Chapter Three Part Two

The sand flew about the child's tiny feet as he ran furiously under the noonday sun. Tears stung his eyes as sweat beaded upon his brow. He could hear the cries of his friend, beckoning for him to stop, yet his pleas only urged the child to run all the more quickly. He ran through the newly tilled crops and fields that the villagers had begun to make ready for planting and passed by the huts that housed his folk safely from the world around them. He ran and ran and kept running until his feet carried him to the outskirts of the village to the rock wall that kept the zwoots and jackals at bay and the cool, dark caves the served as dwellings for the wood-shy Wolfriders. Tired and hot and withouth the strength to run a moment longer, the boy finally collapsed against a crop of rocks and sobbed, quietly.

Why was he so very different? Why couldn't the others see that he was exactly as they were? It was only what was outside that made him different, but it was what was inside that made him unique.

"Oh, little cub, what's wrong?" a voice, sweet as spring wind, asked.

Timidly, Kin looked up to see who had spoken to him. He gasped, though not from fear but from awe at the beauteous figure kneeling before him. Hair the color of radiant sunbeams and eyes that challenged the color of the clearest, brightest spring day, this maiden whose petite form was so lithe she could be considered little more than a child herself reminded Kin of a lovely bird he had seen once...a long time ago. Although she had come into the village many times, usually accompanied by a surly golden-haired elf or a younger, spritely looking one, he had never seen her from such a close vantage before. Even to his young sight, he had to acknowledge that she was remarkably beautiful.

Her eyes shone with concern for the youth and it took him a moment to remember that the youth she was worried for was indeed him. "I-...I'm okay." he answered, hastily, stabbing at the tears that painted his cheeks.

"Really?" she mused, touching his cheek, lightly, rubbing the moisture she found there lightly between her fingers. "Your tears tell me otherwise."

"Ah...no, it's not anything." he stammered, looking away, shyly.

The maiden smiled, softly then leaned closer and whispered, "If your folk could send, I don't think you'd be able to tell me that."

"Huh?" he mused, surprised by her statement. "Send?"

She smiled again and patted his head, gently. "Never mind. It's nothing. Well, since nothing is bothering you would you like to-..."

"KIN!" Wing shouted, just as he reached up to his friend. "Are you okay? I was worried about-...oh, hello, Dewshine."

"Hello, Wing. Haven't seen much of you around here since they built that hut for you and your folks in the village."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Me and Newstar will visit more often if you want." he said.

"I'd like that." she replied, smiling brilliantly. "And I know Father and the others will, too."

Wing smiled then turned back to Kin who was simply watching them in their discussion. "Are you okay, now?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." he replied, quietly.

Wing paused for a moment, then knelt down to hug his friend, warmly. "It's okay. Ember just doesn't know you very well, so she didn't know that your bright eye isn't messed up...just different. I bet she's really sorry for saying so, too."

"I don't." Kin replied, flatly.

"Is that what this is all about?" Dewshine asked. "Now I see. Well, if Ember is picking on you for such a thing, then perhaps she should have a couple of words with One-Eye." she said with a wink.

Wing beamed. "I forgot all about him! I should have showed you him a long time ago!" Wing exclaimed to his friend.

"Who's One-Eye?" Kin asked.

"He's real nice. You'll like him and he's just like you!" he answered, nimbly climbing the short distance to the opening of a cave where many of the Wolfriders spent much of the daylight hours secluded within its cool confines. "Oh!" he said, turning sharply. "Dewshine, do you think it would be alright if Kin saw One-Eye before Ember did?"

"You know, I think that would be a good idea." she said, wordlessly praising the child for coming to the conclusion on his own.

"Great! Come on, Kin!"

Silently, the little Sun Villager followed his sunny-haired companion up the craggy cave face, pausing briefly to glance behind him. Dewshine was there, smiling up at him, in her own way urging him forward. Without a word, he turned and continued on his way.

Wing was waiting for him when he reached the top. Smling brightly, he took Kin's hand and pulled him along. Moonshade, who was busy with her leathers, looked up as the two entered.

"Hey, Moonshade! Where's Strongbow?" Wing asked, not slowing his pace in the least.

"Hunting with Treestump and Scouter." she answered, returning to her tanning.

Hurrying along the rocky enclosure, Wing slowed when his keen eyes took sight of Clearbrook reclining against the rocks while One-Eye sat above her, his fingers engrossed in the mass of silvery tendrils that was the elf maiden's hair. As the youngsters approached from his right side, One-Eye was able to see them as they approached.

"Hey there, Wing." he said. "Haven't seen you in a while."

Clearbrook, whose eyes were shut in relaxation, opened them at the sound of her lifemate's voice. "My, you look more and more like your father everyday." she said.

The young Wolfrider smiled and invited himself to sit upon her lap. "That's what Mother says."

