#ohh im so sleepy. does this then falls backwards

[dnangelic]

What kind of warmth are you ?

comfort jacket .

you're gentle, thoughtful in your kindness, and very careful when you're helping others. your warmth is obvious only to some──  but to them, it is life-saving. you don't think of your warmth as much. really, it feels like the least you can do. but you are providing something that no one else can. there are people out there that will not be helped by reckless optimism. but you see love as a risk, and when you take it, you will heal others (and yourself) in ways you didn't see as possible. you do not believe that people are good. really, you don't believe that you are good. they can be. you have been. no one is better than you at offering warmth to people who are difficult to love. i am asking you to offer that same warmth to yourself. even when you think you don't deserve it. especially when you think you don't deserve it.

holding your hand .

you're sweet, generous with your kindness, and excited to give to others. your warmth is obvious and contagious. people often can't help but smile around you. your loved ones usually come to you with good news first, because they know you'll match their excitement automatically and emphatically. your warmth provides a safe place for others to be authentically themselves. you're highly emotional, and there might be times where it suddenly feels harder to love others the way you usually do. don't force yourself to stay so positive. you can still help others, even when you don't feel so bright and sunny. and you're still worthy of love, even when you feel you have nothing left to give.

tagged by: @nulltune ty!!!

[probablypathogens]

This is a prologue for the book im trying to write. It hasnt been edited very much but yeah. If you have any questions feel free to ask. Btw its like 8 pages on google docs.

Prologue.

A young boy awakens from an afternoon nap, the sun beaming down on him, gently warming his face. As his senses return to him, the song of birds fills his ears. The first thing he sees is the face of a woman peering down at him.

"well hello sleepy head" she says in an ever tender voice. "I just finished this one, would you care to take a look?"

"mhmm" The boy nods, standing up, smiling ear to ear.

She hands him a freshly carved deer figure that could fit in the palm of his small hands. The moment the boy touched the figure his mind was flooded with the imagery implanted within. He is in a small clearing and just ahead of him, a doe is standing in the middle, grazing. The doe looks up directly at him but instead of running away, it slowly walks over to him. Unafraid of the boy, the doe approaches closer to sniff him. Its nose touched his forehead. He could feel the wetness of it. The memory ends and he is brought back to the moment he touched the carving.

He giggles, as he puts it down and picks it back up again. The memory repeats. Now laying down in the grass the boy's mind begins to wander, preoccupied in his imagination.

The trees swayed in the wind, carrying the song of nature, the music of the world composed by birds, bugs and every other manner of critter that lived in the expansive garden. Despite the expansiveness of this garden, or more aptly mini forest, it did in fact have an edge, and at that edge was a sheer cliff composed of stone. Just then as the woman begins to settle back into her chaise and bask in the sun she hears a subtle commotion coming from behind the large castle doors that lead to the garden. They swing open flanked by two guardsmen holding the massive wrought iron doors. A figure appears out from the dark castle corridor into the midday sun. The light glistening off of the jewels and inlaid gold of the crown and mantle he wears. He walks into the garden, his stride dignified and stately, he waves his hand backwards gesturing towards the guards and they close the massive doors while heading back inside. He crosses into the outer tree line as the doors close, disappearing into the shade. As he leaves the shade and enters the central meadow he lets out an audible sigh.

“Finally” he exclaims as he takes off the crown and royal mantle, laying them on a stone garden table, rather haphazardly. His demeanor changes, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, both literally and figuratively. The once uptight and self important presence he had was gone and had been replaced by a calmer more personable energy.

“That bad huh” She said in a knowing tone.

“It wasn't that bad, but you know how much I dislike it all” he says while almost falling down into the chaise right next to her. “I mean, it's better than it was five years ago but im just so tired of it”

“ ohh I know honey, we’re nearing the end though, so that something, and it'll be worth it when we're done”

“Hmmmph, I hate that you’re always right,” he said, letting out a smile.

“Well” she said, laying back farther. “A nap has been calling for me all day, and I think now is as good a time as any to answer.” She paused while getting more comfortable. “You can watch him in the meantime right?”

“Of course” He said energetically, the exhaustion from work seemingly vanishing. He got up from the chaise and started walking over to the boy, who had made it towards the edge of the tree line. The boy who was out of earshot and had his back turned had not noticed his arrival. As the man neared the child, the boy picked up on the sound of his footsteps in the grass and quickly turned around. His eyes instantly lit up.

