the specter of dreamful nights greets you with passion, dear stargazer :D
i’m Areixyn, pronouns are ae, they, and xe. (i also have a pronouns.page if you're interested)
i like to call myself a creator, and this is where i store my creations. i tell the stories of the children of Noxeris — my original characters. these stories come in a variety of forms: writing, drawings, and maybe more.
if you're new here, be sure to check out the official travel guide for Noxeris! it can help you understand more about this place ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ
also, here is a link that’ll rewind the clock and take you to the start of our journey!
asks are always open! questions about the characters, thoughts on the latest post, or just a random chat — share whatever it is :D
there's also a chinese (traditional) version of this blog — @areixyn-zh!
that's all i have for now, i think. enjoy your stay; may your dreams be starry and your reality be sugary ☆
Hot and dry air burns your throat. Exhaustion fills your body like it's about to collapse. A burning sensation spreads from your calf to your entire body, as if you are about to burn into ashes alongside the fire.
You hold tighter onto the kittie plushie on your shoulder and run.
The dark corridor stretches out before you, only lit up by the enclosing flames behind you. You open yet another door and run into yet another corridor.
How long have you been here? Three hours? A day? Too many years?
Smoke slips through the cracks of the old door, leaving no time to think. You grit your teeth and step forward.
Step. And step. And step. The same corridor as always, the same pain as always, the same step as always. Even the pain is getting numb, as if you're becoming a machine.
Perhaps you are a machine.
After a few turns, your legs fina give out. You collapse on the floor, tears forming in your eyes.
Your shoulder gets patted. You turn your head. It's the kitty plushie.
With the familiar confort, tears start flowing freely. You hug the kitty tightly and try not to sob too loudly. The kitty is silent, but the familiar weight on your shoulder makes you relax.
Coming to your senses, the flames have spread to your side. You hurriedly get up.
Unexpectedly, the kitty falls out of your grasp and onto the ground. The fire quickly crawls and engulfs the kitty.
“No—”
Ophelia wakes up in cold sweat.
She pants, yet her emotions refuse to calm down, pressing down on her chest and making it hard to breathe.
In a field of daisies stands a statue in the shape of a color pencil. On the top of the statue is a single yellow and purple pansy. Sitting against the statue, Areixyn is drawing on a field sketch board. Not far away, Metsys stands and looks at aer.
The paper Areixyn is drawing on has an unfinished sketch of a smiling girl. Metsys looks closely at Areixyn.
“What's the point of this?”
Areixyn laughs. “Mets, you should know me better than to ask me what the point of things are, shouldn't you?”
“I know,” Metsys says, “But every time you're here you feel slightly different. And I don't understand why.”
“Well, bold of you to assume that I know why.” Areixyn starts lining the artwork. “Maybe I just want some day to commemorate my dead child self, you know?”
“From what little I know about humans, humans don't tend to do that.”
“Come on, people remember anniversaries of traumatic events too. Well, some do.”
“Did something traumatic happen today?”
Areixyn’s hand pauses. “Hm. Maybe.”
“Maybe I remember it so clearly that I can tell you what day it was. Or maybe I’ve blocked out the memories and just randomly picked a date. Maybe there even isn't a date of death because it was a drawn out process.”
“But eh, who cares? Poemu’s birthday is May 19th because I say so.” Areixyn pokes at the paper with a painting brush.
“Does drawing her every year make you feel better?”
Ae considers for a moment. “It's something I do, alright.”
“Why?” “Why not?”
Metsys sits down in between the flowers. “…I don't have a counter argument.”
“Hm.” Areixyn continues to color the drawing.
A moment passes in silence. Metsys looks at the sun, forever in a golden sunrise.
“Done!” Areixyn sets down the sketch board and creates two plates of cake. “Now we can enjoy the cake!”
“Fruit cake. As always,” Metsys comments and takes a plate.
“It's the classic birthday cake! With the classic pudding too!” Areixyn takes a bite of the cake.
