But I always think that the best way to know God is to love many things
-Vincent Van Gogh.
Princess Lethia's Cottage, The Floating Kingdom of Zephyr, Northern Ardeneon.
May 21
It's been about two weeks since Skai woke up and she still hadn't spoken to Dexter, The King was able to bring down the lightning and rain drop, but it was all completely useless. Mr. Starling could not open the portal. It failed.
Today, Dexter Is opening a new chapter in his life. King Khalil couldn't keep 'criminals' in his palace anymore, but princess Lethia gave them a little cottage nearing the edges of Zephyr. It was quite comfortable on the inside, they all had their own rooms still, just smaller. Dexter got a beep from his mom, Adira. They talked for a while the previous night and Dexter thought it wise to pay her a visit. Deep down he was hoping to stay with her.
"Don't you plan on returning home?" Dexter asks Suzumi as she was sketching on a sketch pad in the corner of his room.
"Home is where you make it Dexter" she tells him flatly.
"Well, I'm off" he smiles in her direction.
"Wait" she says
"This is the third time you're stopping me" he sighs.
"You're the only one that really talks to me" she shrugs, and he walks towards her.
"Suzumi, you don't like talking to anyone anyways" he chuckles.
"That is NOT true" she puts her pencil down tearing the page out from her sketch pad folding it and handing it to Dexter. "Don't open it in front of me."
"You drew something for me?" he asks warmth filling his insides.
"I was going to add paint, but you just wouldn't wait." She says walking past him but bumping into his bed.
"Are you okay?" Dexter asks quickly going next to her.
"Yeah, the lines just disappeared for a second" she murmurs walking to his door frame quickly, moving away from him. "Come back soon, it's tolerable having you around, Maybe Elijah will talk to me"
"I think Skai would be your best bet. Elijah likes to keep to himself, and Emily likes to keep to Elijah...and books, and well River...River is sort of a hot head" Dexter tells her, and she gives him a thumbs up exiting the room.
Back on Maver Island.
Dexter navigates his way to where he first met his father; Dharti's rock.
'Should I call him? Should I wait? Am I nervous? Of course I am, haven't seen him in a couple weeks. I don't even know him, and I want to ask if he can take me in or mom, I'm fine with either.' The thoughts jumble in his brain.
"Dharti!" Dexter calls out, they had been doing video beeps occasionally, he got a scroll touch and everything to talk to Dexter and Dexter knew it may seem bare minimum, but he just feels loved, something he hasn't felt in a long time. Dharti and Adira let him talk to them about his worries; Skai, the portal to save the world, his earth mom. They listen and comfort him, they make him feel seen.
"Dharti?" Dexter calls out again, he's there, Dexter could feel him.
"Bardo" his voice comes from the lake, and he surfaces the water. "Bardo!" he jumps out of the water...literally, with a soft thud on the grass he bolts towards his son engulfing him in a hug.
"Dharti" Dexter says welcoming his wet hug with a small smile.
"Your mother will be here in a bit; do you want to join me in the water?" he asks, and Dexter hesitates.
"Ehhh, I really can't" he shakes his head.
"Nonsense my child, you are part chorling and you're my son" Dharti smiles but Dexter still hesitates.
"Are you ashamed of me?" his smile falters a bit, and Dexter's eyes go wide.
"Hell no, I can't breathe underwater like you dad, I have earth sprite skin, I don't even have any chorling skills"
He stands there in awe and Dexter looks at him confused.
"Is mom coming late or?" Dharti wraps Dexter in a hug again.
Dexter didn't understand what was going on till Dharti pulled away, then he realized he had just called them 'mom' and 'dad' something unusual for him. "Uh yes, your mother will be here very soon I believe. We actually have a surprise for you...well I hope you like it"
"A surprise?" Dexter asks shocked dropping his bag to the ground with a soft thump assuming they would be waiting there for his mother.
