Date: Wed, 22 Jul 2015 00:11:48 +0000 (UTC)
From: Gaia Farnese <snoringsoftly@yahoo.com>
Subject: Koi no Yokan 3

A/N: The songs this time were Sola Gratia (pt. 1) and Our Hearts Condemn Us
by Jozef Van Wissem & SQÜRL.

Standard disclaimer and copyright notices apply.

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*4 years later*

It was yet another dreary day whose beginnings were marked by wasting time
at school. Before actually experiencing it, had anyone told him that he
would be so thoroughly bored with life at the mere age of thirteen, Eiri
would have believed they'd gone round the bend.

Staring out of the window, he contemplated life far away from the dark,
cursed city; dreaming of exotic smells and sunshine. When he thought he
heard his name called, he returned to trying to pay attention to the words
of his lecturer, coming up with nothing more than her usual droning.

"...and so the Council of the Five decided to..." the lecturer continued,
taking no regard of the sleepy state of her students. Tuning her out once
again, Eiri focused on the youth inside the classroom. There were seven
girls in his class, a generous number by Sivár standards.

He'd heard of the War of the Sexes but believed it a stupid excuse for the
low female population. There had to be something else which contributed to
their decrease, something more acceptable, like the law against
uncontrolled reproduction. Seen from a scientific perspective, perhaps it
could be something about the air or the water of the country that made XY
chromosomes thrive.

In any case, his class beat the rest of the school with the number of girls
they had. Not that they were pretty or anything.

If Eiri excluded himself, there would be a balance in the class, because
there were seven boys who attended classes regularly. There was Mallory, of
course, but he was severely handicapped and mentally unstable, so he
couldn't go to school most days. There was also Boris, who was blind and
couldn't follow lessons very well. They both made an appearance only once
in a while.

If there was anything that annoyed Eiri the most, it was the unwillingness
of the lecturers to work more with those who required special attention. It
was highly discouraging, especially considering their admonitions to help
their fellows and always strive to be of use in the society.

A bark of laughter caught his attention and Eiri turned to see Jonas and
his two best friends laugh at something he'd said. Jonas used to be Eiri's
best friend until the year he lost both his parents.

Afterwards, adopted by his uncle and brought up according to the man's
standards, he turned into a type of person that Eiri didn't want to
associate with at all. He`d turned into a hypocrite, and a bully,
tarnishing the memories of their childhoods spent together.

Nowadays, Jonas spent his time scaring the younger pupils and going around
threatening people because he had "some connections in the higher levels of
the government". He didn't pick on Eiri in particular, but his general
attitude toward his former best friend was of ridicule and discomfit. It
wasn't just a few times that Eiri caught groups of people laughing at him
because of something Jonas had told them. In the beginning it used to hurt
Eiri, but then he learned to live with it. It seemed like such a long time
ago, the time he learned that people were never a constant in one's
life. They always left... never to return.

Cutting the unpleasant train of thought, Eiri returned to observing the
other students, a pastime that he indulged regularly during the seemingly
endless hours of boring lectures.

The boys who weren't in Jonas' clique seemed to be loners, much like
himself. It was not only the primary lifestyle in Estéril, but also a
characteristic of Sivár – lonely, individual oriented existence. The
youth were encouraged to fight for themselves and establish themselves
early on.

Those were cruel times they lived in. The competition was high and
friendships grew weaker and fewer by the day. Having to live in such a
dystopian society, it was no wonder that most people dreamed of going far
away, to the lands of Tropos.

But it wasn't an easy thing to accomplish. As a matter of fact, it was
Wynn's dad who had tried to escape to the tropical peninsula, and failed
miserably, bringing misfortune to his family. These days they were
regularly checked on, but also ostracized from many a function and benefit
that befell the Prodigious Denizens of Estéril. Wynn illustrated this
fall from grace, developing sickly nature and stuttering whenever somebody
addressed him.

Next to Wynn there was Símon, the son of a talented musician. Even so,
Símon seemed to dislike his father's popularity, ending up rather
withdrawn, refusing to make friends with anyone. There were rumours that he
was afraid of being used because of his father's fame.

Eiri had tried to befriend the boy himself, failing spectacularly when he
ended up accused of trying to forcefully borrow money for lunch from
Símon. Luckily, there was Jett, a boy who stood out because he was
extraordinarily social for a Sivár. He'd come up that day and convinced
everyone that Eiri had never done such a thing. Besides, he'd said, why
would Eiri need to borrow money for lunch when he always had homemade meals
with him?

