Benji was scared, he was tired, he and the silent man had been awake for a long time. Benji didn’t know how long, just that a loud scream had woken him. And when he went to see what, he found the silent man waiting in front of his door, knife in hand, standing just like mister knight would if he wanted to protect Benji. It both scared Benji and made him feel safe. He knew he was protected, the silent man was strong, just as his father had been. But Benji had never seen the silent man look so worried, so shaken. It really disturbed Benji, whatever thing that had scared the silent man must be strong, for the silent man was strong, just like Benji knew his dad to be.

Benji looked up at the silent man, the two walking down the main road, his arm wrapped around the silent mans hand, Benji’s other holding his leg with mister knight wrapped the same way. The silent man was slim, he had rough hair and a feisty beard, Benji didn’t really know what that word meant, but it felt like it fitted with his beard.

Benji remembered when he first saw the silent man, he wasn’t impressed. But after staying with him, Benji slowly realized just how cool he was, just like his dad. And talking about dad, Benji sure was surprised when mother had said that the silent man was his dad. Benji, at first, didn’t like the idea, sounding stupid and boring, his dad was supposed to be huge and strong. But with time, Benji realized that the silent man was just that. And Benji found himself not to averse to the idea that the silent man could actually be his dad. He knew better of course, but still. Though his mother seemed very averse to the idea. Telling him multiple times that he was, in fact, not Benji’s dad.

The two had now walked to the village center. The silent man collapsing the second they got within sight, collapsing onto a nearby house. It really surprised Benji, but as the two cooled down, as the silent man kept a strong hand around Benji. Benji felt safe, calm, and his fear slowly ebbed away. Then he slept, a very good sleep.

Waking up by a calm hand, Benji groggily looked up. The silent man was waving at him, doing weird gestures with his arms, typical of him, but this time looking like he wanted to tell Benji something. Benji knew the silent man didn’t speak, Benji thought it pretty cool, but at times, like right now, it was bothersome. The silent man pointed at Benji, then at some distant soldiers. He mimicked speaking with his mouth, then tried to make himself look like a monster. Benji laughed at first, finding the situation a little hilarious. But as the silent man continued with the gestures, and mister knight even started mimicking too. Benji started realizing what they meant, and he felt a lump in his throat starting to form.

Benji felt the lump growing, fear rising, his mind screaming in refusal. No way, no way, no, way. He couldn’t do it. Look at them, look at those soldiers, they look so scary. He can’t do it, it was impossible. Benji hated talking to people, people were always so scary, always so mean. Benji thought to himself while staring down at the ground, feeling both fear and shame at not helping the silent man. Would his dad force him to do something this scary? Benji did not think so, this man could not be his dad, dad would have killed the monster himself, not force Benji to talk to the soldiers.

But Benji was brought out of his musings as something entered his view. It was the ugly, but cute toy. The toy stared up at Benji, one eye bigger than the other, and started gently, caressing Benji’s hand. Benji felt a soft, warm feeling coming from his hand, gently caressing both his body and mind. Then he felt the same from the knight on his other hand, although the knight feeling harder, firmer yet understanding and loyal. The two looking at Benji with heartfelt smiles, their respective runes glowing very dimly, barely enough for Benji to see. But he understood, he understood what they meant, and he felt reassured, neigh, he felt confident. They believed in him; They believed he could do it; They wanted him to do it.

Benji looked up, seeing the silent man looking down expectantly at him. And Benji understood, this was a task meant for him, a task only he could do, he was being trusted with an important mission. And now that Benji thought about it, he had nothing to fear. He had mister knight and the silent man by his side. There was nothing in this world that could harm him with these two neraby, he was safe, protected.

“I’ll do it.”

Benji stammered out, confident in his voice, sounding strong, feeling strong. And as he saw the silent man nodding very quickly, Benji couldn’t help but feel he had done something good, something strong. He felt pride well up; He felt happiness rise up, happy that he made the silent man proud, something he thought only his dad would be able to do.

But as Benji walked towards the soldiers, he found his confidence waver, each step harder than the one before, holding mister knight firmly in his two hands. He had to turn around several times just to make sure the silent man was following. Each time he did, the silent man tried an awkward smile, looking very stupid, but helping Benji calm down, even laugh somewhat.

When they neared, one of the soldiers seemed to notice them, a big man with bright orange hair, almost like flames, looking very scary. But Benji wasn’t scared, he had mister knight holding his hand, smiling brightly at Benji. And he had the silent man-

Where was he? Benji had turned around to find comfort in the silent man, but he wasn’t there. He looked around, desperate, spinning like crazy. His spinning being interrupted as mister knight hit him a few times, gesturing for him to stop. Benji stared down at him, his heart beating twice as fast, thrice as fast. He kept his eyes on mister knight, but his eyes forcefully drawn up by a bassy voice.

“Hey kid, where did you get those toys?”

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Benji looked up at the orange man, his fellow soldiers coming up behind him to see what was going on. Benji felt his breathing grow harder, the orange man looming over him, scarier than any monster. The silent man had abandoned him. Why had he abandoned him? Benji grabbed mister knight harder, pulling him close to his chest, trying to hide himself from the orange man. Mister knight was brave. He pushed his shield in front of Benji and himself, pointing his sword at the orange man. Still not enough to calm Benji, Benji looking around, searching for the silent man.

“You lost maybe? Did you find these somewhere? Did someone give them to you?”

