(a/n: Ok, good news and bad news... The good news is that I have
updated BOTH of my DK stories this week! The bad news is that this may
be the last time I update before the end of July. You see, I'm going on a
six week trip on the fifth, and won't have a chance to write. Sorry, all. I'll
try and see if I can get another chapter out on one of my stories, but no
promises.)
Whoa! Reviews! O.o;
Ginsing1: Now, now, darling, pot is bad. I swear I'll update ALL of my
other stories! ...Sometime.(And thanks.gives Spanish text book as a
present)
Parain:nods But don't tell Rath that. ;)
Kat: Rath reminds me of you, ya know? Cesia, too. Queen of church?
Somehow, I just can't picture that.
Garfunkles: HANNAH!glomps You reviewed! I will update. And you said
you would read my other stuff too! Go!points
Angel Cesia: Ok, here we go. Updated!
Nenagh24: Thank you! I love those lyrics too!
START
The dull pencil gray of the sky loomed menacingly overhead as the three
boys made their way to the local high school, two of them talking
animatedly, and the third standing a little off to the side, walking in
downcast silence. They were walking along the sidewalk on the side of
the road, the dirty cement damp with the light rain that had fallen the
previous night.
Rath watched as Thats, the slightly taller and more spontaneous of his
two companions jumped into a large puddle, laughing as it sprayed the
other with a stream of dirty water.
"Thats!" The other boy yelled, somehow managing to jerk out of the way
just in time, "Watch it!"
There was no visible reaction on Rath's face as Thats offered a weak
apology, laughing all the while.
The fake smile remained plastered on. There was nothing else to do.
There was never anything else to do.
There hadn't been anything else to do.
A buzzing noise in the back of his head caused him to stumble, one hand
reaching up and clasping tightly around a small object, hidden beneath
dark folds of clothing.
"Hey, Rath!" A lightly tanned hand clamped onto his shoulder, steadying
him as he straightened back up, silence reigning supreme once again.
He turned towards the person, and found himself staring into a pair of
moss green eyes, flecked with brown and shining with mirth and a touch
of deep rooted concern.
Rath allowed a question to flit out of his fake being, alighting with the
softest grace over his pretend grin.
"Yeah? What is it?" In the dew-washed morning calm, the minute metal
gears could almost be heard as they swiftly turned inside their delicate
butterfly case.
"You ok?"
He nodded, hurt and grateful when the other boy turned away, allowing
him to slip back into his deadened silence.
Watching through a thin gray veil, he saw Thats run a few steps, catching
up to the eldest of the trio, and walk backwards, keeping a few steps
ahead of the other boy, his hands clasped behind his head.
A filtered noise of chatter made it's way through the muffled shield that
surrounded Rath, dampening his senses and drawing a misty silver fog
over his eyes.
"Those exchange students are coming today, right, Rune?"
The blonde boy nodded, long golden locks waving in the light breeze.
The exchange student program had been present at their school for many
years. Every year, in the fourth quarter, ten students, five girls and five
boys, were sent to their sister school in a nearby state, and ten students
from that school would join theirs for two weeks.
"Yes. They should be at school already. As should we," He looked
distinctly rumpled, "If we weren't always so late."
Thats laughed, the rich sound barely penetrating the stone barrier
around his black haired friend. The vibrations were caught and held in a
teardrop of red shadow, the sound echoing off it's polished surfaces and
doubling back upon itself to finally fold up into a small bead of gold,
captured for a moment before discarded among the sands of time.
"It's ok, Rune! We aren't late, not yet. School doesn't start for another
twenty minutes. We still have plenty of time to get to class."
As if to prove his point, they rounded a corner at that very moment, their
school suddenly within sight, it's large beige buildings and grassy
walkways taking up much of their view.
"Hey," Thats turned to walk normally, tugging on Rune's sleeve, "Do you
see her?"
Rune followed his pointed finger, the line it drew landing neatly on a
young girl, about their age.
He turned away from the girl to face him, "Do you think she's one of the
exchange students, Thats?"
He nodded, "Yeah. Never seen her before. At least," He amended, "Not
as far as I can remember."
The older boy nodded, clear blue eyes finding their way back to her, to
curiously absorb all they saw, storing the images away in neatly
organized metal cabinets, categorized and labeled by subject.
"Rath?" Rune looked over his shoulder at his friend, "Do you know her?"
There was no reaction, if the boy actually heard them, he gave no
indication that he did.
The taller of the two teenagers in front backtracked by a few feet, until he
was standing next to their quiet companion.
"Rath," Thats snapped his fingers several times in front of the other's
face, watching as something behind his eyes suddenly clicked, and he
jerked his head up to look at him as opposed to staring at the ground.
