The Baker's Assistant (closed)

[heartofcourage]

"Leon." Kayla called after him, her heart breaking for her brother as he explains why he was so upset over the whole situation. "Leon, you can't go."

She followed after him, snagging his large wrist in her slender hand. Her blue eyes showed her concern as he tugged him to a stop.

"You know our family would never turn you away." She said softly. "Don't turn away from us. We love you and that will never stop."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm not taking tha' risk..." he grunted, gently prying her fingers away. "I love you all too, but... fer Dazu's sake at least, jus' let it go. I know what love means t'you, but I won't let it mean tha' much t'me if I can help it. Now I'm goin' home..." He took his cloak and headed out, the wind kicking up and swirling the snow around his ankles as he trudged back toward his small home with a heavy heart and step.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla stood in the doorway of her home, watching as her brother stalked away. He was a lonely figure in the snow, her heart aching so much for him. Gently, she closed the door behind him, crying for him as she packed up the left over food before she slipped into bed. It was night's like this that she missed companionship and something so simple as being held in a pair of strong arms.

The next morning, she was at the bake house early. The food from the night before was on the counter waiting for Aleister. She alternated between anger and sadness, tears on her cheeks one moment and curses on her lips the next.

 

[KieranSoares]

Aleister came from his usual morning supply run to find Kayla in a moment of tears. He hung up his cloak as she passed by and he followed her into the bake house where he caught her arms and drew her into a warm embrace. "Hey, now..." He whispered. "Wha's wrong, lass?" He looked down at her tearstained cheeks with with utmost concern. "Somethin' 'appen?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"My stubborn brother happened." She sniffled, her cheek pressed tightly to his soft tunic. "My stubborn, pig headed, idiot brother."

She had never felt more angry at Leon in her life. It was best if he just let him be lonely, but he was so stubborn that he would die alone if no one helped. It didn't help that she was pregnant with the child of her lost love. Her emotions were stretched thin and all she wanted was a chance to help Leon find happiness.

"I hate him so much sometimes." She admitted to Aleister, knowing that her secret was safe with him. "And he deserves everything that comes his way, but dammit, I can't just let him wallow in pity."

 

[KieranSoares]

"What 'appened?" He asked quietly, sitting her down beside the front counter. He couldn't imagine what might've driven such a rift between the two seeing as they were so close. He also wasn't terribly thrilled about it either- Leon making Kayla cry.

 

[heartofcourage]

"He's fallen in love, but he's too stubborn to admit it. I told him that it isn't worth keeping your feelings too yourself. You have to let the other person know before it's too late so that you can enjoy your time together." Kayla said, her face turning into a mask of slow burning fury. "And then he got upset and told me that he couldn't. It wasn't worth putting Dazu in danger..."

Kayla's blue eyes shot open wide as she looked up at Aleister, her hands covering her mouth as she let that secret slip. She hadn't meant to. It just kind of came out. That anger that had been on her face was replaced by fear and then by intense sorrow as she started to sob in earnest. Now her brother really would hate her forever.

 

[KieranSoares]

Surprise was a given, but Aleister was more concerned with Kayla's grief at the slip-up. "No need fer tears, lass," he murmured as he wrapped her up in another comforting embrace. "His secret's safe with me. I'm no' someone tha' minds tha' kinda thing. But I understand why 'e's actin' tha' way, then."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You aren't suppose to know. I'm shouldn't have said anything." She was blubbering on, crying against Aleister's shirt that smelt like the bake house. "No wonder he didn't want to tell me."

Kayla hadnt felt this helpless since she had lost Gail. That wound was still fresh and raw, festering as her tears finally dissolved into hiccups that were sharp in her chest. She felt miserable, the baby squirming unhappily in her belly at the harsh actions.

 

[KieranSoares]

Aleister pulled a clean kerchief from his apron, wiping her tears away. He then scooped her up from the stool and carried her upstairs to his small den where he set her down in the old, comfortable and worn-out chair. He got the fire going in the hearth and put a kettle on, all without a word. He left her only a moment to go downstairs to take the bread and rolls out of the ovens. He returned shortly to make tea for her and sit down at her side. "Take it easy today, Kayla... oughta be a bit slower'n usual."

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla sniffled as Aleister cleaned her face with his soft cloth. She was a pitiful sight with her swollen eyes and her puffy cheeks. She hated crying in front of others, but somehow she felt safe doing it in front of Aleister. He didn't judge her at all.

She let out a soft gasp as he scooped her up in his arms and carried her upstairs. It was the one place that she had never been at the bakery. It was his private domain, his alone and she felt like an intruder as he placed her in a worn chair and got the fire going next to her.

She suddenly felt so impossibly tired and worn as he put a kettle on and hurried back downstairs to pull out the bread and rolls before they burned. She was still sitting there when he came back to make tea, placing the cup between her fingers as he talked about taking it easy that day. Work was the furthest thing from her mind. She felt absolutely shattered.

"Aleister?" She asked him, looking up at him with those bright blue eyes that seemed so impossibly large for her face. "Would you...hold me?"

That was what she missed the most. Gale would hold her so tightly in his strong arms, making her feel safe and wanted. There was no one around to do that any longer.

 

[KieranSoares]

Aleister paused as he met her gaze, having never expected to hear anything of that sort. But he didn't even have to think about it. He took the tea once more and set it aside before he scooped her up once more and sat down in the chair so she could sit on his lap. His broad arms wrapped her up in their protective circle, bringing her to lean against his chest before he deposited her cup back in her hands.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla rested her head against his chest with a sigh. Closing her eyes as the mug of tea was pressed back into her hands, she tried to imagine that he was Gale.

