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The sound of whispering on the other side of the wall woke me and I slowly blinked my eyes open. I looked up to the shattered window of our sleeping area to see it was still dark outside. Shuffling came through the curtain door, the muffled thump of feet against the hard cement floor and that notable soft grind of pulling bag strings.

"We're gonna have to get the kids up soon," Sura said quietly.

"Soon ain't now," responded a busy Riv. "Want 'em to sleep as much as they can."

I sat up and quickly shook my head to wake myself. We'd been looking forward to this day, to the point the past several days were a blur. It's strange how slowly time passes when you have something to look forward to, but once you're there it's like no time passed at all.

Through the murky darkness I looked down to my hands, firm and scuffed from chores, and a small smile creased my lips. How funny it was that I'd find a sense of belonging among those who lacked their own. I thought back through all Xhianei and I had gone through, from fleeing home with Parana to crossing an ocean, to getting turned away from our destination, and finally ending up here. So much happened in such a short time.

"You think you have enough?" asked Sura.

"Hopefully it'll be, but might be a bit tight," Riv answered.

I missed my mom. I missed Parana. I hoped everything, everyone back home was doing okay, and that the wrench in my mom's plans wouldn't cause too many problems down the line from here. Though displaced, both Xhianei and I were safe and hopefully that would still count for something.

Looking just beyond the end of the bed I saw Parana's bag on the floor. I had already packed everything away the previous night so it was closed up nice and tight, ready to carry. Something about this didn't feel quite right, though, so I leaned forward to grab its handle and pull it over. Undoing the zipper I gently reached my hand inside, feeling around for-- ah, there it was. I pulled out the envelope that Parana had given me back at the shipyard, and pinching the side I could still feel the contents. I stared at it for a moment, quickly glancing over to a still-sleeping Xhianei, before placing it on the floor beside me and repacking my bag without it.

Pushing the bag aside I stood up and gave a long stretch before bending back down to retrieve the envelope. Reaching out I slowly drew back the end of the curtain to see Sura and Riv sorting through miscellaneous things and packing the necessities into bags by candlelight, the burning wick smell reminding me of home. A quick look down the hall confirmed we were the only ones currently awake.

I took a deep breath and stepped forward, clutching the envelope tightly. Sura must have heard me because she turned around pretty fast.

"Oh, hey Xhias," she said through a yawn. "D'you need something?"

"Um, well, I was...actually wondering if you both had enough."

"Ah, don't worry about it," Riv assured, though his voice gave a hint of uncertainty.

"Just...I have this from home," I said, offering Riv the envelope. "My mom gave it to us for Huot, but...yeah. I don't know what's in it, I never opened it, but I've held onto it in case we needed it. If it'll help, I...I'd like you to take it."

Riv just stared at it, unmoving and eyes were wide with disbelief.

"Please take it," I said. "I want to help."

He looked from the envelope to me, then back to the envelope. Slowly and hesitantly he extended a hand to accept it, opening the folded side to examine what it held. I had never handled money before so I didn't know what was in it or how much it was worth.

"I-I'm sorry if it isn't much, I don't know anything about money, but I thought--"

The both of them knelt to my level.

"Xhias, are you sure you want to give this to us?" Sura asked. "That's very thoughtful of you, but..."

"This...ain't a small amount," Riv said, voice cracking. "Don't want to take this unless you're absolutely sure."

"Our mom gave that to us for our care, and I think this is what she would want," I blurted. "Just...please take it."

The two of them stood there, stunned, as a moment of silence hung in the air. Riv put the money back in the envelope and stowed it away in his pocket before they both reached forth and hugged me tight.

"You've no idea how much this means to us," Sura whispered.

"...Thank you, Xhias," was all Riv could say. Those three words carried a fullness to them I couldn't quite explain.

Both of them stood up slowly, something behind me catching their attention. I turned around to see for myself. Saffron stood at the mouth of the hall, arms folded and leaning against the wall with a small sly smile on his face. His eyes met mine and he gave a slow nod, his smile growing bigger before turning around and disappearing down the hall.

---

We got the rest of our stuff packed and ready before waking up Connor, Harley, and Xhianei. As a parting gift Ulimi had sent a large bag of food back with Riv on his last day, some of which became our breakfast. As I took another bite of my sweet bun I looked over the place I'd called home over the past few weeks. It was weird but it hung a little heavy in my heart to know this was probably the last time I'd see the place, even if it were just a storm shelter. I couldn't even imagine how the others felt, Riv especially. Despite that, many smiles and happy stories were still told during breakfast, sharing perhaps the few good memories we all had from our respective origins. The more I heard, the more interested I grew in where everyone came from and the more excited I became to see more of the world around us.

