Behind Their Eyes Tell a Story

:|: Chapter 1 :|:

{ Third POV }

"Shh...Mommy's here, sweetie. Mommy's here." The woman's soothing voice was almost drowned out by the noise of the rain harshly hitting the window pane. She held the toddler in her arms closer to her, rocking back and forth multiple times. The child looked up at her, their face wet with tears. "Mom...I'm scared." The child sobbed, burying their head into their mother's clothing. "I know you are, baby. I'm here." The woman stopped rocking the child, looking out of the window. The child slowly looked up also. "The rain can't hurt you. Did you know that?" She spoke softly, setting the child on her lap as she sat on the wooden floor. The minor nodded. "I know..It still scares me though." They spoke. The woman stroked the toddler's short brown hair. The child seemed a bit more calm now as the rain did the same. The mother stood up, bringing her child back to their bed. She set them down gently, tucking them under their green sheets. She hugged them tightly for a moment before pulling away. "Have sweet dreams, baby." She smiled before leaving the room. As the door clicked shut, the child stared up at their ceiling, their expression blank. The gleam of the moon shone through their window. "I wonder if Mommy is scared of anything." They thought before drifting off to sleep.

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A teal-eyed woman stared down at one of her children, pointing towards a wooden door. "It is bedtime for you, young man! Your brothers are already asleep. And if I see you stealing anymore of my cupcakes tonight, you will be in big trouble!" The woman said, though she really didn't sound like the strict kind of parent. The child sighed dramatically. "Fine...It's your fault for leaving pink-laced cupcakes out on the counter anyway." He muttered as he went to his room. "I had nowhere else to put them!" The woman shouted to her child as the door clicked closed behind him. He looked around his room, sighing. Going over to his wooden desk, he slid in it and looked down at the quill and papers on top of it. He squinted before grabbing the quill and beginning to write on it. A few moments later, the door creaked open. The writing child, his black pajamas a bit big on him, jumped at the sudden sound. From the door, another child, older than him, poked their head into his room. His blonde hair was all over his head, messy. "Hi, baby brother." He muttered sleepily. The child waved over the other, letting him stand behind him. "What are you drawing?" The messy blonde asked, poking at the boy's paper. The boy blushed a bit, laughing nervously. "It's...It's the Village." He answered, showing his brother the picture. Eyes wide, the boy's brother stared at the page. He then turned his head and chuckled at his expression; red as a tomato. "I like it." He commented before giving the paper back. The boy nodded quickly, standing from his chair. "Thanks. U-Uhm...Why are you here exactly?" He asked. His brother just stretched a bit before responding shortly; "I just wanted to say goodnight to you." The boy nodded. "Well, goodnight, Garroth." The boy responded. Grinning, his brother, Garroth, held him tightly in a hug. "Goodnight, baby brother." He smiled before leaving his room, closing the door shut behind him. Sighing in relief, the boy walked over to his soft blue bed, climbing into it. As soon as his head hit the pillow, the boy was fast asleep.

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"Garroth! Zane! Vylad!" The woman's voice called out from another room. The boy, second to be called, lifted his head immediately. He rubbed his eyes, stiffling a yawn. He threw his feet over the side of his bed, sitting up. Garroth opened his door. "Get up, baby brother! We're going out today!" He giggled before closing the door again. The boy stood up and wandered over to his dresser; he took out a black t-shirt and white pants. He slipped them on lazily before slipping on black and white shoes. He yawned as he slicked back his black hair in front of the small mirror. He shook his head at his appearance. "Whatever." He sighed as he left out of his room, entering the kitchen. He looked to his left, finding his brothers in the living room playing a hand game. He turned back to the kitchen, seeing his mother and father making breakfast. His mother turned to him. "Oh! Good morning, Zuzu! How are you feeling?" She asked, going over to hug him tightly. Zane remained stiff as a rock. "I'm good." He stated dryly, gently pushing his mother away from him. His father looked up from the pancakes he was making, smiling lightly. "Hey, Zane." He greeted. Zane waved at him. "Zianna, come help me out here." His father, Garte, commented. Ziana went over towards her husband, helping out with breakfast. Zane wandered over towards his brothers, who were now reading a book together. He glanced at his second oldest brother, Vylad; his brown hair was brushed to the side. He wore a green scarf around his neck and brown clothes. He had his head leaned on Garroth, listening to him read. Zane made his way over, sitting beside them. "And then, the human ran up the mountain, trying to prove his friends wrong about kids disappearing underground when they jumped." Garroth read softly to his little brother. Vylad was eager to know what would happen next. "Did he jump, Garroth? Did he?" He pratically jumped in his seat. Before Garroth could respond, Zane stood up and towered over him. Garroth raised an eyebrow. "Zane? What's wrong?" He questioned. Zane sighed before rubbing his thumb over a certain spot on Garroth's arm. He winced in pain. "Ow.." He muttered. Vylad looked at Zane, then at Garroth's arm. Zane removed his thumb, where a bruise was visible. "They hurt you again, didn't they?" He asked in a deathly manner. Garroth nodded slowly. "Yeah...They still think I'm the bad one." He responded, closing the book in his hands. He patted down his blue shirt and dark blue pants before standing up. Vylad followed his motions. "Can't they understand it's not you.." Zane muttered under his breath, staring up at his brother's light blue eyes. His own was a plain black. Garroth shook his head at him. "They won't ever understand. Father tried to tell them so today, but it...Didn't turn out well." He responded, lifting up his shirt a bit; a long and painful-seeming slash mark was shown. Zane lightly tightened his fist as Garroth put his shirt back down. "I see." Was all he said. Vylad was looking the other way, his green eyes focusing on the corner. "Kids! Breakfast!" Zianna yelled. The brothers went over to the table, beginning to eat in silence. "Eat up!"