“Does this imply that you had tasted a birthday cake at least some time in your life in Tricos?”
“Come on, it could have been some kid who decided to share a cake with everyone, you know? Or a kind teacher. Or some ad, I don't know.”
happy birthday to Poemu :D
(shh it's still midnight so it still counts as the 19th)
fun fact i originally planned this to be a comic. needless to say after drawing so many daisies (and then blurring them) i do not want to do that again /lh
if you don't click the image for better quality i will cry (jk but still i spent so much time please
A knock on the door broke the peaceful silence in the morning.
Sakina looks at Kemys, who seems equally confused. Akinari went upstairs to get something, and isn't back yet.
They decide to go and open the door. It was someone who looked like Masaki, the same white and pink hair, similar pink clothes, except this person had horns on their head and a small pair of wings on their back.
…Just like how kafukus are described…?
“Hello, is Chizakura here?” The person asks.
Sakina’s mind was filled with confusion. They look around in search for a pen and paper — in an environment where everyone knows sign, it feels like it has been some time since they've used writing to communicate.
Kemys walks to the door and answers with her machine, “Chizakura?”
“Yeah. You're the kids who Chizakura… adopted, right? There's only this building here, after all,” The person says, “I’m a kafu— you know what kafus are right? We’re Chizakura’s helpers. There's an important document Chizakura still hasn't sent back to us yet, so I’m here to ask about it.”
In a sudden, tons of information was stuffed into their head, blocking off any air. What are they talking about? What is happening?
The person who claims to be a kafuku seems to see something. “Ah, Kokatsu, can I ask if has Chizakura awaken yet?”
Sakina and Kemys slowly turn to look at where they are looking. There stands Akinari, who just came down the stairs.
Akinari pauses for a moment, then quickly comes to the door. Akinari signs to the two, “Sakina, Kemys, go and wait there. We have work to do, but it will be quick.”
Faced with a situation they cannot understand, Sakina can only reply, “Okay.”
Kemys doesn't reply and simply walks to the couch. Sakina follows her.
Akinari speaks with the (self-proclaimed) kafuku and goes upstairs. After a while, Akinari drags a still sleepy Masaki downstairs and brings her to the kafuku.
Sakina watches them, still trying to process everything. Too many questions have clustered their brain, causing it to stop working like a crashed computer.
Akinari sits down on the sofa near them.
Kemys is first to ask, “What did that person mean?”
Akinari falls silent. “I know you have questions, but… we’ll explain after Masaki is done, is that okay?”
Thus, the living room returned to silence — a suffocating silence.
After a long wait, Masaki walks into the living room.
“W-What's with this heavy atmosphere…”
“It's time we tell them, Saki,” Akinari says.
Masaki laughs defeated, “About this, um, anyway… sorry about not telling you the truth for so long.”
“What… do you mean?” Sakina’s hands tremble as they sign.
“We are deities. But, not like what you imagine,” Akinari takes a deep breath and starts explaining.
“You might know that magic is based on imagination. With enough imagination and magic, anything can happen.”
Sakina nods.
“Therefore, when enough people believe in a deity’s existence, the power of magic will manifest the deity into existence. This is also why we sometimes need to do things to maintain people’s belief in us, such as trying to make people’s prayers come true or allowing religious rituals to happen smoothly.”
“Actually, that document just now was also about a prayer…” Masaki says quietly.
“However, due to reasons we don't know either, even still magic cannot sustain a deity's existence forever. So, every once in a while, a deity goes through a process called “etali” — which basically means handover. The deity will create a couple of successors, teach them knowledge and abilities required to become a deity, and then one of them will become the new deity.”
“This is how we were created as gods. We are created as gods to act out a role,” Akinari finishes.
“Uh, don't make it so negative!” Masaki laughs awkwardly, “I-I still enjoy being Chizakura, you know?”
“Act…” Sakina attempts to understand, “But… your personalities don't feel like… deities.” Maybe they can imagine Akinari as a god, but Masaki…
Masaki pouts, “If I had to fit into everyone's expectations of what Chizakura should be like, that would be so tiring.”
