They gathered at the base of the rock to reorganize.
"I'll turn in with Hana," Kaleo said, sauntering down the last few steps.
"No more kids, Kaleo. The world's ending," Ember teased.
Kaleo's cheeks flushed and he pretended to ignore her.
Ember chuckled.
"I'm gonna find Aaron and relieve him of childcare duties; I'm sure he's itching to dance with a certain bouncy-haired girl."
Thea smirked.
"You better watch your brother."
Ember scoffed.
"It's not my brother I'm worried about. Have you seen the glint in your sister's eye?"
Thea pursed her lip. Fair enough.
"Whatever. You two are lame," Ezi said. "I'm not going to bed till the sun's up."
Hitoshi rolled his eyes.
"She'll fade out in two hours tops."
Kaleo glanced up the stairs and rocked on his heels.
"I suppose we can discuss how that went later?" he asked.
Ezi reached up to grasp his shoulder.
"Don't lose any sleep, big guy. It'll work out."
Alethea smirked at the contrast of their expressions. Maybe it was the wine, but Ezi was smiling as if there wasn't a care in the world and Kaleo was looking at her like she'd lost her mind.
"Well, night," Ember said, turning on their heels.
Kaleo bowed his head then took off towards the cabin.
Thea watched Ezi watch them leave, mesmerized by the smile on her face and the light in her eyes.
"It's the wine," Oshi explained. "She'll be complaining about a headache in an hour."
Thea chuckled.
"Light-weight."
Ezi smacked her arm lightly, then took it in her own and started to head towards the platform on the lake.
The platform churned with dancing patterns and people on the outskirts clapping along with the guitarist whose fingers strummed and picked the strings with fingers as nimble and quick as hummingbird wings. The song came to an abrupt close and people stopped and dipped.
"You'd think we were in Angelas," Oshi said with a chuckle.
Ezi cast him a mischievous glance.
"Hitoshi, play for me."
"Oh no... this isn't a campfire in the desert, Ez. I'm..."
Ezi turned to Thea, ignoring her brother's dissent.
"Pa taught him; he's absolutely brilliant on a guitar."
Thea cast Hitoshi a fond glance.
"I'm sure he is but it doesn't seem he wants to play."
"Nonsense! He's just shy!"
Ezi grabbed her brother by the wrist and ran to the guitarist flagging him down.
Thea glanced around awkwardly at the crowd whose eyes were drawn to her like metal to a magnetic and decided it was best to follow her friends.
"Excuse me, Sir! Would you lend my brother your guitar for a song?"
The man's face lit up as he recognized Hitoshi and he gave it up graciously.
"For Master Hitoshi, absolutely."
Hitoshi received the instrument and glanced around anxiously.
Ezi shook his shoulders.
"Come on, Osh! You're brilliant and you know it!
He cut her a snide glance but started to strum a simple melody.
Ezi grabbed Thea's wrist and pulled her into the heart of the dance floor.
Thea froze up and scanned the nosy crowd. She'd danced on granite stages before thousands of stoic faces, but these few dozen pairs of eyes felt like an audience of a million. She could already feel her skin growing clammy and she was suddenly accurately aware of her own appearance and manner. Ezi had insisted on gifting her a set of her late sister's clothes: a flowy white blouse and fitted vest with slacks and shoes for dancing. She was an imposter- she wasn't of Angelas- or any other tribe and she could feel the judgement in the crowd.
"Ez..." she whispered, "I don't...."
"I thought you were a ballerina, Alethea," Ez said, raising a critical brow. "My mother, my sisters, then Pa, taught me to dance barefoot on summer sand to quicken my steps. Do you know how long I've been waiting for a worthy dance partner?"
A smile crept onto Alethea's face as she felt the tension of anxiety dissolve into a sense of thrill. Dance had never been anything but a performance- perfected movements and contortions of the body to be judged by cold eyes- but now it was something new entirely.
"Just ignore them," Ezi said, gesturing broadly to all the watching eyes. "The worst that could happen is I could totally humiliate you."
Thea laughed and stepped back to give Ezi the floor.
"It's all yours. I wouldn't dare challenge you."
Ezi flashed her a snide smile and stepped back striking a pose: her feet together and her arms arched elegantly, one up towards the sky, one cradled across her navel. She nodded to Hitoshi and he started to play low and fast. She closed her eyes, still for a moment, then her metal adorned shoes seemed to take control moving and clacking to create the vibrant rhythm of the song.
