SoK - etre keuz ha reuz

More drabbles to show that I'm alive and still writing. See the comment below for explanations, crédits and thanks. Enjoy!

Fractus (Broken)

Cellach stared outside. The wall he had obsessed over so many years had crumbled down, only some parts were still standing, and yet they were broken… just like him. The wind blew but he hardly felt it, his eyes peering over Kells. Everything had either been destroyed or burnt. His vision became blurry as he watched the Church and then the Scriptorium.

“Abbot, please, you must stay in bed.” a gentle voice reminded him.

Cellach blinked and slowly turned to face the person, it was the healer who helped Brother Tang to tend to his wounds. He noticed –and recognized- the little girl with her. The woman gently reached out and wiped a tear on is cheek, he was not even aware he was crying.

“I know it is hard.” she whispered and then she gently led him to his bed. “But please, keep courage. You may not believe it, but we all need and care for you.”

The Abbot did not answer, but he allowed her to tuck him in. He barely noticed the little girl helping her mother and Brother Tang coming in followed by Brother Drystan. His eyes closed tiredly, his whole body aching although it was nothing compared to his inner torments.

He silently prayed for his nephew, for Brother Aidan and all the other monks; Assoua, Jacques, Leonardo, Friederich, Sergei and Square and many more. Tears leaked through his closed eyelids as the memory of Brendan’s sad expression –the last one he had seen- resurfaced.

“Brendan…!” he wept.

Somewhere else in Ireland, a young boy startled awake, his face wet with tears.

“Uncle!” he cried.

Brendan panted, looking right in front of him, his heart pumping in his ears. In vain, he hoped for a moment that uncle Cellach would come and reassure him the way he used to do on the nights he had nightmares, when he was a small child.

But he did not. And Brendan knew perfectly why.

His hands covered his face as he sobbed uncontrollably. His shakings lessened as arms wrapped around him in a tight and warm embrace. Soon, the apprentice clinged to his master, wailing loudly.

Aidan caressed the boy’s back, soothing him while he himself was doing his best not to cry with him.

“Brother Aidan, how did you do it?” Brendan sniffed. “How do you…how do you cope with all these deaths?”

“I did not, lad.” Aidan confessed, caressing the red hair. “At least, not yet. But one day, you will wake up and everything that happened will just be part of your past, part of who you are.”

Pangur Ban slowly made her way to them and squeezed between them, licking some of Brendan’s tears.

“It is especially hard today, Brendan.” the old man added. “But you have the strength to get up and to keep walking forwards, so don’t stay on the ground or waste too much time looking behind. Do you understand?”

Brendan petted the white cat and slowly looked up in his master’s eyes, then he answered:

“I do. And I’ll keep walking forwards.”

Hortus (Garden)

Brendan had always liked working in the gardens, it was his favourite chores; even if he doubted he could call it “chores” today. He liked tending to the plants, and since he was never alone doing it, he could discuss with whoever he was helping –another monk most of times- and he always ended up learning something new, and not necessarily about gardening.

After meeting Aisling, the boy learnt even more about nature and how to take care of the gardens. At first, the Faery did not seem very convinced about his abilities at gardening, but soon, he noticed her smile as he showed her how he did it.

“You are gentle with them.” she beamed.

Brendan grinned in return.

Sometimes, Aisling allowed him to bring some flowers and plants –medicinal or aromatic- so he could replant them in Kells. She explained him how to do it best, and how to grow them. When he went back home, he did it discreetly and if anyone asked him, it was either Brother Tang or Brother Leonardo who went to pick them up. Fortunately, the two monks knew about it, so they would not deny it –even accidently- and his uncle would not know he had sneaked out in the forest again.

One day, after running around following his spirit friend, Brendan noticed some flowers. They seemed familiar so he got closer to them, they were quite pretty. But as he smelled them, his eyes started stinging and he sneezed.

“Oh no! You must be careful with them!” Aisling took him by the shoulders to get him away. “Some humans tend to have allergic reactions… and it seems you are one of that lot!”

Brendan could not answer as he sneezed again, and three times more. The Faery tried to help him as best as she could, but she advised him to go home for today.

When he got back, tears kept streaming down his cheeks and he could not hold any sneeze back. The Illuminator in training sneaked into the Scriptorium, hoping that being inside a building would help, and was greeted by several gasps. Brother Aidan and Brother Pedr rushed to him, asking him if he was alright while the rest of the monks circled him, concerned.

