AVALLO, THE TRAVELING BAR : DEAR THINGS
Extra - A Soft Touch
ABOUT 3,000 YEARS AGO | THE FIRST FAIRY KING'S FOREST
"What… Is that?"
Elizabeth blinked, turning around to face the demon, her arms wrapped gently around a tiny bundle. Upon seeing his slightly confused and surprised eyes, she blinked again.
"Oh!" She smiled, holding up the sleeping infant in her arms. "You mean this baby?"
"... Baby?" Meliodas tilted his head, green eyes lingering with awe.
The goddess chuckled, "Yes, a baby. His guardians were busy, so I decided to help take care of him. Do you want to hold him?"
"E-eh, hold? Uh, sure, I guess?"
-.-.-
"No, Meliodas! You're not supposed to hold him like a kitten!" Meliodas jumped at Elizabeth's startled voice. Confused, he gave her a weird look as she tried to teach him how to properly hold the child.
"Wow, Meliodas," Gloxinia snickered, "you don't even know how to hold a baby? That's like, wow."
Meliodas eyed him with a deadpan look, "Then how do you hold a baby?"
"... Make him float?"
Elizabeth sighed, putting a palm over her face as Dolor shook his head with disappointment.
Some teammates, indeed.
The sun slowly dipped down as Elizabeth gently stroked the child's head, humming a quiet lullaby as Meliodas watched with awe. Gloxinia and Dolor had went to go train their people, leaving the two alone with the baby.
"... Is," Meliodas started, curiosity within his eyes, "that how you treat a baby?"
"Yes… Babies are very delicate, Meliodas. You have to treat them with love and care."
Love… And care, huh, the demon mused, lost in thought.
"I just had the weirdest experience today," Meliodas stated, flopping down onto a stone stool. Flickering an ember onto another candle, the insides of the cave turned slightly brighter.
Hearing a slight mumble, Meliodas smiled, nodding his head.
"Well, I learned how to take care of a miniature human being. Cool, huh!"
As silence enveloped the cave, the smile Meliodas previously had morphed into a small, sad frown. Looking ahead, he laid his eyes on the mop of blonde hair, sitting at the side as the owner of the said mop of hair continued to tinker with tiny pieces of metal.
"Are you still upset?" Meliodas asked, holding back his voice at the thought of Elizabeth's words. The other however simply turned away, stubborn without a reply. "About my sudden decision to leave the commandments?
"Not even a single nod?" He just wouldn't respond. Meliodas sighed.
"I'm… Sorry. I'm sorry that you had you go through all of this just because of me and my decisions. But… Thank you, for bearing with me."
A silence met with him and Meliodas closed his eyes.
"... Zeldris," a small whisper reached Meliodas's ears. "I promised Zeldris that I would build him a moving mechanical dragon."
Meliodas stared at him.
And stared at him.
And stared at him.
"... Oh."
God I'm so sorry.
-.-.-
"Hey, you okay, today? No hello? Oh well… You see, today, Gloxinia and Dolor…"
…
"Elizabeth made another troop of demons turn away. She's just that amazing, you know. There was no casualties. And here, all I am good at is fighting and killing... I should learn a thing or two from her, yeah?"
...
"We saved this group of humans and met this new guy, Rou! He's pretty cool, and no doubt definitely has this thing going on with Gerahade, hah! You'll like him, I think."
…
"And… Deririe and Monspeet nearly died. You liked those two, right? Elizabeth saved them, but… Before we knew it, the fairy king's forest was attacked."
…
"Hey, it's okay, it'll be okay," Meliodas quickly said, holding the trembling mess in his arms, trying his best not to hurt him.
"Ah… It 'urts… 'urts so much…"
Meliodas frowned, trying to keep the darkness at bay. "Take a deep breath, you can do it. Come on, Meliodas!"
"Why does it 'urt so much?"
Left in silence, Meliodas only lowered his head, hugging his doppelganger tightly in his arms.
"You're living. The pain reminds you that you are living, and that's what matters."
Love and comfort.
"Why does livin' hurt so much?"
Love and comfort.
He choked out, burying his head into the other's shoulder.
Love and...
"It's because we're struggling. And don't stop struggling, you just can't."
"'hy?"
"Because if you don't, there will be a lot of things that you wouldn't be able to see. Things that are amazing and great… Things that will make your day, okay? So when you feel this pain…"
Elizabeth or my brethren.
Elizabeth or my brethren.
ELIZABETH OR MY BRETHREN-
"Just remember that you're still here. And that changes everything."
The cursed goddess and demon fell off the picture.
The holy war continued.
A single man waited inside of a forsaken cave.
He waited.
Waited.
Waited.
And waited.
And the blonde demon never came back to visit.
(Taking his first baby step, he stepped out of the cave. Emerald orbs filled with wonder, he went off to search for his missing companion.)