• A/N: This is the story I’ve written loosely based off/inspired by the current events in England. Del and Skir have been taken up into the mountains by a friend who unceremoniously crashed their transport into the side of a mountain outside a small rural town that has recently suffered at the hands of vicious rioters on the Human King’s side. This is what happened once they got there…

    CLEAN UP

    Delarand and Skirvai limped through the town, still in pain from the fall out of the crashing airship but what they saw as soon as they reached the main street made them forget all about their rather trivial suffering. The streets were lined with rubble and ash from fires; people were crowded together for warmth while someone tended to any wounds they had accumulated. Soldiers were dotted around the street asking people questions and discussing things under their breath as various members of the society begun the strenuous cleaning up of their small village. This was the town outside of Svelderin where the riots had been going on…

    “This is horrible,” Delarand murmured as he subconsciously reached for Skirvai’s hand.

    “I know…” Skirvai murmured as he took his best friend’s hand and squeezed it tightly. “We’ll find the infirmary and quickly patch ourselves up then help these poor people I think…”

    Delarand nodded, suddenly void of all emotion as he looked around at the horrific scenes unfolding around them. Children were crying for lost family members as their elder brothers and sisters hugged them, just as upset. In contrast, older nymphs called out for their children as they ran through the streets, tears streaming from their eyes at the horrible idea that their most precious treasure was gone… Skirvai had never heard of such terror, let alone experienced it first hand and he had no way to understand how these people must have felt as he walked down the street with mere cuts and bruises and his lover still safe and by his side.

    “We’re so lucky,” Delarand whispered tearfully as he brought up his free hand to wipe the tears from his eyes as the saltiness stung his eyes and blurred his vision.

    Skirvai untangled his fingers from Delarand’s hand, instead wrapping an arm around him tightly and pulling the man close to his side.

    “We are … so, so lucky, Del’…”Skirvai said quietly before he spied the infirmary on the corner. It seemed abnormally quiet given the recent events so they approached, indifferent but inside the small stone building it was like a completely different world.

    Nymphs of every age conceivable sat on any surface they could find, some people sat on the floor and chairs and tables while others stood or sat in others’ laps. There was a strong smell of soap in the humid air and there was no direction someone could look in where they would not glimpse blood. The heartbreaking sound of pained crying was unavoidable and Skirvai and Delarand had no idea what to do other than force their way through the crowds to find the doctors.

    As they reached the rooms at the back of the building they found a young girl who appeared to be an oread and a man perhaps a few years her senior who looked to be a pyroead tending to various nymphs. The girl looked up, her golden eyes piercing as she surveyed Delarand and Skirvai who had begun rolling up their sleeves.

    “What can we do to help?” Skirvai asked.

    “Who are you?”

    “A naiad and dryad hoping to lend a hand in a war-torn town for a few days,” Delarand answered, ignoring Skirvai’s suspicious expression.

    The girl watched them for a few more seconds before she nodded once. “The store cupboard’s behind you, naiad, take what you need when you need it to help people with whatever injuries seem the worst.”

    Delarand and Skirvai nodded in return before they set off to work.

    It had been midmorning when they had reached the infirmary and they did not cease until no one else was waiting for them which in the end was five minutes to midnight. The boys had slumped onto a worn down sofa, they’re fingers loosely woven together.

    “I’ve been thinkin’, Skir’…” Delarand murmured as he stared up at the thatched roof.

    “What have you been thinking about?” Skirvai whispered, his eyes drifting closed as he fiddled with Delarand’s fingers.

    “Just that… Love is love, Skir’, whether it’s between two people like us, or a parent and child, or siblings or man and animal, even just loving an idea or a value… Love is so beautiful and I love what we’ve spent today doing; helping a community during their time of need, giving people some small sense of hope that things are going to get better… Why can’t we do this to defeat the King? Why do we have to go to war? Why do more people have to die because he took my powers away? I feel so selfish…”

    Skirvai opened his eyes and sat up, looking to Delarand sadly. “Don’t feel like that…”

    Delarand sat up as well but didn’t meet Skirvai’s gaze, simply wrapping his arms around his waist and shrugging helplessly. “After today, I just feel that love is such a better way to solve a problem, not war and all the pain and suffering that comes with it.”

    Skirvai tucked some of Delarand’s hair behind his ear and watched him tentatively. “I agree with you, wholeheartedly but regrettably, the King and his … mangled followers… They think that war and pain and fear are the only ways to win people over… They are all so far gone that they don’t understand that it’s wrong and that they’re hurting people.” Skirvai scooted closer and wrapped Delarand in a warm embrace before he whispered in his ear, “But if this one last battle is what it takes to make them see that it’s wrong, it’ll be worth it right?”

    “You can’t put a price on life, Skir’…”

    The naiad frowned, knowing it to be true. “I know… I wish it didn’t have to be this way…”

    “Why can’t we all just be happy?” Delarand asked tearfully.

    Skirvai kissed his cheek softly before resting his head on the man’s shoulder. “Because sadly, we live in a cruel world…”


    Written while listening to:
    Testing the Strong Ones – Copeland
    Gone – Switchfoot
    Not Alone – Darren Criss
    Look What You Have Done – Jet
    On My Own – Les Miserables
    Waiting for the End – Linkin Park
    Not Falling Apart – Maroon 5
    Decode – Paramore
    Where Is My Mind? – Yoav feat. Emily Browning
    Asleep – Emily Browning
    Alligator Sky – Owl City
    Second Chance – Shinedown
    Long Live – Taylor Swift