HappySad

Sixth number of Augorus, 946

      Despite his royal origins, Kay, at the moment, lay down on the table with his body, boredly leafing through a book that contained classics that were written back in the Golden Age, which passed many centuries ago, in the 1891s. Eh, former Russia... It’s a pity that by the time of the events of this story, this country, like many others, had not survived. And now it’s already 5367 in the human world. What happened? In the fifties of the 24th century, many cataclysms occurred, especially floods. And, in the end, everything turned out so that almost all continents are now under water. How did people survive? It's simple. Due to the displacement of water from one area to another, it revealed the land where the bottom of the reservoirs once was. Also, the shifts of the earth’s plates contributed to survival, creating a single continent from six continents, as was the case approximately during the time of Pangea. At first there was a huge panic both among the people and among the once rulers of their countries. As a result, everyone united and created a new huge state, which spread out on a new continent, which was named after the already united country - Unified. And to this day, this country and continent exist.       The former ruler of Calow did not particularly know about the history of mankind, but he knew this for sure. Exhaling languidly, he began to read the last lines of the book:       – “Get out of Moscow! I don’t go here anymore. I’m running, I won’t look back, I’ll go looking around the world where there is a corner for an offended feeling! A carriage for me, a carriage!”, A. S. Griboyedov "Woe from Wit." Interesting fact: if we take works from Russian classics, this is the favorite of all four authors. – he said tiredly out loud, slamming the book. Looking out the window, the man chuckled, getting up from the table. – But you can’t say that in this world before, – the Defender stood near the window, looking at the morning view of the city, already working like a Swiss watch, – there were carriages. And now there’s just iron on wheels, driving and flying, – leaning on the windowsill, he continued to think out loud: – Not a drop of elegance. What do these pieces of iron have that the carriages don’t? Okay, the speed, the horses that pull the carriage are obviously slower, but what else? Nothing! They are unnecessarily expensive, and also this liquid, substance, whatever... It doesn’t matter! It's not cheap either! And the carriages, in addition to being beautiful, are not expensive and comfortable!       He loved to talk to himself, especially when no one was around. And at the moment, where he was, the owner of the apartment was not there.       “When will he come...” Kay wondered, lowering his gaze to the road, and was immediately amazed. “Remember the sun, here’s a ray,” he thought jokingly, seeing a familiar man in a dull blue and black robe consisting from berets, trousers, unusual shirts and capes, a raincoat, rough gloves and a cap. If he had been close, then an unusual icon could have been seen on the headdress: a dull blue circle, inside of which there was a shield of exactly the same color. It’s immediately obvious: he’s from the commission on the Defenders’ case. There they are engaged in distributing defenders to certain people, and also looking for those who have escaped. In addition to this, they are also engaged in supplying any resources to their world and checking, with which they moved there in order to check how things were going with them. It was during one of these checks that our hero met this man. This was 25 years ago. Then he was 170 years old, and this man was 20. He was very young then, which amazed the former ruler, but, nevertheless, he fulfilled his duties well.       Clicks and quiet noises from the key and keyhole were heard in the hallway, and the door swung open. Pushing off from the window, the elder headed towards the exit from the living room, slightly hitting his head on the doorway, in favor of his height, hissing slightly, scratching the back of his head.       – Yaroslav, what awkward doorways you have! – He entered the right room, looking at the newcomer, who was looking at him with his soft blue eyes inquiringly and in amazement, taking off his cap and straightening his brown hair in a puzzled manner. For his 45 years, he was quite well preserved, as if he was the intercourse of the Defender and a person or an escaped Defender, which was impossible, because he looked like a person. Although “intercourse” may be a correct assumption... But the “guest” was still sure that this was a person. – Why are they so small?!       – Do you know, – a melodic voice sounded, but at the moment, with notes of menace, – Not everyone is lucky enough to become a six and a half foot giant like you! – Kay lowered his gaze, looking at his interlocutor, and let out a quiet laugh, but the corners of his lips dropped back. Still, he didn't like to show emotions.       – Compared to you, sooo... Yes. You're clearly out of luck. – leaning against the side of the wall, crossing his arms over his chest, the man from Calow began to observe the reaction of other. He just snorted, putting his cap on the hook for hats, and then began to take off his cloak. Yes, the escapee was right about the height of the person working on the commission. If he was a little over six and a half feet tall, then the man... God willing, 5, if not shorter. We think you can clearly see their difference.       Of course, we can talk about growth for a long time, but that’s not what we're here for, right?       – Say honestly, – Having changed his shoes, the short one went to the dining room, the guest followed him, – did you sleep at all? You can't just tell by the bags under your eyes that you've been sleep enough.       – No, – Kay said, shrugging his shoulders..       – Do you even understand that this can lead to exhaustion of the body? – The defender sat down at the table, and the man walked up to the tabletop, putting the kettle on.       – Limbo discovered... – This is the same statement as “Discovered America,” but, in our case, Kay is not from the human world, but from another, and they do not have America. Also, “Limbo discovered” has the same meaning: “to speak, to announce what everyone has known for a long time; to make discoveries that have in fact been known to everyone for a long time, and to loudly declare it.”       – What? – the younger one turned his head to the side, looking at the odd-eyed one.       – Thanks to my mirror magic, – he put his right hand on his chest, – I can regulate whatever I want in my body and beyond. If I want to sleep, I will use it and be alert, – the younger one came up and sat down at the table opposite his interlocutor, who stretched his neck and, reaching for his braid, unraveled it, scratching the back of his head. – How sometimes this part hurts because of the constant braids... – Taking the elastic and hair, he began to tie the blond hair into a low, but not tight, braid-like ponytail.       –What's Limbo? – The brown-haired man asked, raising an eyebrow. – Or do your souls go there when they die, as in religion?       – Done, – He said quietly, resting his tail on his shoulder. – Um, religion? – The fair-haired one looked up questioningly. – I don't know what your religion is. In the world of the Defenders there are no religions, gods, and so on. Although, maybe there are gods, the Defenders have their own ideas about the creation of the world, all living things, etc. Again, their scientists are still guessing, but for now they have settled on the same thing as ours: the Big Bang, but I'll tell you about Limbo. Limbo is an island – The man gestured with his hands as he spoke, – that was found by a united society of seafarers some five hundred years ago. It was called that because from one of the ancient languages “limbo” was translated as “death”, and this island was completely saturated with the aura of death... – The blond man twitched in place and put his hands on the table. – I was there only once, but I felt all the energy. There was such a suppressed feeling, as if it was me who was slowly beginning to die, and not... – he thought about it. – And not what died there, judging by the aura...       There was silence, which was soon interrupted by the sound of the kettle. The tea was brewed, and the two were already sipping it, thinking about their own things.       – By the way. Why did you even come... Okay, to this world, but to me?       – Mm... – Kay looked away. – It's a long story, – and began to talk.       We will not write what he said, because, in this case, it will be a partial retelling of the previous part.       – The situation, of course... Terrible. My condolences... – The blue-eyed one said, raising his eyebrows. – But I still don’t understand: why did you come to me?       – You are the only person with whom I have good and even, in a sense, friendly relations, – in response they only exhaled.       – You are a risky person, of course, since you turned to... A man for help. What works in the commission on the Defenders case. But, one way or another, I will help you. What exactly do you need?       –For starters, temporary housing. Do you mind if I stay with you for a while?       – I’m not against it, but... I’m afraid my daughter won’t be happy about it. She doesn't like strangers.       – I'm not bad with children, if anything. We'll make friends with her, I promise. – the eldest gave a smile, which disappeared the next second, as his triplets popped up in his head, about which he doesn’t know how they are.       – Can you cope with a nine year old? – in response, a nod.       The gaze of multi-colored eyes fell on someone else's hands. Something clicked in my head.       – And in your tradition of holding a wedding, they exchange rings. Well, right?       – Yes. And so what?       – Since you have a daughter, then why don’t you have a ring?       Yaroslav at first did not understand what was being said, and lowered his gaze to his hands, where his interlocutor was looking.       – I don’t understand what marriage and rings have to do with it... Oh, wait! – It was as if something dawned on him, and he looked up. – This girl is not my own daughter, and I never had any trace of a wife. I took her from an orphanage. Kay raised his eyebrows. No, he knew very well what “orphanages” were, because, unfortunately, there was such a thing in their world, but... A single man took upon himself the responsibility of monitoring and caring for a girl? This is something incredible, in his opinion. Not every person will undertake to raise someone else's child. Apparently, the human world is not yet as corrupt as he thought.       –Why was she left there? – asked the former ruler of Calow.       In response, they sighed sadly and were about to answer, but noise was heard again from the hallway.       – Let's go meet her. You'll immediately understand why as soon as you see her.. They got up and headed to the right place. If Yaroslav continued to walk, then Kay froze in the doorway with his mouth slightly open in shock and his eyes rounded.       – Hello, Sonya, – getting down on one knee, the father picked her up in his arms so that she was sitting on his arm, hugging her neck. – Everything is fine at school, no one offended you? – The girl shook her head negatively. – Hungry? – She shook her head again.       –I want to sleep... – she whispered, snuggling closer.       The brown-haired man nodded and walked towards one of the rooms, nodding to the guest, hinting that their conversation and acquaintance would be postponed a little for a while. The blond man nodded frantically. The image of this Sonya was still standing before my eyes. A little girl, dressed simply, in a beige dress, brown, almost black hair of medium length, and from a place, closer to the top of her head, two white horns stuck out, her eyes were white-white, it seemed that they were even glowing. And the worst thing, according to not only Kay, but also many Defenders, is the skin. It was covered with black spots that occasionally moved from one area of skin to another. It was immediately clear who it was.       Swallowing, he followed them after a while. The eldest saw her stepfather peeking a little through the crack in the door. Apparently it was a girl's room. Approaching him, he also looked in.       – She is... The result of intercourse between a person and, apparently, a Defender sick with darkness, right?       – I don’t know about “sick with darkness,” but if you think so, then probably. Still, you understand this kind of stuff better. And so, yes. She is the result of the intercourse of our species with you.       – And her eyes... She's had them like that since birth.?       –And what?       –During their lives, Defenders and, most likely, similar intercourses may change their eye color: either for a moment or a couple of seconds, minutes, hours, or for a longer period. This can happen in both eyes or in one. The eye color that has changed determines the current state or some goal or mood. In this case, white. This means a broken psyche or madness, – the light-eyed one looked up.       – So, this means that... You are mentally broken or crazy?       – No, I just poured powder into my eye. It doesn't matter why. So what? Will I get an answer to my question?       –Since birth, – he looked back.       On the bed, little Sonya began tossing and turning and muttering something.       – Oh, nightmares again... – Yaroslav entered the room and quickly approached the bed, sitting down next to his daughter. The elder came in after him. – Hush hush... – "father" began stroking her head, trying to calm her down.       Kay was touched by such a picture, but then rolled his eyes, moving closer to the furniture on which they slept, and sat down on the floor, closer to the head, because if he had sat on the bed, he, again, would not have been able to convenient to pull off something: an old way to calm someone who is having a nightmare.       – Will you allow me? – without waiting for an answer from the brown-haired man, he grabbed the “intercourse” under her back and chest, moving her closer to him, and buried his face in the top of her head, closing his eyes. The man was mentally indignant and was about to tell him not to touch her, when a melodic mooing reached his ears, very similar to some kind of calm lullaby. The tall one stroked her dark hair, occasionally touching her scalp and forehead, using mirror magic, which was visible in the form of a white, but rather dull glow on the fingers and the middle of the palm. And the white-eyed one began to calm down and breathe more regularly. Exhaling in her sleep, she turned on her side, towards the elders, and began to reach out with her arms towards the tall body. A smile bloomed on the Defender’s face, which he didn’t even try to hide. To say that Yaroslav was surprised by this is to say nothing. His gaze softened, and his lips also curled into a kind smile. Even he himself felt calm in his soul.