I had gotten bored, and instead of letting the unrelenting bleakness of life back into my brain I decided to almost kill myself. Luckily for me, sand's not the worst thing to land face-first in, but it was the second time that day I'd gotten the healthy multigrain taste of ground-up rocks and fish bones in between my teeth.
I'm sure that Question (what I'd taken to calling the strange child) would be able to find me just fine if he was coming back by air, so I figured a little wandering wouldn't do any harm. I'd carefully stashed the spent filter in my pocket- you couldn't pay me to drop it on this pristine beach- and started a steady jog across the sandbar, heading in the general direction of the cloud temple.
My boots on the sand made a steady clomping/squishing sound, and the ever-nearing waves whispered, occasionally arguing amongst themselves with louder splashes. My attention was caught by a smaller structure near a rise, what looked like the prow of a sunken boat. I neared it, rounding it curiously.
And then I saw it.
A shining figure, so bright and near that it seemed to dim everything else by comparison. A small golden sun, burning my eyes with an unexplainable lens-flair like effect. It had an aura, a heaviness to it, that somehow seemed to make my soul feel lighter while weighing my body down, and breathing felt different. And after a second of squinting, I saw that it was shaped… like a small child. The light seemed to soften after a moment of looking directly at it, and I took a hesitant step forward. What was that thing?
And then it saw me.
I swore in shock, backpedaling furiously. But the being didn't move, didn't speak, and I rubbed my eyes; it was looking upwards, steadfastly, as if it had been doing so for thousands of years. Was I seeing things? After a few panicked breaths and a longer, calming one, I followed its gaze. It was also looking towards the floating temple. "All right, all right, I get it, that's the current objective, it's like I'm in a freaking video game," I mumbled, backing away from the shining figure. There was no way I was messing with that thing.
I found a stretch of land out of sight of the glowing child and forced myself to do what I could of my daily routine. Sit-ups, push-ups, pilfering around the sands unsuccessfully for a rock to curl, et cetera. It definitely wasn't the worst place to work out, despite the lack of machines for my fine control exercises. I was in the middle of cardio when I heard the honking.
Much honking.
And then, over the sands, soared a cluster of small winged children. Out of order, uncoordinated, making little contrails behind them like a flock of tiny, confused jets. One spotted me with a HONK and then they were swarming in my direction. I stood up and put out my arms, eyes widening. "Hey, hey slow down, you're gonna… Seriously, kid SLOW DOWN-" And then I was clotheslined by an outstretched arm, and everything went to honk.
"HonkhonkHONKhonkhonkHONKhonk?honkHONK."
I was dazed, on the sand, as a whole bunch of small children with masks and no sense of personal space crowded around me, all honking at once, some in confusion, others in excitement, and a distinctive one in a questioning tone.
As they jostled me relentlessly, I couldn't help but note that they were soft and warm, and somehow, even in the abject CHAOS that was in my ears, I could feel the light of their combined presence, like they were all individual space heaters. It would have been rather comfy if it wasn't for the fact that a bunch of small children were touching me in enough places that it would soon be everywhere.
"Can you PLEASE back off!" I shouted, and they froze. It had been a concerted effort not to swear just then.
One slowly reached out to poke at my mouth, and I glared at it. It, a feminine-looking kid with a ponytail, very slowly drew back its hand, mask expressionless. One of them, who I somehow identified as Question, waved his hands, and the other kids finally backed up a little ways. It honked at its fellow caped children, and they all took turns looking slightly abashed.
I took a deep breath, pushing back the anxiety that had risen suddenly. I hadn't been that close to that many people in a while. I sat up, glowering all around. "So, I see you brought your friends."
"Honk. Honk honk."
"And the point of that was…?"
"Honk."
"Yeah, yeah, ok, you got a point," I stated sarcastically, standing. All the little forms looked up at me as I rose above them. One of them gave a small nervous honk. I mean, I didn't think I was that impressive, but it made amusement sprout in me all the same. I was solidly built, just above six feet tall, and my dark hair and the shadows under my eyes made it easy for me to look intense, which effect I was using currently, as it seemed the only way to stem the tide of excited wax children.
