Ch16-3: Release

SoYa could hear the air whoosh out of Father’s lungs as the warrior caught himself on his palms against the railing of the practice yard. Fighting to keep his face, the winged man shoved himself back into the fray a mere moment later.

But SoYa had already backed off. He released his hold over the mind powers that they had been sparring with.

“That was a good shot, SoYa,” Father said with a quavering smile. “You’re really getting a good grasp on this lesson.”

“Father…” the Athrylith intoned quietly, hinting in one word that he knew something else was going on. Something that had left his father in a state of preoccupation and worry for days on end.

His mind’s so far away, he can’t even spar properly. I know he’s worried about Tsu… but I wonder why this much?

When the winged man saw that his son was putting away the sparring equipment, he gave a slow frown. A frown that seemed to show his age, just for that moment. “SoYa… are we calling it so soon? You were just starting to get moving!”

Tsu’s been down to the Mainland for weeks at a time on his own and Father never fretted this much.

The Athrylith shook his head gently, brushing his fingers through his thick curly hair. It was all coming out of the tie-back he had tried to put it in before sparring. It wasn’t quite the warrior’s knot that his father wore. But it was the closest thing to it that an Athrylith such as himself could hope to earn.

Despite the disappointment churning around him, Father didn’t push the issue. He simply walked over and splashed water from the bowl over his face and dried it on the waiting towel. Quickly, SoYa approached in imitation, hoping to catch his father in conversation before the winged man was swept off to do something more pressing.

Father arched an eyebrow, catching a glimpse of the expression on his son’s face. Not being one to wait around, he started, “SoYa… is there something on your mind?”

“Actually, Father,” the Athrylith toweled off his face, bright green eyes peering over the soft cloth. “That’s what I was going to ask you.”

“Me? Why?” he gave a short laugh. Just like SoYa knew he would.

“Your not up to snuff with your sparring,” he joked. It was something that Father often would say when either he or Tsu were daydreaming off and not paying proper attention during lessons.

“Is that so?” a slow smile crossed the winged man’s face. It was a relief to see. Father spent far more time with a furrowed brow than a warm grin lately. And it wasn’t like him.

“Yeah,” SoYa smiled in return. But then the smile faded. “You’re worried about Tsu, aren’t you?”

The Champion glanced over at his son and gave a grimace. “You could tell?”

“Of course… I was trained by the best?” the Athrylith broke a gentle grin.

Father laughed, long and low, clapping one hand on his son’s shoulder. He shook his head for a while, the lines at the corners of his eyes softening just a bit.

SoYa leaned back against the fence, taking a drink from the bottles that had been set out for them earlier. Lately, his sparring outfit had begun to look more and more like his father’s. With the warm weather coming in, and no real physical weapons being used, that usually included a pair of loose knickers and a tank top shirt.

Father also leaned against the fence, peering out over the distant compound. The laughter was gone again, short lived. It seemed like he was trying to figure out the best way to begin. SoYa didn’t interrupt… in fact, he was just happy to know that Father would consider discussing something with him at all.

“It’s not just about this trip,” the winged man finally said, folding his hands in front of him along the wooden surface.

The Athrylith glanced over, giving all of his attention while leaving as much room as he could for Father to continue. If there was any area that they were alike, it was in how neither of them liked to burden others with the troubles that weighed on their shoulders. And even when there was a willingness to discuss things, words came hard and slow.

“I thought…” Father struggled shaking his head. “I thought when Aur created the amulet for Tsu that everything would be alright. Maybe I was being foolish to believe that something like that could cure him completely. But he hasn’t had any more bad dreams. The dark patch on his chest hasn’t changed. He’s been able to leave the Island without worry for over a year now. So when I hear that Tsu might not be well, still, it was a real shock to me.”

“Shock…?” SoYa echoed, a numbness creeping over his body as he digested his father’s words. After a moment, he was able to swallow down the heavy lump in his throat.

“You didn’t know about it either, then?” Father glanced over at him, watching his reaction.

“No…” the Athrylith croaked, a pained light to his eyes. “Is Tsu not going to be alright?”

The winged man balled one fist and took in a ragged breath. “I’m sorry, SoYa. I probably shouldn’t have said anything to you…”

SoYa shook his head mutely. It was an awful thing to hear. But then, he wanted to know. He wanted to be able to share in his father’s burden of knowledge. He wanted to be there for his brother if Tsu really was still in trouble.

Maybe there’s a chance we can find a real cure then…

“SoYa…” Father’s sad eyes flickered over to him. There was little doubt that he knew exactly what his son had been thinking. “You’re always the optimistic one. I’m glad…”

“Where did you hear that Tsu was still sick?” SoYa asked thoughtfully. “Just like you, all this time I thought he was doing better?”

The winged man drew in a deep breath and rubbed his cheek with one hand. “Zazo told me about it… after the attack on the Islands.”

“Really? Zazo?”

“Yeah. I’m curious about that, too. She always seems to have one eye on Tsu, especially when things get dangerous,” he mused. “Makes me wonder why Zemi sent both of them out together to bring LuShi back.”

Poor Tsu. Zazo’s got her eye on him?

SoYa gave a short laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

“No.. nothing…” he waved one hand sheepishly. “Keep going… what else did she say to you?”

“Nothing definitive,” Father sighed. “Just that she could sense things in Tsu that were changing. She said he would keep changing… and that nothing but the destruction of Zeromus would be able to cure him for good.”

