It was an innocent gesture.
The Thin Man had been given permission by the Broadcast to take Mono out of the Signal Tower to show him the Pale City.
They were on a routine patrol, walking along a well beaten path the Thin Man had scoped out ages ago, there were very few Viewers along the route, and the few that existed were easy to avoid, and even easier to deal with.
Regardless, the lack of immediate danger was no comfort to Mono, who stuck to the Thin Man's side like static to a faulty radio.
Mono was afraid, he'd be daft not to be. He knew the horrors of the Pale City, and just because he belonged to the Broadcast, didn't mean he wanted to risk an encounter with a Viewer.
He was stronger than before, faster and smarter, but still terribly small in comparison to the corrupted adults...
Luckily, the Thin Man was more than enough to keep Mono's chin up.
The Thin Man was tall, taller than any adult Mono had ever seen, and while he didn't appear it, the Thin Man was stronger than he seemed, though the one thing the Tall Man certainly wasn't, was fast, but he made up for his lazy gait through other means.
Mono was afraid yes, but, Mono also knew he was safe.
That didn't stop him from jumping in surprise as a child slipped from a rooftop, down, down, down into a pile of garbage at the end of an alley.
Both he and the Thin Man stopped dead in their tracks as the child rolled out of the sullied pile of black bags and debris.
For a moment, Mono swore he could feel his heart stop and the ever present static humming at the back of his mind scratch to a breathless halt…
The only sound he managed to hear was one of his own making, a pathetic, broken whimper as he blindly reached a hand up, up over his head, grasping for the Thin Man.
He didn't realize he had slipped his small hand around the Thin Man's middle finger, he didn't realize he could reach that high.
The child rose from the floor, gaze cast up towards the rooftops… A sniffle, a sob, soft, distressed vocalizations crawled from the child's lips as it stood on quivering legs.
It's hair was tawny and dirty, it wore a dark, muddied red sleeveless shawl, it's skin was deathly pale, feet and hands bare, eyes hidden beneath the mop of unruly hair…
It wasn't her.
Mono felt his breath return to him.
He still flinched when the child noticed them, the scream it let out was horrific, high pitched and fueled with fear as it quickly scrambled to open a loose grate leading to who knows where…
Mono wasn't sure how to feel about the encounter… He wasn't sure if he wanted to know how to feel…
He turned to the Thin Man, a question already forming in the static humming along his tongue… Only to pause upon finding the Thin Man staring down at him…
W̵̲̍ḧ̶͇́a̶̘͛t̴͖̅ ̵̖̀i̶͕͊s̴͔̉ ̴͍̀ị̴̍t̷̙̏?̶̟̓
He asked instead of his original query.
The Thin Man remained quiet for a short while, but Mono could feel the static surrounding the Thin Man buzzing curiously.
Y̵o̶u̷'̷v̴e̵ ̶g̶r̸o̷w̷n̴
The Thin Man finally replied, his tone was soft, yet somehow accusing, not cruelly however, more… As though Mono had corrected him for a mistake well after he should have.
Mono in turn cocked his head to the side curiously.
H̴̬̄a̶͈͝v̴͚̍e̶̡̎ ̷̤̃I̵̡̎?̵̝͗
He asked, the static between them seemed to crackle, a pale imitation of laughter as the Thin Man stooped low, offering his hand to Mono as he always did when he wished to pick the young boy up, Mono compiled without complaint.
Y̶o̷u̷ ̵m̸u̶s̵t̸ ̷h̵a̸v̸e̶.̴
The Thin Man mused as he gently set Mono in the crook of his arm, allowing the younger boy to lean against his chest… Mono's head rested just below the Thin Man's shoulder.
I̷ ̵d̸o̸n̸'̷t̷ ̵r̸e̶c̴a̵l̴l̵ ̶y̶o̴u̸ ̵b̶e̴i̴n̵g̶ ̷a̸b̷l̴e̴ ̵t̴o̶ ̵r̶e̸a̸c̷h̵ ̷m̴y̷ ̶h̵a̴n̸d̸ ̶b̴e̸f̵o̴r̴e̶.̸
The Thin Man said simply as he continued walking, keeping an eye out for the stray child he now knew had infiltrated the Pale City… He couldn't go after it with Mono, Mono wasn't ready for that quite yet…
Perhaps later, when Mono was asleep he could-
I̸͇͝s̸̨̒ ̴̺̀t̵̹̅h̸͕͂a̶͔͆t̵̻̃ ̵̻͂a̶̘͂ ̴̺̂b̸̭̔a̸̘͒d̷͍̉ ̴͓̑t̴̻̕h̶̙̍i̶̜̅n̸̼͛g̸̲̉?̴͚̚
The child in his arm asked abruptly, his tone quiet but pressing.
