Post by nycnewyork on Dec 6, 2010 10:38:58 GMT -6
Liet: The war had taken one hell of a toll on the blond city. His body hurt, and his head burned with fever. Even he hadn't been immune to the neglect that had struck his city at the seige of the British. The American Soldiers had died....and he was just bed ridden, sick to his stomach, and feverish. Leo Reid Jones was just glad his people were safe again, although...he wondered how Ace was doing. He'd helped take care of the kid, and he meant a lot to the older. Struggling out of bed, Leo stumbled into the kitchen, going for some food, so that he could eat....something. Rice....a banana, some crackers, soup, anything. It was hard for him to hold stuff down. Whatever though. The war-worn city was strong, and intent on making it through this. It was just illness....he'd be okay.....
Aussie: After a very brief farewell to his fellow soldiers, Ace got on the first borrowed horse he could get his hands on and rode north. He felt guilty for parting with his comrades so soon after the final victory, since most of them were injured, but he had faith in his medics and made the decision to leave matters in their capable hands. It took him almost five days to get from Yorktown to New York City. It would have taken longer still if he had done the responsible thing and allowed his horse to rest more often.
When finally in front of that familiar archway, the bloodstained boy sprinted to the door and knocked frantically at the door. “Leo?!!Leo!! Are you in there!! It’s Ace!!”
Liet: The pounding at the door interrupted him, and he coughed slightly, pulling himself towards the door. Huh. So Ace was okay. Thank god. It took the elder a moment, but he slowly opened the door, smiling at the kid. He was haggard, his blue eyes worn, dark circles marring the pale skin under his eyes. Blond hair had grown long, and was slightly greasy about now, with the dirt of the fight, "Hey kid..." His voice was rough as well, with all the coughing and the...nights spent bent over the toilet, "You made it okay.....Thank god. I was worried." He reached out to weakly ruffle Ace's hair, before leaning against the wall, "Come in, if you want. Just...be...careful. I'm sick. Don't want you gettin' sick as well."
Aussie: The boy gazed at the older city in slight shock as he spoke to him. He looked terrible. What had England been doing to him? The thought caused a painful twist at the pit of Ace’s stomach and an uncomfortable lump in his throat. He had worried so much about him during the war, and from the look of the blonde, he was right to worry. Though, at least he was okay. It is rare for a nation to die, and Ace clung desperately to that fact. The knowledge that somewhere his dear friend was alive but probably suffering so long as the war continued made the Jerseyan fight for victory all the harder.
Though, now that he was finally reunited with him, he felt at a loss for words. He stepped inside and shut the door behind him, following the blonde into the house. He had a bit of a limp due to a scrap with a redcoat during the final hour, but he ignored it. “Sick?” He laughed uneasily. “I don’t even know the meaning of the word! I never get sick! I..ACHOO..!” The truth is, he already had a pretty bad cold himself. He’d spent many nights standing watch for redcoats, and nine times out of ten those nights were frigid.
Liet: Leo gave him a weak grin, "You always were the type to brush shit off, Ace.Take care of yourself, would you? I can't-" He coughed, hard, hand coming up as the blond doubled over, a bit of blood staining his pale hand, "I can't always look after you, kiddo." His eyes showed the love he had for the smaller, because he'd taken care of Ace for a time. He knew the younger, and wanted to make sure he could be there for him, but right now….he was just in no shape to do so. His city was…tattered at best, and he himself barely able to stand.
As that thought hit him, he stumbled to one of the bins by his door, and just lost what little was in his stomach. "It's….a bit hard for me right now Ace…..'m sorry…I can't be a better host…for you.." He looked up and gave the other a weak smile. Forcing himself to stand again, he canted his head, trying to look as strong as he could, "So….how're you?"
Aussie: Ace’s look of shock and worried returned just as quickly as it had left. How could Leo worry about him at a time like this? He clenched his fists, feeling he should scold the older boy despite being younger. “Shut up and stop worrying about me okay?! Get in bed, now!” He grabbed both the bin and the blonde’s arm and pulled him over to the bedroom. He tried to pull as gently as he could, however, while still being forceful. Then he set the bin down beside the bed and drew the sheets and worn-looking quilt back and pointed to the mattress. “Get in!” He tried to be stern, but his young face made it a bit difficult to look authoritative.
