4 Mutual Understanding

Athena walked briskly, Blake ran after her, desperately trying to catch up.

"Hurry the hell up kid, ain't got all day."

He breathed heavily, his undeveloped lungs burned with pain as they screamed for oxygen. They had been walking for what seemed like miles to the small child. They wound through the alleys of Orario, walking through miles of back alleys and shortcuts. After what seemed like hours Athena stopped at a worn cart, out of sight of the main street.

It held tattered clothing and cheaply made equipment/weapons. An old, overweight dwarf sat behind the cart, resting his eyes under the canopy. Athena tossed a bag of valis at him, which he caught, and raised an eye at her.

"Get me a small cloak and a supporter bag. That should be enough, right mason?"

The gruff dwarf tossed a bag and cloak at her, then closed his eyes to fall asleep once again. She handed the cloak and bag to Blake, commanding him.

"Put this on and do it fast. We need to get you disguised before Freya's eyes realize you're with me." She looks over at the dwarf, asking. "Anything come up about me?"

The dwarf kept his eyes closed as he said. "No, not yet at least. So you need to get away from my stall before they see me helping you."

With that, Athena helped Blake put on his cloak and oversized bag, leading him through the winding alleyways like before. Eventually, they reached an overgrown area of Orario. Where there was a large outcropping of trees that formed a small forest. This miniature forest was contained by a stone small wall that only came up to the chest. This wall was weathered and overgrown, seemingly neglected by everyone but mother nature and father time. A pair of rusted gates guarded an overgrown stone path leading into the forest. Blake was taken aback by the unnatural existence of a forest in Orario, which is an urban city without much in the way of foliage, aside from the forests outside the city. Athena answered his question before he could ask.

"This is my familia's estate, I haven't had lawncare for quite some time as you can tell." The near dilapidation of her external walls and gates supports this statement, he wondered if her home will be just as dilapidated. The gates screeched in opposition as Athena opened them, she looked at Blake with a coy smile, beckoning him onward.

He looked at her with an expressionless gaze and continued onward, following Athena into the woods. He looked at the situation he's in and laughed internally, going into the woods with a stranger is something his mother had warned him countless times about.

This only caused his heart to throb as he began to remember his parents. The solitude of the forest reminded him of his time spent exploring the forest on the shoulders of his father, the singing of the birds and whistling of the breeze only served to remind him that he was alone with no one to sing to him or whistle a tune with him.

The forest no longer felt new and exciting, brimming with possibilities behind every tree, but darker and colder than it had any right to be. It felt as though he was being crushed by all the fears that he fought so hard to suppress. It became difficult to breathe, making his breathing faster and more shallow. Darkness tinged his vision, encroaching his view, making it unfocused and fuzzy. His body shook slightly and his legs grew weaker with every step.

A sharp pain shot through his nose, anger quickly flared as he looked for the source. Athena, who had kneeled in front of him and flicked his nose, now looked at him with an unamused expression.

"Hey, calm down kid. I said I'll protect you, so try not to piss your pants. I don't have any spares in your size, so you'll have to sleep naked if you do." She grinned slightly at her statement.

Blake stared at the ground, steading his breathing before asking.

"Do you want to die?" He asked with a child's innocence.

Athena stared at him for a few seconds, responding carefully.

"Is that a threat or a legitimate question?"

Blake continued quietly. "Mama said you live with your family in heaven when you die." He looked up at Athena with tears pooling at the corners of his eyes, his voice breaking as he asked. "I miss my mama and daddy and I don't want to live without them….can you... kill me?"

Athena tried calming Blake down, quickly saying. "Hey, calm down kid. I don't need you to get suicidal on me. How about we get to my house and we…."

He interjected, explaining with an increasingly panicked tone. "If I die, then I can see mama and daddy, then I won't have to be alone anymore!" He looks accusingly at Athena. "You don't even want me to be in your familia! So why don't you just kill me? You can live your life without anyone in your familia and I can see my mama and daddy."

