Phoenix looked around the grand hallways with wide eyes. It seemed everything was 'grand' here..grand staircase, grand room, grand hallway..what wasn't grand?
He reached out to touch a vase of flowers, but quickly retracted his hand. He remembered what happened the last time he touched something he wasnt supposed to...not good. He glanced around suspiciously. "Doesn't it seem like someone else is here?"
ooc: i'll just call the girl velvet, since we have no better name.
bic: Velvet scanned their current location and nodded, "I can't sense anyone, but...it does seem as if someone else is watching." She slightly shivered. i'm not scared she thought it's just cold here. yes, cold. a chilly breeze just went by. She cautiously looked around again. This feeling was...concerning.
Phoenix looked ahead, seeing a candle at the end of the hallway. He moved towards it, looking curious((ADD?)). "What's that?" He pulled Velvet along with him., half because he was scared, half because he didn't want her to ditch him. He looked at the candle.
Shadow appeared behind the two. There was something odd about her though. She was transparent and was missing a key object; her sword. She gazed coldly down at the two of them. "Having fun?" Phoenix screeched and looked at her in horror.
Velvet, being pulled along, muttered "it's a candle, what's there to see?" but didn't expect a reply. Seeing as her brother found something fascinating in the candle, she looked at it as well, for it's only natural to look at the light source in a dark, unfamiliar room.
Upon hearing Shadow, she froze, then slowly turned around to look at her.
ooc: pfft, he screached? that makes me think more of an eagle than a dragon/guy.
The candlelight made her look creepier. She was giving them a deathglare, funny enough, considering she was a spirit. "Why don't you two go get what's left of my sword before I kill you?" She was bluffing. She couldnt do much to them. Phoenix just stared.
Velvet didn't have much to say either. After all, if you've known your aunt had died before, seen her alive after death, had her try to kill you/your family, seeing her die again, and then running into her ghost...well, you'd begin feeling cautious every time you saw that face.
Shadow sighed. She said more forcefully, "Is death not a good enough motivation? Or is it because your mom hid the jar from you so you can't be touching artifacts?" Phoenix hung his head a little at that.
Velvet stayed silent, and almost...distant. Or thoughtful, at least.
Shadow glared down at the two of them and Phoenix had a minor realization. He said challengingly, "if you're going to kill us, why havent you done anything? You only died when your sword broke, so you must be powerless without it!" He grabbed a pen from the desk the candle was on and threw it at Shadow. It went through her. "Called your bluff, auntie." Shadow didn't stop glaring and dissapeared. ((smartest thing he's done in a while I betcha))
Velvet watched all this happen without a comment. She looked as if she wanted to say something when he grabbed the pen, but let the thoughts dissapear along with the ghost. "Well then. at least we're...somewhat safe."
Phoenix sighed. "Safe enough. I was guessing there...I was just making a little bluff of my own. Dunno if she can get us. I don't think so.." He went closer to his sister. "Let's go to bed before something else weird happens."
Elsewhere...
Oliver gazed up at the full moon. He tilted his head to the side. "Can you hear me out there, Tsuki...?" He smiled and saluted 'Tsuki'. Because of a certain little trick Amber pulled when she left, Tsuki might just be able to do something like her demon does on full moons...
Velvet nodded and they both headed off to their room(s).
Elsewhere (as well)
Through the silence, a calm, gentle woman's voice spoke, "hello, Oliver."
ooc: can she just talk, or appear as well? cause if she can appear, then she would be right behind him, smiling.
Oliver turned around quickly, rather astounded to see Tsuki standing there. He smiled wide. It was the innocent smile he used to have all the time. He whispered, "I thought I'd never see you again.. But here, it seems everyone comes back at some point, huh?" He looked into her eyes, smiling gently. "Yumi's more like you than I thought. She has sharingan.."
-timeskip (insert events here)-
After watching Oliver chase after the guy, his eye slightly twitched. Either the guy had a VERY strange sense of humor or was just insanely idiotic. He sighed and left the room.
The man dissapeared into thin air, quite littetally. Oliver let himself fall onto the ground. He chugged the remains and said, "dammit," throwing off the bottle.
Yuki wandered around for some time. He never really thought much of the size of this place since quite a few years ago. Unaware of where he was planning to go, he pointlessly walked around until he realized he went in a circle. He sweatdropped and decided on a place to visit. By chance, he found Oliver on the ground.
"where'd he go?" (obviously refering to the guy being chased.)
ooc: i don't know why, but that one "quite" thing wouldn't leave my head as i was writting this. ^^;
- timeskip (whoop de doo.) -
Yuki followed the two, not too interested in the challenge, but he didn't really want to stay alone.
The mad hatter ran off, and Oliver caught up with him quickly. After quite a lot of running about and hiding, Oliver caught him and held him up by the collar. Oddly enough, his hat stayed covering his face. Oliver handed the hatter over to Yuki, saying: "you do the honors."
Yuki took the hatter and said, "alright then. Chase is over, huh?"
The hatter scowled. "Asshole." His voice sounded more bitter than before and less mocking. "Let me go!" He struggled.
Yuki held a firm grip, showing no reaction to the insult. "and whyever would i let you go?" slowly, but sub-consciously, his grip was getting tighter and tighter. A flicker of inhuman cruelty flashed across his face, but quickly left without any trace.
ooc: the mad hatter. so he's a crazy guy that makes hats? what is this, 'Alice in Wonderland'? lol
The mad hatter gagged a little because of his way of being held. He said, in a terribly bitter tone, "you've wronged me more than you know. I have a right to hate you, you killer! Let go of me and go strangle someone else!!"
Yuki found that amusing. " I have wrong you more than I know? Well, that's possible, I can't deny it. And of course you have a right to hate me. Many do. However, most of them are dead." he ralaxed his grip a little bit, just enough so the guy wouldn't have his airway completely cut off. Killing yet ANOTHER soul wouldn't help anything.
The hatter gagged. He said, "You're....terrible! No value for a life...you're a monster like she said! No wonder Shadow wanted you dead!" He spat at yuki's face.
Yuki showed no reaction to such an action. "So, am I really that terrible? I am a monster for following orders? I have no value for a life? If that were so true, you'd be dead already. As I'm sure you've already figured out, we live in a harsh world."
The hatter scowled. "There were no orders or commands for who you killed that makes me hate you...take off my goddamn hat and see if that helps you figure it out." He grimaced at the way he was being held.
Yuki sighed "alright and took (or attempted, at least) off the guys hat.
The hatter-no-more glared up at Yuki. He said quietly, "I've heard I have a striking resemblence to the two of them..." His eyes were Shadow's eyes, his hair silver like Kichirou's ((formal name xD)) in some places. He hissed, "you killed her."
Yuki was silent for a moment, grip slowly loosening, "...How old are you?" he asked, almost randomly, but sounding thoughtful.
The hatter was grateful that his grip was becoming less tight. He looked a slight bit confused at the question. "About 17." He said calmer, " why do you ask?"
Yuki, almost blankly repeated "seventeen..." and dropped the 'hatter'. Without saying anything more, he left the room.
The hatter gasped as he fell to the ground, putting his hat back on slowly. He watched Yuki walk away. Oliver followed Yuki, asking, "what? Does seventeen mean something to you?" He looked confused.
Yuki considered staying silent, but decided against it. "No, that specific number does not mean much but...he's just a child, and I...The feeling I was having, i know it. It's the cold-hearted feeling I get right before i kill."
Oliver's expression was unreadable. "I wonder..have his hands been tainted with blood yet? It would make sense.." He glanced at Yuki. "But, even with all the hatred we have against Shadow, perhaps we shouldn't judge the child so harshly. He only is being upset about the death of his mother.." There they were., walking side by side. The angel and demon. Deciding the fate of a child.
The hatter watched the two from down the hall. He couldn't hear their voices, but he watched...as usual.
Yuki nodded. "judging him would be wrong. He isn't responsible for his mother's actions, only his own." As he kept walking, those words kept echoing in his head for some reason. He slightly shook his head to rid himself of the echo and sped up. Where was he going? he didn't know. Just, away.
Oliver frowned, looking as if he were in deep thought. The hatter, from above on a beam, said, "nobody has ever seen anything in me except my mother or my father. I'm supposed to be a great, powerful ninja. But, what am I? A faliure. I can't do anything right..." He dropped down in front of Yuki. "I know you want to kill me. Go ahead and destroy the child of your hated enemy. Be like the rest and don't even ask my name before trying to execute me.." He kneeled. "Make it quick."
Yuki looked away and said "I will not kill a child. I never have, nor do I plan to." all the few other times he was faced with such a choice ran across his mind. "You are a no one until you make yourself a someone. And whoever that someone is, you are the only one to make them." He was still looking away as he finished talking, with no to little expression.
The hatter said, with a sadness in his voice, "Yuki...I'm sorry to say this, but as you said, we all have orders..." He stood slowly. "My mother ordered me to kill you. She never really ordered me around, she was never mean to me. I don't know why she said this....but I can't disobey.." He pulled out a knife and slashed at yuki. "She may have done terrible things, but she still was my mother.."
- timeskip (there's too many of these here) -
Yuki was walking with the hatter in his arms, listening to him talk. 'why' he thought, 'why am I always the one handling such situations?' He didn't know the anwser, so he just kept walking and listening.
ooc: woah, this timeskip will seem weird to anyone reading and not knowing what happened.
The hatter struggled a bit in his arms. "On the other hand, you should let me go. I need to learn how to live on my own, anyway.." He sighed. "Just keep those twins away from me so I at least can get home safely."
Yuki looked down at the hatter. what he said was true enough, independence is a skill that is required for a guaranteed survival. "If you want to run off, you're free to do so, but can you even walk?"
The hatter grunted. "I can walk. If I can't, ill just crawl the whole damn way." He released himself from Yuki's grip and stood up. He walked slowly away. Phoenix passed by, glaring at the hatter and spitting at him, saying, "go die." The hatter did not seem to notice, and walked off. Phoenix walked out angrily, running away from their house far away somewhere.
Yuki sighed and walked out of the place himself, deciding to clear his mind in thinner air. He walked a few feet before soaring upwards, now with black wings.
'children are children' he thought, 'but why do they have to be so cruel to each other? I child's cruelty is, perhaps, the worst kind.'
Well, at last he had some open space, with not a soul in sight, and no worries, at least for the time being. He began to speed up faster and faster until he would seem like nothing more than a blur from the ground.
ooc: i kept wanting to say "deciding to take a stroll above ground level"
The previously clear skies grew darker, and Phoenix found himself heading towards Yumi's house. The rain poured down as he reached the house. He looked up into the sky and closed his eyes, sighing deeply. He folded his wings behind him.
Yumi had just finished taking a shower. She'd dried herself off, threw on a bathrobe a tad bit too large for her, and walked out. While passing by, she saw Phoenix standing outside in the rain. 'Well, this is awkward' she thought as she went over to let him in.
Phoenix heard the door opening, breaking away from hid thoughts. He opened his eyes, looking at Yumi. "Hello, Yumi." He was much more calm by now. He had a tad bit of red on his cheeks at her clothing. He entered the house, sighing. He smiled at her. "How are you?"
"Hello," she said and smiled as well. "I'm fine, and how about you?" Something about him seemed odd. She couldn't quite figure out what, but something wasn't quite right.
ooc: I'm listening to Ritual, and they keep talking about hats!
Phoenix's smile faded a little, and he said, "Not my best..I got angry at dad for something. I'd rather not talk about it." He looked away. "Where'd your dad go, anyway?"
Yumi shrugged, "he said he wanted to walk around in the morning. I haven't yet seen him since then." She pulled up her robe a little; it had begun to slightly slip.
ooc: bleh, lack of creativity.
Phoenix nodded. He glanced at her a second before she fixed the robe and his cheeks turned a nice light red colour. He hoped it wasn't as noticable as it felt, but it was noticable, unfortunately for him. He thought, annoyed slightly, 'its almost as if she is intentionally doing this just to mess with me..not fair.'
Yumi saw the red on his face and sweatdropped, "erm...so, anything interesting happen at our place?" and though 'wow, how much more awkward can (/will) this get?'
ooc: her messing around with him, naw, she finds the situation just as awkward. I, however, just might be amusing myself by watching this young boy's reaction to such situations. X3
Phoenix shook his head. "Not really...." The red only faded slightly. He was looking away from her earlier, and looked back at her. His eyes scanned her in a way that could be taken in an 'interesting' way. He quickly realized what he was doing and looked away again, red returning.
Yumi sweatdropped and replied "not much's been going on around here. I've been by myself almost the whole day so, yeah." After blancly staring at the wall across for a few seconds, she said, "So, is there anything you want? Hungry? Thirsty?"
Phoenix licked his lips involuntary and opened his mouth as if to say what he wanted, but clamped his jaw shut and mentally slapped himself. He did want Something, but it was not something you could just...request as such. He shook his head. "I'm not really hungry or thirsty, but thank you for asking."
Yumi nodded "ok then." and since she couldn't think of anything better to do, she picked up a piece of paper and began folding it into a lilly.
Phoenix stared at her. He couldn't help it. He watched her fold the paper and said, "you're really beautiful, did you know that?" He smiled. He stared into her eyes. in his there was attraction, and was there a hint of something else there?
She wasn't really expecting that statement. She said "Thank you," looked into his eyes, and smiled. Something in his eyes drew her, and she was unable to look away.
((TS.))
Phoenix sighed. "Well, I wish that this was easier to understand. Its kinda when you don't understand your own emotions." He yawned. "I'll go take a nap." He waved goodbye to Yuki and left.
Amber, who was watching this, walked off and found Velvet. "Honestly...You need to get yourself a guy." She looked a bit amused.
Yuki waved, and left the room himself.
Velvet did not expect her mother to suddenly come in. Least of all did she expect the sudden "You need to get yourself a guy" part. Therefore she just looked up at her mother and said, "what?"
Amber poked her. "Exactly what I said...you need to get yourself a guy, Velvet. Im not kidding, either...if you don't get a guy soon, you'll probabaly be one of those old maids who never marry." She grinned.
Ryan sighed. "I vaguely remember my parents...they were prisoners. That's how I got here. But I probabaly shouldnt bother you with my past." He looked off into the distance, looking rather serious. He looked at Velvet curiously. "I am curious...do you happen to be part wolf demon or something? Its just...something about your scent."
"My scent?" questioned Velvet, "Yes, I'm part wolf."
Ryan looked off into the distance again. "I was just curious, as many people here are part animal." He shifted a little closer to her, his cheeks having a touch of red as he did so. The music ended soon, and someone called him up to sing for them. He looked over, slowly releasing Velvet, almost as if he were reluctant to let her go. He walked gracefully to the stage and sang a song for them. He stepped down afterwards, trotting off towards the door when everyone was continuing to dance. He
made a slight gesture with his hand to velvet, motioning for her to follow.
