AN: Will Hawking stay with Khrystal? Who knows, he is a free spirit. Read to find out, and I really hope you enjoy.
Khrystal, Rayn © me
Hawking, Camion, Ericson © Raygirl
Rayman design © Ubisoft
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To Mend A Broken Soul
Chapter 6
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"And this here, is the your new home." Hawking said, finally stopping in front of what Khrystal presumed to be the vacant house. The outside was a cream white, the shutters painted a soft pale blue. Hawking lead her inside and she wandered through it.
It wasn't very big; there were only four rooms. A kitchen that connected to a family room, a single bedroom that was spacious enough to accommodate two, and a rather small bathroom.
She stepped into the bedroom and sat down on the single, soft and fluffy bed. "Do you think we can move another one in here? Rayn and I can share this room."
"Rayn? Is that your sister?" Hawking asked, standing in front of her.
Khrystal brightened considerably and nodded. "Yes, she's four."
Hawking smiled. "What's she like?" He asked.
Khrystal patted the spot on the bed beside her and he sat down on the corner. "She's beautiful." Khrystal said. "And she's pretty smart for her age. And…" Khrystal's eyes grew distant. "She loves me."
Khrystal was very surprised when she felt Hawking put his arm about her and give her a quick, slightly awkward hug. "Who couldn't love you?" He asked.
He stood up and turned his back to her. "I-I'll let you get used to this place." He said quickly. "I'll come back later."
When she heard the door shut Khrystal brought her hands to her cheeks, trying to cool them down from the red-hot blush that was blazing in them.
***
Hawking wandered about the Sanctuary streets. He didn't really know where he wanted to be at the moment, just that he wanted to be away from Khrystal. Not that he didn't like being near her, he loved it. When she was smiling it lit up the whole room, and when she laughed it was like bells tinkling through the air.
A small, rabbit-like creature hopped in front of Hawking's path, nearly causing him to trip over the ball of fluff.
"Camion." Hawking said, recognizing the creature by its two long ears that ended each in five finger-like digits. He looked up and glanced about, and sure enough, spotted Ericson jogging up. Hawking waved. "Hello."
He watched as Camion waved to get Ericson's attention, then translated his words into sign language for his deaf friend.
"Hello." Ericson said back, signing as he spoke. His voice was easy enough to understand, he had not been born deaf so he had once known what his own voice sounded like. "I saw the girl you were with."
Hawking nodded. "Her name is Khrystal. She's going to be staying here."
"I'm sure she'll like it here." Ericson replied. He looked at Hawking for a moment. "You're staying too, aren't you?"
Hawking was startled by the question. Jack had asked the same thing. "No, I'm going back home. Why?"
Ericson shrugged. "Don't you like her?"
Hawking felt himself blush and looked down at the ground. He fidgeted nervously for a moment, and then looked up again. "Well…yes. She's nice, and friendly, and she's good company."
Ericson watched as Camion translated, then smiled, signing something quickly back towards his rabbit-like companion, then turned his eyes back to Hawking. "I think she'd be sad if you left. And don't you get lonely sometimes out there?"
Hawking hadn't thought of what Khrystal might feel if he were to leave. He eyed the kindly smiling Ericson for a moment. "Maybe…" He gave a nod to Camion and Ericson. "I'm going to go…think."
Camion hopped onto Ericson's head, who nodded back. "Bye." Camion waved one of his big ears. Hawking absently waved, already lost in his own thoughts, and walked towards the trees.
***
Khrystal was startled when she heard a knock on the front door. She tweaked back the curtain of a window and saw an unfamiliar boy who appeared about Hawking's age, a small fluffy rabbit-like creature perched on his head. She went to the door and opened it cautiously.
"Hello." She said meekly. "Uhm…"
She was startled when the rabbit creature hopped from Ericson's head to her shoulder. She jumped back and nearly knocked it off. It waved it's oddly shaped ears about and Ericson smiled.