Eiri mostly talked to Jett when they had projects for class. He preferred
to work with Jett, not because he'd done him a favour, but because the boy
was easy-going and not prone to gossip, characteristics that were high
ranking in Eiri's mental list of preferences. He would have loved to
befriend him, but at one point he learned that Jett moved in some dangerous
circles together with some older students, and that put him off. Eiri's
parents were the sort who allowed him to befriend everybody, if nothing
else to enrich his experience of life, but he had personal reasons for not
wanting to associate closely with the likes of Jett.

These days it seemed that Jett and his best friend, Maurice, were always
watching Eiri, something that made him quite uncomfortable and dampened his
willingness to go to school even further.

Finally, there was Ocean, the only child of colour among the younger
students in the school. He came from a poor family that lived in the sylvan
Back-Door Area of District III. There was an old tale about how his family
came to live in such poverty. But to tell it, one must first explain the
living conditions of the Back-Door Area, which was an extension of District
VI.

The area itself was nothing more than a narrow, long line of forest which
once belonged in the Trapezoid of Estéril, a wooded area which was then
divided in Districts III, VI and VII. Authority figures fought long and
hard to officially place BDA under D.III, but it remained that BDA was an
extension of the forest line of D.VI.

It was important because it was the sole remaining patch of wood on the
northern hemisphere of Estéril, and the home of at least 500 families of
impoverished origin. The density of the trees and the distant location made
it a perfect spot to settle in case one's family was not very popular with
the rest of Estéril. Besides, it wasn't like those families who went to
live there could afford living in the Main Residential. Lately even the
Derelict Area had become way too expensive. Thus, it was long time ago that
the poor ones migrated in the cool shadows where they made simple homes,
mindful of the fragility of nature.

Poor or not, Eiri liked them because, unlike commoners, they were mindful
of their origins and dedicated to maintaining the health of the nature they
inhabited. While commoners cut woods to make buildings of staggering
proportions, the "sylvan" people put serious efforts to tend to damaged
areas or nurture the endemic species.

One of these noble families was Ocean's family, the Wroughts. An old tale
said that Ulysses Wrought was one of the first ministers after the Big
Northern War, and that he was responsible for the original division of the
Estéril land. As the years went on, Ulysses' displeasure with the system
grew, mainly because people showed increasing interest in barring the land
in order to make space for the grand projects of the government. It was
meant to ease the lives of the Sivár who'd moved to the newborn city,
but it left a lot to be desired in terms of respecting the natural
alignment of the land as well as the demands of the ecological
organizations.

The sound of the bell interrupted Eiri's flow of thoughts and he slowly
moved to collect his things. Outside, in the corridor, there seemed to be a
commotion. It wasn't a scuffle because there would have been more noise
from encouraging students, but it wasn't something big either, because
there would have been panic. Students stopped to take a look, then moved
on, content with having had a glimpse of whatever went on in front of the
science classroom. A few of them lingered, but it was none of his business
so Eiri turned away.

Just as he was about to head for the exit ahead, Eiri noticed a member of
the Protection Forces exit the classroom accompanied by the
Principal. Stopping in his tracks, he tried to read their faces but they
were closed off, an adult trait that he thoroughly despised.

He moved out of the way and gripped the corner of the wall as he tried to
see more. There were several students standing next to the door, forming a
tight, silent group. They looked fearful, but they weren't running away, so
Eiri figured there was no need for panic. Although, he quickly turned
suspicious when another PF officer exited the classroom. He remembered that
Jett once told him that the school governors sometimes avoided sounding the
alarm because they didn't want hordes of students trampling all over the
evidence in crime cases. Those weren't common on the school grounds, but
occasionally, something happened. A student under too much pressure or a
lecturer gone mad; they'd had their share of those.

What worried Eiri was the situation with the radicals who had tried, and
failed, to organize a massive rebellion against the system few years
prior. Groups of them were still at large and working toward achieving
their goal. It was worrisome, mainly because they had no reserve when it
came to involving youth.

Although, the only example of them venturing into pupil territory so far
was their seizure of the technical school two years ago, which resulted in
a massive shooting and involvement of forces higher than the protection
one.

