Silver Carousel: Volume 11

Act 4: The Outside

     "Blade? Blade!"
     "Huhh..?"

     Blade sits up, his head feeling dizzy. Lilia is  kneeling next to him, looking worried and also kind of annoyed.

     "What happened? Did Kazuki do this?"
     "What? Uh..no, it was this ugly blue kid....I think it was Mo."
     "Where's Kazuki, then?" 
     Blade thinks for a minute. "Mo and some other dude had him in a bag. I think they kidnapped him."

     "Dammit. I'm tired of chasing after Kazuki," she groans. She looks down at Cicero, who came to watch the action.
     "Cicero, can you sniff this? This is Mo's. We need to find him so that we can get your owner back," she pleads in a small voice. Cicero looks unimpressed as he sniffs the hat. His ears perk up.

     The dog walks down the stairs and towards the door. He scratches at it.
     "So they just...used the door?" Blade asks. "Sounds like something Mo would do."
     "Yui, does Kazuki have his patch on?" Lilia asks, looking a bit frightened.

     Yukio looks down at his clothes. He takes the patch from the inside pocket and stares at it for a moment.
     "I don't think so."

     Lilia groans. "This is getting boring. Why does this stuff always happen?"
     "Really," Blade agrees.

     "If you'd like, I'll go by myself," Yukio offers. He smiles.
     "You'd do that?" Lilia asks.
     "Of course. You don't seem to like going on adventures."

     Lilia wraps her arms around him and giggles. "Thank you, Yui!"

She's happy...you made Lili happy!

~~~~~~

     "Do you have everything you need?" Lancelot asks, still in his nightrobe. It was early, after all.
     "I think so."
     "Be careful, Yui! Don't get killed, or I'll regenerate you and kill you all over again!" Lilia yells from the top of the stairs.
     "BRUTALLY!" Blade adds. Marie waves goodbye to him.

     "Meep!"

     Boni prances up to him. She wraps between his legs.
     "I guess Boni is coming with me," Yukio says. "Goodbye."

     The white-haired boy walks outside. It was much colder than he thought. He didn't mind, though. Cicero and Boni explore the courtyard, happy to get some fresh air. Yukio notices that they both seemed bigger-they had grown their winter coats. Cicero looked more white in color, and Boni's fur was fading. A winter Kaiten was always pure white.

     Cicero's ears suddenly perk up as he catches the trail again. He walks alertly ahead, Boni and Yukio following silently behind.
      Cicero stops and looks up a tree. 

     "They must have made a quick escape," Yukio says as he looks up the tree. The animals both look at him, curious as to what to do next.

     Yukio jumps, his advanced legs carrying him all the way to the highest branch. He stands and gazes at the sunrise- the violet-blue of night melded with the bright gold of day as the first sun rose. He remembered when he used to to climb up tall building in Carnevale- once he even climbed atop the Big Top Wheel. People talked about it for days. No one knew it was him, though. It was his own personal achievement.

     The boy jumps back down.
     "Here, Boni," he calls. Boni jumps onto his shoulder. Yukio takes Cicero in his arms. Despite his large appearance, Cicero was only a puppy and very light. Adult dogs in Silver grew to be as large as Earth's horses. And very aggressive.
     They leap into the tree, on a lower branch this time. Cicero sniffs and barks westward.

     "That way? Off we go, then," he says, leaping into the next tree. 

Oh, what fun this will be!

~~~~~~

     "My Lord."
     "Come in," he replies in a tired voice.

     Mo and Hyacinth enter the cavern. It's musty and dark, an oil lamp the only thing lighting the space. It was very neat, though, as their master was keen on tidiness. 
     Hyacinth was quiet as she set Kazuki down on the ground. He was fast asleep, and Mo can tell. He cuts open the bag with a pocketknife. Kazuki sleeps quietly, a bit of dirt covering his face. Hyacinth was still quiet as her twin brother, Narcissus, entered the room.

     Mo met the twins before, but they were never together. Both had light-blonde hair. Hyacinth grew hers out, and trimmed the ends. Narcissus had a bowl cut. Their eyes were always covered by their bangs, and they were both extremely quiet. He didn't seem to mind the quiet- he was quiet, too.

     "My Lord, they brought the boy," Narcissus says. It sounded like a whisper with his raspy voice.
     "Good," was all he said. He was in obvious pain, but the twins didn't know how to fix it. Neither did Mo. It was awkward, standing there, watching their Lord turn restlessly.

     "Why don't you play outside?" he asks.
     "You never allowed us," Hyacinth replies.
     "Well, now I am. Play outside...just out of sight." he sighs and turns over again, his wound causing him pain. 

     "Is the outside cold?" Narcissus asks.
     "Sometimes, in the fall and winter," Mo replies.
     "Is it warm?" Hyacinth asks.
     "In summer and sometimes spring. It's rainy in spring, though."
     The twins look at each other and smile. They enjoyed learning about new things. They were never really allowed outside due to their fragile bodies. Learning was even more fun when you could experience it firsthand.

     "Perhaps our Lord will let us out in the warm times," Narcissus says hopefully.
     "Perhaps," Hyacinth says.

     "What is the boy like?"
     "The boy? Kazuki?" Mo asks.
     "Yes."
     "Kazuki is nice. He's awkward, though...he used to live underground, with his dog, Cicero. I hear him and Fuzzy were in love before."
     "Who is Fuzzy?" Narcissus asks.
     "His real name is Yukio Mitsue. I call him Fuzzy because he has very soft, fluffy white hair."
     "Are there others?"
     "Yes, lots! Scary, Spiky, Stringy, and Specks."
     "Oh. Everyone has a nickname?" Hyacinth asks.
     "I like to give them nicknames because they all have long real names. Like Cornelius."
     "Do we have nicknames?" Narcissus asks.

     "Not yet."
     Mo thinks for a while. Hyacinth was a hard name. So was Narcissus.
     "How about...Hyhy and Nana?"
     "Ok, I like those names," Narcissus says. He smiles. He has very nice teeth.

     Hyacinth and Narcissus seem very out of place in nature. Their porcelain-pale skin and noticably bright hair stood out from the rest of the scene. Mo thinks its because they may not be all that human. They don't act like humans. But Blade acts like a human. He's a Deuce. Yukio didn't act all human. He tried, but there was still a hint of difference in his attitude. 

Fuzzy acts a bit like them, doesn't he?

He is, after all, a-

     Mo turns as Hyacinth and Narcissus run away. They didn't seem disobedient. They were running from something. They hid up in a tree, looking fearfully into the distance.

     "What is it?" Mo asks, seeing nothing.
     "He's coming," Narcissus whispers.
     "Who?"
     They look at each other. Then back at Mo.

     "The Chimera," the say in unison.

A chimera.