Silence looked down at his wrist, it was being again held on tightly by Leo who was dragging him pass the bunches of people that seemed to just be doing normal village people activities. Everyone seemed so used to each other, so used to Leo.
Two girls swiftly moved out of the way so Leo could walk and they both made a weird face at Silence as if trying to guess who he was. Silence still wasn't used to this, sure he had only been there for an hour or so, but he expected himself to adjust quickly. Instead he was jumpy and on his toes whenever he had seen anyone else.
The thought of his parents lingered in the back of Silence's mind. Yes, he had gotten away but that didn't mean that they still weren't after him. The only good news he received so far was that he would hopefully have a place to sleep.
Leo stopped at a big door and knocked on it. Silence looked between him and the door. He had to knock to get into his own home? Did all village kids need to do that?
After a while of standing there Leo opened the door and entered. He let go of Silence's wrist making him look down at it. Silence quickly followed Leo into the house.
The inside of the house looked much different than the inside of Silence's house. It was smaller, and more cozy. The walls were covered in teal green wallpaper, there was a brown sofa sitting in the room and a table was across from the couch. On the table there was a nice vase with flowers inside of it.
"Mama!" Leo called out as he walked.
Mama? Was that what he called his mom? All of this seemed new and weird to Silence. He had never called his mother mama.
Silence followed Leo down a hallway and looked at the pictures of Leo and his parents. Or Silence thought they were his parents. He was much smaller and there was a larger smile on his face. In one picture he was holding a colorful kite and his dad was in the background chasing after another one. It all seemed so wholesome and happy.
It was so much different than what Silence lived through.
Silence turned his head and continued to follow Leo who stopped in a kitchen. There his mom was standing and cleaning off dishes. She turned to a different bowl and began to mix it. Her hair was brown and was shoulder length.
"Mama." Leo said and walked up to his mom. He looked into the bowl.
"What now? Don't tell me you broke someone else's stand." She said. Her voice was sugary and beautiful, it was filled with a small, silent thin bit of raspiness.
"No, I didn't break a stand but I bought a friend! See look!" Leo grabbed Silence's wrist and forced him to walk closer.
His mom turned and looked at Silence. Her eyes were as green as Leo's but her face was a bit duller. She looked tired, and in great need of some rest. She looked at Silence for a long time, observing his entire face and body.
"Your not from here…" she spoke a little suspiciously.
"No I'm-"
"He's from the mountains! Isn't that cool?! And guess what? He's a traveler!" Leo happily spoke.
Leo's mom stared at him longer.
"A traveler? At such a young age? You look tired, and hungry. Would you like a bath?" She began to move the bowl away and started to search for things.
"See, told you my mom would let you stay." Leo whispered to him.
That was kind of her, especially since she had just met him, but it was a bit weird. Weird that she would just let him stay, weird that she would just give him all this stuff without even knowing him. Maybe that was just something village people did.
"Leo honey, could you take uh, what's your name again?" His mom turned to look at Silence.
"Umm, Silence." Silence shifted his weight uncomfortably.
"Could you take Silence to your room while I get his bath started?" His mom turned back to the cabinet.
"Sure! Come on." Leo began to turn and walk back to his room.
Was it really that simple? He was allowed to just stay? No explanation? No reason as to why he needed somewhere to sleep? His entire time being there no one even questioned why he looked so ghostly and murderous… did they not care? Did he not look that different to them in their eyes?
Leo pushed open a room door and Silence entered. There was a lot of stuff everywhere. It all seemed like clutter. Leo walked into the room and closed the door, he began to push things out of the way.
"Sorry for the mess, it's hard for me to keep organized. And when I do I kinda forget where I put stuff." He spoke nervously. "So then I mess up the entire room searching for something and then I find it, and the rooms dirty and thinking about cleaning it and organizing it kinda messes with my brain." He tried to explain.
"Uh… that's okay." Silence followed Leo and sat down.
His room was much different. It was much cleaner, but that was because he had maids. Village people didn't have maids they had to clean it all by themselves.
"Sorry if I'm talking a lot sometimes I can't stop." Leo looked down and began to play with his hands.
Silence looked at Leo's hands and tilted his head sideways.
"Your nails, they're black. Is that something that all village kids have?" He asked.
Leo burst into laughter. Again he tilted his head back and looked at the sky.
"I'm sorry but why do you call us village kids? We're just normal kids who live in a village. That's like calling kids who live in the city, city kids." Leo asked but the smile could not be wiped off of his face.
Silence nervously laughed and looked down.
"I don't know. There's not a lot of kids in the mountains. I'm not really used to being around other people my age." He said.
"Okay, I guess that makes since. Oh shoot you asked about my nails right? I painted them see!" He put his hands out for Silence to see. Silence looked down at his nails.
"And all village ki- I mean normal kids all do this?" Silence took Leo's hand and bought it closer to his face. Leo smiled and his chest heavily went up and down. He ripped his hand away.
"Umm, no not all of them. Mostly girls do it, but uh I decided to, umm, uh," Leo stuttered and looked down at his hand.
