Whiteshade of Blackness Chapter 20: 19 sad flower, a gundam wing/ac fanfic

whiteshade of blackness 'gaku15 feb, 2008

# 19Sad Flower

I am drifting on a raft just enough for myself

The waters is black and restless surrounding me

I thought I see a deserted lighthouse far ahead,

standing still in the thick mist,

on an island that's almost drown by the tide

The waves bring me closer to that motionless shadow

I find it odd as the supposed tower is so small

compared to myself and the vast waters

…it is you smiling..

On a rock that is enough for you alone,

with water laps brush your naked feet ceaselessly

Then the winds clear the mist between my raft and your rock

as if mocking our short distances that we both don't want to cross

…you're smiling..

With eyes hidden behind your long bangs

I know what color they have even though I never see them

The small shy smile that I know only belongs to you

I wish you realize the me on my raft staring at you

I wish you don't see me drifting away

I wish I could call out to you even just a whisper

I wish I knew your name in my lips

…you're smiling

at nothing..

Perhaps you realize that I'm just an illusion

and that you are only a dream to me

And the waters bring me pass your rock farther and farther

as the mist swallows you again from my sight

I don't wish to see you again since it'd only be hurting us both

I only hope you'd always have what little rock enough to stand on

and that when you're finally drown you'd wish that my raft were near

even though I might not be on it anymore to help you

I wish I wouldn't see it when your smile vanish in the waters

So I'm still drifting away

farther..

And you're still smiling

a shy farewell smile…

Deia started to wake, she didn't realize when she had fallen asleep, must be the blur of the speed made her eyes tired. Like, how fast you should go if you want to compress a 9-days ride to a 9-hours worth?

She glanced to Yuy's face behind, a little downhearted at his closed expression. The strong hands embracing her felt a little guarded. She frowned to herself, facing forward again.

Nightmare..?

Deia jerked by surprise. '…don't startle me like that..!' she groused.

Sorry..

A moment of pause.

It felt like you were reaching out to me…but you didn't want to come closer…! It felt like letting go..

Deia stiffened a little. The dream ! '…You felt it..?'

He gave a soft grunt.

'You could see my dream..?'

A snort. Of course not..!

'Right…! Of course…' she gave an awkward smile to herself.

'What time is it ?'

You fell asleep for about two hours..

That long ? She didn't realize it was that long a dream… 'How long till we get there ?'

About an hour, more or less… You nervous ?

"…should I..?" she whispered. Her heart didn't beat as anxious as before, the dream must have etched the submissive feeling in her consciousness.

-Felt like letting go..- her mind echoed her Beast's thought. 'Letting go of whom….?'

There's nobody here..!

Deia snapped her head up. She knew what was her Beast talked about, she ,too, didn't feel the OWLs in the vicinity anymore, not even one. Not even a single scrap of an OWL. If she calculated it right, they were above Eyränd's territory. Recalling that the vast land was always in open undulating wars with the OWLs, it was indeed strange that they had retreated in only a short span of time –considering of how long they had insisted invading the land.

Or have the Eyrändysths made a new move against them ? Deia tried to puzzle the pieces together, but she found that they changing their representatives to Viricidia was hardly a tactic that could result in this kind of situation. What the Lord Barqiss told her in the morning assembly brought her another anxiety, not that she really want to care about it…

We're here..!

Deia jerked again, she was more than nervous she'd felt calmer than a living being in hibernation, that was if no one surprise her. She glanced back a little irritated at her Beast behind. -…liar, you said it'd be about an hour to get there…!-

A blast of thick air being penetrated around them made her snapped her head forward. They were running only a few meters above ground, so she could still see the great Barrier of her Land that was a hemisphere of light seen from the outside as a dome's wall. And right now, it was….writhing…

She widened her eyes.

"The Barrier is…. hurting..!!" she forced her voice out in the violent winds that cut through the horse's space-shield. Now she noticed that even the whitefire horse was having a difficult time moving forward against the turbulence, no wonder he'd said it'd be about an hour. She wonder if any common beings could force their way into this power-storm.

Perhaps that was what had the OWLs retreated from the area.

The Barrier's condition was actually in a boiling state, like the surface of the sun if you could see it up close, with mist and tendrils of raw energy coiling and furling through the air like a creature in its dying thrashes, soaring to every direction as if searching for a helping hand, clawing blindly as they found nothing. It extended to almost more than twice the size of the Land itself.

Like a drown giant…if you could hear its agonized howls. Painful and despairing..

"Could we get in there..?!" Deia shouted anxiously, her mind blanked, all she could think about now were her loved ones in the Land.

Yuy didn't say anything, he was just tightening his hold on her small frame, bended their bodies forward focusing the whitefire horse to pass through the excruciated winds. Every now and then layers of boiling claw of power blasted their space-shield, blinding their eyes temporarily, as if trying to hit them off track.

Deia only felt cold freezing her core, she didn't aware of her body trembling in his embrace; not because the immense power hitting them constantly, nor the enormous deathtrap they were walking on. She didn't even realize that they could be wiped out of existence like a small grain of dust.

It was the feeling of rejection that froze her. Being cut off from the Land she'd taken as her Mother, her only home.

That her Land rejected her presence to this state, more than prejudice, more than verbal condemnation, more than murderous intention she'd felt following her close behind in every corner of the Land's. More than…-

"…Human mine…." A soft voiceless whisper in her ear, "Human mine…" it repeated again and again like the gentlest necromancy-spell. She felt the furls of light brought her up from the darkness of her worst fear into the strong embrace of her Beast's.

"..Human mine…!" he held her flat to him as if wanting to crush their bodies into one. Deia gasped out, closing her eyes tightly and pressed the strong hands embracing her body as if determining those hands to not letting go of her.

She concentrated at the feeling of him in the long and hard trek in the howling Barrier, he felt warmer and warmer as if burning up into the whitefire itself, cocooning her whole body and soul. She thought she didn't mind if she were to be burnt in the fire that was him, becoming fire must be to not see the darkness ever again…

"Human mine,…we're here.." the soft whisper woke her awareness somewhat, she must have lost it somewhere in the supposedly short distance of ride into her Land.

A tired blink.

Several more focused blinks.

…..They were in her Land..!

"The Castile…?" he asked. She was still in an overwhelmed state, but nodded once. The condition of the Forest was too obvious to not be noticed for even her baffled mind. Everywhere her eyes fell she could see broken trees, rough and dry. Fallen branches were scattered on the ossified grass and what once were leafs that had fallen to the groungs by their solid weights. They let out crunches as they broke, like the sounds of dry bones. Somewhere she could see some things of fractured and broken statues of what were once….beasts.

Deia whimpered a couple of times, she couldn't hold it in anymore, it developed into sobs once they passed through the supposedly villager's area. The villagers they could see scattered on the ground as if caught in a panic commotion were having the same fate as the Forest's beasts.

"Please, hurry…!!" he could hear tears in her plea. The whitefire horse tried to fly faster in the thick motionless Air, heading to the center of the Land where the white Castile waited in its silence.

They landed on the Castile's outer court on the high buildings. She jumped down even before the horse's feet touched the white-stoned landings, calling out Lyea's name.

Yuy watched his Human disappeared as she turned in the intersection of the corridor. He dismounted the whitefire horse slowly, turning to the city laid out under the Castile, the horse's spread one-wing behind him was as if intended to protect him…or may be to push him down there. He didn't bother to mind it.

….It's really happening…!

He couldn't perceive of anyone he knew in the Land. Not even one. His eyes strayed to where the orphanage stood still and silent, just like the rest of the Land was. The only thing still flailing about was the Barrier, he could see it above the many layers of the opaque Stratus. A deep crease appeared between his brows, even the Stratus was dead…!

The only sound of a living being he could hear was his Human's voice in the still Castile. He closed his eyes with a shudder running up his body, and turned to the direction of his Human that was searching for her sister's whereabouts.

"The OWLs retreated when…"

"…something they feared of-"

"Death."

"..nothing left, even the soil was.."

"-too many dead bodies found.."

"..charcoaled-"

"Dead sleepers.." (#chp.14)

Yuy walked slowly supporting his body with his hand along the wall. Whispers 'collected' in the space of the Castile plagued his mind ceaselessly, they were heard superimposed with one another that they started to not make sense anymore.

….was it me..?

..my doing…my fault..?

Something he'd seen…

….the Order of Millenium..! His mind denied.

