Author's Note: I'm sorry for the long wait for this chapter, but to tell the truth…since I hated the beginning half of this chapter so much…I refused to type it for the longest time. Anyway…I got past it and all is well. I hoe you enjoy this next installment of Approaching Darkness.

Chapter 14: After the Rain

The yellow light of a waking sun peeked through the tree branches, drops of water falling from the soaked leaves. The swamp plants sparkled like gems in the gentle morning light, as if the Goddesses were apologizing for the downpour. The clothes that have been outside had been brought in the previous night and dried by a fire during the worst of the storm. Both Sean and Dark Link had washed the bog's residue off their bodies and out of their hair; Sean's bath having had been one hell of a job since he was still aqua-phobic from the huge fish attack.

Now the boy had calmed down and was outside, leaning on the railing with his elbows and his chin resting on his arms. A morning breeze kicked up and gently stroked his frost-white hair. Short bangs fell onto his forehead after the breeze died away, his hair already growing back after Dark Link had cut it. A few moments later, the breeze returned and blew at his shirt and sent a chill up his spine, but he didn't react. It was still morning and so of course it would be slightly cool.

"Sean?" A voice said from behind him. "What are you doing out here?"

Sean turned his head around to see Kotake. "I'm just thinking," He answered, turning his head back to the way it had been before.

"Thinking about what?" Kotake came up next to him.

"I don't know . . . everything I guess."

"Everything from the past few days?"

Sean nodded.

"Does that include someone special?"

Sean cringed a little, attempting to duck his head away as his cheeks turned slight pink.

Kotake smiled and patted him on the back. "It's alright to like someone, Sean. There's no need to feel shame about it."

"I left him. . . . He can't forgive me for that," Sean whimpered softly from under his arms.

"Who did you leave?"

"He was my only friend . . . he's been my only friend. And I left him for dead at Link's Fortress."

Kotake patted his shoulder again, but her hand remained there. "There was probably nothing you could do before, but there's nothing you can do right now."

Sean remained quiet.

"Dark Link told us about a girl he found you with in Woodfall, last night. What was her name again?"

"Renn," Sean said softly. "She found me in the alley when I was trying to hide."

"Renn. . . . I think I know a Renn." Kotake tapped her chin gingerly. "Dark blue hair?"

Sean nodded, though only the top of his head moved since he was hiding his face.

"Sweet girl, Renn," Kotake said. "She's the daughter of Kafei and Anju—both once had been good friends of Link."

Sean lifted his head. "Link used to have lots of friends, didn't he?"

"Yes, though he's killed most of them by now. His good friends and bitter enemies . . . all dead." Kotake shook her head. "Nothing can be done about that now though."

"Where's Dark Link?"

"He left before dawn," Kotake replied.

"Why?"

"He wanted to get something to eat. Would you like something?"

Sean nodded, standing straight.

Kotake hustled to the door (as fast as her old legs could take her) and motioned with a finger for Sean to follow; which he did quickly.

"Renn, do you realize how much danger you were in?"

Renn felt her father sit on the bed next to her, but she did not turn from the window. Her hands gripped the sill and she sat on her knees; dressed in a nightgown that once belonged to her mother.

"Are you listening to me?"

Renn gave a small nod, still watching the rising sun; not wanting to face her father.

"Renn, he had white hair."

"I know, but he wasn't anything like what the legends said."

"Still, he could've killed you," Her father said.

"But he didn't."

Renn heard her father sigh and his arm wrap around her, pulling her from the window.

"You know your mother and I worry about you."

"I know."

"And you know how dangerous those with white hair are. We all do."

"I know, daddy, but Sean wasn't anything like the others. He was nice."

He father sighed again, holding his daughter in a huge on his lap. "I'm just worried for you about meeting him. So far, no one else knows he was here and that you talked with him, but you, your mother, and me. I don't know what the rest of the town would do if they knew."

"They won't know, daddy."

"This is a very serious matter, Renn. More serious than I think you can understand, but I don't expect you to. I know you know how the people here think about white hair and if they were to find out about the boy, things could get very bad."

"How bad?" Renn asked, turning her head back at her father.

"Umm…well…Just…bad," He answered, keeping his eyes from her.

Renn gave him a disappointed look and turned away again; cuddling closer to him.

"I'm not trying to scare you, Renn. I just want you to be aware and careful at this unsteady time."

"Kafei!" A voice called from another room of the house. "What's keeping you?"
Kafei adjusted his hold on Renn and stood up, holding his daughter close. "Let's go see your mother, okay?"

Renn nodded, burying her nervous face into her father's dark violet hair; wrapping her arms around his neck.

"It's alright," He whispered soothingly, patting Renn on the back. "Just give it no more thought."

Renn hugged her father. "I miss him."

Kafei continued out the door and into the hall. "I'm sure you do," He replied. "He was different."

