Jewels by Gaki
Large brown eyes blinked widely at hands that were currently holding onto a long rope of sparkling pearls. The small dark haired boy leaned in closer, lips forming a small 'o' as the milky white beads gleamed up at him in the sunlight. The sound of the merchant chuckling amusingly caused Crow to blink before leaning back, looking up at the bearded old man.
"For a young kid, you sure do like jewelries." The merchant grinned, holding the pearl necklace up into the air. "Not that I can blame you. This here necklace is made of real pearls, very rare in these parts."
Crows eyes widen a bit more. "Ohhh."
The merchant chuckled once again, holding it above Crows head, making the boy lean his head all the way back in order to gaze upon the pearls. "I'll sell it to you if you want it, kid."
"Wa!" Crow perked up, grinning. "You will?!"
Looking once more at the pearls, Crow thought of Husky. He remembered how the merboy had looked when they'd first met each other. Long flowing hair floating down his shoulders, pearls decorating those flowing locks and wrapped around his tail, he'd actually thought that Husky was a girl. Though he wasn't surprised to find out that Husky was in fact a boy, Fish +Anima were hard to tell which gender they were. Though that did not mean Husky still wasn't beautiful when he wasn't in his +Anima form. The shorter boy was slim, perhaps even a bit skinny, and no matter how many times he had to tell himself, Crow still sometimes thought that Husky was a girl. Of course, he would never say so. Husky would blow his head off if he'd heard one more time that people thought he was a female.
But Crow wasn't thinking about that. No, he was currently remembering how beautiful Husky looked with those pearls all around him. He was currently remembering how much Husky loved those jewels and just maybe, buying this necklace would cheer the normally snappy boy up a bit.
"If you have enough money, I'll sell it."
"Ah... money?" Crow rummaged through his pockets and came up with only a few coins. Looking up, he held his hands up. "Is this enough?"
The merchant blinked, appalled. "W-what?! That's all you have?! You think I'm going to sell my pearls for only a few coins?! Quit joking around! Get out of here! I have business to make!" The bearded man turned away, muttering under his breath about stupid kids.
Crow frowned, rubbing his head as he gazed down at the few coins in his hands. Ahh... this isn't enough. Looking around, biting his lower lip Crow spotted not too far away an old couple moving their furniture to and fro. Watching them for awhile an idea suddenly formed in his head and Crow quickly ran towards them.
"Hey hey!" He called out as he reached them.
The old man and lady stopped, looking at him from over the heavy looking box they were currently trying to push into their front door.
"Oh, it's a boy, darling. I wonder what he wants." The old woman muttered to her husband, who grunted as he let go of the box, dusting off his hands.
"What is it, boy? Are you lost?"
Crow shook his head, smiling brightly. "Nope! You're moving stuff in, right? I'll help! If you pay me, I'll help!"
Husky was not in a good mood. Glaring down at the dirt and pebble below his sitting place, he kicked at a plant as he raised his head to look up at the sky. Crow had gone off again, perhaps wandering idiotically around somewhere and being fooled again. He glared, muttering under his breath about how stupid the other +Anima was. Across from him, Senri and Nana were currently dosing off. The Bear +Anima was resting against a large boulder as the smaller girl was leaning beside him. Kicking at the plant once again, Husky stood up in a huff, small fists to his hip as he looked around the empty area.
"Stupid Crow," He muttered, his blue eyes scanning the area for the dark haired boy. "Where in the world did he run off to now?"
It wasn't that he was worried, he was just annoyed. Crow would always run off without telling them anything and it was chewing on his last nerves. The other boy's lack of responsibility was irritating. And it was also Crow's instant trust in everyone that also annoyed him. How an +Anima like Crow could trust other people so quickly confused him. Coming from a circus, he learned the darker side of the humans. He saw their greed and the fear of things they didn't understand. He remember seeing the fear, disgust and awe in their eyes from behind the glass of his tank. He remembered the look in their eyes when they were told that if they gazed into his eyes for too long, they would fall into complete darkness.
Lies. It was all lies and yet they believed it so readily. +Anima were no different from humans yet they acted like he was an alien. They gazed at him like he was something that was only to be looked at and not to touch, not to get close and know. Yet, he didn't care. He'd gotten out of that circus for good and he didn't plan on coming back any time soon. He was finally free from that place. Thanks to Crow who was still currently missing.
