Death Comes As the End

[a_gentle_boy]

[Thursday - Extra Fortified Poison]
[When his alarm goes off at 4:00 Thursday morning, Lucas immediately bolts out of bed.  He takes his blankets with him, settling down on the front porch with his head leaning back against the door, his eyes scanning the dark streets for any sign of a whistling madman.  His patience is rewarded soon enough.  He doesn't even take the deliveries in, simply uncapping a bottle and drinking it down right there, probably to the Milkman's great pleasure.

While nothing comes out, no spiders or razor blades or dinosaurs with rocket launchers... There is the sense, immediately, that something is wrong.  Poison.  A different sensation than the spider venom or snakebites he was more familiar with, but... He knew what this feeling was.  It was the same as he'd had last year, in Westport.  No matter.  He could heal it.  The boy concentrates and casts the appropriate PSI, and.... nothing.  He tries again.  Over and over, he casts Healing until he knows, in the pit of his stomach, that there won't be anything he can do to save himself this time around.

He'll try to stand up; to his great surprise, his muscles rebel.  He manages only to smash his head against the door feebly instead.  ...Lucas sinks back down to a sitting position, wraps his blankets around himself as much as he can, and tries to keep his breathing under control.

He's never been a very strong child.  In fifteen minutes, he is dead.]

[Saturday - Mood Swings]
[He's evenly matched with Silence today.  They race.  Lucas cheats with PK Flash.  Lucas wins.  When the milk goes down, he wipes his mouth off triumphantly with a cheerful shout.]

See, Mr. Silence?  Nothing even happened this time!  I can take care of myself.

[Following their conversation, Lucas will run out the front door, singing a sort of obnoxious song as loudly as he can.  This continues until he reaches the park, at which point he pauses, bursts into tears, and begins to attack an oak tree with a small stick he picks up.]

Comments

[Thursday]

[mute-mystic.livejournal.com]

[Maybe Lucas smacking his head against the door frame alerts Silence to the fact that he's been outmatched today - or perhaps he'd just gotten up only a shade later than Lucas to begin with. Either way, he comes out not long after Lucas finishes drinking - which is just as well, since Lucas doesn't have long - and stares down at the boy in mingled shock and alarm.

Today, Lucas beat him. And apparently today's batch was especially bad. The guilt sets in almost immediately - he should have been the one to drink it, not Lucas. He should have tried harder, taking more precautions against the boy's altruistic stubbornness...

But there's no point reflecting on that now. Silence isn't sure what he can do, but he doesn't want to just leave the boy out in the damp morning air, sitting on the porch. He leans down and picks Lucas up, blanket and all, to carry inside. The expression on his face as he looks down at the boy is one of pure concern, but he isn't stopping to take the time to write out any thoughts or questions he might have, so Lucas is left to guess at them.]

[Saturday]

[mute-mystic.livejournal.com]

[Silence's exasperation and alarm at being beaten to the milk a second time is extreme - especially since, for the past two days, the milk has been lethal. But it seems to be for nothing; there's nothing obviously in the milk, such as razors or spiders, and Lucas seems to be suffering no ill effects...indeed, he seems remarkably cheerful.

The song is what tips him off that it's too cheerful. Lucas can be quite happy and cheerful, certainly, but he's a fairly quiet boy even then. Even taking into account the satisfaction of beating Silence, and the relief at a harmless bottle...this seems excessive. And Silence wants to keep an eye on him to make sure.

So he quietly follows Lucas to the park, hardly noticed in the wake of the boy's exuberance. But when Lucas' mood suddenly and dramatically shifts upon their arrival, Silence's eyes go wide.

Apparently his instincts were right, and something is very wrong...although he does suppose there's a slim possibility these extreme emotions are just belated reactions to the week they've had. But his concern for Lucas remains the same regardless of cause, so he approaches the boy cautiously, laying a hand that's meant to be simultaneously comforting and restraining on his shoulder.]