NEVEN

"I win again!" Fenrer bounced in the chair beside his bed and held out both hands for his prize, and Neven found himself two coins poorer every time he challenged Fenrer to a game of cards. Money tucked between his fingers, he dropped them into the child's awaiting hands. A chuckle left his throat when Fenrer put them in his pocket, and he straightened himself out when Fenrer asked, "Are we going down today? Are you feeling better?"

"I'm fine," Neven said and gathered their playing cards to put off to the side. "We will be going down today, getting you two adjusted to a new environment."

"I said I'm not going," a different voice drew out in Navei. His feathers picked up the young song and he twisted on his spine to the bed behind him. Yuven sat cross-legged, arms folded, lower lip jutted out in blatant distaste and downy feathers fluffed out around his pointed ears. "I'm not going and you can't make me." He pouted and snubbed him with a huff, and when Neven shuffled to the other side, Yuven drew back and refused to meet him in the eye.

"I'm not going to make you," Neven pointed out and left his bed to sit on the one Yuven occupied, causing him to shuffle to the end. "I don't want to make you. I want you to come because you want to, of your own volition." Hands on his knees, he smiled when Fenrer bounced over to join them, to be close to them while Yuven tipped back with widened eyes. In a moment, Yuven twisted away, lower lip jutted out when he hugged himself tighter. Left in the silence, Neven turned to check on Fenrer, caught only by the broken melody of his home on his other side.

"I'm tired," Yuven grumped and snubbed him further. "I was comfortable in the garden..."

Neven studied him and his subtle switch of topics. "If you're tired, feel free to have a nap."

It was as if the word mortally offended Yuven from the way he whipped his head around with his nose scrunched. "Naps are wasteful," he snapped and prodded Neven's arm. "Only time-waster's nap, and I'm not a time-waster. I'm tired." He stared long and hard at him. "I'm tired, I'm not going to move from this spot to go down to the harbor." He bounced back into his previous position and put his nose in the air, though gave Neven flicked side-eyes with his vertical slits. Neven set his hands on the edge of the bed, trying to decipher what he wanted until Yuven hissed in irritation through his nose then pointed at him. "I can't make it all the way down there if I'm tired, time-waster."

"Hence why I said a nap would do you..." Neven stopped and peered at Yuven when his arm refused to drop. "Are you willing to go down if I assist you in making it?"

Yuven dropped his arm at that and fluffed out the down of his feathers. On the bed, Neven observed his actions when Yuven stood behind him with an expectant gaze, while Fenrer slipped off the bed and shuffled with his shirt. Guess this is the most I can hope for right now. Yuven latched onto his back, and he waited for both children's indications of readiness before making his way out of the ward to meet up with Kemal and make the trip down together, with his Oathbound hovering at the edges of the caldera where the main watchtowers loomed. He met the browns, and Kemal's lip curled.

"Do not," Neven hissed as Yuven clung onto him with the same haughty sneer, though Fenrer behaved with a hand clinging onto his belt.

"Ancients, I bet Yusari would love to witness this," Kemal chittered behind him while he led the way to the runelift, nudging Fenrer with his knee for him to board. Neven adjusted his hold on Yuven, who appeared unperturbed by the motion. Bored, if nothing else, but when he glared at his Oathbound, Yuven leaned back from the side of his head and the runelift descended alongside the steps.

"No need to puff out your feathers at me, puffball."

He's going to be unbearable for quite a while, isn't he? Neven resisted every urge to send his heel into Kemal's shin. His only solace came in the form of sweet silence when Kemal's teasing quieted the moment the runelift hit the bottom of the mountain. Out of the lift, he frowned when Yuven strangled him and he asked, "What?"

"I don't want to go through the harbor," Yuven complained in Navei and squeezed tighter, cutting off precious air from his lungs. "I don't want to get looked at. This is why I wanted to stay in the garden."

"We're not going through the harbor if you don't want to."

