A light in the dust (open to anyone)

[Stare]

'Cause after all,
It's just a game.
<><><><><><>

Ethan felt disappointment flow into him. All he wanted was for the pain to go away, so he could walk home, and lay down in bed and fall asleep. But his wishes couldn't be granted. He would stay there. The jacket would stay on. And he would still be totally and completely helpless.

Ethan wasn't used to feeling weak. He was always the strongest one. The little boys admired his strength. Older men congradualated him on it, and told him to keep up the good work. The more popular girls watched him exercise. The only ones he couldn't please were the handful of girls who saw right through his strength, to whatever was inside. And maybe that's what Layla and Nadene would see. On the ground, without his strength and power, what was he? Ethan realized that he didn't even know. He did feel something, though. A sick feeling in his stomach, and an icy hand that gripped his heart. He felt hopeless and helpless, and all he wanted was to get away.

Ethan Leddaro was scared.

He knew what happened if a person lost too much blood. They became unsavable. But this... this wasn't so bad. Was it? He needed help, and that was all. It was only a few lashes... it hurt, sure, but it couldn't have done that much damage. Ethan winced, and was glad the Keeper wasn't here to see him. They were cruel. Cruel enough to whip someone so much, they would die?

Ethan had walked the streets. He had heard the cries of pain, and seen the tears. He had watched nearby relatives bury their faces. The whip was not kind to it's victims. It could break air if it wanted to. He had see the Keepers' smiles. And he knew that they would do whatever they had to to cause pain.

"It's bad, isn't it?" Ethan asked, knowing the answer. "It hurts like it's bad."


((OOC: Sorry it's so short. I had trouble with this one.))

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[kahdaleagirl42]

OCC: its fine lol mines eve worse ahhh!
Layla felt sad when Ethan asked if it was bad. It was bad, but not hopeless. "It is bleeding a lot, but the cuts aren't deep. It should heal quickly once we get some real bandages on them." She gave him a reassuring smile. His voice sounded a bit scared, but Layla wasn't sure. So she just kept trying to keep his spirits up. "So stop fidgeting or you'll real have something to worry about." she joked.

As the suns light slowly dissipated, it became cooler in the dark woods. Layla noticed that Ethan's body wasn't giving off as much heat as before. "Hey, I think the bleeding is slowing down. Do you mind if I check? It might hurt a little." she asked.

[Arrow]

ooc: Sorry, my dog died unexpectedly.

Nadene ran back through the maze of loggers, falling trees, and just trees in general to try to get back to Layla and the quickly bleeding Ethan. She didn't know what to do, or had any idea what to do. The only thing on her mind was to save the boy, but that might put her at risk for a whipping too, which could possibly be a disaster for her unstable family.

She started to see the clearing return to sight again, and cast an odd glance upon it at first. She wanted to help Ethan, she really did, but should she endanger her own life for someone she barley knew?

[Axium]

Rowan was practicing his archery when he saw the bleeding boy. Startled, his arrow flew deep into the branches of a tree. "Son of a biscuit!" he cried. He glanced back at the boy. Upon close inspection, Rowan realized he had been whipped. Ouch. Was a stupid arrow worth not helping someone who's injured? Besides, this was his clearing. If he doesn't help, neither the girl nor the boy might ever leave. Sighing, Rowan put down his bow and sprinted over to the injury.

Just as he was halfway across the clearing, he felt somethiing crash into his side, pinning him down. "OOF!" he grunted. Turns out, what crashed into him was another girl. "Get... the hell... off... me!" he growled.

[kahdaleagirl42]

OCC: Im so sorry about your dog! Mine died a couple years ago and it was really unexpected too. And axium, i dont want to offend you or be rude in any way, but i would really appreciate it if you didn't use any profanity. =)

[Stare]

'Cause after all,
It's just a game.
<><><><><><>

Life wasn't glowing or pretty or anything like Ethan imagined. It was magical, and it didn't sparkle as it flowed through you. Life wasn't bright and beautiful. Life was red. Life was red and sticky and warm and gross. And at the moment, Ethan was losing a lot of it.

