Julia Fortis

Private and Selective Child OC of Petra Fortis & Selena Ulric. FFXV.

[juliafortis]

"Hey, little one. Are you lost?"

Child edition starters:

They weren't supposed t'go any further than the gates, because the gates an' the lights made the outpost safe from the varmints and daemons.

But the other kids had kicked the ball too far and it rolled out under the gate the hunters used t'get their trucks in and out. It only rolled out a little bit, so she could just quickly run out an' get it and back in 'fore anyone saw!

'Hey, little one. Are you lost?' The voice made the little girl jump and Julia started back from the gate; she hadn't thought no one was around! And now she was caught red-handed.

"Ummm, I jus' ..." the lady was pretty with blonde hair and a nice smile. "- Billy done kicked the ball outside the gate an' we ain't got other things t'play with. I was jus' gonna get it real quick 'fore the grown-ups even saw."

[juliafortis]

“Hey, tadpole!”

"... if I'ma tadpole, makes you a gigantoad!"

[juliafortis]

"Hey, Julia, how does an afternoon with your BEST uncle visiting aunt Kimia sound?"

“Is Nyx comin’ to visit?”

[juliafortis]

proxnotxaxfool​:

all this time he’d thought himself the spook in the outpost, but it turned out it was the little mite all along. she’d been privy to the argument between selena and fortis, along with the absolute shit-show that had gone down between his own pops and dave. it was a serious matter … very fucking serious. two outpost leaders were at loggerheads, which could spell disaster for either outpost and the surrounding ones on the network of the power-grid … very bad. but he was still laughing at the way julia described it.

were they still talking or was it a case of them not being able to go near each other at all again?

had he and loqi been like this as little kids? wide-eyed awe at the world around them, ears pricked to pick up any little whisper of gossip in the vicinity?

had he been like that? had he ever been as innocent as julia was now? reaching over to tug on one of julia’s curls, reno snorted and nodded his head, 

’ of course i am! ’ a white lie. but kids deserved all the padding possible to protect them from sharp corners of the world they were stumbling through, ’ but i ain’t going up any waterfalls, we’ll leave that up to your grandpa, deal? ’

“My grandpa says he used t’climb that canyon everyday! I bet we could race ‘im!” She almost bounced on the bed with excitement, her imagination full of ideas of racin’ through water in the shining sun.

“Did yer home used t’have waterfalls too? Where the flowers used’ta grow?” Because if the purple flowers grandma loved only grew near the waterfall, then in Julia’s logic, that meant the flowers Reno’s papa had shown her could only grow the same way.

“What ‘bout that place called Altissia? Some of the boys an’ girls in Lestallum say there used to be lots an’ lots of waterfalls there too; was it full o’ flowers?” Swiping at his hand when Reno tugged on one of her curls, she grinned and reach forward, tuggin’ on his hair too. “Gotcha back!”

[juliafortis]

housetummelt​:

She really was adorable. Baldur kept an eye on her as she raced over to get the can of water. Really, it could only be filled half way at most but it was a true struggle for a child of her size. It was such a mundane task, tending to these flowers. They were beautiful, yes. And it always was a bout of happiness and reminder of their former home to the Nifen. But tending to them, caring for them, minding the weed and light, calculating what they needed and then sometimes see all your efforts destroyed by some parasitic lice or bugs or just rot, it could get disheartening. And yet to a child this task seemed like an adventure. Witnessing how the little ones saw the world sometimes really brought new appreciation to everyday life.

Helping Julia up in a small stool, Baldur supported the can of water on the bottom, so she could lift it up to the flowers.

“First the water. Come, you get to do that now. We need to look out for where the driest spots are, those flowers surely must be the most thirsty, no? Can you spot where the soil is a little lighter and brighter? That means it must be drier than the other parts.”

Tongue between her teeth as she climbed up on the stool, Julia looked up at Loqi’s dad from beneath curly bangs and she flashed a big grateful grin; normally her daddy carried all the heavy stuff at home, but that was ‘cause he was really, really tall!

Standin’ on her tip-toes, the little girl squinted down at the soil under the flowers and pointed at one where it was a lighted colour o’ brown. “Like that one there?”

She got too excited and poked her finger into the dirt. “Oooops, well it feels drier ... can ya help me lift the can again, please mister?”