“We have free will,” Akinari explains, “…Mostly free will. There are still basic lines we cannot cross, like how Chizakura cannot hurt people, at least not directly.”
“I will never do that,” Masaki nods.
A pause. Akinari adds, “Of course, another reason is that humans have different understanding of religions, and we cannot control how people interpret us. So your understanding of us might not always be how we understand ourselves.”
“Is that… so…” Sakina is lost in thought. “Then—”
“No, our understanding is not the one and only correct answer. Even the same gods across different generations can have different opinions. You're the ones believing in these religions, and you can decide for yourself what it means to you,” Akinari says.
“Mm-hmm. Even though I think most of what Merii said makes sense, there are still times I think differently…” Masaki recalls. “Ah, Merii was the last Chizakura. Speaking of which, other than Chizakura and Kokatsu, me and Mumu can be called Arashiko and Kemusaki!”
…So that's why Akinari’s nickname is Mumu.
Akinari turns to Kemys. “Kemys, you haven't said anything for a while.”
Kemys looks at Akinari.
“So you were never aliens.”
Masaki laughs awkwardly, “Ah… We were planning to tell you, but we couldn't think of a way to tell you properly, and…”
“Sorry,” Akinari says.
Kemys is silent. A moment later, she stands up. “Excuse me.” She quickly goes upstairs, and Sakina seems to hear a door being locked.
“Ah… K-Kemys…” Masaki looks at where she disappeared frowning.
The living room falls silent.
After a while, Akinari looks at Sakina. “This might be hard to accept. If you have other questions, please ask us.”
“…Okay,” Sakina replies, heart heavy with a whirlwind of emotions.
Lying in her new room, Kemys stares at the ceiling. She’s been doing breathing exercises for a while, yet she can't seem to fall asleep.
She turns yet again. A tiny part of her still misses the tea that person used to give her in times like these —
Kemys sits up. She can go get hot water herself as well. In fact, she’s lived perfectly fine on her own for the last few years. This is nothing.
…That person will tell her to get up if she can't sleep as well.
After putting on her headphones, Kemys quietly slips out of her room. Her room is the closest to the stairs. Down the stairs, then towards the kitchen —
There's a silhouette outside the window.
Her body gets ready to strike before she sees the wings clearly. Big black bat wings, with brown tips? Is that…
“Kokatsu…?” Kemys opens the door.
The figure turns around slowly and signs, “That's me.”
Kemys blinks. Not only is Kokatsu in front of her, they are also… signing?
“I know about you,” Kokatsu signs, “Don't worry, this is simply a dream. Perhaps you have encountered some hardships lately?”
Hardships… The past couple of months have been eventful, to say the least. But quite some time has passed; she should be used to it now.
Kemys considers signing, yet ultimately gives up. She uses her headphones to say, “Things have happened… but I think I’m fine.”
“I see,” Kokatsu considers for a moment. “One cannot fight forever. Rest is the best way to prepare for the next fight.”
Ah, a line from the Shiki, although less often used and slightly different from the version she was taught. She knows this… what does it mean?
“You shall rest.” Kokatsu approaches her, “Rest now, my child.”
The world goes black.
Kemys wakes up to soft sunlight shining through the blinds. She is back in her room again. So it was all a dream…
She checks the clock and decides it's about time to get up, though the dream still appears in her mind.
“It's a long story,” Akinari thinks for a while, “Basically, we were separated when we were young, so we don't know much about the other’s childhood. But technically we are twins.”
Sakina and Kemys are wordless. Sakina signs, “Technically…”
Akinari seems a bit troubled. “I told you it's a long story. You can ask Saki later.”
“Alright,” Sakina compromises.
It is now lunchtime, and Masaki appears at the dining table just in time.
Sakina looks at Masaki, hesitating. It seems she hasn't figured out a natural way to bring up the question.
Kemys decides to get straight to the point. “Masaki, when is your birthday?”