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"Eat your breakfast, sweetheart." The girl's mother chuckled as the girl picked at her eggs and bacon. "I don't want to...I'm not hungry." She complained. The mother picked up the girl's plate, putting it into the trashbin. "Alright, Ash. If you say so." She complied. The girl slid out of her chair, pulling on her green and leather dress with a hood. "Where are we going today, mom?" Ash asked, following her mother out of the door. She grinned. "We're meeting your friends at the forest, remember?" She said, waving her forefinger. "Oh, right!" Ash giggled as her mother took her hand, leading her towards the plaza. Many villagers waved at her. "Cadence! How are you?" A man asked, walking up to Ash's mother. They both stopped. Her mother looked a bit hesitant. "Hello, Ben." She greeted calmly. The man grabbed Cadence's hand, pulling her into his chest. "Say, how about we go somewhere later?" He whispered into her ear. Ash frowned a bit at the two, letting her mother's other hand go. "Ah..Ben, you know I don't do that kind of thing. Besides, I have a child to take care of." Cadence commented, pushing away from Ben. He let her hand go, smirking. "Oh, you'll come around. I am very sure of it." He chuckled, his lusted brown eyes stuck on her mother's black ones. "I assure you, I won't." Cadence replied, grabbing Ash's hand; she sped off with her, going through the Village's gate. They walked on for what seemed like thirty minutes before approaching the forest. Ash looked around eagerly, waiting for her friends. The four had agreed to climb trees and look for apples, planning to make an applepie when they returned to the village. Ash's head went up as she heard voices behind her. Her and Cadence whipped around to see the Ro'meaves, laughing and joking about. "Zianna! Garte!" Cadence called out. Zianna looked up, grinning. "Cadence!" Sh cheered, running at her. She engulfed her in a hug. Garte walked over to them; they all started to chat. Ash looked over at the three boys; Garroth, Vylad, and Zane. She ran over to them. "Hi, guys!" She giggled. Garroth and Vylad hugged her tightly inbetween them. Zane stood off to the side, gazing at the three. Ash looked over at him when the two boys released her. She launched herself into Zane's arm. "Zane!"

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Zane staggered back as Ash hugged him, a bit shocked. His eyes stared into her green ones. Once he recovered, he enclosed his arms around her body. "Hey there." He spoke, letting her go after a few seconds. She grabbed his hand, looking at Vylad and Garroth. "My other one is free." She smirked. Garroth and Vylad fought for hand, but Vylad won. He glanced at the pouting Garroth, sticking out his tongue. "I win." He laughed. Garroth just looked away, sighing. Ash giggled more before walking on with them. "Alright, ladies! Into the forest!" She shouted, breaking into the run. The boys followed quickly. "Don't go in too far!" Their parents called out to them. They all nodded. Entering the forest more, the kids stopped on a dirt path. "Remember what we all agreed to? Let's climb!" Ash stated as she let her friends' hands go, climbing up a tall tree. The boys did the same with separate trees. Although they struggled, they all made it to the top, giggling. "We're so high!" Garroth exclaimed, sitting on a tree branch. He held an apple in his hand, biting into it. "Yeah, no kidding!" Vylad called from his branch. Zane smiled a bit, staring at Ash. She was swinging branch to branch, giggling and squealing. He stood on his branch, leaping over to Garroth's; Vylad did the same. They sat beside him, grabbing apples above them. Ash, who was a bit too excited, swung onto their branch. "Apples! We need those for the Applepie, remember?" She reminded them, stuffing many apples into her arms. "Right." The boys agreed, doing the same. In a few minutes' time, the four dropped down to the forest floor, walking along the path. They struggled to keep the apples in place. "You should have brought a basket, Ash." Zane complained to her. Ash glared at him. "I told YOU to bring it." She stated. "No, you didn't." He replied. "Yes, I did!" Ash retorted. This same conversation went on and on for minutes until Garroth glanced over at them, Vylad walking by his side. "Calm down, you two. We got the apples now, and we're almost back to our parents. Hang on a bit longer, Zane." He calmly said to them. Ash and Zane looked at each other, glaring, which then turned to laughing. "Fine." They said in unison. The four continued down the path, joking and laughing with each other.