Judar — Detox
PAIRING: Judar/Reader | Judal/Reader
WORD COUNT: 2.1k
TYPE: Angst, A bit of fluff, Hurt/Very Questionable Comfort
WARNING(S): Anorexia/Restrictive eating disorder depicted
After shaking violently, your leg gives out under you just when you make it down the stairs. You feel yourself stumbling into someone, shoulder brushing with theirs, though when you turn, you see it's Judar. He's floating around you with a bored expression on his face.
"Sorry, High Priest. I'll be more careful next time," you say, hoping that's enough to appease him. You're not in the mood for his games.
Judar picks his ear with his pinky before flicking away whatever dirt he dug out of there, which is something he does often, and you find it hard not to scold him for his bad manners. Or maybe it's not that you care about bad manners so much so as you find the gesture revolting.
You take his silence as a sign you should go on your way, though the moment you step away from him, Judar deems it fit to be conversational. "Hey, you look like shit."
Your eyes droop and you're about to doze off, so you take a while to process what he said. When you do, you scowl at him. "Thanks. Is that all?"
"Where are you going? The Second Acne-prone Prince said something about expecting you for dinner."
"Don't call 'Mei that," you say, slapping him on the back of his neck. He seems unamused by your overreaction, but you had expected him to berate you or at least laugh at you for being pitiful. "I'm not feeling well, so I'm going back to my quarters."
Judar responds with a non-committal grunt and you figure that should be the end of this exchange. Even if things are never this easy with him.
The distance to your room used to be almost negligible, but now it's like you've been walking forever. You yawn again and regret not bringing a robe or anything warmer when you went out to tend to the garden as you feel shivers run down your spine.
With a trembling hand, you twist the doorknob open and enter. You're about to close after yourself and take a nap, but something wedges itself in between.
Confused, you stumble further into the room while Judar forces his way in. His movements are so nonchalant, you almost forgot you didn't invite him to join you.
You cover your mouth to stifle another yawn and sit at the edge of your bed as your legs are too unreliable to keep carrying your weight. "Weren't you going to dinner?"
"Maybe," he says with a shrug. "Why aren't you going?"
"I just told you I don't feel good, so I wanna sleep."
"Are you dumb?"
You were about to lie down, but your body tenses while you examine him with a frown. He doesn't show he's saying this in jest, so you're more inclined to take it personally. "What?" you ask with an edge to your tone.
"Are you dumb?" Judar reprises. "You obviously don't feel good because you haven't been eating well. You're a moron if you think you’re gonna fix that by skipping dinner."
You freeze. He... noticed? He's so heedless he can barely pay attention to someone talking to him for five minutes without zoning out, but he caught onto this? On impulse, you point at the door. "High Priest, you need to leave."
"Huh?"
"I want to sleep." As if this is a statement which needs to be supported by evidence, you grab the nearest robe, slip it on, and curl into yourself under a blanket. After you close your eyes, noting that he's still here, you say, "You're interrupting me, so could you please leave?"
"What? No!" Judar denies almost childishly, places his hands on his hips and stomps his foot to show you just how much he will not leave. At first he thought you were being a dumbass — which is a trait he expects from everyone around him — but now some gears turn in his head. "Are you doing it on purpose?"
You fake a snore and roll over.
Judar hovers over you and you can feel his looming shadow, though you opt to feign ignorance to his very existence. When he pulls you by the ear, you let out a hiss of pain and surprise. You try to shake him off, but when you fail, he lets you go of his own accord.
"What's with you?!"
"You're not the actor you think you are, I hope you know that," he tells you with narrowed eyes.
"Why would I do that on purpose? I just feel sick, that's all!"
"Let's go to dinner then," Judar insists, wrapping his hands around your forearm and pulling you up.
You struggle against him, but it's a feeble attempt — Judar drags you along with him without exerting much effort. Then you blurt out the first excuse which comes to mind. Your arm still burns where he clutched you with too strong of a grip.
"No! I'm... cold. I'll get sick if I go." You barely spat out the poorly thought-out words before you burst into tears. Your shoulders shake and you make this ugly expression, biting on your lips, though you fail in suppressing your wailing.
Judar considers you with disdain as if your personal affairs are a slight against him. After a while of perhaps pointless chin-scratching, he says, "Fine, be this way."
He pushes you back onto your bed and again you get the impression he has herculean strength, though maybe you're too frail to stand up to him right now. Through the lapses in memory and the haze of your mind, you'd forgotten Judar is rather weak.
"D'you want attention? You think I'm gonna beg you or something?" he asks, circling around. You wish he'd just go away. "Or that I'm gonna feed you? Ha, what a joke."
"I don't care what you will or won't do. If you don't want to pay me any mind, you can leave. I don't know what you're talking about, anyway."
Silence stretches, but what breaks it is the creak of your bed as another body settles on top. "Come on! Let's just go. Stop being so annoying."
"I thought you weren't going to beg?!"
"I'm not begging. It's an order. Know your place, asshat."
At your lack of compliance, Judar feels an urge to take action. You're puzzled when you feel the sheets shift under you, as if he's coming closer, but before you can even register it, he has resorted to clinging to your back like a fucked up creature.
"W-What's this for?" you stutter out quietly, like if you make anymore noise, you're going to alert the entire palace of what's transpiring. Your cheeks turn feverish from embarrassment.
"You said you're cold," Judar drawls out, taking a tone which suggests he finds you stupid and ridiculous.
"You're the oracle. What would everyone think if they saw you with me like this?"
"No one's going to see us because they're all eating dinner while I have to stay here with you." Even though you can't see it, he goes out of his way to roll his eyes.
