Planet: Eteran

First Insurgency War

RAYAN

Octan came quick and hit harder.

Leaves fell in sheens of golds, oranges and light purples. Rayan smiled at the flutter of summer's flight. I could get used to the cold. He drew the discarded leaf in the blanket of grass in front of him, trying to capture and paint his view of the world onto the single moment. Kestra's trees never lost their leaves, nor were there any trees outside naturodomes to lose leaves. Nothing but crags, rocks, and salt flats, with their own beauty, but he painted them a thousand times, with the last of Eruda rising over the Kestran clouds of fire — but the true splendour of the salt flats was the reflection of the universe.

A light breeze carried the lone leaf onto its next journey, and he sketched the rest of the picture with his memory alone. Any mistake on the page he left to its devices, as Mother once told him, perfection never existed in the first place. He rifled through the pages of other batches of leaves or trees in the glow of fire, to create a collage of autumn.

Other art students packed their own tools with the warehouse for the spook halls done with the collected effort. Rayan waved at his fellow classmates before returning to his sketching. Yvonne and Kylie were the first student coordinators to leave, talking quietly to each other as they walked back to the main building of the school. Everyone filed out, save for Ava, who he waited for.

Rayan packed his sketchbook into his bag when she walked out of the school warehouse. "Thanks for waiting for me, Ray," she said with a smile as she tossed her pony-tail back. "And for all your help. It's all done. Now all we have to worry about is the campout, then I have to go shopping for my brother's birthday..."

"What about your birthday?" Rayan questioned as he followed her back to school.

Ava laughed and waved her hand. "Don't worry about me. My dad being around again is all I can ask for." She slammed her fist into her hand. "Speaking of which, he's going to be out tonight, and our mom has invited you to dinner. She's very eager to meet you. Her and your mom were apparently good friends too."

Rayan hesitated. "Is... Is that okay?"

Ava frowned. "I know you didn't get the best impression of him when he came to pick James and me up, but I promise he's not whoever James painted him to be." Her hands settled on her hips. "Like I said, he's not going to be there, and..." Her lips pursed. "I'd like to spend more time with you, Rayan."

Rayan fiddled with his schoolbag clasps. "If... If that's alright, I accept."

Ava nodded and continued on the path, but he rushed to her. "Wait, I'd still like to get you something for your birthday, Ava... for all that you've helped me with, and being my friend and introducing me to a lot of other people. I don't know if I'd have felt like this if you hadn't." He bowed his head. "I really appreciate it, and I just want to return the favour somehow."

"You really don't have to," she said then she pinched her chin. "I'll think about it, though." Ava flipped open her school wristpad when it beeped a message. "I have to go sort some last minute things out for the spooky halls, I'll see you tonight!" Ava waved her arm as she rushed to another school building, and Rayan smiled at her departure.

Fingers hooked into his pockets, he took in the clouds above his head as the afternoon crawled on. Mom was right, this place isn't as bad I thought it'd be. Here I was complaining it was out in the middle of nowhere. He rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh, trying to match the tempo of the wind. Not as many loud noises here... His thoughts danced in clarity and gave him insight on his brush.

He stopped his musings when Meryn crept out of one of the back entrances of the gym. WIth one swift peek around the corner, he slid out of the frame as the door slid close behind him. Rayan tipped his head and approached while Meryn kept himself on guard, before sending a few quick, irritated jabs into the air with planted feet and small hops as he continued the display of martial practice.

"Meryn?" he questioned with a smile as Meryn continued his fight with air.

A sharp, soft scream left Meryn as he scrambled to hold himself straight. "Rayan," he sang out in one long word, and leaned on the wall with a wide smile. "You didn't see any of that, did you?"

"What were you doing in the gym?" Rayan asked back.

Meryn released himself from the wall. "I was practising, I missed our last class and I wanted to be able to keep up with everyone else."

"How's your arm?"

Meryn rubbed it. "It's fine. It's not bruised anymore."

"Good to hear." Rayan noted the tightness in Meryn's voice. "You want to walk with me?"

"Where?"

"To my locker." Rayan thumbed his bag. "I need to put this away."

"Oh, right... you were helping Ava with the spooky halls," Meryn asid with a small tap into his fist. "Sure, I'll come with. I need to head that way, anyway. I've got one last language class to go to."

"Awesome." Rayan took the lead to the main school building on the grounds. "You want me to pretend I didn't see anything then?" He motioned at the gym with a grin.

Meryn clapped his hands together. "I'd really appreciate it. I don't want people to worry over me."

"Alright." Rayan waited for the double doors to hiss open before entering the long halls. Students came out of classrooms when the shift bell rang. He headed to the farthest lockers in the junction to the arts facility and slid his ID into his lockpanel. "You sure you're alright, Meryn?"

"I'm a-okay." Meryn gave him a thumbs up.

Rayan studied his expression, and Meryn never revealed anything beneath the surface. "Well, I know we've practically only just met this Quad, but I like to think we're friends," Rayan said. "You're always welcome at my house if you want to hang out anytime, Meryn." He slipped his textbooks out of his bag and shoved them onto the top shelf.

Meryn smiled in return. "Thanks for the offer, Rayan. I might take you up on that."

"Good." Rayan aligned the books before grabbing his coat. As he slipped it over his shoulders, he twisted to the duo making their way down the junction of lockers. Jon.

James.

Sunlight strewn through the windows while it fluttered over Jon and James both. It caught in the hazel as James whisked a strand of dirty blonde hair off his brow as he and Jon spoke, with netbats locked across their shoulders as they came closer. Rayan held onto his locker as the brightness crawled across James' cheeks, capturing the angles and the colour as he caught his eye.

