When Roxas's and Sora's parents had died, they had made all the arrangements, down to the very last detail. But, they forgot the twins' grandmother was over one hundred years old, and the two of them hadn't been dead a week when she died. The twins didn't have any other known family, and while their friends were more than happy to let them live with one them, the state laws forbid it.
This left the two in a bit of a quandary. Thankfully, rescue came in the form of a tall, brown haired cheerful woman claiming to be their cousin. She even had all the papers to prove it. When the officers complained and said she was too late to take custody of them, her blue eyes grew icy. She told them in no uncertain terms what they could do with their stiff regulations, and while the sixteen year olds watched in amazement, she managed to get full and total custody of them until they turned eighteen.
After hustling them and their one suitcase a piece out into an old, battered grey '78 Chevy pickup.
"So, who's who? Your mother wrote me when you were born and sent pictures, but you've grown."
Sora glanced at Roxas, who shrugged.
"I'm Sora," he said hesitantly. "And he's my twin Roxas. Who are you?"
The woman chuckled and grinned at them.
"I'm not really your cousin, or related to you in any way. I was your mother's best friend all through middle school and high school. We…drifted apart after college, but I still got letters every once and a while."
Sora grinned back. She exuded confidence, goodwill, and strength unlike anyone either of them had ever known.
"You still haven't given us your name," murmured Roxas.
"You're right! I'm sorry, it may be three in the afternoon, but I feel lost without a cup of coffee in my hand. I am Aya Sinclair. My husband and I own the ranch where you'll be staying, and working."
She laughed outright at the looks on Sora's and Roxas's face. Neither were strangers to hard work, but what if they had been plunged into a Nazi concentration camp, where you had to do your work perfectly…or die?
"Boys, I'm not going to work you into little puddles of mush, I promise. I've got a couple other guys staying at the ranch who will help you get settled in and things. How's that sound? We're nearly here, by the way."
Unnoticed by Sora and Roxas, the countryside had changed from rolling hills and large rocks to a flat grassy plain, hedged in by many steep-walled canyons. Horses were visible in the distance, and a large cluster of buildings began drawing closer. Aya turned in at a gate where a large sign hung over the dirt driveway. It read "Haven's Pastures"
As they drove, there were a variety of signs, ranging from "Slow, Horses!" to one Roxas found pretty funny, "Young Dog, Old Dog, Stupid Dog. Please Drive Slowly"
Finally they arrived, and Aya pulled up in front a large barn, where a small group of people was located. Jumping out of the truck, Aya beamed around and said, "Ok, guys! Rescue mission a success!"
A tall man with bright red hair pulled back in a long ponytail clapped slowly, and hugged the slightly shorter Aya. She blushed and rolled her eyes, saying, "I'll start off introductions, and then leave the rest of you to work it all out."
Pointing at the man who still kept his arm wrapped around her, she said, "My significant other, Reno Sinclair."
Roxas and Sora nodded politely, and Reno grinned at them, greeting them with a careless waves and, "Yo. She's too embarrassed to say she's my wife."
Aya hit him gently on the cheek and mock-frowned, turning to a taller man with short-cropped blond hair who was covered in oil and grease.
"This is Cid, the resident mechanic. Need anything with gears and pistons fixed, talk to him."
Cid waved and began wiping his hands on a dirty rag. "You'll fit right in," was all he said.
Aya looked around at the six other teenage boys. "I'll leave you to it. Decide who is going to take charge of who, and show 'em around, get them settled with their horses. You have free time from now 'til dinner. It's spaghetti night, so don't be late!"
The guys all cheered and Aya and Reno walked off, deep in conversation. Cid followed silently, a smirk splayed across his face.
There was a slightly awkward silence for a minute before a tall blonde guy with his hair cut in a mullet stepped forward and introduced himself, a smile on his lips.
"I'm Demyx. Now, uh…what are your names again? I think Aya told us, but I was-"
"Listening to music, most likely," drawled a tall redhead whose hair flared out around his face like a halo of flames.
"Now, Roxas and Sora," he said pointedly, as Demyx blushed and mumbled something unintelligible. "I'm Axel, Reno's much younger brother. I'm related to them, but I don't take privileges, got it memorized?"
Roxas snorted and nodded.
"Your ego big enough there?" he asked nonchalantly. Sora groaned and smacked his forehead. Shaking his head, he backed away from his twin, muttering about adoption and brain damage.
Axel arched one eyebrow as his companions murmured and began taking bets about who would get more pissed.
"You think my ego is big? Well, I suppose it's all proportional." He smirked and waited for Roxas to retaliate.
