Home isn't where you're from, it's where you find light when all grows dark
-Pierce Brown, Golden Son.
Princess Lethia's Cottage, The Floating Kingdom of Zephyr, Northern Ardeneon.
May 23
"Do you think Dexter made it there fine?" Skai asks hyperventilating around the living room "he didn't beep any of us"
"Maybe he's having a good time" River shrugs.
"I miss Dexter" Seraphinius sighs while drawing on paper.
"Me too Phinie" Skai sighs sitting down next to Seraphinius and River on the ground.
"If you're so worried just beep him" Emily shrugs dismissively, she always gets irritated whenever Skai would bring Dexter's name up in any conversation since she woke up from that coma and Elijah knew exactly why.
"Emily, I can't" Skai looks over at Emily then back to the floor.
"Yes you can" Seraphinius speaks up "I can show you how"
"Crazy how a six-year-old can figure that out and you can't" Emily giggles.
"Em you know what I mean" Skai says.
"Do I?" Emily stands up walking into the kitchen area. "You like him, he likes you, I don't know why you're acting all weird about it, Dexter tries Skai, I'm telling you this as your best friend, I love you, but you have to make a choice and stop being a pain about it, stop playing with him" She curses at Skai under her breath.
The entire house goes quiet, Emily doesn't speak up about things unless she feels like she absolutely has to, they all knew Skai was wrong, but they figured she would come to her senses soon.
Seraphinius mutters the curses "How do you spell that?"
"No no Phinius, those words are not for you" Elijah tells him picking him up and going inside. He'd talked to Skai about it already and she didn't take his advice so he didn't see any use in trying again, he knew when she was ready she'd act right, He just hoped it wouldn't be too late by then. For bother her sake, Dexter's sake, and their sake of the friend group.
Elijah stops by Suzumi's room realizing they hadn't talked much since she got there. "Wanna say hi to her?" he asks Seraphinius and the little boy nods enthusiastically. Elijah knocks on the door and hears a soft come in. Seraphinius reaches down for the door handle, he always loved opening doors, and they all found it cute. It had to do with the fact that he could never open doors back at the palace, so he reaches for a door handle every chance he gets...it's sad but cute.
Seraphinius opens the door, and they see Suzumi painting on the floor. She looks up for a second.
"Elijah" she acknowledges his presence.
"And Phinius" Seraphinius huffs and she giggles. 'Suzumi? Giggling? It's been a while since she did that.' Elijah couldn't help but think.
"Hi Phinius" She flashes Seraphinius a small smile and the little boy jumps down from Elijah's arms running over to her.
"I like your eyes" he holds her face.
"Thank you" She smiles at him. "I like your eyes too"
"My eyes are muddy" Seraphinius frowns.
"It's a good kind of muddy, I'm sure" she straightens her glasses on her face after Seraphinius lets go of it.
"I like drawing too!" the little boy looks at what she's drawing in awe.
"Really?" she tears a page from her sketch pad and hands it to him giving him a pencil to work with.
"You can sit down Elijah" Suzumi looks up at Elijah and he nods sitting on her bed.
"Do you plan to go home too?" She asks him and he shakes his head.
"I don't really have a home here" Elijah tells her "Not that I know of at least, Do you?"
"Don't have a home here either, home is where you make it." She responds.
"I agree, wherever Emily is... that's where my home is" Elijah smiles at his thoughts.
"Cute" Suzumi says monotonously.
"You know I remember you being a little bit more energetic" Elijah says.
"It was an act, a very tedious act" she responds, and he nods.
"If you frown too much you'll get frown lines you know?" he tells her, and she looks up at him deepening her frown.
"Sorry Dad" she says sarcastically, and he shakes his head.
"Can I stay here a little?" He asks "They're having a misunderstanding in the living room and soon they'll ask for my opinion which I really don't want to give"
"Sure"
"Suzumi look at the bird I drew" Seraphinius speaks up showing Suzumi his paper.
"Wow, can I add something to it?" she adds, and he nods vigorously "I would be honored" he giggles.
Suzumi takes it from him and begins sketching. Elijah wondered how she drew so well when she couldn't see, but he knew it would be rude to ask.
"Have you eaten?" He asks her and she shakes her head.
"Do you know if Dexter will come back?" she asks and Elijah shrugs even though she won't be able to see him.
"I don't know, you and Dexter seem to hang out a lot" he points out.
"Skai is talking to River or herself, You and Emily are sucking each other's faces off, River is teaching Phinius to read and write or talking to Skai and frankly speaking he doesn't like me and the feeling is mutual, Dexter is sulking by himself all day and actually tried to communicate with me...what do you think Elijah?" she asks plainly.
"I think you're very observant" he quips.
