by Oxford, Rain
What do I think of natural death?
* * *
I woke to Divina brushing my hair out of my face. She smiled when I opened my eyes to see her so close to me. “It’s time to go,” she said quietly. I nodded but didn’t move any further. “Edward’s talking to the captain about directions.”
A man asking directions? Duran is weird. “Why don’t I dream?” I asked. She frowned. “The only dreams I’ve had since signing my book were the two with Vretial. I keep looking forward to having dreams of you, but they don’t come.”
She laughed quietly. “Guardians don’t dream.”
“Never?” I asked.
She shook her head. When she brushed my hair out of my eyes again, her hand relaxed to rest against my cheek. Seconds passed before her eyes quickly glanced at my lips and then back. It was a definite sign that she wanted to kiss me. She leaned closer very slowly until her face was several inches from mine. Her scent made me dizzy; I could only imagine what her berry-pink lips would taste like.
Then the door slipped open and Edward stepped in. Divina quickly let me go and stood up. Edward froze at the door, clearly startled when he realized what he saw.
“Did I interrupt something?”
Divina didn’t look at either of us. “No.” She told him before that she would kiss me because I was his apprentice, but she seemed embarrassed to get caught when about to do so. “Did you find out what you needed to know?” Divina asked, forcing herself to look him in the eyes.
“Yes,” he answered. Without another word, she grabbed her bag and left. “Was she about to…?”
I stood. “No,” I lied. I didn’t want him to feel guilty. Besides, if it embarrassed her to kiss me, I wasn’t exactly going to bring it up again. I preferred to limit myself to one rejection per woman.
The sky was fairly light, but the sun hadn’t peeked over the horizon yet. I couldn’t see the land. Uncomfortable with the awkward silence, Edward got his bag and we left.
When we arrived at the deck, Divina was leaning over the side to watch the sunrise. Edward joined her. Sago enjoyed nature more than the humans I knew; most humans would be in a hurry to get off. Then again, most people didn’t move to Houston for the nature scenes.
I hung back and tried to prepare myself for keeping my mouth shut all day.
I could see the beach under the eerie light of the two full moons and the blood red light of the rising sun. The ocean was loud and the wind was strong. It was colder here than Mijii and Shomodii. Just off the beach were houses and several trees, which looked like miniature versions of the trees in Edward’s forest. Most of the houses were small, as were the yards divided by tall wooden fences. They looked old-fashioned and peaceful.
There was a hard slap on my back and I jumped out of my skin. When I crawled back into it, I turned to see Mordon.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi,” I answered. Edward and Divina were shocked, which was both funny and sad. “What are you doing here?” I asked, signing pathetically. Edward took a step forward, but Divina put her hand on his chest to stop him.
“I want speak bye,” he said.
I grinned even as I could see Edward grow tenser out of the corner of my eye. He pushed passed Divina and stopped about ten feet from Mordon. Mordon gave him a slight bow and held out his hand, which Edward shook. While his outward demeanor was respectful, there was none of the submissiveness I expected. With a society based on titles and magic, I figured a young wizard would either be arrogant or overly submissive.
“Loge. Mokate Ishte-le Mordon.” Mordon stood tall, met Edward’s eyes, but remained respectful.
“Mokate Yatunus-mal Kiro. Logbi. Moe Divina,” he indicated Divina, who smiled. Mordon bowed slightly to her before returning his attention to Edward. “Haso go English chonasu o sago dakanai,” he said gravely to Mordon.
“What did he say?” I asked Mordon- not Edward or Divina, who both knew English. I glanced at Divina, who was trying to contain her mirth.
“I speak no English near… sago. You go now?” He pointed to the sky and said, “Sonmada tetsuji.”
“Mowa. We have to go early before everyone else gets up and I make a mistake. I do that,” I said, signing it out. Edward translated what I said. “Maybe I’ll see you around.” I gave up signing and Edward translated for me.
“Mowa. Tatoe mise.”
“He said he hopes so,” Edward said. “You said nothing happened last night.”
“I said there was no trouble last night. No one said anything about making friends being off limits,” I argued. Edward didn’t look angry, only patient, which made it impossible for me to be angry with him. I sighed. “Sorry. I know it was stupid and risky. We ran into each other and I let my mouth open and he didn’t freak out. We got to talking and…”
“So you had conversations with this guy by moving your arms around?”
“Uh… yes. And I used the words you taught me,” I said.
He looked at Divina and for a few seconds, I saw that she was waiting for his reaction just as cautiously as I was. And then, to our surprise, he laughed. It occurred to me that, unlike every man I knew, he could not be pushed to anger.
“You really are something else. You nearly get your foot cut off by the rarest plant on Duran, and then get a virus that is long-since extinct. Then, a few hours later, you meet the one stranger on the entire ship who wouldn’t react with suspicion to your obviously alien language.”
“Edward speak what?” Mordon asked me.
“Jadaka,” Edward said shortly, then picked up his bag and started for the ramp.
“We have to go now,” Divina said.
“Bedo,” I said regretfully.
