Blood from Stone [AU]

[Carver Amell]

There were downsides to living in the city. Most of them, Carver thought he'd prepared Jass for: crowded streets, lack of plants, reduced animal life, the smell of too many people in too close proximity, lack of hunting grounds. But he hadn't prepared him for poverty. 

Poverty in a village was often widespread, though admittedly more so in Golden Shores than in Raplin's Oak. But poverty in Golden Shores often meant having a home that was falling apart but which was fully owned by you, no debt to anyone. Poverty meant crop failures, having to eat seed crop, having to sell land that had been in your family for decades. Poverty meant mending dresses over instead of making new, meant accepting food from your neighbors with a pinched-lip smile of gratitude tempered by shame. Poverty meant having whispers spread about you around town: bastard boy, fatherless, son of a washer-woman. 

Poverty in a city meant living on the streets, seeking shelter from the rain in any overhang you can find. It means hiding from the guard who legally must remove you from certain high-demand prospects if they see you. It means stealing crates to make a shelter, begging for coin and being ignored or kicked. And it means drugs. 

Carver knew where the worst of the poverty was, knew instinctively to steer around it. But he didn't expect his favorite back-alley shortcut to be playing host to a dead body -- nor did he expect his first weary thought to be a sighed, "again?"

[Jassinth]

This can't continue much longer. I need to talk to him about... about... well, us. I do not care about- What in Raplin's name? Jass moves quickly, training kicking in, as he moves towards the body with his shortsword already drawn. It's an Oaken ranger's duty to help the lost and hurt in the wilds near the town, but there are those that would use that duty to trick and trap. So. Help, but with wariness. Above them, his eagle companion curves around so he can get a better view of the area around the alley, prompted by a tug from his human partner's unusually strong bond to look for anyone fleeing or skulking away.

[Carver Amell]

"Dead," he grunts, crouching to sniff near the body. "Dead a while," he amends, wrinkling his nose as he pulls his head back a little. "A druggie. Come on, let's go tell the Guard so they can clear out the corpse." 

[Jassinth]

"...a... what?" Jass asks, baffled. "A... drug refugee?""

[Carver Amell]

"Uh." He blinks. "An addict, a druggie. Uh, someone who's more drug than man. Or, uh, goblin merikos, in this case."

[Jassinth]

"Like a fungal infection?" the merikos drow asks, jumping back with some alarm.

[Carver Amell]

"What? No. Poetically! Not... There's nothing left that can hurt you, Jass, not in a case like this. He's just some worthless druggie too dumb to get clean before it killed him. That's all."

[Jassinth]

"Why didn't someone treat him?" the villager asks with a soft, almost fragile tone. "Why didn't someone help?"

[Carver Amell]

"They do. All you have to do is show up to the temple and ask, and they'll heal you, put you back to rights. Some people are just too stupid or proud, I guess." He shrugs. 

[Jassinth]

"But... if he was this... sick, then he shouldn't..." Jassinth shakes his head, shuddering a little. Carver has about a second of warning before Arthur flares his wings as he comes out of a dive. The ranger, however, had clearly known he was coming, as he reaches out to cradle the massive bird. Eagles aren't known for cuddling or giving comfort, but the magic of a nature bond is, well, magic.

[Carver Amell]

"H-hey, Jass, hey, it's, it's okay. Don't worry about it. Some people just.. aren't able to be helped. Aren't worth helping."

[Jassinth]

"..." Jass slowly looks up, eyes hard but shimmering with barely controlled tears. "And what measures that?" he asks in a low, almost dangerous tone. "Wealth? Skin color? Species?"

[Carver Amell]

"Why would you--" He growls in frustration. "Fine. Think the absolute worst of me. Everyone always does. In the meantime, I'm going to get the Guard to handle the body before someone tries to reanimate it. At least then he'll get a burial and his loved ones will be notified. Because whatever you think of me, I'm not some flaming racist." That said, he turns to head back out to the main road.

[Jassinth]

"You didn't even care," Jass calls after him. "When you saw the body, you said 'again.' As if it was... an annoyance. An inconvenience to you. Someone was dead and you were just... irritated."

[Carver Amell]

He turns, narrowing his eyes. "Do you know how many druggies there are in this city? How many the temple cleans up every day who slide right back in? How many come pushing their rot on my friends, all the time? Fuck him. If he doesn't have the strength of will, the courage, to ask for free help, then fuck him."