#{/i.e. you could twack it with a stick while hes staring off and there's a decently good chance he won't even notice}

[blindedguilt]

@booksofthelibrary

"Look! They fit perfectly! And they make my feet all warm! They can't be cold now!" She wanted to make him happy.

"and besides! Here!" She holds out a small box, simple in it's design. And within is a carved Daffodil charm made of minerals that were painted over with such attention and love. A charm that matches the very own in her hair, that had a loop for a chain or rope or in any way that he would be willing to wear it. She smiles so earnestly at him.

"Like this, we are always together... And...and I really wanted to show you how much you mean to me...Happy Birthday."

(from Daffy to Lukhege obv!)

"......" Lukhege's sharp gaze turned off to the side for a moment, not saying a word. Half of him was left wondering, did she really like them? Or was it just needless flattery to bring him back to earth? The other half of Lukhege had simply grown too caught up in his own anger and the remnants of his own resentment towards the eldest to care or acknowledge anything else that deigned to acknowledge him.

'The least that lout could have done was keep his mouth shut,' he thought — yet, a small, small part of him knew that Leonard meant no harm in his comment. Just the opposite; he cared about Daffy's well-being and simply went to express that concern... But still, what right did he think he had to get involved? The very thought made his blood boil. Lukhege's jaw clenched tight.

As the feeling of rage only seemed to rise from his turned back, it seemed at first that he was reluctant to turn his gaze back to Daffy's offering and soft voice.

"Daffodil..." Though his expression remained taut and stern with what was left of his bubbling rage, there was something that softened in his eyes as he studied the little charm. It was just like the flower she wore in her hair; he had laid eye upon it enough times to be certain of that. But... Lukhege quickly averted his now-softened eyes away from the charm, from her gaze.

"You know I don't like—" The boy started to protest for his own sake, not wanting to be moved so, but promptly fell quiet. A pause, and he turned the charm delicately around in his already worn hands again. There was no hiding the faint fondness that grew on his features the more those words ate at him... Where could he put it? Somewhere safe. Somewhere he could easily look at it. Somewhere he could remember, as much as that part of him didn't want to.

Somewhere safe... His mind brought itself back to his bandaged arms, the raid on his village that wounded them — He vividly remembered what it was like just before the torching. He had just finished his work helping one barley farmer move his wares, and was standing atop a small hill in an opening in the forest, not far from their village. He remembered staring off — He hadn't remembered what he was doing there, but he remembered Laum running up to him in a breathless, teary-eyed panic. "We have to find Riversal!"

The rest... Lukhege didn't remember it too well. He could recall the smell of sulfur, blood, and smoke. The sound of fire, the sound of screams from men, women, and children, and swords. Pulling Riversal by the arm. A cry from his little brother as the Empire blade pulled back to strike him — a sudden, unfathomable pain as it ran through his own arm last second in place.

He had been thrown into a burning fire at one point — resulting in what would be a long bout of incapacitation of his other arm. Riversal had lost his cloak. And Laum... He hadn't forgotten how he had to be drag him away from the bloodied body of their mother, the last and longest link to normalcy shared by any of the three.

That Daffy had actually sought him out reminded him of that comfort, that normalcy — Naturally, while their mother would have given him a corrective hit on the head said something like "Pitying yourself won't get you anywhere", Daffy's kindness was far... Softer. He didn't like the feeling of being coddled and yet, he was reminded of those days with his village, his mother, the days Leonard would fret over him before he left. It was as unfamiliar to him as it was nostalgic — in a way, it frightened him.

...But she meant only the best. Lukhege knew that. They all did — it's why they lauded their being together so. Lukhege took a deep breath to calm himself, flipping and feeling the way the edges of the charm poked between his fingers. "I was a pest, wasn't I..." He muttered vaguely, letting brown eyes flick momentarily back up to her face. A thin, yet still already worn hand carefully moved back a thread of stray hair and barely rested the thumb on her cheek. Lukhege turned his gaze the other way — he was sure his own had turned red as he did it.

"Daffodil... I appreciate this." He spoke softly. He wasn't lying when he said he hated celebrating his birthday, but this warmed his heart like nothing before it. "I'll take good care of it— I'll leave this in my pocket in wait of when I can find it's proper place. Thank you. Really."