Velvet listened to his singing, just as amazed as she was the first time she met him, and when he had finished and motioned her to follow, she slipped out, unoticibly (for the most part).
Ryan nodded to her when she came out. "I figure we could walk around a little without anyone minding. You wanted to explore the place after all, right?"
Velvet nodded "yeah, that's right" and followed him.
Ryan walked around the mansion, showing her some things. He went upstairs, showing her around a little more there. He heard someone coming, and pulled her and himself into a dark spot for a moment. After they had passed, he stepped out, saying quietly, "we're bending the rules a little, but its fine." He walked into a room with lots of windows, then onto a balcony. There was a light breeze. The moonlight caught his eyes, making them look almost glowing. He put his hands on the railing, looking at the world below and beyond with a soft gaze. "Isn't it a nice night...?"
Velvet followed him around the place with a few occasional questions and comments. She looked confused when she was dragged into the dark spot, but said nothing of it until the other person walked by. "bending some rules, huh... Oh well, bending isn't necessarily breaking."
She followed him onto the balcony. The breeze felt pleasant on her skin, and the waxing gibbous moon shone brightly. She nodded, "it is nice."
Ryan closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the breeze rippling through his hair and caressing his skin. He slowly opened his eyes again, smiling a little. He said, "a clear sky and stars shining brightly....what a beautiful night.." He slid a hand on the railing, and it met Velvet's hand. He didn't realize that at first, and when he did second or two later, he froze for a moment, then slid his hand away. A light touch of red once again appeared on his face. He looked off to the side, then said quietly, "I must be going now...i wonder if we shall meet again soon." He walked off, glancing over his shoulder once at her before exiting.
Velvet sighed silently agreeing with Ryan. It was a beautiful night. When his hand slid and met hers, she thought nothing of it. It seemed somehow natural, a part of this unusual, yet calming setting. It wasn't until he moved his hand away from hers, did she realize how strange it was. After he said he had to leave, she said "good-bye" . She stared at her now-cold hand after the warm touch of his.
ooc: appears to be heading in a romantic direction, doesn't it?
Ooc: doesn't it always seem to do that?
Ryan headed off at his normal pace, glancing at his hand. Why did it feel...almost as if it belonged where it was before, with hers? He glanced back at the door he just left. Something beckoned him back there, back in the moonlight. But, he knew that the feeling of her hand in his was one he wouldn't experience again. After all, what could a lowly servant mean to a beautiful princess? He dissapeared into the hallways he knew all so well, into the darkness of night.
(morning)
Amber came to Velvet's room, knocking. "Wake up or you might miss breakfast!"
From inside the room, one could hear the shuffling of covers, a yawn, after which came a reply of "Coming!"
Amber hurried off to breakfast. She dragged Yuki and Phoenix along also. Ryan happened to be on kitchen duty, and he set down plates of food. It was clean job day. Tomorrow would be messy job day. That's how it worked. He hummed something as he walked off. Everyone began eating the food as he swept the floor.
Velvet dressed herself quite casualy; jeans, a white t-shirt, and an unzipped blue jacket. She came downstairs and entered the room only moments after the rest of her family was seated. "Good morning!"
Amber nodded. "Good morning." She guestured to the empty seat next to her. Phoenix glanced at Velvet, nodding a greeting. Ryan looked up from his work, nodding to her. His eyes took a minute to turn back to his work. He couldnt help his gaze lingering on her. He was curious as to how she can look so nice in any clothes. He mentally reprimanded himself. That would seem out of line to his highers.
Amber finished breakfast quickly. She did not eat daintily, for there was only her family here, and they didn't care. She walked out, followed by Phoenix. Ryan waited until everyone but himself and Velvet had left the room, and begun to sing. It was sung in a deep voice, and its lyrics were poetic sounding and had a hint of sadness. Afterward, he just looked up at the ceiling.
Smiling, Velvet sat down and began her breakfast. She ate fairly slow, perhaps still a bit tired. However, she did not expect him to start singing when she was almost done. This song wasn't familiar to her, and his voice just immobilized her, so she sat there, with the last piece of sausage still on the fork laying on her plate. After he finished, she slowly put it in her mouth and chewed silently.
Ryan studied the ceiling above him for a little, lost in thought. He forgot there was anyone else in the room and began singing a love song. It was in just as beautiful a voice as the last song, perhaps even more so. He added emotion to every note, even the pauses in between words seemed to have meaning. After singing it, he continued sweeping the floor, like nothing had occurred.
Velvet stayed frozen throughout the whole time. His voice was so beautiful in the song...moving away would have been impossible in all senses. After he finished, she, just as speechless as before, left the room, and, having nowhere she felt like going, stood nearby.
Ryan finished the small area he was sweeping quickly, and exited the room, humming something quietly. He spotted Velvet there. He stopped walking, and nodded to her. "Good morning. How are you?"
As Ryan sung the love song, everything began to look more beautiful, and the flowers began to turn into roses. It was quite stunning when the song ended. The world began to fade back to its earlier black and red. He looked at Velvet. He wondered if she knew that he had been singing about her...and if she did, how would she react? He looked into her eyes, as if glancing into her thoughts to find out if she knew.
ooc: jeez, you forgot to include the "timeskip" again.
bic: Velvet watched as the garden began changing. It looked so enchanting, so amazingly beautiful as the song kept building up. And when the last note rang and echoed softly, she watched the place fade to it's previous colors. Black and red. She felt Ryan looking at her, and turned to face him with a calm, yet fascinated look.
Ryan's eyes studied hers as if looking for something within them, then turned his gaze back to the garden. "It is an interesting thing, isn't it..." His voice was quiet. "The garden..its beautiful..just like-" he paused for a moment, saying even quieter, "you." Then, he began to walk gracefully farther into the garden. He stopped in the center. There was a pool of water. He looked at it. "That is water that allows you to see into the minds of others. All you do is say their name and look into it. You can try if you would like."
Velvet heard him finish his sentance quietly, but even though thoughts began coming in explosions, she managed to keep them to herself. She silently followed him farther into the garden and to the pool. After hearing what he had to say, she decided that there wouldn't be too much harm from trying it out just once. "sure." She looked thoughtful for a moment and then said "Phoenix."
The pool's water turned cloudy, then it began to form a picture. The picture was of Amber as a stick figure with a giant head, yelling at phoenix, who was another stick figure. Then, stick figure Ryan entered the scene and got hit with a fork to the forehead. The water clouded again. The whole time, Ryan was looking off into the distance.
Velvet watched the pond show the images of her brothers thoughts. When the water returned to normal, she looked up "Well then, at least I know those thoughts actually were his." She looked at Ryan "Just wondering, do you know if it shows stick figures for everyone, or does phoenix just think like that?"
Ryan glanced at the pool. He said, "no, that's just how he happens to be thinking at the moment. Its not all stick figures.." He looked at her. "Do you want to try it again?"
Velvet chuckled at the thought that Phoenix thought of everyone as a stick figure. "I would, but i can't think of anyone right now who i feel pretty confident of mentioning."
Ryan shrugged. "Alright then." He Looked into the pool. He said, "If you could wish for any one thing and it would be granted, what would it be?"
Velvet looked thoughtful "If I could wish for any one thing...hmm...honestly, I don't know. Maybe strength or wisdom, or something of the sort. I really don't know. Haven't thought of it since I was...seven, I think," She paused, "why do you ask?"
Ryan shrugged. "Just wondering.." He looked away. "I...dont know what I would wish for." He said that in a way like he wasn't telling her something. He knew perfectly well what he wanted; her. Why, he wasn't sure. Perhaps it was because she was different than the others. he wanted to smack himself for accidentally making it so obvious in his voice that he was hiding something. Plus, she could just ask the pool what he was thinking if she wanted to know. Great.
She wondered about the way he said that. It was like he wasn't telling her the whole truth. However, she was used to such from her parents who tended to reply to her questions with only very vague answers, and then tell the whole story at seemingly random times. She questioned "you don't?"
He shifted. "Not really...I guess its.." He looked like was trying to word his answer well. "I would wish for something, but...its not important, because it will probabaly not happen anyway.." He looked down at his hands.
Velvet listened to him. Whatever it was, he didn't seem very confident about sharing it. "It won't happen? why do you think so?"
Ryan's eyes grew rather sad for a moment. He glanced at her. "It can't happen...because I'm just a servant. It wouldn't make sense." That was exactly how he felt about it...it couldnt happen.
Velvet slightly tilted her head from curiosity, "It wouldn't?" then shrugged "alright then."
Ryan sighed with releif when she didn't question it any further. He wasn't sure how he'd say it if he had to. He mumbled something to himself: the only understandable word being princess.
Velvet heard him sigh and was slightly confused; what was he so relived about? Was it something he didn't want her to know about? Why not and what could it be? Then she thought she heard the word princess, which did nothing except add more questions. "Princess?" she asked, not completely sure if she heard him correctly.
Ryan looked up from his hands and wished he had just stayed quiet. He shook his head in dismissal. "I...was talking about something else." He looked at her and said, "it seems like you want to ask me some things...what is it?"
Velvet looked slightly thoughtful as she thought of a way to word the question, "well, earlier you sounded as if you were...relieved. Why is that?"
Ryan shifted again. He looked thoughtful. How would he word this? "Well...I thought you were going to ask something else." He glanced at the pool again, hoping she wouldnt use it on him.
Velvet tilted her head, "like what? You asked me what my question was and I told you. What were you expecting me to ask?"
Ryan said nothing. He couldn't find anything to say really. He looked off into the distance.
Velvet continued to look at him, questioningly. Now that she'd actually asked the question, she wanted an answer.
Ryan said, "I...I was expecting.." He shook his head. "I'd rather not say." He kept glancing at the pool, as if just waiting for her to ask it about what he was thinking to get answers.
"Why not?" she questioned
"...I'm not sure you'd like it much." He wondered if she should know; eventually or never. If he didn't tell her, he'd have the regret of never knowing what would have happened. But, being rejected would hurt...he didn't know.
"How so?" she didn't get why he was like this. The real settup had presented itself earlier, but she got rid of it, labeling it as 'unrealistic.'
Ryan looked deep into her eyes. He felt that if this continued any longer, he'd go crazy. He blinked slowly. "I'm a servant. How could a beautiful princess possibly love me? It would be out of place." He looked away, his face touched with a light pink.
Velvet stood speechless. She'd been ready for another avoiding-the-point answer, but this came at her way too suddenly. Especially after deciding it was impossible. However, she couldn't seem to stop a similar shade of pink appear on her cheeks.
Ryan said quietly, "and you will never love me back..." He began to walk away, a little quicker than before. He reached the gate and opened it swiftly. He stood at the gate for a moment, then turned around and hugged her. He breathed in deeply, then released her, walking off.
Velvet still couldn't find any words to say and, if she could, wouldn't have been able to force them out. Her speech hadn't returned until he had left, and it was useless by then. However, the rosy coloring had never left, only grew more visible after the hug. She stayed where she was and, after a few minutes, headed to her room.
Ryan stood on the balcony that was attatched to her room, not knowing she would come to the room. He didn't notice her. He was looking into the distance. His expression was rather neutral with a hint of sadness. He sighed.
When Velvet came into her room, she was surprised to find Ryan there. She knew he'd gone off, but of all places in this giant place, he was in her room. For seemingly no reason, her nose began itching, and she sneezed.
Ryan looked at her quickly. He looked surprised for a moment. He turned to face her, looking like he was struggling with his feelings inside. He walked towards the door, and said, "I shouldn't bother you any further. I'm sorry."
Velvet said nothing as he walked by. She looked almost as if he wanted to say something, but was unsure if she would've meant it. So, she decided to stay silent. After all, silence can't cause any harm, right?
Ryan put a hand on the door handle. He twisted it slowly then released it. He looked over his shoulder at her. His eyes had a sadness and frustration within them. He said, "What seperates the nobles from the servants? Is it something on the outside or the inside? Is there an unbreakable rule that says I cannot be with you? Perhaps it boils down to not our rank, but what lies within your heart. However, if that is the case, I only expect to find words that will break my heart." He dissapeared through the doorway, singing a song softly as he walked down the hall. The song was almost heartbreaking.
As he left, she muttered to herself "Probably the only reason there are positions of power is because of human nature. Now we feel that without such positions, chaos is unavoidable," and ended it with a thought of like a pack of wolves.
ooc: heartbreaking song thing isn't working for me right now. My mom is singing something cheerful about daisies.
Ryan wasn't very far from the doorway when someone else walked up to Ryan. The person was a higher ranked person, one that managed the servants. They said, "I heard about what you said in the garden to a certain young miss, the princess." Ryan looked away from the man's eyes. "I'm sorry...It's just..she's different.." There was a sound; Ryan being hit hard in the stomach, falling against the wall. The man said in a harsh tone, "You're just being the frog prince; thinking a kiss from a maiden will bring you higher." Ryan looked up. "No..it's not like that..I really do-" he got cut off by the man speaking. "What are you talking about? You're dirt. She is a princess. It could never happen, she could never love your filth." He walked away, leaving Ryan leaning against the wall, sitting on the hallway floor, head down.
Velvet heard a sound from outside and voices. Finding it slightly odd, she peeked out of her room, in time to hear the footsteps fade away, but too late to see the figure of a man walk away. She stepped out of her room and, spotting Ryan, hurried over to him. "Are you ok? What happened?"
Ryan looked up, looking surprised to see her. He coughed. "I-..I'm fine. He...he hit me..he said he didn't want me to love you..because it was stupid...and unrealistic." His expression showed his pain; physical and emotional. "Don't worry about me, though. I'll manage. You don't even have to talk to me. I'll be fine..just fine." He smiled, a smile that looked like it didn't belong on his face. A tear rolled down his cheek. This hurt him so much because it just reminded him that he had no rights. It reminded him he was trash....
Velvet shifted her eyes off to the side, "But, to ignore you...I can't seem to do that...it's too difficult." she looked back at him. "You know, I couldn't seem to stop thinking about you last night." as she said this, she lifted her hand and wiped off one of the streaks of mud that seemed to always decorate his face.
Ryan looked a bit surprised at her touch. He simply wasn't used to it. He glanced at her hand, and took it after she had wiped the mud away. He held it as if it were a wonderful piece of art. He looked into her eyes, saying, "why do you think that is?"
Velvet let him take her hand and calmly continued looking into his eyes. She shrugged, "I'm not exactly sure. I've know that I have some feelings towards you, however I'm still not completely aware of...how strong they are."
Ryan's eyes softened. His affection for her showed on his face. he heard someone calling for him. He said quietly, "well...I need to go work now. I'll come to you tonight. You can think about it while you're waiting, okay?" He hugged her, getting up and walking off.
Velvet silently watched him walk off.
