artificialsweetener: (but don't forget)

[personal profile] artificialsweetener 2024-03-19 04:21 am (UTC)(link)
[THIS IS WHERE I'D LINK THE TAILS IMAGE IF IMGUR WASN'T BEING SO WEIRD RIGHT NOW

That's Dahut as he wakes up in this fuckin flower field. The second he opens his eyes and realizes he's not in his soft and comfortable bed holding his mother's warm hand, he sits bolt upright, clutching his hands over his chest - for some reason? Why? Well, he doesn't question it.]


—Mother...?
riverbeans: (flame. 2)

[personal profile] riverbeans 2024-03-19 04:23 am (UTC)(link)
[There is no response. But amidst this flower field, he smells blood.]
artificialsweetener: (there is no value in youth)

[personal profile] artificialsweetener 2024-03-19 04:33 am (UTC)(link)
[Yay! He hates this. He's immediately clamoring to his feet, that sense of unease that's been with him for so long surging into something closer to dread. The smell of blood out here in this field of flowers...

He sets off immediately, moving to and fro until he finds where the scent is strongest and following it that way.]
riverbeans: (flame. 2)

[personal profile] riverbeans 2024-03-19 04:45 am (UTC)(link)
[Eventually, his search takes him to his mother—but likely not the way he'd hoped for.

She kneels among the flowers, covered in blood. Surrounding her are figures—perhaps Dahut recognizes them, perhaps he doesn't.

Weakly, his mother looks up.]


D-Dahut...!?
artificialsweetener: (snake eye)

[personal profile] artificialsweetener 2024-03-19 05:04 am (UTC)(link)
[HE HATES THIS EVEN MORE.

Seeing his mother like this nearly makes his heart stop. The people here-- he does know them, and it makes no sense, either. There's so much bewilderment in him, but the fear for her outweighs everything else.]


Mother?! Mother—!!

[There are multiple people surrounding her and yet his ass is still charging right for her.]
riverbeans: (flame. 2)

[personal profile] riverbeans 2024-03-19 05:29 am (UTC)(link)
[His ass is charging right for her, but his ass is five right now, so one of the figures simply grabs him by his collar and tosses him aside.]

We can deal with him later.

[Meanwhile, his mother reaches for him, struggling.]

Dahut—!

[—and then one of the figures drives a sword right through her hand.]
artificialsweetener: (screaming for courage)

[personal profile] artificialsweetener 2024-03-19 05:59 am (UTC)(link)
[NOOO NOT HIS TINY USELESS FIVE YEAR OLD BODY. He goes crashing to the side, and it probably hurts, or will maybe hurt later once the adrenaline wears off.

For now, he pushes himself back up right away - just in time to watch the blade go through his beloved mother's hand. Immediately, he's on his feet again and running back toward her.]


Stop—!! Let her go!! Mother—!!

[He has so much fear and fury in his tiny heart, but what the hell is he GOING TO DO.]
riverbeans: (flame. 2)

[personal profile] riverbeans 2024-03-19 07:02 am (UTC)(link)
[What is tiny Dahut going to do? He can't do anything, much like how his mother can do nothing but scream in pain. Even then, she still looks at Dahut with a plea in her eyes.]

D... Dahut, please, run away...!

[Another stab, this time through her leg.]
artificialsweetener: (and called it a terror)

[personal profile] artificialsweetener 2024-03-19 07:31 am (UTC)(link)
[Good question!! Tiny Dahut has no idea what he's going to do, either! And his one working braincell is truly overheating as he listens to his mother scream and watches the blade go down again. Despite his mother's pleas, he just can't listen.

He tries to throw himself bodily between her and her attackers, even though he probably weighs as much as a grocery basket full of flour tortillas.]


Please, stop—!! Why are you doing this?!
riverbeans: (flame. 2)

[personal profile] riverbeans 2024-03-19 07:02 pm (UTC)(link)
[Why, Dahut asks. The figures don't respond, but perhaps somewhere in the mind, he knows the answer—or is he still pursuing it? A flicker of a memory, on the tip of his tongue.

These figures decide they don't want flour tortillas after all as they easily pick Dahut up and toss him to the side again. They stab his mother, again and again, until they appear to finish and fade away.

Now, it is only Dahut and his mother, the latter of whom bleeds out among the flowers. Even so, she reaches for Dahut again, with barely any strength left.]
artificialsweetener: (and be loved in return)

[personal profile] artificialsweetener 2024-03-19 08:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[HE'S THE SADDEST BAG OF FLOUR TORTILLAS IN THE WORLD...

No matter how many times he's picked up and thrown aside, no matter how many times he fails, he does keep trying - he keeps trying because what else can he do? He's desperate, screaming for them to stop, and the flicker of memory grows into a feeling of deja vu that has his freneticism rising even further.

There's a second when the attackers fade where he's completely still and silent, looking at his mother's body. Only a second, though - in the next, he's on his feet and running toward her again, collapsing at her side and reaching for her bloody hand. He clutches it tightly, like that will somehow keep the life in her body.]


Mother—!! Mother!! Please hold on, I'll-- I'll go find help!!
riverbeans: (flame. 2)

[personal profile] riverbeans 2024-03-19 08:32 pm (UTC)(link)
[His mother's fingers curl around his, far too weak.]

D-Dahut... are you all right? All I want—is for you to be happy...

[Her breathing grows weaker, her blood spilling further and further from her body, dyeing the flowers red. The light begins to fade from her eyes.]
artificialsweetener: (this is a matter of wealth)

[personal profile] artificialsweetener 2024-03-19 08:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[Well now how is he supposed to be happy like this huh. HOW!!!!!

