Work Text:
Abolish left the most recent town he'd traveled through with several bruises and a sizable cut on his arm, but miraculously, he was alive. There was really no telling how he'd survived getting caught stealing, and it was even more baffling that he hadn't been caught - but who was he to question his luck? It was the first time in weeks that something good had happened to him and he sure wasn't going to waste time dwelling on the likelihood of it all.
On one hand, he was incredibly grateful and felt more energized than he had in months. On the other, when he finally got out of the town and knew he was safe from anyone still upset at him, he collapsed under a tree and weakly held his bag to his chest with trembling arms, because gods was he exhausted.
The sun was slowly dipping below the horizon and he'd need to sleep soon, preferably without getting mauled by wild animals while he was defenseless, but he could only lay there and pant with all the food he'd stolen clutched tight against him like it'd disappear if he didn't hold on enough. This had been the most stressful day of his entire life and he wanted to pass out right there, although at the same time he also wanted to eat all the food he had until his stomach ached from it.
Instead, he did neither of those things. He gave a silent prayer to Hermes in thanks for the luck in stealing, settling into the tall grass with a heavy sigh. Around him, bugs were beginning to make noise, chirping to signal that it was almost night already. To think that just twelve hours ago he'd been waking up in an alleyway, having no clue what the day would bring him.
The fight had been a blur to him, although it really hadn't been much of a fight. He'd snuck into the back of a store and tossed all the food he could grab into his bag until the owner had eventually noticed him, and then bolted out the door, panicking as several people much taller and bigger and faster than him chased him down. There had been a number of objects thrown at him, at one point he was tackled until he clocked the guy in the face and escaped.
He still wasn't exactly sure how he'd gotten out. At some point, he'd weaved his way through enough buildings that the group couldn't seem to find him, or maybe they'd decided it wasn't worth it and given up. Regardless, there was absolutely no way it was safe for him to stay there, so he'd slipped out of town - onto the next city, once he ran out of food again.
There had been a few times he'd considered hunting, a couple days where he'd even tried it. But he had no idea what he was doing and could barely find any animals, much less kill them. And even then, if he did manage to catch a deer or something, he admittedly had no clue how to prepare it. There wasn't anyone he could go to for advice, either.
Slowly, his eyes fluttered open again, only to find that the sun had fully set now. The whole world was cast in darkness and the sky, gods, the sky. His eyes widened as he stared up at the millions of stars, scattered across the sky like someone had dumped tiny shards of glass all over it, more gorgeous than anything he'd ever seen in his life. He'd looked up at the night sky plenty of times before, but something was… different about it, this time.
He pushed himself up and allowed his bag of food to fall into his lap. As he dug around for something to eat, his gaze strayed over to the moon. Full and glowing, it'd already crested over the horizon, surrounded by tons and tons of glittering stars. He had always wondered the same thing he was thinking right then - was he meant to pray to Artemis for protection, or Apollo? If it went by how he felt, then it'd be Apollo, but if it was based on how he was born… Well, maybe that was why he'd been cast out, with no one there to care for him or keep him safe.
With a piece of bread halfway lifted to his mouth, he paused. He was alone. Completely and utterly alone, with no one around to see him, outside of any city. No one worrying about where he was or waiting for him to come home. He did not have a home, after all. Not anymore, not after he'd been exiled from Sparta, left to die on the streets or out in the wilderness rather than by another's hand in training.
He wondered if his parents had thought they were being merciful when they'd kicked him out, leaving him with nothing to defend himself and no food to eat. Did they think this was better than learning to fight? Was he so weak that they thought he had a better chance out here somehow? No matter how much he'd cried and wailed and begged for them to take him back, he was here nonetheless, and there was no one to gaze down and pretend they didn't care as a couple tears slipped down his cheeks.
Blinking the blurriness out of his eyes, he looked back up at the sky. He could only wonder if this was it. This was what he would do for the rest of his life, until eventually he'd make some slip up that would lead to a blade getting planted in his chest - or perhaps he'd figure a way out of this somehow. Get lucky and find a job, find someone, anyone to reach out and hold his face and tell him that they cared.
But he'd been alone for the past three years, and he had an awful feeling in his gut that told him he would be alone for a whole lot longer. Taking a bite of bread, though, it tasted nice, easing a little bit of pain in his chest, and he told himself that he'd find someone who cared, who would reciprocate his care, one day. He had to.