An Aeronaut's Arrival

[uluklykalemon]

As Toreth began his descent, trying his best to ignore his aching limbs, he realised that flying had been a bad idea. In fact, it was worse than that, it was a horrendous idea. He wished now that he had listened to his Master, but, fool that he was, he had believed that there was no distance too far for him to travel. Evidently, as his tender muscles and throbbing bones could contest for him, he had been completely and utterly wrong.

On the other hand, though… He swelled with pride, despite his fatigue, as he realised that he must have flown hundreds of miles. He had begun at a leisurely pace, as he generally did, but once he was over the ocean he started moving faster and faster, giving into his desire for speed that he was never quite able to satisfy in Ancyna. It was a necessity, for now, no one could deny it him. If he didn’t travel as quickly as he could, it was doubtful he would be there by nightfall. Flying in the dark – well, if he didn’t have Loreliu to illuminate his path, at least – was an idiotic game.

And they were incredible, the sights he’d seen. The dawn spilling across the sky over strange lands (strange lands that, unfortunately, had to remain in the distance for the greater part of his trip – he couldn’t risk anyone seeing) like a flower opening at the corner of the Earth, the strange fish he had seen jumping above the water, the peaks and valleys of far-off mountains that studded the curve of the horizon, the great white birds he had journeyed with for the greater part of the day… It was spectacular – no one could deny that.

But no one could deny that he had been flying for almost twelve hours, either, and that was bound to have a toll on his body. Flying itself didn’t have any physical effect on his body, but if he didn’t control it, it was no more than floating. His legs and arms ached from the constant twisting and turning he had utilised to keep himself above the ground, his arms even more so from the great trunk that he had had to carry along with him. He was nearing his destination, at least – over land, for the first time in his journey, because he had to risk it now. In fact, he was able to see the school now, in the distance. He breathed a sigh of relief as he realised that in a couple of minutes, he could finally stop.

So he began his descent, thinking of the bath he would be climbing into later this evening. He did not care, he decided, whether they were allowed baths or not, he wanted one, and so no matter what it took, he was going to get one. He hadn’t asked to be sent to this school, anyway, it was all Calia’s idea. He didn’t see why it was even necessary for him to go here – her excuses (that it would be useful for him to learn this other language, ‘English’, that he needed to learn how to interact with normal people, that he should learn about Abilities in other cultures and interminable others) all seemed feeble to him. Ancyna didn’t need these people. He didn’t have anything against them, to be sure, but there was no point in sending him out to mix with them. It wouldn’t stop the Shades - it wouldn’t help the Hierarchy, it wouldn’t help his people or… or Loreliu…

He blushed furiously at the thought, and even more when he realised that he was doing so. It was always – He had never thought of himself as much of a blusher, really. He had thought himself cool – well, not cool, but he didn’t get flustered easily, he didn’t blush at… not even events, but thoughts! Thoughts! He just thought of her and… and then he…

Unbidden, an image of her came into his mind – her, at early morning practice, freezing, gooseflesh raised on her delicate arms, her shorn hair pushed roughly behind her ears… she could never keep it in order… But this wasn’t right! It wasn’t… he couldn’t think of her like- He had to get rid of this picture somehow, but he didn’t want to- This was getting ridiculous. He squeezed his eyes shut in frustration.

That was the second bad decision he made that day. Of course, he wasn’t actually aware of this until he felt the screaming pain along the left side of his body.

He opened his eyes, grunting slightly. He had made his destination, at least – there it was, Orchid Hill Academy, in front of him in all its all its splendour. Unfortunately, his landing had not been all he’d hoped for – namely, that he would land on his feet rather than his left shoulder. He lay sprawled on the ground at the front door, in what he could only assume was a very undignified position. He cursed vehemently in his own language.

Well. At least he’d arrived.

He sat up slowly, grasping his shoulder to his side. He glanced down at his waistcoat and was upset to see a streak of brown across the front. At least he’d not worn his favourite one, as he had been considering doing. He’d wanted to make a good impression at this new school, even if he didn’t see the point in attending.

That was obviously not something he’d be doing now. He tried to straighten his hair – it had fallen out of the ponytail he had tied it back into – and wipe the worst of the mud off his clothes, but it was a pointless effort that – if anything – just made it look worse. He’d have to go in looking like this.

But before he had a chance – even the slightest chance, a second – to stand up, he heard a noise behind him. Someone was there. He knew (or at least, he supposed) they would be curious about his strange landing. And if not curious, then… well, they’d surely be contemptuous of his clumsy fall from above. There was no good way this could go.

