Children of Eden

"So. . . . ," Michael began and trailed off, his blue eyes lowered to the ground. Or, more specifically, to where the message still lingered.

Seven remain.

A red tongue flicked out, wetting dry and cracked pale pink lips. Slim white fingers adjusted the scarf wrapped round his neck, tugging at the neck lining to loosen its hold. His eyes rose, tearing themselves away from the burning words, to glance at his companion who stood to his right. They lingered for barely a second before his attention shifted to two others that stood with them. Though he didn't live in a large village, Michael was still ignorant as to who most of residents were.

Even Arc, the boy who was now dead, burned at the stake like a witch during the religious period in time, was someone he didn't really know. He had heard of him, yes, by word of mouth but that was about it. His likes, his dislikes, his hobbies, his dreams, it was all just some blank slate. Then again, Michael didn't really interact with anybody. As long as he had Lucifer, the redhead didn't find much need to make more friends. So standing here, with two unknowns and Lucifer, Michael felt just a touch concerned.

Releasing a breath quietly, Michael looked back to where Lucifer stood. The brunet was standing stone still, his black eyes staring down at the ground. The redhead frowned, eyes narrowing slightly as he watched the man. After a second or two of observation, the boy lifted a hand and waved it in front of the brunet's face. Lucifer didn't so much as twitch nor did he blink. Oh dear, was basically the thought that ran its way through Michael's mind.

With an inaudible sigh, Michael used the same hand he had been waving in Lucifer's face to pat the man lightly against his cheek. At first, Lucifer made no move to acknowledge the action. A second pat made the man blink and a third caused the brunet to raise his eyes. Lucifer then turned his gaze onto the shorter male, something like confusion in his dark eyes.

"Are you tired?" the redhead inquired before smiling sheepishly. "Sorry for keeping you up late last night." Michael had ended up dragging the man outside in the middle of the night in order to show him the Heaven's Mirrors that grew in an isolated spot. He had been raising them in secret until last night, where they had finally grown enough to absorb sunlight in the mornings and bloom in the darkness. "But it was good, right?"

"It was wonderful," was Lucifer's answer and Michael grinned at the reply. The man then shifted, his gaze shifting from left to right and back again slowly. "Why are we here?"

Michael grimaced. "We were told to clean up that." He indicated the letters imprinted into the ground. Lucifer looked down.

"Ah."

 

A message perpetually burned into the ground.

In the center of Edena, four young people stood, tasked with something that may very well have been impossible. After the death of one of Terran's descendants, the people had been wrought into chaos. What once they thought had long since passed had suddenly come back to haunt them all again in the form of this insanity. This particular morning was decently quiet, but the fear in the air was nearly palpable. Standing before the odd message that had been created by Arc's death--the death of the Terran descendant--was a tall gentleman with long slender legs and short, wavy blond hair that stuck out in a few places this morning because of the crisp breeze. Crimson eyes gazed down at the ominous message with somewhat disdain that was mixed with curiosity all at the same time. His arms were crossed, and he seemed just about completely oblivious to the younger boy that he was carrying on his back. Beautiful, near-shoulder length white hair graced the boy's head, and light blue eyes gazed down at the message as well, trying to find it as interesting as his older friend and current carrier. The older of the two listened to the banter of the other males in the vicinity--a redhead and a rather vacant fellow with oddly dark eyes. They spoke of late nights and flower-gazing. What a wondrous pair to assign to a task such as this. The older one didn't even appear to know why he was there. What on earth was this lunacy? The fact that the blond had no idea how to go about getting rid of this accursed message wasn't making things any easier.

"Pssst. Waaaaltz," the younger boy whispered into the blond's ear. "You're so much more brooding than usual," he teased, a cheery grin forming on his cute, young face. Waltz could be rather serious at times, but this was ridiculous. The boy could almost feel the irritation radiating from his friend's form. It was greatly unsettling. All he wanted was for Waltz to be happy. Waltz had abandoned his effort to keep the boy lifted, so the boy now hung from the taller, older gentleman with his arms around the guy's neck. Suddenly, he felt himself lifted up again, Waltz's arms no longer crossed but now resting beneath the younger boy's bottom. The boy smiled and nuzzled his cheek against Waltz's which elicited no reaction from the guy for a few moments.