-timeskip-
Velvet stood on the balcony, watching the sun roll down into the horizon, and the first first stars begin twinkling in this time between night and day. The time of choices.
She'd spent the afternoon trying to piece together her feelings. Mostly her feelings for Ryan. Her progress so far; they were obviously positive, and they were not very weak. After that was figured out, everything began falling into place. Only a few questions still remained, one of which was; how will her family react?
Ryan walked down the hallway towards Velvet's room. He had washed after working, but there still was a streak of dirt on his cheek. He wondered what her desision was. He hoped both ways. In a way, it probabaly would get him in trouble. But, at the same time, it's always great to have somebody return your feelings. He entered her room silently, walking out onto the balcony to join her. He stood beside her, one hand on the railing. "Did you come to a conclusion about your feelings?" He looked at her.
Velvet nodded "I have, more or less...however, I don't think I'd be able to give the absolutely exact answer," she chuckled, "That's a very good question; how would you measure love? What unit could you use?"
Ryan smiled a little. "At least you know what it is you're measuring." He slid his hand off the railing. He looked into her eyes, leaning just a little closer, brushing a hand against her cheek.
Velvet looked up at him, eyes bright, hair slightly waving in the wind.
ooc:why do I keep thinking of the time you mentioned he likes dogs? XD
ooc: I guess that isn't terribly random xD
Ryan looked deep into her eyes. But, he was no longer searching for something within them; for he had found what he was looking for. He leaned closer, his face now being only a few inches from hers. He hesitated for a moment when he was less than an inch away, parting his lips to whisper, "may I?"
She silently watched him lean forward, and when he asked his question, she didn't answer. She simply closedd the remaining distance herself.
While Ryan and Velvet were on the balcony, Ryan's boss, the man from earlier, went looking for him. He figured that Ryan would be in Velvet's room. He opened the door quietly, and saw what was happening on the balcony. He quickly closed the door again silently, looking confused. He walked quickly to where Yuki and Amber were, saying, "pardon the interruption, but your daughter is kissing a servant!" He looked puzzled still.
Yuki looked over at the man, not expecting such news, "She is? Who?"
Amber said nothing, just looking surprised. The man quickly explained it was Ryan and a breif description in case they didn't know him by name. He explained how he was walking by and saw it, ending with, "I figured I should tell you this, for I think it is improper!"
Yuki nodded "Well, thank you for informing us." and looked at Amber questioningly, for first, he wanted to know her opinion, and second, what they should do about it.
The man walked off, still confused. Amber looked at Yuki. "Well, I wasn't expecting that. And I guess it isn't exactly proper for a princess and a servant to be together. But, what would we do about it? After all, its not like we can just magically make them not like each other. Plus, just because he's a servant doesn't mean he's bad..."
Yuki nodded "All of that is true. However, we should consider whether to be concerned about rumors, for those will most likely occur."
Amber frowned. "Rumors are hard to control. We couldn't do much about them anyway."
((meanwhile, lol))
Ryan pulled away a little bit later. There was a little red on his cheeks. He walked into her room, motioning for her to follow. Inside, he suddenly pinned her against a wall. He kissed her passionately, and it seemed like he was really trying his hardest to keep his hands at her shoulders.
((heh))
Yuki said "exactly, they're hard to control. Therefore, we don't know how they may be changed from the actual truth.
-meanwhile-
Velvet followed him inside and, even though she didn't expect him to pin her, she made no signs of protest; what was there to protest against?
Timeskip x3*
Amber poked phoenix, grinning. "You look so weak, I bet I could beat you in one second." He got pushed around a little before running to Velvet, finding her. "She hit me!!" Amber came up to him and said, "you're such a baby. Shut up."
Velvet wasn't too surprised when she saw her brother run out. However, him saying that Amber hit him was odd. The only time their parents would even do so is during training, but who would be training at this time? Plus, Amber didn't even remember them. "Quiet, Phoenix," she said, even though she herself was far from calm.
Amber looked a bit puzzled. "..its like you've never been hit before. You're weird. By the way, have you two seen an evil, black-haired lady around? Shadow?"
Velvet shook her head "She died *insert amount of time* years ago. And hopefully, she'll stay dead."
Amber's mouth dropped open. "Seriously?" Her shock melted into a dark sort of delight, and a devilish grin crossed her face. "That bitch is finally gone? Hell yes!"
Velvet nodded, "yes, she's dead, I'm pretty sure."
Amber ran off, yelling something about being happy that Shadow was dead. She accidentally, and literally, ran into Yuki.
Yuki, still looking like a 16 year old, was calmly walking down the hall. Next thing he knew, someone had ran into him, knocking him over. He looked up and saw Amber. What was with her today?
Amber got up, a little red on her cheeks. "Hey, sorry Yuki. I wasn't looking."
Phoenix looked a bit confused as well as amused. "Did she just run into dad?"
Yuki got up, as well, "I can tell. What got you so excited?"
Velvet nodded, "yep"
Amber grinned again. "Those random people," she guestured to Velvet and Phoenix, "told me Shadow is dead! Hell yeah!" She hugged Yuki, then ran off very fast. Phoenix arched an eyebrow at Yuki. "What the hell is going on?"
Yuki sighed, walking over to the two, "Honestly, I'm not exactly sure. However, she thinks it's *year* right now."
Phoenix looked puzzled. He said, "that's a really long time ago...and by the way, why do you look like a teen?"
Ryan walked past, waving and saying "hello" to Velvet, before continuing on his way.
Yuki shrugged "I guess it was quite some time ago. As for why I look like this, why not? I'm a shape-shifter, after all."
Velvet waved to Ryan as well, returning the greeting with a "hi"
Phoenix frowned after Ryan walked past, poking Velvet. He said, "why do you like him, anyway?" Without waiting for an answer, he turned to Yuki. "Should we just avoid Mom, or what?" Ryan watched from the background, having done his work.
Yuki began, "Well,-" and was interrupted by Velvet saying "Stop being a jerk, Phoenix." After that, Yuki simply continued "...Avoid, in one sense or another. don't purposely go to try and talk to her (because she apparently doesn't remember you), but at the same time, don't run away if you see her walking past. Just use your common sense."
Phoenix gave Velvet an annoyed look. "Stop being retarded, Velvet." He nodded to yuki and walked off, while Ryan came up after phoenix left. "Hello again. "
Yuki began to walk off a little after Phoenix had.
Velvet nodded to Ryan, "hello"
Ryan yawned. "They only let me get a little sleep. Oh well." His face was muddier than usual. His clothes were dirty. He sighed. "Did I ever tell you about my brother?"
Phoenix walked over to Yuki, complaining, "why does she like him? I dont get it at all!"
Velvet shook her head "no, you never told me you even had a brother."
Yuki shrugged "I don't know why she does, but why do you care? She's not deciding YOUR future, is she now?"
Ryan sighed. "Yeah, well, I have a brother. He's a year younger than me. And I should mention, he's-" he got cut off by a person walking by. They had very long, ebony hair tied back in a ponytail ((think of that maximum ride manga xD)) and was a little tan. He had dark eyes that had a hint of silver in them. He interrupted Ryan by saying 'hi'. The guy came over and Ryan said, "this is him" Funny enough, Ryan and him did not look very much alike. and, ryan's brother looked a bit like a girl you could say.
Phoenix scowled. "Well, I don't like him, and if they are together, then i'll have to see his face all the time."
Timeskip**
Amber stayed silent for a moment, then said, "I'm sorry..." She sighed deeply, and she looked like she was going to cry.
Yuki sighed and patted her shoulder, "I understand. But please try to stay calm."
Amber sighed again, walking a few steps, then turning around and hugging Yuki. "Its not fair..." She released him and ran away, this time simply going to her room.
Yuki watched her run off. What Amber had said was true. NOTHING was fair. Life was a game. A game with rules constantly being broken, and the best way to survive was to make your own rules. Those that didn't were either saints or didn't live long. He quietly walked out of the room and headed outside.
Amber lay on her bed for a long time, gazing blankly at the ceiling. Then, she fell asleep, waking up the next day as she was normally...but, somehow different. As she exited her room and walked down the hall, her stare was blank. She appeared to be going nowhere.
Yuki, once again as an adult, walked by Amber and nodded "good morning"
Amber didn't seem to notice him. As she walked, anyone who said anything to her was ignored. It was as if she didn't even see or hear them. She dissapeared down the hall, and did not go to breakfast. She just kept wandering the halls until reaching a large window, which she just stared out of.
Velvet was among those people who were ignored. Wondering what was with Amber, she decided to follow her and see what she does. After seeing Amber stare out the window for some time, she decided to 'come out of hiding.' She walked over to her and glanced out the window, "what're you looking at?"
Amber seemed to hear Velvet, but didn't respond. She kept staring through the window, and tilted her head to the side. She suddenly looked as if she hadnt slept in too long.
Velvet looked at Amber, "You look tired. Did you sleep tonight?"
Amber sighed deeply, then turned her rather blank stare to Velvet. She appeared to be looking through her.
Velvet appeared confused at how Amber was acting, "um...are you ok?"
Amber's gaze stopped going through her and she now seemed to be looking at her. She nodded slowly, turning back to the window.
Velvet, deciding not to question any more, said "alright then" and walked off.
Amber stared into space again, staring through the window, not noticing anyone or anything, it seemed.
At some point, Yuki had walked by, but thought nothing of it. However, after passing by again a few hours later and finding her in the same exact position, He walked over "How're you today?"
Amber said nothing. She just, once again, tilted her head to the side.
Still not receiving an answer as to why she was acting like this, Yuki questioned "Is something wrong?" Of course, he knew something was wrong, however, getting some sort of reaction would have been a start.
Amber blinked slowly. She glanced at Yuki, still looking just as tired as before, then started walking away slowly. In the glance, there was a little regret that filled the blankness.
Yuki, still unsure of what was with her recently, decided not to bug her about it. He wondered about that glance, though. What was in it...regret? Regret of what, though? If you looked at it one way, there were plenty things to regret, but at the same time, why would it only bother her now? Or was it something new he didn't know about? Still wondering about that, he walked off.
Amber walked past Yuki a little later. She stopped for a moment, looking at him. The regret was still there, mixed with sadness. She glanced away from him, still just standing there now.
Yuki was still partially thinking about her when she came by. And then...there came that glance again, the regret from the last still fully there, now mixed with another emotion. The recently occurring events had puzzled him perhaps a bit more than they should have. Hanging around a group like theirs, he should have been used to such crazy stuff, however, there was always some explanation for it. Now, he just couldn't find any. It was as if his mind had switched off of 'crazy ideas' mode. "You look tired today. Are you feeling alright?" he reached up to brush away some of the hair over her face.
Amber's eyes widened when his hand reached towards her, as if she finally truly realized, at the contact, that he was there. She inhaled sharply, leaning away from him. She looked tense now. The look she gave him now had a bit of caution. She nodded slowly, then started walking away from him, seeming like she was trying to avoid him now.
Yuki appeared confused about her actions, but somewhere in his mind, it was obvious; she'd began figuring it out. It was too late to try to go back. After all, a play has to end at some point. An act can't become one's actual personality. So, what did this symbolize? That it was time to begin breaking off ties.
As he watched her walk away, he didn't feel depressed. Perhaps disappointed that the game was ending, but it was getting to troublesome lately, anyway. After all, his deal didn't include such emotions. Love was not an option for him.
Amber stopped quickly near the end of the hall, and strings of energy were now attatched to Yuki. She turned, and she looked at Yuki. Her expression from before faded into a devilish grin. "Look, Yuki..I've known for so long now. When I figured it out, all those years ago, when you let my blood spill without lifting a finger in my defense, I thought, 'two can play at this game.'" she narrowed her eyes. "You are...an idiot. Did you really think I am 'Amber'? " Her voice changed into another voice..."There is no 'amber'. She is just..a toy I've been playing with." Her appearance changed. "I am Shadow. This..'Amber' you knew was a simple illusion. Haven't you noticed that neither of us ever left anywhere without our swords? It was the sword causing the illusion." Shadow took a step towards Yuki. "Yes...its been me the entire time. You married me...those children are mine."
Yuki chuckled. NOW it was getting interesting. Truly interesting. "Well, that's nice to know. However, it doesn't change much, except the ending to this show."
Shadow chuckled. "The cast of this show is much different than you expected, Hm? Some of the time, in parts of this little story when I needed to be a few places at once, a friend of ours was being Amber. You know who is it...your shapeshifter friend?" She grinned. "Tsuki, if we could talk to her, would recall times when he mysteriously dissapeared from where she was to go on some 'mission'."
Yuki looked amused "Really now? My, it's so interesting learning all this 'behind-the-scenes' info. But do you really think I care? This show will end today, and I will go off to find another. It's that simple."
Shadow shrugged. "Figured you should know before you leave. I'm leaving as well, probabaly gonna drag Oliver with me. This place will take care of the kids..so." She started to walk off. "Nice time acting with you, Yuki." She dissapeared into darkness.
Yuki chuckled. This had certainly taken an unexpected turn, but nothing that couldn't have been dealt with. Just another show, playing out it's conclusion. He decided that this was enough. Forget the original plan of gradually leaving, he was just going to walk off. The kids however...nah, he'd leave them be. check up occasionally to see how they'll be doing. Getting rid of them would be of no use.
With thoughts similar to such, he walked off.
Oliver watched Yuki, following him ever-so-carefully. He was going to follow him either until noticed or until he completely became another person. Then Oliver would do something similar and continue following him, less secret.
Yuki simply walked out of the place. No sneaking out, no changing, no care of being noticed. Did it really matter if anyone saw him? No. He would disappear from existence within the next week. There would be no more "Yuki". Kind of disappointing, really, he was growing used to this act, becoming attached to this personality and this crazy life chaos. Well, that was too bad. Time to move on. He wondered who next would serve to his amusement.
-I will take away from you the few things that could possibly stop you.-
Wasn't that what he'd been told? Yes. And he'd agreed. It was fun messing with others, and the payment was actually to his advantage, for the most part. Yes, it was a good deal indeed.
So he set out to travel.
For the next two days, he traveled to the tallest mountain of the five great nations. It was located in a country where it rained often, but thunder was even more common. He stopped at a village at the bottom of the mountain chain, and reserved a hotel room for one day.
Not one time since then had he shape-shifted.
While Yuki was traveling without a care, Oliver was following...hidden. And he was shape-shifting when necesarry. And Oliver wondered to himself why the hell Yuki had to choose a place where it rained so often. He could guess, but when you were following someone that was in such a place, you got drenched. At the end of this day, he sighed and reserved the room across the hall for himself. He, for the moment, was a blonde. He was soaked from head to toe and had a bad shave. Oliver sighed and leaned against the wall next to his room.
