07-29-2018, 06:30 AM
it is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness
[ blame cheets for this ]
For a time they had been spared the complexities of life, their youth seemingly enough to keep it at bay if even for this short period of time, a chance to grow and learn before the weight was put atop their shoulders. Yet it brought with it other problems unique to childhood, to those days when energy is a fire in the belly burning at times when it is least needed, when the want for excitement proved strong and the lack of anything to hold them offering only resentment. They had grown better about handling those periods when they sought stimuli beyond the minimal boundaries they were within, meant to keep them safe but it cut away the world as well, left with only a taste of what was to come.
No stranger to the tavern, as they had taken to spending cloudy nights when the wind proved too strong for them to sleep in one of the various hammocks, they had taken to exploration rather early that morning, the space filled with flickering candlelight. Many had come to stay within those worn walls, and called it a temporary shelter, and not all had taken the items they had brought along upon their departure.
Sitting with their legs danging over the edge of a table Jay sported a grin, wide and filled with teeth, their dark eyes glimmering with a mirth touched by malice, they enjoyed a simple game. Lifting the bow once more they pulled the string back, the feathers upon the arrow tickling their cheek, the familiar sting taking its place as the bowstring snapped back into place. A loud cry of joy rose from the child as they watched the arrow pierce a rat just below the head, the fine bones of its neck snapping faintly as it fell limp, given no chance to make even one last noise before it was dead.
Littering the floor of the tavern five of its brethren had found such an end, each arrow topped with bright red feathers, evidence of their little escapade. Truly Jay was an odd ten year old, another arrow notched within moments, their attention moving across the floor in search of another furry bastard.
[align=center]For a time they had been spared the complexities of life, their youth seemingly enough to keep it at bay if even for this short period of time, a chance to grow and learn before the weight was put atop their shoulders. Yet it brought with it other problems unique to childhood, to those days when energy is a fire in the belly burning at times when it is least needed, when the want for excitement proved strong and the lack of anything to hold them offering only resentment. They had grown better about handling those periods when they sought stimuli beyond the minimal boundaries they were within, meant to keep them safe but it cut away the world as well, left with only a taste of what was to come.
No stranger to the tavern, as they had taken to spending cloudy nights when the wind proved too strong for them to sleep in one of the various hammocks, they had taken to exploration rather early that morning, the space filled with flickering candlelight. Many had come to stay within those worn walls, and called it a temporary shelter, and not all had taken the items they had brought along upon their departure.
Sitting with their legs danging over the edge of a table Jay sported a grin, wide and filled with teeth, their dark eyes glimmering with a mirth touched by malice, they enjoyed a simple game. Lifting the bow once more they pulled the string back, the feathers upon the arrow tickling their cheek, the familiar sting taking its place as the bowstring snapped back into place. A loud cry of joy rose from the child as they watched the arrow pierce a rat just below the head, the fine bones of its neck snapping faintly as it fell limp, given no chance to make even one last noise before it was dead.
Littering the floor of the tavern five of its brethren had found such an end, each arrow topped with bright red feathers, evidence of their little escapade. Truly Jay was an odd ten year old, another arrow notched within moments, their attention moving across the floor in search of another furry bastard.
two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings