Crying for Your Mama ( Loss Start! )

[sparks_before_fire]

 [ There is nothing quite like the unspeakably loud scream of a small child - in any given place, at any given time. In this case, Paradisa, it's well into the evening when this cry pierces the air and the journals, the wail of a child woken from a nightmare and scared. 

And where is said child?

Well, said child is swaddled in a bundle of blankets on a couch in the lobby of the Castle, as if dropped their by a mother who can no longer care for him and hopes for a better life for it. He had pudgy cheeks, short dark hair pulled into one of those cute tiny ponytails, and pointy little ears. His eyes were rimmed a bit in red as he wailed, which quickly divulged into hiccuping sobs.]

M-mommy! Daddy! 

[ There was more hiccups and another rising wail.]

Moooommy! 

[ Yeah, he wasn't going to be stopping any time soon, looking around through teary eyes in bewilderment, lost and alone.]

[ ooc: Loss start! Ashura is now a toddler (say, about 3 to 4). He's located in the lobby right now in a bunch of blankets, so he's warm, but he's frightened (clearly). He will be this way for until Feb. 13, and he won't know anyone (but then, kids trust just about anybody, so that's not a problem!).] 

Comments

action forever

[lord_wizard]

[There'd been that brief moment of panic that morning when Felix couldn't locate Ashura, but after checking the door, he went about with this morning as usual. If the king had risen early for some reason, likely to riding, that wasn't his concern. Ashura could take care of himself.

So, after dressing to his usual exacting standards, he heads downstairs to find breakfast.

Naturally, a screaming child catches even his attention the minute he steps off the elevator. He walks over to investigate, stooping to peek under the sobbing mass of blankets and...]

Oh no...

[If nothing else, those ears were unmistakable]

Re: action forever

[sparks_before_fire]

_{[Ashura hiccups and wipes at his eyes with tiny, pudgy hands. He sniffles and looks at Felix with the most puppy-doggish eyes you have ever seen.]}

Where's Mommy?

[inafadingcrown]

[It really shouldn't surprise her that she should encounter a child in the lobby. It seems that, more often than not, odd occurrences seem to find a public stage in Paradisa.

She stops when she hears that little wail and immediately switches directions, approaching the child and kneeling down to his level.]

Hush little one, all will be well.

[sparks_before_fire]

_{[Ashura hiccuped, staring at the pretty lady through teary eyes. He sniffed, nose running a bit, and whimpered.]}

I want my mommy...

[lord_wizard]

[He has the bizarre urge to hug the child, but he's sure Ashura may not appreciate that from someone he clearly regards as a stranger]

Not here, I'm afraid...

[sparks_before_fire]

But... but Mommy...

Daddy..

_{[This news only starts up a new round of wailing and a fresh bought of tears, the cries reaching ear-splitting levels.]}

[inafadingcrown]

[That's a very familiar face, even if it is much smaller than she is used to seeing it. She's not certain, but she suspects.]

Tell me, what is your name? [Even if he's not who she thinks he is, it will be easier to comfort the child by name.]

[sparks_before_fire]

_{[A hiccup and a sniffle, the quiet uncertainty of a lost child.]}

A-Ashura...

[silentrunning]

[Chell can't remember her own parents, though she's wondered about them many times. But being lost? She understands that.

Slipping into the lobby, she walks over and sits on the opposite end of the sofa from the child. She doesn't say anything just yet, but even though she's a stranger, she wordlessly holds out her arms to him, offering him a hug. His face looks strangely familiar though...]

[sparks_before_fire]

<sub>[He looks at her a moment, with the hesitation a child always has as they debate the trust worthiness of someone. And as in the case of most children, his trust was easy to win.

He sniffled and came closer and into her arms, needing a hug and happy to take it.]</sub>

[lord_wizard]

[He hurriedly tries to hush the young boy]

Nonono...it's all right. You'll see them again soon, I promise...

Awwww

[silentrunning]

[Chell hugs him gently and pets his hair for a minute, offering him comfort in pretty much the only way she knows how. And then finally she does speak. After all, he's a child, and not threatening at all...]

"I don't think your mommy is here..."

[She frowns in genuine concern...Hmm. What can she do to help distract him? He looks so familiar...Maybe someone he knows will come along... And then she remembers the cookies she'd made earlier. Hey, it's the one confection she actually knows how to make.]

"Do you like cookies? If you come with me...you could have some."

[sparks_before_fire]

_{[Ashura sniffled, rubbing his nose and looked at her mutely. Slowly he nodded his head, holding out his little hand to hers for her to lead on.]}

[inafadingcrown]

Then, I am sorry to tell you, Ashura, that I do not think she is here. But you will be cared for in the meantime, I promise you this.

[sparks_before_fire]

Why? Where did Mommy go? Where did Daddy go? Are they fighting?

[sparks_before_fire]

_{[More hiccups and sniffles, perhaps a little bit of snot working out of his nose. Shaking, he looked at Felix with the pleading eyes of a child.]}

R-really? When?

[silentrunning]

[And she took that little hand in hers, leading him to the kitchen. A few minutes later found him at the kitchen table with some cookies.

"Would you like milk to go with your cookies?"
[She asked.]

[sparks_before_fire]

<sub>[He sniffed and nodded, though the milk she was thinking of might be different from Ashura's mind. After all, his world did not have cows.

He reached out a tiny hand and grabbed a cookie, munching on it in tiny bites, leaving crumbs on his lips.]</sub>

[lord_wizard]

[He hoped it was soon, in any case, or he would feel bad for lying to the child, as well as bad for himself. He reached out and used a corner of the blanket, very gingerly, to wipe the boy's nose]

I don't know. Soon...

[He forced a smile]

Would you like something to eat?

[sparks_before_fire]

_{[The little boy squirmed as his nose was wiped, but nodded at the prospect of food.]}

Hungry...

_{[He looked at Felix hopefully, the idea of food quelling some of his fear.]}

[lord_wizard]

All right then. Let's go find you something...

[He hesitated a moment before gathering the child up into his arms, blanket and all]

[sparks_before_fire]

_{[Ashura immediately clung to Felix's shirt and then wrapped his tiny arms around his neck. His head rested on the man's chest and occasionally he rubbed his face against it to wipe away his runny nose.]}

Want fruit...

[lord_wizard]

[Felix grimaced a bit but sighed and turned towards the kitchen, feeling completely unprepared for this. It was one thing to care for a child for a week. It was another to have that child be your fiancee]

Easy enough. Do you have a favorite?

[sparks_before_fire]

_{[He sniffled, little fingers playing strands of red hair that he could reach.]}

Star...

[silentrunning]

[Oh yup. Definitely different. But she got him some milk from the refrigerator and poured it into a glass. Then she perched on a chair next to his and munched on some cookies of her own.]