I Watch the World Go By In Silence [Kanix and Junpei]

CALL OF THEWILD

The forest was pretty much her home; it was where she could always be found because it was peaceful and relaxing. Her hand was loosely holding onto her son's, walking him along the forest line, until they had reached an opening. There, she ducked through, brushing aside some of the leaves that jutted out at her and pulling him along.

"Junpei, have you ever seen a forest before?" she inquired, though knew he had been in one as a baby in his first few weeks. However, she often left him the care of the guild, since she had no nanny for him yet, whenever she went on missions. Jaeger was never around either because of recent dealings, and sending Junpei off to Genbu wasn't the greatest of ideas. Too many scary monsters... it would probably be more of a punishment than a gift sending him to his father.

"I figure that you would like to see just how beautiful the planet can be... I was raised in this kind of environment, actually. So, I suppose I just want to show off my home to you... maybe teach you a little bit of what I know about healing and such."
She smiled and pushed past a few more branches, until they were standing in a small clearing, lit up by sunlight through the shafts of leaves.

"Hmmhmhm!" Junpei hummed gleefully.

It was a rather nice day today, with Junpei being guided by his Mother by the hand along the forestline. Fair skies, a blue ether, fluffy clouds that would act as a disguise to what the former night had in store. He looked up to his mother with bright, wide eyes and a smile dancing across his lips with a tint of innocence. The breeze pressed against his pale flesh, making his cheeks glow a soft, red hue. She commenced her inquiry, and he provided feedback as expected. "I've only seen forests from a distance. - They look really pretty but I've never been deep into one before!" He exclaimed cheerfully, the plans his Mother had for him served as a thriving motivation. But it was only in a few moments that the two kin had arrived to an opening, revealing a rather dashing clearing. Junpei had stood there, struck with awe and amazement.

They arrived at a wide glade, where the trees fell away, revealing the bespeckled sky. The last of the morning’s stars were glinting like silver pin pricks, luminous and bright, but concealed upon the haziness of the clouds which painted the sky in brushstrokes. The grasses he stepped on were crackly beneath his feet due to the recent dry spell. He was left in awe of the size and majesty of the trees. Their knotted arms rose ever upwards, as far as his head could lift. They were hoary fortresses and stood proudly. The orchestra of birdsong he could hear from them suddenly stopped.

The smell of pine, the branches creaking, feet shuffling through the leave and twigs, wind whistling... the clearing itself had reeked of age. His head and descended to the ground below him, already catching sight of a number of playthings. He was already thrilled, though, in his mind, the experience and sight of the forest was probably much more enchanting than to others. Junpei lifted his face, letting the light and shadow dance across his skin. Bees hummed in and out of the pennyroyal. He inhaled its minty, aged smell and continued on, delighting in the sound of his feet sliding through the leaves. "It's so pretty!" He announced.

AND NOW ITS ENDING IN MY RESURRECTION

CALL OF THEWILD

"Forests are wonderful places to be; I used to go to Worth Woodsea a lot whenever Cait Shelter's guildmaster didn't need me," Kanix spoke as Junpei observed his surroundings. "It wasn't often that I went there though, as he was always teaching me new things... things that he thought were important in life. I didn't mind it so much, I really enjoyed learning the lifestyle of the Nirvits and even about Nirvana, but I don't use much of that information he taught me. Most of it was about leading and making the people happy; however, he did teach me things like healing and shamanism. He told me one day that in order to be a true person of Earthland, you must appreciate that which is given to you. So, I do... I appreciate what's around me, and that includes the beautiful forests that this planet provides us." She was rambling now, deep into the zone of remembering what her life had been only a few years back.