Ethan didn't go around thinking about blood. Sure, it came into his mind every now and then, when a certain vein on his hand popped out or when his heart pounded. But he wasn't greatful for it. He didn't go around thinking, It's a good thing I have blood! He wasn't a freak. But at the moment, he was realizing just how precious blood was.

And how quickly you could loose too much.

The young teenager was quickly losing his hold on reality. Blackness's call was luring him closer and closer. Perhaps it would be easier to just leave the painful truth and slip into a world of empty fantasies, where he would no longer have to please or fight or prove himself worthy. But Ethan didn't want to leave the truth. Because, however painful, the truth is all you have in life. And sometimes, you just have to hold onto it like a lifeline and let yourself face the facts. Ethan never deceived himself from reality. Perhaps it was because he didn't want to start believing the lies that everyone else told him.

And, while he was telling himself the truth, he would admit that he was afraid. Afraid of what would happen once he ventured into that dark world. Because, to be honest, he loved life, as much as it tortured him. And, if he let himself slip into unconsciousness, he was afraid he wouldn't wake up. And he couldn't leave his parents. Or his friends, old and new. Or these woods.

Ethan's thoughts were unclear. Somehow, he found himself thinking of trees. And how their roots were so deep, that they just found another way to take them down. Just chop right through the middle. It took time, and it took effort, but it was possible. Was that all Ethan was? Just a tree that could be easily taken down if someone cared? Well, that Peacekeeper cared, and tried to bring Ethan down. And there he was, laying on the ground. He never realized how weak he was until that moment.

And Ethan Leddaro, in a moment of complete pain and distress and realization, felt tears streaming down his face.

Ethan could count on one hand the number of times he remembered ever crying. It took a lot to break the teenager. A lot of pain. Which he had. A lot of sorrow. Which he had. A lot of fear. Which he had. But he was still angry at himself, through all those strong emotions. Angry at himself for being weak. For showing weakness. He was strong. He was a rock. But then had broken just a little bit, and everything came crashing down.

Ethan began making promises. If he lived, he was going to tell his mom how much he loved her. If he lived, he was going to smile at his dad more. If he lived, he was going to thank Layla and Nadene. Ethan was going to do a lot of things if he survived. But first things first. He had to survive. And he had to let the people who were trying to save his life help him.

"Go ahead," he said, his voice fighting through the tears and pain and weakness. "Do whatever you have to, Layla. All I want is to make it, no matter how bad the pain is. Do whatever you have to do."


[OOC: I'm so sorry about your dog. I know what it's like, I lost mine about a year ago. *comforts*]

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[kahdaleagirl42]

Layla knew that Ethan must be tired from all that was happening. She herself hadn't ever been hurt this bad, but she knew people who had and the effects it had on you. She tried to be as gentle and kind as possible. She was fairly confident that enough time had passed so that it wasn't gushing any longer "Okay, it might sting little, but it'll be quick." she said. "Okay ready?"

Layla slowly began to peel back the sticky jacket. She knew that he must be hurting, so she tried to go as slowly and smoothly as humanly possible. Finally she saw his back. The whole thing was still cover in blood and dirty and stick, but a lot of it was from before. The current cuts were still bleeding which wasn't good, but not as much as before. She wasn't sure how Ethan had survived the initial spill of blood, but he was strong. She believed he would survive this.

The cuts weren't that deep, but at that depth where it just bleed a lot. Now the flow was coming down. "I think that you'll be okay Ethan." She explained what the situation was, and then realized that her rambling on about his condition probably wasn't making the situation much more enjoyable for him. "Sorry about that. I'm not the best converser. Well not that you're really talking back, but, you know what I mean."

[Arrow]

ooc: I'm afraid I won't be posting anymore... Nadene got reaped. D;

[kahdaleagirl42]

OCC: ah! I hope she wins!

[kahdaleagirl42]

OCC: hello???

[Stare]

(OOC: Please check your PMs )

[kahdaleagirl42]

OCC: oh lol sorry