and advanced on the man from behind. Orion was neither light on his feet nor skilled with the weapon he wielded so the man wasn't taken by surprise. Turning quickly, he saw what the blue eyed man was trying to do and brought his own dagger to the ready. As Orion approached the man struck forward with is blade, driving it deep into his thigh. Letting out a yelp of pain, Orion was undeterred from his assault. With the close range he was able to raise the dagger over his head and force it down into his foe's shoulder, hitting the clavicle before digging in to the flesh of the shoulder, causing him to yell in anguish as the dark red life force began to flow freely. Both men stumbled away from each other in pain, grasping at the daggers embedded in their bodies. "You stupid petcher!" Orion yelled, ripping the weapon from his leg. Pain raced through his body as his blood oozed slowly from the fresh wound. "He was just a CHILD! He didn't do anything!" Staggering towards the brown haired man, Orion thrust forward with the dagger again, his imprecise strike failing to make contact, glancing off the cavern wall beside him. "I hope that piece of shyke bread was worth it!" Orion's breathing was ragged and uneven, the anger unlike anything he'd felt before. He could feel the tears streaming down his face, and hear them dripping against the cold floor, but all he could see was red. This man had to pay. This man had to die.

[Orion Michaels]

Orion If Orion was thinking clearly, he would know how much pain he'd be in after the adrenaline stopped. If Orion was thinking clearly, he wouldn't be brandishing a dagger with intent to injure another human. If Orion was thinking clearly, he wouldn't want a man dead. But Orion wasn't thinking clearly. He wasn't reasonable. He was lost in rage. In fury. In hate. This boy would join his mother in reincarnation, but Orion would live the rest of his life knowing he'd failed something less than twenty four bells after he'd been asked with a woman's dying breath to care for the child. The thug would die. Or maybe Orion would. He didn't know what he was doing, after all. The man's wild eyes scanned Orion, looking for any clue of what Orion was going to do. An untrained opponent could be just as dangerous to themselves as someone else. Add rage on top of it, and you just couldn't be sure what to expect. Teeth gritted, Orion took a step towards the man, prepared to stab again. With labored breathing, and a shaky arm, the young man was ready to do what he must. "Back off, vagik," the murderer instructed Orion, his back against a cavern wall. "I'll finish you like I finished the boy." Orion snapped. He let out a yell of pure, uncontrolled emotion and stabbed forward. The man slashed in retaliation. Both of them struck true. The thugs blade lacerated Orion's chest, easily tearing through the fabric of his shirt to send a splattering of red droplets flying through the air, pattering against the wall and ground around them. Orion sunk his blade into the left side of the man's chest. A look of shock spread cross both of the combatants faces. Orion felt the pain ripping through his body, but he couldn't focus on his own injury. The blade of his dagger was nearly halfway into his foe's body. Without a second thought, Orion pushed his body weight forward to finish the job. The rest of the killing edge disappeared into the man's flesh, tearing through his lung, causing blood to spurt forth as attempted futilely to take breaths of precious oxygen. Sinking down to the ground, the thugs eyes were wide, and his mouth open. He tried to speak but precious few words came out. "Die." Orion ripped the weapon from his foes hand and drove that one into the right chest, feeling it bounce off the ribs of the doomed killer. He coughed up blood, and no more attempts to speak came. The life faded from his eyes quickly, just as the last Orion's innocence faded from his. Collapsing to the ground, the young man began to sob uncontrollably as the intensity of the situation faded, and his body gave way to a stream of fear and sadness. He'd killed a man. Who was the murderer now? Killing someone for killing? Another screamed echoed throughout the caverns, as onlookers watched helplessly at the wounded man. They couldn't stop the boy from his death, so why would they do anything now?

[Accolade]

Orion Michaels

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Dagger	+ 3 XP

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	First Intentional Kill
•	People Can Be Monsters
•	A helpless Doctor
•	A murderer or an avenger

Notes :

I remember the first half, the second is just as sad. Great job as always.

The Sylir has spoken

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