Eric
The Sixth Stop
Eric looked at the small girl. She seemed to be awake, if only slightly, and he was just about to tiptoe out of the room when he heard a meek voice. “E-Eric . . . ?” The boy looked up from the wooden planks on the floor. The girl coughed violently and Eric rushed into the room, crouching by the bed with wide eyes. “R-Rii thinks she might’ve gotten Eden’s cold. . . .” Eric blinked, before laughing awkwardly and trying to hide his small fear. He'd gotten used to Eden getting ill; the boy hardly left the house so of course he would catch illnesses and colds as soon as he got near another Am Caillte being. But when other people got colds, a fear would arise and build up through his body quickly, taking over any other emotion trying to mask it. Also, he hated getting ill himself, since he knew Eden would freak out to the point of making himself ill.
Memories flashed back to the day when Eden had been screaming and crying, Miranda trying to pull him away. He remembered his face, the pure terror on his face which would put him in a state where he would faint every once in a while, an echo of his shouts. It was terrifying for both the boys, so much that Eric almost felt their roles of older brother and younger brother flip in that one time. He'd become the comforting one, the one who solved all the problems. And then one day, Eden had just arrived, only to say goodbye and leave. He returned in over half a year.
The youth's hand subconsciously flew to his chest, his heart, and he breathed heavily. He sat so he was kneeling. "I'm sorry Ceridwen, but why did you sleep here anyway?" he said quietly, his voice showing an oddly shy side of him. He twiddled his thumbs, before setting them on his lap and clasping them together, aware of his annoying habit. Eric unclasped them, to put a hand on Ceridwen's forehead. He sighed to himself. "Now I just don't know what to do." he said to himself, before bringing his thoughts into his head. I needed to go out to find some medicine, but now that Eric and Ceridwen are ill, I can't just leave them behind. Leaving Cleo with them would be harsh, but I can't make her carry Ceridwen. Maybe. . . Maybe she'd be fine staying with Eden. Eric thought, placing his head on the bed.
Ah. Headache. he thought glumly, sighing. He felt a million thoughts running through his head all at once and he sat up suddenly, breathing out to make his mind clear. His eyes glanced back to Ceridwen, before he smiled mockingly. "Ah, I see you still can't take a simple cold." He said, grinning. Of course, it was quite obviously a mask, one which vanished quickly.
"Do you. . . ." Eric's voice trailed off, the silence almost torturing him. ". . . . want me to carry you anywhere?"
Eden
Natsukage
Eden simply blinked at the girl as she cuddled into him. Being the morning and all, his hyper vibe had died off and he was right back to the socially awkward being whom he was. He didn't feel any embarrassment, but the added body heat made him breathe heavily, his head spinning. The girl seemed to be only half conscious, but with him burning up and her body gradually getting warmer, Eden would have to wake her so as not to pass out. She was only on his lap though, so maybe he'd be able to endure.
Just as quickly as she'd landed on him, she flew off like a rabbit jumping from predators. "Ah! I'm s-sorry! Er, that is, what, ah, I didn't mean to... gah.... uu....!" Her voice melted into a small whisper, a mumble, and Eden raised an eyebrow, wondering what had gotten into the girl. Had she had an epiphany? Maybe as she arose from her snoozing state, she realised that he was a person and not just a soft, cuddly figment of a dream?
"Eden?! What are you doing here?" Cleo sounded shocked, but familiar. He couldn't place her voice and before he could ask something like "Do I know you?", the girl was speaking yet again.
"I thought you were sick!" Eden frowned at this, a small pout forming on his lips. "A-and... the wood's really rotten in some places! I-it's probably really dangerous for more than one person to be up here!"
The brunet grabbed her hand again, bringing it to his chest. "I'm not sick, see? My heart's fine, so I'm not sick!" Eden soon calmed himself, letting go of the girl's hand slowly. "While I do admit the scale was frightful, I had thought you had died and decided to check." He said, before turning to his side and coughing violently into his hand. Eden bent over, gasping for breath once the loud cough had left his body, he looked up at the girl, his eyes filled with pain-caused tears which refused to fall and he took three deep breaths before leaning back onto the wood behind him. The boy bit on his thumb thoughtfully, ignoring the added pain of the wound from the day before and sighed.
After staring at the wooden planks holding the nest together, Eden looked up at the girl with an odd, childish fear which basically screamed the fact that he was about to say something strange. "You're not dead, right? This isn't just a premonition in my dream and in real life, you are actually dying?" He stared into her eyes, leaning forwards and pinching her cheeks.
"Hey, why'd you cry?" His voice softened considerably, but the look in his eyes remained the same; normal and stoic. He knelt on all fours so he was face to face with the girl. He stared, his gaze not leaving hers before he looked down at the planks. She's right, but. . . . I can't get down right now. he thought glumly.
With a sudden idea, Eden grabbed the girl's shoulders and spun her quickly, before pulling her shoulders down. In this new position, she had her head on his lap much like he had his head on hers the night before. He leaned over, peering into her face, before saying "Would you like to hear the story of the 'Tree Who Had No Nests'?". The story, a short one, was one his mother had invented when Eden was a small child. Ever since, he'd believed it was a well known story, but his friends and, to his own disbelief, little brother had proven him wrong.
Charle's Promise
"See? It's a nice story, isn't it?" Eden said calmly, his small voice carried along the ship. The three younger children stared at him, their eyes wide, before one of the girls began crying. The eldest blinked, before stuttering quickly, not knowing what to do. Eric had grabbed onto his leg, rendering him almost immobile, and the smallest one, Ceridwen, was just sitting, thinking hard. Eden knelt down to Marie, patting her head. "What's wrong? Haven't you heard that story before? It's really popular." he said, getting odd looks from the three.
Eric was the first to speak. "I've never heard that one." he said, a big smile plastered on his face while the two girls nodded. Eden looked shocked beyond belief and the little brother's smile disappeared as his brother's confusion slowly turned to anger.
Eden breathed heavily to keep his composure. "Mother only left a few years ago and you're telling me you've forgotten her stories? She said that one was the most popular. She never lied, Eric. You know that." He had managed to keep his voice quiet, albeit shakily. Eric just stared at him, not saying a word.
"Maybe what she meant was that it was the most popular between her brothers and sisters. . . ." came a timid voice and Eden spun around, looking at the owner of the voice. Ceridwen was nodding in agreement with Marie's statement, yet Eden backed away from the three who were now discussing how nice his mother was before she left. He sat at a considerable distance away from them, going over the exact words of the story, assuring himself he'd never forget them, no matter what. Not even if his stepmother, Miranda, forced him to. Ever.
Eden smiled to himself. He'd gotten it memorised down to every syllable and even how it was said. "If I tell you the story, maybe I can lull you back to sleep?"