"Oh, you mean it matches perfectly with your swelled head?" asked Roxas innocently.
Axel shook his head and laughed. "I like you! You're funny! At least you won't let yourself get walked all over. That's cool. Come on and meet the rest of the guys."
Roxas grinned back and nodded, turning to see six other males staring at them with their jaws practically hitting the ground.
Demyx was the first to recover from his shock.
"It's a sign from the gods," he whispered, pretending to swoon. He tripped over the foot the pink-haired man stuck out behind him. Demyx stumbled and fell into a large horse water trough, at least three feet deep. The blond soon emerged, spluttering and dripping. He scowled at the male that had tripped him and muttered, "Damn flower."
Axel, Demyx, Roxas, Sora, and the other guys glared at the pink-haired man, who smiled sweetly, and said, "Oops, I'm sorry. My bad."
Axel snorted, and pointedly ignored him. Pointing to a tall teen with silver hair, he said, "The tall, dark stranger is Riku, and the emo-looking guy next to him with the book is Zexion. Do not piss him off. He'll kill you, seriously."
Zexion snorted and flipped his bangs out of his eyes. "I keep telling you, I'm not emo, I haven't killed anyone yet, and before you ask, I only have death wishes for one person here."
He settled down on a bale of hay near the entryway to the barn, opening his book and clearly leaving the conversation.
Eventually, the man with an eye patch was introduced as Xigbar and it was he who said as they were all leaving, "Oh, and the pink-haired fuckin' flower over there is Marluxia. He's a dick."
Roxas and Sora nodded, and Riku began explaining to Sora where everything was and how it worked. Axel grinned and looked at Roxas.
"So, Roxy, I'll be your tour guide."
"Don't call me Roxy. I'll disembowel you."
Axel just laughed and led him over to where a large corral was filled with milling horses, of all shapes, colors and sizes.
"Go ahead and hop on in there. Your horse needs to choose you. They won't hurt you, just be careful."
Roxas nodded and clambered over the rails of the corral, dropping lightly on the ground.
All the horses snorted in fear and began nickering in agitation. Roxas merely stood there, not moving or chasing after any of them. Axel was impressed.
After a few moments, a smaller dusky-grey horse picked its way delicately over to where Roxas stood and snuffled his hair. Axel saw it was a mare, and he smiled.
"She loves you! She's yours! Come on out before you two get married."
Roxas was gazing in open adoration at the pretty little mare that chosen him. "She's beautiful," he murmured as he dropped back down outside the corral.
"She's a good one," conceded Axel. "What'll you name her?"
"She hasn't been named? Well, I'd say…Selena."
Axel smiled fondly at the shorter blonde as he stared longingly after his horse as she blended back into the crowd. "Believe me; you'll have plenty of time to bond with her. But now I want you to meet my boy."
Roxas nodded and followed Axel as he led the way to the long low stables, though Axel caught the smaller blonde glancing back towards the corrals until they were out of sight. Finally, they got inside and Axel grinned as thirty horses threw their heads over the lower stall door. He walked to the middle and whistled, a low soft note. One of the few horses that hadn't come to look at the newcomers nickered, and Roxas gasped when he saw Axel's "boy".
His head was long and slender for a horse, and his black coat was sleek and shiny. His eyes sparkled with mischief and intelligence, but what had really made Roxas catch his breath was the way his coat contrasted with his fiery red mane and tail. They had strands of black, so it wasn't insanely out there, but it was so unusual and beautiful, and Roxas told Axel so.
"Heh…thanks. His registered name is Flurry of the Dancing Flames, but everyone around here calls him Flare. Speaking of registered names, what will Selena's be?"
Roxas though for a moment. "Well, since Selena is a goddess of the moon, the ocean and horses, it should have something to do with that."
Axel frowned, and scratched Flare's nose idly. "How about Lady Selena's Grace or Lady Selena's Pride?"
Roxas's eyes widened. "Axel, you're a genius! Lady Selena's Pride…It's beautiful. Thank you."
Axel chuckled and bowed mockingly. "I won't deny my awesomeness. But there someone else you need to meet before she leaves us." His tone had grown sober, and Roxas felt his curiosity mounting when they stopped beside an apparently empty stall. Axel eased the door open and beckoned Roxas closer. He pointed to a small reddish-brown foal.
"She doesn't have a name, because if she's going to die, Aya says attaching a name is like attaching part of your heart. She's got a major brain tumor that will kill her, and she's actually exceeded life expectancy. Every living thing on this ranch had grown attached to her. You can talk to her, and she listens. It may seem ridiculous, but…it's true. And her presence is so soothing. She's never cruel or angry, and takes time for any one. She's kind of like Aya, in a way or two."
