This is my first post here on this site and would love to have some constructive critisim done to my work.
Note: There are characters who are from the original cast of Chrono Crusade who I do not own; This is a spin off the original anime/manga series.
Now to the story...
Sister Azmaria pulled up the long dirt road seated in the convent's uniform black ford contemplating what she had been told by the soon to be retiring Sister Kate.
"Now that things are starting to calm down a bit it seems that everything maybe falling into place. Unfortunately it took the lives of the most giving people that we knew to attain this state of stability, but for now, thanks to them the threat of an apocalypse has faded from our horizons." the woman paused heaving a heavy sigh before continuing, "there are now sings of yet another mounting threat on our hands for another with stigmada was found as a mere infant who was taken back to headquarters in San Francisco. That was about 11 years ago as you know Sister Azmaria, the day that you found young Renos.
I believe that you should go see him in the orphanage and bring him to see the child with stigmada, they might have an effect to one another because of what he is."
"But Sister Kate..."
"Now, now, Sister Azmaria. I know that you've missed him tremendously over the past six years. Don't be ashamed of it, you have always cared about others, why should this be any different?" she said with a warm smile that the said Sister Azmaria hadn't expected. "Your orders are to pick up Renos at the Seventh Bell Orphanage and bring him to San Francisco Headquarters. I've already made the necessary preparations. So get going!"
Azmaria looked around remembering when she had last come to this very same place to leave Renos behind. He didn't cry like she thought he would instead he just stared at her with an icy gaze that threatened to shatter her heart for he had never look at her so coldly. Normally he was either very happy or very sad but thinking back to then, she realized just how distant his gaze had been and fresh tears ran down her cheeks like a silent brook. Now looking up at the large wooded cabin with children running about, she dried her tears and pulled the ford to a stop and got out silently heading for the building's door. Just as she raised her hand to knock an old woman greeted her warmly welcoming her into the wooded building. The woman escorted the young Sister into a room furnished with two well worn sofas conveniently placed around a rectangular coffee table, offering her a seat the woman left for but a moment to retrieve a tray of freshly prepared tea.
"We weren't expecting you until later." commented the woman while placing the tea tray down on the table as she took a seat just opposite of Sister Azmaria.
"I'm sorry Ms. Jean. I just had to come as early as time would allow, it's just that I couldn't wait to see Renos after so long." replied the Sister as she graciously accepted a cup of hot tea taking a sip. Ms. Jean chuckled softly, a comforting smile upon her lips.
"It's quite alright dear." The woman's words brought a shy blush to her pale cheeks as she averted her gaze by staring at the cup in her hands.
"It's so tranquil here..." whispered a boy breathlessly into the ever present breezes. He rolled onto his stomach and looked at the lake just below him. His light blond hair was falling out of the wrap around his hip length hair. "Why can't the world just be at peace with itself? Always quarreling over the most pitious of things such as land, religion, race and power." he released another sigh before allowing himself to take in his reflection upon the water's surface, he scowled and swatted it with his hand not wanting to have to see his eyes that had witnessed hatred at its worst. Slowly he sat up on the ledge and turned around to look at a old tomb he had explored numerous times to find an escape from the world around him, that he loathed so much. His thoughts were interrupted by the one person running up to him that he could ever possibly consider anything close to a friend despite the large difference in their ages. His name, was Joshua.
"Hey Renos they're looking for you up at the orphanage." he called as pointed at the hills behind him. "The Sister arrived a little early, she said that she missed you." he paused for a moment to contemplate something, "I think that called herself Sister Azmaria, do you know her?" inquired one of the oldest residents at the orphanage. Renos' eyes widened at the mere mention of the name and jumped to his feet.
"Are you sure that was her name?"
"Uh, yeah I'm positive." he said protectively crossing his arms over his chest, "so you do know her then, isn't she the one who originally dropped you off here?" The thought knocked the air from Renos' lungs in unwanted realization, she had left him there.
