singillatim | August Open Log

Entry tags:

August Open Log

Who: Levi and Open
What: TDM and other prompts
When: Throughout August

Content Warnings: Levi carries the probable warnings for child soldiers, child abuse and mental illness (PTSD/Depression). Will note anything specific!

Barricades
Through out the month, Levi stations himself at the barricades near the mine entrances. He'll visit the Milton side each day, standing guard and watching the mine entrance for a few hours before moving on. On this side he's more casual, but when he visits the Lakeside entrance he's more on guard. There he stands at attention and keeps an eye on any sign of Forest Talkers. Early in the month he visits that side every few days, but as the month goes on he visits it less. Maybe the Forest Talkers had more to worry about than planning revenge for the kidnapping.

Tea Time
Levi'd been out in the woods for a long time when he came across the old woman. She was strange, but the fire was very welcoming. As was the tea, though his instinct was to mistrust it. She clearly wasn't a Forest Talker, though, and Bill and Methuselah were safe enough. He still didn't trust the old man (he probably never would) but none of them had given the Interlopers anything to hurt them. Mostly, though, he was cold and hot drinks did wonders to warm hm up. He probably should have listened to his instinct, though.

Early afternoon one day a child comes wandering into Milton from the wilds. At 10 years old, Levi's oversized coat is now comically large. He's rolled his pants and sleeves up as much as he can and he's dragging along a rifle that's much too big
for him. Maybe he should have left the rifle behind but there were wolves out in the woods and he was too afraid to leave it. Thankfully he hasn't tried to fire it, since the skinny, somewhat malnourished kid's body wouldn't take the recoil well. He looks like he's been crying and if he spots you he'll start to hurry over and then stop.

Adults could be scary. He doesn't know if they are here or not, but he should be careful. He doesn't know how he got here but what if him doing so was bad? He could get in trouble! Getting in trouble was really bad.

Or maybe you're resting quietly in your cabin and hear someone try the door. People might be around, but a house was better than being out in the snow and maybe if he's really careful he can duck inside for just a few minutes. Hopefully no one is home, but if they were he could be quiet!

Laying next to Meow
Though the larger tremors were obviously an issue, even the smaller ones could be a problem. After this last minor one Levi could be found kneeling on the ground next to a random cabin's porch. He's looking at something under it and speaks in a soft, calm voice. "Its okay Mary. The shaking's over. You can come out now."

From under the porch a small, pitiful meow responds to him.

Wildcard
Or maybe you run into Levi somewhere else. He's still going about his normal daily patrols, hunts and log chopping exercises. He over nights in the community hall like usual, and even makes it out to the basin, hot spring or Lakeside (more than just the mine entrance) at points during the month.

((will match style. If your character has heard of Levi's assassination attempt and wants to confront/praise him over it feel free to do so here.))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Me too. Except I could see, but I don't recognize anything here. Its too cold to be anywhere near home."

"Yeah," Levi agrees, not yet aware that the kid is from a whole other world. He assumes he's probably from Above, but that's not an automatic addition to his shit list, especially for other children. "It doesn't get that cold. Or... get that much of the white stuff."

There are mountain ranges near the city he lives in that in fact get both, but he's never seen them, probably never even heard of them.

"The snow? We'd get snow sometimes in winter but not anywhere near this much!" A pause. "...I don't like it."

"Yeah, snow," Levi huffs, an obvious I knew that undertone, seemingly annoyed that the other kid may have assumed otherwise. "The merchants drag some in during the cold season, but I've never seen it falling like that."

He scowls, considering, then nods grimly.

"I don't, either."

"They bring snow?" He imagines the other boy just lives somewhere too south/warm for snow. Maybe merchants sold it at places as a novelty or whatever? Snow was kinda cool normally...though also cold so he has no idea how it'd be transported.

Well, not like it mattered. "There's way too much of it here. We must be like really far north. Or in the middle of winter. Or both."

"Not on purpose, I think," Levi explains, excited that he knows something the other boy apparently doesn't. "Their stuff is just covered with it when they come in. Maybe it falls Above."

It would probably make sense. If it does that here, it probably does back home, too. It just never occurred to him to think about it before.

He does know that winters get cold, though, and that water turns into frost. He doesn't like the thought. "...We need to find some warmer clothes," he concludes.

He cants his head a bit. "Above? Like...from the sky?"

"This coat is pretty warm, but its waaaay too big. Maybe there are clothes in this house somewhere?"

People probably lived here...but they weren't here now and this was an emergency!

Levi scoffs in annoyance. "Above the ground," he corrects impatiently. "I take it you're not from Mitras." Even the sunwalkers there at least knew of the Underground, something to scare unruly kids with, no doubt.

"Whatever. We've got more important things to worry about." Like not freezing to death, for one. "Didn't see any here, but I heard there's more people around. We can probably steal some if we follow them."

For him, every day is an emergency. He doesn't sound the slightest bit guilty when he says it either, as if he'd suggested buying some chewing gum at the grocery store.

"You live...underground?" The kids talked about caves and tunnels under the town but he didn't think people lived in places like that. Huh. "N-no, I'm from Prehevil. In Bohemia."

Hm, he hasn't really seen people around here. "I wonder where everyone went...there's smoke in the town, maybe there's some sort of meeting."