Thea stood a statue, captivated by the sight of Ezi's peaceful expression and graceful body as it became a part of the music itself.
Hitoshi stopped playing and Ezi copied continued the rhythm, her shoes clicking against the stone, then she stopped and listened as he played a faster rhythm for her to copy.
Thea took a few steps back to become a part of the gawking crowd, never taking her eyes off Ezi's feet which were more bound to the music than to gravity.
The crowd laughed and clapped as she completed the sequence.
Ezi closed her eyes and listened again as Hitoshi upped the game.
Again, she succeeded, and again, and again, until people were laughing hysterically at commenting in multiple languages about the rightfully cocky Angelas girl.
Finally, Hitoshi's fingers could play no faster and he held up the guitar in surrender.
Ezi threw her hands up and shouted something in Angelas to which the crowd responded with a lively cheer.
Thea grinned and shook her head as Ezi motioned with a taunting finger for her to come closer.
"No... no way," she called over the chattering crowd. "I can't keep up with you!"
Ezi rolled her eyes and ran up to her taking her hands.
"Come on," she pleaded breathlessly, "I'll take it easy. A couples dance?"
Thea felt her face turn hot and she pushed back rogue curls from her face.
"Umm... okay fine. But don't humiliate me."
Ezi set a hand on her hip and glanced over her shoulder at her brother who started to play a gentle melody. She led them into an easy sequence of steps and sways and turns.
Thea felt her body relaxing into the rhythm within the first few bars and no longer focused on her feet, just followed Ezi in her movements and with her eyes. She caught onto the fact and the music had changed and glanced over to see Hitoshi had retired from his performance. It seemed Ezi had already located him so she followed her line of sight to see he'd swept Alex into a dance, leaving Ember's brother on the sidelines to wait. Alex was beaming and laughing as he spun and tossed her about as if she was a little kid.
A warmth swelled in her chest and she tried to identify it with an accurate term but failed. She turned back to catch Ezi in the act of watching her intently.
"What?"
Ezi just smiled and led them into a faster rhythm, spinning Thea around and tripping her so she fell backward into her arm.
Thea rolled her eyes.
"I'm Sera and even I know you're embarrassing."
Ezi eyed her face and bit her lip before bringing her up and back into a simple sway.
"You're not Sera."
Thea's heart sunk a little.
"Oh... I was kidding."
Ezi pulled her closer, laying a hand on the small of her back.
"No, you weren't."
Thea grimaced. She hadn't meant to ruin their dance.
Ezi leaned down to catch her gaze and presented a smile that made the sense of heaviness in Thea's chest vanish.
"I have a secret," Ezi whispered.
Thea suppressed a smile.
"What?"
"I'm kinda glad I didn't shoot you the night you came to the shop."
"Just kinda?"
Ezi teetered her hand like she was balancing the pros and cons.
"Yeah, just kinda."
Thea laughed and pulled Ezi's head to her shoulder to draw her into a brief and gentle embrace that slowed their dancing.
Ezi smiled softly and grasped the back of her head to set their foreheads together.
Thea closed her eyes for a moment to feel Ezi's nearness as their gentle sway lulled her into thought and memory. It seemed her mind had memorized a hundred little moments already: times she'd made Ezi laugh or smile or cut her a dry look. She peeked to study the freckles on Ezi's face and the slight upward curve of her lips. She felt of urgency; she had to tell her something but couldn't put it into simple words.
"Ezi, I... umm..." Even if she knew the words, she wouldn't be able to push them past her drumming heartbeat in her throat.
It was instinct: she glanced at her lips and then eyes for permission but Ezi drew back and her heart sank.
"I... I'm sorry...I"
Ezi smiled.
"Don't be sorry."
Thea pushed her hair back with a trembling hand trying to calm her nerves. She didn't understand. She thought she liked her in return. Had she miscalculated? She was new to all this.
Ezi grasped her hand and brought it to her lips, kissing her knuckles softly.
"Alethea, I just..." she paused and took a deep breath. "I just think you need more time to... adjust. That's all."
Thea stepped back and stared at the granite at her feet, feeling that she might fall to meet it if her head got any lighter. Did Ezi see her as Sera? Maybe she was still somewhat Sera- how should she know? She felt tears rise to her eyes and tried with all her might to keep them at bay.
"Thea," Ez whispered, reaching for her arm.
Thea drew away but forced a smile.
"It's okay. You're probably right. I umm..." she averted her eyes quickly, searching for and escape route but she was startled by a tackle-hug from Alex.
"My turn! You owe me like a million dances!"