Silence stared at him confused. Did village kids not like to be touched? Studying kids was much harder than he expected. Leo inhaled sharply and stood up, he began to move things around on his bed.
"Uh, sorry what were we talking about again?" He asked.
"Sorry did I-"
"No you didn't do anything. I just uh…" Leo didn't finish his sentence and instead sat down on his bed and began to swing his feet. "Anyway why are you traveling here?"
Silence looked down at his hands. He listened to Leo start to play with his hands again.
"Umm… I don't know. I just needed to get away from the mountains, and see other people. I guess."
"I'm sorry can you just," Leo stood up and walked over to Silence. He forced him to sit down on the bed and then sat down next to him "sorry, I was just distracted. Anyway keep going."
"I don't know I-"
Leo's mother walked into the room with a nice towel and a rag. She smiled warmly at Silence and handed it to him. Silence stood, knowing what she was signaling and began to leave the room. Leo's mom guided him to the bathroom.
"This is how you turn the water on, and this is how you change the temperature." She began to show him the knobs.
"Thanks…" Silence watched her leave and close the door behind her.
His next task as a village kid, shower.
Silence found himself looking in the mirror again. He still didn't look any happier, it didn't make since to him… he had entered the village and he spoke to a village kid. Why wasn't he radiating with joy? Maybe he just needed time, time actually being there and then his body would adjust and he'd be just like that girl.
Silence turned on the shower water and undressed. He listened to it thud against the floor and stepped into the shower.
Why would they just let him into their house? Was it because he looked scary? Were all village people that nice? Silence still didn't understand. He was still very confused. Honestly, what he expected- what he hoped was to enter the village and get his answer quickly so that he could just leave, but it seemed it would take way longer than that.
The longer Silence stood there feeling the warm water touch his skin and drop into his hair the more he thought about his parents. Were they worried about him? Were they searching for him? Would they catch him and take him home before he got to be as happy as that girl? He was worried out of his mind.
Maybe he needed to go to a different village, the further away he got from his house the better… then it would be harder for his parents to track him down.
Silence felt his hair fall over his face. He turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. Quickly he dried his body and put on the clothes that were lied out for him. He sighed heavily and looked at his dark black eyes.
A lot was running through his mind.
Silence opened the door not even bothering to examine himself further and walked down the hallway. He didn't necessarily know where he was supposed to go but he just wanted to find someone to ask them where to put the towel.
Silence stopped walking and looked at a picture on the wall. It was Leo and his mom standing together near what looked like a beach. They were both laughing and had ice cream smudged on their faces.
"Oh, Silence here I can take that." Leo's mom walked up to him and took the towel from his hand.
Silence turned to look at her and forced himself to calm down.
"Thanks." He said.
"You look hungry, would you care to join us for supper?"
"Sure?"
Leo's mom smiled warmly and began to walk.
"I've never properly introduced myself. My name is Nahla." She said.
Nahla.
"Oh, that's a nice name." Silence followed her.
"Thank you. Your so young for a traveler, I'm not sure how you got into this lifestyle but I am sure that I can help you when needed."
"Thats…nice of you, but why?"
"Huh?" Nahla asked as she turned down the hallway.
"Um, why are you helping me? You don't know me…" Silence spoke confused.
"Your a child alone with no family or friends, I'm just being nice." Nahla explained.
Silence couldn't help but still be confused. Did all people act like this when someone was alone? Was it only children that were helped? There was a lot that he didn't know about being in villages that was for sure.
Silence entered the dining room where Leo was already sitting. He was swinging his feet back and forth and looking around the room. Leo's eyes landed on Silence and he smiled, again showing off the delight and happiness that seemed to circle around him.
Silence sat down and stared at the plate in front of him. The food looked so good and it smelled nice too. After running so long and being outside, a warm meal and sleep was exactly what he needed, but there was no way he could eat this food.
Leo's spoon dropped from his hand and onto his plate as he stared at Silence. Silence glanced over to him, exactly like how he glanced at his dad and examined his face.
It was filled with a mixture of a bunch of things. Joy, confusion, fear, the yearning of something and excitement. Silence looked back down at his plate.
"Leo." Nahla spoke to Leo but Leo only continued to look at Silence as if not noticing her calling out to him at all. "Leo." Nahla repeated. She snapped her fingers in front of his face a few times.
Finally Leo jumped and looked over at his mom.
"Huh?"
"Stop watching him and eat." She ordered.
"Sorry." Leo mumbled and looked down at his plate. He began to eat and every once and a while he'd glance over at Silence.
Silence stared at his plate. He didn't know if he should've ate from a stranger or not… most of his life his family warned him not to, but Nahla seemed nice enough not to poison his food. Even if she did his parents had trained him to be practically immune to poisons.
Slowly, Silence grabbed his spoon and scooped up some of the homemade soup. He swallowed it and felt his body become warm and tingly. It tasted very different from what he ate at home. This one somehow felt warmer and happier. The taste left him wanting more.
