Lyra: Ok, getting to some messed up things in this chapter.
Chiro: My past?
Lyra: Most of it. Sorry Chi.
Before Chiro's body had even began to slump Antauri and Sparx latched onto his arms and supported him. Fang was glaring at Talon lightly.
"You really couldn't have waited?" Fang growled out, "We just put the kid through Hell to see if he'd changed, and then you have to tell him that." Fang shook his head as he walked over to Antauri and Sparx.
"I thought it would be best to get everything out in the opening. He's thought she was dead all this time. He deserved to know." Talon tried to glare at Fang's back but it looked more like a pout. Fang once again shook his head at Talon in irritation. Once Fang was in front of the monkey team he watched as they positioned themselves protectively around Chiro. Letting out a slight sigh he extended his hand out to them slowly.
"Here, let me help get the kid inside. Then we'll try to explain."
Antauri looked the young man in the eyes and determined he was no threat yet, he reluctantly allowed Fang to pick up Chiro's small form. They group followed Fang back into the building and into another large room with several small beds to one far side, a "kitchen" like area with a stove at the other. Unlike the rest of the warehouse this room was warmly lit and had more of a homely feel and not damp or dark. Fang laid Chiro down in one of the beds and covered him with a light sheet. Once he was sure Chiro was settled he went over to Talon in the kitchen. The monkey team, unsure of where to go, stayed next to Chiro's bed. Nova sat down on the bed next to Chiro's head and carefully ran her fingers through his hair. Sparx and Gibs were sitting on the floor in front of the bed looking as if they were keeping guard. Otto had for once not jumped up onto the bed, but carefully crawled up and was laying his head on Chiro's leg. Antauri was levitating by the bed but kept a close eye in the other two humans.
"I hope tea is alright. I'm afraid it's all we have at the moment." Talon called over to them gently.
"I do not wish to seem rude but we would like to know who you are and how you know Chiro." Antauri spoke calmly but Talon could detect a bit of impatience in his tone. Setting the tea aside she walked over to the group. Fang settled down into a chair and they faced the monkeys.
"How much do you know?" Fang asked bluntly.
"Only that Chiro has lost his parents and that he somehow lost his sister." Gibson answered. The two humans nodded.
"I see no harm in telling you. If Chiro already trusted you with that much he wouldn't mind us telling you the rest." Talon took a deep breath.
"It wasn't long after their parents' deaths that they were brought to the Orphanage."
Chiro and Lily sat on a bed in a large dorm. Other beds were lined on each side of the room in rows. The room was dark and stuffy and the only light shown from the single large window at the far end of the room.
"Why don't we go outside? I think some sun would do you good. You're looking paler than me." Lily tried to joke but her brother still wouldn't smile. She blew one of her black bangs away from her blue eyes and sighed.
"Come one Chiro. You need to get out of this cell." Chiro only nodded and allowed his sister to pull him out the door and down to the small yard that the orphanage had. The other orphans were already out running around and one of the older boys shoved past Lily causing her to lose her footing for a moment. Her quick reflexes kept her standing though, and she glared at the retreating boy.
"Are you ok?" Chiro's small voice caused her to look down.
"Yeah," She smiled softly, "I'm fine Star. Let's go on the swing." Once again she grasped his hand and a small smile began to form on his face. Lily's heart swelled a little. It had been a while since she'd seen her brother smile. The swing was old and only consisted of two ropes tied to a board where she placed Chiro and pushed lightly. Beside the creaking, the swing was sturdy and Chiro finally smiled at his sister.
"Higher?" His uncertain request was quickly answered as Lily pushed harder and let out a small giggle. Their fun was cut short as the boy that had shoved Lily walked over with two other boys. He sneered at the two and Lily stopped Chiro's swinging and stood in front of him.
"What do you think you are doing on my swing?" The boy asked. Lily raised an eyebrow, a trick she learned from their father.
