Breaks:

[L1,2 or 3] represents the beginning of a flashback to one of Elena's past lives. There is more than one past life, which is why I have put up the numbers. Though, these memories are usually told as she sleeps and Elena herself cannot remember them.

[/L1,2 or 3] represents the end of a flashback to one of Elena's past lives.

[P] represents the beginning of a retelling of a memory in Elena's current life.

[/P] represents the end of a retelling of a memory in Elena's current life.

~3~ is just a timeskip

AN: Enjoy the story!


Cross-legged on the floor to my room and back up against a rounded wall, I worked the same small loom that I had taken with me to watch the beach. (Though, for some reason, I felt much calmer now than I did when I had sat in that tree.) With my loom needle, I wove the weft through the warp with quick precision. It was a calming activity that I enjoyed.

To my left side I had gathered all of the medical supplies that I thought I'd need to help treat Yugo. When I had gone to fetch said medical supplies, a thought had struck me; what if it wasn't only Yugo who had let himself into the Summit Tree?

With that in mind, I had quietly and carefully checked the other rooms in the house. I found that my suspicions I were right. Each bed that was here was currently occupied by a traveler, and I was suddenly left with even more questions to ask when the boy-who-wore-blue would awake.

When I finally went back to my room, I found that said boy was still asleep, and contemplated what to do. I could have simply left, not wanting to interrupt his sleep. But I then realized how I wouldn't know when exactly he would wake. Nor would I possibly be able to get another moment to speak to him without being surrounded by his companions. So with those thoughts in mind, I found myself a seat on the floor a few meters away from my bed and kept my attention occupied with my weaving as I waited.

The idea to use weaving to keep my attention came when I had picked up Yugo's clothes so that my room would be a little less of a mess. That was when I discovered some tears in his discarded tunic. So I decided to repair them quickly with a few stitches. When that was done, I had folded the clothes and set them down on my right. Only then did I fetch my loom and begin to weave.

Set down in front of me was the gifted mask, just within my reach. With every other weave, I would glance at it, unsure if I should wear it or not in the presence of these travelers.

Botan Ficus wanted me to be part of the village again, which was why he had given the mask to me. This would mean that I would always wear the mask, with the exception being with my chosen life partner and when I was completely by myself. That was the main rule of the village after all. But at the same time, the traveler Amalia had already seen my face and everyone in her group wore no masks as well.

There was also the fact that I didn't live in the village anymore. I didn't have to follow all their rules.

A low sigh left me, thoughts wound so tightly with my emotions; they were like struggling flies that had been cocooned within an arachnee's web.

Slowly, the sun's rays crawled across the bed and made it's way towards me as the morning grew older. Eventually I had begun to hum quietly to myself as I wove the loom (tired of my thoughts loudly filling the silence), but sill listened for when Yugo would wake up. Luckily, it didn't take much longer.

He sat up on the bed like something dead that had just risen from it's grave. A loud yawn escaped him, which showed off his sharp canines, before he brought up a hand to wipe the sleep from his eyes.

Abruptly I stopped my humming as I turned my attention to him. He slowly looked about the room, taking it in, before his azure eyes landed on my turquoise ones.

He blinked. "Wha...?"

There was a tone of disbelief in his voice, and he squinted his eyes at me as though he couldn't see very well. Unsure of what to say, I tilted my head to one side slightly. The boy in blue then closed his eyes and shook his head.

A small smile made it's way onto my face from his actions, "you sleep like the dead," I quietly commented then, just to break the growing silence.

Yugo's eyes snapped open and went wide as his brain seemed to catch up with reality. A look that I could only describe as horror spread over his face. He made a startled noise as he focused on me again, before his eyes went to his hat at the end of the bed. Desperately he dove for said hat, yelping loudly when he landed on his injured shoulder but still desperately reached for the item with his other hand.

Up on my feet from my alarm, I couldn't help but wince when Yugo roughly put the hat back onto his head. Phantom pains prickled my scalp at the sight.

