Once again, I've changed minor parts about the characters past, but for the most part, they're still the same. SORRY IF IT'S HARD TO UNDERSTAND! ><
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Across the Dead Lands
"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" Ryo yelled, jumping on his twin brother's bed. Leo slowly sat up, and rubbed his eyes.
"I'm up..." he said softly to his twin.
"Come on!" Ryo whined, trying to pull Leo out of bed. "May said she's gonna have a surprise for us! Hurry!"
Leo sat in bed lazily blinking. They were twins, but he wasn't as energetic as Ryo. Ryo continued to jump around the room they shared happily. He didn't know what day of the year it was, he only knew that it was his fifth birthday and May had a surprise for them. Leo looked at his upper left arm. The day before he and Ryo had both received tattoos on their upper arms. Leo's was on his left arm while Ryo's was on his right. The tattoo didn't hurt, but Leo wasn't used to it. Steel had offered no explanation as to why they each had to get one the day before they turned five.
"Come OOOOON!" Ryo begged, pulling on Leo's hand.
"Okay..." Leo said quietly, letting Ryo drag him out of bed. Ryo pulled Leo across the floor to their closet, having fun by dragging his twin. Leo slowly got dressed in his normal white and red outfit, while Ryo waited, already dressed in his black and green identical outfit. They left their room together, and made their way towards their older sister's bedroom. It was still early morning and most of the servants in the Razada House were still asleep or in the process of waking up.
"Let's walk outside past the garden!" Ryo said, pushing open one of the sliding doors that led outside. Leo said nothing and followed, still rubbing his eyes. The garden was large, with snow blanketing everything. It was midwinter, and all the trees and plants were dead. The small pond was frozen over as well as the various fountains around the garden. Ryo quickly ran across the garden, leaving a trail of footprints where he went. It was cold out, but they could still quickly walk across the garden to the other side without freezing. Leo followed closely behind, shivering.
Ryo closed the sliding door behind Leo. "How come you're not excited?" Ryo asked.
"I am...." Leo said in a low voice. "I just don't feel good..."
"Why?"
"I just don't feel very good..." Leo said. He gave his brother a sad look. "I just feel like something bad's gonna happen..."
"Nothing bad will happen!" Ryo said. They were finally at May's room, and Ryo knocked on the door. Nayota opened the door slightly, peeking out.
"Just a minute!" Nayota said. His eyes were still light red, and his hair was black and white spiked. Ryo and Leo both smiled while they waited. May and Nayota were always busy studying and working, yet they always seemed to have time for their younger brothers.
Finally Nayota opened the door. May was sitting on her bed, holding a small homemade cake with chocolate frosting and five lit candles. "Happy Birthday!" May said happily, holding out their cake to them. Ryo stared at their cake in amazement. Leo just stared.
"I thought we weren't allowed at eat cake for breakfast," Leo said, looking up at his older brother.
"I wont tell if you wont tell," Nayota said, nudging Leo and Ryo closer to the cake. "Hurry, we need to eat this before we go see Father and Grandfather..." Ryo and Leo both quickly blew out their candles and ate their cake. The whole time Ryo was happy and excited, Leo sat quietly, hardly picking at his slice of cake.
"What's wrong?" May asked in a concerned voice.
"He feels like something bad will happen..." Ryo answered.
May and Nayota exchanged quick, but nervous glances that Leo saw. "What? Will something bad happen?"
"No, just get ready, we're gonna go see Father and Grandfather now..." May said quickly. Nayota and May escorted Ryo and Leo to the audience hall of the Razada House in silence. Once outside, May turned to her little brothers, and attempted to fix their hair.
"It's just gonna get messy again!" Ryo whined.
"Just remember, Leo is Lion in Grandfather's presence. And Ryo--"
"Is Demon," Leo finished.