No. Something must have triggered it. Something that was more powerful than Time…

A scream of his Humans' voice snapped him to alert.

Deia ran everywhere she thought where Lyea would be. First she tried the underground libraries. It might be odd to try the deeper levels first, but those were Lyea's most favorite place, her sanctuary from the Castile's live. The places safer from harm's reach.

When she didn't find her there, she went to Lyea's room, her study, her other favorite places. Then, to where she didn't want to go : their father's room, fearing what she'd find there knowing that their father was still helpless and that if ever something happening to him, then, Lyea would be there trying to protect him with everything she had.

Something flashed in her frantic mind. "Where are the Charms…?!"

"Lyea..!! Where are the Charms…?!" Deia shouted to the silent walls of the small corner garden that used to be Lyea's choice of solitude. Then she ran to their father's chamber, already feeling the dread waiting for her there to find. She didn't come across with anyone she knew so far, only several guards she'd seen from the whitefire horse's back, down in the streets to the Castile that seemingly heading out. The rest of the Castile's denizens were nowhere to be found, the kitchen was left by the cooks, the maids were disappeared as well, even the yard's workers. The empty stables meant something good, right…?

"Ruéa..!!" Deia banged the double doors open, the inert hinges broke when they were forced to work in their immobility. She already took no concern of the state of the Castile was, finding that everything had stopped working like the hands of time that had stopped ticking, the dead mother-of-pearls layers along the walls; even the Air was…-

The drapes of the bed canopy were down. A cold feeling ran down her spine made her immobile for sometime, only staring at the still bed, knowing that her mind was saying that she didn't want to see it up close. She swallowed her fears and approached the silent bed ever so slowly. Something familiar caught her eyes, hidden by the heavy drapes of the bed that brushed the floor. Those were Lyea's slippers, her feet was visible behind the drapes, as if her body was bended on the bed covering something –someone- that must be unmistakably their father.

Hope flared in her heart, she hurried and swept the drape. "Lye-…!!"

Then she screamed.

Yuy heard the horror in his Human's scream. Momentarily forgotten his own demons, he ran as fast as he could to where the scream came from in the dense Air. When suddenly a blast of light blinded his sight and he was thrown back flying along the empty corridor, hitting the far wall at the end of the T-shaped intersection.

He'd reflexively crossed his arms in front of his face, shielding it from the attack. But his eyes widened in shock as he saw his attacker at the other end of the long corridor.

Deia tried to make her mind work, despite the scream she'd reflexively let out before, she couldn't fathom what was her eyes seeing.

'…that..-'

A thought resurfaced her numb mind. -Did the Air betray them...?Not ! ..right ? If the Air turned from their side then they wouldn't survive ! The Land wouldn't survive...!!-

'…that….is Lyea's..-'

Deia reached out her left hand tremblingly, not really realizing its movement, her other hand was left hanging numbly on the drape she'd gripped.

'…Lyea's..-'

Their father's unconscious body was not there anymore, instead there was left her sister's body from the waist down, ossified and fractured like the things she'd seen in the way there. The cut that had severed her body by the waist was clean, like halve of a statue some dork-of-a-sculpture had left there by the sheer of senility.

"Wh…..why…Lyea?" Deia asked dissociatedly to the silent room, her mind couldn't process the scene exposed to her sight. An instinctive sob woke her from the stasis, surrendering to her instinct, she let it move her in a desperate run to her own chamber.

"Sisteeer..!!" she called out frantically. She didn't remember getting into her room, or how many times she'd called out to her, of not finding her in her bedroom nor her bathroom. But the sight that shocked her to awareness again was her sister's upper body floating in the water of her small pool that she was witnessing at the time.

Despite her severed body, she was closing her eyes peacefully, with a pleasant little smile on her lips, as if she's asleep and having a pleasant dream. Her left hand was holding the crystal of Skirr on her chest. The cut body was glassy and clear-colored, as if made of crystal or ice. The water of the pool was shimmering with its relaxed undulations, casting reflections of rippling white lights to the walls and her wide eyes.

Deia got into the pool's water slowly, half aware of the water that was still 'alive' that had let her in. It was half-thighs deep as she had grown taller in the last years. Slowly, tentatively, she brushed the white face in the water with the back of her fingers first, then with her thumb, her fingers. Feeling a little drop of relief as the face was still felt pliant to her touch.

Then the smoky-blue eyelashes fluttered open several times. Her eyes were dreamy focused on her face above the water surface. A gentle smile bloomed on Lyea's lips. (…Dearest….!), her voice was resonated with a soft ringing sound and the ripples of the water's surface.

(…You're back..) her words were slow as if spelling them out.

Deia smiled, trying to conceal her feelings. "I'm here..!" She lifted her sister's body in her hands, instinctively knew that she shouldn't pull her out to the water's surface.

Lyea blinked her eyes several times as if sleepily. (You shouldn't have come back this early…)

"…I can't help myself…"

"I'm homesick…!" her snicker almost sounded like a sob, she covered it with a pity smile.

(..mm-hmm…? I was having a dream..) Lyea drooped her eyes gently with another smile.

(….you were dancing with Yuy..)

Deia snapped her smiling lips shut trying not to let out another sob.

(..and everyone was ogling at the both of you….with dumb faces…) she let out a soft chuckle. Deia snickered with a wet sniff at the end. "Yeah….?"

Lyea smiled happily. (…then you had this smug face.. saying that he's MY Beast..! Anyone wants to come near us, come singed away..!)

Deia chuckled, "What's that, that doesn't even make sense linguistically..! And I don't have that kind of face….!"

(Just a dream of mine…)

"Well, you should've seen it live..!" Deia sniffed again before widened her smile, "…their faces..!". Because if she were with them in Viricidia, then she wouldn't be like this.

Lyea seemed to know her thought, she shook her head lightly. (..but then I wouldn't have this dream…!), as if knowing that wasn't what had happened in the reality, and she was just trying to cheer her up.

"But..-"

Lyea stopped her reason of denial with another gentle head-shake. Her eyes pierced deeply into her mind. Deia gave up, she bit her lip trying not to cry openly.

(Listen…), seeing that her Dearest shook her head vigorously with brimming eyes, Lyea pulled the silvery-purple braid in the water gently with her right hand. (I might not be able to say it again if you don't listen..!). Deia answered with a sob.

(Don't blame yourself…!)

(Guilt is something you should never feel…) she took sometime to collect her strength.

(Live on…!). Deia whined weakly at that.

(Never take your loved-one for granted… never take your own feelings for granted..)

(…you know,…. I love your smile..!)

"…Lyea…" she whispered her name pleadingly.

(…my Blessed-one..) her eyes unfocused and turned glassy.

"…please..!" her tears rippled the water's surface several times. Then, as the surface calmed to still, and the shimmering lights dimmed down, Deia saw the crystal Skirr that stuck up from her sister's grasp turned opaque white, the white speckles in it died, and so did the water.

"No..!!" Deia pulled her hands with Lyea's body along, but finding that she couldn't as if it was being held in the grip of a dead-water. She heard the cracking sound of the water hardened from the edges of the pool centerward, and jumped out of it just in time as the dead-water managed to catch the end of her riding-dress at the back. Deia pulled her dress roughly, heard the broken solid-water to shards releasing the cloth as if hearing her beat up heart broken to pieces.

Then in the quiet air, she heard the shattering blast somewhere in the Castile.

Yuy held his breath as another blinding light struck his body again, this time it was powerful enough to blast him through some walls. He landed on his four between pieces of stones and splinters and white dust, his beast eyes focused to the source of the blasting lights. Light wobbly steps he could hear in the quietness of the dead Castile…he didn't perceive anyone in the Land, then why…?!

A bigger blast turned everything in its way into dust.

…Sir..! His mind echoed before his sight turned perfectly white.

Deia intended to run to the doors of her chamber, but a powerful wave that followed a big explosion blasted her flying backward several steps and made her fall to the floor bracing herself with her hands. Her shocked mind realized that someone was still alive in the vicinity.

"Wave…the Charms..?!" –but why attacking..?

She ran as fast as she could with her protection aura of purple light shrouding her body seared every now and then by the wave of the powerful blasts. And her paranoid mind told her louder and louder with each blast that she never encountered that wave's signature before; that it was not consolidated Harmony which the Charms usually used, the fact that it was so powerful and she'd never perceived its presence bothered her greatly. Who could have that much of power to hide that great a presence..?!

