"It's... Fine" Shokui says sighing out the response. "If anything,..." putting Rubi'i in his embrace. "I'll find a way to deal with any people that come our way". He promises. After all - No matter how much he tries to be and stay mad at her, he can't make it last long. Especially when she makes a face like this. She's simply too adorable, her charm maxxed.
Especially threaded to critically hit Shokui's core of his soul; - After all, at the end of the day, he can't really call it heart when he's already dead, no?
Fact is that he has too great of a weakness for rabbit kin and children - and she's both. She's hitting too well his fatherly instincts, that he never had chance to properly experience in his past live.
Sigh.
'Rubi'i daughter zoned' by Shokui.
"Really?" She wipes her tears while hugging Meteo back. "You are not mad at me?"
"Oh, don't take me wrong. I am mad" He replies immediately with no mercy, only brutal honesty. His eyes peacefully shut; face rested into so called poker face - as if he was talking about the weather, or yesterday's food. "There is simply no need to cry over the things that already had happened in the past – Don't know if you know that adage, but 'There is no need to cry over the spilled milk.'"
"Pff-" She coughed up on her saliva. The took her off guard. She's certainly going to remember that adage for further use. Same for Aki. It just happens that Horn Hares love two things, one being meat, second being milk. Hard to define which of the two they more fanatical about.
So even though Shokui meant one thing, for both Aki and Rubi'i this adage means a bit something else. More of a 'Oh yeah, the world abouts to end, anyway – what we were talking about?'
Pulling away, Shokui rests his hands upon Ruby's shoulders, smiling back at her.
"Eghm-... Yeah..." She gathers her breath, wiping her mouth. "But what if really such strong knights will come" she asks returning immediately to previous mood breaking topic.
Though, Meteo shrugs off her question by simply stating "Those were no knights" Laughing it off. "They were simply 'mercenaries', and they don't grow on trees."
"But what if those here were the weak ones..."
"Ah... Well. Hmm" That froze him. That would be really worrying if humans were this strong on average.
~
"Damn, I hadn't thought of that" - within his mind
~
Replying with a different tune outside. "Then I'll get stronger - simply as that."
"If training was enough... neither mom nor dad would be dead... now..." she says with a broken voice. "What if they'll come tomorrow...? Just as you had said?"
"Well, now you are overthinking." He shuts her mouth with the open palm of his hand. "It'll take weeks, if not months, before any trace will lead here." Sigh. Seeing her eyes, he continues "Yes, I am sure. We don't live that near of any city to begin with."
She calms. Finding it as true.
"Calmed?" He asks
"Yeah..."
"Here." Places clay into her hands. "Let's stop overthinking things and finish first what we have on our hands;" Pauses. "Then... I'll find for us a way to get stronger with what we already have. Okey?"
"Okey..." She nods with energetic shake of her whole head
"Good girl" He pats her small bush of a hairs.
She pouts as she remembers calling herself like this not long ago, but with different meaning. "Now you are making fun of me..."
"Yes. Yes, I am"
She pouts even harder.
~
3 days ago; Terra. At the police station near the location of the explosion
"Hey, Mal. About the car which had only salvageable the registration plate." Pauses "In the terminal says this car is signed to you as the co-owner."
"..."
Him continuing "Good news... Well. Bad news.. But- I think we know what happened with your son's... yesterday's disappearance."
"..." Her reddened eyes hidden only by the glasses sending dead stare at him due to already knowing this and him being another person to rub the opened-up wound "Doors are that way" She points, her meaning clear. "Get out."
"Alright, alright I get it. I am leaving now." Adding after the pause created by the tense atmosphere "... My condolences though..."
First silence, but after few meters from the office room, papers flying; rotating chair scraping against the floor - it rolling up to the cabinet; a thump against the desk from the impact of her fists. Rasp of the chair being compressed from being sat at, floor scraped as the chair is rolled back to being against the desk.