The smile was still attached.
Thats rolled his eyes, sending polished two olivine stones spinning.
"Honestly. I think you're deaf sometimes," He flashed a carefree grin,
white teeth showing for a split second before they vanished once again
behind lips a mere shade darker than their surrounding skin.
"Rune wanted to know if you knew who she was," He said, gesturing
over his shoulder vaguely.
A mental sigh.
Rath paused in his slow walking, craning his neck to peer around the two
teenagers in front of him, the mists surrounding him spinning wildly in the
light breeze passing by.
Then the veil thinned, and he saw her.
Directly in front of the main building was a fairly tall girl with long, light
brown hair that reached midway down her back, and a fitted black dress,
the uniform worn by the students at their sister school.
Her figure was a mere outline against the faded gray backdrop, and Rath
watched listlessly as she placed down her school bag, and slowly turned,
looking over her shoulder, eyes like shards of midnight ice cutting through
the tendrils of the cloying fog wrapped around the boy's senses.
There was what Rath at first perceived to be a flash of blinding light, but
later realized it was simply the light of day reaching his eyes.
His protective wire mesh cage constricted as a jagged tear appeared in it, a
small space no larger than a foot across, and completely unremarkable.
Except that through it the world was seen in full color.
And standing directly in-between the torn strips of disintegrating material
was the figure of a young teenaged girl, one hand still on the strap of the
bag lying beside her on the ground, large dark eyes calmly meeting his
startled gaze.
Her mouth twitched upwards into a half grin.
Then she was turning around, walking away, her book bag slung over her
shoulder once again.
Rath jumped.
"Rath?" His friend was talking again, a disoriented part of his mind stated,
none of the other sections taking any note of it.
"Rath, are you ok?"
The voice was muted, muffled, almost silent.
He shook his head in an attempt to clear it.
There it was again, it's harsh sound almost drowning out the other boy's voice.
The buzzing.
The screaming.
The harsh tearing of a life from his tiny world.
The sound of a dense sickly silver and purple cloud that reached down from the
sky, scooping up and snatching away a small figure, huddled and shivering
beneath a soft white cloth, drenched in the thick smell of fear.
Forever...
Rath stared straight ahead, not sure of what had happened.
He knew one thing, however.
When that girl had left...
The window in his cage had vanished.
END
Don't worry. The cliché of exchange students is needed, just for a little
while. It'll disappear soon enough.
Review!
updated BOTH of my DK stories this week! The bad news is that this may
be the last time I update before the end of July. You see, I'm going on a
six week trip on the fifth, and won't have a chance to write. Sorry, all. I'll
try and see if I can get another chapter out on one of my stories, but no
promises.)
Whoa! Reviews! O.o;
Ginsing1: Now, now, darling, pot is bad. I swear I'll update ALL of my
other stories! ...Sometime.(And thanks.gives Spanish text book as a
present)
Parain:nods But don't tell Rath that. ;)
Kat: Rath reminds me of you, ya know? Cesia, too. Queen of church?
Somehow, I just can't picture that.
Garfunkles: HANNAH!glomps You reviewed! I will update. And you said
you would read my other stuff too! Go!points
Angel Cesia: Ok, here we go. Updated!
Nenagh24: Thank you! I love those lyrics too!
START
The dull pencil gray of the sky loomed menacingly overhead as the three
boys made their way to the local high school, two of them talking
animatedly, and the third standing a little off to the side, walking in
downcast silence. They were walking along the sidewalk on the side of
the road, the dirty cement damp with the light rain that had fallen the
previous night.
Rath watched as Thats, the slightly taller and more spontaneous of his
two companions jumped into a large puddle, laughing as it sprayed the
other with a stream of dirty water.
"Thats!" The other boy yelled, somehow managing to jerk out of the way
just in time, "Watch it!"
There was no visible reaction on Rath's face as Thats offered a weak
apology, laughing all the while.
The fake smile remained plastered on. There was nothing else to do.
There was never anything else to do.
There hadn't been anything else to do.
A buzzing noise in the back of his head caused him to stumble, one hand
reaching up and clasping tightly around a small object, hidden beneath
dark folds of clothing.
"Hey, Rath!" A lightly tanned hand clamped onto his shoulder, steadying
him as he straightened back up, silence reigning supreme once again.
He turned towards the person, and found himself staring into a pair of
moss green eyes, flecked with brown and shining with mirth and a touch
of deep rooted concern.
Rath allowed a question to flit out of his fake being, alighting with the
softest grace over his pretend grin.
"Yeah? What is it?" In the dew-washed morning calm, the minute metal
gears could almost be heard as they swiftly turned inside their delicate
butterfly case.
"You ok?"