“It’s nothing!” he assured them with a sniff. “I think I am allergic to some flowers!”

They all stared at him unconvinced.

“…Brendan, if there is something wrong, you can tell us. You know that, right?” Pedr stated with a raised eyebrow.

Brendan sneezed in response and almost fell as dizziness overtook him. Aidan and Square were the first to believe him and react, they both helped him to sit on a chair and gave him a handkerchief. It took four other sneezes at a time to convince all of them.

“I think it would be best for you to go to bed.” Aidan flinched at another row of sneezes. “Let’s get you out of here, lad!”

Followed by some other monks, Aidan led him outside. Fresh tears spilled from the poor boy’s eyes as they reached the Round Tower. Brother Square was about to go and look for Brother Tang when they heard:

“What’s going on?”

The Abbot and Tang were walking towards them. Brendan saw his uncle’s expression changing from strictness to astonishment then worry as he laid eyes on him.

“Brendan?! What’s wrong?” Cellach hurried and knelt before him, putting a hand on his shoulder and cupping his face with the other.

Brendan sniffed and tried to wipe his tears with the handkerchief Aidan gave him, but something Brother Tang was holding caught his eyes. He froze an instant and as he realized the monk was coming near him with a bouquet of the cursed flowers, the boy jumped back with an “eek!” and hid behind his uncle.

“No please! Brother Tang, stay away from me with these!!” he pleaded between several sneezes.

The Chinese monk blinked in confusion at first, but he understood quickly and stepped away.

Brendan spent the rest of the day in bed, sneezing like mad. But at least, his eyes stopped stinging after an hour or two.

“Just like your mother.” His uncle muttered with a faint smile as he brought him his dinner.

Brendan smiled back and sneezed again.

Imber (Rain)

“See Fiona?” her grandma Aigneis remarked. “We’ve just said rain would be good for the gardens and…here it is!”

“Yeah, but it could have waited for us to be under a shelter!” grumbled the girl in answer.

“I think I can be hanged with my clothes to dry!” Brother Tang chuckled after recovering from the shock.

The Abbot snorted at their remarks and Bree giggled at her daughter’s grumpy pout, mangling their veils.

The rain had started falling so suddenly! An hour before, the sky was blue -with a sun shining brightly- and then, clouds quickly covered it and it poured before anyone could see it coming. Bree and her mother had been lucky, they had been close to the round tower and thus they were not that wet, and so was Abbot Cellach. Fiona and Brother Tang on the other hand were soaked to the skin!

Well, as sudden as it had been, the rain was most welcome at the moment. The weather had been quite dry, so a “little fall of rain” –as her mother liked to say- would help.

Abbot Cellach led them to his cell and offered them towels and cloaks to dry and warm themselves. The three women were very grateful and thanked him warmly before he went down with towels and clothes for his fellow monk and himself. The healer gave her old mother the warmest cloak and helped Fiona to get out of her drenched clothes. As the girl wrapped herself in a towel, Bree noticed there were smaller clothes in the pile that was given to them. She handed them to her daughter, who did not wait to put them on.

Bree took a red cloak and wrapped it around her. Knowing it belonged to Cellach and smelling his odour on it made her feel strange –she swore she was blushing.

“Look mom!” her daughter chirped as she spun, her hair wilder due to the humidity flowing around her head.

Fiona was going to be eight soon, and she had grown a lot lately. Bree smiled at her, while her mother laughed and helped her fastening the brown cloak. Suddenly, she realized whose clothes had been, and her smile faded a bit.

When they went downstairs, Brother Tang –changed into dry clothes- was standing in front of the fire, preparing a warm beverage for everyone. His usually thin eyes became round with astonishment as he saw what Fiona was wearing. The three women sat by the fire, enjoying the warmth, and the Abbot joined them. Bree glanced at him, he was staring at her daughter. She could read sorrow and regret in his eyes, and she noticed how his hands clenched slightly on his arms.

“Do you like these clothes?” he asked the girl gently –out of the blue.

Brother Tang froze in his movement. Fiona glanced at her mother for support, but said mother had no idea what to answer. Timidly, she nodded.

“Then, you can keep them. I entrust you with them.” he announced pulling the hood of the brown cloak on Fiona’s wild hair. “Take great care of them.”

