Kloutus

Author Note: Hello, fellow Loric! I was just re reading some of "The Last Days of Lorien", (for, like, the billionth time…), and got to thinking about the little boy Brandon made slow down when Sandor first arrived at the LDA. I assumed Brandon knew this boy whom he called 'Kloutus', and decided to interpret Klotus to being his Garde before he was rush-assigned Four for Earth. Thus, being Callie, I had to write an angsty/fluffy one-shot about it.

Contains spoilers for "The Last Days of Lorien"! ^^

Kloutus was, like any young Garde entering the LDA, eleven when Brandon first met him.

Both of them were a bit awkward getting to know each other. Brandon wasn't the most warm or nurturing figure on Lorien- that was more of his wife, Julianne. None the less, this young Garde was his first assignment after he graduated and was inducted as an official Mentor Cepan with his high aptitude and knowledge. He stood with his back resting lightly against the wall, waiting for his Garde to be led in by his grandparents so they could get to bonding. All Brandon really knew about this boy was that he was to be an athlete who loved to get dirty, pretty much a typical boy but with a strong spirit for Lorien.

It pleased the new Mentor Cepan to have an eager assignment.

That's when the young man got his first look at the little Garde. He was a bright-eyed boy with a bashful face, his blonde hair styled every-which way by nature. He was ducked behind his grandparents and only shied back further when he laid on eyes on Brandon, but the older merely smiled gently and approached.

"Hello, you must be Kloutus' grandparents?" Brandon stretched out his hand.

The old man accepted it with a firm, strong hold, "That would correct. My wife and I are pleased to meet you…even if you seem a bit young for a Mentor Cepan."

Despite trying to keep an all-business like physique, the younger man felt color creep into his cheeks, "I'm one of the newest, sir. But I can assure you that your grandson will be in very good hands here and in my care."

The old woman placed a hand on her husband's shoulder, "Dear, we already discussed this. Kloutus is very happy to be here and we're happy to let him live his dreams."

A smile spread a bit further across Brandon's face. All of the Garde were very excited to receive and hone their Legacies, but it was a very fresh breath when a Garde was excited about the academy as a whole. The young Cepan now knelt in front of the boy who was still hiding behind his grandparents, the look in his big brown eyes showing he was a little reluctant to leave the people who raised him.

"Hello Kloutus," the older began kindly, extending his hand for the boy to shake, "my name is Brandon. I'm your Cepan, and it's very nice to meet you."

"I'm….goin' live with you?" young Kloutus questioned as he hesitantly shook his hand.

"You'll have two roomates here, and I will be across the hall with your roommates' Cepans," he clarified as he stood to his full height slowly, "I look forward to bonding with you."

The eleven-year-old cast a questioning glance at his upbringing. His grandfather's face was somber and calculating, but his grandmother smiled encouragingly at him while urging him forward by the small of his back.

"We'll see you on a visit day," she assured the youth, "have fun, baby. We love you very much."

When she placed a tender kiss on the top of his head, his spirit showed in him wrinkling his nose and whined slightly, "Grandma, kisses are for babies."

"Well, you're ours," even his Grandfather chuckled a bit as he ruffled up the boy's hair, "now, go and be somebody else's little menace."

Kloutus obviously took pride in that nickname and, with a final toothy grin to his grandparents, turned to Brandon fully. His grin drooped to a slightly worried and mainly shy face as he made his way forward, accepting the man's out stretched hand. Smiling when his small fingers wrapped around his own, Brandon took a look at his exiting grandparents.

"Good hands," he assured quietly one last time before making his way toward the Living Quarters to set the boy up.

"Brandon, my legs are tired…" Kloutus spoke this quietly, like he didn't want to have his slight whine heard by his Cepan truly.

The older male just smiled gently, "Don't worry, kiddo. Almost there."

The two had been hiking pretty much all afternoon and throughout the early evening to the destination where they were supposed to truly bond. They'd known each other for about two weeks, but it still felt awkward enough to know their special bond hadn't been formed just yet. It was, at least, well on its way, and Brandon was determined to get it all the way together tonight.

"Here we are," he finally announced as they climbed upon the final mountain they'd have to trek up for the night.

"But it's just a bunch of grass and it's getting dark…" the young boy seemed to be hopelessly confused.

"Just wait until night hits, kiddo," Brandon smiled gently and swung off the heavy pack on his back, "now, let's set up our tent."

As the two youthful males set up said tent, night slowly did creep over them. And with every shade of darkness that fell over the somewhat lonesome hill, the sky slowly began to slowly come alive.

Kloutus laid back on his smaller mat and gasped at the sight above, "Oh my Lorien!"

Brandon smiled and pardoned the 'Loric name in vain' thing. The sky was gorgeous, flaunting off both of Lorien's moons in beautiful detail with the stars endless all around them. They sparkled naturally and beautifully against the last of fading twilight, showing off Lorien's true beauty that surrounded the very planet. Brandon had fallen in love with this place when his parents took him here when he was a young boy- he wished to share it with his Garde.

"W-wow…" Kloutus whispered, sounding on the verge of tears, "it's so pretty!"

"I always thought so," he smiled over at his charge gently, "it makes me very glad to know you like it here."

Something ignited in Brandon's gut at the point. A cast over to his Garde showed that he felt it as well- the warmth of a bond. Both of them shared a smile before turning back to the gorgeous infinity of that night.

It wasn't just a contest between the three little Garde, it was a contest between their Cepans as well.

