Camryn sat at her windowsill, eating an orange and watching for Reno. He'd been missing all day, not showing up in the shabby little building that passed for a school, or in the play yard. That was nothing new, though. If kids could turn a profit and the family was desperate for money, kids were often kept from school and made to work. There were days when Reno and Cam didn't see each other because of the work they were forced to do, but Reno usually always came to the alley behind her window to share with Cam what was usually the only square meal he had everyday.
Cam sighed and saved him half the orange: fresh fruit was rare in the slums. As she prepared to head back inside, she heard shuffling footsteps. She stuck her head out the window to see, and called out "Reno? 'S that you?" Camryn recognized his slight form, and smiled "C'mon, c'mon, hurry up, will ya?" Reno put a hand on the whorehouse wall, and slowly slid down to crumple to the floor. "Reno? Reno?!" Cam called out, alarmed. She jumped out her window and ran to him.
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Reno was dizzy and disoriented. He vaguely remembered getting home later than usual, as he'd taken longer to sell the drugs his father had given him. It being later and darker, more thugs were on the street, and they'd beaten Reno for the money and drugs he carried. Reno had almost expected this to happen, and had gone by earlier to deliver his earnings to Cort, the local crime boss to whom Reno's father owed a big gambling debt. He'd only had 75 gil only, and about 20 gil worth of drugs, which he'd quickly given to the thugs in the name of self-preservation. They hadn't beaten him too badly though, and Reno definitely counted this as good. Everything changed when he got home.
Pete Collins had found his wife stealing from his wallet to buy the drugs she was hopelessly addicted to. Consumed in fury, and drunk to boot, he'd beaten her. When Reno walked into his house, he saw his father with his fists clenched, and Karla cowering on the floor whimpering. He tried to make himself scarce quickly, but Pete asked "The fuck happened to you?" A sudden spasm of wrath crossed his face, and the tall man grabbed Reno's shoulder. His thumb dug into the soft flesh under the skinny boy's collarbone, making Reno wince with pain. "You lost the money, didn't you? Didn't you?!" Pete roared in Reno's face "You and your mother are fucking useless!"
Before the frightened boy could even try to explain that he'd foreseen the mugging, and had saved the vast majority of the money earned, his father's fury exploded once again in a flurry of violence. He pulled Reno by his hair to slap and beat him, and kicked him where he fell, bellowing out his venomous wrath. When he got tired of beating the boy, he dragged both Reno and his mother outside, claiming they were useless and he wanted no part of them.
Karla shuffled to her feet and went to the semi-conscious redhead "You OK, Reno?" she mumbled through swollen lips. Reno could only cough and wheeze, crying in pain. Karla seemed to think "If he can cough, he'll live" and shambled away. Reno drifted in and out of consciousness for several minutes, willing himself desperately to stay awake, knowing that if he lost consciousness, chances were he'd probably wake up in even a worse pinch than he was in now. He had to get somewhere, somewhere safe. He though he'd made it to Cam's, but his legs would just not hold him any longer. He thought he heard her voice calling him, but he couldn't drag his eyes open.
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Cam knelt by his slumped form, and even in the dark alley she could see the blood and bruises all over him. She tried to wake him up, but he was deeply unconscious, and his limp form slid out of her small hands when she tried to pick him up. Cam was half mad with fright and worry; she knew his father or the street thugs beat him often, but never had it been this bad. She jumped back into her house and knocked on one of her "sister"'s door. "Leila!" she hissed, not wanting to draw attention to herself "Leila, open up!"
Leila pulled Cam in and shut the door. "S'up, li'l girl?" she asked, ruffling Cam's hair. Cam turned her tear-filled eyes up to her "Leila, I need your help, Mama can't help me right now, she's working, and I'm scared that-" Leila held up a hand, then sighed "You in trouble again? God, Cammy, why am I still babysitting you? You gotta be more responsible-" Cam stomped a foot in frustration and whispered harshly "Listen to me! It's my best friend, Leila! He got all beat up, he's in the alley out back, and I can't move him, or wake him up, I can't do anything!" she pled, beginning to cry, her violet eyes dark with fear and worry.
Leila huffed a breath through her nose "Dammit, Cam, I can't drag no bruised up boy in here." Cam pled again "Please, Leila, just help me put him through the window into my room, please!" Leila groaned and went to the door "Fine! If it'll get you offa my back!" The girls made their way back to the small room Cam shared with her mother. Cam knew her mother wouldn't reject Reno's being there. Valeriana was currently entertaining a customer in one of the ornate rooms upstairs. She'd met Reno when she wondered why Cam had suddenly decided to take her dinner to their room every day. She'd come upon the children sharing the meal, and always tried to give Cam more food since then.