“Daddy!” He exclaimed. The boy dropped what he was playing with, getting up to meet his father. The large man bent down and embraced his child, rocking him back and forth as they hugged.

“Hows my little soldier doin today” he said

“Good, mommy made me a deer,” the boy said excitedly, “Here”. He grabbed his fathers hand and started off towards the spot he was playing at. “Which one are you gonna be?” He said pointing to a trampled spot in the grass. In this spot laid the deer carving with a piece of grass tied to it. Next to the deer figure was a clump of mud with 2 sticks stuck in on either side. “That one is the deer and he’s the hero and that one is the monster and he's the bad guy”, He said pointing first to the deer and then to the clump.

“Oh wow, I really can't decide,” the man said “How about you pick for me”.

“Okay uh,” the boy paused. “You can have this one” he said, handing the deer carving to the man holding it by its grass string. As it fell into the man's hand the contained memory flooded his mind.

“ Ah” he said, slightly surprised. “I remember this one, did you know I was actually there when this happened buddy.”

“Really?!” The boy said excitedly, “what was it like!” eyes now beaming for an answer.

“Well, it was actually exactly the same as this one” he paused, starting to roll up his sleeves. “That's because it's my memory” He said, suddenly jumping up and sprinting off into the tree line. As he disappeared into the vegetation a voice could be heard. “I hope no scary monsters are coming to catch me”. The boy let out a playful roar and ran into the forest after him. An intense game of hide and seek ensued, taking place over the entire forested area. The man had taken care to leave traces so the boy could track him. A boot print in the mud here and there and the occasional rustle of leaves he felt was good enough. A few minutes had passed until he could hear the boy nearing his hiding spot. The man had hid behind a large rock, which concealed most of his body from most angles, but the boy was sure to see him if he passed the rock. He could hear every footstep the boy took with great detail, the man's having beyond perfect hearing, could even hear the boy's heartbeat if he wanted to. As the child got even closer the man turned away from where he was approaching. A second later he could hear the boy stop in his tracks and then slowly start to creep up behind him. Clearly having noticed the bright white and yellow of the man's coat the boy prepared to scare his prey.

The boy let out a large roar as he jumped onto his father's back, “I found you!!”.

“Argh you got me” he said now spinning with the boy up while on his back. He stopped and kneeled down towards the ground, letting the child off. The boy got down, still giggling and happy from finding his father. The man turned around to look at his child only to find the smile on his face slowly fading and a slight look soon replaced it.The man followed his eyes to a smudge of dirt on his pristine jacket.

“Oh c'mon that's nothing” he said reassuringly, removing the jacket and laying it on the rock nearby.

“But, I got it dirty” he said looking at the ground, clearly on the verge of tears.

“Aw buddy really it's nothing, it's just a bit of dirt, nothing that can't be fixed” The man said, now crouching down and holding the boy tenderly. “How about when we're done, we can go visit the maids room and they can help you clean it. Then it's like it never even happened, nothing to be sad over.” The boy started nodding while rubbing the start of a tear from one of his eyes. “Now”, the man said abruptly, taking advantage of the boy starting to cheer up, “how about I chase you this time”. The smile now returning to his face, the boy clumsily ran off to find a hiding spot, giggling in between breaths as he got farther away. They went on like this, playing hide and seek and other various games for almost an hour. The breeze carried their laughter throughout the expansive garden. When the occasional playful noises coming from the trees made the sleepy day even more tranquil for the woman as she started to doze off in the sleepy afternoon sunlight.

The Woman awakens, noticing the sun has gone down a bit more than she expected she quickly gets up to gather her things. On top of her coat is a note, one she regards with a smile. He got hungry after running around so much, we went inside for a late lunch. Meet us inside when you wake up. With a smiley face to finish the note off she puts it in her pocket and starts walking to the castle. She approaches the doors, gives them a simple knock and steps back. The doors are immediately opened by two guardsmen who bow to her once they complete their task. She steps in through the stone archways into a t-shaped hallway, large windows line the halls on either side, bathing the halls in sunlight. She takes off her sandals, switching them out for a pair of softer leather shoes. She then sets off down the left hallway and enters through the door at the end of it into a small dining room.

“Ah, Mari, you were out there for a while” The man said just before taking a sip from his cup of tea. She walked over to the circular table and took a seat next to the man on one of the upholstered chairs.