Attention driftin’ away as another person passed by, Julia looked up at the big wall around the outpost; home only had some gates an’ fences; not big ol’ walls like this. “Yer walls look like the ones around the big city where we went.”

[juliafortis]

proxnotxaxfool​:

he’d chosen a spot on the bed to keep a respectful distance from julia - part of him still fearful that he might somehow harm her like he had so many others in his life - but little julia was the one who plonked herself down right next to him.

lifting his head when the little lady touched on another subject and reno couldn’t keep the sheepish grimace from his face.

‘ see, i kinda had a bit of a fight with loqi. ’ 

oh-ooooh, that was putting it mildly, but he was gonna save the kid the details of what had happened in that room … he’d been wrong. one-hundred percent in the wrong and as soon as he got the chance to rectify it with his brother, he would.

leaning up on his elbows, the blond had his nose scrunched up, a brow quirked and the lilt of a smile on his lips.

‘ i’m his big brother, so it’s kinda my job to tease him … but i was mean and i need to say sorry to him. it’s not a big fight, i promise. ’

he fucking hoped. canting his head to the side, reno tried to steer the conversation away from that particular mind-field, 

‘ you got to see the flowers, huh? i heard a story about other flowers - purplish ones, your grandma says they used to grow on the island she lived on. i think, when all this is over, we should get your grandma to tell us where they were and see if we can make them grow again, what do you think? ’

Julia’s little mouth opened in innocent shock; he had a fight with his brother? She didn’t have a brother t’know what that was like, but she reckoned it had t’be a bad thing. “Is it like the fight mama an’ papa have where they jus’ say they’re talkin’ or like yer dad an’ uncle Dave where ya can’t go near each other no more?”

She hadn’t seen that fight, but the little girl had heard all the folks back at home talkin’ about it and she really wanted t’see Loqi and Kim again, so she hoped it wasn’t a big fight like reno’s dad an’ Dave.

“Yer papa even let me water the flowers!” The mention of the purple flowers had Julia noddin’ her head and grinning widely. “Grandpa says they only grow up on top o’ the waterfall ... when the sun comes back, are ya gonna come visit the island place an’ see ‘em?”

[juliafortis]

proxnotxaxfool​:

this wasn’t where his strengths lay - it wasn’t his place to have this conversation with julia, but until someone realised the little girl had gone off exploring on her own, she was reno’s responsibility. jarring himself out of his reverie when he heard the little girl’s words properly, reno shook his head adamantly, brows furrowing deeply.

‘ it wasn’t because you went further than your mama let you - micah’s a bad man. some folk are bad for no reason and he’s one of ‘em. ’ 

wincing at his own choice of words, reno could almost hear the chastising laughter pointing out that he was as much a bad man as the zealot was. no - worse if they were doing the score-keeping via body counts. 

‘ hey - us bein’ different or sad, that’s not your fault julia, and don’t you ever think it is, alright? it ain’t your fault, it’s micah’s. ’

flopping back onto his bed with a huff, he wanted to drape an arm over his eyes and let sleep take over, if just for an hour or two free from his own thoughts - 

‘ i wanna be, little lady, i just … i guess i’m just figuring out how to be. ’ ted talk with a little kid, who needed a psychologist in the eternal night? julia or asha would get to the root of the issue in ten questions or less. 

Julia nodded her head at Reno’s words; so it wasn’t her fault she went t’the big city? Some folks were jus’ mean and bad ... that was a scary thing, but if the Micah man wasn’t here, then all the other folks were good people?

He didn’t look happy. That was the one thing Julia noticed about Reno now, an’ Loqi too. An’ her uncle Nyx an’ grandma ... most folks didn’t smile like they used to.

Crawlin’ jus’ a little closer to Reno when he flopped back on the bed, the little girl sat there and shewed on her bottom lip. She didn’t know how t’make folks happy again. She was sad when she was in the city ‘cause it was dark an’ scary. But she was home now so everythin’ was back to normal? 

“Things’re different now ‘cause Asha lives in Lestallum an’ I’m here with mama but my daddy ain’t livin’ here.” An’ Loqi and Kim were in the same place as Asha. “But we can all still see each other ... so maybe if ya can see Loqi ya might be happy? Or maybe go see the nice flowers from that place ya used’ta live? Yer papa showed them to me an’ he smiled all happy?”