"I never told you to-"
"Who cares what anybody thinks? Rules don't apply to me." And with that, he makes the uncomfortable choice of pressing his palm directly against your stomach. To your surprise, his skin is warm while you're no better than a corpse. You'd imagined him to be chilly like you.
You hold in your breath and tense your stomach taut in some foolish attempt at tricking him into thinking you might have a void there instead of a working organ. Sometimes it's a matter of control: of starving yourself, staying still and not saying a thing like a martyr.
There's a moment where you feel his lips turn into a frown against the nape of your neck, and then he pokes and stretches the flesh. "You think Sir Acne-a-lot's gonna like you more if you do this?"
"I don't care if 'Mei thinks I'm hot, Judar! What's your damage?" you yell through some more gross sobbing and a bit of snot. "It's not always about you royal megalomaniacs!"
"You're not being very grateful to me for comforting you, you know?"
"Maybe I'm ungrateful because you're not doing a good job."
"You're an idiot," he says for what feels like the hundredth time. He then groans as if your disordered eating is somehow inconveniencing him, but no snarky remark follows up the noise.
"And you're not making me feel better by belittling me."
"Whatever. I don't care how you feel," Judar dismisses before he tightens his arms around you.
"Oh really? Because for someone who 'doesn't care' how I 'feel,' you're wasting a lot of time talking to me right now."
"Don't get cocky, you malnourished idiot! You're just lucky I'm a nice person."
At this, you snort.
Judar doesn't address your apparent amusement with the concept of him being kind. Your eyelids grow heavy and you're about to fall asleep again in the newly welcomed silence, growing snug and fuzzy, but as usual, he deems it fit to ruin everything.
"Did you notice your hair's falling off?" he asks, and while his tone is flat, you sense a restrained hint of dejection in his words.
"Yes."
"Fine, I'll let you do whatever you want today," he declares. You wonder when he's going to let go, grow bored with dealing with you, and leave. Then he offers you a diabolical laugh, as if he's concocting an evil plan. "But tomorrow I'll make sure you're stuffed like a pig at a feast."
"Sure you will."
"Come on, you know I'm just gonna harass you until you do what I want anyway."
"But it's not fair," you cry out suddenly. Your eyes had just dried from your previous freakout, but now you're back to bawling into your pillow and you tremble in Judar's hold. When you come to your senses and remember this entire ordeal, you're sure you’re going to be embarrassed. "You get to eat like shit and laze around and your body still looks perfect. I've always been... Ugh, whatever! Why am I even talking to you about this?"
"So you think my abs look perfect?"
You don't reply to reprimand him for his unnecessary innuendo, which reminds him he should be, perhaps, taking this more seriously. Though it also irks him you're disregarding his attempts at being a good person. It's such a struggle for him to do that, don't you realize it?
"Me and my perfect abs are gonna whip you back in shape, [Y/n]," threatens Judar in a sing-song voice.
"But if you saw me eat that'd be so embarrassing," you say stupidly. At the mere thought of this, you tear up once more, sniffling.
Judar retracts his arms and you realize your trial of him being in a maybe more charitable mood than usual — even if not expressed in the best of ways — has run out. Another shiver overcomes your body at the loss of his body heat, though you notice he makes no move to stand up.
Instead, he leans over, bangs falling and tickling your nose, as he stares at you with the most serious expression he can muster. And then he pulls at one of your cheeks. "Is this another stupid chastity thing you care about for no reason, or are you pulling a prank? 'Cause that can't be a real thing you said. And like, actually believe."
Your eyes are so bloodshot. Judar wonders if you cry yourself to sleep like this, just like you're crying right now for no discernible reason.
"Everyone eats, idiot."
You inhale some of your boogers back in your throat, which sets you into a choking fit. Then, as if nothing happened, you continue, "You just can't understand. Why do you have to mock me? I'm- I'm withering away, Judar, and you're joking around."
He grins and lies back down next to you, propping his head with his hand. "Like I said, there's nothing to worry about. 'Cause from now on, I'll never leave you alone!"
"Lucky me," you say with a roll of your eyes. "Can you hug me again? I really am cold."
"I'm not your teddy bear, dumbass. And it's your fault you're cold," he complains through gritted teeth before pulling you into his embrace for a second time.
---
This is kind of a mess but I just wrote it to vent so lol whatever?
254 notes
·
View notes
Judar — Butterfly, Paralyzed
PAIRING: Judar/Reader | Judal/Reader
WORD COUNT: 7.6k
TYPE: Angst, Fluff
WARNING(S): Implied Head Injury, TBI Memory Loss, Ableism from background characters
I.
You stretch and reach and curl your fingers around one peach, like picking fruit is something you read about in a book. That's how you do everything, though, nowadays. The tree dwarfs your figure, scattered shadows littering your skin, that same confused smile on your face, and the sun dips behind you, painting everything orange and red and green.
Judar isn't sure what he feels when he watches you like this — just a twinge of something. He doesn't have to anymore, he supposes, because you're not... you don't interest him, or so he says.
He emerges then. He could levitate around you, if he so wishes, because maybe you would scream and make him laugh, but he approaches you slowly. On foot. Bare toes scratching against the grass. You don't react to him either, because you're always so dazed.
"You're such a dimwit," Judar says in place of a greeting.
"Oh."
He sighs dramatically, though there's no need. It's not like you asked him to do anything, but he spins his wand around anyway, and before you know it, all the peaches fall off their branches and surround you. The one you'd been reaching for hits you in the face, and you rub at the spot with a smile.
"Oh! They fell!" You clap once, twice, eyes darting around with wonder.
"'Course they did," he says. "When I order the Rukh to do something, it happens. It's magic. Idiot."