Thea smirked and looked to Hitoshi who'd trailed along.
"Like a million," he agreed, and squeezed her shoulder before taking Ezi by the hand to sweep her away into a dance out of ear-shot.
Thea watched them intently before they were lost to the crowd. They were talking- probably about her. Ezi looked a little upset and Oshi was nodding along.
"Thea," Alex called.
She blinked from her daze.
"Oh sorry."
"It's okay. Want to tell me what happened?"
She could feel her eyes begin to burn as the moment replayed in her head. Alex was right- she did owe her like a million dances- and she should take the time to pay mind to her sister who's as the whole reason they were there in the first place.
"Nah. I'm fine."
Alex smirked and pulled them into a gentle sway.
Thea tried to take her mind off of it but she kept spotting Hitoshi and Ezi dancing in the shifting crowd and she couldn't stop her brain from analyzing.
"It's just..."
Alex glanced up and suppressed a smile.
"I..." Why were feelings so hard to put into words? Introspection was much easier when psychology was limited by Sera-Nature. She didn't even know where to start in analyzing Koro Alethea; she was a whole new, messy, complicated creature.
"I think..." Alex started, "that you're falling in love and it's scary because you've never loved anyone before- except maybe me and Mom- and so you're a little overly sensitive because you're scared of being rejected."
Thea blinked.
"Since when were you a psychologist?
Alex laughed softly- the light airy kind- and swept them into a faster pace.
"Maybe you're not as complicated as you think."
"Are you calling me simple?"
Alex just grinned.
She felt a swell of warmth in her chest and leaned down to kiss her sister's forehead.
Alex leaned into her embrace and they let their pace fall into a gentle sway.
It was quiet for a moment, other than the music, and the laughing, and the boisterous shouts, and quiet chatter all around. But, it was quiet with them.
Alethea rested her chin on her sister's head and closed her eyes letting her mind return to the court room when she'd stood and demanded a retrial. No matter what she'd done as a Sera- no matter the atrocious things she'd invented- she'd stood in that court and claimed back her little sister's life, and for that, she could be proud.
"Pa says you paid handsomely for the virus," Alex mentioned.
Thea chuckled.
"Did you talk to Pa about that night?"
Alex nodded.
"And Ezi."
"Why?"
Alex stared down at their feet veiling her expression.
Thea studied her sunken posture and sensed her change of emotional temperature. Alex had been awake- been Koro- her whole life and must of known she'd be terminated young. She remembered what she'd felt when she was strapped to that chair waiting for poison to be injected into her veins only to look up and find that her parents watching with dry, expressionless eyes. In a way, Alex had been sitting in that termination chair her whole life while her big sister and parents looked on without caring.
Everything had happened so fast. She hadn't stopped to tell her sister she was sorry or that... she'd always cared in her own way.
She cupped Alex's cheek to lift her face.
"Alex, look me in the eye."
Alex complied, looking a little frightened.
"I love you very much and I always have. I'm sorry if I wasn't able too..."
Alex hugged her so tightly, the air expelled from her lungs.
Thea returned her embrace clutching a hand-full of her soft curls.
Alex sniffled but pulled away to fuss over her hair.
"Hey! You're messing up my styling!"
Thea laughed softly and glanced around as if to see if anyone else was aware of how infinitely adorable her sister could be, but instead of affirmation, she spotted Ember's little brother waiting on the sidelines. She smirked and pointed him out.
"So did you turn him down or what?"
Alex glanced over her shoulder.
"Oh, Hitoshi told me that distance makes the heart grow fonder so I thought I'd let him wait."
She pinched the bridge of her nose and laughed softly.
"Yes, well.. Hitoshi does give some sound advice."
Alex pursed her lip.
"I think he's waited long enough."
Thea nodded and spun her around one more time before releasing her hand.
"Go on. Have fun."
She crossed her arms and watched contently as Alex hurried off to take the young man by the hand and pull him into an awkward first dance. She was mulling over some parental rules she'd set for Alex while simultaneously basking in how anxiety stricken the young man appeared when she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Hitoshi.
"Do you have to move so quietly all the time? You're playing to stereotypes."
His face lit up with amusement and he took her hand.
"May I have the last dance?"
"Yeah, but don't say it with so much charisma. It bothers me."
He laughed, and her heart lifted; she'd never heard him laugh like that before. Usually, he laughed quietly with his shoulders shaking a little, but this one was melodious and not contained.
He held her hand and set clasped her waist and pulled them into a simple dance.