Yuven huffed when Neven took the lead from Kemal, keeping track of Fenrer on his other side while tiny feet dug into his ribcage and drove him forward to flee from the pain. Into the park, he took note of all the faces. I'm sure I'll be seeing most of them a lot more. I don't think any of them are Wardens. Each person, someone who sought sanctuary upon the Euros archipelago. Houses thinned out until they reached the bend of the creek, and they reached the red brick house with the porch and trellis to provide shade on the front steps. Neven adjusted his grip when Yuven's weight slacked, but stopped when Fenrer tugged on his arm.

"It's the crimson thorn," Fenrer whispered with a point at Yuven, who had closed his eyes. "It's tiring him out." He lowered his hand then put it on his stomach with his own shaky frown. "...I'm hungry. Can I have smoked fish?" Auric spirals fluttered, but the young Hanekan shut them tight when Neven nudged him into the house. "Father liked smoked fish... I like it too."

Kemal peered at him. "Well, Nev?"

I... don't know how to cook smoked fish... Neven shook his head at his first failure to kneel for Fenrer, who went ashen with a quiet whimper. "I'm sure some of the fishmongers at the harbor might have cooked seafood for you," he said and eyed Kemal in return. "If Kemal would be so kind to take you. It's only right you have your favorite meal as a start." Straightened out, he beamed at his Oathbound when his smug grin dropped into a scowl. "I need to make sure Yuven is settled in, but if you can't find anything you like in the markets, I'll see what I can make for you when you get back." Attention back on Fenrer, he relaxed when he smiled. "So, behave for Kem."

"I will!" Fenrer whipped around to Kemal with a bounce. "Smoked fish, Mr Warden Kemal!"

Neven grinned at the form of address when Kemal rubbed the back of his head with a huff. "Fine, I'll take you to get something to eat... But don't call me mister," he said with a point at the young Hanekan. "Let's go, Fenrer. Leave Neven to handle Yuven."

Not too difficult, considering I think he's too out of it to cause trouble. Neven waited for them to leave before trying to nudge his shoulder into Yuven, who gave no response to the shake. Is this what Yuo meant? Ancients, he had so much energy before... Lips sucked in between his fangs, he carried Yuven up to the second floor landing. Windows cast light into the corridor, the blinds fluttering to give a picturesque view of the waves crashing on the distant beach, with them protected by stonework in the event of large ones. Into one of the rooms, he lowered Yuven onto the bed, who continued to sleep.

Crimson thorn? What does that mean? Neven pressed his knuckle into his teeth as he observed the sickly child. Mother, what do I do? Why haven't you been answering my mail? Her lack of a response unsettled him to his core, but he let it go to tuck Yuven into the warm blankets and adjusted the blinds to cover the streams of sunlight striking off the foam. I can do this. Apathy is finality... Fingers dug into his scalp, he paced a short circuit. Yes, I shall send another letter detailing what I've undertaken. One last check of Yuven, Neven left to give him some peace and quiet, heading back downstairs and into the kitchen area. He reached into his coat, then tugged out the notebook Yuo pushed into his hands, and he flicked through it. Lists upon lists. Information swirled in his mind. Where do I even start? If Fenrer's hungry, Yuven might be too... maybe I should make them Navei poundcakes as a treat... can Yuven eat poundcakes? Thankful for Yuo's copious organization skills, he confirmed Yuven's ability to eat baked goods before sending icy wisps into the runeoven. I'll make him some soup first if he's not feeling good. Make extra for Fenrer too.

It dinged when he turned some of the dials on the board, causing the runes to glow hotter. Neven looked through the cabinets, then grabbed a small pot for broth, filling it with water and latched it into the runeoven, lowering the boiler for it to simmer. As bubbles popped underneath the surface, Neven looked into the icebox for all the groceries given to them for the first couple weeks. Off to one side, some containers marked with pale tape and in Yuo's neat scrawl. Examples, he supposed, of what Yuven was able to eat.

