Meaningless
He halted in the wind, and-what was thatFar in the maples, pale, but not a ghost?
He stood there bringing March against his thought,
And yet too ready to believe the most
"Oh, that's the Paradise-in-Bloom," I said;
And truly it was fair enough for flowers
Had we but in us to assume in March
Such white luxuriance of May for ours.
We stood a moment so, in a strange world,
Myself as one his own pretense deceives;
And then I said the truth (and we moved on).
A young beech clinging to its last year's leaves.
(A Boundless Moment written by Robert Frost)
*
The girl on the bed was still sweating vehemently, her lost eyes staring at the duo standing beside her wooden bed. Her hand still squeezed Ellen's compactly for support, though her scare was starting to wear off. "Can you speak?" the woman asked, trying to placate her the best she could by patting her small hand. The toddler didn't answer, only looking more confused. Letting out a small whimper, barely audible to the two next to her, the girl said in a tiny voice, "Can you speak?"
Both of them were relieved, yet bamboozled at the same time. The Grandfather pulled up a chair for Matron, and then as soon as she was seated pulled up a stump for himself, leaning his chin onto the curve of his cane. "Do you understand?" Ellen tried again, flinching when she saw the girl's face confused once more. "Do you understand?" the girl repeated, her green eyes meeting Matron's for a long while. Sighing, the middle-aged woman slumped into her chair, looking at the old man for help. "Well," the Grandfather started, taking a good look at the small girl's confused face, "It would seem that she could talk fluently, yet the words have no meaning to her," noting the abbey owner's baffled face, he continued, "Take this for example. You hear another language entirely, yet you don't know what the words mean. So the only thing you can do to prove you can speak their language is to mimic what another is saying all together. Here, watch,"
The old man shifted in his seat, making it so he was staring directly at the girl; lifting an aged hand (who's knuckles showed clearly, and the blue veins showing themselves to the world) he set it on the three year olds forehead. Closing his eyes and concentrating, he spoke to her mind instead. The girl suddenly jerked under his grasp, not knowing what to do with the sudden intrusion to her brain. 'Out! Out!' she shouted in her mind, and yet having no knowledge at all of where she had learned the meaning of the words from. "She can speak," the Grandfather stated, "She's a telepath," Ellen looked better, settling down at the news and continued comforting the girl who was scared at the intrusion in her brain. "Can you find out her name?" she asked after a long while, the girl repeating it soon after. "No, her mind seems to have the memories behind her locked, I can't get to them, but I might if I probe her mind gently; maybe bringing a little of her memory back."
The toddler looked enormously horrified as the old man reached his hand out to her temple once more. She snatched her hand away from Ellen and rolled off the divan on the other side, away from the two before Grandfather could lay a hand on her head again. Only thing was; they heard a thunk that seemed to be louder than that of a three year old should make.
Matron got up from her seat and walked over to the terrified girl. Through the old man's eyes, however, it seemed as if the abbey owner had a heart attack when she got over to the other side. "O-h, m-m-my lord…" she whispered, seeing more than just a girl cowering in the corner at the sight of her. The Grandfather stepped over to see what was wrong, and nearly had a cardiac arrest as well. A young woman looking exactly like the girl, only seeming to look twenty or so; was recoiling in the corner, backing up as far as the wall would let her. Her clothes seemed to mature with her, the purple robe she was wearing now large enough to fit her body as tightly as it should. "A meta morph…" the old man said in awe, as the girl suddenly switched to a twelve year old body, and then back to her toddler state. "Class C ranking at least," Ellen, avowed, inching toward the small girl slowly, as to not frighten her too much.
The child yelped, and crawled away from her, spotting the old man trying to follow. "Stay back!" Matron snapped, not willingly, to him. The Grandfather, obliging, walked as far from the girl as possible to give her comfort, but stayed in the same room. Seeing him move away, the girl seemed at ease, but still tense at the woman getting ever closer to her. Scooting away, the girl was scared of the abbey owner because she didn't do a thing to stop that old man from entering her mind. "It's all right, little girl, I won't hurt you," Ellen said quietly, pausing in her steps to let the girl get comfortable with the closing distance. Not convinced, but loosening her muscles at the serene tone in her voice, the girl stayed where she was. Noting this with a slight satisfaction, Matron took another step, and paused. The same routine continued until she was next to the girl entirely. Crouching down and gathering the tense girl in her arms, Ellen hugged her gently, a hug that she gave all of the children to let them know that she would always be there no matter what happened. The toddler sensed this, and totally leaned her weight into the middle-aged woman, moving her small arms around the best she could.
"Washu," the little girl mumbled into the abbey owner's chest, receiving a curious glance from the old man on the other side of the room. "Where do you see one?" asked the abbey owner, thinking she was referring to an eagle feather. "Washu," the girl repeated dolefully, burying her head into the woman's chest. "What do you mean?" Ellen tried again, stroking the red hair that jutted in awkward directions, the tips barely brushing her chin. The toddler didn't answer, just a muffled, 'Washu' was said once more. Matron didn't lose her patience, she rarely did, and continued to try and get meaning out of what she was saying, all answered by the word, 'Washu.' "It's her name," said the Grandfather after a while of continued questioning from the woman, "She's saying her name is Washu."
"Oh," Ellen said, making it sound polite, but inside she felt incredibly stupid for not figuring out sooner. Turning her attention back to the girl, she smiled and stroked her red hair once more, "Is that it? Your name is Washu?" the toddler tensed for a second, stiff in the woman's arms, yet relaxed as fast as she tensed it was hard for Ellen to tell if she had tensed at all. Plucking her arms away from her waist politely, Matron lifted the small girl up and looked again into her eyes. Still so lost, and yet so full of life, it was scary to think about to the middle-aged woman. The child didn't fight it when she unbuckled her arms from around Ellen's waist, just stared at her with a flat face, not motioning that she was answering the question she'd been given. Taking this into consideration, Matron smiled at the small one kindly and said calmly, "Even if that is not your name, Washu Hakubi, yes, that will be your name. My Little Washu," of course the abbey owner used the word 'little' at the beginning of every kid's name up until they get tired of it, which was around twelve. She always put a possessive word before it to make it sound motherly; the woman didn't want any of the children she'd taken in to feel that they were being put out by other children. Everyone in the orphanage respected the children that were tossed in by their mothers who didn't want their child/ren, handicaps, and some of the people who were mentally ill. If they had bad opinions, they kept them to themselves or else they wanted a serious punishment.
Most of the people there were being cured, the humans on Kanemitsu were fairly advanced in the healing department, but the people themselves didn't use oils or gas too often, stating stubbornly that it kills the home the gods gave them. The girl in her arms seemed comforted in Matron's kind voice, and made a failed attempt to smile back. Ellen chuckled at the attempt, and smiled wider when Washu kept trying and trying until finally her small face muscles refused to respond at all. The Grandfather still kept his distance, but noted the scene coming and going with a calm interest, smiling himself when Ellen managed to get a small unconscious laugh from the girl, who seemed slightly surprised at having done so in the first place. Matron set the girl down after getting her to laugh quietly, sitting down on the oak stump nearby. A yelp ensued when Washu collapsed onto her behind, small tears forming at the corners of her eyes at the new sensation of pain. Seeing the girl wince obvious pain to the shock of landing on her tailbone, Ellen sought to right her wrong, lifting the girl into her arms and walking around, making sure the old man was still far enough away to keep the girl unafraid of the world around her. The girl kept her face buried in Matron's shoulder, tightening her grip around one of the woman's arm when they crept a little closer to the elder man. Noticing the sudden change in grip, Ellen looked up from Washu and saw that they were five feet from the Grandfather, who had, conveniently, fallen asleep.
