Kyshiro slumped downwards in his chair, biting his lip as he scanned his reflection in the sheen glass. He placed his head in his hands, one of them moving to his forehead as he attempted to wan his upcoming headache. He glanced sideways at the dark window, warily watching the clouded sky above. Rain pattered roughly against the glass, the small droplets leaking downwards into the frame. The wind whooshed loudly from the outside, rattling the piping. He bit his lip, squeezing his head tighter. His heart drummed in his chest and his breathing harshened. It was so late. Lord would’ve noticed by now that he was missing… Kyshiro clutched his head even harder, his freehand curling in so tightly that he hissed quietly. He couldn’t even imagine how he was going to explain this. ‘Heya dad.’ ‘Where the heck did you go?’ ‘Oh, y’know, I flew allllll the way to Clyvenfield in the span of one night; the usual.’ ‘Ah haha, that’s great you can go to bed now.’ Kyshiro sighed, rubbing the center of his head. The best he could do now was not be recognized. So he folded his arms in front of him and plopped his head down on it mournfully. He puffed out a breath, wanting more than anything just to sleep. Kyshiro buried his head deeper into his arms, feeling his nose brush against the cold glass. He glanced downwards at the darkness in front of him, scaring himself silly with the reflection of his pale purple iris. It felt like he hadn't slept in days and his entire body felt oddly sore. He touched the base of his neck, gently caressing the large burn mark on his collar bone. He groaned softly, opening his eyes and grumbling as he sat up. He turned his head back and forth, gazing at all of the people chattering quietly in groups. “Excuse me!” came a loud, childish voice from his left. Kyshiro glanced sideways, feeling a gentle tug on the tailcoat of his cloak. He looked into the wide eyed gaze of a small child, her large brown eyes looking teary. With her frilly navy blue dress embroidered with moonlit pearls and multiple rounded sapphires, Kyshiro was first to assume that she was from a wealthy family. Even her hazel hair was tied in an elegant braid resting on her back. The girl tugged harder on his tailcoat, biting her lip while sniffling in her runny snot. “M-Mister?” Sympathetic, Kyshiro stood from his seat, stooping down to the child’s level. He took a few napkins from the coffee table’s depenser, handing one of them to the sniffling youth. “Hey there,” he said gently, glancing over the small shoulders, “What’s wrong?” The kid continued to sniffle, blowing her nose roughly on the soft napkins. “I don’t kn-know where my d-d-daddys are,” she stuttered, rubbing her eyes, “I went for a walk and-” Kyshiro frowned, cutting the girl off. “Why were you walking by yourself?” His brow crinkled and he tried not to think about the ‘clan’ Aegi had mentioned earlier, “It’s dangerous.” The girl bit her lip, staring out the dark window. “Wewerewalkingwhentherainhitandthenmovedapartbyabunchofpeoplewhocamerunning fromtheotherway…” she sniffled out in such a rush that Kyshiro could barely make out the words.“I… Er… Can you say that again?” he asked, handing another napkin to the frightened child. “We were walking when the rain hit and then moved apart by a bunch of people who came running from the other way,” she repeated softly, gripping the paper napkin tightly between her fingers, “I lost them and then some green guy was waving me over to the shop…” Kyshiro turned his head towards the hallway, thinking that she might mean Aegi. If so, maybe Aegi would have a better start to where she came from… But at the same time Kyshiro wasn’t sure if Aegi would let him off the hook so easily again. The boy had already been suspicious of Kyshiro even though he hadn’t said it aloud, Kyshiro could tell.Puffing out a small breath, he returned his gaze to the small girl, “What’s your name?” He held a hand out, remembering the gesture that parents seemed to do when their child was crying. He remembered seeing that somewhere when taking a ‘joy walk’ with Lord and for some odd reason, it stuck with him.
“Beau,” she muttered quietly, twiddling her hands together before placing one of them onto Kyshiro’s palm. He saw her shudder at how cold they were and held back the pang of guilt. The emotions he was showcasing to her weren’t exactly the real thing. He felt sympathy and he did want to help her, but the gentle tone of voice was fake, so was the gentleness in the gestures. Kyshiro knew that he was overall a cold shell, but he hadn’t really got to experience other emotions other than pain and sadness. Which was why he was faking it now. “Well, Beau, I have an idea of how to get you home,” he said slowly, “but I’m going to have to ask you to follow me, is that alright with you?” Beau bit her small pink lip, then nodded her head, looking slightly nervous. “Who are you?” she asked in a timid demanding tone, shifting on her feet, “You look kind of scary…” Kyshiro tried to give her a warm smile from under the hood, but the fake emotion wasn’t enough to reach the girl without her seeing it. “I’m Samath,” Kyshiro fibbed, using the same name from before, “but go ahead and call me Sam, okay?” Beau glanced up at him, then looked away, staring at the ground. “O-Okay.” ⤧ “Sam, look,” Aegi sighed, running his large hand through his short floppy brown hair, “I just saw the girl crying and walking by herself,” he held his long thick arms out, “I didn’t see her parents or anything that looked like them.” Kyshiro glanced backwards at the child, who was gripping his tailcoat so tightly that her knuckles were a violent shade of white. He turned back to Aegi, placing a hand on his chin thoughtfully. The large man gave him a strange, wary look, looking anxious, “Y-You’re not thinking about going out there are ya?” Kyshiro blinked, then blinked again. “Um no?” he said, incredulous. “Not even to get a cake pop right?” “Cake… Pop?” Aegi burst out laughing, slapping his palms against his thighs. “Are you playing me, Sam?” Aegi roared, cackling with laughter that was slowly getting Kyshiro more and more confused. What was a cake pop? A dessert? Somesort of device made of cake? “No?” Kyshiro said, looking backwards at Beau, who was still looking rather frightened, “But that’s beyond the point, I still need to get her home.” Aegi ceased his bellowing, stroking his rough bearded chin. “Tell me you at least know what a cupcake is,” he snorted, sniggering softly. “Well…” Kyshiro cleared his throat, cutting himself off, “A-Anyway…” He gestured to the trembling child behind him, “If you do see anyone, let me kno-” As if directly on cue, a loud crash echoed through the air. Beau yelped loudly, burying her head into Kyshrio’s tailcoat. He jerked towards the direction of the sound, his heart racing in his chest painfully. “Pops?” Aegi shouted, wiping his head around his shoulders,”Pops!” The man in pink had suddenly stood up from his desk, rushing towards the door. Part 2: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/733139524 Part 4: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/733142900
