[Private] AdoRion

[Resa]

Location: Hugel
Limit: Two
Players: Adonis Caskay, Orion Erebus (Dysprosium)
Timeline: Years 23 - 26

OOC Talk Thread: Link here

Fumi and I are basically just using this as a means to RP out different parts of Adonis' and Dysprosium's (Orion's) pasts together. We'll just mark it as a new "chapter" in this thread when it's taking part at a different time in their history, just so we don't have to keep making threads for them, LULZ. We basically just get bored waiting to RP so we keep ourselves busy with ALL THESE THREADS MMM.

Chapters
One: Meeting (Year 23 | Pages 1 - 2)
Two: Adventure (Year 23 | Pages 2 - ?)

[Resa]

Chapter One



Hugel was quiet.

At least in comparison to the bustling city of Einbroch, anyways. It wasn’t boring, more like peaceful—tranquil—a rare gem in the Schwaltzvalt Republic. According to Orion’s mother, it was much safer as well. That had been the entire reason they packed up and moved from the polluted city to the quaint village, after all; Einbroch was far too dangerous in both people and environment for a blind child. Orion didn’t protest, at least for long, as Mrs. Erebus’ mind was clearly made up. He tried to insist it was fine, he was fine, and that he would be fine, but it was more that he didn’t really care about it as much as she did. She was protective and it annoyed him at times, but there wasn’t much he could do to stop it. She had good reason, after all, her son had been handicapped since birth; two milky, soulless eyes that stared off at nothing in particular.

He didn’t feel as “abnormal” as she seemed to feel he was. He had known nothing different in the end, and it wasn’t like he missed seeing for he never had the opportunity. He knew she was just concerned, that she tried to imagine it through her perspective, and that perspective had it that being without sight was a horrible, horrible experience. His parents had good intentions, but ultimately he realized they just pitied him. Mr. and Mrs. Erebus felt it was their duty, as parents, to know everything and be able to answer everything for their child. Unfortunately for them, the cards had been dealt in a manner where they were stuck with no answers and only questions to provide for their only son.

But he was used to it. He was used to his parents unfulfilling answers, used to the pity so many gave him, and used to the taunts and teases from heartless kids who didn’t know any better than to poke at someone “different” than them. At least here in Hugel he wouldn’t have to deal with the later, or so his mother had told him. According to his parents, Hugel was mostly full of the elderly. If there were kids there, it was usually just the occasional visit to grandparents. Of course, Orion had suspected this was just a broad generalization—there was no way the town’s population could only be the elderly, after all. But his parents insisted that it would be different and much better than Einbroch, and that he would see for himself when they arrived. Ironic.

They had been there for over a week now, and their new house was already decorated and as homely as it would have been if they had lived there their entire lives. Orion had spent the time getting used to it. While the inn they had stayed at in Einbroch was much bigger, it had a certain kind of uniform rhythm to it that made it easy to navigate. His mother had offered to help him, but he once again insisted it was okay, and she warily let the topic go. He made his way around the house extremely slowly the first time, a bit faster the second, and by the fourth time he could at least make his way around without stumbling or standing for a long period of time while trying to remember the format of the house.

He didn’t want to go out much. The day after they moved in, his mother forced him out of the house just to introduce him to some of the people in town, but he quickly convinced her to go back home. It was his first time out of Einbroch and he didn’t particularly like it. It was a whole new world to get used to, and even though the air seemed far cleaner and the sounds weren’t as loud, it was still a nuisance. So for the next five days or so he just cooped himself up in his room, his arms resting lazily on the windowsill as he just listened to the town.

On the eighth morning, Mrs. Erebus told her son she wanted to decorate his room. She promised him she wouldn’t move anything, despite her constant urges to move furniture that only made life more difficult for her son who spent so long just growing accustom to where things were placed already, saying she just wanted to brighten it up a bit with a few things. It was probably from having to organize the inn rooms in Einbroch, but all of it didn’t particularly matter to her son as he couldn’t see any of it anyways. But, with an aggravated sigh, he made his way from his room, down the stairs, and out the front door.

His long, white cane tapped against the wood of the front porch a couple times until it hit air, signaling one of the few steps that lead up to the porch. Orion slumped down, sitting on the top step with one elbow resting on his knee, his cheek resting in the palm of his hand. His other hand loosely held onto the cane that now resided in his lap idly. He breathed in through his nose before letting out a bored sigh, his lashes lowering as his milky eyes closed and he did what he did best: listen.

[Fumi]

“A new neighbour?”
“Yep. Up in the ol’ empty house across that bridge. Never thought that it would be occupied again after them Hempels left.”
“Ya don’t say…”
“They’ve got a kid with them too. Seemed pretty shy though.”

That was what he had heard from an elderly couple who were basking their time over a splendid cup of tea in the heart of Hugel. As big as the town seem to be for him, news seem to spread quite fast and it obviously didn’t take too long until Adonis overheard the unexpected. His attention perked from curiosity considering that it was rather rare that families would move in at this time of the year, but also an even rarer sight that they had a child with them as well.

Admittedly, that alone gave him sugar rush.

Being quite the active lad with countless of offers to spare, just going around lending a helping hand to anyone he would simply come across and all, he was pretty well-known (despite it being a rather small town to begin with). The 14-year-old almost dropped the bag of groceries he had in his arms as he tried to eavesdrop into the conversation, but unfortunately his actions were too obvious to be ignored and soon enough, the old man simply turned towards him with a smile as he willingly gave the struggling boy more information.