'Why did she come back all of these years later and want to see me? If you leave someone at an orphanage the ones that had left them there never came back to get them unless there was a catch.' He cringed at his thoughts and left Joshua at the edge of the lake staring quizzically at the spot the boy had vacated, for in his place a object glimmered in the sun's rays. Joshua picked it up cautiously in his finger tips holding it up to the sun to inspect it fully before turning to look up the path that Renos had run up on moments before.
Slowly he trudged up the last rugged terrain of the hills to the orphanage in which he was a resident. To be honest deep down he did miss Sister Azmaria, but he just couldn't bring himself to forgive her for having given him up in the first place, it had hurt him so much when he had watched her black ford disappear from sight down the dirt path that lead to the out of the way building. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and took in a deep breath of the fresh air from the mountains close by allowing himself to relax. He was now approaching the clearing where the orphanage stood, and glanced at the old ford parked on the dirt road.
"I remember that car.." he said as he recalled having last ridden in one a little over six years ago. This memory brought back his dark thoughts that had clouded his mind earlier, he made no attempt to rid himself of them.
"There you are Renos everyone's been looking for you, Sister Azmaria's here and has been waiting." stated John, one of the helpers of the old caretaker Ms. Jean. Renos just gave him a passing glance that lasted too long for John even though it was the usual way that the boy had greeted anyone was with that ice cold stare. 'Geez that kid scares me when he does that, though he's always been like that with everybody except...Josh...' he thought once Renos had entered the threshold of the logged orphanage.
"I wonder where Renos could have wandered off to that it would take so long to find him."
"It's alright I'm sure he'll appear sooner or later." reassured Sister Azmaria. At that moment the door opened and Renos silently walked into the entertainment portion of the living room in which both Sister Azmaria and Ms. Jean wee seated comfortably while drinking a cup of tea.
"See Ms. Jean." said the Sister quite cheerfully as she placed her empty cup down on the coffee table.
"Yes, I had a feeling that you might be." laughed Ms. Jean, "now Renos where have you been dear?" she queried while pouring herself another cup of tea from her well worn kettle. When she heard no response she looked up at him, he returned her stare.
"Renos that is no way to behave. Answer her question." scolded Sister Azmaria with a raised finger.
"No, no. It's quite alright, to be honest with you Sister Azmaria I haven't heard that boy say a word since he came here, nor have I even been luck enough to have seen a smile on his face even once." she slouched she shoulders as she looked down at hr cup for a moment letting out an exhausted sigh, "I'm quite used to his silence," she looked back up at Renos and said, "you don't need to answer the question for me. It's your choice alone that will allow you to speak to me when the time is right." she gave Renos a gentle smile and simply asked, "do you remember Sister Azmaria?" Renos took a quick glance at the Sister and nodded his acknowledgment.
"That's good. Well she was going to take you to the in San Francisco branch to meet somebody, what do you think?" she asked before taking a sip of her tea. Once more she received no answer, she made a gesture for the boy to take a seat next to her which he silently obeyed. "Heheheh." laughed the woman as she ruffled his hair, receiving an annoyed glance from him making Azmaria giggle childishly, "now Renos why don't you go and pack your things. Arrangements have already been made by Sister Kate." He stood up fixed his his hair and headed for the foyer where a flight of stairs lead to the upper portions of the building's interior.
"'The arrangements have already been made...'" he murmured as he closed the door to his room, he stared at its barrenness before taking measured steps over to his bed. Getting down on his hands and knees he stuck his hand underneath dragging out a small suitcase coated in a thick layer of dust from the lack of use of the years. 'What am I, an object to be won, to be claimed, even fought over?' he thought after heaving the bag onto his bed and opening the clutch. 'Humans are so primal, always wanting things whether or not they have to kill to get it. It's disgusting to think that I'm part of them, a half of their kind.' He threw the top open and moved to his dresser to retrieve what outfits that filled its drawers. 'As for Sister Azmaria, I won't question what I'm told...I have no need to do so.' Despite his thoughts he packed the remaining few things that he had in his possession into his suitcase. Once his task was completed he closed the bag and took a firm hold on its handle lifting it easily off his bed. He headed for the door to his room putting his hand on the doorknob and with a simple twist it opened, he turned around to look at his room one last time before finally slamming the door shut behind him. Some of the other children that were still inside wondered into the hall to explore the sound of the noise, standing outside his door was Renos who when he notice their glances returned each with a relentless glare as he made his way over to the staircase on his way downstairs.
