She opened her eyes, not finding herself in bed with Rey, though surprisingly, in the middle of the day In Kanoa’s room.“Kanoa?” Ave walked towards a knelt over kanoa caging his knees in his arms. He trailed his fingers back and forth on his spine in search of something. Ave reached out to him, quickly realizing she was not herself, her outstretched arm no longer resembled a human limb, but instead a long, white tentacle that had been completely white. “No, no, no… Not here!” She pleaded desperately, kneeling over alongside Kanoa, the white spread across her body, transfiguring all of her limbs into long malleable tentacles, with her eyes widening, and her mouth sealing altogether. Soon, the white invaded any parts of her that resembled her humanity..
Glancing up, the room, along with her, transformed, being no longer Kanoa’s room. Instead the room expanded with darkness looming over a series of monitors blocking the exit of the room, each playing a long drawn out buzzing sound. Ave glanced, shivering at the five incubators in the center of the room, a person lying in each though with glasses fogged up the subjects were difficult to make out. Out of nowhere, the room lit up with yellow lights, revealing in a kanoa entrenched in yellow, a look of disarray cast on his face .
Without any legs, Ave crawled to Kanoa sloppily, he backed away, intimidated by her determination to reach him. The further her malleable limbs dragged against the floor, the more exasperated she became, as the gap between the two became wider, and frighteningly insurmountable. As she stopped to catch her breath, Kanoa asked, with sweat dripping down his own face too,” This is you? This was your first home, here…? Were you always so… vulnerable?” At first Ave felt astonished by the sudden pity, as she wasn’t interested in dwelling in the past. Wanting to reassure him and deflect from the past, her lack of a mouth made that much harder to get across. A deep sense of pity instead of fear spread across Kanoa’s face. “I never knew you were so hurt… Is that why you always look like that?” She paused, not sure what pang of emotions had just striked her psyche. “I-” Before he could continue, Ave’s muffled yell shook him to stop talking. With her useless immobilized limbs, she kept her neck tense and erect, trying to prove she was not something to be looked down upon, deep down hoping for another look of anxiety.
Though as Kanoa took a step forward, silently reaching out to her, resentment towards letting herself get caught, towards the pitying in his tone fueled her brows to furrow farther, her wrinkles deepened across her forehead as a vein flexed at her temple. With this rage building so intensely, the desire to reach out to her saddened son was absolved. Kanoa knelt over her, his arm outstretched to bring her closer, suddenly, with the few human features she had left, her chestnut colored eyes and hair transformed into a marvelous snow white. Her gaze consumed Kanoa’s vision, obstructing the world around them quite literally as everything resembling her past was plunged into darkness. The yellow light which before enveloped his body faded, instead becoming white like Ave. His face drooped, saliva slivering down his chin then onto the darkened floor, quickly he fell over, parallel to Ave.
Ave stared in horror at the drawn look of emptiness across his face, shaking her head, mortified as to what she had done. The now-emptied Kanoa mirrored her; he said, “What is this? What have I done!?” Taking the words out of her mouth. Sparsely, and without her consent Kanoa continued to play the part as her mouthpiece, calling out to Ave, poking and prodding at her decision, of who she was, while also begging her to question herself. Out of submission, she shut her eyes once more, biting her lips
For what felt like forever, a soft, plump mess of covers were thrown about her. The sun hit her face just as before, though more genuine in its warmth, the sun waving at her, reassuring her. Expecting Kanoa’s slender, smaller self, fortunately It had been Rey’s lean, built frame next to her. At first relieved she quickly turned anxious, then manic as all in all she was thankful this had been her reality. “Rey…..!” Falling on top of him, digging her sharp nose into his rigid chest she let out tears, in what felt like a long while.“Watcha doin’?” Thankful to hear his voice, she responded quietly, “I… I just-” Curtly, he interrupted.“Please. Get out of my room.”Her forehead wrinkles vexed, Ave raised her head to meet the same desperate, forlorn eyes she detested, Kanoa’s. “Get out of my room!” He yelled, his voice overwhelming, and almost monstrous with the subtle growl added to the end of his words.
