#Pat Trendell

[anthonysperkins]

Paul Brooks, Tony Spencer and Pat Trendell The Marine, the Cop and Youth (1966) dir. Bob Mizer

[spyroid101]

‘I Will Live...’

Ahhh. I dunno if I’ll have the energy to fully jump into the Lore Party with all you guys... Buuuuuuut today’s new Lore did inspire a little something, something...

...What can I say? I love me some bittersweet endings~ ;D

“Kid...? Kiiid...? Hey, Kiddo!”

“Ow!!” Azurri cried, finding herself suddenly jolted out of her thoughts as Jenx ‘lightly’ (At least, in his eyes) tugged on her tail.

“You know spacing out like that isn’t healthy, right?” Jenx asked, eyebrow raising. “I swear, if you’ve gotten yourself sick somehow, your parents are going to behead me-”

“I’m FINE, Jenx, Gods!” Azurri huffed.

...Though, she had to admit, it was so CUTE how much he cared for her, no matter HOW much he tried to hide it.

“I’m just...watching...”

“‘Watching’.” Jenx repeated, his voice incredulous.

His eyes glanced ahead.

Gloomy sky.

Gloomy ground.

Gloomy, seemingly unexistent, yet somehow still present, sun.

Gloomy.

Dead.

Just like EVERYTHING always was inside the Godless Lands.

“Sad to say, Kid, but if you’re waiting for a rainbow to pop up, I’ve got some bad news for you...” Jenx snorted.

“Not the environment!” Azurri growled, giving Jenx’s foreleg a light shove. “The dragons! I’m watching the dragons!”

“...Oh. Them...” Jenx mumbled, letting his eyes glance downward at the ground below them.

Dragons of various breeds lay flat on that gloomy, dead ground. Some quietly laughing, some writhing in silence, and some just... completely still.

None of this was out of the ordinary for Jenx... Well, maybe except for the number of dragons.

Today there seemed to be around twenty. Usually there was more.

Not that Jenx was complaining. The less dragons eager to throw away their souls to have him change their element, the less gold he’d have to shower himself in to be able to sleep at night...

...Despite such a thing always being hailed as impossible, Jenx was born in this Godless land, and as a consequence, he found himself cursed to be able to change his, and other’s, elements...

But, despite how Jenx viewed this curse, so many others somehow viewed it as a gift and a blessing.

Even though it killed his parents.

Even though it left him an abomination to the Eleven.

Even though the very act of changing ones Element was blasphemous.

Even though the process of Element change could very easily kill THEM...

They didn’t care. So why should Jenx?

They all knew the consequences, but they still payed him.

As long as Hayate, or ‘That Son of a Hainu’, as Jenx tended to call him, cleaned up any possible leftover corpses after the session, any and all of Jenx’s investment in them and their well being ended there...

...Well, unless they were one of the clingy, Elemental Change Addicts, like Naomi, but those were a different story entirely...

Jenx shook his head.

“Look, I told you, if you see a dead one, just go tell Hainu boy.” Jenx sighed. “I’m NOT about to set up some elaborate funeral for a stranger-”

“He’s not dead.” Azurri interrupted. “He’s...”

Azurri trailed off as her ears perked up, straining forward. Jenx found himself ready to shout at her as she stepped towards the very edge of the cliff point, almost looking like she was ready to jump off. But she just stayed perched there, her ears twitching.

“He’s... saying something...” She mumbled.

“Yeah. They tend to do that.” Jenx rolled his eyes. “They’re loopy, Kid.”

Azurri didn’t respond. She just continued to listen.

“W... Weh... Wem...” She mumbled, trying to make out the words.

Then, without warning, she suddenly jumped down from her perch.

“H-hey! Kid! Wait a minute!” Jenx snapped. “Ugh! Idiot...!”

Landing on the ground, Azurri carefully weaved her way around the other dragons that were sprawled out on the ground, taking care not to trip over anyone’s tail, or to step on anyone’s paws or whiskers...

Eventually, she made it over to the dragon that had been her fixation for the past few hours...

...Upon seeing him up close, Azurri was almost ready to take back her assessment on the dragon not being dead... but then he once again mumbled something incomprehensible.

Azurri vaguely remembered seeing this Tundra among today’s group of dragons, he was pretty beat up to begin with...

Half of his right wing, along with a few of his digits were completely missing... If Azurri had to guess, she’d say that from the look of it, the culprit was frostbite.

Besides that, the Tundra’s horns were fairly notched and ground down, his ears were in tatters, his fur matted, patched, and uneven, and his left wing, though in much better shape then his right, was still shredded beyond use.

However this Tundra traveled to the Godless Lands, it had to be on FOOT. Flying was no option for him.

Once again, the Tundra mumbled something.

“Hmm? What was that?” Azurri asked, stepping closer to the Tundra. “I couldn’t quite catch that...”

The Tundra paused, seeming surprised at having someone answer him.

“W....Wem...b-ba ...?” He rasped.

