Chapter 2 - And So We Meet
Matt Ishida leant back onto the cool window. Pushing aside the heavy red drapes, he stared out, his breath making dancing patterns on the glass. Outside, the rain beat down hard on the windowpane. The world was grey, and rainwater was puddling in the dips of the stone paved street. Everything was dismal. Matt turned back to the room he was sitting in. The lounge room of the Capelin Inn was dimly lit by a single light bulb dangling from the ceiling, partially shielded by a simple cream coloured shade.
The place wasn't high class, but it was warm and dry. Matt and his friends were frequent visitors. They were all arranged around the slightly dingy room. His brother TK was sprawled out on a red leather armchair. The material of the chair was starting to wear through, but it was still comfortable. Izzy was slouching on a red suede sofa. Again, this piece of furniture looked very old. He was reading under a faded off-white and gold lamp. Sora was sitting cross-legged, talking quietly with Kari on the red and white pattered rug. Tai, obviously extremely bored, was plucking dead leaves off a pot plant that sat in one corner of the room. None of them were particularly animated, but Matt couldn't blame them. They spent most of their time on the road, and when they did get a chance to settle down, they made the most of their rest.
The group went from town to town, doing whatever they could to keep themselves alive. Most of the group were tearaways. People who had joined Matt and TK and left their home town in search of something better. Or just to escape the harsh realities they faced there. Tai and Kari, brother and sister, were from Syntress City. They had been living on the street for as long as they could remember, stealing what they could to survive. They had both been in trouble with the law there quite a few times. So they jumped at the chance to leave, and possibly start a new life. Izzy was orphaned in a terrible accident at a young age. He had been sent to live with an adoptive family, and soon he grew to love them as much as he had loved his true mother and father. Then there had been another horrific incident. One night Izzy had snuck out of home to go to a party that his parents had forbidden. While he was out, every last person in his new family had been murdered. He had been overwhelmed with guilt and grief, feeling that he should have died too, and had then stopped talking. He had met with Matt and TK when they were passing through his village, and gladly accepted their offer to get out of the town which held too many memories for him. He still didn't talk very much. Sora'd had a major falling out with her family. She felt her mother had never cared for her, and only kept her around so that she could live her wasted life through her. She was always being pressured into doing things she did not want to do. Her father was no better. All he did was sit in his chair and drink beer. And if he was ever made to do anything else, he could get abusive. So Sora had run away. She was often asked if she wanted to go back to them, but she always steadfastly refused. She hated them, she claimed, and seeing them would only make her sick.
Matt and TK were different though. They didn't have a past they wanted to escape. They had a past they wanted to find. Neither of them had seen their parents since they were very young. Matt only had a few isolated memories of them, and TK couldn't even remember what they looked like. But they both recalled vividly the day they had been left alone. They had been ushered out of a carriage and told to stand and wait on the sidewalk. And they had. For three days they didn't move. Matt figured he would have been about six years old, thrown into the role of an adult as he clutched TK's hand and comforted him when he started to cry. When after those three days nobody had come to collect them, he had decided to leave. To search for home. For their estranged family. And ten years later, they had still had no luck. But neither of them was going to give up, and with the gang they had collected, they were certain that one day they would find out who they really were.
They had but one clue. It dangled around Matt's neck. Nobody but TK knew he had it. It was a gold coin on a chain. The coin had on it a strange symbol. It was a circle, with what looked like the sign of the Ying and Yang inside it. Surrounding the circle there were eight little triangles, all pointing outwards. (Picture Matt's crest and the top half of TK's crest merged). Matt had never seen another symbol like it. In the darkest hours of the group, Matt had deliberated whether to trade it for food or not. He had been tempted many times, but he couldn't bring himself to let it go. Something always held him back. He felt as if it was important. Maybe even the key to unlocking his past.
Matt shook himself from his thoughts, and wondered what he could say to break the long silence. Fortunately, he didn't have to. It was broken for him. The door was pushed open, and a girl staggered in. She was dressed in a long white cloak, and the hood was down so that Matt couldn't see her face. She was soaked to the skin and shivering with cold. Water dripped off her and pooled around her feet. She took one shaky breath, then collapsed to the floor.
TK, always the good guy, ran to her side. Turning her head, the hood fell from her face. Matt took a sharp breath. She was beautiful. No, he corrected himself, she was perfect. Her lips put the reddest rose to shame. Her lashes were long and dark, and her creamy skin was like a porcelain doll's. The way her hair, even as wet as it was, fanned out from her face made her look like an angel.
TK put a hand to her cheek. "She's as cold as ice." He reported, slightly surprised. What would a girl wearing a coat that was as expensive as that one looked, be doing out in the rain freezing to death?
"We have to do something for her!" implored Kari, already full of sympathy for the girl.
Matt could feel the eyes on him before he could see them. They pierced his skin, searching his soul for answers. The group often left the big decisions to Matt. Although it was nice that they trusted him that much, the responsibility often got too much for him to bear alone. Not that he'd ever let anybody know that. He had to be strong. Always. But silently, Matt wished for somebody who he could share the burden with. Sighing resignedly, he said, "Okay, let's get her into bed and warmed up."
Tai, who was the muscle man of the group, lifted her into his arms. "Jeez," he exclaimed. "She's a feather weight!"
He carried her up the stairs, and into the room the girls were going to be sharing that night. All the other members of the group trailed along behind. This was the most exciting thing that had happened all night. Tai was about to put her into one of the spare beds when Sora pulled him back. "She'll freeze if you put her into bed in those wet clothes."
"What do you propose we do then?" asked Tai, shifting the girl's weight. "Light as she is, I can't carry her around all night."
Sora and Kari glanced at each other, then turned back to the boys. "Out." They commanded in unison.