"Were you guys even really friends? And why is Skai acting all weird after Dexter literally went all the way to the south to save her?" she asks curiously "I really thought they were a thing for a hot minute"
"This is the conversation I was avoiding in the living room" Elijah sighs and she shrugs.
"I don't really care, just pouring out my thoughts since you're temporarily lending an ear." She answers and he instantly felt bad, knowing he was the one that stopped her when she was leaving and now he was treating her like a stranger felt so wrong to him.
"How's the south like?" He asks her.
"Insanely crappy" she groans "I hate it there...they practically killed my mother" she sighs.
Her voice begins to muffle out and the room begins to fade from Elijah's vision.
An old man on a flying cubby.
He lands on Maver Island and begins searching for something...someone.
Elijah comes back to reality.
"Elijah, Elijah" Suzumi and Seraphinius are shaking him.
"I'm here" He assures them.
"You saw something" Suzumi points out.
"Yes" he confirms "I did, but I'm not sure what"
Back in the living room, Emily and Skai stopped throwing words back and forth, Skai couldn't make any more excuses, so Emily turns her attention to the quiet River. "What? River you're not going to say anything?" Emily scoffs getting serious as she is chopping things up in the kitchen. River knew she was acting that way because of how dear Dexter is to her, but he wished Emily would remember that Dexter is dear to all of them and yelling at Skai wasn't going to change much. He knew what she was saying was true if he didn't think about it from the perspective of Skai's brother. "That's not fair. Skai, you know how it feels to be played with, I still don't get why you're playing with him"
"I'm not playing with him. It just won't work out. Emily you don't know how scary that is" Skai tries to explain.
"I do Skai!" Emily slams the pot in the sink "Do you think dating Elijah was an easy decision, I tried to understand you because I know how it felt to be conflicted about being with one of my best friends, but now Skai...you aren't even being conflicted you're just being plain stupid, the world is about to end and you're thinking about a future that in a million and one ways isn't certain. Grow up, will you?" Emily breathes out. "I'm going to talk to Dexter he must feel like crap right now."
"Emily wait!" River tries to stop her as she walks towards the door. "You can't make that journey alone" he tells her.
"It's a portal away River, I'll be fine" She sighs leaving the door.
"She didn't take anything with her" River mutters. "Oh my days."
"Do you think she's right?" Skai asks River and he nods hesitantly.
"Yes, she's right, wrong approach but right nonetheless, Dexter risked his life by going to the south for you, he was the one that insisted we go, he couldn't bear to sit and do nothing while you were dying, and you repay him by ghosting him" River explains in a more gentle manner, one which Skai would actually listen to "You're making it a big deal Skai, it doesn't have to be. Being over careful leads to ruin, where's the carefree Skai that I know?"
"The truth is" she pauses counting her words "I'm scared I'll ruin him"
"Now you're just making excuses" he chuckles "You're already ruining him, might as well give the poor guy peace now" he shrugs, and she looks down deep in thought.
"I messed up" she mutters
"Yeah" her brother quips.
"I have to make some sort of grand gesture" she ponders "Oh crap" she curses hitting her head.
"Hey! Hey! Stop that" River pulls her hands away from her head. "You think Dexter would want you to hurt yourself, the dude is hell over heels for you Lord knows why" River shakes his head.
"I should go meet him" she hurries out the door.
River runs out following her. "Skai, you can't just leave like that!" he calls out "Come back!" but she's already in the sky, flapping her wings away. "Oh crap." River mutters beginning to talk to himself. "Are these girls insane? You can't just decide to go to another kingdom casually without a plan."
"I should have stopped them. crap, what if they get hurt."
"Elijah!" River yells.
No response. He hoped Elijah didn't leave too. he walks into the hallway and goes straight to Elijah's room. Empty. He opens Emily's room. Empty.
"Elijah?" He calls out opening Dexter's room then Skai's room then his own. All empty.
"Could he be with Suzumi?" River wonders out loud.
He knocks on Suzumi's door without thinking. No response. he knocks again. No response. Quiet giggling comes from inside the room. He pushes the door open and is faced with Suzumi, Seraphinius and Elijah.
Elijah is sitting on her bed leaning over to see what she's sketching, Seraphinius is doing the same thing from beside her and they are all smiling. Even Suzumi. 'She's even more pretty when she smiles, her smile is almost familiar.' He was briefly lost in thought.
"Elijah, Skai and Emily left" he tells Elijah.
"What?!" Elijah gets up urgently. "Where did they go?"
"Shivan? Maver Island? Hell I don't know, they're both looking for Dexter" River breathes out following behind Elijah as he left Suzumi's room.
"No no no, they can't go to Maver island" Elijah panics walking into his room.
"Context?" River asks.
