Learning to Trust {for Soku}

[CleverFox]

Adjusting to life in the foster care system was hard for any child and eleven year old Crevan Alexander Faolan was no exception to that though his circumstances made it even harder for him to adjust to being with strangers. His biological father was abusive so his home life up until the point where he was taken by social services had been a truly horrific one but even so it was all that the boy had ever known so he was still traumatized when he was torn from everything that he had known and placed in foster care. Things had sort of spiraled for him after that, with Crevan having several foster homes in a short span of time, that serving to give him the impression that no one was going to keep him. And it only added fuel to his idea that if he was going to be sent away then it was going to be on his own terms and not someone else's. He also felt that if he was going to be punished for something he was going to make sure that he deserved it but that was mainly because of his father that he felt that way.

Running away from his foster parents, trespassing, and some mild vandalism had been enough to land him in a program that was something of a cross between a reform school and a rehabilitation program and was targeted toward children that the system viewed as at risk of escalating to more serious crimes. Crevan wasn't particularly happy about what was going on but there was little to nothing that he could do about that fact.

The boy had a scowl on his face as he was lead toward the group of buildings that comprised the campus of this facility, some of them containing apartment like dorms where each of the children in the program were housed with a mentor that they were assigned to for the duration, and others containing the classrooms since this was a school even if the main focus was nipping the unwanted behavior in the bud. Crevan gazed around as he was lead forward by his probation officer, the man having a firm hand on his shoulder as he too gazed about. "Alright Crevan, we're supposed to meet your mentor here and I expect you to be on your best behavior," the man said, earning a scoff from the boy but nothing else.

[Soku]

Cyrus Green’s loafers hit the pavement with the force of each step the grad student of age twenty-four yanked his hand out of his pocket to check his watch not late the two words swam through his mind as he rounded another corner and heard the chatter of many voices that seemed to overlap and combine into one all at once. Slicking a hand through pitch black hair, bark brown maple colored eyes squinted a bit as they looked around the meeting hall of many children great there are too many kids here! Cyrus took a few more steps forward around a small group and stopped the name plate Crevan Faolan. With a grin that came with ease, Cyrus stepped up to them.

As he did, the man took in the profile of the boy, with a silent raised eyebrow he is eleven? A little scrawny if you ask me….how am I supposed to help with that? The college student had signed up for this program for credit, it was not the sole purpose, of course he cared about people and wanted to help, butt, yeah 90 percent of this was for credit, and it would be a piece of cake you basically just hang with a kid all day but by the looks of this Crevan kid, he looked as if he wanted to go on a rampage and flip a few tables. Clearing his throat, Cyrus offered his hand out to the probation officer first,

“Cyrus Green, Sir, here to mentor Crevan Faolan, and you must be him,” Turning his attention to the unhappy looking blue eyed brunette, “Nice to meet you, and hey, we have something in common already both our names start with a C, how about that?” It was his best attempt to get the ball rolling in a friendly and positive way.

[CleverFox]

Crevan didn't know anything about this so called mentor that he had been paired up with and he didn't know much about the program itself aside from this was an alternative to being sent to juvie, which he was imagining would be less than pleasant. Still he wasn't particularly happy right now given that he hadn't been given a choice in the matter and he was expecting whoever he was paired up with to be just as much of a jerk as everyone else that he had came into contact with. When a man who appeared to be in his early to mid twenties came walking up to them Crevan gazed at him with something of an appraising look, gazing on with celestial blue eyes as the guy introduced himself.

When the guy made the comment about both of their names starting with a C the boy couldn't help but roll his eyes at that. "Could you be less stupid please?" Crevan asked sort of obnoxiously, not particularly fond of the young man's statement if he were being honest with himself since it sounded like something that someone would say to a small child or something like that.

The probation officer gave Crevan a look as the boy said that, frowning before he turned to Cyrus and nodded his head while at the same time releasing the hold that he had on Crevan. "I wish you the best of luck with this one," he said quietly, looking at the moody boy that was standing with him. "Crevan's a good kid but he's had it sort of rough and he seems to be taking that out on everyone else right now." That earned him a glare from Crevan that he just chose to ignore, the man instead fishing in his pocket for a card which he offered to Cyrus as he said, "If you need me for anything just call. Other than that I'll leave you to it."

After saying that the officer gave Crevan one final look that was meant to be a warning for the boy to behave himself and after that he turned to walk away.

[Soku]

“Hp.” The quiet noise caught in Cyrus’s throat as his shoulders stiffening a bit not expecting that to be the first thing out of Crevan’s mouth Great botched the first impression…well at least he did not say I was stupid just to act less, huh, what a clever little runt. Cyrus continued to look upon the child with a mix of an interested and a bit offended sort of look for being shot down so quickly, for now he turned his attention back to the probation officer to listen to him talk, wishing the college student good luck.

At that moment, Cyrus got a bit of a pang of uncertainty maybe this would not be as easy as he had envisioned…but this Crevan kid would just have to cheer up a bit, sure life as hard and whatever, but what this kid went through, he got himself here right? That was his mistake, and Cyrus job was to help him find a way away from those mistakes. Of course this was his view as of now not knowing anything about Crevan but his name and age, maybe he would learn more and different as time went on, who knew? He really just needed the credit for doing this.

“Thanks, I will be sure to if it’s needed,” Cyrus took the card and re-put it back into a pocket then he watched the man leave before looking back to Crevan and giving a grin with ease again, “Okay, so maybe that was a little lame, but how about we both have pretty unique names, and if that does not work, why don’t we go check out were we will be staying? I heard it was really cool digs our belongings are already there.” Cyrus took a step forward going towards the direction of the exist to apartments.