“My birthday?” Masaki swallows a bite of food, “February 4th. What’s wrong?”
Kemys and Sakina glance at each other.
Sakina signs, “A long time ago, you told me your birthday is today, but Kemys says you told her your birthday is in August, and just now Akinari told us you are twins, so your birthday is on May 13th…”
“Eh… Umm…” Masaki freezes, “You caught me. I just made those up, ehehe.”
“…So it's on May 13th like Akinari said?” Sakina asks.
“Hm… Wait, no, I don't want my birthday to be on such a sad day!”
“Sad? Why?”
Masaki pouts, “That's the day the last cherry blossoms wilt away!”
“That's why it's my birthday,” Akinari says, “But it indeed does not suit you. Let's have different birthdays then.”
Sakina interrupts, “You can just… have different birthdays like that…?”
“Actually, neither of us know when our birthday is,” Akinari explains, “For convenience, I’ve always said that my birthday is on May 13th, but it seems Saki has been saying a different date every time.”
“Mm-hmm. It's pretty fun,” Masaki nods.
Sakina thinks for a moment, “So, do you not celebrate birthdays?”
“We said before that we are aliens. There are ones who celebrate, but we don't.”
“Wha-” Masaki rubs her eyes, slowly blinking awake. The clock shows that it's a little bit past 8 AM. “Mumu? Why did you wake me up?”
“Sakina is sick.”
“What?” Masaki jumps up from bed. “Wha- How- How are they right now?”
Akinari considers how to explain the situation. “They nearly fainted just now, and —”
“Oh no!” Masaki rushes out the door. “No, no, no—”
Akinari watches as she slams the door to Sakina’s room. “…Um.”
“Nana!” Masaki rushes to Sakina’s bedside. Sakina lies on the bed, eyes closed. She holds their hand. “Nana, are you okay? What's wrong?”
Sakina opens their eyes and looks at her. They try to raise their hands, but then they give out.
“Ah, don't push yourself,” Masaki says and uses her magic. “Okay, I can hear your thoughts now. Just think about what you want to tell me, okay?”
“Just like before…” The voice appears in her head. Sakina smiles weakly. “Ah, nothing. I… should be fine, please don't worry…”
“You are not fine!” Masaki almost yells, “Just- Just tell me what happened, okay?”
“It's just… It's probably just the cold I caught a few days before. Don't worry, it'll go away soon… It's always like this, you know it…”
The cold? Is that why Sakina was coughing before? Oh, she should have noticed, why didn't she ask them about it…
“Tell me what you're feeling. I can heal you,” Masaki holds their hand a little tighter.
She can't hear anything for a moment. Sakina’s smile drops a little. “Fatigue, weakness, a bit of nausea… probably a fever too. My magic isn't working as well as usual.”
“…Okay,” Masaki raises her hand, before remembering that she can use her staff. She summons her trusty Tree Branch — oh, she missed the familiar grooves and warmth — and channels her magic.
Sakina closes their eyes, and a faint glow envelopes Sakina’s body. Masaki stares intently, ignoring the undercurrent of doubt inside.
She can heal Nana. She will heal Nana. She has to believe that she can heal Nana.
The glow fades away. Sakina opens their eyes.
“How are you feeling?” Masaki hurriedly asks.
Sakina moves around and concentrates on how they feel. “I feel back to normal now,” they sign, “Your magic is as good as always… Masa.”
She makes the staff disappear, then smiles. “I’m glad.”
“…You didn't need to worry that much, though,” Sakina signs carefully, “I would be fine—”
“No!” Masaki interrupts them, “What do you mean you would be fine? You mean you would suffer alone and pretend you're fine until you get better?”
Sakina averts their eyes.
“You know I don't like it when you do that. At least tell me…” Masaki pouts.
“Sorry,” they quickly sign, “But I get sick all the time…”
“And I can heal you all the time,” she says.
Sakina hesitates.