Nayota opened the door, and May led Ryo and Leo inside. The room was in a rectangular shape, with sliding doors to on the right wall that opened up to the garden. On the far side of the room was a throne. It was made from various metals and stones, mainly marble and gold. The floor was made from mats made from straw and grass, soft enough to kneel on for long periods of time. There were six people in the room waiting for them. Three men stood against the left wall, all wearing proper robes. They stood in silence, and they all stared at Leo in silence when he entered. A maid stood separate from the three men, looking worried. In the shadows of the brilliant throne stood Steel. His arms were held behind his back, and he stood completely still. His dark maroon eyes pierced the darkness he stood in and gazed upon his youngest sons. His look was of hatred, and it was cold. It sent shivers down both Leo and Ryo's spine. Neither of them ever spent much time with their father, but they knew they didn't like him.
Sitting on the throne was their grandfather, Head of the Razada House, Kain. He looked about the same age as Steel, but he was much older. His face was slightly wrinkled, and his eyes were red, but they were closed in thought. His clothes were completely white, complimented by his long gray hair that fell past his shoulders. He sat on the throne, with one elbow on the armrest, and his head resting on his hand. He looked old, and almost weak. But no one in the House dared object to anything he said. Alera had been the only person able to get her ways from him, but she was gone. Now it was Steel who was closest to Kain. But even he loathed his father. Kain's eyes flashed open, revealing his red eyes, as Leo and Ryo entered the room. His face remain emotionless, as they were positioned in the center of the room, standing side by side facing Kain on his throne.
Kain remained sitting, observing his two youngest grandsons. Both of their outfits revealed the black tattoos on their upper arms. Kain saw the twin with the tattoo on the left arm, and knew it was Lion. The Twin with the Red Eyes. The other was Demon. The Twin with the Green Eyes. Kain sneered at Demon. He remembered his beloved daughter-in-law, Alera, and the way she bad begged for his life. Kain closed his eyes again. If it hadn't been for his love for Alera, he would have had Demon killed at birth. May the Gods damn him for his sin.
Ryo stood close to his brother. May and Nayota had left and were standing next to the door at their respectable places. Ryo stared at the floor the way he had been told to. He was forbidden to look at his father or grandfather directly in the eyes, because of his green ones.
Kain stood up slowly, and walked towards the two children before him. Lion stood close to his brother perfectly still, staring up at his grandfather. Kain stopped in front of Lion and knelt down closer to his height.
"Let me see your eyes," Kain demanded more than asked. Lion lifted his head more and looked into Kain's eyes. Kain grabbed Lion by the chin and turned his head to the left and right slowly, observing Lion's fiery red eyes. A wicked toothy smile spread across his face, sending fear into Leo's heart. Kain stood and slowly started circling Leo, completely shoving Demon out of his way as he passed.
"This one's eyes..." Kain said loud enough for everyone to hear, "are the same color as mine. They have the same fire...and elegance. Alera was right in her prediction for this one. The Blood of Angels runs strong in his veins..." Kain stopped in front of Leo once again, this time he remained standing, looking down at Leo. Leo stared back with a confused look on his face. Next to him, Ryo remained silent, ignoring the pain in his shoulder where Kain had shoved him.
"This one..." Kain continued, gripping Leo by the shoulders and walking him towards the three men, "will take Nayota's place as my heir. You will study, learn manners, and practice your sword with these men from now on." Leo looked at the three men in fear. Kain released his shoulder and swiftly turned away, letting the three men take Leo by the shoulders and rush him from the room. Ryo watched as Leo left. They exchanged one last look before the door closed, leaving him alone with Kain, Steel, Nayota, May, and the maid.
Kain turned his attention to Ryo, his smile gone. His eyes were cold and heartless. "Look at me."
Ryo slowly and hesitantly raised his head and looked at his grandfather. The instant his green eyes met Kain's, a sharp pain inflicted the left side of his face, jerking his head to the right. Ryo made a small noise in pain before Kain's hand gripped his hair and tugged it back, forcing him to look up at his grandfather.
"You should have known better," Kain said with no sympathy, his eyes still cold, but furious. "You're no longer a part of this family. Never...look into the eyes of a Razada again." Kain threw Ryo by his hair onto the floor in front of the maid. "Give him his work."
The maid quickly swooped down and picked up Ryo. Ryo held his head where Kain had grabbed his hair sniffling. "Don't cry now," the maid cooed, leaving the room with him, "You'll be working with me now, just do as I say and he wont hurt you again, all right?"