“‘Wemba’? What’s a Wemba?” Azurri asked, tilting her head. “...Oh! Is that a name? It’s a name, right?”

The Tundra suddenly let out a loud, heart-wrenching sob, causing her to jump.

“Hey! Hey, hey, hey! I’m sorry!” Azurri said quickly. “It’ll be okay! I’m not this ‘Wemba’ person, but I’m sure you’ll find them once you’re done with your change!”

Unfortunately, this seemed like the wrong thing to say, as the sobbing only got worse.

“F-f-forget...Le-let me...For-get...” The Tundra wept.

“You want to...’Forget’...” Azurri said slowly. “...Well, you’re in the right place! Lots of dragons come here to forget stuff and start anew! Like Naomi, and Janecka, and Lansa... Everything’s going to be alright, you’ll see!”

Azurri reached a paw out to pat the Tundra’s shoulder-

“KID!” Jenx snapped, pulling Azurri back by the tail. “Don’t just go touching them! You don’t know where they’ve been! And THIS one might have MANGE-!”

“He’s hurting, Jenx!” Azurri interrupted, squirming out of Jenx’s grasp. “I’m just trying to help...”

“‘Trying to help’, of course you would...” Jenx muttered under his breath. “Look, there’s nothing you can do for him, Kiddo. It’s just how this works.”

“I know, I know...It’s just...I just want to help...” She sighed.

It was moments like these that reminded Jenx that Azurri wasn’t as jaded as he was by now.

...And honestly, he wasn’t quite sure if he should be annoyed at her, or bless her for that fact...

“Look...” He said finally. “I’ll tell you, I’m already surprised this guy MADE it here in the condition he’s in. He’s got some determination, I’ll give him that. If he wants to live, he’ll live.”

Azurri took a few moments, letting the words sink in, before finally nodding. She then turned to the Tundra.

“Hey, what’s your name?” She asked.

The Tundra seemed to try and respond, but it seemed he had already used up whatever voice he had in his previous attempts to speak.

“That’s okay...” Azurri said, finally patting the Tundra’s not-so-soft anymore shoulder.

Jenx had to force himself not to grab her again.

“You’ll make it though this. And once your change is over, I’ll see you again, and THEN you can tell me your name, okay?” She gave the Tundra’s fur one last gentle pat. “So once you’re up and running again, come find me!”

The Tundra didn’t respond, but his muscles seemed to relax under her touch...

She assumed he must have understood.

“You done?” Jenx asked. “Your parents are probably going to start looking for you soon...”

“Yeah, okay...” Azurri said, walking back over to Jenx. “Let’s go home...”

“AFTER washing those paws.” Jenx added as he spread his wings and jumped into the air. “Five times. At LEAST.”

“Uuuugh. Yes, MOM...” Azurri huffed, flying off after him.

‘Trendal...My name is Trendal...’ He had wanted to say to her, but the words refused to leave his throat.

Trendal watched blankly as the two dragons flew off, keeping his focus on them for as long as he could...

...He had no idea how he got here, in all honesty.

How he survived, how he escaped, where he was... All those memories were discarded within the stress, fear and panic...

...Of all the things he’d forgotten, the things he WANTED to forget REFUSED to leave his head.

The cold.

Those monsters.

Those EYES.

Wemba...

Oh, Gods, Wemba...

As guilty as he felt, he wished he could forget her.

Forget the look he saw on her face.

Forget the sound of her screams.

Forget how it was his fault for ever coming up with the idea to rescue...

Rescue...

...The one he DID manage to forget...

But these...These horrible things... They seemed to now be branded into his brain, beyond all capabilities of olfactory memory...

He just wanted to forget...

He didn’t remember meeting up with the group of dragons in this strange place, or handing over the last of his belongings to that... Odd black Tundra... Jenx?

He vaguely remembered promises of...

Anew...

Warm...

Fire...

...Death...?

...

...Did he want to die...?

If he died... He could forget. The memories would be gone. The cold would be gone...

...

...But... But Wemba...

She wouldn’t want him to die.

Even though he wanted to forget her, he KNEW she wouldn’t want him to die...

And then, there was that Fae...

...

Trendal’s trip to the Dripcave Dregs showed him things he’d never, ever wanted to know...

...There was no love or benevolence from their God, no love or benevolence from those who follow him...

Only unjust suffering a hatred...

But that Fae... She was kind. Kinder then the Icewarden ever was, and she didn’t even know him...

...

“If he wants to live, he’ll live.” Jenx’s words echoed in Trendel’s head.

...

He wanted to live...

He WOULD live.

He would live for his forgotten friend.

He would live to spite those monsters.

He would live to spite the God whom had torn all he loved apart.

He would live to find that nice Fae, and tell her his name.

He would live...For Wemba...For as long as her memory stayed with him.

'I will live...’

With that, the last feeling of bitter cold left his body, connections to the Icewarden being severed as Trendel felt the essence of Fire running wild though his veins.

'I. Will. LIVE.’