Masaki holds their hand again and looks directly at them. “I’m— We’re always here, okay? We can help you whenever you need us. In fact, I’m the one who brought you here, so I should take care of you.”
Sakina stares at her, wordless. A moment later, they laugh softly.
“What's so funny?”
“…I just thought it seems like I am getting scolded by someone who looks like a child, even though I am an adult now.”
“Hey! I’m not a child! I’m older than you! Besides, you only turned 18 this year!”
In a peaceful night, Daisy sits at her desk, reading. Beside her is her younger brother, Basil, who’s studying his exam papers carefully.
“Sis, can you teach me this?” Basil shows his mock exam papers to Daisy. “I can't figure out what's wrong here.”
“Of course. Let's see…” Daisy takes a look at the paper. This is a history test — ah, one of the subjects she’s worst at — and Basil has circled the questions he has problems with.
“This one,” Basil points to a question. “Why is B wrong?”
“Hmm…” Daisy reads the question and tries to recall what chapter it should be in. It seems to be about world history…
A while later, Basil asks, “Um, do you need my textbook?”
“Ah…” Daisy hesitates. “It's… It's okay. Sorry, I just… need some time.”
Basil frowns slightly. “…Okay.”
“Ah, I think I’ve got it,” Daisy remembers all of a sudden. She explains the question to Basil.
“Oh… I see,” Basil says and takes back the exam papers.
“Hm? Don't you have other questions?”
“It's alright, I can study them myself.”
Daisy opens her mouth, then closes it again. “…Okay. Don't study too late though; studying is important, but sleep is just as important.”
“Mm-hmm.”
A moment later, Basil says quietly, “Sis, are you… leaving again tomorrow?”
“…I live in the dorms, after all. Sorry,” Daisy smiles awkwardly, “You know, the school is pretty far from our house. If I commute everyday…”
“I… I know. I just…” Basil’s voice turns quieter, “I just miss you a bit.”
Daisy chuckles, “Are the daily video calls not enough?”
“But…”
She pats Basil’s head. “Then, study well, get into Summermist, and then we can meet every day.”
Basil hesitates. “But then Mom will miss us.”
“Um…” Daisy thinks for a second. “But Mom still wants you to get in a good school more, right? Dad too.”
“Hm…” Basil doesn't answer.
Daisy yawns. “Still, don't stay up too late. I really want to stay up with you, but it's really late now, so I’ll go to bed now. Good night.”
“Mm-hmm. Good night.”
happy birthday to Daisy :D
Daisy's birthday is april 12th! unfortunately i was super busy for this last week,,,, sorry for being so late (´；ω；｀)
It's the school anniversary for Summermist Academy, and the dancing club has a grand performance.
Unfortunately, he hurt his wrist a few days ago. It's mostly healed now, but it still hurts a little when he twists his wrist.
“Are you alright?” Aimee comes up to him.
Samiel smiles, “Ah, I’m fine. No worries.”
“Is your wrist hurting?” Aimee asks, “The dance involves a lot of hand gestures. Are you sure you’ll be fine?”
“It's alright. It's mostly healed.”
“Well, if you insist,” Aimee shrugs. “Anyway, just give it your best, yeah? I’m sure everyone will be amazed by our performance!”
As they chat, the host announces their entrance.
Samiel looks to the stage and smiles in confidence. “Of course.”
Cyrus holds a pastry bag carefully, trying to control the flow of icing. “Wow, this is harder than I expected.”
“Hehe, it's a fun challenge, isn't it?” Ophelia says.
The two are at the dessert club’s stand. The club decided to organize a DIY activity where students can choose a cookie of their liking and use icing to customize them. It was a great hit, and the cookies were almost sold out.
Cyrus finishes drawing on the cookie and takes a look. “Yeah it looks like shit.”
“Ah… I think it's not that bad,” Ophelia says with a polite smile.
“Do you sell pre-made cookies?” Cyrus asks.
“Of course!” Ophelia points to the trays on the nearby desk. “There are other products too, like puddings and cupcakes!”