"The message is unnerving is all." Those words were spoken, and at the instance, he decided to abandon said message for a moment, turning to face the other two that were assigned to come up with some way to get rid of it. "You two. What are your names?" Waltz asked rather fiercely, though he allowed a smile to creep onto his face revealing his beautiful white teeth, the prominent canines glinting almost wickedly. The weaponry he packed didn't do anything to make his appearance less intimidating or imposing. A greatsword rested in plain sight on his back, and attached to his belt were two sheathes: one housing his knife with the other housing his short sword.

"Waltz, don't be rude," the boy on Waltz's back spoke up, gazing out at the other two with glee. "It's always polite to introduce yourself first," he stated matter-of-factly. "My name's Kaori Inagawa, nice to meetcha~" Kaori placed a small hand atop Waltz's head. "And the blondie here is Waltz, Lord of Arms, or so he likes to call himself, but he's got a way to go." Kaori giggled and was just glad to not have been immediately thrown off of Waltz's back. Trying to push the thought out of his mind, he awaited the answer of the other males.

"I am the Lord of Arms, but that's apparently not important," Waltz stated lightly with a shrug, his sharp gaze falling upon the other duo. "Many apologies for my rudeness."

 

Both Michael and Lucifer raised their heads to look at the two standing opposite them. Though Michael eyed the large man apprehensively, his apology didn't make him any less intimidating, Lucifer was staring at Kaori with an unblinking gaze. His right hand had raised itself, thumb and pointer finger touching his chin lightly in a sort of thinking pose, his other hand supporting his raised arm. His expression was unreadable, however, an eerie darkness lurking within his irises. Michael, his attention focused on the other pair, took no notice of this.

"My name is Michael," the redhead replied, a small smile on his face. Ignoring the first impression, these two seemed like good people. "Michael Tartarus." Here, he raised a hand to indicate his companion, glancing at the brunet out of the corner of his eyes. "This is Lucifer Cross." His expression suddenly fell as he took in the older male's pose, the redhead confused as to why Lucifer was watching Kaori with such a intent gaze. "Lucifer? Is something wrong?"

"Kaori is a girl's name," the brunet was quick to answer, as if he had expecting it. He spoke as one would while stating facts rather than conversing, his voice deep and smooth. Lucifer's gaze never wavered nor did his body move. "Despite his girlish features, his voice and body structure indicate he is male. Unfortunately, I am unable to confirm this with a physical due to his positioning on top of his companion."

Michael sighed. "Lucifer." He looked up at the man with fond eyes. "If you need to touch someone, you can just touch me." This caused Lucifer to move, turning his head to face to shorter male and look him in the eyes. The movement also caused his right hand to move, the ring around his finger catching the sunlight just so and flashing any unfortunate in the pupils. His face didn't even twitch at the offer.

"But I do it all the time," he stated, lowering his arms. "Do you want me to touch you now?" Michael's mouth twitched as he attempted to keep a straight face.

"You can touch me any time you want," the redhead responded.

 

Placing his hands into the small stream, Kialga pondered. The cool water drifted around his hands, causing a relaxation in them. Pulling his hands up, cool water inside them, he stares at the trees where Jesse is sitting. A branch sits across the youths lap, a small sword lays beside him, and the wind shifts away from him, towards Kialga. Kialga breaks his gaze, throwing the water in his hands onto his face. He shakes his head, Little brother, that's all he is.


He raised himself onto one knee, reaching back for the leather hood. He pulls it over his black hair and looks back up. "Jesse, are you ready? We gotta head back into town. For all we know, they still have something left for us to do. Kialga pushes himself off his knee, into a standing position. Picking up his bow, he looks towards town.

When he looks back over, Jesse had tossed the branch into the wood. Kialga watched as Jesse twirled the sword, and replaced it in its sheath. "With any luck, we can just sit back and watch. I mean, nothing happens anyways, just the average day to day grind." Jesse steps across the stream, slightly punching Kialga in his arm.

"Don't get your hopes up, kid. They could've just waited to do anything until we returned. Kialga begins walking back into town. "But, we've got food for them, so they should be grateful. A hearty chuckle comes from the depths of Kialga's chest. The rare laughs and chuckles that come from Kialga always light up Jesse's eyes.

