Me: Hello. Does everybody know why we are here?
Geoffrey: Yes!
Seth: No. What did you do now?
Me: I´m doing the 100 drabble challenge. Most of the drabbles will be FE8, probably. Dunno yet. This one here is -surprise, surprise- not SethXEirika.
Geoffrey: *gasps* Oh my... Are you sick? *puts his hand on the authoress´ forehead*
Me: I´m not sick. If I get the inspiration for some other characters then I will write them. And now let me talk. This one is about Forde and Kyle. And I chose it to be the first because...
Seth: It´s cute.
Me: Exactly and now read.
Despite his serious and strict nature Kyle was a curious child. Even as a six year old he was adamant about fulfilling his duties with his whole attention and power. If he had to help his father plow the field, then he did it even if a circus was in town. If he had to help his mother with the household chores, he did it even if one of his friends invited him to play. But there was one thing that could distract him from his duties.
One day he came back from the market in town. The farm of his parents was a bit off-road, in the vicinity of a small forest. On the way were some other small farms and houses. And from one of those houses came a sound that attracted the young boy. He clutched his basket tighter and walked to the small wooden fence. He hid behind a big bush and peered around it.
He saw a young boy with blond hair, his bangs hanging in his eyes. He seemed to be around Kyle´s age. A tall man was there, too, but what drew Kyle´s attention were the wooden swords in their hands. The young boy attacked the man with a high battle cry and a grin on his face. He whacked it against the man´s sword and seemed to have fun. The man laughed and parried his strikes easily. The boy pushed him back and they were nearing Kyle´s hiding-place. The green-haired boy swallowed nervously and fought the urge to flee. It would be extremely awkward and embarrassing if they find him here, spying on them but those swords were so... exciting.
The man stepped to the side to avoid one of the boy´s strikes and gave Kyle a better view on the boy. He had dark green eyes, just like Kyle´s hair, and a toothy grin. He wore brown pants and a red shirt which seemed to be two or three sizes too big for him. Suddenly their eyes met. Kyle froze slightly when the blond boy stopped and lowered his sword.
"What´s wrong, Forde?" the man asked and turned in the direction Forde was starring. Kyle squeaked slightly, grabbed his basket and ran. Oh, how embarrassing. They had seen him. Now they will surely think that he´s some kind of weird stalker. Kyle directly ran home and into his room. He hid under his blanket and fretted about what had happened.
A few days later he had to go to the market again. He tried to convince his mother to send his sister but she had other things to do. Reluctantly, Kyle obeyed and made a big circle around the house with the boy. On his way home however he had to take the short route because the basket was really heavy. When he passed the one house, he hear the clatter again. Without noticing his feet carried him to the fence again.
The boy and the man were sparring again. Now there was a woman too. She had a little infant in her arms and cooed to calm it. Kyle watched them go forth and back, swinging their swords and laughing. A funny feeling swirled in his chest and he followed every movement of the swords with his eyes. Their straight form, the whistling in the air and everything else about it were so fascinating. He wanted to hold one just once.
He was so fascinated that he leaned forward too much. The blond boy spotted him, lowered his sword and waved to him. That made Kyle jump slightly and he drew back slowly.
"Wait!" the blond boy called out to him and ran to the fence. The woman had looked up at his cry and she and her husband watched the two boys. "Hi." the boy said grinning. "Who´re you?"
"I´m Kyle." He looked at the other boy warily.
"I´m Forde. What´cha doing here?" He leaned on the fence and showed his toothy grin again.
"I´m doing chores for my mother." Kyle slowly explained and pointed to the basket.
"I see. But why did´cha stop here and watch me and my dad?" He looked expectantly at Kyle. The green-haired boy blushed a bit and shuffled his feet sheepishly. Suddenly an elated smile appeared on the blond boy´s face. "Wanna play with me?"
"What?" Kyle asked confused.
"It´s boring to always play with my dad and my brother´s not old enough to play with me. Come on. It´ll be fun!"
"But... I have to do my chores first." The blond boy rolled his eyes.
"Duh, that´s boring. Play with me." Kyle frowned and was highly unconvinced. He couldn´t just play when he had to do something for his mother.
"What´s up boys?" the man asked and leaned over the fence. "Hello, who are you?" Kyle looked up at him surprised and blinked.
"I´m Kyle."
"Kyle? Nice to meet you. I´m Sean and that´s my son Forde."
"I already said ´Hi´." Forde said proudly. His father patted him on the head and smiled at Kyle. "And I want to play with him."
"But my mother waits for me." Kyle argued.
"So you´re running an errand for her?" Sean asked. Kyle nodded seriously.
"Yes. It´s my duty to help my parents." Sean blinked surprised and was speechless for a few seconds. Then he broke out in laughter. Both boys looked at him confused and inquiringly.
"Sorry, sorry. It´s just odd to hear something like that from such a young boy." Kyle looked at his feet embarrassed. Everybody told him that he sounded odd, not like a child but a wannabe adult. But he didn´t do it because he wanted to act like an adult. It´s just the way he is.
"I think it´s cool." Forde defended him and smiled that particular toothy grin again. Kyle looked at him surprised and showed a small smile of his own.
"Yes, it is." Sean said smiling, pensively stroking his chin. "You would certainly be a good knight."
"Really?" Kyle inquired astonished. He, a knight? He always had thought he would become a farmer like his father but a knight... That was even better. Sean smiled broader and nodded.
"Yes. Actually, you remind me of a friend of mine."
"We could train together!" Forde exclaimed happily and jumped up and down. "´Cause I wanna be a knight too. Just like my dad." Sean nodded proudly and patted his son´s head.
"Yes, you will. You will be one fine knight." Forde giggled excited and looked to Kyle again.
"Let´s have a match."
"But I have to fulfill my task." Kyle argued even though he really wanted to stay and fight with that cool sword.
"Duh, you´re just afraid that you´ll lose." Kyle glared at the boy.
"No, I´m not. I´ll easily beat you." He wasn´t that sure about it but he couldn´t let this boy claim that he was a coward.
"So, is that a challenge?" Forde asked grinning. Kyle pulled a face and glared.
"I come back after I delivered the food to my mother. And then you´ll see."
"I´m waiting." Kyle nodded to him, grabbed the basket and raced home. He couldn´t await to floor him.
Me: Number one´s finished.
Seth: Good. Who´s next?
Me: Mmmmm. I don´t know yet.
Geoffrey: But you have four options.
Me: Yes.... I think I will choose a, a... not funny one.
Seth: That was a strange sentence. Well, do you want to ramble some more?
Me: No. Geoffrey?
Geoffrey: Until we meet again!! And please review if you like.