Cyrus’s eyes light up. He moves to the desk filled with desserts.
“Ooh, let me see…”
“Krishna? What are you doing all alone in the classroom?”
Arashi calls out to Krishna, and Daisy looks at the girl in mild concern. It isn't weird for Krishna to isolate herself, but staying in the classroom when it's the school anniversary is just too sad.
Krishna sighs, putting down her book. “My legs hurt.”
Ah, Krishna’s chronic pain. Remembering the wheelchair outside the classroom, it seems she's having an especially bad day.
“What are your pain levels right now?” Daisy decides to ask.
“About… 6,” she answers, “So no, I'm fine sitting here, thanks.”
Daisy and Arashi shares a look. Krishna definitely deserves the rest, but she still wants her to feel included.
“Would you want to hear what's happening, then?” Arashi says, “We’ve basically finished seeing all the exhibits. We can tell you about them, if you want to?”
“We can also buy you things if you want!” Daisy chimes in, “Ah, class 5 sells really good cotton candy!”
Krishna stares at them, speechless for a moment. Her gaze softens.
“…Okay.”
May 27th is the anniversary of Summermist Academy! celebrations are held today~
an excerpt from Kago Stories for Kids: Overview of the Kago
The twins controlled how the sun rose and fell. During the morning, Chizakura would come to earth and let the sun shine brightly onto the ground. When night fell, Chizakura would go back to Sanawa, and Yozakura would bring the stars and the moon. Under Chizakura and Yozakura’s rule, people lived in peace and happiness.
However, the peaceful days did not last forever. Most people worked and played during the day and slept through the night. Because of this, many people loved and respected Chizakura, but very few cared about or remembered Yozakura. As time went on, Yozakura started to become jealous of Chizakura and hate the humans. One quiet night, Yozakura was watching the humans sleep and thinking about the attention Chizakura received during the day. Yozakura’s heart was filled with anger and hate. These dirty feelings and thoughts made their heart turn black and their mind filled with darkness. The cherry blossoms on their body wilted and left dried-up petals behind. The clean white dragon scales on their body fell off and they grew brownish black scales. The feathers on their wings fell off and showed bones as sharp as knives. They decided to no longer protect the humans and instead destroy the very peace they once kept.
From then on, they threw away the name Yozakura, instead calling themself Kokatsu — the god of war.
They put Chizakura in a deep sleep in Sanawa, so that Chizakura could not bring the dawn to the humans. They caused the world to be stuck in eternal night, and the moon disappeared from the sky. They changed a part of Sanawa into a wasteland that can grow nothing, which is where we call Soshiya. They planted their magic and bad thoughts into humans, then pretended to be a human to spread bad feelings among people. Therefore people were controlled by hate, anger, fear, and desire, and they started doubting and hurting each other. War spread everywhere. Every house was burned down. Every tree was cut down. Every river was dried up. Every inch of land was covered with blood.
Feeling so much pain and no hope, people prayed to Chizakura. The prayers finally woke Chizakura up. Chizakura came down to earth and started to teach the humans how to keep kindness in their hearts and work together. But there were many people too affected by Kokatsu’s magic, and even Chizakura couldn't help them. So Chizakura decided to bring down heavy rain and a flood that cleans the world, so that only humans who are kind and pure can stay. After fifty-five nights of rain and darkness, the world finally saw sunrise.
Through these efforts, Kokatsu’s power became weaker, and they could no longer control humans. To convince Kokatsu to stop hurting the humans, Chizakura chased them down. Kokatsu kept running until they were back to Soshiya and had nowhere else to go. Chizakura tried to tell Kokatsu to return to Sanawa, to protect the people’s peace like before. Kokatsu's response was to use their last bit of power to curse all the humans so that evil thoughts forever stay deep in their hearts and their magic forever stays in their blood. Kokatsu destroyed the land between Sanawa and Soshiya and left Chizakura forever.
