Chapter 23

Lian blinked open his eyes to late evening. He'd actually managed to sleep through the day. He sat up and pulled his pillow off of his head. He yawned, "Wow. Maybe I'll just turn nocturnal." He snickered, "I'm sure Father would be so very proud of me if I did."

He jumped as the door to his room flew open. His eyes widened as his father stalked in, looking pissed. Confusion was his first response but it quickly faded into fear. He shrank into the wall.

"Mayu needs her strength and she won't have it if you continue to make her sick," Seth'ius snarled.

"But I'm not doing anything!" Lian insisted.

"That's it exactly it. Control your emotions, Mii'lian. Or I'll have them stripped away."

Lian's eyes widened in horror. He nodded quickly, "Yes, Father."

"Now, Mii'lian," Seth'ius commanded.

"Now?" Lian repeated. His mind raced. How was he supposed to control his emotions now? He swallowed and slowly forced his face to go blank.

Seth'ius finally nodded, "Better. I want you completely calm before I let you out of this room."

Lian nodded, "Yes, Father."

Seth'ius stalked out.

Lian took a deep breath and curled into a ball. He knew full well stripping someone's emotions was possible. He stopped and sat up straight, "But…But I thought telepaths are executed upon discovery of their abilities." He stared at his bedroom door, "Unless..." His eyes narrowed, "Unless Father has one hidden away somewhere."

He glanced at the fox. His head cocked to the side when the fox nodded at him.

Mayu found herself suddenly numb. She got to her feet and excused herself from the dinner table. She hovered outside Lian's door and focused on him. He was numb. Underneath it though was realization and a dangerously high level of curiosity.

She looked up as Daria and Seth'ius walked up. She nodded to them.

Lian jumped and cursed under his breath when the door opened.

Seth'ius came in again, this time with Daria and Mayu.

Lian barely managed not to roll his eyes. "Again?" he muttered under his breath.

"Mii'lian," Seth'ius sat down on Lian's bed.

Lian leaned away from him and put his hand on top of the fox's head, "Yes, Father?"

"No one is honoring you. The people on that corrupted world were only using you. The Old God of the Sky and Sea almost possessed you," Seth'ius explained gently.

"You should've known better," Daria added, "That world was dark."

Lian rolled his eyes and glared at his brother, "What did you expect me to do? It's not like I could get back on my own. I don't even know how I got there-"

"Mii'lian. Silence," Seth'ius commanded.

Lian clenched his jaw and pressed his lips together. He lowered his gaze to stare at his hands.

"It is because of your blatant defiance and unwillingness to listen and accept things as they are that people are afraid of you," Seth'ius continued, "Everyone is afraid of you. Afraid that you will become like the previous god of the sea-"

"Sky and sea," Lian corrected.

Seth'ius reached out to grab Lian but the fox leaped forward and bit down hard on Seth'ius's arm. The metal of his gauntlet bent inward in the creature's jaw. Seth'ius jerked away and tossed the fox into the wall.

"Buddy!" Lian got to his feet.

Daria grabbed him and shoved him back into his bed.

Lian snarled.

Seth'ius stalked across the room to where the fox snarled at him, it's ear flattened and it's teeth bared.

Lian tried to get past Daria again. He didn't dare use the boots. They'd launch him into the ceiling and then he wouldn't really be of any help to anybody.

Daria shoved him again and pinned him to the bed.

"Daria get off him!" Mayu yelled, "That's his fox!" When Daria ignored her she turned to their father. Her whip wrapped around her father's ankle and with a strong pull the man fell to the floor.

Lian struggled against Daria. Both of them fell off the bed and to the floor. Lian kicked Daria in the chest, sending his brother rolling into the wall. He raced over to the fox and picked it up.

In a single moment everyone in the room was wrapped with vines. Seth'ius was tossed into the hallway and pinned to the wall. Lian and Mayu were held still. Daria was lifted off the floor and set gently on his feet.

Nissa appeared in the doorway, "Enough." She looked at the three children. The vines let the three of them go, "Get to class. You're going to be late."

Mayu nodded as she wrapped her whip around her hand and placed it back at her hip, "Yes, Mother."

Lian held the fox close to his chest and silently trotted out of the room. The fox licked his chin.

"Mii'lian!" Daria went to follow Lian but Mayu caught his arm.

She met his gaze calmly, "Let him be for now. This was very chaotic. He'll need time to calm down."

"Why did you attack Father?" Daria asked.

