"Is she gonna make it?" Dawud exclaimed, leaning forwards.
"Shh…," Fajr ordered, holding him back.
"It-it's dangerous-!" Ismael called out, squeezing against the wall for dear life.
The trio were standing in the gap between the wall and the black waters. Their eyes were locked on the waves, looking for any subtle movements. After a few moments, a hand reached up and grabbed the ledge.
Twas Setsune.
"Too…far…," She sighed, taking deep breaths.
"Awww," Fajr sighed, shaking her head.
"Yessss," Dawud exclaimed, making an excited fist and nearly falling off.
"'Re ya okay?" Ismael questioned shyly, his eyes darting left and right.
Setsune gave him a warm smile, "I'm a Possessed, I'll be fine as long as I don't stay toooo long,"
"Th-then lets get ya outta there," he urged.
She gave him an air fist bump. He wasn't sure how to respond, so Dawud took it for him. They nudged over, back to the corner of Wartebereich XXXIV, a tiny beach of black sand with a lot of bigger rocks. The children were wearing boots and gloves this time. They present Setsune with a bathrobe in a box.
Fajr glared at the boys. Ismael jumped to turn around, while Dawud hesitantly raised an eyebrow. Fajr's glare intensified, so he relented. Setsune put on the bathrobe and took off her broach.
Chapter XXXVI
Wounded Bear
Final AKT
Wait for the Reaper
The bathroom door was closed, but Dawud and Ismael weren't far off. Dawud unashamedly pacing around the hallway like he had somewhere to be, while Ismael sat just inside the boys' room with the door opened. Their room wasn't too different from Fajr's, but it lacked the rags on the walls in favour of wild hand paintings with little style or choice. There was a big hole in the carpet though, where each of the colour paints would've collided
---
The bathroom was the most well kept room in the house. It had proper white and blue checkered tiling and green painted walls. It had a rather worn, white rug with the dull sword on it, a mirror with only a few cracks, and a white toilet with only a few yellow and brown stains.
Setsune sat, washing off in the white tub of their bathroom. It was covered in similar stains. Sitting on the rug was Fajr, with a tiny map and a pen.
"What if ya tried swimmin' along the walls?" she asked, mapping out the Crater Sea.
Setsune leaned over, smile on her face, her elbows on the edge of the tub, water dripping down her face and hair "Maybe…what's past the port?"
"No clue,"
"Naj-wa never taught you?" she questioned, tilting her head, a cheeky smile on her face.
She chuckled, looking down, "Naw, 'r classes-my classes at school 're purty limited,"
"What's a school?"
She dropped the map, "Yuv…its a place where kids learn stuff,"
"But just you,"
"Just me," she blushed. "Th-there 're other kids there too, just not-,"
Setsune held out her clean hand and lifted Fajr's. She gave a nod. Fajr smiled a little.
"How 'bout we map the place out a bit?"
Setsune took a deep breath, "That'll take some time. I can't go out there every day,"
"Really?"
"When I…I don't like the water," she answered, putting a finger to her chin before nodding and making a fist, water splashing in the tub.
Fajr picked the map back up, "Well the wait ain't no problem fer us,"
"Course not…," She responded, subtly glancing down. "Then let's get started the day…after tomorrow,"
"Yessss,"
...….
She heard them getting up in the morning. Dawud rushed out the room, while Ismael was quiet. He must've been staying in bed.
"ISMAEL!" Najwa called out. "Its time fer school. Ya ain't gonna be late ya hear!"
"Y-Yes Moma!" He called out, finally getting out of bed.
Fajr entered her room. She quickly got ready and dressed. As she was leaving, she turned to Setsune.
"Ya can wear some of my clothes if you'd like,"
She chuckled, "thank you, I'll see if i can fit them,"
She left. Setsune placed her finger on her chin and tilted her head. The children were scuffling around, but what about breakfast? The downstairs door opened.
"I'll be out all day, so the three of ya should be able to handle things on yer own right?" Najwa questioned.
"Yes Moma," they responded.
"Good, 'member to use yer bread sparingly. The Dreschers have been cheatin' us lately,"
"Yes Moma,"
Silence. Setsune got out of bed.
Checking Fajr's closet, while all of the clothes were oversized, they were too small for her. She shook her head. This wouldn't do.
Eyes widened, smile on her face, she placed her fist in her hand. She transported into the Colour Realm. From her red cloth, she formed a red Kimono, albeit one that wasn't the best put together. She then added some black to make the bow.
Back into Reflect Realm, she got dressed and climbed down to the kitchen. The wooden cupboards had a very aged, hand carved feel to them. The edges were rough and the growth rings of the wood could still be seen.
She opened the cupboard to find a ton of canned foods, cinnamon sticks, boule bread, and a stone box sealed with cotton duck cloth. She took out the box and opened it. It was filled with jams. She found some peach jam. She put the jams back and got to work on the cinnamon.
Her ear twitched. Dawud had snuck back into the house. She smiled, but didn't turn to him as he watched her with great curiosity.
On a wooden board, she cut it up into little bits, making sure to press her right hand against the dull side of the knife. After thoroughly cutting it up, she flipped the knife and used the handle to pound it. Bits of cinnamon inevitably flew off, but she was quick to sweep anything back into place using her other hand.
"What're ya makin'?" Dawud asked.
"Wait and see sweetie, wait and see," She responded, raising a finger and smiling brightly.
She took the peach jam back out and carefully guided the cinnamon into the jar. She took the knife and carefully stirred until they were mixed.
"Yum….," He exclaimed, eyes sparkling. "Can I have some?!"
She nodded. He handed her his piece of crusted Boule bread and she spread the jam on it. Setsune got her own bread and sat on the floor with him.
"Yer not gonna make me go to school 're ya?" he asked, licking the jam off his bread. "More please,"
She shook her head and chuckled, "Do you want to go to school?"
"No. I want more jam though,"
"No," she responded nibbling on the hard bread to soften it.
"To which-,"
She smiled at him with her eyes closed. He started attempting to chew on the bland bread.
"So…can ya help us 'scape?"
"Hm…," She thought, looking at her now jamless bread. "Maybe you can get more jam,"
"REALLY!? YESSS!" He jumped for joy.
...…
Setsune looked out at the night sky again. She looked closely at Wartebereich XXXIV. It wasn't a city, it was more of a village. There were plenty of people, but enough to be 'managed'.
She narrowed her eyes. She looked closely at every corner she could think. She shook her head. She loosened her eyes and casually glanced around, looking for anything that might pop into view.
There was a loud creak in the hall.
"(Setsune…'re ya sleepin')?" Ismael called out.
She breathed a sigh of relief. She opened the door and there he was. Ismael held onto a blue blankey, tears in his eyes. She crouched down to reach eye level.
"Is everything okay sweetie?" she asked, a look of concern on her face.
"I…had a nightmare," he said looked down.
She smiled and placed a hand on his cheek, "Do you need my help getting down to Naj-wa?"
He shook his head, "Fajr…,"
"Siblings," she reminisced, nodding her head. "Want help?'
"Really?"
"If it helps, I'll worry about Najwa latte,"
She went back to the bed, holding his hand tight. She massaged the bed to make sure it was right and comfortable. He got in and she knelt by.
She held his hand until he fell asleep. She felt a calmness within her, something she hadn't quite felt in some time. Before she knew it, she dosed off as well.
End of Scene I....