...I never thought I would feel eager to see the world again after my dad, after the foster home.

"'Kay then, everyone ready?" Sura asked, looking us over. "Everyone fed and got their stuff to carry?"

"Looks like it," Saffron said as he slung a bag across his back. "It's not like we have much more than we arrived with."

Both Sura and Riv gave a little chuckle as they packed away the rest of the food in another bag. A small jab at my side alerted me of Xhianei trying to hand me a pencil and a piece of paper. I took a look at the paper, smiled, and signed my name alongside the others' before she took it back to pin to a wall.

I picked up my bag and took Xhianei's hand as we all walked down the hall and up the stairs for the last time, stepping out into the chilly, salty air of the world above. Once we walked to the outskirts Riv waved his hand to say he'd be a minute. Curious, I followed him to one of the cliffsides. He hopped up on a fallen stone and squatted, looking out east.

"You okay?" I asked, stepping closer and taking a seat by the stone.

"Ah, yeah, sorry," he said, chewing on a splint. "Just...you know, lot to take in. This place was my home, it and Huot're all I know."

"Worried?"

"That's a word."

We sat in silence for a moment, just looking out to the starry sky.

"I'm glad you're with us, you and Xhianei," he said. "Sorry things in Huot didn't work out, but kinda at the same time I'm real glad they didn't. You're good kids, nobody deserves that fate. Happy I could help in some way."

"Where do we go from here?" I asked as he tossed the chewing splint somewhere.

"North," he said. "From what Ulimi showed me there should be towns on a trade route north of here, and with the money we've got they'll be willing to let us come along. Keep goin' 'til you're where you want to be."

I looked down toward my feet and thought about what lay ahead. Riv hopped off the stone and looked down at me with an arm outstretched, those pale eyes evoking a feeling of calmness.

"We're all goin' together, nobody left behind."

I looked at his hand, then back at him, and accepted, getting back onto my feet. Side by side we made our way back to the group. All together, we took our first steps north.

---

Mom,

I'm sorry that things here didn't turn out how you planned. I know it wasn't something you could foresee and we really did try to make it work, but I guess things here had something else in mind. If you send for us, I don't know where we'll be, but I hope to see you again. We love you and miss you dearly, you and Parana both.

But don't worry about us, mom.

We'll be alright.

---

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Thanks for reading.

Description
The sound of whispering on the other side of the wall woke me and I slowly blinked my eyes open. I looked up to the shattered window of our sleeping area to see it was still dark outside. Shuffling came through the curtain door, the muffled thump of feet against the hard cement floor and that notable soft grind of pulling bag strings.

"We're gonna have to get the kids up soon," Sura said quietly.

"Soon ain't now," responded a busy Riv. "Want 'em to sleep as much as they can."

I sat up and quickly shook my head to wake myself. We'd been looking forward to this day, to the point the past several days were a blur. It's strange how slowly time passes when you have something to look forward to, but once you're there it's like no time passed at all.

Through the murky darkness I looked down to my hands, firm and scuffed from chores, and a small smile creased my lips. How funny it was that I'd find a sense of belonging among those who lacked their own. I thought back through all Xhianei and I had gone through, from fleeing home with Parana to crossing an ocean, to getting turned away from our destination, and finally ending up here. So much happened in such a short time.

"You think you have enough?" asked Sura.

"Hopefully it'll be, but might be a bit tight," Riv answered.

I missed my mom. I missed Parana. I hoped everything, everyone back home was doing okay, and that the wrench in my mom's plans wouldn't cause too many problems down the line from here. Though displaced, both Xhianei and I were safe and hopefully that would still count for something.

Looking just beyond the end of the bed I saw Parana's bag on the floor. I had already packed everything away the previous night so it was closed up nice and tight, ready to carry. Something about this didn't feel quite right, though, so I leaned forward to grab its handle and pull it over. Undoing the zipper I gently reached my hand inside, feeling around for-- ah, there it was. I pulled out the envelope that Parana had given me back at the shipyard, and pinching the side I could still feel the contents. I stared at it for a moment, quickly glancing over to a still-sleeping Xhianei, before placing it on the floor beside me and repacking my bag without it.

Pushing the bag aside I stood up and gave a long stretch before bending back down to retrieve the envelope. Reaching out I slowly drew back the end of the curtain to see Sura and Riv sorting through miscellaneous things and packing the necessities into bags by candlelight, the burning wick smell reminding me of home. A quick look down the hall confirmed we were the only ones currently awake.

I took a deep breath and stepped forward, clutching the envelope tightly. Sura must have heard me because she turned around pretty fast.

"Oh, hey Xhias," she said through a yawn. "D'you need something?"

"Um, well, I was...actually wondering if you both had enough."