"Sorry." He said in a strange voice, also moving his hands to make strange signs as he spoke. "My name is Ericson, and this is Camion. He's my translator."
"Translator?" Khrystal asked, growing accustomed to Camion's movements.
"I can't hear, I'm deaf." Ericson admitted. He sounded sad at this.
"I'm sorry." Khrystal said.
Ericson shook his head. "No need. I just wanted to come and say hello. I heard you were going to be staying in the Sanctuary."
"Yes. I'm Khrystal." She paused a moment, then as an after thought. "Do you live here too?"
Ericson nodded. "Do you know if Hawking is staying?"
Khrystal looked down at her hands sadly. "No, I don't think he is."
Ericson lapsed into silence, but Camion kept moving on Khrystal's shoulder. She looked over to see him signing something to Ericson, who gave a bashful look, shook his head and signed back. They continued this for a little while, and then Ericson cleared his throat. "Sorry. Uhm…" He glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone else was around, then looked back towards Khrystal. "Do you like Hawking?"
Khrystal was startled by his question. Pink dusted over her cheeks and she looked at him shyly. "W-why?"
"Do you?"
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She didn't need to think much about her answer. Hawking was one of the few people who had bothered to care about her. He was the first one since she had taken her sister to live with her after the death of they're parents, making the total number three. She nodded her head slightly, blushing deeper. "Why?" She asked again, her voice so soft that Camion had to tap her cheek and prompt her to say it again louder.
Ericson fidgeted nervously with the ends of the bandana that was tied about his shoulders. "Urm…well…what I mean to say. Uhh." Camion signed something rapidly and Ericson got a hold of himself. "Well…I think Hawking likes you too but I don't know if he knows you like him, so I thought I should tell you and I'm sorry if I'm meddling." All of this he said in a rush of one breath. He suddenly grew very shy and looked down at the ground. "I thought you should know."
Khrystal looked with wonder at the older boy. He had just told her that quite possibly…maybe…Hawking liked her in the same manner that she had begun to like him. She opened her mouth, but only a small squeak came out. Camion was stumped as to how to sign this to his friend. He tapped Khrystal's cheek with a fuzzy ear. "Erm…Thank you." Satisfied, Camion translated.
"Anytime." Ericson said weakly. "I guess I'll be going now."
"Ok. I'll see you around then." Camion, finished with his translation duties, hopped from Khrystal's shoulder and back to Ericson's head, getting comfortable. Ericson waved and Khrystal returned it, and then closed the door to his retreating back.
She leaned against the door, her heart beating fast. She should go find Hawking before he could leave. But should she tell him how she felt? What if Ericson had been wrong, what if Hawking only just tolerated her until he could bring her to the Sanctuary like Emmanuel had instructed him to do? She wouldn't be able to bear that.
But it might be safe to just ask him if he would stay in the Sanctuary with her until she went to get her sister. Yes, she could do that.
Quickly standing, she opened the door and stepped out, heading in the direction she hoped Hawking would be in.
***
Hawking looked up, startled to find himself in the large clearing in the center of the village. It was now deserted, as there were no important meetings or gatherings going on. He sat down on one of the wooden benches.
Ericson's words echoed through his mind. Hawking was never selfish, he wouldn't dream of taking something all for himself while others may need it more. But the thought of Khrystal missing him…it hadn't even run through his mind.
He sighed and would have continued to mull over his thoughts until late into the night, but it happened that, from the corner of his eye, he saw Khrystal. She was running as fast as she could toward the way that they had entered the Sanctuary.
What could she be doing?
He thought for a moment, considering if he should follow her, and decided he would. What if she got hurt again? The last question kicked him into gear and he stood up, following Khrystal's path. By the time he rounded the bend he could see her making her way up the steep incline of the valley wall. She made it to the top and began to slide down the other side.