"You okay?" I questioned him, unsure if I should approach or not.

"Wha- wha- what are you-?!" Yugo tried to stammer out, tone somehow angry and mortified at the same time. I furrowed my brow in confusion, not really understanding what was wrong with him.

Then he gasped as he looked down at himself, only clad in his tofu under-shorts, and pulled up the bed sheets with another squeak. Only when he was completely covered so that I could only see his eyes did he finally take a moment to breathe.

"Are... you okay?" I questioned again, unsure when I heard a hitch in his breath at the sound of my voice.

"O- okay...?!" He repeated, tone incredulous though he didn't look at me. Part of the blanket had fallen when he winced and I thought that I could see even his neck go red as he tried to cover himself well with only one arm. "My hat was off! My clothes are gone!"

I grimaced at the mention of his hat, knowing that I would hate someone else to see underneath my own if I could help it. But I figured that it was best he knew that I knew, and that I didn't care if he- if we- were a made little different than others. Though, I don't really understand what clothes have to do with that...

"And...! And where did you come from?! Why are you in here when I woke up?!" Yugo finished, and finally gained the courage to look at me. His entire face was stained red, but there was a clear upset in his eyes. It made my stomach drop at the thought that I had done something wrong, and I felt the immediate need to make it better.

So I apologized.

Eyes wide, "I'm sorry, Yugo." I stated honestly, and tried to swallow the sudden lump of emotion in my throat. He seemed to freeze as I spoke. I felt the fabric of my hat move as the 'ears' pinned back. "I'm not sure what I did wrong... but I'm sorry."

I looked down as my hands came up to fiddle the hem of my tunic. My heart hammered painfully in my chest as I waited for his response. Desperately I wanted to bring up a hand to press against the beating organ to try and sooth it, but refrained. He was very upset at me, more so than I anticipated for seeing him without his hat. And that alone made me rather upset at myself, for making him feel like that. Maybe I should have kept it a secret after all.

"E... Elena." My head shot up at the sound of my name, and my heart skipped a beat. There was a troubled look about him now, but Yugo didn't seem to be as upset anymore. His gaze had fallen to the floor, where my mask sat at my feet, before he looked up at me with an expression I couldn't identify. "You're Elena, aren't you."

For some reason my face grew hot at the statement, for it wasn't a question. He hadn't seen me without the mask before, I realized at that moment, and I hadn't thought of that. No wonder he was upset.

Never the less, I gave a nod of my head while I sat down again.

As though unsure, "why are you here?" Yugo questioned, tone much softer than before.

"Ah... I wanted to ask you some questions." I sighed, and let my eyes fall to the medical supplies and freshly sewn clothes. "I also wanted to check on your shoulder, and treat any other injuries you got from the fight."

"Injuries...?" He trailed off slowly, as though he spoke only to himself.

Then Yugo's azure eyes widened as he looked at me, "at the beach...! That was you wasn't it? You've helped us out before!" For a brief moment I froze at the unexpected question, then braced myself. Only, at my meekly given nod, he grinned wide. I felt an abrupt, but pleasant, warmth spread through my chest at the sight of it. "Wow, thanks! We didn't know who helped with that, and it caused quite a confusion at first, but we all agreed that whomever did so must be kind!"

Heat quickly gathered on my face at the sudden praise, and I had to look away. That was the first time anyone has received my help so well before. I hadn't expected it, really.

"Y- you're welcome." I muttered, and the answer somehow got Yugo to laugh happily. The sound made my stomach flip, though I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. For now, I'd take it that I was somewhat forgiven.

"Will you come over here?" I asked him after a moment and gestured to the items beside me, "I already have everything set up. Your arm must feel like it's on fire."

My question, somehow, seemed to make Yugo uncomfortable. His face went red again, and his azure eyes would look at everything except for me.

"Something wrong?" I queried, now a little worried as he continued to stay silent. His eyes shot over to mine for a moment before he looked away again.

