Week I - Awkward First Steps
This is how it always seems to begin.
He is running. He is always running somewhere, although he's no longer sure where. Several weeks ago, he thought he was trying to find his home. Back then, he had a good idea of what that word means. Now, he just feels confused. His sister is here. Amerie is here. Other precious people, like Alethia, Yuuko and now Melusine, come to mind and obscure his determination even further. And then, there is that beautiful apartment standing on the top of the world, in an enormous skyscraper in Los Angeles. A wonderful place, warm and quiet, it always gave him space to think, feel and merely be himself.
The kind of place where everything feels good and everyone he cares for is close. Isn't that what home is? Then why is he still looking for something else?
Ether is no longer sure, but somehow, he feels like he's doing the right thing. His feet strike out a solid rhythm on the stone walkway and carry him onwards, out of the darkness of a narrow passageway and onto a wide street of beautiful neo-classical buildings. For a place within the Nexus, a haphazard collection of pieces from every dimension out there, it is suspiciously empty. He likes it this way. As long as he doesn't run into anyone he knows, even if he barely knows them, he feels like he can continue running.
He makes his way down the street, past the closed door of bars, stores and apartment buildings. His steps become more frequent, more confident, as if every step makes this beginning of a journey easier and easier for him. As if the shackles of settling down and false temporary comfort are no longer holding him in place.
And then, he dives into another street and something happens. A flare of white flashes in front of his eyes, crimson eyes gaze from behind the disheveled sky-blue hair, the childish spark within them immediately reflecting in the warm silver gaze surrounded by a pale-blonde crown.
As if on instinct, Ether stops. All his effort and desire to run disappears, leaving his legs with only enough power to make another few steps before stopping and leaving him standing there. He remains still for a second, then tenses and turns around, his gaze seeking the flare of white he accidentally saw. He finds it mere steps away.
"Did you notice, Ether?" The pale figure smiles. "This is the first time you ran past me instead of stopping right in front of me."
"...Rhian."
To be continued...
He is running. He is always running somewhere, although he's no longer sure where. Several weeks ago, he thought he was trying to find his home. Back then, he had a good idea of what that word means. Now, he just feels confused. His sister is here. Amerie is here. Other precious people, like Alethia, Yuuko and now Melusine, come to mind and obscure his determination even further. And then, there is that beautiful apartment standing on the top of the world, in an enormous skyscraper in Los Angeles. A wonderful place, warm and quiet, it always gave him space to think, feel and merely be himself.
The kind of place where everything feels good and everyone he cares for is close. Isn't that what home is? Then why is he still looking for something else?
Ether is no longer sure, but somehow, he feels like he's doing the right thing. His feet strike out a solid rhythm on the stone walkway and carry him onwards, out of the darkness of a narrow passageway and onto a wide street of beautiful neo-classical buildings. For a place within the Nexus, a haphazard collection of pieces from every dimension out there, it is suspiciously empty. He likes it this way. As long as he doesn't run into anyone he knows, even if he barely knows them, he feels like he can continue running.
He makes his way down the street, past the closed door of bars, stores and apartment buildings. His steps become more frequent, more confident, as if every step makes this beginning of a journey easier and easier for him. As if the shackles of settling down and false temporary comfort are no longer holding him in place.
And then, he dives into another street and something happens. A flare of white flashes in front of his eyes, crimson eyes gaze from behind the disheveled sky-blue hair, the childish spark within them immediately reflecting in the warm silver gaze surrounded by a pale-blonde crown.
As if on instinct, Ether stops. All his effort and desire to run disappears, leaving his legs with only enough power to make another few steps before stopping and leaving him standing there. He remains still for a second, then tenses and turns around, his gaze seeking the flare of white he accidentally saw. He finds it mere steps away.
"Did you notice, Ether?" The pale figure smiles. "This is the first time you ran past me instead of stopping right in front of me."
"...Rhian."
To be continued...