NEVEN

One small victory, Neven. Just one. Cheek pressed against the wooden finish of the dining table, he jutted out his lip at the constriction the house gave — where the villa open foyer gave the residents space to think, but he pushed down the start of complaints. I can miss the villa all I like... It is not going to come here. Neven tore himself off the table and flicked through Yuo's checklist for his use. Recipes upon recipes, and Mother had yet to share her opinion on them. Any adjustments necessary for a sickly Avaerilian child, he dared not add his own in his ignorance. Windchimes sang out from the back porch, but he ignored it to slide his way into the bloodied section. Details of the Corruption and what Yuven underwent at random times.

Convulsions — thirty seconds to a minute at most. Magick expulsion — Yuven will be unaware during a flash, for a mercy. Neven frowned at Yuo's observation, but he read on to the instructions of how to handle them. Rest him on his side to avoid anything getting stuck in his throat. Time the flash. Do not leave his side. Ask basic questions; his name, where he is, what time it is. Do not overcomplicate them — he will not be able to answer. Neven repeated each one in his head, but chewed on his lip at the final note Yuo left him. 'It is one thing to read it, another to see it happen first hand. May the Ancient's bless you with luck and health. You will need it, Neven.'

"Luck?" Neven slid a fang over his lip and snapped the leatherbound tome close to settle it in his pocket. Back against the chair, the legs groaned at the pressure he put them under while he swayed back and forth to jostle his mind into a sense of alertness for the day ahead. A creak made him twist his neck to investigate the shuffle which came from the kitchen. Air shimmered, and his feathers raised with the elastic expression of the flow when a mop of wavy white-hair revealed itself. Yuven Traye ignored him to sneak his way to the icebox. Glyphs born of icy white mist tugged it open when Yuven wiggled his finger at it with a self-satisfied grin on his face. Legs back on the ground, he slipped out of his chair when Yuven reached into the bundle of apples Neven tucked into the back.

"Let me clean and cut those for you." Neven approached him from behind, and Yuven swung around with a sharp gasp. "Yuo should have your medication for this month ready soon." He pressed his hands together when Yuven closed the icebox with his elbow and slipped back for the wall. "Do you want to talk? It's just us here, Kemal went to the post tower and brought Fenrer with him so he can go to his Auric Lessons." On his knees when Yuven went half-way into the wall to glare at him, he put a smile on his face in response. "I'd like to... get to know you seeing as I'm your Guardian. Where are you from?"

Yuven disappeared into the wall, a ghost to time.

Or... not. Neven stood back up with a sigh, the apples abandoned by the young boy. One little victory. He took himself out into the back porch, slumping onto the swinging seat while the trellis shielded him from the glaring sun above. The set of windchimes he set up clinked in the wind, the song of Irimount reaching his ears when he leaned underneath them, whistling to their tune. Air shifted in his feathers when it replied back with another soft tinkle. He followed along to its tone, humming a different song as he let himself relax, one leg folded over the other while he sang with the flow. Arms limp against the seat, he rocked with the comfort of home and tried not to fall too deep into sleep.

Bubbles curdled.

Neven stumbled out of the chair when a glyph dropped a sphere of warm water on his head. He shook out his drenched feathers, then jolted at a soft giggle. A baby with their hands wrapped around a stuffy wyvern. Yuven hung halfway out of the window behind the chair, a mischievous sneer on his face when he disappeared with another flutter of snow. On his feet, he put a hand on his hips and feigned ignorance, a shift in his feathers. Space and time. With no other recourse, he played a game. "Where could he have possibly gone?" he drew out and stepped out onto the grass field of the small yard, where the creek flowed through to cut a path to the ocean. It swayed against his boots. Three ghostly Yuven's appeared with a hush to stare up at him with wide, focused eyes. Each one, a perfect recreation and he struggled to tell which one was real.

"You're quite above the level of most magickae your age," he commented when he knelt down to get on eye-level with the child. "I've been told you're a Flare. Do you know what that means?"