He nodded, hurt and grateful when the other boy turned away, allowing
him to slip back into his deadened silence.
Watching through a thin gray veil, he saw Thats run a few steps, catching
up to the eldest of the trio, and walk backwards, keeping a few steps
ahead of the other boy, his hands clasped behind his head.
A filtered noise of chatter made it's way through the muffled shield that
surrounded Rath, dampening his senses and drawing a misty silver fog
over his eyes.
"Those exchange students are coming today, right, Rune?"
The blonde boy nodded, long golden locks waving in the light breeze.
The exchange student program had been present at their school for many
years. Every year, in the fourth quarter, ten students, five girls and five
boys, were sent to their sister school in a nearby state, and ten students
from that school would join theirs for two weeks.
"Yes. They should be at school already. As should we," He looked
distinctly rumpled, "If we weren't always so late."
Thats laughed, the rich sound barely penetrating the stone barrier
around his black haired friend. The vibrations were caught and held in a
teardrop of red shadow, the sound echoing off it's polished surfaces and
doubling back upon itself to finally fold up into a small bead of gold,
captured for a moment before discarded among the sands of time.
"It's ok, Rune! We aren't late, not yet. School doesn't start for another
twenty minutes. We still have plenty of time to get to class."
As if to prove his point, they rounded a corner at that very moment, their
school suddenly within sight, it's large beige buildings and grassy
walkways taking up much of their view.
"Hey," Thats turned to walk normally, tugging on Rune's sleeve, "Do you
see her?"
Rune followed his pointed finger, the line it drew landing neatly on a
young girl, about their age.
He turned away from the girl to face him, "Do you think she's one of the
exchange students, Thats?"
He nodded, "Yeah. Never seen her before. At least," He amended, "Not
as far as I can remember."
The older boy nodded, clear blue eyes finding their way back to her, to
curiously absorb all they saw, storing the images away in neatly
organized metal cabinets, categorized and labeled by subject.
"Rath?" Rune looked over his shoulder at his friend, "Do you know her?"
There was no reaction, if the boy actually heard them, he gave no
indication that he did.
The taller of the two teenagers in front backtracked by a few feet, until he
was standing next to their quiet companion.
"Rath," Thats snapped his fingers several times in front of the other's
face, watching as something behind his eyes suddenly clicked, and he
jerked his head up to look at him as opposed to staring at the ground.
The smile was still attached.
Thats rolled his eyes, sending polished two olivine stones spinning.
"Honestly. I think you're deaf sometimes," He flashed a carefree grin,
white teeth showing for a split second before they vanished once again
behind lips a mere shade darker than their surrounding skin.
"Rune wanted to know if you knew who she was," He said, gesturing
over his shoulder vaguely.
A mental sigh.
Rath paused in his slow walking, craning his neck to peer around the two
teenagers in front of him, the mists surrounding him spinning wildly in the
light breeze passing by.
Then the veil thinned, and he saw her.
Directly in front of the main building was a fairly tall girl with long, light
brown hair that reached midway down her back, and a fitted black dress,
the uniform worn by the students at their sister school.
Her figure was a mere outline against the faded gray backdrop, and Rath
watched listlessly as she placed down her school bag, and slowly turned,
looking over her shoulder, eyes like shards of midnight ice cutting through
the tendrils of the cloying fog wrapped around the boy's senses.
There was what Rath at first perceived to be a flash of blinding light, but
later realized it was simply the light of day reaching his eyes.
His protective wire mesh cage constricted as a jagged tear appeared in it, a
small space no larger than a foot across, and completely unremarkable.
Except that through it the world was seen in full color.
And standing directly in-between the torn strips of disintegrating material
was the figure of a young teenaged girl, one hand still on the strap of the
bag lying beside her on the ground, large dark eyes calmly meeting his
startled gaze.
Her mouth twitched upwards into a half grin.
Then she was turning around, walking away, her book bag slung over her
shoulder once again.
Rath jumped.
"Rath?" His friend was talking again, a disoriented part of his mind stated,
none of the other sections taking any note of it.
"Rath, are you ok?"
The voice was muted, muffled, almost silent.
He shook his head in an attempt to clear it.
There it was again, it's harsh sound almost drowning out the other boy's voice.
The buzzing.
The screaming.
The harsh tearing of a life from his tiny world.
The sound of a dense sickly silver and purple cloud that reached down from the
sky, scooping up and snatching away a small figure, huddled and shivering
beneath a soft white cloth, drenched in the thick smell of fear.
Forever...
Rath stared straight ahead, not sure of what had happened.
He knew one thing, however.
When that girl had left...
The window in his cage had vanished.
END
Don't worry. The cliché of exchange students is needed, just for a little
while. It'll disappear soon enough.
Review!