Frightened, she stumbled to the edge of the bed, falling to the floor, landing on a winged fish. She winced at the water she had tracked along with the smell. “You liar! You helped raise a lie! You are a lie!” She looked up to meet with five other maddened expressions, Jessy, Sammy, Rey, and three indistinguishable red, green and orange colored tentacle masses leering at her, she yelled, “What do you want from me!? This is all for you, all of it!” They all chanted “liar!” enclosing around her, looking around, she noticed both the doors and windows had been completely shut off. With no hope, she sat cornered, hugging her knees while looking down. A familiarly tender voice then said,”Dreams are to rehearse potential threats, that’s what this is.” She looked up to see Ms Friend sitting next to her with a labcoat. The circle of accusers enclosed her fully. “Don’t let them see you.” She said, now wearing a labcoat alongside her, Ms Friend then clapped, grounding Ave’s world to a halt.
The ceiling of their living dejecting her from the house, though in her final moments instead of fear, a look of unexpected acceptance came through, if only so subtly. Ave found herself beside Rey, her children just across from her in their separate crates. She turned to the window right of her- sunlight pierced her eyes causing her to shut them as soon as she had opened them. Not convinced, she circled Rey’s sternum.“EheheheheheHeeeEeeeE!” Laughing in a way so ridiculous not even her dreams could imagine, she was sure It was morning, this time.
“…”Shielding the strength of the sun, as her eyes properly adjusted to her surroundings, Kanoa had flashed through her mind, and similarly to before, a shot of anger then concern was cast on her face. She leapt out of bed, deciding to get a head start on the day, though despite the intrusive dreams, she had to get herself ready. Walking into a small cool, tiled floor with a large tub taking up half the room, a toilet, and sink, she looked at her dreary face, though fully paying attention to the spreading of her snow white hair. “I need to be more careful…” Hastily, she grabbed a dark brown powder, stashed inside the toilet tank, tapping the powdering puff diligently across her entire head, wary of especially Rey interrupting any moment.
As she finished, looking more like herself, she snuck towards the basement of their house- it was wet, moist and slippery, traversing further down the weary staircase on any normal day would have been a foolish thought she’d immediately cast away. In a more rational mindset Ave knew there was nothing for her down here, but hope still lied, waiting. Holding onto the walls, and feeling very closely for a light switch, Ave found her way to the bottom of the staircase, flipping a switch. As a dim light illuminated the room, blueprints of the entirety of MurrowsBrow with the red marker circling each sewage, as well as a hazmat suit showed itself. She coughed a bit from dust in the air. Easing her way into her old, yet reliable desk, she wiped off a blueprint slightly obscured with dust staring at it intently. “Maybe today I could go into… No…”Lifting up the blueprint and carefully each surrounding area of the South side of MurrowsBrow, she said to herself. “I’ll need more if we wanna get out of here in time… But it’s all on you…” She pictured an image of Kanoa which stuck with her, the feigned smile he gave last night. “He believes in my words….. Yeah… I can afford two hours too…” Though despite trying to comfort herself, she still found herself rolling in her doubt for an indeterminate amount of time. Quietly, she placed the map face down, reaching inside her desk she withdrew a series of keys, some labeled, “R.L. Disc” with a number counting from 1-10. “No one will see…” Rey called from above” “Ave!? Are you up with Noa? Makin’ breakfast!” Her chest tightened at the sudden interruption, quickly she tucked her keys and blueprint in her desk, she responded with her voice wavering slightly,”No! Down here! C-cleaning!” Surprised, he said,“Oh hey, thanks! Come up soon, makin’ French Toast!” Kneeling over her desk with her head down, vividly reminiscing on the dream, she once again repeated to herself, “I won’t let them see me…” She said, the image of Ms Friend’s face in her mind.“Trust…. Trust her…”
With that Ave walked up the stairs molding herself, suppressing any fear, any frustration, resentment, and by the time she emerged from the kitchen, she greeted Rey with a more familiar, relaxed expression.Be Completely relaxed. She thought, closing the door behind her.
After breakfast, Ave had left early to run a few errands, leaving from the basement instead of the front door as she apparently forgot to clean “something”. While she appeared fairly normal during breakfast, Rey knew her well enough and could sense a subtle anxiety radiating off of her. Conflicted, he slumped on the couch, turning to his two children, though not acknowledging them fully, as both of them were covered head to toe in dirt. What Rey had been paying attention to were their picture books on MurrowBrow’s ecosystem Ave had once gifted them. He slouched, scratching his chin, then running his slender fingers through his shaggy locks.