"Um... no, I guess not." He stated and gathered the blankets around him all the more. Patiently, I waited as Yugo slid off the bed before he walked over to me. Then he plopped down on the floor in front of me, blanket still tight around his form.

He was too far away for my immediate reach, so I crawled forwards to his side. "You'll have to lower the blanket." I stated softly, and in case he was just scared of the possible pain moving his arm could bring, I held up the pain medicine for him to see. His gaze darted over to it uncertainly. "You can use this for the pain if you want- just a drop and no more- but it will make you fall back asleep quickly."

"What... is it?" Yugo questioned as he took the jar I held to examine it carefully. The contents looked exactly like water, both color-less and odor-less.

"A mixture of plant extracts that takes pain away." Watching him to make sure it was okay, I gently grabbed his arm with one hand and put my other on his shoulder. He stiffened at my touch, but didn't pull away or say anything against it when his azure gaze met my own. Taking his silence as permission, I slowly began to rotate the joint. He flinched at the initial movement of the limb, but didn't protest any more than that. My eyes fell and I noticed just how discolored the skin around his shoulder was. "It's very effective. I can wait for questions later if you'd rather not feel any pain."

"N- no. It's not that bad." Yugo insisted, then cringed as I moved his arm more, and I gave him a nod even though I knew it was pretty bad. Landing on it only moments ago certainly didn't help him, yet I didn't try to dissuade him as he set the jar aside.

"You dislocated it again, and it tried to heal. From the swelling, I'd say it's had a full day so far."

"What does that mean?" he asked nervously, but when his eyes met mine, I found no trace of mistrust. He believed me without any doubts, which surprised me. Why would he automatically believe a stranger?

...I quickly decided that I didn't want to question it.

"Last chance to take the pain medicine." I warned instead. Yugo gulped and looked to the medicine jar, but shook his head.

He let out a breath, "no, that's... that's okay. You already set it for me once right? And didn't you say that you had questions?"

"This will be the second time that I'll fix it for you, yeah." I confirmed as I moved to begin rotating his arm a little higher with each saw-like movement, as I had before. The second best pain medication would be a distraction, so I decided to ask a question just before his shoulder would pop back into place. "Why are you in my room Yugo?"

Eyes wide, Yugo's head whipped towards mine with surprise, "wh-AH!" His word turned into a pained yelp as his shoulder slid back into it's proper place with a wet shunk-click. Tears sprung up at the edges of his eyes as he hissed loudly and his uninjured hand seized a white-knuckled fistful of blanket.

"It should feel better now..." I muttered as I took in his pain-filled expression.

Almost instantly after I'd mentioned it, Yugo's shoulder relaxed. As though he'd realized that I was right, he let go of the blanket and a small sigh escaped him. Gently I brought his arm back down, and hugged it against his chest in a perfect L position*. But then, as I reached for his other hand to have him hold up his injured arm, I took notice of the terrible burns that encompassed the entire limb up to his wrist.

For the brief moment that I let myself stare at them, I wonder where he could have gotten burned so badly within the time that I've met him. In no way were these burns on him when he'd been passed out at the shipwreck, and they've clearly had little time to heal so far. It was then that I realized how similar the burns had looked to my own. The healed scars were in the exact same pattern that I could distinguish these burns were made in. He must have touched that green pillar of energy at some point, which made me wonder if anyone else had or if he'd been the first.

A breath left me in an almost-sigh, but I had him hold up his injured arm with his burned hand for now. "Can you keep this arm still with your hand until I get the sling around it?"

He only nodded, not able to reply just yet. I gave him an encouraging, but small, smile in response. Then I grabbed a clean cloth, the pot of water that I had fetched earlier from the kitchen, and my green goo. With the water and goo at my side, I held up the cloth to show him.

"First, I'm gonna clean the cuts that I can see and put some of this on them to heal before I give you the sling, just so nothing gets in the way, okay?" When he nodded his confirmation, I moved closer and made myself comfortable beside him.