Hefting up the girl in her arms, Ellen took this chance to walk out of the room without being impolite in doing so, and brushed away the strands of hay that served as a doorway after she opened the door, gave a slight bow of thanks to a tree nearby serving as a home to a young man up in it's branches. Walking out of the healing house, the soft dirt tickling her feet as she walked. The villagers were all asleep by now; it was late into the night, or should-be morning. The only person up and stirring at night was the Watcher and the top of an Eagle Tower. It wasn't used as a spotter for an army coming; their village was too small to be of any use, but for spotting people that might be in need of help. Making her way past the houses quietly, a dull pain erupted into her left leg. Gritting her teeth against the pain, trying extremely hard not to awaken the now-asleep toddler in her arms, Matron leaned onto anything close for a few moments to recuperate, and then started again until the pain came back.
It wasn't always like that, as a young woman she could run ten laps around a course without the need of water. One day, when she and a couple villagers were walking into the woods to find the boy who had sat with Washu for three hours the day prior to this one. It was about four years back, so she still needed the time to get used to the dull pain and finally ignore it. The animal that was attacking bit a chunk off her leg, and she was out of it for months because of the blood loss. She faintly remembered the attack, and the boy didn't remember it at all, but now had a phobia of cats, since the animal the scratched his face was a panther. He also felt small paroxysms of pain whenever he felt extremely scared or hurt. Her leg had been healed; their technology helped and restored the chunk that was lost, fully recovered. No one would say aloud that the pain she felt was in her head, and she knew it to be true, but rather than try to push the imagining out, she concentrated more than ever on the children, whom were all extremely sad to find out they could never go on walks with her again, or at least until she overcame the thought.
See the orphanage in sight; Ellen quickened her pace, finally pushing aside the pain for getting the child in her arms to bed. The building itself was simple, consisting of brick and vines just like the Healing House. As she entered, she carefully closed the door behind her as to not wake a sleeping soul up. Always being a one for darkness, and the memorization of the building in her brain, she walked in the hallways and checked in every door she passed to make sure everyone was asleep. Satisfied that no one was found awake, Matron made her way to her room, which was just like everyone else's minus the face that the grass refused to grow in her room, so she had to put carpet grass for a lame excuse, but it worked nicely, all she had to do was water it and soon it was part of the dirt. Coming to her bad, which was the same as the Grandfathers, she set Washu near the wall and layed down herself, making sure she wouldn't roll over and squash the poor girl sometime during the night, Ellen fell asleep herself.
***
Washu shot up in her spot when one ray of sunlight smacked her face unmercifully. Lifting her small arms and trying her best to cover her green eyes, the toddler started to get slightly scared because she didn't know where she was. The girl trembled. This was not the room she had awoken in; it was different, in little ways. One was that she could tell by instinct that the grass on the floor wasn't real grass, although she didn't have a clue as to how she knew. Two was that there was a solid roof above them, not just thick vines growing over. Rubbing up and down her arms, she wasn't paying attention to anything except for the fact that she didn't know where she was. A woman was sleeping next to her, and the girl quickly recognized her to be the woman that held her kindly yesterday. The woman looked old; then again, everyone older than the child looked old to her at the second, with dark brown hair with carefully hidden grew strands here and there. Scooting over a bit, so she was right against the woman, the toddler removed her hands from her arms and lifted the right one to touch the woman's face. It was a gentle touch; light enough to feel as if she had accidentally touched her aged face. She felt it, tried to get to know her better, and then stopped and pulled her little hand away when she thought she heard a creak in the wall. Trembling again, Washu tried to get closer to the woman.
'Where am I?' a voice suddenly asked in her brain. Becoming confused at another voice asking things without her willing it too, but not afraid of the voice, for to the little girl it sounded too familiar to be scared of.
'You are here,' came the answer, though the voice seemed more adult, but it too, seemed familiar.
'Where's here? I don't understand…' said the childlike voice, seeming to whimper pitifully.
'Here is here, it does not matter where here is. If you know that you are where, you are here,' stated the adult voice brusquely, Washu almost thought the voice was deliberately trying to confuse her.
'But where…is here?' the voice asked again, trying hard to sound unafraid.
'Here,' said the other, and then disappeared.
Washu quivered again in her seat, lifting the blanket and trying to put it around her, but failed and it slid back down to the wooden mattress. "Here, I'll help," said a voice, startling the toddler and making her fall backward into some arms. "…Sorry," apologized the voice, helping the small girl up and pulling the blanket so it stayed on her. The girl cowered up against the wall, trying to see whom the voice belonged to. Spotting the unfamiliar person at last, the toddler studied the boy. His hair was a silver color, streaks of dark-gray at the tips of every strand. His eyes were an icy blue, which seemed to fit well with his hair, specs of amber here and there in his eyes. Three gashes were on his face, now scars, there was no denture in his skin, just a different texture; it was slightly whiter than the skin around it. Washu eyed him with a mild fear and intense curiosity. He looked no older than eight. "M-my name's Ged. I don't know if you remember, but I sat with you two days ago, and I heard you and Mom walking into the room, so I-uh, well I couldn't get to sleep, and I waited until you were awake. Well, it was nice meeting you girl, even if you don't know what I'm saying, I just want you to know that I'll be your friend if you want…it's kind of lonely around here, even with everybody. A lot of them hate me because I'm the reason Mom can't walk so much anymore…but, like I said, if you don't know what I'm saying, well, when you get older, I'm just saying I'll be there and be your friend and help you with things."
They boy turned around and was about to leave when Washu spoke a word, "…Wait," she said. The word was strange on her lips, she didn't know why she said it at all; she didn't even know what it meant! The boy froze at her voice, and faced her once more, his blue eyes so clear she could see herself in them, though she didn't know that. Ellen continued to sleep soundly, not shifting in the slightest. "So you can speak," he stated happily, but the girl didn't understand his words, but somehow knew that he was a kindred spirit. He continued to talk on and on, only pausing to wet his tongue, and then start again. The girl listened, but didn't know what he was saying, but somehow her brain was starting to kick in, and she was catching a few words and putting meaning to them. "What's your name, girl?" he asked at last, after five minutes of non-stop talking.
"Washu," she said automatically, not knowing why.
"Where?" Ged asked naively, looking around to spot a feather.
Upon instinct, the toddler took the boy's hand and layed it on her heart. So sudden was the act that the boy was jerked from his search and nearly fell onto her. Squeezing the hand tightly enough to make him stay, she repeated, "Washu," and then let go.
The young boy was so befuddled that it took a few moments for the explanation to get into his small, but thick, head. Scratching the back of his head, Ged was at a loss for words, his vocabulary was at a very short minimum at his age.
"You, Ged?" Washu asked, staring intently at him, putting her hand on his heart before he could prevent it. The boy nodded weakly, trying to think of a way to get away from the girl's keen gaze without being impolite. A few seconds later, he gave up and put his hands on top of hers, replying her question, "Yes, I'm Ged. You are Washu, right?"
"Washu!" the girl shouted eagerly, smiling at last without failure, "I, Washu! Washu Hahkoobee," the mispronunciation caught a laugh from the boy, making the girl confused once more. Wiping a tear from his eye, Ged corrected her, "No, you are, Washu Hakubi. Try again,"
"Huhkoohbe?" Washu asked, putting the tip of her index finger into her mouth, sucking.
"Hakubi, but you've got it right, pretty much," Ged answered, smiling wider.
