ORIGINAL TITLE: The Boy
DESCRIPTION: Male LW visits Oasis. Couldn't write Harold proper, gave up. 637 words
"Pbbbbttthhh!"
Leaf Mother Laurel looked over the gazebo at the newcomer, and shook her head. "I don't think that sort of behavior is appropriate," she said, gently, looking directly at the child. He was a child; so young yet that he wasn't in full grasp of the seriousness of the situation.
"Look, I'm all for learning about your... little group," the boy said, his grin falling lopsided onto his face as it had so often before. "But now, you're telling me I gotta do some ritual in order to meet with―whatever he is―" He threw a hand up and the chain hanging from his wrist to his shoulder jangled.
"It is important that you be in the proper frame of mind, child," she replied, gravely.
That lopsided grin softened her heart a little bit. The boy reminded her of her own, long gone from Oasis. Sometimes, she remembered tiny hands grabbing at her side in a hug and she also remembered how snotty little boys could be; a smile crossed her own face at the memory of a child headbutting her like a bull in play, knocking her off-balance.
"I can't really take it seriously," the boy said. Laurel sighed and adjusted herself on the log bench. "I mean, it's so unbelievable."
"And the world itself is not?" Laurel patted the bench beside her. "Come sit with me, child. I'll try my best to explain."
Long legs and clinking chains brought the boy to her side, sitting down in a heap of leather and attitude. The boy was not fully grown; he was, for all intents and purposes, an adult, yet he still retained the foolishness that so plagued the young. Laurel regarded him for a moment, and pressed her mouth together as he made a silly face at her.
"Why the Great One wishes to see such antics, I do not understand," she said. "But you have been asked to see him, and that is special. The One Who Guides does not speak to just anyone, child."
"Maybe he's bored," the boy said, and belched. He chuckled a little and the grin spread to both sides of his face. "I've been bored since I got here, and you people won't let me go―"
"Because He wishes to speak to you, and you have not yet undergone the Ceremony of Purification." Laurel's brows drew together in a frown. "Your reluctance to continue your diplomatic intent has not led to your being trusted, as of yet."
"Oh, I get it," the boy said. "I'm just―like, really concerned about this sap shit you want me to drink." He lifted a foot up to the bench and spread his knees apart, hanging his arms down across his stomach. Shoulders hunched inward, head ducked down, the boy was putting on an affect of openness and defense. Laurel clucked her tongue.
"Look, all I'm saying is, I don't wanna go drinking something that might scramble my brains."
Laurel sighed. "Look around, child. Every person here―including Sapling Yew―has undergone the Ceremony."
The boy stared out into Oasis for a moment, then turned his head slightly to look at Laurel. "You let the kid do it?"
"I did not 'let' anything," Laurel said, forcing her tone to remain civil. "We have all undergone the Ceremony. One must, if one is called to see the One Who Guides. Yew willingly underwent the Ceremony so that she might listen to His words. The One Who Guides has expressed great fondness for her." She kept her voice free of the pride she felt for her daughter, having become so close to the Great One.
"Alright," the boy said. "I guess if a kid can handle it, I can." He turned his head to look at Laurel. "Let's do it, then."
Laurel smiled. "We will prepare at once."