Binding Circles

Binding Circles

Part 13

Shamise

~(*)~

Tan arms surrounded him, pulling him into a familiar embrace. He let out a surprised squeak as his mobility was effectively restricted. A face leaned forward and nuzzled the juncture between his neck and his shoulder. Shyly, he shifted against the other, warm feelings blooming in his chest.

Are you awake, Aibou?"

He tilted his head up, smiling warmly at the person holding him. Amused maroon eyes watched him with a gentleness that he was quickly getting used to. Huffing, he tugged on one of the other's corn-colored bangs, pouting when all the other did was laugh. He crossed his arms, or attempted to anyway, and leaned back against the other.

"So what's on today's agenda?" he asked curiously. They had been so busy lately with moving him and getting him adjusted to the new house and lessons on the side. He had complete control over his muscles now (at least, he liked to think so), and his skill in the new dialect was improving. However much stuff still needed to be done, all he wanted to do now was relax, preferably in the arms of his red-eyed savior (and if anyone dared tell the other that's what he thought, he would kill them. Slowly).

The other chuckled, vibrations traveling from his chest. He refused to pout anymore (the other would only call him 'cute' if he saw), so he tried to wait patiently for the other to reply.

"I think we deserve a break, hm? We've been working so hard lately-"

"We?" he interrupted, snorting in amusement. "I'm the one who's doing all the work. You just sit off to the side telling me not to stop." He reached an arm pack to poke the other in the forehead. The other acted affronted, but maturely resorted to tickling to get his point across.

After many pleads to stop and lots of laughter, the other subsided and gently looped his tan arms around his middle. Gentle touches started exploring his sides, trailing down his legs too. Blinking languidly, he wondered how he had gotten so lucky to have At-

Stirring irritably, Ritoceh's mind climbed out of sleep's cobwebshuddled in the corners of his mind, forcing him to work against them to get to consciousness.

Bleary, purple eyes cracked open reluctantly, their owner groaning at the light that strutted through the windows. His eyes did not want to adjust to the light, screaming at Ritoceh to hide in his pillow and go back to sleep, yet he knew that he would have to get up soon anyway; he might as well get up now.

"Gaaaah," he groaned as he sat up. Pale hands rubbed his eyes harshly before reaching above his head in a full-out stretch. He held his breath for a moment, and then let it all rush out as he relaxed. He had never slept so well before! Absently, he wondered what had changed to allow such a peaceful rest, but nothing immediately popped into his mind.

Casting aside any desire to pursue the reason, Ritoceh pushed against the bed with his tail and swept his arms up and down to gain some altitude (another weird word that kept slipping into his vocabulary). He smiled triumphantly at how little time it took, and he proudly decided that he was getting better. With a glance around the room, he opted for some more practice before Rebecca woke up and began harassing him again. He had a busy day today.

What was that? Ritoceh thought as a chill swept up his spine. A tingling sensation scuttled around his head, drawing his thoughts inward and away from prospective training. Something moved inside of his head, like the beginnings of a headache, except that this didn't hurt. What? Yuugi tried to focus more on it, whatever it was.

Suddenly, his vision went black, swallowing up the lines of the bedroom like an opaque fog. Eyes wide, Ritoceh had no time to react as his stomach suddenly dropped out of his stomach, there was no wind, no current, no anything that hinted at fast movement, but he felt as if he was being pulled along by a New York taxi (which he had no idea what that was anyway, but he had a feeling that it went insanely fast). Without his sight and the sensation of movement, Ritoceh couldn't even tell if he had a body anymore. He couldn't feel anything!

Golden sparkles suddenly surrounded him, and his stomach returned to him queasy, but whole. The sparkles gave off enough light that he could now just barely see the edges of his hands, but he felt immensely better knowing that he was still attached to his body. Warily, he watched at the sparkles twirled around him; they were a little too close for comfort, and yet he did not feel threatened by them. An itch settled on his right arm, and he absently scratched at it.

