Mercy comes in different forms.
"Please, Larien, just listen through once?"
"No! Keep your preachy bullshit to yourself! I thought I told you I didn't want to hear it anymore."
The air was tense and hot, thick with moisture that made the atmosphere seem heavy and full with each exhausting breath taken in. It felt like a storm was brewing, ready to clash with the already violent fits of emotion thrown about in the small hut nestled among the trees. Two young men spoke, cramped together in a single crowded room filled with everything for living.
One was dressed in the pristine robes that belonged to the Priests of Gaia. Blue and silver, trimmed with ivory that seemed top never hold a wrinkle or dirt no matter the circumstances. The male was just an initiate, a collar of navy fallen over his shoulders to tell such a fact to the world. He was a little average, with short brown hair and pale skin that was rosy and burned from the heat and sun that poured in through a single open window. He had been the more soft spoken of the two, looking a little worried as his brows furrowed.
The other was seated on a stool, slouched and sweaty from working in the heat before finding what little refuge that swampy building could give him. His hair was mussed, sticking to his forehead and trying to cling to a jawline that was in dire need of a shave. He wore no shirt, that soaked garment resting limp around the back of his neck to drape over his back and shoulders in some guise of decency.
"Larien..." The intiate spoke, opening his mouth a little as his brows threatened to meet and the line in his forehead seem to grow deeper.
"No, Jules. No. You do what you want with your life, I won't stop you. You know I don't believe in any of that shit, that's why I left the city in the first place. You should just go. Leave before the storm comes in."
"Larien I'm not going! I won't leave. The Temple... They... They will help you. They will help you cope with your brother's death. Larien, Gaia is merciful to those wh--"
"Those who what, grovel at her feet? She's merciful to those stupid featherbrained idiots who claim to be of her blood, but to everyone else she doesn't even give a damn. Gaia is merciful..." Larien laughed, abrupt and loud. The sound made Jules wince as if the stagnant air itself had been shoved toward him with the action. "She wasn't merciful to Ralion. She wasn't merciful to his wife and children either, was she?"
"You can't.."
"Can't what, say that? Believe that? They're dead, Jules. Your stupid goddess is nothing more than another aristocratic bitch."
Silence fell over them both, and neither man jumped at the sound of shattering thunder that preceeded the growing darkness outside. The darker one bowed his head, the sound of grinding teeth lost as rain started to hit the roof of that small hut.
"Larien, they can help you heal. I can help you heal..."
"Just leave, Jules. Go back and continue your education. Go. Now. Before I do something that I regret."
The priest looked hurt, his features seeming to fall before he looked away from that slumped form in front of him. Jules looked out that window, and continued to do so as Larien rose from his seat to pull down thick blinds to keep out the rain.
"Goodbye, Jules. I hope you have a good life. Don't come back again."
Jules looked at Larien one last time, slowly nodding before exiting the hut into the strengthening storm. The remaining man stood in the center of that dark room, watching the fading shadow of a figure in blue and silver melt into the rain.
-----
It had been three days after the storm, three days of soaked earth and swelled streams that made it dangerous for any traveller to pass through. It was by chance that Larien had been there to help a small pilgrim caravan out of the mud, the thankful men and women muddied and tired from the hard journey through the forest. They just happened to be near that tiny little hut, and their cries heard by their strange and quiet savior. Larien initially refused all of their offers of repayment, telling them it was only the right thing to do.
He had started to walk away when a little girl caught his attention, blushing as she scampered up to Larien in spite of the protests from her mother nearby. The man looked down at her curiously, responding little when she smiled broadly and offered up her own form of payment.
"I found this by the river." She beamed, proudly holding up her special treasure. "It was wrapped around a tree. Thank you for digging us out of the mud."
The man looked sad for a moment, before finally smiling for the little girl as he leaned down to take the item carefully.
"Thank you, I think I will treasure this forever."
The girl smiled wider as her mother lead her back to the caravan, Larien only watching them in silence before turning and heading back to his own home. In his hand, though wet and a little muddy, he carried a navy blue collar that initiates for the Church of Gaia wore around their necks.
