Ten years later, the world ushered him in as Rixen opened his eyes. It was never the early mornings that bothered him; it was being driven from the sheltering confines of his bed that he didn't favor. Fighting his eyelids turned anvils he expelled himself from his blanket's ensnaring grasp; the climate of his room was a stark contrast to the inviting warmth of his comforter; the cracked window he didn't remember opening had been the prime suspect of that. Rixen's body bled goosebumps as the cold gnawed at any exposed limbs that were unfortunate enough to be abandoned to the elements.
Sitting up, Rixen reached to turn off the alarm clock that dangled from the ceiling; its elevated location serving its purpose to force its victims from their peaceful, slumbering, supine states. The ambient chill wrapped itself around his body, embracing him lovingly as he was only clothed in a pair of boxer shorts. He showed his protest by falling back onto the bed with a thump. He immediately regretted it though as he could feel the sweat tinged sheets sear his back, their once retained warmth shooed by the cold. It was a slimy and disgusting feeling which caused him to grimace with closed eyes.
Needless to say, he had shaken off his grogginess save for the last few desperate clutches sleep imposed on him in the corners of his eyes.
The world danced with him as he stood; a hand gripped the edge of the meager bed frame to assist in regaining his bearing. Once able, Rixen hauled himself to the small bathroom attached to his room; the sinister tile laughed at him as he stomped on them in contempt. The mirror was the first to greet him, albeit an ugly greeting. The gnarled mass of black fluff that was two weeks overdue a cut stood at attention, awaiting relief. The two brown eyes beneath it lightly scanned over his acceptable face, hesitating on the purple spot that colored his crisp cheekbone. Compared to the swollen mess it was the night prior, it would have to do; he set the water as hot as he could manage, resting his elbows on the sympathetic porcelain so he could set his head in his hands.
Rixen pleaded with his subconscious to leave his memories alone. Especially recently, having been the fifth time this week he'd have to endure the inner sanctions of his mind. He had just managed to put everything from his past where it belonged. The new found dreams plagued his sleep patterns and sapped away at the energy he would so desperately need through the day. He shook his head to clear out any remaining shadows before cupping a handful of water and throwing it onto his face. Realizing he had misjudged the temperature, Rixen quickly added more cold to the mix as he felt the scalding droplets run down his skin. Seizing the opportunity, he destroyed the evidence of sleep from his eyes before grabbing his toothbrush. He would have plenty of time to wallow in his past later; this he tried to convince himself as he brushed the traces of his night away.
A clean shave and fresh clothes later, Rixen found himself inching along the wall, eager to avoid alerting the presence that was found roaming the kitchen at the end of the hallway. Fortunately, he had packed his lunch the night before, the temperature of the room unintentionally aiding his meal from spoiling, and set forth on completely bypassing the kitchen altogether. However, his shortcut didn't have its own lack of challenges. He entered a door that branched from the hallway, bringing him into the living room. Rixen grimaced as he noticed the minefield of bottles that littered the floor before him. The smell that wafted from them was dangerously alluring and had already claimed the other body in the room splayed across the couch, a bottle still grasped firmly in his hand. Rixen's nose twitched as it seemed that the man reeked more powerfully than the bottles themselves. Ignoring the burly man with obnoxious snoring, Rixen set to work navigating the maze before him.
He had almost reached the doorway before an obscenely loud clink caused his body to freeze. In that moment the water that had been used to wash the dishes a wall over silenced.
He rolled his eyes and cursed under his breath in spite of himself as he braced for the-
"Rixen?" a voice called out, rough and uninviting; it's owner was female.
He sighed inwardly as he jammed his eyes shut, "Yes, ma'am?"
"What are you doing in there?" her sharp question jabbed at him.
"Am I not allowed in here?" he guarded.
She aimed to strike again, "I don't remember you leaving anything around last night. Do you have a reason to be in there?"
"I left my keys under the table," he countered again, pausing a moment to repose before, "is that good enough?"
Her silence was reward enough as he took the next few strides towards the door in victory. A victory short lived as she appeared in the opposite entryway to the kitchen before he could escape.
"I need you to search the old Ryansberg before you come home." her tone was blatently obvious that this wasn't a request.