“Bye,” he answered. I turned and left.
* * *
As we walked down an empty dirt road, Edward was in a suspiciously good mood. Divina, who seemed to have gotten over the embarrassment of almost kissing me, was the one brave enough to ask him why. “Kiro? Why are you happy?”
“I’m sorry; I forgot I’m not allowed to be,” Edward snipped. Divina sighed. “I was only thinking that if we stay at a place to sleep close to here…” He pointed to a house far down the road. “That’s Akia’s house.”
Divina smiled enthusiastically. “Do you think Hiroku might be there?”
Edward thought for a second. “I think he’s away at school. He was accepted to a tutoring thing.”
“Oh. He would be thrilled to see you,” she said, disappointed.
I was burning to know who they were talking about, but I didn’t want to interrupt; I was just glad they were speaking English.
“More like thrilled to see you. I think he’s still mad at me for not taking him to that celebration thing.”
“You were well justified. Besides, he knows Akia told you not to.”
“Yes, well, I should have gotten the whole story before I agreed; I would have told him no if I knew where they were going.”
“You should have expected something when you found out that no girls were going and you had to have a permit.”
“Okay, who are you two talking about?” I asked. Divina’s grin grew, as Edward frowned, which I found very interesting.
Divina stepped back and wrapped her arm around mine while Edward huffed and picked up speed. “Kiro met a woman named Akia many years back. He was teaching a class as a favor to a sick friend. Kiro made a fool of himself to the whole class because all he could do was watch Akia. Right after class, he asked Akia her name, and then asked her on a date. Of course, dating isn’t allowed for people in school, but she couldn’t help herself.”
Edward looked slightly embarrassed.
“So they had their secret date and after a few weeks of secret passion and parental deception, they ran off to get married.”
“Her parents… how old was she?”
“Twenty-one. People aren’t considered adults until they are twenty-two.”
“She told me she was twenty-two,” Edward groaned.
“Ten years for just dating a girl in school?”
“Well, they could have sent him to Canjii, which is a life sentence. They showed mercy because of his status.”
“They don’t know you’re the Guardian, though?” I asked.
“I would never have peace if they knew I had anything to do with the gods.”
“So who is Hiroku?”
Divina smiled even brighter. “He’s Akia and Kiro’s son.”
We arrived at a small house and Edward considered the low sun. The house looked like all the others; white paint, brown roof, ordinary, and not very sturdy. On the upside, it had a nice wooden porch. The door, like the doors on most of the other houses, opened regularly instead of sliding open.
“Do you think she’ll be awake?” Divina asked.
Edward seemed unsure. “Probably not. And if she is, she may not want to be bothered first thing in the morning.” His voice was filled with doubt.
“Think of how mad she’ll be if she finds out you’re in town and you didn’t drop by. At least knock. If she doesn’t answer, nothing lost.”
He started slowly for the porch, but then stopped and frowned from me to Divina. “What about him?” Edward asked.
“What about him? We’ll just do what we planned to. I’ll tell him what to say.”
“What if Hiroku is there? He may be all friendly and want to show him around.”
Divina sighed. “You’re making this too complicated. I’ll tell them that he and I have to go deal with legal stuff before everyone gets there first and we’ll leave you to talk to them for as long as you want. But we really do need to leave soon for that reason. Don’t forget we have to get him a schooling form. Which one?”
“Konix-ten, I think. It shouldn’t be hard.”
“I can forge a private school record. I can probably even get him a better title.”
“No. That’s too risky.” He gave me a solemn look. “Don’t let Divina talk you into too many illegal things. They may sound fun, but you don’t have the luck to pull it off.”
“I’ll try, but I’m not sure what all is illegal.”
“Good point. Remind me to pick up a listing of new laws when I get your form. If you end up in jail, they might discover that right now, you have no legal identity.”
In other words, I don’t exist.
“He’s a guy,” Divina said, “he’ll get into enough trouble without my help. What were you like when you were his age and still discovering how powerful your magic was?”
“You’re right,” he said, then gave me his gravest stare. “If anything makes you laugh for more than fifteen seconds, you’re not allowed to do it.” Edward went to the door and knocked lightly while Divina and I stood a ways behind him.
Several minutes passed. Then, very slowly, the curtain over the window moved enough to see a sliver of a woman’s face. The curtain fell back into place, I heard the lock turn, and the door opened to reveal a young woman about five-four, fit, with smooth features. Elbow-length, light orange hair accentuated light aquamarine eyes and fair skin. She wore a bright blue, short-sleeved blouse with fitted, dark blue, short shorts. I wouldn’t have guessed she was more than twenty five, but that would mean Hiroku was four at the oldest.
Apparently my eyes were wide. “She’s much older than she looks. Abuse of magic can destroy the body, but if you use it right, it can keep the body healthy and young. Especially in women. Also, the life span is much longer for sago,” Divina said in my head.
The joy on the woman’s face at seeing Edward was blatantly obvious before she practically jumped into his arms. He held her just as tightly. Their hug went on for several minutes before he let her go. Then they kissed and I looked away awkwardly.