Kanix cleared her throat, her blind eyes wandering the darkness that, through it, would show the world to her. No need for true vision to know what the world was like, not when she could listen to the place's own melody. Birdsong, the wind through the leaves as they put on a show for the two mages there within their homeland... "It... seems odd... don't you think? To be living in the bustling city of Magnolia, when out here, you could live in peace. Before you were born, Junpei, I used to live in a tepee here in this forest; hunting, foraging, and surviving on my own. Haven't been here since you had been born though; I don't Jaeger would like me raising you in the wild anyway." A smile laced over her lips again, even a light chuckle leaving the bowels of her throat to show her amusement toward that idea.

"If I had had the choice, you would've been raised by the means of a Nirvit... learning to appreciate the world for what it's for." Her gaze shifted from the clearing to her son, the smile gone from her face when she couldn't see the amazement he expressed. "I have another question for you, my love... considering you have the blood of two mages running through you, what mage would you wish to learn?" she asked. It was possible to have magic not inherited by parents, so she was curious to know if he would discover it later on or learn his own. Some part of her really wanted to teach him the way of a shaman, but another part told her to let him decide. Both Jaeger and herself were mages of nature, where Jaeger utilized tree magic and she used all of it, every bit of what could be considered nature. Hell, her parents, as far as she was aware, weren't mages at all, and yet, she had managed to obtain magic through means of studying.

Many things were going through Junpei, right now. Awe had still struck him, and his mother's rambling had only enhanced the experience. But was it really rambling? To others, that would faintly fit the description. But for Junpei, it was his personal story time. Whenever his parents were agitated, or melancholy, or chipper, and wanted to express it through words, Junpei was the first in line to be eyes and ears for it. Those expressions were like stories to him. He didn't have picture books, or toys. And the ones he did have, he had already read cover to cover or broken. They were boring things, really. They never caught his muse. Stuffed animals, fairy tales, fabled myths. At first, they were falsely enchanting. But now, slowly beginning to realize that they were just that. False. None of these were real... no true feelings could be retrieved from any of those lies. Because they were never there in the first place.

Stories of heroes rescuing princesses from burning towers, set aflame by fire-breathing beasts. Watching them was boring. He wanted to be the hero. But he knew that sitting there, reading about them wouldn't make it happen. And outside, here, in the forests, is where his imagination grew wings and could leap from that prison, and never look down again. Those cold, iron bars which contained his suppressed emotions, now crumbled when the soil would touch his pale skin. Yes, this was his true play-area. No park could reach the level of muse he had for wet grass or muddy dirt. No. It was here, just ways from Magnolia where his greatest passion had yielded.

But, there was to say that he was still but a mere child and was easily pleased. But, his mind elsewhere, he was driven back to reality upon the rest of her inquiry. "Oh. I wouldn't mind it... being raised in the wild. - The wilderness is pretty, and I like it when you take me out here. I get to spend time with you. I like spending time with you. We can... play all sorts of games. And there are lots of pretty flowers out here. I could put it in your hair, if you'd let me." He smiled softly, he could go on and on about how enchanting the wilderness was. But, he himself, would be rambling. But then she asked another question. Magic? Junpei looked down to his feet, kicking the dirt. "Mommy's. But, it doesn't matter. Both Daddy's and Mommy's magicks are super cool."

AND NOW ITS ENDING IN MY RESURRECTION

CALL OF THEWILD

The woman dropped her staff onto the ground and lowered herself as well, sitting Indian-style in the middle of the clearing. She ran her fingers through the tall, green grass, then shook her hair out of her face and turned it back toward her son. "Your daddy," she repeated a few of his words, realizing that Junpei hadn't seen Jaeger since the day of his birth. Even then, he was far too young to remember what Jaeger looked like, and the thought of it made her sad. He had promised to be around for him and her, and one day, he just up and disappeared on her, like a ghost unto the night. Kanix was momentarily sad about that thought, recalling the last time that she had seen him around her. "I'm glad you think so highly of my magic, Junni, but you must know that my magic comes at a very high price."