She brought him to a section of a hallway. At the end was a bucket and washrag. She placed Ryo next to the bucket and put the washrag in his hand. "You have to clean now, okay? Just run up and down this hallway leaning on that rag and wash it. It'll be hard at first, but you'll get used to it. Do this and find me for another task, all right?" Then without another word, she turned away and left Ryo alone in the hallway.
Ryo stood for a long time looking after her, his hand rubbing his left cheek. He looked at the long hallway, wondering how he was supposed to clean the whole thing. He knelt down and rested his hands on the washrag the way she had instructed, and tried running to the other side of the hall. He fell numerous times, and finally made it.
~
Steel ordered Davis to burn the table he had carved the map onto before they left. Ryo didn't want to follow Steel north, but he left quietly anyway. He wanted to at least see Mel before he left again, but Steel had other plans. Steel led them out of the Hollow Palace and into the maze of streets. He looked back at his small army. There was eleven of them in all, he just needed two more to complete the group, and begin the real task.
"Where are we going?" Kaira asked Steel politely. Steel ignored her.
"To the lab," Kalon answered in a miserable, almost angry tone.
"Why there?"
"You'll see..."
Steel led them to a desolate part of the city, and to a great white house. The house was two stories high with a dark green roof and broad windows with steps leading up to the entrance. It looked expensive compared to the surrounding buildings. At the foot of the stairs stood a boy near Taj and Davis' age. He had straight black hair that hung over his eyes and gray eyes similar to Kalon's. He wore a white button up shirt with white pants and shoes Ryo looked at Ken with slight surprise. He had never thought of Kalon as being much of a father, or even Caza for that matter.
Ken saw them coming and walked out to meet him. "The professor is inside," Ken said in a very formal tone.
"Yeah, yeah, we know..." Kalon said, passing his son and up the stairs inside. Ken gave his father a bad look, but followed him inside with everyone else.
The inside of the building was darker than Ryo expected it to be. There were sheets covering all of the windows and only few other lights. But the house didn't appear to be a house at all. The whole first floor appeared to be nothing but a library.
"They're all here!" Ken yelled into a door that led to the basement. From somewhere in the basement Ryo heard an odd voice answer something back.
"Professor Bob's an expert on technology lost in the Great War," Ken explained, looking slightly embarrassed, waiting by the basement door. "Steel's asked us to show you some things we've found before we left."
"Why?" Leo asked, looking at Steel, who was still by the door standing in the darkest shadows. "When are we gonna need to know about these things?"
"As I said before I'll explain after we get the Ice and Lightning Users, now stop asking!" Steel snapped.
From the door emerged an old man with untamed white hair and a bushy mustache. He wore square glasses that enlarged his eyes to look twice their size and he wore a white lab coat. "What?!" he asked in a loud, obnoxious voice. Something told Ryo he wouldn't like him.
"They're here," Ken said softer, motioning to the rest of the people in the house. Prof. Bob looked around, and singled out Kalon, at the back of the group, smoking.
"Kalon! Is that a cigarette I see in your mouth?! I told you my studies have proven the harmful effects of smoking tobacco! Even in this ancient book are records of a thing called lung cancer! You'll die from it!"
"See?! See?! I told you it was bad Kalon! Even this dude thinks so!" Dimi bursted out, looking at Kalon and pointing at Prof. Bob. The mad professor looked Dimi over next.
"Why, you must be the Dimi I've heard Kalon complain about so much! Now Kalon! Put out that cigarette at once!" Kalon glared at his adoptive father, before taking one last drag of his cigarette and putting it out.
Professor Bob gave his adoptive son a look of approval, then looked around at everyone. There was a long awkward silence. Ryo could tell no one in the room wanted to get singled out by this assumed brilliant scientist. "Well introduce yourselves!" Prof. Bon said, waving his arms in the air.
Kaira took a brave step forward and offered her hand to him. "I'm Kaira...." she said shyly. The professor grabbed Kaira's hand, and to everyone's surprise, shock, and Ryo's horror, pulled her in for a hug. Kaira let out a small scream but was released right after, looking terrified. Professor Bob gave her a warm, yet creepy, smile and looked around at everyone else.