Athena tried denying it, saying "What! What makes you thin…"

Blake yells over her. "I'm not stupid! I heard everything you said! Mama and daddy are gone, so just kill me!" His vision was blurred with forming tears as he choked out. "I don't have anyone….please.."

Athena looked directly into his eyes and seriously asked him. "Do you really want me to kill you?"

He nodded, shaking the tears that pooled in the corner of his eyes, causing them to stream down his rosy cheeks.

Athena just shrugged as she kneeled in front of Blake, she wrapped her hands around his small neck and gripped it firmly. She placed her thumbs on his adam's apple and pushed slightly. She looked into his eyes as she asked for a final time.

"Are you sure?" He nods again, closing his eyes and steeling himself for death. She began applying pressure on his windpipe, cutting off the oxygen from his brain. Blake could feel his consciousness fading as he stood in the utter darkness. He waited for his death to come and a bright light to appear, but none did. He slowly opened his eyes to see Athena, instead hugging him.

"I'm sorry kid, I can't do it." He looked at the side of her face as she spoke.

"You're in my familia now, whether I like it or not." Her voice broke as she said. "I can't do it….I can't lose another one of my familia. I'm sorry." She muttered again as she buried her face in Blake's neck. "I'm sorry."

He was somehow relieved at his survival, his eyes prickled again as a wave of suppressed emotions bubbled to the surface. He hugged Athena back, holding her bronze plate with a desperate grip as his tears flowed into her neck. They remained huddled on the ground for almost an hour, Athena stroked Blake's back soothingly as cried away all the tears he had, she sat there until he had the strength to stand.

When they were both stable enough to walk, Athena helped Blake up and started down the path once more. Before they could begin their walk, Athena turned to Blake saying with a scowl and threatening tone.

"That never happened, got it! I have never cried, and I never will." She stared at Blake with a dangerous expression, he smiled the first genuine smile she'd seen since meeting him as he said.

"I don't know, I have a good memory." He watched her expression and grinned playfully.

Athena sighed and rested her head in the hand not carrying her helmet before asking. "Still want to die?"

He laughed as he walked next to Athena. "Not really, I don't want you to cry again."

She looked up at him, his smile rubbed off on her as she cracked a grin. Athena tousled his matted hair as she asked.

"How old are you anyway?"

He scrunched his brow in thought before saying. "Three, almost four."

She smothered a giggle as she said.

"You're lying! Aren't you a little young to be wanting to die?" She laughed at the insanity of her situation, laughing for the first time in a long time.

"Ok, no more mental breakdowns on the road. You want to cry anymore, do it in your bed."

Blake cocked his head and asked with questioning eyes. "What bed?" She laughed, stating the obvious.

"Your bed, you know, the one in your room." Shock was displayed clearly on Blake's expression, his face was flushed as he asked.

"Wait?! I have to sleep by myself!" She looked back at him in confused exasperation.

"Uhh...Yeah, obviously."

Blake nodded and conceded obediently, they continued walking quietly until they arrived in front of a once beautiful manor. It was surprisingly large, spanning several interconnected buildings of marble columns and bleached white brick. It seemed tall enough to be a couple stories. Vegetation climbed up the side of the walls, reaching into each and every crack, while vnes spiraled up the weathered marble columns. The foliage grew haphazardly around the surrounding estate, Blake stared in wonder at the beautifly unkempt scenery, before Athena dragged him inside.

The interior was much more well kept than the outside but was still covered in a thick layer of dust, as though the rooms haven't been disturbed in ages. It was like stepping into a scene frozen in time, each room perfectly preserved in a moment of time, undisturbed by the touch of man. Athena led Blake through grand halls, echoing their footsteps as they walked, making the manor seem very large, yet very lonely. She arrived at a circular lobby with a high ceiling. Spaced evenly at the edge of the circular lobby were doorways. The doorways that held corridors stretching past what Blake could see, with doors evenly lining the walls of the corridor.

Athena pointed down a corridor and said.

"Take your pick, I'll be in this grand-looking one if you need anything." With that she retired to her room, leaving Blake alone in a very big and lonely home, his home.