Chapter Text
A Rudinn and Hathy were on patrol, farther than even the Field of Hopes and Dreams. They’d passed through an empty town with a castle right at the center, all the way out to a cold, rocky area without a soul in sight. Why they were sent out here, they didn't know for sure. The Spade King had made a muttered comment about “making sure no fishy business was going on,” but it seemed slightly paranoid to send them out this far. Nevertheless, they listened to orders.
They were talking casually to each other when they heard a soft, echoed whimper, almost too quiet to be heard. The Rudinn kept moving, not really hearing it, but the Hathy stopped and listened carefully. Only when the Rudinn realized it was alone did it turn around and stare at the Hathy with shimmering eyes.
“What are you-” it started, but stopped when the Hathy brought a tentacle to its mouth, signaling for quiet. Begrudgingly, it moved back over to the Hathy and stared at it, trying to figure out what on earth it was listening for.
A moment of quiet passed before the soft whimper echoed again, and the Hathy started moving again, looking from side to side as it tried to pinpoint the noise. The Rudinn followed behind, twirling its dagger in its hand. It had heard the sound this time, and remarked quietly, “Do you think this was the “fishy business” the Spade King was talking about?”
“🤷” answered the Hathy, pushing through a mound of white stuff that floated away like dandelion fluff. The Rudinn sneezed as it inhaled a little, wiping at its eyes. “Urgh… could you at least not fling all that around…?” The Hathy smiled cheekily and flicked a little at the Rudinn, much to its displeasure. It sneezed again and scowled through watering eyes, but didn't comment.
They were looking for the source of the soft, occasional whimpers, which proved to be a difficult task- the sounds seemed to be growing less frequent as time went on, as if whoever was making them were growing more tired as time went on. Eventually, though, they found the source.
It was a small child - a Lightner, it looked like - lying motionless on the cold, rocky ground. It couldn't be any older than a year, which was strange to say the least. How had such a young child gotten into this Dark World? The Lightners had left a while ago, so how had this one arrived? Likely not of its own volition. The Rudinn inspected it from a slight distance, while the Hathy cooed and picked up the infant, looking it over like a mother would.
It seemed like some sort of dragonkin. It had bright, almost electric indigo scales and dark, nearly black hair, with stubby brown horns and floppy ears. It was dressed in a dirty, white onesie, with a tail and wings too small to fly with poking out of it. The Rudinn spoke up after a moment of silence. “So… what do we do with it?”
“👧” The Hathy corrected, and continued. “👧➡️👑👑👑👑”
“Hmm, true,” The Rudinn mused. “I guess they would know what to do with her.”
The Hathy barely waited for a response and hurried off, and the Rudinn struggled to keep up. It wasn't sure if the Hathy was concerned for the infant or wanting to get out of the cold, empty area. Judging from the way it held her to its chest protectively, the Rudinn decided it was the former.
At their brisk pace, they left the cold, empty area and the castle town behind rather quickly. The Field of Hopes and Dreams was warmer than the places before, but it was still rather chilly. It was just before winter, and frost dusted the trees from the cold of night. “Wait!” The Rudinn yelled to the Hathy hoarsely, slowing down and panting heavily. “I can’t keep up with you!” The Hathy turned and waited, even if it was impatient and mildly aggressive. Once the Rudinn caught up, they kept going, albeit this time at a much slower pace.
Eventually, they reached the Card Castle, looking around for the Kings. The duo found them in a large yet otherwise empty room, discussing… something. Upon the Rudinn clearing its throat to get the Kings’ attention, they turned and gave them quizzical looks.
“What is it, Rudinn? Have you found anything to report on?” The Diamond King asked, peering at the bundle in the Hathy’s tentacles as the Kings moved closer.
“Er, yes-” it began, but the Club King cut it off, the head with the crown speaking.
“A child. You found… a Lightner child.” He stated plainly, the other Kings doing a double-take at the statement. However, he reached out and took the infant, looking her over more thoroughly than the Hathy had, as if checking for flaws. The Diamond King was surprised, almost shocked, while the other two stayed quiet - The Heart King seemed mildly curious, while the Spade King stared at them quietly, his expression impossible to read.