“Looks about your age or so, lad. Thirteen, I’d reckon.”

All of this was fairly a week ago.

By the time days passed by, the more he felt intrigued by the new family who had just moved in. Sure, he had tried to approach their residence some time ago, but dared not walk right up and welcome them… yet. So, at the very least, he stayed at a distance, observing after he was done with his chores for the day (which apparently was already late evening or something, so he didn’t dare disturb their private family time). All the while however, he had not come across the mentioned child everyone has been talking about. As dissatisfied violet eyes peered over to the rather aged woman standing behind the counter, he huffed, “Hey, gramma. Have ya met them Erebus yet? Said that they’ve got a child a year younger than me or something,” Surely, they have dropped by to introduce themselves and it just happened that on that particular day, Adonis might have been out and about as usual, disregarding his time management much, “Well, have ya?”

A swift blow to his head caused him to groan some before frantically adjusting the Kitsune Mask he wore slantingly back in place. The old woman who retorted at how her grandson was addressing her resumed her attention towards the stove, “Sure they did. Name’s Orion, cute kid, very quiet and all…” she trailed off a little, trying to recall at the same time. However, her attention was then brought back again to Adonis who was staring at her in excitement, “And don’t ya got chores to do? What are ya still hanging around here for, more pie?”

“Not today I don’t! Pie sounds good tho—” he barked in protest before letting out a yelp as he avoided another swing coming right at him. The boy had been giving it a lot of thought late last night and was essentially pumped up the moment sunrise approached—he was determined to meet Orion. Grabbing a piece of muffin across the counter, he gulped down the warm milk prepared for him as usual and forged up a white lie, “…Actually, I do. See ya, gramma!” And with that, of course, he bolted out the door ever so anxiously—scrambling past goodbyes and the slammed door behind him.

She just forgot to mention that the child was a he and that he was, well—blind.

Now, making his way rather casually, the young Archer hummed in amusement. His mind wandered aloof every now and then as he devoured every last bit of the homemade muffin—from what type of person would Orion be, what would Orion look like, and so on and so forth. It was just that pleasant to be meeting someone rather close to his age. Sure, the other kids around, like the hyped pink-haired girl, the soft-spoken boy and the cute little girl (with rather scary siblings) behind the window—all were quite the bunch, but none of which he can rest his daring adventures on.

“Hoh—” pausing midway, he took the opportunity to reconfirm what he was looking at by blinking a few times. His violet eyes then beamed a little at the realization that he was indeed staring at the child that he was expecting to meet today. At full speed, he didn’t hesitate to dash right up to the residence before stopping right by the porch steps and gesturing a wave.

“Hey, finally caught ya around!” he exclaimed rather happily as he continued, “Gramma’s right, ya are cute! I’m Adonis! Orion, right? You’re up early too! Man, I haven’t seen ya around at all… Lucky!”

[Resa]

It was almost hard to stay awake as he sat on the steps outside of his house, his eyes closed as he listened to nothing more than the gentle breeze blowing through the town and the sound of water running at the bridge he remembered crossing the day they came to the town, and the day after when his mother dragged him about. It was relaxing, and without realizing it his head was bobbing some, his attention snapping to him just enough to keep his body from toppling over. The constant banging and clanging, trains screeching, tourists babbling of Einbroch seemed nothing more but a distant memory now. He wasn’t sure if he preferred it this way, but it wasn’t as if he had much choice in the matter anyways. He was stuck here.

His mind had drifted far enough into that half-sleep like state that he didn’t notice the sound of someone running closer. And closer. It wasn’t until a loud greeting bursted in front of himself that his body shot up stiff, his eyes shooting open as he managed to muffle the yelp that escaped from his lips. He was half surprised he was still sitting and hadn’t jumped to his feet and dashed inside, but still being unfamiliar with the layout of his property it probably wouldn’t have been a good idea anyways. Now both of his hands were gripping onto the white cane that was resting in his lap and had scooted back considerably just from the shock.

“W-wha…” Orion stuttered, for a moment wondering if the boy he heard in front of him was even talking to him or not. His eyebrows furrowed as he stared blankly ahead of himself, his lips turning downward into a frown. Cute? he thought to himself, an obvious blush heating up his face as the excited boy affirmed it was him he as talking to and about after all. How’d this boy know his name, anyways?

He was quiet for an almost awkwardly long period of time after the other had finished babbling, even if it was just for a few seconds. He couldn’t really think of anything to say. Figuring he had to anyways, and while regretting even coming out here in the first place, he swallowed the lump in his throat and spoke up quietly yet with an unusual sternness for someone so young.

“Y-yeah, I’m Orion…” he replied, not really knowing how to respond to the compliment the other afforded and decided to just continue on as if he didn’t hear it, “Nice to meet you, uhm, Adonis.” It was a rehearsed formality from staying at the inn for so long, greeting the travelers that stopped by by the day and the night, but there was no welcoming smile to accompany it, only the same frown he usually had. “It seems like everyone gets up early here—sounds like it, anyways. Were you looking for me?” He couldn’t fathom why the boy would, but it sounded like he was. After a moment he realized he recognized this voice; he had heard it occasionally as he listened to the town from his window, but he never payed it much mind. He figured it was just some kid here to visit his grandparents that would be gone within the week, but he was obviously mistaken.