He moves his tiny free hand, trying to cover the worst looking wound, but so many look so horrible that it wouldn't take more than a glance to know they're fatal. Still, he tries.]


I... Mother, don't talk anymore, please! Just keep breathing! That's what would make me happy...!
riverbeans: (flame. 2)

[personal profile] riverbeans 2024-03-19 08:51 pm (UTC)(link)
[All his mother manages is a faint smile at him, a plea on her face—and then, nothing. Her life ends like that, with nothing but a wish for her beloved child.

And now, Dahut is alone, sitting here in the flower field.]
artificialsweetener: (o'er the land and sea)

[personal profile] artificialsweetener 2024-03-19 08:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[Time to continue being completely useless for a bit because if her body doesn't magically fade away he just tucks himself up into her deadass arms and holds onto her and wails and sobs!!!! And if it does he just curls into a little ball in this bloody patch of flowers and does the same thing!!! Wow i really dont have any real crying icons margaret save me]
riverbeans: (flame. 2)

[personal profile] riverbeans 2024-03-19 09:08 pm (UTC)(link)
[dommy mommy margaret isn't here to save you... her body remains, so Dahut can hold onto her all he likes.

Eventually, though, he... wakes up?

Before him is a corridor, though for some reason, he can't make out the details yet. All he can see are that there are doors, and that a mirror hangs on one of the walls.

He knows that he is Dahut, and there is something he seeks. Perhaps he might even have an idea of what it is, now. And here, he knows that if he continues, he can see his mother again. He can eat with her, talk to her, hold her hand, go to bed with her by his side. Even if pain might follow, he can do these all over again, for another chance to see her. Is what he seeks worth giving up these moments of happiness for?]
artificialsweetener: (but don't forget)

[personal profile] artificialsweetener 2024-03-19 09:47 pm (UTC)(link)
[Well. Now he's gained A FURY THAT BURNS WITHIN HIM...

But at the same time, the shape of what he's looking for is becoming a little clearer to him. And beneath it is what he wants more than anything; his mother, returned to him. If he can have that, does he really have the need for anything else? A small part of him thinks yes, but the larger and louder part acts first.

There's hardly any hesitation as he sets aside that nagging desire he still can't fully name, instead setting off down the hall in search of the face he wants to see the most.]


Mother—?! Mother, where are you!
riverbeans: (flame. 2)

[personal profile] riverbeans 2024-03-19 09:48 pm (UTC)(link)
[As Dahut calls for his mother, she steps out of the dining hall.]

Dahut, what is it? Did you oversleep, my child? You almost missed breakfast.
artificialsweetener: (im gonna carry you in)

[personal profile] artificialsweetener 2024-03-19 10:12 pm (UTC)(link)
[Good lord he just runs at her and barrels into her full speed... Which fortunately doesn't mean much, considering he is five and very small. CLINGING TO HER LEGS.]

Mother, I had a terrible dream...!
riverbeans: (flame. 2)

[personal profile] riverbeans 2024-03-19 10:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Did you, Dahut...? I'm sorry, that must have been scary.

[She will reach down to pick him up if he is receptive to this.]

It's all right, I'm here with you. Your mother will protect you, no matter what.
artificialsweetener: (in my heart)

[personal profile] artificialsweetener 2024-03-19 10:48 pm (UTC)(link)
[HE IS... He loves being spoiled, and he especially loves being spoiled now that he feels like he has to hang onto it even more tightly than before. Life's wild when you're five and feel like every second is one of precious few!

He wraps his arms around her and hides his face away. His mumble, somewhat sulky, is a simple:]


I want to protect you, though...
riverbeans: (flame. 2)

[personal profile] riverbeans 2024-03-19 10:53 pm (UTC)(link)
[She smiles, holding onto him and seeing this as simply the sulking of a child recovering from a nightmare.]

Oh, but you've not yet grown up, Dahut. Until you're an adult, it's a mother's duty to look after her child.
artificialsweetener: (a little shy)

[personal profile] artificialsweetener 2024-03-20 12:07 am (UTC)(link)
[He'd like to just be a sulking child recovering from a nightmare! Maybe if he pretends hard enough, he'll believe it's true eventually...

He clings even tighter at that, though, shaking his head and then leaning back just enough so that he can look up at her.]


But-- But it's my duty to look after everyone...! [That's a future duty, too, but can't he take it on now, even with his small hands?] That means you, too!
riverbeans: (flame. 2)

[personal profile] riverbeans 2024-03-20 12:13 am (UTC)(link)
... Then, you can protect your mother when you're older, and it's time for me to give you the throne and rest. How about that?

[Unfortunately, that day isn't going to come. Perhaps not elsewhere; certainly not here.

Because even if things are slightly different this time around, everything ends the same way. Dahut goes through his day with his mother, one way or another, and she offers to hold his hand as he falls asleep. He goes to bed, comforted by his presence.

He dreams of worse times.

And he wakes up to a field of flowers, and his mother's dying body.]
artificialsweetener: (like a flood on the floor)

[personal profile] artificialsweetener 2024-03-20 12:51 am (UTC)(link)
[He hates flower fields so damn bad.

He hates his own powerlessness even more, but still, above all, he just wants to hold his mother's warm hand. When he awakens this time and he sees her dying yet again, he goes to her side, but his body feels like it's made of lead. He collapses next to her, reaches for her hand - the one that he'd gone to sleep holding.]


Mother, I'm sorry... Again, I...

[He couldn't protect her.]

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