A Darkening World And A Sleepy Protagonist Chapter 10 (Unedited)

“Azarias!” Neal shouts, making the child jump and pause what he was in the middle of doing. He is not used to Neal raising his voice, since usually Neal was pretty relaxed and quiet.

“What is it?” Azarias asks, not understanding why Neal was walking over looking not very pleased with him.

Then again how could Neal not be upset after seeing Azarias covered head to toe in mud and grass, seeming to have decided to coat himself in it while smiling as if pleased with himself.

“What do you think? You’re stark naked and covering yourself in mud, you will get sick like that!” He had washed some clothing earlier and dumped the water on the grass without thinking much of it. How could he predict this boy would decide to decorate himself in it? No wonder he didn’t hear little feet following him anymore when he had gone into the cottage to put the clothes away.

Azarias was very attached to him since day one, and had no issues with napping most of the day as long as he could cuddle with Neal. So when he did stray from Neals side it was odd and made Neal uncomfortable. He began to worry whenever he didn’t have Azarias within his sight.

Azaraias couldn’t understand what was wrong with this. How could this make him sick? After all it felt so good to cover himself in mud, he felt so comfortable with covering himself in the earth. It made him feel at such peace, and the more he covered himself the more he noticed the life around him. From the chirping of the birds to the marching of the ants, he could hear and feel it all. It was such a blissful and mind filling feeling, so familiar to him.

 He shut his eyes, enjoying the sounds and feelings, wish them shut their would be no one to notice them become filled with a mint green color. It would be gone and back to normal by the time he opened his eyes.

Neal scoops him up in his arms, not caring about the mud that rubbed off onto his shirt. With his thumbs he tries cleaning some mud off his face, only managing to get a somewhat clean streak under his eyes.

“Your gonna need a bath” He sighs. Well it was going to have to happen at some point. He had been trying to post pone having to bathe the child intill he got a bit more confident in it, but it seemed today would have to be the day.

“A bath?” Azaraias was curious as to what this was, wondering if it was something to dread with how Neal showed no excitement in the matter.

“Do We have to?”

“Yes”

The child pouts, dreading something he didn’t even know of. Despite not wanting to do this ‘bath’ he did not fight himself out of Neal’s arms, since he very much liked being in his arms. He always got such a warm, energizing and comforting feeling. Even as he pouted he could not help but nuzzle his head into Neal’s chest.

While carrying the boy Neal grabs a large barrel and fills it up with some water from the well, he warms it up with a small fire and pot of water. 

Azarias watches this process with curiosity filled eyes. Growing a bit excited despite his earlier distaste to the idea earlier.

Once it was ready Neal places him down in the barrel, the water going up to just below his shoulders. Then he pulls out a small container which after some experimenting found it was something like soap, or was actual soap, and began to use it to try and wash Azarias off of all the mud.

Azarias eyes seemed to sparkle, his hands moving around in the water making small waves. The feeling excites him, he can’t help but begin to splash the water and watch in amazement as each droplet flew out of the barrel while some fell back in. He could see all this in a slow motion, able to keep track of each single drop as they moved and merged with one another as the water settled. 

So pretty, he wonders what it would be like to have clothing like the water. A almost see through blue, pretty and long, layered, light and flowing with every movement he made.

Such an amazing thing! Why was it Neal showed such displeasure to this activity? How amazing it was to move within the water. The flow of it, so calming and cleansing. He couldn’t help but scoop some up in his hands and start drinking it.

Neal was just about to reach over and put some soap in his hair when he sees this and pauses all movement, watching as Azarias sips the water then behaves as if it tastes amazing and continues to drink it. 

“Ah! Don’t drink the bath water, its dirty!” Neal lightly taps Azarias’s hands to make him drop the water, giving a scolding look. He didn’t want him to keep doing this when the soap was put in, who knows how bad that could be for him.

Mismatched eyes look up at Neal, clearly full of confusion and a looking a bit at a sad loss now that he was no longer drinking the water. 

“Why? Their is nothing wrong with it, why do you say it is dirty?”

“You are bathing in it”

“So?”

“You are covered in mud! Now their is mud mixed with the water, making it dirty” 

Azarias continued to look very confused, not at all understanding Neal’s reasoning at all. This left Neal sighing, growing a bit frustrated at being unable to get his point across to Azarias. 

Instead of continuing the conversation he just got some soap in his hands and begins working on lathering it into Azarias’s hair.

The child could not help but shut his eyes, enjoying the feeling of Neal cleaning his hair. His fingers massaging his scalp, he could not help but lean over to where Neal was kneeling beside the barrel and begin to purr softly.

He would have fell asleep in not for Neal suddenly pouring water over his head snapping him out of it. Mismatched eyes quickly opening and looking at Neal surprised. In the same moment they quickly closed as a soapy water drop dripped into them. 

Azarias rubs at his eye, frowning at how uncomfortable it was. How uncomfortable the water became with the soap in it, not unbearable but it is uncomfortable. It was not something he liked that much. 

“Did some get in you eye?” Worried Neal reached over with a towel and rubbed his shut eye with it. 

After this was done Azarias opens his eyes and looks a bit amazed at how it helped a lot with getting rid of the irritation. 