"After the fight against Saul, you disappeared." Yugo stated as I got to work. After I'd tugged the blanket away from him somewhat I had gotten to work washing and then treating any abrasions that I saw on his front. "Botan Ficus then told us that you and Moon lived in a tree up on the mountain, and that Amalia could lead us there. With so many houses being destroyed in the fight with Saul, they didn't really have anywhere for us to stay the night-"

A hiss escaped him as I dabbed at a particularly deep cut on his collar. "Sorry," I apologized sheepishly, and Yugo's eyes opened again. I brought my attention back to the injury but I could feel how he'd trained his gaze on my face.

"...He stated that you and Moon had let him stay there with you for a while as he healed, and that there should be plenty of room for us as well." I paused as I brought up a wad of goo to smear on another cut. Did Botan simply offer up the Summit Tree without my consent? It may be Moons officially, but he was not the only one who lived here. At least I now knew why Yugo trusted what I said when it came to healing... "Moon had run off somewhere soon after you disappeared, and we didn't really have anywhere else to go."

"You've been here since yesterday?" I questioned as I crawled my way behind him. Sat with my legs stretched out on either side of Yugo's body, I moved the tail of his hat over his uninjured shoulder. There were so many scrapes on his back, I wondered how he had slept on it at all. Luckily most of them were already starting to heal.

"P- pretty much." he stuttered as I began to clean his scrapes, he had winced at the contact and the involuntary movement probably jostled his shoulder too much.

We both stayed quiet for a bit, the only real noise being the water that I wrung out of my cloth whenever I needed to clean another cut. I had intended on asking him about others like us, but only realized just then that simply asking 'what are we?' or 'you haven't always been alone, have you?' might not be the best way to do so.

It was as I contemplated my wording that Yugo spoke again. "Elena?"

"Yeah?"

"Where did you go?" I didn't answer right away, not sure what to say. Did I say that I was on the totem above the Summit Tree the whole time? Should I mention that my magic had given out? Wait- didn't Yugo also have the same magic as me? Maybe something like what happened to me, has happened to him before...

"Elena?" Yugo questioned again, when I took too long to reply and it was then that I noticed the worry in his tone.

"I was... somewhere safe." I tried, not wanting him to worry any more. Then I swallowed and continued, "I'm not sure what happened exactly, but I don't think that green magic was good for me."

"What? What happened?" He almost moved so that he could look back at me, but I placed my palm on the back of his shoulder so that he'd keep still.

"It did something weird to my magic." I explained, mouth going dry as I remembered what happened when I tried to use my portals yesterday. A shiver went through me, "I couldn't use it without getting hurt. It was like... fire. Yeah, like my magic had turned into fire." I paused as phantom pains suddenly crawled up my arm and I couldn't move it for a moment. Then I took a breath and let it out slowly as the sensation went away. "Has... has anything like that ever happened to you?"

"No," Yugo shook his head and I didn't stop him this time as he turned his head to look back at me over his shoulder. "It's not still like that, is it?" he asked, and concern was clear in his tone.

It took a moment for me to get around the fact that he was even a little concerned, let alone the depth and genuineness I could hear. Swallowing, I shook my head, "went away this mornin'."

Relief was shown as his shoulders sagged somewhat at the answer, and he let out a sigh as he faced forwards again. "Oh, that's good. I'm glad." and he nodded his head to punctuate the statement.

Tentatively, a smile lifted the corners of my lips as a steady warmth curled within me. It was a frighting feeling, something that hadn't really happened to me before, but it felt nice and I tried to bask it for as long as it lasted. At the same time I couldn't help but ponder on how odd it was. Of all things, why would he be worried about me? Relieved even?

Eventually I finished up with his back. There were so many scrapes along his shoulder blades, I was amazed that he was able to move his other arm so freely. He had landed hard on his upper back at some point, but it had much longer to heal than the rest of his injuries, including the ones from the shipwreck.

"That's the tune I woke up to." Yugo spoke suddenly, breaking me from my thoughts.

"Huh?"

