*Purpura*
I awoke with my head pressed against the odd boy's shoulder. He smelled nice, like oranges mixed with cinnamon. Being near him made me hungry. If only I could get some food in my empty stomach. Sadly all I had was what little the boy had to offer last night. At least it was something.
Backing away, I stood up. The moon had already begun to set and the sun was rising. I opened the window and prepared to jumped, but for some reason I stopped. I took one final gaze at the orange-haired young man who had saved my life.
I hated that it was he who rescued me. Why couldn't I have gotten rid of the poison on my own? Relying on others... it felt strange. Yet, part of me felt gratitude toward the boy. Though he was awfully naive so it was hard to tell if he was genuinely nice.
"Don't go!" the boy mumbled, causing me to jump. I inched closer to him and saw that his eyes were still closed and he was moving around in circles as if suffering a nightmare.
He's asleep?
I sighed. I sat down by his side and pushed his long bangs away from his eyes.
Wonder what it is that he's dreaming of. Are his dreams as unsettling as my own?
I shook my head. Why did I even care? He was a nobody to me, even if he did help me out the other day.
I stood up once more and started to head back toward the window. Suddenly a hand gripped my left arm. It was him again.
"Please, don't go," he mumbled once more.
I grumbled and slapped his hand away.
'This guy sure is clingy in his dreams.'
I walked away and jumped out, landing on some damp mud. Suddenly the glass door behind me cracked open. Peeking out was an orange haired woman who seemed startled.
Looking back and forth between the barn and the flooded fields, I closed my eyes and focused my mind on the rooftop of the house. I opened one eye and saw orange tiles beneath my feet instead of mud.
'It worked!'
I fell to one knee and gasped for air.
'Now I just hope that she won't look up. I don't think that my body has recovered the necessary energy to teleport more than once. Seems like I'll need to stay in this town for a few days before I head far, far from here.'
"That's weird, I was sure that I heard something," the woman said, her orange eyes scanning her surroundings. Her gaze fell to the muddy ground and noted the one-inch-deep footprints I had left behind. "A person?" Her vision elevated toward the edge of the roof.
I crawled away to the center of the house and closed my eyes.
'Damn, I should've heeded that guy's dream-induced words and stayed!'
"So you're the one sneaking around." I opened my eyes and turned around. Standing behind me was the boy's mother.
How had she gotten here so fast? Was she capable of teleporting or was she more agile? Maybe that strange guy was the same and simply played the role of a wimp. Of course, he did, he managed to move that heavy-looking drawer with ease last night.
She gasped as soon as she saw my face. "You're... No, you aren't her."
"Her?" I asked, raising to my feet. Who was she confusing me for? And why did it have to be a girl? Her son also contemplated if I was a girl last night.
Her yellow eyes were directed toward the orange tiles. "I was recalling a legend. You resemble an ancestor." Placing her hands on her hips she leaned in. Her eyes were steel cold. "Now, why are you here? Just what are you after? Seems that Sou is fine, but you better not have stolen anything from him."
'She thinks I stole something but isn't apprehending me? This lady is a lot like her son... Hope that the rest of the Citrine clan isn't like them. If so then it's a miracle that they survived up to the present day.'
"Zetsuna!" a voice rang out from below. "What are you doing up there? We're hungry!"
"Make yourself and the kids something," the woman responded to the man below. "There's someone that I need to take care of."
"Someone?" he asked. The orange-haired man ran toward a tree and kicked his feet against it and then against the house and repeated the process until he reached the roof. He was so fast that I could barely keep up, though. How were a pair of farmers this agile?
The man gripped the edge of the roof and pushed himself up. "Who?" He gasped upon seeing me. "Who is this girl?"
"I'm a guy!" I snapped, touching my chest. This man has to be that doofus' father for sure.
The man snickered. "You should get a haircut as your hair is as long as a chick's," he said, putting his hands on his hips.
I grumbled. "No one asked you!"
The man narrowed his eyes. "Zetsuna, go on ahead and make breakfast. I'll handle this guy."
Zetsuna sighed. "You're just being lazy, Cain. Can't you cook for once?"
Cain's face flushed. "Uh, please don't embarrass me in front of this kid. Let's both deal with him and then we decide who gets to cook. Sound good?"
Zetsuna nodded and turned to look at me but saw nothing.
'What a bunch of fools, all of them.'
I snickered from the opposite side of their fence. I had to sneak off while they had argued, and it was a good thing too as otherwise, I would've needed to use more precious energy to teleport.
I ran into the nearby oak forest which laid beyond their territory. It was dense enough that they would take a while to find me if they tried. Hopefully, that idiot's hungry father would convince that woman not to follow me.
I ran until I reached a dirt road.
'Now, what should I do while I wait for my energy to be fully restored?'
I jumped as I heard footsteps. I quickly hid behind a tree and watched two girls walk down the dirt road. They were holding hands.
"I'm going to go wake up Sou," I overheard a pink-haired girl say to a black-haired girl.
"Sounds good," the raven-haired girl said, smiling. "I guess that I'll meet you up at school."
The pink-haired girl caressed the other girl's face. "Yeah. Take care on the way there."
The raven-haired girl rubbed the girl's hand and smiled. "Don't worry. I'll be fine. Not like this is my first time walking to school alone."
The pink-haired girl sighed. "I guess not, but I can't help but worry."
The other girl let go of her hand and chuckled. "The school is only a few meters away! You can see me from Sou's place if you're afraid I'll be abducted or something. Not that that kind of thing happens here."
Pinky grumbled and turned. "Sorry for being a worry wart."
The other girl snickered. "Well, it is kinda cute when you worry like that." She leaned in and kissed the other girl on the lips. "See ya at school in a few!"
'School, huh?' I had heard about it while in captivity, but wasn't exactly sure what it was like. Part of me always wanted to try it out. 'Hmm, I guess I could give it a shot...'