dogok dogok dogok dogok dogok
The sound the dock made in response to their footsteps told Kayes everything he needed to know about the financial situation of the Nekh, or at least it told him where their priorities lay regarding funding. He wasn't getting the impression that the boards would fail, but he still didn't trust them. More than just a few boards were showing signs of rot, and he dutifully instructed Cayzi not to step on them.
sniff
From behind he could hear his charge take in the scent. The harbor might have smelled awful, harbors didn't smell great at the best of times, but he was probably curious as to what was making it so bad. He had been traveling with Kayes for two years now, and this was probably the first time he was exposed to something this bad. It should be unsurprising to learn that this was a smell that marked death and decay, the visual evidence banging up against the wooden stakes that constituted the harbor's sea wall.
Countless fish, all with bellies upturned, were rotting along the harbor's perimeter. They were joined by clumps of seaweed and the corpses of birds, the same species that were currently picking apart the exposed bellies of the dead in search their possible last meal.
Had Cayzi been his own son he might have succumbed to the urge to cover his eyes, but for a child destined to work with the bishops should he not become one himself this was important for him to see. Death was not something to run from. It shouldn't be welcomed with open arms, but shunning it would be a disservice to your decision making ability.
"Is that . . ?" Kayes turned his head back to look at Cayzi, following his gaze to a point in the water about a hundred feet away.
His attention had been focused on the dock, so he had missed the body floating by one of the docked fishing boats. Whether this person had fallen into the water and died on accident or if they had chosen to go that way intentionally would forever be a mystery, but Kayes could definitely tell that was a person. If it wasn't obvious by the clothing present on his chest, then the presence of a dull orange tail floating lifelessly beside him gave it away. Silently, Kayes' heart started to bleed for the child.
Cayzi was not a stranger to seeing corpses anymore, especially since a large part of Kayes' job was to make them. Kayes' first order of business upon taking Cayzi on was to expose him to the body of a man he had to kill, the body of the woman that man had recently murdered, and to the corpse of a man who had died of old age. His reactions were fairly violent at first, disgust and fear gripping his body, however he came to understand that was just the way things are.
The woman may have been murdered, however Kayes avenged her and the rest of his victims, righting the wrongs. He also understood that although the elderly man had died, he had lived a full life. It was simply his time to go.
What he was bearing witness too was something he couldn't yet be prepared for. That person was a victim of a crime that had no perpetrator, murdered by the cruel indifference of nature. This wasn't justice, this wasn't human, this was wrong. He just didn't know why.
Kayes told himself that now was not the time to expound to Cayzi the meaning behind the Montaug's words, how human and inhuman did not correlate to justice and injustice.
"Come on Cayzi." Kayes called out the boy, who had slowed to a halt. His eyes were focused on the body, his mind likely trying to piece together why this was allowed to happen. "Come on."
The boy snapped his head to his teacher before turning back to the body. He alternated between looking at them before finally he looked into Kayes eyes, tears beginning to form in his own. It was a request, silent to the world yet incredibly loud in the Bishop's ears. Finding himself unable to refuse, Kayes solemnly nodded, giving Cayzi his permission to let the tears flow. He allowed Cayzi time to catch up with him, rubbing his back with a free hand as they continued their walk towards land.
As they ascended the ramp towards solid ground, Kayes discreetly looked into the small building to the side of the landing, the Harbormaster's office. Bottles littered the table, the space not covered by glass being occupied by a slumped over man. The matter of his life or death unclear. It didn't matter to Kayes either way, even alive he would be too drunk to cooperate, so he dutifully shepherded Cayzi into the city.
- - - - -
Lifeless. If there was one word to describe the state of this city it was lifeless. The capital city of a planet, a place meant to be the most vibrant and busy place on its surface, had barely a soul wandering its streets.
Kayes and Cayzi had walked through at least seven block and only saw a stallkeeper slumped in her chair staring blankly ahead. Forget advertising her wares, she didn't even seem to notice they had passed.