"Yes, and you will be swimming" he pulls Dexter to the water side pulling his cloak off him
"Fine fine"
...
"You have to focus okay, imagine what you want, and you will be" Dharti tells Dexter, he believes that Dexter can become like him, Dexter didn't know about that, but they were trying.
Chorlings can camouflage, they use water dangerously, they create tsunamis, cause rain to come down, they control land, they can cause earthquakes, build mountains. It's incredible, incredibly dangerous...Dexter didn't know if he wanted that.
"Father!" The voice of a child yells out.
Dexter turns around in the water just as a boy runs towards them and jumps in, Adira following shortly behind.
"What is going on?" Dexter asks very confused looking at the boy who had now turned into a chorling, latching onto Dharti.
"Surprise?" The boy gives Dexter a small smile.
"Can we speak the general language please?" Adira who sat by the lake her feet dangling in the water asks.
Dexter didn't even realize he was speaking chorlish. It was very easy for him to switch.
"Sorry" Dexter apologizes still confused "What's going on?"
"You were in a rush last time, so we didn't get to tell you about your brother; Tahl" Adira explains.
"Brother? We had several calls; you didn't think he was worth mentioning?" Dexter scoffs hurt filling his features.
"I take it you're upset" Tahl speaks up jumping out of the water sitting next to Adira, immediately regaining his sprite skin.
There was no way Dexter could answer that, he didn't have any reason to be mad at the boy, he didn't do anything wrong. Dexter knew why he was there, he wanted to feel loved and appreciated, because he wanted to get to know them...so, whether he liked it or not, this was part of getting to know them.
"How did Tahl survive your father?" Dexter asks Adira.
A sigh escapes her lips "When Tahl was due for birth I wasn't as naïve as I was when you were due" she covers Tahl's ears "I was sure my father would have his head as soon as he came out if not when he was still in me, so I threatened to kill myself, he let him live but it's not easy for Tahl, my father is a cruel man"
It hurt Dexter that she couldn't have come back for him, but he understood why.
"Hi Tahl" Dexter sticks his hand out to his brother "I'm Dexter and...um I'm 17?"
"I'm 13, tomorrow is my birthday" Tahl grins from ear to ear shaking his hand then his face morphs into confusion "Mother and father say your name is Bardo"
"It is" Dexter climbs out of the water and sits next to him "Dexter is my earthly name...I forget where I am sometimes" he shrugs.
"While you were away, we worked on a little something" Dharti smiles at Dexter as they approach the cave. Dexter was still a bit upset with him, but he didn't know if he should be.
He believed his father loved him, it felt that way at least, however childish that sounds he'd been an orphan for most of his life, so finding his biological parents was unreal...he just wanted everything to go well, he didn't want to ruin it like he felt he did with Skai, he didn't want them to be far away like with his earth mom, he felt like the slightest move and he'd ruin everything.
"Are you good?" Tahl breaks him out of his thoughts, and he nods out of habit.
"Yes why?"
"You spaced out" Tahl shrugs.
"Sorry" Dexter mutters.
"You're apologizing for spacing out?" Tahl pauses "Mom I think he might be unwell" he calls out and Adira and Dharti instantly stop in their steps turning to face Dexter.
"What's wrong?"
"Do you have any symptoms?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine" Dexter smiles at them
"Are you sure?" Adira places the back of her hand on her forehead then on his.
"Yes mom, I'm fine" he sighs, and the worry washes off her face, a small smile replacing her frown.
"We fixed up Dharti's cave" She smiles as they walk through the branches, faced with a wall.
"Only our family can open it" Dharti places his hand on one of the bricks and the wall slides open revealing a homey living room.
'Our family.' Dexter repeats in his head somewhat giddy.
"Feel free to explore, it's your home" Dharti tells them.
"You won't be going back into Shivan?" Dexter asks Adira.
"Only when we need food and other amenities we can't get here on the island.
