Welcome to Gaia! ::

Hikaro sat silently on the hill overlooking the lake, the wildflowers covering him up to his chest, the feathery wisps dancing in the wind, depositing the faint scent along his body. The sun, while warm, was not uncomfortably hot, and for that he was grateful. In his arms, concealed by the flowers around him, was Asher, the latest adopted hououza. The only thing to be seen of the tiny boy was the barest peak of his silver and white hair.

Asher was from this village, but the boys had yet to meet any of the others from this particular region. Something else was a little odd about where they were...
In front of them, obscured by the flowers, was an old grave, the tombstone marking the deceased a climbing wall for small vines. The wooden marker was tilted where it had sunken into the soil, decrepid and not maintained. Yet, there was a beauty to the decay it signified.

The brown skinned hououza's calm silver eyes were cast upon the grave, marking it into memory. The only movement was the shifting of the wind on the flowers, their hair and clothes, and the rythem of their breathing and the slow blink of eyelids. Powder white lashes lowered as Asher glanced to the mound of earth that lay above the sleeper. There was something about death and decay that he found himself inexplicably drawn to. Like the mournful smell of a burned rose, ashes of roses. The white marking around his neck was reminiscent of a necklace, yet underneath his shirt, the white markings toon on the appearance of his skeleton, his ribcage vivedly marked, as the bones on his hands and feet. His spine too, was marked off by the white tattoo like markings. On his feet were brown socks, to prevent suspicion.

Hikaro's mind was busy, congested with thoughts that warred within him. That night in Arkage, Raven's behavior, his siblings, his own maturity, the marble phoenix he'd met named Klonoa. All these ran together in his mind, Hikaro looked almost pained, though his external wounds had all healed. Asher silently curled a hand into his shirt, pulling his small frame closer to Hikaro's, as though seeking protection. The moment was serene.

A timid voice wafted through the air up to them, carried by the light breeze that scattered the ashes of Fiyore. Hikaro turned his head toward the ruined village to discover none other than Klonoa walking up toward them. His expression brightened at the sight of the marble colored boy.
"Hello Klonoa." he cheerily greeted, standing up with Asher in arm and lowering the boy to the ground.

Already the brown skinned boy disliked Klonoa, if only for the fact that his arrival meant he was being put to stand on his own feet. Unfair of him, yes, but Asher already had a habit of being suspicious of anyone new. It usually didn't last long, if he discovered they were nice, and his place would not be usurped.
He clung tenaciously to the back of Hikaro's leg silver eyes so light they almost seemed invisable almost glaring at Klonoa, a little fear also laced in the grey orbs.

Hikaro reached down and ruffled Asher's hair lightly, his gentle smile already warming his heart somewhat. This rocky boy wasn't a threat, then?
"This is Asher," He continued as he mussed his little brother's hair lightly, "My brother. What brings you here?"

"Asher." Hikaro's voice was a little stern. The boy in question looked up at Hikaro and saw the dissaproving look on his face. He wasn't being nice. Asher quickly glanced away, returning his gaze to the grave. At least tombs didn't care who he was nice to or not....He was ashamed then, without his having done much at all.

Hikaro was fond of everyone really, anyone who wasn't outright mean, or snotty. Raven, despite his temperment, was still on Hikaro's good list.

Why?

He still remembered Raven as a child, the fearful boy who had come to trust him when Hikaro rescued him during a RubbaRogo attack. What had happened? Hikaro had decided to not judge him.

The golden Phoenix smiled at Klonoa, his honeyed eyes gentle and warm, as they always were. 'Don't be afraid,' they seemed to say, as the wind toyed with his light blonde hair. He looked above Klonoa to the ruins behind him,
"Not much anymore to see, is there?" He asked, before returning his gaze to the lake,
"Though the landscape is still untouched. Who had it out for this villaige? Was it nature, perhaps? Was she trying to restore the pristine beauty here?"

"From ashes to ashes, and dust to dust." Asher piped up quietly, the subject of death always bringing him out.

It was funny how these things worked out, how two people could be afraid of one another. Asher was fearful of Klonoa, unsure of his energy, and wary if Hikaro would like him too much, and Asher kind of just plain creeped out Klonoa with his obsession with death.

"You draw? That's fantastic. I'd like to see your work sometime." Hikaro said, recalling how his father loved to sculpt. Everyone in his family was good with their hands...and that could be taken any way you wanted it to be.

"C'mon, i'll walk with you, if you like. I'm curious about this place myself, about how any Hououza could have survived the fire." Hikaro said, walking forward toward the village, patting Klonoa's head gingerly as he passed. Asher followed to Hikaro's other side.

Hikaro was silent for the most part as they entered the smoldering village. There was something creepy and uneasy about the wreck, it carried the same morbid energy Asher had. Perhaps that was why Asher was so obsessed with destruction? Had he as a feather witnessed the annihilation?

The air had a tangible odor of smoke, which was not suprising, though it was odd how it lingered so, despite the omnipresent wind.

Crouching, Hikaro upturned a board, marveling how it was blackened on one side, yet completely untouched on the other. Small bugs were hiding under the plank, alive still, yet frightened.

Asher drifted alongside Hikaro, running his dark hands along the charred remains, soaking up the intense energy with a faint smile. Soot crumbled underfoot, and powdered his clothes, casting him in a fuzzy dark shadow.

This was the frightening tone to the voice Klonoa had exhibited once before. Hikaro's eyes widened somewhat as he watched Klonoa.
"Who?" He asked, wait no, he knew, Mirabelle, Klonoa had mentioned her once before as being very very evil.

"You won't be able to stop her." Asher said, looking at Klonoa with enigmatic silver eyes, "She has death on her side. She has hell."

"Asher!" Hikaro exclaimed, wondering how this child would know of Mirabelle. Asher didn't lift his gaze, but slowly turned away, walking into the ruins of a house.

Hikaro was torn, he really had little clue what epic battle was upcoming for Klonoa, what Asher had to do with it, and where he came in. Klonoa shot a broken gaze at him, deep violet eyes welling with unshed tears, twisting the golden hououza's heart. Hikaro knelt down on one knee, bringing himself to eye level with the marble colored Hououza.

"Of course you can! Anyone with your determination has to suceed." He said, wanting to brush the boy's tears away. He couldn't take crying, it hurt.
"Don't worry Klonoa, Mirabelle won't destroy anything as long as you're there to keep it safe."