Mayu glanced at where Seth'ius was held against the wall. The lie easily fell from her lips, "Because. That was Lian's fox. Mother gave him responsibility over it when he was young. Their life forces are connected." She met her brother's gaze calmly, "I don't know if Father realized that when he cornered the fox. If he had destroyed it, he would've destroyed Lian."

Daria stared at her. He glanced at Seth'ius, "Does Father know?"

Mayu shrugged, "I do not know if he does." She grabbed Daria's hand, "We have to get to class Daria."

Daria followed her. He looked like his entire world was caving in for about half the walk. Then he rationalized it, "There's no way Father could've known. Only Mother knows these things."

"And me," Mayu added.

"But you're the goddess of knowledge," Daria explained, "Of course you know."

Mayu sighed, "If that is how you would like to see it, Daria, then I cannot stop you."

"It's the only possible explanation!" Daria insisted, "Father only wants to protect Lian!"

Mayu sighed again and remained silent. She could tell that Daria genuinely believed what he was saying.

Lian sat in class, alone at his table, with his fox sleeping on the table in front of him. Nothing had changed from the last time he had been here. The other kids in the class all sat closer to the front while he sat in the back. The closest one to him was a kid two rows ahead of him that continually shot terrified glances at Lian over their shoulder. The instructor paced through the rows of tables where the other kids sat but never ventured any farther back.

He had noticed all of this before but it hadn't bugged him as much. Before it had been normal. Now that he knew what it could be like to have friends he really wanted it. He was the loneliest he'd ever felt. And the most bored he'd ever been. He laid his head down on the desk and poked the fox's nose.

The fox sneezed and scowled at him.

He chuckled and petted it, "Sorry, Buddy. I'm just the most bored I've ever been."

"Mii'lian be quiet. And keep that creature under control. You are disrupting the other students' learning."

Lian lifted his head. He filled his expression with every ounce of the boredom he felt, "Sorry. I'll be sure to figure out a way to keep my fox here from sneezing. But until I do, I'm afraid it's a completely natural response that everyone does and no one has control over."

When class finally ended Lian was the first out the door. He carried his fox, instead of letting it walk on it's own. He wasn't going to risk someone hurting it, accidentally or otherwise.

Mayu waited for him. She was talking with one of her classmates, but the moment the girl noticed Lian she apologized to Mayu and hurried away.

Lian watched her go.

She shot a terrified glance in his direction before she entered her classroom.

Mayu sighed and walked up to him. She put her hand on top of his head, "Don't mind her."

Lian looked up at Mayu. He sighed and lowered his gaze, "I'm not welcome here."

Mayu pulled him into a hug and petted the back of his head, "It'll be alright. Things will get better Lian. We just have to wait."

"For how long?" Lian asked, "Everyone has waited for five hundred thousand years. And nothing has changed."

Mayu pulled away from him and stared into his eyes, "Just a little bit longer."

Lian motioned to the kids walking through the halls around them. All of them gave the two of them plenty of space and eyed Lian as they walked by. Lian noticed and sighed, "A little bit longer their time? Or our time?"

Mayu lowered her gaze, "I don't know exactly how much longer it will be, Lian. I just know that it's coming. Soon."

Lian shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I don't want to be here anymore," he admittedly quietly. He looked around, "It's odd that a world so bright can be so dark and unwelcoming, but a world so dark was so warm and loving." He paused and lowered his gaze, "But, after what happened, I...I doubt I'll be welcome back."

Mayu nodded, "I'm sure they'd welcome you back with open arms, Lian. But if things line up a certain way, you'll be able to go there again. And you won't have to look back."

Lian cocked his head to the side curiously, "Okay?" He looked around again and chewed his lower lip, "I'm not going to class. I'll just wander until classes are over."

"Father's going to be angry with you," Mayu told him.

"In case you hadn't noticed," Lian muttered, "he's always angry with me."

Mayu shook her head, "Unfortunately." She put her hand on top of his head, "If you think leaving will do you good then go ahead and go."

Lian smiled at her, "Thanks Mayu." He made his way to the side door he usually left through. It was barred closed from the other side. He scowled and set his fox down on the ground, "Stay back, Buddy." He took out one of his pens and drew a handful of symbols onto the door. After a moment the symbols glowed a bright red.

Lian picked up his fox, who had refused to move, and jumped backwards as the doors exploded in a burst of flames. He picked his way through the wreckage and left the building.