A Chance Meeting

Emmett

Scarecrow I think I love you, will you ever understand,
It's not as if I've fallen for this but I'm doing what I can

With the new work to be done on the farm and the care of his siblings, Emmett was rather busy nowadays. Partially it was intentional; if he was hard at work he wasn't thinking about Phoebe, about his anger at the Outlanders, about all of it. If he was planting or fixing or raising the animals he was somewhere close to normal.

But he had to leave the farm sometimes. There were things to sell, things to buy; he had to go to the market at least once a week. These times he would leave his siblings with a farm neighbour and be thankful for the break, carrying the cart of vegetables to sell on his donkey back.

It was late evening, the day at the market through. He had little else to do but go home, but he didn't want to quite yet. Emmett sighed, looked up to the road leading to the farm...then found his feet taking him to the temple.

He had never prayed at the shrine and didn't feel like starting now. The smell of alcohol from the Rathskeller was tempting, but...he sat down on a bench near the entrance, pushed his hands up through his hair and sat staring at the floor. Trying to stop the thoughts from returning (because they always pulled at his mind, ripped at his sanity) he began to hum a tune from his childhood, an old farming song.

Caiside’s life had taken an unusual feeling turn since the chill of Longnight had faded away. Hewas busy, between his work at the smith and his own personal answer seeking, he had hardly had time to himself. When he did have time to spare, he found himself either wandering the forests, searching for clues from when he first arrived, or in the temple, pondering the shrine and the experience he had had. Today found him heading towards the latter, seeking the quiet solitude the temple usually held. Given what he wanted, it seemed only right that his wish was denied. Another man, a child really, sat in one of the benches, a tune on his lips and a weight in his stance. For a moment, Caiside considered turning around, and pretending like he hadn’t seen the other, but... he really wanted this time. Stifling a sigh, Caiside approached the bench Emmet sat on as quietly as possible. Once he was nearly behind emmet, he leaned over the back casually, staring at the spot the other man was for a moment before looking up to face him. ”That is quite the world weary gaze for someone so young.” He offered, his tone light and neutral. As long as playing nice didn’t take too long, he would do it. Caiside Deep in the ocean, dead and cast away Where innocence is burned in flames A million miles from home, I'm walking ahead I'm frozen to the bones, I am...

Emmett

Scarecrow I think I love you, will you ever understand,
It's not as if I've fallen for this but I'm doing what I can

Emmett was wrapped up in his song and the plain view of the back of the bench before him, which proved a good canvas for the circus of horrors in his imagination, the replays of Longnight, imaginings of what must have been happening downstairs...there were missing parts to the story, but he had worked out from the placement of some bodies and items what had happened, who had tried to fight and who had been slain right away. Had they called for him? He didn't know, he didn't know--

"Ah! Don' sneak up on me like tha'--" He flinched away from Caiside, arms coming up defensively. He didn't recognise the other man and as much as his first thought was 'pretty', he was currently very much of the mindset to be suspicious of everyone.

"...Sorry." Emmett finally mumbled when Caiside didn't attack him after a couple seconds. "I'm here cos I am world-weary. Really goddamn world-weary. Isn't everyone?"

Caiside couldn't help but laugh when he saw the boy startle, mean as it felt. The smile persisted until Emmett calmed down, and spoke again. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. It wasn't my intention to scare you." The was a gentle lilt in his voice, well practiced from years of dealing with hostile people. Not that Caiside really thought the boy was hostile, just... hurting. Maybe he should spend some of his reflection time helping someone else. It couldn't hurt him, even if it didn't necessarily make him feel good. With the softest noise of strain, Caiside climbed over the bench to sit beside Emmett, the action looking far more graceful than it had any real right to. "There must be some heavy weights, if they've brought you so low so young." He cocked his head, the perfect picture of attentiveness. There was a chance he could actually help, he was more than aware of how it felt to be shouldering burdens he had no business holding. Caiside Deep in the ocean, dead and cast away Where innocence is burned in flames A million miles from home, I'm walking ahead I'm frozen to the bones, I am...

Emmett

Scarecrow I think I love you, will you ever understand,
It's not as if I've fallen for this but I'm doing what I can

"I...I'm prolly just nervous right now. Don' worry about it." Emmett waved away the apology with a loose waggle of his hand. It was true he was on edge at the moment, raw in new ways every day. He could be scared, angry, happy, all in a second and without any kind of warning.

Usually, he did not make much conversation with strangers. But something in the gentle way Caiside spoke to him tugged at his heart, and before he knew it he was spilling out words. "Well, uh...Longnight..Longnight came, 'n' it's usually not so bad, but this time..." A heavy lump rose up in his throat and he swallowed it down. "My family, near all of 'em...a monster got in somehow...killed them all."

Saying out loud was still not any easier and he had to take a moment to calm his panicked breathing, push hands through his hair.

