Expected News

Kyro steps into the hut, those beads clicking behind him. Sunlight pierces through holes in the straw ceiling, shining down in skinny lines that paint the dirt floor. Two beds sit on either side, fur pelts draped over piles of straw. Near the back wall, a small cauldron hangs from a prop stick, half-burned twigs and brush piled under it. The cauldrons are placed in every hut, though Kyro wonders how long this one has been here. Probably years.

Kyro walks towards his sister, who sits on one of two tree stumps placed before the cooking station. His eyes linger on Yoru as he sits across from her. A sliver of sunlight shines on her silver hair, and she sits with her legs together, hands resting on her lap.

"How did it happen?" Yoru asks, gazing at Kyro, "How did my son die?" Her expression is abrasive, lips quivering slightly. That strong, undaunted facade has crumbled in seconds.

Kyro pauses, the words lodged in his throat. His body begs him to vomit, "He..." The Rajin man mutters, "He threw himself into the lava, Yoru. Mavyl took his own life."

Yoru's eyes widen, her lips parted. She blinks, and tears rush down her cheeks and to her chin, dripping from it and staining her red dress. Kyro is silent as he watches her. Those tears have been held back for two years, and they deserve to be released. Yoru looks at her brother, eyes begging, "A-are you sure? Maybe-"

"I watched it happen, Yoru," Kyro interrupts, feeling his own eyes get hot, "'Help me look for some firestarter'...I should have known," He grimaces, recalling those calm words from his nephew, a smile on his lips. Mavyl had seemed happy. Content despite what he was about to do. Why?

For a time, only quiet sobs fill the hut. Kyro searches for an answer to his question. Could it have been the fate of a collector overwhelming Mavyl? Could the thought of dying on another planet, being a slave for the rest of his life have driven him to suicide? It could be part of the reason, Kyro thinks, but there must be something else. Mavyl could have chosen execution, but he did not. He decided to live on for some reason.

"Does Ingen know?" Yoru wipes her tears with the hem of her dress, sniffling.

Kyro shakes his head, "I told him it was a parasite. I thought that you should be the first one to know," he says.

"He deserves to know, Kyro," Yoru responds, sniffling again. She takes a deep breath, exhaling shakily, "Ingen may not have our blood, but he is family. He was an uncle to my son, just as much as you were."

Kyro pauses, the words bringing him more shame than he thought they would. He did it with Cage's situation as well. What is bringing him to be so closed off to the only true brother he has ever known? Was that promise to not take their relationship for granted just a lie? Kyro looks at his sister, those yellow eyes seeming to glow as they stare back, "I will tell him."

Yoru nods, sniffling again as she straightens her back, "Now, who is that man? Cage was his name?" she asks.

Kyro furrows his brows, "Don't you think-"

The Rajin woman raises her hand to interrupt, "Let him rest, Brother," she says, brows quivering as she speaks, "I do not wish to cry anymore. Not right now."

Kyro thins his lips to a line, nodding. He thinks about what he should say. Should he tell her the truth? He finds it quite easy to lie to anyone else, but Yoru and Ingen have always had a supernatural ability to see through him. In the end, Kyro decides to keep being truthful. Lying will only incur the wrath of this terrifying woman, "Will you promise to believe me, no matter how absurd what I say is?" The Rajin man asks.

Yoru wrinkles her forehead, pausing. She is clearly confused by the words, but nods eventually.

"He is from Earth."

Yoru cocks her head back, the wrinkles in her forehead doubling, "What?" Yoru questions, "Impossible. Earth is gone."

Kyro shrugs, "I know, but just hear what I have to say," he says, "I can't sense anything from him. No Vas, nothing. He doesn't even have muscles or organs. I understand that you can not prove it for yourself, but there is more. Cage knows nothing of this universe. He had no idea what Vas was until I told him!"

"He could be playing you for a fool," Yoru responds, the doubt in her expression only growing.

"He very well could be," Kyro says, "But I don't believe so. He has helped me. I..." he pauses, lips pursed.

"What is it?" Yoru asks.

Kyro gazes at his sister, sighing. He wipes a hand over his face, dropping it to his lap, "I cracked, Yoru. I nearly did not return from Kalar. I thought about doing the same thing as Mavyl for a week, constantly," he says, a nervous chuckle slipping through his lips, "But then Cage dropped into my life, in a pool of blood and uncertainty. He is strange, and you will realize that soon enough, but he is genuine. He gave me a reason to keep going, even if it was a selfish one."

Yoru hums at the words, worry splashing across her face. The beads at the entrance click in a rhythm as a draft blows into the hut, ruffling black and silver hair in its wake.

Kyro sees his sister's expression, and waves a blue hand through the air, "Do not worry. I am well... As well as a collector can be," he says. The Rajin man struggles with a question for a moment. However, nothing ventured, nothing gained, Kyro thinks, "Will you do me one last favor, Yoru?"

Silence stills the room for a moment, and the Rajin woman sighs, tucking a loose tuft of silver hair behind her ear. A silver earring dangles from her lobe, a tiny spear head hanging from a chain. A gift from Mavyl, a way to remember him in case he does not return from battle. It has been years since Kyro has seen her without the jewelry.

Yoru nods, mustering a smile, "I will try. What is it?" she asks.

Kyro takes a deep breath, his chest deflating as he exhales. He is being selfish again, like always. But something needs to be done, Kyro thinks, no one deserves to be alone, "Will you take Cage in? He needs someone to teach him about... well, everything," he says, "I can only teach him to protect himself. And maybe..."