Divina did, too. “Not all of their passion died out.”
“Hasoke on oto koahiga?” Akia asked.
Divina and I risked turning back around. I felt like an intruder just being there. Edward had done nothing since his brother died but help me and Earth, so if he even hinted at wanting to go inside, I was going to devise a plan to get Divina and myself out of his way.
“Mowa,” he answered her question as his fingers brushed her cheek affectionately.
They were very close. When her eyes left his and found Divina, she smiled openly and moved passed him. Divina met her halfway, matching her enthusiasm, and they hugged like best friends. They chatted animatedly in Sudo until Edward came to stand next to me, which drew Akia’s attention. She smiled politely at me.
Edward put his hand on my back and pushed me forward. “Introduce yourself, and remember that you’re of lower rank than her,” Edward said in my head.
“Loge. Mokate Yatunus-tai Dylan,” I said. She beamed at me, but it didn’t make me feel warm like Divina’s smile did.
“Logbi. Mokate Iuve-jo Akia. Bohide ie Akia.”
“Say, ‘mordate bohide,’” Divina said.
I quickly said what I was told and Akia’s smile went up another notch.
“Are wa chado anano ni miemar,” she said to Edward.
Divina smirked as Edward looked torn.
“She thinks you’re Kiro’s son and he doesn’t know whether to say you are or not. This is going to be funny.”
By the expectant stare that Divina gave Edward, I assumed she was speaking to him in his mind. Evidently, whatever she said helped, because he nodded resolutely.
“Sha ano,” he said to Akiko.
I couldn’t be sure, but it didn’t sound like he was correcting her.
The door opened again and a man came out, who appeared about my age and was definitely Edward’s son. He had the same dark brown hair, almost black eyes, and dark Caucasian-ish skin. He also seemed to have the same intensity I’d seen when I first met Edward, but he wasn’t any bigger than myself, so it didn’t have the same effect. His smile looked a little odd, though sincere.
Edward and he chatted with an artificial ease for a couple of minutes before he turned his attention on me. His voice was similar to Edward’s, but he spoke faster. His smile was gone.
“Mokate Yatunus-ke Hiroku.”
Yeah, Akia was a lot older than twenty-five. “Mokate Yatunus-tai Dylan.”
He sneered. “Nise go benjoki hiso? Hyako hiso datoa saiso yow nonodo se.”
“Hiroku!” Edward yelled. Akai’s eyes went huge.
I knew when I was being insulted, for it had been a common occurrence on Earth, but he was the first sago who openly insulted me… and I didn’t even know what he was saying. It actually shocked me more to hear Edward yell.
“Match his smile and say, ‘Tatake moe iso nonodo sudodaku. Buromi uku so?’”
I did and Hiroku’s expression became menacing. After being exposed to Edward’s fierce glare, Hiroku’s was hardly frightening. Hiroku had a similar face, but Edward had lived many more years to practice his glare.
“Jodumade miko shipe.”
Edward rubbed his hand over his eyes and Akai looked too ashamed to speak. I really didn’t like how things were escalating.
“Say, ‘jodumade miko asano.’” I did and Divina laughed quietly.
That attracted Hiroku’s attention instantly. His anger morphed into pure joy and he passed me, nearly shoving me aside. He hugged her with much more force than necessary. I was instantly angry and wanted Divina to tell me something else to say. More importantly, I wanted her to push him away and then tell me
something else to say. I hadn’t realized I was snarling until my breath became audible and I was very close to growling.
Divina kept her smile pleasant and small and politely hugged him back, but then gently pushed him away much sooner than he liked. That went a long way in improving my day. He still stood far too close and he spoke with too much pride. I wanted to interrupt and before I realized I was doing it, I took a step towards them.
Edward grabbed me by the shirt and pulled me back a few steps. “Divina likes your politeness and self-control much more than his compulsiveness and arrogance,” Edward said in my head. “Hiroku has had a hopeless crush on Divina since he was four; he will never win her heart. She has literally referred to him as her nephew.”
Most of my anger evaporated. I lived much closer to Divina than Hiroku anyway; let him have his fun. God, I’m a teenager again.
“Are wa gyoijo ira,” Akia said to Edward, which caused him to brighten considerably.
“She said that you’re very well behaved.”
Divina said something, too long and fast to follow, and from the way Hiroku’s expression grew increasingly gloomy, I figured she was explaining that we had to leave. Edward agreed, turned me roughly toward Hiroku, and said, “Ayamaru.”
“Say, ‘ite’ to Hiroku,” Divina said with an annoyed tone.
I couldn’t get it out; I just stared at Hiroku’s smug face.
“Say, ‘ite’!” she demanded.
Then I realized why I couldn’t say it; that was what Mordon said when apologizing for knocking me over. Edward wanted me to apologize for what I said earlier, but I couldn’t.
Divina sighed in my head. “Too late now. Say, ‘igno koyota mir anta kiufes sumas’ slowly and firmly. Keep your voice low and almost like you’re growling.”
That sounded much more appealing.