He shut his eyes, focusing on the rigidness of her movement, as if wanting to say something- look for something, urgently. But what? What couldn’t she say to him? Aside from that, the most glaring issue, being her befuddled reaction upon arising from the basement. His gaze shifted to the kitchen, then on towards the fridge. Behind it, the infamous arching hallway leading into the basement. He could have sworn to have explored once, maybe twice, though any memory had been sapped from his mind. Although blocked by the fridge, the muster caused Rey to shudder, not knowing exactly why. He said,“I wonder what is down there. He said under his breath, without realizing he had already sat down complacent with staying in the dark. Suddenly, Sammy's head rose from his books, he said quietly,”Don’t…” Raising an eyebrow, he asked,”And why’s that? Mom said not to?” Jessy then intervened,”She said there’s a surprise for you down there, but her science stuff is all down there!” Sammy nodded along. At first Rey felt a bit relieved, although his birthday was months away the thought of Ave getting a headstart made him almost forget about the whole thing. “Your mom… what a wonderful wife she is! I guess that makes sense…” He said smiling to himself, sinking deep into the couch.
Averting his gaze from the kitchen altogether, briefly staring at the family photos, then the clock. He spotted the hour hand not quite where it should be. “Twleve fifty…? That can’t be right.” He chuckled nervously, sure the hour hand had been pushed forward an hour or two. Then, as he recalled Ave’s last words mentioning the date of today- the day in which one of each volunteer’s family would head for the capital, to be celebrated. But this wasn’t about leisure, their presence necessary, a decree, an order. Having this set in, a tidal wave of frustration towards his own ineptitude to keep a basic hold on the time started to emerge, pushing him to sit up. “O-oh SHOOT!”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
The thought of Ave, both the good and the suspicious, dropped from his list of priorities, jumping from the couch and leaving behind a warm indent, he scrambled towards the bedroom. It wouldn’t be unusual for Ave and Rey to miss a minute or two for volunteering, he’d done so plenty of times. Though today wasn’t just an order from any guard, it was directly ordered from the government themselves. More specifically, the King and Queen of their region.
Despite the vagueness of the request, disobeying an order from their monarchal force would be spitting in the face of every noble literally sitting above their family on the walls of MurrowsBrow. This would place them in a boat worse than breaking the law. “We’re gonna get Killed! I’m such an idiot!”
He panicked, while getting dressed in their room, Rey continually knocked objects over while cursing himself, but neither kid's attention waned, briefly Sammy said to Jessy,”Do you think mom’ll get back in time to show Noa?” Jessy shook her head frustrated,”Stupid! Did you forget? He is the present! And mom’ll show everybody!” He frowned, still not understanding,though quieting as their father returned from there, now wearing a short sleeved button up first and black dress pants with his shaggy hair slightly combed. “Alright guys- I’m headin’ off to this thing, behave yourself, don’t cause any trouble for your brother and-” He paused, now acknowledging the dirt the two had tracked from outside and now onto their rug, he screamed, their eyes shot up to him. “My Phoenix! Where have you two been doin’ all this time!?” Both of them stayed silent, cautious to answer, Rey folded his arms unintentionally emulating Ave,”Were you rolling around in the backyard again!?” Rey asked firmly, “Not telling…”Jess said clearly guilty, her head full of curls obscuring her eyes.“Did you?!” He turned his gaze to Sam. Freezing up and stuttering about, sadly, he shook his head ashamedly without much of a fight. “Jess! You’re losin’ a point for not bein’ honest!” He marched over to the fridge, only then did both of their eyes lock in on Rey, completely horror struck. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry daddy!” She said, getting up, pleading. “Oh don’t you daddy me now! You wanna be all dirty and lyin’ you pay the price!” On the star chart.
Sam had been in the lead by five, Jess, merely two off. The chart had a cute yet crude illustration of Sammy and Jessy with large wings. For every hour spent reading or behaving, they’d reach every star gazer's goal, a treasure, though in their case, candy. Jessy then began to squeal sadly, Sammy feeling bad for her and patting her on the back, though seeing her hands balled up wiping her “tears”, occasionally looking up at Rey for any signs of sympathy, he scoffed, not minding her. He was past their dirt covered carpet, pressed he called for Kanoa, “Hey Noa! Clean up Jess and Sammy, I’m about to head out for more work! Awfully dirty they are!” He belted playfully. And yet, There was a large gap of silence, leaving Rey even more pressed with each second behind he was from the event.“Noa?! You up there?!” He called out, giving time for a response and yet Kanoa didn’t answer, not even as Jessy’s wailing increased. “Quit it with the Alladile tears! Noa, I’m comin’ up!”