"Oooh! You did it." Your eyes sparkle like you're impressed. Like it's the first time.
His hands find his hips and he preens at the praise, not because it matters, but because a compliment is a compliment. "Pretty great, aren't I?" A nod. Then he comes closer, hand moving around your shoulder, cheek resting against yours. "What're you doing out here, anyway?"
You frown, gaze trailing down to your shoes. "I feel like there was a reason, but I don't remember."
"'Course you don't," Judar reiterates, separating himself from you, and then gestures grandiosely around. You notice all the peaches which fell are floating and gathering towards his carpet, coaxing a gasp out of you. "So since you're obviously so helpless, and I'm so generous, just ask me next time if you're so pathetically hungry, m'kay?"
"I'm sorry, Mister. You know I just forget sometimes."
Judar narrows his eyes at you with distaste. Pinching the flesh of your cheek between his fingers, he pulls at it, making you tear up a little. "Ugh," he groans. "How many times do I have to tell you? It's Judar, not Mister. I'm an important guy, y'know? Not some hag!"
"I know, Mister."
"Judar."
"Judar," you repeat.
That makes him grin, but you're not sure why, though his glee is one of conceit.
"But isn't taking all the peaches bad?" you ask. "What if someone, what if, you know, what if they want to eat peaches too?"
Judar shrugs, irked. "Who gives a shit? It's not the only peach tree in the world!"
i.
"Oi!" You slapped the boy's grubby little fingers away from your peaches. "You can't eat those if you don't pay."
That didn't seem to stop him. Instead, he graced you with a manic grin and snatched three more of them at once, juggling them without effort. "Who cares what you say, idiot? If I want them, I'm gonna take them."
"Oh, what? You think just because you're 'The High Priest,'" you said, putting air quotes around his title and pronouncing it in a snooty tone, "you can do anything you want? Give me a break."
"I can kill you where you stand," Judar said plainly, though he noted it didn't phase you. Instead, you rolled your eyes and jumped over the wooden stand as if to chase him away. However, you failed to intimidate him, just like he couldn't scare you off.
They weren't empty words though, and you knew it as well as he did. Judar took delight in raising hell — killing, using his gift to kill and cause misery and destruction. But sometimes... Sometimes that wasn't enough. It was too easy when those who weren't special were fragile and easy to break, and using spells to get rid of them wasn't enough to sate his itch for violence, even if he was bursting with excess power. And because of that (it would've been so... so... boring!), even though he could've struck you down and ran away with all the fruit you were selling, he chose not to.
"Hmph. You people from the Kou Empire think you can take over all these countries and boss everyone around," you snapped, not bothering to hide your hatred towards this recent development.
What did you know about him, then? Nothing. Nothing at all; not enough to see the way every servant hurried to satisfy him because leaving Judar bored or unhappy would bring nothing but calamity and not enough to know what you were dealing with. You were both kids, but you weren't equal, and surely you were the one who was more naïve.
It had to be a physical altercation, then. He tackled you and you bit his arm and he scratched at your skin and you poked his eye and he kicked you, then spat in your face until you punched him in the nose. Then he recoiled away from you, holding his bleeding, bruised nose, and you reclaimed what he had stolen and ducked behind the imaginary safety of your vendor, triumphant.
Judar considered taking away your life, but he reappraised. When his conviction to take revenge waned, he returned to the palace wordlessly.
II.
You always sway from side to side when you walk now, unable to even keep a straight line, — not for long, anyway — like your feet are unsure, but it doesn't stop you from trudging through the thick rabble near the bazaar day after day. Dancing like a clueless idiot that has never heard of social cues, hands in the air and all, and remaining oblivious to the judgemental stares all the civilians would give you. There's a mix of disgust and curiosity in the way they observe you.
And they don't just look, they observe, like you're a thing, there for their entertainment.
Someone tries to reach for you, grab you and restrain you. It's not the first time because you're vulnerable and out of your wits. And it's not the first time Judar pushes a middle-aged man to the ground and sneers at him like he's some kind of wart between his toes, either.
"Hey, dummy." Judar picks his ear while calling out to you, but then he extends his hand to pat you on the shoulder just in case you don't recognize his voice. It's for naught, though, since you halt your step and turn around to face him. "Are you so incompetent you can't pay attention to your surroundings? Jeez, I'm great and all, but I'm not always gonna be here to bail you out!"
"I'm sorry, Mister, but I don't know what you're talking about."
He glares at you, for your imprudence maybe, but all he resolves to do is flicking your forehead. "It's Judar," he reminds through gritted teeth, like he always does, but his patience is running thin. That's what you call everyone now. It's always Mister this, Miss that, but he isn't just anyone. "You never notice, 'cause you're a dimwit."
"I'm sorry."
"Stop apologizing. It's annoying."
Your lips part to spell it out again, your favorite phrase, but you reevaluate what Judar said, and choose to stay silent with a giggle.
You two resume your walking, but this time, Judar is by your side, discouraging everyone in the immediate vicinity from bothering you.
"I was wondering," you start with a frown, genuinely upset if not heartbroken, "why does, like, I mean, no one else ever comes around anymore?"
"Huh? You mean those stupid servants?" he asks, laughing at you because truly, it amuses him you'd be upset about something so insignificant. Then, to make it worse, he teases you, pressing his hand to his chest now that he spotted the chance to be dramatic. "Am I not enough for you?"
They don't come around because you don't need monitoring anymore, or so they tell him. You can talk, you can stand, you can eat if you remember to, and you can shower if you please, which is apparently enough to deem you independent. Not that he cares if they see you or not. When you're all alone and available like that, it just means more fun for him when he comes to bother you.