He nodded his acknowledgement without turning to face her. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of seeing how far his bruise had recovered since the night prior; she wouldn't care anyway.
"Well?" his reply apparently dissatisfied her.
"Yes, ma'am." Rixen fought to not do anything but grit his teeth.
The small-figured lady's eyes narrowed, "You will call me Sarah, or mother if you-"
"Yes. Ms. Sarah." he half-growled at her as he threw himself through the doorway.
Trees covered the valley in which the town resided. On all sides were mountains, each one teeming with promises of riches greater than the first. It all began with the discovery of the rich ore deposits that ran through the ranges concealed beneath a blanket of Earth; following that, the residents of the small mining settlement unearthed a deep, fresh water spring, which now serves as the primary source of water for the now wealthy establishment of Ashen.
Amongst the greenery, a figure floated between the foliage. Normally she wouldn't travel this far into the human's territory, but the alluring promise of rain overhead snatched away her foresight. She loved the rain, and all that was brought with it.
But the weather wasn't her objective this morning, and she continued on with her mission, searching until she spotted a familiar looking rooftop. She settled behind a tree in case any watchful humans were around. However, her head immediately perked as she heard the sound of a door being slammed shut.
From afar, she watched as the boy rushed from the small cottage; a look of exasperated relief colored his face. He wasn't running, not yet, but his stride surely left no time to linger.
Unlike the other humans, she saw the boy deviate from the familiar road that lead deeper into their settlement as he always did. She followed the boy with her eyes as he came in front of a small headstone tucked within the forest.
The boy turned away from the makeshift shrine, taking a moment and a breath to regain his composure. He revealed from his backpack a small apple, freshly ripened. He lolled it around his grasp, testing its weight, lamenting it.
Tentatively, he placed his meager offering atop the smooth slated stone. As she expected, Froslass could see the boy's eyes grow sad. She was close enough to hear him speak.
"Hey, boy." Rixen gingerly ran his hand atop the cool, unnatural surface.
Gripping the edge he knelt, bringing his forehead to rest against the headstone letting the warmth from his body escape.
"I know it's not much today, but I hope you like it; share it with your friends, okay?" the boy took a tender breath, "I'll see you when I get home." he stroked the smooth surface once more, "Love you."
With that, the boy stood, his eyes searched curiously for the habitual caretaker for the fruit he had bestowed upon the shrine. Froslass tucked herself amongst the brush as his gaze arced over her. He sighed quietly, his search turning up empty before he backtracked towards the road into town.
Her hollow body glided silently towards the tiny, red offering that the boy had left her again today.
She turned to the small traces of spirit that rose from the ground beside her, glowing embers invisible to sight but very real to someone who could interact with them, "Are you sure you don't want any?"
The embers joined in a brilliant light, coalescing into a corporeal form. It's flowing white mane shook as it spoke, its voice a ghostly echo of what it once was, "It wouldn't do me any good." The spirit's dark brown eyes lamentingly chased the boy as he vanished down the roadside. His master's constant efforts to comfort him despite his current state always threw him into melancholy.
"Suit yourself." Froslass took a delighted bite into the apple she managed to grasp between two hands that were also a part of the shell that encased her body.
The entity beside her let out a half sigh, half growl, "Did you see his face?"
"Didn't he look a bit taller today?" Froslass lapped up the juices that seeped from the bites she left in the skin, savouring the fruit's natural sweetness.
"Froslass..." an exasperated growl stopped her from her duties eating.
"I did what I could, Growlithe." she cast a glance to the side, "It's a lot better than before I iced it." admittedly, even she didn't appreciate seeing gentle Rixen hurt by his supposed caretakers, but there was a fine line between guarding the boy as per Growlithe's request, and endangering him. The memory of tenderly holding Rixen's throbbing cheek flared anger within her at the other humans as she toyed with dangerous thoughts.
An intangible nuzzle halted her violent emotions, "Thank you." he told her quietly.
She ruffled his fur with her free hand in response to his soothing affections. Her frustrations vanished beneath his faded orange and black coat.
"You certainly haven't grown any." she scratched at an ear.
Growlithe huffed as aggressively as one can with their head cocked in submission to Froslass' caresses. "Think it's going to rain?" his tongue lolled out lazily.
She revealed a smile at her companion's docile demeanor, "Oh, most definitely."