Upstairs, Kanoa had felt numb. Completely comfortable in his own skin and between his covers, though there was a clear lack of excitement on his part. His mind felt unambitious,his hair, normally sprawled all over the place, laid sadly, as if his motivation to be proactive were completely sapped from him. “Noa!!!” His father called out to him, instinctively, he pulled his covers over his eyes, hugging the pill case close to his stomach.“Why. Can’t. I. Move?” His voice came out more damp than expected, the flat tone scaring the part of himself which knew how to behave normally which was shrinking rapidly. He attempted to stir something within himself as he closed his eyes- Footsteps jogging up the stairs. He fixated on the events of last night- The fact he couldn’t choose what he wanted to be should’ve hurt him, but instead he was overcome with a cloud of tiredness. He yawned.
Impatience, mixed with a bit of worry, Rey entered Kanoa’s room with immediate concern.Upon laying his eyes on his boy, his mouth fell agape to find… Kanoa was completely fine, only lying on bed. Was he ignoring him?
He wondered while inching closer.“Hey you okay?” He asked, comparing his slightly tired but still usual mood from breakfast to now. You never sleep in for this long! You comin’ down with somethin’?!” Wanting his father to quiet down, he asked,”You’re bein’ loud… Please… quiet” A bit offended he lightly pulled his covers off, using the beach of his hand to check his temperature.”Where’s it hurt? Are you feelin’ sick?” He sat him up only to meet with Kanoa’s deadpan expression. “You look… different.” He said, a bit unnerved. Noticing this, Kanoa forced a smile, his cheeks coming up. He then shook his head slowly, eventually he stopped, then said dryly. “Nah pops. I’m totally fine. I’m chillin’... Just bein’ lazy… that’s all…” Rey shook his head in disagreement.“Noa… You can relax if you need to, but don’t call yourself lazy. I’m the lazy one… Somethin’ totally slipped my mind, and I’ve only got eight minutes to be where I gotta be…Could you wash Sammy and Jessy for me. It's an emergency, get me!? So please… Just for a few minutes, could you get up and wash ‘em?”He pleaded once more, his eyes desperate, a part of him cringed with frustration with how reliant he was on his help.
Kanoa meanwhile, with his mind was like a still lake, ebbing and flowing from whichever way the world interrupted, he wanted no part in anything. Though hearing the sincerity in his father, he still wanted to help, despite wanting to indulge in nothing all day, and every day of the foreseeable future. He stood up sloppily, at first nearly falling to the floor, as if this were his introduction to walking. He caught himself, his father watching him carefully, Kanoa even in this state could tell he was worried. He smiled, urging a frown on Rey’s face.
“Leave it to me… Dad…. I’ll wash those kids so good ... .you'll…. love me even more. Promise…” He said, his voice still dry.“I already love you with everythin’, you know that!” “Oh yeah…” He gave a robotic laugh. Rey lamented the possibility of staying home, as this was obviously a bad day for him. And yet, as the flurry of children outside of Kanoa’s window headed in the direction he was meant to, did he remember the danger they would all be in if he was even a minute later.“Noa… Just rest up… I’m not sure what’s gotten into you, but when I come back, we’ll talk more…Let you eat whatever you’d like, and I’lll… I’ll be right by your side, kay?” He said, hoping to atone for burdening Kanoa, but also for his own role in the deep seeded fatigue present in Kanoa’s eyes he had only now realized. From this morning- perhaps even before this week it was likely there, lingering. Rey was certain it had to have been, he felt it.
Kanoa nodded along quietly, most of him unnervingly still, another genuinely grateful for the promise, he gave a slight smile.“Alright… Thank you, appreciate it.”
Both children sat quietly in their bath, soap covered them head to toe, making them unrecognizable, though they liked it that way, their shrill little laughs and their playfulness being the only indicator that they were indeed Kanoa’s brother and sister. Bathing his siblings had always been easy despite their rowdiness. “They raised obedient kids”, Ave would always, pridefully say whenever comparing their children's good nature to others. (At least to the children that were really their own.) While washing them off, Kanoa’s limp hand squeezed the warm water poorly across the two’s bodies, his eyes scanning the sky, not at all paying attention to the two.
