The Real Monster Here? [Kilaray's Adonai]

[Anonymous]

The bounty hunter raised up a worn parchment. Drawn on it was the picture of a scrawny looking demon with a large horn on the upper left corner of his forehead, wearing all black. The written description seemed to match as well.

"Yeah that's him..." He finally said. The Quiet was skinny, and did have a tiny horn, but surely he did not deserve this. He had been tied up and strung up by a group of slave traders.

"Listen, as long as he's dead my job is done... and I'm not in a hurry really," The bounty hunter said, turning to the slave traders.

"As long as you can guarantee that he'll die in the fights soon, I'm fine with you keeping him," he added with a shrug.

The slave traders seemed to nod in agreement. After all, the bounty hunter had been a great help to them. They had spotted the demon child when a local began to make a fuss about him. He was chased away, and began to run through the streets. Something in these slave traders' mind had been built in, so that when they saw someone fleeing, they chased it.

The mob of slave traders had difficulty actually catching the boy, however. He had remained calm under pressure and avoided them for the most part. He only turned to them and stopped to create a small diversion. Tipping over a basket, throwing out a desperate, but surprising swing of his knife. The slave traders wanted him as fresh meat for the fights, and knew that no one would complain if the little demon child was taken. From the way he was dressed, he clearly was an orphan or at least with out his parents and poor as well.

The boy was only captured, when a bounty hunter had intervened. His moves were plotted and planned compared to the slave traders, and the young boy was no match. In the end, a swift and powerful punch was delivered to The Quiet's gut. He opened his mouth to scream, but could not find his voice. The punch had winded him, and sent him into shock. So when he opened his mouth, only a sickly chocking sound came out. His legs gave way and he fell to the ground. With his face in the dirt he saw the hurried footsteps of the slave traders just catching up. Everything began to dim and the next thing he knew, he was strung up and these strangers were deciding his fate depending on what would be most profitable. They seemed to agree that they could both get their full intended profits, if the bounty hunter just waited for The Quiet to die in the slave fights. They shook hands, and it seemed that everyone would be happy this way. Could he really complain if that was the case? He simply hung from the ropes he was tied up in, staring down at the men as they laughed and shook hands.

[Anonymous]

He ignored the slave traders the first time he saw them wandering around town. He was too busy patching a hole in a neighbor's roof to care. It was none of his business, anyway, what people decided to do with their fellow man. Disgusted as he was with the slave trade - and especially the slave fights here in Essyrn - it wasn't his responsibility to straighten out the humans' problems.

It did catch Adonai's attention, though, when he heard some commotion not all that far away. Despite being on the roof, he couldn't see everything that was going on. But it sounded like those damn traders got their hands on another unlucky soul.

He finished a short time later and was walking home when he happened upon the traders. He had every intention of simply continuing on his way, until he noticed who had been caught. The kid couldn't have been older than...ten, maybe, if that? In spite of himself, the situation did make his hackles rise. Humans were stupid creatures - these traders proved that point right here. A kid in the slave fights? No one that young, human or not, deserved such fate.

Adonai knew it was in his better interest to ignore the situation as he originally intended. But while he didn't want to get directly involved, he couldn't make himself ignore what was going on, either. No, he couldn't pass up the chance to make fools out of a group of grown men.

So - very nonchalantly - he shifted the weight of the tools and boards he carried to point a couple of fingers towards the rope that kept the kid bound. Using just enough fire magic, the rope disintegrated to a bunch of ashes. He figured, with the commotion he heard earlier, the boy was difficult to catch. He should be able to get away if given half the chance.

[Anonymous]

Just as The Quiet began to accept his fate, he abruptly fell to the to the ground. He landed on his hands and knees mostly, but his face slammed into the dry dirt, anyway. He was confused, and in pain, but he was thankful above all else. He didn't know how or why, but he wouldn't let this opportunity slip by his tiny fragile little fingers. He had to desperately reach out and grab a hold of it no matter how much it hurt his feeble hands.

That's why as soon as he heard the men gathered around him scream, "What?!" he sprang into action. He pushed himself up with his hands and brought up his foot, digging it into the ground, ignoring the pain from the fall.

He pushed off the ground with all of his strength and rammed himself forward. It was a desperate headbutt/tackle, but the men were still surprised enough to the point that it would be effective enough. He angled his head, so that the tiny dull horn on his head would be the focal point of his attack. This seemed to be his favorite attack in these situations.