The orange man continued, being closer to Benji than before. Benji turned to the orange man, having to take a step back as his face was right next to him. Benji’s heart beating even faster, his eyes feeling heavy, something pushing against them. Benji knew what it was, knew what it meant. He tried to stop it, push it down, for it meant weakness, it was shameful. But he failed, his mouth frowning awfully big, a deep intake of air hacking his teeth together, sounding like the worst sniffle.

Benji looked away from the orange man, away from the scary man. And suddenly, he saw the silent man. He was standing behind the corner of a nearby building, staring at Benji with worried eyes, his hand placed where his knife was located. Benji blinked, surprised, happy, fearful, delighted. His emotions ending in confusion.

“Is he the one who made your toys?”

The orange man said behind Benji, and Benji saw the silent man freeze at the voice, then spun around and ran away. Benji stared after him, the orange man did too. Taking several seconds for the two of them to react. Eventually, the orange man told some other soldiers to get the silent man, worrying Benji, yet he didn’t feel worried, not much. He wondered why, pondered on it, usually not having to think much on things.

While Benji pondered, the orange man tried to speak with him, words flying past without finding hold in Benji’s mind. He was too deep in thought, mister knight doing his best to protect him from the big orange man. Benji was so deep in thought that he didn’t even notice as he was led away by the orange man, away into a nearby house. The house filled to the brim with soldiers, all saluting the orange man as he passed, casting glances at the scared little kid that actually, at this moment, wasn’t that scared.

Benji thought, why had the silent man left, but not actually left? Why was he hiding behind the corner, and why had he run? It was such a dilemma for Benji, a dilemma worse than that time when the silent man had saved Benji from the monster.

Benji was brought to a small room containing a table, two chairs, and a closed window. The orange man placed Benji in the chair facing the window, Benji finding himself staring out of it, seeing blue skies with dots of white. The orange man sat down, blocking the window and Benji frowned. The orange man saw and slid to the side, leaving a clear view out the window. The man spoke again, this time gentler, quieter, doing his best to reach Benji. Failing as he did so, only managing to talk to the two statues who were guarding Benji. Benji himself thinking while staring out the window.

Day turned to night, light fading away, replaced by dim moonlight, growing stronger as the night continued on. The orange man had given up on Benji, bringing in a blanket and a pillow for him. Yet Benji continued sitting in the chair, staring out the window, thinking being easier now that the orange man wasn’t talking. Slowly coming up with an explanation for everything.

The silent man had waited for me because he was worried about me. The silent man had pushed me to talk with the soldiers to test me. The silent man had protected me during the test, kept an eye on me. The silent man had run because I failed the test. But why did he run? That was the thing that Benji had been stuck on, the thing he had no explanation for. Then it hit him like a punch to the stomach, and he smiled wide, glowing with happiness, the knight and the ugly, yet cute one smiling at Benji’s realization.

The silent man hadn’t left him, not for good. He had just left him to be protected by the soldiers as he went to fight the monster. And the test he had put Benji through was his way of seeing if Benji was strong enough to face the monster with him. But with that last thought, his smile faded, the knight and ugly one moved to comfort him, not knowing his worries, still comforting. Benji had failed the silent man, the strongest man Benji had ever known. It gnawed at his heart; It gnawed at his mind. He felt so much shame, so much hate for himself. Why was he so weak, why was he so scared, why wasn’t his real dad here?

That thought filled him with renewed vigor only a child could gain. For he came to another realization, another obvious conclusion that had been sitting on the top of his tongue for-forever. It was so obvious now that he knew it, now that he realized it, now that he thought about it.

With this renewed vigor, Benji quietly opened the window and snuck out. His two friends on his shoulders, one pointing a sword, the other a hand too big for his body. The trio jogging, no, running towards his home. Yes, his home. Benji knew, he knew that the silent man had gone back, back to kill the stupid monster. He was so strong; He was so brave; He was so cool; That it reminded him about his dad. A dad he knew only from tales giving to him by his mother. Mother speaking about him as this wonderful man, strong in every which way, having left home to go out on a Viking. A Viking being done only by the strongest of men, by the bravest of warriors, by the smartest and coolest of them all. Yes, it was all so obvious to Benji now. He knew not his father, but now he did.

Benji, illuminated only by the grey moon, was home. And just as he had thought, as he had believed nay, known. The silent man stood there, standing with an unknown man to his right. Happiness welled up within Benji upon seeing him. Yes, this man had defied monsters, defied men and protected Benji, even now he was doing it. This man was Benji’s light, his beacon. So he knew, from the depths of his heart, that this man to be-

“Dad!”

His father, the strongest man in the world.

As he screamed for his dad, dad turned towards him, the unknown man turning with him. The two staring at Benji, one lacking a face, the other having a terrified expression. Benji’s smile vanished upon seeing his dad terrified. He hadn’t seen dad this terrified before, why was he-

At the corner of Benji’s eye, he saw something. Turning towards it, a giant monster was standing, running towards him. Benji’s heart stopped, his mind stopped, a singular thought blasting in his brain, telling him to run. But he couldn’t, his feet stuck to the ground. He did the only thing he could think of, the only thing except for dad that had protected him, being a part of dad. Benji pushed his knight forward, the knight pushing his shield forward in a vain attempt to stop the barreling monster. Benji briefly glanced towards his dad and saw that he was too slow, that the monster would get to him first. And Benji realized that he would die.

Then a blinding flash replaced the dim grey light of the moon, cascading everything and everyone in a bright silver light.