[Fumi]

He responded!

Adonis was clearly in absolute bliss right now—Orion was talking to him and well, he does look rather shy… or stunned? Nervous? Well, it didn’t matter, as long as he managed a response out of the other child, he was fine with it. In fact, he was still oblivious that the Merchant was a blind boy, but his excitement was racing far quicker than how his sense of logic was and frankly, gender mattered the least to him. Either Orion was a he or a she, Adonis discarded it altogether and simply went with the flow, “Aha! It’s true.” From the green-haired boy’s response and the heat that rose up to his cheeks, it simply made the young Archer agreed to it again with a confirming nod.

“Were ya sleeping, Orion? I woke ya up? My bad,” the apology was sincere—he didn’t mean to cause him to panic in his position. Maybe he wasn’t as ready to meet other children around—seemingly that it was probably a new environment for him and all. This is all clashing with his level of curiosity and excitement the more and more he looked at Orion. Although, he knew that his grandmother would definitely be right there, smacking him behind the head for causing trouble like that, therefore the maroon-haired boy tried the very best he could in humbling himself slightly as he continued, “I just thought I’d drop by to say hi! Maybe we can go play some time?” He offered as genuine as he could.

“Oh! Yeah, man! Gramma said ya came by with your ma uhh… few days ago, prolly. My place is over there—“ and with that, he pointed into the direction of his house in hopes that Orion would recall dropping by. Having a bit of difficulty at first due to the angle of where they were at the moment while correcting himself, “That one just… there! Can’t really tell much from here, huh… So many trees, but yeah, it’s that one there,” It wasn’t as if he came by the particular area much before the Erebus family moved in since it was pretty much abandoned prior.

At the same time, he rested his violet eyes on the boy, eager in waiting for his response—all the while his dog-tag with his name engraved onto it clearly made a clinging sound against its chain as he moved.

[Resa]

Orion listened carefully to the boy, who sounded young enough—probably around his own age, actually. Admittedly he was rather thrown off by Adonis’ friendly approach; the kids in Einbroch were not nearly as friendly, and if they were, they were out of pity. Figuring this was just another case of pity, Orion afforded a quiet “No, it’s okay,” toward his first sleeping remark and an insincere “sure” to the playing one. He figured they were just formalities, being polite, as most people tried to be. It didn’t particularly bother him, though—he had gotten so used to it over the years that he hardly thought about it at all.

But his prior opinion was skewed when the boy continued.

Tilting his head slightly, he listened with a puzzled look clear on his face as Adonis was trying to tell him where he lived. He knew he had to be pointing to it or gesturing to it in some way, some way he couldn’t see. Which meant that this kid didn’t know after all? Maybe the offer earlier was genuine after all. He felt a bit of guilt stir inside of him, but he pushed it aside for the time, his fingers rolling the cane in his hands as he payed the most attention he could to the instructions without being able to see the gesture.

Well, he could at least tell it was across the small bridge that lead to his house from the altered sound when the Archer turned his head to point out where his home was, but that was the most he could get from it. Even if the offer had been intentional, after he found out about his handicap it probably wouldn’t withstand, Orion figured. Once again, though, he had no idea what to say. He sighed mentally, deciding that he may as well try and avoid the awkward situation of him pointing out his problem and figured he would just casually move on.

“Oh,” he replied. He didn’t turn his head, nor did he even seem to really understand the instructions the Archer was pointing out to him, and instead just continued to stare out at the boy in front of himself simply because he was right in front of himself. He blinked slowly. “My mom dragged me around about a week ago, I guess it was then. I haven’t been out since then, though,” he gave an odd expression, as if suddenly struck by a thought.

Awkwardly he bit his lip, thinking on the fact that this kid obviously didn’t know of his disability and the fact that people had often pointed out that his eyes looked “blind.” With that his eyes closed, his head bowing slightly as he continued in just as awkward tone of voice, “Well, except today I guess.”

He’d never been skilled with conversation as he never had much to say, nothing anyone could relate to anyways. And he too didn’t get the opportunity to talk with many children his age (although probably still more so than the Archer did), and spent most of his time listening to whatever traveler had the time and patience to tell him about their adventures. He was a good listener, as life had trained him to be, and now he just listened quietly to the gentle jingling of the dogtag that hung from Adonis’ neck.

“Uhm, what’s that?” He asked without thinking.

[Fumi]

Orion’s disconnected replies weren’t a bother to him at all as he took that as a green light past introductions. Sure, they were a little uninterested, but he figured that maybe the shock from his approach earlier might have triggered that. He was still excited—trying his best to contain it, which wasn’t his best at all. It was clearly displayed from the vast difference in both their tones. But, that’s where it hit him.

He’s not exactly… looking in that direction—was he?

That would explain why he wasn’t really reacting to his gestures much. The empty stare in a single file confirmed it too. And from that point onwards, came the bitter reality—Orion was blind.

It wasn’t sure as to how that bit of information seeped into his head for Adonis had been around the elderly throughout his entire life. He would witness them live side by side with whatever aging defects they possessed and still go on surviving daily. A few tend to lose, but the boy was long assured that living was definitely one of the gifts that should be appreciated—handicapped or not. Little did he know that Orion was pretty much deep in his thoughts, while he himself wasn’t really putting much into it. Not that it was particularly a huge issue—it wouldn't change who he was either way.