The girl put on the best-bemused face she could congregate, with big puppy dog eyes in it unconsciously. The boy shrugged at the act, too young himself to be affected. "You and I, we could be good friends if you could learn how to talk better," he ended the sentence with a faraway sigh, staring into space. "…Talk?" Washu solicited, she herself not having full knowledge of how she could use her tongue on her own in the first place. "Uh-huh, the only person I can really talk to is myself and Mom, everyone else doesn't want anything to do with me." Now it was the boy's turn to be baffled. His eyes snapping into reality, he suddenly jumped when Washu encircled her small arms around him. "W-What are you doing?" he asked, though not moving to remove her. "Hug, Ged…I, talk…" she stuttered, trying her best to make him understand with her broken language. The toddler's red hair brushed Ged's right cheek as she put her head on his shoulder and squeezed tighter. "I, talk, best…I can. Make…Ged, happy?" the boy didn't do anything.
"Yes, Washu…that would make me happy. My first friend…wow,"
They spent the next half hour trying to communicate.
***
"What the bloody hell does that Ged think he's doin'?" shouted a thirteen year old girl, spying on the boy from the doorway. "He disgusts moi," whispered another female, one year older than the younger girl next to her. "I wasn't talking about, 'moi,' I was talking that Ged boy, sneaking into Mother's room like that." The French accented girl scowled, and snorted, "Well, I wazn't talking about ze Ged boy. I waz talking about moi!" The English accented girl snorted also, "Just shu'up, I'm trying to listen to what that Ged has to say," turning her head away; her brown hair smacked the French girl's face in the process.
"What'z zis? Non apologiez for smacking moi?" the elder girl slightly shouted, hitting the younger arm in return. The thirteen year old turned abruptly to her, "What the hell was that for?" she asked harshly, glaring at the older with dark brown eyes. "I sed you should apologize for smacking moi!" the black haired young woman retorted. "That's it! Put up yer dukes, because I'm gonna kick your arse!"
"Ooh, moi is so scared. God help me!" she stated playfully, dodging a jab by the girl, "Iz zat ze best you can do? I am not so weak as to be caught by a midget, non?"
"I've had it up ta here with you! Why didn't you just shu'up like I asked?" her brown hair swinging in motion, she swiped her right hand once again.
"Taisez-vous! You shut-up!" the other snapped madly, shoving Kila. The English accented girl was angry now, and pushed the older girl into a nearby wall and started shouting in a hushed voice, holding the other girl firmly with her strong grip. It was a good thing no one in the village was up five in the morning, or the two would've been severely punished for fighting one another, not that it was unfamiliar with the two fighting. "This is ridiculous! I say zat ze proper thing to do iz to walk away from each ozer, before we get punished, non? Au revoir!" Seli wrenched her arms from Kila and stomped off before the younger girl could react. "Stupid fool…" muttered the girl, and turned back to watching Ged and the new girl.
***
"Can you walk?" the boy asked, helping the toddler out of bed and onto the grassy floor. Washu landed with a thunk on the soft ground, the blow to her behind wasn't painful, it was the sudden movement that scared her, and almost brought the young girl to tears; almost. "Well I guess that answers that question…" he garbled, holding out his hand to help her up again. The small girl took it after a small reluctance, her legs wobbled beneath her, but Ged kept her up fairly well. "Walk…?" Washu asked questioningly, stumbling into his arms once more. "Yes, walking. Sit down and I'll show you," not waiting for her to answer, the young boy set her down gently and walked away so she could see his movements. "Like this," he demonstrated, slowly putting one foot in front of the first, eventually making his way to the other side of the room. Washu watched, trying hard not to blink for fear of missing something. Ged kept his eyes focused on the girl, making sure that she was paying attention to what he was doing before walking across the room again. "You'll do fine. Try it," he suggested, stepping over to her and helping her up. "First, try to keep you balance,"
Washu wobbled unsteadily as he let go of her waist. "That's right, just work on standing still," he watched in slight admiration as she stood perfectly still for three seconds and then caught her before she landed hard onto him. "We can work on that. Hey! Maybe Mom will help!"
"Help with what?" asked a sleepy voice, startling the young boy. He darted his head around to see a half awake Ellen, whom was rolling out of bed and walking towards him. Caught by surprise, the young boy could only stutter helplessly, trying to look for an escape route that he didn't necessarily need. "Walk," the little girl suddenly said, finally regaining her balance on her feet. Washu's abrupt entrance sobered the elder lady almost instantly, her blue eyes staring in a surprised notion at the toddler. "Walk!" the girl repeated, sterner this time and taking a small step towards the stuttering boy and Ellen. Matron's eyes narrowed in curiosity, watching Washu take one small step at a time until she was standing right next to Ged, whom had paled in fear of getting in trouble. Her gaze turning to the boy, the abbey owner stepped closer to him, in which his skin turned even whiter. "Did you sneak into here?" she asked after a long, tense filled silence. "Y-yes…sorry, Mother, I saw the girl…and well, she woke up and was cold so I decided to help…" Ged returned; making sure his pale blue stared straight into Ellen's, it wasn't polite to stare at ones shoes while talking. "Well at least you have some manners, young man," Matron said, smiling to him and patting his light gray hair. Ged's skin color returned to normal, his cheery voice filled the room once more, "Thank you, mom! I-I mean…Wha-what are we talking about?"
Ellen's laughter pierced through his ears as he blushed vehemently, stubbing his toe onto the soft blades of grass in embarrassment, and her eyes shifted to Washu, who had a goofy smile on, though her eyes told perfectly well that she didn't have a clue to what was going on. "Well, Little Washu, it seems you can talk… You can talk…right?" Matron added, seeing the toddler's perplexed face answer her question. "Yes, I…talk…" a long silence followed, and then Washu put more into her sentence, "…Mom…"
The elder woman hugged the two children; squeezing them so tight they thought they couldn't breathe. Washu wrapped her arms around the woman out of sheer instinct, while Ged tried his hardest to keep up to the subject, in which he had gotten lost.
Washu never forgot how joyous Matron looked to be called Mom.
***
"Washu!" Ellen shouted outside the abbey, calling in the direction of the moor. "What, Ma?" the girl, now five, hollered back, coming out of the windmill with dust covering her simple tunic and trousers. "It's time for dinner Little Washu," Matron said, waving her hand to motion the girl to come back. "Ooookay! Gotcha! Be right there!" the young girl cried, and ran to the nearby well to dust her clothes off and wash her hands.
Washu had gotten along well with the other children in the last two years, though some of the older ones still shunted her for hanging out with Ged, whom was now ten. She'd kept her hair from growing; it being long enough already, and usually used her ability to Meta morph to make it short enough to fit in a hat. On special occasions she either wore it up or let it drape down to however long it was. She was incredibly smart for her age, her intellect of that of a twelve year old; even though she still enjoyed pretending she acted like a five year old. The girl had kept her intelligence well hidden from others, sometimes acting like a klutz to cover for her well being. Swiftly dipping her hands in and out of the freezing water, and rubbing them together. She raced back to the abbey, ignoring disturbing glances from teenagers she passed. Stopping at the door, the little girl made sure she'd dusted her clothes off until they looked proper enough to eat at a table, she opened the oak door and stepped inside. The Grandfather standing right next to the door startled her out of her mind, making the little one trip over her own feet and land with a thunk on the ground, receiving some muffled laughter from nearby children. "Are you alright?" the old man asked in a hoarse voice, leaning onto his cane and staring down mildly at her as she made an effort to stand up. 'Just peachy, Grandfather,' she thought to herself, then answered in her high-pitched voice that embarrassed her beyond belief, "Yeah, I'm fine,"
"Respect your elders, Washu. That mind of yours is going to be easily broken into if you say things that freely," he said, and walked in the direction of the dining room. A few of the children nearby knew what the old man was scolding her on, and started laughing quietly at her open thought. Washu fumed, he'd read her mind again! Stomping off down the corridor, she made sure not make her accuracy in steps too obvious, making things come out of shelves and in front of her feet so she could have an excuse to stumble. The only ones who had the knowledge that she was intentionally doing this, were the Grandfather, Ellen, and Ged, whom had all helped in teaching her how to speak fluently, without having to pause every few words to get the right one out. She didn't use her supernatural powers to scare people; in fact, she only used telekinesis to move objects in front of her feet. When she came of age, which was around ten, she'd give up her clumsiness and start acting normal. Entering the dining room, which was about the size of two small houses, with tables lined up in six rows that stretched from one end of the room to the other. Children of all ages sat on the benches lined up next to the tables, some were chatting fiercely about their day, and others were sitting silently while twiddling their thumbs.