The walk back is quiet. The only sounds are the duos steps and the natural animals of the woods. Even knowing this, Kialga kept an arrow notched in his bow, aimed forward the whole time. As the town comes into view, Jesse runs ahead and goes towards the hut the two share. Kialga returns the arrow to his quiver. He follows Jesse into the hut, grabs his stool and table, and sets up outside.

Jesse steps outside and walks around the hut. He checks for any holes or gaps in the wood. As he does this, Kialga begins to skin the rabbits and squirrels. Jesse returns to the front and walks back into the hut. "Kialga," Jesse's voice escapes the hut. "I'm going to take a small nap, okay?"


"Go ahead, kid. Knock yourself out." Kialga continues to skin the animals, laying their furs separate from their meat. I know the kid means well, but I need him to do more with himself.

 

A crimson eye twitched. Waltz wasn't exactly sure what he was listening to, but he took a couple of steps back away from the two--Michael and Lucifer. There names were odd, and so were their countenances, especially Lucifer's. For the most part they seemed kind, but there was definitely something off. Waltz almost had it in his mind to draw one of his weapons. The prospect of that weird man wanting to touch Kaori in any way was just disturbing, and he certainly wasn't having any of that. Eyes remaining wary, the so-called Lord of Arms gave a quick glance to the message. These two were so....would they even be able to think of a way to get rid of the message? The only thing Waltz could think of was to tear up the ground, but the destruction of the earth probably wasn't the best way to go about it. Or was it? He figured he'd keep the idea in mind as a last resort. "Okay, so Michael," Waltz stated with a dissatisfied look on his face, addressing the younger of the other two because the older unsettled him greatly. "Have you any ideas of how to get rid of this thing? I'll admit it's kind of unsightly." Waltz didn't care for aesthetics, but there was something about the message that made him want it to just go away, but he wouldn't lose his composure. He never did.

"Hey! Don't change the subject, Waltz!!" Kaori exclaimed in some sort of anger. "I know my name is girly, but I'm definitely a boy," he stated firmly, tempted to cross his arms in a huff, but realized that it was best to keep hold of Waltz's shoulders for support. In truth, Kaori had no idea what the origin of his name was, but his older brother liked to tease him about being rather effeminate, and joking that his mom and dad had been expecting a girl and just stuck the girl name on him when a son came out, but Kaori knew that his mom and dad wouldn't be that cruel. Besides, he liked his name. It was cute. That was enough to please him. It matched his bubbly personality.

"I know you're a boy; that should be good enough," Waltz interjected smoothly, a sly smile forming on his face. "For a fact, for that matter. Now, the more important matters. You know I could be training right now rather than troubling over this thing," he stated distastefully and gestured loosely to the message burned into the ground.

"Fine," Kaori relented with a sigh. He gazed expectantly at Michael. He wasn't really sure to think about Lucifer, but Michael seemed nice enough. There were some things they had talked about that he really didn't understand. Lucifer touched Michael all the time? Did they play tag or something? Or maybe Lucifer knew how to give a good massage? Kaori knew that Waltz complained about his feet hurting sometime. Maybe Lucifer could give Waltz a foot massage sometime, or at least teach Kaori how to do it so that he could have another way of making Waltz feel better. The man really did try so hard to keep true to his title--the Lord of Arms. Kaori pondered from time to time why it was so important to the older man, but most of the times he had asked, he received no answer. Eventually, he learned just to let it go and move on.

 

"Why don't we dig it up," Lucifer answered instead, his reply more of a statement than a question. "We can refill the hole after. There's enough dirt to go around." His gaze flickered to Waltz's weapons for a split second, showing he was well aware of the man's wariness of him. Other than that, he made no indication of caring whether or not the so-called 'Lord of Arms' would actually attack him. With the boy on his back, it was unlikely to happen. Lucifer's dark eyes slowly drifted over to said boy, lids lowering to half-slits, and lingered there for a long moment before returning his attention to Michael.

"Um, I'm not sure we're allowed to just dig here," the redhead was saying, a frown on his face. His eyebrows were furrowed, causing Lucifer to reach up and press down lightly on the crease. With a gentle touch, he smoothed out the wrinkle. Michael blinked in surprise but was quick to send the man a smile that was not returned.

"Your face will become stuck that way," Lucifer murmured, his fingers lingering against the boy's pale skin for a few seconds too long before lowering his hand almost reluctantly. "Such expressions do not suit you." His fingers trailed down Michael's cheek as they fell. So smooth, so delicate and. . . . .