"How will I get to scire?" Tahl asks
"Your father is working on a faster way but for now; I'll take you into Shivan to use the Halo." Adira explains.
"Dad is working on it?" Tahl looks at Dharti with doubt.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Dharti chuckles "You kids can go check out your rooms, I designed them, okay Tahl?"
"Whatever" Tahl rolls his eyes heartily.
"Bardo, do you plan on starting scire?" Tahl asks.
He didn't. what he did plan on was going back to earth
But he couldn't say that. he needed to check on the woman that raised him, but he say that in front of Tahl.
"I don't know yet" he says instead.
"Oh" Tahl looks warily at their parents.
"Would it be fine if I got some rest?" Dexter asks them and they nod.
"I'll prepare some food, we'll wake you when it's time to eat" Adira informs him walking into the kitchen and he nods walking towards the hallway where the rooms are, there are 5 doors in the hallway, Dexter, Tahl, Adira and Dharti, bathroom and a what Dexter assumed was a guestroom.
All their bedrooms had their names on them.
Bardo
Tahl
D&A
Dexter heads straight into his room. It was bigger than the cottage room at Zephyr and had hints of his favorite color, sage green with the dominant color in the room being black, the room has no sunlight which is to be expected because they are in a cave, but it has plants all over, there's even a little sand pit at the corner of the room.
Dexter felt relieved that they did listen to him when talks because he had once described his dream room to resemble this, it was kind of...heartwarming.
He drops his bag on the floor by the dresser and crashes on the bed.
...
"Bardo" gentle shaking stirs Dexter awake "My child"
"Hmm" Dexter groans.
"Food is ready"
"One more minute please" he turns the other way. He could feel her fingers running through his hair softly.
He sits up slowly.
"You're babying me too much; I'll be eighteen soon" he looks over at her sighing.
"Yes, I have to make up for eighteen lost years. Eighteen painful lost years" she stands up patting his head. "And I'm not babying you, all mothers are like this" she slides his door shut. Dexter sighs walking out of the door after her, she walks into Tahl's room after leaving Dexter's.
Dexter walks into the dining area by the kitchen to see Dharti setting the table wearing...clothes.
"Are you wearing clothes?" he asks amused, He didn't think his father could do that.
"What? It doesn't look good on me?" Dharti chuckles softly.
"It does, I just thought you didn't like to wear them" Dexter shrugs.
"Chorlings don't like clothes because we spend a lot of time in the water, so it's not really necessary but I'm taking care of my family of sprites now and I'll be spending more time on land" he shrugs "Plus it's kind of cold in my own skin"
Dexter nods understanding "Need help?" he asks.
"You can get the utensils" Dharti motions toward the cupboards, and Dexter nods. He sets the spoons, forks and knives on the table, just as he puts the last one down, his scroll touch beeps in his pocket. He ignores it, then it beeps again.
"You should take that" Dharti encourages "It might be important"
Dexter takes his word and fishes the device out "Suzumi" he whispers out answering the beep.
"Hey" he smiles at her, but as usual she wasn't smiling.
"Hi Dexter" she greets "Are you busy" she looks around disturbed.
"About to eat, why?" he asks.
"I can't reach my family, so you're the next person I could beep" she blinks a couple times.
"Are you crying?" Dexter asks
"No no" she shakes her head "I don't cry"
"Suzumi what's wrong?" he asks.
"The lines are gone" a tear escapes her eye "I think I'm blind"
"Suzumi, I need you to calm down" Dexter notices his entire family standing in the kitchen now, he sighs moving to the living room.
"Dexter I've been trying to stay calm, the only time this has ever happened was when I was really sick" she wipes the stray tear away.
Dexter didn't know what to tell her, he didn't know how to fix it, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Let me talk to her" Adira suggests, and he hesitantly gives her the scroll touch.
"Hello Suzumi, I'm Adira, Bardo's mother and I'm going to need you to take deep breaths" she tells Suzumi in a soothing voice.