Hawking sped up, afraid to loose sight of her. He reached the top eventually, and was about to start immediately down the other side when he spotted her at the bottom, a little bit further up. She was sitting on the ground her knees tucked up under her chin and her arms wrapped about herself.
Slowly, quietly Hawking made his way down and stopped a few feet away from her. He waged an internal war for a while, and finally spoke up. "Are you hurt?"
Khrystal's head shot up and she swiveled around to look at him. She quickly brushed a tear from her cheek and stood up, moving over towards him. She looked as if she were about to hug him, but stopped suddenly and wrapped her arms instead about herself. "I thought you had gone!"
"Err…" Hawking looked down at the ground. She seemed so relieved to see him there. Maybe Ericson was right.
Khrystal seemed to be holding her breath, waiting for something to happen. When it didn't she let it out in a soft sigh. "Uhm, Hawking?"
He looked up, startled at the fragile way her voice suddenly sounded. "Yes?"
"Will you stay…in the Sanctuary? But not forever, you don't have to. Just until I go to get my sister and then we can go back together and you can just stop at your home." Khrystal said, more to the rocks than to Hawking.
His heart thumped loudly in his chest. Khrystal had just asked him to stay. "If you want me to." He said softly.
"I do." Khrystal replied, just as soft. She looked as if she wanted to say more, stopped, changed her mind and said something else. "Do you want to walk for a bit?"
Hawking nodded and they turned off the path to walk among the trees and flowers. They went for a while in a tense silence, something unfamiliar between the two. Hawking let his eyes wander along the earth as they walked. He spotted a small, frosty blue flower that seemed to shimmer in the light. Bending down slightly, he delicately picked it. Its smell was sweet and alluring.
On impulse, he handed the flower to Khrystal. She took it from him shyly, blushing when they're hands slid over each other. He quickly let go of the stem and continued walking, looking down at the ground once more to hide the reddish tint that covered his own cheeks.
Khrystal broke the silence with her quite voice, "Hawking?"
A spike of fluttery nervousness emanated from her briefly and then disappeared. He looked up, alarmed. "Are you ok?"
"Yes." She took a deep breath, let it out, looked at him, took another and spoke again. "Hawking…I…" She flustered and looked at the flower in her hand, gently running her fingertips over the soft petals. She closed her eyes tightly. "Please don't go away."
"Why would I?" He asked, puzzled. He could see she was struggling internally and moved over closer to her. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Khrystal breathed, looking up at him. "So you promise you won't go away?"
Hawking smiled assuringly, she seemed so afraid that he would leave.
"All right…Hawking. I wanted to tell you…to say…" She gave a soft sigh. "Spit it out." She prompted herself. "HawkingIlikeyou."
He blinked for a moment. "What?"
Khrystal's head bowed in defeat. "I said I like you." Her voice was sullen and soft, like a child who had been caught trying to do something they shouldn't have. "And not just friendly like. I want to be with you. I don't want you to go away."
Hawking looked at her with wide-eyed shock. He could feel his mouth hanging open so closed it quickly. Had he heard her right? Did she just tell him that she liked him? And not just in a friendly manner…which meant… Hawking swallowed hard when she looked up at him, her face sad.
"I'm sorry." She whispered and turned to walk away. "Good-bye."
Hawking snapped back into reality and shook his head. She must have taken his shock the wrong way. "N-no! Wait!" She stopped but didn't turn back to face him. "Don't go, Khrystal. I don't want you to go either." He moved over so that he was standing in front of her. "I should be sorry."
"Why?" Khrystal asked hollowly.
"I should have done this instead of just stand there." Hawking moved forward and brought Khrystal into a tight hug. She seemed surprised, but after a moment wrapped her arms about him.
After a while they parted and started back toward the Sanctuary in a comforting silence. When Hawking felt something soft press into his palm, he curled his fingers about Khrystal's hand as they crested the hill and began down the other side. The half-angelic boy and the girl whose broken soul he had mended.
Together.
~*Owari*~