"One... Two..."
I run downstairs, each foot slapping on the wooden footsteps as I do so.
I run around the corner the wall, covering my hide as I get around and I run into the living room, I look around for a place to hide, but the place hasn't gotten any different in the past month enough to find a spot that's any better than behind the couch and out of view of everything.
As I run past the couch to get to my spot, the window, right above it shows the forest.
"...That's where the elves went after the Centennial War?"
I pause there, staring at the forest, that only now, I grew to want to investigate it, to learn more about it.
Still looking out the window, I also see, many people walking around the, normally semi-empty streets, making the place look likes is bustling with people, even though its just a few people.
I turn my head to get a full sight of them all, trying to get an understanding on what they are doing here, and remember that the Centennial Festival is near, and that both Steel along with Marcilene were getting ready.
"Ready or not."
My blood rushes cold.
'I forgot about hide and seek.'
I look around my surroundings and don't find a good spot, the couch don't even feel any better than any other worse attempts at reusing them.
I look across the hall toward the dining area, I rush over there, going through the small amount of steps to get there.
A pillar holding up the ceiling blocks the view of the stair to the kitchen.
I squeeze my body together smaller, as if shrinking to not get caught as I hide behind the pillar.
Her footsteps stop as she makes it down completely off the stairs, now on the first story and looking for me intently.
"Come out, Come out wherever you are?"
The way she says it makes it sound so very menacing, like instead of trying to tag me, she's trying to capture me and hold me for a weird science experiment, like I'm a rabbit.
Her footstep move closer to me but not in my direction, as the sound fades closer toward the living room. I guide myself towards the left, moving around the pillar to hide from her.
Moving around the left side, I hear her footsteps stop at the entrance toward the living room and breathing a small sigh of relief as she stays on the opposite side of the pillar looking at the wrong area.
I stand there for a few more minutes as the footsteps have disappeared, no longer there.
'Did she go somewhere else?'
I peek around the left side of the pillar, just a little bit to see if she's still there and end up finding... no one.
She's not there, I tilt my head.
"BOO!"
I just away from the sound screeching into the my ear from the left side and fall back towards the ground staring up, with my one good eye towards, Marcilene.
"Found you, Lazi."
She says with a smile, then she chuckles.
I take a deep breath after her scare.
"How did you see me?"
I ask somewhat disappointed by the way she found me.
"I saw the entire left side of your body, It wasn't as well hidden as you thought."
I stand back up.
"No way, I thought it was good."
She shake her head, in a way to mock me.
"Nope. Saw you once I hit the last step."
I let out a sigh.
"Aw man."
Then a small smile grows on my face.
"Guess that means that we have to get ready soon though."
Marcilene gives me a frown:
"I guess, but how about another game of hide and..."
I stop her there, interrupting her.
"No, we both said that this game would be our last."
I give her a disappointed look, something only she would give me.
"Plus, I want to all go together when Steel comes back, for a while, its only been me and Steel going out to see Vic, then come right back to the house, that boring..."
I walk closer to her, then hopping from one foot to another, I ask in the sweetest voice I can muster together.
"Let's go together and we can have fun."
He ears grow red, so does her face, slightly, she looks at me with defiance in her eyes, like she might object to her going outside with us, even though I've tried my best.
I don't back down either, I stop bouncing from foot to foot and give her my best impression of little brother puppy dog eyes.
She looks down at me, from the few inches she has over me, and I see a slight waver in her look.
She then looks down at the ground and with a groan:
"Okay, I'll follow you and Steel, just let me get ready, you will too."
As she says that, I jump into the sky and fist pump into the air.
"Yay!"
I grab Marcilene and smile at her, giving her a hug as she does so.
At the same time the front door opens.
Steel comes in, his gauntlets in hand, both of them.
He looks at us as we are both, happy about the fact we will both be going to the Festival.
"Steel...!"
I grab Marcilene by her hand, and drag her as we both get closer toward Steel, making me finish my thought:
"Marcliene, said that she'll go with us to the Festival. Can we go and get ready now?"
