mother hen [OPENOPENOPEN]

[Kat]

When he was not in lessons, Jackson did not know what to do with himself. It was difficult to find things to do now that he was alone and now that he knew no one at all. He was actually finding himself a bit lonely, even though he swore he needed no one but his Isabel, who he no longer had. He was realizing that now that he had left Itnala, some of the memories felt less connected, less potent, and he was missing the interaction of others. But Jackson knew that he did not deserve interactions with other people. The darkness inside of him was a spector of evil, one which clasped onto his understanding of the world and made him toxic. That was a truth that he knew. He had made his parents miserable, just from living in their house. He had made his father-in-law more and more enraged. Jackson’s presence, his gloomy, angry self, was not one that he felt he could impose on anyone, which meant he did not have anyone with whom he could talk to, with whom he could interact. So, Jackson wondered to the ground caverns, because he had no where else to go, and he figured he could spend some time exploring. He hoped that the novelty would be distracting, that the newness of the environment would provide him different things to think about besides his own misery.

The ground caverns, Jackson realized, where not all that different from the markets of Itnala. There were all kinds of bustling people and all kinds of stalls with venders all around the caverns. Jackson was actually surprised; he knew Itnala was the smallest of the cities, but the Eyrie was infinitely smaller, and Jackson thought that the amount of venders was impressive. His eyes widened as he surveyed the people and sales tents around him. He did not know what to do now that he was here. He had no plan, no reason to be here, and yet, here he was. Thin eyebrows raised, as his dark eyes scanned over the people around him quickly, in short, frantic draws. Even though the accident, no the slaughter, which took Isabel from Jackson was a full two years previously, his emotional sensitivity which grew from the loss, made Jackson worried, nervous, and intense in all situations. Jackson was introverted, now, in the way that he felt constantly emotional in all situations. The people were stimulating, and they made him flinch as people bustled past him.

A vender on the periphery of the market area caught Jackson’s attention, not because of the wares being sold, but because of the distanced location of the stall. Jackson sauntered over, and he hissed a breath out of his lips as he moved. The stall, though, seemed only to be selling one thing, a small, thin llama, which seemed almost frightened and quivering. In fact, the creature’s knees seemed to buckle and shake, and Jackson’s heart immediately began to hurt for the creature. It looked so scared, so frightened, and the llama seemed to externalize Jackson’s inner pain and inner fear. He moved towards the llama as if he was transfixed. Jackson was not sure why he asked. He wanted to wrap his arms around the llama so that it would stop shaking. It needed to be comforted. He dropped to the ground, so that he was kneeling next to the creature, and he reached out slowly, hesitating his hand over the llama’s neck. The llama’s wool was soft, almost extraordinarily so. Jackson wanted to push his fingers more into the wool, so he did, so that his fingers halted over the llama’s actual neck, before his palm pressed against the llama’s skin. Brown fingers merged with brown fur, and Jackson was pleased. He even smiled a bit, a small upturning of his lips, which was an action he had not preformed in a long time.

Still kneeling, with his hand still on the llama’s neck, he turned towards the singular man standing under the tent. Jackson was not sure why he was so impressed by this animal, but he wanted it. He wanted to be near it forever. He wanted to hold it and calm it, because maybe it would calm his own turmoil. What Jackson would do with a llama, he did not know. He was not entirely sure what one did with a llama. They could be used for wool, he would assume, as the llama had a lot of wool. Or maybe it could be used for a pack animal, which might be useful. Jackson had not yet internalized the fact that if he impressed, he would not need an animal to carry his items, his possessions, since he would have a simourv.
”Is that creature for sale?”
Jackson questioned, and his mouth halted, the smile fading as he watched the man. The man nodded, and then he reached out his hand. He could tell that Jackson would purchase the animal. The pain in Jackson’s eyes radiated an obvious helplessness.
”She’ll be 250 diasks, if you want her.”
The man added, and immediately, Jackson nodded, before he reached into a large, deep pocket in his pants, before withdrew enough gold pieces to make the amount. He did not even touch the man, and instead, Jackson laid the coins on the ground, so that he did not have to move his hand. The older man reached down to take the coins, and then he untied the llama’s rope from the tent pole. The rope was handed to Jackson, and Jackson, in turn, used the chance to wrap his arms around the little creature, before he gripped the rope and began to lead her towards his room. She was only the size of a small dog, after all, and he knew that many people kept dogs in their rooms.

The llama, even though she was still shaking, took a few wobbly steps behind Jackson, before she began to trot with excitement behind the man. Her white feet, as the entire bottom portion of her thin legs was white, danced across the ground. She was scared, but she liked this man, who touched her kindly. Her little brain liked the idea of comfort, so she followed as she was trained to do. Jackson turned back, and he smiled. He hoped Midas liked the llama. Jackson did not want to handle a conflict between his old pet and his new baby. He did not have the heart for conflict.