And We Open to Chapter One

[Jade]

The bedroom looked as if someone had recently decided to remove all but the bare essentials, stripped down to the barest of bones. The neatly made bed, with the green blanket and the two pillows without any visible wrinkles, was lit by the slant of sunlight entering the room from the window on the wall opposite; a dark, wooden night stand stood beside the headboard, looking lonely without its usual burden of books. The rest of the room was empty; just dark green paint on the walls, the wooden ceiling, the wooden floor, and that window that was still a little higher than Piers’ line of sight. Piers himself was leaning against his doorframe, a relatively simple, brown leather backpack slung casually over his shoulder. Within that bag was the one book the young man had decided to take with him on his journey, as well as the three wanted poster-bookmarks in between the pages. Piers pushed himself off the doorframe quietly, and proceeded to make the way across the floor of his room, looking to see if there was anything else he wanted to take. Most of his extraneous belongings had been sold off for extra pocket change for the upcoming journey in the last couple weeks, such as most of his book collection that had pained him so much to part with; nothing else would leave such an impression on him, so why bother to mention such things?

Piers’ heavy shoes creaked along the pristine floor as he bent down to look under his bed; one last check for any beri that could possibly be hiding from him. This wasn’t the first time this type of check had been made, and, of course, the results were once again negative. Which, in this case, was a good thing. Leaving with even one beri left behind could spell tragedy for this little outing, after all. Piers raised himself back up to his full weight, and then, with one last look around his room, he turned around on his heels and walked slowly out.

It was still early in the morning, but Piers had been up for quite some time already; he wanted to have time today to say his farewells and make final purchases, and still have time before the sun set to make it off Yeste Island. From what he had read in his books, the ocean was a beautiful place to be on a cloudless, calm night, and if tonight was to be one of those nights, well, Piers sure as hell didn’t want to miss it. He looked down the short hall, nodding his head at his parent’s closed door, and then turned and opened the door leading into the back of the general store. It was here that he had sold his little odds and ends to his father not long ago. It was here that he spent years saving up his money with Yren. It was here that he grew up, and now he was going to leave. Piers smiled at the memories, running his hand along the counter as he walked around it. Now then, there wasn’t a moment to waste, but still, it was always hard to leave behind something that had become such a big part of one’s life without one even realizing it. Yren would most likely be up and awaiting Piers, and it was impolite to keep your friend’s waiting, especially on a day as special as this.

[yren]

Yren blinked and spun about slowly in place, blue eyes surveying the cluttered room. Clothes lay strew about haphazardly from his packing, and he had little time to put them away. There was so much he wanted to take with him, practicality could be such an inconvenience. There was no way he would be able to fit it all into the winged backpack he had made specially for the journey.

Grudgingly he picked out another blouse from the pigsty and shoved it down around the side. The blue bag was already bursting at the seams, there was not even enough room for a mouse to creep in, thankfully. Mice ate through the most important things, like lace, and their furry little faces of innocence made it so hard to stay cross with them.

He tiptoed through the wreckage and out through the door, his goodbyes already given to his parents earlier, before they had left to tend the shop. It was only a few minutes until he had to meet Piers, but he took the few seconds to butter a few rolls for him. It never bode well to start on an adventure on an empty stomach. Whistling happily he strode out the door and off towards the general shop to meet his friend.

The blond soaked up the sun as he skipped up the path, careful to keep his balance in the heeled boots he had pulled on. Heels were new to him, and even though he had spent the whole morning clonking about in them there still was a slight wobble in his step. With the wobble of the boat it would all even out in the end, right?

Piers was not waiting outside the store as he had anticipated, but sure enough when he poked his head in the door his large friend was there. He seemed to be momentarily taken with the familiar counter tops, and Yren hung back letting him have his last few moments with the home he had grown with.

"Piers..."