Steel look out to door, not closed yet.
"I'm sorry, Lazuli, and Marcilene, but I won't be able to follow you to the festival today."
When he says that my heart drops, making me feel the tears well up in my eye, my other eye even with the complete darkness it's in behind the patch, I still hold my wavering smile.
"It's o..."
Before I can finish the sentence someone walks aounr Steel toward the right side of him, since we are looking to each other, he take complete view of my right eye, making my turn my head...
"TALI!"
Marcilene, yells and jumps into a sprint to the person that came in behind Steel, which also made me turn away because of the surprising scream from her.
I get my head back on straight and turn it back towards, the girl that came in from beside Steel, a girl just shorter than Steel, with a lithe figure, brown long hair, that's tied into a ponytail that still reaches her thighs, in length. Her dress that she's wearing is a beautiful red dress, that looks comfortable to wear around, near the waist part of her dress there's an insignia, but its unknown to me.
Marcilene hugs the woman in a tight grip around her waist, as she pats Marcilene's head.
"Hi, Marci. Have you been listening to dad?"
'Dad...? Is she talking about Steel?'
I look up to Steel and look at his eye's, then I look over to Tali, her eyes the same color as his, the same skin tone as well.
She smiles down at Marcilene, with her teeth, white as snow.
Marcilene, looks up to her with her smile and nods her head ferociously.
"I always listen to Dad. Right Dad?"
I didn't even notice it before, but now Steel is smiling as well.
He nods his head, and pats Marcilene's head, over Tali's hand.
"She always listens why wouldn't she?"
"Just gotta make sure, because if not, Flock isn't going to make you anymore dresses."
Marcilene lets out a sound like a disappointed dog and frowns.
"NO! Don't tell him that, I always listen."
They all laugh... My heart feels like it was hit with a bunch of thorns, that pierced it a little.
'I wish I had memories like this, when I was with my mom and dad, laughing together... Maybe if they gave me a younger brother or maybe a younger sister too... I wish I knew why they didn't treat me like their son.'
Those thoughts give me a sad look to my face, making me not look happy to see Tali, which isn't true.
Steel looks down to see me sullen.
He walks over, and stands behind me, while putting, what feels giant, hand on my head and ruffling it.
"This is your younger brother, Tali. Lazuli."
He says it with such passion for me being his son. I look up to see Steel smiling as he finishes the sentence and for a second he looks down and winks at me.
"He also has an Inherited Soul Ability."
His smiles grows even more.
I smile as well.
'When was the last time mom and dad smiled for me...?'
It doesn't matter now though, because Steel is the one to do it for me.
I smile even wider knowing he sees that as an achievement.
Tali looks over at me and Marcilene lets go of her to grab my hand and guide me towards the girl that is currently towering over me.
"Yeah, he can see what magic you will throw and he's super cool!"
I feel like my cheeks want to spread into an even bigger smile.
"Oh, really? You can see magic?"
I nod my head, still slightly flustered in her presence since I don't really know her.
her attention turns for a second to the eye patch, but I frown when it does, not wanting to tell her about it. Making her switch her attention.
Tali looks over to Steel.
"What happened to his eye dad?"
Steel clears his throat, and his voice drops slightly:
"Hey, I was going to teach him to fight and..."
Tali's eye open wide, with shock. She crouches in front of me.
"Dad, he's like three, maybe four. Why would you gouge out his eye?!"
Steel looks stunned.
He then looks down to me, like he's embarrassed about what he's going to say next:
"Another ability that his eye can do, is absorb the Souls Energy around us, and the best way for us so far, is by covering it."
She looks at Steel, with a curious face.
"And this correlates to what happened to him why?"
"Because when I was to train him, I got to into the role, I released to much Soul Energy into the air and it invaded his eye. Making it bleed, and in fear of that happening again, we cover it up."
She looks back to me. Slowly, she lifts her hands and grabs my cheeks, then squeezing them.
"Okay, Let's get you a cool eye patch then."
She says as she stands up off the crouched position.