Title: Advent Treasures 3/25: What A Gift Is.

Author: Deathangelgw

Author email: deathangelgw@gmail.com

Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine. All of them are owned by Storm baby...wah!

Warnings: AU, fluff, sap, slight angst.

Pairings: Thiede and OC

Rating: G

Summary: Even omnipotent hara can feel love and caring.

Beta: nadda

Timeline: HA! Who needs a timeline!

A/N: Every year, I do ficlets for Advent up until and including Christmas. To me, they are a symbol of the best things and the not so great things for Christmas. Enjoy and please review!

The wind seemed to agree with Thiede’s feelings as it gusted up around the pedestrians in the dirty city of Chicago, Illinois, icy and bitter as it made the shoppers flee towards buildings. Thiede himself was rather grumpy and irritated as he strolled down the grey sidewalk that ran through the slowly dying city he had grown up in. He hated the city, but he was there because Orien had mentioned there being stirrings of a person that would be perfect for their new race. He wasn’t sure on it, but thought that perhaps he could look into it.

He turned the corner into an alleyway and stopped as he was assailed from memories of living in such grunge and squalor. There were broken boxes along the narrow passage way, dirty and listing on their mangled sides from being soaked by the filthy sewage water that had come from the sewers with all the snow recently. He put a hand in front of his face as he saw rats eating on a couple of bodies, children it looked like to his disgusted gaze. It would seem that humans still didn’t care for their kind, especially if they were different.

Stopping as he heard a soft whimper, Thiede looked over at one of the damaged conglomerations of cardboard and saw a little boy peering out at him. The child’s face was dirty and scratched and the hand that balanced him against the unstable box was nearly black with grime and blood. The pale skin under the dirt was covered in goose bumps and had a bluish tinge to it and the eyes that watched Thiede from the sunken features were wide with lack of nutrition, wariness, and a hungry desperation. Finding himself attracted to that, Thiede moved closer and squatted near the watching boy. He held his hand out patiently, tilting an eyebrow in inquiry. “Do you seek more?” he asked quietly, neither cajolingly nor scathing, merely encouraging.

A frown came to the thin lips as the boy looked at the offered hand before coming out very slowly from the dilapidated shelter and standing. Thiede could then see the true potential of the child as he stood defiantly on his thin legs dressed in a torn pair of shorts and a too small ragged shirt. The grungy hair was dark, possibly black if it was cleaned up, and braided messily. Even though he was shaking with the cold and weakness from malnutrition, the boy glared at him boldly.

Liking the fire he saw, Thiede stood and nearly towered over the youth. He offered his hand again. “Come with me and find a new place. Think of it as a gift of life,” he offered softly as he watched the child.

Looking up at Thiede, the boy’s defiance softened and he smiled suddenly and the true beauty was shone as his features were lit up and gentled and the fire that was keeping him alive showed through. He took the offered hand with his small hand and nodded up at Thiede. Feeling proud of the acceptance, Thiede loosened his cloak, picked up the child, and wrapped him in it against his warm body. With a soft sigh, the boy snuggled close and held onto his rescuer. They walked along for a few minutes until they came to a deserted section of the city and one of the sedu that he had encouraged to aid him in his creation of the perfect race by carrying him around the world.

With a smooth move, he mounted his friend and held the boy close to him. “To Immanion, my friend,” he requested softly and smiled when the child looked up at him. They moved forward and then shifted onto the Other lanes in a heartbeat. He could feel the child shaking against him and comforted him, somewhat put off with his own parental feelings towards the child. They emerged not two minutes later in the land that he was creating for his new race and the warm sea air instantly made the youth relax. They trotted towards the nayati that they had created already and he smiled as he saw Orien standing at the entrance, waiting for them patiently.

When they arrived at the nayati, Thiede stopped the sedu and dismounted, unwinding his cloak from the skeletal frame of the child. He looked up at the boy and smiled. “What is your name?” he asked tenderly as he held a hand out again, silently asking for the child to accept once again.

“Hein Colurastes,” was whispered faintly as the smaller hand rested into Thiede’s.

“Welcome to Wraeththu, Hein Colurastes. I am Thiede. I give you the gift of new life,” Thiede stated quietly before lifting the boy. He was surprised then when he was hugged tightly, the slim arms shaking as they held onto him.

“Thank you...thank you,” Hein whimpered as tears rolled down his cheeks and onto Thiede’s shoulder. Smiling Thiede closed his eyes and held the child close to him, comforting him. Even if humans forgot their own, Wraeththu would show compassion. That was what his gift was.

The End!