"What?" Yoru asks, brows furrowed at her brother's hesitation.

Kyro shakes his head, "Nothing," he responds, "Will you do it?"

Yoru pauses, "So it took an unknown man from Earth for you to finally ask for help?" she asks.

Kyro returns a smile, nodding, "I suppose so. I am sorry," he responds.

Yoru shakes her head, "Do not apologize, brother. You know I always want to help. You, Mavyl, Ingen, you are all stubborn as a skoan," she says, "I will do it. Though I can not promise I will be the most forgiving teacher."

"I've known that since we were little," Kyro says, the smile still on his lips. Though a moment later, the smile dissipates as a chilling memory resurfaces. He sighs, "There are a few other things I need to speak to you about..."

---

Kyro and Yoru exit the hut and their blue skin is exposed to the light of Sevi. Kyro looks to his left, towards the hut closest to the city, and sees Cage and Ingen sitting on the ground across from each other. Cage draws in the dirt, and Ingen clicks his tongue, rubbing his chin as he stares down at the drawing. The massive Rajin draws with his own twig, smiling is triumph a moment later, "Now what, little man?" he asks.

Cage raises a brow and glances at Ingen. Without looking, he draws again, "I win," he says with his own smirk.

Ingen looks down, snapping the twig in his fist, "Impossible!" he exclaims. The Rajin man looks up at Cage and his smirk, and annoyance stabs at his brain, "Do you know how easily I could snap your neck?" Ingen says, scowling.

Brother and Sister step up as Cage wheezes, sounding as if his lungs have been strangled to emptiness. Kyro furrows his brows as he stares down at the drawing, four lines crossed over each other with circles and X's in the squares. There are three circles in a diagonal line and X's in different places with no correlation. Kyro glances at Cage with a raised brow, "What is this?" The Rajin asks.

Cage hums, wiping a tear from his eye as he looks up at Kyro, "A game I used to play a long time ago," he says, smiling. The black-eyed man glances at Ingen, who stares down at the game as if trying to find the answer to his loss, "I won."

"This tic-tac game makes no sense! You did not say we can make slanted lines!" Ingen yells, "You cheated!"

Kyro scoffs, looking at Ingen, "You never won any games when we were soldiers. And you expected to win this one?" he asks.

"Quiet, Kyro. You know nothing of Tic-Tac," Ingen grunts, looking at Cage with a clenched jaw, "Let us play again. I will win this time."

"Sorry, Ingen, but Cage is coming with me. You'll have to play him some other time," Yoru chimes in.

Ingen looks up at Yoru, and is met with an unbreakable smile. The woman's eyes are mere slits, her hands clasped before her. 'you will not argue with me' the look says, a message all too familiar to the Rajin man. Ingen sighs, waving a grumpy hand, "Fine." he reluctantly agrees.

Cage stands, brows furrowed as he stares at the silver-haired woman, "Your name is Yoru, right?" he asks.

Yoru nods, "Right."

"Where are we going?" Cage asks.

"To Yellen. You will be staying with me," Yoru responds, "You wouldn't want to stay out here, would you?"

Cage blinks, expression relaxed, "I wouldn't mind it. It's a lot better than Kalar," he responds, glancing at Kyro and Ingen, "And I trust these two."

Yoru exchanges a glance with the Rajin men, earning a shrug from Ingen and a nod and smile from Kyro. The woman raises a brow at the latter's gesture, but eventually looks at Cage again, meeting those black eyes, "Well, I need you to come with me anyways. Those guards will come looking for you if you do not check in," she says, glancing down at the dirty leotard covering his lithe body with a scrunched nose, "We will need to get you out of that collector suit as well. You will no doubt get strange looks if you don't. You also reek of death."

"Really?" Cage furrows his brows, raising his arm and sniffing. He recoils hard, face twisted as if being exposed to Ingen's gas leak again. Though with the sheer potency of it, Cage would not be surprised if some of the stench still lingers in the material. The black-eyed man looks at Yoru, the horrid smell staying with him as if glued to his nose hairs, "Okay, yeah, I'll go with you," he says.

The Rajin woman nods, her earring bobbing under her silk hair, "Good. Let us be off then," she says, turning and passing Kyro, patting him on the shoulder. Ingen stands, bowing toward her as she walks, "Until next time," he says, head down.

Yoru smiles, gazing at Ingen's shiny head, which is way above her even with the bow, "Until next time, Ingen," she says.

Kyro watches her leave, trying to push down the worry welling in his heart. Yoru is strong, sure, but he has seen her cry more for smaller things. He knows she will be grieving for a long time, Kyro just hopes that she will let it happen, and not bottle it up as they both have done in the past. Cage walks between him and Ingen following Yoru. Kyro looks down at the black-haired man, "Cage," he calls.

Cage hums, looking up at The blue-skinned Rajin, "What is it?" he asks.

"Put your hand out, palm down," Kyro says.

Cage wrinkles his forehead but does as he's told, curious. The back of his only pale hand glistens in the light of Sevi, and is soon covered by a massive blue hand, the fingers reaching down his forearm.

"It is the Rajin handshake. If you do this, my people are bound to be more accepting of you," Kyro says, grey eyes becoming hard as he stares down at Cage, "Look after my sister when I can not, please. She will need help at times, even if she says otherwise."

Cage lowers his hand, and Kyro does the same. His black eyes hold those grey for a moment, and he nods, "I will."