The maroon-haired Archer withdrew his hand just as quick to move closer to Orion, lowering himself slightly beside him on the porch steps. He didn’t exactly sat there yet as he attempted to again pinpoint the direction of his house and when he could, he announced an excited “Here, I’ll show ya!” as a fair warning before taking the other boy’s hand in his and just lifting it towards the direction he had pointed out earlier, “It’s not that far! Well, nothing’s really that far here, but it still tires me going back and forth. I don’t mind though!” After of which, he pulled himself back slightly, just enough to keep his balance and also Orion’s hand still in his, not wanting to let it drop, but waiting for the younger Merchant to pull it back instead. Never know, he might have needed that bit of time to adjust to the direction the Archer wanted to show him anyways. He had all day.

“Ya should get out more often. The sun here is good! There’s this spot—ya can view the whole town from there too, but man, ya wouldn’t wanna go there during the afternoon… It’s blazing hot, I tell ya,” Adonis kept on going and going. It was rather natural for him considering his predicament. And for a brief moment, he noticed the white cane in the boy’s hold, praising its usefulness, “Got that to help ya move about too, cool! We can go on adventures that way then!”

The question out of the blue however, caught him off-guard. Violet eyes blinked for a bit as he whipped left, right and eventually did one complete circle just to see if there was actually something Orion found of interest. There was nothing much surrounding them except for the lush green environment as well as the few pots and plants decorating the front look of the house. Finding nothing in particular, he turned back towards the green-haired Merchant with a quizzical look on his face, “What’s what, ya say?”

[Resa]

Over the years, Orion had come to the conclusion that people as a whole were predictable. The redundancy of life and pity had made him not so much as bitter but hard, and it was a difficult feat to surprise the thirteen year old. While his face was expressive, hardly did he have an emotion other than boredom or annoyance that it would brighten in any way.

Adonis, however, broke this generic mold he had so-figured into his head within the minute.

He had heard the Archer come closer but didn’t think much of it, instead just continuing to sit as calmly as he could muster with his head still bowed. Before he could ask a curious “show me what?” he was thrown back into a similar shock as to when Adonis had greeted him in the first place. “Ah!” he exclaimed as the maroon-haired teen took his hand in his, his eyes shooting back open as his heart slammed against his ribs in alarm. The surprise on his face was quickly replaced with another odd expression, a confused embarrassment as his cheeks heated up once more.

Well, either the Archer had realized that he was blind or he thought that he wasn’t paying as much attention as what he expected. “O-oh…” he stammered through his embarrassment, turning his body slightly to face the direction Adonis had helped him point out. This time he tried to listen attentively to what the older boy was saying, but his awkwardness was making it difficult to catch it all. The question that was silently pounding his mind was answered when the boy made a remark about the white cane that his free hand was still gripping. So he knows after all, he thought to himself, feeling only more embarrassed. Adventures, though?

As the confused thoughts ran persistently through his head, he hadn’t noticed he didn’t take his hand away from the other’s yet. It took until Adonis posed a question toward his own that he realized his arm was still raised, and his stomach flipped for a brief moment by sudden nervousness before he quickly took his hand away—just barely at first before it returned to himself completely and found refuge resting against his other arm, his fingers rolling the fabric of his sleeve anxiously. Did he ask that question out loud? He silently cursed himself, and now feeling rather mortified, he decided that the pursuing the answer wasn’t worth the further embarrassment he felt was in store.

“U-uh, nothing, nevermind,” he answered quickly. The second after he hastily rose to his feet, his hand pulling away from his sleeve and now taking the white cane into its hold instead. “I should—should get back inside now. My mom needs some help with things,” he lied, “I’ll, uh, I’ll talk with you… later, Adonis.” Quickly he turned himself around, only tapping the cane once in front of himself before he rushed to the door, the cane touching it before he did and luckily reminding him it was shut before he awkwardly opened it, slipped inside, and shut it quietly yet quickly behind himself.

The boy was already wishing he had done things differently, but it was too late now. At least that was the end of it, now that the usual formalities were out of the way. According to the “generic mold,” he’d probably never hear from that boy again unless it was just through coincidence—but even then it wouldn’t last longer than a polite hello before going back to their own businesses.

He was silently ashamed of himself that the other boy’s kindness had made himself feel so awkward.

[Fumi]

He watched him react in surprise as he continued to support his hand—until the tug back allowed him to lower his own as well. Even the slight shift in his body’s position towards the direction of his house just made him think of how adorable it seemed. Albeit, unsure to what Orion was thinking at the moment, he was definitely amused from the boy’s change in expression, if anything. All this while, he was used to guiding the old folk, indeed, but this time, it felt like a different experience altogether—similar, yet new.

But, before his thoughts could ensue or even have his question answered, the green-haired boy was already seen making his way towards the front door. The embarrassment on the young Merchant’s face was visible—apparent to how he had retreated ever so suddenly. It just made Adonis brightened up the more he knew that he was getting a reaction out of his new-found friend. Whether it was mutual or not, he discarded it.

“Aha, okay! Say hi to your ma for—“ he exclaimed just in the neck of time before Orion disappeared past the solid access. “…me,” hardly fazed by the immediate ‘rejection’ the slightest, he simply scratched the back of his head, thinking that the kid was indeed a rather shy person (at this point, his mind was probably leaning more towards ‘girl’)… That or he should have probably held back a little and yet couldn’t help it. Oh well, no matter, they got to converse! The thought of it satisfied him a great deal as he bid farewell for now, “See ya tomorrow, Orion!”