"Ah, sorry. I just... I thought that the tune was pretty."

I hadn't even realized that I had started to hum. "Oh, thank you." the smile on my face seemed to double in size at the praise. "I heard a little bit of it here and there. Part of it came from the birds, and another from the trees, but mostly the birds. I just put it together in a single tune."

"The trees...?" Yugo questioned, but at that moment I had finished with his back. I got up to my feet and grabbed Yugo's yellow shirt to hand it over to him. He accepted it with a thankful grin, and put it over his head.

He struggled to get it on with just one arm, so I helped him keep his injured arm supported as he put the shirt on. Then I had him hold his arm again as I grabbed a triangular cloth to use as a sling. I tucked one corner of the cloth under his arm and brought it up over his shoulder, until the end of it could be draped around his neck. Then with the other end, I brought it up around his elbow and had it meet with the end already at his neck only to tie them together with a sturdy knot.

Once I fixed up his palms with the goo too, I nodded happily. "That should do." I stated, pleased at my work. Then I looked over him once more to make sure I hadn't missed anything. When I was satisfied, I gave a nod. "Try not to move your injured arm any more. It needs to heal before you use it this time."

He gave an awkward chuckle, "I'll do my best." and I nodded.

"I certainly hope so. If you keep hurting your shoulder before it can heal properly, you can cause it some serious damage."

"Serious... how?" Yugo questioned lightly, eyes a little wide.

"You won't be able to move your arm how you'd like. For example; reaching up above your head or lifting your arm more than an L shape* could cause you severe pain. If you try to force it past it's limits you could risk dislocating and injuring it again... and these symptoms would last for the rest of your years." as I explained it, I moved my own arm as an example to how high he would be able to move it.

Quietly, "that's pretty serious." Yugo conceded, and I gave another nod.

"Which is why you have to be careful, and give yourself the time to heal." His eyes, that had been wide from the alarming information, softened. Somehow I simply knew that he understood. I nodded, glad that he was actually listening, then settled myself a little more comfortably in front of him.

My head tilted minutely to one side as I took him in again. Yugo seemed to straighten under my stare. He was rather skinny, but not so much so to be described as 'skin and bones' and his limbs looked only a tad too long for his body. But I knew that it was all muscle both under his shirt and on his exposed arms. His hands were a little too large, just like how his shoulders were a tad too wide, and had the start of callouses on the backs of his knuckles.

When our eyes met again I knew that he had given me an appraisal as well.

Perhaps I knew what he saw; a skinny girl around his age, with large eyes and long lavender hair tied in a loose braid that often draped over her shoulder. Much like him I was skinny, but I had a lot less muscle mass than him too. If we had a contest for physical strength, I was certain that he'd win. As though I had a light tan, my arms and legs were now covered in translucent scars with a clear line that showed where my clothes had protected me from further injury. Luckily for me, they were only visible if someone was looking for them up close; the scars were only a shade off from my regular tanned skin tone.

"Can you tell me where you come from, Yugo?"

He looked completely relaxed within the pile of blankets pooled around him. "I grew up in the village of Emelka," he stated with a hum. "It's near the border to the Sadida Kingdom."

"Didn't..." I paused for a moment, trying to remember who it was who said so, "...Amalia come from there?"

"Yeah!" he grinned, "she's their princess."

I blinked, "isn't a princess someone that could lead their people? What is she doing here?"

"From what I gather, Amalia wanted to have an adventure, so she snuck out." Yugo explained, looking a little sheepish for his companion. "Eva followed her."

Briefly the image of the blonde archer was brought to mind. "Does... Eva... work for Amalia?"

He nodded, "yeah. Evangeline is Amalia's bodyguard. Has been ever since they were kids, apparently."

"Wait." My hand came up, palm out towards him to stop. "Why is she called both Evangeline and Eva? And the red-headed one, I'm pretty sure he said his name was Per-something. Purdy...? But he responds to Dally too. Is that common with everyone outside this island?"

