Why did the sun always rise? That was the question that Amistad Ervin asked himself every single morning. He would sit by the kitchen table and look out of the large glass doors over the vast expanse of the ocean. For as long as he could remember, he had loved the sight of the blue water which seemed to stretch on forever. If he hadn't ever left his island home, he might of believed that the sea went on forever and his little family lived on the only piece of land above it.
The sixteen year old starred down into his empty bowl of cerial. He was always the first one awake, even when he was a six year old, he never seemed to need as much sleep as the others. He could quite happily go to sleep at 2 in the morning and wake up before sun rise the next day, feeling no more tired than he usually would.
A fresh breeze blew through the open doors and windows of the house. The boy checked the time on the wall clock : 6.46 A.M. His mother tended to wake up about eight o'clock usually but it had been a late night, so she might be a while yet. As for his 'big sister', she could be up at any time; the thing about Lian Harper was she could be right behind you and you wouldn't know. As for her parents, it was impossible to guess what time they'd be up.
Following his daily routine, Amistad picked up his bowl and spoon and walked over to the sink. He began washing them in some warm soapy water. As he did so he raised his eyes to look at his reflection in the mirror behind the sink. It was something that he had been trying to avoid doing since yesterday but he knew that he couldn't hide from mirrors all his life.
The teen was a tall boy with a lean build. He had dark skin and dark hair which was rather shaggy at the moment as he was yet to have his shower and put some gel on making it strong arms were decorated by slightly red tattoos terminating in tiger heads. He possessed seaweed green eyes and high cheek bones. Both the latter were now strickingly familiar to him.
"You know vanity's part of pride, which is supposed to be one of the unforgivable sins. Don't you know?"
Amistad turned to look behind him and see a beautiful young woman. She was about twenty years old. She had long flowing black hair and deep blue eyes. Her skin was slightly tanned. Like both her parents she had a certain amount of lean muscle but still remained slender. Lian Harper was by anybody's standards, beautiful.
"Hi, Lian." Said Amistad "You sleep well?"
"Yeah. You?"
"Same as always." He replied honestly "You hungry?"
"A bit."
The girl got a bowl out of the cupboard and helped herself to some of the cerial and milk that Amistad had left out for her. The teen sat on the worksurface watching his friend eat. It didn't take long for her to figure out that he was a million miles away thinking about something. In that respect, he was rather easy to read; his eyes would glass over and he would just fix a point in the room and stop moving.
Usually just what he was thinking about was a mystery. Today however Lian was 99.9% sure she knew what the cause of his daydreams was.
"Have you talked to him?" She asked him
"No..." Amistad admitted "He's not up yet."
"Where's he sleeping anyway?" Lian wondered
"Where do you think?" Amistad replied with a hint of sarcasm in his voice
An awkward silence settled in between the two of them. Amistad looked somewhat pained and bothered, as if what he was thinking about was hurting him somehow. Lian wanted to get him to think about something else. Her mind rushed through possibilities before eventually deciding on one that would appeal to the boy.
"Let's go exploring!" Lian suggested, Amistad looked up unenthousiastically
"We've already explored ever inch of this island Lian!" He reminded her
"Never stopped you before." She noted
"Don't you think you're a bit old for this?" He asked despite being younger
"No, of course not... Come on... Pretty please." She begged with big puppy eyes
"Oh! Ok!"
Both walked off to go and get ready. Lian as usual made it first to the shower. Amistad waited outside in the corridors with his clothes neatly under one arm. He strolled through the corridors waiting patiently. There was one shower in the entire large house for five of them, five up until last night.
He paused, as he passed one of the doors. It was closed but not locked, none of the doors here were ever locked. Cautiously, the teen turned the handle and opened the door just a crack. He wouldn't usually of done it but there was something he just wanted to confirm.
His mother was sleeping quietly curled up in a ball, behind her was the slumbering form of Kaldur'ahm. Amistad quickly and quietly closed the door once more.
Lian emerged dressed from the shower a moment later allowing Amistad to wash and get ready. He met his friend outside. They quickly made it across the beach to some rocks at the other end of the island. Both youngsters were able to agily scale the rocks and jump over the cravaches. Considering their pass time, better than advarage agility was a must have.
Lian jumped down from a high rock and found Amistad busy trying to skip pebbles across the ocean. It was a skill he had never really mastered. He could throw them far enough but just couldn't get them to skip. Whenever he tried it was a sure sign something was on his mind. Lian sighed and at down on a rock behind him.
"You need to use the small flat ones you know..." She told him, receiving a glare "He's a good person Ami."
"Sure... He just attacked Atlantis god knows how many times!" The teen replied sarcastically
"Amistad!" Reprimanded Lian "He's your-"
"Don't say it!" Ordered the boy "I know what he is, it dosn't make it any easier!"
"Just last night you two seemed to be getting on fine!" The girl reminded him
"I hadn't had the night to think it through..." Amistad explained
Lian sighed. Although her memories of Kaldur were vague, she had known him for longer than Amistad. Long enough to know that despite his sudden turn to the darkside, he had always remained good at heart. Amistad threw yet another rock into the ocean, Lian imitated him but managed to make hers skip, it passed the ripples left by his throw.
"It's not just brute strength..." She told him "You don't even know him Ami, spend some time together then decide."
"Yeah, go spend some quality time with a murderer..."