The small girl, whom was still small for her age, made her way over to the "dork" table, and sat next to Ged as accustomed. That table was usually standoffish for the people shunted, and those who were handicapped that sometimes ended up making a mess of their food (liable that it end up on the next persons lap). It was the least crowded table; only three to five kids sat their each day. The abbey owner sat with them sometimes, not choosing to sit next to anyone for the reason that others get extremely jealous at the sight. Ged was still mentally younger than his physical years, but with the help of Washu being his first friend, he was easily starting to overcome that stage, and act his full ten years. "Hi, Ged," Washu said in her usual cheery voice, though still upset at the fact it sounded to nasal to her liking. Seeming to notice the girl for the first time, he jumped and made a forced smile, "Oh, all right, I guess…"
"C'mon! That snail you caught was really cool! Too bad you had to let it go, huh?" she asked, staring at him with her bright green eyes. "Well, no, actually. If we can have our freedom, then even snails should be allowed to roam around, right?" he asked, returning her stare. She thought hard for a moment, then gave him a stern nod, "Yeah, you're right. Animals should have their freedom, no matter how barbarian they are. Well anyway, we had fun down at the moor until you were called to do chores…wish I could help, it's boring without you to play!"
"What about Mom?" Ged questioned, eyeing the salad being put down nearby with hunger. "She was too busy with the other kids, I can't have all the time with her, even if that time is little…" she trailed off, staring down at her wooden plate with a tiny leave carved onto it on the bottom. "I can understand," Ged began, folding his arms and staring at his cup, "The only times I can really get just a little time with her is if I make it into her room at the crack of dawn, and then have to make up a good excuse for barging in. She knows I'm lying, however, but she's good with kids, she knows that I only want just fifteen minutes to talk to her. Like that time I snuck into her room and had the "real" excuse, because you were cold, remember?"
"Uh-huh, but oh well. She's got lots of children to attend to, can't pick favorites, right?" Washu stated, picking up a butter knife and toying with it.
"Whut do we have here…" came a new voice, barging into their conversation.
"What do you want Seli?" Ged asked, his tone becoming higher pitched. He, too, hid his intelligence, though not as much as Washu. "Oh, just wanting to see the infamous "Little Washyu"" the French accented girl snorted, glaring holes through the back of the little girl's back, "Since she iz suck a klutz anyway,"
Washu flinched, but used her childlike voice to her advantage. If you sound smart when you are young, the more startled they become, the little girl liked to say. "Listen, Kila and Seli, if you want to be considered a dork, go ahead and sit down, there's always plenty of space," she started, motioning towards the empty spots, "but if don't want to be considered one, then I'm asking you, politely, to please leave,"
An unsteady silence followed, and then the two girls made their trademark snort and walked away. Ged waited until they were out of earshot to talk in his original voice, "Good diss, Washu!" the girl shrugged, a wry smile sneaking onto her proud face, clutching the butter knife and pretending she was the leader of the universe for a few moments. "Ahem! May I have all of your attention, please!" an old crackly voice boomed over the room, silencing everybody who recognized the person owning the sentence, and the small ones who didn't had their mouths gently covered by the maids to silence them. Achieving the quiet he wanted, and all of the attention of the people, the Grandfather continued, "Before we eat, let us say the Grace," he stated.
Washu sighed, no important messages today, but didn't complain and clasped her hands together and thought of a simple prayer to say. When she was done, she calmly waited for Ged to finish, and the rest of the table, before she reached for the first thing in front of her. "Yay! They've got noodles today, yum…" she said cheerfully, making it sound childish due to the nearby maids. The boy noticed the steaming noodles and starting filling up his bowl too, as did three other children and one adult. Washu made sure she looked polite enough (hiding her other hand as she snatched some shrimp from another bowl by moving other food trays to block her hand. The people of Kanemitsu did not hunt for meat from deer and such, just from the animals they think are too stupid to honor life, marine life is mainly the only meat they have. Still, they give thanks to the animal before slaughtering it. Washu dunked a large sip of milk and started to eat her Alfredo like noodles. A faint white mustache appeared just above her upper lip as she drank another gulp of fluid. "Washu, slow down, you're going to choke," Ged whispered into her ear, grabbing her arm to make her stop for a second.
"…Sorry," she coughed, taking a napkin and wiping away the junk on her face. "Don't be, I sometimes forget you're only five. Plus it's a mistake one could make here and now, especially with such good food!" he complimented as a cook strode by, receiving a grateful glance. "Forget, huh? How can you forget? I'm a midget!" she shouted in a hushed voice, shoving the part of shrimp you're supposed to eat and dropping the other piece onto her plate. "How can I forget? You're smart, that's why, smarter than me in some ways. Plus I don't care about how short you are, it's just a size, Washu," he said calmly, patting her on the back before beginning in cutting up his crab. He paused for a moment, looking at Washu for a second and back to the crab. Satisfied with something he seemed to have solved, the boy started cutting the small crab. "You know, Washu. Did you know that your hair looks like a crab?" he asked, and then put a good portion of the crab's leg into his mouth. Washu looked puzzled, "Hm? Well…I guess…I've never really seen a crab up close before," the girl smiled, eating some noodles and slowly draining some more milk. Shrugging, Ged continued to eat his crab, and then went for the salad, which he had eyed earlier, only to sadly note that all of it had been eaten, "Aw, man!" he cried, slouching in his seat.
***
The little girl was bored, she had done all her days chores in but an hour, helped Ged with his, read a book, and even dug a three feet deep hole for no good reason. She was sitting at the stump of a tree, some butterflies flapping their wings in a steady beat that made a faint hum. By the way, it was really hot out. Wiping the sweat that threatened to drip down her face, she made a melodramatic sigh and folded her small arms behind her head, staring at the clouds. Washu was nearly five and a half, and her size had not increased in even the slightest. Her nasal voice was starting to get on her nerves so she didn't talk as much as she used to, so happened that there was no more need to act like a klutz anymore, just because she refused to talk as often. Humming a quiet tune to her ears, which she had no idea where she had learned it from, she watched in a childlike gaze as a yellow butterfly landed on the tip of her nose. Still humming the tune, the insect crawled up and down her nose, tickling her. Forcing down her laughter, the small one continued to have a growing curiosity to match her age at the bug. Grinning, though still humming, she lifted her hand and patted the insect's head very softly. Washu pouted when it buzzed angrily at her and flew away almost immediately. Sighing, she started staring at the moor and tried to lose herself in her thoughts, humming the song once more.