Liet: Leo couldn't help but laugh at the smaller's authoritative nature at the moment. His chuckle was raspy and dry, but as the other led him into the bed, and pointed a finger at the bed, he obediently climbed in, "Asking me..." He coughed again, wiping blood off his full lips with the back of his hand, "not to worry....is like asking me not to give two shits about you, Ace. Not gonna happen." Closing his eyes, he let himself relax back, and then he cracked one eye to look at Ace, "So....You gonna be.....my mother this time 'round?" He teased.
Aussie: The boy’s expression softened as he listened to Leo’s words. When the blonde talked like that to him, Ace was hard-pressed not to melt into something far more soft and hesitant, hanging on every word. The boy flushed at that last statement and stammered. “N-no! S-shut up!!” He barked as he pulled up the covers over top of the other’s face, blocking him. “Stupid, I’m not anyone’s mom and you’re not my mom! What a dumb thing to say..!” He pulled up a chair and sat down at Leo’s bedside and crossed his arms with a huff, though there was still a flicker of worry in his eyes as he stared at the quilt-mound he’d created that was Leo’s head.
Liet: Leo laughed softly, watching the smaller until blankets were thrown over his head. Making a face at Ace under the covers, he murmured, muffled under his covers, "I'm just saying you're taking care of me Ace. No need to pull the tough-guy act on me. I changed your diapers." He loved reminding the kid about that. It was HYSTERICAL sometimes. Slowly pulling down the covers so only mischievous blue eyes peeked out, he murmured, "C'mon Ace. You love me."
Aussie: Immediately the boy turned crimson. “S-shut up, will you!! Stop bringing that up! I..I can’t help it that I was a baby once..! Someone must’ve changed your diapers too you know! I’ll bet it was Alfred!” As far as the second statement, well, he just flat-out avoided it.
”A-anyway, at least tell me you’re eating right.” With that he stands again and scurries out of the room and heads for the cellar. “That’s it, I’m making you porridge! Don’t even try to stop me!” As he grabbed the ingredients and returned inside to the kitchen, he mentally cursed himself. Doing this would just give Leo more fuel to tease him about playing “mother”, and Ace definitely did not want that.
Liet: Leo smiled softly, a loving look coming into his eyes as he watched Ace scurry out of the room, and for the cellar and the kitchen. Heh. The kid was a good kid, and Leo had no doubts that he'd helped bring him up the right way. But the poor guy was having to grow up way too quickly. Leo was often worried about him, wanting to just be there for Ace, to let him know he had someone to turn to, a shoulder to cry on. The younger seemed insistent on the tough guy act, though, and Leo let him keep that comfort. Sometimes...it helped. He would know.
Aussie: Ace returned to the bedroom with a bowl of warm porridge on a wooden tray in his hands. He set it on the bed in Leo’s lap and sat back in his chair. He looked as if he were pouting about something.
“Eat it and like it, ok?” He uttered, frowning. After that he began to fidget and looked in random directions of the room, only half-interested. He took to scratching at some dried blood on his face and looked out the window.
“We drove off those redcoats for good this week, you know. The brow-bastard finally ran home crying to his mommy.” His voice grew a bit quieter. “We’re free now. Alfie said so... We…we should be happy.”
Liet: Those eyes trained on Ace, and worry crept into his expression as the other spoke. Ace wasn't usually that nervous. "You bet." He dipped his spoon into the porridge, and ate slowly, so as not to upset his stomach. The taste of it was....heavenly, and he was delighted to have something so easy on his stomach by this point. Leo...well....he was a terrible cook. "Free. That is a nice thought, isn't it, Ace? We can only hope that Arthur stays out for good." He smiled again, "Ace.....You're acting strange. What's wrong?"
Aussie: The boy was caught off guard by this and his gaze shot back to Leo. How was he supposed to answer that? Of course, there was a million things he could have told the blonde. After all, he was exhausted, filthy, a tad sick, and not to mention all the mental and emotional trauma he and his sister had had to endure during the war. But oddly, none of that came to mind at the moment. All he could thing about was Leo.
“I…It’s not that..I just..” He couldn’t exactly put what he was feeling into words at first. But then his mouth seemed to explode faster than his brain filter could keep up with. “It’s YOU! All this time I had no idea how you were! I had no clue what’s been happening or what they’ve been doing to you! I mean look at you!! It’s so stupid! I hate it! I can’t stand see you like this! Even if you’re dumb most of the time, you didn’t deserve this!! I was so worried! Every single day I was worried and..and..I HATE IT!!”