Little images began to fade in and out of his vision. Blurry scenes of a child and an old man playing what could only be some kind of game, then images of the same child but this time, he was alone. Ritoceh was suddenly immersed in freezing waters.

Tears leaked at his vision, damaging the pristine edged that made up the tombstone before him. Weakly, he teetered forward and stretched out a hand to touch the name engraved there. Images of a smiling, weathered face wanted to get his attention, but the reality pushed them away. Grandpa was gone, never to wander the earth again. They would never play tag on a cool evening, nor would there be any more starlit nights to spend in each other presence. There would be no more pleasant picnics on warm summer days, and no more fishing trips that could last for days just to be in each other's company.

"Grandpa…"

Abruptly, Ritoceh was released from the vision. He gasped in air as his limbs shivered at the onslaught of emotions. What was that? Why, why did it hurt his heart so much? Did he know that person? Another vision swept him up.

Another small touch to his ankle almost went unnoticed and he refrained from flinching this time. One of the unaccounted tentacles was wrapping around his lower calf, pulling and releasing in a tender motion, and the tip carefully wedged itself in-between his ankle and the sides of the coral. With a sliding motion, his trapped ankle came free and he hissed as the salt-water stung the scratches that littered the pale skin.

A series of clicks and hisses filled is left ear as the soft tissue of the tentacle slid around his abused ankle, soothing it and coating it with that weird oil that covered the creature's skin. He couldn't help but flail slightly when only those tentacles, without anything solid to keep him in one place, suddenly supported him. He felt very isolated and vulnerable.

Breathe! He had to breathe! Why couldn't he breathe?

He began to thrash at the sensations running through his skin. Light danced through his eyelids and the feel of cool metal settled against the skin of his wrist. Even with his eyes closed, he could tell how the strange light began to weave around him and he subconsciously tried to get closer to the warmth in front of him.

Breathe!

"You know, …," Anzu started, laying the newspaper article in front of the teen. "There's a saying that obstacles are put in our way to see if we really want something. I know you love diving more than life and that you're a natural at it, so why give up something you love because of one isolated setback?"

Come on! Breathe!

"The ocean will call you home."

"Gah!" The visions let him go with a sudden crack. His stomach lurched painfully as he was suddenly 'not there' again, and this time he was spat back out in the bedroom. He dry-heaved a few times, utterly sick to his stomach. His head felt as if he had a whole score of drummers all competing to be the loudest. Light flashed around him, trying to draw him back in to whatever had taken him before.

"No!" he screeched, scrambling backwards. He didn't want to go through that again! It was too much! Way too much to understand! He couldn't think; he couldn't stop the pain it was causing his body. He wanted it to go away! "Stop! Please!

Ritoceh cowered in the corner he had backed into, sheltering his head behind the arm that wasn't glowing. He held his right arm as far away from the rest of him as he could, praying that whatever was taking over it wouldn't spread to the rest of him. Pinpricks of pain traced all over his right arm, the golden sparkles from the vision appearing out of his peripheral vision. He didn't understand! What was going on?

"A-aah!" Something snapped, and the golden sparkles vanished. The pain increased dramatically, causing tears to fall from his eyes and for him to grind his teeth. Then, just like that, it was gone, laving him weak and trembling on the floor.

For an undetermined amount of time, Ritoceh just sat there huddled on the floor. He had managed to press his back up against the bed, and currently held on to a support beam with a crushing grip. He ached all over, especially his arm. The appendage was limp against his side and all feeling had drained out of it. He barely managed to open his eyes to look, irrationally afraid that it would not be there anymore, and nearly fainted with what he saw. His arm looked horrible, like if it had been put through a blender and then smeared with puss. Thin gouges in his skin streaked all up his forearm, and a weird mix of yellow and green gooey stuff-he had no idea what it was-coming from the open wounds.

Breathing heavily, Ritoceh touched his 'infected' arm with his left hand. There was no sensation of touch received initially, so he tested how far it went. His fingers could just barely feel the touch of his hand, it was the same with his shoulder and bicep, but his entire forearm and most of his upper arm couldn't feel anything.