"Tch, yeah," Levi grumbles as if it's completely obvious and self explanatory. "The rich pigs don't want rats like us on their streets." He looks like he's about to say something more, maybe rant against them for a bit, but instead he ends up giving Levi a slightly confused frown. "Never heard of it," he admits, but then, it's not like that means much. There's a lot he doesn't know; hell, he can barely read yet. "Must be a nice place."

"Maybe. Like a city hall or something." It would probably be a good idea to check it out, but he'd wanted to get out of the cold quickly. Maybe once they've warmed up a bit more, they can try braving the weather again.

"O-oh...where I live is kind of like that. Only we don't have to live underground, there's a separate area for poor people. That's not where the orphanage I live in is but people still don't like us in some parts of town." Small children that already know how class divides are bullshit, as it goes.

"M-maybe. Maybe we can watch for a bit first. T-to make sure they're not bad people." They might not want two poor kids from out of town hanging out either.

"I'd rather live there," Levi decides. He doesn't exactly know how different the air on the surface is yet, but he did notice that it seemed lighter near the stairs. "What's an orphanage?"

They don't have those, down there. Kids are just abandoned to their fate if their caretakers die or leave them. He's doing well so far, though.

"Probably a good idea," he admits reluctantly. "Maybe we'll get the chance to grab something without them ever seeing us." Because bad people suck and deserve to be robbed, actually, but he'd rather not risk his hide any more than necessary.

"An orphanage is where orphans live. K-kids without parents." Or without ones that bothered to take care of them. "Its horrible, I hate it there." Maybe he could just stay here instead of going back...

He nods. "That would be good. I don't wanna get in trouble." 'Getting in trouble,' for him lead to physical punishment, after all.

"I know what an orphan is," Levi interrupts with a huff. "You've got a special place for them to go?" Why is that bad? He wonders if maybe other people come there to take their pick, and shudders. That would be bad. It'd just make things easier for them, and leave little chance for the kids to hide or run. Nevermind.

He slaps Levi's shoulder encouragingly. "You won't get in trouble if you don't get caught," he advises, and moves away from the door. He hadn't spotted any clothes the first time around but there might be something they can still use not to freeze on their journey, like a blanket or a rug or something.

"O-oh...sorry. Yeah, the government takes us in. But its not a nice place."

He flinches away from the slap but not that much. He's pretty sure that wasn't supposed to be a mean hit?? "That's true...we just have to be careful!"

"Figures," Levi grumbles. Looks like the whole world is a big damn disappointment. (He's never heard of the place Levi apparently lives in, but he simply assumes it's somewhere far away. He's not so dumb as to assume his city is all there is.)

It's definitely a friendly intended hit. Levi may not have his full strength but there's still a difference whether he's actually trying to hurt someone or not.

"Exactly," he mutters. "And if shit goes wrong, we run."

"Yeah. There are probably lots of places to hide too." Being small often sucked, but at least it meant he could get into spaces bigger kids or adults couldn't.

Levi makes a noise of agreement and keeps it at that. Eventually he finds some thin blankets and shawls in passable enough condition that they can pretty much wrap them around themselves as coats, and then he insists waiting until it gets darker before going anywhere.

He does keep a lookout by the window, seeing a few people walk off in the same direction, which is probably safe enough to assume is the meeting place.

He checks on his pocket knife, then eyes Levi's rifle critically. "You know how to use that?"

Levi sheds the much too large coat for the makeshift one. The bigger coat was probably warmer, but it being so big made it awkward to move in. He mostly just watches outside while the other boy does whatever.

He shakes his head, looking at the rifle. "No...I-I mean I know you pull the trigger but I've never fired a gun. It was just with me when I woke up here and there were wolves out there. I heard them!"

Levi frowns slightly, padding over and carefully extending a hand to touch the weapon, as if afraid it might go off just from that.

"Maybe we should test it," he mutters. "I've seen soldiers carry them around but I've never fired one, either."

That would be wasting more time, though, and potentially draw attention to themselves. Not to mention that they have better chances to pretend to be harmless kids if they don't carry around a giant gun.

"...Actually, it's probably best if we just leave it."

"...I think we should leave it. Its really big and awkward." They'd need a smaller gun and he doesn't have one. He'd prefer to avoid trouble anyway.

"Hm, yeah," Levi relents. Instead he offers Levi a small knife from the kitchen.

Then, he wraps himself up in the makeshift coat and climbs out a window in the back, leaving the door barred. He glances back every now and then to see if the other boy is following as he starts making his way toward the town center.

He bites his lip but takes the knife. If there are wolves and possibly bad guys out there hell need it.

He scrambles out of the window after the other boy and then rushes to catch up with the other boy. He may be shaking a bit but that's just because its cold. Really.

It certainly is cold, and while their meager attempts at winter layering provide some relief, it's by no means a long term solution. It does keep them from freezing by the time they reach the town hall, at least, but then there's a difficult choice to make.

Blow their cover and head into the warm looking hall, where judging from the light and smells coming from it, there is a fire and some food.

Or stay low and try to find another way in to eavesdrop on the meeting, but probably away from the warmth.

Levi looks conflicted, then slowly drags his feet toward a side alley, looking for a window or a back door he could use to break in, though it's pretty clear the offers of the community center are very tempting for him.

Levi is very, very tempted by the warmth, but he's also pretty afraid of what might be in there. He hesitates and bites his lip, looking to the other boy for guidance. He follows after into the alley but none of the windows seem like a good way to get in.

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