"No! Keep your preachy bullshit to yourself! I thought I told you I didn't want to hear it anymore."
The air was tense and hot, thick with moisture that made the atmosphere seem heavy and full with each exhausting breath taken in. It felt like a storm was brewing, ready to clash with the already violent fits of emotion thrown about in the small hut nestled among the trees. Two young men spoke, cramped together in a single crowded room filled with everything for living.
One was dressed in the pristine robes that belonged to the Priests of Gaia. Blue and silver, trimmed with ivory that seemed top never hold a wrinkle or dirt no matter the circumstances. The male was just an initiate, a collar of navy fallen over his shoulders to tell such a fact to the world. He was a little average, with short brown hair and pale skin that was rosy and burned from the heat and sun that poured in through a single open window. He had been the more soft spoken of the two, looking a little worried as his brows furrowed.
The other was seated on a stool, slouched and sweaty from working in the heat before finding what little refuge that swampy building could give him. His hair was mussed, sticking to his forehead and trying to cling to a jawline that was in dire need of a shave. He wore no shirt, that soaked garment resting limp around the back of his neck to drape over his back and shoulders in some guise of decency.
"Larien..." The intiate spoke, opening his mouth a little as his brows threatened to meet and the line in his forehead seem to grow deeper.
"No, Jules. No. You do what you want with your life, I won't stop you. You know I don't believe in any of that shit, that's why I left the city in the first place. You should just go. Leave before the storm comes in."
"Larien I'm not going! I won't leave. The Temple... They... They will help you. They will help you cope with your brother's death. Larien, Gaia is merciful to those wh--"
"Those who what, grovel at her feet? She's merciful to those stupid featherbrained idiots who claim to be of her blood, but to everyone else she doesn't even give a damn. Gaia is merciful..." Larien laughed, abrupt and loud. The sound made Jules wince as if the stagnant air itself had been shoved toward him with the action. "She wasn't merciful to Ralion. She wasn't merciful to his wife and children either, was she?"
"You can't.."
"Can't what, say that? Believe that? They're dead, Jules. Your stupid goddess is nothing more than another aristocratic bitch."
Silence fell over them both, and neither man jumped at the sound of shattering thunder that preceeded the growing darkness outside. The darker one bowed his head, the sound of grinding teeth lost as rain started to hit the roof of that small hut.
"Larien, they can help you heal. I can help you heal..."
"Just leave, Jules. Go back and continue your education. Go. Now. Before I do something that I regret."
The priest looked hurt, his features seeming to fall before he looked away from that slumped form in front of him. Jules looked out that window, and continued to do so as Larien rose from his seat to pull down thick blinds to keep out the rain.
"Goodbye, Jules. I hope you have a good life. Don't come back again."
Jules looked at Larien one last time, slowly nodding before exiting the hut into the strengthening storm. The remaining man stood in the center of that dark room, watching the fading shadow of a figure in blue and silver melt into the rain.
-----
It had been three days after the storm, three days of soaked earth and swelled streams that made it dangerous for any traveller to pass through. It was by chance that Larien had been there to help a small pilgrim caravan out of the mud, the thankful men and women muddied and tired from the hard journey through the forest. They just happened to be near that tiny little hut, and their cries heard by their strange and quiet savior. Larien initially refused all of their offers of repayment, telling them it was only the right thing to do.
He had started to walk away when a little girl caught his attention, blushing as she scampered up to Larien in spite of the protests from her mother nearby. The man looked down at her curiously, responding little when she smiled broadly and offered up her own form of payment.
"I found this by the river." She beamed, proudly holding up her special treasure. "It was wrapped around a tree. Thank you for digging us out of the mud."
The man looked sad for a moment, before finally smiling for the little girl as he leaned down to take the item carefully.
"Thank you, I think I will treasure this forever."
The girl smiled wider as her mother lead her back to the caravan, Larien only watching them in silence before turning and heading back to his own home. In his hand, though wet and a little muddy, he carried a navy blue collar that initiates for the Church of Gaia wore around their necks.