#yarin

Wei Shi Lindon

In the afternoon, Yarin makes the drive down to visit Joanah, their biweekly lunch plans sending the two of them to the new deli that opened up in Juniper Grove. Sun orders a corned beef on rye, claiming that it’s one of the best ways to tell if a deli is good, and it is absolutely delicious. The two of them chat about their weeks and Joanah shares some big stories, and things feel peaceful, far from how they used to be. They part, excited to meet up next time!

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for this ask. <3

I love it!!!

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“Mister Jones! Wait!”

The pitter-patter of tiny, bare feet fills the maker tree and draws the attention of several humans, each looking up from their respective tasks to watch in bemusement as their youngest member - a girl barely three weeks shy of her fifth birthday - rushes clumsily towards the tree’s main entrance, her too-big glasses threatening to fall off her face with each, hurried step. 

Jones - perhaps Haven’s most enigmatic resident - freezes with one foot on the step that leads down onto the exterior plateau and swivels his head over a shoulder, his dark eyes zeroing in on the approaching child who’d called his name. Quirking a brow, he notes that she’s tottering towards him with her arms stretched out in front and her hands clasped together as though she has something trapped inside.

Wary that she’ll fall flat on her face with every step, Jones turns and in one, long stride, closes the distance between them. He flashes her a playful grin as he lowers himself onto a knee and pushes his hood back, the wiry curl of his hair springing free of its confines. “Something you need, little lady?”

The girl very closely avoids colliding with his bent knee when she skids to a halt before him and instantly unclasps her hands to push the glasses back into their rightful spot on her nose. Patiently, Jones waits until she tips her head back to peer up at him, blinking several times to adjust her vision. Then, once she takes in his familiar face and slow, easy smirk, she returns it, albeit crookedly with a few less teeth in her jaw. “You can’t go yet!” she exclaims, thrusting a fist up at his face and unfurling it to reveal a colourful string of beads nestled in her palm. 

To tell the truth, Jones is taken aback. 

He’d assumed - as she has every other time he tries to leave Haven - that she simply wanted to wish him good luck, perhaps ask him to tell her parents where she is, a request that always garners several, damp cheeks from any humans who happen to be within earshot. He has never before, so far as memory serves, been presented with something as garish and bright as whatever it is that lies in her palm. So, naturally, he feels compelled to hold out a hand and ask, “What’ve you got there, kiddo?” 

The girl wastes no time in depositing her strange object into his waiting grip and then stepping back, her tiny chest still rising and falling from having dashed so suddenly from one end of the tree to the other. “S’a lucky bracelet!” she explains, pointing a chubby finger at it, “It keeps you safe outside!” The conviction in her tone leaves Jones with no room to doubt the validity of her claim. 

“A lucky bracelet, huh?” he chuckles, lifting it up to the light and twisting it about, grimacing at the myriad of gaudy bead all stuffed together in a nauseating heap of colour. “And, uh, where’d you get it?” 

Shyly, the human youngling rocks on her heels, muttering out, “Made it. Elanya showed me how.” 

“Did she now....” Jones raises his eyes to the maker at the far end of the tree, finding her gaze trained on him. Even from over here, he can clearly make out the smug grin that lifts her cheeks as she twirls a blonde plait around her finger, unashamedly watching to see what he’ll do with the girl’s little gift. 

“And....how come you’re giving it to me?” he asks, dragging his attention back to the tiny mortal just in time to watch her fingers fasten themselves into the fabric of his trousers. 

Her big, brown eyes seem to grow ever larger as she replies, stumbling over her own explanation, “Cos, um. It’s lucky! And you - you go outside lots, so... It keeps you safe.” 

Jones blinks, his easy smile receding. Of all the humans in Haven she’d want to keep safe, it’s the one who isn’t a human at all...

Shaking his head, he tries to hand it back to her, saying, “Maybe you should give it to one of the others. They might need it more than I do.” As he extends his hand however, the girl almost trips over her own feet in her haste to back-peddle away from it, shouting a firm, “NO!” that takes him by surprise. 

“You have to take it!” she continues to cry out, “It’s lucky!” 

And finally, Jones understands. 

The horror that filled her at the prospect of him leaving the tree without the bracelet doesn’t stem from her desire to see him wear something of her own creation. She’s horrified that he might leave without it because to her juvenile mind, the bracelet really is lucky. She really, truly believes that a few colourful beads on a string will protect him from the dangers outside. 

Every day, he learns more and more about human nature. He’d always known the adults are protective of the young, he’s seen that instinct rear its head time and again, ever since humanity first crawled out of their caves and discovered fire. What he hadn’t realised - hadn’t even entertained the prospect of until now - is that the young might be just as protective of their elders. 

“Huh.” Jones huffs out a soft laugh, earning himself the girl’s ire as she scowls at him, her tiny lips pressing together into a pout. “Sorry, kid,” he chuckles and reaches out to ruffle a few more knots into her tawny hair, “M’not laughing at you. I, uh...I just don’t know what to say.” 