The girls jumped out the window into the alley and went to Reno, who still lay motionless on the ground. Leila sucked in a breath "Oh, holy shit, did they ever do a number on – hey! I've seen this kid before. Isn't he the one who's always getting in fight because of you?" Cam shrugged, nervously stroking Reno's hair. Leila scoffed "Some friend you got. Let's get this kid in there" She was almost 21 years old, and easily managed to pick up the small figure broken and bleeding on the floor.
Once the girls had managed to put Reno inside the room, they both hissed in equal breaths of dismay. The better light in the room let them see the ravage done to him. One of his eyes was swollen shut, and his nose and mouth were seeping blood. Leila lifted his shirt, and Cam begun to cry again at the sight of the many bruises and discolorations on Reno's chest, back and stomach. "This is serious shit, Cammy" Leila muttered anxiously; they so did not need a dying boy here now. They heard someone at the door and turned quickly to see who it was. It was Valeriana.
Cam's mother was a strikingly beautiful woman. She was originally from Costa del Sol, and as pure Costan, the rich bronze-brown of her skin was matched with the glistening black hair Cam had inherited. On any other occasion, her features were lovely to look at, but now she looked tired and sullen. Her mouth formed an "O" of surprise as she hurried to close the door. Then she surveyed the 2 guilty-looking girls hovering over Reno. "What the hell happened?" she muttered, then she really saw Reno. "Oh God, Cammy, get out of the way dear, and stop crying". Valeriana knelt by the boy, stroking his hair out of his face to better assess the damage.
Leila pushed Cam towards the small nightstand. The older girl pointed "Bring that water pitcher over here, and get a towel or an old shirt or something." Cam quickly obeyed, and Leila soaked the small towel, wrung it and gave it to Valeriana. She gently wiped the blood and grit off Reno's face and neck, then carefully took his shirt off. Again she wiped his small body, her heart aching for this poor boy, a boy her daughter called 'friend'. Valeriana gently squeezed on either side of his ribcage, hips, arms and legs, feeling for any broken bones. He had none, thank Gaia, but some of his ribs would very likely be sprained. She muttered angrily in Costan "¿Quién sería el cabrón?" while resting her head on his chest to listen to his breathing. He was breathing just fine, and Valeriana finally stopped her examination, turning to the anxious-looking girls.
"So far as I can tell, he's gonna be fine. Got no broken bones and he's breathing OK. Leila honey, you best run back to your room, you got a customer soon, he called already. Thank you for helping" she instructed, and Leila left. Cam watched as her mother picked off Reno's shoes and placed him in Cam's cot, then broke up crying again when she asked "What happened, baby girl?" Valeriana gathered Cam up to her lap for a snuggle and Cam vented all her fear and worry, crying against her mother's neck.
Valeriana soothed her child, stroking her body, her hair and back, murmuring "Sss, ya está bueno, he's gonna be fine". Cam sniffled, and Valeriana wiped her tear-streaked face with her soft hands "See? You're all right now. You'll see, honey, tomorrow he's gonna be the same old Reno." She spoke in a soothing voice, accented with the Costan pronunciations as she trilled the r's and shaped the vowels differently. Cam nodded, sitting up on her mother's lap, and Valeriana gave her a kiss on the temple.
"I don't know who did it, Mama" Cam explained "I was just about to come back in from waiting, but then I saw him and he was like this." Valeriana sighed, thinking "Who'd do that to a child?", then mentally scolded herself for being a hypocrite "Vale, you know plenty of people who abuse kids." And speaking of which, she set Cam on her feet. She reached out and tucked a lock of her child's hair behind her ear. "Cammy" she spoke quietly, setting the girl's clothing right "Mr. Pear is visiting. He'd like to see you." Mr. Pear was how they referred to an important businessman who'd been procuring Cam since she'd started 'working', due to his overweight, pear-shaped body. He was by far the safest of Cam's customers, often content to give her small gifts and watch her play with them.
Cam gave her mother a half-hearted smile "Last time he told me he'd bring me a big-girl present." Valeriana smiled back, a strange mix of love, sadness and humor "Let's see if you can beat the oranges I got last night. Those oranges are really hard to get, you know." Cam grinned and hugged her mother tightly around the neck. Valeriana hugged her back, murmuring "I love you oodles, baby girl", to which Cam responded "I love you oodles too, Mama".
A short while later, Cam was called for, but before she left, Valeriana reassured her that she'd keep Reno safe and hidden. After Cam left, Valeriana went to Dorcas, the woman who was part nurse, part madam and part negotiator for the brothel's women. She feigned soreness and feeling ill, and Dorcas handed her 2 restorative potions. Then Valeriana went to the kitchen to fetch a small snack of sweet bread and milk, then returned to her young patient.
A/N: Had to cut this in half, otherwise it would have been a 3,000 + word behemoth. The italics are words I'll use occasionally as 'Costa' dialect, and is mostly very casual, very colloquial Spanish. More on Reno's status, as well as a nice long explanatory Author's Note in the second half. And as always, be kind and review!