Her daughter beamed and started bouncing excitedly.

“Thank you!” she exclaimed. “Thank you Abbot! I promise to treasure them!”

With that said, she got up and jumped at Abbot Cellach’s neck, who let out a surprised “oh!” but returned the embrace. The three others watched in tender amusement.

Ningues (Snow)

Square blew on his fingers to warm them before shoving his hands inside his sleeves, protecting them from the cold. His eyes scanned the village and he stopped in his tracks to watch a group of children playing in the snow. He smiled tenderly, finding their games either entertaining or lovely. A little girl he knew well –Holly- was drawing something in the snow with the help of a stick before she was hit by a snowball. The English monk chuckled as a snowball fight started quickly after Holly counter-attacked the boy, then he walked back to the Scriptorium.

The very next day, there was so much snow that it almost reached Square’s knee in some areas. People gathered together around a fire or stayed in their huts, while children ran outside to play despite the cold. Square smiled, remembering how his father had described snow to him as a child, when he had never seen it before, he said it was “a gift from God” to the places where trees lose their leaves, to cover everything dead with beauty and purity.

“Brother Square!”

The man turned around and saw Brendan with three other children, all of them waved at him, inviting him to join them, which he did with a grin.
Soon, they were forming a large group –children and adults- playing in the snow. The most intrepid ones liked to climb as high as they could to slide the whole way down on some board they found. Brendan followed Brother Assoua to do the same, with another boy whom Square had forgotten his name.

“Will you do it with me? Please, Brother Square!!” Holly tucked at his cloak with pleading eyes.

It was hard to say no and it seemed harmless at first, but when he stood on the top of their “hill”, Square started doubting his choice.

“Here we go!” cheered Assoua as he dashed with Brendan on his board.

The boy cried in delight and laughed with the large monk, which relaxed him a bit. He checked if the girl was ready and pushed them forwards. Square felt his stomach tightening at the sensation and tried to focus on Holly’s happy cheers, but it was cut short when the other boy slid too close to them.

“Riley!” the girl called, sounding annoyed. “Stop that!”

The boy just sticked his tongue at her, then the monk felt their board jumping –due to a rock or something- making him loose control of their path and the two boards ended up ramming into one another.

The three of them shrieked and rolled down, Square had barely the time to held Holly close to him while Riley had flew further away. When he recovered, he and the girl were clinging to each other -bewildered and confused- sitting in front of the whole group at the bottom, their hair and clothes covered in snow. A silhouette was in a pile of snow, a bit further at their right, and a muffled voice yelled from it.

“I HATE SNOW!!”

They all laughed.

Philema (Kiss)

“Humans have a strange way to kiss.” Pangur Ban thought as she watched a woman with her child.

She had observed humans and had understood quite a lot about them. She knew that they used their front “paws” to do a lot of things (sometimes with the help of some objects): work, art, hunt, even showing affection; but she could not grasp some things yet, and the way they kissed was one of them.

It was not because they did not use their tongue to do so -she had noticed none used it to wash either- Pangur was more confused about the areas the humans chose to kiss; because they did not kiss some people the same way: she had never seen a human parent kiss their child on the mouth for example. Why did they make a difference? And women seemed more willing to kiss than men, not all of them, but still.

It was a shame Aidan could not actually talk with her, for she was sure he would have been happy to explain it to her. Aisling, who could understand her, was not really able to answer that question and did not seem to care about it. Maybe she was too young or not interested enough in humans… except Brendan?
Brendan would answer her if he could understand the language of cats…

The white cat blinked. Of course! Why didn’t she think about it earlier?

“Pangur Ban would like you to explain her how and why human choose only some parts of the face to kiss.” Aisling translated.

Brendan’s eyes went round and he stared at them in astonishment.

At the end of the day, Pangur was not more enlightened. The boy had only explained things she had figured out on her own and then had been getting confused in his own answer. She could grant that he had a good initiative: he asked Aidan when they got back to the Scriptorium. But even Aidan was confused by the question, and he had raised an eyebrow when the boy insisted it was her who asked.

“What’s the matter with you?” she meowed, annoyed at them. “It cannot be that complicated!”

They only chuckled at her frustration.

“Humans!” she sighed in exasperation and went out.

Proelium (Battle)

“It’s not true!”

“Yes, it is!!”