The flock of kids, which were now facing me, looked like a pond of white masks. I counted them, there were seven. Their capes were all the same brown, and while there was slight variance in their hairstyle, there wasn't much to tell them apart. One let out a curious honk, but was honk-shushed by a companion.
I sighed. "Ok, I think we got off on the wrong foot here. I'm Tom."
"Honk"
"Honk."
"Honk"
"Honk."
"Honk"
"Honk."
"Honk?"
"Such unique names, it's nice to meet you all." I glanced at Question. "Seriously though, what was the point? Are you just here to stare at the strange human?"
"Honk? Honk." Then he turned to the flock and started giving instructions. They all started scurrying around, four to one side of me, three to the other, Question to my immediate right. He offered his hand.
"What are…" I began, then stopped. "You know what? Never mind." I took his hand, and then took the hand proffered to me on my other side, from the ponytail girl. Then all the children took each other's hands in a line, and I suddenly had a bad feeling about this. But it was certainly too late to back out with my reputation intact.
"Honk?"
"Honk!"
A pause.
"Honk... Honk... HONK."
Then, as one, the group of children all flapped their capes at the same time in a brilliant flash of sparks. The two ends of the line took off, and I felt my feet leave the ground in a sudden jerk of upwards momentum. It didn't get far, however, and holding back a shouted curse, I dragged the whole line of kids back to earth. They didn't give up, however, continuing to flap furiously, capes glowing with uncanny light, but suddenly they were out of synch, a mess of flapping arms and frantic honking. Question was foremost among those that continued trying: he seemed to be stronger than the rest for some reason. I watched as glowing marks on the back of their capes winked out one by one as they flapped, until suddenly, everyone was out of flaps and the flock crashed back to earth.
"Hhhonk…"
"Honk."
"Honk?"
I looked over at Question, who seemed to have been the brains of the operation. "So, uh. Nice try."
"Honnnk."
Then, soaring over the horizon, came more caped children. But these were different. They were in a group of three, holding hands and flying in perfect formation.
Question leapt up, letting go of my hand. "HONK."
A distant sound, which was not a honk, drifted back. I braced for another impact, but I shouldn't have worried. This group, led by an elegant figure in a white cape, landed gently a small distance away. I stood, unconsciously brought to my feet by their presence. They approached, releasing each other's hands, and I got a closer look.
The one in front was feminine, tall, with an almost luminescent cape and black robes underneath. She had braided white hair with a blue flower behind where an ear would be, and her mask was slim with smiling eyes. She bowed deliberately from the waist. "Lalee." Her voice was high and light, like birdsong. She… well, her overall effect was… quite striking.
The second was broad-shouldered (for a child) and just a little shorter than the first, wearing a deep red cape with a golden rim, plain mask crowned with a horned helmet. He (I was fairly certain it was a he) stood confidently, and nodded, and I caught a glimpse of a short mohawk. "Ba-bo." Lower-pitched was the noise, and resonant.
The final shape was very small, shorter than all the children I'd seen thus far, its gender uncertain. It had a flashy pink and white cape, with a squinty mask and a small keyed instrument on its back. It had short hair and a blue outfit, much more complex than any I'd seen so far. It didn't make any kind of motion at me, just uttered a "Waaa."
There were several seconds of silence as I considered them. For their part, the little brown-caped honkers behind me seemed in awe of the newcomers, huddling together and wide-eyed. The three noticed them and made greetings, and the kids replied with more nervous honking. I observed these interactions with curiosity until they turned back to me, curiosity plain.
"Uh. Hello. I'm Tom." I reached out to them, to shake hands.
"La-lei." The girl took it in both of hers and bowed slightly again.
"Ba-bo?" The boy looked at my hand, mildly confused, then slapped it like a horizontal high five. "Ba-bo!"
"Waaa." The tiny one actually shook it, but I had to stoop to get to their level.
"Well, it's nice to meet you all, wish I could actually understand what you're saying."
The girl tilted her head. "Lalee." Then she pointed in the distance, back towards the rock. "Lehla?"
I followed her finger. "Something that can help, over there?"