Yuki had entered his room and flopped down on the bed. There wasn't anything to unpack, so he just lay there for a number of minutes. Then he went out of his room and bought himself a snack and drink. For a drink, strictly water, and for food only bread. Then he got himself some mountain climbing equipment and a notebook. When he returned to his room, he slowly ate some of the bread. He hadn't eaten anything during those past two days. For half of the night, he wrote in the notebook, reviewing all that had happened for those past twenty or so years, and doodled seemingly random animals. However, for the other half, he actually slept, since the time he left his latest show.
Oliver left for a while, going off and getting something to eat. It was pretty late when he came back and he just fell asleep. In the morning, he still looked like he did before, except his blonde hair was a little more messy. He yawned, going outside his room and leaning against the wall with a cup of coffee in his hand.
In the morning, Yuki woke up, packed the few items he had, and headed out. Outside, he saw a person leaning against the wall. Deciding to attempt not being rude, he nodded, "Good morning."
Oliver looked up from his coffee. He didn't really expect Yuki to speak to him. He didn't care much. "'Morning." He guestured to the gear. "Going climbing?"
Yuki glanced at the equipment on his back and nodded, "Yes, the mountains here are quite lovely." he paused for a moment, looking thoughtful, "Isn't the tallest one called 'Demon's Peak'?"
Oliver yawned, sipping the coffee. "Yeah, it is. And that's a volcano..." He looked into his cup, frowning at the little amount left. "Some people go up real close to the thing. Crazy stuff, huh..." He looked up. "Well, I gotta get more coffee. see ya." He dissapeared through the door to his room, sighing and deciding not to follow Yuki. What was the point now? Up a mountain? He finished the coffee, tossing away the cup.
Yuki waved goodbye and went to the front of the hotel, where he returned the key from his room. There was no need of it, for it was doubtful he would return. If he did, however, he would be under a different name. Then he set off for the mountains.
Climbing up to the Demon's Peak was hard work, for the sides of the mountain went nearly vertical in certain places. Demon's Peak; what an apropriate name. It's near impossible to actually reach the top with the slope, and if you do, all that awaits you there is a long drop down to the lava emerging from the base. After all, it was an active volcano.
When he reached the top, he looked down at the drop into the heart of the mountain. Yep, that would be a long fall. As he watched the lava bubble at the bottom, he thought about the secret meaning of this mountain's name. Throughout every dimension where there are people, there are mountains like this scattered throughout. They all had one thing in common; they were a common place for deals of a special kind. It was on one of those that Yuki made had his.
With the Devil.
Oliver watched him walk off and wished he hadn't met him in the first place. Quite a mess he had made of a lot of people. Then again, it was his job. However, he enjoyed it. That made Oliver feel a slight bit sick. He looked out the window, at the the jagged peaks. It only made him feel worse.
Meanwhile......
Amber, after talking to Yuki, left for a while. She came back a few hours later. She spotted Phoenix and Velvet, walking up to the two of them. She looked very serious, but not sad. She said, "...I have news for you. Yuki died. He killed himself. Oliver ran off, and Yumi is coming to live with us now. So is Shadow's boy." She turned around quickly, not looking at them.
Velvet looked shocked at the news, "Dad killed himself? But why?"
Meanwhile
A cloud had passed right on Demon's Peak, where Yuki was sitting. A voice, frightening and oddly calm, spoke from seemingly nowhere, "Did you succeed?
"Yes" replied Yuki, "everything was done as ordered."
"Good. Is there anything you still want to finish as 'Yuki'?"
"No, I have no more business as him."
"Then you're ready to take on the next mission?"
"Absolutely."
"Excellent. Then next time we speak, it shall be face to face."
After those words, the lava at the bottom of the pit began swirling until it formed a hole in the center. Yuki, without hesitating, dove into the neck of the volcano, spreading out his dark, leathery wings, with one thought:
It's good to come back home
Amber's expression changed to neutral. She looked over her shoulder at them, and it changed into a fierce scowl. "I dont know. And for the record, his name will never be said again, you hear me? You will never speak of him again!" she turned into her lion demon form and walked off, a deep, menacing growl echoing in the halls.
Velvet just stood there, unaware of what to say. She had a bunch of questions going through her mind, but she dared not speak them, worried that Amber might overhear them.
Phoenix watched Amber walk away and said quietly to Velvet, "w...what do we do now? What happens?" He looked like he wanted to cry.
Velvet was still slightly shocked, "I don't know. I guess it's good that Yumi's coming, but...i feel like there's more to this than we're being told. I mean, does it really seem likely?"
Phoenix shook his head and his eyes widened. He whispered to Velvet, "maybe mom killed him. She's been acting weird lately."
Velvet appeared thoughtful, "I don't know if she would've been able to...on the other hand, they said they never actually fought before, so..." she paused, looking slightly confused, "well, if she did, it would explain her reaction."
Phoenix said quietly and just slow enough to be understandable, "she might have told us to not mention him so that nobody would know and who says we aren't next? "
Velvet nodded "That's oddly easy to believe...so what do you suggest we do? Run off, again?"
Phoenix nodded. "Yeah..let's run away now. As quick as we can!" He grabbed her wrist and started running away. Amber appeared infront of them, still as a lion, when they got close to a door. "Where are you going??" She demanded.
Velvet stopped at the sight of Amber
Oh god! That was so stupid! Who just runs off, like that?!
"We just wanted to go outside!" She said as she skidded to a stop, "We were planning to play hide-and-seek in the forest." Her answers came a bit fast, but that was explained with surprise.
Amber looked surprised at something. She turned into a human and said, "You want...to run away?" She shook her head, disbelieving. "No..." She ran over and embraced them both. "No! Please no...I've lost too much already, don't let me lose you two..." Phoenix looked confused and surprised.
Velvet's expression matched Phoenix's; confused and surprised. "...but, how did...you know?" still tense, she wondered about what was going to happen in the near future, and about what happened in the past.
Amber said quietly, "I could see your thoughts...I can read minds..." She slowly released them. "I know I didn't tell you the whole truth. I'm sorry...just promise you aren't going to run away and I will tell you the truth."
Velvet looked at Phoenix, questioningly. Normally, depending on what the truth was would alter whether she made the promise or not. This time, however, she had to promise before being told the truth. Plus, it wasn't just her decision to make.
Phoenix nodded. "Let's stay and hear the truth..." Amber sighed and looked grateful. "Okay...the truth is, he...he just told me a matter of hours ago that he had been lying to me all these years. He never loved us, he never thought of us as family. He was only here for his own amusement." She spat out the last line as if it were a curse. "Now...there is no Yuki. For our purposes, he never existed. Understand?"
Velvet was taken by surprise. The father she knew for all those years, was just acting? Was that even possible? He'd appeared so caring...why did he bother if he didn't care about them? "Why?" she asked, "Why did he lie? Why did he pretend to care, if he really didn't?"
Amber frowned. "He did it for amusement...and any other motivation he may have had." She sighed deeply. "Perhaps we should just leave this place." She grabbed their hands and started towards the door.
Ryan watched from a distance; but he wasnt exactly hiding. If they were leaving, he probabaly wouldn't see Velvet again...somewhere in his mind, he had known something like this would happen.
Velvet, still confused but not struggling, questioned, "Where will we go?"
Amber sighed again. "Anywhere. I don't care." Ryan took a step into the open, looking like he wanted to say something.
Velvet silently followed Amber. She glanced around and spotted Ryan. "Ryan!" she exclaimed, and pulled away from Amber, quickly walking over to the guy.
Ryan smiled at Velvet, hugging her. He said, "I hear you're leaving somewhere...well..I wish you good luck. Send me a letter once in a while, okay?" He said that as if he knew she wouldn't. Firstly, servants never recieved mail. Secondly, he couldn't leave the place if he wanted...probabaly never leave. And, it was doubtful that they would come back to visit. He said, "good luck."
Velvet nodded "I'll try to write, and visit, if I can." and she gave him a quick peck on the cheek before returning to what was left of her family.
Phoenix narrowed his eyes a little. He had been talking around and knew servants couldn't recieve letters...the way Ryan was saying it...it sounded too final. He didn't like it very much. You'd think he would be overjoyed to get away from Ryan, but even he had some sense of what was the right thing to do. He pulled away from Amber's grip, frowning. "Just a minute ago, you were saying you didnt want to lose more than you already had. So, you run away and bring your kids with you, taking them from what was just becoming more known and one of them from their lover? Is that fair, to make us lose someone important and somewhere we had just begun to explore so you can escape memories that will haunt you anywhere on the earth? Is it?" He took a step backward. "We can live just fine here, in this home, cursed or not." He walked away, glancing at Velvet before he left. He wanted his sister to be happy, whether he showed it or not...and frankly, he liked the place.
Amber stood there for a moment, looking very surprised that Phoenix had said anything like that. She said, "I guess he's right...whether I like it or not, its more fair to stay here. And...all I want is for you two to be happy." She walked away without another word. While she was walking, she couldn't help thinking about how he was similar to Yuki. She wondered if he had inherited his genius or his acting skills...or any of his personality, real or fake. She hoped the latter more. She wished that Phoenix didn't remind her of Yuki....but at the same time, he was what was left of the old Yuki. As for Velvet, she just hoped that she would find happiness in her love instead of pain. All relationships had their ups and downs, but nobody deserved betrayal and the permanant scar it left inside. Well, nobody except perhaps those who caused it.
Ryan watched Phoenix and Amber walk off, and looked very surprised also. He never thought Phoenix would say something like that. Honestly, he thought he was too childish to care about others' problems. He was grateful. He looked at Velvet, a relieved smile crossing his face. "...for a second I thought you would be gone forever." He hugged her tight. "I love you." He wondered if they would be able to be together...he truly hoped so. He never thought he would fall in love with a princess...was it a gift or a curse? Well, fate would decide...or perhaps, he would. As he embraced her, he tried to predict what what would happen in the future. But, it was all cloudy except for the past and present. He figured he would just enjoy today, no matter what tomorrow would bring. That made him smile a bit wider.
Velvet was surprised at Phoenix words, but her expression faded into gratefulness. Perhaps he acted very childish at times, he was still her older twin, and she wouldn't ever wish for a different one. She smiled at him when he passed.
When Ryan hugged her, she whispered "I love you too." and completely relaxed. Any thoughts about her father that she might have been having had disappeared into the back of her head. She'd have a lot of time to ponder over those later.
Ryan released her from the hug, smiling gently. He brushed a little hair out of her face and said, "No matter who we are as a rank won't effect who we are as people. I'm glad you don't share the closed-minded veiw of some others..." He tilted his head to the side. "By the way, there is a party tonight. Am I invited?"
Velvet was still relaxed, "Oh, there's a party tonight?" and mumbled something along the lines of "why am I never informed of such?" She smiled up at him "Why, of course you're invited."
Ryan looked amused when she complained to herself about never being informed. He smiled back at her. He said, "I should go get ready then." He kissed her on the cheek before walking off.
*Timeskip
Ryan met her at the party. He smiled at her, sweeping her over to the dance floor, saying, "care for a dance, miss?" They were doing a waltz, and then, the music ended, now picking up a little. He glanced at her, a little touch of red on his cheeks. "Care to tango?"
Velvet nodded, "I should probably get ready, too." And her face became slightly powdered with a light pink after the kiss.
timeskip
She smiled "A dance sounds fine." After the waltz ended, she was amused at the offer to tango "Oh, why not?"
Ryan smiled rather nervously and took his hands in hers. They begun. Throughout the dance, he moved swiftly and gracefuly, as if he had been taught by someone very good. He seemed to not notice anyone else was in the room. As they twirled here and there, his hands handled her gently, as if she were quite fragile and would break if he didn't. His mind was hazy. Had she always smelled this good? The music reached its climax, he dipped her down. Had she always been this beautiful? His eyes drifted to her neck, and he leaned his head down and his lips brushed against her neck. He closed his eyes for a moment, and as soon as it had begun, the dance had ended. It seemed to bring to him the fact that they weren't the only ones there.
Amber stood in the background, looking unsure as to whether she would like to hit him with a flyswatter or smirk and be amused. Phoenix was not paying any attention. He had almost tipped over the punch bowl earlier. As he glanced at the two, he wondered why they got to have the spotlight. He kind of wished that he hadn't defended the two of them. He grumbled to himself and looked away.
Ryan walked off a little later, much like last time. He guestured for her to come from the door.
Velvet didn't have to stumble around to try to stay together in the dance, the movements came subconsciously. She let herself be guided around the dance floor by him and felt oddly light, unguarded. The feeling was frightening yet amazingly nice. As the dance ended, she began to realize the surroundings around her, but they didn't matter. And when the music stopped and he let go, she still remembered his touch on her skin.
Later, when he motioned her to come, she did so without second thoughts.
Ryan smiled at her when she came. He started walking with her down the hallway and said, "did you like the party?" The hall was dark, but was lit by candles in some places. They were climbing stairs. He reached the destination; a spot on the roof that had a railing around it, with a magnificent view. He said, "isn't it beautiful..?"
Velvet nodded "The party was nice. I liked it." She followed him silently onto the roof, and let out a slight gasp. The scenery was amazing with most of the grounds visible, the forest on the horizon serving as the border between earth and sky. As for the sky itself...it was speckled with stars, as if someone had let out a myriad of fireflies, and the moon was no more than a tear between this world and the one above; heaven. "It's gorgeous" she said in awe.
Ryan looked at her, saying, "But, even this view cannot match your beauty." He kissed her lightly on the lips, saying, "nothing can stand in comparison..you're one of a kind." He put his hands on her shoulders as he kissed her. His hands slid to her upper arms, and almost...further. But, he seemed to be attempting to be a gentleman and keeping his hands where they ought to be. Well, he was failing a bit so far. Because they were halfway between her arms and...elsewhere.
She said nothing to his statements and quietly accepted his actions as unavoidable and wanted. She did not seem to notice his hands, however.
Ryan really was trying to be good. His hands were once again placed on her shoulders. But....he just couldn't seem to stop them from going elsewhere. Downward it was this time. His hands slid downward slowly, and he didn't realize it until they had drifted to her hips. They went a little lower, but he stopped himself quickly from 'exploring' any further. He just hoped she wouldn't notice...or if she did, wouldn't mind.
Velvet didn't notice for some time. In fact, it wasn't until he slightly moved his hand back up that she realized it. When she did, however, she did nothing about it.
Ryan forced his hands to move....but, it seemed as if they had a mind of their own. They started moving...elsewhere again. He stopped himself just before his hands caused him to be un-gentlemanly. He pulled away, surprised with himself to be honest, and put his hands behind his back. He was blushing. "Um...s-sorry..." He just couldn't get past seeing her as a higher.
Velvet looked at him, a slight bit of starlight reflecting off of her eyes, "sorry...for what?"
Ryan looked away, still blushing. "Well...the hands....um...well, just rather improper." He looked at her sheepishly.