"Well? Who's next?" Everyone took a step back and Kaira retreated behind Taj and Davis.
"Can't we skip introductions already?!" Kalon yelled out, storming past the group and disappearing into the basement. "Let's just get this over with!"
"Don't mind him," Professor Bob whispered to the rest of the group as he led them behind Kalon. "He's just angry because his body isn't receiving the nicotine it's grown addicted to. That and I suspect he's just an angry person."
"What's nicotine?" Ryo asked Leo.
"A drug that's addicting. I guess it's in cigarettes..."
Kalon flipped on the lights and revealed the basement. There were tables all across the large room, all of them holding random lab equipment or objects covered with white sheets.
"All right! This one is one you'll most defiantly encounter on your travels! It's called..." Prof. Bob pulled a sheet off a large object, revealing it. "An automobile!"
Ryo wasn't impressed. It looked like a piece of bent metal with places to sit inside. "I'm not quite finished with this one. BUT! When it's fully operational, it will be able to move by itself! And people can ride in it and control where the automobile takes them! Isn't that exciting!"
"Impossible..." Taj commented quietly, but Ken heard him.
"Nothing Grandfather says is a lie. It's all true," Ken said, sounding annoyed. Taj scoffed, ignoring him.
"And over here!" the Professor said, bounding to the other side of the room, "Is another thing to show you that is very important! It's a--Kalon! Pay attention!--a weapon used very commonly before the Great War! Shame they turned this ingenious invention against each other..." he revealed a small piece of metal, with a barrel and handle. "People used this to fire small pieces of metal, like this, and it would fly at incredible speeds! It could pierce human flesh, and they used it against each other in the Great War...."
Ryo decided he didn't like it. The Professor was incredibly odd, more so than even Dimi, but Ryo didn't mind too much. He had given Ryo an actual lesson, even if it was brief.
"Now, onto something more exciting! I know you're on a busy schedule!" he waved his finger at Kalon, who gritted his teeth. Professor Bob went to the far wall where there was a small storage closet. "Steel asked me several years ago to create weapons that would specialize in one Element. So that makes one of each of you--wait. He counted the adults and stared at Steel in confusion. "I thought there would be seven Steel! There's only five!"
"We'll bring the others their weapons," Steel said quietly. "Just give them their weapons and we'll be on our way."
"Hmm. Very well..." Professor Bob opened the storage closet and fished out two thin short swords. Both had dark blue velvet sheaths, with the sign for water on the hilt.
"DIBS!" Dimi called out, shoving Jim and Caza out of his way, diving for the swords. Professor Bob raised his hairy eyebrows.
"They were for the Water User among you, so no need to worry!" He handed the twin swords to Dimi, who took them happily, and turned back to the closet. "Well, let's see who's next! Who here is the Wind User?" Caza took a small step forward, but remained silent. "There are for you! Specialty for Wind Users! They'll always come back to you if you will them to!"
Professor Bob presented Caza with a pair of metal chakrams. Both were the size of Caza's forearms with grasps in the middle. They were made from a bright metal that almost appeared to make it's own light. They were both circular with ten spikes. In the center where Caza gripped it was the sign of Wind. Caza raised his eyebrows slightly at his given weapon, as though surprised, but took them without saying a word.
"The Fire User? Who is that?" Professor Bob asked, looking idly around. Leo took a cautious step forward. "Oh you! You must be Leo! Come here, let me hug you..." Professor made a move toward Leo, but Leo jumped back out of reach.
"Well fine!" the professor said, not noticing snickers coming from Taj and Davis. "Here's your weapons Steel required I make for you." He handed Leo a bag. From the bag Leo drew a dagger made from black metal with a red carvings all along the blade. On the handle was the sign for Fire. "Those are your weapons. You can throw them at enemies, and if you wish, you can cause them to explode! Just try not to lose all of them, there's only about fifty or so, I forgot to count...." Leo muttered a thanks.
Ryo looked between him and Kalon, the only two left. He wondered to himself what their weapons were.
"Ice User? Oh Ice User!" the professor called out.