Looking over at the threshold leading to the foyer the Sister spotted young Renos with suitcase in hand, "My that was fast. I was just about to help Ms. Jean start up dinner." commented Sister Azmaria. Ms. Jean patted the good Sister's arm and looked at her with a gentle smile.
"No dear girl I'll manage just fine so take this little snack for the ride," she said offering a paper bag that wafted with sweet smells, "after all you have a long ways to go to get to San Francisco from Michigan. There's no time to waste." stated Ms. Jean gently pushing Azmaria over to the boy.
"I guess if you insist Ms. Jean." said Azmaria as she was lead out through the foyer, she paused just outside her car and turned around. "Take care now!" she called. Sister Azmaria went to take Renos' bag but he pulled it just out of her reach and headed for the back of the vehicle opening the back by himself and placed his suitcase next to the one that he guessed was hers before closing it. Renos glanced grudgingly in Azmaria's direction and headed into the passenger seat in the front of the vehicle. Ignoring the look that the boy had given her she waved good bye to the orphanage caretaker and hoped into the driver's seat fastening her seat-belt she flashed a smile at Renos before starting up the car. Effortlessly she gently placed her foot on the gas pedal and eased the vehicle down the dirt path that she had arrived on. By now some of the children had come out front to watch the pair leave, some were grateful that he was departing others could careless but had enough manners to come out anyway. Azmaria glanced back at the group and smiled Renos on the other hand kept his eyes glued to the scenery passing by outside his window until he heard someone shouting behind them. Prying himself away from the window he turned to see who was causing such an uproar, a person was pushing through the crowd that had formed and was shouting but his words were incoherent due to the distance. It was Joshua, once he had broken through the crowd he began chasing the ford waving something that glimmered in the light in his hand. After chasing the car for a brief time he began to slow to a halt watching as the car drove off while he stood trying to catch his breath. Sister Azmaria watched the boy from the corner of her eye as he stared back at someone she was familiar with, Joshua. She looked in her rear view mirror to see that the person had stopped giving chase as he caught his breath, he looked up and raised his hand in a sort of salute. Azmaria turned her attention back to the dirt path ahead of her, off to her right she heard a quiet whisper.
"Goodbye, friend.." the near inaudible words left the boy's lips seamlessly as he turned to face the front of the car sparing a glance at the Sister apparently not caring whether she had heard him or not.
The vehicle was nearly silent with only the sound of the tires in the rough terrain being the only sound preventing a pure silence as the pair drove through the wooded countryside of Michigan. Sister Azmaria wasn't fond of the only sound keeping the silence at bay, she hadn't so much as even noticed it on her drive there but now that she was with the person that she had missed taking care of over the years she longed for a conversation and spoke up.
"So how have you been lately?" she queried looking at him long enough to receive a single glance as his response before he went back to gazing out his window. Pretending that she hadn't just been given the cold shoulder she waited a little longer for an answer that didn't come. The lack of a response was unnerving to her, it made her think about how in the past there had been times when words weren't spoken when they were most needed and so she spoke again. This time her voice wasn't so sweet as it was in her usual demeanor to be, instead it could be called accusing.
"So you're going to give me the silent treatment are you? Fine, I can play that game," retorted Sister Azmaria, with brief contemplation she let her tone of voice lighten up, "lets have a competition, whoever can keep the quietest until we get to the train station wins." she didn't remove her eyes from the road as she spoke. Once more there was no speaking from either of the two especially Renos. The boy had allowed his eyes to rove in the direction of Sister Azmaria but made no motion to let her know that he had heard what he had though to be one of the most ridiculous things she had said thus far. With his chin resting in his palm as he continued to stare out the window.