The action would have continued too if not for the obstruction that lay in their path. Sometimes, the scarf could be quite a nuisance. With no other choice, Lucifer pulled away.

"Right," Michael nodded, not in agreement, but to appease the man. "Sorry." Unconsciously, his own fingers reached up to follow the trail Lucifer's touch had left behind. Ignorant of his actions, Michael looked back toward Waltz and Kaori. "Why don't we try planting something over the words? It'll make it prettier to look at and we won't have to tear through the ground." He then clicked his tongue in annoyance. "None of the villagers told me anything about how they attempted to get rid of this and with how adverse everyone is to this, I don't think we can ask without freaking them out." People were so weird sometimes. Michael couldn't really understand their fear. It was only two words, nevermind that they burned into the ground.

Lucifer made a noise of contempt, almost too low to hear. "Who cares. We were just told to get rid of the thing. Does it matter how we do it?"

 

"Oooo, I like Michael's idea!" Kaori chimed happily, taking a glance at the message and imagining flower bushes covering it up. He knew full and well that Waltz was perfectly capable of destroying the earth, but why do that when something far more productive could come of it? Lucifer didn't seem to care one way or the other, and something told him that Waltz would agree, for it would be much more easy to just wreck the ground, but wouldn't the townspeople have already tried that? Then again, the ground looked pretty untouched. Maybe it was just something they overlooked. Boooo, too much thinking. It would be fun to do some gardening, Kaori thought cheerily as he rested his head against Waltz's, awaiting input from the older man who seemed to be contemplating the idea, or maybe he was thinking about something else entirely. It had long since occurred to Kaori that his friend did a fair amount of thinking, but that usually led to some good decisions.

"I guess that would work." The words weren't dissatisfied or stoic; they were almost lighthearted in nature, but it was almost as if Waltz were trying to hide it. Oh how well he could do that most of the time. He had felt his hand thinking about drawing his greatsword to wreck this message, but not only was Kaori in the way of that, but also, something told him that it really couldn't be that simple. Maybe he was over-thinking it, but there was no harm in trying Michael's idea out. Though gardening wasn't particularly his forte, it did sound like a nice idea, especially since it would make the town more homely. The people would appreciate that a whole lot more than if they just tore the place up. "If that's all right with you, I say we let these boys have their fun." The statement was nonchalant and directed at Lucifer. Waltz wasn't sure what to make of this fellow, and he wasn't going to lower his guard until he was absolutely certain. Regardless, he was the most stoic out of the four, and hopefully he wouldn't care either way as long as it got done, granted Waltz was prepared to ensure Kaori got his way. He wasn't one to spoil, but this certainly wasn't a bad idea.

Kaori looked expectantly at Lucifer, but wound up removing his eyes. It was unsettling trying to look at the guy; he was so dark and even more brooding than Waltz could be sometimes. "He's kinda weird, Waltz..." Kaori whispered in Waltz's ear in a subtle manner that wouldn't be suspicious in the least bit. He didn't want to offend the guy, but it was kind of a truth at this point. He noticed that Waltz didn't reply, but there was definite agreement traversing the mind of the Lord of Arms. That was the whole reason he had to remain as on-guard as he was. It was more an attempt to keep Kaori safe. Waltz was reluctant to let the boy off his back which is why Kaori remained perched where he was instead of standing on the ground. Mastering the weapons he had, he didn't need his greatsword which Kaori was obstructing. If there was even the slightest hint of malicious intent, Waltz would use his knife and short sword to rend whatever threats happened to come at them. A bit of a silence settled as the duo awaited a response in regards to their support of Michael's plan.

 

With a slight grunt, Ruon finished lacing his boots. Standing up from his slight bed with a routine look on his face, garbed in a beige tunic over a long white shirt and light brown breeches, he grabbed his medium-length, auburn hair and slipped a string about it, knotting the wire with nimble fingers. Glancing sideways out the window-- the day was only beginning to hearken, scant yet gallant rays of light beginning to appear and chase away the gloom of the night-- he completed his ponytail and took a breath. "Time for the morning rounds," Ruon muttered to himself with a sense of duty and honor, even though his tone would betray a little boredom or weariness. He walked through his abode, grabbing an apple from the kitchen as he headed towards the door. As he passed the table, he slung the scabbard hanging from a chair by its strap over his shoulder and bent his opposite arm down through the cord. Weapon equipped, Ruon exited his hut and stepped outside.