He thinks they assume you'll run off one day and get lost like it's inevitable, and even more, they hope Judar won't bother looking for you when you do. So, they could die for all that matters to him.
After contemplating his question for a bit, you give him a close-eyed smile. "I, uh, I know you're just, you're cruel and immature. But you're my favorite. Out of everyone I met. I just... I'm not sure why."
Judar stretches like a cat at your admission, before he throws his hands up, much like you had been when you were running around town a few minutes ago. He looks you in the eyes and asks, "What do you mean, you're not sure why? 'Course I'm your favorite. I'm the best, specialest, most powerful Magi!"
Despite his bravado, you can't help but think you sense a little sadness coming from him. However, you figure it's just your imagination because surely someone as powerful as him is above such a meagre emotion.
ii.
I can't believe a stupid peach farmer beat me in a tussle!
Obviously if he had gone all out, he would have won, but that was besides the point. Not only that, but the realization wasn't enough to soothe his anger after his encounter with you. He should have been strong enough to beat you, even without magic. Without lifting a finger, even.
But somewhere buried under his wrath was intrigue, which led him to that moment.
You were confused when you saw a dozen soldiers surrounding your beat-down house, and Judar couldn't help but wonder why a kid like you would live alone, making a living by selling peaches. It seemed... strange. The situation clicked into place for you when you noticed that damned tween from hell standing between the knights. Judar had the gall to glare at you like he hadn't been the one who tried to steal from you.
"What do you want, Magi?" You spoke his title like it was poison, but that didn't matter. Truly, you were afraid. Sweat trickled down your brow. You hadn't expected the little tyrant to be petty enough to seek you out just because you landed a punch on him, let alone with reinforcements. For God's sake, you weren't a terrorist! It was so overkill.
"You should come with me." He said it so casually, you would've thought he was telling you about the weather. "And live in the palace."
"W-Why would you want that?!" you asked, panicked. Did he want to put you in a torture chamber or whatever it is royals do in their spare time?
"Because you interest me."
You blinked at him. There was no way he was that simple. You realized, however, that you didn't have a choice. His previous words rang in your head: "If I want them, I'm gonna take them."
And just like that, you surrendered.
III.
"Pitiful place you've got here, [Y/n]." Judar snickers at you, entering the claustrophobic space. It's messy and small, with trash and clutter surrounding him every which way. It doesn't fit the palace at all. Perhaps for a single person it suffices, but now that the two of you are standing here, it seems to swallow him whole.
"Why do you think, why do you say that?" You take to sitting on the ground then, rather than on the unmade bed or even the surprisingly intact chair.
"It's so tight in here," he complains, kicking away a few of your belongings without a care before plopping down next to you.
You hug your knees to your chest, closing in on yourself, forehead pressed against your arm. "I like it here like this. Big rooms, they're scary. Things always disappear there."
After clicking his tongue at your differing opinion, Judar turns his attention towards the front wall. He's not sure how he didn't notice it before. Pointing ahead, he asks, "What are these ugly scribbles?"
"I tried to draw," you tell him.
"Oh. Hmm. You should try harder, then."
Not bothering to retort to his usual insults, you crawl closer to the corner and shuffle around until you find whatever it is you were looking for. Judar watches you with the mildest of curiosity until he notices you were just fumbling for your paints. After dipping your finger in black, you desecrate the wall with some more of those pointless lines and blotches and half-dried marks.
"Are you dumb?" Judar asks, frowning, before letting out an empty sneer at your expense. "You're supposed to draw with a brush."
"I know."
"I know you know. I just said that for fun."
You stop, and he sticks out his tongue at you. Disregarding his antics — which you always do, and secretly, Judar wishes you wouldn't — is easy when you can just nudge one brush in his direction. You don't tell him you don't use them because you always drop them, just like you don't tell him you don't understand why he keeps hanging around you. "Why don't you try?" you suggest airily, expecting rejection.
He considers it, before his lips curl, and he dunks the tip in black. Before you can even question him and his artistic integrity, you come face-to-face with a big, cartoonish dick, taking up almost your entire wall.
"There," he presents. Gestures towards it as if it's a masterpiece you should marvel at and you allow yourself a laugh at his immaturity.
"Mister, you're so... so... sooo. Unbelievable."
"Well, you better damn believe," he answers cockily.
You sit back. He picks at his nails, waiting for something snappy to come to mind, but then he figures he should leave. Figures that it's getting boring. Before he can, though, you mumble, "I remember," and then your sentence hangs in the air.
As he's standing, his entire body tenses in anticipation of what you're about to say. Skin burning at the possibility that maybe- "Remember what?"
"Oh. Uh. I think, um," your eyes dart around the room (startled and questioning and unsure if it's even worth saying), "I remember I was good at it. At drawing."
Judar tenses his jaw and clenches his knuckles and taps his foot against the floor like he's waiting for something, like it's urgent. Maybe he could make you eat them, your words, and if he does, maybe you'll remember what he's looking for. Though as he contemplates it, something inside him softens, and his shoulders let loose.
"You know what?"
"Hm?"
"You were," he concedes. "You were good at it."
iii.
It was possible Judar — Magi, The High Priest, as outsiders often called him — was that simple. You had lived in the palace for a few years by that point, but not as a servant, or an assistant, or even a knight.
Your role was simple and so you got tucked away in a small, negligent room, if only to be rid of him at night. You were merely Judar's sparring partner. The two of you had expanded your fighting abilities, and soon after your first few sessions, you understood he felt a need to be on edge.
It didn't have to be you; you realized. Could've been anyone he had picked a fight with that day because he was just so alone, and even then, you would've used the adjective lonely with caution. To him, alone meant bored, not forlorn.
