|Morning|110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUmlTsaS8Py
July•2•xxxx
In the midst of the early morning, bells rung out like the sound of chimes stirred gently by the breeze, signaling the beginning of a rather special day. Illya had risen early to prepare for the events of the day and while she did, guests gathered in the central courtyard, where the real party began. Outside, the cicadas sang to the summer morning; inside, the sound of drums echoed through the courtyard. The onlookers could feel the vibrations against their own heartbeats as the drums picked up, a fitting introduction for the palace's opening act, the lovely Fire Priestess, Tah Min.
She fluttered around the courtyard, enticing cheers and excitement from the crowd. She performed her Dragon Dance with a grace and elegance that would put even the most beautiful princess in the world to shame. Yet at the same time, it was fierce and breathtaking, the purest embodiment of a priestess honouring her dragon.
Tucked away in the corners of the courtyard was an awestruck Ea. He carefully took in every move she made. From the way, her fingers curled to the way her hair fluttered in the wind like the warm light of an open flame. He was so lost in his own head that he hadn't even heard the soft chuckle from his sister until she nudged his shoulder.
"Easy there tiger. You're drooling, " she mused.
Ea, now very aware of the fact that he had been staring, worse yet, had been caught staring, cleared his throat and glanced down at a very amused Astrid.
"No, I'm not." He replied weakly.
A laugh erupted from Astrid. "Whatever you say, man..." Astrid's attention was pulled away from her blushing brother and to the little hands that were clinging to his waist.
"Who's this?" Asked Astrid, immediately shifting into mom mode.
Ea pried his eyes away from Tah Min and looked down at Egan who was also transfixed by the vibrant festivities. He smiled down at the child and placed a hand on his shoulder, but before he could speak, twin tails bounced around Astrid and barreled straight for Egan. She wrapped her tiny arms around him and as soon as he felt her grab him, all of his attention was on her.
"Egan! You're here!" She cheered.
Egan laughed awkwardly, unsure how to react to the sudden contact. "Ye-yeah. Umm...Ea brought me."
Astrid glanced at Ea.
"This is the kid that was with Isabelle when we found her. I wanted to show him some of the celebrations," explained Ea.
Astrid giggled. "How cute!" She bent down and ushered Isabelle and Egan further into the courtyard. "Isabelle, how about you go and show Egan around!"
Isabelle happily agreed, linking arms with Egan and swiftly whisking him away.
When they were gone, Astrid folded her arms and looked over at Ea."I didn't think you would get so attached to the kid. It hasn't even been that long since you met him."
Ea shrugged. "Neither did I. He just reminded me a lot of what we were like..." He reached over and pinched Astrid's nose. "Before you were born that is," he laughed.
Astrid rubbed her nose with a pout. She didn't say anything else. She knew what he meant without him having to say it aloud.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•
Elsewhere on the palace grounds, Nikiro and Kashino-mostly Kashino, were stalking the food stalls with little Kairo in tow. They bought sweets and trinkets here and there for the boy as they strolled leisurely on the palace path. Out of the corner of his eye, Nikiro caught a figure rushing past everyone. He turned in its direction to see Sin power walking through the crowd like his life depended on it. Nikiro rose an eyebrow.
"Hey, Kashino! I'm gonna take a little walk that way, I'll meet you guys in the courtyard!"
Kashino and Kairo waved at him as he walked off in Sin's direction. He turned the corner and watched Sin scurry down the halls from his chambers. Nikiro had caught up to him, just as Sin had run out.
"Hey!" Nikiro grabbed Sin's hand. "What's the hurry?"
Sin whipped around with the strangest look on his face. It was a cross between ecstatic and confused. Or maybe it was satisfied and regretful? Either way, the mix of emotion on his face was strange enough as is but it became even stranger when Nikiro noticed that Sin was still dressed in his sleepwear.
"You uh...just wake up or something?" Asked Nikiro.
Sin's voice shook like he was coming down from a high but rather than a blissful descent it was more like a crash landing. "Yeah! Yeah...I just...uh...yeah I just woke up. I was just heading out for some fresh air"
Nikiro let go of him, nodding. As civil as the conversation was, things were still awkward between them.
"Well, I saw you speeding through the crowd earlier and I just wanted to make sure you were okay."
"Oh. I'm fine. Really! There's nothing to worry about."
Sin brought his hand up, rubbing his neck bashfully. When he did, the shirt that hung loosely on his body shifted slightly, revealing more of his skin and the marks that were scattered across it, marks that Sin seemed to be unaware of. Nikiro immediately noticed the marks and a wiry frown made its way onto his face without him meaning it to.
"I can see that..."
When Sin noticed Nikiro's expression his head tilted in confusion. He followed Nikiro's gaze, eyes widening when he noticed the marks on his body. He quickly buttoned his shirt, pulling his collar tighter around his neck.
"I'll uh...leave you to it then..." Nikiro turned away and left Sin to stumble away in a flustered panic.
Nikiro walked back down the hall, silently cursing himself for getting so worked up over what he saw. This was Sin we're talking about. It was no secret that he liked to fool around, of course, there would be traces of it. It probably wasn't anything serious to begin with. Sin never got serious about anyone. Even if he did, what right did Nikiro have to be mad at that? Nikiro sighed. He had long since made his choice, he was happy with his choice. It would be selfish of him to push his feelings onto Sin now. He supposed part of him knew that Sin would eventually move on as he had, but he didn't think he would be this bothered by it. He rounded the corner yet again, but before he got around it completely, he ended up running straight into someone else.
The person seemed to stumble back before looking up, face flushed and panting heavily like they had just run a marathon.
"Dez?" Exclaimed Nikiro.
Dez averted her eyes in embarrassment. "H-Hey! Um...morning? Sorry, I uh...shit..." she muttered under her breath. "Sorry! I didn't see you there I was in a hurry."
Nikiro looked at her and back down the hall at the only place she could have come from, Sin's chambers. Unless she was in the habit of scaling walls and appearing from dead ends.
"Are you okay?" He asked instinctively.
Dez stammered out a quick reply, assuring him that she was fine before hobbling away like a newborn fawn. As much as she tried to hide it, Nikiro could still make out the red marks over her neck. He watched her wobble away. The long sigh that left his lips that morning was sure to be the first of many to come that day.
ns 15.158.61.17da2