"Give it to Leo, he'll take it to out Ice User," Steel said, sounding annoyed and impatient. "Give Ryo the Lightning User's weapon as well."
"Oh, all right!" Bob said, handing Leo a bow made from light blue wood and arrows, while throwing a small pouch at Ryo. "Now! All that's left if for the Earth User's weapon! That's you Kalon!"
Kalon glared at the professor, his gray eyes piercing through him. "No thanks. I don't need anything..."
"I suggest you take them father," Ken said in a cold voice that held no respect. "You could use them." Ryo looked at Kalon and Ken, wondering why neither of them seemed to have any respect for each other.
"You'll like it Kalon! Here! Look! Gloves!" The professor held up a pair of leather gloves that were identical to the ones Kalon wore regularly. "I modeled them after your dirty old gloves, but I made them more efficient for an Earth User! Look! It has the Earth symbol on the back part here!" Kalon's expression looked slightly surprised, almost pleased for a second, as he took the gloves from the professor.
"Let's get going!" Steel ordered, speaking lousily. "We've wasted enough time here."
"Don't I get something?" Ryo asked.
"You?" The professor looked surprised, big oversized eyes scanning Ryo. " What's your Element?"
Ryo thought a second before answering. "Uh...well...all of them..."
"Oh you already have your special weapon!" the professor laughed. "You have the sword the Steward Eliazar gave you don't you?"
Ryo looked down. It was tied to his waist.
"That sword has the symbols for all six Elements, and is very capable with any Element you summon! The late Steward asked me to make it for him, when he was just a young lad..."
A felt a sharp pain in his mind at the mentioning of Eliazar, but shrugged it off. "Oh...okay..." he said, before turning to leave with the others, who were already gone.
"Oh my god, it's so hot out here!" Dimi whined.
"It doesn't bother me..." Ryo said. "But I've been living out here for half my life, I'm probably just used to it. Just summon some more water and dump it on yourself."
The party had been walking for hours nonstop for several days in a row, only stopping at night in the Dead Lands. Steel led them on with no sympathy or compassion. They all walked behind Steel in pairs, making a caravan. Leo and Davis walked directly behind Steel, followed by Taj and Kaira, with Ryo and Dimi following them, Ken and Jim following them, and Kalon and Caza bringing up the rear. Everyone walked on miserably, but Dimi was the only one complaining. He summoned a sphere of water, then let it rain over himself and Ryo. "I'll just have to do it again in a little while..." Dimi said sadly, shaking water out of his long blue hair.
"Hey Water Sprite! Rain some water over me now!" Kalon said catching up to walk next to Dimi and Ryo.
"Not you too..." Dimi whined, but summoned water and rained it over Kalon. Kalon faced up and let it rain over his face.
"Good to know you're worth something Water Sprite."
"Hey, I'm not worthless! And stop calling me Water Sprite!" Ryo sighed and fell behind to walk next to Caza. Caza said nothing to Ryo and kept walking with his expressionless face. He had never been one to talk much, but Ryo decided he had nothing better to do than try.
"Are you doing all right?" Caza glanced at Ryo, then returned to staring ahead, but nodded. Ryo tried thinking of something else. He saw Ken and Jim ahead of them.
"I never knew you had a son...where's his mother?" he asked, hoping his question was all right. Caza didn't answer. He kept staring ahead with his expressionless face. His golden eyes seeming empty. Ryo sighed, deciding to give up, when Dimi suddenly appeared between him and Caza.
"Hello Caza! Didn't you hear Ryo?" Dimi asked, leaning close to Caza. "He was trying to ask you a question. Hello? Don't you hear me Caza?!" Ryo saw Caza's eyebrows lower slightly but he kept walking in silence. Dimi didn't give up and kept asking. "Hello? Caza? Don't you hear me? Echo! Dimi to Caza!" Caza kept walking, ignoring Dimi's annoying questions. Ryo had half the mind to stop Dimi, but was curious as to how Dimi's pestering would end. Jim looked behind at his father with concerned eyes.
"Dimi to Caza! I know you hear me!" Dimi sighed, and started mocking. "Well, there's no intelligent life on Planet Caza! Might as well go home Ryo--"
"WHAT?!" Caza snapped at Dimi, making him and Ryo stop. Kalon, Ken, and Jim even looked back, surprised at Caza's outburst. Dimi jumped back from Caza and pointed at him.