The woman would then pat the ground beside her and tear away the sadness she was feeling to smile at him. "Come, Junpei, play with Mommy's hair," she murmured, turning her face away from her son as she said this. She needed the comfort right now, the idea that at least someone loved her unconditionally, no matter the circumstance. Jaeger had just been another of those men who had run out on the woman the moment they learned of a child soon to come. "Your father's just a busy man right now, I suppose; he has to make all of the money for us to keep the home we have." Kanix fell silent, as that was all she was going to mention about his father, certain that he wasn't ready to know. Hell, Jaeger hadn't even been ready to be a father yet, and all of this happened to have been his fault to begin with.

"Maybe, you'll get to meet him one day, when he's not so busy, but now isn't the time to be able to see him, unfortunately," she added after. She closed her eyes and wondered just how much of that was the truth or if he truly wasn't busy on jobs. He had promised her he would stay though, that he wouldn't run out on her, and she was holding him to his words. Being a mother on her own wasn't the best of ideas she had in mind, so she was relying fully on the Sleeping Forest mage. "I would love for you to meet him some day, Junpei... and I'm sure he would be just as happy to meet his son again as well. Just know that he loves you as unconditionally as I love you, but he can't be around right now to show you that." The woman was staring down at her nails and picking at them in the silence, hoping nothing she had said would deter her son.

Junpei watched his mother attentively. - Why was she so pretty? Every feature fell into place to finish her puzzle. Her voice like a beautifully orchestrated song, but it was a song he greatly cherished. Her eyes. - Where to begin? It was like a fog, covering an ocean-blue like brushstrokes. Speckled with other shades. Ocean... yes, an ocean was a way to describe it. A clear, bright-ish blue. He often had dreams regarding lying in a thin pool of clear water that reflected a clear blue sky above him, clouds dancing across them. So clear, it was like a mirror to the sky. And he pictured resting in his mother's arms. Was this just childish comfort or was some sort of accurate display? He didn't know. - He didn't care. It felt nice.

She continued to speak about his father, however. When was the last time he saw his father? - His 'Daddy'? She claims that he loves him unconditionally, and though Junpei only nods with a smile, somewhere deep inside he told himself "Where is he? I don't know my Father, and I shouldn't try." It was unsettling. But he couldn't tell his mother, no. She already seemed skeptical about it, so he only fell to silence after that. But, he was beckoned over to her space, requested to play with her hair. And he was frankly, overjoyed at those words, immediately running over to his mother with his hands itching to be ensconced in her long, think hair. Those long, thick locks. He didn't know if was some odd obsession or it was generally amusing to him, but he always wanted to touch people's hair. He wanted to play with it. Play with it. It brought some... sense of comfort to him. He didn't know. He didn't care.


He proceeded to step behind his mother, taking his small hands and placing them on her head. One action leading to another, with him ending in twisting and twirling her mane. It ended up becoming to look like a singular, large braide. It smelled nice. It was at these times that he wished time would stop, and this forest... would be left with it's enticing scents and enchanting scenery.

But, with a smile frozen to his face, his braiding had slowed, and humming had ceased, leaving them in an utter silence. Was he blind? No, not physically... but, was he? Was this world as enchanting as he saw it? Every day was as perfect as he imagined it be, even if things didn't go his way, but he believed that something was out there, and that he always found it, but did he? It was an unsettling thought. Was this everything he sought? He didn't know. Why couldn't he know? If there was an evil in the world... would he want to see it? Would it be enticing? Would it be miserable? There were a lot of things kept hidden from Junpei. He didn't know, and was uninterested in those secrets but what were they? Were there secrets to begin with? He didn't know... would he ever?

He came to a complete halt, the smile stuck, dancing on his lips. He wanted to be the hero. He wanted to be the knight in shining armor, like in the picture books. He wanted to save the day. But save it from what? "Mommy..." He spoke softly, almost in a complete whisper with shaky words, "...do - do you think I can be the hero? Like in the picture books? The man with brown hair and golden eyes who saves the princess from the bad guy? I can always protect you. We'll be together forever, right?" He smiled, laughing, completely forgetting why he asked.