“Oh…” SoYa frowned. The lump had come back in his throat, making it hard for him to say anything.

It’s true. There’s things about Tsu that just seem… weird. Like how he was able to throw Father off of him during that the training we had. Almost as if he was a whole lot stronger all the sudden. I wonder what it means.

“She also said not to give up on him. That Tsu had a strong, fighting will,” Father was obviously having a lot of trouble speaking at this point.

“He does!” SoYa offered quickly, trying to ease up on the bad tension. “She’s right about that, Father. Tsu won’t back down from a fight… he never backs down from anything. So he’s not going to give up on this either, no matter what’s happening to him.”

Father nodded, blinking back his emotion. His hand opened and closed, hanging over the side of the fence. His breath was choked as he fought to regulate his outside reactions.  When he finally spoke again, his usually fearless voice was broken, “It’s my fault, isn’t it, SoYa? It’s because I left you when you were younger…?”

“What?” genuine shock echoed in the word. Staggered, he could only stare at his father’s grieved features.

“Maybe if I hadn’t left… Tsu wouldn’t have…”

“Father… no! Don’t you blame yourself for this!” SoYa quickly stepped over and grasped the winged man’s shoulder. “What happened… years ago when you first Awakened… that wasn’t your fault. It was the Council who ran you out. It was KoGuRai who lied. You did the best that you could do!”

He wasn’t too sure how to go about addressing this. Most of what he learned about what happened to Father during the years that he had vanished from Nefol was through Aunt SaRa. Father himself rarely ever spoke about the experience… but SoYa knew that there was a lot of pain associated with the first Awakening. And a lot of regret that Father felt having been exiled and forced to leave himself and TsuYa behind.

Never did either of the sons blame their father for what had befallen them in their life. Never did they even consider pointing a finger at the absence of their father as a cause for the strife that they had to endure in his loss. They were just happy to have their father back in their life again… even if it was in such a dark time.

Despite that, I’ve known that Father’s blamed himself for what’s happened to Tsu. That’s why he’s always fought so hard to find an answer to help him.

And now, despite all the best efforts made, TsuYa still wasn’t cured. SoYa could understand why Father would feel discouraged and full of remorse.

Father sighed and waved one hand in front of his chest. “All that I’ve done has never been good enough.”

SoYa shook his head slowly, “Tsu wouldn’t want to hear you talking like this. Don’t doom him to loss – you can bet that he’s going to fight this till the end. Even what he’s out there doing right now is a form of him fighting against this. And we need to be fighting along side with him.”

Father hunched over the fence railing for a moment. When he answered, it was slow and composed. “You’re right, SoYa. He’s going to rely on me to keep it together. I can’t let him down on my end.”

SoYa stood quietly, feeling the soft summer breeze on his back. He wanted to add something more to the conversation, but Father seemed lost in thoughts. And he felt like the most important words had already been put out on the floor. So he just remained quiet company, hoping that something he said would be uplifting to his father’s spirits.

After a while of silence, the sound of approaching footfalls drew their attention. Down the path, they caught a glimmer of blue and gold – which could only belong to one figure.

“‘Dako?” Father lifted his head, watching the approach. With one deft leap, he cleared the top of the fence and strode out to meet his old friend.

SoYa chose to use the proper gate and followed at a distance. He could hear the two exchange a quick greeting before somber talk came.

But then again, with Kudako, everything is somber talk.

As he approached, he could better hear what was being said.

“I know you will not like what I’m going to say,” Kudako leaned back on one heel, giving his once-student a stern look. “But you must hold yourself together better than you have been. The people here rely on you to lead and fight.”

“I know, ‘Dako. I’m trying…”

“Very well,” the Dragon nodded. “There is news of your son and the search party.”

Father straightened instantly, “Is everything okay?”

“They are fine, Zento,” Kudako replied. “They had a run-in somewhere in the mountains, but it seems your son was victorious against KoGuRai.”

“That’s wonderful!” the winged man smiled slowly.

“Yes, well, that’s not all of it.”

“What else?”

“It seems the path of their travels has taken them beyond the boundaries of the Inner Realms,” Kudako intoned slowly.

SoYa blinked in surprise. He could see surprise on Father’s face, too.

They’ve gone that far? But they have only been away for a week and some days!

“They’ve gone into the Spiral?” Father asked quickly.

“No. Lord Zemi gave the idea that they’ve gone somewhere else. Not the Spiral,” the Dragon shook his head, giving the closest thing to a shrug that he would.

“How can that be?”

“I am not the one to ask for clarification, Zento. I’m just relaying what Lord Zemi spoke.”

“Zemiiii…” Father gave a frustrated sigh, running his fingers through his hair and leaning back on one foot. He seemed to think for a moment, peering up at the passing cloud banks. Then he sighed again. “Alright. I’ll go see what that Dreigiau is up to now. I just wish he’d tell me these things… especially when they have to do with my son.”

Kudako nodded curtly, but said nothing else. There was a gleam in the Dragon’s golden eyes that said that his silence was there for a good reason.

Though Father seemed like he was about to walk off in his usual hurry, he paused. Turning slowly, he gave SoYa a soft smile and a soft mind-touch that spoke his thanks and his love.

Then with a flourish of feathers, ZenToYa strode off towards the Dreigiau’s chambers.

Share on Facebook