Clearly, it's not the first time she broken down, Mal gathered herself fast.
As he leaves the office, there being nothing heard before finally shutting the PIN encrypted doors.
...
..
.
~
7'th Quattember 1668;
time - 8:42
"Finally!" Rubi'i stands fully rejoiceful as she had finally filled all of the spaces for those bricks, which Meteo had drawn onto the ground for her as the final quota to do. It took hours but finally, all done. She turns her attention at her brother to brag about it, but she finally notices that he fallen asleep at some point. Blink. Total bewilderment. Flabbergastion.
Meteo fallen asleep at some point, his back bend forward in a sitting posture, his head drooped down, drooling onto his fur. He's even snoring! How she didn't even hear that, was she that focused??
Rubi'i Freezes. Vein on her forehead popping out invisibly. Eyelid twitch. Hands falls down as she stands up, steps back with single leg, bends down, forward; bouncing - jumping up at Meteo's figure.
As she makes them both roll forward with her momentum, she shakes Shokui awake. They stop, Rubi'i landing on top. "No Sleeping allowed!" Her face pouting, seeing her bro fall asleep in the middle of the making bricks, while she had been working all along.
She knew something was wrong when she saw more and more of the clay brick forms, which she was molding with her hands, accumulating on the ground next to her, none disappearing; but she ignored it, not noticing that at some point Meteo had stopped doing his part.
Shokui looks at her with bewilderment written on his face. For one, he was just snapped awake, secondly - it's the first time when he is in such compromising position - pinned to the ground. By a girl at that. Blink. The audacity!
He does not fight back, laying below her as she shouts at him.
"What?" confused, still sluggish due to not long ago being asleep. In his mind he tries to connect dots - the previous memories on how he could had gotten to lay in such a position. Did he miss some page?
Pout.
"Why did you fall asleep. No. How did you even fall asleep in a sitting position?!" She herself is fully bewildered, not understanding how one can fall asleep in the middle of doing something. "I finished all of the clay forms for those bricks as you had asked, and yet, when I look at your progress, you sleep!"
"Eh... I had? hm, my bad" Scratching his temple underneath her, finding the great scratching spot underneath the horn – she sits on his stomach – yet him not feeling any weight pressure or any uncomfortivness for some reason. "I guess I had been awake... for too long" Drops onto the ground fully and looks at the sky "..."
~
"Do you call in any way the day quarters?" Shokui asks Aki, but more so himself. Babbling silently the rest of the sentence "Is it like, moon – No – Not moon – more so Planet phases..." Troubled expression as he wonders, getting distracted by his own thoughts. Noting to himself. "It'll be a weird thing to adjust to being now the resident of a Terrestrial-Moon, instead of a Terrestrial Planet, I think, but that's not big of a problem, nothing hard to get used to. Isn't Terrestrial-Moon type called Exo-Moon though?" Pauses. "Huh."
Aki hearing every mumble clearly. "Huh, just realized we don't need to be in sight - to talk to each other here" Aki notes. "Which is quite weird, considering I know you babble there, yet I hear you quite fine"
"Huh. Yeah, that would make sense. We just do telepathy with a bit of extra imagery sensory." Pauses in contemplation. "But back to my question"
"Which... Oh! Yeah, the quarters." Droops his head to right. "And how would I know that? - It's not like I went to school, nor anyone had told me." He shrugs. Chuckling "Mom never spoke of such complicating things as day quarters. It's first I even gotten to know there something like clock that measures the time"
"It's... not what I asked."
"Then?"
"I asked how would you call it..."
"... Oh." Aki blushes. He certainly overthought that question.
~
"Oi, no spacing out me here" Rubi'i waves her hands in front of Meteo's face, pretty much snapping Shokui out to response back.
Time flies differently when Aki and Shokui talk to each other in mindscape completely. It's more of a 10:1 ratio – 10 seconds there being 1 second outside, levelling to 1:1 ratio when one is outside. Nevertheless, time still flies outside. So, for Rubi'i it had been 3 seconds of silence, 2 seconds too long in her opinion.