Velvet slightly tilted her head, "The hands?" she knew what he was referring to, but pretended to not have noticed.
Ryan waved his hands around a little. "You know.." He sighed. "Well....I..I um..want something I really shouldn't." He looked away again, the shade of red on his face deepening.
Velvet, still playing, asked "what?"
Ryan looked at her. He was blushing quite a lot now. "I...um.." How do you straight-up say this kind of thing?! "I want..." He guessed he just might as well say of as is. "You. I want you." He looked away again. The shade of color his face was could be compared to a tomato. Or quite a few tomatoes.
Velvet's expression hadn't changed much, though on the inside there was a hurricane of emotions. She smiled up at him, "but I'm already yours." Then she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.
Ryan's eyes widened. Well, he hadnt expected that. Not that he minded it too much. He kissed her back, pulling away a little later to whisper, "should we move this..to your room, perhaps?"
Velvet nodded, "alright" and went off to her room. She went out onto the balcony and looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful night. And not all of it had to do with the scenery.
Ryan stood just outside the door to the balcony. He studied her, and said quietly, "I see so many wonderful things to like in you, but why do you like me? I don't see what there is to like..."
Velvet turned when she heard him speaking, "Your voice," she said, "It's very beautiful. Even captivating, at times." She stepped toward him, "You don't consider yourself the absolute best, so you don't brag," Another step, "You care about others opinions," yet another step, "You make sure a job gets finished completely, quickly, and with good quality, and" this last step brought her right up to him, "you can give out good compliments." She smiled.
ooc: i'm not sure if all of that was accurate, i mostly made it up on the go.
Ooc: it was..
Ryan smiled back at her. He didnt get complimented often, and who doesnt like compliments? His dark eyes were deeper than before, it seemed. It was as if you could see right into his thoughts. He gently brushed his hand against her cheek, gazing into her eyes. He sighed, content. She smelled nice....
He tilted his head to the side. "I never really thought about that all..." He looked rather thoughtful. He couldn't really deny any of that...
A rather mischievous glint appeared in his eyes. He leaned down, so his lips were less than an inch away from hers. In a voice that could be compared to dark chocolate; sweet, smooth, irresistible, he said, "Captivating, you say?" His lips brushed against hers. He swiftly pinned her to the wall next to them both, his hands in hers. "You think so?"
Velvet nodded, making no signs of protest. Oh yes, his voice was captivating. It was the kind that if you heard it while passing by, you would stop in your tracks and wonder whether you are hallucinating or really hearing such a sound. And once you knew it was real, everything would seem so much more...perhaps 'dream-like' was the word. Or maybe 'heavenly.'
Ryan tilted his head to the side, studying her once again. Then, he slipped off his dress jacket, mostly because he was hot. ((temperature-wise, dammit!)) He said, still in the same voice as before, "what are we going to be doing tonight?"
Velvet watched him. Not cautiously, more curiously. "I don't know. Did you have something in mind?"
Ryan shrugged. He wasn't sure what he was doing, but did it matter? He took off his shirt, a thoughtful expression on his face. He said, "well...if you want to..I had something in mind." His face turned rather red. "Can you guess?" He leaned close to her again. His heart pounded in his chest. A reoccuring thought of 'what the hell are you doing' kept going through his head.
She continued watching him, "You did? I wonder what it may be."
Ryan smiled at her, kissing her again. He was now seeing her as not the princess but just a girl. He finally got himself to ignore that fact. He just let his hands go where they wished, with a little restraint. Then, he picked her up in his arms and placed her on the bed. He whispered, "may I?"
Velvet slightly tilted her head, " You ask for permission?" and without verbally answering his question, she dragged him down for a kiss.
ooc: why is it that whenever we put in just a little bit of romance, it always ends up as.................does that french fairy ever LEAVE you??!!!
A simple second later, Ryan's boss entered the room. The man's mouth fell open, then he looked furious. "RYAN, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Ryan's eyes widened. He pulled away, staring at his boss. He struggled to explain. "I was...I..it wasn't..." His boss scowled. He hissed, "You're in a heap of trouble, boy. Get back to work. NOW." He left. Ryan looked back at Velvet. "Well....sorry about him...I guess I have to go." He sighed, kissing her quickly and leaving swiftly. In the hall, there were sounds of the man threatening Ryan and the two walking off.
Velvet looked over at the the man and glared at him. Oh, if looks could kill, he'd be dying a very TORTUROUS death. One filled with blood and screaming pain. Pain of various kinds.
When he left, she looked back at Ryan, calmer and more with annoyance at his boss. "Yeah, I guess you should go."
The next day, Ryan was not cleaning the breakfast room as usual. Amber was at the dining table early, and Phoenix somewhat late. The food was good, as usual. Ryan walked in later, right when they were finishing. He had his head down, and looked kind of like he fell in a thorn bush. He had a bruise on his face. He looked tired.
Velvet had arrived pretty much on time. Not exactly to the second, but sometime between her mom and brother. She nodded to Amber, "Good morning." Today had an odd feel to it; kind of down-to-earth. At least, compared to yesterday. She nodded to Phoenix when he came in, and later to Ryan.
Phoenix nodded back to her before he left. Ryan didn't seem to notice. He stared at the ground infront of him for a moment, then returned to work. He winced, pulling his hand away from the broom handle. There was a little blood on it. He sighed, returning to sweeping.
When Velvet finished eating, she took out her mp3 player and began listening to it. Why? She was waiting for Amber to leave, and just sitting around would've been odd.
Amber ate and looked around the room a little before leaving to go do work. She nodded to Velvet on the way out.
When everyone (from her family, at least) had gone, she got up and walked over to Ryan, "What happened?"
Ryan looked around cautiously, then said quietly, "i was punished. And...I can't be with you anymore..or they'll.." He stared at the floor.
Velvet looked concerned, "They'll what?"
Ryan frowned. "Let's say beating and scolding is a mild punishment compared." He glanced over his shoulder, and hugged her. "I'm sorry...but I can't talk..." He resumed sweeping
Velvet was silent for a moment, "Alright, then just one more question. Why? Why did they do this?"
Ryan glanced at her. "A servant simply cannot be in a relationship with a princess. It is law here....fair or not." He sighed.
Velvet slightly lowered her head, "I see." and left the room.
Ryan said after her, "that doesn't mean they can ever stop me from loving you, Velvet."
Timeskip*
Amber's mother let Phoenix leave. She looked back at Velvet, curiously. "Is there anyone you like?" She emphasized the 'like'.
Velvet was slightly surprised at the question, which seemed random to her. "Uh, yeah, there is someone."
Amber's mother tilted her head curiously. "And who might that be?" She was curious because she wondered who could this man be for the next position as 'king'?
Velvet slightly looked away, "Uh, well...why do you want to know?"
Amber's mother said in a voice that slightly emphasized her authority, "I just figure I have a right to know. After all, whoever the are may be important."
Velvet still looked uncomfortable with the topic, "Important? How so?"
She narrowed her eyes just slightly. She said, "Look, Velvet. You should tell me. I do want to know....and you don't want me going into your mind to fetch the information..because I might just accidentaly see some other things you may not want me to see." Ryan looked tense, but pretended to ignore them.
Velvet twitched "Fine, I'll tell you. I was just wondering why it's so important." She sighed, pulling herself together, "I like Ryan."
She looked surprised for a moment. Then, she glanced over at Ryan. "A servant? My my, you and your mother both cannot seem to accept that there are some people you should avoid!" She narrowed her eyes. Not angrily, but more in thought. "Be careful. Your mother got betrayed by her lovers....who says your relationship won't be the same?"
Velvet thought for a moment and then replied, "Well, who says it will? No one can really know, so I'll just have to listen to my heart and trust it."
She looked down at Velvet, rather expressionless. "Suit yourself...but I warn you, it is not a good idea." She suddenly was behind her with a hand on her shoulder. "Something bad will happen soon, Velvet....I can sense it. Be careful." She dissapeared.
Phoenix entered the room, saying to Velvet, "do you want to go to our old house? I forgot some stuff there.."
Velvet tensed up when she felt the hand on her shoulder. Something about it seemed overwhelming. The warning didn't help much either. She turned to Phoenix, "sure, let's go."
Yeah, add travel here*
When he got there, he went inside quietly. He walked around a little. For once, he was being very quiet. He swiped a finger across the t.v., revealing it was dusty. "Its already dusty...how long has it been-" he cut off when he saw a picture of their family...with Yuki in the picture. He stared at it. Where had their father gone? He just came up one day And said that he was leaving? Said that it was all an act? He never loved them? They were never even family to him?! They were just toys for him to play with?! Until this moment, he had thought of Yuki as a father. He narrowed his eyes, and slammed the picture face-down.
He lied to us. He betrayed us. He is a dirty traitor, and always will be!
He involuntarily hissed that. Phoenix didn't look at all like himself. He got annoyed easily but never really got truly angry. He looked rather frightening, with searing anger and hurt that had condensed into cold, hard, icy fury in his eyes. His mouth was twisted into a scowl. He shook slightly, still directing his furious look at the face- down picture.
Even if he is my own father, he betrayed us. I...
I hate him.
Velvet picked up a book from a shelf in that room, and turned around when Phoenix cut off. She followed his gaze to the picture and twitched when he slammed it down. Such a sound was too loud in this quiet house. This silent house, full of memories. She watched Phoenix's anger build up and remembered wishing at earlier times that their life was more adventurous, more crazy. Now she felt stupid for wishing for that. There wasn't the excitement of living life like in a book, there was the constant worry looming overhead of what will have to be endured next? And the sad part was, this probably was only half as crazy as their parents have had it.
She looked at the book she was holding and read its title; The Basics of Biology: Genetics. She tossed the book aside, frustrated. Why, of all the books on the shelf, did she happen to pick up that one?
Memories of the past floated past in his mind...they began racing past as more of Yuki showed up in them. He felt slightly dizzy as they all just faded into a blur, and the more he tried to escape into the far reaches of his mind, memories, the more he saw of Yuki there. He pulled back from the now-painful memories, and coming back to the cold, bitter reality. It hit him hard. He gripped the truth. It seemed this kind of thing always only happened in stories...until it had happened to them. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, pulling himself together. His thoughts dissapeared behind a screen of his emotions. He opened his eyes slowly. Phoenix's eyes no longer were filled to the brim with bitter hatred; now it seemed that the fury had burned so fiercely in him that it cancelled out all emotions, and all that was left after it faded was nothingness. His eyes were black voids. He turned away from the photo. Then, he sat at the table in the kitchen, his hands over his face. He felt as if someone had carved out a hole within him so all that was left was an empty shell where his soul used to be.
Velvet continued watching Phoenix. Why had this happened? And why to them? She thought over any reasons why Yuki had suddenly left and why he acted in the first place. She came up with a couple of theories, but there was always some detail that threw her off. She gave up right before the thought came to her, well, what if he didn't completely run off? What if that were an act, too?
Perhaps, she thought, perhaps it was, but that's much too complicated to think about. Best take it in pieces...another time.
Well, what if he's not gone? What if he's here - observing?
She refused to think about it any further; all these 'what if's were making her head hurt. She walked over to Phoenix and quietly said, "Hey, get whatever it was you forgot and let's go."
A little blackbird in a forest is nothing unusual. Except when it's not a blackbird, but a demon. It's hard to tell whether a bird is following you or not, and you don't pay any attention to it if it landed in a tree outside your window. This little 'bird' was ignored much in the same way. Exactly as it wanted.
Phoenix got up, without looking at her. He went into his room, getting a bag and putting a few things in it. He came out. The empty shell that was now Phoenix only had a small flame of anger within that seemed to keep him from becoming completely non-emotional. He picked up a picture of Yuki along the way, examining it for a moment, then, without warning, threw it hard. It flew out the window, breaking glass. He didn't say anything, just walked out of the house. After that, he looked up at the sky, as if it would answer his questions and give him some sort of hope. He started running into the forest when it started pouring rain out of nowhere.
He didnt seem to notice its coldness or the thunder. Somewhere in the trees he seperated from Velvet. He just went on, going a little faster when he suddenly felt a sort of paranoia about Yuki watching him. He tripped on a root, causing him to fall in a shallow, murky puddle. He winced at the sudden chill and that his hand got cut by a rock. He was on all fours, staring down into the murky water slightly smeared from the blood on his hand. He wrapped his arms around himself, shivering. He shuddered, and glanced to the side to make sure Velvet wasn't there before he let the hot tears stinging his eyes roll down his face.
He wished he would just stop crying. It wasn't good for a guy to do. But he was so sick and tired of all that had happened that he just let it happen. He hoped Velvet wouldn't see him like this. He didn't know how long it was until the final quiet sob left him. Phoenix felt numb from being in the cold water so long but he welcomed it. Being numb to it all is what he wanted after all. Something in the back of his mind was telling him to get out of the cold or something bad would happen. But, his mind was as murky as the water and he couldnt focus on what his thought warned him against. He looked up again, the rain washing away some of the salt of tears. he suddenly felt dizzy. The numbness gripped him violently, and it made him realize that he couldn't move, and the cold was paralyzing him. The sudden panic that siezed him floated away like a cloud as his numb body refused to remain upright. He tumbled into the shallow water, face up. His eyes went dull and his vision faded to black, A darkness that he, at this state of mind, could not comprehend. He fell unconscious.
Velvet waited for Phoenix to get whatever it was, and then left with him. When he started running, she did as well, following behind him at first, and then running next to him. It began pouring when they were in the forest, and the sound was too loud and the rain was pouring too hard for Velvet to realize Phoenix was no longer running nearby. She stopped and called for him, but received no answer; he was too far off. She wandered around for a long time, trying to locate him. After some time, she felt something hit the back of her head and her vision went black.
meanwhile
The little blackbird had continued flying and followed Phoenix, and when he fell, it landed on a branch in a nearby tree and watched him cry in the rain. After Phoenix fell unconscious, it flew down and landed as a human. Yuki. He chuckled to himself. These two were quite amusing.
He found Velvet wandering in the woods and knocked her out. Otherwise, she would've been wandering for probably the rest of the day. Then, he teleported with her to her room in the mansion and set her down on her bed. After that, he returned to Phoenix. Well, this one certainly acted cute. That little hate moment he had earlier in the house, simply amusing. Sighing, he went over to Phoenix and picked him up. That was stupid of the kid, to simply sit there after falling. Oh well. Phoenix was also brought to his room and set down on his bed. Perhaps when they woke up, they'd consider it nothing but a dream. Or maybe not. Amused, he disappeared as if he was never there. Those two would be interesting to observe, probably more than the others.