She nodded.
Then Question got in her way. "Honk!" He folded his little arms and looked up at her imperiously. "Honk honk."
"Ba-bo." The boy in red stepped up, catching Question's eye, tone patient.
Question stomped a little foot in protest. "HONK."
The small one made a motion akin to rolling eyes. "Muaaa..."
I kinda just watched things happening, wishing I knew what they were saying. They squabbled a bit more (honestly it was Question doing the squabbling), then seemed to come to some kind of agreement. Then, in unison, they all turned to me.
"Uh. What's up?"
"Ba-bo?" the boy asked the girl.
"La-li," she replied. Then she reached out a hand to me.
I looked down at it for a second, trying to figure out what was going on. "You want me to follow you?"
A nod.
I took her hand. That same strange smoothness, the same warmth that spread from the point of contact like I was touching a heated object. But her fingerless hand was longer, slim. I met the eyeholes of her mask. Then she smiled at me. I had no idea how I knew that, there was a mask in between my face and hers, but I could feel it, just like I felt the warmth that emanated from her.
Then she took off. Once again, I was dragged forward, and once again, a caped kid was flung at high speed into the sand with a shocked LA-LEI?! A flurry of honking laughter, and the girl raised her head out of sand sheepishly. Question was particularly amused, slapping his leg and falling over. Her companions were also laughing along.
Feeling a jolt of sympathetic shame, I knelt, still holding her hand. "Hey, are you ok? Sorry, I forgot you didn't know about that…"
She shook the sand out of her hair and giggled at herself, undarkened by embarrassment. She nodded at me again and stood, pointing at Question with a jokingly stern movement. Then she looked at me again, and with another "La-lei!" we were off, running this time down the sandbar. The other children took off, following and just flying around, a mess of brown capes and two brighter ones. I noticed that the girl's two companions had multiple diamonds on the backs of their capes, and didn't need to land as often.
We rounded the taller banks of sand, and I saw it again. The glowing child near the wrecked boat. I slowed slightly, and she noticed. I felt that strange pressure again, the combined heaviness and lightness that confused me deeply. But I didn't stop moving and we neared it. Sensing my discomfort, she stopped before we got what I felt was too close. While the other children made landings of various skill levels around us, I watched the figure with lowered brows.
"La-li?" she asked, not letting go of me.
It felt… odd, holding someone's hand. I hadn't done it in a while. "I have questions, of course, but I know I can't understand your answers. So, what's the point, really?"
"La-leh."
The boy approached from the other side. "Ba-bo! Babo." He seemed excited, pointing at the figure and looking at me.
Question darted in front of him, then pointed at the glowing figure, then at his cape. "Honk!"
Just like the last several dozen times, that didn't make any sense to me, so I looked around, seeing the smaller children looking at the being in awe. But not fear. One honked a question, and the smallest kid replied with a firm "muah."
I guess it really came down to whether I trusted these strange children. I looked down, not too far, because the girl in white was almost five and half feet tall, and met the girl's eyes. And in them I saw the same thing that I'd seen in Questions. Trust.
Confusion and incredulity filled me. Why in the world did they feel that way? I'd done nothing to gain that trust, hell, I'd only met them fifteen minutes ago! If they actually knew anything about me, then they'd know better.
"La-leh," she prompted, letting go of my hand and encouraged me forward.
I shook my head. Well. It wasn't like it mattered anyway. What else was I going to do? Stay here, alone on a beach? No. I'd rather stay with these children, because here, with them, I felt more alive and warm than I'd felt in the past six months, not to mention whatever kind of strange interest these kids had in me. That wasn't something I was about to just leave behind. The questions of what I was doing here, what would happen to me, and other such things simply didn't matter when compared to those feelings. And I realized that I'd be willing to touch a strange eldritch glowy boi to continue feeling that way.
I walked forward, and both feelings —weight and lightness— increased. I tried to just push through it, trying to think of it as a new resistance workout, covering my eyes at the intense light. But then the child made of light looked at me, and I knew that I wasn't just seeing things. Suddenly, my feet were made of lead, but I was a kite, about to soar away. I was weak before the pull of the ground, but I was strong enough to fly beyond its reach. I felt like the earth would never let me go. But the stars were calling me, up, onwards, forever. They were calling me home.