Even as he yelled, his eyes were beginning to swell with oncoming tears. He wasn’t even sure why he should be so upset now that he knew Leo was safe, but he just couldn’t help it.
Liet: Leo's eyes softened sadly, and he let out a slow breath, "Ace....." He knew the younger worried as well. Finishing off the porridge, he sat up in bed, and pulled the other close, so that his head rested on Leo's chest. Gently kissing the brunette's head, he whispered into his hair, "You had your own battles. I'll be okay. I did my job, taking care of my people. Some of them were worse than I was....a lot of them died just from neglect, Ace. I had to....stay strong. I tried to send letters, but....I guess they got intercepted." He closed his eyes, but kept Ace close against his chest, with his head pressed to the other's hair. He didn't want the younger to see the tears leaking out of his eyes, didn't want to seem weaker than he was sure that he already seemed.
Aussie: The dark-brunette’s body went rigid for a moment as he was unexpectedly pulled into the embrace. It wasn’t until after Leo had finished speaking that Ace realized his was holding his breath, once again hanging on his former caretaker’s every word. Slowly, very slowly, he reached up and clung to Leo’s shirt with one hand and buried his now tear-stained face into it. For a long time, he was comfortable with just the silence at he cried into the older boy’s chest, but then a whisper finally broke the silence.
“..you..you wrote to me..? I didn’t know..” He sniffed. “And..me too..I saw a lot of people die too..my people..” Finally he pulled away and looked up at Leo with wide, pleading eyes that were still damp with tears. “I’m so sick of fighting…I’m just.. I’m really, really tired.” Indeed, the boy looked far more worn physically and emotionally than he should’ve at his age. He looked weighed-down on as if he had lived a thousand lives. He was too tired to even yawn or show any expressions of fatigue, it could only be told through his exhausted features.
Liet: Leo let him cry. It helped, he knew, just letting someone cry after something so traumatizing as that. "Of course I wrote you, Ace." He whispered. Of course he'd written. Leo cared too much about Ace to leave him in the dark, "I know. I know it's hard, Ace. I know...how tired it can make you. Believe me. I've lived through enough of it." Pulling Ace onto the bed, the City pulled the boy so that he was lying against his side, with Leo himself on his back. Wrapping one arm so it clung around the smaller's shoulders, he sighed, "You're exhausted, and you need to let yourself just be a kid for a bit. Stay with me....Let me take..." He paused again, turning away from Ace to cough into his already blood-stained pillow, adding more red to the browning colors, "Let me take care of you again for a bit. Let you be a kid."
Aussie: Ace was startled when he was pulled into the bed. He wouldn’t have questioned it in earlier years, seeing as he was just a little tot back then, but so much time had passed since then. But for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to protest either. He did want to be close to Leo again. Truly, he did. They had been apart for far too long, it felt like.
When he say the blonde cough up more blood into his pillow, he shifted and sat up a little. Without thinking about it, he reached out and touched Leo’s shoulder in worry. His features clearly described his fear and concern for the older boy’s condition. “You’re..you’re in no condition to be looking out for me, so don’t.” He muttered, finally shaking it off and picking up the tray and placing it on the bedside table before Leo’s fits of coughing sent it tumbling to the floor.
“Let’s just..” He laid down again when Leo settled, speaking more softly. “Let’s just stop with this ‘who is the caretaker’ garbage and just agree to look out for each other..ya know..” He sighed, closing his eyes and finally beginning to doze after so many sleepless nights, “..like equals..”
Liet: Leo smiled softly, and closed his eyes. Kissing the Jersey boy's head, he sighed softly, "Of course." He whispered, pulling the boy closer to him, and humming an old lullaby. He was more than used to singing this song to the boy, a song he'd hummed back before England had become a bastard. Leo knew that Ace would always be the little kid to him, though as he grew......he was staring to realize....just how attractive he was getting. The eighteen year old wouldn't say that.....