The middle Yuven brought his arms into a cross. "Ai! You're not able to tell which one I am so I am not answering!" He folded his arms, and the ones at his side followed suit with reflective pouts. "I don't answer time-wasters who waste time napping." Each back turned to him in a wave of snow, snubbed by not one Yuven, but three. One small victory. One small step upon a thin field of ice — but he learned the steps, learned the truth in the reflection of a golden crescent blade. Up on his feet, he tilted his head with a smile.

"Do you mean to say if I guess the correct one you will talk to me?"

"No one's ever succeeded in looking at me. You're not going to be any different." The middle one twisted around to point at him, and the other two followed suit in silence. Arms folded, he jutted out his lip and sniffed, downy feathers puffed out in belligerent energy.

Neven studied each one, the tickle of magick stuck to his feathers. Near perfect control and reflective movements swayed the three Yuven's when he waved his finger at them, then nodded with his final answer. "I got it. I know which one is the real one." Hands behind his back, he pointed out, "Remember, Yuven, the deal is if I got it right you have to talk to me. Those are the rules we agreed to — the song we shared."

"Just say which one," the Yuven on the right huffed.

"You're going to get it wrong anyway," the Yuven on the left piped up.

Ice swirled to his fingertip, and he tapped air behind him, until it met a small brow. Each Yuven jolted with a mixture of shock and frustration, but Neven twisted with his arm to face the reality Yuven tried to bend around him. Fingers hooked, Yuven stumbled out of his reach with a startled gasp, while a burst of snow smashed into the back of Neven's head and sent him forward, facefirst into the grass below. A groan left his lips from the hard fall when Yuven pointed at him. "You cheated!"

"How could I have cheated?" Neven rubbed his nose and pulled himself out of the dirt.

"I don't know, but you cheated. Cheater." Yuven let out a whimper, and Neven jumped to his feet when he rushed back into the house, only to be met with another glyph full of water, which burst into his face and made him slip on the grass when the droplets sped underneath his feet.

Ow, my back. Neven traced his spine and sat there in the grass, all alone. Kemal made it look so easy with Fenrer. I thought that was a good compromise... did I do it wrong? Knees bent, he hurried back to the house to catch up with the white-haired Avaerilian. Into the warm embrace of the new home, he looked through the corridor, running his hand down the wall for a hint of a ghost. His steps faltered when Yuven slipped around the corner with an apple in his hands. "I still need to clean that, Yuven."

Yuven drew out of his reach when Neven went to take it from him. "I can do it myself," he muttered, his previous boisterous energy gone to the wind he disappeared into. "I don't need help from my enemy."

"Yuven, I-" Neven bit down on a wave of frustration and came closer. "I am not your enemy. I want to help you. I'm your Guardian, now. I can take care of you — protect you from those crimson shadows." On my soul, on my song. Neven stared through the twilight mirror and into the gaze of a gold-scaled wyvern, but he blinked out of it to take another step closer to Yuven, who matched it in his retreat. "What can I do to show you that?" On the bridge, he held on tight and tried to ignore the nausea from the low rumble of the abyss below him, taunting his inabilities, bleeding through a wyvern's jaws to spill the black ooze of Derelicts. It ripped up his spine, and he took another step closer. Another step back from the child. "Tell me what I can do." Tell me how I can show you.

Yuven sent one last wind into his face when he dared to try and bridge the gap, and Neven stumbled with his face pressed against the rope bindings which kept him from apathetic death when Yuven retreated into the walls once more, a wave of knocks echoing through the planks until it went still. Left to a painful burn, he returned to the kitchen with a sigh to rest against the counter, arms bent to try and find his strength to continue on. Footsteps at the front made him turn, where Kemal and Fenrer slipped in.

"Mail?" Neven forced through his teeth.

"Nope." Kemal put the packages on the table, but pressed his hand against the smallest one when Neven reached for it. "I have a feeling I missed something."

"Feeling or being nosey through the Oathbound connection?" Neven resisted the urge to slide his fangs out when Fenrer bounced on his tippy toes, but stopped with a yawn. "I'm going to get dinner ready soon." He put the pots out and separated the ingredients for Yuven's specialized assortment. "Yuven's just a little nervous still. I can handle it."

"I-" Fenrer yawned again. "I can go talk to him."