"…damn." He murmured, completely exhausted with what had just happened. When Dartz had talked about his ability for seeing visions yesterday, he had never thought that they could actually hurt him. I have to tell him, he will make them go away.

"No." He blinked, suddenly aware that he had been drifting towards the door. That was weird; he hadn't even fully form that thought and he was already racing for Dartz. It couldn't be that big a deal, and something just didn't feel…natural. "I…I need to think about this." He looked back at his injured arm. "But I have to fix this first. There should be some bandaging around here somewhere…."

Carefully, Ritoceh drifted away from the door, grimacing when something in his chest twisted painfully. He was right: something weird was going on. There was no way he would voluntarily go to Dartz to fix a problem; the guys flat out gave him the creeps. He held his injured arm to his side and he searched from something to wrap it with. Was there anything he could use? The cabinets were full of sheets and woven mats, and the shelves only held little trinkets.

His stomach sank. It looked like he was going to have to go look in the supplies cabinet, down the hall. He really didn't want Rebecca to know about his injuries. First of all, she would go all 'mother hen' on him, and second, she would go straight to Dartz. He really didn't want Dartz to know.

Maybe I can sneak to the supply cabinet. Ritoceh mused as he wandered in that direction. He hadn't heard any of the telltale signs that Rebecca was up yet, and she was normally pretty loud early in the morning. He wasn't a noisy swimmer, and as long as he didn't bump into anything, he should be able to get the bandages and speed back to his room.

Cautiously, he peeked through the dense curtain/string that served as the door. The hallway was silent and empty, so he began his quest for bandages. With a flick of his tailfin, he propelled himself forward through the threshold. He quickly passed the kitchen, and then the living room. He slowed down as he passed Rebecca's room, shushing his heartbeat as it clamored in his chest. He smiled a silly grin once he passed it, the rush of adrenaline making him jittery. The supply cabinet was at the end of the hallway, right past a few art pieces that were being showcased on some pedestals.

'Hah!' he thought as he parted the corded curtain. 'Triumph!' It looked like he was going to make it after all. There was a roll of bandaging tucked neatly away behind some metallic cans and a weird device that Rebecca said was used to record sounds. It was a little awkward, trying to reach past the two obstacles with one hand to get the box of bandaging, but he could manage, as long as he went slowly.

"Ritoceh?"

"Ack!" Ritoceh flinched, his hand sweeping the cans and recorder-thing off the shelf. The cans did not make much noise, the water's buoyancy kept them from crashing to the floor, but the recorder was closer to the wall and the 'on' button got hit in the process. The strange device decided, at that moment, to malfunction and produce a really loud and really painful screech.

"Turn it off!" he heard Rebecca yell over the noise. Ritoceh scrambled for the sinking object, randomly pressing buttons in hope that it would turn off. Since only one arms was under his control at the moment, he failed miserably. Rebecca yanked the recorder from his hand, silencing the awful noise with a quick press to a button off on the side. The following silence rang in his ears.

"What…were you doing?" Ritoceh nearly flinched at Rebecca's tone. He tried to subtly hide his damaged arm behind his body, thinking that he could avoid a direct confrontation until he was actually ready to deal with one. 'Subtly' might actually be too generous a word. In all truth, Ritoceh jerked his shoulder all the way back (since he had no motor control of that limb at all), and the motion was noticed instantly.

"What are you doing?" Rebecca pressed forward, frowning when he jerked back. Ritoceh scolded himself for his behavior, now Rebecca knew something was up. There was no way he could hide it now, and despite this, he still tried.

"N-nothing." He stammered, trying to think of something that would be in the cabinet to use as a valid excuse. "I j-just needed-"

"Let me see!" She screeched, diving for his arm. Panicking, Ritoceh attempted to swim back, and moments later he cursed his stupid muscles for bailing on him at such a crucial time. Rebecca was upon him, reaching for his damaged arm with a stubborn intent carved all over her face. "No!" Ritoceh yelled. "Stop!"