They both stepped stiffly and had a difficult time making any eye contact. She wanted to guide the dance, but so did he, and it felt like more like a mild argument with steps.
"Maybe..." he started.
"We make for better training partners."
"Agreed."
He rubbed his neck and winced as he rerouted their plans.
"How about we get a drink?"
They strayed to the coolers and grabbed a couple of drinks before heading off the platform to find a place to sit by the water.
They found a little peninsula that provided a flat surface and settled down. The music and laughter played in the background and the torch lights reflected and shifted in the dark waters.
Hitoshi had an incredible capacity for sitting still without fidgeting. She eyed him fondly, noting that anybody else would have grabbed stones and started tossing them, and then started to do so herself.
"So, did Ezi go to bed?"
"Yeah. She was a little upset."
"Oh...."
She could sense him watching her curiously.
He sighed.
"Listen, I'm gonna shoot straight with you, Thea. My sister can be a lot to handle. She's... chaotic."
"Noted."
"But umm... she'll come around. She just needs some time to bargain with the fact that she's fallen for the enemy."
Thea smiled to herself. Logically, she'd assume that comment would hurt but Hitoshi's voice was dripping with his unique brand of dry humor. She cleared her throat and retraced her thoughts.
"Do you think I'm intimidating?" She tossed a stone and turned to study his gaze.
"No...." He tossed his hand dramatically. "You're completely approachable."
She laughed.
"Fair point."
Maybe Ezi just needed some time to adjust, and maybe she did too. Besides, all she wanted was to know that Ezi felt for her too. Maybe Oshi knew.
"So umm... do you think she... you know... likes me?"
Hitoshi leaned back on his palms in a manner than could only be comfortable by his flexible standards and smirked.
"There's this phrase in Heilan: "nusu ni umi," it means "taken by the sea" and people use it to describe when somebody's so drawn to someone else, they're figuratively swept out by their tide, totally drowning in adoration."
She laughed at the dramatic way he explained it.
"I'd say Ezi is nusu ni umi for you."
She bowed her head to hide the ridiculousness of her smile as a dozen little feelings fleeted inside. Maybe she'd been too forward with Ezi- she had to consider her feelings too. She could be patient. She was happy to be patient.
She was struck internally cold as she realized Hitoshi had just spoken to her in Heilan. She scowled down at her burn-scarred hands, remembering how Ezi had shouted that phrase into the gathering survivors. She'd asked her what it mean and she'd just replied: "It's Heilan." In other words: it's too sacred for former-sera ears. Fair enough. But, Hitoshi didn't seem to pay mind to this mentality. Hell- he'd given her his mother's staff.
She grimaced as she glanced him over. There was so much fine Koro company available and he chose to have a drink with her- of all people- by the lake. It wasn't self-deprecating to admit that she wasn't the most likable of companions. She was intense and socially inexperienced and sometimes downright cruel. Everybody else - even Ezi- was a little nervous around her, but Hitoshi, who had every reason in the world to hate her Sera guts, was at ease sitting in her presence.
"How come you're so nice to me?"
He blinked at her as if his brain was short-circuiting, then he grimaced and stared up at the star-painted sky as he concocted an answer.
"Look, I know what it's like to be the only one of your society in a crowd. You feel like you have to carry the weight of an entire people- their pride or guilt, their culture- on your shoulders. It's lonely and exhausting. I was only seven when the last of my people fell; I've lived most of my life on the road with Pa and Ezi, and there's a lot more to me than just being the last Heilan just like there's a lot more to you than being a former Sera." He paused to sit criss cross and stare into his palms in the same way she had a moment ago. "I love Ezi, and Pa, but even see me like that most of the time. So... I guess I was hoping you'd be different. I was hoping I could just be Hitoshi and you could just be Alethea, no political, culture, genetic strings attach when we're together."
Tears brimmed in her eyes as she admired his solemn expression in the dim light.
"Okay. We can do that," she whispered.
He cast her a warm smile and cocked his head curiously upon meeting her gaze.
"Are you gonna cry?"
She shocked her head vigorous and dabbed her eyes dry.
He laughed.
"You are! Okay, forget what I just said! I just made a Sera cry- that's hereditarily satisfying.
She laughed and punched his shoulder lightly.
"Oh shut up. It's the wine!"
"Uh huh. Sure."
She cast him a fond glance and pulled her knees to her chest to rest her chin and consider what he'd said.
🌼🔥
Thank you for reading! Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. Votes are always appreciated!
- Em
(E.E. Hayes)