Truly.  

To the youngster’s delight, he rolls up one of his coat’s sleeve and drapes the length of bracelet over his wrist, offering it out to her. “You know how to tie a knot?” he asks, watching her face light up as she nods enthusiastically, almost toppling over in her excitement to spring forwards and grab both ends of the string.

“Make sure it’s nice and tight!” Elanya calls from across the tree, “So’s it doesn’t fall off by mistake!” 

“Kay!” At the impromptu advice, the girl redoubles her effort in cutting off the blood supply to his hand whilst Jones tosses the maker a filthy look. Not that he’d actually ditch the bracelet, but she doesn’t need to know that. He may be a ruthless and baleful Horseman, but the thought of returning to the tree sans one, hand-crafted bracelet and watching that girl’s face fall, sits in his gut like a hot coal, much as he likes to pretend with all he’s worth that it doesn’t.

At last, the kid steps back, throwing her hands up and proudly exclaiming, “Done!” 

And indeed, Jones supposes, she is done. For the bracelet is successfully tied around his wrist with no less than four knots keeping all of the precious, colourful beads in their place. The Horseman, although slightly mortified that the new accessory might take away from his fearsome image, is too soft where children are concerned to be anything other than delighted. 

Sucking down his pride, he beams down at her. “Hey, thanks, kiddo.” 

After getting a shy smile in return, he tries to stand, but as soon as he does, she suddenly shoots forwards and collides with his legs, her head barely coming up to the top of his knee. 

“Woah, easy there!” he warns, stumbling a little when her small fingers clutch at the back of his trousers and she buries her face in the fabric, knocking her glasses askew in the process.

Affection, when given, is to a Horseman more unusual than a fish is to a desert. Affection given to a Horseman in disguise however, seems to have become something of a trend recently. He’s lost count of the times his shoulder has received a pat, or his hand has been grabbed by a human for nothing more than the inane purpose of shaking it up and down. And of course, there’s this expression of fondness - the hold in which he finds himself now. Humans refer to it as a hug, and he was forced to pretend he knew what was happening when he first received one from a woman whose life he saved. In the time since, he’s grown a bit more accustomed to being squeezed at random by the others, though that doesn’t mean he isn’t startled whenever it happens. 

This time is no exception. 

He stands where he is for several seconds, helpless in spite of his enormous, hidden strength and hardly daring to breathe until finally, the girl releases him and steps back to show off her toothy smile - well, a little less toothy after she lost one yesterday, an event that sent both the makers and himself into a near frenzy which subsequently had the older humans rolling about with laughter. 

Worried she might tackle him again, Jones eyes her warily and asks, “What was that for?” 

“A good luck hug! Just in case” she chirps as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. And with that said, she turns on her heel and scampers back over to Yarin, the gruff maker having found himself the youngling’s unwitting favourite, through no fault of his own. Apparently, human children are just ‘like that.’ 

With the beginnings of a gentle smile haunting his lips, Jones regards the girl for a while longer, absently thumbing one of the pink beads now dangling from his wrist. But all too soon, the world catches back up to him and he blinks, shaking himself from his thoughts. 

Pulling his hood up again, he hoists his scavenging bag up his shoulder and turns, striding purposefully for the entrance. 

“Hold up a moment, lad!” 

And just like that, his step falters. Jones closes his eyes and holds back a groan as Ulthane’s voice booms out across the tree and the Horseman has to school his features away from a frown before spinning about, finding the old maker still hammering away at the centre stone. “Aren’t you forgetting somethin’?” he grunts, sweat glistening on his brow. 

“Come on, Ulthane,” the human in disguise complains, “I don’t need an escort every time I leave the tree. Besides, I’ve got this now.” He holds up his arm, showing off his latest accessory. But the surly maker doesn’t budge, doesn’t even turn to look. Instead, he calls Elanya’s name and jerks his head over to the man trying to make a getaway. 

With a resigned grumble, she bids goodbye to the trio of humans sitting cross-legged around her and gets to her feet, reaching for the hammer that rests against a wall behind her.

Shoulders slumping, Jones curls his hands into fists. “You’re killing me here, Big guy.” 

“You go with Elanya, or you don’t go at all,” Ulthane responds far too casually, the vaguest hint of a smile playing at the edges of his mouth. 

Yarin Norwood

O cantor MC Guimê, encantou os seguidores ao publicar um clique ao lado da filha Yarin, de apenas 3 meses, neste domingo (29/03). A bebê é fruto do relacionamento com a modelo Fernanda Stroschein. Eu nem me arrumei, mas ela já deixou a foto perfeita. Papai babão mesmoEscreveu o cantor na legenda. 📸 Confira o registro na íntegra: Ver essa foto no Instagram Um post compartilhado por MC GUIMÊ…