"You sure do eat a lot," Kotake said, sitting opposite of Sean; who was shoveling in any piece of food he could get. "How long were you at the fortress?"

Sean held up an open hand, all five fingers out.

"Five…years?"

Sean nodded, though not looking up, or stopping.

"I see how hungry you can be then," She said, tapping her knees. "Well, eat your fill. You'll be glad you did." Kotake gave a sigh. "I never knew he was being so horrible to children. Even a woman of my age, who's seen so many things, has never seen what Link is doing. Sure, there are some people that kill children, but Link…starving them, treating then lower than worms……and all the rest of it for his own amusement." She shook her head. "He's changed so much, but I guess time always does change a person."

"You're a witch, right?" Sean asked, halting his eating for a bit. "Dark Link said something about it last night."

"Why, yes. I am."

"Can you do tricks and stuff?"

Kotake laughed. "Not tricks, my dear boy. I do magic; spells, curses."

"You wouldn't curse me, would you?" Sean asked, looking scared.

Kotake laughed again. "Of course not. I did that back in my youth, but no longer. Now I just use my magic when I need it."

"What kind of magic can you do?"

"I control the element of ice."

"Really?"

"Yes, and Koume controls fire. She uses it to cook."

"Oh Peahats!" Koume shouted from the kitchen.

"What's wrong, Koume?" Kotake called back.

"I lit the cupboard on fire again," Koume replied, utterly calmly.

Kotake stood up. "I'll be right back," She said to Sean before vanishing into the kitchen.

Sean watched her leave for a few moments —smoke coming out of the kitchen door— before he went back to eating. However, he continued to listen to the events conspiring within the kitchen. Koume was ranting on about something, Kotake attempting to calm her twin. The faint roar of a fire covered out most of the two witches' chatter, but it was silenced by the whoosh of an icy winter wind.

"Now, zap it with a flame," Kotake said.

That was soon followed by what sounded like a small waterfall.

"Now everything's wet!" Koume whined.

"For the fifth time this week," Kotake snapped back. "Don't blow so hard and the cupboards won't catch aflame."

Sean shrugged and when back to spooning something, which looked somewhat like oatmeal, into his mouth.

"If you eat that too fast," Strong hands clamped onto Sean's thin shoulders, causing him to jump and splash his food everywhere, "you'll make yourself throw it up and I know that you wouldn't like that."

Sean's eyes drifted up when the hands left him. The faint aroma of blood drifted in the air. Sean saw Dark Link walk for the kitchen; the boy's eyes catching a glimpse of reddened fingers before the wraith hid them away in his cloak. A surge of disgust rose in his stomach and he pushed the bowl away, suddenly having lost the desire to eat.

Sean kept watching Dark Link, easily seeing the wraith in the doorway. The wraith's back was to the boy, but Sean could see the side of Dark Link's face a little. The wraith's tongue ran across his lips, as if trying to clean away something that wasn't supposed to be there.

"Did you find what you needed?" Sean heard one of the witches ask; he didn't know which one.

"I guess," Dark Link answered, bringing one of his reddened hands near his face, "though it wasn't exactly what I had hoped for."

Sean felt everything rise up in his stomach, threatening to rush up his throat, when Dark Link licked his fingers clean —in a somewhat still starving way.

"You really shouldn't starve yourself like that," One of the witch twins said.

"It'd bring too much attention to myself if I didn't," The wraith answered, moving on to his other hand.

"Surely someone wouldn't miss a cow or a horse."

The wraith sighed. "You'd think so…. You'd think so."

Sean forced himself to swallow, his whole body intent on not obeying any commands he gave it. He slid from his chair and slunk noiselessly outside for a little while.

"You don't suppose Sean overheard, did he?" Kotake asked, hand over mouth.

"Of course he did!" Koume exclaimed. "You'd expect nothing less from Dark Link's son."

"He is not my son!" Dark Link snarled, eyes showing that he disliked that joke.

"Well, of course! You're nothing alike!"

Kotake rolled her eyes and Dark Link closed his in an attempt to calm himself.

"But," Koume continued, "if he was your son, he wouldn't look like you anyway."

Koume appeared proud with herself, but only earned confused looks from her twin and the wraith.

Sean slid down the polished wood of the ladder, intent on getting away from the house as quickly as he could. He softly thumped to a stop on the lush green grass that grew about the clearing. A cicada blared its siren upon his arrival, but seeing that it was alone in doing so, it immediately quieted down. Sean didn't give the insect another thought, though he did prefer its racket over his own thoughts. He didn't want to hear himself think, though he didn't have much of a choice.

The boy bunny-hopped to a circular porch that was beneath the main house —which was on a large pillar and resembled a large red pot— and floated on the pond over which the house was located. The clear water of the pond rippled when he landed on the creaking boards, small fish zipping around in search of safety. Sean plopped himself down in the cooling shade, legs loosely crossed and head resting against the large vertical support beam.