He grinned, and slapped Roxas on the back, gently. "Come on, I better show you to our bunkhouse."
"Our bunkhouse?"
Axel smirked, and sighed theatrically. "Yes, my fine friend, you've been subjected to the terror of being my bunkmate. Until now, I was the glorious bachelor, along with Riku. But, seeing as how he and your brother have hit it off, I'm going to say they won't welcome getting split up."
Roxas shrugged. "Whatever. Who's the poor sap that has to bunk with Marluxia?"
While walking away from the stables, and farther away from the main barn, Axel began tying his hair back into a spiky ponytail. "Ah. That would be Xigbar. I can't help but be sorry for both of them, in a way."
He didn't elaborate, and Roxas was glancing around curiously at the single-roomed wooden bunkhouses they were passing. Finally, Axel bowed and opened the door of the bunkhouse farthest from the driveway, but surprisingly close to the stable.
"The houses go in-ironically- a horseshoe shape. I could stay with Aya and Reno, but listening to them go at it every night…" Axel shuddered. Roxas rolled his eyes and then smacked his forehead. "My suitcase is still in the truck!"
The redhead grinned and shook his head. "No, actually, it's not. It's in here. Cid thought you two would be so enraptured with our humble home that you'd forget something as trivial as clothes."
Roxas sighed in relief and walked inside the bunkhouse, only to stop two steps in. The walls were rough-hewn wood that had been sanded down, and they were a light beige color, having never been painted. That wasn't what got Roxas. Axel had taken flags and tacked them up on every available amount of wall space. There was a pirate flag, a U.S. flag, a German flag and a Japanese flag, but those were the only ones Roxas could recognize. The colors were all arranged so that they flowed together, but the overall effect was somewhat disorienting.
Axel saw Roxas's shell-shocked look, and said quickly, "If you don't like them, I could take 'em down."
Roxas heard from the tone of his voice that he would really rather not, but he would, if necessary.
"No way! They're really interesting, if a bit confusing." He pointed to one hanging over what was obviously Axel's bed. The flag was a light blue, and crossed over with a white "x".
"What's that one? I've never seen it before."
Axel grinned and said, "Oh that's the Scottish flag. It's kind of unoriginal, but I'm Scottish and Irish, and the Irish flag looks like France's, so I didn't want to put it up."
Roxas nodded, and pointed to another, this one red with a large yellow star in the upper left hand corner, surrounded by four smaller yellow stars.
"China. And this one is my personal insignia." This flag was jet-black with a small red flame in the center, over some kind of circular…thing with blades on it.
Axel saw his puzzled gaze, and said, "The thing in the center is a chakram. No one knows what one is, but I woke up one day from a dream and sketched out the flag, and before I knew it, I'd drawn and named that thing. Weird, huh?"
Roxas nodded, then said, "I've got a whole ring of keys in my bag. They're all unique, but whenever I find one, I always think 'Is it this one?' I don't even know what I'm looking for. Sora's the same way."
Axel nodded. "Sometimes dreams are our subconscious digging things out of our minds and throwing them at us. I don't know, but I like the idea."
Roxas rolled his eyes, and arched his eyebrows in the direction of Axel's bedspread, which was black with red flames all over it.
"What? I like black and fire, okay?"
The blonde just laughed, muttered, "Pyromaniac," and turned to the bunk that was going to be his. The comforter was a dark blue, and the pillow was the same color, but it had a lighter blue star in the center. The bedspread was thick and high-quality. Roxas blinked, and wondered out loud, "Does everyone get stuff like this?"
Axel nodded. "Yeah. Aya and Reno make quite a lot of money selling their thoroughbred foals. Since Aya doesn't have any idea what do with that money, she spends some of it on us. We're loved, evidently."
Roxas was going to reply, but in the distance a bell rang. Axel perked up immediately and grinned, crying, "Supper! C'mon, if we get there first, we'll get the best garlic bread!"
They tore out of the bunkhouse and began jogging towards the house where Reno and Aya had disappeared. Glancing around, Roxas saw the other teens streaming from their bunkhouses, but he and Axel were in the lead. After stopping to wipe their feet on the mat, Roxas and Axel entered the large warm room closest to the door where the smells of spaghetti, garlic bread and horses all intermingled. Roxas sniffed deeply and sighed happily.
Axel motioned Roxas over to a large sink and began to wash his hands. "Aya's a stickler for clean hands. It's weird, but we eat well, so I'm not complaining."