Only upon reaching a major street did the city show some signs of movement, but even then it wasn't what he would call a healthy amount of foot traffic. There was no enthusiasm, no soul, in these people's eyes. Even the children, normally the most excitable and happy members of society, walked with their heads hung low next to their parents.
"Excuse me." The man Kayes approached could only give him a soulless glance, struggling to breath as he did. "Sorry."
Kayes was slowly beginning to realize that he didn't feel comfortable talking to anybody here. They were walking corpses, alive yet dead, none of which possessed the will or spirit to hold a conversation with him. Kayes grabbed Cayzi's hand and began to walk down the street. Maybe he would find somebody who had enough hope to speak with him.
"Why didn't he respond to you sir?" Cayzi was holding back the tears now they were in view of others. "Isn't that impolite?"
"It may be impolite, but these people don't care about manners anymore. It's the least of their worries when they feel themselves so close to death."
"But we are here to help them, aren't we?"
"Do you think they would believe me if I told them that? No, we should search for someone who is willing to direct us towards the royal palace. It is the king we are to speak with, his daughter is the one who contacted us." Kayes scanned the crowd as they moved, looking for someone, anyone, with light in their eyes.
The doors to one of the buildings opened, and a man carrying a long cloth bundle slowly walked out. Large, far larger than anyone else walking the streets, he made his way to the cart waiting in front of the house, gently setting the bundle down on top of a few others already stacked on the cart. Behind him walked a woman, perhaps only 20 years of age.
She was slow, wobbling and unstable in her gait, but she was very clearly going as fast as she could. Weak, she almost collapsed onto the ground beside the cart, only keeping herself upright with what must have been a death grip on the cart. With her free hand, she reached out for the bundle that had just been placed on the cart as she began to violently sob.
To Cayzi, this was a strange sight, but to Kayes the truth of the matter couldn't be clearer.
That cart was a hearse, a vehicle used to transport the dead to their final resting place. The bundles of cloth? Covered bodies, no doubt the alternative to coffins. Kayes didn't know the precise relation of the deceased to the woman now grieving, but it was clear they were close. Kayes watched on in solemn silence as the hearse driver sighed, his shoulders slumping as his red and black striped tail tried to curl around to his front.
It was a sad sight, but Kayes knew he had found someone who might be convinced to speak. Giving ample respect to both the deceased and the grieving, Kayes waved for the hearse driver to grab his attention, gesturing off to the side with his thumb. He felt it prudent to give her space. The large man nodded in assent, slowly walking off to the side with him as Cayzi was left to wonder why the woman cried.
"We are looking for the royal palace to speak with the king. Do you know where it is?"
The man blinked slowly, once, twice, three times before moving again. He didn't speak, slowly turning his head and looking at something. Following his eyes, Kayes began to feel embarrassment. He hadn't really noticed it, but there a great big stone structure sat in the distance. It must have been on some sort of hill considering the fact it poked out over the houses.
"I see. Thank you." The man slowly blinked as he nodded his head. "I am sorry for what your people are suffering through, but we have come here to help. Please, do not lose hope just yet."
"Hope . . ."
thump
The woman's grip on the cart finally gave out and she collapsed on the floor in a heap, motionless.
". . . already gone." The man walked over to the woman at the same slow pace as he had before, scooping up her now lifeless body and arranging her on the cart next to the bundle she grieved for. He closed her still wet eyes with a gentle hand, drying her tears with a cloth kept in his belt, the only clean piece of fabric on his body. Once he was content with her position and appearance, one that best maintained what little beauty still remained, he too began to cry.
Nothing about his face suggested he was crying except for the tears running down the sides of his face. There was no sniffling, no sobbing, and red and swollen eyes.
"A widow joins her husband, leaving the little one behind." Once again, Kayes followed his eyes. This time, he found an emaciated little girl standing in the doorway, clinging weakly to a stuffed animal. Kayes recognized her to be the same age as Cayzi. "You are here to help us, right?"
"That is indeed the case, yes." Kayes would not dare lie to this man, even if he knew the request that was coming next.
The man gave a pained little grin, one which slowly turned into a frown. "Then I beg you to take the child to safety. The children should not suffer from the weakness of the parents."