[CleverFox]

Crevan watched the exchange between his new mentor and his probation officer with disinterest, the boy gazing around with a keen look in his blue eyes but at least part of that was because he was debating whether or not he could make a break for it. After all running away from foster homes was at least part of what had landed him here in the first place and he wasn't quite ready to give up on that even if he hadn't the slightest clue of what he was going to do should he actually manage to get away for more than a day or two. Genius level IQ aside he was still a kid and there was only so much that he could do to provide for himself.

He was brought out of those thoughts when Cyrus spoke to him again, the boy turning his baby blues toward the man and giving him a look that was hard to identify as he heard what the guy had to say. "How about we go with none of those options and you just let me walk away? Won't cost ya nothing and then I'll be out of your hair," Crevan suggested, liking that option better than the one that Cyrus gave and he really wasn't terribly interested in the accommodations that wree provided for them while he was incarcerated in this so called rehab program.

The place really was nice, each room was actually a suite with two bedrooms, a bathroom, small living room and a kitchen so it was made to comfortably accommodate two individuals and they wouldn't be cramped. They were expected to take care of the little apartments and keep them clean but that was all outlined in the books that the mentors had been given before they met with their charges. Crevan wasn't aware of any of that nor was he really interested, his blue eyes surveying the others that were gathered and he seemed a bit nervous because of the crowd, the kid strategically making sure that no one was standing behind him.

[Soku]

Cyrus did not even think of the possiblity of Crevan running away, he had experience with kids, but mostly his relatives, and he could just hand them back when they got to be like real annoying. This however was different Well, he is not a happy camper, but that is okay, he is probably just shy Cyrus watched Crevan look around as he thought this catching on to a bit of his nervousness,

"Afriad I can't do that Crevan, for one your justa kid and two your my responsibility, my mentee that means I have to look out for you, and it will cost us both a lot if I do let you go, soo, lets go with choice number two and check out our new place," He put more pep into his voice trying to be encourging, he once again notcied the sort of nervous behavoir as the baby blue eyes bounced around,

"If we go outside, there are less people, come on." He gestured for Crevan to follow, not wanting to invade the kid's personal space by touching him.

[CleverFox]

Crevan really did just want to wander off and forget about this whole thing so he tried to get his so called mentor to just let him do that, his blue eyes going to Cyrus when the man told him that he couldn't do that, adding that he was just a kid and that he was the man's responsibility. "I can take care of myself," Crevan felt the need to point out to him, not really thinking that was going to help the situation but he tried it anyway. When it was confirmed that Cyrus was not going to cooperate with him Crevan actually growled low in his throat, shaking his head slightly when the man suggested that they go and look at their new place.

That was not something that he particularly wanted to do but at the same time he did want to get away from the crowd, that making him more than a little nervous. That was going to prove to be the deciding factor in this little battle of wills, Crevan's desire to get away from the crowd outweighing his stubborn desire to refuse to follow Cyrus. At least for the moment he was going to be cooperative though how long that was going to last was anyone's guess.

[Soku]

Cyrus only smiled at the boys claims of being able to take care of himself, he could remember making the same types of assurances around that age to his grandmother. It was funny how she set him straight let him live out in a tent in the backyard for a week boy that taught him, he was not ready to live on the land by himself, Cyrus found himself relaying a bit of his experiences to Crevan,

"I used to think and feel that way too round your age bud, but let me tell you, its not as easy as it may seem, freedom defeniently comes with responsibility." The twenty four year old spoke from some wisdom having been in a few fixes that many young adults get into more or less when on their own. Maple brown eyes blinked as an eyebrow quirked slightly Did he just snarl at me? Man this kid.... But Cyrus let that thought go as Crevan followed after him.

As they weaved through the crowded area, Cyrus felt a bit of an odd instinct causing him to glance back at the boy every now and then just to make sure he was with him. Cyrus open the door to the sunlight and freshly cut grass smell of summer, he held the door open for Crevan waiting till he got through, "Sunshine and less noisy, much better right?"

[CleverFox]

Crevan looked at Cyrus as the man spoke to him and said that he had thought the same thing when he was younger but that freedom came with responsibility, the boy looking at his mentor as though he were an idiot or something. "I could say something...but you wouldn't like it," he said, not sure if it would be enough to make the man mad but right now he wasn't really willing to take that risk and he did want to be away from the crowd so he followed along behind Cyrus.

That was mainly because he currently thought of the young man as the lesser of two evils but he kept that thought to himself as well. Honestly he wasn't quite sure what to make of the man at this point so he just kept his thought to himself as he tried to sort them, Crevan looking at him when he said that sunshine and less noise were better, the boy nodding sort of tensely.

"I don't like being around people," he felt the need to point out, trying to make himself sound like a brat but in reality he just ended up sounding nervous.

[Soku]

Cyrus waited for Crevan to come outside as he wondered what the kid had to say that he would not like? Kids were pretty innocent, and they used words to wildly like hate that they did not know the full meaning of, so whatever Crevan was thinking was probably not that bad, but what sort of comments did he have about freedom and responsibility? Perhaps that it was stupid? It did not work that way? Hm, his curiousity was perked and the kid was pretty clever, noted the comment he decided to make. But Crevan waved it off in his mind, if the kid knew he should not say, best not ask? Or should he? Maybe the problem was this kid did not have enough freedom, yeah kids needed boundries and structure, but no freedom or choices was unhealthy....it was confusing to think about because he just did not know the boy at all,

"Its okay to not like crowded rooms, but no one in there was going to bit you." Cyrus missed the meaning Crevan was trying to point out because of the nervousness he conveyed. Walking along the brick path way, Cyrus watched the kid side long before venturing to ask, "So, do you like the outdoors, just to hang around out here? Or play sports? Games?" He was trying to engage a conversation at least to get the I hate the world kind of look that vibed from the kid, just as probation officer had mentioned.