Mother could do all of this and more... I can at least figure out how to do the basics. Neven shut the icebox, pressing his hand against the rune to keep it refreshed before checking on the boiler. By the time he prepared the broth, Kemal and Fenrer returned, packages in their hands, though he frowned at Fenrer's sense of misery. "What happened?"

"It doesn't taste the same," Fenrer said through a nibble.

"He won't elaborate on what that means," Kemal added and walked up to him to push a package into his hands. "Got you a piece anyway."

"Our cook back at Sungrove." Fenrer nibbled with a deep sigh. "She made it differently."

"I think it was moreso the fish she had access to," Kemal pointed out. "You're inland. I'd say you more than likely had some sort of freshwater bass from a lake in the Goldwood. We're surrounded by the ocean for the most part. You're going to get ocean fish."

"Can we get bass?"

Kemal side-eyed him. "I hope you know what you've gotten into, Nev," he whispered before returning his attention to Fenrer. "I'm afraid that's not possible with how far away we are from the mainland... but there are saltwater bass that can be caught here. Is that good enough?"

Fenrer perked his head up with a weak smile at Kemal's effortless compromise. "Okay..."

"Your bedroom is ready on the second floor," Neven told him. "First one on the right. Yuven's sleeping." Broth poured into two bowls, he put one on the table when Fenrer headed for it. "Here, that should help you keep an appetite." He headed back to Kemal and muttered, "I don't know what I've gotten into, but I will figure it out." Away from his Oathbound, he swiped the second bowl and headed upstairs, leaving Kemal with Fenrer. Hanekan bounced between the rooms, rising in volume, as was natural for the language of the sea.

"Yuven?" he questioned when he slipped into Yuven's room again, shutting out the conversation downstairs. "Are you awake?"

"Leave me alone." Neven slowed to a stop at the empty bed. Yuven had tucked himself in the corner, hidden by the small bookshelf. "You're just going to melt, or leave," he mumbled, digging his face into his knees. "And now it's dark too..."

Neven allowed icy glyphs to flutter from his hands, and the blinds opened to let the sunlight back in. "It's as easy as opening your window," he teased and set the bowl on the desk. "Here, I made you something to eat if you're hungry."

"It'll just taste like rotten meat." Yuven tilted into the wall. "Everything tastes stale and rotten to me. The red shadows make sure of it."

"I've been given a way to change that," Neven said to him, knees on the floor to try and pry the child out of the clutches of the abyss. "Yuven, I want to help you, to show you that I'm not your enemy. You can trust me."

Violet pupils glared at him from over Yuven's sleeve. Knees tucked closer to his small body, he huffed and ignored him. Helpless, Neven inched closer. "Fenrer's downstairs eating if you want to join him. I'm sure he'd be happy to see you up and about."

"He doesn't need to see me to know I'm around," Yuven bit. "Leave me alone... you're just a Storm Warden. You kill monsters, the bad things. I'm a bad thing." He hugged himself again with a soft whimper. "I shouldn't have left the garden. I was safe there. I didn't get looks..."

"You're safe here." Neven set his hands on his knees. "I'll protect you. I'll give you my word. I'll swear it on my song." Hand against his chest, he prepared the melody of promise, but stopped when Yuven shook his head and pushed his arm into his eyes.

"You won't. You'll just melt, and I'll be left alone again."

The notes rippled through his ears, but he let it go at Yuven's reluctance to hear it. No... that magick is at its most potent when the receiver and giver have reached an understanding... and I can't perform it if he doesn't believe me. Neven got onto his feet, with Yuven following with his eyes. "I'll show you that that's not the case. One day, you'll see that, but for now... please eat. Tomorrow, we'll talk more."

Yuven turned his face back to the wall, and Neven left the little Avaerilian. Teeth in his tongue, another small failure. But... wasn't it progress... just getting him down here?

He took the tiny victory and refused to let apathy swallow it. I have no regrets.