The twins controlled how the sun rose and fell. During the morning, Chizakura would come to earth, letting the sun shine bright onto the ground. When night fell, Chizakura would go back to Sanawa, and Yozakura would bring the stars and the moon while protecting humans. Under Chizakura and Yozakura’s rule, people lived in peace and happiness.
However, the peaceful days did not last forever. Unbeknownst to anyone, Yozakura had fallen in love with Chizakura, yet cannot show this love or become closer to them, for this was forbidden by the fifth law — one shall not fall in love with anyone that shares a same character in their name. Since they both have the character “sakura” in their name, they are banned from having a romantic relationship with each other. The anguish of this forbidden love tormented Yozakura. Every time they saw humans living happily together, they felt a burning desire to destroy their happiness. Yozakura soon fell into madness, turning from a white dragon with pink cherry blossoms growing on their body to a black dragon with wilted petals between the cracks of their skin. They brought war to every corner of the world, destroying the peace they once protected.
Realizing Yozakura’s harmful actions, Chizakura went on to persuade them to stop hurting the humans. “This isn't you,” Chizakura said to Yozakura, eyes watering, “What happened to that quiet yet kind dragon I knew? Who hurt you?”
“You!” Yozakura shouted, “It's all because of you! Your naive kindness, your ignorant optimism, and your stupid smile that makes me want to kiss you…! It's all your fault! Do you know how much pain I feel knowing that we can never be together? Do you know how jealous I am of every human that can get close to you while I watch? Do you even know how much I love you?!”
“Oh, Yozakura… You should have told me sooner…” Chizakura said, softly caressing Yozakura.
Yozakura started to cry. “Why did my name have to be Yozakura and yours Chizakura?”
“You could have simply changed your name,” Chizakura replied, “And then the fifth rule will no longer apply to us.”
Yozakura looked at them, hope shining in their eyes for the first time in such a long time.
“Let's figure out a new name for you. And then, we can be together forever,” Chizakura smiled.
And thus, Yozakura changed their name to Kokatsu, and the two dragons lived together happily ever after.
When Kemys was 10 years old, Spring Sunshine Children’s Home
Stepping off the school bus, Kemys walks into the children's home like the countless times she had before. Most of the kids are back already — the school for the deaf she goes to is much farther than the local elementary school — but she doesn't see the one person she wants to.
It's alright. She knows where she can find her.
Walking past a bunch of talking and laughing kids, she reaches the small library. Behind the last row of shelves to the right, by the window where sunlight shines in, sits Sakina with a book.
Probably hearing her footsteps, Sakina looks up. Kemys smiles and sits beside her.
Kemys digs through her backpack to find a package of crackers.
Sakina looks at her silently.
“The teacher gave me this. It is a prize for a game we played,” Kemys signs and opens the packaging. “Let's share it.”
Sakina looks to the crackers and back to Kemys.
Kemys takes a cracker and holds the package in front of Sakina. Sakina finally takes one and bites it.
With the cracker still in her mouth, Kemys signs, “What do you think? Do you like it?”
Sakina thinks for a moment, then nods.
The sunlight feels warm against her skin. Kemys smiles. “I knew you would like it! There's still two more. We can both have one more piece.”
When Cyrus was in 4th grade, Sunset Elementary School
“Thud!” The knocking next to his ear jolts Cyrus awake.
“Since you're sleeping in class, I guess you know everything I’m saying?” Coming to his senses, he realizes the teacher is standing right in front of him. “Cyrus Bluestone, what's the answer to question 2?”
Cyrus rubs his eyes and looks at his blank textbook. “Uh…”
The English letters on the page jumble together, turning into a clump of weird symbols. The choices all look the same; how is he supposed to know which is the right one?
The teacher sighs and looks to Aimee, who's sitting next to him. “Aimee, do you want to help him?”
“The answer is A,” Aimee says.
The teacher nods. “Good, the correct answer is A. Cyrus, don't sleep in class, understand? Go out and wash your face.”
“Understood…” Cyrus says halfheartedly, walking out the classroom.
Cold water hits his face, bringing back a little of his energy. He drags his feet back into the classroom.