Suzumi doesn't question she just follows what Adira says.
"Now, do you know what kind of blindness you have?" Adira asks calmly.
"I'm not blind" Suzumi chokes out.
"Okay darling, you're not blind. Can you tell me what's wrong with your eyes?" she poses the question differently this time.
"Form omission" Suzumi responds.
"Do you have eye wear or anything?" Adira asks, "That helps with it?"
"y-yes" Suzumi stutters.
"I'm going to need you to close your eyes for a minute and put them after counting your breaths" Dexter's mother instructs "Come on I'll count with you"
Suzumi follows the instructions and after a minute she puts her glasses on, and a sigh of relief escapes her lips.
"Thank you so much Ms. Adira" Suzumi says her voice filled with gratitude for the first time since Dexter had met her.
"You're welcome darling" Adira stands up, hands her son his scroll touch and walks back to the kitchen.
"Bye Dexter" she ends the beep and Dexter walks back to the Dining table to have dinner with his family.
Tahl begins to dig in when Adira stops him.
"Uh uh" she tuts "let's say a prayer first"
"A prayer?" Dexter asks confused. "To who?"
"God of course" Dharti responds.
"You're religious?" Dexter asks "I didn't know that existed here"
"God exists everywhere" Adira laughs heartily.
Dexter hadn't prayed before, so he had no idea what to do, he was also filled with lots of question considering the fact that he would now have to live in a religious home, something he wasn't used to at all.
"How do you even know God is like real?" He asks curiously causing his mother to laugh a little before answering him "I don't think everything just existed since the beginning of time, someone would have had to create everything, someone much more powerful than us, a being capable of everything and anything"
"But I think that the best way to know God is to love many things." Tahl tells his brother "That's how I know, God is love. The more I love things, the more grateful I am and sometimes I get curious and that curiosity sometimes leads me to mom or the scriptures"
"that's beautiful, Is that?..." Dexter trails off trying to remind himself where he heard Tahl's first statement from.
"Van Gogh, we do earth literature and studies at scire" Tahl says, Dexter nods in understanding although he couldn't recall having that class in LSIS.
"Okay so let's pray" Dharti smiles at his family, and they all close their eyes letting Adira pray.
"In Jesus' name we pray" Adira says ending the prayer and they all respond with "Amen"
"How long will you stay?" Tahl asks Dexter after the prayer causing Dexter to look at his brother confused.
"What do you mean?" Dexter asks.
"You didn't bring a lot of stuff" he points out "That means you aren't staying long, are you?"
"I don't have a lot, I don't have anything actually, nothing I brought belongs to me" Dexter explains, and Tahl looks down shamefully.
"Sorry" the younger boy picks at his food.
"Don't be" His older brother shrugs
"Can I sleep in your room tonight?" Tahl asks cheerily.
"Tahl don't overwhelm him, you'll chase him away" Dharti warns Tahl.
"It's okay, he can stay" Dexter smiles at Dharti and turns to Tahl "You can stay Tahl, whenever you want" Dexter pats his back. He didn't want Tahl to experience the sibling love he experienced or rather the lack of it. Dexter didn't want to be the older irritable sibling, and he most especially didn't want Tahl to be the younger love hungry brother.
Tahl grins at their parents making Dexter smile a little. "This is the best birthday gift ever."
"How is earth like?" Tahl asks from the sand pit where he was trying to grow flowers in the corner of Dexter's room. Keyword: trying. He's new to his abilities as he got them last week.
"It was alright, my friends made it a good time" Dexter walks over to his brother "It won't work if you're anxious" he tells Tahl noticing his tensed-up shoulders "you've got to relax" Dexter circles his finger around a small spot and a daisy pops out.
"Relax" Tahl breathes out repeating the motion and a sunflower sprouts out.
"It worked; how do you stop things from growing?" he asks his older brother.
