The glow of candlelight shimmered weakly against the veil of night. Stacks of papers littered the table and fluttered noiselessly in the slight of wind that slipped through the door of the tent. Slumped in the corner with a pen haphazardly hanging between two fingers sat Evelyn Baker, eyes focused solely on the steaming coffee in front of her. Her free hand lifted and delved frustratingly into a bunch of brunette strands and with a sigh the pen clattered to the table. Noises could be heard outside, sounds of conversation and laughter faint but constant. It became difficult for her to focus, and with a great groan of tiredness she forced the papers she was writing on to the side. There was a heavy thud of boots outside the tent, a pause then a distinctly male voice whisper in Japanese as the door flap was pushed aside. Evelyn swiveled in her seat with a firm frown on her face when her hues met the cheerful brown ones of her brother. He smiled teasingly at her and pulled up a nearby stool with a loud screech, causing a line in her brows to knit together in annoyance. Michael was almost the polar opposite of his sister, with a bright and over bubbly personality and a tendency to be mischievous. On the other hand, Evelyn was a little less bubbly and a little quieter and more reserved, though still friendly and open. She had this little spark of humour that only seemed to shine in the presence of her eldest brother, and so as her eyes were narrowed and Michael finally sat himself down, they began to glitter with a gentle fondness and a smile twitched up the corners of her mouth.
It had taken them a little over seven years to be in the position they were in and months of tedious negotiations with the proper authorities, Evelyn thought with a sigh. Two weeks ago, she had arrived at Narita International Airport bursting with excitement and optimism, pinning down her brother with a hug as she exited the terminal. She took a sip of coffee as she remembered how happy Michael had been to see her again after so many years. He had surprised her by taking a detour through Toyko and stopping at her favourite little café, Kyo Hayashiya. She could still remember the delicious taste of the Japanese sweets they ordered, and it made her mouth water, but due to time restrictions they couldn't stay for long and with a few drinks they set off on their original journey. When they had arrived, Evelyn had been pleasantly surprised, she recalled. The excavation site was much larger than they had anticipated, with a total of nine small tents set up for the team and two larger ones for the siblings and another archaeologist from Japan. Michael had been the first to rush in to greet their new team, a brilliant smile lighting his face as he shook each and every hand. It took all of her energy not to cringe at the memory and instead she finished her now lukewarm coffee.
"You should put your feet up you know, Ev." Michael leaned over the table, eyes peering curiously at the mess of papers scattered about the wooden surface. He gave a tut and shook his head, a disapproving look on his face. Evelyn remained quiet but watched him as he started to stack each individual paper into their rightful place. It wasn't until he finished and said, "And you always make such a mess!" that she quirked a smile, eyes crinkling at the corners.
"It was an organised mess."
"Seriously, Ev? Don't pull that one on me!"
"But it was…" Her smile widened when Michael let off a tired sigh, fingers digging into the loose strands of his hair. Instead of a reply he gave her a look and pinched the empty cup from her hand.
"Takao said we could start excavating in a few days. He just needs to finalise the last of the documents before we start."
"Sounds rather promising. How's everyone getting on?" Michael frowned and filled up the two empty mugs with coffee, fingers twitching as his sister looked on. She knew that expression too well and had to catch herself from snorting in laughter. "So that's why you've got a bald spot! It's Frank, isn't it?"
"You have no idea, Ev. I swear he's winding me up on purpose." He placed her mug on the table and sat back in his seat with a sigh. "If he wasn't one of our best, I'd send him back already."
"Ever thought he might fancy you? You do look like a girl you know…" Evelyn smirked when he choked violently on his drink and put her hands up. "Just saying…"
Michael gave her a pointed look and hid the quirk of his lips behind his mug. Frank was a great archaeologist; however he sorely lacked the proper social skills not to create a car crash in the middle of a conversation.
"Just as long as he doesn't say or do anything to insult the locals, we're fine." Evelyn shook her head in response, a wry smile on her face.
"You hope, at least. I give him a week before Takao sticks him in the lake."
"Hundred yen says he gets it before then!" Michael laughed, slapping some money down on the table. His sister just shook her head and fished through her bag to pull out her own end of the bet, however just before she could pull her hand out another slightly high-pitched voice chimed in from outside the tent.
"Oi, oi! Don't forget me!" Both of them watched in shock as a short statured man tumbled through the flap of the door, another hundred in his hands. Evelyn almost fell from her chair in surprise, quickly regaining herself when she saw who it was. "I agree with Mikky here. He gets it before!"
"...Kurt, man. Seriously?" His face was scrunched up and void of all colour as Evelyn watched with a smirk on her face, clearly amused. Kurt just shrugged in response, turning to wag his eyebrows at the only female in the room.
"Whaaat? I think she even likes it!"
"Oh god yes. Please don't stop, this is great." She winked at Michael and sat back with her coffee, content to just watch the story play out.
"See, see! Come on Mikky, you know you love it!" Kurt sang and bounced up to him with a spring in his step.
"Just shut up and put the money in the pool! Or would you like me to regale my dear sister of all those times you drunkenly tried to woo me thi—"
"Ssssshhht! No fair!" Kurt pouted then whined "You're no fuuun…" as he dropped his money onto the pile and crossed his arms in a huff. Michael just laughed and clapped him on the back.
"So, were you intentionally spying on us, or did you actually have a reason to be here?" Kurt's eyes widened.
"Oh, yeah. That's right. We can start preparing the site for excavation tomorrow…Yosuke just got a call from Takao saying the site has been approved and we can start once preparations are complete. Good, eh?! I'm so excited!" The hard cha-chunk and rustle of papers and Evelyn's mug echoed through the tent as she furiously began sorting through her 'organised' mess. With a dart of her eyes to her brother and Kurt, she literally flew through the tent flap.
"Then what are we waiting for?! We have work to do. Move it, boys!"
Michael sat back as he watched her disappear and a happy grin bloomed on his face. It never mattered what time of day it was because Evelyn had waited too long for this to happen. He was just happy he could be around to make it possible. Who knows…whatever structure that was lost may very well be the key to uncovering the forgotten history of Japan. He just hoped it wouldn't cause anymore darkness to enter their lives…