Kayes looked from the man, to the cart, to the child, and back to the man. "I will bring her to the haven that has been promised to your people."
"I thank you." The man nodded while blinking slowly once more. "The children are all we have left."
"I am not the one you should be thanking, sir. That honor belongs to your princess and the ones she secured the deal with, the Terrans."
The man slowly shook his head, raising one side of his shirt as he did so revealing a grotesque sight. Despite how healthy this man seemed in comparison to everyone else, the flesh and muscle covering that side of his abdomen were not longer there, revealing to open air a substantial amount of his intestines. They weren't healthy either, not that they would be when exposed to the atmosphere, but various patterns of black and brown covered their surface. Kayes could even see holes developing in certain places. He wasn't moving slow because he wanted to, he was moving like that because it was the only way he could keep his guts from spilling out.
Understanding the man's meaning, Kayes sighed an closed his eyes.
"I will not have the opportunity. Please accept my thanks in their stead."
"Of course." Kayes placed a hand on his shoulder and began to recite one of the scriptures, the one regarding final rites, in his mind. "Of course." The man closed his eyes once more before returning to his cart, pulling on the reins of the animal to get it moving down the road.
Kayes then carefully approached the little girl frozen in place. Here eyes were focused on the place her mother's body was, the stuffed animal she had been holding with her arms now flat on the floor. Slowly, gently, he kneeled beside her and took the little girl's hand with both of his before speaking.
"What is your name little one?" Unsurprisingly, he was met with silence. ". . . I am sorry, but we need to get moving. We need to bring you to the place we promised your mother we would take you."
One of her tan ears twitched at the mention of her mother. She was still responsive, even if that was coupled with an extreme level of lethargy.
"Aside from this stuffed animal, is there anything you want to take with you? Do you have a favorite toy?"
". . . mommy and daddy."
"What was that?"
"I want to bring my mommy and daddy." Finally, the little girl tore her eyes from the place her mother had drawn her last breath. I wasn't long before the tears began to flow in full. "Can I bring my mommy and daddy?"
Kayes didn't have the heart to say no, but he couldn't say yes either. He couldn't break the child's heart further, not here, not now. Instead he brought her into a tight hug, slowly stroking her hair. She knew the answer to her own question, but that last bastion of childlike naivete would not let her admit it to herself. Her parents, the people who loved her as much as she loved them, were gone.
"They'll . . . they'll join us later. They just need to get some rest."
"Rest? Are they sleeping?"
"Yes, yes . . . they are very tired, so they will have to sleep for a long long time, but someday you'll see them again." The tears stopped flowing quite as heavily, though there was still rain in the forecast.
"Promise?"
Kayes could not do that, he would never be able to forgive himself for it, but that didn't mean he couldn't give her the impression he was telling her the truth. Putting on his most confident and gentle smile, he slowly squeezed her shoulder.
"Now, me and Cayzi can't carry much, so you have to choose your most favoritest and most importantest things to bring with you, okay?"
"Okay."
"Great! Cayzi will help you bring it down while I wait outside, okay? Come out when you are ready."
"O-okay."
"Good girl." Bishop Hayes didn't need to give Cayzi a reason or explain why he needed to go, he just did as he was told. He had learned long ago that Hayes had reasons for menial tasks like this, usually because he was better suited for the task. As the two of them disappeared up the stairs, Hayes kept to his word and stepped outside.
He had actually only sent Cayzi up with the girl on a hunch, a prediction he had made. After looking around outside for a few moments, he judged his decision to be the correct one. His evidence? The hearse from before. Someone else was leading the beast of burden now, and there was a substantially larger bundle of cloth atop the deceased couple placed on it only moments ago.
Closing his eyes and bowing towards the hearse, Hayes finished the last rites he had started in silence.
cakeonfrosting Cryin' in the club rn frfr.