Shokui grabs her arms stilling them in place. "I am thinking how much I actually had not been sleeping now," He responds. "I kind of - didn't even notice night had passed"
"Oh..." Blinks awkwardly "Then sorry for waking you. Still, didn't you not need it anyway, you've been asleep for like 3 days already."
Stares at her as at some stupid kid, though, considering she's one, he just folders it under him being fossil that had forgot how children brains work. "... Just because you overfill a pond, doesn't mean it'll have suddenly more water in it." Shokui makes a metaphor which partially go from one ear to other and flies off, not being processed fully. Too difficult of a language for her.
"Huh?" Trying to process the metaphor. "Huh." - Comprehending the words individually; "Huh!" - Understanding. "Huh..." - Wondering whether she actually understood. Processing again.
Shokui looks at Rubi'i as she goes though 4 huh-s in a row, if not more, in one sentence; all having a different meaning. "Did I just turn her into a Villager?" Shokui asks himself not out loud, but by just thinking it. After seeing her try to think of how-to response for a couple of minutes already, he decides to finally break the silence.
Even though he's currently being pinned to the ground by Ruby's weight, he stands up with no particular difficulty due to her weight being pretty much just half of his. And considering her height being by a head shorter too, he pretty much makes her dangle in air as he stands and holds her still by her wrists.
"Huh?" - Confused. Bewildered even.
"I'll finish those bricks, then nap for a bit." He sums up into easier to understand language. Abridging it by like 99%. Sigh. "Sit still until then... or actually, you can do whatever you want"
"Nuh-uh. I'll just wait, then." She says as she swings with her weight forward and backward now as she dangles in air.
It's amusing how easily she can find entertainment. Shokui chuckles. He supposes all kids are like this. "Alright. Should I put you down?... or you still want to swing."
"Eh..." She blushes as she's quite split between wanting to keep swinging and letting brother do what he needs to do.
"Alright, I get it" He stops holding her, which makes her fall onto her buttocks
"Ouch." She scratches her ass, though, she didn't really feel any pain from the fall. It being more of an exaggerated expression. "Why did you just drop me??" She pouts.
Smiles softly in response.
"Close your eyes. I'll tell you when to open them, okey?"
"And why would I do that?"
"Surprise" chuckling. "That's why you will do that."
"Alright, alright, but promise no tickling!" She points at me from the ground baffled.
Cackles shortly as he recalls her yesterday's struggle to breathe. "There won't be tickling." he promises.
She looks at him with not much of a trust, but she still closes her eyes "I warn you! I'll bite if your nosy fingers be layed on me, tickling!"
"Of course, of course" He snickers out of amusement. "I promise"
Huffs "Good" - in response.
Few minutes pass by.
"Alright, you can look now." Shokui says as he pushes her forward.
She opens her eyes, staggering. Wanting to argue, but she pauses. She sees swing completely made out of his carbon strings tied together into a thread more resembling cloth fiber.
Her eyes sparkle as she runs at Meteo and jumps hugging him with joy "You made a swing for me??! You are the best!" She pulls away and jumps onto a swing. Even though she never had any experience in swinging on swing or even possessing one to begin, but redirecting whole body weight for a hare is instinct. So, in just few seconds, she already makes a long arches in air.
Smiles softly due to her contagious happiness. Turning around, he returns to complete the last steps of making bricks. Hope the ones Rubi'i had already make hadn't dried yet into being rock still.
He grabs the brick-mold form from the bucket and resumes where he ended up, having yet of a collection of more or less of 20+ yet to do.
As he works, the Aether slowly climbing from the horizon into the centre of the sky, in 2 hours about to completely eclipse the sun. The last time Shokui having chance to experience such views being while playing or watching other people's gameplay of Subnautica.