Sitting back down, Aimee teases him, “How late did you stay up playing video games last night?”
“I did not! We had a lot of customers in the night market, and so I helped my dad with the shop.” Cyrus yawns again.
“Is that so—? Then how come I saw you guys chatting after midnight?”
“Uh…!” At a loss for words, he says, “I still have to rest after helping out, you know!”
Aimee turns away suddenly and says nothing.
As he is about to ask why, Cyrus notices that the classroom is unusually quiet. He turns around to look straight into the teacher's unmoving eyes.
He hurriedly looks away and back at the textbook. The teacher sighs heavily and continues the class.
happy birthday to Cyrus :D
Cyrus's birthday is on march 18th! yes i am once again late because of writer's block (つД`)
As Sakina puts the book back on the bookshelf, their eyes linger on the figure sitting in the corner of the room. With a small book in her hand, Kemys is reading silently.
It is rare for Sakina and Kemys to be alone together. Having almost opposite sleep schedules, Masaki and Akinari usually take turns looking over them. However, today Masaki seems to be so busy with her work that she hasn't come out of her room for the last few hours.
Staring at Kemys’s unmoving figure, Sakina’s mind drifts to a simpler time. Back in the children’s home where they only had each other, they would eat together, play together, and sit in silence together. Even when neither of them had something to say, simply being in the other's presence would bring a sense of comfort.
Sakina finds themself missing Kemys and her small smiles.
Their eyes focus on the current scene. They haven't seen Kemys smile for so long — it's almost like she's treating Sakina as if they were just a stranger.
…Perhaps they are a stranger. They don't really recognize Kemys anymore.
Sakina gulps down the growing discomfort and decides to walk towards Kemys. They wave their hand in front of Kemys, “What are you reading?”
“Sign language book,” Kemys replies with her device.
“I see. Can I read it with you?” Sakina has read the book before, but they ask anyway.
Kemys considers for a moment before answering, “Yes.”
Sakina moves a chair over beside Kemys and sits down. Kemys hands them one side of the book.
On the page, illustrations show how to sign each word. This is a book meant for children, and Sakina is certain Kemys knows these signs already, but she seems to be reading carefully.
Kemys looks to them, and they nod. She flips the page.
The two fall into a rhythm, reading through pages. Sakina can almost pretend to be back in the children's home, except Kemys is too still, and Sakina is too anxious, and they are sitting too far apart, and everything is too wrong —
Kemys flips the page. Ah, Sakina wasn't paying attention. It's okay, they'll just move on to the new chapter.
This one is about religion. Well, that's how Inkeloss works, religion is so important to the country to the point they put religious terms in a sign language book for children.
The knowledge of Kemys following Choreya hits Sakina. They look to Kemys, who is frowning slightly.
“You good?” Sakina signs.
“It's nothing.” She flips to the next page.
Looking at Kemys, Sakina decides to ask what they have wanted to for the past few days. “Tell me… about your religion, is that okay?”
Kemys stares at them. “You are a Lessaku believer, are you not?”
“Yes, but… I want to know more about it.” I want to know more about you.
“…Alright,” Kemys thinks for a while. “Choreya is about doing the right thing, even if that means breaking the peace.”
“Kokatsu… doing the right thing…”
“Yes. Kokatsu only punishes those who do wrong things.”
Although Kemys still keeps her explanations short, they can see something shifting in her eyes.
Sakina smiles and nods.
“Saki. …Saki.”
A voice echoes in Masaki’s head. She replies, “What's wrong, Mumu?”
“They are discussing about religion.”
“Yeah, I know!” she puts down the stamp and stretches in her chair. “Isn't it great that they're finally talking to each other?”
“Yes, but…” Akinari hesitates. “They are a little loud. I need to sleep.”
“Oh! Oh, okay. I… I’ll go talk to them,” Masaki decides.
“Thanks.”
Masaki takes a look at the paperwork, then stands up. Well, those could wait anyway.