It feels super inappropriate to put this here, but DSD has finally reached 200k views on scribble hub . . . yay? Feels kinda hollow after this chapter tbh. That said, I have finally put another entry in the glossary, a treatise focused around the role and effects of split in living beings.
dogok dogok dogok dogok dogok
The sound the dock made in response to their footsteps told Kayes everything he needed to know about the financial situation of the Nekh, or at least it told him where their priorities lay regarding funding. He wasn't getting the impression that the boards would fail, but he still didn't trust them. More than just a few boards were showing signs of rot, and he dutifully instructed Cayzi not to step on them.
sniff
From behind he could hear his charge take in the scent. The harbor might have smelled awful, harbors didn't smell great at the best of times, but he was probably curious as to what was making it so bad. He had been traveling with Kayes for two years now, and this was probably the first time he was exposed to something this bad. It should be unsurprising to learn that this was a smell that marked death and decay, the visual evidence banging up against the wooden stakes that constituted the harbor's sea wall.
Countless fish, all with bellies upturned, were rotting along the harbor's perimeter. They were joined by clumps of seaweed and the corpses of birds, the same species that were currently picking apart the exposed bellies of the dead in search their possible last meal.
Had Cayzi been his own son he might have succumbed to the urge to cover his eyes, but for a child destined to work with the bishops should he not become one himself this was important for him to see. Death was not something to run from. It shouldn't be welcomed with open arms, but shunning it would be a disservice to your decision making ability.
"Is that . . ?" Kayes turned his head back to look at Cayzi, following his gaze to a point in the water about a hundred feet away.
His attention had been focused on the dock, so he had missed the body floating by one of the docked fishing boats. Whether this person had fallen into the water and died on accident or if they had chosen to go that way intentionally would forever be a mystery, but Kayes could definitely tell that was a person. If it wasn't obvious by the clothing present on his chest, then the presence of a dull orange tail floating lifelessly beside him gave it away. Silently, Kayes' heart started to bleed for the child.
Cayzi was not a stranger to seeing corpses anymore, especially since a large part of Kayes' job was to make them. Kayes' first order of business upon taking Cayzi on was to expose him to the body of a man he had to kill, the body of the woman that man had recently murdered, and to the corpse of a man who had died of old age. His reactions were fairly violent at first, disgust and fear gripping his body, however he came to understand that was just the way things are.
The woman may have been murdered, however Kayes avenged her and the rest of his victims, righting the wrongs. He also understood that although the elderly man had died, he had lived a full life. It was simply his time to go.
What he was bearing witness too was something he couldn't yet be prepared for. That person was a victim of a crime that had no perpetrator, murdered by the cruel indifference of nature. This wasn't justice, this wasn't human, this was wrong. He just didn't know why.
Kayes told himself that now was not the time to expound to Cayzi the meaning behind the Montaug's words, how human and inhuman did not correlate to justice and injustice.
"Come on Cayzi." Kayes called out the boy, who had slowed to a halt. His eyes were focused on the body, his mind likely trying to piece together why this was allowed to happen. "Come on."
The boy snapped his head to his teacher before turning back to the body. He alternated between looking at them before finally he looked into Kayes eyes, tears beginning to form in his own. It was a request, silent to the world yet incredibly loud in the Bishop's ears. Finding himself unable to refuse, Kayes solemnly nodded, giving Cayzi his permission to let the tears flow. He allowed Cayzi time to catch up with him, rubbing his back with a free hand as they continued their walk towards land.
As they ascended the ramp towards solid ground, Kayes discreetly looked into the small building to the side of the landing, the Harbormaster's office. Bottles littered the table, the space not covered by glass being occupied by a slumped over man. The matter of his life or death unclear. It didn't matter to Kayes either way, even alive he would be too drunk to cooperate, so he dutifully shepherded Cayzi into the city.
- - - - -
Lifeless. If there was one word to describe the state of this city it was lifeless. The capital city of a planet, a place meant to be the most vibrant and busy place on its surface, had barely a soul wandering its streets.
Kayes and Cayzi had walked through at least seven block and only saw a stallkeeper slumped in her chair staring blankly ahead. Forget advertising her wares, she didn't even seem to notice they had passed.
