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

Chapter Ten: The Festival of Sanctuary

     Warm sunlight streamed down through the treetops, and the faint hum of birdsong drifted into the clearing, carried by a gentle breeze. The trio of young mantas flitted between the reaching branches of the Sky Fruit trees, their tiny wings flapping frantically to keep up with the larger manta who hovered overhead. Dodging between the tree's twisted trunks, struggling to keep up with the floating creatures was Talia. She stumbled across the muddy ground, a stick clasped tightly in her transparent blue hands, oblivious to the mud that painted her bare feet and the leaves tangled in her loosely braided hair. 

     Finally, she slid to a halt and raised her stick, waving it angrily in the air above her head. "Come down and face me, you cowards!" she shouted up at the mantas, stomping her mud-stained foot against the ground. "No one challenges me in my own castle! I'll take all of you down!"

     Tun watched with silent amusement as the young spirit took off once again, waving the stick wildly ahead of her. He knew that he should probably stop her before she ended up getting hurt. . . But then again, why spoil her fun? He shrugged and shifted slightly, leaning out over the edge of the stone roof that he sat on. Hanging upside down from the side, he peered through the open window. "Can I come back in, yet?" he asked hopefully.

     Tor and Naomi glanced up from the map that they had rolled out across the table, turning to look at the elder hanging from the window-frame.

     Tor scowled and pointed an accusing finger at him. "Nope." she said with a quick shake of her head. "Not until you apologize."

     "Apologize?" Tun asked with a confused frown. He tilted his head to the side and squinted slightly. "I don't even know what I did wrong!"

     Tor rolled her eyes and turned back to the map, scanning over the aged parchment. "Me neither, but this is you we're talking about. . . Chances are you've done something wrong." she smiled slightly behind her mask and absently waved her brother away. "Now, shoo! Before I throw something at you!"

     Tun grinned, and bowed his head sarcastically. "Of course, your royal majesty! Anything else you want me to do, while I'm at it? Maybe shine your shoes, or--"

     Before he could finish his sentence, Tor reached one hand out and grabbed a Sky Fruit from the woven basket on the table. Without turning from the map, she hurled it over her shoulder, hitting her brother square in the face.

     "Oi!" Tun yelped, loosing his grip on the edge of the roof. He slipped out into the air and tumbled to the ground, landing in the soft grass below with a loud thump. A few seconds later a muffled "Ow. . ." drifted up through the open window.

     Naomi lifted a shimmering blue hand to her masked face, coughing into her fist to hide her laughter. She turned back to the map, but paused, shooting an uncertain look back at the window.  "Do you think he'll be alright. . .?"

     Tor shrugged and continued to study the parchment in front of her. "Don't worry about him. He flings himself out windows all the time. I'm sure he'll be alright." she hesitated for a moment, then glanced over at the spirit, a knowing smile creeping across her face. "Why do you ask?"

     Naomi quickly turned away, a faint blush hidden behind her mask. "O-oh, no reason." she hurriedly reached across the table and smoothed out a crease in the map. "Now where were we?" she glanced out across the unrolled page, squinting at the faded print. "Hmm. . . Well, this map's quite a bit older than any of the others I've seen. . ." she cast Tor a curious glance, then traced a finger down the center of the page. "But the main passageways seem to be mostly the same. If you follow the central path towards the temple, you should be able to make the trip from here back to the valley in an hour or two."

     Tor nodded thoughtfully and cast a glance out the window at the bright beams of sunlight streaming down between the trees' branches. "If we leave now, we could be back at the Valley before nightfall. . ." she mumbled softly, speaking more to herself than the spirit.

     "You're leaving, now!?" Naomi's head snapped up from the map, and she stared at Tor with wide eyes. "But the Festival of Sanctuary is tomorrow! Spirits come from all over the Kingdom of Sky to be there! Manta traffic won't clear out of the main passages till at least a day after!"

     Tor went still, staring silently down at the worn out map spread across the table. Slowly, she turned to look at Naomi, her eyes widening. "So, you mean to say. . . We're stuck here?"

     Naomi winced and gave the elder an apologetic shrug before answering. "I'm afraid so, yes. . ." she quickly continued. "But you're welcome to stay here for as long as you need! Talia and I never go to the festival, anyways, so we'll be right here if you need anything!"

     Tor glanced up and gave the spirit a curious look, momentarily forgetting the problem at hand. "You. . ." she paused, frowning slightly. "You're not going to the festival?"

     "Oh, no." Naomi hurriedly shook her head, folding her hands in her lap. "The trip down to the main passage would take far too long on foot, and our parents took the riding Mantas to the Golden Valley to deliver Sky Fruits. . ." she glanced out the window, a wistful smile hidden behind her mask. "Though it would be nice to get away from the farm for awhile. . . Maybe Talia could meet some other spirits her age. . . I know she doesn't show it, but sometimes she gets lonely out here in the woods. . ." the spirit trailed off.

     The room slowly faded into silence. Naomi stared out the window, lost in thought, and Tor absently ran a finger along the edge of the map, her eyes narrowing slightly as she peered down at the aging paper. The elder glanced around the cozy little room, her eyes landing on the child who lay silently on the blanket covered bench. These spirits had helped them so much. . . And seeing as the twins were stuck in the forest for at least another two days. . . Tor took a deep breath, her mind made up. "We can take you."

     Naomi turned, startled out of her thoughts. "I-I'm sorry?"

     "We can take you. . . To the festival, that is." Tor said, nodding slightly as she thought the idea over. "We won't be able to get back to the Valley for a few days, and our manta could easily carry two more. . . Besides, you've done so much to help us. . . This is the least we can do!" she glanced up, waiting for the spirit's response.

     For a long moment, Naomi just stared at the elder in stunned silence. Then, slowly, her eyes widened and she lifted both hands to cover the bottom of her mask. "Y-you're. . ." she paused, then blurted out. "You're certain it's alright?"

     Tor smiled and gave a small shrug. "It's fine with me. . . And I'm sure Tu--err--Terran, won't have any objections. . ."

     Naomi took a deep breath, and--despite her best efforts--a smile spread across the spirit's blue tinted face. "Well, then. . ." she paused and nodded, her excitement slowly growing. "I don't see why not! We'd love to come with you!"

     Before Tor could respond, a loud cheer went up outside. The elder spun around, instinctively reaching for the hilt of her blade, but after a second, she let the hand drop. Staring through the stone window frame--their faces bright with excitement--were Tun and Talia.

     Tor crossed her arms in front of her and glared down at her twin with mock annoyance. "And what were you doing out there?"

     "Uhh--eavesdropping." Tun grinned and gave a small, guilty shrug.

     Talia bounced up, shaking her stick excitedly in the air overhead. "And I was helping him!"

     The duo turned and lifted their hands for a high-five, but--in their excitement--ended up smacking each-other across the face. 

     Tor gave a small sigh and shook her head, pointing across the room at her twin. "I deny any relation to this doofus. . . In fact--" she turned and gave Naomi a hopeful look. "You can keep him, if you want!"

     "Hey!" Tun called back, cheerfully waving a fist in the air. "I heard that!"

     The strange little group burst out laughing as the twins playfully hurled insults back and forth. They were so caught up in their exchange, that no one noticed as the child who had lain still and silent in the corner slowly lifted their head and looked around the room.