Seren セレン Volume 1

Side Story 1: Stars and Sunburns

Two children walked along one day and passed by a large and decent-looking house sitting in a clearing in the middle of the forest. One was a boy with snowy white hair and ice blue eyes who wore a gray t-shirt and shorts; an eagle niko with a frosty power. Walking beside him was a close friend of his, a girl with long, braided violet hair and lavender eyes who wore a pink shirt, a black skirt, and a red ribbon in her hair. They were having a nice conversation about what they should do to pass the time when, "HEY! YOU TWO!" someone shouted from the direction of the house. They turned to see a young girl with long, black hair and black eyes wearing a yin-&-yang choker, a black dress, and red leggings. They looked at one other and pointed at themselves puzzledly. "YEAH, YOU!" she shouted. "COME OVER HERE AND PLAY WITH US!"

"What does she mean by 'us'?" the violet questioned softly to her companion.

"Imaginary friends maybe?"

Just then, five more joined her in the clearing, but the eldest turned away and stepped into the shade, muttering irritably. "Iku, who are you talking to?" a blue-eyed blonde boy asked. The others were all guys save for one other girl who wore a necklace identical to Iku's choker. The newcomers looked at one another anxiously and approached the group. "I'm Natsaki." the violet greeted.

"Daniel." the snow head added.

"I'm Iku!" she said cheerfully. "This is my older brother, Haku Kazuo, and my twin sister, Clatina." Clatina had short, chocolate brown eyes and light brown hair and wore brown boots, a yin and yang necklace similar to her sister's choker, and a white, long-sleeved dress. Haku Kazuo, on the other hand, had blonde hair and light blue eyes and wore a dark green shirt and cargo pants.

~YKN~

Hello, again! It's Serenian tradition to choose one's second name by the age of at least 11 or 12. Usually, some time before their teenage years, a Serenian's hair and eye colors may change completely. However, with a boost of energy, their colors change to fit their unique qualities and change back when those powers aren't being used.

~YKN~

"I'm Miroku! -You can call me Miro if you want."

"And I'm Yukko! -Or Yu. State your pic."

"We're twins!" Miroku had chestnut hair and black eyes and wore a white shirt, matching white pants, and a black cloak that was simply far too big on him(that's right, folks! Miro wore his cloak from childhood all the way to adulthood! However, at this time, he wore all white, but eventually decided to change it to black because he was always spilling some sort of drink all over himself... It's not something he likes to talk about very much). Beside him was Yukko who had black hair and gold eyes and wore a red scarf, blue shirt, and khakis(Yu was once known for his red scarf and khakis, but it's a style that he eventually outgrew).

"And that's our big brother, Tasu!" Their gazes then fell upon the eldest of the group who still had his back turned toward them, cursing to himself under his breath as he seemingly tended to a couple of nasty sunburns on his arms. "Uh, Tasu?" Haku repeated. "Tasuke!"

"Hm?" Tasuke turned around. "Oh. Hi." he said, continuing to scratch his arms in spite of the two handkerchiefs tied to his wrists. He appeared to be about seventeen and had dark brown hair with gold and red streaks and red eyes. He wore a red t-shirt, jeans, and was all together quite handsome. "Are those sunburns?"

He looked at his arms and back at Haku. "Yeah. What of it?"

"I thought fire types don't get sunburnt." Iku recalled.

"I, uh..." He cleared his throat and turned to the visitors. "I'm Tasuke Reyner."

"How old are you?" Natsaki asked.