The man's glare grows more ferocious as Versi says, "Fear is a sickening feeling, and right now you're embedding that into a young heart do to your lack of control over your own mind, over your own fear, your allowing the degradating force within your heart sent by the devils beneath to cloud your judgement and send you down a path that has no real return."
Pushing the knife even deeper against Ring, the man says, "SHUT THE HELL UP! Who are you to tell me anything? Do you even for a second know what it feels like to be me? I work on these fields every single day in the blazing sun, covered and surrounded by so many people that the very air around us is scarce. So is food, so is water, so is any form of privacy and connection, as our weary bodies work every single day to fill your greedy pockets. I see the way you smile; I see that happiness pasted across your face each day, as I suffer from the moment I wake till I rest, only hoping for some form of salvation in this hellish mess to fall upon me. And when I feel upset, when I feel lost, when I feel like I can't take it any more, your monkey wielding power that almost none of us can compete with comes and beats those who step out of line into submission in a bloody rage, like it's our fault that we are here. I didn't ask for my country to turn to shit; I didn't ask for all the idiots who used to live with me to give in to a fervour of war and destruction, forcing men like me to throw away my life and get killed so they can go fuck and enjoy their lives.
Why do I have to suffer? Why do I have to go through this? If life was fair, if god existed, then I shouldn't have had to experience anything like this just from choosing to continue breathing. But it isn't nothing is, everything sucks and demons like you no matter what you say will always keep yourselves feed and safe, so I don't reach for the bread stuffed in your homes I will never see it, because in this life it's survival of the fitness, so even if this child's head must roll at any point to ensure that I will do such a thing."
Captivant, who continues to circle around, arrives at the left-hand side of the crowd from the man's perspective, yet as he does, he sees the growing dissatisfaction on the faces of the people all around him; then in his ears, his hears someone say, "Adrian is here!"
He quickly turns his head, but can't make out the voice in the crowd of people, though he can make out the screaming Ring as the man says, "COME OUT RIGHT NOW!"
Captivant walks forward into view of the man, and he says, "Plunge both of your fists into the ground."
He clicks his tongue, and as the knife gets closer to Ring, the man says, "I should ask for your head right now for my safety, so be good and shove your hands into the ground using your Spirit Energy, and better not feel a little pip from your souls from now on."
Φ I guessed he wouldn't ask to end my life, correctly guessing I wouldn't die for Ring to think he can stay this calm even if situations like this. I don't know what life he may have lived, but his endurance might actually keep his concentration high.
At this point, I might just need to risk it and kill him; the sentiment he has spread made someone else in the crowd try and forsake Ring's life for no good reason. A bunch of demons, and the arrival of more could put mother at risk.
Φ As Captivant contemplates moving, his father's eyes cross his own, and for a moment his body relaxes as his father says, "It must be scary, isn't it, to feel like every action of your own could send you to your death. That you are never truly part of the village, or the people around you, after having lost a place where you had those things; now you're just a stranger in a foreign land with no one to truly rely on. You know our bodies as men are scary. From the age of 15, a direct punch from our fists to anyone who isn't a fully grown man has the potential to kill them; there are some grown men it could actually kill. It's why people are always scared of us men, because if you have enough of us in any country, we can always topple it. Anyone with sense must view men as a threat, especially in groups. To the people your not humans your beasts a moment away from ending everything, and I understand that so much.
But I've always had a fear that if my son was away throughout the world, would he meet kindness? If he was in dire straits, would people view the baby I held in my hands, the man whose hugs are as warm as the sun, the smile of the boy who is so easily excited, with the same fear they would view a bear? The thought of such a thing hurt my heart more so than anything else I could possibly think of. So I want to show people kindness, especially young men like you who will forever be viewed as weapons."
With his hand shaking, he says, "SHUT THE HELL UP!"
"Because you aren't one; you have a heart just like the rest of us, that people constantly deny for their own sakes, but I don't want to treat you as a monster. Your worries you annites your frustrations you can come to me for them, because in this world, even if you feel like you have no one to stand by your side, no one that truly wishes to protect you, I will. Because all humans deserve the right to feel human, and I can assure you of one thing: you are loved simply because you've been born."