Being only five, she had a lot on her mind, even though one idea may come and go so fast you can't keep up until you grasp the next idea, and yet even that disappears so fast she needed to keep grasping hold of the next one before it even began. Only to lose it into the large void of ideas she had stored up in her brain. Spotting a firefly come and go quickly, it held her interest and she decided to get up and try to go after it. She had nothing better to do, anyways. Running as fast as she could in the direction the bug went, she only paused to make sure she wasn't seen by passing adults, and then ran once more. What she didn't notice was the moor, her point that she couldn't go any further, had passed her more than ten minutes ago. "Where are you, Buggy?" she called to the air, straining her eyes in search of the firefly. In truth, she hadn't seen it since she had spotted it, but she was only five years old, and still very much a child and did not notice this. Washu kept calling and calling for the small insect, all receiving singing of birds and the rustling of trees. All around her, trees and vegetation, making the route she took look like all the rest of the twists and turns. Cupping her hands around her mouth so she could shout better, the small girl once again called for the thing that caught her attention. The canopy of the forest blocked the sun, and the little girl was soon getting frightened of the dark shadows the tall trees were casting.
"Where am I?" she asked at last, the interest in the bug finally floating free and the new thought of where she was interrupted. She scratched her head, trying hard to keep a cool over the situation. "I've never been here before…maybe it's Miss Ji's garden gone mad," she garbled, smiling as the comforting thought of the servant's garden came in. "I must say, these trees look an awful lot like those beech trees past the moor, they even smell like them!"
Shivering, the little girl curled up at a nearby stump and started to hum a tune unconsciously. Somehow, someway, the song lifted all of her thoughts and troubles off her shoulders and let her float in a white void of nothingness, nothing but a song echoing in the light. She closed her eyes and continued to hum, swaying in beat to the music…
"Idiot…" muttered a voice, the owner seeming to glare viciously at the girl.
"What?" the smaller asked, putting her hands on her hips and glowered back at the adult voice.
"Oh, never mind. Just go fling yourself across the universe for all I care," the other said viciously, snarling.
"I-I can find my way back!" the child cried in disagreement, the voice quivering.
"Is that right? Oh…there goes a flying pig, and the sun has a face!" the adult retorted cynically, laughing.
"Don't laugh! Don't laugh!" the little one hollered in a pain filled tone, crumpling to the floor, crying…
All through the argument, a soft and quiet song echoed in the silence.
Washu shot up, shaking so badly with the rain spattering her body, the humming suddenly stopping. Thunder rung in the distance, some flashes of lightening lit her surroundings. At night it was a horror that forest, and the small girl back up as far as she could in the tree before curling up in a ball and hoping it would end soon.
***
"Where is she?" Ged shouted at Kali, shoving her into a wall and glaring daggers into the young woman. "I don't know, Ged! I haven't seen her for two months. Why would I know, she's a dork!" her brown hair, now speckled with mud, and rain drenching it, her dark brown eyes stared back at him. She was amazed at the show of strength he possessed, able to keep a fifteen-year-old girl pinned to the wall and a seventeen-year-old woman unconscious. "Are you sincere in your answers?"
"Duh! Since when did you start using big words, doofus?" she hollered at him, struggling to get out of his grip. "Since forever! I'm not as dumb as you might think, Kali. Neither is Washu, so just shut-up and listen to what I have to say, or else you're going to end up like Seli over there!" he was referring to the hurt woman, now unaware to anything because of her state, laying sprawl eagled on the ground, her head having been hit by the wooden wall. "If she has brain damage…I swear you're going to pay! I swear it!" Kali cursed, glaring at him as he tightened his hold on the scruff of her neck. "Hmph," Ged said in defiance, "I don't care what you do to me. All I care about is finding Washu!"
"Oh I see…interested in younger girls are we?" Kali teased, giving him a snooty look. He flinched, "No, she's my friend, you idiot! My first and only friend! She's the only one I can talk to!" Ged shouted, let go of her and ran away. Rubbing her sore neck, Kali crawled over to Seli and stared in the direction the boy had ran, a thoughtful face coming into her features. "What does that boy want anyway…?" she asked more to herself than the air, then continued, "Maybe we shouldn't have let that artificial firefly loose near the moor…it was just a practical joke, anyway," shrugging in a mindless gesture, the young woman returned to tending to her French accented friend.
***
Ged ran as fast as he could into the abbey, ignoring the protest for him to stop running and take off his moccasins, he darted straight for Ellen's room, where he knew she would be asleep. Slamming into the room, the ten-year-old almost doubled over when he thought he saw something in the corner of the room. "Washu…?" he asked, inching towards it slowly. The small figure was unmistakably Washu's, yet her body seemed to be translucent, for he could spot a flower coming through her bottom. "Washu?" he asked again, seeing her fidget when he called her name. It was now absolutely her, but he could see through her! "Washu!" he cried, kneeling down and trying to set his hand on her back. Only thing was, unfortunately, his hand passed straight through her and nearly made him stumble into the thing. The figure now had Washu's fearful face up out of the ball she was in and staring around her in alert.
A humming started to play.
Ged looked around himself also, trying to find the source of the music. The song was a depressing one; it lowered his spirits and nearly made him want to cry. Images of bloodbath wars came into his mind; scaring him and making him fall onto his butt. Then some pictures of angels he'd seen on the nearby church walls sprung forth. The pattern continued, and his mind ended up naming it as Chaos. All it was, was simple, intricate, chaos. Ged spotted Washu, whom now had her eyes closed and was swaying in beat to the humming. It hit him. She was the one humming! How she looked serene to the tune was beyond him, the song made his heart latch onto despair. It made him confused, and for a moment he felt like nothing mattered either good or evil, he just felt, was. The feeling was gone before he could place it, so he returned his attention to the transparent child curled up in the corner. Her green eyes were blank, and they reflected on how he just felt.
"Washu…where are you?" he asked in despair, trying to touch the ephemeral person but ended up going through it once again, "Washu," he sniffed, "Where…?"
The song started over, loudly this time.
***
Washu was scared. She could hear and see a translucent Ged trying to touch her, and yet he couldn't. His transparent hand had gone through her arm and left a warm tingling sensation. Her song she was humming seemed to disturb him, seeing that his eyes had gone to sorrow in but a few moments. Her curious eyes noted that he was saddened that he could not touch her. "Washu…where are you?" he asked sullenly, a black shadowy figure appearing behind him. "Ged, look out!" she shrieked, trying to reach him, to push him out of the way, but only succeeded in going through him and landing hard on her chest, knocking the breath out of her. Still she struggled to point out the figure appearing behind her friend. "Ged…look…out…" she muttered, and shut her eyes when the black shadowy thing swung something at the boy's neck.
Nothing happened…
"Washu!" his voice pierced through the humming, trying to reach the fallen girl. The boy won in smashing his nose against the wall, but not in getting to the aired girl. "Please hold on, Washu! Please…" he whispered pathetically and turned around to run.
"Come back!" Washu cried, trying to reach out to him, "Come back, Ged! Stay! I'm so scared…help me Ged. Help me, Ged!" her cries were in vain as the transparent figure disappeared into the trees. "No!" she hollered, pounding her fists on the muddy ground and swallowing her tears, "No! No! No!"
***
Ellen was jerked from her slumber by a rough shaking that nearly broke her neck, "What?" she shouted, glaring at Ged. "It's Washu…. Mom, please! She's missing!" he cried in disdain, near tears. "What?" she snapped, still angry at the fact she'd been woken up at this ungodly hour. "She's missing, mom! Washu's missing!" he yelled, collapsing onto the floor and gesturing to the translucent figure of Washu in the corner of the room. "Oh my…" Ellen whispered, flinging off her blankets and stepping towards the figure, "Where is she?"