He slammed into one of the men, tackling him to the ground, and creating an escape route beyond him. The men began to spring into action themselves, but the Bounty Hunter stopped them and screamed out, "Be careful of his horn! The demon child will curse you!"

The Quiet quickly clamored to get up, but he noticed the men around him hesitating. The man on the floor under him was groaning and grimacing in pain, but he'd recover in less than a second. The Quiet's deft hands quickly reached down and pulled out his knife, which had been taken from him, from the man's belt. He swung it frantically and wildly at the men around him, who were still hesitating a bit but not as much.

The man under him was beginning to recover, but by then he was ready to make his exit.

"The horn, he got you with the horn!" The Bounty Hunter screamed some more. The man who was tackle looked up with rage at The Quiet and began to raise up his hand, but he stopped when he felt Quiet's boot on his face. The Quiet turned the stomp into a step and sprang away from the group of men as quickly as possible.

As he ran, he passed a strange man carrying some lumber and tools. He did not stop, but he did look back towards this man as he ran. The Quiet's wide innocent eyes, looked to the man's and saw his strikingly red eyes. As interesting as they were, he had more pressing matters to attend to. He turned back forward and then ran as fast as he could, leaning forward so far that his face was mere inches off the ground. He sprinted in this manner, his knees raising up to his chest and then pushing off the ground in powerful, quick, strides. The Slave Traders ran after him as quickly as they could as well, passing the man with red eyes, but the Bounty Hunter stopped after a few steps, stopping near the man with red eyes.

His eyes quickly darted back and forth. He was taking in the lay of the land and cross checking it against what he memorized for this hunt. With that, he quickly formulated a plan, and then began to run off in a different direction.

[Anonymous]

Demon child? Horn? What?

Adonai didn't get what any of that was supposed to mean until the boy ran past him. It was very brief, but he did catch sight of that odd little horn. It left him curious more than anything, so he didn't notice the slave traders were pursuing the boy until they passed him as well.

Intrigued though he was, he would have left well enough alone had the bounty hunter not stopped and headed another direction. Grumbling, he set his things down along the side of the road. These guys were persistent, he'd give them that.

Asking one of the locals to keep an eye on his stuff until he got back, Adonai grabbed one of the smaller pieces of lumber and took off as well. He could guess by the path the bounty hunter took which direction the kid was going - but he took a shorter way so he could get there first. He had been living here long enough to know how to bypass the roads and pass between houses to close the distance much more quickly.

After a few moments, he came to a stop around the corner of a building and waited, board at the ready. He could hear running a short distance away. If the opportunity presented itself, one of those men was going home with a broken nose.

[Anonymous]

The Quiet came running down the street, his lungs ablaze, his legs strained, and his throat dry, but none of that mattered. He simply could not stop. He could only move forward. Or die.

He had employed the same methods as before, creating diversions and obstacles for his pursuers. This served more to disturb those around the market, than to stop the slave traders, but The Quiet did not care. They did not try to help him, why should he care if he broke their vases, or tipped over their carts. After all, none of them cared for him.

He stumbled while turning a corner, but managed to turn his fall into a roll. From that he was able to quickly get back onto his feet, despite the complaints of his body, but while he was rolling he had seen the man with red eyes pressed up against the corner.

What was he doing? And why? The Quiet did not have the luxury to stop and ask these questions. He prepared himself to continue to running.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, the kid came zipping around the corner fast enough that it did startle Adonai a bit, even thought he knew he was coming. But he immediately returned his attention to the slave traders. They weren't far behind.

He peeked around the corner just enough to get a look at what was going on. A slight smirk appeared on his face as the traders came into view, and his grip tightened on the board. He was tempted to add some flame to the lumber. Perhaps a broken nose and a charred face would teach these guys a lesson. But he didn't want to scare them off too soon.

Sure, he intended to knock these bastards off their high horse - but he was gonna have a little fun doing it, too.

Just before the slave traders would have rounded the corner in their pursuit of the boy, Adonai stepped forward and gave the board a good hard swing. It cracked the front-most man across the face, knocking him backwards into a couple others.

[Anonymous]

The Quiet continued to run away, but he stopped when he heard the impact of Adonai's attack. He turned to see the men making a commotion on the ground. Why? Why was this man helping him, when no others would?

He turned back the way he was running, but he couldn't bring himself to continue. How could he abandon the only one who didn't abandon him. He drew his knife again, and turned back to the men. He wanted to help, but how? What could he do? He was just a weak little boy. Even still, he couldn't just run away.

He was conflicted, and couldn't decide what to do.