Before the person came around, he had the foresight to shut his eyes once more, pretending that he was in terrible pain. He was, but nothing he couldn’t cope with, nothing he needed to block out. He closed his eyes to stop him, her, whoever it was – from seeing them. No one would be expecting it – he knew that, here at least, they wouldn’t expect to see his soulless, black, animalistic…

He was letting his nervousness get the better of himself. He was proud of his race, proud of his heritage, proud of the hierarchy, proud of Ancyna. But they didn’t need to see his eyes, not yet. His unearthly white skin would be enough of a shock for the first meeting.

He turned around to face the person standing there, no idea where they were or whether it was a man or a woman.

“Who’s there?” he asked in hesitant English.

[misa]

After a last kiss just as memorable as the first, Misa and Dylan had regretfully gone their seperate ways for now.

Misa had been sitting on the steps in a perfectly magical daze when suddenly, Thump! Someone or something had quite literally fallen out of the sky. For a moment it irritated her. Coming along and bursting her personal bubble like that, really was quite rude. Then she shook her thoughts back to their normal alignment and realised someone had just fallen out of the sky. And they were lying sprawled on the ground several steps away.

It was a boy. An incredulously pale boy she hadn't seen at Orchid before now. How on earth...? Her eyes flashed an uneasy magenta.

'Who’s there?' he asked in hesitant English.

"Hello?" She replied equally unsettled, "Are you okay?"
It was a ridiculous question really but, well, it needed asking.

On her guard, Misa climbed lightly down the great stone steps. Keeping her distance, she came into the light at last so he could get a clearer look at her, demonstrating herself (as had been custom in her tribe after battle), to be of the light and hence safe.

[uluklykalemon]

It was a woman. He could tell that much, at least, from her voice, even if he was unable to actually work out the meaning of her words straight away. He dragged himself to his feet, still clutching his shoulder through his flimsy white shirt – which, he now realised, had been ripped terribly by the fall (and he had a sinking feeling, as he registered the sticky liquid on his hands, that his shoulder may have been likewise mistreated) – trying to buy more time to translate her words. By the time he was fully upright, he had been able to work out her meaning sufficiently to hazard an answer.

‘Yes… I do believe that I am” – what was the word she’d used? Okay? He hadn’t heard it before, but Senhorren had told him that the English dialect he was learning would most likely be outdated – “not… not too hurt.”

Despite his words, he still kept his eyes squeezed shut, tightly. It didn’t matter if she misinterpreted it; he didn’t think it necessary to shock her. He was used to them, but even he could tell how disturbing it would be to see them for the first time. And in this near-dark, it may even seem… well, seem like he didn’t have any eyes at all.

“I… am very sorry. My landing… it must have startled you greatly. I apologise.” He hated speaking in this language, this ‘English’ – it didn’t sound like it was him talking. There were a thousand conceivable ways he could have tried to calm her down – because her voice had sounded disconcerted, he could tell that much – had he been able to speak his own language. He ran his right hand through his hair in frustration, but then was forced to grab his left once more as there was another spasm of pain through his shoulder.

Well, he could at least offer her some kind of explanation.

“My name is Toreth… Toreth Delert.” He hated using his father’s name as his surname, but as it was, it would have to suffice. “I am a new…” – once again, he struggled, trying to find the word – “…student here.”

[misa]

He was foreign then, just like her. Only obviously he hadn't been learning english for most of his life as she had. Misa had a thing for picking up dialects which had made a world of difference on her...journey. She felt a surge of compassion for the young man, Toreth, clearly struggling with the language.

His eyes were screwed shut in pain, she presumed, and he was clutching his shoulder where his shirt had been rended. She could see the blood on his hand, stark against his nearly albino complexion.

"Are you sure? Your shoulder...it looks nasty. I'm not a Carer but I could take you to the Hospital if you like..." She offered, reaching out a gentle hand to take his forearm.

[uluklykalemon]

His eyes fluttered open for a moment at the pressure on his arm. It wasn't painful, just... surprising. He saw her - for a split second, but still - he saw her.

She was really like nothing he'd ever seen before. Definitely not Janhan or Ancynan, but maybe Iassean... Of course, those terms were void in this world. She looked very strange, to his eyes. Strange, but beautiful... so exotic...