[juliafortis]

proxnotxaxfool​:

‘ ah, i see - so this big? ’ a laugh bubbling in the back of his throat, reno tossed his arms out as wide as he could, copying the little girl until her laughter died away and she started to talk again; auntie christa. fortis’ sister. the house julia was playing outside of when she’d just vanished into the thin air of lestallum.

don’t chase the white rabbit. because it sure as shit lived in a winding burrow that reno wasn’t certain he could find his way back out of again. but … boxing things away and ignoring them wasn’t a mechanism that kids should rely on. it wasn’t one anyone should rely on, but it was just … the way it was and that was that for certain folks and certain lines of work. it was the only option he’d ever had or needed.

but one that wasn’t serving the ex-turk so well lately … micah was a fucking jack-in-the-box and reno couldn’t figure out how to stop the handle from turning all the time.

but he could stop it in its tracks for julia.

‘ hey, lil’ lady, need you to listen up for a second here, okay? ’ he waited until her unruly curls bounced as she spun, the dark brown eyes she’d gotten from her mama locking onto his own blue ones before reno continued.

‘ you can go past that green dumpster, okay? now, i’m not sayin’ that you should ignore what your mama says to you, but i need you to know that it’s okay too. micah ain’t coming back. he’s not going to take you away from your mama and papa ever again. he’s not gonna hurt you, or your grandma or anyone else - alright? ’

Julia stopped her bouncin’ on the bed and the little girl sat there, all confused as Reno told her these things. But ... mama had told her not to go past the dumpster an’ she had; that was where Micah was, back when he was a nice feller who promised to get her daddy a gift in the city.

Little fingers worryin’ at the bed sheet, she rolled her bottom lip between her teeth an’ tried to understand the words better. “But, ‘cause I went too far, he was there ... if I didn’t go down the street, maybe I wouldn’t’ve seen ‘im and then grandma an’ Loqi an’ you would’a been happy.”

Because they weren’t happy anymore. That was the thing that the little one really understood from all of this; folks didn’t smile like they used to. Her mama smiled and said nice things, but then there were times when she was sad, same for grandma an’ grandpa too.” Reno, why ain’t ya happy like ya used t’be?”

[juliafortis]

proxnotxaxfool​:

the girl’s off-hand comment about micah had reno stiffening - the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, muscle’s contracting and tensing, nerves firing off a warning to get ready …but it was a throw-away comment. a quick mention of not being able to look out window en-route to insomnia and it was gone - fleeting - not a single quirk or micro expression on the girl’s face to hint at any hidden turmoil that name sparked within her.

nothing.

and yet he couldn’t even hear that prick’s name without fight or flight clicking into place. 

fuck micah. fuck sanctuary. fuck every fucking thing that shell of a city now housed.

blinking out of his stupor, reno shook himself, moving a little further before he backtracked, giving up on trying to make room for julia at the end of the cot and instead yanking one of the pillows out from behind his own head and laying it next to him and giving it a quick pat,

‘ up here squirt … tell me - how long were the necks on the anaks - like my arm or longer? ’

rolling his eyes to the ceiling for a beat, the ex-turk tried to think of an easy way to explain it to the little mite - couldn’t turn around and tell her that there were still some hostilities between nifen, altissians and lucians after all these years. to her and the other kids her age, this was normal - all the different nationalities in one place - their entire world consisted of these outposts, not the continents and countries that had been before.

‘ lestallum’s a little full, ain’t it? ’ cocking a brow, reno sided with the simplest of explanations, ‘ it’s kinda hard to keep building walls and fences around little settlements, so when the nifen here were thinking about where to live, people like my pops remembered that this place already had a big wall and lights and lots of room and stuff - it’d just needed to be connected to the power grid and lots of people could be safe in here, that’s why. ’

“Noooooo, yer not even close!” Julia giggled and crawled up the bed, only too happy to plonk herself beside Reno an’ not even noticing the way he seemed t’zone out for a couple of seconds. She threw her arms as wide as she could in a bid to explain how long the anak’s neck was. “- it was more like this, waaay longer!”