Just as he had seemingly made a choice, and taken a step to turn himself fully towards the slave traders and man with red eyes, the Bounty Hunter stepped out from the shadows. He was right behind The Quiet and at the sound of his step, Quiet looked back and up with surprise and fear in his eyes.

As soon as he had turned back, the Bounty Hunter slugged him one. His fist exploded across The Quiet's face, turning him back around and sending him to the ground.

"Che..." Quiet struggled on the ground, desperately trying to regain the grip around his knife.

[Anonymous]

It took every ounce of self-control to keep from laughing outright. How pathetic. These men were so intent on catching this kid, and now here some of them were, sprawled out in the dirt. Weren't so tough when they ran across someone who could fight back, were they? That's all humans were - greedy leeches taking advantage of less able folks. They didn't care if it was their own family or complete strangers, so long as they gained something from it.

It didn't escape Adonai's attention that the bounty hunter hadn't yet caught up. For now he would have to settle for playing with the slave traders. But he could tell by the way they carried themselves they weren't trained fighters, so it shouldn't take much to chase them off. The bounty hunter was the only one he really needed to watch. But even that guy didn't concern him much.

Once they recovered from the initial shock, it looked like a couple of the slave traders wanted to jump him. But at least they were smart enough to hesitate while he was armed. One of them went to make a move, yet he seemed to change his mind when Adonai raised the board again - especially since this time he did add a little flame to the end of the lumber as a warning to back off.

Hearing something behind him, he glanced around to find the bounty hunter had decided to join the party. But he was a little surprised to see the kid still around. Why the hell hadn't he kept running?

Oh, well. As long as he stays out of the way, no big deal, I guess.

While the boy was still on the ground, Adonai raised his free hand and shot a flame at the bounty hunter. He hoped the man was distracted enough with the kid that he wouldn't see it coming. Though he hadn't forgotten about the slave traders, they were less of a threat than the man who was trained for this kind of work. Best go for the first hit while he had a chance.

[Anonymous]

[hr:2r62xis2][/hr:2r62xis2]ooc: For the sake of making this fight interesting, I think I'll take control of the Bounty Hunter. I've decided to make him non-magical, but instead a seasoned, trained warrior of sorts.
[hr:2r62xis2][/hr:2r62xis2]

As wary as the bounty hunter was being of the 'cursed' demon child, it was a little hard not to notice flames rushing towards you. He also could not ignore the fact that the slave traders had been stopped by some kind of interloper and had made not of this earlier.

As destructive and fearsome as fire was, it had been a long time since man discovered flame and has since learned how to tame it. With precious few seconds before the flames were upon him, he ripped off his weathered cloak and threw it up and towards the roaring flames.

It was not an enchanted cloak, and didn't have any secret gadgets hidden inside. It didn't even have pockets. It was just an old, warm, cloak whose color matched his boots. The flames struck the cloak, and it went up in a blaze. The fact was the cloak was a solid, and it had won out against the fire which was a plasma, stopping it in its path, but this was not where the Bounty Hunter had stopped. As soon as he had thrown his cloak he began reaching for his weapon: As small hand-crossbow.

It was a small and sleek weapon, which made it concealable. This coupled with its ability to launch it's bolt quickly, and most importantly, quietly, made it the perfect weapon for a hunter. It could not cover great distances like larger crossbow or longbow might be able to, but it could cover the street's distance with ease. He raised it up using the fire as cover concealing his movements.

He had taken in the lay of the land, and memorized roughly where the interloper was, but he could not rely on this alone. He used this memory, plus what little he could see of the man beyond the flames, to construct a mental image of his target. He was aiming mostly at this mental image and fired off a bolt aimed at the leg. What's most impressive was that he did all of this before the burning cloak could be pulled down by gravity.

It was his habit to not aim for kill shots, as he usually got more money that way. It was a shot designed to pierce the leg and pin the target to the ground. He had been relying on his training and instinct, with out much thinking. This allowed him to move as quickly as possible, and so avoiding this instinct wasn't possible at the time.

The bolt soared through the air. It had both speed and silence on its side. A deadly combination. It flew over the flames and cloak with ease, despite the fire licking up at it. Of course the cloak's weight had brought down the fire by now, and it continued to fall down towards The Quiet.

He had looked up just in time to see the flames falling towards him and turn away, protecting his exposed face and hands. Everything else was covered in clothes and would have had at least a little protection, albeit not much. There was no time to avoid it, but he urged himself to remain calm.

