To Drown in Sand

I will hold you in the depths of your despair And it's all in the name of love

Rin was familiar with the feeling of discontent.

This, however, was more than simple discontent. Rin gave the camera a frosty glare as his lips feigned a cherubic smile. His father was now marrie to the Andromeda woman and seemed to actually love her. The two of them had been inseparable since his father proposed a year ago. And now here they were, his new stepmother standing much too close to his father as they took a family photo at the wedding. Tch. As if they were a family. This woman was simply stealing his mother's spot. How dare she try to be his new mother, having the audacity to call him her son.

No, this simply won't do.

He hated this woman and would never let her know peace until she left. The three of them separated and Rin made his way to the table holding the wedding cake. He timed everything perfectly as Andromeda approached the cake to cut the first piece. With a swift, strong kick, that to viewers looked like him tripping over his laces, he'd knocked a leg from under the table. The cake, seven beautiful tiers of coconut and and vanilla bean goodness, came crashing down on her. The frosting stuck to her while large chunhs of the cake fell of her. Rin waited for her to cry or throw a fit over her ruined wedding but she didnt. Instead she walked over to him and asked if he was okay, checking him for bruises and tying his laces. He thought that would work. His mother had thrown a fit when he had spilled tea on her shoes once. So why was she so calm in a ruined wedding dress?

Rin watched her with a perplexed expression before he finally spoke. "You have cake in your hair."

Andromeda only laughed and swiped her finger through a glob of frosting on her cheek and eating it. "At least it tastes good." She laughed.

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Rin said nothing as he drew back the string of his bow and fired an arrow across the field. The arrow joined the others in a tight cluster in the bullseye. The eleven year old ignored the approaching presence behind him, determined to let his father's wife know how much he disliked her.

"You're quite talented." Andromeda said as she eased her way into a chair as rubbed her growing stomach. Rin didn't even spare her a glance as he reached for another arrow and nocked it. "I was terrible at archery in school."

"Hm."

Andromeda smiled at the response. At least he answered. Maybe this was a step in the right direction. "Maybe you can teach me. I really wanted to learn after my grandmother showed me some of the anime she watched as a child. Her favorite was one called InuYasha." Rin continued to ignore the woman as she rambled on until he shot his last arrow.

The boy turned to leave his stepmother when he noticed a slightly pained expression on her face. Looking at the sky for confirmation, he realized he and by extension Andromeda, had missed lunch. It was no surprise that he was left uninterrupted, he had given eplicit orders to never bother him while he was shooting. But Andromeda needed to eat, no meals skipped whatsoever.

"You really shouldn't bother me." He said dryly as he walked over to his gear. "I don't plan on changing my opinion of you." Even as he said those dismissive words, Rin carefully pulled an assortment of snacks from his bag and laid them out in the woman's lap. She merely laughed while opening a pouch of dried fruits. "I thought you might be lonely out here by yourself."

Rin could only stare as he listened to the honesty in her voice.

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