I touched the child's shoulder.
An explosion of light, blinding me, sent a surge of energy though my hand and into the rest of my body. I'd gotten electrocuted once, in grade school, being stupid with a circuit breaker. It was somewhat like this, except all the pain was instead raw, tangible energy that pushed its way through me, strengthening me, and I felt the grasp of gravity lessen its hold on me. Then I heard words.
Guide them home. There, in Eden. Please.
Then the voice was gone, and the energy stabilized. I kept my feet, somehow, and stood in a crouch, blinking furiously away the afterimage of a young person. I took deep breaths, closing my eyes. That had been… something. Then I became aware that there was something hanging around my neck.
"Oh, nice cape, brother."
"It's just the same as mine, though, innit?"
"Quiet, moth, you'll ruin the moment."
"My NAME is Question Mark, you silly chibi!"
Then came a sudden shushing. I turned back, and I had to rub my eyes. The children were still there, the seven brown-capes and the three others, but now… now they had faces, and fingers, and toes making marks in the sand.
The girl took a step to me, anticipation lighting up her pretty features. She, like the others, had dark skin, but not like a humans. More like… a soft brown you'd get out a wood or a soap or a wax. "You… you can understand us now, can't you." She'd read my face, I assumed, it wasn't all that hard to read at that moment. Because now, the children had voices.
I nodded.
Smiles broke out, and then came the flood.
"See, what did I tell you-"
"Sir, what are you?"
"I've NEVER seen a moth like that before."
"I swear, they're just getting weirder and weirder, take this one, for instance-"
"HEY!"
"My name is Tina. What's yours?"
"He has a coat AND a cape, how does that work?"
"I know, it looks so cool-"
"Will he make the trip to Eden, like the rest of us?"
I was barraged by sound, and I winced. The girl in white noticed and tried to shush the rest, but it was too late, they'd already started going at it with conjecture and questions and all sorts of things, but one of the smaller children, the girl with the ponytail, approached me, pulling out a candle from her cape. This got the others attention, and they quieted, a relief.
I watched her. The small diamond on her forehead I'd thought was a third eye was now visible as something similar to the hole in her chest, something like a visual indicator of the light coming from inside her. She looked nervous, her large amber eyes wide. She held up the candle, unlit, and offered it to me, holding it high. "I'm Tina," she said in a quiet voice. "Can I be your friend?"
Nobody'd said that to me since grade school, so I was a little surprised. "Uh, yeah. Sure." I smiled at her, trying to put her at ease.
She didn't put the candle down, however, just looked at me expectantly.
"Psst!" That was the boy in the red cape, his green eyes darting back and forth between me and Tina, trying to catch my attention. "You have to light it!"
"Oh." I pulled out my lighter, flicked it open. I lit the candle.
Tina immediately brightened, literally and figuratively, the small flame growing. And… so did I. The warmth spread through me, but not by my hand, but through my entire body, as if there was a warm blanket on my shoulders. She lowered it, looked at the flame as if it was the greatest treasure in the world, then looked up at me. "Thank you." Then she bowed.
"Y-yeah. You're welcome. I'm Tom." Then I bowed back, a bit late, but hey, I was figuring this out.
She smiled happily, then was bodily picked up with a small honk of protest and set down out of the way.
Question let go of her and stood there, arms crossed. "Well, I was your friend first, so, can you please light my candle too?" He, a tousle-haired boy with dark eyebrows and fine features, brought out his own candle. "And you were almost right, I'm honestly impressed you got so close, my name is Question Mark, but not actually like Question Mark, but like the actual question mark you use at the end of sentences? Like this? That's my name."
"Yeah, I'm not calling you ?." I lit his candle too. "I don't even know how to say that. Thanks for the help, though."
"Nobody appreciates my brilliance," he grumbled, then stood aside for the sudden line of brown-caped children who all had candles out.