Only upon reaching a major street did the city show some signs of movement, but even then it wasn't what he would call a healthy amount of foot traffic. There was no enthusiasm, no soul, in these people's eyes. Even the children, normally the most excitable and happy members of society, walked with their heads hung low next to their parents.
"Excuse me." The man Kayes approached could only give him a soulless glance, struggling to breath as he did. "Sorry."
Kayes was slowly beginning to realize that he didn't feel comfortable talking to anybody here. They were walking corpses, alive yet dead, none of which possessed the will or spirit to hold a conversation with him. Kayes grabbed Cayzi's hand and began to walk down the street. Maybe he would find somebody who had enough hope to speak with him.
"Why didn't he respond to you sir?" Cayzi was holding back the tears now they were in view of others. "Isn't that impolite?"
"It may be impolite, but these people don't care about manners anymore. It's the least of their worries when they feel themselves so close to death."
"But we are here to help them, aren't we?"
"Do you think they would believe me if I told them that? No, we should search for someone who is willing to direct us towards the royal palace. It is the king we are to speak with, his daughter is the one who contacted us." Kayes scanned the crowd as they moved, looking for someone, anyone, with light in their eyes.
The doors to one of the buildings opened, and a man carrying a long cloth bundle slowly walked out. Large, far larger than anyone else walking the streets, he made his way to the cart waiting in front of the house, gently setting the bundle down on top of a few others already stacked on the cart. Behind him walked a woman, perhaps only 20 years of age.
She was slow, wobbling and unstable in her gait, but she was very clearly going as fast as she could. Weak, she almost collapsed onto the ground beside the cart, only keeping herself upright with what must have been a death grip on the cart. With her free hand, she reached out for the bundle that had just been placed on the cart as she began to violently sob.
To Cayzi, this was a strange sight, but to Kayes the truth of the matter couldn't be clearer.
That cart was a hearse, a vehicle used to transport the dead to their final resting place. The bundles of cloth? Covered bodies, no doubt the alternative to coffins. Kayes didn't know the precise relation of the deceased to the woman now grieving, but it was clear they were close. Kayes watched on in solemn silence as the hearse driver sighed, his shoulders slumping as his red and black striped tail tried to curl around to his front.
It was a sad sight, but Kayes knew he had found someone who might be convinced to speak. Giving ample respect to both the deceased and the grieving, Kayes waved for the hearse driver to grab his attention, gesturing off to the side with his thumb. He felt it prudent to give her space. The large man nodded in assent, slowly walking off to the side with him as Cayzi was left to wonder why the woman cried.
"We are looking for the royal palace to speak with the king. Do you know where it is?"
The man blinked slowly, once, twice, three times before moving again. He didn't speak, slowly turning his head and looking at something. Following his eyes, Kayes began to feel embarrassment. He hadn't really noticed it, but there a great big stone structure sat in the distance. It must have been on some sort of hill considering the fact it poked out over the houses.
"I see. Thank you." The man slowly blinked as he nodded his head. "I am sorry for what your people are suffering through, but we have come here to help. Please, do not lose hope just yet."
"Hope . . ."
thump
The woman's grip on the cart finally gave out and she collapsed on the floor in a heap, motionless.
". . . already gone." The man walked over to the woman at the same slow pace as he had before, scooping up her now lifeless body and arranging her on the cart next to the bundle she grieved for. He closed her still wet eyes with a gentle hand, drying her tears with a cloth kept in his belt, the only clean piece of fabric on his body. Once he was content with her position and appearance, one that best maintained what little beauty still remained, he too began to cry.
Nothing about his face suggested he was crying except for the tears running down the sides of his face. There was no sniffling, no sobbing, and red and swollen eyes.
"A widow joins her husband, leaving the little one behind." Once again, Kayes followed his eyes. This time, he found an emaciated little girl standing in the doorway, clinging weakly to a stuffed animal. Kayes recognized her to be the same age as Cayzi. "You are here to help us, right?"
"That is indeed the case, yes." Kayes would not dare lie to this man, even if he knew the request that was coming next.
The man gave a pained little grin, one which slowly turned into a frown. "Then I beg you to take the child to safety. The children should not suffer from the weakness of the parents."