“Hrgh…”His mouth stayed shut, his teeth buzzing unsavory pitches. He wanted to speak, but the lack of credence in his own words encouraged silence. Kanoa wanted to laugh, and play, and act as if this were any other day, though the pure white ceiling sitting above the trio urged dissatisfaction in him, a somber frustration.
Sammy and Jess, a little off put, sensing the atmosphere, playfully flicked water at Kanoa, trying to cheer him up.“Turn your frown upside down!”Jess giggled, the water soaking Kanoa’s shirt.
“Look! Take our bubbles! Eat it!” Sam urged, pushing a large wad of bubbles towards Kanoa’s cheek. It was a sweet gesture any other day, Kanoa didn’t feel any ill will in what they were doing.The problem today however, was that for some reason every detail of his brother and sister had resulted in the tightening of his fist. Their chestnut hair, their brown eyes, the sharp bridge of their noses, the burnt chicken, the seasoning, the reliance placed on him, he groaned.
“Cut it out!” Violently, he licked a harsh wave of water at the two. They paused the soft features on his face harshening, the movements of his body, becoming rigid, as if readying to pounce at them. The two looked at Kanoa, their large, brown eyes acting as a mirror. Kanoa carefully studied himself then his siblings. He thought of his parents, then back to himself. Thoughts of wings enveloping their bodies- Tearing through them until there had been nothing left ran through his mind, he smiled at the thought, though with his rationality peeking through upon the concerned eyes laid bare, he flinched, pulling away from the bath tub.
“I-i’m sorry-URgh!!” He flinched, covering his face as a sharp pang by his eye erupted, filling the corner of his thoughts with discomfort. The fever Rey had been looking for spread across his body, piling onto the list of things wrong with him. A poking and prodding across his back insisted, He fell back falling onto the floor, holding himself.
In the next room as Rey, who was supposedly running late, stood in place, frozen. His body didn’t lift up nor down, his lips remained closed tightly. Without any sips of air, his face turned red, his eyes swelling with tears, though despite this he remained unresponsive. The only thing to bring him back would be a knock at the door. His head shot up with crimson eyes. Steadily, he walked to the door without much haste. As he opened the far off, unpalpable thing, in which his vision was laced with so much red, he had been convinced he was reaching out towards his wife. Instead, a tall, skimpy, mummified figure stood before him. His eyes darkened, returning dark brown. As the drool fell from his lower lip, he re-examined the possessed creature he jumped back.
“W-Who are you?! What are you doin’ In my-” A wrecked voice cut him off, its lips barely moving..
“I s K a N o A H E r e ?” Held hostage by her fear, Rey began to sputter and ramble about the place, though as he gazed at the figures' yellow yet oh so familiar eyes, he finally built the courage to say something.“You… You shouldn’t-” Though before he could utter another word, a red beam of light shot up from behind the creature. It turned sharply, the light filled the creature's obscured vision. Quickly it shuffled off, groaning, and without much confirmation for his question, it began to run rampant towards that light.“U-uh….?” Trying to piece together the sight it possibly could have captured, Rey was left there grimacing, a rotten taste filling his mouth, along with an equally nauseating anxiety pressing against the walls of his stomach, urging him to throw up. The stability of his home was beginning to fade from him.
Why in the world would anyone want Kanoa…?He asked himself, holding onto the door frame of his front door, still searching for the creature. A frustrated groan from Kanoa caught Rey’s attention, and he immediately fell back into the house. His siblings looked towards him a bit frightened, though mostly concerned, however, all Kanoa seemed to interpret was pure shame across their faces, as the imagery of their innocent faces caught between a field of wings from Kanoa’s own manifestation plagued him with guilt.
“Ugh- stop it! Stop looking at me like that!” “H-hey? Noa! Everythin’ alright in there?!” The voice of his father became dominated by a bestial dark tone- He covered his ears. As the series of footsteps drew nearer a tightness across his chest evaded all other senses, his eyes still shut, he swung his arms, then pounced. “Noa…?” Rey slowly popped his head from the frame of the door, though Kanoa was gone, the window of the bathroom behind both toddlers wide open. The cool incoming wind cutting through the row of bubbles surrounding them, revealing their awe struck faces.