The man's body starts to tremble, and for an instant the knife moves away from the boy's neck, and wasting no time, Captivant rips his hands out of the ground, destroying some of his skin, as he lunges forwards and restrains the man, as his father says, "DON'T HURT HIM!"
Taking the knife out of his hand and holding the man's arms behind his back, Captivant says, "I wasn't planning on it."
Freed from his captivating Ring, rushes towards Versi and lunges into a hug as tears roll down his eyes, and as Versi holds the child in his arms, he says, "Don't worry, everything will be okay, I promise."
Crowds of people start rushing forward, and Captivant slams his foot into the ground, breaking it as he says, "Anyone who wishes to be in a casket, come forward, because for now, I am taking him to be faced by the authority of this village."
Picking the man up, Captivant's eyes move around, all across his body. He sees a mix of emotions so wide and varied that it looks like a rainbow might be formed from them, but one thing is certain: they flow and mix around both the man in his arms and Versi.
-Break-
Location: Captivant's and Carina's Room
Sitting with his back against his sister's side of the room, Captivant gazes upwards as he looks at the bandages wrapped around his arm and hands. Touching them, he feels a surge of pain, then hears, "Are you okay?"
"I am fine day, I just moved too quickly." As he walks up next to me from my door, I sit up and say, "Though I am surprised you can even grace me with your presence, considering all of the things you should have on your checklist to get done."
"Don't worry, it's already been done, or, to put it simply, it had to be done in a week or else the flames may be fanned in destructive ways."
Staring at the bags underneath his eyes, Captivant says, "You sure you should be up?"
"I am doing fine enough; I just thought I should thank you for what you did. Especially for Ring."
"Have I degraded in your eyes so much that this is worthy of thanks?"
"No, I knew it's just the kind of guy you are, and I thank you for being born."
Turning his back to his father, he says, "Stop being a weirdo."
"Hahaha."
"Now, how did you manage to deal with that guy?"
"We've sent him to a prison on another one of the farms; there he will be put under strict supervision by a moderate after his sentence is done, and any other issues will lead to a direct expulsion from the village."
"Surprised you could pull that off; I thought it might be too mean-spirited for you."
"In truth, if I had it my way, he probably wouldn't have gotten all of that. I would've tried to even keep him here, but even I can see I needed to treat this situation with far more care than others."
Sticking up his thumb, Captivant says, "Good job, you've been able to at least quell the flaming emotions that I've seen been building for quite some time; you can smile knowing no one is going to put your head on a pike."
"Sometimes I think I am going to do that myself. Hahaha."
"Make jokes about leaving mother a widow again, and I will gut you."
"Hahaha, sorry."
Silence takes the room for a moment, and composing himself, Versi says, "I think I am going to close the borders."
Captivant whips his head around and says, "What? That can't be."
Nodding, Versi says, "I guessed you'd say something like that, and in my heart I don't know if it is the right thing to do. But when Ring ran into my arms that day, I truly felt his small body; I felt how brittle and weak he was, like he could be broken into pieces by the smallest of touch. I preach strength, but how much of that can I expect from the young? Or is this merely a test from god to see where my loyalties to him truly lie? The question has been ripping me apart, and to be honest I feel like it's going to kill me. But I can't continue on like this."
Composing himself, Captivant says, "There is a good chance this will at least stabilise the situation, as I am sure the worst of the refugees will come when war breaks out. But you're not the type of man who I think can keep his heart beating if you do something you see as immoral."
"That's a nice idea, but the more I think about the more I can't say my acts were completely selfless or without my own issues."
"That's a start, and why would that be?"
"You know a lot about me and my father; that type of man he was."
"If he was here, he would kick every single person in the country out to make room."
"Your right about that, and on some level I think despite all his love he hated my grandfather for destroying this land and causing so much trouble, and lived his life in defiance of my grandfather often leading him to be overly ruthless, and on some level I did the same thing, I denied his existence instead of living by my own principles and at some point I think Versi stopped being Versi.
So I can't call myself a truly selfless person, but I wish to at least say something. Please don't live your life trying to reject another; you were born to be Captivant and you can only ever experience the fullness of your existence by being yourself. I love you, son."