"OH MY GOD IT SPEAKS!" Dimi said in a loud, surprised voice. Caza closed his eyes in annoyance and stalked ahead to walk with Kalon. "She's dead, all right?" he said as he left. Dimi gave Caza one last surprised look, then put his hands behind his head. "I didn't mean to hurt the guy's nonexistent feelings..."
Ryo sighed. He knew Dimi always had good intentions. His methods just weren't always the right ones. He opened his eyes and saw Kaira running back towards him.
"Dad! Look!" Kaira yelled pointing ahead. "Taj and Davis spotted the mountains!" Ryo looked past and through the heat haze, saw mountains rise out of the sand, hidden behind the mirages of water. The mountains rose from the sand suddenly on the horizon, with snow on the peaks and green vegetation at the bases. Between the two mountains directly ahead of them was a narrow, but traversable pass through the mountains.
"If we run we'll make it there before nightfall!" Kalon said, talking to no one in particular. He dropped his bag and took off running towards the mountains.
"Kalon! Wait for me! I wanna race too!" Dimi yelled ahead, dropping his bag and swords and running after Kalon ahead of the group. Caza stared idly ahead, then kicked off the ground into the air, flying ahead of both Kalon and Dimi towards the mountains. Jim stared after his father for a second, then followed him.
"Dimi!" Ryo yelled hopelessly after his friend. He bent over and picked up Kalon and Dimi's bags. He saw Ken standing near him, staring after his father and Dimi. "Do you wanna carry your dad's bag?" Ryo asked Ken, holding out Kalon's bag to him. Ken stared at his father's bag with disgust, but took it from Ryo.
"That idiot..." Ken said under his breath, but so Ryo could hear. "If he doesn't want to lose his stuff he shouldn't drop them."
Ryo gave Ken a strange look. He still didn't understand why Ken loathed Kalon. Everyone seemed happier now that the mountains were in sight. Steel's face was serious. He stared at the mountains, his eyes looking past the mountains. Ryo saw this and wondered what Steel was planning for all of them. Kaira was happy, hugging her cousin and Taj, congratulating them for seeing the mountains first. Ryo could have sworn he saw Taj's face reddening.
Ryo looked towards the mountains, a part of him seeing the Razada House just beyond the frozen peaks. He also saw Dimi tackle Kalon from behind in an effort to get ahead in their 'race'.
Night was falling fast by the time Ryo and the rest of the party reached the edge of the forest at the foot of the mountains. Caza was leaning against a tree with Jim next to him, looking bored waiting. Kalon and Dimi were both on the ground panting.
"Ha...I...totally...beat your ass..." Kalon panted, smiling to himself at his success.
"No....no you didn't...I was this....this much ahead...of you...." Dimi moaned, holding his side with one hand and putting his fingers close together with his other.
"Shut...shut up....Dimi," Kalon panted, reaching for Dimi's neck, but found that he was too far to strangle, and gave up.
Steel dropped his heafty bag on the ground next to a tree. "Someone go out and find something to eat," he said to no one in his demanding voice.
"I'll go..." Leo said, sounding tired. "Come on Davis..." Davis set down his bag then followed his father into the forest. Everyone else sat down, relieved to be out of the Dead Lands and that night had arrived. Kaira sat next to Ryo happily, with Taj on her other side. Ryo gave her a sideways glance. Ever since they had left Hollow, she had slept right next to him every night. And every night she asked him every question she could come up with, trying to get to know her father better. But Ryo had never asked her anything. Taj was always at her side.
"Jim?" Ryo asked leaning away from Kaira and towards Jim. "How old is Kaira anyway?" Jim looked slightly surprised.
"Kaira? I think she turned seventeen not too long ago..." he answered politely. Ryo thanked him, and turned back to Kaira. She was seventeen. That meant nearly twelve years had passed since Ryo had left to the Dead Lands a second time.
Ken sat next to Taj, watching his father and Dimi wrestle in the dirt over who won the race. "Your father's an idiot Taj," he commented.
