Chapter Text
What if Orsted had questions?
“Have you, perhaps, ever heard of the name- man-god?"
Rudeus felt the soft, cold kiss of a snowflake on his cheek as he looked back at the man who had introduced himself as Orsted. He didn't understand why his friends seemed so… terrified of the man. He didn't understand why, with a buck and a scream, their horse had freed itself from the open carriage they were riding, and then ran headlong off a cliff. I mean sure, he looked scary, but he seemed to know them both, even if they didn't know him. It was a little weird that he said his father wasn't supposed to have a son, but maybe the man was confused? But now, now he was asking about something that Rudeus actually wanted to talk about!
The dreams from the man-god were fascinating, helpful, and he just couldn't shake the feeling… sinister. He looked up at the other man, an eager expression on his face. Finally, someone that he could maybe talk about all those feelings with!
Rudy didn't notice the hard look in Orsted's eyes, or the suspicious glint that was there when he asked the question. The man-god was a subject that had always seemed taboo. No one had ever spoken of him before. Even though the-entity -that-claimed-it-was-a-god had helped him find his little sister, he still had some reservations. At this point, he didn't know exactly why he didn't trust the man-god yet, and he was beginning to try to trust him, at least a little. Other than a bad first impression, and his own inner reservations screaming that something was untrustworthy about the guy… maybe this Orsted fellow knew him well, and could give him some advice on whether or not to listen to his inner voice.
“Why yes I have! He's appeared in my dream-”
His excited expression melted away as he shrank into his seat. Rudy's eyes went wide as the look in Orsted's eyes changed from hard, to deadly, and several scenarios began playing out in his mind, every single one of them resulting in his death. He didn't know what the heck he had done, but he definitely regretted those words falling from his lips!.
Orsted's words were laced with menace as he nodded in understanding. “So that's it. You're one of the man-god's apostles."
Still paralyzed by visions of death, Rudy didn't move as the man's hand flattened, and he started to draw it back for some reason. The boy's eyes were just beginning to widen, as Ruijerd suddenly appeared in front of him blocking what would have been a death blow. Rudeus only wished that he could phase through the wood of the bench he was sitting on to try and escape from the situation. He of course heard Ruijerd yell for him to run, but he couldn't! He was still sitting there, frozen, and in shock, forced to watch the battle.
As he watched, Ruijerd, his friend, his comrade, a Superd tribal leader, someone that had escorted them across the demon continent, and, most importantly, someone that Rudeus didn't think could be beaten at all, was rendered unconscious in just ten seconds. Rudeus watched as his guardian sailed through the air, and felt his muscles tense. He stood up, wanting to go after him, needing to go after him to make sure he was okay, but Rudeus had noticed something during the fight.
“Now then."
All throughout his ten second fight with the Superd warrior, Orsted had never lost sight of Rudeus. His glare remained constant no matter how the Dragon god had to move. Orsted had picked his target, and had no intention of losing it. If looks could kill, Rudy would already be dead. Orsted was still blocking his way as Rudy took a breath- to beg, to protest, he wasn't sure, but he found he didn't need to do anything, not at that moment anyway.
When did Eris move? One second she was beside him, the other, she was in front of him attacking Orsted. Her training had gone well, but he knew that she would be no match for Orsted- not when her teacher couldn't even last more than a few seconds. He watched as once again, a friend was sent sailing. He managed a wince for Eris as she flew into the side of a cliff, rocks tumbling around her still body from the force of the impact.
“Eris!" He was pretty sure that she would be okay, and he made an aborted move to run to both of them in order to render aid but as his muscles twitched to move in their direction, Orsted was in front of him, blocking the way with terrifying, and lethal intent.
Simultaneously, Rudy witnessed his own head exploding, The Dragon god shoving a hand through his chest, and a myriad of other future horrors. He tried his best to guard all the spots that were targeted in his visions, but the best he could do was protect one spot at a time. It almost looked like he was playing the Earth game, ‘Head Shoulders, Knees, and Toes’. He quickly cycled from guarding his head, then his chest, then one hand on both.
“L-look.", Rudeus stammered, trying to talk him down. That was all he was able to say before Orsted struck.
All of the sudden, he felt hands strike him in multiple places at once. Where a word should have escaped his mouth, instead a fountain of blood erupted outwards as he started coughing, hacking, and retching up that which was keeping him alive. He could feel an almost debilitating, fiery pain in his chest as he realized that the bones in his chest were shattered. When he tried to take a gasp of air, it felt like he was trying to breathe knives instead.
Orsted stood over him, muttering that it was always better to collapse a mage's lungs, and to tell the man-god that he was coming for him next. Rudeus didn't know what came over him then. He was already defeated! He couldn't heal himself, and there was no situation he could think of that would allow him to live. So why fight? For the sake of Ruijerd, and Eris, he found himself manipulating his wordless magic. The Dragon god might target them next! He couldn't let that happen.