Sergei sighed, trying to focus on his page, but it was hard when Leonardo and Assoua were having an argument a few feet away. Friederich glanced at them, rolling his eyes as they kept on their childish argument.

“I’m sure they don’t even remember why they started arguing!” the Goth muttered to him.

Sergei nodded with an amused smile and turned as the door of the Scriptorium opened. The Abbot came in, raised an eyebrow at the two Brothers who kept on saying: “No, it’s not!” and “Yes, it is!”. Surprisingly, he didn’t interfere and just walked to him.

“I need a feather, do you have a spare one, please?”

The Russian monk answered in the affirmative and started looking for one when Brother Assoua shouted really loud:

“NO, ABBOT CELLACH IS NOT A NITWIT!!”

Everyone in the Scriptorium gasped and turned around, staring at them.

“Excuse me?! Who said that?!” snapped the Abbot in question.

“He did.” Assoua pointed at the Italian monk, humour in his tone. “He said it was true!”

Brother Leonardo’s face went white and he was completely frozen, unable to retort.

“Now, that is a really low blow!” Sergei thought as he watched the Abbot’s frown deepening.

Some days later, they would all laugh when the event would be retold, but at the moment no one thought that laughing was an option.

Saltatus (Dance)

“Try to follow me!” Aisling giggled.

Brendan tried as best as he could to imitate the Faery’s movement, but she was too fast for him. This amused her for a moment, but she slowed down a bit, taking her time to show him. His moves became less jerky, but they still lacked dynamism.

“More energy!” she commanded. “Put your feet down harder!”

The young monk obeyed, but he was starting to get tired, his legs ached too. Aisling stopped to let him catch his breath and put her hands on her hips.

“Alright. That’s for the Earth movements.” she grinned. “Now let’s start with the water…”

“What?! Are you planning to make me learn the whole dance?” Brendan gasped.

“Hey! You asked me how my people dance!” she pointed out with a sneer. “And it must be dance in group, or at least by two!”

Brendan made a strange noise of discouragement before he let himself fall on the grass.

“Please, Aisling, I spent my whole morning working on the wall and lifting stones!” he whined. “Spare me!”

But when he saw his friend’s disappointed face, he felt guilty.

“…I haven’t danced like this since…” Aisling looked down, holding back tears.

“Forgive me, Aisling!” Brendan got up. “I did not mean to upset you!”

“It’s not your fault.” she wiped her eyes. “I was teasing you too much.”

“I don’t remember dancing much either.” the boy confessed. “If you don’t mind, we can keep dancing… but is there an easier dance?”

Smiling widely, Aisling took his hands and lead a new and much gentle dance.

Sopor (Sleep)

Brendan was a child full of life and energy, he was very active –eager to help- and ran so fast no one could catch him. Sometimes, the monks wondered how it was possible but stopped when they noticed the boy tend to fall asleep now and then –anywhere- during the day. That explained a lot!

The day Brother Assoua told him, Brendan refused to believe him, thinking he was “too old to nap”. But after being shook awake by Brother Square during mass –fortunately, his surprise cry was not heard because of the singing- and waking up covered in mud while gardening, he had to face the truth.

Brother Tang called that “narcolepsy”.

Brendan was very embarrassed, his Uncle often reproached him his lack of focus, and he really didn’t need that! So he tried his best to overcome it. Whenever the boy felt himself dozing off, he pinched himself and opened his eyes wide –forbidding them to close on their own accord- but fighting against sleep was like fighting a lost battle.

Uncle Cellach had just scolded him for being late (again) and was now explaining him another thing about the wall, but he could not understand the words, Brendan was too sleepy. He tried hard to pull himself together, otherwise he would be scolded again. His head sometimes hung, so he had to raise it more than once; his left eye was half-closed while the right on was wide open, his teeth gritting in the effort to stay awake and listen (without understanding) to the explanations or instructions.

“Brendan!”

The young monk jumped and hastily stammered:

“Uh, what? No, I’m not sleeping!!”

His guardian stared at him with wide eyes and a (very) concerned expression.

“…I never said you were.” he pointed out. “I was asking you if you were alright…”

Brendan’s face burnt with shame as he looked down, preparing for a lecture that never came. He was urged to go to bed and rest until dinnertime.

The Abbot kept it for himself that he preferred seeing his nephew sleeping normally; instead of staring at the wall like he did earlier, as if he was trying to invoke some malicious spirit from the drawings.