"Then...well, I dunno, I've been tryina keep the farm runnin' but I don' know how, then my girlfriend left me cos...I don't even know why, really, she got upset and I don' get it--" The hands in his hair tightened, gripping it hard, but Emmett didn't seem to notice or care. "She wanted me to kiss her 'n' stuff, but I was too caught up in alla it and I only needed a week to recover and get over it and--and--.."

Suddenly, he remembered where he was. Emmett laughed, a little desperate, and looked at Caiside. "...Sorry. Tha's a lot."

Caiside would be the first to admit that he had perhaps underestimated the severity of Emmett's turmoil when he offered his ear. He had expected... well, he wasn't sure, but certainly not what poured from the younger man's lips. His uncertainty showed on his face, an in the way his hand hovered in the space between them, like he wasn't sure how to offer comfort. The panicked breaths that came from the other made his mind up for him, and Caiside reached out properly without thinking, a warm, solid hand on Emmett's shoulder. Before he could get a word in, Emmett was rushing on,to troubles somewhat closer to what Caiside had imagined. Girls, though even the circumstances of this were rather extreme. The second apology that followed brought a pinched smile to Caiside's face. "Yes," he agreed, voice still soft, "that is a lot. But you don't need to apologize for it. I did offer." Squeezing Emmett's shoulder, Caiside thought for a moment, trying to come with something... succinct, and helpful. "I wish I could say things will get better, bu in my experience things only get better with work." Comfort was not one of Caiside's strong suits, clearly, though he still kept his voice soft, and calm. "Things happen that are unfair, that don't make sense. People die, and you make mistakes, and some things can't be undone." There was a distance in Caiside's face, his words coming from experience, and painful memories. "All you can do is keep moving. Focus on the things that keep you moving, and the pain won't reach you anymore." Caiside Deep in the ocean, dead and cast away Where innocence is burned in flames A million miles from home, I'm walking ahead I'm frozen to the bones, I am...

Emmett

Scarecrow I think I love you, will you ever understand,
It's not as if I've fallen for this but I'm doing what I can

Emmett wasn't sure what he had been expecting from the total stranger after his outburst, but the hand on his shoulder was so welcome that it finally brought the tears brimming in him to the surface, a loud shaking breath preceding the fall.

Caiside's words (which he only just heard over the sounds of his own panic) were...odd to hear, at first. Hard, unyielding, unlike how he thought comfort should feel. But as Emmett considered them, he realised he liked them. Perhaps it was what he needed right now, something he could use to move on rather than wallow.

"...Yeah, you're prolly right. Thanks." He said, sniffling and rubbing at his nose with the back of his sleeve. "...D...do you have experience with somethin' like this?"

Caiside's face only grew more stricken as Emmett began to cry, his brows raising and his smile tightening until he resembled some caricature of himself. Emotions, both his own and other peoples, had always been one of those subjects he had never seemed to grasp. The more he presented this perfect, beautiful outer image, the better he felt, and it was easiest that way. He had to nod when the younger man said he might know what he was talking about, though his cockiness stopped when his own experience was questioned. "I do." The words came out without thought, Caiside immediately cursing himself. A long pause followed as he considered simply leaving it at that. He supposed, in the long run, it would cheapen his advice, and his image was more important to him than his own feels. A sigh heaved out of him, and he tilted his head, looking away from Emmett. "I lost my mother when I was young, and I never knew my father." He had to laugh a little, recounting his story in the briefest possible way. "By the time I was... well, I imagine your age, I was part of a war I had no business in. You don't need to make a mistake like that." Caiside Deep in the ocean, dead and cast away Where innocence is burned in flames A million miles from home, I'm walking ahead I'm frozen to the bones, I am...

Emmett

Scarecrow I think I love you, will you ever understand,
It's not as if I've fallen for this but I'm doing what I can

Emmett looked up, pitifully sniffling, at Caiside's confirmation. It was nice to just let go and cry for a moment, let himself be the lost little boy he felt like. To not have to man up, look after the family and know where the fuck to go from here.

"I'm real sorry about your ma...but...I don' know what that has to do with a war?" He asked, gently probing for more of the story. Partly because he was interested, partly because he craved the distraction from his own problems. Maybe if he could hear of someone else's, know the pain of another had been greater than his own, it would somehow make it easier to continue.