Searing pain bolted up his arm at her touch, sending him screaming to the floor. Golden light clashed with green energy in angry, lightening shaped bolts. They tore things off of the shelf and dug scars in the walls. Make it stop!

"Ritoceh!"

Just like that, it was over. The lights faded away, leaving a golden glow around his forearm. Breathing heavily, Ritoceh glanced at his arm, praying that the appendage was still there and not just a lump of bone and torn flesh. Bloodless wounds, exactly like the ones from before but without the puss, still drew patterns on his skin.

"R-Ritoceh?" Rebecca's voice was soft. She floated uncertainly just a few inches away, staring at his arm. Her hands were a subtle pink, as if she had brushed against an extremely hot surface. "What…was that?" Ritoceh's body quaked as his mind sought for an answer. Upon finding none, he hugged his limp arm close to his chest and shook his head.

"I-I…don't know." He admitted quietly. Things were so confusing right now. It felt like his world was slowly beginning to tilt sideways and everything that made up him was being poured out. He wanted to explain what was happening to him, but he himself did not know.

Silence reigned for several of the following minutes, each of them not daring to look the other in the eye and both for different reasons. Ritoceh knew something had to be said sometime, but he was dreading it.

"Let's…get you cleaned up." Rebecca, always prioritizing, snatched the box of bandaging off of the shelf and lead Ritoceh into the kitchen. Head hung low; he followed her lead, sitting down on a ledge at her gesture. She bustled around the room, gathering a towel and some disinfectant gel.

"Could you hold your arm up?" Ritoceh did as he was asked. His arm didn't look as bad as it had when he first woke up, so maybe his immune system had kicked in to do…whatever it needed to do. He hissed through his teeth as the stinging gel was applied to the broken skin. It would be over soon enough, he had to remind himself more than once. Rebecca, thankfully, did not stop to ask if he was okay; Ritoceh didn't know if what was left of his pride could take it.

"Do you…know what caused this?" she asked as he began wrapping the gel-covered forearm Her voice was softer than usual, and Ritoceh was positive he heard genuine concern peppering her tone. It could just be the antiseptic in the gel though.

"I…had a dream last night." He began. Ritoceh shifted uneasily on the ledge. "It didn't make any sense, and it still doesn't now, but I felt as if I was being strangled." His free hand rose to feel along his neck as he recalled the sensation. "When I woke up, this light was around me, forming those…lines into my skin." Lines, which were readily covered by the white gauze as Rebecca continued down his forearm. "It hurt, then this green light came out and made it even worse. I felt as if my arm was being cut off."

Silence followed once again, this time it was thoughtful. Ritoceh did not look at Rebecca as she finished wrapping his arm, and he ran his working hand over the white material. It was smooth, underneath his fingertips, with almost unnoticeable grooves where the layers overlapped. He could almost convince himself that he was getting some feeling back into that arm, but it was only in his imagination. Ritoceh knew that if he let his mind do what it wanted, which was to overanalyze what had happened and what could have caused it, there would be no stopping the panic that he could feel rising within him. The truth was, that he had absolutely no idea what was happening to him, and it was terrifying not knowing.

"We should…tell Dartz." Rebecca started. Her voice was still soft and concerned, but that one name flipped Ritoceh off the deep end.

"No!" he screeched, launching at Rebecca with his one good arm. He grasped onto her shoulder, eyes pleading. "Please don't!"

"What? Why not!" Rebecca threw back, grasping his arm as her regular personality slid back into place. "It's the most logical thing to do! He can explain what happened, and even fix it!"

"It doesn't need to be fixed!" a torrent of thoughts pounded against his skull, speaking out in a voice that was his own but not at the same time. He hung on Rebecca, unable to control his body as he pleaded with her. "Please, Rebecca!"

"B-but, he needs to know! I'm supposed to tell him if anything weird happens!" Something stabbed his heart at her argument. Was he just a 'charge' to her? Just someone who had to be watched and told on should the slightest weird thing happened?

