House of Books - Chapter 5 - The Hunt - Seg.2

{Arkyntesh}1

I sat in the lounge room with the rest of the family, warm and somewhat drowsy. Kieren was playing some sort of card game on the floor with Yoyuko, and Terisu watched with a sharp eye, giving advice to both of them and catching Kieren when he tried to cheat. Malfash sat in his chair, one leg draped over the arm, while talking quietly to Nina, who knelt on the floor nearby. Peroi and Luci were keeping me company on the couch. Sometime during the conversation, Luci managed to get comfortable on my lap and stared up at me with her big, blinking brown eyes. It was… weird, having her stare at me constantly, but I soon managed to ignore it.2

Peroi was telling me about an interesting butterfly she’d seen the other day. “I’d never seen one like that before,” she said, shifting excitedly on the couch. “It was all orange and blue and black, with white spots around the edges. I tried to pull it toward me with telekinesis,” she giggled, “and it felt so strange. People’s minds always resist, and animals only trust you if they know you, but this butterfly was… confused, I think.” She giggled. “One minute, it was difficult for me to pull it toward me, the next, it was really easy. It kept changing its mind. I almost fell over.” This time, she really did burst out laughing.3

“If memory serves, you did fall over,” Kieren piped up. “I had to get a jar to trap it in so you wouldn’t have to hold it still. Honestly, Peroi. It was just a bug.”4

“What do you know, Kieren?” she retorted. “I thought it was really pretty.”5

“I don’t know why you didn’t just freeze the air around it so it was trapped.”6

The girl quietened. “You know I can’t do that yet, Kieren. It’s… hard. Freezing all those individual molecules… Why didn’t you hold it there for me, if you could do it?” she asked defensively.7

He laughed. “I’d have to stand there and hold it while you stared at the stupid thing. What a waste of time. I have better things to do.” He studied his cards for a moment before placing one in his hand on a face-down pile on the carpet. Yoyuko was frowning deeply.8

Peroi looked hurt; she crossed her arms and stared at her lap in sullen silence. She muttered something under her breath.9

“I…” I hesitated before continuing. “I don’t think it’s a waste of time at all, Peroi.” I regretted saying anything at all, then; everyone in the room stopped to look at me.10

“You don’t?” Peroi breathed. “Why?”11

I looked down, only to find another set of eyes; Luci’s. I considered muttering something non-committal, but I couldn’t just say nothing after basically saying outright that Kieren was wrong. “Back home,” I began, “I was never allowed to stop and look at things like butterflies and strange flowers. The only time I got to look at the stars was a glimpse I might steal in passing, when I was being led somewhere else for my studies. There are many things I haven’t seen. You’re very lucky, and wise to appreciate what you have.”12

There was a short silence. Kieren slapped another card down on the floor. 13

“Thankyou, Arkyn,” Peroi murmured, clasping her hands together and staring with eyes almost as wide as Luci’s. “That’s so sad.” I could have groaned; she was giving me her pity again.14

“I’m not—I mean, no it’s not,” I blurted. “I had many things you don’t have. And I was quite happy. And I did get to see sunrises and sunsets sometimes, with my mother.”15

Another card slapped down onto the floor, and Yuko brightened. “I thought you were going to trap me, Kieren. I win. See?” The boy spread his cards on the floor. Looking at them in disbelief, Kieren scowled. Standing up, he muttered goodnight and skulked from the room.16

Suddenly, something pulled on my hair and my head was yanked down. “Ow.” A little fist full of my white hair and the other hand in her mouth, Luci blinked at me innocently. Peroi laughed.17

“You’ve gained her approval, Arkyn,” she smiled.18

“This is how she shows it?” I muttered. Gently prying her fingers off of my hair, I pulled back. She grabbed on again. “Um, could you let go please, Luci?” I asked, prying my hair free again. Before she could take another handful, I pulled my hair back and hastily plaited it. The girl frowned at me. “Um… sorry,” I said to her.19

As it got later, Terisu, Yuko and Nina went to bed, and eventually the rest of us followed. Malfash began putting some blankets on the couch as we left and climbed the stairs. As I headed down the hall, Peroi whispered, “Goodnight Arkyn.” I paused at the bedroom door and attempted a friendly smile. 20

“Goodnight, Peroi. Goodnight, Luci,” I added to the girl in her arms. Apparently, my friendly smile was successful, because Peroi seemed satisfied as she disappeared into her room.21

I entered my own room as quietly as I could, knowing that Yoyuko and Kieren were trying to sleep. Three beds lined up against the left wall, mine being the closest to the window. Moonlight filtered through the curtains as I padded across the simple room and began to undress. Blankets shifted behind me and I turned to see Kieren, sitting up in the semi-darkness.22

“You’re putting her in danger by being here, you know,” he said quietly.23

I frowned. “What? Who?”24

“Peroi.”25

What did she have to do with anything? I wondered. Why did he just mention her? Didn’t he think I cared about anyone else here? “What do you mean?” 26

“You know exactly what I mean,” he replied. “We’re in danger because you’re here. We could all get killed, and then we wouldn’t be able to help any more telekinetic kids. So it wouldn’t even end with us, would it?”27

My frown deepened. “Look, I know this. I won’t be staying forever; you don’t have to worry. Once I find some place to go, I’ll be out of here.”28

Kieren looked down at my bed. “Malfash slept there.”29

“He wouldn’t let me sleep on the couch,” I defended.30

“But I bet you didn’t argue the point too much, did you?” he said. “Leave, Arkyntesh. No one wants you here.” Pulling his blankets over his head, he appeared to go to sleep. 31