LETS'S DIE TWICE

Chapter One

Overhead birds fluttered around squeaking sociable chirps with the insects - which tumbled over each other scaling trees. as the clouds were painted across the crystal canvas dripping down to the green stripes scraped across the surface, Not too far away, Bumbling children could be seen. one roaring with fury and purpose whilst the other emitting serenity and light.these children belonged to the elements of fire and water, water beings spread serenity and peace across their domain as the fire kingdom appraised rage and death, however, these children did not belong to their clans characteristics. Reyn, a young boy with short roughly cut hair and rugged scars scratched into his legs was a fire demon but loved creativity and peace, on the other hand, Yona, a child whose eyes glowed with the heart of the ocean, loved to train their fighting skills and battle,
"Rocket! Come on! The river is over this way! I SWEAR I saw alligators there yesterday!" Yona claimed whilst pulling Reyn by his arm towards a mossy forest clearing,
"Pop! I can't run as fast as you!" Complained Reyn despite purposely slowing down to keep in line with Yona,
"Yes you can! We're PopRockets, we can do anything we want!"
Exclaimed Yona giggling as they both reached the river. They loved the river, they loved to stare in their reflections and play fight with the water all night long, until one of the pair's parents caught them and took them away.this continued for years, from the young innocent, button-eyed age of three and five until their adolescent yet still giggling selves at seventeen and nineteen. Reyn was two years older than Yona and with this Reyn always seemed more mature, some say being this mature at such a young age is a cause of trauma. Reyn didn't mind, he loved Yona and always has.
"PopRockets for life!"
"PopRockets for li-!"
Reyn was interrupted suddenly with a large hand grasping their mouth dragging them back and he struggled. Yona screamed and shouted at this man, of which was Reyn's Father. Ruler of the fire kingdom, and enemy of the water kingdom. Reyn smiled underneath his fathers hand and allowed himself to be brought back home, even though he hated when his father hit him. Yona kicked pebbles in aggravation as they dawdled home. The foliage avoided their rampage on the way, as they stumbled and tripped over into a puddle of red liquid. It smelled of blood. Yona exclaimed and crawled away, their heart beat a thousand beats a second and their blood pressure increased making them sweat immensely. They wiped the blood from their face and looked around anxiously. Then, noticing a trail towards somewhere deep in the swampy vegetation and despite the rapid faint beating, they headed towards the puddle and hesitantly hiked along the trail of blood. As they journeyed through the brush, avoiding nettles and flytraps as they tried to trap them in the dark foliage as night crept further towards them. At the unwise age of 6 they continued to an opening which presented a carcass, decomposing into the graveyard resembling a forest, it seemed to have been killed by a larger predator. Yona gasped and ran away from the sight, pondering why life worked this immoral way. Why do animals kill other animals and not even eat them? Why do people kill other people when they did nothing wrong? Why don't people let people get along? Why did they have to suffer through this?
Yona collected their breath and retreated home, keeping Reyn in their mind.
As Yona entered their home, Yimicha greets Yona with a teary hug,
"Where were you?! I was worried sick!" She exclaimed, grasping onto Yona's defeated body. Yona looked up from the embrace above their mothers back, they saw their father Zayden Scowling at them. Yona confirmed they were ok and headed toward their chamber for the night, yet, confronting their plan, they were halted. A rough grasp on their shoulder caused them to wince as Zayden mumbled
"You better have not been playing with that fire demon girl."
"Reyn isn't a girl!" They cried, shoving their fathers hand away from them. Zayden growled,
"You have no right to even think about the fire kingdom! You are a disgrace to our purpose!" As he stuck his hand across Yona's face and they stood, tearing up with anger,
"We're PopRockets... We can do whatever we want."

Seven years later

"Stop it! You're making me snort!" Laughed reyn whilst tumbling in-between the weeds deep in the forest. Yona smirked and rolled around with him into the river and laughed at his state, before helping him up. Reyn stood up and towered over Yona (who was 5'0 whilst reyn was 5'7) giving them a stern look,
Yona giggled.
Reyn smirked and threw himself onto Yona, making them both fall into the flower bed behind the river. Reyn lifted his head and shook his hair, revealing a smiling, red, Yona engulfed with idyllic flowers and fireflies underneath the dark sky. Reyn felt his stomach turn, stopped in his path, feeling himself heat up,
"Reyn you rat!" Exclaimed Yona in-between uncalculated giggles "that's it I'm calling you rat now! PopRat!"
A few seconds of silence passed as reyn gawked at Yona's expression.
"Re-eyn?" They spoke in a sing-song tone, realising they couldn't snap him back as he had a hold of their arms, pinned to the foliage. They looked around and didn't see anything they could do to snap him out of it, so they saw the opportunity and shook him off with a water spell, which was sourced from the river grabbing Reyn's legs and making him tumble to the left.
"Ah! What the hell Yona!" He cried out
"You're the one gawking at my wonderful face! Haha!" They joked whilst lifting their torso up resting on their elbows.
"I-i wasn't-" reyn spoke in an incomplete manner, turning even more red than before.
"I was kidding rat"
Reyn snapped out of his blushing episode...
"Rat?"
Yona nodded
"PopRat! Since your ever so scandalous"
"What?! W-well if I'm rat your- s-smelly! Smelly rat!" Reyn complained as Yona's teasing laughs faded into the background.
Reyn knew he was wrong, Yona was anything but that. They smelled of sweet honey and lemon which happened to be his favourite flavouring in all of his drinks. Yona interrupted his thought,
"Hey hot boy, ehem, hot rat"
Reyn looked puzzled
"I have to go now, my dad will mentally kill me again if I don't."
"Oh," Reyn spoke "but, aren't you and your family leaving soon?" He stood up and held out his hand for Yona who was kneeling underneath him. Yona took his hand and stood up
With him, still hand in hand as they looked up at reyn.
"Yes..."
"But Yona! W-what am I supposed to-" he began before being shushed by Yona's finger to his lips.
"I know, but before you start proposing remember that I'll be back! It won't be long I promise." Yona placed a small box which when shook sounded like a small trinket wrapped in a soft material. Reyn looked at the box, then back down to Yona.
"Don't open it until you get home, alright? Or I'll snap your spine, you hear me?" Yona attempted to threaten as reyn gave a subtle, sad smile and nodded in agreement. Reyn rested his head on Yona's shoulder and Yona froze in frame. Yona felt themselves heating up and holding their breath.
"Yona... PopRockets for life, right?"
"Right! I'd never leave you, Reyn!"
Reyn took himself off of their friend and gave a sympathetic sigh.
With that, they went their separate ways. Opposite paths both in home and in life. Both of them wanted more, but never reached for it. They both had a leap to jump, but not the legs to do so.
They were forced to be satisfied with this average life.
They were forced into positions of opposing power which would come one day, to stab them in the back. To snap their spines, in the words of Yona.