It was still early in the morning though, but he figured he could fill up his schedule again with some help around town. If he was lucky enough, he could avoid rescuing that good-for-nothing kitten that can’t seem to find its own way down from the rooftops every so often. How troublesome, but someone has to do it. The thought just made him make a face, but it wasn’t enough to deter him from the excitement he had just garnered. After all, the hunger in meeting Orion was enough of a victory to fuel him for the whole day itself. Leaving the area in a jogging motion, the young Archer took off towards the main square, being in one of his cheerful moods ever. He couldn’t wait to greet people he’d come across, inform his grandmother on his findings—

And furthermore, he couldn’t wait for tomorrow, that’s for sure.

[Resa]

It was difficult to sleep that night. The embarrassment Orion had suffered earlier had been bothering him the rest of the day and through the night, quietly tossing and turning as he thought of how the scenario could have gone instead of the way it really did—for the way it did was mortifying, to say the least. He didn’t quite know why it bothered him so much; maybe a combination of guilt and regret that just left him unsettled. He probably should have been nicer, a bit more level-headed. The boy didn’t even realize how obvious his expressions were or he probably would have been only more upset.

By the time morning came the boy with the dark green hair was dead asleep. Spending half of the night thinking of the incident earlier that day, the other half of it trying not to think of it, by the time he actually did fall asleep it wasn’t long until the sun crept up through the horizon. Usually he was a light sleeper, but this morning his ears were trying to be good to him by ignoring the sound of footsteps coming toward his door.

The door swung open.

“Orion! Orion, wake up!” his mother called into his room a little too loudly. Her son instantly shot up, sitting on his knees and panting hard as if he had just woken up from a really bad dream.

“W-what?” he asked as he tried to level out his breathing. The shock from waking up so quickly threatened him with an oncoming headache, one that he was already silently blaming his mother for. His brain hadn’t processed what she was trying to tell him. Yet, anyways.

“There’s someone here to see you!” she took a moment to take a good look at him then continued, “Orion! You look like you didn’t sleep a wink last night! Well, hurry and go downstairs to see what he wants while I make you breakfast, okay?”

The thirteen year old didn’t have the time to ask any further questions. His mother had already walked away from his room, down the stairs, and he could hear a quiet “he’ll be down in a moment, you can come in if you want,” before the footsteps moved into the kitchen. The alertness he had when he first was woken up was fading now, and as the tiredness sunk in he was finding it hard to figure out just exactly what was happening. Someone here? To see him? Wait… It couldn’t possibly…

Groggily he pushed himself out of bed, not even bothering to grab his white cane before making his way out of the room. In a week of struggling his way around the house, he had gotten quite used to the layout by now and could make his way anywhere within it without much problem, as his parent knew better than to leave any obstacles in his course. With each step he took down the stairs to the first level of his house he thought of the different possibilities—no way was it the excited boy from yesterday, no, the mold he had figured in his head over the years didn’t leave that as an option. Perhaps it was one of his mother’s newfound friends through the town, wanting to speak with him or see what the blind kid looked like. Yes, that was probably it. It would be a quick rehearsed greeting, a few answered questions, and then he could go back to sleep.

Finally at the bottom of the stairs, he slowly walked to the front room, his fingertips gliding gingerly against the wooden wall to help him. He didn’t bother to get dressed properly, still in the long legged pajama pants with a long sleeved shirt, both in a matching sky blue color that he would never care for. If it was just one of his mother’s friends, they’d just find it cute anyways, or so they’d say. Orion yawned drowsily as he turned the corner to the front room, taking a few steps in as he was still unaware if the guest had come inside or not so just made himself obvious to anyone who could have maybe been standing in there and through the open door.

“Good morning.” he said lazily into the room, not exactly knowing where to focus his voice. He noted the distinct smell of pumpkin pie, but knowing his mother wasn’t the best cook he felt it was a bit oddly placed.

[Fumi]

The day prior was fulfilling. Adonis made sure that he had cleared up as much ground as he could during the day before dashing back home—all that excitement he had to contain just escaping him the minute he burst through the door (almost giving his grandmother a heart attack at the same time too). After convincing her that he wasn’t exactly lying in the first place, he spent the whole night entertaining his guardian with how he had met Orion earlier that day. While the elderly woman continued to amuse herself from that bit of information, she realized that it didn’t seem to bother him much that their new neighbour was after all, sight handicapped. Well, at least not to Adonis, that’s for sure. She let it slide, allowing the young one to express how thrilled he was in comparison to any other normal day in Hugel. Besides, how often would he find a companion closer to his age that he can relate to?

And as his grandmother broke the news to him that Orion was a boy, that got him even more exhilarated (and didn’t take him long to accept it either considering his lack of perseverance whenever it came to gender).

Morning came sooner than he anticipated. In fact, he was already bouncing off the bed the moment sunrise caught his attention. Sure, he couldn’t really convince himself to sleep earlier, but eventually all that going about in town knocked his consciousness out real good. The boy hurriedly got ready and within a short manner of time, he was already seated by the counter as per his usual routine. Knowing that he was surely going to visit Orion again, she had prepared some homemade pumpkin pie all neatly wrapped up in a package just so that he would have an even better reason to drop by. Adonis didn’t complain much (apart from that he wanted some, but was clearly denied so) and brought it along with him as he walked out the door.