Rubi'i swings in the meanwhile on the swing that Shokui made from his Migawari ability, her watching him. Truely, it's hard not to score those strings on the top of all skills he currently has – they are just too versatile and easy to control.
So easy to control that even those that are not connected to his body, by just touching them, he can again mold them into any form a thread can be formed.
Or;
For example, he can prank Rubi'i by stopping the momentum of the swing, making her fall of it. But he's not so cruel.
Aki though notes another method on how to deal with his sister.
...
...
20 minutes passes and he finally completes all of the brick making process.
Yet,
He didn't drop any sweat while working. He stretches, then looks at Ruby, then at himself, and then at Ruby again. He notices how both of them are dirty from all the manual labour.
Rubi'i looks at Meteo, watching as he walks closer and closer. Then as he stands face to face.
"Come" He pulls her easily out of the swing when she pushes her weight forward, grabs her by the leg, taking her directly to the lake
"Aaa!" She yelps from surprise as she didn't expect to be yeeted out of her swing so suddenly with no word. Before she realizes, she's yeeted again, but this time into the lake. Splash.
"It's a wash time!" He adds with an eye-smile
Water breaks as Rubi'i pulls herself from under the water onto the surface. Her taking a fresh intake of oxygen as she catches her breath from suddenly being submerged. Water getting into her snout. She sneezes. "Why..." She asks sombrely while fully dishevelled from the water making her short fur droop, darkening into the darker hue of red.
"Would you go wash if I asked you nicely?"
"I would!" Baffled. "Especially if you joined too!" She pouts.
Shokui chuckles shortly.
"Alright. Then my bad for how harshly I thrown you" He shrugs, not really feeling bad in any way.
"You...!" Her voice furious, however, she halts the second he enters the lake to wash himself as well
Giggles seeing her expression.
As he gets closer, he splashes Rubi'i with water, which makes her stagger back, then in exact next second she bounces on him. Splashing more water than he at her. Meteo does the same, and henceforth they two splash each other. War.
...
..
.
The next day
Meteo and Rubi'i digged a layer of ground from the graveyard area, thrown sand in it as first layer, then Shokui throws together clay and limestone. Together with Rubi'i heating the mix into cement, creating a second layer. Letting the cement dry on itself for half an hour.
Third layer being crushed cement, one on which there are placed bricks and even more gravel in between of the bricks – now red slabs.
All of this made around the deeper holes that Aki had digged previously for the coffins to be placed in.
Honestly, Shokui has to say that this is better made of a graveyard than most he had chance to see in his past life. Though, it's quite understandable, considering those he and his sister had made are done to last, not like those in the churches cemeteries where you rent area for your grave to be placed temporarily - removed after no one renews the fee payment after the deadline.
It may be cruel, but honestly, considering how many people dies yearly, cemeteries would be filled full if there hadn't been such rule in place.
After everything dried, desks were placed on the corners to each pit, where now packed coffins with the bodies of the deceased rests.
Now.
Finally, the time had come.
A time to say a goodbye.
Shokui is the one this time inside the mindscape, letting Aki to be the one left in control. After all, it's his parents, not Shokui's. If he were the one who leads the prayer, it would be quite insincere and fake.
While Shokui will be the one who tells the prayer, Aki will be the one who says it out loud. And when words finally come out of the Meteo's mouth, Rubi'i freezes, confused. Staring at Meteo, unconsciously activating her Migawari ability to see his aura.
After he started to pray, it being blinding. No, wait, not only that, his aura is also different. Not blue as before, but half green. Mostly green.
Aki places his hands together in a prayer gesture. His fingers touching his snout as he closes his eyes. His head lowered. His heart laid open with honest faith.
O God, who are always merciful and forgiving, we humbly ask You: do not deliver the soul of Your servants - Hee Rin, Amea Rasu, Igni'i San, whom in recent days - You - have called to depart from this world - into the power of the enemy, nor forget it forever, but command Your holy Angels to lead them into the heavenly homeland.