In the back of her mind, she realized that there was no quake after such a blast would only meant that the power was such a pure focused power that could disintegrate everything it touched.

"YUY..!!" Deia yelled as she saw the large hollowed space of the Castile's walls, it almost looked like a building's void, only a little more twisted in the spacing design. She blinked as her mind adjusted itself.

The Beast was on his knees with one hand instinctively extended to his front fending off the attack, his other hand supporting it behind the back of his opened palm. The floor under his feet was still remaining while a void was clean cut around it along with its environment to his far back. There was something of a shield-like blackthing floating if front of his opened hand; it was shaped like a layer of carved sculpture above everything else, but it proven that it could fend off such a powerful blast despite its fragile quaint appearance.

'..That's…. a Void's shield..!' –thank god you have that voidcraft..!-

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE..?! GET OUT!!"

Deia jumped a couple of steps behind, that was the first time her Beast ever yelled to her, at the top of his lungs, even; though it was not his Voice (she thought she might drop dead if he were to use it to do that). She stared wide eyed and forgetting to breath. Her eyes instinctively snapped to someone that was attacking him.

-Odin..!-

"Od…-!" a blast blinded her eyes to white but she could see beams of shadow, like the opposite of lights penetrating the darkness through wholes, reaching her body as there was a silhouette of black armored body flashed to her front. After the light died down, she could see it more clearly that the Void-shield was in fact a black space that interconnected in a type of seal configuration. She'd seen that configuration somewhere…

"NOW..!!" Yuy grabbed her body by the waist from her front and fled in his beast speed. The jerk brought Deia back to the present, and as she was carried backwards, she could see the attacker that was following behind them.

Then their bodies plunged down as her Beast jumped off the landings. The Odin that pursued them to the edge of the landings up there was blazing with power. Such a pure power she'd never encountered before, twisting and furling all around his body like a dancing-shroud of misty lights.

….the misty lights had two inhuman eyes..!

"Tha.." Deia tried again her choked gasp, "…that's Odin's talisman-sword..!!". Odin might already be dead, it was Her that was moving his body and attacked them, perhaps Her last wrath of loosing him…

They landed on the orphanage's front yard after several inhuman jumps. The whitefire horse was already waiting there, and Yuy threw her body on its back without seeing back at her again. That what feared her most.

"Yuy…!!" she called out as she saw him running away leaving her.

"Go now!!" he barked.

"But I won't go alone..!!" she barked back stubbornly, turning her body in her seat so that she was facing the horse's behind.

A burning-black prussian eyes answered her, as if angry that she was being a brat whining a childish demand at such a situation, it made Deia clamped her mouth shut in fear for a short second but she regained her composure in no time. Thinking that she didn't care even if he hated her for being a brat, what she really cared was his well being. So she gathered her stubbornness she could muster and shouted vehemently as the whitefire horse started to flap its one-wing to blast from that dead ground.

"I won't let you get away from meee..!"

"COME BACK TO ME, YUUYYYY…!!"

The possessiveness in her voice was more thick than the inert Air, and the emotion…he almost thought he heard her shout was reverberated in the air. He was grateful enough that someone actually thought of him more than their own values. That's enough for this lifetime…

He could still hear his Human's voice calling his name from the lengthened distance. He smiled to himself.

…time to repent my treason..!

The burning mist of light came blasting in the silent Land his way, and landed crushingly on the orphanage's stone roof. A pair of blazing inhuman eyes focused on his being, and he bowed respectfully, knowing that it was his past-omission that would always hunting him even now, even for eternity; even after so many lifetimes he still had the debts to settle. That he was a sinner would never change.

…Louccä (1), …thank you for having me in your presence…! He thought to Her as his eyes turned silver.

…You…!! She countered; How dare you showed yourself in front of Me…!!

He straightened his body, ..Since I am to blame, You'd settle it with me now..?

A sudden flare of the burning mist, as Her inhuman eyes in the mist turned blackish-red, She launched at him using Odin's body.

Deia shuddered on the back of the whitefire horse, trying to quell her worst fear down. The Land lain silent in its stillness all around her, she tried not to feel the freezing feelings crept up her core. Looked up, knowing that she already missed the Stratus's lights and beautiful patterns she watched all her life there.

"…why…, Mother…?!" she cried and gripping her arm sleeves tightly she called out again at the top of her lungs looking up to the opaque Stratus for the Mother that never on her side, even knowing that the Land never really took her as Her child. "Please…" she whispered, "…please return him to me alive.. please..!" and pleaded with all her might over and over.

((…what are you crying so much for..?))

The indifferent dull-resonating voice greeted her close at her front. She snapped open her eyes, finding two feet stood above the space of the whitefire horse's behind, floating in the air; looking up at the maid's face that was all too familiar to her.

"Kyllea…!" she muttered in alert.

Kyllea smiled although it didn't reach her eyes (it never was for as long as Deia knew her). She could clearly see all the thoughts flashed in Deia's mind since they were written all over her face like a textbook. That made her let out a soft chuckle, even though it sounded meek, seeing Deia's alarmed expression.

"Lyea…." Deia started after taking a pause.

((…Milady said that you'd barge in to this shell no matter the Barrier let you in or not…!)), her wine-colored locks still fluttered by the speed. She looked sad, if that word could be related to her in any way.

((So she wanted to stay and wait you here to tell you to get out of this dead place..))

"……why..?" Deia asked softly with confusion.

Kyllea already knew what she meant was why she didn't do anything to her, not about Lyea's circumstances. She let out a sighing smirk, ((Why..? Of course because Milady paid your life with hers, now wouldn't it?))

((She told me to let you go…)) there was something seemed like left unsaid after those words.

"Yuy..?" Deia asked with wide eyes full of hope and fear mixed together, Kyllea almost felt sorry for that child.

"Yuy..?!" Deia asked again harder, feeling like she almost wanted to rip that meek smile from her indifferent face. Kyllea reached out her hand slowly to Deia's head, she almost dodged it but kept still.

((…you've grown.. at last..!)) the hand stroked her head gently, almost affectionately. It confused Deia a little more. She didn't even realize it that they already passed the Forest and nearing the Barrier.

((Try to keep be true….?)) it was almost sounded like a goodbye, Deia sensed it and gasped, something almost formulated in her mind to say but she couldn't find it in words. So she reached out to the maid trying to hold on to her, but the Barrier met up with them from behind her with such a great speed, she widened her eyes.

((…., blessed-child…!)) a gentle parting stroke on her cheek, a sad relieved smile. And all Deia saw was that her body crashed violently on the Barrier's wall and broken like glass into thousands shards and shimmering dust, they penetrated the Barrier and shot out to clear a safe path for her and the whitefire horse.

Deia took a long gasp feeling the loss all too well. The dust felt warm to her empty opened hand, it dissipated by the boiling Barrier's claws like snow melted in the desert's air. Deia whimpered hard once, and snatched her hand back, held it close to her chest and embracing it with her other hand as if a wounded precious pet she tried to comfort. She didn't understand what was happening. In the end she was the only one left alone and hurting, that was her nightmare every night that she tried to survive from all her life. Deia sobbed and cried silently, if the odds even left her alone then what good she kept fighting for, right?

"…come and kill me (2)….!" she said brokenly, "Yuy, come and give me my death -I don't want to die alone…!"

"..please come to me….." doubled over on the horse's back, she prayed it repeatedly. The whitefire horse glanced behind to her but did nothing except kept running widening the distance between her and her Beast separated by the dying barrier.

Deia didn't remember much of getting off the horse's back when they stopped eventually next to a spring in a small forest. Nor did she remember of getting into the spring and drowning herself. All she knew was that she wanted to let go… and that's what she did.

The moon's smile looked bigger on the dessert.

….. Louccä, …thank you for another night with me…! A pair of green inhuman eyes stared the moon with something like a yearning feeling etched in them. He sensed a man approaching silently from behind by the sound of the sand grains.

"Master Trowa, Master's awake and asked for you…!"

He stood and nodded once, walked fluidly to the biggest tent. Q smiled as he saw Trowa's face as he opened the tent's flap to get inside, keeping his eyes on the tall boy as he sat kneeling beside his bunk on the carpet. Trowa stroked his cheek gently with the back of his fingers as the way to ask him his condition. Q had already familiar with his unspoken language, he smiled wider.

"I'm fine, now….thank you for being there when I called you.."