Silence scooped more and slurped. This time picking up some of the noodles and peppers that were in the bowl. Nahla smiled at Silence and she slurped some of her food.
Leo stood up and began to walk around the room. Silence looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. Nahla, unfazed and almost looked used to this, continued to eat. Leo paced around the room each time he circled back to the table he'd go a little faster.
"Umm… are you-" Silence started.
"Yeah. It's just super quiet in here, can we talk about something?" Leo asked as he continued to walk.
"Of course. What do you want to talk about?" Nahla asked.
"Oh have you heard about the big deer that I was on earlier? It was like humungous!" Leo exclaimed and began to talk about the deer. His face lit up as he went on and on about how he had gotten on it, and how many times he nearly fell off.
Silence continued to eat as he watched and listened to Leo. He used his hands as he spoke and went deep into detail about what happened. After a while of walking around he eventually sat down and began to eat the food from his bowl. Somehow he had gotten off topic about the deer and got on the topic of trains.
Silence just listened, closely paying attention to everything he said as if it was important. Nahla did the same, but she seemed almost used to this type of behavior. Leo would glance at Silence anytime he said a joke or gasped to catch his breath, and Silence noticed every time.
Ever since Silence was little he was taught how to catch small things that were mean't to be hidden. His parents always told him that it was a good skill that every assassin should know.
"Gah, sorry I can't stop talking." Leo looked down.
"It's fine." Silence assured him.
Leo picked up his spoon and ate some of his food. He squirmed in his chair and began to play with his hands. Silence looked over at Nahla who was still eating, though she looked almost finished with her food.
"So, Silence, what bought you to Peaceful Village?" Nahla asked.
Silence looked down at his bowl. He scooped some more and began to play with the vegetables inside the glass.
"No particular reason. I just needed to get away from the mountains that's all."
"Oh, so your from the mountains? That sounds cool."
"Yeah, but it's-"
"We were at mountains once, right mama?" Leo looked at Nahla.
Nahla sighed and looked up at Leo.
"Leo, you're supposed to wait your turn. Silence was talking first." She spoke to him calmly.
"Sorry." Leo looked back down at his hands.
Silence looked between the two.
"It's fine. I don't really care." He said.
Something about the way Nahla said it to Leo, like he had done it plenty of times before. Truthfully, Silence didn't care if he was cut off, he didn't care for talking too much anyway. Honestly, he was starting to get tired. All that running from earlier and a big meal to fill him up made him drowsy.
"It's super quiet in here. The silence is killing me." Leo mumbled as he continued to fidget with his hands.
"I'm kinda tired, is there a place where I can go to sleep?" Silence asked.
"Of course. Leo can you show him to our guest room?" Nahla looked over at Leo.
Leo quickly stood up as if waiting to be able to be dismissed and grabbed onto Silence's wrist. He began to force him to walk and nearly dragged him down the hallway. Silence was walked to door and Leo quickly opened it.
Silence felt the cold air hit his face and he slowly entered. There was a bed, a small dresser, some books and a window. The room was clean and organized. Silence walked deeper into the room and sat down on the bed.
"I'm sorry for cutting you off earlier." Leo apologized.
"It's okay, really. It isn't that much of a big deal."
Leo nervously laughed.
"Sometimes I talk before I can think and the words sort of fall out, but I didn't do it to be mean or anything." He anxiously toyed with his fingers again.
Silence stared at him for a long time, his eyes dancing around his face as he tried to evaluate carefully what was wrong with Leo.
"You're nervous because you think I'm not going to like you anymore because you cut me off, and because of the other stuff you did that you're overthinking about." Silence said.
Leo looked up at him and his eyes widened.
"How did you know that?"
Silence shrugged.
"My parents taught me- I mean I uh just umm… where are my knives?"
Leo jumped and began to look around. He opened up dressers and searched through the books.
"I put it in here somewhere, I just uh… forgot." He said.
Silence looked over at the desk and his eyes landed on the knives and the paper that he had. He looked back over at Leo who was still searching.
"It's over here." Silence said and grabbed the knife.
Leo stopped moving books and looked over at the knife. A nervous smile grew on his face and began to try and pick up the books. As he picked some up the others dropped down to the ground. It was clear he was struggling horribly.
"Sorry, I can clean this up." He said and forced books onto the bookshelf.
"It's okay." Silence stood up and walked over to Leo. He began to help him pick up the books and placed them back on the shelf. "I'm not really worried about clutter anyway."
"Sorry, guess I'm stressing about Uh that stuff that you said."
"Do all village kids say sorry this much?"
"Uh no not all of us, I'm just nervous."
"But why are you nervous? You weren't nervous earlier." Silence spoke confused.
"Uh, I don't know I'm probably just tired or something."
Silence could tell he was lying. His eyes were darting all around the room and he was shifting his weight uncomfortably, but it wasn't like Silence could really say anything about it. If he was nervous then he was nervous, Silence couldn't do anything to change that.
Plus, maybe it was just something village kids did.