"I don't know!" Ged cried, "All I know is that she's lost, and afraid, I can't touch her!"
The figure shaped as Washu was staring at them both fearfully now, her eyes seeming to shout, no, to beg to be saved. Matron knelt down by the transparent Washu and asked her where she was, fear etching into her voice.
"Some forest…" came the misty answer, the little girl not bothering to look at them anymore, her right hand clutching at the mud.
Nodding, Matron turned to Ged, "You stay here and make sure she's all right, and I'll-" she paused when the humming suddenly started again. Her eyes flashed blankly for a moment before returning to focus. Looking around her in search for the source as the young boy had done. Noticing Washu tapping her fingertips on the ground in beat to the music, Ellen suddenly paled, "Washu, stop humming that tune!" she hollered, and started off out into the storm, Ged trying his best to get her to stop humming that tune. Either ignoring or not hearing, Washu continued to hum that Chaos filled song; the boy's heart sank as deep as the deepest ocean. The tune was heartwarming in one half, the other so sad he couldn't think straight. An evil, good song that wrenched his heart from his chest and tore it to pieces. When he saw her again he was going to make sure to ask where and why she hums that song.
Sitting on the grass by her, he put his hand in her barely visible one, almost pulling away when it left a chilly feeling running up his arm, but stopped when a warm tingly sensation replaced it. The girl seemed to be all right as well, though the humming still continued, happier this time, however.
The thunder that cracked nearly startled them both to peeing their pants. Ged stumbled forward into the transparent being, sending horrendous chills and then a large warming through his body. Blushing like a maniac, the boy shoved himself off and was met by a saddened gaze. Turning redder by the minute, he reluctantly asked what was wrong, though knowing perfectly well what she wanted. "I'm cold…" she put simply, sitting up and crawling to him, the transparent figure stopping just by him, though close enough to gather the warmth it caused when they touched. Flushing, Ged put his hands on top of hers, which were on the ground, causing warm feeling to flare in their body.
Warming to the inside, not the outside layers of them.
Washu was taking good care not to lean too far to one side, if she did, the warmth would stop in one part of the body and overflow in another. Ged himself took care also, but didn't have to concentrate as much, him having a bigger body than hers.
Sighing inwardly, the humming she was doing had a more joyous notes coming in, Ged waited patiently for Matron to find the girl.
***
The little girl would not stop humming, no matter how disturbed the boy looked when she did. The joyous, depressing song gave her comfort in some way she couldn't say. So if it brought comfort to her in this frightening place, she was going to hum it. In a sense she loved it, the joy it brought to her was overwhelming. She ignored the depressing part; it saddened her like no tomorrow there ever was. It still rained hard enough to keep her shivering, that was the reason she crawled up to Ged for warmth, even if it only warmed her insides. Snuggling to herself and trying hard to make it look like she was curling up in Ged's lap, closing her eyes and continuing to hum, she barely noticed strong arms wrap themselves around her, falling asleep too quickly.
***
"A failed attempt at Doppelganger," a young man wearing a fancy suit stated bluntly, running a hand through his coarse brown hair as the old woman and the young boy finished telling their tale. To him he honestly thought all of this was bullshit, no human could do the Doppelganger ability. Only the creature called mass, which had been found on the planets of the outskirts of the Jurain territory, was rumored to have this amazing power. Yet it was all still in fact a rumor started by an old coot in a bar, spreading the ridiculous tale around like wildfire. The scientist struggled to keep his irritation hidden as they babbled on and on about it. "I saw her! A transparent figure that was the shape of her was sitting right there!" the boy shouted, noting the man's annoyance. "I believe you," he lied, slipping a handkerchief out of his pocket and mopping his forehead. Sighing, the old woman known as Matron tried to keep her patience with the scientist who seemed to have absolutely no manners. "May I see the other young man you brought with you?" she hissed through her teeth, pangs of venom slipping out.
The man noticed and shot her a glare that could kill (that is of course…if looks could kill) and his right eyebrow twitched angrily. These damn Kanemitsins needed to learn how to build some damn air conditioning, it was hot as hell in there, though the residents never seemed to notice. The scientist, grateful to have the perfect excuse to leave this god forbidden planet, simply nodded and did a slight bow. He did have a reputation to keep, you know. "Very well, if that is what you wish, madam, I shall escort the other here. Please excuse me," he said brusquely, walking stiffly away, garbling about how the other man he brought was more primitive than a worm. "Hmph," Ellen huffed, glaring at the scientist, "Ged my boy, those are the people you want to stay away from. All they care about is doing the crappiest job ever, getting their money, and getting out of there," she said, putting her aged hands on her hips and smiling to the ten year old albino. Ged laughed a little and nodded, sitting down on a wooden chair and fingering with the carved leaf near his captain's quarters.
A teenager, no older than eighteen entered the humid room, looking slightly winded. His dark blond hair glistened with soot, and he wore a loose blue cloak with a gray sweatshirt underneath, not the typical clothing to wear in this weather. He wore these thick clothes because the "captain," the one who had just stomped out of the room, liked to keep the ship freezing cold. He could swear that his spit would freeze before it hit the sink when he brushed his teeth. Scratching the back of his head, trying his best to brush all of the dirt off of his body, the younger scientist walked forward, careful to not touch anything. "Sit," Ellen said, pointing to a spare wooden chair. The teen flushed and walked over to drag the chair over, nearly tripping on his untied shoes. "My, my, my…they don't treat you well, do they, young man?" Matron said, noting the poor state that shoes were in. "N-Nonsense…T-They treat me p-p-perfectly fine…thank you for your concern," the scientist stuttered, struggling to walk better, but this task proved futile, as his clothing were five sizes too big. "Your welcome, but I know when I hear a pack of lies," Matron stated, slitting her eyes in attempt to read him like a book. The teen blushed and nearly tripped again, but was caught by a little girl who had just walked into the room. "T-Thank you, miss…" he stuttered once more, maintaining the will to not meet the abbey owner's eye. "No problem, mister," the girl said, now revealed to be Washu. "Mister? I think not," he said firmly, dusting off his clothes in a failed attempt to look like the person in charge. Finally facing Ellen, he said his apologies about lying and took his offered seat in respect.
"Aha! You are Kanemitsin!" Matron suddenly shouted in delight, spotting a little design of a leaf on the dirty sleeve of his blue cloak. The man flustered, "W-Well, yes, ma'am…I am native to Kanemitsu, but not of this region…Northern Mikayu, I was raised by foster parents, but we are not here to discuss my heritage. Forgive me for my bluntness…that man you just saw wants me back and working on that broken engine in twenty minutes…"
"Oh? That twit is your captain?" Matron asked, half amused. "Please do not speak unkindly of our captain…yes, he is very harsh, especially to me…yet at least he lets me stay on the crew, after all of the mistakes and slip ups I've done," the scientist stated, slipping off his heavy cloak and his sweater, revealing a loose t-shirt with the science academy symbol of the Imperial Academy of Jurai. "Wow," Ged and Washu said in awe, their beady eyes staring at the shirt with utmost respect. "You go to the Imperial Science Academy of Jurai?" the younger boy asked eagerly, the five-year-old girl jumping up and down. "Wow! A real scientist in this room!" she stated giddily, starting to run around him and Matron in circles, "Yay!" Washu shouted, beginning to hop up and down again on the soft dirt. Ellen smiled at the girl and the boy, the teen holding back a laugh at the girl's awe of him. "Yes, I go to the Academy, but it's very hard to get in there. So why don't you both do me a favor and start to go study some ancient literature while I talk this problem out with your Matron, okay?"