You were putting the finishing touches to your painting — painstaking detail you could only control the look of with the smallest brush you had on hand — when Judar burst into your room. You put your materials aside and scowled at him. "What do you want?"
"Whatcha got here?" he asked, interested in your canvas. He came closer and glanced at it, then at the view visible from your window, and quickly realized you were doing some kind of landscape study. "A painting? I didn't know a dumb brute like you would enjoy something like this."
You felt flustered at him seeing what you were up to at all, since you made an attempt at keeping it a secret. "Shut up, asswipe. I need something to do in my free time and you're not gonna ruin this."
"When have I ever ruined anything?" His scrutiny unnerved you, otherwise you would have listed out everything he ever ruined in chronological order. Hell, he even prided himself on relishing in destruction. You could see his red eyes studying every detail, and for a second he smiled, fooling you into thinking you might receive a compliment for once.
Instead, his grin turned into a scoff fast enough. "What a useless hobby. We should go fight one out. I'm gonna beat your ass!"
You pointed an accusatory finger at him. "Ha!" Then you took him by the shoulders and pushed him back. "You're obviously just jealous 'cause there's finally something I'm better at than you."
Judar waved you off, seeming smug. "Uh, hello? Magician of Creation here. If I cared about something as dumb as drawing, I'd easily outdo you, dimwit." After a bit of contemplation, he added, "Your drawing's nothing special, anyway!"
"Oh, yeah?"
"Yeah!"
He ran out into the hallways, wild laughter and all, and predictably, you chased after him, screaming obscenities along the way.
IV.
The palace seems more extravagant than usual today. You stare at the ceiling and the bustling hallways with intrigue and parted lips. You feel today is something important — well, obviously, as some kind of celebration is going on — and you think you should know what it is, but you can't quite put your finger on it.
Quickly, you realize you forgot what you even went out for. So instead, you tentatively address one servant rushing to adjust some decorations. "Er," you start. "I'm sorry, um, I'm sorry, but what's going on today? What's with the commotion?"
"Oh, it's The High Priest's birthday," she answers with a sigh, as if exasperated by pleasing him and meeting his demands, which wouldn't surprise you. "You know how he is, or... Maybe you don't."
At her slight jab, you frown. "I know. He's dramatic as hell," you reaffirm, then walk away with crossed arms, feeling somewhat superior for holding this obvious knowledge.
In your pointless wandering, you realize the funny Mister would probably expect a present since that's the kind of person he is. You panic and bolt in a random direction, but it doesn't take you long to trip over your own feet.
"Well, well, well," a familiar voice calls out as if hovering above you. You rub your eyes and gaze up, and then you see Judar levitating. And wiggling his dusty toes. You don't bother hiding your grimace of disgust. "What do we have here?"
Suddenly, you remember your prior dilemma and start panicking with widened eyes. "Oh, happy birthday, Judar! I'm so sorry, I, er, I forgot- I don't have a present! For you."
He doesn't seem happy with you, gaping at you like a fish. You shiver in anticipation for some form of punishment until Judar simply leans his head into his palm and shifts in the air with an aura of distanced amusement. Much like a cat observing you with narrowed eyes. "Come again?"
(Or is it a front?)
"I'm sorry? I'm so sorry, I forgot, I didn't buy a- I didn't get you anything for your birthday?"
"That's not what I wanted to hear," he says.
"I don't get it. Making me, er, making me say it isn't gonna... This isn't gonna... The gift won't come, even if I repeat myself."
Judar throws his hands up and rolls his eyes, ever the drama queen. "God, [Y/n], you're so hopeless! You don't understand hints at all, so just forget about it. But anyway, I wanted to tell you... We're gonna have a feast for my birthday."
"A feast?"
"Yeah! All sorts of fruit! More than you can even imagine. And tons of them, too."
You hold out your fingers to count something, which makes Judar raise an eyebrow. When you're done, you quirk up your lips and you look so innocent. "Oh, you're an Aries. That makes so much sense."
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asks irately.
"Well, I've heard they're, like, stubborn and irritable and distant and arrogant and selfish."
He frowns, and punches you in the shoulder, albeit not with full force. You laugh and try to return the gesture, but he flies just out of reach and then down the corridor, forcing you to run after him until you fall over again.
You will never know that it won't matter if you bought him anything as long as you don't forget to call him by his name ever again. You will never know that's enough of a present for him as things stand.
iv.
Judar always enjoyed making a big deal out of his birthday celebrations. He could barely stand to withhold from annoying you for a few hours, let alone on such a special occasion. You hadn't seen him all day, though, and he hadn't bombarded the attendants with ridiculous requests either, which concerned you.
It was night by then, and you started searching around the palace for him. "Judar?" you said out loud, hoping not to wake anyone who had already gone to sleep. "Judar?" you tried again until you reached the most obvious hiding spot.
He hadn't locked the door, so entering his personal quarters wasn't a challenge by any means. Still, you hesitated even after you were practically inside, instead choosing to linger by the door and observe him for a second. You could tell he was upset, though he hadn't cried — he never did, not even by himself.
Darkness absorbed his room, and the only light source was a lit candle in the room's corner, illuminating his face.
He appeared pissed off to the point of overcompensation, though. You didn't ask him about what had happened and feigned ignorance. Despite how you eyed the fresh bruises and injured, irritated skin in a manner that wasn't at all discreet, you didn't comment on them.
Judar spoke first. "What do you want?"
"I made you a birthday cake, but you were gone all day." You knew he wouldn't want to talk about it, and if he did, he would've acted disingenuously. Filling the space of despair with anger, mending being broken by hurting someone else, helping no one. So instead you let him pretend he was above it, that he was too strong to even acknowledge whatever had happened with The Organization.
