Powerless

5. Cadel

"Kyn's back." he murmured happily, smile stretching even wider as a goofy blissful expression entered his face. "You're back."

Upon that utterance, Kyn felt some of the tension within his muscles dissipate. He breathed, "Cadel."

His little brother's complexion was pasty pale, a product of the lack of sunlight he received, and his terribly uneven haircut—the disastrous brown masterpiece performed by Kyn—was frayed, some clumps matted and others sticking up, the staticy ends searching hopelessly for places they could attach to. He was thin, bearing the same soft sloping jaw and high cheekbones as Kyn. Nothing particularly special in aesthetics, but what marked him apart from others were his eyes.

One blue and one green. They were both bright in color, clear and unmuddled by other pigments, but so jarringly discordant with the general population that they were more often a curse than a blessing. Funny—the boy was actually instinctively talented in utilizing chroma for both colors, but he was never given a chance to prove himself in front of others because of his mental condition.

What a pair Kyn and Cadel were, both unable to better their positions with chroma, one hindered by physical limitations, and one hindered by societal limitations

Kyn raised eyed Cadel. "What are you doing in a fallen pile of books?" he asked softly, though he already knew the reason.

"Was sitting on the desk...before." the boy spoke, ending his sentence there.

Kyn beckoned, "And..?"

"Excited to see you" The boy paused. "...it just happened." he furrowed his eyebrows, confused.

Kyn sighed. "Did you forget again?"

Cadel blinked. "What?"

"That you shouldn't climb up on the desk or tall bookshelves while I'm gone."

The boy tilted his head. "Oh."

Kyn shook his head. Cadel always loved to sit on higher altitudes—desks, or tables, or anything he could climb onto—and surprisingly he maintained good balance wherever he went, that is, until he got excited. His motary functions then were a mess, and the result could only equal one thing: falling. It was why Kyn always told Cadel never to sit on tall surfaces while he was away, but no matter how many times he repeated his instructions, the boy always seemed to forget. His habits were stubborn.

However, Kyn possessed an inkling that Cadel sometimes just pretended he "forgot" in order to circumvent Kyn's orders, that Cadel purposefully ignored the question, pretended it didn't exist, because he didn't want to stop. And Kyn couldn't very well tie his brother down while he was away, so by now, he had given up on truly trying to convince the boy, instead just employing necessary precautions, like padding areas with cloth and straw that the boy could potentially fall on.

And so, Cadel had won in this little victory. He adhered virtually to anything else Kyn said, but he kept consistent with this one thing, all the while not actively showing disobedience or petulance.

He was a smart boy after all, just subtle in different areas.

Cadel blinked very slowly. He pointed behind Kyn, "Who's that?"

Idi stiffened. She was very close, and Kyn could feel her breath hitch slightly.

"She is Idi," Kyn addressed Cadel calmly, smiling. "A friend. She is going to stay in this house for a few months."

The boy tilted his head slowly. Confusion flashed across his face, then quickly followed by an explosion of anxiety. He jerked and clutched the hem of his shirt, fingers tightening slightly as his pupils dilated. "I- I-"