Washu looked stumped, "Ancient Literature? Bleh! C'mon, Ged, they have to talk 'grown-up' stuff," she stated stubbornly, turning around and stomping off, disappointed that her good day had been ruined by a simple stupid sentence. The albino was confused for a second, but soon followed after his short friend.
"She's very smart for her age…" the scientist complimented, cupping his chin with her hand. "It's a tactic she can use to fool adults, very helpful when she wants to fork her way out of doing her share of dishes," Ellen answered, her hands coming together and setting themselves on her knees. Staring intently at her young guest, she waited patiently for him to ask her the question he was sent for. "Well then," he began, turning his attention to the middle-aged woman, "I assume you are going to explain to me why you think that little girl named Washu should be upgraded from Class E to Class C in supernatural powers, correct?" he asked, taking out a notebook to take things down every now and then. "Yes," Ellen agreed, and began what she knew.
"Gawd, this is so boring!" Kali shouted to the air, punching the wall for good measure. Her dark brown hair, now streaked with many blond strands due to all the outside work she and Seli had been doing lately, was matted to her head with sweat. Not being native to Kanemitsu, Kali was sweating her butt off and her French accented friend was sitting on a bench, picking at her nails. Noticing this, the younger girl glared in envy at her friend's ability to keep cool even in the most hellish weathers. "Is that all you can do right this second? Boredom reeks out of your skull, so just admit it!"
"Shut up," Seli stated angrily, looking at her best friend's baffled face at her attitude. "I am not in ze mood to talk… Zat Ged boy will sure take a beating if I ever see him," she garbled, returning her bored attention to her nails, which were perfectly fine except for the fact that she kept seeing imaginary crap on them. It was a result of being bored, though she would never admit it to her English accented friend, whom was constantly trying to get her to focus her attention on her by attempting to get a rise out of her. Sighing, Kali gave up and sat next to Seli, kicking the ground with her boot. "I guess I can't blame him…" she started, a smirk finding itself on her face, "Washu is pretty much his only friend, so I guess I would try to beat someone up if something ever happened to someone I'm close to…"
"What are you getting at? Are you saying you'd kick someone's derrière to the moon if something happened to me?" Seli hinted, glad to finally have her friend out of her 'I'm-gonna-kick-your-ass' mood, and gave her a respectful attention. "I never said that!" Kali shouted. "Oh, you said enough for me to get the point. Or am I not 'close' to you, non?" the French girl asked, smiling wryly because she knew she had her trapped in a corner where she couldn't back out of. "Hell no! I mean yes! What am I saying?" the younger girl asked herself, now confused in her words, making half sentences because she kept starting new ones. Seli grinned stupidly, and poked her friends rib cage, "I know itz not like zat! Zat's not what this is about!"
"Hm?" Kali wondered, her thoughts becoming more in rhythm now, "Oh! Well, duh, of course I'd kick someone's ass if something happened to you. Real hard!"
Seli laughed, "You really need help, my friend,"
"Of course I do! This old noggin o' mine been needin' help for a really, really long time!" Kali insulted herself, standing proudly with a couple of the villagers laughing at the show they were making.
"Ah poop, there's nothing to do…" Washu complained, smacking her head against the wall of the moor in boredom. "Your not any help," Ged stated, in return getting a death glare that could send Tsunami running, "I-I mean…of whatever," he shrugged, women were really impossible (you better believe it!) The small girl sighed and kicked the windmill hard, stubbing her poor toe in the process. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" Washu whined, hopping up and down on one foot, clutching her foot in pain. The boy laughed at her scene, also in return receiving a hard kick in his left shin. "You idiot, no one laughs at Washu the Great! 'Cause one day I'll be the number one scientific genius in the future and no one will laugh at me because I'll be so powerful! Muwahahahahahahaha!" Washu laughed evilly, making it look like some evil music was playing. "What about me?" Ged asked sheepishly, playing along with her act. "You'll be my best scientific side-kick in the whole universe and we'll make it impossible because we will be so powerful! Hahahahahahahaha!" she continued to laugh in a devilish way, sending shivers down his spine as the boy refused to let laughter come for the sake of his shins. Finally, after awhile of laughing from her small body (but with an enormous ego she seemed to create for herself) she choked on her spit and fell over, Ged finally started to laugh. A blue face was what rewarded Washu for laughing so much, the lack of air sending her nearly collapsing onto the moss covered ground and wishing she had one hundred gallons of water to help her sore throat.
"Well, I guess being evil solves the problem of being bored!" the girl concluded, grinning like a fool and jumping around acting like she was hyper on too much sugar. "What shall we do, oh Great Ged?" the little girl asked, trying hard to hide her need to breathe in long, hard breaths well, though her lungs simply screamed for more oxygen. "Great Ged? Well I don't know what do you think we should do?" he asked, devising a plan to make her show her need for breath. Slowly, while she was distracted by searching through some ideas to do, Ged jabbed her belly semi-hard and it sent her little body sprawling to the ground, great heaves of air sucking in and blowing out unevenly. "You need to breathe as much as your lungs need, I don't see how it's embarrassing to try and hide your need for air," Ged stated, helping the weak girl up to lean onto a stump. "Oh…be…quiet… I…have…my…reasons," Washu said, grinning to him as her strength began to come into existence. "Well now, are we going to do that Ancient Literature you seem to despise?"
"Noooooooooo!" the little girl cried out, and struggled to get up and run away. Instead, she fell flat on her stomach and her legs refused to work with her. Smiling dumbly, Ged grasped his friend's feet and dragged her over back to the stump. "Now wait here, this will be interesting, I promise. Plus it's a major thing to learn when you want to be the number one scientist, okay?" knowing he had caught her attention by saying that, Ged proceed to the east part of the moor, where a box about as big as him and about as wide as an aged healthy tree. Wiping his hands on his parchment colored tunic, the boy reached out and grasped the edge of the box. Gritting his teeth and pulling with all his might, the box, which was now revealed to be more than just a cardboard box, budged just the tiniest crack before Ged let go and kicked the stupid thing for not moving. "I'll try again, it can't be too hard, I've seen some of the adults come here often enough," what eluded him was that they were adults and were many times stronger than him. Ignoring this fact or simply denying it, Ged went over to the side where it could be pushed and shoved with all his strength and more.
Finally the block gave way and a secret room in the moor was revealed, it teetered and threatened to fall to it's side, but a good breeze that was on their side kept it balanced long enough for him to dart in and gather a few books and run out. Setting them down on the green moss, the boy moved to the opposite side of the large block and shoved it back into place; many bugs that lived underneath it were squashed when it scraped against the ground unmercifully. "Got them!" he shouted happily, picking up the large books and running over to where his friend was. The little girl, who had waited patiently for him to return, returned his greeting and moved to inspect the book he had thrown and she had caught. "Where'd you get them?" she asked, flipping through the pages, looking at the pictures. "In a library that the village keeps all of the ancient literature books in for safe keeping, there's even some kind of thing that keep the bugs and air out of their so the pages don't erode over time. I mean look, these books look as good as new, right?"
"Sure do," Washu agreed, handing the book back to him and waiting for him to say something. "Oh! Um, about the books, okay, first let me get over there so we can both see the words, you can read big words and understand them, right?"
"Of course I can! Don't go thinking that I'm any ordinary five-year-old midget! I'm Washu the Great!" the little girl with a big ego cried, and settled her little body so she could see the book he picked up better. "Let me warn you, there are some ancient words that are in the Gods language, no one knows what they mean anymore, so don't feel bad if you don't, alright?" nodding, Washu began to read aloud the first page.