Aussie: Had Ace been completely conscious and aware, the kiss to the forehead probably would have made him flustered in was he didn’t quite understand. But instead he took it as if it was the most casual of actions and his eyes remained closed. His small hand still clung to the other’s shirt as he drifted off into what would be the most blissful, restful sleep he had experienced in ages. And he drifted off so quickly he didn’t even have time remove his boots or his petticoat. Sure, nightmares were sure to plague him in the nights ahead, but just being here…just being here beside one of the closest and most important people in his life, brought the troubled and weary boy to a perfectly complete state of peace.
Aussie: After a very brief farewell to his fellow soldiers, Ace got on the first borrowed horse he could get his hands on and rode north. He felt guilty for parting with his comrades so soon after the final victory, since most of them were injured, but he had faith in his medics and made the decision to leave matters in their capable hands. It took him almost five days to get from Yorktown to New York City. It would have taken longer still if he had done the responsible thing and allowed his horse to rest more often.
When finally in front of that familiar archway, the bloodstained boy sprinted to the door and knocked frantically at the door. “Leo?!!Leo!! Are you in there!! It’s Ace!!”
Liet: The pounding at the door interrupted him, and he coughed slightly, pulling himself towards the door. Huh. So Ace was okay. Thank god. It took the elder a moment, but he slowly opened the door, smiling at the kid. He was haggard, his blue eyes worn, dark circles marring the pale skin under his eyes. Blond hair had grown long, and was slightly greasy about now, with the dirt of the fight, "Hey kid..." His voice was rough as well, with all the coughing and the...nights spent bent over the toilet, "You made it okay.....Thank god. I was worried." He reached out to weakly ruffle Ace's hair, before leaning against the wall, "Come in, if you want. Just...be...careful. I'm sick. Don't want you gettin' sick as well."
Aussie: The boy gazed at the older city in slight shock as he spoke to him. He looked terrible. What had England been doing to him? The thought caused a painful twist at the pit of Ace’s stomach and an uncomfortable lump in his throat. He had worried so much about him during the war, and from the look of the blonde, he was right to worry. Though, at least he was okay. It is rare for a nation to die, and Ace clung desperately to that fact. The knowledge that somewhere his dear friend was alive but probably suffering so long as the war continued made the Jerseyan fight for victory all the harder.
Though, now that he was finally reunited with him, he felt at a loss for words. He stepped inside and shut the door behind him, following the blonde into the house. He had a bit of a limp due to a scrap with a redcoat during the final hour, but he ignored it. “Sick?” He laughed uneasily. “I don’t even know the meaning of the word! I never get sick! I..ACHOO..!” The truth is, he already had a pretty bad cold himself. He’d spent many nights standing watch for redcoats, and nine times out of ten those nights were frigid.
Liet: Leo gave him a weak grin, "You always were the type to brush shit off, Ace.Take care of yourself, would you? I can't-" He coughed, hard, hand coming up as the blond doubled over, a bit of blood staining his pale hand, "I can't always look after you, kiddo." His eyes showed the love he had for the smaller, because he'd taken care of Ace for a time. He knew the younger, and wanted to make sure he could be there for him, but right now….he was just in no shape to do so. His city was…tattered at best, and he himself barely able to stand.
As that thought hit him, he stumbled to one of the bins by his door, and just lost what little was in his stomach. "It's….a bit hard for me right now Ace…..'m sorry…I can't be a better host…for you.." He looked up and gave the other a weak smile. Forcing himself to stand again, he canted his head, trying to look as strong as he could, "So….how're you?"
Aussie: Ace’s look of shock and worried returned just as quickly as it had left. How could Leo worry about him at a time like this? He clenched his fists, feeling he should scold the older boy despite being younger. “Shut up and stop worrying about me okay?! Get in bed, now!” He grabbed both the bin and the blonde’s arm and pulled him over to the bedroom. He tried to pull as gently as he could, however, while still being forceful. Then he set the bin down beside the bed and drew the sheets and worn-looking quilt back and pointed to the mattress. “Get in!” He tried to be stern, but his young face made it a bit difficult to look authoritative.
Liet: Leo couldn't help but laugh at the smaller's authoritative nature at the moment. His chuckle was raspy and dry, but as the other led him into the bed, and pointed a finger at the bed, he obediently climbed in, "Asking me..." He coughed again, wiping blood off his full lips with the back of his hand, "not to worry....is like asking me not to give two shits about you, Ace. Not gonna happen." Closing his eyes, he let himself relax back, and then he cracked one eye to look at Ace, "So....You gonna be.....my mother this time 'round?" He teased.