Kayes looked from the man, to the cart, to the child, and back to the man. "I will bring her to the haven that has been promised to your people."
"I thank you." The man nodded while blinking slowly once more. "The children are all we have left."
"I am not the one you should be thanking, sir. That honor belongs to your princess and the ones she secured the deal with, the Terrans."
The man slowly shook his head, raising one side of his shirt as he did so revealing a grotesque sight. Despite how healthy this man seemed in comparison to everyone else, the flesh and muscle covering that side of his abdomen were not longer there, revealing to open air a substantial amount of his intestines. They weren't healthy either, not that they would be when exposed to the atmosphere, but various patterns of black and brown covered their surface. Kayes could even see holes developing in certain places. He wasn't moving slow because he wanted to, he was moving like that because it was the only way he could keep his guts from spilling out.
Understanding the man's meaning, Kayes sighed an closed his eyes.
"I will not have the opportunity. Please accept my thanks in their stead."
"Of course." Kayes placed a hand on his shoulder and began to recite one of the scriptures, the one regarding final rites, in his mind. "Of course." The man closed his eyes once more before returning to his cart, pulling on the reins of the animal to get it moving down the road.
Kayes then carefully approached the little girl frozen in place. Here eyes were focused on the place her mother's body was, the stuffed animal she had been holding with her arms now flat on the floor. Slowly, gently, he kneeled beside her and took the little girl's hand with both of his before speaking.
"What is your name little one?" Unsurprisingly, he was met with silence. ". . . I am sorry, but we need to get moving. We need to bring you to the place we promised your mother we would take you."
One of her tan ears twitched at the mention of her mother. She was still responsive, even if that was coupled with an extreme level of lethargy.
"Aside from this stuffed animal, is there anything you want to take with you? Do you have a favorite toy?"
". . . mommy and daddy."
"What was that?"
"I want to bring my mommy and daddy." Finally, the little girl tore her eyes from the place her mother had drawn her last breath. I wasn't long before the tears began to flow in full. "Can I bring my mommy and daddy?"
Kayes didn't have the heart to say no, but he couldn't say yes either. He couldn't break the child's heart further, not here, not now. Instead he brought her into a tight hug, slowly stroking her hair. She knew the answer to her own question, but that last bastion of childlike naivete would not let her admit it to herself. Her parents, the people who loved her as much as she loved them, were gone.
"They'll . . . they'll join us later. They just need to get some rest."
"Rest? Are they sleeping?"
"Yes, yes . . . they are very tired, so they will have to sleep for a long long time, but someday you'll see them again." The tears stopped flowing quite as heavily, though there was still rain in the forecast.
"Promise?"
Kayes could not do that, he would never be able to forgive himself for it, but that didn't mean he couldn't give her the impression he was telling her the truth. Putting on his most confident and gentle smile, he slowly squeezed her shoulder.
"Now, me and Cayzi can't carry much, so you have to choose your most favoritest and most importantest things to bring with you, okay?"
"Okay."
"Great! Cayzi will help you bring it down while I wait outside, okay? Come out when you are ready."
"O-okay."
"Good girl." Bishop Hayes didn't need to give Cayzi a reason or explain why he needed to go, he just did as he was told. He had learned long ago that Hayes had reasons for menial tasks like this, usually because he was better suited for the task. As the two of them disappeared up the stairs, Hayes kept to his word and stepped outside.
He had actually only sent Cayzi up with the girl on a hunch, a prediction he had made. After looking around outside for a few moments, he judged his decision to be the correct one. His evidence? The hearse from before. Someone else was leading the beast of burden now, and there was a substantially larger bundle of cloth atop the deceased couple placed on it only moments ago.
Closing his eyes and bowing towards the hearse, Hayes finished the last rites he had started in silence.
cakeonfrosting Cryin' in the club rn frfr.
It feels super inappropriate to put this here, but DSD has finally reached 200k views on scribble hub . . . yay? Feels kinda hollow after this chapter tbh. That said, I have finally put another entry in the glossary, a treatise focused around the role and effects of split in living beings.
