Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, guys. I wasn't able to access my computer for about a week and a half and I only had 1/4 of this written before then so I took the time tonight to finish this before the end of January. I hope to not make the waits as long as this one was but unfortunately, it can't always be helped. I hope you enjoy this one as much as you enjoyed the last chapter! It's not quite as intense, but it's setting up the story for the next chapter which will have plenty of action (and be much longer to boot)!
By the way, I wanted to mention that some of the language will be somewhat modernized because some of the language used in Radiant Dawn is somewhat modernized. There won't be Burger King or anything, but some modern words may pop up then and there. A reviewer pointed that out and I wanted to make that clear (thank you for pointing that out, by the way!).
-...-
[Inner Chaos] Chapter 2: Madness Subsides
-…-
The group remained silent. Their bodies refused to respond to them, whether from exhaustion or fear, they weren't quite certain. They stared at the aged body before them for a long time before Edward broke the silence. "So…what do we do now?" Micaiah rose to her feet, brushing off her skirt. "We should leave him here for now."
Leonardo leaned down to look at him, his hand nearly brushing against the rim of the man's hood. "I wouldn't touch him, if I were you." Sothe whispered in his ear, a slyness edging his words. Chills shot down Leonardo's spine from Sothe's icy tone. Micaiah giggled softly. "Sothe, leave the poor boy alone. Can't you see he's scared half to death?"
Sothe sighed, crossing his arms. "The question now is," Micaiah continued, "what will you two do?" Edward and Leonardo glanced at each other for a moment before the blonde spoke. "What do you mean?"
"Well," Micaiah began again as Sothe raised a curious eyebrow, "you two don't have anywhere to go, no family to stay with, no friends of your own," her eyes flickered as she spoke the next words, "so why don't you stay with us?"
Edward grinned, eyes shining. "We would love to-" "hold it!" Leonardo interrupted, holding out his hand to halt his partner. He grabbed his arm and pulled him off to the side, making their decision in private. "Edward, we don't even know them! We can't just trust them on a whim! Think about it for a second- use your head!"
Edward frowned, glancing over his shoulder at Micaiah's face. "Yeah, but Leo, I think we can trust them…or at least her. This might sound crazy, but I think we should stick with them. It's not like we're doing all that great by ourselves anyways."
Leonardo sighed, rubbing his temples. "Well, you've got a point there." He looked into his tiny rucksack and pulled out the meager crumbs of food he had left. "There's barely any bread for us to share, and who knows when we'll get any more money. I hate to admit it, but I think you might be right on this one."
Edward chuckled, wrapping his arm around his friend's shoulder. "You admit you're wrong? That's a first, eh Leo?" The two spun around, Edward's careless grin contrasting with Leonardo's cautious scowl. "Alright, it looks like we're sticking with you guys!"
A dazzling smile formed on the maiden's face as she heard this, light seeming to emanate from her. "Wonderful! Well then, Sothe, lead the way." The teenager grumbled something along the lines of "yeah, whatever" and beckoned for the group to follow his lead.
-…-
"Well, home sweet home, I suppose."
Their "home" was not much to look at, truth be told, but it did the job. A small, desolate shack with all the essentials, and nothing more. Furniture of various shapes and sizes were scattered about the rooms.
The boys tossed their bags on a nearby wall and sat in the decrepit looking chairs in the center of the room. The room remained in an awkward silence for several seconds as the group merely sat and stared at one another before Edward spoke up. "So, what do we do now?"
Sothe leaned forward, hands folded together. "Now, we wait." Leonardo shot a puzzled glance at Sothe. "Wait for what exactly?" They expected for Sothe to answer but he remained silent, his gaze turning to Micaiah.
She had slipped away from the group and stood poised at the window, fingers gliding gently along the windowsill. Her eyes were both shining and clouded as they lingered on the outside world. "Sothe," she said, her voice nearly a whisper yet every word was audible, "it's getting quite late. Don't you think you and I should go out for a bit and find some food?"