Just as he tried his best not to think about leather jackets and the sound
of a powerful motorbike, heavy set of footsteps tunked behind him. He
turned around to see a number of astonished faces stopping in their
trajectories, to stare at the two Wolves that cut their way through the
crowd. They were both huge, featuring beards which hid the lower parts of
their faces. One of them was a brunet, the other a ginger. The way they
were frowning indicated that there was indeed something worrisome going
on. But then again, Eiri had heard that Wolves were hardly ever in good
mood.

They passed right next to him and, for a brief second, Eiri got the
impression that the brunet's eyes pinned him, but it was over quickly. He
was left wondering if he had ever seen that Wolf before. Could it be...?

His eyes followed the Wolves until they entered the classroom. He was sure
that everyone thought it extremely impolite not to stop and consult the PF
or the principal first, but those were the Wolves. They knew no bounds, no
shame and had no etiquette whatsoever.

A brisk intervention from a lecturer ensured that any lingering students
move out of the corridor and with that Eiri found himself stepping toward
the main hall, feeling as if he was going to his execution. He wasn't
worried about the appearance of the two Wolves, not as much as he was
worried that there would be more of them on the school grounds.

Suddenly, the hall seemed too small and the quietude too oppressive. Two
Wolves were enough for whatever type of case this was, weren't they? They
rested during the day so it was illogical for them to come out in groups to
check up on some trivial school crime.

But was it trivial? If the radicals were involved that meant the Wolves
would be close at all times.

Tense and nervous, Eiri contemplated staying behind in the main hall, but
he knew that the janitor would drive him away once he spotted him. Staying
behind in school, unless there was explicit need for it, was generally
discouraged. There were better ways one could use their time, they often
stressed.

So he collected his courage and exited through the doors. He would keep his
head low and hurry. The sooner he was home, the quicker he would forget
about the whole ordeal.

But curiosity won in the end and he raised his eyes a fraction, spotting a
dark sole of a foot that stole his attention. Upon further inspection he
found that it was Ocean, who ate a tuna sandwich as he walked home. Seizing
the thought, Eiri opted to finish going over the story of the Wroughts. It
would be a pleasant distraction anyway.

Fed up with the destructive progress of the government, Ulysses Wrought
started a campaign against them, following a messy divorce from
politics. Even then, there weren't many people willing to express their
revolt openly, so he was left to work with few individuals and, more
importantly, fund his campaign by himself.

The Wroughts were wealthy but no wealth could sustain such a solitary
campaign. Eventually, disgraced and considerably poorer, the Wroughts were
forced to leave their luxurious home and move in the back alleys of Main
Residential. Few years later, despite the campaign being on hold, they were
found guilty of ridiculous misconducts and driven out of their home. They
had nowhere to go and the procedures for emigrating were no less
complicated than those of the present time, so they took refuge in the
modern District VIII, better known as The Borders.

After months spent relocating all over the length of the city borders, they
found a relatively comfortable and well-hidden settling deep in the woods,
one that came to be called Back-Door Area.

Over the years they learned how to sustain themselves and not fail the
gracious nature which allowed them a home. Many families, disgraced or
simply born poor, followed their example and settled in the forest, slowly
populating it to what it held today. But even so, it was marvelous that the
woods didn't decline with the flow of people. That told plenty about the
ways these poverty-stricken people lived, and it appealed to people like
Eiri and his family. Eiri concluded that he was probably one of the rare
few who appreciated Ocean and his family.

Despite the fact that some nit-pickers would say that the attitudes like
Wroughts' were the preamble to wholehearted support of radical ideas, such
as the ones who shook Estéril few years prior, Eiri knew enough to make
a difference between ideas which told of the consciousness among the
denizens and ideas which aimed to wreck havoc upon society.

On the edge of the school yard there was a big oak. On most school days,
when he passed it, Eiri could see students studying in its shade or
laughing with their friends. This day was no different, but there were
fewer of them present. Perhaps that was because exams were approaching and
students preferred the school library to the noise outside.

Eiri told himself that it would all go well if he could reach the oak as
soon as possible. He'd lost Ocean so, without a focus point, he couldn't
withhold from glancing around curiously. At one such glance he noticed
Maurice and Jett, heading to the small parking lot next to the oak tree.

He followed the hems of their coats with his eyes until his sight was full
of metal and wheels.

There were three bikes parked on the lot and someone sat on the third
one. Obviously, Jett and Maurice were off to greet whoever occupied the
seat of the bike. That confirmed Eiri's previous suspicion that they were
both related to the Wolves in some way.