I̸s̶ ̶w̷h̴a̵t̷ ̶a̷ ̸b̵a̸d̶ ̴t̵h̷i̶n̶g̷?̵
The Thin Man replied, glancing down at his young charge.
Ġ̶̺r̶̟͠o̴̻͠w̵̤̐ḯ̵̥n̵̫̋g̶̪̃?̶͍̎ ̴̰̏G̷̰͝é̸͍t̵͇̿ṭ̷͑ĭ̵͜n̵̙̍g̶̪̿ ̵̖̇b̵̡̍i̷̥͘g̸̰͆g̷̡̍e̵̮̊ŕ̶̭?̶̠̇
Mono murmured, sheepishness crawling into his tone, fritzing the static slightly.
N̶o̷
The Thin Man said assuringly as he brought his other hand to Mono's head, running a finger over the ruffled mop of hair there, parting his charge's bangs just enough to catch a shy glimpse of a wide, childish eye hidden behind.
T̸̰̈́ḧ̸̹́e̷̻̾n̴͍̾ ̶̠͠ẅ̵̯́h̴̦͊ẙ̷͖ ̶̗̈d̴̺͆i̶̱̍d̶̲̆ ̴̭̈́y̵̻͌ő̸̝ǔ̴̼ ̴̌ͅs̷̼͑a̴̯̾y̴̩̽ ̶̻͠i̷̼̇t̷̡́ ̴̨̾l̵̹̎i̶̜̎k̵̠̇e̵̞͒ ̶͓̊i̸̺͝ẗ̶̲́'̷̲͐s̵̤̎ ̸̡͝ä̵̻ ̷̧͝b̵̨͘a̶̞͊d̸̨͊ ̷̝̽t̵͚̑h̴͇̽i̵̢͋n̵͎̂g̴̮͑?̷͍͂
Mono asked smally, drawing the Thin Man to a pause.
D̸i̶d̸ ̵I̶?̸
He asked, to which Mono nodded.
I̷ ̸a̷p̵o̶l̸o̸g̴i̴z̷e̶.̴
He replied.
I̸ ̶h̶a̴d̸n̷'̵t̸ ̸m̶e̶a̶n̴t̵ ̶i̸t̶ ̷p̸o̶o̶r̵l̵y̴.̴ ̸I̷ ̷w̵a̸s̶ ̵m̴e̶r̴e̵l̶y̸…̴ ̶S̴u̷r̶p̴r̶i̴s̵e̵d̷.̸
Mono cocked his head to the side again.
S̶̤̈́ű̷̡r̷̦̓p̵̲̒ȓ̸͕í̵̲ş̸́e̶̗͌d̵͎̈?̴͕̓
He repeated.
Y̶e̵s̵,̷ ̸s̴u̶r̶p̶r̸i̸s̷e̶d̸.̴
The Pale Man shifted Mono in his arms slightly.
I̶ ̶h̵a̵d̵n̶'̸t̶ ̷r̶e̸a̸l̷i̷z̴e̵d̵ ̶h̸o̴w̸ ̸m̴u̷c̴h̵ ̵y̸o̴u̸'̸v̶e̴ ̴g̵r̷o̴w̶n̷…̸ ̸
He said.
I̸ ̷h̵a̸d̶n̶'̶t̵ ̷r̷e̴a̶l̸i̷z̷e̵d̷ ̸h̷o̵w̶ ̷l̷o̶n̴g̷ ̶i̵t̶'̵s̷ ̵b̷e̷e̵n̴…̷
His voice trailed off, leaving them both in thoughtful silence…
D̵̡̛ǫ̴̝͂ ̵̞̥͆y̸̜͉͑o̸̲͑u̸̘̍ ̷͎͈̀t̴͙͖͛h̷̠̰̊i̵̧͎̅̊n̸͓̎k̷̼͙̎͛ ̵͉̘̂Ĭ̸͚̐'̵̼̈l̶̟͗̌l̵̨͕̀ ̵̩͖̈e̸͚̘̐̄v̸̭̅ȩ̷͘ͅr̴̜͒͘ ̷͍̈́b̶̢̛e̶̲͓͂͛ ̷̼̈̄a̷̭̥̿̔s̵͓̈́͌ ̸̛̙t̸͙͝͝a̶̲̐͒l̴̡͇̒̓l̸͎̃ ̵͍̿á̷͖̰s̷͚̟͑̍ ̴̼̿̈y̵͚̽ȍ̸͉͔̽ů̶͍ͅ?̷̣̊
Mono asked, the static between them crackled merrily as the Thin Man laughed.
O̶f̵ ̸t̵h̸a̴t̸ ̵I̵ ̴h̷a̷v̸e̸ ̵n̴o̸ ̷d̵o̸u̸b̸t̷.̷