A brief moment of silence passed after my questioned passed in which Yugo simply blinked at me. Then he giggled. I furrowed my brow, unsure what was funny but not upset that he was laughing either. The sound was rather relaxing to hear.

"Um.. yeah." Yugo grinned at me, a bright look to his eyes when he looked at me again after he'd regained control of himself. "Sometimes people give each other nicknames- another name that isn't the one they were given at birth- to call one another. It's um... It's another way of showing friendliness, or that you care about that person."

I hummed in acknowledgement, mind wandering back to the villagers. They had called me names that were not 'Elena', but I had the sneaking suspicion that those weren't exactly nicknames in the way that Yugo described them to be.

"Have you lived here all your life?" Yugo questioned then. I shook my head.

"I lived in the village for my first eighteen seasons," I admitted and my eyes wandered down to the mask that Botan had gifted me. "Then Moon brought me here, where it's safe."

Yugo seemed to pause for a moment, "how many seasons are there on this island?"

"Just two. The Heat and the Frost. It changes with every six moons."

"That's pretty cool!" Yugo grinned, "where I'm from there are four seasons. The Heat, the Cold, the Frost, and the Warm. They change every three moons."

Quietly I wondered what it'd be like to have in between seasons, where the weather changed gradually instead of instantly. I'm sure it would have saved me a lot of trouble when I was first brought to the Summit Tree. There were many times where I forgot to keep track of the moons and woke up with the island suddenly frozen over.

"What do the plants do with so many seasons?" I eventually asked, curious.

He seemed to think on it for a moment, "well the trees change colors gradually, going from vivid green to reds, oranges and yellows as their leaves slowly die. For the other plants... they sorta just leave some seeds behind and then die too."

My eyes widened in shock, "they all just die?! What do you eat?"

"Um..." Yugo scratched his cheek, "it depends on where you live really. Some people grow enough food to last through the Frost, some people import- ah, go buy their food from places where the Frost can't touch, and some people hunt for food during that time." He tilted his head curiously at me, "your plant's don't all die during the Frost?"

"No," I replied with a shake of my head. "All the trees just freeze over, and their fruits become so hard that they'd break stone. Their leaves curl into tiny buds that only uncurl for a few hours during midday. If you bring some fire with you to keep the plants warm then the fruit will defrost and become edible. Most of the animals use their body heat to do this, which is how I learned how. The villagers rely on their herd to keep fed. Some of the plants die off if they're too small or not from here, but something always returns after the Frost to replace them."

"Break stone...?" Yugo wondered, eyes wide, tone of awe.

"Before I figured out how to eat them during the Frost, I may have tried breaking into the fruit first..." I admitted sheepishly and glanced away again, "wasn't my best day. I got a nasty gash and everything..." I leaned forwards a bit and lifted my trousers to expose my right knee. There was a large white patch of skin that was slightly dimpled inwards like a crater just above the outer part of it. "Even left behind a present... I didn't do it again."

"How did...?" Yugo shook his head, then stretched his side out to lift his shirt and point at a small white scar just under his baby ribs. It looked to be about the width of my pointer finger and covered his entire side in a slight upwards curve. "Got this when dad was teaching me how to cook. I ran right into the hot pot while trying to keep several ingredients from falling at once... they fell anyways." After I'd examined the scar, I finally registered how there was a cheeky tone to his voice as I glanced up to his bright azure gaze. For some reason he seemed almost proud of that tale.

"Was he very good at cooking?"

Even prouder now, Yugo puffed up as he nodded, "yup! Oh but don't ask him to make bread," he looked about for a second as though his dad would pop up to scold him if he spoke too loudly. He leaned forwards, voice a low whisper and eyes completely serious. "It's the only thing that eludes him!"

For a moment I blinked, stunned. Then Yugo laughed and I couldn't help but join in with the contagious sound.