“Yeah I guess I was tired” she said, still somewhat groggy. “Martha,” she called out. A young woman promptly entered through a jib door into the small but cozy room.

“Yes Ma’am?” She said, slightly bowing her head.

“Can you please get my lunch” She asked

“Of course Ma’am” She said, turning around back through the door into the kitchen. A few seconds later she arrived back through the door with a tray and set it on the table.

“Thank you Martha, you may go now” she said. The woman excused herself and went back into the kitchen, closing the door to be flush with the wall again. Mari began to eat her meal.

“So” she said between bites “where's the little monster”.

“Oh, he crashed after eating so he should be taking a nap in his room right now” he said gesturing towards the staircase behind him. They sat and talked for some time before there was a knock on the main door.

“Come in” the man said.

A stately man in his 30s opened the door, closing it behind him after entering.

“Oh good you are both here” he said slightly out of breath

“Has something happened Dante?” the woman inquired, sensing the fact he seemed to have come as fast as he could.

“Ah, it may require one of your attentions” He said almost reluctantly

“Well then” she said standing up “Lets go”

She follows the man through the halls until they come into the main hall upon which the man stands aside and gestures to her to enter.

“Thank you seneschal,” she says.

The great main hall which used to hold feasts was currently retrofitted with rows of desks and tables full of parchments. Most of the hall had been turned into an administration floor, its feasting days long behind it. The scribes and officials were currently huddling around the center floor, their voices hushed.

“Make way!” Her voice echoed throughout the hall, powerful and commanding.

Once they heard her voice the group fell silent and bowed to her in unison. The people cleared a path in front of her until she reached the center. The source of the commotion was an older man dressed in slightly better clothes than the people around him. A guard was holding him by his shoulders into the chair he was sitting in. The seneschal catches up to her through the crowd.

“Your majesty from what I gather this man was one of the previous stewards, he was caught breaking into one of the storerooms.” Thinking upon his words for a second she then looks back over to the man currently detained.

“Dante, Have some of your men bring him to dungeon, I will be with you shortly”

As she orders, the man is swiftly brought up to his feet by 2 men and is escorted out of the great hall.

“Alright, shows over, get back to work.” she said addressing the crowd. Despite the careless nature in which she said it they all promptly walked back to their stations and picked up where they left off. Next she set out for the dungeon, walking back through the door in which she came in. Arriving in the basement level she walked to the dungeon, an entire floor lined with cells that was mostly empty at this time. She walked towards the one cell with guards out front. Upon hearing her footsteps the guards straightened their posture and the seneschal left the cell to greet her.

She entered the cell, finding the would-be thief keeled over clutching his chest. Giving Dante a quick glance he quickly looks straight forward avoiding her eyes.

“Just one for good measure ma’am” he quickly blurted out, with a small grin

“Well then” she said, sitting down in a chair clearly not belonging to a prison “what reason would you have to risk stealing from me.” The man’s once rather impressive clothes have been covered in dirt, Finally catching his breath he begins to speak up, giving a spiteful grin.

“If anything,” he barely got out, “you are the one who stole from us. The noblemen of this country have protected the wealth of the royals for centuries. And what do you go and do, you squander it. That money was meant for us, instead you give it to the impure and filthy, the bottom feeders who wouldn't even be here if it weren't for us. What's more you aren't even of royal blood. You are a disgrace.” He said with enough hate to fill the room.

“Dante” She said, unamused

“Yes Ma’am”

“You said he was from the old family, correct?”

“That is correct”

“Why wasn't he presented with the rest of them?” she said inquisitively

“Well,” Dante said, shifting his feet a bit “he isn't actually a nobleman, I think he just worked under them.”

“Humph” she let out a small laugh, “you are a sad sad man, even a dog wouldn't stay loyal to an owner who abused it that much.” Now standing up she cracks her fingers. “Why don't you join them too?” Upon hearing these words the man backs up into the corner

“Wait, what do you mean?” He said worryingly. Now prepared, marisol clasps her hands together and points them at the man, closing her eyes in unison. She slowly separates her hands with some resistance. Marisol winces as an oscillating ringing floods her ears, the man already backed into the corner suddenly finds himself falling backwards into darkness. In almost the blink of an eye the ringing in her ear vanished, along with the man.

“Welp,” Marisol said, clapping her hands together. “We are done here, if that's all I will be heading back.” She quickly left the dingy cell and headed back up the stairs.