Phoenix woke up later. He quickly sat up, looking around. He thought he had a bad dream for a moment before he looked at his hand and saw there was a nasty cut on it. He looked at his muddy clothes and sighed. He remembered the last time he visited Yumi. He hadn't seen her in a while. But, honestly, all he wanted to do was sleep. He couldn't get himself to sleep, so he exited his room without a care that he looked like a sewer rat and left to go to town. Later, he went to Yumi's house because it was closest to the town he visited. He didn't fly due to an injury he recieved by getting in a little fight in town. He knocked on her door, looking like a beaten, hellish sewer rat.
Yumi opened the door and let out a small gasp, "Oh my god! Phoenix, what happened to you?" She led Phoenix inside. Unlike the last unexpected visit, she was in normal clothes.
Phoenix was glad someone cared. His eyes were still rather like the voids they were before, but with an empty sort of sadness to them. He looked away and said in a quiet voice, "I..just got in a little fight. its ok...." He hoped she didn't see any remanants of his tears. He made a fist so she wouldnt see that cut on his hand. It was pretty obvious he was beat up on the outside and inside, though.
Yumi looked at him again, "You're so wet...Do you want something warm to drink?"
Phoenix nodded briefly. He was trying to look strong. He sat at the kitchen table, having taken off his waterlogged shoes earlier. He clutched the drink tightly when he revieved it, causing a bit of blood to smear onto the cup as he set it down. He didn't seem to notice.
Yumi made him a cup of hot chocolate. She noticed the blood on the cup when he set it down, but didn't mention it. "So," she said, "I take it you had a rough day, huh."
Phoenix nodded. "Yeah..." He looked expressionless as he sipped the hot chocolate. He was silent as he drank it. He finished it quickly. Then, he stood up and hugged her tight. It hurt a little, but he didnt care. he hoped she didnt care about him being messy. He shuddered, and forced himself not to cry.
Yumi looked slightly surprised at the sudden hug. She hugged him back, not caring a whole lot about getting messy. "Hey, it's alright. Everything will be fine."
"But..."
Phoenix felt like it would never be all right again. "I got beat up when I should have won..My own father...betrayed me.." He felt a tear sliding down his cheek and mentally cursed himself.
Yumi said gently, "There is no 'should' have or 'should not' have won. And the past isn't there to dwell on, it's there to learn from. Plus," she added, "there's still me. I love you, Phoenix, and don't ever think otherwise."
Timeskip.
Phoenix had a smile on his face. "Guess wha, Yumi?" He looked comepletely happy. For once. "I loooove you."
Yumi sighed. "yes, I know you do." Well, at least he wasn't in pain from his wounds, and he was much happier than earlier. Even so she was doubting the condition of his sanity from the medicine. But it's not like he was complaining about it, so might as well not worry too much.
Phoenix grinned stupidly. "Oh, but you don't know. You dunno.." He spread his arms far apart. "I love you thiiiiiis much." He yawned. "Cause your pretty, and nice, and awesome, and..." He fell asleep right there.
She sighed. Well then, hopefully he'd stay asleep until the medicine wore off. The stupidity of the situation was so odd...on the other hand, I could always use anything he says against him, she thought with a smirk.
He woke up soon. He smiled stupidly again, sitting up."Hellooo, honey." He giggled and flopped back down. He rolled off the couch and scurried into the open area, the stupid grin seeming to be stuck there. He started spinning around, his arms outward. "Tornado! FWoOsh!! Crashh! BANG!" He fell on his butt and looked at Yumi. "Pretty lady.." His stupid grin dissapeared, and he looked awed by her, and just stared up at her with wide eyes. He said in a fascinated voice, "Pretty lady, did you come from heaven?"
Well, apparently the medicine hadn't worn off. Oh well. She watched him spin around and fall, with an amused smile. "No, Phoenix, i did not come from heaven."
Phoenix tilted his head to the side. He still looked awed. It was rather cute, really. He said, "where else could you have come from, pretty lady?" He scooted up to her, about 2 feet away. He looked up at her as if she were some sort of goddess. "Will you be mine, pretty lady?" He held his arms out. "Love me!" He said, and had puppy eyes as if to say 'please.' As an idiot on meds, he looked adorable.
Yumi smiled. He was acting so cute, it was hard not to. "Alright, Phoenix, I'll love you." She leaned down a kissed him on the tip of his nose.
Phoenix had a streak of pink across his cheeks. He looked,crosseyed, at his nose. Then he smiled wide. "Thank you.." He said shyly, looking up at her. His eyelids began to droop. "At least you're not a stinky-poo like sister." He hugged her, then just fell asleep. For the whole night this time.
Yumi was still smiling when he fell asleep. She quietly slipped away and covered him with a blanket, after which, she walked off to her own bedroom.
Phoenix woke up in the morning wondering where he was at first. Then, he sat up to get a better look, winced from the pain he recieved, and lay back down. He couldnt remember past when she gave him the medicine. He guessed he had fallen asleep. He was back to his old self. He just stayed in place, his eyes closed.
In th morning, Yumi got up and went to the living room to check on Phoenix. Finding him with his eyes closed, she assumed he was asleep and went to the kitchen to make coffee and breakfast.
Phoenix sat up a little later, watching Yumi. He got up quietly and entered the kitchen. "Good morning." He sat at the table. Something was odd about him...his eyes. They had a reddish tint to them. It wasn't too noticable. He said, "i don't remember what happened after you gave me the medicine...what happened? ."
Yumi turned to him, "Oh, good morning!" She got herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table, "And yesterday...well, the medicine made you act unusual. You told me something interesting at that time."
Phoenix looked curious. "What did I tell you?"
Yumi smirked, "You told me that you LOOOVE me," she stretched out her arms, "you love me THIIIS much!"
Timeskip
Phoenix was smirking from the events before, then glanced at the door. "Eh..I better go home. They're waiting, and probably wondering where I am." He kissed her on the cheek and left, walking off.
Yumi waved him goodbye
meanwhile
When Velvet woke up the day before, she had wondered whether it was really a dream. And she would've thought so, if it weren't for the wet clothes on her. She got up and took a shower. Then, she went to check on Phoenix, but couldn't find him; he'd left by then. She continued on with the day wondering about the previous events.
The next day she was really wondering where Phoenix was, but she guessed at Yumi's. When he came into the house, she happened to be nearby. She walked over, "Hey, Phoenix. Where were you? I couldn't find you ever since yesterday."
Phoenix looked surprised to hear her voice. He turned, and realized he probabaly still looked like hell. He said, "eh...Yumi's. And somewhere before that."
Velvet shrugged, "I figured. What about after we left our old house? You just dissapeared."
Phoenix looked away. "I just went to town. I didn't realize we got seperated while running at first." He sighed, and walked off into his room. After dressing in clean clothes, he lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He got up. Then, he walked over to Velvet, saying, "let's go for a walk..." He wanted to get his mind off of the things bothering him.
Velvet shrugged and watched him walk off. When he later wanted to walk around, she nodde, "alright, sounds cool."
Phoenix walked into a forest with her. He looked around him. Something told him something bad was going to happen. But, he ignored it. As they went deeper into the forest, there was the sound of thunder. It was, after all..the rainy season. Suddenly, a tree right next to them got struck with lightning, setting the tree on fire. Phoenix watched as the wind fueled the fire and blew it onto another plant. He jumped back. "Shit.." It was going towards them. Fast. He started moving away. "I have the worst freaking luck.."
Out of reaction, Velvet jumped away from the tree as it caught on fire. She saw the wind fuel the fire and heard the fire roar up as it spread to consume more vegitation. At that, she ran, trying to remember whether there were any clearings nearby. As far as she remembered, there wasn't.
The fire sped up, and Phoenix could feel the heat of the fire on his back. It was right at their heels. He couldn't fly off because his wing was injured. He couldn't run from it as fast as normal. He knew how screwed he was. Couldn't he just go out for a few minutes without having to almost die? He stopped, holding his hands out towards the fire. It stopped, staying in place...for the time being. He glanced behind at Velvet. "Run. Run as fast as you can, just away from here." He held back the fire, wincing from the effort and his injuries. He wouldn't be able to hold it for a very long time...but at least he would do something. He said to himself quietly, "Even if my life is lost, its better than living with the fact that I did nothing to prevent another death."
Velvet slowed down to look behind when she heard him. She saw the fire stop, but knew it would flare up again eventually. She wanted to help in some way, but knew she would be useless. "What about you?" she called back.
Phoenix looked over his shoulder at her. A new look was in his eyes. They had a fire of their own burning within. He said, "Don't worry about me. Just go, before it breaks loose! Please.." He didn't want her to die..she was his twin. It would be like half of him died.
Velvet gave him a sad look. She didn't want him gone. But she knew she wouldn't be able to do anything; other than die with him, of course. So she ran off. He was her twin, her older brother, a member of the family, a friend...he'd better make it out alive she thought with tears.
Phoenix stared into the huge fire. He braced himself as his grip on in weakened. It would be rather explosive as it was released. He held it as long as he could, after a little while, knowing she was far away enough, had to give up. It blasted outward, and he felt searing heat like no other. He saw red, orange, gray, and then.. black.
Velvet ran. She ran as fast as she could. Speed and endurance were her strengths. She ran all the way to the house and began searching for Amber. Well, if she herself couldn't do anything, she could at least get someone. When she found her, Velvet informed her of the fire, still trying to catch her breath, "We...went for a walk, then...a tree caught on fire. Phoenix tried to...hold the fire back, and I...I couldn't do anything to help him, so...I figured I should at least...tell someone...I feel so useless!" She was nearly crying at the end.
Amber's expression was serious. She said, "one moment." And closed her eyes. She used her abilities and saw the fire. She said, "I can't see him in there.." She knew what that meant, but didn't say it. She looked at Velvet's expression and her expression softened. She felt like everything she had was slowly being taken away. She embraced Velvet. She had never been good at making people feel better, but she tried. "You aren't useless. You got away alive. And, remember there was no other way it could have happened. He did it to save you." She released her. Amber was so accustomed to loss that it seemed all her tears were gone a long time ago. she walked off.
Later, she walked to Yumi's house. She felt someone had to bring the news. Someone had to tell her. She knocked on the door lightly. She said, when the door was opened, "I have some bad news for you....Phoenix..has died in a fire in the forest." She looked expressionless, besides seriousness. She had locked her great sadness deep within.
Velvet's eyes widened,"You can't see him? Does that mean he's..." she bit her lip so she wouldn't burst out in tears. "He did it to save me, but I still couldn't do anything. And now..." she couldn't help herself any more. The tears came out suddenly and seemed as if they wouldn't end. When she later thought about it, it was odd. She hadn't cried when her father had walked off, not even a single tear. However, when Phoenix was gone, she couldn't seem to stop. Perhaps it was that connection twins had; one could feel what happened to the other.
Yumi opened the door, slightly surprised to see Amber there. She had a shocked expression after the news. "He's...dead..?"
Amber nodded. She said, "it was a matter of hours ago." She looked away. "I'm sorry, but I have to be leaving now. Goodbye." She walked back home, then went to her room. It was there that she let herself cry. She wondered why her luck was so terrible. She lay on her back, looking up. Why?
A week or so later, Amber brought Velvet to a hill in a clearing to sit on. The grass rippled in the breeze. She said, "It's empty here without him...I wish I could have at least said goodbye." Suddenly, a voice spoke from behind them. "Hey, don't you know the legend? The phoenix will rise from the ashes!" Amber turned around, surprised, then smiled with relief. Phoenix was smiling. He was alive!
Well, oddly enough, Phoenix thought he had died. Until he woke up with ashes in his face. He had no idea how this phenomenon had occurred, but was thankful nontheless.
Yumi nodded to Amber, then closed the door and stared at nothing for the next hour or so. Only then did she finally accept it as real and cried.
Velet was quietly sitting next to Amber. She seemed emotionless, but she still hadn't completly gotten over her grief. For some reason, though, she felt oddly...better. She turned around at the voice and was surprised to see Phoenix there, "Phoenix!" She ran over to him and hugged him.
Phoenix was expecting more of a 'what the heck why did you have to die nyah bush nyah' from them and looked a tad bit surprised at the hug. He smelled like ashes. He hugged her back, saying, "It's good to see you again. I thought I was gone.." He smiled at her. He hugged Amber too. Then, he said, "I should go tell Yumi the news!" He leaped into the air, wings unfolding, and did a flip. He grinned.
When he got to her house, he had a rose behind his back. He walked up to her door, knocking. He was smiling.
Yumi opened the door, looking very tired, as if she hadn't slept well for a couple nights. As soon as she saw Phoenix, however, her eyes suddenly widened, "Phoenix!" she hugged him, "Phoenix! I thought you were dead!"
Phoenix hugged her back. "The phoenix has risen up from the ashes." He handed her the rose. He said, "I thought I was gone." He kissed her. "I'm sorry that had to happen...I didn't mean to scare you like that.."
Yumi accepted the rose, "So what happened?"
Phoenix shrugged. "Well, I got caught in a fire and don't remember anything past that. I woke up in a big pile of ashes. That's all I know." He blinked. His eyes suddenly were a fiery mix of colors; red,orange, yellow. He hugged her again. "I didn't think I'd see you again!" He was smiling wide. He was truly happy right now. It seemed like he left all his regrets and sadness back in the ashes.
Yumi was smiling as well. She hadn't really believed in miracles before, however she was now wondering if she was wrong for thinking so. After all, how else could've Phoenix returned?
Phoenix kissed her, a bit longer than before. He pulled away and looked into her eyes. He grinned. "I looove you. I love you THIS much!" He tackled her, still grinning.
Yumi let herself be tackled, "Oh, I know you do, Feenie."She kissed him on the tip of his nose.
He chuckled. "You're pretty. Nah, beautiful." He said, "and..did I mention I'm feeling naughty today?" He grinned.
Yumi was still smiling, "Oh, you are?" she chuckled, "So, then what happens now?"
Phoenix smirked. "Well, I don't know. Perhaps.." He kissed her, letting his hand slide down her side. "..We will have some fun."
Yumi chuckled, "Perhaps so."She then gave him a rather long kiss.
Phoenix stared at the feather. He let it float to the ground. Then, he said, "I'd better go home. They might get worried." He hugged Yumi and said, "Wish me luck so I don't turn into a bird anytime soon." He flew off, stopping in the place where the fire had happened. He flopped down into the ashes, finding them oddly comforting.
((I can seriously imagine yuki coming by and making a bad pun -.-))
Yumi nodded, "Yeah, you probably should, after being considered dead for a week," she chuckled, "Good luck."
Phoenix thought about Yuki. He wondered where his father was now. He didn't care a terrible much, though. He sat up, looking at the sky. Then, after a while, he got up and took a walk around the forest. He went back home, mumbling, "dad, while you were around, you could have taught us some other useful stuff, you know.." He sighed and sat in the garden, wondering if anyone else was around besides him.
From seemingly nowhere, a dog appeared. It was fairly large, black, and with brown eyes. It didn't look as if it were of any certain breed. It stared at Phoenix.
