Elegy of the Leaves

I | The Leaves of the Everblue

They'd called themselves Leaves. And, like any other leaf, they'd soared on the winds of this world, crossing the Everblue sky from port to port. Few could remember a time when airships didn't dot the Everblue. It was, after all, the advent of the airship that connected the I'l au Viceria, the Isles of the Sky.

The ecstatic trill of a doorbell rang behind Claire as she waved a farewell to the shopkeeper. She clutched a black case tied with silver cord under her arm before peering into the crowd of townsfolk that walked up and down the market street. She held for the smallest of moments, surveying those she'd sworn an oath to defend.

They dashed about in the latest fashions—petticoats drenched in bold colors with nothing but silver or gold thread embroidery accenting them. Stiff collars hid the lower halves of the men's faces, but the women's, those who didn't take too cumbersome dresses, were turned down so as to keep their allure. Feathered hats with curled brims had been the newest addition to the men's fashion, however. Claire thought they were a bit much, especially after having the feathers tickle her face by those unaware of their surroundings.

But fashion was little talked about these days. She didn't need to hear any of their conversations to know that the whispers of war were all that rested upon their lips.

It had been all that had been spoken of for the better part of the year. The Alliance had increased its patrols and taken a larger influx of recruits this year, her brother one of them. Every time she thought of him being a Leaf, her stomach churned. It was shielding him from the terrors of the world that Leaves keep at bay that drove her to become one herself. To have him follow her into that world tore at her.

She pulled her eyes from the crowd, now fixated on finding where her brother had gotten too. There, across the street, sat Evan at a café, sipping tea and reading a paper.

"Evan!" Claire called from beyond the crowd of people pushing through the street.

Evan looked up from his cup. His mouth had just filled with the sweet bitter of elf flower tea. He placed the cream-colored cup, decorated with hand-painted ivy and flowers and a gold trim at its edge, back onto its sister dish on his table and sat straighter. He narrowed his sky-lit eyes into the crowd, searching for the origin of his caller.

Claire pushed herself into the crowd. Townspeople nudged and pushed passed her, twisting her to and fro. "Excuse me," she spoke as she stuck her arm into the crowd, slicing a path across the street. "Evan!"

Evan's face lit as he found Claire in the middle of the street, struggling to cross. "What's wrong, sis? You can fly an airship through the gauntlet with your eyes closed, but a crowd is impenetrable to you?"

"Kiss my—" Claire was nearly knocked over by one of the townspeople as she stumbled to the other side of the street.

Evan snorted, which then erupted in to a full-bellied roar of laughter. His sable hair fell in his face as he clenched his gut in his arms. It wasn't until a glint of sunlight caught in his eye that he controlled his fit. It had shone off Claire's polished breastplate.

Evan wiped a tear that had formed beneath his eye and brushed his hair from his face, rearing his head up to meet his sister's glare. Her normally waved hair was in shambles from trenching across the busy way. It's sable color and their sun-brushed skin were the only similarities that confirmed their relationship. For Claire's eyes were a much deeper azure than Evan's. And much colder as they stared at him.

"Aren't you going to be late for you pilot's exam?" Her voice was firm and carried the air of leadership in it.

The green alder leaf pinned to the sky-blue lapel that poked from beneath the breastplate was the result of that. The green gemstone cut into the pointed leaf and trimmed with gold signified her rank of Fullwing—which meant she had command of her very own airship in the Alliance. It was four ranks higher than Evan's Leafbud—the pin given to recruits.