"Please, Rebecca? I just…I just don't trust him." He whispered the last part. Fear and uncertainty were relayed through his desperate hold on Rebecca. He didn't want to go see Dartz. He couldn't explain it, this horrible feeling inside of him, but it happened every time the Councilman's face appeared in his mind. Please.

"A-alright." Ritoceh jerked his head up to stare open-mouthed at her. She was looking off to the side, uncertainty plain on her features. Eventually she glanced back at him. "D-don't give me that look. We're friends, aren't we? And friends look out for each other-" Ritoceh immediately assaulted her with a one-armed hug. Tears leaked from his eyes as he thanked her. She stiffened at first, but soon returned the hug with the same vigor, blushing the whole time.

"Thanks." He murmured into her shoulder. His chest felt so much lighter now. He knew he was asking a lot from Rebecca, especially since she was still trying to make her grandfather proud by becoming a 'somebody.'

"Okay, okay, that's enough!" Rebecca suddenly huffed, pushing Ritoceh away. He laughed at the blush on her face, which in turn caused her to whack him over the top of the head. "Hey! Your arm just moved!" Sure enough, when Ritoceh looked, his arm was falling back to his side. "Try and move it again."

Expression focused, Ritoceh willed the muscles in his hand to contract. At first, nothing happened, and he sighed in frustration. An unusable arm would be very noticeable when they had to go back to palace for lessons today, and he still couldn't think of a valid excuse for the bandages. It twitched, very subtly, but he and Rebecca both saw it.

"We probably shouldn't leave until you have at least some control over that arm again." Rebecca stated factually, swimming over to the cupboard where she retrieved some food. Briskly, she set a container of food in front of Ritoceh before going back to get her own. Ritoceh, since his other hand was still useless and Rebecca ignored him, strategically used his forearm to hold one side down as he pulled on the other with his hand. He glared at Rebecca when she laughed, then smirked triumphantly when it came open with a 'pop.'

"You know what's best." Ritoceh grinned as he withdrew some shrimp from the container. A strange wave of nostalgia washed over him, leaving him confused to its reason, but was gone as soon as it had come. Shaking it off, Ritoceh stuffed the shrimp into mouth, suddenly very hungry.

"You know it." The two shared a laugh before returning to their food to eat in companionable silence.

~(*)~

Later that day, Ritoceh and Rebecca were swimming back to the palace. Ritoceh used a gentle current as a crutch in order to keep up with Rebecca, who was back to her aloof self. His arm was working now, albeit sluggishly but it was better than not being able to use it at all. Rebecca had come up with an excuse for the bandage too. If anyone asked, Ritoceh was to say that he came out of a current wrong and was tossed into a cluster of guinaw (the word 'fire coral' popped into his head the first time Rebecca said it). Guinaw was a type of hard plant that could produce burn-like abrasions instantly on contact with skin. The burns could get pretty nasty, so the gauze was needed to keep the wounds from getting infected. Ritoceh was a little bit embarrassed to agree with the fact that the excuse was believable.

Despite potential embarrassment, Ritoceh would go along with it. Rebecca knew what would be believable and what wouldn't. Now, if someone asked where the guinaw was…then they'd have a problem. He really hoped they wouldn't come across Dartz today.

It sure is quiet today. Ritoceh mused after then entered the palace halls. He had only seen one guard, and he had been in the process of speeding off somewhere. There were no servants, and no civilian–normally there were at least ten or more floating around these first few halls—anywhere in sight. Rebecca even seemed confused at the lack of people, so it wasn't something planned. He wasn't sure if that made him feel better or worse.

His lesson's room was empty too, and the scribes who normally were scattered about the place were absent. Scrolls were stacked haphazardly on the desks, and several of them were open to a random spot with a smooth stone to keep the place. Little canteens of breakfast jell sat on the desks. There were people here, and not too long ago by the looks of things, but where was everyone now?

"Hello?"

Yuugi squawked in surprised at Rebecca called out. Her voice rang loud an unhindered in the silence. He glared at her when she turned to laugh at his reaction. Typical Rebecca.