You let him have his ego like always. Just closed the door and fully stepped in.
He brightened up at the mention of something sweet, though he switched to self-satisfied. "Coming around, aren't you?"
"You're still a big prick, but if I'm gonna be here, we might as well get along, right?"
"I'm a delight," he said before taking an obnoxious sniff of the cake you prepared. "Peach flavor?"
"Yeah. I made it myself, you know?"
He bit it experimentally. "Not awful coming from a dimwit like you, but if someone else made it, it'd probably taste better," he noted slyly.
In retaliation, you grabbed a handful and threw it at him.
Of course, it didn't reach him. It just halted for a moment and entered his mouth, manipulated by his magic, though the piece of cake he tossed at you hit you head-on. Between hushed laughter and whispered insults, food crumbs sticking to your eyelashes, wrestling well until the morning, it would embarrass Judar to say that was the best birthday he ever had.
Harbinger of catastrophe he is, it shouldn't have mattered. Not as much as it did.
V.
"You should dance on the carpet," Judar suggests with a snide smile.
Startled, you jump up a little. "Oh... For how long were you watching?"
He jerks his shoulders, because why would he give you a straightforward answer when it's not nearly half as fun? "Long enough," he says, an expression of mocking pity on his face. "You never notice. Making me look like a desperate idiot."
"I don't think I should."
"Should?"
"Dance on the carpet," you clarify. "Are you, you're not trying to kill me, right?"
Manic laughter escapes him at that. "Trust me, if I wanted to kill you, you would know about it. Or maybe you wouldn't 'cause you'd be dead, but that's besides the point."
You look at him strangely, though he continues observing you with an impish grin. In wait. You consider his offer — he's been the only person to treat you normally these past months. At least by his definition of normal, anyway. Maybe indulging him wouldn't be that bad of a way to show your gratefulness? With that conclusion, you take a few cautious steps in his direction before you've joined him on the carpet.
Judar doesn't have enough common decency to warn you you're about to take flight. Your legs shake and you cling onto him immediately, staring at the horizon below, disappearing further and further at rapid speed.
"What are you so scared for, dummy? You're not gonna fall."
"It's 'cause- Well, you always say, you call me a klutz."
"You are, but do you really think I'd be so incompetent to let you splat on the ground?" He scoffs at the notion. "Please! You insult me. That's very much below my skill set."
You don't acknowledge his rambles, instead clutching at him tighter, going as far as to dig your nails in his skin for just a sense of security. The pain doesn't seem to phase him in the slightest. "Too high, Judar!"
"Oh whatever, you killjoy," he mumbles, and the carpet finally stops moving. You take a moment to peer around him. At first it's scary, but soon after you're squinting, and you realize you can make out the palace, and also the peach field. Maybe even the entire city.
With a chuckle, he separates himself from you. You hug yourself in anticipation of falling down and meeting your demise, already feeling the unstable tremble of your legs. Judar makes a vague gesture towards your surroundings and says, "I'm gonna show you it's totally safe."
He backs away from you with a smug expression, though before you can even properly react, he loses his footing and falls off the edge of the carpet, tumbling down. You freeze. For a few seconds, you're too scared to move and check. The mental image of what might have happened to him proving too frightening.
"Judar?" you call out. "Judar? Judar!"
Though before you can even fully step and try to catch sight of him, something restrains you from behind, hands pressing your stomach. Goosebumps rise over your skin when you feel something creeping near your earlobe. "Boo! You fell for it!"
Judar laughs at you, pointing his offensive index finger in your face and all.
"That wasn't funny." You try to shove him away from you, pressing your palm against his chest and pushing, but he doesn't budge at all. "Ugh! Get away from me."
The only reaction he gives your reprimand is wiping away a tear, the result of finding too much amusement in your concern for his wellbeing. And this is why he has no friends, you think.
"Actually, it was fucking hilarious."
After folding your arms over your chest, you purse your lips and turn away from him. "Hmph," you add for good measure, which only adds fuel to his laughing fest.
"You can't seriously be mad," he tells you with a shit-eating grin, fingers splaying across your shoulder. "Seems like you're too busy having a stick up your ass to be afraid of heights anymore, anyway."
Your eyes dart around while you process his words. Judar's right; his distraction more than sufficed.
"Huh," you mumble. "Guess- guess you're right."
v.
Sometimes you and Judar traded blows while he flew the carpet high above the territory of the Kou Empire. He said it was good training for him since he had to multi-task. You thought he just liked the thrill — the possibility that one of you would fall down.
To Judar, you knew, the activity was pointless, but he still indulged in it, anyway. For fun, for the chance to pretend he has an equal, for entertainment, or just because he could.
It had been during one of those spars when he kicked between your legs and caught you off-balance. You fell. You fell for so long, you had convinced yourself he finally got bored with you and resolved to get rid of you, but in a way, it was freeing. After having been used to living in cramped spaces: behind the wooden stand that held all your peaches, in the shabby shed you called your house, and in your tiny room at the palace, it was liberating to just close your eyes and stretch your legs and hands and not bump into anything.
Your peace shattered soon enough, though, because your body froze. You continued to levitate, and Judar appeared in your line of view soon after. Of course, he deliberately hovered above so he could leer down at you and waved his wand back and forth. It was a symbolic gesture; you figured. Look, I'm keeping you alive. Aren't I such a charitable Magi? Beloved by the Rukh of Solomon and all. Isn't that so funny? So amusing? That someone like you could fascinate someone like me for so long. Who would've thought?