Settlin’ herself again, Julia nodded; Lestallum had way more people than Meldacio, but she liked it there too. “Don’t that make it more fun though? Havin’ lotsa folks there like my auntie Christa ... though next time I promise I won’t go past the dumpster like what mama told me.” She made a little x-gesture with her fingers, drawing it over her chest as a promise. Because when she went too far past the dumpster, that’s when Micah had shown her the flower and promised they could find daddy a gift in the big city.

“- so inside these walls is it only people who come from where ya used to live? Ain’t is strange bein’ so far from every other outpost? It took us aaaages to get here in the truck after mama an’ daddy quit their talkin’ back at home.”

[juliafortis]

proxnotxaxfool​:

he’d bucked against his own father’s allusions to his mental stability, and there reno sat, openly admitting the same to little julia? why? because kids didn’t judge. there was no judgement, just understanding. not that his father would have used that against reno … no, it wasn’t that. the onus of it lay with reno - he didn’t want to admit to it.

his whole life, he’d stood on the opposite side of a spectrum from his father; the little kid who’d been far too curious and openly asked inappropriate questions. the teenager who’d noticed his knack for making polished adults squirm in their expensive suits … this would just be another thing he added to the mountain of wrongs he’d already tossed at baldur’s feet.

scrubbing a hand over his face, reno pushed out a sigh that came from the soles of his feet … he was fucking tired, and this whole mess was micah’s fault. which still looped back to the ex-turk making a rookie mistake when he’d managed to reprimand the lunatic in lestallum.

at least one of them had made it out of sanctuary without any daemons clinging onto them — tapping his foot against julia’s, reno set the little girl a wink, steering the conversation away from where he was and why - she sounded excited about being in a new place.

‘ sounds like you had fun? maybe he can teach you somethin’ you can show your pa later, that sounds good, yeah? you like this place so far? ’

She hadn’t seen Reno in ages and the little girl wondered why; she’d seen Loqi hangin’ around Meldacio an’ he was even livin’ in Lestallum now ... but she hadn’t seen Reno around.

Shufflin’ up closer to him on the bed, Julia beamed and nodded her head all excited. “I liked the truck ride here! It’s been dang forever since I gotta go in a truck - I like lookin’ out the windows an’ Micah didn’t let me do that when we were goin’ to the city. But daddy’s hunter friend even let me sit up front with him an’ mama!”

She started ticking off her fingers, completely oblivious to whatever heaviness might’ve weighed down those words; in her innocent little mind it was all a big old adventure. “Gotta see some anaks on the way, an’ there were some ice-bombs when we were passin’ through the Slough ... they were all funny an’ bumpin’ off each other!”

“I like this place, but how comes all of y’all are livin’s this far away from eeryone else? Don’t it get lonely?”

[juliafortis]

proxnotxaxfool​:

rolling his eyes to the ceiling, reno just about caught himself before he verbalised the list of swear words that ran through his head … he’d told his father not to stoke the fire of indifference between formouth and meldacio, and a fat lot of good that had done.

and no, the irony of their role reversals was not lost on the former turk - a few months back and it would have been his father swallowing back frustrations at his son’s actions, not the other way around.

this was what micah wanted - he wanted to drive a wedge between the outposts, to ensure it wasn’t a singular, united front that opposed his twisted views … clever. tactical. strategic … if he were in micah’s shoes, he’d sow seeds of discourse too.

pushing his father’s actions to the back of his head, reno made sure the unease he felt didn’t make it to his face - scrunching up his nose as he tapped the side of his temple before pulling a face.

‘ nah, not my tummy … it’s more my head, i think. what about you - what d’you think of this place? did my papa show you around? ’

Pulling a face, Julia leaned forward on the bed, tryin’ to get a better look at Reno’s head. “Oh now, ya gots a pain in yer head?”

Because he had t’be sick if he was in the infirmary; folks only went to these places when they were sick, like when a truck comes back from a hunt an’ not everything went good. Maybe that was what happened? “Did ya go on a hunt an’ the monster was stronger?”

Sittin’ back again, she put on her best thinkin’ face and tried to remember the last time a truck had come home; maybe someone had hurt their head then too, an’ she could help Reno by tellin’ him? Didn’t matter ‘cause she couldn’t remember and he attention jumped to the next topic with a grin.

“Yup, he done showed me where the plants are bein’ made ... errr, growed? Grown? He showed me where the plants are an’ the pretty flowers from where ya used to live before the sun went away.”