"You broke three ribs and fractured more bones than my fingers could count, and so much cuts…!" his whisper was soft and almost submissive. Q blinked half sleepily.

"I'm sorry to give you a hard time…" Q said with a deep sincerity shone in his blue eyes, Trowa didn't say more to that and just indulging himself at stroking Q's forehead while his other hand clinging to the blanket like a lost child. "How's the dragon..?" Q thought he had to divert his tall companion's mood to something else.

"…cracked..", there was a flash of alertness in Q's eyes, but then it changed into a suppressed euphoria and calmed again.

"So the dragon will re-hatch soon…" his blue eyes looked deeply into the space above him, his small smile somewhat relieved but sad.

"…you saved the dragon in time..!" at that almost defeated whisper, Q smiled gratefully.

There were bubbles floating up slowly from around him as he sank deeper, the sound of the water soothing his light sleep. A soft warm voice calling out to him heard reverberating in the water.

((…time to wake up now…..!)) he'd heard that voice before. That was the voice he heard constantly while he was kept in the box, something that accompanied him in his shell.

((…yes….please wake up now….)) it encouraged him deeper. He tried to flutter his heavy eyelids open, but they felt like they were glued.

((….you should wake up now, my Obscury…!)) the voice sounded patient carrying a smile. He felt warmed inside and savored that feeling of not being alone, and took his time to try to open his eyes with a peaceful feeling.

First he saw that there were lights surrounding him in the water. The bubbles were shining as they traveled up, his eyes followed them to the surface and found a mirror-like reflection of her on the underside of the water's surface. The bubbles made it as if it was raining around her as they popped by the surface's film. She was smiling gently. Her silvery-purple hair flowed freely around her like the finest silk, and she was stretching her hand reaching out to him.

He was never alone….

He was just never realized it that he was loved, and protected.

Her smile didn't falter, and he tried to reach out to her hand. The water felt warm… and he let himself got pulled up.

The surface broke as he gasped his first breath long and deep, arching his back to let his lungs filled with as much air as they could be filled. The first movement out of the box felt like a slow motion in thin wrapping embrace of the gentle night air, he sank back slowly until the water reached his chin and the undulating surface brushed his slightly opened lips as if trying to kiss them.

He blinked once slowly, letting the water fell from his long eyelashes. As the sheen of water cleared from his eyes, he could see the forest surrounding the spring, lighted by uncountable fire-dragonfly pairs as they flew in the air in couples. The spring was like a natural well with blue-light moss illuminating its wall of rocks. The forest canopy was cleared above the spring letting the moonbeams casted softly on him as he looked up to the sky.

He tried to move his feet, and the water drifted him gently to the edge where he could feel the rocks formed almost like a staircase. Stepping on it one by one, he got out of the water. The spring's outer wall was raised about a waist high from the ground just exactly like a manmade well, and he sat there for sometime savoring the feeling of dirt and grass with his toes for the first time in his life, before realizing there was someone in that place besides himself.

Turning his head a little to the right, he found a boy in black armor staring at him with unreadable deep stare half covered by a tree. The wind played with his brown locks as if caressing his face, while the small lights of the fire-dragonflies made his prussian eyes sparkled by their reflections every now and then.

He blinked at him, feeling that he had to say something to the other boy, and not knowing what he should say first, he only utter one word softly.

"Duo…" his voice felt silky on his tongue, and he liked the way it sounded. The other boy in black armor didn't move, but he had a very gentle stare in his eyes at hearing his first word even though he didn't smile.

"Heero…" he said just as softly.

The dragon awakened that night, somewhere in the desert.

There were surprised shouts from the men witnessing it as the blackstone egg broken and bright light exploded and wracked the tents and sands, while they ducked onto the ground.

Trowa held Q's body in his embrace, wrapped in his blanket. His hand and head covered Q's face from the wild swirling wind and sands. It lasted only for a few seconds, and then left white cold mist fogged lazily in the center of the explosion, screening someone standing motionless with long black hair cascaded everywhere and even piled on the dry sand.

And all eyes stared unmoving by its suddenness. Feeling their heartbeats racing and mind gone blank..

She was crying brokenly, she knew she sounded and looked pathetic but she couldn't help herself; if so, she thought she could be the most pathetically cry-baby and let anyone come to her rescue.

But she felt bad that Lyea was started to whimper too seeing her crying like that..

"What is it, Ankhiie, what are you crying for, hmm..?" their father scooped her up into his strong embrace, and he sat on the oriel's ledge holding her small body. She couldn't speak for sometime as her crying was still too much for her 3 years old self to handle, so her father stroked her back gently and kissed her forehead every now and then, waiting patiently until she left sobbing and hic-upping.

"…I'm sorry.." Lyea said eventually gripping the end of her father's jacket, standing near his feet.

"And? What was it about..?" he asked patting his older child's head. She looked down for a moment, then looked straight to his eyes. "I told Deia her naptime story as usual..", she paused hearing a strong sob from her younger sister, "…..it's about Obscuries….!".

"Oh…" he smiled, "What about Obscuries, Ankhiie..?" his younger child only hugged him tighter to hide her face.

"Pretty Obscury said goodbye…" she mumbled softly after pausing sometime.

"Goodbye?"

"Mm-hmm….came to my window to die…!"

At that he lifted his blue brows up, he could guess what the matter was, seemed like Deia found a dead Obscury-morpho by her window sometime before Lyea told her the story. May be this morning when she just got out of bed. "They will die eventually..!"

Deia shook her head vigorously, "But what if he's my Obscury…!". The wide purple eyes wetted by tears looked straight to his eyes, and he blinked.

"Your Obscury…?"

Deia looked down to her hands on her laps, "Obscury was searching for me, and when he found me I didn't open the window, and he died because he was so tired and I betrayed his efforts of searching for me…!" she pouted, another bead of tear fell from her eye. They both noticed it that she had referred to the butterfly as a 'he'.

The Lord muted for sometime. Betrayed the efforts? He should talk to Odin for teaching the knight's virtues to a 3 years old girl sometime soon. Now where did this 'searching for me' come from, he sure knew that there was not such a thing in the story. He turned to Lyea, who shook her head slowly. Apparently she didn't know where Deia's assumption of that issue came from, either.

"Why would it searching for you?" he asked gently, a little fear of the answer biting his mind.

Deia played with her fingers for a while, looking like she was carried away in another world's pace. "Because Obscury would tell me my real name…." she whispered dully –just one flutter of his wings would be enough...if she were there when he was still had his life she thought she would have witnessed it; the name written in the Air that was her real-self's only.

There reigned a heavy air after her admission, she remembered her father cocooned her in his embrace, and Lyea's hands held her hands gently. And they whispered something, but she couldn't remember what was it about..

He woke up with a start silently, eyes snapped open but didn't jerk. A steady but slow rhythm of inhuman heartbeat heard by his right ear, and there were two strong hands embracing him gently, a black cloak covering his body, and a firm chin guarding his head. He could hear the soft crackling sound of fire burning tinder and twigs somewhere near, but the warmth emanating to his body was from the body which was currently hugging his.

He blinked once, sensing that that someone was actually awake and knowing that he himself finally was awake too. Feeling a little too comfortable but somehow awkward, he intended to say something instead of moving, but he found that he couldn't find any appropriate word in that kind of situation (because he actually didn't want their cuddling arrangement to end, and just hoping that the someone would cooperatively pretend that he was still asleep).

A soft snicker which somewhat sounded relief heard from that someone, and he knew that that cuddling party was over.

"Are you hungry? I'll fetch something for you to eat..!". That voiceless whisper was all too familiar to hear. He looked up as the black armored body stood up, wanted to stop him from leaving but finding that his hand wouldn't move to grab him. "Wait here, I won't be long." And with that he was gone in liquid strides.

Looking around after following him disappeared from his sight, he found that the sky already lit up by the sunlight, and the spring was not far from his sitting spot. Bits of memory from his awakening came back to his mind.

"Heero…" he tried the other boy's word with his tongue, he suspected it was a name. Were they introducing themselves? "No more home…?" he asked, even though his mind was numb he could still remember the situation to some extent.

The prussian eyes stared deep and somewhat sad, "I…." he paused for a while. He thought that maybe he'd say something like I'll bring you to my home, but somehow he knew that the other boy too didn't have one. "…am….Home..!" the brown haired boy looked like he was pleading silently.