You found Judar funny when he went on his self-serving tirades or when he proved he had the attention span of a toddler. But you also found he had just enough self-awareness to exaggerate that behavior around you, for you, to make you laugh or to provoke you into an annoyed grunt and spiteful retort, which was what was entertaining to him. So you took to imitating his snotty way of speaking in your head sometimes.
"You know what I've been thinking about?" Judar asked, though it was a rhetorical question. Surely he knew no one could guess what was going through his head half the time.
"What?" you snapped. You were pretending to be annoyed. That was the bit.
"You really are an idiot..." He trailed off, then found it fitting to throw in a bombshell at the end. "I think we should conquer a dungeon together."
You blinked owlishly at him, like he was mental, and Judar relished in your surprise.
"Isn't that for Kings, though? Or Princes, or royalty, or whatever?"
"I know, I know. You're not meant for it. At all! I would've known since I met you if you were, but even then, wouldn't it be so much fun?"
He wanted to conquer a dungeon to pass the time? That was just like him. You grinned at him then and agreed. "It would be. We should."
It was a big fuck you to everything, really. And those were the kinds of codes Judar liked to leave, and you were so much like him, with a penchant for 'eat a dick's and 'stick your head in the toilet's and even 'I'll stick your head down the toilet myself's. Usually directed at him, but still.
The two of you continued smiling at each other conspiratorially, though you hadn't done any proper planning yet, to put this aspiration into action.
So it was clear: you were a distraction, you were the itch to do the wrong thing (temptation, but the word was too heavy), you were a problem, you were light. Some weird light that veered him away from evil and towards innocent mischief. And worst of all, you were his friend.
(i.)
After the incident, naturally, he solved it by killing someone, then killing the other piece of shit.
Judar isn't much of a problem sleuth, really — something happens and he gets mad and he kills a guy and beats up another with those flashy spells of his, and that's it. Big deal. So he found the preparators, and he got rid of them.
The healers' magic was enough to close the wounds on your head and rid you of bleeding, but it did nothing to wake you. They warned him you might not be awake for a long time. He supposed, in a way that was both humorless and unreasonable, that you were always a bit high-maintenance, anyway.
Then started the pleading, buzzing in his ears unpleasantly. They told him it was not worth it, that when you came out of your coma, you would probably brain dead (if you were lucky, 'just brain damaged'), few words short of calling you worthless, like you were something to dispose of... A beloved childhood toy that broke and he had to let go of, and at any rate, High Priest, you get bored with others so easily-
So that was how he ended up with more blood on his hands in such a short period. Judar didn't have any remorse for it; the kind violence that they had inflicted onto you was not one that happened randomly.
You were his friend. His only friend, even. And anything that followed that antecedent — his, mine, me, me, me! — he took very, very seriously.
After that, Judar ended up alone with you in the infirmary for around an hour or so. First, he tried making demands like you gotta wake up! Who's gonna draw my portrait for my birthday now? and you know, you still need to go with me to that thing tomorrow. You can't get out of dancing with me. You're so irresponsible and You promised to spar with me every day and Oh, I bet you're gonna have a blast sleeping all day while I gotta go be excellent and miserable, so miserable, it'll be so boring and, finally, It's really not funny, [Y/n]!
Then there was silence.
When his erratic rambling didn't work, Judar settled for holding your hand, your lifeless, chilly hand, just memorizing the texture of it against his fingertips like he hadn't done before, until he heard people approaching the door.
(ii.)
Judar wasn't the caretaking type. Any act of altruism bordered on repulsing him. When you were catatonic, he didn't rush to help the maids walk you and move you around, and he obviously didn't assist when they had to bathe you or feed you because you couldn't by yourself. It was just stuff he ordered them to do, so he didn't feel any further obligation towards you.
Still, that didn't mean you never got to see him. Or, sometimes, he wondered if you even registered him there.
Often, Judar sat in the corner of whatever room you were in, like a sulky, pouty child. Your imitation of him would've been: I'm so chagrined, so inconvenienced. I can't believe — CANNOT — that my clown is feeling unwell and can't do monkey tricks for me, I just can't! I don't know why my life has to be so hard. Well, I'll go off now, to try to start a war. That'll make me feel better.
That wasn't what he was thinking. He'd just stare at you, really look you in your sterile eyes with your permanent idiot smile during the stage when you couldn't help but drool all over yourself. And when he did that, when he was staring, he would repeat to himself, That's your friend. That's what your best friend is like now. Your only friend, over and over.
To someone else, it would've sounded like a manic mantra, but it was just so he could get used to it. It was a big change.
One time, when the maids walked out of your room, Judar waited until he was confident he was all alone, and he burst out in tears after observing you for so long in hopes you'd get better. It was... premeditated crying. He had to hold it in, or so he told himself, until he couldn't.
Judar wasn't sad because you were boring him or because, as many people saw it, you were now lesser-than. He was just so fucking gutted someone would do that to you, and then after they did that to you — you, why you? Even when he knew why, he'd ask himself — others had the gall to insult you. If someone had asked him what he thought about it, Judar wouldn't be honest.
He never was honest when he was vulnerable, instead choosing to be facetious or murderous. Kind of depended on the week, that.
So he wailed for a while, like it'd help, and you stared back at him all doll-like, not understanding. Like you were taunting him, telling him, Big deal.
(iii.)
After two months of you being unresponsive, Judar took all your drawings to his room from yours, bit by bit. He wasn't there much, so the action seemed pointless. When questioned, his answers varied.
Sometimes he took a selfish approach. "I'm the High Priest," he enunciated snively, "I can take whatever I want around here. It's as good as mine, anyway." Though he realized that was a bit ridiculous, even for him.