"After this adventure though, I'm gonna fix that." Yugo revealed when we'd caught our breath. He nodded to himself assuredly, then went on to explain when he looked at me. I blinked because, how had he known I was curious when I hadn't said a thing? Nonetheless, I listened attentively. "We ran into an amazing baker, before we left on the boat, see. My friends and I happened to be passing by when Xav's grain store got sabotaged and so we went to help. He and his dad didn't agree on how to make bread, so they were fighting. Then they agreed to settle the argument at a bread contest.

"After that I offered our help in the contest and the baker taught me what to do." There was a wide-toothed grin on his face now, "we won that competition and got Xav to make up with his dad again. Whenever I get back, I'll teach dad everything I learned there and we'll make such great breads that'll make the town bakery envious!"

Before either of us could say any more a rolling rumble cut through the room, practically echoing in the silence that followed. Yugo's face went red. He palmed the back of his neck, fingers curled under the tail of his hat.

"Erm, sorry. I guess all this food-talk is reminding me of how I haven't eaten yet..."

Eyes widened, "I know of the perfect place to show you then!" I stated gladly, readying to get up as Yugo's face viably brightened at the prospect. Then my eyes landed on my mask and my movements halted. Almost hesitantly, I reached over and dragged the wooden item into my lap. Thoughts from only hours earlier began to plague my mind as I wondered once again if I should wear it or not.

"It looks different from the others I saw in the village." Yugo stated but his voice had warbled it more into a question by the time he was done. I'd glanced up at the question and saw how he had tugged over his trousers and was starting to untangle himself from the bed cover wrapped around him.

"It's an Apprentice Mask." I explained, only to catch the curious tilt of Yugo's head as he looked at me and I decided to explain. My gaze fell to the mask and my fingers ran over the carefully carved lines. "When a child is born they're given a blank mask from the village Shaman and it stays blank until the Shaman deems the child ready to apprentice under the Masters in the village. A design is carved on their mask, usually one that closely matches that child's spirit, and they're sent to work under Masters of a trade.

"From there, it depends on how much the child is determined to learn and how much the Master wants to teach but eventually each Master that has taken the apprentice will speak to the Shaman and tell of the experience. Based on what the Master's have said, the Shaman will then add a single color of their chosen trade to the Apprentice Mask and have the child show it to the entire village at a feast. That is when everyone will know that this child is now an adult who is learning their trade. They are earning their colors."

[P]

Hot embers flew up into the darkened sky as the large logs of the bonfire shifted and were caught on an unexpected breeze. I watched as they twirled and twisted in fascination, only to be distracted by the sharp pull on my arm as my guardian tugged me along behind her.

"Agh, can't you be any faster?" I heard her grumble but wasn't sure what she meant. My balance was precarious with how she tugged me forwards by my forearm, which made my shoulder ache, and my ankles hurt from having fallen on them a few times on the way over. Still, I did my best to keep up though my toes barely touched the ground.

"Dinner?" I questioned of her over the din curiously, wondering why we were in the middle of the village much earlier than usual. At the thought of said activity, my stomach grumbled happily always eager to be filled. Privately I planned out ways in my head on how to sneak some food past my guardian tonight so that I could save it for the next morning.

Before I could get a reply from my guardian the noise around us gradually dimmed until all that could be heard was the crackling from the fire. My guardian went still and I bumped into her leg which earned me a low growl of dislike. Quickly I scrambled back so that we were no longer touching except for my arm that was squeezed tightly. From the treatment a small whimper left me before I could stop it, and the pressure on my arm increased.

Then the crowd of villagers around us exploded into cheers and applause, instantly catching my attention. Up on the hill beside the Shaman was a teen who's mask had a single stripe of green on it, a color that I recognized all farmers wore proudly. The teen descended from the hill and received proud pats on their back or hugs or gifts. It all looked very warm, especially when the teen was able to accept these things with a shy shrug of their shoulders or proud clench of their hand in the air.

My stomach fluttered as though I were sick with nerves as I watched. With my free hand I frantically tugged at the bottom of my guardian's tunic.

"What? Why? What?" I questioned as quickly as I could, needing to get to my answers even though it was difficult to phrase what I wanted to ask.