'What kind of joke is this?' he mused his face expressing boredom, 'I don't like games.'
'Well whether of not he heard me I guess it doesn't really matter because there's no way I'm going to get him to speak any time soon.' she thought with a sigh, 'oh well, at least I'll be able to think of this as a game.' She shifted in her seat, "and so the game begins." she murmured just loud enough for the boy to hear. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye to see him simply shrug not even bothering himself to turn around and acknowledge her. Her eyes back on the road she slouched she shoulders, 'this is going to be a long ride.'
'Now you've really got to be kidding me.' thought the boy glaring at the innocent trees that they passed as they drove, 'with her trying to start a conversation earlier I know that she was trying to get me to talk, and now a quiet contest..' he cast a look over his shoulder, 'she must like it being so quiet so she feels the need to ease the tension by setting up a a fake game of being quiet.' he mused a scowl twisted into being on his countenance, 'how pathetic.' he brought his gaze back to the tree line, 'and to think that I had looked up to her at one point in time, it's hard to believe.' Neither made a single sound, never mind speak making it far more quiet than it had originally been, even the the sound of the tires on the rough dirt path couldn't keep the silence from ensuing. The sun rose to high noon, Sister Azmaria pulled the car over to the side of the road and opened the bag that Ms. Jean had given them for snacks. Renos turned to give the Sister questioning glance to find himself answered by her actions and turned to look away when he felt a light pressure on his shoulder. Sister Azmaria was nudging him with her free hand and offering him one Ms. Jean' snacks in the other, that was when the smell reached his nose and found that he couldn't refuse; Taking a quick look at Azmaria who was smiling he reached out only for it to be pulled away from him, in turn Renos glared at her. She simply snickered and picked up the bag she took a moment to fish out a piece of paper and handed it to the boy instead of the snack. He was by no means amused but decided to read what had been scrawled on the scrap of paper.
'Dear Renos,
I'm not one to pull pranks on anyone especially children but I want to make things a little easier for Azmaria. Don't blame her this was entirely my idea...
'What!?'
...I have set a rule on these snacks. To be able to have them you have to...
'No way!' he exclaimed mentally as he glared at the paper.
...speak. Signed Ms. Jean.'
He lifted his eyes from the paper and glared at Sister Azmaria who now grinning from ear to ear, "looks like the game's off." she reached into the bag again and pulled out a snack and offered it to the boy. "So do you want some?" she asked. At this Renos crumpled the paper and tossed it into the back of the car, he folded his arms and turned his back to her with a grunt. "No, huh? Oh well." Azmaria innocently took a bite of what looked to be a crumpet, "mmmmm..these are good. Are you sure you don't want one?" she asked again, the boy shot her a glare over his shoulder, "fine more for me." she she rebuked shoving the crumpet in her mouth. 'I actually thought that he was going to break the ice and finally talk, but even with that rule put in place by Ms. Jean he still isn't saying anything.' she sighed before digging around in the bag again for another treat. The scent of the baked goods was torture enough without having to listen to the rustling of the bag again, it was at a time like this that he wished that his sense of smell wasn't so strong for then he just might be able to avoid the temptation of submitting.
'I didn't even think that Ms. Jean had it in her to pull off something like this, the old coot.' he thought to himself. By now Azmaria had eaten her fill of two of the snacks and tucked the bag away sure that he wasn't going to be speaking anytime soon. 'Damn it, I can still smell them!' Sister Azmaria had already put on her seat belt and was in the process of staring up the car, Renos simply went back to what he had been doing earlier, something he had come to classify as sight seeing . Although they hadn't stopped for long during their snack break as they ventured for another hundred miles at what some may call a slow pace, it was to ensure that the cars tires held up until they reached the train station. Pulling the car over to the side of the road Azmaria decided to call it a night and brought out some blankets that she had stowed away in the back just for this trip. Taking his blanket he grudgingly curled up in the font seat and went to sleep while Sister Azmaria made space for herself in the back and spent the night there.