Yren spoke softly as he walked forward and grabbed onto Pier's arm, lifting his feet off the ground to hang awkwardly from it. "Globe of opportunities with a path carved behind?" He swung from his arm some more and let his shoes clack back to the floor.

"Prints, one in front of one another, simple ja?" his hands hurriedly out his skirts of the blue dress he had pulled on and straightened out the snowy white sailor collar. "Running with time~ Run run run with time!"

He chatted away happily to Piers and pulled him gently towards the door. It would be the last time that they would see the shop in a while, it would be an odd feeling to have it missing from their lives. They had spent much time playing around, and working relentlessly as well. It was time to move along, the blond did worry that the longer they lingered the weaker his friend's resolve would become.

---

Piers's Dictionary:

[/i]

"Prints, one in front of one another, simple ja?" = The first steps do seem so simple, right?

"Running with time~ Run run run with time!" = Its time to gooo~

[/ul][/size]

[Jade]

Piers turned his head at the subtle noise of the door opening, letting in his best friend in the whole world. Yren spoke his name, and then, while hanging off his arm, reassured him in that so-strange yet so-endearing speech of his. ”I suppose so...”, Piers started with a faint smile, and then shrugged. ”But, to be honest? I don’t think I’ll be returning to this place. At least not for a long, long while...” He smiled and rustled Yren’s hair as the shorter young man dropped back down to the floor... Wait a second, something was off here. Piers raised his left eyebrow slightly, but before he could phrase his question, Yren was back to talking.

”Running with time~ Run run run with time!”

It took Piers a moment to decode what his friend had said, but, when he did, he had to smile again. The larger of the pair ran his hand over the worn smooth counter one last time, giving the shop that had been his home for 23 good years another look, and nodded. ”Truer words have yet to be spoken.” he said quietly, and then surged forward, putting his right arm over Yren’s left side, pulling the smaller built man in to Piers’ side. ”Take one last look... This is the last time for a long, long time that we’ll see home!” With that, Piers removed his arm from his friend, put his hands in his pockets after a brief moment of indecision as to where to put them, and then he was lumbering out the door. He blinked a couple times, giving his eyes a moment to adjust from the darker storefront to the bright of the morning, and then gave a smile. The sky was a lovely shade of blue this morning, with only a few small, wispy clouds keeping the blue from being an endless, oppressive force. The buildings around the general store were, for the most part, still locked up with people still sleeping or just preparing for the day; a few were clearly open, with their front doors hanging wide to their neighbors and the people who lived inside either milling about or sitting in chairs pulled out to enjoy the warmth of the still-rising sun.

Piers turned around slowly, showing Yren his smile. ”I don’t think we could have picked a more beautiful day than today, eh?” he remarked, trying to spark conversation. In truth, the young man was beginning to question if he was making the right decision here; perhaps he really should listen to his parents, become a Marine instead? He would still get to see the world, and he’d have a paycheck for it... But no. There was no freedom there; only orders that one must always follow. Bounty hunters and merchants were no better, going where they must for money. The life of a pirate must be the only choice for one who desired to see the world the way they want to... Come on... Years of effort, Piers. You can’t make it all for naught now...

Piers rolled his shoulders slowly, twisting his neck around, removing kinks that he had already relieved an hour ago. He coughed lightly, readjusted his maces and saber at his belt, and, basically, did everything he could do on his person to stall for a little time. When he was down to just making sure every hair in his soul patch was trimmed nice and neat, Piers decided enough was enough. ”Well... Let’s get a move on. Anywhere you want to stop before we head down to get our boat?” Piers knew the answer to his own question; there was only one place he would never be able to visit enough, even if he postponed this trip another hundred years...

[yren]

Yren blinked twice when Piers removed his arm from around his shoulder and headed out the door into the bright sunlight. It was really a perfect day for the perfect milestone of life. There would be nothing but good luck leaving on such a beautiful day. It would simply defy the laws of nature for anything of a darker nature to take place. He would not allow it!