Taking a look around, he saw no movement. It was to be expected-- it was still early in the morning, to be sure. Ruon inhaled the fresh air deeply. It was barely four purposeful steps he took along the gravel path, though, before he heard a shout rife with playfulness; "Help! Help! Someone stole my purse!"

A burgeoning grin on his face, Ruon pointedly called backwards without even looking, "Good morning, Adam." The auburn-haired man didn't even bother turning as he heard footsteps hitting the ground at a running pace.

Ruon's grin grew reluctantly as a certain boy reached him and reported, "The perpetrator is a few inches taller than me, and has hair tied back into a ponytail. He has a suspicious habit of getting up at early hours in the day-- probably just so he can prey on innocent little people like me." Even when he felt his rudimentary sword drawn from it's sheath, Ruon kept on looking resolutely ahead. "Oh, dear gods! He even has a weapon! I swear, he threatened me with it!"

"He's about to threaten you with it if you don't quit that," Ruon replied good-naturedly. Despite his new companion, the Shift Ranger observed his surroundings. It was his purpose, after all, to watch for anything truly suspicious.

"Doesn't that go against your job description?" Adam laughed, keeping an easy pace behind Ruon. "The corruption just doesn't end with this one," Adam uttered, unrelenting with the act.

Ruon did his best to move past the foolishness that inevitably marked the beginning of any period of time with Adam. "How are you faring?"

Letting out a supercilious snort, Adam replied complacently, "Everything's fine. Do you honestly expect anything to be amiss, in this quaint little town? Although, that's why you follow this morning schedule anyways, isn't it? I would say you should just devote this time to hunting, but then the population of rabbits would be unbearably hindered."

Actually raising his eyebrow at this, Ruon replied dubiously, "Rabbits aren't active at the times I patrol."

"What? Yes, they are. Rabbits are crepuscular animals," Adam replied, stepping ahead of Ruon and turning to face him. The older man didn't stop walking, so Adam began strolling backwards. Gazing into the lean face of the person he had for some reason taken to joining on early-morning walks, Adam explained, "Rabbits are proven to be most active at sunrise and sunset. Come on, you knew that."

Throwing an unimpressed look at the boy who he had only met a few weeks before and had somehow become fast friends with, Ruon answered, "No, I didn't know that. Because it's not true..." Adam scoffed and ran a hand through his tousled blond hair, falling into stride with his older friend.

"You would say that, since you never get outside the town when the rabbits are most active. You always hunt in the middle of the day."

The conversation continued on that subject for a few minutes as the two continued walking through the town, neither of them suspecting that a troop of foreigners was in the center of the town right now, explaining that the notorious Terra apparently had descendants. None of them knowing that Adam was one of them.

 

"So we're all in agreement?" Michael inquired once Waltz and Kaori looked at him expectantly. He was observant enough to notice the glances they kept sending Lucifer and was a little curious about it but decided not to question them. For some reason, people couldn't seem to look him in the eyes. The younger boy had once asked Lucifer about it but the man hadn't answered. Maybe they just weren't use to the brunet. Michael had been with the other for as long as he could remember so it might explain why he couldn't see what others saw in Lucifer.

Lucifer gave a slow, almost grave, nod as if they had just come to a decision that concerned life and death. Michael almost laughed.

"Okay, Mr. Gloomy, you can stay here and act all tall, dark and creepy while we go get the flowers," the redhead joked, discreetly nudging the man in the side. Lucifer's response to this was a half-lidded gaze, black ink swirling within the abyss of his eyes. Heat spread from the back of Michael's neck and he unconsciously shuddered. It was as if slick melted chocolate had just trailed down his back and pooled against the base of his spine. Michael quickly broke the split second connection to return his attention to the other two. "Do you two want to come with me? Or would one of you rather stay behind?"

Despite having formally met the two today, Michael found he was rather comfortable with them. Enough that he could go back to his usual teasing antics with Lucifer. Kaori was adorable, like a little sister that needed to gushed over. Waltz felt like the bear uncle who came by every once and a while and allowed his nephews and nieces to ride on his shoulders. As for what Lucifer thought of them. Well, that was only an answer Lucifer would know. Michael supposed he could ask the man some time later on, when they were alone.