Aussie: The boy’s expression softened as he listened to Leo’s words. When the blonde talked like that to him, Ace was hard-pressed not to melt into something far more soft and hesitant, hanging on every word. The boy flushed at that last statement and stammered. “N-no! S-shut up!!” He barked as he pulled up the covers over top of the other’s face, blocking him. “Stupid, I’m not anyone’s mom and you’re not my mom! What a dumb thing to say..!” He pulled up a chair and sat down at Leo’s bedside and crossed his arms with a huff, though there was still a flicker of worry in his eyes as he stared at the quilt-mound he’d created that was Leo’s head.
Liet: Leo laughed softly, watching the smaller until blankets were thrown over his head. Making a face at Ace under the covers, he murmured, muffled under his covers, "I'm just saying you're taking care of me Ace. No need to pull the tough-guy act on me. I changed your diapers." He loved reminding the kid about that. It was HYSTERICAL sometimes. Slowly pulling down the covers so only mischievous blue eyes peeked out, he murmured, "C'mon Ace. You love me."
Aussie: Immediately the boy turned crimson. “S-shut up, will you!! Stop bringing that up! I..I can’t help it that I was a baby once..! Someone must’ve changed your diapers too you know! I’ll bet it was Alfred!” As far as the second statement, well, he just flat-out avoided it.
”A-anyway, at least tell me you’re eating right.” With that he stands again and scurries out of the room and heads for the cellar. “That’s it, I’m making you porridge! Don’t even try to stop me!” As he grabbed the ingredients and returned inside to the kitchen, he mentally cursed himself. Doing this would just give Leo more fuel to tease him about playing “mother”, and Ace definitely did not want that.
Liet: Leo smiled softly, a loving look coming into his eyes as he watched Ace scurry out of the room, and for the cellar and the kitchen. Heh. The kid was a good kid, and Leo had no doubts that he'd helped bring him up the right way. But the poor guy was having to grow up way too quickly. Leo was often worried about him, wanting to just be there for Ace, to let him know he had someone to turn to, a shoulder to cry on. The younger seemed insistent on the tough guy act, though, and Leo let him keep that comfort. Sometimes...it helped. He would know.
Aussie: Ace returned to the bedroom with a bowl of warm porridge on a wooden tray in his hands. He set it on the bed in Leo’s lap and sat back in his chair. He looked as if he were pouting about something.
“Eat it and like it, ok?” He uttered, frowning. After that he began to fidget and looked in random directions of the room, only half-interested. He took to scratching at some dried blood on his face and looked out the window.
“We drove off those redcoats for good this week, you know. The brow-bastard finally ran home crying to his mommy.” His voice grew a bit quieter. “We’re free now. Alfie said so... We…we should be happy.”
Liet: Those eyes trained on Ace, and worry crept into his expression as the other spoke. Ace wasn't usually that nervous. "You bet." He dipped his spoon into the porridge, and ate slowly, so as not to upset his stomach. The taste of it was....heavenly, and he was delighted to have something so easy on his stomach by this point. Leo...well....he was a terrible cook. "Free. That is a nice thought, isn't it, Ace? We can only hope that Arthur stays out for good." He smiled again, "Ace.....You're acting strange. What's wrong?"
Aussie: The boy was caught off guard by this and his gaze shot back to Leo. How was he supposed to answer that? Of course, there was a million things he could have told the blonde. After all, he was exhausted, filthy, a tad sick, and not to mention all the mental and emotional trauma he and his sister had had to endure during the war. But oddly, none of that came to mind at the moment. All he could thing about was Leo.
“I…It’s not that..I just..” He couldn’t exactly put what he was feeling into words at first. But then his mouth seemed to explode faster than his brain filter could keep up with. “It’s YOU! All this time I had no idea how you were! I had no clue what’s been happening or what they’ve been doing to you! I mean look at you!! It’s so stupid! I hate it! I can’t stand see you like this! Even if you’re dumb most of the time, you didn’t deserve this!! I was so worried! Every single day I was worried and..and..I HATE IT!!”
Even as he yelled, his eyes were beginning to swell with oncoming tears. He wasn’t even sure why he should be so upset now that he knew Leo was safe, but he just couldn’t help it.