"He's not an idiot!" Taj said defensivly. "He just doesn't pay attention to details."
"Which means he's an idiot. My father clearly won that race."
"Why does it even matter you don't even like Kalon!"
"Liking has nothing to do with it."
Taj clenched his teeth, and balled his fists, ready to start a fight. Ken saw this and lowered his eyes. "Don't start something you can't finish," Ken mocked. Taj raised his fist, when Kaira gently grabbed his arm.
"Please don't fight Taj, not now. We all have to travel together..." Kaira said, looking up at him with soft eyes. Taj hesitated, then slowly lowered his fist. He was still furious.
"Goddamn it..." he muttered, getting up and walking away into the forest. Kaira looked after Taj and got up to follow him, giving Ken an apologetic look.
"Shouldn't we stop our kids?" Ryo asked as Dimi collapsed next to him, defeated by Kalon. Dimi looked after his son, then shook his head.
"I don't worry about him. He's eighteen, he can take care of himself."
Taj walked briskly into the forest, hardly paying attention to where he was going. Kaira followed him trying to think of something to say to help him calm down. He exited the forest furthur down the tree line away from where the rest were setting up camp. Taj stamped his foot and let out an agitated yell. Kaira stood a ways away, watching her friend with compassion.
"That dick..." Taj muttered, looking down. A rock the size of his fist caught his eye. He was already pissed. He saw no reason why he shouldn't throw a rock. He picked up the rock and tossed it up and down a few times. Then he gripped the rock tightly and with all his might, he threw it into the forest. Taj stood watching his rock fly gracefully into a tree. To his and Kaita's surprise, there was the clank as the rock hit the tree, sending the rock flying back towards Taj, striking him in the forehead. Taj let out a yell, and fell backwards, holding his forehead. Kaira let out a small scream and knelt to help Taj up.
"Are you all right?" Kaira asked, sounding concerned.
"Son of a bitch!" Taj hissed, holding his head where a small trickle of blood started flowing. He stood up and ran towards the tree. "What the hell?! Who's up there?!" Kaira ran to where Taj stood below the tree and looked up.
Sitting on a tree branch high up in the tree sat a man. He sat on the branch and leaned against the trunk of the tree. He appeared to be near Taj's age, wearing black cotton pants and a short-sleeve black shirt with a studded belt. A silver cross hung around his neck, and a black trenchcoat hung on a branch next to him. His head was tilted slightly downward, letting his slightly longer black hair cover his eyes. In his hand he held a silver sword he was examining for dents.
"Hey asshole! What the hell was that for?!" Taj yelled up angrily.
"You threw a rock at me," the man said simply in his deep voice.
"I wasn't aiming for you!"
"The rock was heading towards me. It's natural instinct for someone to protect themselves..."
Taj growled in anger, and turned to leave. "Whatever Monkeyboy! Jackass like you...come on Kaira!" She remained where she was, looking up at the mysterious man.
"I'm Kaira!" she yelled up. "What's your name?"
"Kaira, don't waste your breath on him, come on..." Taj said, gently tugging on her hand. Kaira pulled her hand away, waiting for an answer. The man turned his head slightly towards Kaira.
"Kyo..." he said.
"Kyo..." Kaira repeated. She wondered where he lived. "Do you live here?"
"Kaira..." Taj said, glaring up at Kyo.
"This is where I stay, yes..." Kyo answered.
"I turned seventeen last month, how old are you?" Kaira asked.
"Don't give this guy all of your info!" Taj said, pulling on her arm again. "Let's get out of here, the guy's a freak."
Kyo lifted his head and looked at Kaira. She saw his sharp silver eyes for the first time. "I'm almost eighteen..." he said looking at her.
"Do you wanna come with us through the mountains? I'm sure you'd be welcome to come," Kaira said.
"Kaira!" Taj said in disbelief. "He's not coming with us!" Kyo stared at Kaira a moment, considering her offer. He sheathed his sword and grabbed his trenchcoat before gracefully and flawlessly leaping down out of the tree directly in front of Kaira.
"I might..." Kyo answered Kaira. Taj glared at Kyo, who ignored him.