Sothe wordlessly nodded and walked outside, twirling his dagger. Micaiah followed suit behind him, waving goodbye to the boys who sat completely befuddled. "Well that was strange," Leonardo muttered, "what was all that about?"
Hours passed and the sun had just begun to set as the boys had finally had enough of waiting. "Where are they?" Edward whined, his body flung sporadically across the chair. Leonardo didn't even bother to turn around this time. He'd heard Edward complaining for the last hour and he had had just about enough of it. "For the eighth time, I don't know where they are, Edward."
Groaning, the brunette leapt out of his seat and tugged on Leonardo's arm. "Well then let's go look for them. I don't think my stomach can stand being hungry any more." Dragging the protesting Leonardo behind him, Edward quickly made a path for the exit.
The streets had mostly been cleared of people, though a few still straggled behind. Still, there was no sign of Micaiah or Sothe. Leonardo finally broke free of his friend's grasp. "Goddess, Edward! Do you mind telling me where exactly we're going? How exactly do you plan on getting food? We don't have any money!"
The myrmidon clicked his tongue as he shook his chestnut mane. "Leo, you should know better than anybody that there's always a way to get food." He began walking forwards and beckoned for the blonde to follow. Knowing exactly what his friend planned on doing, he muttered a word of protest but quickly gave up and followed him without another word.
-...-
"Remind me why we're following these two idiots around."
Sothe grumbled as he continued following Micaiah as she sprinted through the alleyways. "Because," she replied, a hint of frustration tainting her normally gentle words, "I have a good feeling about these two." He was about to reply when she continued before he even had a chance to start. "But, I want to see if they're really trustworthy. I want to see if they can stop clinging to their thieving ways."
"You say that as if you forget that we're thieves, too." He spat back. He saw her tense and shudder. She turned to face him and as she did, he noticed that her normally fluorescent eyes now clouded. "Please, Sothe, don't remind me."
-...-
Night had set upon the city streets of Nevassa as Edward rushed throughout the desolate streets. Leonardo followed close behind him as they arrived at a house nearby the marketplace. "Well look at that, we're at the marketplace and we still can't find Micaiah and Sothe." Leonardo stated bitterly, leaning against the wall of the household.
Edward grinned devilishly, shaking his head. "We didn't come here for them, Leo." He had to admit, he knew what Edward was up to. Deep down, he had hoped he would be better than that. "Eddie, we're not stealing." He hissed quietly.
But the brunette appeared to not hear him as he was already picking the lock on the nearby household. Before Leonardo had a chance to speak up, the door was already opened and Edward was already scavenging for food.
-...-
"I knew they would never last."
Sothe turned to leave but noticed that Micaiah stayed observing the boys. "Micaiah, let's go." No reply. "Micaiah!" He snapped and it was then she turned to him. Her face twisted, eyes glowing with that familiar radiance.
"Hush, Sothe." She turned again, eyes again creeping around the corner of the wall. "There's someone here."
-...-
"Edward, I really think we should leave."
Leonardo was beginning to feel frantic. Everything in his body screamed for them to leave, but there was one part that almost enjoyed the danger they were in. It enthralled him.
Edward spun and faced him, stuffing bread and meat into the sack slung around his back. "Relax, Leo, you've got nothing to worry about. Whoever lives here must not by staying the night if he's not back by now."
"Is that so?"
Both boys immediately froze. Neither could think of any possible excuse to get them out of this mess. This time, they were caught and there was no way out. Both turned to face the owner of the voice.
"So, you boys are hungry, eh?" The broad man spoke in a voice so deep it emanated a sort of wisdom. He stroked his beard, an almost mischievous smirk playing on his face. He strode towards them and spoke in his bellowing voice, "Well, if you want to eat…"
The man moved his face dangerously close to the boys, his eyes piercing their quivering hearts. "Then I suppose you'll want something to drink too, hm?"
Neither Edward nor Leonardo knew what to say to that. They merely stood and stared in wonder and shock for a few moments before they stuttered incoherent babbles. "Huh? Wha! I mean, you're saying, we could've-"
The man let out a deep, hearty laugh that seemed to reverberate from every wall. "What did you expect? The big, bad lumberjack to strike you down with his axe?" The boys hadn't even noticed the large axe strapped to his back, although it surely didn't help their anxiety.