Too much responsibility for a child to bear. I'm here now. Let me help. Let me do this right. Neven shook his head and knelt down to Fenrer's level. "Fenrer, I appreciate your willingness to help, but Yuven will have to learn he can rely on me. Not every adult is his enemy. Besides." He held out the tiny package. "I have something to give you if you'll wait in your room for a few minutes."

Attention drawn, Fenrer tilted his head. "What is it? What did you get me?"

"Something I hope will give you comfort." Neven patted his shoulder. "Go on. I'll be right up."

Fenrer bolted up the stairs.

"Maybe I misjudged you, Nev."

Neven turned to Kemal with a smile. "Mother was a..." He tasted the Common word, then continued, "A midwife for a lot of young noblewomen with their first children. I hope some of her knowledge imparted on me." He twirled magick into the runeoven to start the heating process. "If you fill the smaller pot with water I can go check on those two."

"Sure." Kemal raised his broad shoulders into a shrug, and Neven left him to it to crawl up the stairs.

Into Fenrer's room, he slowed to a stop when Fenrer lifted himself out of the corner with a hollow smile on his face. "What'd you get me?" he asked once more. "Did you get Yuven something too?"

"I have something planned for him." Neven held out the small package again. "Here." Fenrer took the parcel into his hands to rip at the bindings and paper. Ojain, the Echoniic Gatekeeper, fell into his palm. Neven tasted pressure when Fenrer stared down at it without a reaction, running his fingers over the polished wood. "Is everything alright?" He sat down on the ground. "If you don't like it, you can tell me. I won't get angry with you."

I'm not your enemy.

"No! I do like it! Thank you." He hugged the statuette close to his chest then snapped his head around again with a forced smile. "Get something for Yuven too."

"It'd help to know what he enjoys."

"He enjoys the books on the tall shelves in the Annex," Fenrer told him with a bit more energy. "Get him those! Maybe..." He faltered, then put the statue on the small bedstand. "He might come to you more if you read them to him. He likes it when people read to him."

"I guess I know what to do tonight when I've put you two to bed," Neven joked and stood up. "Thank you for telling me that." Neven faltered in the corridor to observe Fenrer when he slid in front of the statuette, a smile wasted into the sunset, hidden in shadows. I just... hope that'll help you. For now, I've got to check on Yuven. He wandered down the rest of the corridor. Spatial magick pressed against his cheek in an effort to keep him away, but he pushed through.

Once more, hidden in the corner by the bookshelf, Yuven huddled. Knees pressed against his chest, he leaned against the wall with his cheek pressed against it.

"Yuven?" Neven stopped by his desk where the uneaten apple rested. He slipped down to sit beside him, but gave him ample room to flee. "Are you... mad at me?" Neven chewed on his Navei when Yuven withdrew further without a response. "Are you hungry at all? I'm making dinner downstairs."

Yuven ignored him.

"Yuven, I'm-" Neven sank his fangs deeper. "I'm not your enemy. I won't hurt you." He set his hands on his knees when he got no response to his insistence. "Tomorrow, we'll go on a walk. Me and you. How does that sound?"

His indifferent peek turned into a full on discomforted glare.

"I'll also get you some books. Fenrer alerted me to the fact you enjoy reading." Neven straightened himself out. "Do you like storybooks—?"

"No."

Fast answer. Neven frowned when Yuven hid deeper into the shadows and withdrew from the light. "It'd help to know what kind of books you like." He waited for another answer to work with, but let out a soft exhale at the lack of one. "Can you tell me how you're feeling?"

"No."

Neven winced, then hauled himself to his feet again. "I see. I'll check on you when I come back. If you need anything—" Yuven turned his back to him. "I'll... leave you alone." Helpless in uncertainty, Neven headed for the door.

"Don't say you'll come back. I know you won't. You don't want to come back to a monster. You'll just give me looks like all the others. And if you don't, you'll just be a melter when the red shadows get to you." Yuven tucked his face into his knees. "Snow doesn't melt as long as it keeps moving."

Neven faltered his grip on the handle to his defeat, then faced Yuven once more. Words stuck to the tip of his tongue and left a serpentine hiss through his nose. "I'll come back," he repeated. "I'll come back with some books for you to read."

You'll see. I'll show you.