"Ah, don't worry about it," Riv assured, though his voice gave a hint of uncertainty.

"Just...I have this from home," I said, offering Riv the envelope. "My mom gave it to us for Huot, but...yeah. I don't know what's in it, I never opened it, but I've held onto it in case we needed it. If it'll help, I...I'd like you to take it."

Riv just stared at it, unmoving and eyes were wide with disbelief.

"Please take it," I said. "I want to help."

He looked from the envelope to me, then back to the envelope. Slowly and hesitantly he extended a hand to accept it, opening the folded side to examine what it held. I had never handled money before so I didn't know what was in it or how much it was worth.

"I-I'm sorry if it isn't much, I don't know anything about money, but I thought--"

The both of them knelt to my level.

"Xhias, are you sure you want to give this to us?" Sura asked. "That's very thoughtful of you, but..."

"This...ain't a small amount," Riv said, voice cracking. "Don't want to take this unless you're absolutely sure."

"Our mom gave that to us for our care, and I think this is what she would want," I blurted. "Just...please take it."

The two of them stood there, stunned, as a moment of silence hung in the air. Riv put the money back in the envelope and stowed it away in his pocket before they both reached forth and hugged me tight.

"You've no idea how much this means to us," Sura whispered.

"...Thank you, Xhias," was all Riv could say. Those three words carried a fullness to them I couldn't quite explain.

Both of them stood up slowly, something behind me catching their attention. I turned around to see for myself. Saffron stood at the mouth of the hall, arms folded and leaning against the wall with a small sly smile on his face. His eyes met mine and he gave a slow nod, his smile growing bigger before turning around and disappearing down the hall.

---

We got the rest of our stuff packed and ready before waking up Connor, Harley, and Xhianei. As a parting gift Ulimi had sent a large bag of food back with Riv on his last day, some of which became our breakfast. As I took another bite of my sweet bun I looked over the place I'd called home over the past few weeks. It was weird but it hung a little heavy in my heart to know this was probably the last time I'd see the place, even if it were just a storm shelter. I couldn't even imagine how the others felt, Riv especially. Despite that, many smiles and happy stories were still told during breakfast, sharing perhaps the few good memories we all had from our respective origins. The more I heard, the more interested I grew in where everyone came from and the more excited I became to see more of the world around us.

...I never thought I would feel eager to see the world again after my dad, after the foster home.

"'Kay then, everyone ready?" Sura asked, looking us over. "Everyone fed and got their stuff to carry?"

"Looks like it," Saffron said as he slung a bag across his back. "It's not like we have much more than we arrived with."

Both Sura and Riv gave a little chuckle as they packed away the rest of the food in another bag. A small jab at my side alerted me of Xhianei trying to hand me a pencil and a piece of paper. I took a look at the paper, smiled, and signed my name alongside the others' before she took it back to pin to a wall.

I picked up my bag and took Xhianei's hand as we all walked down the hall and up the stairs for the last time, stepping out into the chilly, salty air of the world above. Once we walked to the outskirts Riv waved his hand to say he'd be a minute. Curious, I followed him to one of the cliffsides. He hopped up on a fallen stone and squatted, looking out east.

"You okay?" I asked, stepping closer and taking a seat by the stone.

"Ah, yeah, sorry," he said, chewing on a splint. "Just...you know, lot to take in. This place was my home, it and Huot're all I know."

"Worried?"

"That's a word."

We sat in silence for a moment, just looking out to the starry sky.

"I'm glad you're with us, you and Xhianei," he said. "Sorry things in Huot didn't work out, but kinda at the same time I'm real glad they didn't. You're good kids, nobody deserves that fate. Happy I could help in some way."

"Where do we go from here?" I asked as he tossed the chewing splint somewhere.

"North," he said. "From what Ulimi showed me there should be towns on a trade route north of here, and with the money we've got they'll be willing to let us come along. Keep goin' 'til you're where you want to be."

I looked down toward my feet and thought about what lay ahead. Riv hopped off the stone and looked down at me with an arm outstretched, those pale eyes evoking a feeling of calmness.

"We're all goin' together, nobody left behind."

I looked at his hand, then back at him, and accepted, getting back onto my feet. Side by side we made our way back to the group. All together, we took our first steps north.

---

Mom,

I'm sorry that things here didn't turn out how you planned. I know it wasn't something you could foresee and we really did try to make it work, but I guess things here had something else in mind. If you send for us, I don't know where we'll be, but I hope to see you again. We love you and miss you dearly, you and Parana both.

But don't worry about us, mom.

We'll be alright.

---

music

Previous: www.deviantart.com/silasagnost…
First: www.deviantart.com/silasagnost…

Thanks for reading.