The Aeterna Empire

Chapter 17 - Pride of Waves

Breakfast almost finished, I called, "Aelius, sit up. Can you feed yourself or do you need me to help?"

Slavian'Aeterna and his friend, whom he called Nel'Andra, sat the table. Slavian complained he could not read, but occupied himself with looking at my assortment of stolen documents and notes. Hearing my tone, he sat up expectantly. Nel'Andra turned his lit eye towards me and, grabbing a ledge, pulled himself up onto the ceiling rafters just above Slavian.

"I-I can make do." My Sun-Child whispered from the door.

I jumped out of my skin. His steps were quiet as a mouse and his voice almost as much. His eyes were unfocused and pale, and his cheeks almost as much. His hair was matted and oiled in old sweat, and his discolored clothes were hanging off his shoulders so you could see his ribs. Even Slavian paused on seeing him.

My heart didn't slow after his little scare; whether out of pride he could stand or horror for his state, I couldn't say.

Aelius held on to the doorframe and moved along the wall with his hand outreached, taking slow steps. At last he found the table. "Where is the doctor friend?" He asked.

Probably doing a task for Caius, I figured. We had a mission to do. "He has a life of his own, my sun. He can't be here all the time."

"Son? Scar-Face is your father?" Slavian asked.

"Sun-child." Aelius whispered. He found a chair and took a breath, steadying himself, before moving it out to sit.

"What's that?"

"Where are you from?" Aelius asked, a touch judgmental.

"Ref."

"Oh, uh, I don't know what Ref call it."

I explained, "Basically, I adopt him if something happens to his family. Slavian, can you clear the table?" I sort out breakfast into the horn bowls and plates.

Papers fell to the floor all at once and I turned to see Slavian had chosen to clear the table in the swiftest manner possible, albeit lacking any manners possible. Then he had the gall to sit up proudly and expectantly. 

I dumped Slavian's share back where it was, earning a frown. I put some in front of Aelius, earning a smile.  "Slavian, you can eat when this is clear."

"I did." He complained.

I prayed to the First Ancestors for patience. Who raised him? "Do you want to eat, or do you want to be rude?"

Slavian gaped, aghast, and at first, stubborn, but his hunger quickly overcame his pride and he picked up the scattered papers. Aelius leaned down from where he was and, even in his weak, blind state, helped by finding what was immediately around him. "Even blind, he knows what to do." I iterated.

"Whatever." Slavian grumbled. With everything collected into his arms, he asked, "Where do I dump this? You don't have any chests or nothin'."

Oh, if I had my master's stick! "First of all, you won't be 'dumping' anything. You will be putting it where it belongs properly. Second, it is judgmental and rude to bring up my poorer standard of living."

Slavian glared at me. If I was anyone else, sure, he might be able to get away with his behavior, but then anyone else would have sought to please his father or been too terrified of his father to act. I was neither, with the added bonus that his father left him in my care. Lastly, if he wanted a battle of pride this feral child couldn't have asked for a worse opponent then a king. So, to put it all in a way he could understand: he could kiss the palest part of my ass.

It took significantly longer this time for his hunger to win, but eventually he came around. "Where do I 'put' it?" Slavian asked.

"Hm." I thought about it briefly. To be fair, there really wasn't anywhere to put it. In my depressed state I had little furniture. "Put it under the bed for now, out of the way."