Rayan snapped his attention to the back of his locker while their voices became clearer, with Jon calling out to Meryn. He tucked deeper into it, finding Meryn's arm to put him at his back, causing Meryn to make a questioning noise, though he kept his stance.

"Meryn," Jon sang. "Good to see you!"

Rayan rested his head against the side of his locker when James said, "Hey, you two..." He faltered, and Rayan stiffened when James mused, "Rayan, why do you have your head shoved into your locker?"

"I lost something!" he bleated. He peeked to the side to see Jon and James standing on the other side of Meryn, who folded his arms and appeared to take his impromptu role of a shield seriously.

"What... did you lose?" James questioned with a curious twist to his lips in clear skepticism.

"Um..." Rayan left the safety of his locker. "You know."

James folded his arms. "I don't, that's why I asked."

Great, I'm so smooth. Rayan placed his face into his locker. "I'm sure I'll find it, eventually. By the way..." He left its embrace again and forced a smile on his face. "Ava said I'm invited over to dinner."

"I heard," James said. "I hope you can... find whatever you're looking for before then." He raised his hand in farewell. "I'll see you later then, Rayan."

"Yeah, see you..." Rayan trembled against the metal while Jon and James continued on their way, and he glanced at Meryn, who pressed his lips together in a fine line with a bemused, observatory expression. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Oh, no reason." Meryn shrugged his shoulders. "I've never been used as a blockade before. Are you scared of James or something?"

"What? No!"

Meryn put his thumb against his lips. "I did hear him talking about how his camera broke and how you helped him back up his pictures on your photosphere," he mumbled, and claws raked down his mind at Meryn's quick verbal jabs under his skin. "He was mum on the details though." Meryn gave him a devilish grin. "Oh, is it like that? Do you like him?"

"Wh-What?" Rayan shook his head. "I don't... like him. I just think he's a neat person to be around and I enjoy... being... around him." He held his hands out. "You know?"

"I mean, sure?" Meryn mused. "I've never had the urge to shove my head into a locker just because we make eye contact."

"I did not shove my head into my locker."

Meryn patted his shoulder. "Your secret's safe with me."

"There's no secret to be had."

Meryn blinked. "Okay, I'll talk to you later then!"

Before he had the chance to explain himself, Meryn rushed the opposite direction of James and Jon. Rayan shouldered his bag and slammed his locker door before setting his brow across it, where the flames outside swirled into his cheeks and ears as he tugged his coat collar against his neck and huddled against his locker. Ah... forget it. He left his locker.

With the rest of his classes out of the way with the ringing of the bell, he left the school, waiting once again for Ava to join him.

"I'm here now!" she called as she joined him. "You ready?"

"I think so." Rayan peered around. "Is James not going to come with us?"

"Try looking around," a different voice said.

Rayan whipped to face James, who no longer had a netbat strapped across his back as he tipped his head. "Find what you were looking for, Rayan?"

"Uh. Yes."

"You need to call your mom?" Ava mused.

"No?"

Ava and James stared at him, and he trembled underneath their twin expressions. Ava smiled. "Okay, then let's go."

Rayan kept his pace with the twins as they took him through shortcuts through Eastpoint. Around the plaza where he took James to the electronics shop to get his camera fixed. Through the row of candy stores where Yvonne and Kylie preferred to mill about on the outside benches.

Ava and James led him onto a gravel path, deeper into the forest before they came across a small, two story home. Lights danced across the front porch, and he smiled at the warmth which echoed off it as a young girl around thirteen quadrums bounced off the first step of the porch.

"Janie!" Ava called. "Is Mom home?"

"She's inside, cooking dinner," Janie replied, then stared at him. "Who's that?"

"This is Rayan," Ava introduced. "Rayan, this is our terror of a little sister, Janelle."

"Ew, you know I like Janie better!" Janie slapped her hands against her ears. "How would you feel if I called James Jamison?"

James cringed. "Because that's not even my name, Janie, and why would Ava care? Don't involve me in this."

Janie pouted. "Fine..." Arms folded, she scowled. "Jamesy Jamerson."

Rayan jolted when James lunged forward to grab Janie in a headlock, who screamed. He blinked at the wrestling match, and gaped when Ava ignored it as if it was a normal occurrence.. "Come on, Mom's dying to meet you."

James let go of Janie who sent wild kicks and punches into her brother. "Good thing Dad isn't here," he commented in the middle of the attack.

"James." Ava's expression flattened.

"What? Janelle, stop." James pressed his hand into Janie's brow.

As they entered the compact house, Rayan breathed in the sweet touch of warmth and it swirled in his lungs. He kept his arms locked against himself to avoid taking up room, and relaxed when Ava called, "Mom! Look who we brought!"

Mrs. Ranier twisted in the kitchen and placed the knife back into the block. "Oh, my stars," she said with a small gasp. "You must be Rayan Falae. I've heard a lot about you." Hands wiped on her apron, she bustled forward. "You're a spitting image of Illiya."

"It's nice to meet you," Rayan said.

"Make yourself comfortable," Mrs Ranier said with a gentle smile. "You know, James sings your praises quite a bit. I hear you're a talented artist."

Rayan snapped his attention to James, who hid behind his hands with a low groan. "Mom..." His hands snapped back to his side as steel entered the hazel and he glared at Rayan, then folded his arms with a huff and raised his nose in the air as he looked away. "What? I can give praise to people's skills."

"Oh, nothing..." He held his own cheeks, relishing in the warmth.