Phoenix glanced at the dog. He smelled strongly of ash. It was a wonder the dog wasn't sneezing. He stared back at it, looking bored. "Hello, dog. What's your name?", he said in a bored tone. He mumbled, "not like you can answer me anyway."
The dog slowly walked over to him, not threateningly, simply cautious. Oddly enough, it didn't mind the ash. It came up to Phoenix and silently watched him.
Phoenix stared at the dog. Seemed like he saw this dog before somewhere before. He sighed. Then, he said, "I wonder....haven't I seen you before somewhere?" He sighed, not understanding it. He patted the dog on the head.
The dog let a quiet 'ruff' sound out, and just sat quietly.
Phoenix wondered why he thought he had seen the dog. He guessed he was just mistaking the dog for another. He tilted his head slightly. "Weird..." He got up, confused. He looked up into the sky, saying, "hey dog, how come I swear I've seen you before?" He sighed. "I have such terrible luck, for all I know, you could be some enemy disguised as a dog. Eh, but that's far-fetched."
The dog stared up at him. It's eyes had a certain playfulness to them that seemed to ask; is it?
Phoenix stared into the dog's eyes. Something about this made Yuki came to mind. But Yuki was a person..or..wait...
He took a step back from the dog. He said, "I knew you were around here somewhere." He narrowed his eyes slightly. "I have questions for you..."
"You knew, yet hadn't suspected some random stray?" Asked the dog who, as it turned out, was Yuki. Then he shape-shifted into a person. However much slower than usual, so watching would have been sickening. Normaly he did it so much faster, that it happened in the blink of an eye. Now it took two seconds. He was tired after running around and sending thousands souls down to Hell. "Missed me? Probably not." he gave a playful smile, "Questions, you said?"
He twitched when he saw Yuki shapeshift. Ew. Phoenix nodded. He did not look amused in the slightest. "Yes. Questions. One happens to be...how the hell am I still alive after burning in a fire?"
Yuki looked thoughtful, "Fire, you say? Well, you are part...I would say dragon, but that's not quite true. Part shapeshifter, more like. However, since your appearance tends to lean more toward human/dragon, wouldn't it make sense?"
Phoenix shrugged. "I guess so." He looked thoughtful. "Okay. Another question. Where did you go when you left?"
Yuki's playfulnes was less noticible now, "Do you want me to lie, or do you want to hear the truth?"
Phoenix looked him in the eye. Ignorance could be bliss, but the unknown could be torturous due to curiosity. He said, his hair randomly turning black again, "I'm not sure my desision will make much of a difference, considering you are an excellent liar. But, I see no reason for you to lie and threrefore choose fact over fiction." Something told him he wouldnt like the answer, but he was tired of living with lies.
Yuki shrugged, "Alright. I went to Hell. Yes, literaly, and no, not by dying." He gave himself black bat wings and streached them out, "I haven't told that to anyone here, but I guess it doesn't matter. Simply put, I am a demon. Servant of Satan himself."
Phoenix did a bit of a double take. He tilted his head, a hint of curiosity mixed with caution. "Really. Interesting. You know, you're hard to believe when you've been lying for years and now youre saying weird things. I dont believe you. And I really doubt you could prove that."
Yuki smirked, "Really? You doubt me? Well, I do know someone who could prove me correct, however...You probably don't want to meet them." Yuki looked thoughtful, "I do have my contract, but why should I show you that?" he shrugged, "But I guess it's good that there's no definite proof. Makes my job a whole lot easier."
Phoenix had his mother's stubborn-ness. It was evident on his face. "I think you are just messing around with my head. I still don't believe you. You know, if you could prove it, I promise not to tell anyone." He did not realize the stupidity in that. Young and stupid.
Koro, also known as the Grim Reaper, appeared nearby. He happened to be pissed off at a few defiant souls in the garden who were not cooperating with him. He nodded a greeting to Yuki. He didn't like the ghosts here. They liked being difficult.
Yuki shrugged, "Well, if you don't belive me, that's your choice. And I really don't care if you go around telling everyone, 'cause this 'Yuki' you keep trying to talk to doesn't exist. You may know me as 'Yuki,' but that was just a role I took on. Or, more like, was assigned to." He sighed, "Why am I even talking to you? I don't actually have that much time. It may seem like it, but I don't. So if you have anymore questions, ask them now."
Phoenix sighed. He said, "well then. Does mom piss you guys off with her dying and coming back to life thing?"
Koro said a minute or so later, "hey Yuki, do you mind helping me kill these idiots? They aren't.." He swung his scythe down quickly and hit...something. Or someone. He looked rather pleased, as if he got one. He guestured towards Phoenix. "And, do you think I should help convince the non-believer that he's wrong?"
"Yes," he said, "Yes she does. So much that she doesn't even have a place reserved for her anymore." He turned to Koro, "Sure. All of them, or a selected few?" He glanced at Phoenix, "I guess you could convince him, but I honestly don't give a damn if he belives me about this or not."
Phoenix winced a little.
Koro shrugged. "Just a few for now. They're being annoying." He whipped his scythe out infont of him. "and, wouldn't you like to see the look on his face when he sees hell for himself?"
Phoenix spoke out cautiously. "I have an idea..." He didn't like saying it much, but something in his mind was telling him to..."I think I might be able to make her stop coming back and bringing others back.."
Yuki said to Phoenix, "one moment," then nodded to Koro, "Alright, a few sounds fine. And yeah, it would be amusing."
After they were done with the souls, koro sighed. "Alright then" Phoenix spoke up again, repeating his statement. A small white bird landed on Yukis shoulder.
Yuki looked at the bird. They tended to avoid him unless he called them over. It was the same with most animals, actually. Still looking at the bird, he asked Phoenix, "So, what is this idea?"
The bird did not seem different than any other bird. It was quite normal, besides the fact that it was sitting on Yuki's shoulder. Phoenix didn't seem to care. He said, "Simply take away her sword. Destroy it. It worked on Shadow, and they are similar. "
Yuki looked thoughtful, "Yes, they are similar, but not exactly the same. I'm not saying it wouldn't work, but if it were something that obvious, I'm pretty certain someone had tried that before, unsuccesfully. In any case, until she's on my assigned list, I won't be spending my time trying to kill her." he paused, "Just wondering, why did you offer to share your idea? Would it benefit you in any way, or what?"
Phoenix looked thoughtful. "I...am not exactly sure. It was almost like...someone was telling me to. Oh well." The bird began to peck on Yuki's head for some reason.
"That's interesting." Yuki glanced at the bird, "Stop it." He tried to grab it, expecting it to fly away.
Phoenix looked cautious. "What? Does it..mean something?" The bird flew off, only to land on his head a bit later to peck again.
Yuki shrugged, "Well, no, i suppose not." He shooed the bird off his head, "Damn this little creature!"
ooc: well, saying "god damn" wouldn't make sense for him, and "devil/Satan damn" just doesn't sound right
((Lol))
Phoenix sighed. "You know...I kind of believe you now." He looked to the side. "I..wish you would have taught me more while you were still my dad..." Koro, in the background, had a 'well that explains it's expression and dissapeared.
The bird was persistent. It now flew on Yuki's other shoulder and pecked his ear. Hard.
Yuki sighed, "Fine bird, peck me all you want, see if I care." Then he turned to Phoenix, "Taught you more? What did you want me to teach you? I tried teaching you to shapeshift, as for magic, you should ask your mother for that. She's better at it.
Phoenix sighed. He said, "well...how to fight better. Mom is...busy. And crazy. Not that you arent, but she's a different sort of crazy."
"How to fight better?" he slightly tilted his head, "Is there really no one to teach you? Not a teacher or anything?"
Phoenix said, "well, like I said, mom is busy and there isnt anyone I know of that will teach me." Suddenly, Amber's mother appeared behind Phoenix, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Hello, shapeshifter..i will teach him what he needs to know." She gestured with her arm in a shooing motion. "Shoo, demon. Poor boy has enough problems."
Yuki chuckled, bowed slightly, "As you wish," and disappeared.
Amber's mother walked off with Phoenix. They discussed what he was to learn.
Amber stood at the top of a volcano, staring down into the crater. Her sword reflected the reddish glow. She used magic to locate the spot where the body had gone. As she thought, Tsuki's body was preserved in the lava due to the lack of ability to burn. She glanced at Ryan. She wished this sacrifice didn't have to be made, but the exchange was even enough. She admired the way he was taking it all; calmly, seriously. She looked back into the lava, closing her eyes and extending her hand. The lava bubbled, and she brought up the body of Tsuki.
Amber held up her sword. Ryan was backed up to the edge of the volcano. She thrust the sword into Tsuki, and at the same time, Ryan fell into the fiery crater, the life seeming to have just left him in an instant.
Tsukiko was alive again.
Tsuki's eyes flew open and she began coughing. Not all the lava had gone out earlier, and her lungs hurt...a little less worse than the place she was before. She coughed out some grains of rock. Now her throat stung, too. And some grains still hadn't left and were rolling around with each gasp for air. And now she actually needed air. She needed to breath again, after spending, what, five years in Hell? The needs of the living suddenly applied to her again. What was learned from this? Drowning in lava was NOT fun in any way AT ALL.
Eventually, her breath evened out, and she began to look around; there was the crater of the volcano, there was the sky, and there was Amber. She stared at her for a few moments then, looking confused, said "I'm...alive?"
Amber watched Tsuki come back to life. She remembered all the things them and their group had done all those years ago...and she thought, in a way, Tsuki was had been her enemy and her best friend. Amber hoped she could breathe well enough...she wasn't sure if she had gotten all the lava out..
She was relieved as her friend's breathing evened out. She nodded, her expression serious. "Yes...you are." She twitched, and her serious expression melted into a smile. "Tsuki, I've missed you." Her eyes got a tad watery. She was just so happy to finally get something back after she had lost so much...she was so happy to have a good friend on her side that it was rather sad.
Tsuki still appeared slightly confused, "You...missed me..." She tried to lift her arm, but it rose about an inch and then flopped back down. Not only did the needs of the living apply to her, but also physics. Gravity. How pressed down her body felt after being weightless, and even simply moving was different now. She began coughing again, less violently than earlier, but it was still painful.
Amber walked over and, looking concerned, said, "are you okay?" She patted Tsuki on the back. She picked Tsuki up like a doll and hugged her. She felt sorry for Tsuki. She knew her physical form was not particularly well, but figured it was better than hell. She said, "I'm so sorry...I wish I could have brought you back earlier.." She released her, setting her gently on the ground.
Tsuki stopped cough again, after a while, "I'm...better than I was." She let herself be picked up because, even if she would've tried to resist, she wouldn't have been able to. "It's ok," she said, "at least you still remembered me." In Hell, thoughts were similar to letters and, in a way, determined how long you 'survived'. Whenever someone from the living thought about one in Hell, it appeared to that soul. Getting a good thought was always a joy, and even getting a bad one was better than nothing. Those that got nothing...slowly faded away into nothing. "How have you been?"
Timeskip*
Phoenix came in with Yumi a bit later. He hugged her, and gave her a kiss before saying he had to be leaving. Oliver, looking tired, made coffee.
Tsuki just watched all this happen. She thought about all that she'd missed within those five years. About how similar in appearance Phoenix was to his father, how Oliver had something similar to an addiction to coffee, how much better life was than death, about her slow relearning of movement. It felt so odd to simply sit there, barely managing too walk. She decided to attempt something simple. Making a fireball and mess around with it. So she did. The small flames licked at her hands, but they felt so nice, so warm...
Oliver looked much more awake after his coffee. He walked off, going into the security room. He was wondering whether Yumi had really been there or not. He found the truth and came out, blushing a little. He said, "so, you were there."
Yumi looked over at him, "Huh? Where?" She was still slightly tired and wasn't thinking about what he might be referring to.
Oliver looked like he was about to say something, but decided against it. He shook his head. "Nothing. It's...nothing." He flopped down on the couch, sighing. He coughed. He said, "what do you guys want to do today?"
Yumi shrugged.
Tsuki had continued messing with the fire and replied "I don't know."
Oliver smiled, then broke off into a coughing fit. He said, through coughs, "Turn...off...fire." Why it was bothering him so much was because he had been experimenting with different sorts of lungs to enhance breathing ability. The smoke just got to him for some reason.
When Tsuki heard him talk, she got rid of the fire. Part of it simply went out, while the other part appeared to go into her hand. "You alright?"
Oliver nodded. "I'm fine." He sighed. "Well...what to do.." He stared into space for a moment. Then, he said, "Well....we could-" he stopped talking for a moment, listening. "Do you hear a violin being played?"
Timeskip
Amber looked around a little in the morning, then had a feeling that Velvet had run away. She muttered to herself, unsure of what to do. She concluded that she would find Velvet and bring her back. She tracked her down...
Phoenix hadn't left his room that morning. He just woke up and mentally cursed himself and a number of other people.
Velvet had kept running all through the night. It felt nice, to have the wind blow her hair back and to feel the speed with every part of her. She didn't want to think about 'home', it confused her too much. She wanted to leave, but at the same time she didn't. She loved her family, but she felt so weak. She thought that maybe going to try and live on her own would make her stronger.
The sun began rising, and her body began tiring; she hadn't slept for almost 24 hours. She decided to rest in the forest. Her previous survival experiences helped her pick out the best spot for a nap. Her sleep was light, and she would've quickly woken up at any signs of a dangerous animal nearby.
Amber watched Velvet, silent and in the darkness. She stepped into the open and said quietly, "Did you think I was stupid? I can find you anywhere..." She didn't know if Velvet could hear; but, she didn't care much either. "Damn it, just come back so I dont have to lose another person in my life...I'll teach you to fight..I promise I won't become like my mother.."
Velvet's eyes flew open at Amber's voice, "I don't want to. I don't want to go back. I'm tired of it." She looked at Amber, "Why? It has very little to do with you. I don't hate you, I'm just hating that life."
Timeskip*
One of the men glared at Velvet. "Shut it and leave before I decide to hang you along with him." The two men exchanged looks.
Velvet tilted her head, "For what? For questioning whether your decision is correct or not? Is that a crime nowdays?"
The man muttered something to himself, then began walking off with the other man. "Dammit, I don't care. You deal with him. Screw it." They walked away, leaving the guy with his hands tied and a noose still around his neck. He glanced at Velvet.
Velvet watched them walk off without an expression, but she wondered why they suddenly left without caring. They seemed very determined to kill they guy earlier. Maybe... she decided to cut off any 'what if' thoughts. She was probably over-thinking way too many topics with those two words. She walked over to the guy, "So, what actually happened?"
He looked at her. They never had tightened the noose, so he was able to slip out of it. He said, "didn't kill them. perhaps I was framed." he turned around and gave her a look like, 'cut the ropes.'
Velvet cut the ropes. "I see," she said, "By the way, I'm Velvet. You?"