Working like a dedicated potter, he molded his Stone Cannon spell with careful, and deadly accuracy. He made it the sharpest spell possible, putting the fastest spin on it that he could, and using the hardest material that he knew of. His heart hadn't even realized it was pumping the oxygen from his last breath throughout his body yet, when he let the spell fly, as his vision blurred. Orsted carelessly batted the spell away, at the same time, though, the Dragon god seemed somewhat impressed. He asked Rudy why he didn't heal his lungs, and how he learned to use wordless magic. Yeah right, if he wanted answers, he should have left him able to talk, he shouldn't have attacked in the first place.
Rudy mouthed some very non-charitable words at the god, and started to mold a fire spell, the same way that he had molded his stone spell.
Orsted saw Rudy's lips move, but of course no sound came out.
“That's enough of that. Disturb Magic."
Orsted tried to stop his magic then, but Rudeus had two hands, and knew multiple ways of casting magic.
Rudeus didn't know exactly what he was doing, he was too far gone by that point. He had tried to magically transfer the air he knew his body needed into his lungs, but it didn't work quite as well as he was hoping. He was determined to go down fighting, Ruijerd, and Eris deserved at least that much. He made a fireball, and concentrated on making it hotter, and hotter, and hotter until the flame turned blue then purple. He was picturing a nuclear explosion in his head when he finally released the supercharged spell. This was a spell he hadn't tried before, but that didn't really matter anymore. Desperation fueled him, as he unleashed his spell at Orsted who was watching him like one might watch a trick monkey at the circus.
Even he was surprised at the power. Orsted wasn't just able to just bat his spell away this time. There was perhaps a bit of desperation to his voice as he opened what he called a wyrm gate, and the spell was unfortunately eaten by it. Where the power had gone, though, he had no idea. Still, flames leaked out of the window as the window cracked violently, and it seemed Rudeus wasn't incorrect about mentally calling it a nuke.
If someone had asked Rudeus later on what exactly happened in the moments after that, he wouldn't be able to tell. His body was shutting down, and he couldn't hear anything around him. Orsted stood over him, and the boy could only look up at him, his eyesight blurring, his hearing all but gone. He knew that he was being lifted up by the neck, but he wasn't using his neck for anything other than support for his head at the moment anyway. He didn't know why his body kept trying to gasp; his brain knew it was useless. He was so far gone, he barely even felt it when the other man's hand pierced through his chest, and his heart. He didn't understand why he had to die. No one could live with a hole in their chest, after all.
He quickly lost consciousness, and collapsed in the snow like a broken toy. If only-
***
Eris could only watch with horror, screaming his name as Rudeus finally collapsed. She was trying to crawl over to him, still watching Orsted's retreating back, when the masked girl that was with him said something to him.
“Orsted, I've been thinking, he wasn't afraid of you, not at first anyway. Could he be from my world? He might be one of my friends. I think you should spare him if you can."
Eris didn't think Rudeus could be saved. His lungs were… almost non-existent, and there was a hole through his heart! How in the world- She could only gape as, without a word, the older man turned around, beginning to walk back towards where Rudeus was lying still in the snow, dying. She saw the Dragon god draw a sword, and heard two small thumps as he picked the boy's body up, flung him over his shoulder, and then started muttering something to himself.
“BASTARD! DON'T YOU THINK YOU'VE DONE ENOUGH TO HIM!? Don't you take him! NO! RUDEUS! PLEASE! Rudeuss… no !” She started trying to crawl after them, but of course, Orsted's walking speed was much greater than hers, crawling, as she was.
The man gave her a vicious, dead-eyed stare. “Eris Boreas Grayrat, I apologize that I had to kill your friend. There's an abandoned fort at the foot of this mountain. You can collect his body there, and if you would like, I can explain." He didn't say another word as he started walking away.
Even when she had found herself stranded on the demon continent without a sword, Eris hadn't felt this impotent. She screamed, and raged, but neither the retreating pair, nor their victim paid her any mind. She didn't know why they had taken Rudeus, she wasn't cognitively aware enough to realize that the words that Orsted was muttering as he walked away were that of a life saving healing spell.
Instead, as they disappeared completely, Eris found herself sobbing like a child. It was several minutes before she was able to gather her thoughts enough to realize that she was on top of a mountain, and it was snowing; she also knew that it would get cold enough that night to easily kill someone. She needed to get both her, and Ruijerd healed, they would need to make camp soon because it was starting to get a little dark, and they needed to discuss what to do. She wanted to retrieve what was left of… the man who meant more to her than anything, and at least give him the proper honor.
Rudeus had taught Eris how to heal herself; it took her longer than she would like to admit to remember the words of the spell. Eventually though, she managed to heal herself, and Ruijerd, rousing him simultaneously. By the time she did that though, a blizzard was starting back up. They needed to make camp somewhere out of the wind, or they wouldn't survive. She helped Ruijerd dig a hole in the snow to shelter them for the night. After they were situated for the evening, she told him what had happened while he had been unconscious. They resolved to head down the mountain, and hopefully to the fort in the morning.