Admitting to himself that he was a sissy, Eiri sighed and turned his eyes
away. He could always find something interesting to inspect on his right.

Oh, there. There was Jonas with his clique. But thoughts of Jonas led to
thoughts of that night and he didn't want to think about it at all.

He measured the quality of most days by the simple notion that a day was
good as long as he didn't think about Wolves, nighttime adventures and
highly inappropriate, stolen kisses.

The opposite brought forward feelings of bitterness and resentment as well
as the most burdensome feeling of disappointment. Thus, fairly certain that
he wanted nothing more with that bunch of insensitive assholes, Eiri
strived to do his best to ignore their existence.

Keeping his eyes glued to the street prefacing the school, Eiri passed the
point which made him stand parallel to the parking lot. When he passed
through the gate he could swear he felt a prickling sensation on the back
of his neck.

He refused to turn around and meet a pair of comically widened, icy blue
eyes.



From across the lot, the Wolf spotted two dots that seemed to be headed in
his direction. Although, it was only when they were within the shade of the
oak that he recognized them. One of the pair, the boy with the blond curls,
he slept with Jon, and the boy walking next to him was trying to make his
way in too.

Their names, if he remembered correctly, were Maurice and Jack. No - Jett;
that one was Jett.

They approached him cautiously, knowing full well who he was. For some
reason that he secretly found funny, people were always overly cautious in
his presence. What was it they had heard about him? He'd never quite
bothered to find the answer to that question, but he thought he might as
well do it sometime in the near future.

"Hi," they said in unison, too wary to smile openly. He decided not to
return the greeting. The least they could do was show some positive energy;
his days were bleak enough as it were.

"Is there something serious going on?" the blond asked. The Wolf was
slightly taken aback at the boy's audacity, which was why he took several
seconds to reply.

"That's none of your business."

Their faces, which had begun to show some positive curves, fell. The
tendrils of awkwardness began to seep in the space separating them, but he
ignored it in favour of a sight that eventually managed to catch him off
guard way more than the boldness of Jon's cub.

There was a lonely figure of a boy walking the paved road across from
him. The boy seemed very interested in the goings on over on his right, so
much that the Wolf turned his head too, finding a group of friends laughing
raucously. Now that he was looking, he thought he could see somebody
familiar in that group.

Unless he was terribly mistaken, and that happened rarely, the boy in the
center of the group was one of the boys he'd met several years earlier. He
couldn't remember his name, but he knew it started with the letter J. He
turned back to the boys standing awkwardly in front of him and subtly
pointed at the group of friends. "What's the name of the kid in the
center?"

They turned to look and frowned.

"Oh, that's Jonas."

The Wolf stared at the group of laughing students some more, saying nothing
else until the budding conversation between the two boys reached his ears.

"Ohey, there's Eiri. I totally forgot to return the book he gave me last
week."

"Looks like he's in a bit of a hurry."

"Yeah... he's probably off to somewhere. Never mind, I'll give it back
tomorrow."

The Wolf's head whirled around immediately, eyes fixing on the lonely
figure he'd first noticed. The boy's hair hid the side of his face but he
would recognize him anywhere, only if he could get a good look. There was
also that way he walked, as if he was unsure of his place in the
world. Nothing much had changed, then.

Moved from his usual stupor, he kept turning his head until the boy passed
through the gate, and even then, uncomfortable as it was to strain his head
like that, he followed the thin figure.

Instead of taking the road which would take him home in 15 minutes, the
boy, Eiri, headed the opposite way. The road he chose led to a row of
buildings intended to house the university students and the playground
where they had first met.

From there, Eiri could only follow the signs that led to the motorway. It
was an unusual course for someone who was going home after school. The
motorway went up and down, the upper part leading to the woods behind the
Derelict Area of Main Residential. Knowing the central location of his
home, Eiri's choice didn't make any sense.

"Well, we'll be going then."

He paid them no mind, eyes seeking his Eiri, until Jon and Chris joined him
on their bikes.

"We'll talk about this at The Dwelling. We'll need the others present."
Chris told him briskly, then started the engine.

"Hey, what's up?" Jon asked when he failed to follow them.

As if waking up from a trance, he eyed his companions, making up his mind.

"You go ahead; I'll come in a bit. I've something to do first."

Not waiting to see their nods, he aimed straight ahead and followed the
road Eiri had taken.

*~*