"Well, she's right. Especially with all this sunshine hair of yours."

"But, " he began, dejectedly. "Father's hair is straight like yours. Mine's all curly."

"Your father's hair is straight now, but when he was just a cub, his hair was as curly as yours is."

"REALLY?" he asked, eagerly.

Clearbrook chuckled. "Yes, really."

One-Eye smiled at the two. Seeing them as they were reminded him of times when Scouter was young and curious about everything and always eager to find any measure of favor in his parent's eyes. He had even taken to wearing his clothing after his father's liking, just so he could be more like him. It was a simple thing that he continued to do even to this day...a simple thing that always seemed to make him smile at the thought.

"Hmm..." he mused, feeling eyes upon him. He glanced beside him, a little surprised to see the small village lad looking up at him, intently. "Oh, and what's your name?" he asked.

"OH!" Wing exclaimed, leaping off of Clearbrook's lap. "This is Kin. He's my friend." he said, standing beside the darker elf, easily sliding his arm about his shoulder. "He's got a special eye just like you do, One-Eye, see?" he said, pointing to Kin's "ghost eye". Kin bristled at Wing's blatant display of his irregularity and feared that One-Eye would somehow find fault with him, for who would ever claim to have something in common with something so undesirable?

"Say, that is a special eye?" One-Eye said. appreciatively.

Kin gasped. "You really...you really think so?"

"Aye! I do. And it looks a lot better than mine."

"Yours?"

The elder elf smiled then slowly pulled back the patch covering his abused eye. Kin's eyes widened at the sight and his little mouth was left agape.

"See?" One-Eye said, as he shut his good eye and reset the patch. "Your eye is-..."

"JUST LIKE MINE!" Kin exclaimed, leaping onto One-Eye's torso, knocking him off of the rock he sat perched upon while wrapping his tiny arms about him. "You have a special eye, too! It looks different from mine, but it's special like mine, I know it! You're just like me and I'm just like you! We're just the same!"

Now it was One-Eye's turn to fall silent. His mouth was agape for a moment, then quickly curled into a smile. He laughed heartily, lying sprawled across the cold ground with the little red-haired elf sitting nimbly upon his chest. "You know..." he began. "No one's ever called my eye special, but, I guess it is special in its own way. Thank you for telling me."

Kin nodded, unable to say anything from the measure on unbridled joy that was caught within his tiny form, barely contained by the broad smile that decorated his chestnut visage.

"There you are." a voice called.

The four turned to see Cutter, Leetah and Ember approaching them. Ember was squirming about as Leetah held her firmly by her ear, something her mother had done to her and Shenshen in their youth when they got caught misbehaving.

"Kin," Leetah began, "I believe Ember has something she wants to say to you." she added, releasing her daughter from her grasp.

Awkwardly, Ember stepped forward, gingerly rubbing her throbbing ear. Frowning in an overly childish manner, she all but whispered the words, "...sorry.", then clamped her lips shut, confining any other words that might have escaped to be forever imprisoned therein.

"That's okay." Kin answered. "You didn't know that my eye wasn't messed up...just special. Just like One-Eye's!"

"Huh?" she mused.

"'Messed up' is it?" One-Eye said, thoughtfully.

Ember's eyes nearly doubled in size. Slowly she turned around to look over her shoulder at her parents. Cutter quirked a brow, while Leetah crossed her arms over her ample bosom and fixed her lovely face with an impatient frown. Slowly, she turned her attentions back to those gathered before her. "I-...I'm sorry One-Eye." she said, meaningfully.

He sighed, lightly, then waved his hand dismissively through the air. "Aye. Forget about it. It's like Kin said, you didn't know." he concluded, patting Kin's head, gently. "You'll remember it from now on, right?"

"...yes." she said, softly.

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to return to Clearbrook's hair."

"And we need to finish our game." Wing chimed in. "Ember, you were the one who was tagged last so you have to find us. I'll send to Dart and tell him that we're ready to play, again."

"Aww..."

"Ember!" Cutter and Leetah called.

"I mean...okay." she amended. "Come on, let's go!" she shouted, dashing to the cave entrance, not wanting to stay a moment more in the presence of her scowling parents.

"Okay! Come on, Kin." Wing said, hurrying after her.

"Yup!" he answered, starting after him. He had barely set one foor before the other when he said, "Wait a second!" and turned to back toward One-Eye, approaching him, shyly. "Hey, One-Eye would it be okay if when Wing comes to visit you all out here...uh...would it be okay if I came with him?"

Clearbrook hid a smile behind her palms as she glanced up at her lifemate. His friendly smile seemed to brighten the din of the cave and even warmed the space inside its confines. He reached out and tenderly cupped the lad's chin between his fingers and said, plainly, "That would make me happy."