"Once you fight your will to live, you'll see you have more to give..." Suddenly, the thought rang out through his mind, and suddenly all the noise and chaos around him seemed to... quiet down.

The burning cloak fall so close, he could reach out and grab it. That was exactly what he was waiting for, and that is exactly what he did. He could feel the searing heat reach out and punish his wretched mortal flesh, and that was his cue. He responded, by throwing his hand back and up taking the cloak in his hand. His left arm and hand were severely burned in the process, but it was better than having it happen to his face and body.

Sure he had saved himself at the cost of his arm, and sure he was in great pain, but his calmed mind could not ignore the opportunity in front of him. He looked to the Bounty Hunter, his eyes filled hatred and killing intent and returned to him his cloak.

[Anonymous]

[[ooc - sounds like a plan :)]]

Though he refused to show it outwardly, Adonai was surprised that the bounty hunter had reacted quickly enough to block the flames with his coat. Most of those types he encountered didn't have such quick reflexes. Maybe he'd have a harder time dealing with this one than he first thought.

Oh well. No matter. It would just make this more interesting.

He knew he couldn't afford to keep his attention split between the hunter and the slave traders. So he tossed the burning lumber to land in front of the latter, increasing the magic to create a small wall of flame to hold them back. This magic was a little different - it wouldn't catch anything on fire if any of the flames strayed to the nearby buildings. But if the traders were stupid enough to try to get past it, they'd sure as hell feel the burn.

He barely had a chance to finish before he felt a sudden sharp pain in the lower part of his left leg. It was surprise more than anything that caused him to cry out, and he stumbled for a second, catching his balance after a few steps. Immediately his gaze shot down to where the pain came from. Oddly, he chuckled when he saw the crossbow bolt sticking out of his leg.

Adonai made short work of snapping the shaft and pulling the thing out. His regenerative abilities would heal the injury quickly, but it couldn't start until the offending object was out. It wouldn't disappear just like that - it would be an hour or so before the wound was gone completely. He would be slowed down for a while, to be sure. However, he had faced worse. He had the scar to prove it.

He shifted a lot of his weight to his injured leg in order to get used to the shots of pain that came and went. He didn't need the discomfort distracting him later and cause more problems. The boy's actions didn't go unnoticed, and neither did the burns. But for now Adonai kept his attention focused on the bounty hunter. He let his guard drop once, and he paid for it. Wasn't going to happen again.

"I'll be damned," he said, his tone dripping with condescension. "A bounty hunter who actually knows what he's doing."

[Anonymous]

The Slave Trades squawked amungst themselves, but then suddenly shouted.

"Wait! Look! The buildings are not being scorched or catching ablaze!" He pointed with a grin.

"It's just an illusion!" he screamed confidently as he ran forward and jumped into the flames. He fell through them, very much on fire.

"It's not an illusion!" he screamed more confidently, as he rolled along the floor desperately trying to put out the flames. He was severely burned, horribly so, and still on fire. However, he probably deserved it.

The bounty hunter let out a cry of pain as well, as he batted away the burning cloak while taking a few quick retreating steps. However, his burns weren't as bad as Quiet's arm.

Still the boy had made him retreat, even for just a few steps, and that hurt his pride worse than anything else. Of course the burning wall of flames and the cries of one burning idiot, along with the cause of all these flames was also an issue.

He was sure he had pinned, the secondary target before his cloak was returned to him so kindly.

His keen eyes noticed the wound, confirming his fears. He grimaced at the thought that the interloper was strong enough to create all this fire and shrug off a direct attack. Though his keen eyes did also notice the ever so slight shift in weight distribution in the man's posture.

"So it's gonna be like this huh..." He murmured under his breath as his deft hand danced over his crossbow, quickly stringing another bolt. He was smart enough to know that this had quickly turned into a losing battle. He made a living trading away the lives of others, and knew that he risked his own life every time. He had to seriously consider leaving here with only his life, but the target was just a child. His pride, perhaps foolishly, kept him from running.

He patiently began waiting for an opening... but found it hard pressed to find any.

[Anonymous]

He smirked when he heard what was going on behind him. One of the traders actually tried to make it through? What an imbecile! That hadn't exactly been the intended effect - Adonai only wanted to avoid burning down the city. But it was good for a laugh. No one said humans were smart creatures, after all.

And that one's idiocy had just cost him dearly.

