He Awakens - Book One in the Kingdom Series

= 2 - Beginnings of a Plan =

"Where've you been, Ender?" Seto questioned, calming down from his spike of excitement and slipping back into his usual tone. "It's been quite a long time."

Ender nodded. "It really has," he agreed, nodding and sitting down on Seto's couch. He had a contented smile on his face, being with one of his oldest friends. He and Seto went quite a long way back, though when Ender thought about it he found it difficult to recall when exactly they had met.

"Any particular reason you're stopping by? Not that I'm not happy to see you or anything, I'm just curious." Seto asked Ender, and Ender sighed faintly, his joyful expression and smile melting into a more solemn look.

"Yeah, guess you could put it that way..." Ender murmured, glancing up to look Seto in the eyes. "I know you know how humans feel 'bout us..."

Seto nodded. The subject was tough for both of them to talk about, and that was made clear with Seto's stiff posture, his grin shifting to more of a grimace. "Yeah, I do... what about it?"

"Well..." Ender trailed off, realizing he hadn't really thought through how he would word this beforehand, but decided he would just wing it. "I've been thinking about this for a while now, and it's part of the reason I came to visit, I wasn't planning on being in this area for another year or two, but I wanted to talk about this with you..."

Seto gave Ender a questioning look. "Okay, go ahead then. I'm listening."

Ender took in a deep breath. "Like I said I've been thinking about this for a while now..." He started, clearly unsure of himself. "But, like... What if there was a place where hybrids could be themselves? Where everyone was allowed, as long as they all respected each other; humans, hybrids, sorcerers, other sorts of magic users, everyone." He glanced up to look Seto in the eyes once again. "There isn't a place like that here. Not on this entire continent. Not yet. It's always either strictly humans or, far rarer, strictly hybrids or something else of that sort... But, what if we created a place like that?"

Seto bit his lip, his mind processing that information. He knew Ender was right; Ender traveled around this whole continent on his own, and he had for years and years, so if a place existed there was almost a guarantee that Ender knew about it. He had this map that he always recorded everything on: every run down shack in the woods that he'd run into, every landmark, city, village, and even large bodies of water. A map of the entirety of the continent, hell even mines and mineshafts and large caves were mapped. Of course Seto would have added the thing that came to his mind, but nobody here knew about that and frankly he wanted to keep it that way.

"You know that can't happen overnight, right?..." Seto said. Although he loved the idea, there was uncertainty in his eyes.

Ender gave him a grin. "I know, I know. But think about all the possibilities! It would be like a sanctuary for everyone! Hybrids wouldn't have to sleep with one eye open in fear that if they stayed in one place for too long that they'd be caught and killed, and this could be the beginning of having peace between hybrids and humans. I know several people just in this area that might want to contribute to it, whether it be supplies, physical help, or even help with schematics for buildings and such!" He exclaimed, obviously quite enthusiastic about the whole concept. He had a glimmer in his eyes that Seto hadn't seen in a long time.

Seto smiled softly. He held a hand out to Ender as if offering him a handshake, and when Ender took it, he smiled even wider. "Well, you can count me in." He said with a nod, and Ender giggled excitedly, bouncing in his seat.

"Yesss!" He cheered to himself, laughing in delight.

Seto chuckled. "I have a few friends I can call to help out as well, I'm sure they'd be more than happy to help." He said with a smile, and Ender's eyes lit up at the mention of more people.

Ender watched as purple flooded into Seto's eyes, the sorcerer utilizing his mana for what Ender could only assume was some sort of telepathy spell. Seto's eyes went static for a few moments, settling somewhere behind Ender as he relayed the message.

It didn't take very long for Seto to blink several times and refocus on Ender's face. "They said they'd show up tomorrow. They're staying on the opposite end of town, thankfully they're still here.. visiting someone I think they said?" Seto chuckled. "Until then, you can crash wherever; couch, floor, whatever you'd like. Try to get some sleep though," he directed. Ender nodded silently, laying down on the couch. Seto smiled and then turned around, disappearing down the hallway.

Ender curled up around a pillow that had been on the couch after unclasping his brace and placing it on the small table next to the couch. He wrapped his wings around as much of himself as he could, then closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.