Finally, Caiside's face faltered, the fake smile desperately trying to cling to his lips before falling into a distant frown. It wasn't just that he didn't want to share his past, but on his own world, nearly everyone already his story. He had never had the chance to tell it himself, not really. Caiside barely knew where to start.The very beginning seemed most relevant, and so he began there, he words coming from him quietly enough that they were almost lost. "When my mother died, I was left with no one in the world." This was the simplest part of the story, the part where he didn't have to carefully think about the words he chose. It only got harder from there. "I was still young, but old enough that no one could stop me from leaving. So I did, and I met a man on a forest road. I was lost, and sad, and alone, and... he was kind, and invited me to travel with him, so I wouldn't be alone." Caiside paused, chewing on his words. "I learned my new friend was a prince, exiled from his home, and gave my help when he asked. He had been so kind to me, and we had... a great deal in common." A quick, tight smile flashed across his face. So not every memory was completely bad, but the good couldn't outweigh the bad. "Once we succeeded, w-... he realized there were people who had issues with his return, and... he made moves to defend himself. The situation... escalated, and before I really knew it, I was in a war." It was an obviously sanitized account, and it very clearly didn't end there, but Caiside had fallen silent again, the gaze focused on something far in the distance. He blinking, shaking his head a little, and turned to look at Emmett. The tears and... vulnerability were still uncomfortable, but Caiside found it was easier to empathize with the other man now. Caiside Deep in the ocean, dead and cast away Where innocence is burned in flames A million miles from home, I'm walking ahead I'm frozen to the bones, I am...

Emmett

Scarecrow I think I love you, will you ever understand,
It's not as if I've fallen for this but I'm doing what I can

Emmett saw the change in Caiside's expression but still looked hopeful, desperately needing the catharsis of somebody else's troubles. And boy, did he get them. Emmett had gone through a horrible, unspeakable thing, but it was almost good know there were other just as bad things he hadn't gone through.

"...And...what happened to y'friend? I ain' ever met a Prince, so I dunno what he musta been like. Was he all posh?" Emmett was imagining gold crowns and crisp military uniforms, a pure white horse and servers carrying trays of fine cakes alongside his majesty.

"And...who won?"

Caiside burst out laughing at Emmett's questions. He really was like a child, imagining Caiside's story like some kind of fairytale. It took a moment for his laughter to subside, but he found he felt lighter after it. "No, he was not a... a posh man. In fact, he's probably the exact opposite of how you're imagining him." Caiside stifled another unfortunate giggle before he set about correcting Emmett's vision. "He was a prince of a savage place, even without considering how he grew up. Not that he wasn't smart, he was just... rough. Especially during the war." When he was younger, Caiside had thought this an unfair tragedy, but now, after everything, he just felt kind of numb about it. Who won? The question cut through Caiside like an icy blade, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to find the words to properly answer it. "There... was a betrayal. A series of them. And in the end... he lost. Someone close to him slit his throat, and left him to bleed out at the top of the world." Caiside wanted to shrug, and leave it at that, but he could already anticipate the next question. "I... made a deal, and was left alone, after everything. It was better than I expected, given the circumstances." He sighed, and looked over at Emmett, straightening up so he could feel like he wasn't being towered over. "I can't imagine things will go so badly for you, as long as you act with some sense." Caiside Deep in the ocean, dead and cast away Where innocence is burned in flames A million miles from home, I'm walking ahead I'm frozen to the bones, I am...

Emmett

Scarecrow I think I love you, will you ever understand,
It's not as if I've fallen for this but I'm doing what I can

Emmett sat back a little at the abruptness of Caiside's laugh, unsure what he'd done to earn it. For a moment he worried he was being mocked, insulted for his humble life, but Caiside managed to keep his explanation (mostly) from being condescending. "Oh. I ain' ever thought a Prince could be rough...in the stories they were always cleaned up."

He saw Caiside's stutter at the second question and almost regretted asking it, but it was, he felt, reasonable to want to know the conclusion to such a grand story. "I'm..uh, I'm sorry. Were ya close? To the Prince?"

I can't imagine things will go so badly for you, as long as you act with some sense. Emmett snorted. Their problems were on such drastically different scales that he supposed there was some truth to it. "Well, yeah, my life's ruined but if I meet any Princes I'll tell 'em to fuck off."

Caiside hummed, tilting his head back and forth as he considered Emmett’s apologetic question. Had they been close? He had certainly thought so, but... the terms they had left in had been far from the best. ”We were close, originally. By the end of the war, he had betrayed me, and I had betrayed him, and... that’s all there was to us.” He left his words to sit in the air for a moment, giving Emmett a chance to piece everything together for himself. The younger mans snort, then immediate dour words nearly gave Caiside whiplash, but at least the conversation was moving away from him, and his torrid past. ”Lives are never ruined. You just have to be willing to pick the pieces up.” He sucked in a breath, hesitating a moment before continuing. ”I could... lend a hand, if you like. At your... farm?” Helping was not exactly what Caiside wanted to do, but it was what Emmett needed, that much was clear. Looking at Emmett plucked at his heartstrings, felt both personal and distant, and he couldn’t just leave him. He would have wanted help when he was young too. Caiside Deep in the ocean, dead and cast away Where innocence is burned in flames A million miles from home, I'm walking ahead I'm frozen to the bones, I am...