Light filtered past the the branches of the tall trees onto Renos' face, he groaned and pulled the blanket over his head only to find that the light penetrated that as well. Reluctantly he let the blanket fall to the floor of the cab as he rubbed sleep from his eyes. 'Morning's here, huh?' he mused sarcastically as he removed his fists from his eyes and blinked. 'So where's Sister Azmaria?' he looked around the cab of the car to find her sleeping soundly in the back and not far from her head was the bag of snacks that Ms. Jean had given to them. 'Well now, this is a hard opportunity to pass up.' a smirk curved his lips at the very thought, quietly he moved over to the driver's seat and leaned forward nearly toppling over it as he grasped the bag in his finger tips slowly bringing towards him. It had nearly slipped free from his hands but was grateful to have something to finally eat, opening up the car door he climbed onto the roof of the vehicle where he laid down and stretched freely while had his share of the remaining morsels from Ms. Jean. Renos had just taken the last bite of his food and was about to swallow when he suddenly heard a shriek from below causing the food to get caught in his throat when he jumped, he was finally able to swallow once he had hit the the ground. Furious he stomped up to the back of the ford and opened doors, "what the heck was that for!?!" he shouted, Azmaria gave hims a blank stare in return before she broke into a giggling fit. "What is it now?!" he growled, the Sister's giggles ebbed enough for her to speak.
"You spoke." she wheezed as she rolled around in the back laughing too hard to realize the blush that had risen in his cheeks. Feeling absolutely humiliated he slammed to car doors shut and sat himself down in the passenger seat. Just then she shrieked again making the the boy jump out of his seat once again. "We have to get going otherwise we're going to be late!!" Renos covered his ears and squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to drown out the noise of her shrieking as she hopped into the driver's seat. He didn't remember acting so scatter brained before and was relieved when she did stop. Strangely the sensation of her shrieking didn't go away instead it lingered and began to grow worse.
'What the hell is going on?' he had just barely managed to get that thought processed in his mind, it felt like it was burning. Not wanting to outwardly express any form of weakness he picked up his blanket from the night before and wrapped it around himself, Azmaria had been in too much of a rush to put anything away or even notice that the snacks were gone.
"Didn't get enough sleep last night?" she inquired when she saw that he was wrapped up in his blanket.
"No." he murmured, his head hurt to much for him to really care whether or not he actually spoke. From behind him he could feel the Sister's eyes on him, worry emanating from her gaze. "I'm fine." he droned as something caught his eyes outside his window. Out in the middle of the woods was a man clad in white, an eagle perched upon his forearm. His violet eyes held onto the gaze of the boy, entrancing him. The moment the vehicle passed in front of the figure a pain erupted in Renos' skull causing him to cry out as he writhed in his seat grasping his head.
"Renos! Renos what's the matter?!?" exclaimed the astonished Sister as she nearly drove the car off the road. Taking a moment to regain her control over the steering wheel she glanced at her rear view mirror, her eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat. Azmaria had seen a glimpse from her past and hoped that it was simply her eyes playing tricks on her, but when she saw the eagle with glowing crimson eyes she could deny in no longer and floored it accelerating down the dirt road in a cloud of dust.
The pain was excruciating but although outwardly his reaction lasted only a few moments his mind was throughly inspecting the source of the static noise that still lingered. It was that same static noise that had spiked when he had passed by that familiar man. Manipulating his thoughts he recalled the reason for his familiarity towards the man, it was the same person who had met with him when he had first discovered the lake in the woods behind the Orphanage. In that instant the noise cleared and was instead replaced with a deep voice as if the static before had been an encoded message.
'Hello boy.' greeted the voice with a chuckle that echoed within the unknowing boy's mind.
'What do you want? Do you still want me to go and join you?' he mentally growled.
'So you do know why I'm here.'
'Well my answer is still the same as it was six years ago...no.'
