[center][url=https://fontmeme.com/fonts/austera-simple-tfb-font/][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/230504/0257ed6a9f7f0bf4b9359b8c9ca8d06c.png[/img][/url][/center]

[b][color=Lavenderblush]Time:[/color][/b] MORNING
[b][color=Lavenderblush]Location:[/color][/b] EXT. WOODS - RIVER PORT
[b][color=Lavenderblush]Interactions/Mentions:[/color][/b] The golden lion furry [@Helo]; The lady in a purple dress [@Tae]; The guy cosplaying as an elf [@princess]; Giant spider(s) [@Alivefalling]
[b][color=Lavenderblush]Equipment: [/color][/b][hider=][color=Lavenderblush]⋆[/color] Attire from Earth
[color=Lavenderblush]⋆[/color] Wallet and key
[color=Lavenderblush]⋆[/color] Zion's hunting knife[/hider]

[hr]

[color=Lightcyan]Jun spent more time in the hospital growing up than most children. Not because he was sick all the time or anything dramatic. It was just that Dr. Ibuki had no one else to watch her son during her long and unpredictable shifts. As a single parent with no relatives nearby or alternative childcare options, and nosy neighbors itching to call social services if they spotted a minor home alone, she often had no choice but to bring Jun to work with her. 

The hospital admins grudgingly allowed it, willing to bend the rules to keep their understaffed ER running. At least Jun was a quiet, self-contained kid. As long as he wasn't causing trouble, everyone looked the other way.

He'd seen things there in the hospital. Crash victims with shattered bones. Gushing gunshot wounds. Fourth-degree burns from fires. Overdoses. Seizures. Psychotic breaks. You name it.

And if he learned anything from all that, it was this: Zion's pain was real. The sheer intensity of his screams and the way his eyes bulged in terror as the acid threatened to eat his arm down to the bone. Even if all else in Avalia was a lie, Zion's suffering was the one honest truth.

Jun's entire world narrowed down to the melting arm. He became oblivious to everything else around him. He only saw the venom chew through skin and muscle, releasing wisps of smoke into the air. The hiss and pop of acid dissolving tissue and Zion's tortured wails drowned out all other sounds.

[i]Wash it off[/i], a small part of Jun's brain not paralyzed by shock, said. [color=LemonChiffon][i]Water.[/i][/color] His head swiveled frantically, searching for supposedly the most common substance found on earth with no luck. Thoughts skipped and stuttered like a failing engine. [color=LemonChiffon][i]Water water water water—[/i][/color]

—Wait. Was Zion floating? A silk thread glinted in the light lancing through the canopy as if it were a length of fishing line, with a spider as the lure, the lion as its catch.

[color=LemonChiffon]"Water!"[/color] Jun blurted out when he meant to say spider. The kid (who materialized out of nowhere) flinched at the random outburst, which startled him too. They locked eyes. Jun's own fear and helplessness reflected back at him. He quickly looked away, down to Zion's large hunting knife still gripped tight in his hand.

[color=F39B05][i]"You are Avalia's greatest hope…"[/i][/color] No. He wasn't. Not by a long shot. He didn't have the power to save anyone, let alone himself.

For a moment, he thought about flinging the knife at the spider, but odds were he'd hit Zion instead of freeing him. There were many things Jun was incapable of doing and rescuing Zion was just one of them. Best leave the gallantry to Malachi and the lady. 

But maybe… even he couldn't mess up fetching water… [sub]right?[/sub]

Jun forced himself to look back at the kid, trying to remember how the staff at the hospital talked to scared children. [color=LemonChiffon]"We, um, we need water for, uh, the lion guy. Can… you show me where?"[/color] Something close to disappointment flashed across their face. [i]Coward.[/i] Jun pushed past those all-too-familiar feelings and held out a trembling hand. [color=LemonChiffon]"The others got this. Please, help me?"[/color] He wouldn't have been surprised if the kid refused. But they were brave where Jun was weak. They took his hand in their own shaky grip and led him away, leaving the others to deal with the Acromantula.[/color]

[hider=TLDR][color=Lavenderblush]Jun and child:[/color]
[img]https://media.tenor.com/q5JB-FKUvSIAAAAC/queendugif-peace.gif[/img][/hider]