***
Rudeus woke up with a start, and couldn't help but groan as he did. His body felt like it had been beaten with a stick, and to top it all off, he was cold. He was lying on a hard, chilly surface and, if he hadn't been on his side, he might have died again right there.
On his second breath, his chest hitched, and he found himself coughing, and retching. His lungs were frantically trying to expel the blood that had accumulated inside them, having left him just short of drowning in his own blood. When his lungs were clear enough that he could breathe without effort, he let his head thump to the floor. He was completely exhausted. His mind was frantically working to try to remember what the hell had happened to him. After a moment in which he gathered his strength, he started to shakily raise his hands to his face to wipe away the blood, as well as the remains of his last meal that had accumulated there as it was expelled from his mouth. He froze in horror when he realized he couldn't move his fingers.
His arms were intact, they ended with perfectly formed wrists. Where there should have been hands though, smooth skin stretched over his wristbones. It didn't hurt, it had been healed perfectly; but his hands were gone!
A shrill scream rang out into the air.
Of course he screamed, anyone would have screamed upon that discovery.
“My, my hands! W-wh-wha? W-why?”
With wide-eyed horror, he was so fixated on his wrist bones, he didn't even notice that he had been thrown inside some sort of stone cell. Rudy's world had shrunk to begin, and end with his aborted hands. Some time passed before he noticed anything.
Footsteps. The first thing he could hear was heavy footsteps coming closer. Rudy’s heart started beating faster as he took shallow quick breaths, and tried, ineffectually, to sit up not wanting to meet his captor lying down.
Rudeus could hear a deep voice that crawled out from his nightmares. His breathing increased further, and his pupils nearly disappeared in reaction to his terror.
“I had to make sure you couldn't cast spells of course."
Rudy's head snapped in the direction of the voice as he flinched. It was the monster! He didn't really realize what was happening as he frantically looked around for a place to hide. He couldn't control his breathing, it was coming in fast gasps. The Dragon god was there! He was standing on the other side of the bars looking down at him with a frown on his face.
Rudy's vision started to blur again, and very dimly he realized that he was having a panic attack. His body was trying its best to scramble away from its tormentor, but he couldn't move all that well without hands. He managed, feeling his back hit the wall. He didn't even notice the cuts that he'd managed to give himself from the rough stone floor or the bruises accumulating on his wrists. Rudy didn't even have the breath to scream, but even so, a pathetic, strange, high pitched wheeze escaped him nonetheless.
Orsted watched the boy gasp on the floor, and a flail around like a fish out of water. He didn't hesitate; he was not about to let the boy pass out. He rolled his eyes, wrenching open the door to the cell as he did so, ignored the boy's frantic scrambles to get away, and hauled the terrified, traumatized child up to give him a hard whack on the back.
“Breathe," he said as the boy choked, and gasped in his grip.
“I had to bring you back to life, and now you're going to answer some questions for me. That's the reason you're here. No one is dead, and nothing that has been done to you isn't reversible." Even though Orsted meant for his words to be comforting, the unsaid ‘yet’ almost hung in the air like a silent threat. Then he waited, letting the boy recover at least a hint of his scattered faculties. If asked later on, Rudy would be unable to tell how long they sat there. Orsted kneeled there in front of him, his eyes showing a mixture between stern, angry, and just a hint of concern. After all, if his captive lost consciousness before he could question him, they would just have to start this dance all over again whenever the boy woke up.
Rudeus just sat against the wall trying to get his fear under control. The whack had jolted him out of his panic attack. He was still gasping, but more to regain his breath than anything else. Coming back to himself, Rudy eventually noticed that his pants were wet, and that his arm was throbbing from where Orsted was gripping him. The grip tightened, making Rudeus hiss from the pain. It also made him focus.
“You're still alive for two reasons, reason number one is that I have questions, and reason number two is that someone else has questions. Answer those questions truthfully. Don't try to hide anything; that would not go well for you.” His voice was pitched low from threat, and he punctuated his statement by shaking Rudeus a little by the arm.
“Now, how did you hear that name? Are you a servant of the man-god?” His words were almost hissed, and the grip he had on Rudeus’ arm tightened like a vice making the boy in question cry out.
“No! I can't help that he comes into my d-dreams! Let go! I-it hurts! P- please !” Rudeus tried his best to pull away, but he felt like a kitten trying to fight off a lion when it came to Orsted. Rudeus on his best day, couldn't have struggled away from the Dragon god with his irresistible power, and vice-like grip. With him handless, gasping for breath, and severely weakened? Forget it.
“So you are his follower." Orsted tightened his grip again feeling something give in the arm he was holding. All that mattered is that the boy couldn't move. Orsted held him there, pinned to the wall, as he reached for the boy's neck. He planned to quickly snap the boy's neck, something about those eyes looking back at him bothered him; it was never easy dealing with children, but this one would haunt him.