"Where is everyone?" he asked, gliding over to one of the desks. Glancing at the open pages on a random scroll, he scowled at his inability to read the text. He had hoped that the ability to read had escaped his amnesia, but it didn't surprise him that he couldn't understand the little symbols imprinted on the paper. Rebecca, who could read, also took a look at one of the scrolls, and dismissed it as irrelevant.

"I have no idea." She mumbled. "It's too early for the noon-current break, and even then the scribes would have made sure all these scrolls were put away. They're very dedicated to their work."

This was weird. The scribes were normally the busiest group in the whole palace, so if there weren't here, then something must have been wrong. "Maybe they had a meeting?"

"We would have heard the summoning bell, if there were a meeting." Rebecca only snickered, so much for that idea. Ritoceh glared at her again. Deciding to ignore her, Ritoceh wandered around the library. He had only been in one part of this gigantic room, so a bit of exploration was in order. Rebecca also looked around the room, but for reasons that Ritoceh didn't ask.

Stacks upon stacks of scrolls towered overhead, and Ritoceh wondered where he should start. He had no idea how long this little kernel of opportunity would remain; a guard or scribe could scuttle in at any moment and demand what they were doing. It would happen probably sooner than later, so he had to make his explorations quick. Maybe he would go to that corner. He glanced over at Rebecca, then speed away while she was occupied. A couple lessons ago, he had wandered over to this corner while looking for some historical documents, something to jog his memory. There were some rather old looking scrolls that had really caught his attention, but when he went to go look at them, the scribes had rushed him away to do something else. The situation was rather strange, because the lead scribe had said he could look through the entire library, yet the scribes had acted under his order. The conclusion Ritoceh had come to, was that there was something they didn't want him knowing.

Maybe it has something to do with my past. He thought suspiciously as he approached that specific stack of scrolls. But why would they want to keep that from me? The scrolls were scratchy underneath his fingertips, and the ribbon tying it closed came undone with little fuss. He quickly glanced over the first thing written on the page, his heart thudding in anticipation. What kind of secrets did this scroll hold? Could it really be the secret of his past?

I…can't read this. Ritoceh realized with a disappointed pang. The characters on the page just looked like scribbles to him. The green ink shimmered in the orb-light and made his wounded arm throb unreasonably, but it could provide nothing other than that. It had to have something important, if the scribes would keep it away from him even though he couldn't read.

I want…need to know. Ritoceh thought desperately. What happened to me? Why does everyone want keep me in the dark? An itch worked its way through his injured arm, and Ritoceh found he could not ignore it anymore. He looked cautiously at the appendage, worry nipping at him at the slight glow that was permeating through the bandages. He tensed at a rush of energy, afraid that the pain from this morning was going to assault him again.

A shimmer caught his eye, and he suspiciously turned to look at the paper. The little green characters were slowly changing, a golden hue taking over each line. It started at the top left corner and crawled inch by inch along the entirety of the exposed page.

What? The characters swirled, and Ritoceh watched transfixed as they began to rearrange into something he could understand.

"Ritoceh?" He ignored Rebecca's call, eyes intent upon what he was seeing. The first line was almost done Hurry! He urged onward. Tell me!

"Ritoceh!" The scroll was torn from his grasp, and Ritoceh lunged for it. A plea for Rebecca to stop escaped his throat as she rolled the scroll back up hurriedly and tied it shut with its ribbon. She batted away his hands, glaring at him when he wouldn't stop. "Quit it, Ritoceh!" she demanded, the scroll glowing a sharp green color.

"You don't understand!" he pleaded. "I need to read it!" Why couldn't she understand? "It may tell me about my past!"

"No! You're not supposed to know!"

"W-what?" Ritoceh flinched back, holding his injured and glowing arm tightly to his chest. Rebecca's chest was heaving from her outburst, and her normally blue eyes were filmed by green. "Why-"

"You're not supposed to know!" she repeated with that same harshness, desperation clinging to her voice like a lost child. "God damnit! You're not even supposed to be alive! Let alone here! Why can't you just go away?"