Amusing though the fool's slip-up may have been, his screams were beginning to get on Adonai's nerves. Without turning around, he raised a hand to the side, keeping his gaze locked on the bounty hunter. At the same time, the flames engulfing the unfortunate trader intensified. With any luck, it would put him out of his misery and shut him up. One less rotten corrupt human wandering around.

To the hunter he said, "Only warning. You wanna end up like him?" The gesture was mostly meant to drive the point home that Adonai wasn't intimidated and wouldn't pull any punches.

Perhaps some would view him as a cold-blooded killer, but hey - it's not his fault the man was stupid enough to waltz right into a wall of flames. If anything, he was doing the creep a favor. Wouldn't likely survive with burns like that, anyway. And actually, Adonai was stalling for a little extra time to get accustomed to the throbbing in his leg. Despite the front he was putting up, the wound hurt like crazy and would for a little while yet.

Rarely did he bother to give a human any ample warning of what was coming. It was a foolish move and left him open to take the first hit. But he kind of had to put up with it this time. He already had it in his mind where he would dodge if the hunter let that loaded bolt fly, and Adonai could use those few seconds to get in close quarters.

[Anonymous]

It'd seem that Adonai's bluff had worked. The taunt was just enough, coupled with the intensified burning, to make up the Bounty Hunter's mind.

"Heh, not for this price..." He joked to save at least some face, but it didn't change the fact that he would be nursing a wounded pride for some time now.

He backed away slowly then took off running around the nearest corner.

The Quiet's stance eased. His life had been saved by this interloper, but now that the adrenaline was wearing off, his arm began to scream at him in pain. He fell to his knees, clutching staring down at his arm. For some reason he felt the urge to clutch, as if that would make the pain stop. Instead it just caused him more. He grimaced loudly, and quickly pulled away his hand again. His arm was badly burned, but not completely charcoal... It would heal... with time. There would probably be a scar, unless something was done. Unfortunately, he did not know anything that could be done. He was lucky to have gone for this long with out any scars, though.

[Anonymous]

Once he was sure the bounty hunter wasn't coming back, and after he heard the remaining slave traders run off, Adonai allowed his weight to shift back to his uninjured leg. A moment later all the flames he had generated disappeared. Now that he didn't have to keep the front up anymore, he let himself lean against the nearest building as the throbbing returned with the movement.

When he felt he could ignore the pain, he straightened again and glanced around towards the kid. Adonai only caught a glimpse of the burns on the other's arm earlier, but now he could see just now bad they were. That would figure. He hadn't intended to do anything else once the lad's pursuers were chased off. But the burns were kind of his fault...

Idly he wondered why the hell he bothered with such things. Even so he wandered over to the boy, a slight limp hindering his movement, and knelt down. "Hold still," was all he bothered to say before reaching for the kid's wrist. Giving it a tug, he straightened the other's arm so the burn was easier to see. He wasn't exactly gentle about it, but Adonai did make sure not to touch the injury.

Part of the reason he was able to control fire magic so easily was because - as a phoenix - he could manipulate the intensity of the heat that was the fuel for the flames. So while he couldn't heal another, he could at least alleviate some of the burning sensation the boy was surely feeling. The burn itself would have to be dealt with afterwards, but at least the pain wouldn't be such an issue.

Holding his free hand over the injury, the kid would start to notice the discomfort fading to a bearable level. Unlike the frail human body, excess heat didn't cause problems for a creature born from flames. So Adonai was transferring most of the heat to himself. This way, too, it wouldn't take as much time for the other's injury to heal on its own.

[Anonymous]

He became weary when Adonai approached, but didn't feel the fear to run. His arm was abruptly grabbed and he resisted, albeit feebly. He gave up when he realized the man's grip was too firm for him to break away from.

Suddenly his arm began to hurt him less. When he realized this, he felt his fear and tension begin to melt away.

When the man was finished and he was free from his grip, he stood up immediately and took a few steps away. He then promptly bowed at the waist, to the man who had saved him. His legs were firmly planted, and fully straight, and he bowed so far down that he was almost at a 90 degree angle.

He was so thankful to the man, his life had been saved and this was how he expressed it. He felt overcome with emotion. It was so strange, he had been beaten and burned and chased and called so many names, and he had barely shed a single tear for all of that.

And yet for some reason, now, after being shown great kindness and selflessness, he felt tears begin to flow from his eyes. He kept his head down in the bowing position more to hide his tears, that he couldn't keep from flowing out in streams. His body shook and his expression had faltered. He looked greatly pained to receive this kindness.

