𝐈 𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐒 𝐘𝐎𝐔; tommyinnit

𝐱𝐱𝐢. 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫

✩᯽☾︎❄︎☽︎᯽✩

"but the heart was there in those eyes of sky and ocean blue."
- pierre, ryn weaver

"How much longer?" I asked tiredly, moving my line of sight to the back of Tommy's head in front of me. My legs were sore from walking the long journey through the treacherous snow and trying to keep up with the teenage boy's long strides. It wasn't that difficult for him though, as his long legs provided him with an easy source of movement through the deeply-covered ground, so he hadn't complained at all.

"We're almost there." Tommy mumbled as he fiddled with the map, trying to unroll it to actually look at where we were. I sighed and attempted to catch up to him, successfully doing so.

"But you said that last time." I countered as I tried to look over his shoulder at the old map he was holding, wanting to see how much distance we had to cover until we would get to our destination.

"See, look Khione," he exclaimed excitedly, his tone of voice suddenly changing as he stopped walking to jump up and down on the spot. I looked at him confusingly but nevertheless glanced down at the paper, his finger directing my eyes to look at where we were at that moment. According to the old, wrinkled and torn piece of paper, the two grand cities we were headed towards were sitting just over the next hill, which was coincidentally right in front of us. I took off immediately, ploughing through the deep snow and ignoring the yells of protest from behind me. "Don't leave me behind!"

Our laughter was heard filling the winter forest as we scaled the mediumly-sized hill, desperately wanting to get to a source of comfort and security. I could see the afternoon sun waiting for me at the top of the higher ground, the trees soon coming into a clearing so we could get the best view of the neighbouring cities. We switched places dragging each other up the hill every so often, after one of us would get too tired from doing it to the other, our determination to get to the top never disappearing. Once I saw how close we were, however, I bolted towards it, leaving Tommy to roll his eyes but continue climbing nevertheless.

As I approached the edge of the hillside, I looked in awe at the bright and colourful cityscape in front of me. Its wooden buildings and structures were built on stilts above the fish and coral infested water-filled craters that were collectively scattered around the earth beneath it. The bright and vivid flying lanterns shone in the afternoon air as the strings of multi-coloured banners weaved in and out of the roofs of the city, providing colour to the otherwise colourless town. The markets at the edge of the city were lively, completely filled with people, selling all different types of objects and necessities that one could need. The city looked extraordinary. L'Manburg was just how I'd imagined it, but better.

I heard Tommy's loud breathing hitch behind me as he made it to my position on the hill, catching sight of the city he'd helped construct. I whipped around at the sound of his presence, sympathy filling my once cold eyes, as I saw him crumbling whilst watching the city from afar. I quickly rushed over to him, wrapping my arms around him in a comforting hug.

As soon as he felt my touch, his arms were back around me, his elbows ducked under my collarbone and palms tightly gripping bunches of my cloak from behind. I let his head dig deeply into my right shoulder, his tears cascading down my dark, hooded cape, whilst I ran a hand through his hair softly in a calming way.

"They don't need me," the broken boy whispered into my clothing, "they're doing so well without me." My heart suddenly broke without warning as his words ran through my head, my hold on his waist tightening at the thought of a town striving without his presence.

"No, Tommy, no, they need you." I convinced him as he let out a sniff, "trust me, they do. Who would bring all the fun and joy to their lives? Who would cause all the trouble? You have family there, and I know for a fact that they miss you."

"But how do you know?" He asked innocently as he pulled away from me to look in my eyes as I spoke.

"Because that's what family does, even if you're not related by blood." I informed him gently, sending a soft smile his way. One reflected almost instantly on his face, his cheeks shining in the sunlight where his tears had once been. I reached into the inside, hidden pocket of my cloak and pulled out two heavy glass bottles, holding one out to the boy in front of me kindly. "Now drink."

He slowly glanced down at the luminescent liquid swaying within the glass, carefully grabbing it and examining its contents. He gasped with realisation, me initially smirking in response.

"Don't tell me the Khione Wilson stole?" Tommy dramatically questioned with a hand to his heart, bringing the drink up to his lips to scull. His fingers started to fade away, disappearing into thin air, after he'd thrown the empty glass bottle onto the snow beneath us carelessly.

"Learned from the best." I shrugged as I did the same not long after him, feeling the magic potion sliding down my throat with ease. By the time his whole body had disappeared, my fingers had started to melt away from my sight, indicating that the potion was in fact the correct one.

"All right," Tommy began, causing me to glance over to where I guessed he was standing, "let's go see these brothers of yours, shall we?"

"Yes, we shall." I whispered suspiciously, getting a laugh out of the blond boy's mouth from beside me. We secretly made our way into the city without getting caught, us ducking and weaving between the many citizens we passed on the way and sticking close to the edges of the many buildings and fences that lined the main path. I tried not to eavesdrop on any of the conversations, but some of them I just so happened to overhear.

"-and I just can't believe he's really gone." I heard a soft voice whisper to another, the sadness and heartbreak present in his tone sparking my heart with empathy for the young boy. From the direction where I'd heard the voice, Tommy and I heard loud footsteps and incoherent mumbling coming our way, causing us to quickly duck into an alleyway behind us to stay hidden.

"Khione," Tommy harshly yet worriedly muttered, catching my attention, leading to my eyes flicking over to his visible ones, "the potions going away."

"Shit." I mumbled and scanned the lane for any sort of hidden place, a voice from behind me catching me off guard and interrupting my planning. I caught sight of Tommy stepping back into a dark corner as I whipped my head around, darkness encasing his slowly appearing body and keeping him from sight.

"That's odd," the man mumbled under his breath, looking straight at my invisible figure, "I thought I heard something."

My erratic breathing instantly stopped as I played the boy's words over and over again in my head, listening to each of them with thorough detail. My eyes flicked back to his instantly as his name came to the front of my head, his height and lankiness confirming my sudden suspicions.

He had split-dyed hair, one half black and the other white, as his skin had the same pattern, the two colours overlapping each other across his body. He had a crown thrown messily atop of his head and wore his typical tuxedo with a bright red tie, one I was used to seeing almost everyday when I lived with him. Before he turned around, his green and red eyes caught onto mine, widening as the potions effects began to wear off.

"Ranboo," I began hesitantly as my body flickered, "it's me, it's Khione, remember?"

1391 words