When everyone was seated and hands were washed, Aya came out of a door Roxas hadn't noticed until then. In her hands, she carried a huge pot of spaghetti noodles. Reno soon followed, carrying a large saucepan full of, well, sauce in one hand and an oversized baking tray full of steaming garlic bread. Roxas's mouth watered from the power of the smell, and he noticed everybody was waiting anxiously for the food to be served.
Suddenly, Demyx jumped up and ran to the kitchen, knocking his chair down as he went.
"Why was he so afraid of your cooking, Aya? It's not that bad," drawled Marluxia. Aya flipped him bird after she set the pot of noodles down.
"Nice to know my efforts are appreciated," she said wryly. Turning to Reno, she took the pan and bread from him and told him to go see if Demyx was okay.
Reno nodded and walked back through the door, into what Roxas assumed was the kitchen. Two seconds later, everyone at the table flinched as a barrage of swearing came from the kitchen. "Holy shit! Son of a whore's bitch! God damn it! What in all gods name-You! You fuckin' little bastard! I'm gonna disembowel you, then drag you around the ranch by your ears! Or maybe I'll just toss you in Flare's stall. He'll do my dirty work! You conniving bastard! Argh!!"
There was complete silence for another two seconds, and Roxas blinked. "Was he talking to Demyx?"
Axel shrugged mutely, and whispered, "I hope not. We'll know here in a minute."
Aya's eyes were harsh and cold as she stalked into the kitchen. They could hear murmured voices, and then Aya's voice rose sharply.
"What the fuck? Why the hell is that thing in my kitchen?! Reno, if you're not going to take care of it, I will."
"No, its okay, Aya. I've got this handled."
Reno exited the door, his face a mask of revulsion. In front of him, held at arms length, was what at first appeared to be a skunk. Then, as more light fell upon it, it turned out to be a huge rat, with burned patches of skin and flesh showing. Marluxia turned faintly green and excused himself from the table; Xigbar rolled his eyes and went to make Marluxia wasn't going to puke before he got out the door.
A faint plink, plink, plink, followed the rat's progress, courtesy of Reno and they all saw the thing was soaked and dripping. It was snarling and thrashing around in Reno's grip. Roxas shrank instinctively away as it glared at him with beady red eyes. Reno hit it on the head with his fist and a crack was heard. The rat still continued to thrash, but weakly and jerkily. Reno stalked outside and whistled piercingly. A huge grey wolf-looking dog came into view, snatched up the rat, and ran away.
Demyx emerged from the kitchen, pale and shaking slightly. Axel stood up and hugged his friend. Roxas smiled at him, and motioned for him to sit back down. The mullet-haired teen grinned back and recovered his chair from where it had been thrown in his haste to get to the kitchen.
Aya emerged from said room, a scowl marring her pretty features. Glancing at Demyx, her face softened, and she said, "Thank you, Demyx. Thanks to you, we get to live another day with our kitchen intact."
Demyx blushed and mumbled something into his glass of water. After tipping her head back, and sighing deeply, Aya turned and began briskly dishing out food, telling everyone to pass the plates down to the end of the table until everyone had a plate. Reno soon came in, his hands dripping wet and bleeding in places. Aya frowned in concern, and brought Reno over to the table, promising him medical care after he ate.
"Sir, what was that?" Sora's voice was quiet, and curious.
Reno sighed and shook his head just as Xigbar and Marluxia came back inside. "That was one of our neighbor's "pets". He's a scientist, and he genetically modifies animals illegally, creating twisted creatures that aren't meant to be alive. He thinks it's fun to set them on his neighbors. That was a cross between a badger and a rat. It's got the fuckin' claws of a badger, anyway. Damn thing. And don't call me sir."
He shook his head and dug into his steaming plate of food. Aya picked up, her voice full of contempt. "If that's not bad enough, the police know who he is, what he does, but they don't care. Probably because he's bought them off. But we do have one ally: The veterinarian, Cloud Strife. He finds those things sick and depraved. I agree."
Marluxia spoke up then, his tone open and not sarcastic for once.
"Why did you run into the kitchen, Demyx? It was like you'd seen a ghost."
Demyx slurped up a noodle and swallowed before replying, "I smelled hair burning, and that oven's so weird, I thought it could have caught fire, so I went in there, and I saw that…thing…hanging out of the oven door, on fire and trying get out. I pulled it out and poured water on it so it wouldn't catch the whole house on fire, then I kept my foot on its head so it couldn't get away. I was about to call for help when Reno came in."
