Storyboards: Katric
Memories
... "C'mere, boy." A drunken, slurred command, but she didn't
sound as mean as she usually did. Katric toddled over to the bed his
mother occupied, and smiled up at her.
"Can't y'git rid of 'im fer awhile?" The man was harsher.
Katric wasn't sure who he was. Yet another unfamiliar face in the
seemingly endless line of his mother's callers. Katric look uncertainly
at his mother, then touched her bare breast with one hand. She smiled
at him and patted his head.
"Maybe when yer older, m'boy." Katric smiled back. His three
year old mind only comprehended that his mother was pleased with him
for once. "Now git, mommash busshee here." She giggled and
hiccupped, then ignored the child. Katric wandered back to his room
to the sounds of giggling and....
.... “Freak! Yer a freak, Katric!" He winced
as yet another foot connected with his ribs. At ten years old, he
knew he was different. Quiet and timid, he didn't like to play the
rough games the other boys did. He took his regular beatings silently,
curled up in a ball. They would get bored soon. They always did.
"Bah, leave 'im alone, Gand. He ain't worth it." The boys
laughed again, harsh and mean, then left Katric in a painful, bleeding
heap in the street. People pointed and whispered as they passed
him, but didn't bother to stop and help. He eventually picked himself
off, as he always did, and limped home. His mother looked up once,
then ignored him, preferring to give her attention to the richly
clothed man seated next to her....
.... Half asleep, it took him a moment to realize
what he was feeling. A rough hand stroked his bare back, and his
mother's giggles grated in his ears. Oh yes. Now he remembered.
He could taste sour wine in his mouth, and he made a face. His mind
struggled with the fog that encased it, and his mother giggled again.
He had just about drifted off again when a sharp, ungodly pain ripped
through him and he screamed....
.... Stood triumphantly over the inert body of Gand.
He was alive, but barely. Katric glared fiercely at the other boys
as they looked on fearfully. Katric, now sixteen, had been picked
on for the last time. He spat at their feet, then kicked Gand one
more time before turning and walking home. "Put some clothes
on, whore." he muttered as he walked in. His mother was alone
for a change, but naked as usual. "And clean this place up.
It's a mess." Katric headed straight to his room, a decision
made....
Katric sighed. He could never hide from his memories,
could never erase the past from his mind. Pulling a small vial from
his bag, he looked around him furtively before pulling the stopper
and drinking from it. The drug took effect almost immediately, and
Katric smiled. He couldn't run from his memories, no, but he could
mask them. The drugs were expensive, but he preferred them over
ale. And he had money. Posing as a merchant made gold readily available,
and red gold even more so. Gold was the universal language, and
Katric took full advantage of it.
His thoughts drifted toward more recent events. The Ulgo and the
girl in the tavern. He couldn't quite remember.... No, it was best
to not chase down memories. He drank from the vial again, and put
it back in his bag. Leaning his back against a tree, he watched
the wildlife around him until his mind went completely blank, the
drug erasing everything past and present, at least for a little
while....
....
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