Other times, he tried to appear casual, like what he was doing was normal. "I think they'd make nice decorations for my room." (He never hung them up, not a single one.)
And finally, Judar attempted to restore parts of his image. You didn't need them anymore, he'd say.
There was a clear image in his head: when, after you start walking around and stuff — because of course you will — you stumble upon one of them and you realize you drew it before all this. And maybe you don't have the skill anymore, you're not prepared to face it, maybe it makes you feel like shit and you cry so hard the entire palace hears you. If that happened to him, he'd have a mental breakdown.
Judar decided he'd show you when you expressed interest towards them.
Sometimes he worried amid all the floundering, some dumbass would step on one of them and ruin them. And he just couldn't have that.
(iv.)
After you first got out of your catatonic state, Judar stayed out of your way for a while. He knew you would find it humiliating if you ever realized he was there, studying you when they were teaching you to hold a spoon again, to chew, how long you should chew, really, among other uninteresting things.
When you first saw him, you waddled up to him yourself. You started fiddling around with the end of his braid. Before, maybe he would've smacked you away, but in that moment Judar could only fake flippancy. Like he wasn't excited or glad at all.
"Don't cry anymore," you said. Despite that, you did not remember a thing about him beyond that embarrassing instance.
VI.
The second time Judar goes to your room, the wall looks different. Your movements have more direction now. They're not as smudged and the lines don't wobble as much, though they still don't mean a thing. You even drew over his penis. How disrespectful.
You're not doing anything of importance. Judar is watching you apply more paint to the wall, and he wonders if you'll ever ask to see one of your old art pieces, but he gets an inkling you never will. That's when you say, "I remember."
You're so cruel. You're so cruel when you do this, sometimes Judar wonders if you're just fucking with him. Every time you say this, his most hated phrase, and then you follow up with something irrelevant that's got nothing to do with him at all, he grows a bit more resentful. Part of him wants to take you by the shoulders and shake, shake, shake you, then scream, Does the name Judar mean anything to you? Your best friend, you know, The High Priest? The Magi? The most important person in the whole damn palace. At least to you, anyway! But it doesn't really seem like it means anything anymore! Yell at you until you get it.
But he doesn't, anyway. Judar doesn't really want to do that. It's just a thought he entertains sometimes. If maybe he got rougher and more unpleasant towards you, like he used to be, maybe you'd remember. And you'd say, "Oh, you're that asshole I was friends with."
Regardless, knowing you won't tell him anything he's interested in, he humors you like he always does. "Remember what?"
He thinks you can't tell he's annoyed.
"Oh, er, nothing," you continue, but you're making fun of him. "It's just. Why you're my favorite? Why are you? It's really, really weird. I think I'm in love with you, from before. I just don't- don't know why."
By the lilt of your voice, Judar understands you don't say you 'don't know why' or that 'it's weird' in the way you used to. The time when you were perpetually confused and foggy. It's a way to rag on him. Oh, look at you. You think you're so great when all you do is call me names. My, I have no idea why I'd ever be dumb enough to have feelings for you. Isn't that what you always call me? Dumb?
Something like that.
You don't know if Judar has the capability for it, for love. But you did... do. You do. You're still in love with him, for whatever reason. And you don't have enough common sense to be wary of him knowing anymore.
It lingered. When he got too close to you in one of his pointless shows of overfamiliarity and you'd get feverish and nervous, or when he'd disguise his motives with mean words and too many masturbatory praises towards himself, but you remember now.
Judar smiles. Smiles so hard — at you mocking him in such a moment, and at you finally remembering the right thing for the first time. He pulls you by the shoulder as close to him as possible. You're not sure what it means.
Settling on just a purse of your lips, you say, "You ruined my drawing," watching the aftermath of the way your finger jerked against the wall when he touched you so suddenly.
(I.)
Judar had a tendency to lie to himself whenever he deemed it fit. The amount of people who started calling him sorry and stupid, so pathetic for still waiting for you was big enough to alarm him. Which meant not many people were saying it, but the few times it came up, he took it personally.
First, he waited for you to wake up, then he had to wait for you to learn how to go to the toilet again and other such necessary life skills, and then he even had to wait for you to learn his name. The servants often snickered quietly whenever you'd Mister at him. Him, Judar, The High Priest. God, he really was pitiful.
He knew you remembered his name after the first few times — because he always fussed about it so much. To you, Miss and Mister was forgetful, but when you aimed it at him, it was worse. You called him Mister because you knew he was someone important, and you paid him the respect close people didn't grace each other.
There was an instance when Judar sat down and considered all the things he had heard. That you were just a broken thing and rendered inconsequential now. You were so funny and you were so talented. It was such a shame. How woeful!
It was funeral talk, but you aren't dead.
And if you got destroyed — the job had been done — could he, being who he is fundamentally, still like you? Entity of unproportional power and importance like him, and boring little you who got ruined, so there was no fun for him. Like the chance of marring you was the only thing keeping him around for so long. Judar thought about it.
After he thought about it, he decided he still liked you very much (l*ve, ew!). You are you.
Maybe you wouldn't have recovered at all, maybe you would've never learned how to walk, maybe you would've never remembered how to speak again, maybe your face would've been stuck in a dopey smile and he'd have to tell the servants to wipe away your spit every other hour, maybe your short-term memory loss problem would've just kept getting worse.
Maybe you would never be able to hold a paintbrush again, maybe you'll continue going off your head and embarrassing yourself in public, maybe you'll always stutter and stumble over your words, maybe you'll always move your body like it doesn't belong to you, maybe your gaze won't ever be sharp the way it used to be, maybe you will never think fast enough to put him in his place ever again. Big deal.
You are you. And that is enough.
232 notes
·
View notes