Sea Bunny Shores - HayaRyuu (Discontinued for now)

fifth.

Hayato walked into the room, holding a tray of eggs and fried fish. He looked down at the bed where the boy was clinging to the blanket. The pirate places the food on the nightstand.

Pulling up a chair, he sits beside the boy. "He doesn't seem very wealthy," he whispers out loud, silently hoping the boy had some jewelry he could nick. Slowly, he raises his hand over the boy's forehead. He gently taps his skin, feeling the smooth texture beneath his fingers.

The boy stirs, and his eyelashes flutter open. He looks around the room before his eyes end up on Hayato. "Hey." Hayato greets. The boy seems unhappy like he'd just woken up from a nightmare.

"I brought you food." he gestures to the tray. The boy sits up and watches the fish intently. "What? Vegetarian?" he asks. The boy shakes his head. "Good." Hayato takes the fork and gives it to him. While he begins to munch on the eggs, Hayato asks him, "So, what's your name?"

The boy finishes his eggs and hesitates.

"My name is Kashmia Ryuuichi," he speaks clearly. His voice is so soft.

"Okay, Ryuuichi. Mind telling me why you were on the beach completely naked yesterday?"

"Uh," Ryuuichi starts. "Well- I was shipwrecked?"

Hayato is not convinced, but he doesn't push. In all honestly, he doesn't care. "Where are you from?"

"I don't remember." Ryuuichi answers.

"Okay..."

"Where am I now?" Ryuuichi asks.

"You're in the Aquilion Kingdom," Hayato responds. "Ever heard of it?"

Ryuuichi shakes his head.

"You must be from quite far away then. We fought in a battle once. The news has spread all over the nation."

"A battle?!" Ryuu yelps.

"Yes, that's what I said."

"Can you tell me about it?"

"Eh, maybe some other time." Hayato stretches his arms. "What matters now is returning you home."

"Oh, well, how long do you think that will take?"

Hayato deadpans. "I don't know. Considering how long it takes to recover from a shipwreck, probably a year, maybe more."

Ryuuichi is stunned. "That's quite a long time..."

Hayato throws him a green cloak.

"I'll find you somewhere to stay and organize someone to take you out to sea. Then we can go our separate ways."

☁ ~ ☁ ~ ☁

Walking outside during the day was much different than at night.

For one, the sky was lighter.

But, the atmosphere changes from a lonely aura to a busy ambience.

Ryuuichi pulls the green cloak around his shoulders, shivering at the feeling of the wind against his neck. The wind is funny to him. It seems to tickle him often but then leaves and won't return until a few seconds later.

The boy giggles as it brushes against his nose, and he moves his hand upwards, trying to catch it. The breeze races right past his palm, the cold waft stiffening his fingers.

Hayato watches, confused, as Ryuuichi seemingly tries to clasp the wind. He scoffs and snaps in front of Ryuu's face.

"Let's go," he orders. Ryuuichi, intimidated by his change of attitude, nods his head and follows behind him.

Walking was still quite challenging. But Hayato didn't walk too quickly. The pirate taught him how to take steps before they left and was surprisingly patient with him.

Ryuuichi listens as his boots clack against the stone path, leading through the harbour.

The sound of laughter fills his ears as he looks around. A few fishermen are talking together as they sit on the dock. The two of them give each other light pecks and chuckle as one pulls the fishing rod to pull in a fish.

Ryuuichi doesn't find fishing worrying. Everyone back in Ebiran hunted fish for food. Although, he never likes to eat them.

There are a few strange vehicles on the road up ahead on wheels. Most of them were black and shiny with windows on the side, and strange animals were dragging them along. Ryuu looked through the window and saw a couple of people sitting inside. "Can we ride one of those?" he asked Hayato, pointing to the vehicle. "The carriage?"

"Is that what it's called?"

"You've never heard of a carriage before?"

Ryuuichi shakes his head. Hayato sighed for the thousandth time today. "Those things can cost a lot of money. Let's walk."

Ryuuichi nods in disappointment but continues to glance at his surroundings. There are a few shops selling food and snacks. The smell entices Ryuu to have a taste. Some others are selling jewelry, the stones shining brightly in the sunlight.

But one shop caught his eye. There was a small stand, overgrown with moss on the thin wooden poles. A young girl stood beside it, a mess of colours in her hands. They looked like flowers. Ryuuichi dashed over, ignoring the commands from Hayato behind him.

The girl looked up at him as he gazed at the bouquet in her hands. "Uh, hello." she greets. "Ah yes, hello," Ryuuichi responds. "What kind of flowers are these?"

"These are Geraniums. They grow on the coast near the beach." the girl smiled. "I like this shade of purple." Ryuuichi comments. "Could I have it?" he asks.

The girl's eyes sparkle with excitement as she hands him the flowers. He's about to walk away, but the girl speaks. "Just two silver coins, please."

Hayato appears behind Ryuuichi and grabs his shoulder. "Sorry little girl, he doesn't have any money."

"I can get some. Can't I?" Ryuuichi asks.

"You want to earn money? You'll have to get a job."

"Well, I'll get a job then! I know my little brother would love these flowers."

Engaged in the conversation, the girl watches. Hayato looks at the flowers and back at Ryuuichi. The boy's eyes are determined. "They're only flowers..." Hayato says.

"But they look great, don't they?"

"I suppose so." Hayato looks at the girl. "Two silver coins, was it?" The girl nods. Hayato digs into his pocket, fumbling up two shiny coins and handing them to the girl. "Thank you!" she says, spinning around happily.

The two walk away, Hayato not sparing a glance at the boy beside him. "Woah, thank you!" Ryuuichi praises, hugging the bouquet close. "Yeah, it's not worth it to get a job for these," he says.

They continue walking down the street, Hayato lost in thought. "You want some cheap flowers for your brother..." He thinks to Ryuuichi. His mouth inches into a smile.

"At least you're considerate."

☁ ~ ☁ ~ ☁

HEYYYYY

question: fav flower/plant?

have a good morning, afternoon or night!

-fai