He had been so afraid of becoming a slave and being forced to fight to the death. He was so afraid of dying, and knew that he was reaching his limits. His body was about to break during the chase. It felt like his lungs were on fire, and yet still he had to run, until this man saved him from all of it, and yet this was all he could to repay him.

[Anonymous]

Adonai expected the kid to bolt when he stood and backed away. So it surprised him a little when instead the other gave such a low bow at the waist that his face was hidden. He noticed the shaking, too. He hadn't scared the kid, had he? It was entirely possible, he supposed, considering one of the slave traders was lying in a smoldering heap nearby.

Despite his dislike for humans as a whole - and this kid seemed human enough, save for that horn - the idea that the young one might be afraid of him didn't really appeal to Adonai. Scaring some sense into the adults was one thing. It didn't feel right doing the same to children, accidental or otherwise, human or not.

With the boy keeping his face down where he couldn't see it, Adonai couldn't be sure what was going through his mind. So he stood up, trying to ignore the slowly diminishing throbbing in his leg, and rested a hand on the lad's head. This time he was careful not to be so rough so he wouldn't scare him anymore if he had.

"Hey...relax, kid. It's over."

[Anonymous]

The Quiet did relax when he felt the man's hand on his head, but he kept shaking. Tears were flowing from his eyes, and began to drip from his face. He was so tired of fearing for his life, and having to be saved, with no way to repay. He was sick and tired of it, and yet nothing had changed. Over and over again, he simply stayed the same. He couldn't change a thing, no matter how much he struggled.

Suffering and struggling, only to be saved.

Was that how he would be all his life?

But what could he do? He simply had to accept it. As he noticed the tears dripping from his face and collecting on the floor, he realized he couldn't hide it any more. He brought up his arm to use his sleeve to dry his tears and pulled away from the man a few more steps. Not out of fear, but instead shame. He turned his face away as he finished drying his tears and let out a loud sigh.

Now that he'd calmed down, he took a few more steps closer to the man. He remembered that he had some coins left from that one job he had a gotten out of pity. It wasn't even enough to buy anymore food though. Not at the prices around here anyway. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small brown pouch filled with a few copper coins. He extended it to the man, hoping he would accept the meager reward.

[Anonymous]

Once he was able to see them, Adonai wasn't sure how to interpret the tears. Could have meant any number of things, really, and with the kid apparently refusing to speak he could only guess. But at least it seemed the boy had calmed down finally. What he did next caught him off guard, and Adonai did his best to keep from showing a hint of exasperation at the monetary offer.

This kid was one of those types, huh? Well...at least he didn't expect someone to do him a favor for nothing. Even so...

He shook his head firmly. "Forget it. That's yours. If I wanted to get paid for protecting people, I'd be working as a bodyguard." The boy would likely take it as an insult. But it was safe to guess he was an orphan, or maybe had been abandoned. Whatever the case, he was on his own and would need to hang on to every coin he could get his hands on.

The idea that the young one might have been abandoned brought Adonai's attention back to that horn. In an almost absent-minded manner, he turned the other's head a bit to get a better look at it. It was unusual, sure, if this kid was indeed human. In fact it almost looked like a...a ram's horn, maybe? Granted, Adonai didn't know the circumstances, but he didn't understand how someone could brand the boy as a demon child so easily when it was clear he could barely defend himself.

"All that fuss over such a little thing," he muttered. With a shake of his head, he pulled his hand away to cross his arms over his chest. "You got a name, kid?"

[Anonymous]

The Quiet let out a sigh, and his extended arm lowered just slightly as his shoulders drooped a bit.

He was clearly disappointed, but not really insulted. He put the bag away as the man reached out and tilted his head. He was a bit surprised and took a step back away as the man pulled his hand back and crossed his arms.

The man asked him his name... but did he really have one? He was called The Quiet, but that's not really even a name...

He shrugged. That was his answer, it was the only one he could give.

[Anonymous]

"You don't know...?" He raised an eyebrow at that. How could the kid not know his own name? Unless...perhaps he was never given one to start with.

If that was the case, then this boy's parents were way up there at the top of the stupidity pole. Letting the young one fend for himself so early, probably not bothering to name him, and -

Aw, crap. Don't tell me.

A thought occurred to him then. Adonai had yet to hear the kid speak, but up until now he figured he had simply refused. But if he didn't even know his own name, then he supposed there was a chance that...

Trying to keep his irritation in check, he closed his eyes and lifted a hand to press against his temple. "Please tell me you can talk." He didn't know if he had the kind of patience required to deal with someone who couldn't speak.