"This is what I missed the most." She whispered softly, tears still on her lashes as she failed miserably to make this feel like those lost moments.

His arms were wrong. He smelled of bread and firewood. His chest was harder. His shirt not made of the same fine fabric. It all just made her heart ache in the worst way.

 

[KieranSoares]

Aleister let the silence stretch for a long while before he finally sighed quietly, "I'm sorry I'm no' Gale..." It was a genuine sentiment. From the first moment he'd heard she'd lost her love, he'd only wished she could have that love back. As time went on, he'd even begun to wish he could be what she missed so dearly, if only for her sake.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla felt shame well deep inside of her when he said those words. She was wishing for a dead man to come back to life and there was a man right there giving her what she asked for. Perhaps that was why Leon had been so upset with her the night before. They couldn't always have what they wanted. Her eyes slowly opened and she sheepishly looked at Aleister.

"You're a good man, Aleister." She said softly. "And I wish I knew what I wanted."

She was quiet for a long moment as the tears started yet again. She could blame it on her pregnancy, but really she was just starting to mourn. It had been held back behind a wall that she refused to let down. She was so afraid of letting Gale go that she kept it all buried inside her heart, hidden away from the rest of the world. He knew though. He could see right through her.

 

[KieranSoares]

Aleister leaned back in his chair, still cradling her close. "Ye'll know what y'want one day soon... y'jus' need t'give it a while t'show itself an' let yerself heal. Don' rush it."

Aleister kept the bakery closed that day, instead tending to Kayla and getting a few things done that he normally wouldn't have time for while she rested. Around noon, he took her home and made sure she was settled in before he considered heading back home. "Y'need anythin' done? Anythin' picked up?" He asked Kayla quietly as he set her up in her chair beside her hearth.

 

[heartofcourage]

She felt like such a child as he took care of her. It had been a long time since someone had doted on her and made sure that she had everything that she needed to take care of herself. She had fought so hard to be independent from her family, working to make her own money, buying what she needed to care for her child. It had all taken a toll on her and the fight with her brother had sent her over the edge.

"Maybe dinner from the tavern?" She asked him, still in a state of shock. "And a good stiff drink."

 

[KieranSoares]

"No drinkin' fer you, lass," Aleister shook his head. "I'll be back soon." He headed for the door once more, but not long after he'd gone, there was a gentle knock on the front door. Surely it couldn't be anyone she really knew as all the people she was close with would think she was at the bakery.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla let out a long sigh as a knock sounded at the door. She stood from her seat, pulling her blanket around her shoulders and made her way to the door. She had no idea who it could have been, but she opened it just the same.

 

[KieranSoares]

Before her in a thick cloak as dark as his fur stood the white-tattooed black werelion Dazu, his soft amber eyes looking troubled and his expression rather forlorn. As the door open, he looked up and offered her a smile. "Aalai, micha." His Erygonian was lovely and flowing. "Ambu Dazu Ti'iraam. You are Kayla? Dazu... needs help." He struggled to find the words, his English very broken as he hadn't had a proper English teacher yet, but better since coming to live in Inverness after Julia and Ruben freed him.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla was stunned that the object of her brother's affections was standing right there on her doorstep. She glanced around the doorjamb, trying to see if perhaps Leon were anywhere nearby. It was foolish to think about, she thought to herself as she glanced towards the werelion one more time.

"Of course." She said softly, stepping aside so that he could come inside her warm little home. "What can I help you with, Dazu?"

She moved towards her hearth, pulling up another chair close to the fire. She motioned for him to have a seat as she sat down in her chair again with a little sigh of relief.

 

[KieranSoares]

Dazu quietly sat down across from her after hanging up his cloak. It took him a while to figure out how to say what he wanted to tell her. "Leon..." he murmured, and the heartbreak was clear in his eyes. "I love him... but he push away, scared..." He knew Leon loved him in return, but was too afraid of what the world would hold for them if they pursued said love. "Was not afraid before... but bad people, they hurt him and me. Then he said there is no love... not love me, say I not love him, only get hurt. I... don't understand." His heart was shredded, that much was certain.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Bad people?" Kayla asked, looking at him with a curious frown. "What bad people? Who tried to hurt you?"

As far as she knew, Inverness was safe for anyone. It didn't matter who they loved or who they were. Her uncle had made sure that it was a place where anyone could live without fear. If there were people within the walls of Inverness or the were village, her uncle needed to know immediately.

"Dazu, I know he adores you. He's afraid though. Leon...has a difficult personality. He tries so hard to act like he doesn't care, but I know he does. Deep down inside, he cares more than he'll ever tell you." She told the man sitting across from her, wishing Aleister were here. He could at least talk to Dazu and the language barrier would not get in the way.

 

[KieranSoares]

Dazu sighed, looking down at the floor. "No matter if he cares, if he pulls away. The people who hurt us... Inverness people and new people... all hunters. Hate Erygonians for war, hate werefolk for... for being werefolk." He brushed back a bit of his short mane, showing her a nasty scar behind his ear that was probably from some awful blunt strike. "Leon fight... Dazu not. Not want to fight anymore, hurt badly..."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I can talk to him for you." Kayla offered not knowing just how her brother would take her talking to him when things were so strained. "I can help him to see that you are worth his time. I know how hard it is to be pushed away when all you want to do is help. Leon is so new to all of this. You just have to be patient and wait for him to understand."