The voice was remained silent contemplation for a moment, 'It wasn't you who had answered my question when we had last spoken, you were going to agree to my terms until you hesitated and verbally retaliated against it a mere thirty seconds later.' the voice paused, 'if that was really your own decision then explain to me here and now how you had concluded to refuse.' Renos hesitated in his response as he thought about the terms that had been proposed to him six years previous.
'I know you want be able to exist on one plain...to be whole.'
'So, what's it to you!' retorted Renos aggressively.
'Nothing of course, that's your own business.' the voice was beginning to fade and the faint static along with it, 'I'll leave you for now to digest your thoughts, after all there's no need to be hasty.' With that the voice vacated the boy's mind allowing him to relax his tensed muscles and stretch. He turned his mind to the world outside and focused his eyes only to realize that it wasn't his eyes that were blurry it was the speed of the car that was making the trees appear as nothing more than one green blob on either side of the vehicle. He turned to look briefly at Sister Azmaria whose eyes were completely fixated on the road ahead an expression of determination mingled with concern on her face. At the sound as movement she spared herself a second to look in his direction out of the corner of her eye.
"Are you alright?" she asked casting her eyes back to the road easing up on the gas. He merely nodded his head. Strangely now that he was fully conscious he was aware of how he felt so worn out, but he hadn't done anything to warrant such a thing. "Did something back there bother you?" The boy shook his head in the negative, "are you sure?" Azmaria had pulled the ford to a complete stop upon reaching a barren intersection, it was sign that they were approaching the city. Once they'd stopped she turned to look at him, this time he had no response because to be honest he wasn't entirely sure of what had transpired back there. Renos was reeled back from his thoughts by a soft touch on his forehead, it had been Sister Azmaria; she withdrew her hand before returning her attention to driving once again, releasing a sigh she spoke thoughtfully, "well you don't have a fever, so..."
"Sister Azmaria?" the boy's quiet call for the Sister's attention was answered.
"Uh, yes, Renos? What is it?" she asked as the boy shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Who exactly is Aion?" he queried in an abnormally small voice. Azmaria in the midst of oncoming traffic thrust her foot against the brakes stopping the car abruptly in the middle of the road, sending Renos roughly up against the dashboard making him suddenly regret ever having spoken at all; luckily no other vehicles were behind them otherwise the good Sister would've been responsible for a serious car accident. Settling himself back in his seat he saw that the Sister was giving him a incredulous stare.
"How do you know about him?" she inquired, at this the boy visibly flinched.
'I'm not about to tell her when it's really none of her business, caretaker or not.' he shrugged, "I simply heard the name before and was curious." he replied, lying through his teeth. She eyed him for a moment before accepting his answer.
"Well..." she began as she told her story of how she had come to meet a pair called Rosette Christopher and Chrono who had been on a mission to save her from a devil worshiper and his devil Lerijai. It had been since that point on that the three were together until Aion came into full view. Azmaria explained how she had been about his age at the time and the plans that Aion was going through with.
"So Aion was trying to make heaven into earth and earth into heaven..?"
"Sort of. He was setting up the world so that it would collapse in upon itself and he could start it anew." she explained shortly before emersing herself in how she and her friends had fought with the said devil along with his compatriots defeating them with the assistance from the Order. Unfortunately there wasn't much of a happy ending to this tale for Azmaria's two friends had disappeared for about six months following Aion's downfall. They had been found seated upon a wooded bench that hung from the ceiling of an abandoned cottage in the middle of a meadow; their smiling faces lacked warmth for one reason, they were dead. At this point Azmaria shed silent tears as she drove through town but didn't break down into sobs. "They had passed on peacefully and that's all that matters to me." had been her explanation when he had asked, "and it was there," she said smiling at the boy upon reaching their destination, the train station, "that I had found you."