At least they were taking turns, I reasoned. Some time later, I'd met Davin, Zua, Kreflyn, Lemmina, and Igyotl, all eager and bright to various degrees. The other three held themselves apart, watching with parts interest, excitement, and boredom. Then it was their turn.
Surprisingly, the bored-looking one went first, the smallest. "I've seen a lot of odd things in the Sky Kingdom, but you, good sir, have to be one of the oddest." Their voice was high, but not in a way that identified their gender. More like someone had put a "cute" filter on their confident, lower-pitched voice. They had a round face, with an expression that spoke the exact same words that were coming out of their mouth. "Don't think that makes you special, though, you're still a moth, after all." Their eyes were a deep black, with narrow eyebrows and dark lashes, and filled with a mild sense of dissatisfaction.
"A what?" I asked, having to bend over to light their candle.
"A moth. A new sky child. Defined by their utter lack of sense and drab color palette." The candle wick lit. "Thank you."
"Ori! That's not very nice," the girl in white admonished.
The smol put their hand up, pointing at her. "Yes, but it's the truth. And that's what's important."
"But, it's very much not? True?"
Ori ignored her and flicked off their hat in an elaborate bow. "Despite your current lack of, well, anything, it would be a pleasure to travel with you."
"Yeah. Thanks, I guess." I nodded back. What was up with this kid?
"Well, he does have one winged light to his name, that's something." The red-cape-boy stepped forward, confident. He saluted. "Hi, brother!"
"Brother?"
"All sky children are brothers and sisters in the great Cycle of things," he informed me helpfully, holding out his candle. The helmet sat just above his emerald-green eyes, and his smile was wide and genuine, set in an angular, attractive face.
"Oh. 'Sup?" I lit it.
"I'm not sure what that means, but I'm Whitti! It's nice to meet you."
"Uh, yeah. Same."
"We're glad to have you!"
"I'm… glad to be here too, wait, are we going somewhere?"
He didn't respond, just bowed slightly and let the girl in white come next.
"We're going up to the temple," she began, drawing out her candle, striding towards me, her dark robes brushing the sand. She gestured to the building in the clouds. "There. We'd love for you to come, if you wanted."
"Actually, I think that's where I'm supposed to go."
She tilted her head, indigo eyes focused on me. "Oh?" Her eyes matched the flower in her hair.
I was suddenly nervous. "I mean, yeah, the voice in the cave told me to go there. More or less."
She smiled. "Well then, if the Navigator guides you, all the more reason to travel together!" She offered her candle to me, lowering her head, letting her white bangs fall over her face.
I reached out and lit it. "Yeah. That would be nice."
She raised her head, and met my eyes again. "I'm Celeste."
The look she gave me was so open, so full of... acceptance, that I suddenly didn't know how to reply, except with an, "Oh. I'm Tom."
She chuckled. "I know. Cel works too." Then her expression sobered. "I'm sure you have plenty of questions."
"Yes, actually."
At hearing the word question, Question's head jerked up and he looked around hurriedly, as if he was expecting something.
Celeste ignored him. "I might not be able to answer all of them, but Is it all right if they wait until we get up there?"
"Yeah, sure. Just one question real quick, though…" I held up a hand. "How am I going to get up there?"
Ori snorted a laugh, then disguised it badly as a cough.
Whitti shoved them lightly. "Hey, he's never had one before, don't tell me you didn't have a similar reaction."
"I didn't! I knew what I was doing first thing the Kingdom was blessed with my presence!"
"What are they talking about?" I asked, confusion on my face.
Celeste smiled. "Tom. You've picked up a winged light. And that makes you one of us." She gestured to all the children. "A skykid. A Child of the Light." Then she met my gaze again, and her blue eyes sparkled.
Then I realized what I was wearing. I grabbed at the hem of the strange garment on my shoulders, looking at it in shock. It was a cape, so light on my shoulders that it was no wonder I hadn't noticed it. It was brown like the smaller children's, but long enough to reach down to my knees, and at its touch, it warmed me. A growing realization spread through me, awe, or excitement, or horror, I wasn't sure which. "Wait. You mean, with this…"
"Yes, Tom. You can fly."
...
Song for this section- Higher Power, by Coldplay.
