Flashback Outsiders (Adrien Strade)

[Arlana]

Outsiders
9th of Summer, 508 A.V.

Five years. Exactly five years ago, a kind woman had found a little girl huddled in a sagging tent in the Tent City, all alone. The girl was starving and her eyes were swollen from crying. It was Lhex’s blessing that the girl wasn’t found by an ill-meaning character – most Sunberthians were. She was brought to the Orphanage, a place for the young and unwanted.

It was a long time for kid. Especially a kid who was still waiting for someone to take her away from this horrible city.

The same girl was now perched upon on the roof of a squat building near the Orphanage. It felt nice being higher than everything else, like she was untouchable. It made no sense, but she felt like if she could see everything from up there, maybe, maybe one day she could find her family. Her mother. Her father. Her twin brother. They who were lost to her. And so, Arlana had learned to climb. Besides, nothing favorable was waiting for her down there where everyone was.

Arlana wondered if maybe her brother was looking for her too? He must be. They were inseparable when they were together. Or had he forgotten her entirely? Maybe he was too dead to do anything. The thought made her flinch, even though she knew in her heart that he was still alive. If anything happened to Arlain, she would know.

Arlana could already see the bunch of children exiting the Orphanage, laughing and shoving each other. The very ones who had singled her out, harassed her just because she wasn’t born on the same land they did. Nonetheless, Arlana had gotten used to it and learned to fend for herself. Most of the kids here were easy to fool and that means she could take advantage from them quite easily.

As if she was just reminded of the fact, Arlana climbed down the building. It had been some time since she last stole from the other kids. The food in the Orphanage this week was horrible and she craved for something else. Unfortunately, she didn't dare steal directly from a street. The little thief resorted to stealing from the other orphans and then selling it for mizas.

Ducking her head, the young girl headed toward the awful building she called home.

“Speech.” “Hypnotism.”

[Adrien Strade]

It hasn’t even been a year since he arrived in this orphanage and already Adrien wanted to be somewhere else. In all honesty, he just wanted his parents back. He wanted to feel like he had people who cared about him again. But, that was just wishful thinking as far as the boy was concerned. He wasn’t even sure himself whether his parents were alive or dead. Everyone had told him that they were dead and he should just forget about it, that he should just move on. He had been so convinced that they weren’t dead and that he could find them if he just tried to search through the other cities. Now, he doubted how wise that decision had been. It had been stupid, stowing away on that boat and coming here. It didn’t help that only a few people made him feel welcome here. He quickly learned it was the way things were ran in this place. To each their own, so they would say. One cannot afford to think about someone else when they were struggling to survive themselves. It didn’t help that Adrien had come from another city. It immediately marked him as an outsider in the other children’s eyes. Since he had arrived, some of them had picked on him, hurt him or stole what little he had. It was a good thing none of them had stolen his mother’s earring that he kept in her memory. He hated them, the whole lot of them. Just because they were older or bigger or had more friends, they thought they could just victimize him whenever they wanted. That was why he refused to go out with them and “play” as the caretakers had put it. Instead, he decided that he would just sit somewhere and watch. That somewhere had turned out to be the front of the orphanage. He leaned on the wall near the entrance watching the other children. His hand would routinely go to his pocket where he had stored his earring—the little he had managed to keep as a remembrance of his parents. He was trying to keep it safe because of his past experiences with these other children. He sighed as another round of laughter came from the playing children. He wanted to join them though it wasn't likely that he’d easily fit in. He always seems to have a hard time trying to make people like him.

[Arlana]

When she approach the Orphanage, her eyes were quickly drawn to the edges, instead of the center where the kids were clustered. It was a habit of hers - an effort to find a place to hide. Arlana used to think that maybe if she stayed well enough away, the other children would leave her alone. It didn't take long until she realized how wrong that was. The action simply accented her distance from everyone else, making her an even easier target. Now that she was a little older and a little smarter, Arlana knew looking confident would be enough to stop them from harassing her.

Her eyes were then drawn to a lone figure leaning against the wall, looking somewhat sullen as he gazed on the other kids. It was a sad look and frankly, it reminded Arlana of herself. The girl knew all the name of the kids in the Orphanage, but she hadn't got the chance to know his. The boy was new around, looking at loss. Arlana had noticed him before because he stayed well away from everyone else, preferring to be in his own company. Something about his actions hinted her that he was not from the city.

It wasn't that he looked like Arlain, but still the boy reminded Arlana of her own twin brother. Five years they had been separated and she could still feel the loss like a fresh wound. She felt incomplete without her sibling, like a part of her was stolen hid somewhere she could never find. Arlana wondered where Arlain was . . . If he was here, things would have been a lot easier for her.