He stared the other boy for sometime, and half aware walking to him, resting his head on his firm chest covered by the warm black armor, and whispered "Tadaima…". There was a loud thump coming from his heart under the black armor, but the other boy whispered back silently "….okaeri..".

And after that, "….I fell asleep just like that…!" he said to himself with a gasp.

"Aaaggh..!! That was so stupiiid…!!" he ran his hands trough his hair, realizing that it was dry and kept in loose braid behind his back. He stared at the honey-color tresses between his fingers, and frowned. '…did he braid it for me…? Felt so cheesy..!!'

He pouted to himself and let his hands fall down, and as his face turned downward too he realized something worse. 'I'm (still) sitting like a GIRL…!!', he jumped to his feet. A blush colored his face.

The black cloak fell from his shoulder to the ground, he was sweating nervously with shame, knowing that he was still wearing her riding suit….and the water-tree's heart on his chest as the fake brea-…. His face exploded red. Half panic he rushed to extract the liquid-like substance from his chest to his left hand, it was clear color when it left his skin and balled in his palm; he willed it to form an accessory of wrist-band alike around his wrist and after it solidified to metal-like, it changed color to his taste of black.

Fell down sitting on the ground again, he sighed out deeply. "….he must think I'm a joke….!" He said to himself, and became aware again that he's STILL sitting like a girl, let out a curse under his breath.

So he rearranged his sitting pose, thinking what a boy should sit like, but aware that his body was not manly. "…I'm a joke to myself..!", he pouted, but continued to try another manly-sitting-pose, crossing his legs and hunched his back, put an elbow on one of his knee, and one hand (masculinely) rubbing his chin with a smug smirk on his face. "This's definitely not a girl's sitting pose, right..?!" he said satisfactorily to himself.

A silent sound of dripping water surprised him, as he turned he saw the black armored boy under a tree watching him with amusement clearly etched on his face. He grabbed the black cloak and doubled over using it as a cover, "HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WATCHING ME THERE…?!" he screeched with shame.

"You sit like a yakuza…!" he said in an amused whisper as he approached his shelling spot.

"What..?!" he poked his head out of the black-cloak-shell, a fine blush still coloring his face.

"Water and some fruits and edible leaves..!" the black armored boy laid out in front of him on a scarf. Then he patted the head affectionately, "Silly Human..!".

"….thank YOU..!" he said sarcastically.

"Welcome..!" he answered sincerely even though it sounded flat as usual, and sat on a fallen tree trunk near him.

He stared him sitting there from the end of his eyes, and slowly he straightened up his body; the riding dress was like the usual long sleeved long-dress only with the cut high from under his chest line and made it open at the front, so it didn't really look like a dress. Under the riding dress were a body-tight suit of legging and shirt and light transparent vest. Deia hated frills, so her dress was never too girlish, anyway. He gulped while staring at the armored boy openly now, he was never…Deia was never ashamed that she was a girl who was actually a boy in front of him, so why now HE should feel self conscious being a boy in a girl's dress..? The Beast didn't look like he cared that much…!

…..Right, now that he didn't show any cleavage from under the low neckline….! That thought made his face burn brighter again, he wrapped the cloak around his body with both hands. The Beast was staring at the fire, though, seemed like he took pity on him and acted that he didn't care about his inner turmoil.

"I'm not laughing, so stop feeling self conscious..!" he whispered flatly.

See?! "Umm…I'm not laughing, myself, but I still feel like a joke…!" he turned his face from him in a snap.

"If I'm a bother, I'd leave you alone for a while…"

"You know I'd be more bothered if you do that…!" he pouted to himself, still not looking at his companion. There were a lot more things he'd wanted to discuss than this… Like Odin, for instance; or about the whitefire horse, or about what happened….or about himself…

Sensing that the Beast's eyes glued to him for sometime now, he couldn't help it and said, "I'd dye it to silvery-purple again if you'd like….!"

"It's better like that..". His heart thumped hearing that. "There might be some ones searching for somebody with your previous descriptions, so it's better looking different from what they already knew…!"

"Oh, …right..!" his face fell. He didn't really want to bring the topic about Deia and the real-him because he didn't want to be compared with her, since he wouldn't be able to take it if the Beast like her more than him, right..? But some words of appreciation would ease his mind a little, right? Oh, but by thinking like that he acted girlish, wasn't it? He shut his mind and just contentedly nibbled at the food there, now that he thought again he realized he was hungry.

The fruits tasted like fruits, and the leaves tasted like sweets. There was a fresh-menthol taste in the red leaves with a little sour taste, he frowned at the mixture but held himself from asking what kind of leaf was that. He glanced at the Beast, blushing again at finding him staring with a fixated stare at him, and turned his face away shyly. Wasn't it the Beast who was usually being shy…? Why was it they're being the opposite now…

There was a soft snicker coming from the Beast, he didn't really see his face whether he did it in amusement or mocking instead. "….You said you're not laughing…!" he accused.

"I'm not..!"

"….stop sensing my thoughts, then!"

"Alright..!" there was a smile in that word.

"Like, I mean it…!" he turned his flushed face to the smiling Beast's face.

"Hai! Hai!" he lifted up both his black gloved hands in surrendering gesture.

"Beast, I really mean it…!" he said louder realizing that the Beast only seemed more and more amused at his antics, and he's feeling more and more exposed.

The sun was high, and the sands were hot as they all fried by the sun's heat. He had the Beast's black cloak around his shoulders and hooding his head for a bit of shelter against the sunlight. The Beast had retracted his full black armor, or more like re-shaped it to a plain tight black suit like what commoners should wear. But he thought with the body like his he should knew himself that the Beast still looked like a soldier-like guy…well, may be a mercenary as they were openly looking like homeless boys (that was, if nobody misunderstood him as a girl since he's still wearing the riding-suit).

"…sooo…. What should I call you with..?" he tried to make a conversation, mostly to distract his self conscious mind.

"Anything you like is fine..!" he whispered breathlessly.

"Ummm…we can't use the name we used before, right…? For precaution's sake?" he fastened his steps to catch up with the Beast's wider ones, seeing that he didn't wait for him nor adjusted his steps with his.

"Anything you like…."

Feeling a little ignored by his reserved attitude all of a sudden after they started to walk out of the forest, he held the Beast's sleeve from behind. "So… Beast is fine…?!", he just wanted to get a reaction out of his stoic Beast.

"I call you Human, right?"

A little upset at his brush off attitude, he grabbed his hand with both hands. "So, so…what was that 'Heero'-thing back then…?!" a little flush colored his face.

"Once you can call me that, I'll call you by your name…!" actually he secretly intended for his Human to cling to him just like that, he just didn't show it outright, knowing his Human was still not feeling stable enough inside.

He thought his Human sensed something out of him somehow, since he suddenly stopped speaking and just stared up to him with his large purple orbs. After a very long pause of desert winds and hot blazing sunlight and dry grains of sands, he quietly talked again, looking at his feet. "Do you miss her…?"

The Beast didn't answer for a long sometime, before he did answer, he thought he should make it clearly himself first; "…I….do miss her…!". The Beast didn't say anything to that admission, may be he didn't know what his Human meant, so he continued. "She was the only one that I could see from inside the box…!", he smiled a little to himself.

"….It's like…. seeing someone through a two-way mirror. That her reflection was me…trapped on the mirror's surface in a room just enough for myself". The Beast kept silent, so he took it as a cue to add more. "I'd dreamt about you one day…!"

He took a deep breath, "…you were…dead…in my arms…!" He felt the hand he was holding pressed his hands a little to his body side at that, he felt grateful that the Beast cared. "Hmm…it was dark around as usual, but I could see you just as perfectly. You were –I guess I could say, about two years younger than you look now…?" He made it as if it was a question in the end, and stared up at the Beast's face beside his, waited for him to acknowledge his open stare.

Smiling as the Beast's eyes encountered his, "I'm glad that it didn't turn out being a bad premonition…!" Then chuckled a little, "…but I did make her anxious enough to explode the Castile, didn't I..?!" That was the incident with Odin's talisman-sword and her misunderstanding at the situation. His purple orbs dimmed a little, "Well….since my anxiety and blackness were what all I could let out to try to reach out to you at the time…!"

He batted his forehead to the Beast's shoulder once lightly, "I'm sorry to cause you the trouble back then…!", he said sincerely, knowing that the Beast had almost given up about them like twice, even almost letting his own life –if only he hadn't reached out to him inside Deia.(3)

Seeing from the end of his eyes at Human's blissful expression, he slowed down his steps gradually, not wanting him to realize it that he did that and divert his seemingly comfortable feelings. Already noticed it that his Human…this Human-self was…..-how do you put it into words? …innocent?

