Avaron's POV

I ran up the jagged path, pulling Kinny behind me. "Uhhh!", he groaned. "Almost there.", I replied to his noise. "This is taking forever!", he exclaimed. "The ship is almost there.", I said again.

The morning rose over the horizon, balancing on it like a beach ball on the tip of a sea lion's nose. I drew a smile over my face, but it quickly vanished once I saw the massive crowd waiting for the ship. "Looks like we were never late at all.", I mumbled to myself. "Really?", Kinny said in a sarcastic tone, obviously overhearing me. I shot him a look, and he closed his mouth. But I could still sense he was planning something that had malice writing all over it in his head.

I stood in the awkward silence of strangers. Kinny looked up at me with his shining eyes. He's not innocent., I thought.

"When do we get to see daddy, Avaron?", Kinny asked tugging on my arm. "Soon.", I replied, trying not to let Kinny see the tears in my eyes. He hadn't seen our father years, until later today.

Minutes lurked by, draining the early morning's pleasure. We waited silently until a mountainous ship appeared, reading, Exeed printed on the side of it.

We boarded the gangplank and were greeted by a women wearing a red coat. "Hello, welcome to the Exeed. The only boat on the sea's that is faster then all the others. Tickets please.", she said. I stuck my hand deep in my pocket, and pulled out two crinkly papers. "Here you go.", I muttered handing her the tickets. "Thank you. Kayoki! Please show this young lady and her brother to their cabin."

A women came hustling out from behind a door. "Yes, ma'am. Come, children.", she said motioning for us to follow. Her golden hair flowed to her waist, gliding in different directions. She was wearing a baby blue dress and an apron with lilies on it tied behind her.

Kayoki led us down many stairs, letting more and more pressure above us. Soon I was petrified of the though of being under so many levels. "Hello, children. I am Kayoki. Think of me as a guide or counselor or. . . anything really. Even a mother. Speaking of mothers, where are your parents?", she asked lifting an eyebrow.

"My father is in the war. We are meeting him today.", I responded quietly. "And your mother?", Kayoki questioned. "M- my mother passed away y-years ago.", I stumbled. "Oh! You poor dears. I am so sorry." Kinny started silently crying. I pushed him closer to me. "Everything will be alright, okay?", I asked him. Kinny nodded slightly.

Kayoki steered us to a door, which was apparently ours. "Here you go, dearie.", Kayoki said to us unlocking the door. We were halfway through when she caught my shoulder. "Stay strong.", she whispered. I nodded and entered the room.

I stare out the porthole, wondering what is wrong with the sky. "Kinny, does something seems wrong to you?", I asked my brother. "Yeah. You're in my room.", he answered. "No! Not that, The sky. It seems. . . weird." Kinny came to stand by my side. He peaked out the window and shrugged. "Who cares? Just the sky.", he said. "Well, what if a storm is coming?", I questioned him. He shrugged his shoulders again, and went back to unpacking.

Later that day, I occasionally peered out the porthole window. Every time, the water was more rough, and the wind was blowing harder. "A storm is surely brewing. I mean, look at the ocean.", I finally said. "What if the storm delays the ship's arrival to home?", I asked Kinny. "How should I know? I am only twelve. And you heard what the lady said. It is the fastest boat on the sea. We'll make it.", Kinny responded. "Why am I asking a kid for advice?", I asked myself.

By night, you could hear the tides crashing, and the wind was howling through the down pouring of the rain. This worried me as I fell asleep next to Kinny in the small bed of the ship cabin. . .

|Puggie|

Just a writey-mood pug in a corner of the universe. . .