"You weren't on it and neither are your names, so I don't see how you claim ownership over it." For an eight year old she was very eloquent. However her clever remark only seemed to enrage the bully. She was suppose to run away, not stand there all calm. He pushed her away from the swing and went to grab Chiro but before his hand even came close Lily kicked his feet out from under him and he fell face first into the dirt. Chiro jumped onto his back causing him to grunt out in pain as Chiro ran to his sister. The two other boys helped their leader up and he turned his glaring eyes on the siblings.
"You'll pay for that runt." Lily got ready for another attack when an arm wrapped around her shoulders and a voice addressed the bullies.
"What are you doing messing with my friends?" Lily looked up into the brown eyes of a boy about her age with blond hair. Next to him was a hazel eyed girl cuddling Chiro who looked confused and almost scared at the girl's affection. Looking back at the other boys Lily smirked at their worried faces.
"We weren't doing nothing." He mumbled and rushed off. The boy only smirked.
"That's what I thought." He then looked at Lily and Chiro. "Let's go over in the shade." They walked together and noticed the other kids were keeping their distance. The girl caught sight of Lily's scar and commented.
"How'd that happen?" She went to move closer but Lily simply pulled her collar over the left side of her neck covering the scar and glared at the odd girl as she sat down with Chiro.
"I'm Fang and that's Talon." The boy named Fang introduced themselves once they were all seated in the grass. Lily introduced herself and her brother but Talon only giggled.
"What?" Lily asked not liking being laughed at.
"You need better names." Talon answered as if it was the simplest thing in the world.
"Why?" Chiro chirped. Talon looked at him and once again went to cuddling him.
"He is so cute! I didn't know he talked." Lily growled lightly and pulled her brother from the girl she had decided was a lunatic. "How old are you?"
"Four." Chiro smiled at Talon, finding he didn't mind the attention. Besides, he found Talon to be quite funny.
"He spoke again!" Talon giggled.
"Of course he talks. He's not a toy Talon," Fang scolded his companion. Talon merely pouted and crossed her arms. "Now let me think of better names for you two." He continued.
"Why do we need names and why are the other kids scared of you?" Lily was getting annoyed at these two weirdoes.
"We have been here the longest. We usually keep to ourselves and don't like others. We watch out for ourselves." He looked over to Talon who only nodded her head.
"So why did you help us?" Lily asked cautiously, Fang smiled.
"We like you. We've watched ever since they brought you here. You're strong and smart,"
"Perfect for our family! What do you say?" Talon finished for him. At the word family Chiro's eyes lit up and looked between the two kids and his sister. Lily couldn't help but agree to this oddness.
"Ok, so what are our new names?" She asked reluctantly.
"It took us about a month to come up with a good name for Lily and Chiro. Finally we took Lily's nickname for Chiro and just added Golden. So he was our Golden Star. Then we finally came up with Silver Moon for Lily." Talon smiled at the memory.
"The four of us stayed together no matter what. A few times people came in and tried to adopt Chiro but he refused to go without his sister. We had a good run for about four years." Fang's eyes darkened.
"What happened?" Otto asked. He was leaning in completely enwrapped in the story. The others listened intently as well.
"That's when Mindel and Eban took over." Talon's voice was cold and filled with malice. "I guess they thought things were too easy for orphans. They ran that place worst than a slave camp. They loved tormenting us, and most of all Chiro."
"But why?" Nova's voice quivered as she tried to keep her anger in check. Talon simply shrugged her shoulders.
"Not a clue. Because he's innocent? Because he is kind to everyone and never seemed to be scared of them. Sure he was quiet, shy and hated fighting, but he was never really scared." Talon looked over to his still form and her eyes softened.
"He's a tough kid. That's for sure." Fang continued. "Any chance they got they doled out whippings." The monkey teams' eyes grew large and looked at Chiro. "Most of the time we were able to hide Chiro or piss them off even more so we got the punishment instead." He sighed. "I don't know if he's been able to hide those from you." Gibson shook his head.
"I have seen the scars on his back, but they were so faded that I thought they were from past battles and the Power Primate had healed them. I never gave them much thought." Gibs cast his eyes down and felt somewhat guilty. A hand patted his shoulder and he saw Sparx's reassuring smile.