Rudy screamed as he felt his bones creak, and crack, it felt like Orsted was turning them to powder. “I'm not! I can't help that that creep goes in my dreams! I don't follow anyone!" Rudeus felt the first touch of Orsted’s hand on his neck, and froze in terror.
Orsted blinked, and drew Rudeus closer, some of the hostility leaving his eyes. “You think he's a creep?"
Rudeus was glassy-eyed, and frozen like a rabbit in a wolf's grip. It took a little slap from Orsted, and a repeat of his question before Rudy snapped out of his frozen terror enough to answer.
“O-of course I do! Who wouldn't? I hate him! I feel d-dirty after every s-single one of those d-dreams! Or… at least, I did at f-first." The room was silent for a moment. The only sounds that could be heard was the panicked, pained breathing of a child as the man hovering over him processed that news.
Rudeus watched his face change. It went from anger, and acceptance, to confusion, his iron grip starting to loosen a little as the threatening touch on his neck disappeared.
"You didn't automatically trust him?" His voice was softer now, more contemplative.
“W-who would?! He's creepy, and I h-hate how I l-look there! A-automatically t-trust? Him!? W-who in the world would ever be c-crazy enough?! He's like s-someone's creepy, p-perverted uncle or s-something!”
Once again they were still. One of them lost in confusion, the other, because he didn't want to break the delicate silence that had been cast over the room. After a few minutes, the older man's mouth attempted to say something it had only correctly pronounced once before. “Ohayo gozaimasu.”
Rudeus rapidly blinked as his mind understood words in a language he hadn't heard for over ten years. He could barely tell what Orsted had said; it was that garbled. It was obvious someone else had told him what to say, and given him some instructions on how to say it. Still, his head snapped up, and he gazed into Orsted's eyes, searching for answers. Some of his panic, and fear melted away, and was replaced with simple confusion.
“How… how do you know t-that phrase? W-why- did… you just… g-greet me in- a p-professional way? H-how do you know Japanese?”
Rudeus stared back at Orsted, confusion written all over his face. There was no way he was Japanese too right? Someone must have told him what to say, and how to say it.
Orsted raised an eyebrow,
“Hmm.. I guess she was right. You're not from this world."
Rudeus just had opened his mouth to ask what the hell that had to do with anything, when he was distracted.
"See? I told you!” The girl from before came flying around the corner. “I just knew he was from my world!" The girl stepped through the open door, and knelt in front of Rudeus, removing her mask. A girl with the traditional black hair, and black eyes of the Japanese people stared back at him "Do you know who I am?", she asked in Japanese.
Rudeus was mentally sent reeling. In 1.2 seconds he had gone from having his life threatened, feeling more fear, and pain than he had when he had first died, to having an excited girl ask if they had met before! He shook his head to clear it, and put his free arm up attempting a universal signal… that wasn't nearly as effective without the hand he intended to hold out.
“H-hang on g-give me just a second to catch up,” he said faintly.
He let out a deep breath, giving Orsted a look similar to which a gazelle would give a lion as he did so. He then warily turned his attention to the girl that was kneeling before him.
“You look… f-familiar,” he murmured, narrowing his eyes in thought as he did so. He looked directly into her face, eventually remembering; his eyes widening as he remembered the moments before he died the first time. She was the last girl he had laid eyes on before he had been literally truck-kunned, and reincarnated.
“I… don't know you, but I… I do remember you. Y-you were arguing with your friends." He replied back in Japanese as to leave no doubt at all that he knew the language.
The girl's eager expression melted away a little bit, but she still looked excited to see someone that at least knew the language.“You're not one of my friends? I wondered why I didn't recognize you. Are you European?" The girl appeared disappointed. Hopefully that didn't mean that she was going to let Orsted continue assaulting him.
“No sorry. Have you ever heard of reincarnation? I… think that's what happened to me. I d-died from the truck. I was r-reborn looking like this. Do you… know how we got here?”
Rudeus felt incredibly yanked around. He had gone from calm, a little cold, to panicked, to some semblance of normalcy, too fast for his mind to really catch up. They were also having this conversation as it felt like Orsted was trying to twist his arm off.
“No, I was hoping you would. But you're at least originally from Japan? You would almost have to be unless you were someone that really loved the culture, and was visiting. We did have a few of those.”
Rudeus just nodded, trying to ignore the pain, “Y-yeah. Born, and bred a-although it doesn't look like it anymore. It's… kinda nice to see someone from home though.”
“What are you saying? I take it that he's from the same world as you?"
Rudy flinched hard as Orsted spoke. The grip he had on Rudeus' arm loosened further but didn't quite disappear. The Dragon god had apparently had enough of being talked over.
Nanahoshi just nodded with a big grin. “He's not one of my friends, but he is from earth, and he's even Japanese!”