"I saw something on Maver Island, whenever I see things it's a warning or bad news" Elijah answers throwing his scroll touch, a book and a pen into a satchel. 'Finally, someone that packs.' River thinks "I have to go after them, you stay here with Suzumi and Phinius, take care of Phinius you know Suzumi can't see"
Elijah rushes out the door, shutting the front door with a loud bang unintentionally.
"Suzumi can't see?" River mumbles.
"What's burning?" Suzumi asks from her spot on the floor which she hadn't moved from in the past hour.
River curses "Emily must have left something on the fire"
.....
"Are there noodles here?" Suzumi asks River as he placed Seraphinius on the little Island.
"They have noodles in Ardeneon?" River asks baffled.
"No, I'm asking because I'm bored" she rolls her eyes.
"Considering the size of your brain cells I'd assume so" he shrugs.
"Ohh right. Assuming your braincells are the size of your head." She retorts.
"Of course not Suzumi, that would be impossible" River drags out in mockery.
"Piss off River" she groans.
"As much as I'd love to, you could be trying to poison me in here" River shrugs "So no thank you"
"You're so annoying" she runs her hand through her hair heaving out a sigh.
"No, I just don't like you" River confesses.
"Feeling is mutual Ladiston" she throws a spoon in his direction, and he quickly dodges it.
"Didn't seem mutual when you were sucking my face off" River teases and she yeets another spoon at him.
"Stop fighting" Seraphinius yells standing on the island and River quickly holds onto him so the little boy wouldn't fall.
"Don't do that Phinie, you'll fall" River places him on his hip.
"Stop fighting with Mimi" Seraphinius hits River.
"Ouch, She's the one fighting me" River defends, and the little boy folds his arms over his chest.
"Sister Lily said the girl is always right" He argues. "Wonderful, I forget that Emily is your sister sometimes and is also practically raising you." River mutters under his breath.
"Everyone can be wrong sometimes" he tells the boy, but he doesn't budge.
"Okay, look Suzumi and I are just playing, we're good...friends, yes friends" River lies.
"Oh I'm not your friend" Suzumi quips with a little chuckle to which River shoots daggers at her with his eyes in response.
"You have to apologize Rivvy" Seraphinius pouts.
"She has to apologize too" River tells Seraphinius "We'll apologize to each other, but you seem tired." River pats his back remembering that Seraphinius usually sleeps right before lunch time.
"A little" Seraphinius rests his head on River's shoulder.
"It's okay you can sleep. I'll wake you when we work food out" River assures him patting his back.
In the corner of his eye, he sees Suzumi taking the pot Emily threw in the sink earlier out and placing it on the stove.
He takes Seraphinius to his room and places the little boy to sleep.
...
"Does anyone have any allergies?" Suzumi asks from the island she is sat on.
"Not that I know of" River shrugs while doing the dishes. As much as he didn't like her, he couldn't leave her in the kitchen to do the work alone especially not after finding out that she can't see.
"Why exactly are you here again?" she asks.
"I'm not heartless like you, I can't sit and watch you cook" River answers with more spite than he intended.
He hears her hiss and looks over at her. Her hand is frozen as she is bleeding through her dress.
"Uhh Suzumi?" River gestures towards the blood and she curses.
"Darn knife" she groans.
River tears a piece of his shirt off quickly and walks over to her, remembering how she had helped him in the past, he knew the right thing to do would be to help her too in her time of need.
"Mind lifting it up a bit?" He asks and she surprisingly complies.
He quickly tied the fabric above the cut on her thigh, it was bleeding out severely. He brings water from the sink using his skills and moves the clump of water, so her injury is submerged in it.
"You're not so bad" she says lightly.
"I'm not about to let you die in my presence." he shrugs.
"It's impossible for me to die from that cut dimwit."
"Why is your hand frozen?" he asks instead of taking her jab.
"I burnt it" she plainly says "happens a lot"
"I don't think that's a smart solution but sure" he answers noticing two fading scars close to the deep cut, "Do you also slice your body parts with knives a lot?"
"Yes"
"What?" he mutters taking aback a bit by her response, he wondered if it was because she couldn't see.
....
"You okay?" River asks her in the bathroom while helping her clean the wound.
"Why are you helping me?" she asks.
"Uhhh how do I put this?" he pauses taking his shirt off to wrap the injury as a temporary solution "I'm a douche, not a monster" He repeats her own words.
"Did you take the food off the fire?" she asks, "It should have been ready by now."
"It is and I did" he answers curtly.
"Are you done?" She asks as he is knotting the shirt.
"Patience and gratitude would be appreciated" he rolls his eyes, forgetting how mean she was for a second.
"I think we both know I have neither of those" she quips back "Where are my glasses?"
"I don't know, you took them off when you hurt your leg" he tells her.
"It must be in the kitchen, you should go wake Phinius up, I'll be there in a bit." She assures him and he nods leaving.