"That only happened to me once" Dexter thinks back "It's the same thing just relax and practically tell it to stop, in your head of course, you don't want anyone to think you're going crazy"
Tahl laughs at that "How long have you had them?" he asks.
"I was a late bloomer actually, I got them after I landed in Ardeneon, so a couple of months" Dexter answers, and Tahl nods.
"Mom was a late bloomer too, she said she got hers right before she turned 17" Tahl tells him.
Just as he said that there's a knock at Dexter's door and soon after their mother walks in.
She walks over to them and plants a kiss on each of their foreheads "Goodnight my dandelions" she smiles ruffling their hair.
"Tahl is scared of the dark, so I'll leave the door open a bit so the light from the hallway gets in." She says before exiting the room leaving the door cracked open a bit.
"Mom" Tahl groans and his brother chuckles. "I won't be scared because you'll be here with me, well not necessarily because it is you but if I were to be with any-" Dexter cuts him off.
"I get it Tahl, I was scared of the dark when I was younger too"
"You were?"
"Yup, till I met a guy named Elijah, he loved the dark and he would take me out at night a lot and we had a lot of sleepovers I wanted him to think I was cool like him, so I got used to it" Dexter tells him.
Just then he remembers the drawing Suzumi had given him, he digs his pocket for it and takes it out while Tahl is still playing with the sand box.
It was him and Skai, he couldn't believe how nearly spot on Suzumi's drawings were every time he saw them, he almost couldn't believe she was nearly blind. In the drawing, Skai is flying and he is yelling up at her holding a bouquet. A sad smile makes its way to his lips, and he places it on his dresser, reminding himself to remember to put it up on the wall later.
........
"I get bullied at scire" Tahl tells Dexter "The other younglins don't like me. They call me a hopeless swamp"
"They're the hopeless ones" Dexter stares at the ceiling thinking of a suitable response without bringing up his past bullying and seeming self-centered. "If they had hope and a future, they wouldn't be picking on someone else" he shakes his head.
"Yeah" Tahl breathes out.
"Does mom know?" Dexter asks
"No" he sighs. "I'm scared that they'll find out that I'm part chorling. I love Dad don't get me wrong, but if word gets out, then I won't just be bullied, I'll be hated and disregarded, the great council might even come after me, I don't know how dad deals with that"
"I think he just doesn't care" Dexter yawns just then a beep goes through the room.
"Is that yours?" Dexter asks Tahl. The beep goes again.
"Mine is in my room" he tells Dexter, and Dexter sighs getting up from the bed searching his drawers for his scroll touch.
Opening it upon finding it, his heart stops. Skai Ladiston.
"You gonna take that?" Tahl asks and he nods answering it.
"Hey" she whispers.
"Hey Skai"
"You said you would be there" she points out.
"I tried, but I also want you happy to happy" Dexter tells her, trying not to let his voice waver. "I couldn't stand seeing you unhappy because of me, I wrote a letter to you, did you get it?" he asks, and she nods.
"You had to go" she nods in understanding.
"I'll come visit" he assures her.
"You shouldn't"
"I shouldn't?" he asks out loud not sure what she meant by that. Her eyes widen briefly, she didn't realize she said that out loud, he caught on too that it was an accident.
"We aren't going to work" she tells him playing it off.
"And I told you I'm okay with that" he says. "I don't need us to work out, I'm fine being friends."
"You're not" she tells him the truth "I'm hurting you and I need you to let go."
"Skai, I'm used to hurt" he whispers, "It does not phase me, you haven't given me a solid reason why we won't work out."
"The world is about to end, we might not work out, our friendship will be destroyed."
"Skai our friendship is already withering if you can't tell, is this why you called me?" he scoffs, "to tell me to never come back?"
"No, that's not what I mean Dex" she sighs. "Let's talk in the morning, Phinius is asleep next to me" she ends the call.
Dexter sighs dropping the scroll touch and climbing back into bed.
"Do you need time?" Tahl asks him.
"No, if anything I need company."