Tonitrum (Thunder)

It started to rain very hard on Kells, and a low rumble echoed, announcing a thunderstorm. This set Leonardo on edge because he feared thunder. Yet he kept it for himself, somehow ashamed of such a childish fear.

Since he was in the Round tower when the rain fell, he decided to stay where he was until it was calmer; going to the Scriptorium with the parchments under this rain would only ruin them after all. Little Brendan –the future Abbot’s nephew- was with him and invited him to stay in his uncle’s room, next to the warm fire. Had it not been for the child’s sake, Leonardo would not have had the nerve to do such a thing, he had always thought entering a bedroom without its owner’s permission was very rude. But Brendan was only five –going on six; and with the thunderstorm coming, the man felt it was his duty to watch over him while Brother Cellach could not.

In order to distract the boy, Leonardo took a piece of chalk and started drawing with him on a piece of board the child kept in a corner. He noticed that despite his young age, Brendan was really good at it, so he gave him a little lesson, showing him how to beautify the calligraphy and corners of the pages. The child listened carefully to him and imitated his gesture, sticking his tongue out as he focused. Suddenly, a flash illuminated the sky, making them both jump.

“What was that?” Brendan asked, upset that his concentration had been broken.

“Nothing important, boy!” Leonardo laughed nervously. “Just a little lightening, nothing to be afraid of…”

The clap of thunder clashed at that moment, and he lost it. With a terrified cry, Leonardo rushed and hid under the bed. More followed quickly after that, and he started praying frantically.

“Brother Leonardo?” Brendan crouched down to look at him. “Why are you hiding?”

“It’s coming to get me!” he muttered between two prayers, his whole body shaking. “Oh, please God, protect me!”

“…it’s not coming, it’s too far away!” the boy was confused. “Look, we can see it from the window!”

Leonardo ignored him and kept praying.

“And it brings light to the dark sky, it’s so pretty!” Brendan chirped, obviously not sensing his discomfort at all.

“NO IT’S NOT!!” he snapped but cowered as another clap of thunder resonated.

“Are you cold? Here, take Uncle’s blanket!”

Leonardo rolled his eyes at the boy’s obliviousness but took it with a thanks. When he wrapped it around him, he felt slightly reassured.

The monk had no idea how long he stayed there, shaking and jumping each time the thunder stoke –the poor man hit his head in the process once. But from what he heard, the storm was calming down now, cautiously, he peeked out from his hiding spot and glanced at the window. It was still raining and… BOOM!!

“MAMMA MIA!!” he screamed as he returned completely under the bed.

Brendan commented how it had been close this time, and Leonardo had to bite the inside of his cheek not to shout at him. Couldn’t the boy exercise some empathy?!

None of them spoke for a while, only the sound of the rain resonated in the room.

“Make room for me!”

Leonardo blinked in surprise as Brendan joined him, snuggling against him with his piece of board and chalk. The boy pulled a candle close to them, so he could see what he was drawing. Leonardo smiled, he may have judged the child too quickly. It kept raining, but no sound of thunder was heard after that. Yet, the two of them stayed where they were, feeling comfortable and warm. Suddenly, the sound of the door being hastily opened and closed resounded, making them both look up.

“Brendan? Where are you?”

Leonardo tensed whereas Brendan beamed as they both recognized the voice of Brother Cellach.

“I’m up here, Uncle!” the boy called at the top of his lungs, getting out of their hiding spot.

Leonardo flinched when he heard the steps and he got out as fast as he could. He took Brendan by his shoulders and forced him to look at him.

“Brendan, do NOT tell him that we hid under his bed!” he whispered. “Do not tell anyone!! Please!”

“But why?” the boy was confused again.

“Because… I don’t want them to know, please!! Promise me you won’t!”

Brendan did not seem to understand the real reason behind it, but he sensed the man’s distress and promised he would never tell anyone about what happened. Leonardo sighed of relief and soon, Cellach came in. The poor man was soaked to the skin and shivering, but Brendan ran and threw himself at him in joy anyway.

Leonardo feared the boy would goof up and tell, but he did not. When his uncle asked him if he was fine, he had only answered “Yes, I’m not afraid of thunder! And Brother Leonardo was with me!”

“Good boy!” he thought with a grin before his fellow Brother thanked him for watching over his nephew.