Like a new-hatched Obscury…beautiful and fragile.

His Human's purple orbs caught his staring at his face, and he smiled innocently at his stoic expression, looking like he was in a joyful bliss just by the fact that he cared enough to stare at his Human's face like that.

It unnerved him a little, the fact that his Human's smile could make his face flushed openly. So he turned his face away from his smile. "What..?" he already realized it, "You were staring..!"

"Nothing…" At that kind of situation his Human's former-self would bug him for the answer satisfying to her.

His Human stared him for sometime, he still had that blissful expression on his face even though his smile changed into a curious pout. "…okay..!" he said with a generic smile, realizing that they were walking with a more relax pace now, and it made him happy that he was allowed to cling to the Beast's hand like a spoilt child.

The Beast thought that they had to re-familiarize with each other all over again. May be he, on his part, should do that…. just for pre-caution's sakes… He gritted his teeth, there were dull throbs awakening from inside his chest.

They had breaks a few times during the day, since they didn't really know who they were running from, so the Beast had said that they better not looked suspiciously-in-a-hurry and just looking like strays. Human had unexpectedly handled the sunlight okay, except that he seemed to be very disturbed by the heat; but in that desert, who wouldn't? When they had to stop in the place where there was no shelter, the Beast had refused to sit; standing stubbornly between the sun and his overheated Human who was sitting on the sand. His Human had realized it that he was sheltering him with his shadow. That was endearing to him that he had literally hugging his Beast's legs through their rest time.

Sometimes they found some rockery plains, and had their rest much enjoyable. The Beast had prepared some food from the forest for him, and as usual he himself refused to eat. Saying that he didn't need it that much; and just satisfied enough with a gulp of water or two. His Human stared him with something akin to curiosity when he'd said that, but he just glad that his Human didn't probe more deeper, and just left the issue as what had been told.

Nearing nighttime, the Beast had beginning to act a little guarded towards him, although at the beginning he thought it was just his imagination. But the Beast had openly avoided his touch once, when it was already sometime past the dusk and the sky had livened up by the star lights. He'd asked whether there was something wrong, but the Beast had answered with generic excuse of being a little tired and that he himself should better rested too.

Staring at the fire the Beast had lit for him against the night desert's chill, he started to get anxious with the passing time of being silent.

"….Beast, what's wrong…?" he asked again silently, feeling a little rejected, and it was heard in his subdued voice.

"Just rest well…", the Beast said from the opposite seat, "….I'll look for some water for tomorrow ..!"

Seeing that he really got up and left, he fast grabbed his sleeve. "I won't drink too much so we'd have enough supply. Don't leave me…?" he begged.

The Beast was stunned for a second as he didn't expect to hear the later part, then he smiled a little, "It's not that, water supply in the desert is important. You never traveled in this climate before, and even if you don't want it, I would force you to drink more…"

"But you don't-"

"I'm used to it! And I won't leave you…-don't be saying that…!" he pried his Human's hand from his sleeve gently.

"But you are-..!" he tried to catch his shirt again but the Beast's hand already caught his wrist first.

"Here…" leading him back to the fire, he drew a circle on the sand around it with his other hand. "Don't leave this circle. You don't know what dangers there are in the open desert..!"

"Then I'll come with-"

"Stay!!" and that sounded final.

Pulling the hand from the Beast's grip, he sat in the circle, keeping his eyes to the crackling fire. "Alright…". Stole some glances at the Beast's back when he left him by the fire alone, his inner perception already recognized the Beast's enduring-face since late afternoon.

The Beast walked like usual when he left his Human alone. He knew he was treating him a little too harsh, ordering him like that, but it felt more and more miserable on his part and he couldn't show it to his Human. Not when he's still being innocent and fragile like that, he was still not tainted by the world and Time, and he sure didn't want to taint him with his curse. He glanced back from the end of his eyes, very aware of his Human's far sight; he could still see the light of the fire himself, so it's still not far enough to hide.

Just after he finished that thought, he found there was a pitched-canal down beyond the rocks in front of him as the rocks made natural sand-blockade. He stared at it for a second and then slid down into the slope almost half-consciously. Fell seated on the sand resting his back to the wall of sand behind him, he gritted his teeth as the pain resurfaced again. Breathing hardly a few times, he clutched his chest as the craft-plate bit into his organs for the –nth time that day.

….stop it…! I'm not feeling for Human, so don't..- Another sharp bite made it clear that his reason was overruled; he hugged his knees in front of his chest tightly. Trying to control his breath and focused his mind elsewhere, but the craft-plate seemed to know his divertive tricks all too well, it throbbed even more painfully inside his chest.

Kuso…! I'm not cheating on You, stop torturing me…!! He scrunched up his face feeling like he wanted to cry at his helplessness, hugging his head with both hands as he hid his face between his front and knees. His heartbeat thumped erratically and the sounds deafening his ears from the inside, he failed to perceive the sounds of falling grains of sands from the top of him.

"Share…!" his Human's voice sounded excited and worry at the same time, the Beast widened his eyes in surprise behind his knees. "You need a share don't you..?!" he slid down the slope to his side.

Cool gentle hands touched his trembling feverish hands and tried to lessen the dead-hug on his head, "Come, now…I'll share so you don't have to hide it from me..!" he was begging persuasively. The Beast's trembling was more of fear than of pain, he swung his hand and pushed his Human's body from reaching his, seeing he fell back sitting on the sand from the end of one eye. "Plea-..!"

"NO..!!" the Beast barked. "Don't touch me..!" his body trembled openly, "It hurts more when you touch me….!!"

His Human fell kneeling on the sand as he was going to jump him again but stopped at hearing his reason. "Because I'm not her..?" his voice was even and his eyes wide with comprehension. The Beast almost flinched at those knowing eyes, he really thought he was going to be the one nurturing this time; that he didn't want to let his Human face the harsh reality yet.

"…I'm sorry….!" He said almost brokenly, "..It's me, not your fault…I'm sorry…"

"But I'm…-" he countered gently.

"Please…!" the Beast's voice was trembling now.

"….your Human, right..?"

"…just please leave me alone..!" he sobbed once, hiding his face from his Human.

Feeling his hands being empty, he gripped the riding dress tightly, staring at the sand at his knees. "….what if I'm the one pleading at you, instead..?"

"…please….-" that little voice was small and chocked and in the verge of tears that made him had to surrender to his Beast's plea. It must be hurting more than unbearable now that he almost gave in to the urge to cry.

He stared at the miserable heap for some times. "Alright..!" loosening the cloak from his own shoulders, and covered it on his balled body. "But you will get better when you come back to get me in the circle. Or else I will force to share with you….seeing that being like this you wouldn't even have the strength to reject me, anyway…!"

"You got that…?" The Beast kept silent, and just tightening the grips on himself with his trembling hands. His Human took it as an acceptance, and climbed up the sand back to the circle by the fire.

It was almost dawn when he did come back to his Human waiting for him. Even though he was still half aware and still felt the dull throbs in his every heartbeat, he noticed that his Human had a wide black-cloth as a blanket around him. The edges of it were ragged almost like it was purposely tattered, and even though it look like it was a thick enough material, he noticed that the cloth was carried by the gentle breeze with ends almost floating up without gravity.

So it's not really a cloth….

His Human realized his stare and pulled the black cloth tighter around his body. "……I…have privileges.." he said gently after a long silence, not looking at the Beast's eyes; he was the source of her power, anyway. The Beast stared him a little while longer, letting his Human noticed it that he's no longer as miserable as he was last his Human seen him.

Patting the sand next to him, he opened a hand to his Beast, asking for his hand.

The Beast stared at it for a few seconds, and put his own hand on his open palm. His Human gently enfolded it, all the time staring at his face to see whether he was in some kind of pain and hiding it, then he took the Beast's hand to his cheek and rubbed the back of it with his face like a cat. Feeling that the hand was not as feverish as it was that night, he was satisfied enough and pulled the Beast to sit next to him.

"…what happened?" that he really felt he should ask, since he already thought of some things about it and they haunted his mind all night.

The Beast silenced for the longest time, as if he didn't have the answer himself. As they left silent, he indulged himself just playing with his lethargic hand in both his.