Renos silently dragged himself out of the Ford before she could announce their arrival, his mind digesting the Sister's story. 'So she found me in the same place that her friends were found dead. If I had been in her place I probably would have blamed their deaths on the kid even if it was an infant...' He firmly grasped the handle of his suitcase and pulled it out of the back of the vehicle, he waited for Sister Azmaria to do the same. 'What I want to know is why was I there in the first place? They couldn't be my parents, could they..?' he mused, 'Sister Azmaria had said that she and the other Sister's had named him with a combination of the two's names, she simply claimed that it had been in their memory and nothing more..' The boy's thoughts were rudely interrupted by someone shouting, his ears twitched beneath his overgrown hair; the person kept on shouting, as he watched a crowd enter the station he saw that they were making a narrow path for someone to pass through and it was from that direction that the shouting was coming from. Renos averted his eyes from the crowd to observe the the event occurring in the parking lot out to the street just beyond. "I forgot how loud towns are." he growled under his breath as his ears twitched downwards in an attempt to nonchalantly block out some of the racket. Turning his attention back to the crowd he could finally make out the person that was pushing their way through the crowd, what threw him for a loop was that she was dressed in an exorcist's uniform that was identical to Sister Azmaria's b and /b she was headed straight towards them. Taking a quick glance at her face made him want to bolt but before he could get a chance Azmaria had grasped his arm and was involuntarily dragging him over to meet the other Sister.
He was well aware that they had finally met up with the Sister for Azmaria had let go of his arm and the other was screeching with delight that made him visibly wince, not that it was noticed. "Azmaria it's been a while!" shrieked the Sister taking Azmaria into an overly friendly embrace before breaking away from her to inspect the boy she had in tow.
"Yes, it has been, Madeline." replied Azmaria quietly as the said Sister squeezed Renos half to death screeching in almost incoherent words how absolutely adorable he was. From where Azmaria stood she could clearly see the boy trying mercilessly to escape to no avail and giggled. Suddenly Sister Madeline relinquished her grip on the boy turning her immediate attention to fellow Sister Azmaria, behind her Renos was on his hands and knees gasping for breath all the while glaring angrily at the Sister's back.
"You guys are late." she stated firmly planting her hands on her hips, "I was starting to think that you two weren't gonna show." she dug a hand into a pouch on her hip and pulled out three small slips of paper with even smaller print typed on them. "Here's your tickets." said Madeline cheerfully to Azmaria before turning to an irritated Renos who was in the midst of dusting off is clothing, "and yours." He stood at his full height grudgingly taking his ticket, as the Sister turned back to Azmaria he peered at his ticket before straightening his hair making his way to the platform it indicated. It wasn't long before he found himself temporarily lost in the crowd.
"Dammit, where's platform six?" he cursed inaudibly as he pushed his way over to an open space. Taking another brief look at his ticket he let his eyes rove over the scene looking for hints as to where it could possibly be, "there has to be a sign somewhere." Squinting his eyes just the slightest bit permitted him to see the platforms clearly through the throngs of people without the need to move from where he stood. "There it is." he muttered as he moved back into the crowd over the platform six.
Azmaria looked past Sister Madeline to find that Renos was no longer behind them, taking a glance around them he was nowhere to be seen. "Let's catch up on old times after we get on the train, at this rate we're going to miss it."
"Sorry 'bout that," apologized Sister Madeline as she scratched the back of her head in pure nervousness, "so lets get going you... Hey where'd Renos go off to?!" she exclaimed as she began looking around the general area. Azmaria let a sigh escape her lips.
"He's probably already in the train station, so lets get going."
"Right!"
The both of them had just entered the station on their way to the proper platform when an announcement came on the over-com, "trains heading to New York, Gettysberg, and San Francisco are now departing..." The Sisters exchanged a quick glance before making an endeavor to reach their train before it departed, paying little attention to anything but where their train was leaving from Azmaria accidently crashed into a tall man in a trench coat but when she turned to apologize he was already gone. The Sisters returned their attention back to the platform indicated on their ticket only to find that the train had just left to station.
