edelweiss - &team

8

Finally, after lots of discussion, they came up with somewhat of a sturdy plan. Euijoo, Yixiang and Harua will head to the lake, Fuma and Maki to the mountains, Yudai and Riki to the forrest and Yuma and Jo to the original hearth.

They secured their weapons, took some things they had left at the archives and Harua procured another talisman.

-

Back at Yudai's place, Riki immediately announced he had to shower to remove every last bit of sand from his body. Harua, Euijoo and Fuma retreated to Yudai's dining area to map out the locations and prepare backup plans.

Yuma collected everyone's weapons and suspended them above Yudai's living room. Maki shared his concerns that the weapons would fall and impale someone, but Yuma only shrugged it off with a laugh. Indeed, throughout the day, the weapons hardly budged.

Yudai, the true parent of the group, bustled around preparing snacks, clothes and supplies, occasionally his phone would buzz with notifications, and eventually he literally slammed it into a wall to break it.

Jo opened his mouth, about to joke about Yudai's violent tendencies, but faltered as he took in the sight of Yudai's hair rapidly flickering into different colours, a sure sign that the eldest immortal was overwhelmed and stressed.

They were all stressed, to be fair, how could they not be?

-

When the bright digital clock on Yudai's wall flashed 1 am, Yudai chased them to bed. They grumbled and protested, but eventually they caved, the fierce stormy gaze in Yudai's eyes not one to fight with.

Yuma trailed up the stairs after the rest, casting a gaze at Yudai Euijoo and Fuma still on the ground floor, murmuring anxiously. Ahead, Maki urged Harua and Riki to stay up a little with him, the latter begrudgingly agreeing to sacrifice his sleep to accompany the other two.

Yixiang threatened murder if the three were too loud and slipped into his and Jo's shared room, the lanky other sleepily requesting they keep the volume low before he too disappeared into the room to rest.

Two sets of doors clicked shut, leaving Yuma standing out on the second floor of Yudai's house. One light clicked off downstairs, Fuma's hearty chuckle was heard, saying he and Euijoo were likely going to crash on the sofa for the night.

The full moon gleamed in the night sky, a hazy pale halo around it. Yuma sank to the ground, staring blankly at the moon through the floor to ceiling windows.

"Can't sleep?"

Yuma jerked his head, greeted by Yudai, who offered a cup of steaming water. With the moon light shining on one side of his figure, it was obvious why he had made it as a prominent actor.

Yuma hummed, hands pressed against his lips. "I'm scared to face him again," Yuma said in a hushed tone, fingers wrapping around the delightfully warm cup as he retrieved it from Yudai.

"Call him it," Yudai stiffly said, dropping down beside Yuma with a huff, "Makes him feel less human." Yuma didn't point out how Yudai also used the pronoun "him".

"He loved the two of us the most, didn't he," Yuma softly remarked, hugging his knees to his chest, child-like.

"That wasn't love," Yudai quickly corrected.

Yuma didn't reply, transfixed on the moon. "But he killed her," it was as if Yuma didn't hear anything Yudai had said, mumbling to himself as he raised his wrist, staring at the thin black circlet staining his skin.

"I know," Yudai murmured, "I know."

Yuma rubbed his temples, exhaling slowly and shakily. "Is it getting bad?" Yudai asked, sympathetic but helpless. "It's because of him," Yuma groaned, "It's all because of him."

"Want me to get Jo?"

A pause, then Yuma nodded slightly. Yudai hurried off quietly, as Yuma's head dropped low.

-

One thousand, thirty years ago

A duo made their way across the plains of debris and dust. The taller was a man dressed in black, despite the heat, skin an icy white and hair short and spiky. The other was a woman, clothed in a flowing gown of white. They walked in fluid motions, graceful and purposeful.

There was not a living creature in sight for miles, just heat waves rippling across the dry surface. Despite the unlivable conditions of the place, the duo hardly stopped to rest, walking for kilometres with a single goal in mind.

"Are you sure about this?" The man broke the silence between them abruptly, thick brows knitted tightly together. "I am," the woman replied, her voice melodious, hands folded delicately before her.

The man didn't challenge her and only held his hand out for her as they approached large chunks of rocks and dead wood, the terrain bumpy and uneven.

She stooped down, eyes shining bright as the stones shuddered and shifted, revealing a small, quaking boy hiding amongst them. With a pleasantly surprised exclamation, she cooed, sympathetic, "Oh, you're just a child," Her cool slender fingers reaching to lift and tilt the boy's chin, who had gone pale and began trembling.

"You didn't know it was going to be a child?" He asked, baffled. "I knew," She hummed, "I just forgot how small humans could be sometimes."

With a fond scoff, the man strode around the crumbling stones, before he noticed something. "There's another one," He gruffly alerted her.

"Lovely," She beamed, clapping her hands together as she watched him bring out the second child like holding a cat by the scruff of its neck.

The two children were barely teens, and they clung to each other, putting up the facade of bravery but the two towering adults were evidently intimidating.

"Are we going to save them?" He asked her, his voice laced with boredom. She toyed with a lock of her glistening hair, her eyes glazed over as she looked down at the two children.

"Yes," She declared, "I can see that they will grow up to become excellent people. We must turn them."