Kicking at a rock, Husky threw his arms up into the air in frustration.
"That's it! Next time we're going to tie his legs and wings together so that he won't be able to wander off!"
Just then something slid down his arms and draped itself over his shoulders. Blinking, Husky looked down to see a long pearl necklace sparkling up at him. What the... Looking up once again, he found Crow up in the air with a grin on his face.
"Hey Husky! Do ya like it? Huh? Huh?" Crow landed down near him, his brow eyes wide with excitement as he came closer. "I was looking at it earlier and thought that you might want it so I bought it!"
Husky blinked, dumbfounded. Wha...
Crow continued to beam at him; his black wings still visible as he told about his adventure in the town near by. Husky continued to look stupidly at the other boy, the necklace still sparkling beautifully around his neck. He wasn't paying any attention to what Crow was talking about. No, he was currently repeating what Crow had said not a moment ago.
"I was looking at it earlier and thought that you might want it so I bought it!"
And here he'd thought Crow was off goofing around when in truth the Bird +Anima had gone off to purchase a necklace for him. Looking down at the necklace draped on his shoulders, Husky frowned a bit. Perhaps he was a bit harsh, thinking that Crow was nothing more than a clueless boy. Yet, it was hard not to think that with the way Crow acted sometimes. Sometimes he wondered if anything even bothered the other boy. If that smile was all Crow truly felt.
Looking more closely at the necklace again, a frown crossed Husky's face as he brought it closer to his eyes. A twitch started to make its way across his face as a reddish hue colored his normally pale skin.
"C-Crow you moron! This necklace is FAKE!"
"Huh? What? But the guy said it was real and that there were no pearls around this area." Crow tilted his head to the side, rubbing the back of his head.
"And you believed him?! How much did you pay for it?!"
"Ah! Well, at first I didn't have enough---"
"Ugh! Forget it! Next time don't go wandering off! You wasted money on a fake necklace when you could have bought food!!"
Right on cue, Crow's stomach started to rumble. The dark haired boy laughed, rubbing his stomach.
"That reminds me! I haven't eaten anything yet!"
A loud whack was heard as Husky's staff met with Crow's hard head.
"OW! Husky! Why'd you hit me for?!"
"Because you were being an idiot!"
Nana knew something was different about Husky, yet she couldn't put her finger on it. Looking from Crow, who was currently rubbing his stomach and his head, to Husky, she concluded that something had happened between them. Looking up at Senri, she tilted her head to the side.
"Hey, Senri. What do you think is up with them?"
The quiet Bear +Anima just continued to read his book. Nana looked away, rubbing her chin in wonder. That's when she saw it, a sparkle. Peering closely at Husky's coat, Nana's eyes widened as she rushed over, tugging on the light haired boy's collar as she tried to get a closer look.
"H-HEY! What are you doing?!" Husky shouted, pulling away and putting a hand around his collar to defend himself.
Nana placed her hands on her hip. "There's something different about you."
"No there isn't," Husky glared, looking away. "Stop bothering me!"
"Hmph! Fine! I'll try again later!" Nana threatened him, turning away as she headed back to Senri's side. The older +Anime only continued to read as if he hadn't even noticed she'd gone missing.
His back turned to them, Husky pulled his collar opened a bit and looked down. The fake pearl necklace was currently wrapped around his neck, giving off a dull shine as a bit of sunlight hit its surface. Putting his collar back into place, Husky looked up to see Crow still walking ahead of them, his hand still rubbing his head. Frowning a bit, he looked away. He hadn't really meant to hit the other boy so hard, but he was annoyed. Crow had wasted good money on a necklace, a fake one at that. Any body could tell fake pearls from real ones. Then again, Crow didn't spend as much time gazing at pearls as he did.
Looking back, Husky picked up his pace to catch up with the other boy. Reaching the other boy's side, they walked in silence for awhile, interrupted every now and then with the sound of Crow's growling stomach.
"... Sorry."
Crow looked over at Husky, blinking. "Huh?"
Crossing his arms, Husky turned his face away. "Hitting your head. 'im sorry. And..." Glancing back at Crow, Husky added with a mutter. "... thanks for the necklace."
Blinking at the paler boy for a few more moments, Crow's face brightened up with a wide grinned as he crossed his arms behind his head.
"I knew you'd like it."