It's been a month and some change since I've written a bitty!Terra drabble. Let's change that, shall we?
As always, this is spellchecked but unbeta'd and written under a fantastic bout of sleep deprivation. Have at it, guys.
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“Well aren’t they precious.”
Eraqus looked up, not expecting the comment. He’d dismissed Aqua and Terra to wander the market and they’d run off, excited laughter echoing over the noise of the crowd. With them together and entertained, Eraqus had found himself at the apple seller’s cart once again, actually intending to buy fruit this time around. He was not, however, above a bit of friendly conversation. “They do seem to be getting along well, yes.”
“Can’t say I’m surprised.” The woman let a few seconds of comfortable silence fall between them before speaking up again. “So, you made a decision about Terra yet?”
The question was a surprise, one Eraqus was not quite sure he understood. His answering glance must have conveyed that confusion, and the apple seller raised an eyebrow and clarified. “You said he was staying with you ‘til the end of the market.” She gestured towards the broad sweep of the street, towards carts and stalls whose wares had run thin over the past few days. “Market’s over tomorrow. Have you decided yet?”
In all honesty, Eraqus had been too busy watching Terra and Aqua interact - no, watching them become friends - to give much thought to the matter. “I have not,” he admitted.
“Mm.” The apple seller didn’t sound surprised, and Eraqus didn’t have a chance to wonder why before she sprang her next question. “Want an opinion from someone who’s raised five herself?”
Eraqus forced his expression to be neutral. He was still becoming accustomed to the idea of two apprentices, two children in the castle - to have raised five was a bit beyond his imagining. Still, who better to learn from than those with experience? “Certainly.”
“Let him stay.” The woman obviously didn’t believe in pretense. “I got four good reasons you should.”
“Oh?”
“Mm-hmm,” she nodded. “First off, it’d be good for Aqua. If you don’t mind my asking, Master Eraqus, when was the last time you heard her laugh? Just now doesn’t count.”
It only took a moment’s thought to find a response. “Yesterday.”
The apple seller seemed none too impressed with that answer. “Alright, last time before Terra got here.”
Eraqus fell silent, racking his memory for a response. He’d heard her laugh plenty of times - yet it seemed they had mostly been over the past few days, while she was with Terra. Before that, he had little recollection of her laughter, and certainly no specific instances. Seconds dragged by as he searched for an answer. The apple seller spoke up before he could. “Can’t remember, can you.”
“No,” Eraqus admitted. “I cannot.”
“Didn’t think so.” The woman shook her head. “Then again, neither can I. In fact, I don’t think anyone here can, ‘cause she just didn’t laugh that much. Lonely kids never do.” She fixed Eraqus with a level gaze. “Kid her age needs a friend, someone she can play with and talk to without worrying if it’s appropriate or makes sense. You can be her master and her teacher and maybe even her father, but you can’t be her friend - not the way she needs. Terra can, though, and that’s just what he’s been doing ever since he got here. She’s been laughing more, smiling more - y’know, I think she’s even started playing with the other kids, and I sure don’t remember her doing that before - and it’s all ‘cause Terra’s here. He’s good for her.”
Silence fell once again - not because Eraqus had no answer, but because he was still considering her point. She, he realized, had somehow managed to read his apprentice better than he himself ever had. “I see,” he replied. “And your next point?”
“It’s good for Terra, too,” she replied promptly. “I know just about anything’s better than being homeless - and I’m pretty sure he is,” the apple seller looked to Eraqus for confirmation, and he nodded - Terra had all but admitted it, “but being with you and Aqua’s done him a world of good. You saw him first day of the market - he was hiding in shadows, hardly talked, wouldn’t look anybody in the eye. If it weren’t for him fighting off those creatures, I’d’ve thought he was scared of his own shadow. It’s only been a few days, but look at him - out running and playing with the other kids, happy as anything.” She looked out in the direction Terra and Aqua had gone, and Eraqus followed suit. Of course, they were out of sight by now, but his mind’s eye could see them and the changes that had come over them over the past few days. “He doesn’t look like a normal kid just yet,” the apple seller continued, “but he’s starting to act like one and that’s always a good thing. You and Aqua are really helping him.”
Eraqus was still looking down the way, as though the two children would come back into view if he simply looked hard enough. The apple seller did have a point - they had changed quite a bit, especially in such a short time. “I suppose so,” he murmured, still deep in thought.
She didn’t wait for further prompting. “Third reason is, it’s also good for you.”
That caught his attention. He jerked his gaze back to her, slightly startled. “I’m sorry?”
“Having both of them around’ll be good for you too,” the apple seller repeated, unperturbed by his surprise. “Kids their age,” and she nodded back towards the direction Eraqus had just been looking, “get in trouble a lot. Thing is, when they’re as close as those two are getting, they either keep each other straight or, when they do get in trouble, they stick with each other ‘til they’re both out of it. It’ll be a load off your mind, knowing they’re taking care of each other. Plus,” she added, “like I said, kids need friends, and that’s just what those two have with each other.”
Finding an answer to any of the apple seller’s statements was becoming increasingly difficult, namely because she was simply right about all of it. She was making points that Eraqus simply could not deny. Either way, her words deserved far more consideration than he could give them now. “And your fourth reason?” he asked.
“You already want him to stay.” The response was so simple and direct that it froze any reply Eraqus might have had. “He fits in real well with you and Aqua, and you probably can’t think of how things would be without him around anymore. That’s why you haven’t been thinking about if he should stay or not - your heart’s already sorted things out, even if your mind doesn’t quite know it yet.”
Despite his best efforts, Eraqus simply had no reply for her assessment. The apple seller had read his apprentice and their young visitor - who likely wouldn’t be a visitor for long, if she were right - better than he ever had, and now she’d seen the state of his heart and laid it all out for him - simply, because the heart required no complex words and she likely didn’t have or need them to begin with. “You and Aqua already let him into your hearts,” she continued, albeit a bit more quietly this time, “and he’s certainly got you two in his. How much more would it hurt you all if you made him leave now?”
It was a valid question, phrased in a manner that made him hesitate to contemplate its answer. Her assessment was a valid one - he had grown attached to Terra in the short time he had been staying with them. Something about the boy, his hesitant hopefulness and the strength of heart it produced in him, fascinated Eraqus and reached into his own heart. Eraqus couldn’t help but come to care for him, and having watched his apprentice’s budding friendship with the boy, he was certain that Aqua felt the same. He could hardly imagine shattering those bonds now, what with the effect the break would have on his apprentice and, he admitted silently, on himself as well. The apple seller had been right: he’d made up his mind long before he’d set about considering the question itself.
“You make a strong argument,” he finally replied, ignoring the small, knowing smile that had appeared on her face. “I will consider it. Thank you.”
“Anytime,” came the reply, that smile never leaving her face as Eraqus turned to leave. “You have a good day, now.”
Eraqus was a good two streets away before he realized he’d forgotten to buy any apples.