And yet again, he saw Loreliu - almost as if she was standing in front of him. She wasn't exotic, wasn't special... She wasn't even allowed to marry... But, all the same, she was so-

He was in dangerous mental territory again. He shouldn't be comparing Loreliu to this girl in front of him, shouldn't even be thinking about her-

Well, it was of no matter, anyway. He had to close his eyes again. He did so, hoping that she hadn't had time to see them properly. He was realising now how much he depended on being... well, normal. He wasn't normal here. He wasn't anything. He couldn't even speak to these people properly.

"I... am not sure. Perhaps it would be better to, if there are... Healers there. That is... if it is not... not too much trouble for you." He could feel himself flushing slightly at his stumbling over these words. At least this time there was a decent reason. He wouldn't fit in here... They wouldn't accept him...

He really hoped she hadn't seen his eyes.

[misa]

Misa eyes widen in surprise as she registered what she had just seen. She had been wrong. It was not the pain which kept his eyes closed. His eyes were like nothing she'd ever seen before. So dark...

Was he embarrassed about them? Ashamed? In that moment she wanted to reach out to him, tell him that it was okay, she had felt exactly the same, show him he was wrong to feel they were unnatural. But for some reason she felt it best not to say anything. Not yet, anyway.

"It would be no trouble what so ever," She said softly and helped him to his feet. "You might want to open your eyes," She suggested softly, dropping the hint that she'd already seen and didn't care but at the same time attempting to demonstrate that it was his choice. "If you don't you'll never find your way around."

[uluklykalemon]

"V-Very well," he stammered.

Fine. She'd seen his eyes, there was nothing he could do about that now. Nothing to do except open them - he'd only end up looking like a fool if he kept them shut.

Yes, it hadn't been an illusion - he winced at his awkward choice of words - she was beautiful. He had just made a fool of himself in a strange country in front of a beautiful woman and, to top it off, he couldn't even speak the language sufficiently to explain himself. It was, all in all, a supremely embarassing situation.

So he did what he always did. He hid it behind The Show - the same show of chivalry, flamboyancy, and extravagancy that he always used.

He smiled at her widely, to begin with, trying to display that he wasn't a threat, despite how strange he may appear to her. At least that way he wouldn't look apathetic - he was well aware of how stony he looked when he wasn't smiling, how sharp his features were.

"Thank you," he said, gesturing towards the arm that had helped him up to try and make his meaning clearer. His English, as with everything else, became more confident when he was hiding behind The Show. "That's very kind of you."

He glanced around himself before they began to move to see his surroundings more clearly, and to see where his trunk had landed. He must have dropped it long before he hit the ground - it wasn't in sight at all. This irritated him greatly - it had everything in it - all his clothes, all his pictures, all the books that people had forced him to bring with him. He cursed in Ancynan. He'd have to go and look for it later.

He turned back to the girl. "What is your name?" he asked, trying to make himself as clear as possible. His words had a tendency to run into each other somewhat when speaking another language.

[misa]

"Misa, Misa Matsuyama and you don't have to thank me, I know what it's like to make an...interesting entrance too." She smiled wryly and guided him up the steps into the majestic vestibule. "Have you been traveling long?" She asked in a bid to keep the conversation flowing.

[uluklykalemon]

"I'm... not really certain. I haven't... travelled much - at all, really - before. I'm not sure if what I did... constitutes... a long time." He began to walk with her, up the steps and towards the front door, but quickly realised that he had evidently managed to damage his leg in the fall, too. He was limping quite badly.

A decision needed to be made. And he was more than happy to decide that there was no reason for him to look even more ridiculous, so he elevated himself a little - an insignificant amount - to keep his feet from off the ground. He still put in the motions of walking, though: he didn't want to startle her again.

He continued talking as they approached the door. "I think it was about... twel-"

And then there was the light. Blinding light. Searing light that he couldn't look at for more than a few split seconds before he felt the pain in his eyes. Just as soon as he glanced across the threshold, through the door - why in sweet Haven would they...

He squeezed his eyes shut again. The light still seemed unbearable, the after-burn still scorching, still hurting... "M-Miss Matsuyama?" he asked, scared. He had never seen anything like it before, not once in his entire life. "Why... is the hall- why is your school so very bright?"

[misa]

What on earth...?
"Toreth...the light in here is pretty dim - I can barely see by it. Did you damage your eyes in the fall or anything?" She asked hurriedly. Unless of course it had something to do with his eyes being as they were.

[uluklykalemon]

What was she talking about? Damage his eyes in the fall?

