“Psst, over here,” L whispered from the cover of a tree. Braj turned his clueless head around in an entirely too obvious manner, earning him a grimace and a slur from L.
“Coming, coming. Where are we heading?”
“Did you speak with anyone before you got here? And hurry up!”
“Yeah, a couple of the guys. Slow down! Why are you walking so fast for?”
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. We’re going to the Uldrain tree. Watch your step, there are some nasty looking plants you don’t wanna mess with. There, to your right. Yes, those. Don’t touch! Idiot.”
“Why there? It’s a ways off from here.”
“Hurry up already, we can’t keep her waiting,” L said, turning a disapproving eye towards his haggard figure. “I saw her go there already.”
Braj nodded eagerly, extending his strides. “Why are we going through here? ‘Tis hard to walk through all this greenery.”
“We don’t want any rumors to spread, so we going to hook around. Having a man and woman meet in their lonesome is inappropriate, for reasons I am sure you can conceive. Jroll already saw her and inquired. Quite! I had to tell him. He just wanted to tell you words of gettings. He said it will surely work out, and that he prays for the best to happen. Come along now, it’s not that far now.”
Through trees and shrubs, L and Braj trekked, ducking and weaving and hopping across the forest ground. The sun fell through the leaves at conjunctions, adding even more variety of colors and patterns to the density of the environment. L glanced behind him, assessing Braj’s figure. Though he tried to conceal it, he had worn what L could best describe as the most expensive casual clothing he had on, with clean trousers and a tunic which retained the color. His skin was clean and slightly pale, with his short hair stuffed behind his long ears.
“How you feeling?” L asked, studying him from the edge of his sights.
“A bit...surreal. My heart is ‘bout to flee my rib cage,” he said, a shy smile turning on his face. “I can’t wait though.”
L looked up. Through the tiny openings in the branches, he could see Uldrain tree towering above all the others, its branches thick as trees extending out in a mushroom style. Above it, the sun was beginning to dawn. An hour at most and the sky would turn blue.
“We’re a few minutes away. Keep quiet, alright?”
“Why?”
L stopped suddenly. Braj bumped into him with a startle. “Do you never tire of asking mindless questions?” L asked, slowly twisting his head around.
Braj bit his gums, his face turning pink. “A habit. It’s because you’re with me, right?”
L stared at Braj a couple more seconds before resuming to walk. He waved his hand in indifference. “Yes. It wouldn’t be entirely appropriate for the man to be accompanied by another-” L paused, narrowing his eyes. “What’s that sound?” L whispered, and fell into a crouch.
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Braj did the same. “What sound?” he whispered back. And then he heard it. It was a woman’s cry, and it got louder the closer they crept towards the Uldrain tree. “It’s Malia!” he exclaimed, and nearly jumped up out of the shrubs.
L hooked an arm around his shoulders, pressing back to the ground. “Fool! If she is being assaulted, we need to move slowly and ambush them!” Both then crept towards the clearing and snuck an eye out of the cover of the branches. Out of Braj’s sight, a slight smile crept on L’s face.
The tree was at least a couple meters wide, with nothing growing beside it for a couple meters. It's rooted sucked all the moisture in the ground as its branches hogged all the sunlight. The tree roots stuck out the ground at intervals. At its base stood Malia, nude, legs parted and facing the trunk. Behind her was Jroll, his hands on her waist and pumping his hips powerfully. The squishy sound of their bodies smashing together was heard over their groans and moans, with droplets of sweat and other liquid dripping towards the earth. Malia’s legs shook each time Jroll pushed into her, her breast bouncing in rhythm.
“Gentle you, oaf!” She gasped, turning her head slightly to glare at Jroll. Her nails dug into the trunk as her hands quivered.
Jroll’s swallowed heavily, closing his gaping mouth. His hands reached over, clutching her breasts tightly as he arched his body with hers, sinking his teeth gently into her neck, sucking on her soft flesh. His other hand reached over, caressing her crotch as he drove his hips, slowly this time. Malia sucked in a sharp breath, one hand holding the hair of overzealous Jroll while the other was against the trunk, attempting to support her as Jroll once again became excited.
"What will a man, and a woman, whom are both in love, will do once they confess their love to each other in the cover of trees and shrubs, Braj?" He glanced at him. He now stood frozen with glazed eyes. Shock. His mind was momentarily gone. L had seen that face before; many times, in fact. This was not the first time L had broken a man. The sight of naivety and arrogance breaking, of realzing realities grim nature, always brought joy into L. It was his own perverse pleasure, to watch people crumble apart before his hand. This time, however, L was deprived of that pleasure. It felt all too simple.
No words were needed. Braj was smart enough to connect the dots: Malia stood waiting for Braj, but Jroll, who overheard they were going to exchange vows, had in his wickedness and lust seduced and stole Malia away from him.
And Malia, the one who was to confess his love to him, the strong and respected woman who he loved, was overtaken in her own weakness by a man much more powerful than Braj ever could be.
It sickened L. It turned his mouth rotten and his skin itchy. There was no worse type of invalidation than having the lover of one taken. The sight dug into his heart with needles, for he knew that though in front of him he was witnessing a heartwarming scene in which two young people began to passionately fall in love, it would not be the case for Braj.
No, Braj would see something all too diferent, something all to perverse and wicked.
He shook his head in dismay. Little did the little lamb know, little did it realize. The greatest lies were the one you told yourself. The one that you whispered in dim nights and fleeting fires to sooth your growing fears. But those lies work in the other direction, too. It will make you see wickedness in which there is none, just like it allowed you to see the goodness in which there was none. It was persepction, a perspective, a point of view which altered everything. That was how true lies were told.
L pursed his lips. It was a long time since L had felt dirty about anything. He’d murdered and stolen and ruined people; good or bad, it mattered not. At some point, what type of person they were only changed the sense of pleasure L got from it, not whether he should or should not. Poking and manipulating people’s hearts was his forte. Forty years of marauding is enough to numb anyone. But this was different. It just felt so wrong.
Why is it so easy? Why? Is there anything, anything at all? Anything that I can’t turn wicked and rotten? Anything that I can’t twist so effortlessly? So quickly?
He clamped his teeth together. L was far too old to philosophize such foolish things; truth was whatever he wanted to believe. Leave it at that. Leave it at that and move on.
When the lovemaking ended, the cuddling and giggles followed. Braj seemed to have woken then. He swallowed the lump in his throat, and quietly turned around, hiding the tears in his eyes.
No, Braj, there is no hiding from me. There is no hiding from the neither of us.
“I thought she loved me?” he whispered from in between sobs.
“She did,” L replied, hammering in the last nail. And just like that, the man changes. “Let’s take a walk.”
“It’s turning night” he replied empltily.
“I’ll protect you. I have my sword with me,” L said, patting the scabbard.
Braj nodded and kept walking, neither questioning where the blade came from nor realizing he was walking deeper into the forest, away from civilization, and towards the Desolation Lands.