“Um sir” one of the guards said meekly

“Dont worry about it, he’ll be fine” Dante said with a relaxed tone. “Alright now back to work, stop gawking.” the guards walked off, eyeing the spot where a man once was until they left its sight. Back upstairs Marisol enters the room where she was eating to find a maid currently cleaning the table and collecting the used dishes.

“Oh, your majesty, I believe the king has gone upstairs,” she explained. With a kind nod Marisol headed up the first and second set of stairs, arriving at the royal bedchambers on the highest floor. Walking past the opulent ante chamber, she opens the doors to the room nothing like the rest of the castle. Devoid of any decadence, the royal chambers were more akin to the home of a commoner just on a larger scale. The furniture was still of very good quality but there was a distinct lack of gold and other objects of wealth one would expect the richest person in a land to have. Taking off her coat she went further inside to find her husband. On a large cushioned chair in a corner he was reading a book to the boy. They both glanced up at her presence.

“What happened?” the man said calmly.

“It's already sorted, i'll tell you later” she responded. She approached the boy giving him a big hug. “Do you still have the deer?” she asked him. The boy pulled the carved trinket from his pocket holding it by the piece of grass tied to it which had not somewhat deteriorated. The boy dropped it into her palm. The man began reading again as she walked over to a dresser across the room. She opened a small box on top of the dresser and pulled out one of the many strings from the box. She replaced the crude piece of grass with the string that was now threaded through the carved loop it was intended for. “Do you want it on the tree?” she called out.

“Yes,” the boy responded. The man gave him a soft nudge prompting him to respond again “yes please”. She walked to a doorway which led to the boys' attached room. On a low table in the room was a wooden pole with many pegs. On the pegs were carved figures of just about any animal one could think of. There were even figures of depictions of mountains and lakes. She put the deer on one of the pegs and headed back into the main room. They passed the afternoon Taking turns reading to the child from the handwritten and illustrated book. Once the sun was about to set a servant knocked on the door and informed them that dinner was ready. Upon heading downstairs a simple but hearty dinner of potatoes, bread, and pheasant awaited them. In the dining room, the long ornate table was filled with the castle staff, except for the last three seats at the head of the table. The people of the castle waited patiently for them to be seated, the king and queen sitting on opposite sides with the prince sitting at the end in a chair clearly too big for him. The staff all looked to the family, not a sound was made in anticipation. The king stands up, and to the attention of the whole room, he begins his speech.

“Good evening to you all. I'm sure you all know this but I will say it anyway, today marks the 5th anniversary of the creation of our new nation. This administration has been the pride and joy of not only me but I hope all of you as well. The work we have done has been hard on us all, but we are beginning to see the light at the end of this tunnel.” He gestures to the table of an abundant assortment of foods. “This elegant meal before that has been cooked by our skilled kitchen staff was only made possible by all of your effort. The fields which were once dying are now teeming with life. The markets are now filled with meats and fish of many kinds, children can now focus on their future and not when their next meal will be. Beyond the famine, we managed to also repair the hope within the peoples eyes. They now see and can expect a future that shines with the brilliance of the human spirit. It was none other than your hard work and dedication that has shown so brightly upon the people. As leaders we have a responsibility to our subjects, our subjects look to us for a reason, and when we show them the kindness, effort, sincerity and intelligence that you have personally shown me, those same aspects reflect in the people. You are all pillars of this nation, and strong ones, which is why I believe we have a long and prosperous future ahead of us. I thank you all for your hard work and service towards these ideals.”

“For Aurum!” they exclaim as they rise from their seats to applaud. An energy of admiration and hope flooded the room, the leaders in front of them were unlike any the people of Aurum had seen in the past, it filled them for the first time, with hope for the future. With the end of the king's speech the respectful silence was lifted and the feast began, the hall was slowly filled with conversation and laughter.

Hours later, The setting of the sun cast a silence over the castle as all the people who were once eating and enjoying eachothers company had long left the halls, returning to their homes and quarters to get rest for the day to come. The King and Queen were now on their balcony watching over their sprawling kingdom, the thousands of houses that comprise the capital city were slowly getting darker as the street light dimmed. In the horizon the once great city walls were being torn down to make way for large housing developments, the stone being repurposed for the many foundations that were being laid in the burgeoning city. The time of survival had ended and a period of thriving had been ushered in. The scars of suffering had not vanished but they were indeed beginning to heal. They could feel the warm summer air begin to fade as the onset of fall was on its way.