He rubbed his wrists. "Zephyr." He glanced at her again, no expression, But perhaps a bit of thanks, and walked away. later, when she camped for night, he came out of nowhere and tossed down some food to her. He was in a tree, barely visible.
Velvet watched him walk off. She later decided to stay and camp out a few miles off.
When the food was thrown to her, she looked up in the general direction from where it came. She didn't see him, but her sense of smell told her it was Zephyr.
Amber glanced between the two of them. She started to piece things together in her mind. Something made her doubt the possibility of this being another trick. It just didn't seem to fit. She said, "Well....this explains things some." She thought to herself, 'Well, why not prove my theory with what he doesn't know instead of what he does?' She said, "Hey, Yuki.." She pointed to the not-demon Yuki. "Who is Phoenix?"
Non-demon Yuki scratched the back of his head, "Phoenix? Isn't that a fiery bird that is reborn every 1000 years from its own ashes and that only one can exist at a time?"
Demon Yuki was still looking amused, but he mentally sighed. This idiot didn't even understand that she was referring to a human being...or mostly a human being.
Amber nodded to herself. "Alright....Yuki, you've missed out on...a lot." She walked over to him. "I haven't seen you in....years." She smiled softly at him. "Hey...you.." She turned her head to demon Yuki, her smile turning bitter. "Go find someone else to bother."
Demon Yuki sighed. Well, there went that plan. Too bad. He still had a few cards up his sleeve, but those would come in handy later. He looked at the pocket watch hanging on him, "Oh, look at the time. I'm running late on an appointment with a 'customer.'" He walked past the two, slightly hitting the real Yuki on the head, "See ya around, unfortunate being." As he finished speaking,a crack opened up right underneath him, and he fell in, still smirking. Ah...Hell was comfortably warm...
After the demon had left, Yuki rubbed the spot where he was hit. It was obviously a slight tap for the demon, but it still hurt, "Ow..." he looked at Amber, "...so...who is this 'Phoenix?'"
Amber looked at Yuki curiously. He really didn't know, did he? Interesting. She said, "I'll explain that later. The first thing I must explain is most important." She sighed. "You know that guy you just saw who looked exactly like you? Well, he's been impersonating you for many years now. Not sure how many. It was only recently that he said he wasn't who he said he was. I thought you...I still thought that he was you." She smiled brightly for the first time in such a while. "Come inside my house; we can talk there." She led him into a sitting room, and sat on the couch. "Well, one of the first things I must tell you about what happened? You and I, or him if you prefer, were husband and wife." The room, lit dimly by a fireplace, cast shadows on her face, making her expression hard to read.
Yuki was still confused, but decided to hold his questions, "Yeah, let's go in." He sat down nearby. When he heard that those two had been husband and wife, his expression was a mix between surprise, confusion, and curiosity. "Wait, so you two got married while you thought of him as me?" He had a hint of red on his cheeks. He hadn't seen her for more than a decade and a half, and now he finds out that she was married to someone pretending to be him.
Amber quietly replied, "Yes..." She turned her head to look at him. Her eyes reflected a bit of the light from the fire, making her amber eyes almost seem to be glowing. "I'm quite sorry that all this information had to be presented so suddenly, it is probabaly a bit of a shock to you." She said, "And, as you asked who Phoenix was....he is one of the twins.....him and Velvet. They are ours."
Yuki said nothing. 'Suddenly,' wasn't the right word. It was more 'unexpectedly.' "Your...twins?" Now the faint red became more distinct, "You had...twins?"
Amber smiled faintly to herself at the thought of him not knowing. She was finding it rather amusing that he was completely in the dark about such things. She looked back at him. "Yes." She looked into his eyes. Those eyes...that she hadn't seen in so long. They were different...
She said, "And, the last development is, well, you may have guessed from the last two bits of information..." She said, quietly, "I am in love with you."
Yuki just stared at her for a while, unable to speak. Then, he managed to say, "You are...in love with...me?" On his cheeks was now a vivid shade of red. He was gone for such a long time, and now it almost seemed like someone had set up his future. That someone had taken his identity and had played with it as they pleased. And, apparently, they had Amber love him. If this someone was such a good actor that Amber hadn't noticed, could it mean that...
She fell in love with the Yuki that'd been away for over 15 years?
She could see, even in the dim light, his blushing. It amused her a little. "Yes, I am." Amber's expression became darker. She said, in a tone that was bitter and cold, "That man who pretended to be you....he betrayed me. He shattered my life into pieces." She said, calmer now, "You won't do that to me...will you?" She sat infront of him. She stared into his eyes, and leaned in, her face less than an inch from his. "You don't have to love me back if you don't wish..." Her lips brushed against his. "But..please, just this one kiss..."
She kissed him, softly. During which, she realized how much she loved him. She wished she hadn't gotten so attatched to him, but there was little to do to fix that. Her hand gently brushed against his cheek. A tear ran down her face. She wasn't sure if it was the sadness of not knowing she was loved back or the happiness that the Yuki she loved still existed caused it.
Yuki's blushing was still mostly there, but he tensed as her tone changed "He...betrayed you?" He began to relax, "I wouldn't do that." He watched her sit in-front of him, and slightly leaned away when she leaned in. But he let her kiss him. It was...amazing.
Amber pulled away a few seconds later, and gazed into his eyes for a moment. In hers, there was her love, and the bittersweet mixture of happiness and sadness. She hugged him tightly, whispering, "Don't leave.." Another tear fell. "Please....don't leave me." The strong face she put on melted away, and who she truly was and what she was feeling showed through.
Yuki let her pull away ad looked into her eyes as she looked into his. In is, there was a bit of confusion and a look of loyalty which would be near impossible to fake, "I won't leave you. I'll be at your side as long as you want me to." It was odd. He hadn't paid a whole lot of attention to her in such a way, so why did he have this feelling that he'd go to the end of the world for her?
Amber smiled at him. It felt so odd....she hadn't smiled in such a way since....who knows when. She said, "I love you." She kissed him again, with a passion. One of her hands slid into his.
Yuki kissed her back. Earlier, he had wanted to say 'I know' and 'I love you too,' but was cut off by her lips.
After the kiss, she got up and said, "Let me bring you to my room." She walked with him there, and glanced at the faint bloodstain on the ground. She looked away from it. She sighed to herself. Then, she went onto her balcony. She looked off the edge, and sat on the railing. The landscape was dimly lit. It was a good veiw. She closed her eyes, sending images, memories and such to Yuki through telepathy to show him what had happened those years he had been gone.
Yuki nodded and followed her. Once they entered the room, he joined her on the balcony. He looked out at the landscape stretching out like a carpet of greens and yellows. He saw all that for about a second before a flow of images and memories flashed before him.
timeskip*
Kichirou said, "....Don't get any ideas with that. Just because I'm water doesn't mean you should control me." He would have shivered if he was being a human. He was used to being the one with the upper hand in things. "Uh....you aren't going to do anything weird to me, are you?" He sounded cautious.
Yuko tilted her head slightly, "But water is my element and I use it quite often. Also, it depends on what you mean by 'weird.'"
Kiki sighed. "Not fair. Not. Freakin. Fair. I don't like being controlled. I'm usually the one controlling." He was frustrated that he couldn't turn into a human. It just wasn't fair. He said, "I'm not exactly water all the time you know."
"Of course it's fair. You can't be in control the whole time. However it wouldn't be fair if there was no altering. Everyone deserves a turn." Yuko smiled, though it wasn't exxactly what one would call a 'nice' smile, "And you've already been saying that you aren't water all the time, but you never exactly explain yourself."
Kichirou sighed again. "Women", he mumbled, annoyed. Then, he said, "Well, I can be in human form. Just not right now. Please try again in an hour."
Yuko looked curious, "You can? That's interesting."
Kichirou sounded rather happy with himself, "You think so? And, I think I have miscalculated. I can show you my human form, if you would like." He, without waiting for an answer, materialized as a person infront of her. He was wearing casual clothes and was smirking. "Here I am."
Yuko nodded, "I see," she seemed somewhat impressed, "Well, now that I know that I'm talking to someone who isn't simply a water bubble, I don't feel that I'm as crazy as I thought anymore." she chuckled.
Kichirou chuckled also. He walked alongside her. "Well then. I can turn into water and back into a human as I please. It's not exactly a thing I could teach, so you're out of luck." He shrugged. "At least I found someone who appreciates the power of water!"
Yuko nodded "Well, it's hard not to appreciate it if that's the element you grew up with. I'm 35 and not immortal. The fact that I'm still alive proves that I have mastered my element. It's near impossible for me not to appreciate it now."
Kichirou chuckled. "I'm immortal, 300-something years old, and am the element I use! I do think it is quite an achievement though that you have survived this long."
Yuko shrugged, "I suppose it is quite long for a fighter."
Kichirou nodded. He looked 'disturbed' for a moment, mumbling to himself, "Oh god I hope she can't control me as a human" Then coughed loudly.
Yuko couldn't tell what he was mumbling, and looked over, "What?" She began gathering a new water bubble above one of her hands.
Kichirou looked away. "Ah, nothing! Just talking to myself." He glanced around warily. "So. what's it like to be mortal? Just wondering. Do you always have to worry about death?"
Yuko thought about that for a moment, "I guess it feels like...normal. I, personally, am not constantly worrying about death. I used to, but that was when I was much younger. As a child, really." The water bubble floated onto her hand and rested on it. With her other hand, she formed an even smaller bubble on it and pulled it off. It came up in a string of such bubbles. When the entire water blob turned into a sting, she stretched it out and froze it.
Kichirou watched her and the bubbles. "Interesting. I couldn't die if I wanted to. I will live forever until...I don't know. I figure out the hard way that there is one thing that Can kill me?" He shrugged. "Eh, oh well."
"I see." Yuko had wrapped the bubbles around her forearm and was now looking at them.
Kichirou looked at his arm, turning it into water, then back. He said, "Do you have family or are you just a wanderer without one?"
Yuko continued staring at the string of bubbles, "I had a family. A father, mother, little brother..." she looked up, "Now it's just me, a wanderer."
Kichirou's smirk faded, and his expression, which was normally anything but serious, turned neutral. "Don't remember much of my parents. My wife and kid are dead. All there is left to do is wander." He kicked a rock on the path, sending it into the bushes. He frowned.
Yuko sighed, "Well, that's life for you."
Kichirou said, "Whatever, Guess I have to deal with it." He said, "By the way, you arent going to control me anymore, right?" His seriousness evaporated.
Yuko shrugged, "I guess I don't really have a reason to control you, do I?"
Kichirou sighed, sounding relieved. "Okay. Good. No controlling is good."
Yuko nodded, "No controlling unless there's some sort of reason for it."
Kichirou said, "Good. So...if you could have anything, what would it be?"
Yuko looked at him, questioningly, "Why do you ask?"
He shrugged. "Just curious. Now, answer the question!" He poked her in the arm.
Yuko looked thoughtful, "I don't know, I never really thought about it..."
Kichirou shrugged. "Fair enough." He glanced at her. He studied her for a brief moment, saying, "Well, you already got looks."
Yuko looked at him, wondering how to take that statement, "Thanks..?" Then she looked upwards, "Perhaps what I'd want is friends or a family, even if they are new. Maybe just people who would care if i were alive or not."
Kichirou looked back at her, and knew exactly what she meant. He kind of thought he wished the same thing, somehow. He said, "Well....I think you're a pretty awesome person from what I know of you, and I don't have to run off if you don't want me to." He smiled, and for once, he didn't mean anything perverted by what he said.
Yuko lightly chuckled, "But you really don't know much of me, do you now? Pretty much all you know is I'm a female mortal, age 35, who is strong in their element, water. You know that I don't have a family anymore and you also know that I want people who care. That's about it."
Timeskip*
Kichirou grinned, drunk. After singing, he said, quite slurred, "Pretty woman, Yes?" He kissed her on the lips without much warning, then grinned again.
Yuko watched him sing with an expression that could easily be read as 'what the heck.' Unlike some, she knew and respected her drinking limits. She was surprised when he randomly kissed her and was about to protest, but then thought, fine, might as well let him, and made a mental note to herself to keep away from alcohol.
Kichirou danced around the room with a broom, flinging it around haphazardly. He dropped it and stumbled over to her, hugging her, saying, "Hey, isn't you a beautiful lady! Yes, you is. I'm justa guy, justa random guy. Heeeey..." He released her and stumbled off a bit before collapsing onto the floor. He was out for the count.
Yuko avoided the broom in a lazy way as it swung by. She twitched at the hug and sighed when he collapsed. She had been stabbed in the back multiple times, both literally and figuratively. So why did she let him get so close? She could flood a small country, freeze lava, and build an ice tower higher than the tallest building, but why couldn't she understand it?
Kichirou woke up in the morning with;
a;) What he was doing on the floor.
b;)With a bad hangover.
c;)With no clue as to why he had a broom in his hand and a pink glove on.
He sat up, groaning. What had happened? What was with the broom? He yawned, getting up slowly. Might as well face the day. At least it was never very bright outside in this place; it only really got as bright as the setting sun.
Sometime during the night, Yuko sat down in an armchair in the room for a rest. She didn't plan on going to sleep, but it just so happened that she dozed off. The alcohol probably didn't help much, and neither did the fact that she hadn't slept the previous night. In any case, she nodded off and was still asleep when Kichirou awoke.
He glanced around, surveying the room. His eyes fell on Yuko. He tilted his head to the side, studying her for a moment. With silent footsteps, Kichirou placed the misplaced items in their rightful places. He entered the kitchen and made a nice breakfast for himself, then remembered that Yuko was there also, and made her a breakfast also. He placed a plate of food carefully on the table next to the chair, for when she woke up. He sat on the couch, eating and thinking about things.
Yuko woke up and glanced around the room. It took her a moment to remember where she was. She saw Kichirou, "Good morning." Then she spotted the plate of food and began eating.
Kichirou nodded. He said, through a mouthful of food, "Good morning. Sorry...I got so drunk.." He sighed. "What'd I do?"
Yuko swallowed her food before speaking, "Well, you were singing into a sharpie, dancing with a broom, and gave me a hug. I think that's it..."
Kichirou sighed with relief. He said, "Okay, good. Just a hug, yeah..." He smirked to himself as he practically inhaled his breakfirst.
Yuko nodded and finished her breakfast. Why hadn't she mentioned the kissing? She didn't remember it well enough herself; after all, she wasn't completely unaffected by the drink. Right now she was trying to remember why she told herself to stay a bit further away from alcohol.
Kichirou yawned and cleaned up the empty plates. He flopped down on the couch afterward, saying, "So...how are you, Pre-er, Yuko?" He looked puzzled, wondering why the hell he just tried to call her 'pretty lady'.
Yuko nodded, "Fine," She heard the mistake in his words but didn't comment.
Alice walked in slowly