"Hm, Maybe that's why you think he's ‘creepy’." Orsted muttered to the boy, looking down at Rudeus like the boy was a frog he was trying to dissect, making Rudeus try his best to sink into the wall.
"Hmmm, this might change things. We will still talk later though.”
The grip on Rudeus’ arm was finally gone. Like a wounded animal, Rudy drew his arm as close to his body as he could, trying to cover it with his other arm to protect it. He watched with a sort of numb curiosity as the man got up, grabbed the girl's lower arm, and pulled her protesting form out of the cell.
When they were out of sight, Rudy waited a few moments more, and then slumped into the wall of the cell. He knew that everything wasn't over, not quite anyway. But apparently, maybe things would get less painful from here on out? It was something to hope for at least. He waited a few more heartbeats then gave a relieved sigh, and let his body fall over from where he was sitting. He let out a small cry of pain as he felt something shift in his half crushed arm.
He was so tired! He had never felt that tired in his life. Still scared, he managed to wedge himself into a little corner curling up into a ball as he did so. He was too tired to think, even too tired to cry. He was hungry, and incredibly thirsty, and his arm felt like a giant had danced on it; but that didn't matter. What mattered was that it was quiet. What mattered was that no one was hurting him. If he hadn't been so tired, he would have started… sobbing? screaming? panicking? He didn't know. He was tired enough though, that it felt like the cold hard stone floor beneath him was comfortable. His arm still hurt, but as he waited, the pain reduced from feeling like his bones had been ground up, to feeling some weird floaty feeling with stinging sensations sometimes poking through the floaty feeling. He didn't understand it. He knew he was probably in shock, but it didn't matter. It only took three breaths for his body to shut down as he half passed out, half fell asleep.
***
Orsted was feeling rather uncomfortable. It wasn't a feeling he was used to, as he rubbed his chest in confusion. It had been so long since he had had this feeling, it took him a while to identify it. Guilt. He was feeling guilty. Now, he had dealt with children who were disciples of the man-god that he had found, but all of those had been so quick. He wasn't even sure the children had felt any pain. They had never really been able to put up much physical resistance, and they certainly hadn't suffered. Rudeus on the other hand, unquestionably had been put through a lot of pain.
Not only had the boy been able to fight back with surprising effectiveness, which had only served to make his pain linger, and increased the severity of his pain, but there was a chance he was innocent of the charges, as it were! He had been wondering why the boy wasn't afraid of him when they first met.
The boy had been wary, and curious, but not afraid, not terrified. At least, not until he had visited the boy's cell, after he had traumatized him, hurt his friends, left them undefended in the cold, and then dragged the child's unconscious body back to the abandoned fort he had found for questioning.
Yes, he had healed the boy from any wounds he had inflicted, but he had also removed his hands before he had done so. Orsted had used a spell that could save a life, not one that could regrow a limb. He had only done so, to make sure that the boy wasn't trying to throw spells when he should have been answering questions; but he was beginning to believe that he should have treated the situation differently.
Nanahoshi had told him the details of the conversation they had had in Japanese. The boy was indeed originally from her world; he knew her language after all.
The boy hadn't answered all of his questions, but he had answered the most important question correctly. He couldn't keep the man-god out of his head, but he didn't trust him, and was even somewhat repelled by the man-god. Orsted was beginning to think that being from a different world meant that they were free from the man-gods cursed hold.
He sat back in his chair, and sighed, resting his head in his hands. If Nanahoshi really was correct about the situation, he could admit he had really messed up. There were still questions to be answered, but-
“Umm, it just occurred to me, he's pretty much helpless in there. Do you think it would be okay if I visited him? Gave him some food, and water? Somewhere to relieve himself? Also maybe cleaned him up a little bit along with the cell?”
Ever logical, Nanahoshi had brought up a very valid point. He glanced over at her, and nodded.
“While you're at it, let's see if we can find him something a bit more comfortable than stone to sleep on. I don't intend to keep him in that cell forever, I never did. But while he's there… Oh, and I guess he'll need one of my extra charms. I don't want the man-god realizing that I'm even still alive, and if he knows that name, he can't keep him out of his head, much like everyone else in this world. I guess it's a good thing I gave you that bracelet after all.”
Orsted started digging in his pockets for the aforementioned charm. He wore one, Nanahoshi wore one, and he would make Rudeus wear one. It was all a part of protecting himself after all. If he managed to save the boy some manipulative dreams from a manipulative bastard, all the better.
***
Rudeus was jolted awake when the cell door creaked open. He was still exhausted, so he could tell it hadn't been very long; but even an hour or so of rest had done him some good, in spite of the cold. The only problem was that his brief nap had given his injuries more than enough time to settle in. The nerves in his upper arm were throbbing with almost mind-numbing pain, and the rest of his body felt like one big bruise. He barely held himself back from screaming, as he grunted, and carefully turned the injury to where it was facing the corner of the wall where it would be protected. His upper arm was swollen so horribly, that he wondered if the bone itself was cracked or something.