“What?! How did you find a Lightner all the way out there?!” Diamond screeched, his voice growing slightly more shrill.
“And why did you let it get in such poor condition?” Another one of Clubs’ heads questioned, this one more concerned and sympathetic as he brushed some of its short, fine hair out of the way, revealing a nasty, bleeding wound that must’ve happened in the fall. Another head scowled angrily and opened his mouth to speak, but Diamond talked before him.
“Wait, let’s step back and think. First, what do we do with it? I suppose it would be cruel to leave it like this, especially at such a young age, but we haven't had Lightners here in so long, much less take care of one.”
“Her, Your Majesty.” The Rudinn corrected softly. “And we didn’t let her get like this, we found her like this.” Diamond sighed softly, but nodded.
“Alright then, fine, but what do we do with her?” He repeated, looking over at the other Kings.
Spade gave a soft, annoyed growl. “We can decide that soon, but first, go and get her patched up. A child shouldn’t die at this young age.”
The Rudinn nodded and took the little dragonkin from Clubs, hurrying off down the halls. It was expecting her to be cold and slimy like the few reptiles it’d seen, but the onesie she was wearing was soft, and she was warm and squishy in its arms. Continuing down the halls to the medical room, it tapped on the door with its dagger.
Seam answered the door with a tired smile, leaning on it slightly. The Rudinn faintly recalled them being assigned to clean out and tidy up here since the Card Kingdom was very short-handed as of now, but didn't comment or care about it. “Yes? What can I do for you?”
“Could you take care of this child’s wounds? She, uh… got hurt. Kings’ orders.” The Rudinn answered, holding out the little dragonkin, who was still bleeding from the wound on her head. Seam drew in a hiss of air and took the infant, nodding slightly.
“‘Course, I understand.” Turning around and shutting the door, Jevil looked up at Seam from where he was sorting through a drawer filled with medicine.
“Who were you talking to?” He asked, standing up, then took notice of the wounded child in Seam’s arms. “Oh, what’s that?”
“A Lightner’s offspring, it seems.” Seam laid her down on a counter and sorted through another drawer. Jevil climbed up onto the counter and looked down at her, sitting down and pulling his legs up to his chest.
“Ooo, dragon.” He watched as Seam found what they were looking for and started cleaning off her wound, his tail flicking slowly as he spoke. “Why’s there a Lightner kid here?”
Seam shrugged. “It’s not my job to question the Kings’ orders.” The dragonkin whimpered softly upon the stinging feeling of cleaning the wound, but was otherwise unresponsive. They frowned down at her, brows creasing in concern, but didn't comment.
“Hmm. Do ya think she has a name, Seam?” Jevil asked cheerfully.
They were quiet, looking her over and brushing their fingers over the sleeve of her onesie. “...there’s a name stitched into here.”
“What’s it say?” He leaned in a little to try and read it, but Seam read it out for him.
“Adalinda.”
“Oh.”
Seam finished cleaning her wound and started bandaging it quietly. The two didn't speak for a while, but when Seam was done, Jevil looked up at them.
“I never knew little kids looked so weird.”
Seam snorted in amusement. “What?! You can’t say that, Jevil!” They picked up Adalinda and sat down on the counter with Jevil, leaning back against the wall.
“Yeah I can! I can do anything!” He giggled mischievously.
“Oh?” Seam raised a brow. “You can do anything, you say?”
He nodded. “Yep!”
“Hmm. Then why don’t you tidy that mess you left in the medicine drawer?”
Jevil visibly wilted, drooping unhappily. “...Never mind, I can’t do anything.” Seam gave a bark of laughter.
“Make up your mind!” They teased, earning a glare from him. “Ha ha ha…”
“Not funny.” He snapped, although there was no real anger behind his words. After a moment of quiet contemplation, he spoke up again. “Do you think the Kings are gonna let her stay here?”
“...”
“...Seam?”
“...Maybe. Maybe not. You should ask the Kings that. For now, she rests and heals.”