Somehow my guardian knew what I wanted anyways, "Keane has earned his right to be an adult now." she stated, "he will be a farmer and take good care of the crops. One day he will be a Master who will pass down his knowledge to others who might want to learn." Her voice gained a distinct dissatisfied tone to it, "unlike you, who does not want to learn anything."

Frozen, I absorbed the words, the lesson, the emotions behind everything. My hand dropped from my guardian's tunic like a stone and something pulsed painfully in my chest as I turned my attention away from her. Keane seemed to be approached by everyone in the village at least once, all whom seemed proud and happy for him.

[/P]

Even now I could still feel that same painful thing inside my chest, like an only wound that had been poked but it was too deep to fully heal over so it still pained me anyways. So I ignored it, knowing that I wouldn't feel it if I pretended it wasn't there.

Yugo had folded the blanket by now and held it with his free arm in his lap. His eyes were directed to the mask in my hands but the moment I looked to him he seemed to sense it and soon met my gaze.

Eyes have always been expressive, they told me what someone felt, what they didn't always say. But I found that I couldn't recognize what Yugo was directing at me in that moment. It was foreign. It made my stomach knot with nerves. I was the first to look away, only to push myself to my feet. Then I held out a hand to help Yugo up. He tucked the blanket through his sling so that it draped over his arm then accepted my hand with a nod of his head.

"Have you apprenticed under anyone so far?" Yugo asked as I pulled him to his feet. "You seem to be pretty good with healing and making things," and he gestured with his head towards the loom on the floor with it's half woven cloth inside as he went to put the folded blanket on top of my bed.

"No, I haven't started any apprenticeship." I answered with a shake of my head and I saw how his brow furrowed when he'd turned to face me again, ready to head out.

"Then, how do you know how to work that? Or heal wounds properly?"

"Trial and error, mostly." I hummed as we both walked out the door and I lead him towards the entrance. "But when I got better with my portals, I secretly watched what some of the Master's did from afar. And..." I paused for a moment, glancing away sheepishly. "I might have just taken a few extra tools they didn't seem to need..."

His step faltered, I grew a bit defensive, "if I hadn't, I probably wouldn't be here." I stated tersely, daring him with my tone and eyes to try and tell me otherwise. His eyes widened even more.

"Wha- ah.. I just..." he paused for a moment as he swallowed, clearly trying to search for words that he couldn't seem to grasp. I waited patiently and his body language screamed of regret and nerves. "I wasn't... expecting your answer." he finally got out and moved to palm the back of his neck with his free hand. "That's all."

I relaxed, feeling only a little guilty that I had made him nervous. My intention had only been to get the point that I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't needed to do so across, not make him guilty or regretful. "Okay," I accepted instead, unsure of how to express all my thoughts on the matter. He simply let out a small, relieved sigh that only made me feel worse about it.

Bent down at the waist, I grabbed my satchel that was by the door again. I draped it over my head and stuck an arm through the strap so that the bag could hang by my hip. Not bothering to use the door, I instead summoned my magic and created a circle big enough for the both of us. Food should make us both feel better.

There was only a second of hesitation before I tied my mask around my head, just in case. "Ready?" I asked eagerly, mask in place. When I looked over to Yugo, he had just turned his head towards the portal.

"Where are we going again?" Yugo asked even as he stepped forwards with his eyes bright towards the magic.

"To the fruit grove," I grinned at him, then took his hand into mine as I stepped forwards through the portal.


A/N: I figured about half way through my editing that Elena probably wouldn't know angles. So, I just wanted to state that when she mentions the 'L shape' here, I mean a ninety degree angle.

To Girlbook, Candy120, Guest and Bug, thank you for your reviews! You have no idea how much they help for motivation in my editing. I know I can see how people go through the story with reads and visits, but it's not until I read a review that I sorta remember that your real people out there, you know? Anywho, I'm really glad to hear how you guys like the story and I am determined to get through it all!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter too! Till next time!