He felt like a rabbit hiding in a hole as he made himself as small as possible, and he fearfully watched while trying not to shake as Orsted brought something like a cot into the room, opened it, threw a couple of blankets on it, and then left without a word. The girl that had been with him earlier though, stayed. She gave him a slightly stressed, somewhat friendly smile, and gestured to some of the things that she was carrying.
“It's been at least almost a day since you last had anything to drink or eat. I figured you were both hungry, and thirsty. Also," she held up a black bracelet, “You need to wear this, and might need to wear it from now on. Otherwise, the man-god can see you, and into your dreams.”
Rudeus just nodded, too tired, and too hurt to really resist. He didn't move aside from offering up his good arm for the bracelet. He felt safest in his little corner of the cell, thank you.
Nanahoshi gently took his arm, and slid the bracelet over his wrist, and up his arm. She leaned over him, and looked in his eyes, seeing the pain that was all but written there.
“Is it your arm?" She was almost whispering.
In response, the boy looked like he was about to cry.
“Oh dear. Can I see it? I won't hurt you, I promise." She asked very softly still.
Rudeus’ eyes searched hers for a moment, apparently finding what he found there acceptable. Being very careful not to move his arm in the wrong way or bump it, he gently extracted it from the corner, hearing her let out a small scream when she realized how bad it was. The arm was nearly crushed. Rudy hadn't seen it up till now, and let out a horrified gasp. It was light purple almost from his shoulder to his elbow, with darker purple in the shape of a handprint where Orsted had gripped him. His skin had a few cracks in it, and the cracks were filled with blood that had dried as he slept. The arm was horribly swollen, as he had suspected.
“WHAT ARE YO-" The Dragon god had heard the scream, and came running thinking that Rudeus was somehow hurting her. He didn't even think there could be another reason why she would have screamed.
Nanahoshi quickly jumped between them, and spread her arms wide to protect Rudeus. Rudy, for his part, was beginning to hyperventilate again, and had finally burst into terrified tears. He was making himself as small as possible, and was trying his level best to hide in the corner, and behind the older girl.
Orsted, based on everyone's reactions, quickly figured out that he had messed up again. He almost seemed to deflate, leaving a more rational man standing there blinking as he looked at Nanahoshi, his eyes roving over her form looking for injuries. Finding none, he spoke up, seeking answers while scratching his head, feeling almost sheepish.
“Why did you scream?"
Nanahoshi saw that Orsted was rational, and felt it was safe to turn around, and start to tend to Rudeus.
"Look at his arm! You damn near crushed it!”
Orsted realized he had squeezed his arm pretty hard. He turned towards the boy, only to find him pathetically weeping, hyperventilating, despite Nanahoshi’s efforts, cradling his mangled arm, and hiding behind Nanahoshi, while simultaneously trying to cram himself into a corner. Orsted couldn't see the limb that well, but what he could see was… disturbing.
He didn't even have to think about it. He immediately cast a level two healing spell on the surprisingly delicate boy. Yes, his magic was a depletable resource, but at that point, he didn't care. He watched as Rudeus' skin slowly returned to its original color, and deflated like a balloon while his arm shifted in creepy, almost imperceptible ways as the bone realigned, and healed, at least part of the way.
Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to solve his breathing problem, idly wondering what kind of mental damage he had done to the child, he told the girl what to do.
“Nanahoshi, hit him on the back hard enough to force his breath out. That solved the problem last time." The girl nodded, turning him around so that she could have easier access to his back, and as a bonus, he wouldn't be directly looking at Orsted. She must have hit him hard enough for it to work, because he immediately began coughing, and spluttering. Orsted was just glad he wasn't going to need to do it because considering Rudy's mental state…
Well, if Orsted wasn't feeling guilty before, he most certainly was now. He had broken the child's bone! Just by squeezing! Talk about not knowing your own strength! He was horrified. He had meant to bruise to get his point across, but hadn't considered that a child's bones were more delicate than that of a grown up. That was something he was going to have to remember in the future.
Trouble was, he was feeling guilty before, and now his conscience was working on beating him up worse than Rudy had been. There had only been one other person that managed to save their own life after Orsted came asking questions, but Geese was a manipulative, smarmy grown man who left such a bad impression that Orsted felt like he needed to shower after speaking with him. Rudeus, though,was still a child. He looked over to where he knew the boy was, and found him being hugged, and comforted by Nanahoshi as if he was her little brother. He had his head buried in her stomach, and had gone from sobbing, to sniffling.
Orsted felt his conscience sting him again, and winced. He looked at the boy again, and saw a black bracelet on his arm. He gave a long sigh. He had gone way too far. It was time to apologize, and retreat.
“I am truly sorry. I thought… It doesn't matter what I thought. There's no excuse for what I did.” He stood there awkwardly, just watching the child be comforted.