As if by cue, small droplets began to fall from the somber blankets above. Having exited the forest, almost out of sight, the two saw the boy begin to run.
Out of breath not only from the altitude but also from his unsuccessful attempt at escaping the pitter-patter now turned downpour outside the bus stop, Rixen gripped the glass as two familiar figures quickly moved to make space for their reuniting party member.
"It's crazy." the taller of the two greeted Rixen's recovering stature.
"I know it." he replied after catching his breath, entertaining himself by smearing the fogging glass that protected them from the elements in the meantime. Small droplets dripped from the edges of his clothing; his pants were disgustingly soaked from a stray puddle, making him grimace as his body was being sapped the warmth it so desperately desired. He focused on other matters. "Good morning, Fin; Dahli."
"Good raining, sir." Fin spoke again; Rixen could feel him smiling into his back, wholeheartedly reveling at his friends dripping nature.
"It wasn't like that five minutes ago." Rixen shot him a glare, careful not to show the right side of his face while also confirming the friendly smirk that crawled its way across Fin's face just beneath his bulky nose and sparkling yellow eyes.
"Good morning, Rixen." the smaller figure cut in to halt the two's usual prodding. She beamed him a small smile that he could have sworn cut out the malignant cold that was slowly infecting his body.
"Good morning, Dahlia." Rixen said again in case he had forgotten to tell her once already. A grin tried to crawl on his face before hitting his swollen cheek, forcing a rather goofy expression to remain in its stead. He admired the sunshine that radiated from her lengthy, honeydew tinged hair, matching that of her brother's along with her glowing eyes. After seven years since its last cut, it remained nearly as untarnished as the young flower's conscience.
Hesitant worry crossed her pale face, and she tentatively took a step towards him, leaving no room for him to hide. Her eyes widened as she saw the off-color of the section below his eye that he witheringly tried to shrink from her scrutiny, "Rixen," she demanded, "what-"
He quickly turned away, forcefully abashed, Fin's attention now on him as well "You know that step at the top of Rook's Ledge?"
"I warned you." Fin reminded matter-of-factly; a smile replaced his concern, "You should tell everyone you wrestled a Machoke or something."
But Dahlia wasn't as easily shaken, admonishing her brother with a, "Phinius!" before returning her interest to Rixen's cheek, eying him critically, judging his lie.
Fin shrugged off her worry, trying to divert his sister much to Rixen's relief, "What, maybe it would get him good with little miss Jenna he's so interested in movie watching with."
Rixen cast his gaze away for a different reason, his teeth shone subconsciously as his best friend already knew full well that he had seen much more than just the movie with Jenna Harriet the weekend prior.
Dahlia's innocence shone brightly as she was unable to comprehend the reason for their marveling in such boyish affairs.
"I still don't like it." she pouted at him; whether she was referring to Jenna or his face, Rixen couldn't determine.
"You should be more worried about yourself." Rixen's face grew serious.
This time it was her turn to face away from him. "The doctors say it's getting better," she said confidently, more to convince herself than Rixen who threw a questioning look at her brother for confirmation. A serious glance in return told him what he had already hoped to be wrong.
A moment later though, Fin spoke to aid his faltering sister, "The treatment's helping a lot, I've seen. It's better than before since dad caught a break with the insurance." Fin focused sternly on her, ensuring Dahlia met his eye, "But she just can't do anything too strenuous. They said-"
"I know what they said." she huffed, visibly eager to stop her brother from continuing.
Fin flashed an apologetic smile before ruffling her hair with his free hand. She returned her own, albeit smaller and tainted with melancholy.
Two streams of light that brilliantly ricocheted throughout the glass shelter signaled their departure, much to the group's chilled relief; the heated interior of the bus was much more inviting than the dreary world surrounding them.
They all moved as the doors to the bus opened and Rixen helped carry with his free hands Fin's leftovers of Dahlia's alleged "science project" that could've been a cover-up for an overnight expedition with the amount of bags that burdened the poor girl's capacity. With a final, retreating look at the porous world around him, Rixen boarded the shuttle that would take him away from a prison shrouded in greenery.
[AN]: I finished it now. :D Horray. Also, I love feedback. I'm working hard on learning how to portray characters, so please feel free to tell me how I'm doing.