"Documentary One: 17/6544/8900 Location: Planet Jurai.
"The blood and tears that have been shed are great, far too many. Many lives have been lost and I suffer a mortal wound, I fear that I will never see the light of day again,"
The words filled them both with sadness; the little girl paused in her reading and flipped through the pages. Noticing that some of them were spattered with dried blood, she stopped thumbing her page and closed the book, setting it aside. "Why'd you do that?" Ged asked, a puzzled face becoming more and more natural with him. "Ged…let me see those other books…" Washu requested, ignoring his question and flipping through the others as he handed them to her. A look of fear crossed her face as she flipped, paused, and then set down the three other books. "Ged! These aren't ancient literature; these are documentaries of the Kaniekyo warriors in their dying moments! All of them are just record of men putting down their last wishes!"
"Kaniekyo? How would you know about that?" the boy asked, the idea of books suddenly fleeing their minds as tension grew between them. "I'm not stupid!" Washu retorted, surprised that so much rage had built up inside of her because of some dumb books. "I never said you were!"
"I read a lot, that's how I know!" the girl answered his question, venom biting at her tongue.
"Hmph, well, if you read 'so' much, then why did you even go along with my idea of ancient literature?" Ged nearly hollered; his fists trembling slightly as he pushed himself up.
"I was trying to be nice! You always go along with my dumb-butt ideas so I wanted to let you have your hour of glory!"
"Oh? Is that all? You did it just to be nice, not that you really wanted to or anything, right?" he added sardonically, suddenly having an odd pleasure of letting all of this anger out.
"No! I wanted to!"
"Liar! All you five-year-old midgets are liars!"
"I'm…I'm…not lying…" Washu said, whimpering under his wave of rage. A few years later she would have found out a mood swing had just taken hold of him full force, but since she was so young, she just though he hated her. His words had cut her deep, and she finally stayed silent as he shouted and shouted at her. He just kept shouting….
'So it seems he shows his true colors…' that woman's cold voice rang again into her mind.
'No! He's just…upset…he can't hate me!' the child retorted, then suddenly stopping in the process of beginning another argument.
'Oh? Tell me, since when have you been able to read that boy's mind?' the adult asked snidely, it's cunning attitude cleverly making a trap for her by just using her words against her.
'I…I don't know what he thinks…but I know for a fact that he can't hate me!' the younger returned meekly, staring down at the ground.
'Did it ever occur to you that he might only be your friend for the thanks? Wait, don't answer that; answer this. Did it ever even once cross your mind that he may only be getting the pleasure of seeing a five-year-old midget brat with an ugly ego dance like a fool and kick the moors so he could have an excuse to be happy? Did it ever seem that he was just using you to help him be happy because of his miserable curse the panther seemed to cast on him? Have you ever thought about that?'
'…N-No…'
'Did you ever assume that when you get to be the right age, he'll use you for his own pleasurable benefits?'
'SHUT UP! HE WOULD NEVER EVER DO THAT!' The child shouted at the elder, anger flaring so high she thought she would burst at the voice even thinking he would do that. What was stranger still was that she had no clue to what the adult voice was talking about.
'Ah, but can you tell the future? No. People change you dope.'
Ged was continuing to shout at her, he even cursed once or twice. A few villagers had heard the shouting but had paid them no heed, probably just a lovesick quarrel. Washu shuddered as his words bit at her like snake fangs crunching defenseless lizards. Clamping her fists so tight her knuckles turned white, she suddenly interrupted him. "Is that what you think? Is every word you just said what you feel?" her voice was too calm, too serene. It caught the boy by surprise and he paused in his insults. "Hell yes!" he finally screamed in frustration, and whacked her left cheek.
It was all she could take. To have him go on and on about something so stupid as knowing what something was and then striking her for it…that was too much. She was gone before he could apologize for his stupidity.
She had to keep running, she kept at it until she ended up at the top of a tree. "I hate him!" she shouted to herself, "I hate him! I hate him! I hate him!" Washu shuddered as a breeze whipped past her. Curling up into a ball and getting comfortable in the cage of branches, she continued to say she hated him. Tenderly touching the side of her cheek that had been whacked, it was stinging horribly, a twig that had been caught in his hand had gashed her cheek barely, a little blood dripped down the side. It was nearing twilight outside; the sky was hazy reddish yellow with swirls of purple flying through. Her wild pink hair, which was kept in a hat that looked very similar to a cheap artist's hat, was off and several loose strands of hair were waving frantically about. Her short legs wobbled, for she had put a lot of energy into them to run away as fast as she could. Curling up suddenly didn't sound like the best idea anymore since her legs were not cooperating with her at the moment. Pushing it off as a stupid idea, Washu lay down and started to think of why her friend had gotten so angry by something as dumb as knowing who and what the Kaniekyo were. Yet, with being so young had its advantages, she still had a lot to know about the process of growing up.
'What'll I do about this scratch?' she asked herself, wiping some blood stained on her hand on her loose tunic. She wouldn't very well turn her friend in, knowing what the consequences would be if she did that. Sure, his words had hurt her and she wouldn't speak to him for a very long while, but she still liked him as a friend. Her mind may be only five, yet her heart was still open to anyone even if they punched her and kicked her until she thought she would burst. 'Punch me, kick me, and I'll still love them,' the thought was odd yet comforting at the same time. Two stupid problems occurring in the same week, which was what ticked her off. First she got lost because of a bug, and then she and her friend start arguing over nothing except information, yeesh! Washu rested her small face onto the flat bark and let herself be calmed down, it was useless to try and hold onto hatred, all that did was make a person miserable. So, attempting to meditate and clear her mind, the girl closed her eyes and breathed in and out in a steady rhythm.
"Thank you for your patience, Neo, you've been a great help," Ellen said, smiling warmly to the patient teen who had had a good ear throughout the entire conversation. "Your too kind, I will see to it that she is upgraded in supernatural powers, she's earned it," Neo stated, bowing slightly, "I have to leave, my captain said I was to be back in twenty minutes and it seems that I'm now two hours and forty five minutes behind…"
"Here, take this letter. It was my fault we took so long, I don't want you getting in trouble for my cause, okay?" Matron requested kindly, handing him a letter.
"Thank you," Neo said, bowed again, and left the room.
Ged was instantly pounded by regret when Washu disappeared. Yet he knew it would be useless to call out for her now, she was too fast and she probably wouldn't hear him anyway. "Darn it…" he said angrily to himself, kicking the ground, "Why did I go and do that? Stupid, stupid, stupid!"
Turning back to the books, he picked them up and walked back to the secret room, questioning him on why he had gotten so upset over nothing. Pushing the block over seemed to take an eternity because he was paying more attention to his thoughts rather than the task at hand. "I can't believe I cursed to! That's not what I do, that's what Kali does!" he nearly smiled when he thought of her and her ranting, most of the things she said aloud were quite funny, but he couldn't imagine being her friend. Finally the block budged just enough for him to squeeze in and put the books away. Coming back out into the fading sunlight, he shoved the block back and slumped down into some moss.
"I…am such an idiot," he said, recalling him lashing out against her.
Author's Notes: Finally! That took so freaking long. As usual, comments are welcomed and flames are thrown into the ocean to fizzle! Sorry if some of it seemed a bit melodramatic…(Cough) I'm not quite the writer to stay completely on topic, so I tend to avoid doing romance themes (0_0 :gasp:) 'cause I haven't felt the feeling yet! So there! Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.