The walk was rather a fresh one that morning. Weather around Hugel had always been clean and untouched in comparison to the other nearby towns, so the travelers who tend to pass by every now and then speak. It didn’t take him long to reach the Erebus’ residence, introducing himself up front and inquiring for Orion’s presence. His mother mentioned that the other boy hasn’t been up yet, but offered him a seat during the mean time as she went off to fetch him. Just sitting there made him excited still, although he remained as obedient as he could and yet, the moment he saw the familiar green-haired boy practically dragging himself into view, Adonis cheerfully piped up.

“Good morning, Orion!”

Without further delay, he was already approaching him anxiously. Even with the package in one arm, he didn’t hesitate to use his free hand to take hold of Orion’s similar one that wasn’t in the way between him and the wall for support, offering a handshake. Satisfied enough, he returned it in place back by the younger boy’s side, catching up with the conversation instead, “Up late today, aren’t ya? Helped your ma, right? Ya do look rather sleepy though… But, the air outside is so nice, ya should be up and running! Don’t get that near noon, ya know? Oh…! And—”

Remembering that his grandmother had packed up a little treat for the family, the maroon-haired boy added on, “…Gramma made some pumpkin pie for ya! It’s really a lot though, ya can have it with your ma and pa too, yeah? Gramma’s a great cook, so ya won’t be disappointed.” He raised the wrapping in front of Orion just to prove his point, thinking that at least the smell would be rather dominating to his senses. It definitely smelled good, he himself thought so, at the very least.

“Think I can put this somewhere for ya? Man, your place is really neat. Your ma and pa did a super job here! Oh hey… Is that your baby picture…? So cute! Gramma keeps saying that I look like a Metaling… Which is probably the rotten version of a Poring or something, ya know… But, you’re cute—Poring cute, for sure!”

It seemed like he had been spending the whole night himself trying to come up with various conversation topics, when really, it was just pretty natural for him. That and meeting this city boy was practically getting him rather hooked on the idea of friendship really quick. Pausing slightly, he backtracked to the dessert a little humbly, which he was still holding, “…I can put this on the kitchen counter, yeah?”

[Resa]

“Good morning, Orion!”

The familiar voice instantly made the blind boy’s expression change from one of drowsiness to clear shock and confusion, his eyebrows knitting as his body immediately growing tense. “A-Adonis…?” he said aloud, his tone near questioning the reality of the situation as he thought about pinching himself to see if this was a dream or not. He wouldn’t have been surprised, anyways—the encounter had been on his mind long enough while he was conscious for it to seep into his unconscious as well, that was for sure.

Before he could make the cliché gesture he felt his hand once again being held by the other’s, his body awkwardly following the hearty handshake before the Archer released it. His expression was bordering on downright humorous by this point, not that he noticed. He’d heard over the years that he had a very expressive face, and despite their attempts to get him to understand it, it remained as a fact he remembered but didn’t pay much attention to. But for now his mind was still tired, and he struggled to try and catch what the teen in front of him was talking about while getting over the initial shock of their (now) second encounter.

He muttered a couple “mmhmm”s and “yeah”s while his thoughts were just in awe of how strange this boy was. He didn’t expect him to actually come today—hell, he hardly thought he’d see him in the next month, if even. Beside his confusion, however, he was a bit happy that the teen returned, even if he didn’t want to admit it. It was a change, but a pleasant one, and he didn’t mind being wrong for once. Maybe people in the country were just nicer. He did grow up in the city, and he noted how many of the travelers were quite kind, even if it was out of pity.

Orion tried to push those thoughts aside for the time being, though. Now he was trying very hard to listen to the boy, realizing this was one of the few times where he was finding paying attention to be difficult. When the smell of fresh pumpkin pie hit his nose once more, he tilted his head slightly. It did smell quite good. His expression was still confused, but it had toned down some by this point. Before he could say anything the other boy was talking again. He wasn’t surprised.

Soon that familiar heat was flushing his cheeks once again as he listened to the Archer. Poring-cute? He frowned with a sharp exhale, not exactly out of displeasure as much as it was just his embarrassment. He didn’t know much of what either monster looked like, but as far as the commentaries from travelers stopping by the inn said, porings were quite cute. He remembered a few of them had them as pets; he had touched one before, but didn’t quite like the texture of it. It sounded cute though, he supposed. He’d heard of metalings too, as they were much closer to his hometown than porings were, but they definitely weren’t as well-liked. Some even fashioned them to be creepy. The comparison nearly made him laugh when thinking of it in terms of the boy babbling in front of him, but his embarrassment wouldn’t allow it.

Luckily for him, Adonis had backtracked to the topic of the delectable-smelling pie that was in his hands. The green haired boy was quite relieved, actually, as he once again had no idea what to say to the previous comments. Finally he shook himself enough out of his daze to answer him properly.

“U-uh, thanks, Adonis,” he managed to get out. His voice still sounded tired, and realizing this he almost regretted speaking, but there wasn’t much he could do about it now. He was already embarrassed, with the situation and how he had come out in the first place still looking fresh out of bed, so he figured it couldn’t get much worse. He sighed quietly before his hands went and moved their way through the air for a brief moment before his fingers gently touched the surface of the packaging. “I’ll take it,” he said quietly as he took the wrapped pie into his hands, appreciating the warmth of it before he continued hesitantly, “You, uh… You can sit down if you want. Do you want a piece? It’s still early but… Well, it’s better when it’s warm and fresh, right…?” The offer seemed almost painful for him. He really had no idea what to say, but he tried his best to be polite considering the friendly gesture of it all (plus the fact his mother was just in the kitchen).