"I don't know," he replied, in a voice so strained he barely recognized it as his own. He turned away from the light that was still searing his vision through his closed lids, facing back into the blessed darkness out in the gardens. He had no idea what was happening - when he had been flying, he was fine, but down here...

And then he remembered what Calia, Sen, Aya... what all the Transformees said. 'Ancyna is such a dark place,' they told him. 'Darker than any of our homelands. That must be why our eyes, in Ancyna - that's why they're so dark. Otherwise we wouldn't be able to see.'

The sky must have been getting steadily lighter. At the brightest part of the day, at noon, he had still been close enough to Ancyna for his eyes to be able to cope with it. But... he remembered, now, the sunset - how he hadn't been able to look directly at it, despite it being the weakest light of the day.

He... he was going to be blinded if he stayed here. That pain... There was no way his eyes could live through that.

'It's no good,' he muttered in his own language. 'This is terrible. I... And she's coming, too. I'll have to-'

He remembered his companion. "I think" he said slowly, rubbing his eyelids with his right hand while trying to figure out how to word it in English. "I think that it might... be how my eyes are. My homeland, it is... it is much darker, I think. My eyes can't... can't cope with the light here."

He realised how forlorn his voice sounded, and tried to brighten it up a little. "Maybe... Do you think that one of your Healers could... try to help me? Is there some way to the... hospital that doesn't involve too much... too much light?" He knew the Healers here were different, weren't the same as the ones at home. But... he had to try to stay, try to live on here. He could imagine what his parents would say if he gave up.

[misa]

Wow, and she'd felt as though she had needed to get use to some extreme changes of scenery in the past? Climate, Time Zones, &c. seemed like nothing in comparison. Misa suddenly felt refreshingly normal. She scolded herself for getting any enjoyment out of somebody else's peculiarities.

She didn't know an alternative way to the hospital wing - she'd only been there once herself and, well, she'd been in something of a rush as she left. Thinking on her feet (a habit which seemed to be becoming more frequent of late), Misa had sudden inspiration as she caught sight of the dust on the floor.

"One moment," She said quickly then hurried away a few feet (heaven help her, anything went wrong and she hurt him even more).

Then connecting herself, Misa pulled up a hazy wall of dust particles. Gently, she guided it through the air and hovered it round his head like a beeguard.

"There," She said with mild satisfaction at her reflexive thinking, "Any better?"

[uluklykalemon]

He opened his eyes, hesitantly. The haze around him - it was bliss after that searing light a moment before.

"Y-Yes," he replied. "But I'm afraid I cannot- I cannot see my way." He didn't want to ask, it seemed so dreadfully forward of him, but it appeared there was nothing else he could do. "Could you- is it... 'okay' " - he was proud for remembering the word - "for you to guide me there? I apologise, there just seems... little other option."

[misa]

"Absolutely, just take my arm, alright?" she asked gently taking some of his weight by placing his arm round her shoulders.

[uluklykalemon]

It felt awfully inappropriate, to say the least, stumbling along with his arm slung around her shoulders and with all his weight leaning on her. But, as his he began to lose his faculties somewhat, he began to think less of the accepted social boundaries in Ancyna and more of the fact that if it were not for her, he would definitely have resumed his former prone position on the ground. It was just as well that he was so light - it was necessary, if one wanted to become a successful Aeronaut. At least he could be relatively certain he wasn't causing her pain.

It was a very long walk to the hospital - or it felt like one for him, anyway. He nearly tripped more than a few times, so obscured was his vision by the grey haze ahead. His eyes had the strangest sensation: a kind of tingling, perhaps, almost a buzzing feeling. It couldn't be good. He thought it best to keep them closed until the Healer saw to them.

It was having a kind of soporific effect on him, though, which probably wasn't a bad thing in this situation. Or maybe it was the blood loss... The wound still didn't hurt a lot, but it was bleeding at a rate that disturbed him. He could feel it spurting out of his body disturbingly quickly. At least he could console himself with the fact that it wasn't, in all likelihood, covering the girl - Misa - as she was supporting his right arm, the one that he'd managed to keep relatively intact.

He would have tried to keep the conversation going, but he wasn't feeling entirely together, mentally, so he thought it best to keep silent. After a while, however, he felt obliged to say something. He was concerned at the amount of time it was taking (an amount of time that he had a completely biased judgment of - it hadn't actually been that long.)

"Miss Matsuyama?" he asked, groggily, the syllables of the unfamiliar name running together a bit. "Do you think you could... tell me how much... further it is to go?"