[attr="class","hkappbody2"]

[attr="class","hkappbody3"]

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they said it smelt delicious

but it smelt of burning flesh

at a helios knight outpost an alchemist is pulled from his tent one night after a master has his finger close to bitten off. it is not the worst thing he has treated. in gale valley, sometimes it is considered lucky when a witch comes back in one piece. but it’s not a monster that bit through the master’s flesh to bone. that was his second patient.[break][break]

a kid who doesn’t seem much older than six years old is bound with restraints. standing beside the door is a warlock who, from the lines under his eyes, has been dragged from sleep too. he’s smoking as he keeps watch. when he’s asked about the ties, the response the alchemist gets is a lazy shrug of the shoulders.[break][break]

“kid tries make a break for it if they ain’t there.” the warlock blows smoke and taps the ash off before he speaks again. his voice is hoarse. whether it is from the lack of sleep or the cigarettes, the alchemist doesn’t know. ”tried to gnaw through ‘em too, doc. you see what he did to bloise’s hand?”[break][break]

but what the alchemist sees is the bump of the child’s spine under his skin and a chest shifting unevenly with each breath. he sees the whites of the child’s eyes and pinpoint pupils.[break][break]

not meant to be malicious

but this is the cross we bear

the alchemist’s instructions are ignored and the child retches the first time he eats. he repeats them to the next watchman: plain foods, nothing heavy. it is clear the child had not eaten for days. the alchemist is not surprised he was found breaking into the camp’s food supply.[break][break]

further examination shows that the child is older than he thought, maybe seven or eight, but malnutrition has left its mark; that he understands a little english but not much else; that these are cursory observations, nothing more, he needs to be taken to a city so someone more qualified can take a look. but no-one at the outpost presses it. they don’t have the resources.[break][break]

in meetings with the high-priestess, he sees the grey in her hair growing and a limp to her gait. but as they enter her tent together, the alchemist gives her a concise run-down of their medical supplies as requested. he suggests a supply run for hyacinth would be useful. the high-priestess adds a flippant comment that makes her parrot familiar squawk in laughter. after the rancour dies down, the high-priestess returns her attention to the alchemist. he always find himself averting his eyes from the intensity of her gaze.[break][break]

“and how is dismas?” she asks. the alchemist does not know the name. when he asks it’s with a dimpled smile the high priestess clarifies, “how is our tiny thief?”[break][break]

story of the winter

i forgot how to speak

the smell of smoke betrays who’s on guard duty today. as he pushes the flag open, the alchemist sees the warlock with putting out out a cigarette on an empty plate next to a wide spread of worn playing cards.[break][break]

“hey. seeing him before you leave?”[break][break]

the warlock is looking up at the alchemist with a toothy smile. dismas looks up too, his small body stiff at the new entrance, a sharp contrast to the slack warlock aside him. but his eyes dart back down when he hears the flip of a card. the nine of hearts is placed on the ten of clubs and the warlock continues to speak with a weak gesture to the cards, “just teachin’ the kid solitaire.”[break][break]

teaching? the alchemist only realises he said it out when he hears a snigger from the warlock. dismas doesn’t look up again. he’s watching the warlock deliberate over what to do next. “he catches on pretty fast. he was chatting earlier.”[break][break]

but the child doesn’t talk now. he keeps averting his eyes.[break][break]

“you think he’d be a good cheat? he’s makings of a real good poker face…”[break][break]

mind was like a nation’s flag

but my knees were too weak

at a helios knight watchtower just outside of sundial city an alchemist is pulled from his duties when a mission party returns bloodied and battered. it is not one of the worst things he has treated. it comes close, though. not all of them made it back. but déjà vu squirms in his stomach when he sees his patient.[break][break]

okay actually. hmm. what am i doing with my life?


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tl;dr

• a feral child informally adopted at a helios knight outpost near gale valley, dismas was taught the important things in life by the witches who raised him: how to speak in coherent sentences and how to cheat at card games.[break][break]
• dismas’ stay was not brief but it was not permanent either. eventually, he gains the sponsorship of a witch family in sundial city. the confirmation of the voice of his familiar is a quiet relief for them; magical power is something easier to focus on as opposed to domestication.