“Two seconds,” he said quickly before turning and holding the package in one hand now, his other hand back against the wood walls and guiding him inside the kitchen. As soon as he was in he placed the package on the counter and stood there with his hand still atop of it anxiously.

His mother turned to look at him. “Orion? What are you doing?”

The blind boy hesitated before replying quietly, “Nothing,” he fibbed. In reality he was contemplating what on earth to say or talk about with the maroon-haired individual waiting in the front room, and why the hell he invited him to stay and eat a piece. “It’s a pie,” he finally said as if admitting to a crime, “can you cut two pieces?”

He didn’t know it but his mother was smiling, pleased at her assumptions that her usually antisocial son had gained himself a friend so quickly—and one so nice, too. Knowing how her son was, though, she dared not congratulate him or ask too many questions of it, and instead just tried to be as casual as she could manage.

“Of course, honey,” she replied merrily, “You shouldn’t be having pie for breakfast, though, but I suppose just once won’t hurt. Go back and talk to your friend, I’ll bring the pieces out for you in a minute, okay?”

“Right,” he said in that stern manner he had shown the first time he was speaking with Adonis. He could hear her excitement and it pricked at him like needles for a moment, feeling a quiet bitterness toward her once more for reasons he couldn’t exactly fathom at the time. But he ignored it and slowly walked out of the kitchen and back to the room where the eager Archer was left waiting. Each step felt heavy as he felt that shame in his awkwardness once more mixed with the regret of sitting outside the morning before in the first place.

He took a deep breath.

“My mom says she’ll bring it out in a minute,” his milky eyes were blank but every other part of his face was playing out a clear embarrassment, “So, uhm, why are you up so early anyways? It must have taken a while to get all the way here from… All the way over there.” He remembered the boy helping him to understand the direction the day prior, but luckily for him his face couldn’t look anymore mortified than it did currently.

It was just conversation, but he was finding it increasingly difficult for some reason. Why was he so bad at this? Once again he was silently cursing himself for his sudden incompetence.

[Fumi]

While he was delighted that Orion actually responded more than he thought he would, Adonis couldn’t help it, but fall amused at the various change of expressions the green-haired boy seemed to give away. Even as soulless milky eyes looked like they were staring far off into the distance, his feelings were written perfectly clear all over his face. That was enough of a sign he would ever need. As long as someone could afford to give even the slightest hint of response, it was definitely enough to prove how much of human you are, thus making you no different from another.

He watched him absorb all that talk he had to offer—clearly not being able to pry his eyes away from Orion’s face, which was not only displaying one of but stoic, to disbelieved and embarrassed, but also accepting. It didn’t even cross Adonis’ mind as to how enigmatic the situation was because he was more than happy to indulge in the growing friendship they were starting to build up.

Pushing past introductions, he simply nodded as soon as the Merchant offered to take the pie from his hands. For some reason, even if the other boy couldn’t witness his actions, why should he hold back anyways, he figured. It’s not as if they were any different apart from his handicap. Otherwise, Orion was still Orion in all aspects. He was about to reply to the pie offer, but the green-haired boy was already making his way past him towards the kitchen and even if for a moment, he felt like trotting after him, Adonis held back. His foot made a few light taps onto the surface before considering using the brief moment of silence to innocently survey around the room.

From what he can see, the house had rather beautiful, yet simple decorations, which were very neatly in place. Well, it would make sense considering they had just moved in from the larger city of Einbroch—or so he heard, not knowing what it was like there or anything. Plus, it did seem to help Orion move about without much trouble—especially that he would usually need the wall or any solid object for support. It wasn’t long until the curious Archer started amusing himself over the very little, but still obvious family portraits he had noticed earlier—at the same time, fiddling with the dog-tag he had idly. The mild concentration he was in was interrupted the minute he whipped around to the sound of Orion entering the room again, answering with an enthusiastic “’Kay!” as if he had done absolutely nothing beforehand. There was a brief pause in between before he heard the other boy continued talking. Straightening himself some, the maroon-haired boy responded in one shot.

“Aha! It’s not that far, I’m used to going around town a lot. No big deal,” he stated, not realizing that it took him not more than a few seconds to reply as Orion struggled with his inquiry. The Archer was simply as impulsive as he can get and because it felt really good to be welcomed so quickly, he didn’t want to seem like he was barging in, but in reality, he was simply curious and thrilled. And both combinations were never good for Adonis.

Realizing this, he immediately filled the small pause by taking a seat on the couch closest to him, which had more room to spare than just one user alone.

“Ya just gonna stand there? Come, sit down! You’re tired, yeah?” he coaxed the still standing boy over, figuring that he would know what to do next by himself—Orion was capable and it was his residence after all. A few pats onto the soft surface beside him indicated his intention, making room for more questions for the younger Merchant instead, “What time did ya sleep last night? Pretty late, I bet… What else do ya do around here? Have ya been by the dock yet? Or the hilltop? I can bring ya there, yeah! Oh oh, how’s it like where ya came from? I wanna know. Come, come, sit!” He faced him fully now, the dog-tag around his neck making just the right amount of unnoticeable noise as he moved accordingly.

“Told ya I’d see ya today, didn’t I?”