"Well, we didn't exactly expect you to be so…so…" Leonardo struggled to finish his sentence, "…nice." He knew it sounded incredibly childish but it was the only word he managed to think of in his current state.
The gentleman patted him on the back as he chuckled. "Most people aren't as welcoming as I am, son. You should take that to heart." He moved to pack more food into the boys' sack. "But I choose to help those who are…less fortunate." He smiled at them, a warm, gentle smile.
He was beginning to stash food into their bag when he slowly came to a stop as if he had had an epiphany. "Perhaps it would be better if you two stayed the night. It is rather late, after all."
"That won't be necessary."
A voice spoke from the doorway of the household, a voice the boys knew all too well. Micaiah swayed in, a graceful smile present on her pale skin. "These two belong to us." She approached the man, extending her frail hand to him. "We're sorry for the trouble they've caused." Her gaze settled on them, causing the boys to shudder. "I promise it won't happen again."
The man examined her for a moment, as if studying a beautiful painting. "No trouble at all, miss." He shook her hand, his large palm nearly encasing her own. He seemed hesitant to continue speaking, unlike a moment ago, as he glanced between the four teenagers in the room.
"If you all don't mind me asking…" he paused as the corners of his lips turned downwards, "do you have anywhere to live?"
The group remained silent. Micaiah's eyes dimmed for a moment before she spoke. "No." She stated simply before shaking her head. "No, we don't. Sothe and I have been living on the streets for a long time and we just met Edward and Leonardo here. The only money we have is when I tell people's fortunes."
The man's eyes lit up. He snapped his fingers and exclaimed in joy, "I knew I recognized you! You told my fortune!" Micaiah smiled slightly, eyes regaining that familiar shine. "Yes…yes, I remember you now. Nolan was your name, right?"
He nodded, grin widening by the second. "I was going through such a difficult time in my life, what with my business going under, and then you gave me such a promising fortune. I didn't even know you but somehow I knew that I could trust you."
"What did you tell him, Micaiah?" Edward asked in curiosity, cocking his head to the side in interest. Even Leonardo began listening intently to her response, eyes focused directly on her.
"Well," she began as she gathered her thoughts, "I told him that he would be a wise father one day, and that he would meet a beautiful young lady who would help guide him on his way." Her smile seemed somewhat dreamy as she recounted the tale. "That was a lovely fortune to tell."
"Well, as thanks for your wisdom, why don't you come live here with me?" Nolan offered, eyes sparkling. The group glanced around at one another, nodding one after another in agreement. But before anyone could answer, Micaiah spoke up.
"That's extremely generous of you, Mr. Nolan, however we don't want to burden you with that. You can't possibly have that kind of money to spend taking care of us." Nolan shook his head, grabbing her hand. "I don't think you quite understand. I want to help you. If you need a home, I'm offering one to you."
Micaiah remained silent for a moment more and then answered, "Alright, we'll stay. Thank you, Mr. Nolan." His grin widened. "No trouble at all, miss! The spare room is over there to the left, make yourselves at home. Help yourselves to some food if you're hungry." He was about to enter his own bedroom when he turned and called back to Micaiah. "Oh, and Micaiah? Just call me Nolan, alright?"
-...-
The ominous moon loomed over Nevassa. Stars twinkled faintly in the nighttime sky as the inhabitants of the once great city slept.
Suddenly, the peace was interrupted by a fist pounding against the door. Someone was trying to break in? No, something else. Someone was trying to warn them.
"Nolan, quick, please help me!"
-…-
Author's Note: I gotta admit, that scene where Eddie and Leo get caught was really fun to write. I can totally picture those two in my head, with Leo trying to be the voice of reason and Eddie not caring and then getting caught like little kids getting caught by their parents, hehe. Anyways, like I said, this was more about setting up part of the story for the next chapter so I hope this will keep your interest until I can churn out the next chapter!
~DivineJudgment