"Yao..." The voice was intentionally soft, but it still startled the boy. When he whipped around, Thera was standing near him, arms neatly folded across her chest. She took a step forward, leaning a shoulder against the wall. "Before you go in," she nodded her head to his door, "I wanted to show you something. I found a symbol. Maybe you could take a look?"
"A...symbol?" Yao wasn't good at Hieroglyphs, nor with any Pagan symbol. He may have lost a small speck of trust for Thera, but he still has faith. She got to an almost-perfect reasoning last time...all she needed was time. "Is this something" Important? "....you think I can read?"
With a light nod, Yao removed himself off the door and ready to follow the woman.
Thera lead Yao down the hallway and around the corner. She turned the handle cautiously and gave a slight push, keeping distance as if afraid of more firecrackers leaping out at her.
Nothing exploded this time, but the stale, clogged smell of gunpowder still lingered. She lead, taking Yao's hand to guide him into the room so that he could see the wall. She pointed.
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"It looked, um, Chinese-ish. So I thought you might know..."
He knew. He knew. He had written that character on many papers, on greeting cards, on fridge notes, on a tree bark along with his own name when he was a kid, he wrote it as a promise...a promise to...
"..Zhi. It's Zhi." A whiff of smoke from leftover fireworks entered his noes. His mind derailed from there.
Rushing to the wall where the character was written, Yao clawed at it, only to find the blood transferred to his fingers. A sign that the blood was fresh...fresh from the mutilated body of his beloved brohter.
"Zhi...ZhiZhi...Why....Zhii..."
Finally giving up on destroying the character written on the wall, Yao slowly slumped on the floor sobbing, not facing Thera until a few seconds later.
He felt numb, defeated, played and lost. Yao was about to nearly shut himself from the world and let the wolves have their way. How many times had he convinced himself that he was going to be alright without his brother? All those self-reassurances fell everytime he's confronted with a no-way-out situation, and he was so unsure of how much more he can take..
Yao was lying to himself about being okay. He hasn't accepted yet. He may forgive, but he will never forget. Ever.
Having someone to lean on - no, having someone thoughtful enough to take care of him was a blessing. Thera was right, he should stop having these fits and focus on the bigger picture: finding the clue.
"Thank you," he whispered, closing his eyes to block what was left on the wall.
For the second time, he rubbed his eyes free of tears, not minding how the blood was mixed there. That is, if he noticed the blood in his face.
Thera tilted her head to see Yao's face. Her thumb brushed over cheeks to wipe away dirt and blood. Fingers smoothed through hair to straighten it, and a palm ran down his back to remind him to sit up. Given the situation, Yao looked presentable. His eyes were red and puffy, still. She continued to hold him. They would wait just long enough for him to stabilize.
"We'll find the clue," she murmured quietly. Damn, she'd wanted to avoid the clues at all costs, wanted to tear them to shreds and simply give up. Point fingers until they could finally leave- but seeing Yao like this. Holding him like this- she knew that it wasn't possible. The clues were their only way out. "We'll find the clue, go over it with everyone, and figure this out." Keep him focused. "The two clues that we had before. Peter and the Wolf, and the three pictures. How else can we put them together? What did we all miss?"
Sitting down on the floor was weird. And creepy. But he paid no heed to that as he gathers himself and his thoughts. People were outside, and time was running out. There's no telling when the door will close shut. Perhaps it would be better that way?
"Peter and the wolf" the very first clue meant to point fingers at a lot of directions, "...they said that tune was Russian." whatever he was saying, it came from the mouths of others. Yao was too tired to think of anything deep, that was not what the clue's purpose. He was just connecting things as he goes.
"And these pictures..." Pulling the three pictures, why he had held on to them the entire time was beyond him. he laid it out on the floor and pointed at them collectively. "Russian. Hungarian. Russian and Hungarian. Something to do...with them....the both of them."
"Didn't they say these photographs....were from World War 2? What do they have in common during that time?"
"There was World War 2, I think, but the point was this." Thera's fingers moved between the pictures. "They all came from the same area. The location was the same, right?"
