My Child

Visions and Blood

~Signless POV~

I wake the next evening still holding Equius. This is becoming a regular occurrence. He seems to be sleeping peacefully for once. I hate to have to wake him, but we still have a long way to go before we reach our destination. We're close to our next ally. I can feel it.

My dreams are getting more and more vivid. I can almost see the next face in line. The face of my next follower. First was Dolorosa, my Guardian. Then I saw Disciple, my Moirail and devout follower. She has been by my side for half my life. She has recorded all of my sermons throughout our journey across Alternia. Equius was a surprise, I never saw him in my dreams. The next face is still a little blurry, but I know that he's a member of the lowest class and he needs help. I need to help him.

"It's time to get up, children," Dolorosa states in her song-like tone of voice. I didn't realize that I had fallen back to sleep.

I smile up at her, saying, "Okay." Damn, I even sound tired.

"Please tell me you got at least half a day's rest," she says, brushing my bangs out of my face.

"More like a quarter," I reply, rubbing sleep from my eyes. "Equius," I gently shake his shoulder, "time to get up." He groans in protest and buries his face in my chest. I try my hardest not to laugh. He's only a sweep younger than me, but I was forced to grow up so much faster than him. I miss the days when I could outright refuse to get up in the evening and just sleep until midnight. Unfortunately, that isn't an option for either of us anymore.

"I remember when you were that stubborn in the evening," Dolorosa giggles.

I laugh, "Are you suggesting I'm not stubborn anymore?" By now Equius is sitting up and looking down at us, holding back tears. My smile fades and Dolorosa stops laughing. "What's wrong?"

"I miss them," Equius states, just above a whisper. I sit up and wrap my arms around him as the tears escape. "I miss Aradia and Nepeta. Karkat. Sollux. Kanaya. I even miss Eridan."

I catch the sympathetic look in Dolorosa's eyes. There's nothing I can say to help him. We've been through this so many times already. Nothing helps and I hate it. I can't stand not being able to help him. I can't stand that all I can do is just let him cry it out.

And normally I would let him cry it out. But we apparently don't have time for that.

Disciple throws open the flap at the front of me and Equius's tent. "We've got company en route from the forest," she says, panic in her voice.

"Stay here," I tell him. Without his glasses, the fear in his eyes is clear. I rise to leave and make sure our visitors aren't hostile.

But, before I can exit the tent, Equius grabs my arm. "Please don't go," he whispers.

I look to the exit, then back to him. I grab my hood at hand it to him. "Put this on." He dawns the hood and looks back up at me, awaiting further instruction. His irises are still mostly grey but the indigo near his pupils is unmistakable and could get all of us killed. "Keep your head down and stay behind me. Okay?"

"O-okay," he stutters, still obviously terrified.

We exit the tent just as a small group of teal and cerulean bloods make their way past the tree line only a few yards from our small camp. I can smell the alcohol on them and blood on their weapons from here. I step in front of Equius, putting my arm out slightly to keep him behind me. I may not have seen this child in my dreams, but I'll be damned if I let him get hurt.

"Check it out, boys," a small cerulean-blood laughs, obviously drunk. "A camp full of low-bloods!"

"We don't want any trouble," I say putting my right hand up in a show of good faith. "We are just passing through."

They laugh again. "Only one hand?" a teal blood says. "Think you're too good for us to raise BOTH hands in surrender?"

Equius looks around me at our guests. I manage to bring my eyes up from my young companion to meet those of the largest of the group. His eyes show a blue almost as bright as Equius's blood, but still a dull cerulean. He's stalking towards us with a machete dripping with green, yellow, and brown blood. My left hand finds Equius's wrist when I see the blood. These trolls have been on a killing spree. Equius's eyes may show some blue now but they're still grey enough for him to be mistaken for a low-blood.

"We don't want any trouble," I repeat as this blue blood gets closer. He stops inches away from me. He raises his blade to my throat. I don't even flinch. This isn't the first time I've had a weapon beg for my blood. "Do you really wish to spill my blood with a child as a witness? Or are you too drunk to care?"

"I don't give a fuck about a filthy low blood child!" He shouts in my face. Equius reaches up and grips the blade tight enough to draw blood before I can stop him.

"I bleed indigo and you are threatening my guardian," he growls. I glance down at him in time to see him remove the cloak, I specifically told him to keep on, revealing his sign, Sagittarius. His sign is one of the Zodiac signs. A high social rank is his birth right, even among his fellow indigo bloods.

The older blue bloods back away as he steps out from behind me. A bow appears in his hand and a full quiver on his hip. He notches an arrow and draws it back, maintaining eye contact with the largest of the drunk party.

"Run," he states emotionlessly, aiming for the big guy's heart. And that's exactly what they do.

~Author's Note~

Thank you SO MUCH for reading my story! Notice how I made good on my promise of an update? Here it is. This is the update. A week later, like I said. The picture is another one of mine, too. Stay tuned for more my diamonds.