“I really enjoyed your speech tonight” she said turning to look at him

“Was it worth all those rewrites?” he said somewhat playfully

“Maybe” she said unsurely while looking away “mine are still better” they both giggle briefly

“It really was though, you are getting better at inspiring them, I can see it in their eyes” she said coming closer and putting her arms around him

“Really?” he said surprisedly “I can’t really tell” he responded. They were now holding each other and slowly swaying together as the night breeze slowly washed over them.

“Things have finally gotten better,” she said, smiling as she put her head on his chest. They stood in silence for some time before going inside. The peace they had worked for had finally started arriving, like a weight had been off their shoulders. They fell into a peaceful slumber. In the serenity of her dream she drifted off, going along with whatever her mind could come up with. Despite the dreaming mind's uncanny ability to keep one unconscious, one single sound was able to creep in from the outside into her dream. It was a high pitched oscillating ringing sound. The presence of this sound alone was enough to induce lucidity into her, and the second she was in control she forced herself awake. Her eyes shot open, dancing around the room as she lay unmoving. Her eyes were locked onto the balcony that was left open. She shot up out of the bed and noticed the light in the prince's room was now on. A sense of dread started solidifying into the pit in her stomach. She grabbed a silk bag from her nightstand, and started approaching the room, hand gripped tight onto the bag. She slowly creeped toward the room, taking care to make as little sound as possible. She arrived at the door, and could faintly hear a man whispering.

“Dante?” she called out, hoping the person inside would respond. Right after calling out Dante's name the sound of something falling over inside the room could be heard. After that however was another sound, the last sound she wanted to hear. The same oscillating ringing sound from earlier began emanating from the room, seemingly unimpeded by the walls and door. Her heart instantly started racing, faster than it's ever beaten before. She flung the door open and burst into the room. Inside the room was a sight that made her heart stop, there was nothing, or more accurately, noone. A gut wrenching scream followed. The king instantly woke up and sprung out of bed coming to the prince's room in seconds.

“What happened?!” he said, his heart beating out of his chest.

“He's gone” She screamed out. “They took him,” she said solemnly, her voice shaking. The worlds had just stopped, for an instant it was just him and the empty room.

“Henry!” someone called out to him. This voice snapped him out of his trance. It was Dante, his sword at the ready, still wearing bed robes. He had just ran from across the castle and up 2 flights of stairs in less than 30 seconds, and was visibly out of breath.

“There's nothing you can do, Dante,” He responded coldly, not taking his eyes off of the room. Before Dante’s confusion could set it the room slowly began to shake. The queen began to scream again, this scream was different however, it was full of energy and pure rage. This ear piercing shriek was followed by sudden rumbling as all the objects within the vicinity began to shake violently, as if an earthquake had just beset the top floor of this castle. The glass windows shook until they shattered, the wooden furniture in the room began to split, the stone pillars started to chip, but just as quickly as it started it suddenly ended. It seemed the world had found its peace now, but it was the only one who found their peace that night. She was now silent and laying on the floor still trembling.

“Dante,” The king said calmly. “There is something you can do”

“Anything Sir.” He responded readily

“Take care of things for a while”, The King said as he walked over and retrieved the sword by his bedside.

“Sir?” he said, not knowing what the meaning of the kings words was

“I don't know when we will be back but I believe you will be able to hold things together until then,” the king said as he began to put things into a backpack. He then returned to the side room with a backpack filled to the brim. “Im ready” he said kneeling down to his wife who had now calmed down, save for the rage still burning in her eyes.

“Okay” she said softly, nodding slowly as she got up and brushed the dust off of her. “We will be back Dante” she said looking into the confused man's eyes

“We will explain it all later” The king said firmly. Dante, still confused by what had just happened, looked around the room more this time, noticing the lack of a child. When he had looked back up at them the queen had her arms extended. Dante had seen this sight before but it never ceased to amaze him. As she separated her hands a rip began to appear and expand in the air. As it expanded silently Dante peered into the ink blackness of it, with an array of pearlescent fragments dotting the void like stars in the night sky. He watched as they walked into the bounds of the darkness holding eachothers hands. The king turned around and gave Dante a final nod. He Began to call out to the pair, but they could not hear him. Dante watched their backs as the tear slowly began to close, shrinking more and more until it became nothing. All that was left was a spot of dead air in the room that once held the future of a kingdom.