This land does not know Your light nor had laid trust in You – but – We beg You have mercy - O Lord - on the soul of Your servants, for whom we pray today, humbly imploring Your mercy, that, purified, our family may attain eternal rest.
Receive, O Lord, our prayers for the soul of Your servants; if any stain of sins committed on earth still remains in them, may Your mercy graciously blot it out.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
He puts his hands down and looks at Rubi'i. She's staring at him, at his aura that dimmed into a darker hue of green, but still lighter than it would be normally. Her own hands gotten cold for some reason.
Aki comes to her, holds her hands and puts them into a prayer gesture, smiling softer. "You do not need to copy my words, nor you have to say them out loud. Just say whatever is on your heart to the caretaker of souls - Father God". He steps back,
If she didn't see his aura getting so bright, she wouldn't understand of what he's saying. However, seeing the proof with her own eyes that someone listened to his prayer other than her, she believed.
She believes the God he speak of truly exists. And honestly, knowing that he will take care of their family in afterlife, her mood gotten better.
Aki and Shokui watches as she starts to pray, surprised seeing no confusion but certainity.
Shokui is the one most flabbergasted.
~
"Wait, it was so simple?" Shokui states in the mindscape
~
O Lord, ehm.. It will be weird if I call you Father... Well... you know. After all my father just died, but yeah. So, hope you fine if I call you Gramps.
I never would have thought that someone like you exist,
but my brother, I saw that you listen to his words. I saw that you hear.
And Meteo, my brother, came to you. Came to you to ask, to beg,
For the souls of my dad, mom, and older brother;
To live with you. In Heaven, in Afterlife,
not the Nether where bad people go - to burn...
Don't let my family burn... please O Lord God, don't let them burn...
O Lord, O Great Father, O Gramps, my family are a good people,
and I... I feel like they deserve you taking care of them.
Unlike me... undeserving of them.
I am the reason why my father is... well... dead; I am the reason why my mother is dead.
I have not listened to when they asked me to hide. I have not stayed with brother when dad said to stay...
I had gotten in the way; and now they are dead
Now all that's left is my brother. I... I ask you a lot, but
Protect what's left of my family; Take care of the family that had already departed,
departed to You.
Ehm... what Meteo said at the end...
Right! Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
She cries as she hugs Meteo, smiling.
And Meteo – Aki sees in his sister's prayer exactly the same thing he went through. However, he then had Shokui to embrace him.
So now,
he embraces his sister fully.
Embrace after which he flicks her forehead "Of course you are deserving, stupid. Never think of yourself otherwise." Smiles as he sees her head snap backwards by few centimetres.
She sobs in return, not in a manner pain, but in rejoice to have still Meteo with her. "Ouch" Being one thing she says, but her face saying otherwise – smiling
...
..
.
After gathering their emotions, atmosphere being less sombre. They lowered the coffins and buried them with dirt.
There's no tombstone nor fancy grave, but what is the frame made of bricks and the lid plate inside of the frame, of cement. Cement onto which Shokui inscribes names, dates of birth and death.
How he had gotten information about date of birth of Aki's mom and dad, he simply done math using knowledge of when Aki remembers birthdays of his family to happen, and how old his family then happen to be.
After all - At the end of the day - Aki is good at remembering dates, and Shokui is good at doing math.
...
Rubi'i twitches seeing Meteo's aura flip blue again. Like – how is he doing that? Bewildered. And since when he can write?
...
==============================================================================
~
De Taete'Shoku-Kuroboni no Amea Rasu
☆ 14.6.1652
✞ 3.4.1668
~
De Taete'Te-Aki'i'Kuro-Boni no Hee Rin
☆ 7.8.1664
✞ 3.4.1668
~
De Aki'i'Te-Boni no Igni'i San
☆ 24.9.1649
✞ 3.4.1668
~
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