"Do I need to remind you that my mom used to be an assassin working for Ra's Al Ghul?" She asked him raising an eyebrow "In fact my half family tree's rotten! And that's nothing! Think about Damian! So don't you even start!"
Amistad looked somewhat surprised by Lian's outburst. The twenty year old was usually rather calm if a little childish at times. It had been a while since he'd seen her get angry but had forgotten that when she lost her temper, she was probably more dangerous than Superman... Looking slightly sheepish, the teen looked at his feet.
Lian let out a deep sigh and walked over to Amistad placing a hand on his shoulder. The teen looked back at her. He had only recently outgrown her but despite his superior height, he still looked up to her.
"Listen Ami. I'm just trying to do what's best for you and I think that you need to get to know your father." He nodded after a moment's hesitation "But I promise, if things don't work out between you two I'll help you kick him off of the island."
"Like that time we closed off the Zeta-beams and stopped the adults from coming back..." Amistad reminised
"Yeah, hopefully without the two hour lecture from Bats though..."
Amistad nodded thinking back to the event before starting to stroll back to the house.
/
"Hey! Wake up sleepy head!"
Kaldur groaned tiredly and grimaced. Something was shaking him. He opened his eyes to look up and see a familiar pair of dark brown eyes. His mind was spinning and uncaracteristically slightly painful, it took him a moment to recognise the face. Shifting over to look at the woman face on, the Atlantean smiled warmly.
He spent a while just scarring all of her features into his mind and memory. Spikey black hair, dark skin, beauty beyond imagining...
"Kiss me..." Kaldur asked, Rocket smiled and obeyed
"What was that for?" She asked him
"Just to remind me that you really are there..."
So many times, in sixteen years had he dreamt of seeing her face once more. He just wanted to be sure this was real and not his mind longing for the family he had been forced to abandon. He decided that Rocket was real. Apparently, she had been up for a few minutes as she was already dressed.
"What happened last night?" He asked her
"Why?" She looked somewhat confused
"I believe that I was mildly intoxicated." He admitted somewhat ashamed "I can not remember past talking to you in the room."
"What? You drank less than I did."
"I am not used to alcohol. I have not drunk any in sixteen years." He told her "I have never been very good at holding my liquor as you would say."
"Well, I didn't notice..." She told him with a smile "Come on! Time to get up!"
Raquel walked over to their window and pulled up the blinds, letting in the light. Suddenly blinded, Kaldur instinctively hid his head under the pillow and let out a groan of pain and reluctance. Rocket let out a little chuckle and closed them once more.
"Looks like someone's got a hangover..." She told him with a chuckle, kissing the man on the cheek "Get dressed and meet me in the kitchen and we'll see if we can fix that."
With that Raquel left the room and emerged into the corridor. Judging by the wet footsteps on the floor, Amistad and Lian had gone for a walk. She entered the kitchen and put on the kettle, preparing a strong cup of coffee. She also turned on the frying pan and put some oil in it getting ready to prepare some breakfast.
"Beacon?" Asked Jade who had somehow materialised behind her "You got a hangover Rocky?"
"Nah..." She replied "But Kal does."
"Kaldur'ahm? With a hangover?" Asked the ex-assassin with a grin "I've got to see this?"
Sure enough a few moments later, Kaldur came into the kitchen and sat down at the table, with his head in his hands trying to shade his eyes from the night. Jade let out an amused chuckle. The Atlantean certainly looked sorry for himself. Taking over from Raquel, she put the beacon on the frying pan. Rocket handed Kaldur his coffee. The Atlantean took a few sips before smiling at Jade and Roy who had just come in.
"Thank you..." Muttered Kaldur "Goodmorning both of you..."
"Head ache?" Asked Jade, he nodded
"You're certainly less grumpy when there are ladies around..." Noted Roy
"You mean you've been drunk before?" Asked Raquel surprised, Kaldur moaned
"It was a long time ago Raquel." Kaldur stated "I was sixteen and relatively new to surface world customs..."
"I thought I'd show him a nightclub and forgot to warn him about drinks."
"As I recall, you gave me Vodka and told me it was potato juice before getting drunk yourself!" He said accusingly
"You still bare a grudge?" Roy asked
"I did not appreciate waking up chained to a radiator in your appartment."
"I had to make sure you wouldn't leg it and tell Bats. He'd of had my head..."
"Regardless..." Kaldur smiled "It feels good to be back."
The other adults smiled, it was now 9 o'clock in the morning, the sky was clear and it looked like it was going to be another hot day. Kaldur sniffed the smell of the beacon and suddenly felt himself liven up slightly. Though he had noticed the absence of both of the younger members of the family, they were probably on the beach or something.
The adults had just finished eating by the time the kids turned up. Lian entered first with Amistad lagging slightly behind her. Kaldur noted the slightly hostile and weary look that he received from his son. He gulped down a slightly large piece of beacon, feeling a not suddenly appearing his his throat. He suddenly felt like a child who had disappointed his parents.
"You guys go far?" Asked Roy breaking the silence
"Not really." Replied Lian "Just to the rocks."
"Hey Amistad why don't you-" Raquel would of talked to her son but he was always disappearing down the beach
"Amistad..." Muttered Lian disapprovingly under her breath
"Talk to him." Whispered Rocket into Kaldur's ear
The Atlantean rose to his feet and nodded before running out of the door after his son. The Harpers and Rocket remained inside and watched as Kaldur tried to catch up. Rocket let out a deep sigh.
"Something tells me, Ami's not going to play ball..." She muttered
