Story Title: Nowhere To Stay
Characters: Bean Soldier, Juudai||Pairing: N/A
Chapter Word Count: 750||Story Word Count: 750||Chapter Count: 1/2
Genre: Drama||Rated: G
Challenge: Diversity Writing Challenge, C5, 2-shot with 750 word chapters; Chapter Set Boot Camp, #1, 2 chapters; Character Diversity Boot Camp, #40, someone
Notes: This takes place after Juudai's defeat of Brron. That's all that you need to know. This is a rewrite of the original version by the same title.
Summary: Bean Soldier wouldn't let anyone into the village. That was his duty as a gate guard. No one was going to come in there after it grew too dark, not that kid in the red jacket, and not that guy in the black armor.

This is the most boring job ever. Bean Soldier leaned against his spear. As long as he kept his eyes on what was going on outside the village, he could lean if he wanted to. Some of the other soldiers preferred to remain upright and rigid during their whole shifts. In his opinion, that just led to getting backaches and needing massages at the end of your shift.

Not that there was anything wrong with a good massage, but he kind of preferred getting one because he wanted it, not because he couldn't move without one.

At least his shift would be over soon and he could get something to eat and see what else was going on around town. Not that there was ever much. At least if someone approached while he was on sentry duty, he'd know about it. The stockade around town kept everyone out who didn't need to be in and there wasn't anyone who didn't live here who didn't need to be here.

Sometimes people from Brron's stretch of the world came over this way, but the other soldiers kept them away. Bean Soldier himself had given the alert on them a couple of times. It just wasn't worth it to let strangers in. You never knew what they could turn out to want or who they could be. He'd heard stories about people who let in strangers and the strangers turned out to be spies.

Not on his watch, no matter how boring it was. He kind of liked boring. It meant everything was going just fine.

He took another look out, peering through the evening gloom. The comet's dark time – what other people in other worlds called 'night', or so he'd heard – wasn't that far away. It would be too dark for anyone to see where they were going without torches, and that was when the village torches were lit, and a new shift took over.

Bean Soldier blinked, rubbed his eyes, and looked again. Someone was coming that way. Just one person, he guessed, and not moving all that fast. It wasn't anyone that he knew or anyone who belonged in the village. All the locals were already inside and tending to their evening chores.

The stranger stumbled up to the locked and barred gate, staring at it for a few moments before starting to raise a fist.

"Don't bother," Bean Soldier said, leaning over a little so he could try to get a better look at whoever this was. He couldn't make out too much, mostly since it was so dark already, but he thought he saw some sort of red piece of clothing on the guy. A shirt or a jacket or maybe a cloak. He couldn't tell beyond that.

Then the other looked up, and Bean Soldier got a good look at his face. Human, male, with drooping brown hair that looked as if it hadn't seen a wash in ages, and large brown eyes, red-rimmed with weariness and tears. A scrape marred one cheek, with a tiny bit of dried blood there.

"Please, let me in," he said, voice as tired as his eyes looked. "Just for tonight. I'll be gone in the morning, I promise."

Bean Soldier shook his head. "Nope. Can't do it. The gates are closed and locked. No one is allowed in who doesn't live here." He made a shooing motion with one hand. "There's some caves over that way." His motion included the mountains rising off toward the comet's tail. "You can stay there. Should be safe."

Unless Brron's soldiers attacked or some monster with an appetite turned up that way or one of the other monsters that liked to claim slaves for themselves wandered that way.

But maybe he'd be all right.

The other tried to talk again, but words failed him. His shoulders slumped down and he started to turn away. Bean Soldier almost felt sorry for him. From what he'd seen, the guy wasn't that old, maybe little more than a kid, probably not old enough to be on his own, at least by what he knew of human standards.

He almost called out to him, ready to open the door and let him in anyway. Then he closed his mouth and settled himself back into his favored resting position. Can't do that. Rules are rules. He'll be all right.

The kid slumped his way out of sight, fading into the shadows of the forest. Bean Soldier wished him well.

To Be Continued

Notes: Just two chapters here. The 2nd one goes up Thursday, since I have it already written.