[juliafortis]

@proxnotxaxfool​ [x]

Settlin’ herself on the end of the bed, Julia swiped her curly out of her face and looked around the room; it looked like the place where sick folks went back home - all the beds lined up, locked cupboards and curtain separatin’ ‘em all.

Lookin’ back at Reno the little girl shrugged her shoulders at his question. “I reckon mama’s a little busy with talkin’ to grandpa, so yer papa was showin’ me the flowers.”

But then Baldur had gotten called away by some person speakin’ a different language and the little child had spotted an opportunity to visit Reno instead. “Nah, my papa ain’t here. I think he’s still at home ... him an’ mama were arguin’. I reckon it’s cos yer dad came an’ had a big ol’ fight with uncle Dave.”

Okay, so she might have overheard that part, but still - it was the truth. “- why ya here Reno? Ya got a pain in yer tummy?”

[juliafortis]

housetummelt​:

Baldur lead the little girl up to the pots of red flowers and lifted her up so she could stand on one of the upturned crates.

“They’re called Phoenix flowers.”

A rough translation, but it worked. At Julia’s attempt to guess what flowers needed, Baldur had to chuckle a little. It was the same tale every parent told their little ones. Eat and sleep well to grow big and strong. A simple wish they all shared for their children.

“Yes, that is right – but we can’t give the flower some bread or stew like you get for dinner, right?”

It was a little funny, Baldur felt like he had when he had explained these things to his sons when they had been small. Showing them the world and all its wonders and explaining it to them. It was something truly special to see the world through a child’s eye. Everything was new and a small miracle.

“Flowers need light and water as their food. And maybe a bit of fertilizer – that is dangerous to handle though, so I will do that. But they would all be very happy if you gave them water and picked the right lamps to switch on so they can grow strong – you see the watering can or some light switches we can use somewhere?”

Phoenix flowers - so they were kinda like those magic phoenix down things she’d seen in the store back home in Meldacio. Mama said those things were really important for all the hunters and she must never touch ‘em because they were gettin’ harder and harder to find.

“Be funny if the flower had a mouth to eat like we do, huh?” Julia had an amused little giggle at that thought; imagine a flower bein’ able to sit down at a table and eat up supper like a regular person, now that’d be funny! Lookin’ at the flowers again, the little girl tried to imagine the plants holding a knife and fork.

Light an’ water; she could do that! Noddin’ her heard excitedly, Julia grinned and spotted a metal watering can by the bench. Racin’ over to grab it, she had to use both her hands and carefully bring it back over to Loqi’s dad; she didn’t wanna slosh the water around and waste it. 

“So which goes first, the water or the light?” Pointin’ at some switches on the wall of this greenhouse place, the child brushed her hair out of her eyes and waited for her next instruction; this was so cool because they didn’t have flowers like this back home.

[juliafortis]

housetummelt​:

Looking after Julia when she raced off to ask her mother for permission, Baldur couldn’t keep a smile from his face. The same as he couldn’t help an amused chuckle when she judged him to not be a bad man.

Oh, he certainly missed the times when his own sons had been that age. Reno had been a little more mischievous, though, already testing boundaries and how far he could push rules. While Loqi had been way more carefully about that, almost too afraid to overstep. Julia was a delightful mixture of that.

Taking her little hand again, he lead her to the big halls they had converted into plantations. Sarah and Kaleb were around here somewhere. The latter’s knowledge had given them a lot of new lectures on Lucian farming and plants. Baldur hoped it would pay off with a harvest that could not only feed Formouth but also extract enough to Meldacio, too.

But he could explain that to Julia later. There was something else apart from the plants that fed them. The deep reddish flowers at the far side of the halls were more of a cultural worth to the Nifen here. A luxury… but one that had its roots in their traditions - for birth and death.

“Look, you see those pots over there? I think there were some flowers that need your help. Do you already know what flowers need to become big and strong?”

Looking up at Loqi’s dad, Julia scrunched her little nose up and decided that he didn’t look like Loqi at all. He looked a little like Reno though, oh! Head whipping around, the child tried to see any hint of Reno in the outpost; he was livin’ here too, wasn’t he?

