Re: Croatoan [55]
anonymous
April 19 2009, 23:32:43 UTC
Kiku lifts an eyebrow at him.
“Yes, it sounds crazy, I know it does,” Arthur says. “I - I don’t even know what she’s trying to do. She might be trying to help me, I think.”
Kiku blinks, curious. “What makes you say that?”
“It’s the way she looks at me sometimes - it’s like she knows something and isn’t telling me, and it’s frustrating.”
“Don’t think too hard on it,” Kiku says, standing and readjusting his quiver on his shoulder. “I think that I’ll go back to my room and wait for dinner.”
“All right, I’ll see you there, then..” Kiku slips out the door; Ariel dissolves into wisps of air that whirl around Arthur before blowing out the window.
Arthur sighs and undoes the belt at his waist. The leather is worn, stained in some places with water, dirt, and something darker.
Arthur holds it in his hand and thinks of blue eyes and a confident, cocky smile. His hands tighten on the rough leather beneath his fingers.
“All right,” he says. “I’m going to keep trusting you.” ___
Kiku wakes with the dawn. It takes his mind a bit to catch up with his body as he dresses in his clothes with slow, deliberate-looking movements. His thoughts are obscured figures standing in a mist; the closer he tries to pursue them, the farther away they flit from his grasp.
In the end, he decides not to think too hard as he walks out of his room with his bow and quiver of arrows, setting them down outside the dining room. Breakfast that morning is fruit and some sort of bread with a glass of water; Kiku eats these in slow bites and allows the food to revitalize him.
It’s only when he’s finished and walks out into Avalon’s open air that he fully wakes, Ariel swirling around and over him like a cloak. The fresh air clears the fog of sleep from his head and allows him to remember to bow to Eriol. “Good morning, Hiiragizawa-dono.”
“And you as well, Sir Honda. It looks like it will be a lovely day for hunting.” And he’s right about that; the early morning sun paints the sky and filters through the leaves, allowing them to make out trunks and bushes in the forest.
“We should go, then,” Eriol says, and turns to enter the woods.
“Just the two of us, Hiiragizawa-dono?”
Eriol turns his head back to Kiku and shoots him a sad smile. “The last of our knights left yesterday, remember? There’s only the two of us now, Kiku. If you want to stay, though, I won’t blame you.”
He thinks of these things that are feeding off of Avalon’s world - things hiding just out of sight and mind, nightmares turning to bloated flesh and consuming the world around them.
And he realizes that he won’t stay in this house. He can’t. Not when Eriol is risking his own life to protect the lands he rules. He is a guest. He must help when he can.
“This is fine,” Kiku says, stepping forward to take his place at Eriol’s side. “Let’s go. I think the castle will be safe.”
Their steps fall into synchronicity as they push aside branches and brush to venture off the path and into the forest. ___
“How long have you lived on Avalon’s lands?”
“Hm?” Eriol brushes aside another branch, looks over at Kiku with patient curiosity.
“You’re the lord of these lands, right? How long have you lived here?”
Eriol doesn’t answer, pushing a vine aside with a careful touch. “Longer than I look like I have, Sir Honda.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Eriol stops, sighs, and turns to face Kiku. “What I mean is, time moves in different ways for me,” he explains. “I’m much older than I look.”
“How much older?”
Eriol smiles, and while it doesn’t look any different from usual, Kiku thinks he sees sadness ghost across those lips. “It gets so hard to keep track after all this time. It’s easier just to let it go and not think about it.” He tilts his head and looks at Kiku. “You know that feeling, right?”
A chill skitters down Kiku’s spine, and his eyes widen. He can’t tear his eyes away from Eriol, or the implications of what the other just said.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kiku mutters, turning away and starting to walk again.
“Yes, it sounds crazy, I know it does,” Arthur says. “I - I don’t even know what she’s trying to do. She might be trying to help me, I think.”
Kiku blinks, curious. “What makes you say that?”
“It’s the way she looks at me sometimes - it’s like she knows something and isn’t telling me, and it’s frustrating.”
“Don’t think too hard on it,” Kiku says, standing and readjusting his quiver on his shoulder. “I think that I’ll go back to my room and wait for dinner.”
“All right, I’ll see you there, then..” Kiku slips out the door; Ariel dissolves into wisps of air that whirl around Arthur before blowing out the window.
Arthur sighs and undoes the belt at his waist. The leather is worn, stained in some places with water, dirt, and something darker.
Arthur holds it in his hand and thinks of blue eyes and a confident, cocky smile. His hands tighten on the rough leather beneath his fingers.
“All right,” he says. “I’m going to keep trusting you.”
___
Kiku wakes with the dawn. It takes his mind a bit to catch up with his body as he dresses in his clothes with slow, deliberate-looking movements. His thoughts are obscured figures standing in a mist; the closer he tries to pursue them, the farther away they flit from his grasp.
In the end, he decides not to think too hard as he walks out of his room with his bow and quiver of arrows, setting them down outside the dining room. Breakfast that morning is fruit and some sort of bread with a glass of water; Kiku eats these in slow bites and allows the food to revitalize him.
It’s only when he’s finished and walks out into Avalon’s open air that he fully wakes, Ariel swirling around and over him like a cloak. The fresh air clears the fog of sleep from his head and allows him to remember to bow to Eriol. “Good morning, Hiiragizawa-dono.”
“And you as well, Sir Honda. It looks like it will be a lovely day for hunting.” And he’s right about that; the early morning sun paints the sky and filters through the leaves, allowing them to make out trunks and bushes in the forest.
“We should go, then,” Eriol says, and turns to enter the woods.
“Just the two of us, Hiiragizawa-dono?”
Eriol turns his head back to Kiku and shoots him a sad smile. “The last of our knights left yesterday, remember? There’s only the two of us now, Kiku. If you want to stay, though, I won’t blame you.”
He thinks of these things that are feeding off of Avalon’s world - things hiding just out of sight and mind, nightmares turning to bloated flesh and consuming the world around them.
And he realizes that he won’t stay in this house. He can’t. Not when Eriol is risking his own life to protect the lands he rules. He is a guest. He must help when he can.
“This is fine,” Kiku says, stepping forward to take his place at Eriol’s side. “Let’s go. I think the castle will be safe.”
Their steps fall into synchronicity as they push aside branches and brush to venture off the path and into the forest.
___
“How long have you lived on Avalon’s lands?”
“Hm?” Eriol brushes aside another branch, looks over at Kiku with patient curiosity.
“You’re the lord of these lands, right? How long have you lived here?”
Eriol doesn’t answer, pushing a vine aside with a careful touch. “Longer than I look like I have, Sir Honda.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Eriol stops, sighs, and turns to face Kiku. “What I mean is, time moves in different ways for me,” he explains. “I’m much older than I look.”
“How much older?”
Eriol smiles, and while it doesn’t look any different from usual, Kiku thinks he sees sadness ghost across those lips. “It gets so hard to keep track after all this time. It’s easier just to let it go and not think about it.” He tilts his head and looks at Kiku. “You know that feeling, right?”
A chill skitters down Kiku’s spine, and his eyes widen. He can’t tear his eyes away from Eriol, or the implications of what the other just said.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kiku mutters, turning away and starting to walk again.
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