Everyone was quiet for a few minutes, eating steadily through the huge pile of spaghetti and sauce Aya had piled on their plates.
Finally, just when the light outside was beginning to dim into twilight, Aya said, "Okay, gents, let's get those poor abandoned souls you call horses fed. Sora, Roxas, I took the liberty of having Selena and Shinki put in stalls. Roxas, Selena is next to Flare, and Sora, Shinki is next to Terra."
They both nodded and thanked her before heading out to the stables. On the way over, Demyx and Zexion dropped back to talk to Axel and Roxas.
"Hey, Roxas, if you'll show me Selena, I'll show you Maelstrom. And Zexy will probably show you Mirage. Right, Zexy?"
Zexion nodded mutely, and pulled out a book and began reading it as they walked, until Demyx rolled his eyes and snatched it from his hands.
"Idiot. Do you want to go blind? Don't read in the dark."
Axel just shook his head and opened to door to the stable. "Roxas, go show them Selena. Then we can go see everyone else's."
Roxas looked for the delicate head of his beautiful little mare, and saw her just after she shifted and got a bit more into the light. He led them over to her and began stroking her nose and murmuring praise and love.
Demyx peered at her, let her sniff his palm, and rubbed her between the ears. Zexion glanced her over critically, sniffed, and nodded. "She's going to the best possible combination for you," he said, nodding at Roxas.
"Thanks…I think."
Axel tapped his shoulder and led him to a huge loft, full of hay. After explaining that a mare of Selena's size would only need three flakes of the hay, he left Roxas to it, carrying out his own armload of hay for his horse. Roxas gathered the hay up and tossed it carefully into her manger. Selena nickered at him and nudged his cheek with her nose before tucking into her own supper.
Roxas would have been content to just stare at her for an hour or two, but Demyx was nearly dancing in anticipation. Relenting, he let the taller blonde lead him four stalls away from Selena's where a large, lithe black gelding stood, his eyes bright and curious. Roxas stroked him, and found that Maelstrom wasn't black: He was every color of black and grey on the spectrum blending seamlessly and always shifting. He did indeed look like a large storm cloud; calm, but deadly.
"He's a looker, that's for sure," he told the beaming Demyx. He nodded and went to feed his horse. When he finished, Zexion crossed the wide aisle and hugged the neck of a shorter white mare. Her mane and tail were a smoky grey, and Roxas was sure that if she got loose in a fog, she'd be invisible. After complementing Zexion and petting Mirage, he went looking for his twin.
Sora was leaning over the half door of a stall about five stalls down where a blue roan was munching contentedly at the hay in his manger.
"So, that's Shinki, huh? God of the open skies. Excellent choice, brother dearest." Sora nodded and pointed at the stall next to his. "That's Terra over there. He may look mean, but he's not. Just…suspicious. He's Riku's horse."
Roxas glanced over and made acquaintances with the brown gelding before turning back to his brother.
"Did we do the right thing, Sora?" he asked quietly. His brunette twin sighed and nodded, his blue eyes turned inward, shielding his thoughts from others. But Roxas, who had known his brother before anyone else, could see happiness and apprehension battling in his blue eyes, identical to his own, or so he had been told.
"Sora. Mom and Dad are dead. There's nothing we can do. We need to pull ourselves out of the hole we dug ourselves to get away from…things. You and Riku seem to be hitting it off quite nicely."
Sora grinned. "Yeah, Riku's cool. But what about you and Axel? You guys getting along?"
Roxas nodded, and quickly hugged his twin. Sora returned the embrace, and his eyes were shining as he said, "Roxas, I think…we can have a life here. I like it, and I know you do too. Shall we try?"
"We shall."
Glossary of Equine terms:
Equine- relating to horses
Loft- an area, usually above the main stalls where hay and grain are stored. Most of the time you can toss the hay down and climb down, but sometimes you have to climb down with your hay, which can be a little…interesting.
Gelding- A male horse that has been castrated, which makes them calmer and less antagonistic.
Mare- Female horse.
Bunkhouse-Wooden building, one room where two people share living space.
Okay! The first chapter of my hopefully not-going-to-be-abandoned story! I want at least three reviews before I publish the next chapter, but it's not necessary. The next chapter will focus mostly on Axel's thoughts and things. The next one will be Roxas, and so on. There will be some death, and lots of love. Please, if you have questions, comments, or suggestions, leave them in a review or PM me, I don't care. The nest chapter will hopefully be up within the week, but no promises. Thanks to all the people who've put me on author alert, and reviewed my other stories! And a cookie for the first person to guess who the mad scientist is. (come on people, it's simple!)