"Anyway, we met two other orphans who actually live on their own in this very building. It's just on the outskirts of the City and no one bothers to come out to these ruins. Shadow and Nightshade we called them and they were fourteen. They said we could go live with them and we planned on it. But certain events lead us to move sooner than we thought." Fang paused and ran a hand through his tangled hair. Talon decided she would continue the story.
"Eban began to make finding Chiro a game. A sick, twisted game. Whenever he found him he would claim Chi did something and he would thrown him in the closest or beat him. Then one day he came up with the sick idea of selling him. Our Golden Star was only eight! Eight and that freak was going to sell Chi to one of the slave trades. Silver tried to tell the headmistress and you want to know what she said?"
"He is a cute boy. And since we can't seem to get him adopted I think we could make a pretty penny selling him." Her cruel eyes locked onto Lily's. "You would be worth quite a bit too. Both cute and still, pure."
Talon shuddered at the memory. The Monkeys could not believe what they were hearing. Could a person really be that terrible? And had they really let those same people out of this building without a scratch? Nova was the first to break the horrid silence.
"How dare they! If I'd had know I would have made a game of chasing them!" Nova pounded her fist into her palm and glared at the door as if actually contemplating going after the two. Sparx placed a comforting hand on Nova's shoulder and then took her hand into his. Nova let out a shaky breath and tried to calm herself. Once Talon was sure the yellow monkey was alright she continued.
"It was that night that we ran away to Shadow and Nightshade" Talon continued.
It was the night of the new moon. Everything in and around the Orphanage was pitch black, including the yard. They gathered up what little possessions they had and their blankets and slipped out of the building. Standing outside in the ally was Nightshade. His black hair melded into the darkness and his green eyes were the only part of him that shone through the darkness. Talon, Fang, and Lily holding Chiro's hand ran up to him.
"You all set?" He whispered to them. With their nods of confirmation he set out at a jog with the others following. He led them through the winding roads and down the broken streets until they reached their new home. Once inside the building seemed to grow warm and cozy. They were led to a large room with beds and a kitchen to the side. At the wood stove in the center of the room was a girl with long dark red hair and green eyes. She wore jeans and a dark green blouse. She fed the fire another log and then smiled at the new comers.
"Pick any bed. It's late and I bet you are tired." She smiled warmly as the four ran to a bed and flopped down. Chiro curled up next to his sister and she held him lightly. She hummed the lullaby that their mother use to sing to them as he calmed and finally fell asleep.
"Even though they were older, it was Silver that took on the leader role. There was just something about her that commanded respect and you couldn't help but follow what she said." Talon mused. Antauri hummed at this.
"Age does not always indicate who a leader is. It is the spirit and heart of the person that makes them a good leader." Antauri looked down at Chiro for emphasis and almost fell out of the air. Chiro's blue eyes were gazing at him and a small smile was in his face. The others noticed this and turned their attention back the boy.
"You ok kid?" Sparx asked as Gibson checked his vital signs. Chiro nodded and looked over to Talon and Fang.
"How long you been awake?" Fang asked. Chiro shrugged and with Otto and Nova's help sat up.
"I heard a little of everything." He looked Fang in the eyes. "Thank you for your help." Fang wasn't sure if Chiro was thanking him for the rest or for telling his team the stories. Whatever it was he simply grinned shook his head.
"You want us to continue or do you Chiro? We were going to tell them about the raid." Talon hesitated and watched Chiro's reaction. Antauri also watched as Chiro took a sharp intake of breath and swallowed around a lump in his throat.
"I'll tell them my side. But I want to know what happened to you after." Talon agreed and Chiro once again found it hard to breath. He looked around himself and found his family sitting all around him. They were looking at him so caringly. No pity, just love. Antauri was next to him as well as Nova. Sparx and Gibson were next to his legs and Otto had once again place himself in Chiro's lap. Not unlike Chiro did with Lily when they were little. Chiro took a calming breath. He was safe and he could tell them this.
"I was twelve when our hideout was found and my sister shot."
~Cliffy~