It was still early out, the sun not yet risen too far up into the sky, a warm flash of colors still lingering on the edge of the horizon. The time was still early, and the whole day open before them to explore. He smiled and gave a soft wave to the people sitting about on their porches, greeting them kindly. It would be a long time until he saw them again, and it was best to leave them with a kind smile to remember him until he returned.

Piers voiced his agreement about the weather, and the blond bobbed his head in agreement returning his friend's smile with his own. "Mr sun should continue staying cloudly for a few more days no?" he chirped, wrapping his arms around Piers's chest to keep his balance. The heeled boots were so comfortable and fitting for the day, but how did people keep from wobbling on the little pegs?

His friend seemed to be nervous, there was no blame put on him though. Everything that was familiar, the town they knew like the backs of their hands, the boards which creaked in each other's houses, it would all be left behind. Who knew if the trade of the known for the unknown would be worth it. But, if they did not at the very least make an attempt wouldn't the last few years had been for naught?

”Well... Let’s get a move on. Anywhere you want to stop before we head down to get our boat?”

He shook his head and waved the rolls in front of his friend's face with a grin. "This one is satisfied, is that one?" he wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled himself off the ground. Carefully he hugged the larger man's shoulders and hugged his sides with his legs, seated on his back. "Wards to the sea?" he asked idly, an arm outstretched and pointed towards the road.

---

Piers's Dictionary:

[/i]

"Wards to the sea?"" = Let us move along towards the sea?



[/ul][/size]

[Jade]

"This one is not satisfied. Not yet, at any rate..." Piers said slowly, after allowing Yren a moment to get situated upon his back. The larger of the two shifted the smaller one's weight around, searching for a greater degree of comfort in the task of carrying his friend, and, once satisfied, smiled again. "I have at least one place I want to see one last time before we leave..."

The pair slowly trudged through the half-asleep town that was their home, Piers reluctant, at least at first, to move at a reasonable rate. His every motion, at first, was long and drawn out, trying to take all of the sights and sounds that had become so usual to him that he had even started to forget their existence in. Perhaps he'd write a book one day, an autobiography. Perhaps, if he was successful as a pirate, saw the world and, against all odds, settled back down in this place, just maybe he'd buy a house, settle down, and instead of taking in the words, he would write them himself, for the next generation. That would be fantastic... But what would the point be, if he did not see the world his way first?

But after the first ten minutes of walking, Piers' speed picked up. There was no point in drawing this out longer than it needed to take; just like there was no point in breaking away from the clamp pulling out one's loose baby tooth. You'd just make the whole process take double, if not even more, the time it should have originally, and you'd end up in a lot more pain than if you had just sucked it up and sat still for just a second longer. And besides, he couldn't keep Yren waiting, and what would Artaxes say if he watched Piers drag this out like this? Well, for starters, the old Marine would probably have berated him for going out and becoming a pirate, but, ignoring that fact, the old man would've given Piers a good smack upside the head, maybe a superficial cut on the forearm, along with a snide comment about how he would have been dead right then if he had been moving any slower. There was something about that old man that had been so annoying at the time, but now that he was gone...

It seemed like hardly any time at all had passed before Piers made it to his destination, standing in front of the grave of the old fool, the drunken swordsman, the man who had been a great mentor to Piers. This was the one last place he had wanted to visit before setting out to start his life... "You know, I didn't know him for very long." Piers started talking, looking down at the simple, slightly raised mound, covered in short grass and a few small, blue-petalled flowers growing where someone had previously laid out a similar gift in honor of the dead. "Sure, we all knew of him. They told us to stay away from him. He was crazy, wasn't he? I guess most of us didn't know the half of it... He really was insane. But it was in a good way. He knew what he was doing..." Piers stood silently for a moment, looking down at the small, unmarked grave, and then closed his eyes and sighed. "I miss him. I never thought I would, but then he went and died, and I found that I really did miss the old fool."