He'd be the hero. And he'd protect his mother. He'd do it all. And no one could tell him otherwise.

AND NOW ITS ENDING IN MY RESURRECTION

CALL OF THEWILD

Kanix sighed as she felt her son's presence shifting around to her backside, where he would twist and turn her hair. A tingling sensation enveloped her scalp and she shivered at the gentle touch, enjoying the relaxing feeling... then he spoke. Her eyes, which had closed while Junpei braided and unbraided her hair, opened to reveal their oceanic hue. They stared down at her hands for the longest moment of her life while he talked to her in an almost... sad? ... voice. She couldn't make out the emotion he was expressing, but whatever the emotion had been, she didn't like hearing it. He shouldn't sound so sad over such a simple idea; he wasn't a hero now, though he was a hero in the making. Finally, Kanix lifted her head some, so that her voice wasn't muffled by her hair or any other obstacle, and answered him...

"Everyone is the hero of their own story, Junpei; you might not be a hero right now, but you are a hero in the making. It will take you a very long time, my son; however, all of your hard work will pay off and you'll be just as strong as Heero one day." A smile laced the contours of her lips and she lowered her head again, listening to the sounds of nature around them. "A very long time ago, I was a dark mage... were you aware of that, Dear? Your mother used to kill people in the name of Famine, the leader of Basilisk Fang. She didn't like me much if at all; she found me annoying, I suppose, didn't like how I could read people for information on them. I ran into a Fairy Tail mage one day, lost was she, and I had thought that if I brought the head back of this woman, Famine would see wonders of me." She fell silent amid her story, swallowing down a lump in her throat as she recalled that horrid, fateful day.

"I was wrong... I was so, so wrong... I went in for the attack, but she turned out to be stronger than I had known. You see, this woman I was attacking... she was Raina, the Princess of Fairies and she was stronger than I was. It wasn't that she fought back, no, it was that we were intercepted by your father's guildmaster, who chained us to the ground with his shadows. That wasn't all though, things became worse for me when another of Fairy Tail's legendary members strode along... Leonard Dragonbane, the first guildmaster of Fairy Tail. I... was caught in a telltale of death; I wasn't going to make it out alive, for I foresaw my own death coming to me. Everything became so chaotic thereafter, and I was certain that under the protect of Daemon Spade, I would be a goner." Kanix laughed at her words, her entire body shuddering with the effort of trying to explain to her son how she was the heroine of her story.

"Oh, but then he came along, the damned guildmaster of Fairy Tail, Heero Reyold; that dragon of lightning..." There was a hitch to her voice now, her right hand curling into a fist in her lap as she spoke with distaste from history. "It's all too much to remember clearly, all chaotic and senseless, but I remember all of Basilisk Fang arriving, every member. I remember being taken from Daemon and Heero's sides into the malicious grasp of that snakish woman and a blade pressed to my throat. I had no more hope of survival, until an estranged woman changed places with me and I saw the power displayed by these mages. That day... I realized that I didn't have to be a dark mage to be the hero of my story, I didn't have to be a dark mage to be strong. Power was already within me, I just needed to choose the right path... the right way to go to become the hero and let go of being the villain."

Kanix fell silent as her story came to a close, the atmosphere around them shifting to that of possible awkwardness and an array of other emotions, most of which emitted off of her. "You, my little flower that blossoms with hope... you be the hero of your own story and let the tale unfold for itself," she ended her words. She shifted her position a small amount, enough that she was facing Junpei now, and reached forward to pull him into a hug. "This world is so much more evil than you will ever come to understand, my love, but I will never hide you from the truth. What I do for you is to protect you, remember that, and it is only right for you to be able to protect me as well. I promise that we will remain together forever, and that no harm will ever come to what has brought me happiness... you." Turning her head toward him, she'd hold Junpei close to her and nuzzle her face into the crook of his neck before letting him go.