He nervously adjusted his collar, and ran his hands through his hair. “I'm afraid I cannot let you go until I have certain oaths, and…” he winced. " I don't want to put any more pressure on you today. I am going to make this room as comfortable as possible for you though. I will announce myself before I barge in. I would stay away from you for a little while, but Nanahoshi has a light frame. She couldn't carry some of the things in here. There is no one else.” He watched Rudy cling to Nanahoshi as best he could. “I give you my most sincere apology.”
Nanahoshi had managed to coax Rudeus to sit on the bed with her. His head was in Nanahoshi's lap, and was letting her play with his hair. He was beginning to calm down from his panic, and he dared to look up just in time to see Orsted actually bowing to him, and then quickly exiting the room. Rudy was too done to care, or even think though, and let the soothing motions of the girl playing with his hair lull him to sleep.
***
Nanahoshi realized that Rudeus was asleep, and not just quiet, when he let out a soft snore. She knew that sleep was probably the best thing for him, so she just relaxed, and figured she would take a nap. Orsted was very quietly stealing in, and out of the room leaving useful trinkets. He brought soft sheets, a blanket that prevented nightmares, a vase that was just about as tall as the boy so that he could easily drink out of it with the long straw that was inserted into it, and he had even managed to rig something of a portable toilet up. He brought pillows, a chair, and even a stuffed animal or two. Where he had found those, she would never know! When he was finished, the room looked a little bit more like an apartment than a prison cell. He had even rigged some privacy walls part way around where the portable toilet was. She couldn't help but snort. Someone was feeling guilty! She knew that at his core, Orsted was a really good person. He just didn't get to show it off often because too often he was hunting people down for his quest. People that deserved it, yes. But still! He was also super protective of any friends he did have, herself, for instance, much to Rudeus' trepidation earlier.
She stayed there in quiet contemplation until she realized that the child had lost a lot of blood, and had not drunk anything for almost a full day. Everything else could wait; him drinking something however, could not. She very gently began trying to rouse him.
“Rudeus, Rudeus, wake up. I'm so sorry but you need a drink. Please wake up!”
She gently shook him until he started groaning, and his eyes slowly opened.
“Wha-?" Rudeus very blearily opened his eyes; he was confused on where he was, and contemplation came slowly for him. He did, however, know that he had a very comfortable ‘pillow’, and he just snuggled into the ‘pillow’, enjoying the softness. Then the ‘pillow’ squeaked, causing the boy's head to shoot up. His eyes went wide when he saw what was happening, and he immediately blushed. “S-sorry!" He put a nub to his throat, his throat was incredibly scratchy, and his voice was a little hoarse too. He didn't know if that was the screaming, the dehydration, he was getting ill, or possibly all three.
Nanahoshi knew that he hadn't known what he was doing, and just patted him on the head.
“It's okay. You were asleep! And I would have let you stay that way, except you have to be thirsty! Hungry too I would imagine, but you can live a while without food, you can only live a few days without water. You've already gone one day without drinking anything!”
She motioned to a tiny table where there was a clay picture resting.
“Drink about a glassworth, and I'll let you choose whether you want to go back to sleep, or if you want to eat something before you sleep."
Rudeus watched as she got up, retrieved a glass of water, and then held it to his lips. The boy was immediately seized by an astoundingly strong thirst, and there wasn't any more talking until the cup was empty.
Rudeus didn't think he had gone without water for that long before. He could almost feel his cells rehydrating as he drank the cold, and completely refreshing water.
Nanahoshi, knowing about rehydrating after dehydration, did force Rudy to slow down a little bit. She would only let him get sips of water instead of letting him drain the cup dry immediately. Rudy did ask her for another glass after he had drained the first, but she just shook her head.
“If you're willing to eat, you can have a glass of water with dinner. I'm here to help you wash, change into the shirt I brought for you, and clean this place up a little bit since you can't. But before all that, you need some food.”
As if on cue, Rudeus’s stomach let out a very loud growl. She giggled a little, bringing out a bowl heated with magic that contained rice, meat, and some sort of sauce along with some vegetables.
“I've been trying to recreate some Japanese dishes here. I hope you don't mind being something of a guinea pig, but just know that I am too! And I've already eaten through my worst failures. ”She shuddered a little in remembrance." I just want to see what someone with a similar palette thinks of my recreations.”
Rudy was almost hungry enough to not be embarrassed about being fed by an attractive teenager. He didn't protest, but he did blush. The whole situation was just super duper awkward. First, he had woken up in her lap, and now this. He didn't know whether to be attracted to her, or start calling her big sister. He was several ravenous bites in before he actually started tasting the food. He noticed the spices were way off from what should be Japanese. The rice, while good, wasn't quite up to snuff, and the meat that was supposed to be taking the place of chicken was almost offensive. Still, hunger was indeed the best spice, and he found himself scarfing down every morsel of food.
“So, what do you think?"
"It reminded me of the cooking from Japan. I can tell you're still trying to work out the flavors. Y-you're not there yet, but I c-can tell where you got the inspiration. Was there not a closer meat to chicken, or different g-grese?”