Ritoceh's heart shriveled up in his chest as the one person he thought he could relate to spat those callous words at him. Anguish consumed his mind as his one connection was severed. He…he had to get out of here.

Rebecca gasped, her eyes jumping back to their normal blue as she dropped the glowing scroll. "Ritoceh! I…" she reached out her hand, eyes shocked at what she had just said. Ritoceh shook his head, backing up as she reached for him. He had to get away!

Rebecca yell followed him as he dashed out of the library.

~(*)~

Why? Ritoceh yelled as he tore through the hallways. How could she? He had thought they were okay, that they had some sort of friendship after the whole Dartz thing. He careened around a corner, swimming straight out an open archway. Marbles statures were the only sentry to his distraught retreat.

I have to get out of here! He sped off in the opposite direction of his…no, Rebecca's house, making a beeline for where he thought the regular populace lived. No one would be able to find him if he himself had no idea where he was going. That was logical, right?

Eventually, he had to stop, if only to catch his breath. He gasped in water, greedily taking in the stuff to help relieve the cramps that gripped his sides. His muscles twitched in fatigue and he collapsed against a stone hedge. He was reluctant to look around, but eventually he did so anyway. As expected, he didn't recognize anything, but that wasn't surprising since, you know, he had no memory.

Bitterly, Ritoceh glared as some random coral. What was her problem anyway? Yes, he knew that when they had first met, Rebecca was openly hostile to him, but they had gotten over that, right? His gaze switched to his still glowing arm. Everything had been all right until it had started acting up.

"What do you want?" he demanded of the light. It was pulsing now, for whatever reasons it deemed fit to do so. Stupid, he called himself. It wasn't like the light could respond to him. Tears began to form at the edges of his eyes, the weird gel-like substance sinking to the seafloor, and he furiously brushed them away. He wouldn't cry now! There was no point to it.

He floated serenely on the surface of the water, moving his arms and legs every now and then to stay afloat. He starred at the evening sky and watched peacefully as feathery stretches of white dotted the azure background. Sounds of the waves crashing against the stone barriers of the cove mingled with the cries of seabirds calling to each other.

It was times like these that he could forget everything and shrug off the weight that always seemed to hang on his shoulders lately. He could forget about the financial problems he was falling further in and his lack of job that would pay well enough. He didn't have to remember that his grandpa was gone.

"Nnnyeh." Ritoceh twitched under the sudden vision that swept over him. His heart pulsed in time with his glowing arm. Why wouldn't it just stop?

Another pulse rolled over him, this one stronger than the last ones. He tensed under it, fearing that he was about to be overtaken by another vision. Stop it!

Several seconds passed and he still had not received some kind of vision. Cautiously, he opened his eyes, which had closed in reluctant anticipation of a vision. He was still in the same place as before. The coral and houses hadn't changed a bit. If nothing had changed visually, then what was that feeling for?

He looked around, suddenly noticing just how quiet it was. No one was around, not even the resident fish life was swimming around. That's weird. He thought suspiciously. It should have been noisier out here than in the palace, yet, if anything, it was quieter. Goosebumps specked his skin as a sudden paranoia filled his body. The light from his arm remained a steady beacon, and weird emotions tumbled into his head when he realized one thing.

He wasn't alone.

There! Over a stone hedge, something moved. It was a silent movement; stealthy almost in it's smoothness. Fiery (what the hell did that mean?) red hair danced in the slight current, and golden strands swayed along with it. Tan skin pulled stretched over angular facial feature, giving off a foreign look (Ritoceh had never seen anyone with that kind of structure). A sudden pang of something shot straight from his glowing arm to his heart, and Ritoceh suddenly felt like he was unable to breathe. The creature instantly stopped moving, the sudden stillness of a predator, and slowly turned to look in his direction.

Red eyes. Ritoceh thought dumbly as his body seized up. He has red eyes.

~(*)~