"I am….cursed….." he eventually answered with a small breathless whisper.

"And so…?" his Human was still staring at his hands playing with his limp one. "…you don't want to share your curse with me..?" It was said with an even tone that it didn't sound as harsh as the thing it implied. But the Beast flinched a little at that.

"…why not?"

His Beast didn't say another word to that, so he let out a deep breath to himself and gently kissed the limp hand over and over; feeling the Beast's stare burned at him with such turmoil inside his deep prussian eyes.

"Can't I be your Home, too….?" He mumbled that to his limp fingers, and then kept the hand in his embrace flat to his body, staring forward at the colorful sky as it began to get lit up by the dawn.

Do you know how to spell Archantra with the ancient letters?

Lyea asked that one day, showing the ancient writings for Archantra.

It literally says Sad-flower…. means flowers for the deads…

Do you know why? …Because this whole Land is a large tomb…..

…aren't we all cursed in our own way….?

"Well, well…. What's a flower like you doing in such a deserted place like this..?!" a man said coming out from behind a large rock. His face was half-covered by the turban's tail circling his neck.

He blinked once. He knew it he should've changed the riding dress before someone mistaken him as a girl….well, now it's kind of too late to think like that.

"Are you lost, Miss..?" another man came out from behind another rock and smiled, he had round black spectacles on his nose, half covering his eyes. It almost reminded him of a certain Charms with the same spectacles adorning his face.

But at that innocent question he jerked visibly, remembering something said somewhere before(4).

The men seemed misunderstood his body language, and they backed off a couple steps. "Ah, don't be afraid of us, we're just nomadic travelers…!"

True, they didn't look like robbers….but how many robbers have he seen his whole life up till now..? Close to…..none? Then he noticed one of the men's stare on him.

"Hey…aren't you an Arch-…" There was a silent grating sound of a sword being pulled out of its scabbard, and the man stopped talking immediately as he felt the cold steel on his neck from behind. His friend swiftly drew his sword but stopped halfway, seeing from behind his black spectacles that he already lost his chance before he even realized the attacker was coming from behind them, since the sword on his friend's neck was actually his. They put their hands up in surrender.

"What are you doing straying alone in this place..?" the attacker's whisper was smooth and breathless, and they could hear it because they were in close enough range.

"Umm…sightseeing..?" the Archant said averting his eyes from the one behind them, but he seemed like he could hear the silent whisper just as perfectly. There was a heavy pause, and the Archant looked straight to him, "Ow, come on, Beast…this place looks kind of like a giant maze, and I just wanted to really go sightseeing….!"

Another heavy pause, and they could even feel the power of staring-down glaring from behind them. The Archant in front of them tsk-ed once and folded his hands in front of his chest defiantly. "Yes, well…I did intend to play a little hide-and-seek with you; which seemed like isn't working with your senses and all…!!"

The attacker grunted once but didn't move.

"Alright, I'm sorry I'm not as obedient as I should be. Now, would you please give the man his sword back in his scabbard..?" At that they blinked, perhaps as their affirmation at the last part of the Archant's words. The attacker grunted again once but did as he was told, slid the sword back into the scabbard hanging on the back of the man's belt.

They let out the breaths they unconsciously held.

"I'm sorry, you're not hurt, are you?" the Archant's eyes were wide staring at his, looking worry and regretful, and he felt a loud thump coming from his heart as he countered that open stare. Before he could utter one word, he heard the one behind them snorted, and then he could only opened both his palms and shook his head in negation.

"We're sorry, too. We didn't mean to scare you…we should have introduced ourselves first…!" the spectacled man spoke for him, realizing such a powerful possessive-vibes coming from the (latent) attacker behind them.

The attacker stepped forward from behind to the Archant's side, ignoring them. The man who had his sword up his neck managed a side glimpse at his face as he passed by his side, he was quite enchanted by the attacker's deep blue sharp inhuman eyes. And felt disappointed when he ignored them, so he tried. "You won't find any village in several days ride around here…!"

That seemed got the attacker's attention as he stopped pulling the Archant away by the hand, and looked behind at them. He was surprisingly still in such a young age and with somewhat fragile appearance himself, the men thought. The one with black spectacles pushed them up his nose to hide the glint in his eyes, a light flush on his cheeks. He noticed the Archant's eyes already noticed the flush on his face, he averted his eyes from them.

"You see, this place is the Crocodilian-back..?" at two incomprehensive pair of eyes, he continued again. "This should be the well-known passenger's city in Eyränd, this site was suppose to be in the middle of it…?"

They seemed to get it now that there's no more of anything city-like around the rockery site. There was only sand everywhere. The two boys shared a stare between the two of them, and the man knew before they thought of anything he better give them option which they couldn't refuse.

"We have caravans with our troupe, why don't you join us until the next civilization?" The deep blue eyes were staring at them with query. They didn't really blame him since the open place such a desert was a dangerous place with nowhere to run if you ever being chased.

"We have women and children along, and we could use another man to help with the rough jobs…?" the other man added, staring at the beast-boy.

The blue eyed boy seemed to ponder about it a bit too seriously, while the Archant stared them and his companion in turns. Seeing that he took a serious thinking into it, the Archant decided for them both just as easily. "Thank you for your kind offer, we're fine with just the two of us..!" he gave a winning smile.

The men's faces fell.

"Where are you travelling to?" At the boy's question they lit up again. "North-east…?" they pointed with their fingers in unison.

"You don't want to, do you? You don't have to force yourself just for precaution's sake…!" Human tugged at his shoulder and whispered in his ear. "It's better traveling in large numb-.." the Beast tried to counter.

"That's why I'm saying just for precaution's sake..! For you, it's enough with just me, right?!"

The Beast silenced for a few seconds. "But you wouldn't have to sleep in the open again…!"

Human seemed like he was going to retort hotly, but hearing his reason, he clamped his mouth in a pout. "I'm fine..!"

"Plus we don't have food supply…"

"There's no complaint about eating the insects and mosses, and other things you gave me…!"

"But I don't want you to..!"

"…you said they're protein source. You could eat those, why couldn't I..?!"

The Beast didn't say anything. There was almost a pout on his thinned lips behind the cloak's shoulder wrap. Human sighed once, and smiled. "You know, I'm not a spoilt child. Never was. That's why you don't have to spoil me…!"

"Aaahh…We have other beasts with the troupe..?" the spectacled man added, "If you worry that you would stand out…." and he left it at that. His friend nodded persuasively at his side.

"Where's your troupe?" the boy asked, his query stare had turned to generic-alert eyes.

"A couple of dunes there..!" the spectacled man pointed.

"…..that's far..!" the Archant muttered, staring at the dune they pointed.

"We found a still surviving underground spring there, and the both of us were just scouting this site before the troupe could come here for a rest."

"Thank gods, no more recycled-water..!" his friend said with a tearful smile.

"Recycled-water?" the Archant asked with wide curious eyes.

"Water supply is for women and children, men drinks recycled-water…!" the spectacled man said with a strange smile.

"…from urine?" the Archant asked again.

"Aagh, d'you have to say it openly…?! Recycled-water is recycled and still water…!!" the men sported a red blush on their faces. "And we ARE men…!!" his friend added. The Archant laughed pleasantly at that.

And with that, the men won the persuasive contest…

The caravans arrived after about an hour and a half, there were camels used as the rides for the men, some older children rode donkeys, and there were some animals he never saw before used to pull the caravans. He was sitting on a rock at the higher level from the ground, watching as the troupe lowered their charges and set up tents and fire. Everybody seemed busy, he thought. Then he spotted his Beast lowering some barrels from one carriage, he smiled at the sight, he didn't know that him being absent for only an hour or so to other people's company could really make him miss the Beast.

He caught another beast's eyes from behind one tent, and nodded in regards. The beast then disappeared behind some caravans, and he too couldn't spot his Beast between the busy troupe's people. He squinted in search, and spotted the two men waving their hands at him with goofy grins on their faces, he waved back a little. Now he thought they already realized it that he was not a girl since he spoke the first time, but they still acted like that…perhaps because of his delicate appearance? But wasn't it being a little suspicious they acted like that..?

"Hi, there..!" a girl's sound from behind made him jump in surprise, he didn't even hear the steps.

"Hello..!" he smiled a little shyly.

"There you go..! The desert sure is a tough place, isn't it?" the beast gave him a wooden mug with the sliding lid covering it, which he accepted while staring at the beast's face.

