A Collection for Reminiscence | Fire Emblem

Outlier - FE16

If there was any one thing that young Khalid didn't understand, it was why he couldn't just have a friend.

*:･ﾟ✧*

"There we go," Khalid mutters, having finally finished wrapping a bandage around his bleeding leg. "That should do the trick for now." An exhausted sigh soon follows, and he looks to the sky, head resting on the brick wall behind him. Until I get beaten up again, that is. Hah.

"Oi! There you are, Khalid, my boy. I was looking for you!" comes a boisterous voice, interrupting his thoughts. Khalid gives a half-hearted smile as he watches Nader practically leap off his mount and plop himself on the dirt beside him with the usual goofy grin. It only takes a second for Nader to notice that the kid's usual attitude is missing, though-and with that, the smile fades and his eyebrows furrow. The red-and-purple bruise on Khalid's cheek didn't help matters either. "You get into another fight or something?"

"Yeah, I did." Khalid lowers his gaze to the ground as an entirely-too-familiar sense of guilt washes over him. "...Sorry."

"Nah, don't say that." Nader sighs. "It should be them that apologize, treating you the way they do."

"I... I just don't understand why they're so mean to me," Khalid murmurs back, the mixture of both bitterness and held-back tears all too noticeable in his voice despite his best efforts. He stops a moment to glance back at his shaky, scraped hands. "It's not like I've done something wrong."

Nader shakes his head. "'Course you haven't kiddo." A sturdy and friendly pat on the young boy's knee, followed by a hearty chuckle. "Now! You got anything else that needs patchin' up there, or are you good to go for our daily archery training session?"

Silence. "...Kid?"

"I..." Grabbing at his tunic, silent teardrops start to well up in the corner of Khalid's forest-green eyes-teardrops that then turn into a steady stream down his cheeks as he breaks down.

"Aww, c'mon kid. Don't cry," Nader says, ruffling the boy's hair in a poor attempt to comfort him. "I hate when you cry."

"...I'm sorry. It's just that it's...it's so stupid," he manages to choke out between sobs, knuckles turning white as his desperate hold on his tunic tightens. "No matter what I do, they always-it won't stop! It won't! And all I want is...!" There's a pause as he pieces himself back together again. Deep breaths. "All I want is... I just... want a friend. Someone who won't treat me like I'm lower than dirt."

"What, am I not good enough for you?"

"Hey, wait a minute, that's not what I-"

"I'm teasing!" Nader smiles, poking Khalid in the ribs. "I know what you meant, kiddo. You want a friend your age, right? Well, maybe someday-just know I'm going to make sure they're as clever and good a person as you are when that day comes, got it?"

The young boy laughs and wipes the tears from his face. "Yeah, okay Nader. Got it."

"Aha! There's the Khalid I know!"