They of the Sun
Chapter Fifteen: In the Crowd

     I know I was complaining about school almost three weeks ago, but at this very moment I wouldn't mind Asuka up my ass. It beats being cornered into these places I don't want to be. What a simple life I had back then... Uncrowded and carefree...

    Unlike the Konikoni City streets that were crowded by sounds, smells, Pokemon, and- worst of all- people. This was Sen and Hau's brilliant brain baby, of course. They had wanted to go to the festival to have fun as a "group" (plus yours truly). It was hard to say no when you're tired and the possibility of shutting them up was looming like a holy beam of light...

Is this what parenting is like? I amused the idea in my head, annoyed, maybe, babysitting.

     Paper lanterns hung over our heads like a canopy, only a few stars peeked through the gaps. They twinkled with the childish laughter that fluttered into the sky. I felt a guiding tug on my wrist, pulling my eyes down to reality. Bummer. I removed myself from Sen's grasp with a small scowl, causing him to look away with a look of "sheesh okay!" and a hint of pink to his cheeks. He was spending too much time away from me if he believed he could just touch me.

     Lillie was fawning over an outfit in a storefront window; clothes that were a whole lot braver than she was. I caught Nebby's little soul-seeing eyes peeking out at me and looking around in wonder. There was so much to take in for the both of us... I didn't have the energy. I left the pondering Lillie where she stood to follow Sen and Hau not much further away. Hau and Sen were "oooing" and "aaahhing" with the crowd at Kiawe and his Alolan Marowaks spinning their fiery bones that had tribal markings engraved on them... similar to the ones back Iki Town. This must be the performance Kiawe had been practicing for when I showed up for the Trial with Sen as moral support (hah!).

      I averted my eyes towards the plethora of stalls set up for games designed to lure in people and their wallets. It was mostly little children and... couples. Disgusting and unbearably close to each other. It made my skin crawl the moment a girl would grab a boy's arm to lean up to him for a needy kiss.

    How you can give the power for someone to drag you around like that is beyond me. To drop and shatter you more so than one already is? No, thanks! I'd sooner die than fall in love.

     I rolled my eyes away from the crowd as I walked further on... there was a water show by the dock. A blue-haired girl waved her arms around as Wishiwashi hopped overhead, creating arcs of sparkling water. As much as I hated water and never wanted to be around it, I couldn't deny that there was something calming about it... from a distance.

     As I watched, I'm not sure what overcame me. Suddenly, I was lost deep in the crowd. My vision became a tunnel, watching the water as it glimmered against the stars. And it closed around me, binding me in place as thoughts wouldn't form. I could feel the gentle brushes of peoples arms against mine. Why was I being like this?

Stuck in a spell, I couldn't break free as the thought of "what if this never ends?" flooded my mind. I was perpetually immobilized on this stone road with too much noise and movement from the torrent of people moving on either side of me... I clenched my fists in attempt to keep myself grounded. To force my heart to calm before my breathing followed its erratic state.

It was to no avail as the crowd blurred to two blurs of white and dark grey. I knew beneath their spectacles there were eyes of iridescent blue... they melted into the sea of people as I felt my body move against its own accord, breaking free of its Bind.

I hadn't realized I was holding my breath until... I released it with a low sigh. What the fuck was wrong with me?

"Cyra," Sen snapped me completely out of my trance, his fingers in front of my eyes. I scowled, pushing his hand out of my face. "Were you... panicking? You really don't like crowds."

No shit.

     I stayed silent as I let him guide me away from the sounds and people towards a small area near the mouth of a river, a lighthouse to guide ships towards the island at our right. He stopped right by the rails, where we could see HeaHea City on the other side.

"Better?" He said softly.

I kept my focus on the city, people waving at us only to be ignored. Was it so hard for anyone to understand I just wanted to be left to do what I wanted to?

"Listen, cousin," Sen began after moments of silence, "I don't get... why you don't like us. Why are you so reluctant to grow? What did we do?"

I leaned over the rails, peering into the water. What if I fell in? I closed my eyes, imagining what it would've felt like to have dropped into the rapid-paced waters beneath the Mahalo Trail Bridge. A mixture of panic and exhilaration as my body would've been tossed around...

"Every kid dreams about some great adventure," I began slowly, uncertain of what Taurosshit to give him that he would believe. "They want to run from home, fight bad guys, and be something more than they were born as. For some sense of worth and significance, like we aren't all here just to die... I was happier in Sinnoh than here, just being what I was. A person with no grand destiny so I didn't have to drag around the expectations of everyone... on top of existing alone. It has nothing to do with you."

I stopped myself from saying anything more because instead of spewing lies, the truth had crawled it's way out of my throat. The horrible, edgy truth. The silence allowed Sen to piece his thoughts together. He stared at me, then the water, then the sky before he smiled.

"Everyone looks up to you." He looked back down to me, his smile unfaltering. I stared at him blankly. What was he getting at? "You didn't know that, did you? Cyra, you have no idea how lucky you are. I wish I had had support during my trials."

     That explained very clearly why Sen was always at challenges but never as a challenger. The closer I looked at him now, the more I could see he was a little more rugged than the rest of us. A small scar on his cheek, little burns here and there on his arms... But he still retained a youthful glow... probably from all the sunshine he shits out. "You've inspired Lillie to start coming out of her shell! You say what you want and you're so free from the constraints we've put ourselves under."

        I rolled my eyes, tucking my hands under the opposing arm. "Hau hates me, so how can you say you all look up to me?"

     "Hau doesn't understand," Sen said.

      None of you do.

    I wanted to say that out loud, but I kept my mouth shut.

"He still has rose-tinted glasses over his eyes, but he's starting to see past them... because you rip them off every once in a while," He laughed with a hint of awkwardness. "I understand-"

      "Senay! Cyra!" Hau yelled from the outermost edge of the crowd, fast approaching with a giant Teddiursa plush tucked under his arm. His other hand was up in the air. Beside him, Lillie seemed to be shushing Nebby in his bag... his little star eyes wandering from its depth. "Are you guys okay?"

Sen met my eyes for the briefest of seconds before smiling at Hau. "Yeah, I just felt a little sick is all..."

I'm not sure if I kept my face blank or not, but the shock of him lying to his best friend threw me off. What the hell was this boy up to? Hau immediately fired off a joke as Lillie rummaged through her bag until she found something with a soft, "aha!"

Her hand was in my face, a murky stone in her palm. The outer edges were almost an iridescent plum color that became the darkest black towards the center; a Dusk Stone. Lillie's cheeks were a light pink, glimmering green eyes averted. "I... got this for you! F-for Wicked..."

I must've still been exceedingly disoriented because I felt my hand raise with the corners of my lips. The stone was bitterly cool and there was a chilling aura to it as I examined it. I lowered it into my bag, still giving the slightest hint of a smile. "Thank you."

It felt like walking through the crowd with Dulse again; surprised eyes and raised eyebrows. But this time I was the lone spectacle. I regained a bit of my senses, pulling my lips into their usual scowl, Lillie nodding with misty hues. We lingered for a moment longer, before I turned away.

Emotions were tiring and they were definitely not my forte. Hopefully, Sen would forget whatever I had spewed to him. It left an itch in the back of my mind I would probably never be able to scratch. I lifted my hand in a wave, before lowering three fingers.

I think from somewhere in the crowd, I heard an amused laugh.