Maybe she wouldn't wake up screaming for their father at night. Maybe she wouldn't have to spend tiring nights alone perched on the roof, gazing up at the sky and wondering if it would be better if she had been taken by the slavers too. All the maybes were consuming her, but Arlana couldn't stop. With the reality so bleak, she couldn't help imagining other possible lives she might have lived.

The way the boy was constantly shoving his hand into his pocket suddenly caught her eye. Arlana could not be sure why, but she guessed he was keeping something in there. It was a trivial matter, but she let her curiosity spark, replacing the dark thoughts gnawing on her mind.

With an ease, Arlana approached the boy. “What's you name?”

“Speech.” “Hypnotism.”

[Adrien Strade]

The moment he saw the girl approaching him, Adrien was on guard. He wondered if this was another one of those children who would simply tease him about being a loner. It wasn’t like he wanted to be alone. They just didn’t make him feel at ease. He didn’t feel like he belonged. The girl looked older than him and had this confident aura around her. She looked at ease with herself and it made Adrien feel more than a bit intimidated though he tried not to show it. He tried to straighten himself from the slouch and to raise his head up, trying to appear more confident than he actually was. He briefly wondered what the girl wanted with him. He didn’t know her yet but then again he was quite new to the place. Although he was now familiar with the other children, he didn’t think that he has ever seen her. Was she there to harass him? Did she have better intentions? He certainly hoped so. Despite the confidence he saw in her, the young boy saw a momentary look of sadness pass on the girl’s expression though it quickly disappeared which left him wondering whether or not he had just imagined it. He just dismissed it as a play of the light until he knew for sure. Adrien’s hand went back to his pocket as the girl got to him and asked for his name. His fingers traced the familiar outline of the earring as he blinked at her in shocked and confusion. She wanted his name. He didn’t think that there were that many people interested in him rather than his belongings. He was…an outsider and he had honestly started to believe that he may not find any friends at all but maybe…maybe, he was wrong? The boy tried to stop the hopeful stirring in his heart as he gave the other a wide smile. He had kept the habit of smiling even when it was obvious that he didn’t fit in with the other children. It was easier to smile, easier to tell yourself that everything was fine and that you could keep acting like a child that didn’t have to worry about anything. “My name’s Adrien,” he replied, grinning. “What’s yours? Do you need anything?”

[Arlana]

“Nice to meet you, Adrien. I am Arlana,” Arlana replied, not without a kind smile. They must have been not that far apart in age, but something made her think he was still quite innocent whilst Arlana had lost that privilege since that day her family was attacked by slavers. “You are not from here, aren’t you? Where are you from?” There was not many outsiders in this Orphanage. As far as she could tell, most people would not choose to visit Sunberth willingly, especially those with children. And for a foreigner boy to be dumped in this little place, something unfortunate must have happened to his parents. Not that different from her.

The boy’s smile reminded her a bit of Arlain. He used to smile like that too. Bright and almost careless. The girl wondered what her twin was doing right now. Where was he? Maybe he’s safe with mother. Maybe he was even in the city. Was it wrong for her to wish that she was talking to her brother instead?

Yet again, Arlana noticed the boy fiddling with something inside his pocket. He must have had whatever it was for a long time, for he seemed to barely realize that he constantly reached for it. “If it’s alright for me to ask, what’s that inside your pocket?”

“Speech.” “Hypnotism.”

[Adrien Strade]

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Adrien replied after the girl introduced herself. He was still keeping his guard up in case the girl was just trying to distract him before stealing anything of his or simply hurting him. The boy hesitated in replying as Arlana asked about his origins. Would it really be safe for him to go tell someone where he’d come from? But, he really wanted to make at least one friend in that city so he opened his mouth and told her. “No, I’m not from here. I…I came from Zeltiva. This place is really very different.” Adrien’s hand tightened its hold on the earring in his pocket as she asked about it. He had been in the city enough time for him to immediately tense at the prospect of his mother’s gift being taken from him. “You’re not…you’re not going to steal it, are you?” The boy asked, unsure. It was stupid, Adrien knew. If somebody wanted to steal from him, there was no way they would admit it just because he asked. He traced the outline of the jewelry and looked at the girl in the eye. “I’ll show it to you if you promise not to steal it. I’ll…I’ll trust you…for now, so…” He probably looked vulnerable and far too innocent and Adrien didn’t really like feeling like anyone could take advantage of him. But, he wasn’t sure how to act anymore and at the moment, there seemed to be nothing wrong with trying to be honest to what he felt. This city seemed far too cruel and all he wanted was for someone to be his friend, at the very least…an ally, perhaps. If this girl really wanted to be his friend then that was great wasn’t it? Maybe she could even teach him, get him to learn the ropes of how to survive in this city.