But she couldn’t see him anywhere in the mix of strange folks; maybe he was off in the intel hut? This place was an outpost, so it had t’be like Meldacio, with hunters an’ gates, lights and an’ intel hut ... right?

Just about to ask where Reno was, Julia’s attention was stolen away by the red flowers and the amazement showed on the child’s face; she’d never seen flowers like this before. All she’d seen were those little white ones behind Dave’s house. “Ooooh, what’re they called?”

What did flowers need? Julia stood on her tip-toes and watched the pretty petals move as she walked closer, hand still in Baldur’s. “Is it food an’ sleep? Mama says eatin’ supper an’ going to bed on-time will make me grow up big an’ strong ...”

[juliafortis]

housetummelt​:

Baldur lead the little girl a few steps, though he moved slowly, looking around for Selena and nodding in agreement, when Julia considered telling her mother.

“That is a very good idea, you should always tell your parents.”

And he was sure Selena would want it that way. She had gone through one of the worst nightmares for any loving parent. And now she had her little girl back – unscathed mostly, as it seemed. But she remembered what had happened clearly.

Baldur glanced at her with a bit of concern. It wasn’t his job to parent her, but he had taught his own boys these things quite bluntly.

“That man was evil, Julia. And he was very good at hiding it. He lied about that gift, you know? It was a trick to get you to go with him. You should never go with anyone you don’t know, especially when they promise you something nice.”

Gettin’ ready to race over an’ tell her mama where she was going, Julia stopped in her tracks; her daddy said it was good manners to listen to someone if they were talkin’ to ya. An’ Loqi’s dad was still talkin’. She liked his accent - he had a funny way o’ talkin’ that Loqi still had but Reno didn’t sound the same as him.

“I know that now, but I jus’ wanted to get somethin’ from the big city ‘cause that’s where daddy used t’live ‘fore all the darkness.” Or at least that’s what she had been told by other folks. Because this dark world was all the little girl had known, and she didn’t see a whole lot wrong with it because the sun was a notion she couldn’t understand.

“But he was mean, so I guess yer right.” Julia shrugged, deciding that Micah wasn’t the nice feller he’d said he was. Waitin’ for Loqi’s dad to nod, she little girl raced over to her mama and yanked on Selena’s sleeve until she got her attention. Makin’ her way back she smiled up at Baldur. “Mama says I can go with ya, so I guess yain’t a bad man, huh?”

[juliafortis]

@housetummelt​ [x]

Plantation halls ... Meldacio didn’t have any o’ those. Her eyes lit up and Julia nodded her head; she liked seein’ new things! Nearly hoppin’ on the spot, she stood on her tippy-toes and tried to see where these plantation things were.

“Should I tell mama where I’m goin?” Lookin’ up at the man, she figured her mama wouldn’t mind ‘cause this was Loqi’s papa an’ Loqi was a good person. But she thought the other man was gonna be nice too, and he hadn’t been.

“Last time I wandered off, I was gone for ages an’ the feller didn’t even let me get the gift in the city for daddy, like he said I could.”

[juliafortis]

loqis‌:

Lock that fucker up, that indeed was a good idea. They would see about that. Preverably Micah would be bleeding to death at that point. But Loqi kept that to himself. 

Looking around, he checked for the opportunity to leave their place. Luckily they weren’t watched constantly. Because this sanctuary knew that they wouldn’t get far beyond the fences. The darkness would kill them.

Hoisting Julia up and closer, Loqi cowered down and tried to run along the shadows, limping on the improvised prosthetic Sarah had made him. They’d get out of here. Finally there was an opportunity… more or less. Having Reno definitely was an advantage. 

“Is he hurt, Julia? Have you seen any blood? Or was he fine?”

Her little hand fisted in the material of Loqi’s sweater, grippin’ as tight as she could. A lot of the danger went over her head, or at least she didn’t understand just how risky this was, but Julia knew they weren’t supposed t’go walking around ... not without some stranger watchin’ to make sure they behaved.

But she wanted to go home. She missed her mama an’ daddy and everyone else. She missed home. “He ain’t hurt, I don’t think so.”

“He jus’ said he needed help an’ then he smiled at me.” The child stretched her free hand out and pointed over to where there was a clearin’ between old harbour warehouses. “- over there ... there’s bars in the ground, but they’re locked an’ Reno can’t get out.”