“What is this?” Azarias points to some bubbles floating in the water, curious but not liking them to much. 

“Bubbles, they are made by soap and water mixing” Neal explained, wondering if Azarias would get excited about this as well and start playing with the bubbled. 

However Azarias just gathers them up and splashs them out, feeling pleased with himself at the bubbles no longer being in the water. Neal was unaware of the flash of sapphire in the boys eyes, a brief moment as he splashed the bubbles away where his eyes were entirely a sapphire blue colour.

“It is dirty, water alone is enough to be clean” Azarias states, not that Neal understands Azarias’s logic at all. However he was a child so not understanding certain actions seemed normal enough, even though he didn’t understand why Azarias didn’t like the bubbles. Was it not a normal thing for a child to like bubbles?

The child seemed pretty calm now that the bubbles were gone, as if splashing them out had made the soap vanish completely. 

Shaking his head he continued to wash the rest of the child, well most of the rest anyway. As he did this he noticed some interesting markings on the boy. It looked as if the boy had marks on his ear lobs for piercings. While on one of his wrists was what seemed to be tattooed ivy wrapped around it. It didn’t stop there as he also one on his right hand, the outline of what seemed to be a ring, the same kind of thing could be found on his ankle. It was as if their were shadows of jewelry on the boy, which did not make sense as he never recalled putting any jewellery on him.

Shaking his head, deciding not to think to hard about it, he wrapped him up tight in a soft towel, and picks him up and placing a corner of the towel over Azarias’s head like a hat so he could rub at Azarias’s hair to dry it.

Neal sets the child down on some blankets in front of the burning fire place, far enough Neal didn’t think he would have to worry as he went to grab some clothes for him from the hidden room.

As the child waits it watches the fire with curiosity filled eyes, the warmth drawing him closer towards it. Before he knew it his fingertips were touching the tips of the flames, the tickly feeling made him giggle and he could not help but reach out and grab a hold of a flame and bring it closer to him. 

He began to play with the flame, the warmth from it spreading through him making him dry a lot quicker as his previously damp hair became as dry as it was before he began playing in the mud. Such a nice feeling this was, so similar yet different to the other ones he had experienced so far. His eyes became dominated by a golden color as he did this, the other colors fading into the background.

He felt powerful with it, it felt dangerous and to wield such a thing was very empowering. Who dare look down on him with this? He could protect a lot with this..yet he felt he could also destroy a lot more with it.

“Okay Azarais, lets get you changed into some dry clothes. Make sure you don’t go getting dirty again o- Azarais! Don’t sit so close to the fire, you could get hurt!” Neal rushed over, worried the child may lean to close and hurt himself. He shouldn’t have just left him there thinking he wouldn’t move closer!

The flame went out with Azarias’s surprise at Neal’s sudden panic. He gets picked up quickly into Neal’s arms, the scent of lavender surrounding him which comforts him. He didn’t know why Neal didn’t want him near the fire, but he wasn’t about to argue when he was in the comfort that was Neal’s arms. After being surprised his eyes also went back to normal.

Meanwhile Neal was realizing that leaving this child alone really was not the best idea, not with how much trouble he easily got into each time.

“Just keep close to my side and ask before doing anything okay? Their are many things that can hurt you and I really don’t want you getting hurt” He tells the child as he sits down on the bed and sets the child on his lap, discarding the towel and putting the oversized shirt on the boy. 

“Mmmm okay” Azarias didn’t see the problem with this as he felt most comfortable with Neal, even if he made no sense. After all what was so bad about the nature around him? He didn’t think any of it could hurt him.

With that the two came to an agreement and Azarias cuddled up into Neal as he began a small story he recalled being told to him in his child hood. He only made it a few words before passing out however, not that Azarias minded, as long as he got to sleep with Neal he was happy.

So he drifted to sleep. 

–

However he woke up in the middle of the night thirsty, so he hops out of bed and makes his way through the home and out the door over to the well. He didn’t want to wake Neal and it is not like this was his first time walking off to get a drink, besides drinking water wasn’t harmful at all so Neal surly wouldn’t scold him on it.

As he chugs the water in the pail, the white wings of a moth caught his attention, nighttime was here and the butterflies of the night were awake. 

He set down his bucket and follows the moth, smiling and not making a single sound even as he stepped on some fallen leaves on the ground. It was as if his footsteps were lighter then air as he followed the moth, a bit envious of its flapping wings. 

As the moth disappeared into the night, only then did he stop walking and take in the new area. He had gotten fairly far from the cabin, enough that he couldn’t see it anymore.

Rather then get frightened he felt a spike of excitement at being in a new area. Something in him wanting him to walk further and further, maybe even climb up one of the tall trees and look over the vast woods around him.

He felt a push from behind, the wind gently caressed his back urging him forward. So he listened and began walking more, mismatched eyes wide in awe as he took in the night.

He felt so at home, is was nice. He wondered what else he could see, what more steps would lead him to?

With his next step a bell jingled and he grew more and more absorbed in the idea of running off and exploring more. Silver slowly beginning to dominate them.

“Hmm? What is a child doing out here in such a dangerous place?”