Year 952, day 310, Elfen territory , Gharfien village , 09h.
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In his stone house, with no furniture but a table, Kahyu wakes up in his bed with the sun coming from the window in his eyes. Tears stream down his pale face; his shoulders are still tense and his features are sad.
— My parents wouldn't want to see me sad ... I need to get over it! — She mumbles to herself.
A strong slap on the back scares the girl. She looks back and sees Kalui .
— That's right! As soon as you speak, Kahyu ! Uncle and aunt did not deserve this, but they would never want you to stop living for their death. Let's go! Cheer up! Wake up and let's go for a walk around the village. — The girl looks at him with a twinkle in her eye. — While Whiger is a training fanatic, I made several new friends in the village. We scored a super hide today, worth hiding anywhere within the village, but it's not worth powers. — He holds out his hand. — Do you want to come with me?
She takes a deep breath, holds her best friend's hand and says:
— Let's go!
Kalui runs out of the house holding her friend's hand. She struggles to reach it and is pulled all the time, lightly.
Even from afar, the crowd of children was clearly waiting for the game to begin. Until the time has come, the huddle of children naturally divides into small groups of friends. Kalui and Kahyu , talk among the group that had as a "leader" a boy named Sung . This boy is short and strong, with great Afro hair.
The last child to arrive is a girl who appears to be a little older than the rest of the children. She climbs up on a rock and says out loud, gesturing a lot:
— Come on people! The objective is to be able to hide and as soon as possible, hit this stone and shout "I'm free!", Saying this, you will not participate in the draw to decide who will look for in the next round. If you are caught, you are out of the game until the next round and you will be in the draw. Whoever is looking for us has only one function: to hit the stone and shout where you saw such a person. In doing so, the person is caught. — She leans forward and ends. — Everyone understood?!
— Yea! — Children scream.
The girl on top of the stone complements:
— I'm going to blow that sheet up. Whoever she touches first, she should put her face on the stone, close her eyes and count to 100! Everyone stopped! You can't move it until the sheet touches someone!
She hurls the leaf into the sky and all the children watch it fall slowly. The sheet goes to the children's center, away from Kalui's group , which is at one end. After a few seconds of falling, she finally touches a girl with long blond hair and at the same time, the children run and shout:
— I was reading! Can is the one who will tell!
Sweet girl Can runs to the stone and starts counting to 100 out loud.
Kalui , Kahyu and their group climb a house and run jumping over the flagstones. On the way, adults and the elderly complain about the children's audacity.
— Where are we going, Sung ?! — Asks Kalui .
— King of the winds, let's go to the woods inside the city to hide among the trees. — Sung replies. — Can your girlfriend do it?
— Who is king of the winds? — Asks Kahyu .
Kalui looks into her friend's eyes and replies with a wide smile:
— It's me! Cool huh?
Kahyu laughs for a few seconds, until he remembers Sung's question .
— I'm not his girlfriend! — She screams.
— Yea! She's my sister! — Says Kalui .
Head down, the girl replies:
— Yes Sister...
The group leader scratches his head and says ashamed:
— Calm down! I'm sorry ok?
Except for Kahyu , all seven children in the group start laughing at the situation as they run across the flagstones of the houses.
Each child chose a tree to hide. All quiet and focused, waiting for the moment to run in case someone is seen. The calm and pleasant sound of the wind and leaves, only increases the tension of the children.
All concentrated and attentive, waiting for the moment to run and try to hit the rock, until they are surprised by a loud crash coming from under them, causing some children to fall on their ass on the ground.
— What the fuck was that !? — Shouts Sung .
Looking back, Kalui watches a man practicing. He has green eyes, is strong, but thin, tall, with white skin, short brown hair. His movements are very reminiscent of a dance. He wears a long, thick, heavy chain with a metal ball at one end and a sharp blade at the other. With such an instrument, he moves around a small area of the forest that has no trees and plays with the chain as if it were an extension of his arms. Throwing her up, forward, pulling at her, surrounding her body and turning away, handling her gloriously, taking full advantage of the speed gained with each movement performed and after a long series of steps that are more like a dance, he finishes throwing the tip with a ball into the air and pulling hard to the ground. The impact causes a bang as big as the last one, but this time the hypnotized children don't get scared, they just applaud.
With eyes shining, Kahyu comments:
— How beautiful...
Swallowing dry, Kalui says:
— I need to know how to do this!
Hearing the palms, the man is ashamed and thanks the children, waving at them.
— Focus people, let's be silent! Can be coming here! — Sung says .
Whispering, Kalui asks Seng , the chubby brother Sung :
— Do you know who that guy is?
— I'll see you around. The only thing I know is that he comes to train here sometimes. Always at that time.
— Hmm ...
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Year 952, day 311, Elfen territory , Gharfien village , 09h.
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In the main house of the village, where the elder lives, sitting at a round table in the kitchen, Roldi talks to some important people within the small village. Everyone, including the gray-haired man, is completely drunk.
With the speech extremely impaired by alcohol, the elder exclaims:
— The country nearest here has miles of wheat fields! Imagine how much beer you wouldn't make! We are here, drinking a rare and precious bucket that we will not see anytime soon!
— It is true! — Drunks beat their wooden mugs on the table.
— Are we happy with that !? — Asks the elder.
— No! — Answer the drunks.
— Why don't you buy drinks or wheat from there? — Asks Roldi.
A little awkward silence hangs in the air until the old man speaks again:
— You are very innocent! We're fucked! You may remember the old elder as a good person, but he was a miserable donkey! — Drunks hit their mugs on the table again. — The stubborn foot painter did not want to accept paying a small tax rate for Elfen and for that reason, Elfen sealed our village. Nobody! No one ! Do business with us. We are miles from any road route and virtually no one knows we exist! I tried! I tried Roldi! I sent letters to Elfen , asked representatives to go and talk to someone there, but nothing I did was successful. They are too busy to answer us!
— I think I asked something not very nice, right? Hahahaha !
The old man approaches Roldi, rests his elbow on his shoulders and continues to speak loudly, thinking he is whispering.
— Hey! Roldi, my friend! How about you solve this for us?
The gray-haired gentleman is astonished and replies:
— Like this? What do you think I could do?
— Ah! Buddy! You are the prince of Stron ! His condition may not be the best ... But he's a fucking prince! If you talk to Elfen , I bet they remove a restriction like that from a small, insignificant village.
— Don't say that here. You are the center of metamorphic knowledge! Be proud!
— I know, but almost nobody knows it! And I hope it stays that way.
— Answering your question. I may have been a prince, but you know that my condition is very different from "not the best" Hahahaha !
The elder tilts his head to the side, reflecting on life for a few seconds and replies:
— IT IS. Really! Hahahaha