 

An average morning, completely unlike any other. Such was the beginnings of typical life in the small town of Falkreath... Vina did not particularly mind, however. It perfectly contented her to take her morning stroll along the outskirts of the little town by the early breakings of morning. The watchful eye of the sun pierced away the phantasms of the night - the intricate weavings of a deep blue sky, dotted with stars, giving through to the morning blues with a gradual progression of purple. The morning hours were a particular favourite of hers - the dawning sun cast away the need for her to keep her ancient lamp lit. She extinguished it appropriately, accidentally leaving a small trickle of the remaining, unused oil to spill down the sides of the rusted iron exterior of the lamp proper.

Well... Vina frowned at herself in own thoughts, I don't want to be wasteful of the gift that nature has given me. It seemed almost wrong to capture the perfect beauties of light and flame within such a horrid chamber... but this was the only way she could do her job. The only way to guide the nightfolk from town to town... the only way she could truly enjoy her morning walks. She could not be wasteful, not when such hard times had fallen on her. She had to take good care of the small iron lamp, for it held a lot of bearing for her. She did not have the monetary capacity to simply purchase another lamp, and decent-quality oil was scarcely found for purchase in a little place like Falkreath... It occurred to Vina how much she relied on the lamp not failing, especially when it came to taking care of herself... and her foster brother.

And speaking of, her foster brother Philip would still be sleeping... with any luck. The boy had seemed almost restless of late; something that had Vina rather on-edge as well. She couldn't pinpoint just what it was about the boy that had started to make her so nervous of late, but she knew he would not talk about it now, not if he didn't feel fully comfortable confiding in her. I suppose that's for the best... she mused, pensively. It wasn't like Philip to keep grave secrets from her. Perhaps it was merely a part of him growing older, and he was going to be a little bit reclusive, if not wary, of her. After all, she was the only figure of authority in his life. It would be... fitting for him to be reclusive at his present age, if nothing else. But Vina suspected a little more than just typical teenage angst. Something... I will need to talk to him about it. Directly...

Calmly, she stopped just shy of the borders of Falkreath. It was strange, seeing so many footprints leading into the village. Not a sight she was particularly accustomed to. And though she was by no means an expert, she suspected that they were fresh enough to have been left by passers-by this very morning. "Peculiar..." she voiced aloud to nobody but herself and the trees who would be willing to listen. She set her lantern down for a moment, tendrils of wispy, silver-blue hair falling upon her face in the process. She blew them away almost involuntarily, and inspected the footprints a little bit closer. Just then, however, she heard the sound of a twig snapping, and shot up, like a deer alerted to a nearby predator. "Show yourself..." she hissed out, between clenched teeth. A second of silence. Then two. Then five passed, before a meek voice uttered out... "It's just me, Vee..." The voice was a familiar one. It was Philip. "By the Gods, Philip. What are you doing in the trees? And why aren't you sleeping?"

The boy exposed himself from his small perch just beyond the greenery. His blond hair tousled by being hidden away, storm-grey eyes averted from Vina's gaze, as though his guilt betrayed him. Philip Arati... a small boy, quite slight in stature, especially for a growing boy of his age. He wore a turquoise jacket to keep himself warmed and shielded from the morning-time dew, which was unzipped just enough to show his nondescript orange V-neck shirt, worn because it was Vina's favourite colour. His pale complexion showed little sign of being out in the sunlight, for he preferred to stay with Vina. And Vina herself kept little company with her fellow townsfolk... she barely knew them, aside from a couple folk whose names would float in and out of her mind's eye when she saw them.

Presently, however, Philip looked up to meet her eyes. "Sorry, Vee... I just... I just couldn't sleep. You know?" As if she didn't. The boy's restless nights had long kept her awake... though she would never say as much to him. He was far too innocent to be scolded in such a way. "I understand, Philip. I do... but you know it's dangerous at night to be wandering about." "It's not night anymore. And besides, you do it too." He did have a point in his case, but it was not really one that she could accept from him. "So what really brought you out here?"

He gulped, as though something dark was about to come to light. "Well... I heard... things. Felt 'em. Right here..." he poked his chest, over top of the location of his heart. Vina resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the gesture... it seemed almost like a cliché, and a bad one, at that. "I'm serious, Vee!" he half-shouted in exasperation. She couldn't exactly understand what he meant, but she obliged him with a mere nod of her head. "So then... what 'feeling' did you get from this particular morning? And why follow me?" He seemed more anxious than normal at the mention of the word 'feeling.' It didn't seem at all out of the ordinary for her, this morning. But then again, there were the footprints...