[Resa]

Orion almost laughed at how quickly the Archer in front of him responded, almost. He didn’t know why he found it so funny—maybe it was his eagerness? He couldn’t quite fathom why he was so eager. Then again, this was Hugel, and from his week of experience up until the day prior it was a rather boring town. Or “peaceful,” as his parents described it. But he hadn’t heard many kids in his time listening, and figured that maybe he was the first new one to show up in a while. It’d explain this boy’s interest, anyways, as his father jokingly stated that Hugel was just “where old people came to die.”

His head turned slightly as he heard the sound of the couch being sat on. While he didn’t exactly feel like just standing there, he didn’t really want to sit so near this boy either. But what else was he to do? He wondered if he could just avoid it for the time being, as the other had already started rambling on. Quietly, he listened, the questions coming faster than he could possibly answer them so instead he planned to just answer them all when he’d get the opportunity. But then the request to sit came again, and figuring he couldn’t ignore it, he sighed mentally and shuffled his way warily to the couch.

He had a particular way of moving. It wasn’t exactly slow, but it was extremely precise; cautious, even. His hand reached out enough to let his fingers just barely brush the arm of the couch, the boy secretly relieved at the fact that Adonis’ hand hadn’t been there for him to touch instead, and knowing that the boy sat near that end he intentionally sat further from him. As he sat, however, the maroon haired boys word ht him and instantly made his cheeks flush that red color once more.

Why was he so embarrassed? He felt almost as if the other boy knew that he thought he wasn’t going to be coming back. And yet, as he said, there he was. It was unexpected, perhaps even forcefully so, but he didn’t exactly mind it. This wasn’t a bad thing, really, just… Unexpected. That was it.

“U-uh, yeah… You did.” Orion said near inaudibly, trying to force his mind backwards to remember all the questions he had asked. “I, uh, I haven’t been to the dock yet. Nor the hilltop. I haven’t really left the house much,” he shrugged, yet inwardly he was cursing himself for how pathetic that had sounded. He quickly tried to move on. Where he came from? He took a moment to think, leaning back against the couch as just the thought of it made him relax some.

“Einbroch uhmmm… It’s a lot different than Hugel, as far as I can tell. There’s a lot of noise, especially with the train and all. A lot of people, too… All sorts. Even people from Rune-Midgard, some from Arunafeltz too.” He had lived in an inn, of course, so he was bound to be around a lot of tourists or people just passing through. He’d heard a lot of stories during his stay there, way more than he figured he’d ever have. His head tilted slightly as he thought for another few seconds.

He turned to Adonis as if he was looking at him, “The air’s really bad there. I didn’t notice how bad it was until we came here,” he took a deep breath, “it took me a while to get used to it, but I can tell it’s nicer.” Now that he thought about it, he didn’t particularly miss Einbroch at all. He was realizing that not only was the air nicer here, but the people were as well.

[Fumi]

Eager violet eyes just kept watching the way he reacted. It was simply fascinating somehow that he could tell how clearly his reactions were without even having to second doubt it. And when the blush hit his cheeks, Adonis let out a laugh—turning himself to face Orion fully now while having a leg rested on the couch, still careful enough not to be rude about it and kept at least his foot off the soft material. The boy may be blind, but this was still him and his family’s property, therefore manners should still remain intact.

The one thing he was sure that he adored about the green-haired boy was when he turned to look at him. He felt acknowledged or rather—felt some sort of a connection between them. It may just be him being overly enthusiastic again, regardless of the condition, but he liked it nonetheless.

Just listening to what he had to share was entertaining enough. The Archer had never been that much far from Hugel—let alone to another town nearby. As far as he would sneak out by himself was on the outskirts of Hugel and even then, he would most definitely be home by sundown. Sure, he was young, hungry for that small taste of freedom somewhere out there, but he had grew up to be attached to the particular town. Everyone there welcomed him warmly and most importantly, the thought of leaving his grandmother behind just to go for adventures would be the one reason he held onto until today. Parents, however… Well, it wasn’t as if he had any to begin with or to remember by, so that didn’t affect him much.

Idly, he adjusted the Kitsune Mask to the side of his head.

“Sounds so busy over there—is it? All those trains… noises. There’re airships too, yeah? Seems like fun though, ya met all sorts of people. I’d reckon they’ve told ya a lot of stories! Share some, will ya? I know only so little. Not many travelers come by… much. I mean, they still do! But, they don’t really stay long,” he added, trying to recall the number of travelers he had met around Hugel. It wasn’t as if there were not many to begin with, but despite the fact that Adonis kept himself busy often, he would spend only so little time with any of them. A few stories caught his attention, otherwise he would only eavesdrop conversations involving the more elderly generation. Hugel was still a place of many mysteries to him, not that he’d mind one bit.

“But, it is nice here though, yeah? I’m glad ya like it here!” the minute he said that, violet eyes shot towards the window nearby as if admiring the view from inside. He turned back towards Orion, only to resume more what he had in mind, “And we can spend time by the dock! I like the dock, it’s quiet. Very calm place. I think you’d like that, yeah? Or the hilltop… but, the hilltop’s nicer if y—oh! I know the perfect time to bring ya there, you’ll see! There’re a lot of things to do around town if ya know where to look… I’ll show ya! It’ll be an adventure, yeah?”

While he may not realize it, but Adonis was never one to outcast someone judging by appearance and whatever a person may be of lacking. This includes his choice of words.