So Dark Link wasn't a normal person, just like him. Sean had no idea as to what Dark Link could possibly be, as well as himself. Dark Link may have saved his life, but how long would that last? Was the red-eyes man simply keeping him until he needed him for whatever dark purpose the dark man seemed to rely on for survival? Sean shuddered at the thought. Again, he wasn't seen as a person but as some 'thing' that was used by someone else. Sean soon found himself hating his life once more. It had been better being a slave with Link, that being property with Dark Link. Sean sighed. He didn't have any choice in the matter, or what happened in his own life. He may have gotten away from Link, but escaping from Dark Link was almost impossible.

Slowly, a chorus of cicadas began to sing, staying beneath the volume of the young boy's thoughts. Sean eventually became aware of the insects' song and the soothing sound of a nearby waterfall. As he listened to his surroundings, a different sound reached his ears.

Sean opened his eyes, having closed them since he was beginning to feel tired. It sounded like…squeaking—like something frightened or in pain. Since he was a young boy, his curiosity got the better of him and he jumped to shore from the porch and vanished into the forested swamp.

Whatever it was, that was in distress, wasn't very far away from the witch twins' house. The soft trickling of the water became more defined the closer Sean got. Soon, he saw the water seeping from some tall rocks rise above the ferns and undergrowth. The squeaking was more urgent and answered by a delighted growl. Sean couldn't see the creatures that were making the noise, since he was staying behind the foliage just incase it was something deadly. Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, Sean crept closer to the small clearing by the stream and slowly moved some leaves out of his sight.

There was a small lizard on the ground, surprisingly long-bodied for just a lizard. Its hind legs were tucked under its body and its fore limbs held its front half off the grass. Its neck was almost as long as its body and its tail was almost double that. Three horns sprouted from the crown of its skull and small three-spiked fins grew from its spine at random intervals until reaching the tip of its tail. Wings sprouted near its shoulder blades and one lay limply in the dirt while the other flared upwards in the attempt to scare off its attacker.

Its attacker, however, was not fooled. It was a dark furred Wolfos pup, not a baby, but not yet full grown, that was out for its first kill. So far, it was about to succeed. Bits of its fur were charred and smoldering, suggesting that it had suffered some blows from its prey, but paid them no mind. The Wolfos was circling the green winged-lizard, head low and fangs revealed in the feeling of superiority.

The lizard, though wounded, gave no signs of backing down from its adversary. Its golden eyes followed the Wolfos' every move; the wolf's own golden eyes doing just the same to the lizard.

Sean simply watched the two creatures. He was hesitant to intervene in remembering his last encounter with a Wolfos, though this one was no where near as large as the last one. When the Wolfos lunged at the lizard's throat, Sean decided it was time to get between them. What surprised him about this was that it was going to be a lot easier than he thought.

Upon revealing himself from the bushes, the Wolfos stopped in its tracks. Its eyes were no longer locked on the lizard, but on the boy. Its hackles rose and it let out a growl, causing the boy to step back. This, however, did not satisfy the wolf pup. Knowing that it was no longer safe, its tail ducked between its legs and it darted into the underbrush; whimpering with fear.

Sean glanced around, trying to find what may have spooked the Wolfos, but he found nothing. It dawned on him slightly when even the lizard began to show fear towards him, but it couldn't get far with its broken wing. Sean knelt down next to the little lizard and it hissed at him in a failed attempt to scare away the white-haired boy.

"Is that any way to thank the person who just saved your life?" Sean asked.

The green lizard shut its mouth and seemed to ponder that thought, golden eyes watching Sean.

Sean reached out his hand, but drew it back when the lizard growled.

"It's okay, little guy. I'm not going to hurt you."

The lizard permitted the hand to pat its head.

"You're a strange lizard," Sean commented, stroking the lizard's scaled head. "I've never seen one like you before."

While comforting the lizard, Sean looked over the rest of its body, but only its wing was the major injury. He finally paid the lizard attention again when its claws dug into his skin and it crawled onto his shoulder. He eyed the lizard suspiciously and it looked back at him with almost pupil-less golden eyes. Seeing that the strange creature was securely in place, Sean stood up; wincing as its claws dug deeper in the attempt to stay still.

The lizard's head swayed on the thin neck towards the stream and then turned back to Sean.

"You want me to take you to the stream?"

The lizard nodded.

Sean was slightly puzzled by this but did so anyway. Upon reaching the small stream, the creature's head turned back to him. It gave a slight nod as if in thanks and purred its goodbye. Sean winced again as its weight drove the talons ever deeper and were then ripped out as the lizard leapt from his shoulder. It landed without a splash in the water. Sean watched it swim until its body wavered and faded into the very currents themselves.

Confused, and alarmed, by this, Sean slowly backed away from the stream and bolted back to the twins' home. Dark Link would be furious to know that he had run away again.