Today was a Pre-Combat Training Day at the LDA, and all of their Garde were set up to go against their roommates. There wasn't much lethal about it, of course- all of the weapons were plastic or foam- but it gave the children a chance to work on their budding Legacies. Kloutus seemed to be having the time of his life going against Rave and Tex, both of whom were good friends of his in addition to bunk-mates. While the eleven years old rolled all around the mat, though, the Cepans were silently rooting for their Garde to 'win'.

"Tex is showing signs of super strength," Disi muttered to the other two as his Garde pinned down Rave.

Rave retaliated easily, flipping off the other boy and pouncing on his back as his Cepan, Bater, smirked, "And Rave showing sings of super speed."

That's about the time Kloutus let out a battle cry and jumped right on top of the two struggling boys. All three shrieked with giggles as they fell on top of each other, rolling to their backs and kicking/hitting playfully. After a few minutes of that, Kloutus rolled right atop his two friends and put down his weight on their wrists. All three were grinning as the timer went off, signaling the victor of their games.

"We'll get you!" Rave threatened playfully, hefting himself to his feet easily and towering over the winner with their other friend.

He squealed in alarm, grinning even wider as he took off for his Cepan, "Brandon! Brandon, help me!"

Chuckling, the younger Cepan out of the three caught the boy in his arms, lifting him up on his shoulder in victory as he smirked to Disi and Bater, "And Kloutus has shown signs of winning."

"Kloutus!"

A sheepish look crossed the boy's face as he slowed down his running with Rave and Tex. They were chasing each other eagerly, but Brandon's Garde ended up slowing his pace to a stop when he saw the young man his Cepan was speaking to. He had cowlicked hair and a lost, slightly restful, and curious expression on as Brandon took away his bags and told him stuff. He'd mentioned something about recruiting a new Cepan to one of the people that morning- Kloutus figured that must be him.

"Come on!" Rave grinned, having ignored the Cepan's brief scolding, "let's get to weapon class!"

Breaking into another wide grin, the now twelve-year-old took off after his friends again.

"Come on, buddy...please come out," Brandon had been coaxing his young Garde for about twenty minutes to emerge from under the bed, but said Garde was not having it.

"You're going to replace me!" he whined.

The twenty-five year old sighed softly. He had seriously considered not telling him about what he was going to do today, but the Council had insisted that the young Garde already assigned needed to see their Cepan's future assignments as well. It was quite regular for a Cepan to have more than one Garde in their lifetime- usually five or six, just like having more than one child. Today was one of the days where Cepan's would be giving out ID trackers to their newest future Garde, and this being Brandon's mere second, his first did not approve at all.

"I am not," he insisted, "Quinnth won't be coming to the LDA until he's eleven, and that's seven years from now. You'll be nineteen and heading up to a bigger training unit by then."

"But I'm your buddy...he can't have you!" Kloutus sniffed a bit at the end of his words.

"You will always be my buddy," Brandon told him seriously, "I promise."

And though a bit reluctantly, the boy was reassured and finally took his Cepan's hand again.

The night of the attack was the worst night for Lorien and Brandon.

"Kloutus!" Brandon shouted desperately as he stared at the ruins of LDA. His Garde had still been inside with the alarms went crazy and it was bombed, and now he was searching for any sign his little buddy was still alive, "KLOUTUS!"

"Br-Brandon...?" a small voice coughed smally.

In an instant the Cepan was craddled the blood, broken mess of a young boy just days away from his thirteenth birthday. Tears were slipping down both of their faces as they gripped each other tightly, lost in each other's presence despite everything. A strange peaceful look passed of Kloutus' face as blood blurred his tears; he blinked them away and squeezed his father-figure's hands.

"You have to save Quinnth..." he whispered hoarsely.

"I...I..." Brandon wanted to save he could save him, too. He really wanted too, but he knew that it wouldn't be possible after his rushed instruction from one the Elders.

There has to be nine.

"Brandon..." Kloutus looked up at the man he adored, "promise me you'll save him."

"I...I will," Brandon finally managed, kissing the boy's soaked forehead gently, "I promise...you died for Lorien, Kloutus."

His bright eyes reflected pride and love, "That's...that's all I needed...I l-l..." He gasped in sharply, "...Love you, Br-Brand...Brandon..."

With tears pouring down, he whispered, "I love you too, Kloutus."

When the second tremor passed the ground, he saw that the boy had closed his eyes and was now motionlessly smiling weakly in his arms. Trying to stomach his emotions for everyone's sakes, he laid the spirited little Loric on the ground and slowly rose. He watched as he disappeared into ashes, laying in the Loric symbol of protection.

"You're always my little buddy," Brandon whispered before heading off to fufill his final promise to his Garde.

"Brandon?" Quinnth, or better known as Four, whispered up to his Cepan, "where's Kloutus? Why do you look all frowny?"

He merely cuddled the boy to his chest. Even a week after Lorien's fall, he still thought about Kloutus as much as his wife and daughters. All of the times, good or bad, he would cherish even past death. Quinnth was his final promise to Lorien, and almost more importantly, to Kloutus.

"We'll see him again one day..." He merely whispered and held the four-year-old closer.

"Brandon," Kater spoke up as she approached with a sleeping Six, "it's time for their naps. I'll take Four if you some time to yourself."

The thing was, all the slightly younger Cepan could see was Kloutus as the boy shyly hide himself in him. Gently, he lifted up the little one up and rubbed his back.

"Don't worry," he whispered, "you're in good hands."

And as he carried Four in to get them settled, he could only feel like Kloutus was smiling.