Philip caught her staring down at the trodden path. "Actually, I think you've already figured it out, Vina..." he sighed, almost worriedly. "I heard... people, when I came outside. A whole band of them. They marched right into the centre of town. I wanted to follow but I knew I'd get caught if I did..." he blushed slightly and once again stared at his feet instead of looking Vina in her eyes properly. "What do you say we follow the footprints, then? I'm a little bit curious as to why so many people would want to come to visit our small village at such an early hour in the morn'." Philip lit up, and she knew she had struck the right chord with him. "I'd love to, Vee. Thanks..." he grabbed her hand tenderly, and pulled her towards the direction that the steps were leading. After all, it wouldn't be too far to the centre of town... hopefully she'd get some answers as to why Philip was so nervous about his 'feelings.' The kid had a good intuition... Vina gave him that. But what would they find on such a nondescript morning...?

 

Yuva was sitting on the porch, mashing flour dough with his fists, looking at his foster sister Snihya, who was watering the vegetables. "But akka, why must I stay in the house today? Why can't I go out? I want to play with my friends..." he uttered, pouting and glaring at his sister. "Well, dear, there's a lot of work to do today. We already took a couple of liberties over the past month, and we can't afford to slack off or take any more time off." Snihya looked up to see Yuva pouting at her, and said, "Now, dear, don't make faces then. There are only the two of us, and two muc work for two people to handle. Money does not growing on trees!"

Yuva sighed, looking up into the sky. He felt something off about Snihya today - she didn't seem to be acting her usual self. He figured out that she was hiding something, but he didn't try to seek out answers yet - after all, all of her actions so far had been in his best interests. He knew he wasn't really related to her; it had been obvious for as long as he could remember. She seemed to have felt really bad for this, and had tried to act as a mother to him. Not that he blamed her for adopting him, though. He was happy with his lot, and ever since he'd spoken with her about his being adopted, she'd been extra nice to him.

But something was quite wrong today. She didn't usually bar him from going out to play - after all, he was a growing child! She also didn't look very well; bags had formed under her eyes, and her hair was haphazardly tied into a stiff plait. Oh, well. She'll probably tell me later. He went back in with the thoroughly beaten dough and emptied it into a mould. I hope she does, though - I don't want to have to find out from someone else.

Snihya indeed felt a great weight over her as she pondered distractedly. He's noticed. It would never do to tell him. Snihya couldn't bear the thoughts that her intuition supplied her, attempting to banish the smallest doubt that crept into her mind in vain. She couldn't help but believe that trouble was brewing; that a gargantuan, nigh-unsolvable imbroglio was about to descend itself upon the world - and this was the least of her concerns. She was mainly afraid because she believed it had to do with Yuva. These thoughts had begun crossing her mind from time to time, ever since she adopted Yuva. Rare at first, they slowly began increasing in frequency as time passed, until she could ignore them no further. Of course as a motherly figure this intuition distracted her greatly. She still attempted to shove aside such thoughts, but this was to no avail. All she could do for now was wait and watch, protecting Yuva in the meanwhile, not letting her emotions betray her.

Snihya walked into the kitchen with the watering pail, her work done in the garden. Yuva was sitting on the bench in the kitchen, cutting vegetables on the board for the night's meal. "Akka, why do people get jealous?" he asked, his young mind trying to comprehend something that he did not yet have a grasp of; something which was bothering him; something an idea of which his own intuition was supplying him.

Snihya started, marvelling at how sharp Yuva, the Young One, was becoming. "Well, dear, nto all people are content with what they have as we are. They want more, and when they see other people with what they want, they covet it; they get jealous. Your questions can wait a little bit, little Why-boy, can they not? We have work to finish. We still haven't manured the plants out back, nor have I finished sewing your shirt; and you still need to get water from the well out back. We are running short!"

Yuva sighed, and let the topic go, much to Snihya's relief. "Fine, I'm going to get the water. But I'm still confused..." Saying so, he marched off behind the house to the well. Snihya inhaled sharply. At this rate, I cannot protect him from the outside world any more- no, I should protect him more fiercely. I wonder what Fate has in store...