[milliways: kidplot]

[hate_gettin_older]

What the hell is this place?

Edgar's only sure of three things: (1) it isn't the Tail, therefore (2) he's not supposed to be here, and (3) he's going to be in the worst kind of trouble if a guard sees him. Or anyone who'll call a guard.

The thing is, he's not sure how this could be the Front either. But he's not sure how it could be anyplace else.

For the moment, he's got to try and get out of sight. Maybe under one of those tables.

Comments

[2goodarms]

"Oh, yeah," says Curtis, casually. "'Course we do. They grow on Mars trees. Like the Skittles grow on Skittles trees."

Two can play at the totally absurd lies game, Dejah.

[dejah_thoris]

Whatever. She rolls her eyes. Jasoomian boys are dumb.

"You are a terrible liar," she says, clearly passing judgement. "Here, you see this?"

She shifts and drags her skirt up to show the scabs over her knees. It takes just a little scrape to make one of the tiny scratches well up. "Do you bleed blue?"

[hate_gettin_older]

Edgar's eyes widen, and he stops chewing to get a long look.

And then swallows, with an effort.

"Huh."

(It doesn't occur to him to wonder why he isn't considerably more freaked out.)

[2goodarms]

"...Whoa."

Holy crap, Ralph's book was right all along.

For some reason, though, the fact that Dejah's bleeding -- even if it's not that much -- seems way more important than the color of her blood all of a sudden. Awkwardly, Curtis scoots a little closer, grabbing one of the napkins Bar gave him.

He holds it out to Dejah.

[dejah_thoris]

She was mad at him. She was. But sweet merciful mother, he's being sweet to her. BOYS ARE SO WEIRD.

She can't help the shy smile that rises as she takes the napkin. "Thank you." She presses it over the scab and holds it there. Magda Rin would think her manners so incredibly crude for such a display, but it seems to have put an end to the question.

"We don't have chocolate where I'm from. Or fries. Next time, I'll order a big bowl of pimalia berries and cream, so you can try that instead."

[hate_gettin_older]

"Oh, well," and he makes a point of sounding as nonchalant about it as he possibly can, "that'll be a treat then, we haven't got those either."

[2goodarms]

Curtis nods, maybe a little more enthusiastically than he intends.

(His cheeks are going hot again.)

"Okay," he says. "And -- there's other Earth stuff I could show you. Uh, besides food. There's a big lake outside and I bet there's fish in there."

Or octopuses! That would be so cool.

[dejah_thoris]

She reaches out a hand to rest on Edgar's shoulder, giving him a soft smile. She'll absolutely do that then. Next time.

"A lake? Like -- a tiny ocean?"

Dejah's eyes go wide. She's read about such things but she's never actually seen one.

[hate_gettin_older]

Edgar blinks. "Outside?"

[2goodarms]

"Yeah," says Curtis. He can't really point to the back door when they're under a table, but he sort of gestures toward it as best he can. "I saw it through the window. There's a big field, and a barn, an' a forest..."

[dejah_thoris]

Dejah's excitement falters. She looks at Edgar. And then she looks at Curtis and looks at Edgar.

"Is outside -- okay?"

She doesn't know what's going on with the smaller boy, but it seems like something momentous.

[hate_gettin_older]

"You can ... you can go outside," he says slowly, "and it's not frozen?"

[2goodarms]

Curtis blinks. His forehead knots again.

"No," he says, a bit quieter than he means. "It's spring. It's getting warmer."

Maybe Edgar's not homeless after all. Maybe...maybe it's something worse than that. Curtis's stomach starts to ache, and it isn't from all the candy.

[dejah_thoris]

Now it's Curtis's turn to get a soft touch on the arm.

"Edgar? Is your outside frozen?"

[hate_gettin_older]

Edgar nods, slowly. "Everything."

He knows he's not explaining it right, but -- how do you explain something that everybody should already know?

[2goodarms]

Curtis's throat bobs. But -- how? he wants to ask, but the question vanishes from his mind so fast it's like he already knows the answer.

"It's warm here," he says, softly. "Nothing's frozen. It's okay."

It's gotta be okay.

[dejah_thoris]

Dejah glances to Curtis and decides immediately that it's a wise course to follow his lead.

"Yes, but you don't have to go. If you don't want. I know I find the water scary."

[hate_gettin_older]

His belly is churning, like the whole room is rocking back and forth, like there's a storm buffeting the train car; for a horrible moment he's afraid he's going to puke, and he locks his jaw shut and swallows hard. He is not going to waste anything.

There's no way he can answer either of them. It's hard enough to look them in the face, both of them soft and untroubled and concerned only for him.

[2goodarms]

Curtis shoots Dejah a helpless look; looks back to Edgar; down at his plate of food.

Silently, he draws up his legs again to huddle next to Dejah.

"It's okay."

[dejah_thoris]

She knows it's not okay, and she knows it's a lie. But she also knows it's a necessary one, here and now, for the small boy who looks so scared.

She huddles closer to Curtis, and reaches out a hand to touch Edgar's fingers. If he'll let her, she'll take his hand.

"You're safe here. Just hold onto us and you'll be safe here."

[hate_gettin_older]

"You don't --" Muffled, choking; he almost can't get the words out. "You don't know anything --"

He wants to throw things; he wants to overturn the table, smash the pretty white plates, stomp the remains of the food underfoot. He wants to find the door that leads back to the Tail, and drag everybody through it to here, before -- before things get worse, before any more of them die.

He wants to believe Dejah when she tells him he's safe here, and he can't, because she doesn't know.



Without meaning to, he throws a pleading look at Curtis.

[2goodarms]

He's looking at him like there's something he can actually do. Like -- like Curtis is the only one who can fix what's going on. And Curtis can't, he doesn't know any better than Edgar or Dejah what he can do to fix it, and his throat feels too tight and his face feels too hot and he can hear his own heartbeat in his ears --



"Can you stay here?" Muffled.

[hate_gettin_older]

A long pause --

-- and Edgar shakes his head.

"I got ... people. Back home, I can't just ..."

He puts his face down in his arms, and mouths a string of the filthiest words he knows.

[dejah_thoris]

"Oh, Edgar."

Dejah shifts the plates out of the way and kneels next to the boy, wrapping her arms as far around him as she can.

"I'm so sorry."

[hate_gettin_older]

He freezes for a moment -- then reaches up blindly to cling to her hand, fighting tears.