He only just suppressed a shutter when he was talking about the meat. He could tell that the meal was supposed to be karaage with vegetables, but the meal was seriously off from what he was used to. When the girl didn't freak out, or call the Dragon god back in to punish him or something, he marginally started to calm down.
"I thought something was weird when I tasted it but the locals were crazy about it! I guess I'll have to keep looking. I want to get as close to the food from home as possible.”
"I don't blame you. The food here is pretty bland. I have found some things I really like, but not too many. It's kind of funny. People think that I'm so thin because I just don't eat a lot, no. It's because I hate the food here. Why couldn't I have been reincarnated into a world full of foodies?”
She giggled, as Rudeus gave her the closest thing to a smile that he had done since he had first laid eyes on the Dragon god. Nanahoshi was trying to keep things as light as possible. She wouldn't have known Rudeus before today if she had fallen over him, but even she could tell that he was being incredibly quiet, and careful.
After Rudy had eaten, Nanahoshi left the room momentarily so that she could grab some stuff, and Rudeus could have a little privacy. The ‘toilet’ if you could call it that, was just a bowl with some sort of potion inside of it that had been nailed to a bucket, that had then been nailed to a toilet seat. But he needed to go, and he was able to make it work. He just went in his pants because he already had so it didn't matter. After he was done though, he did remain on the toilet seat, and didn't go dripping all over the place. When Nanahoshi returned, she had a bowl of warm water, and warm soapy cloths. She blinked when she looked at him, and then she hit her forehead with her hand.
“Yeah, sorry about that. I should have taken off your shorts before I left the room. That's my mistake. I did bring this back to put all your dirty things in so let's go ahead, and get you out of everything.”
She carefully pulled his poncho over his head, helped him take off his shirt, pants, and then his underwear, shoes, and socks. She then wiped him down with the soapy cloths she had brought, and Rudeus would get up, sit down, and turn around at her instructions. It wasn't like he could be any help! It was still cold in the room, and she didn't really want to wash his hair while it was that cold.
One of the walls of his cell was right up against the outside; and that wall, of course, had a window. It wasn't like it had been up on the mountain top, but it did feel nippy. Nanahoshi was nice enough to keep any parts she wasn't washing wrapped in an extra blanket, she wiped down his head with a damp cloth but wasn't willing to wet his hair to get it really clean. About all she managed to do was remove the panicked sweat that had accumulated on him earlier. She rinsed, and dried every bit of skin on him off as soon as she was finished washing that bit. Finally, she came to a part of him that he was extremely embarrassed about. They both looked away during that part.
Bath complete, she then brought out a very large shirt that could really have only belonged to one person, and helped him wiggle into it. The shirt ended around his knees so everything important was covered. He would be able to use the bathroom more easily without making a mess, so he didn't really care. Neither of them commented on the shirt's owner. Truly, he felt, and looked like a little boy wearing his daddy's shirt.
She told him to stay sitting there for just a moment as she quickly changed the sheets, and put a particular blanket on the bed.
“Now. You've had the longest day, and I know you're tired. I'll stay with you until I know you're asleep."
Nanahoshi was standing by the bed. The sky outside was dark, although he didn't know what time it was. He assumed it was bedtime for her too. It was going to be the first time he was alone in a while. He only hoped he'd be okay. He padded over to where the vase was to take a long drink of water. The whole contraption impressed him. The vase kept the water cool, and the straw was bamboo that had been hollowed out even more than usual. Some sort of glue had been used on multiple pieces of tiny bamboo to keep the whole assembly together. After he finished, he padded back over to the bed, and felt incredibly sleepy as soon as he started to get into the bed. Nanahoshi smiled at him when she saw his reaction.
“That blanket is enchanted. Whenever you feel tired, and touch this incredibly soft blanket right here, the blanket can lull you to sleep, keep you asleep, and make sure you don't have nightmares. Just so you know, that wasn't my idea. It was his.”
Rudeus wasn't sure what to think. So he just chose not to think about it. He let Nanahoshi tuck him in, and the blanket really started working on him as soon as he was under it. It felt like the softest thing he had ever felt, and it gave off a gentle warmth as it made sure that he stayed at the perfect temperature for sleep all night… Rudy was out like a light.
Nanahoshi smiled down at the boy in the bed. Orsted had originally got that blanket for her. When she first got here, she had been inundated by terrible nightmares about something breaking. She didn't even know what the terror was. It had been the feeling of not having control. Of being called, of being pulled, and she hated it. She might miss the blanket tonight, but she knew that Rudeus would need it much much more than she would.
She quietly cleaned up the room from the earlier mess, and then gently turned down the lamp that was set in an alcove in the room so that the room was bright enough for Rudeus to navigate, but not bright enough to disturb any sleeper. She gathered up the boy's dirty clothes, took one more glance at him, and then used her key to exit the cell.
“Good night Rudeus, sweet dreams.”