Liet: Leo's eyes softened sadly, and he let out a slow breath, "Ace....." He knew the younger worried as well. Finishing off the porridge, he sat up in bed, and pulled the other close, so that his head rested on Leo's chest. Gently kissing the brunette's head, he whispered into his hair, "You had your own battles. I'll be okay. I did my job, taking care of my people. Some of them were worse than I was....a lot of them died just from neglect, Ace. I had to....stay strong. I tried to send letters, but....I guess they got intercepted." He closed his eyes, but kept Ace close against his chest, with his head pressed to the other's hair. He didn't want the younger to see the tears leaking out of his eyes, didn't want to seem weaker than he was sure that he already seemed.
Aussie: The dark-brunette’s body went rigid for a moment as he was unexpectedly pulled into the embrace. It wasn’t until after Leo had finished speaking that Ace realized his was holding his breath, once again hanging on his former caretaker’s every word. Slowly, very slowly, he reached up and clung to Leo’s shirt with one hand and buried his now tear-stained face into it. For a long time, he was comfortable with just the silence at he cried into the older boy’s chest, but then a whisper finally broke the silence.
“..you..you wrote to me..? I didn’t know..” He sniffed. “And..me too..I saw a lot of people die too..my people..” Finally he pulled away and looked up at Leo with wide, pleading eyes that were still damp with tears. “I’m so sick of fighting…I’m just.. I’m really, really tired.” Indeed, the boy looked far more worn physically and emotionally than he should’ve at his age. He looked weighed-down on as if he had lived a thousand lives. He was too tired to even yawn or show any expressions of fatigue, it could only be told through his exhausted features.
Liet: Leo let him cry. It helped, he knew, just letting someone cry after something so traumatizing as that. "Of course I wrote you, Ace." He whispered. Of course he'd written. Leo cared too much about Ace to leave him in the dark, "I know. I know it's hard, Ace. I know...how tired it can make you. Believe me. I've lived through enough of it." Pulling Ace onto the bed, the City pulled the boy so that he was lying against his side, with Leo himself on his back. Wrapping one arm so it clung around the smaller's shoulders, he sighed, "You're exhausted, and you need to let yourself just be a kid for a bit. Stay with me....Let me take..." He paused again, turning away from Ace to cough into his already blood-stained pillow, adding more red to the browning colors, "Let me take care of you again for a bit. Let you be a kid."
Aussie: Ace was startled when he was pulled into the bed. He wouldn’t have questioned it in earlier years, seeing as he was just a little tot back then, but so much time had passed since then. But for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to protest either. He did want to be close to Leo again. Truly, he did. They had been apart for far too long, it felt like.
When he say the blonde cough up more blood into his pillow, he shifted and sat up a little. Without thinking about it, he reached out and touched Leo’s shoulder in worry. His features clearly described his fear and concern for the older boy’s condition. “You’re..you’re in no condition to be looking out for me, so don’t.” He muttered, finally shaking it off and picking up the tray and placing it on the bedside table before Leo’s fits of coughing sent it tumbling to the floor.
“Let’s just..” He laid down again when Leo settled, speaking more softly. “Let’s just stop with this ‘who is the caretaker’ garbage and just agree to look out for each other..ya know..” He sighed, closing his eyes and finally beginning to doze after so many sleepless nights, “..like equals..”
Liet: Leo smiled softly, and closed his eyes. Kissing the Jersey boy's head, he sighed softly, "Of course." He whispered, pulling the boy closer to him, and humming an old lullaby. He was more than used to singing this song to the boy, a song he'd hummed back before England had become a bastard. Leo knew that Ace would always be the little kid to him, though as he grew......he was staring to realize....just how attractive he was getting. The eighteen year old wouldn't say that.....
Aussie: Had Ace been completely conscious and aware, the kiss to the forehead probably would have made him flustered in was he didn’t quite understand. But instead he took it as if it was the most casual of actions and his eyes remained closed. His small hand still clung to the other’s shirt as he drifted off into what would be the most blissful, restful sleep he had experienced in ages. And he drifted off so quickly he didn’t even have time remove his boots or his petticoat. Sure, nightmares were sure to plague him in the nights ahead, but just being here…just being here beside one of the closest and most important people in his life, brought the troubled and weary boy to a perfectly complete state of peace.