"You mean, Europe? I'm sorry I have no further knowledge about this. Where in Europe, exactly?" Yao pointed to one picture. "This was in Hungary with Russia involved, this too was in Hungary, so they say. But this one..." Letting his finger linger on the third picture, he had a bit of confidence regained in him. "This ties it all together. What is it? Should...should we ask them?"
At Peter's name, she felt her stomach twist into a knot. She swallowed. Peter. He hadn't said a word since Raivis-
A soft breath. "I'm sure he's fine." Not that he was fine, in the true sense of the word. 'Fine' as in 'not dead.' She shook her head to banish thoughts. She saw Yao weakening with growing distress, and quickly cut into it. "So Peter and the Wolf." It brought the focus back to his eyes. "Peter, the Bird, and the Duck work together. And the Cat works with the Wolf. So." She pointed at the third picture. "We're looking for a cat and a wolf that might be from these pictures. If... that makes any sense."
She felt her spirit lift when Yao had nodded agreement. He was looking better. Relatively together. Thera let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding, and nodded as well. "Okay. Let's go down stairs and see if anyone's found the third clue. Maybe that'll put things together."
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With a light nod, Yao removed himself off the door and ready to follow the woman.
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Nothing exploded this time, but the stale, clogged smell of gunpowder still lingered. She lead, taking Yao's hand to guide him into the room so that he could see the wall. She pointed.
志
"It looked, um, Chinese-ish. So I thought you might know..."
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"..Zhi. It's Zhi." A whiff of smoke from leftover fireworks entered his noes. His mind derailed from there.
Rushing to the wall where the character was written, Yao clawed at it, only to find the blood transferred to his fingers. A sign that the blood was fresh...fresh from the mutilated body of his beloved brohter.
"Zhi...ZhiZhi...Why....Zhii..."
Finally giving up on destroying the character written on the wall, Yao slowly slumped on the floor sobbing, not facing Thera until a few seconds later.
"Where is he...WHERE IS HE??"
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Yao was lying to himself about being okay. He hasn't accepted yet. He may forgive, but he will never forget. Ever.
Having someone to lean on - no, having someone thoughtful enough to take care of him was a blessing. Thera was right, he should stop having these fits and focus on the bigger picture: finding the clue.
"Thank you," he whispered, closing his eyes to block what was left on the wall.
For the second time, he rubbed his eyes free of tears, not minding how the blood was mixed there. That is, if he noticed the blood in his face.
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"We'll find the clue," she murmured quietly. Damn, she'd wanted to avoid the clues at all costs, wanted to tear them to shreds and simply give up. Point fingers until they could finally leave- but seeing Yao like this. Holding him like this- she knew that it wasn't possible. The clues were their only way out. "We'll find the clue, go over it with everyone, and figure this out." Keep him focused. "The two clues that we had before. Peter and the Wolf, and the three pictures. How else can we put them together? What did we all miss?"
Reply
"Peter and the wolf" the very first clue meant to point fingers at a lot of directions, "...they said that tune was Russian." whatever he was saying, it came from the mouths of others. Yao was too tired to think of anything deep, that was not what the clue's purpose. He was just connecting things as he goes.
"And these pictures..." Pulling the three pictures, why he had held on to them the entire time was beyond him. he laid it out on the floor and pointed at them collectively. "Russian. Hungarian. Russian and Hungarian. Something to do...with them....the both of them."
"Didn't they say these photographs....were from World War 2? What do they have in common during that time?"
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Yao forgot something. "Have you seen Peter?"
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A soft breath. "I'm sure he's fine." Not that he was fine, in the true sense of the word. 'Fine' as in 'not dead.' She shook her head to banish thoughts. She saw Yao weakening with growing distress, and quickly cut into it. "So Peter and the Wolf." It brought the focus back to his eyes. "Peter, the Bird, and the Duck work together. And the Cat works with the Wolf. So." She pointed at the third picture. "We're looking for a cat and a wolf that might be from these pictures. If... that makes any sense."
She felt her spirit lift when Yao had nodded agreement. He was looking better. Relatively together. Thera let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding, and nodded as well. "Okay. Let's go down stairs and see if anyone's found the third clue. Maybe that'll put things together."
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