The Last Light of Eden (Sky Children of the Light)

Chapter Seven: The Barn House

     A cool morning breeze drifted lazily between the towering tree's trunks and through the open front of the barn, carrying with it the sweet earthy scent that always seems to follow a strong rain. The piercing song of a nearby bird echoed through the forest, joined not too long after by the mingled calls of the forest's other inhabitants.

     Tun's eyelids fluttered open, and he squinted for a moment as his eyes adjusted to the faint morning light. He grunted and propped himself up on his elbows, slowly turning his head to look around the barn.

     Tor, he noted, was still sleeping, her head resting against the giant manta's wing. The three smaller mantas must have moved at some point during the night, because they lay curled up at Tor's side, their small heads still tucked beneath their wings. 

     Tun reached out to shake his sister awake, then stopped, slowly letting his hand sink back down to his side. It didn't seem right to wake her, now. . . After all, they'd already spent so long wandering through the bleak, rain-soaked forest. . . What harm would a few more minuets do?

     With a grunt, Tun dragged himself to his feet, careful not to wake his twin as he went. He slowly padded across the stone floor and knelt down beside the child, still wrapped in their bundle of blankets. The strange golden glow from the night before was completely gone, but their eyes still shone brightly. Tun paused for a moment, turning his head to get a better look at the blanket-wrapped form. There was something else about the child that wasn't quite right. . . Unlike every other spirit Tun had seen, this one wasn't transparent. As he looked closer, he noticed that their skin also lacked the faint blue tint that all spirits seemed to have. . .

     "How are they?" a soft voice asked, and Tun spun around, startled. Naomi stood in the entrance to the barn, a woven basket of pink fruit hanging from her arm. "The child, I mean." she quickly added, and placed her basket down in the grass just outside the barn.

     "Uhh. . ." Tun glanced back down at the child's still, lifeless form and winced. "Better than yesterday, I think. But still not great. . ." he trailed off and shrugged. "But I guess that's to be expected when you fall down a five foot hole in the woods and get picked up by a bunch of strangers and their grumpy Manta."

     Naomi covered the bottom of her mask with one hand to hide her laughter as she made her way into the barn. "So you really did just find them in a hole?" she asked and sat down a few feet away, watching the elder curiously. "I thought Talia was just trying to trick me when she said that. . ."

     Tun gave a small laugh and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, something like that. . ." he gave the child one more look, then turned his attention back to the Naomi. "Where is Talia, anyways?" a grin slid across his face, and he gave his head a small shake. "Or is she still in trouble?"

     Naomi crossed her arms and blew a strand of loose hair out of her eyes. "She can come out of her room when she apologizes for what happened last night!" she winced and shot the house an uncertain look. "Though, knowing her, she's probably already run off on one adventure or another. . ." she sighed and absently straightened her hair. She watched the elder for a moment, then continued uncertainly. "You see, our family grows Sky Fruit." she continued, pointing at the basket of pink fruit by the door. "And our parents deliver them around the kingdom. . ." she winced and glanced away. "Which means they aren't home very often. . . And when they do leave, they put me in charge of keeping Talia safe. . . But she just doesn't listen to a word I say!"

     Tun nodded along sympathetically. "Yeah. . . Siblings are like that, sometimes. . ." he glanced over at Tor who still hadn't woken up.

     Naomi followed his gaze and stopped, her eyes lighting up. "Oh! Are you two. . . I mean, is she your sister?"