The beast chuckled a little at his open stare. "You never saw a beast of my-kind before..?"

"No…" he answered half distractedly.

The beast had dark skin with golden curls at each side of the face, with long metallic-blue furry ears protruding vertically from the cloudy locks; the shiny fur glinted in the sunlight. There was a cerulean gem on the middle of the forehead. The body-tight black sleeveless turtleneck showed (very clearly) that the beast had a male body, except for the lithe waist showed as the little piece of cloth was short only to a little lower than under his chest-line, leaving his firm abdomen bare and the pattern formed like the left-halve of a 'Y' around and under his belly button for everyone to see, and his sexy swaying hips might be saying that he was a dancer. He stared down at the shawl with tinkling crystal-beads at its ends wrapped the hips low covering the top of a very baggy red pants showing the small ankles with a pair of anklets of beads and tiny bells (–that quite surprised him as the bells didn't chime when the beast approached him from behind, or was he too absorbed looking for his Beast?). He didn't wear shoes with his toe nails long and pointy clawing at the grounds, instead only wrapped his middle sole part from his ankles like a tourniquet. And then back up at the supple muscles of the beast's slender arms. Then at the beast's face staring him with an amused smiling face.

"You have a girl's voice…!" he said lamely. The beast blinked once, then laughed loudly at his reaction…long….even doubled over bracing his body on a vertical waist-high stone near his standing spot.

"Ummm…I'm sorry….that's not very polite of me, right…?!" he jerked with a burning shade of red coloring his face, realizing what he'd done and said; luckily the beast seemed like an easy going type, and open-minded.

"That's okay…" -laugh- "…that's the first time someone ever conclude that…." -laugh- "…after giving me a look over….!" –more hysterical laugh-

"I'm…really sorry…!" he felt his face going to burst in flame, anytime now.

"No, no…!" –ebbed laugh- "…that's really funny…!!" the beast eventually stopped laughing to only chuckles, wiping his laughing-tears, still clutching his belly with one hand; there were intricate body-paintings on the back of his palm almost to his shoulder. The patterns caught his attention instantly, and almost like being half-enchanted he reached out to the hand on the beast's belly and touched it with his fingertips; a mesmerized stare in his eyes.

"…pretty….!" He said with a fascinated smile as his fore finger traced the swirling pattern. The beast watched him with an even wide stare. "..'Like it?"

He snatched his hand back, nodded bouncily with a childish smile. The beast smiled a maternal smile; at that he chuckled shyly to himself, holding the wooden mug with both hands close to his chest.

There was a large leather collar around the beast's slim neck, or more like neck and one shoulder, clasped in loose loop almost as big as a belt size, although it looked like even though the beast put it around his lithe waist it was still too loose. He followed the violet eyes stared surreptitiously at the collar with dangling large piece of clear crystal on the chest. The clear crystal reminded him of something similar only smaller in size, dangling by an intricate thread from a girl's waistband. The violets focused back at the leather collar, as it stood out once someone saw the beast's appearance. "This…?" the beast smiled, fingering the collar. "Sometime we traveled to where humans are still a bit not too familiar with beasts, this is to differentiate us from Wilds. So we wouldn't be chase by hunters and traders…?" he tried.

The large violet orbs blinked, there was still confusion in them, but it seemed like he grasped the main idea. "…sorry..!" he didn't mean to intrude someone's space. The beast chuckled.

"My name's Rh:yssé(5); if it's hard to pronounce just call me Rice..! I'm naturally from far-west." There was a purring-stop in the way he said his name, most humans couldn't pronounce it like that, though.

He paused a little, "Unnh… D..Duo.." he said awkwardly.

"Or just 'Human', right..?" Rhyssé said understandingly, "Your beast said you're still uncomfortable with strangers..!"

"Umm, ….not really, it's just that….." Duo stared the mug down a little guiltily.

"Hahaa..! I said it's okay!" Rhyssé smiled wide showing his long fangs, fanning the uncomfortable-looking Archant with one of his slender hands. "It's hard being away from home, or being without one. Most of the troupe's feel that way. But it's good to have company sometimes, right?"

"I guess…" Duo gave a small sincere smile, "Thank you for having us..!"

"Never mind, I kind of a little tired with the attention of being the favorite beast, anyway. Besides, it's good that we have someone with strength to guard the extra caravan..!"

"Favorite beast..?" a little possessive tone tinged his words.

"Hahahhaa..!! Jealous already? Don't worry, it's just that children like beasts naturally..!"

"Oh…" Did his Beast could handle a flock of children using him as a living-toy like merry-go-round for instance..? (since beasts were much stronger than their parents or adults they could play with) He never imagined that, but he thought his Beast's impassiveness would keep them away to some extent.

Rhyssé watched the Archant's expression clearly showed on his face, with a delight smile. He could already smell his presence from down there on the sands, and it intrigued him to see the Archant up close. Just looking once at his Beast, Rhyssé knew that the Beast's Human must be a unique person; but this Archant was beyond his expectation, being so innocent like a new plain paper. He's almost like a baby just got born yesterday with that body of an adolescent. No wonder he caught a territorial-warning in the Beast's eyes back there.

"It's spring water, we stocked it a lot. So you could drink it without worries..!" Rhyssé pointed the wooden mug with his chin.

The Archant dropped his face staring down at the mug still with its lid close in his hands as whatever his thought immediately cut off by Rhyssé's soft words. The beast watched amusedly at the Archant's blank face. "Really..! What did those goon-scouts told you about recycled-water, anyway…?!" he chuckled with a purring sound back-voiced his breaths. It was a pleasant sound.

"Really…?" he just had to make sure.

"Yes!" the beast said with certainty.

"Okay… thank you…!" although it still sounded as though he's not really convinced, but he slid the lid to the side as he noticed that it had something like rotation-hinge just above the mug's handle; and took a sip.

"…'right?" Rhyssé asked with a wide smile.

"Yes…!" the Archant smiled sincerely.

"Alright..! I have some works to do now, just sit here while we make the tents up. Don't worry about works, your Beast said he'd do the chores for both of you. Hmmm… I want to be loved like that once in a while, too…!" Rhyssé said with a suggestive smile. At which the Archant just blinked, that made the beast laugh to himself at his questioning stare while he disappeared from the site.

He pondered what Rhyssé had said; being loved? A little flush colored his cheeks as he repeated those words over and over. The cooling dusk winds helped him cool down the hot-sensation on his face, but he felt there were small fluttering butterflies in his chest as he thought about the beast's words.

"Human…" the soft whisper from his side made him jump and spilled a little water to his laps. The Beast creased his brows a little at his jumpiness.

"What…?" his Human asked with face a little flustered as he caught his eyes for a fraction of second, and then avoided them.

"Something wrong? Is being with strangers..-?"

"No. I'm fine…just thinking a little, nothing worth talking about…!" his Human intercepted his question, and he knew that he was hiding something; but not really something bad, he sensed, so he let him off this time. Right now there was something in his mind himself….

He waited for a while, watching his Human's face who was trying to not countering his eyes. "You remember one of the scout-men called you 'flower', right…?" there was hesitation in his voice, he didn't really sure he should talk about it with his Human, but he wanted to be careful.

"Yes…?" sensing the hesitation in his voice, his Human looked up seeing his eyes.

The Beast bent and whispered silently in his ear, "That's what they use to call a Harem's inhabitant…so please be careful with them; they smelled different from the troupe's people..!", while his hand wiped the spilled water on his Human's laps with his cloak.

"Oh, okay…!" right now the closeness was what felt more by his senses rather than the words in his ear, so he didn't really pay much attention to them.

The Beast pulled his body and walked back down, "They gave us a caravan to use, so you could come down now. When I'm not around you could just watch over the caravan's charges in it…"

He watched as his Beast cued him to follow, so he jumped down from the rock he was sitting on still with the wooden mug in his hands. He forgot that he saved some of its content for him, and he'll make sure that he drank it.

Another thought popped up in his mind; what's a harem…?

Something like 'senior', or 'lady'; an honorary title to call someone respectfully (from the root of the Fairs' language)

…..didn't mean it to sound like Relena's dialogue, but it did, hu…..? (haaha…-enduring laugh)

He referred to the incident where they shared the first time.

Seemed like he heard it too from inside Deia when the gentleman-like guy asked her that…

…saru made up from 'rasé', it's a type of (small) fox in saru's language