'Phew, I just barely got on.' Renos thought to himself as he retrieved his ticket from the conductor, looking around he didn't see any signs of either Sister Azmaria of Sister Madeline boarding the train, "great, just great." he mumbled as he began his walk down the aisle of the car. Much to his disliking the car he was in had a few too many people to his liking so he moved onto the next car; it was only slightly less occupied with some empty seats. Picking a seat that was farthest from most of the others Renos sat down placing his suitcase on the seat across from him. He softly leaned his head against the large window next to him watching the scenery go by, he closed his eyes and listened to the steady rhythm of the train's wheels against steel tracks as it rocked him to sleep.
"Yes, hello,...ah about the train to San Francisco...sorry... Yes I did make it here on time... It's just that Renos got on the train before we did... Please not so loud ma'am... I know that we shouldn't have. Alright, thank you." finished Sister Azmaria with a sigh as she hung up the Order's portable phone.
"So what'd she say?"
"She wants us to get on the next train to San Francisco, she has a feeling that i he /i may try to get Renos while he's alone."
"Okay so we need to find out when the next train comes and make sure that we board it."
"Yeah, unfortunately that's about all that we can do for now." replied Sister Azmaria with a worn smile.
A gentle breeze caressed the ground, playing with the tall grasses and kicking up dust; in it's sunset escapade the breeze brought with it a soft whine to the ears of two passersby. Their shadowy forms, upon approach were frightening to see but the whine soon simmered down to a small whimper as the infant began to sense that they meant no harm.
"Oh look Chrono, it's a baby." the voice of the shadow was that of a young woman, but all that could be seen by the infant was her gentle smile. The gentle female shadow scooped up the small bundle that was the infant in her arms. Another shadow approached from the side to observe what it was that she held so close.
"You know that we can't take of it Rosette." it replied, it's voice belonging to a boy who the woman had called Chrono. She turned to him absentmindedly allowing the infant to suckle on her finger.
"I know Chrono," Rosette's voice sounded pained, "but someone has to, even for a little while..." she pleaded turning her attention back to the small babe who stared back at her questioningly. Chrono stepped closer, letting his eyes rove over the child he released a pent up sigh.
"Fine Rosette, but in the shape we're in I don't know..." Chrono's voice trailed off but Rosette seemed to pay it no mind.
"I think that the baby's listening to our conversation, he's been quiet," she said sounding excited she allowed a giggle to escape her lips, "hey maybe you can pass yourself off as a monk!"joked Rosette, with that the tension in the air dissolved as all three laughed the baby giggling happily in Rosette's arms; it was in this fashion that they slowly made their way down the road to their humble cottage.
Seated comfortably in a old wooden chair by an equally old and worn out circular table Rosette rocked the baby back and forth as Chrono crossed the threshold towards her.
"Here let me give you a break," offered Chrono extending his arms to accept the charge of the baby.
"No Chrono, you struggle just to keep yourself moving for my sake." objected Rosette drawing away from the boy devil.
"It's alright, I can see that you're tired, please take a break." insisted the boy as he tried to reason with her. With a sigh she announced her defeat.
"If you really want to there's no way of me stopping you, be my guest." said Rosette as she made to surrendering the infant over to Chrono. With a few quick instructions on how to hold the baby she reluctantly relinquished the child.
"Wow, you're a natural. And I think he likes you!" complemented Rosette pointing out the smile on the baby boy, even his crystal clear blue eyes radiated happiness as he reached up to Chrono letting out playful giggles when he finally got a hold of the devil's braid causing the pair to chuckle warmly as they smiled at one another.
The world faded into a soft, and comforting darkness that felt soothing to the touch. This darkness was interrupted by incomprehensible speech, at first the darkness fought back against the intrusion only to fall back in retreat as a faint light entered sight. It was at that time that azure eyes fluttered open unwillingly letting go of the blanket of sleep that had enshrouded the owner's mind in exchange for this world of light. "Hm..." murmured the boy as his consciousness awoke to see a small girl's smiling face lingering in front of his own. He unwittingly stared back at her his expression blank while his mind concocted a way for him to approach the situation but his thoughts were interrupted by a woman's voice.
Well that should be long enough for the first chapter, I'll try and get the next one up as soon as I get at least two reviews. -.-
Now I have other things to do so until the next update, good bye.