The World of Rhune

Sharely lounged back and popped a raspberry into his mouth. Amber had managed to get a couple, though the bush had been raided, according to Murphy. He smiled at Cress as he attempted to show Chachi how he could touch his nose, and Amber was staring into the cracked window at her reflection, fingering and twisting her new collar around. Izzy was cracking jokes to Fritz, Kat, and Amber; Sharely laughed as Amber kicked Izzy for something. Probably a dumb blonde joke. Sharely stretched, trying to clear his head of the paper in his right pocket. Raven sat next to him on a beat blanket figuring out the best way to eat the course grained bread and match it perfectly with raspberries. “I got it! Ha, told you it wasn’t a waste of time, eight raspberries to half a slice. I have it down to a science.” She exclaimed right on cue. Izzy rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that’ll be something ‘Scientista Raven, home office in Xirra. Geesh Louis, I’d love to attend to that when you’re arrested. It’ll definetly be comical all right. What, will you prescribe the police twelve raspberries to make them nicer?” Izzy spoke up, not missing a beat as he fingered some grass he’d pulled from the floor, not looking at Raven’s face. “That doesn’t even make sense, Izzy, no offense,” Kat smiled timidly at him, and popped the rest of the brown bread in her mouth. “Yeah, gotta hand you that one, I’ll go find the trophy we keep for lame ones,” Sharely spoke, and got up. He could feel the cold outside tonight, and since he couldn’t be there with his group, he wanted it warm as possible. “Cress, wanta give me a hand?” Cress smiled and grabbed Chachi’s light tan hand, sticking it towards Sharely. “Here ya go” he grinned like he was so smart. Sharely played like he was, “Cress, not that kind of hand, Chachi’s is too pink. I need a real hand,” the group laughed at Chachi’s expense and the boy flushed. “It’s not pink, it’s brown last time I checked.” He defended himself, but Sharely’d already moved on. He grabbed Cress, who let himself get dragged outside, and uncovered the rusted hatchet that he’d put out in the rain and then brought here to chop wood. Cress squinted and looked around for loose wood while Sharely chopped left over stumps from other chopped trees. Cress made a small pile of loose sticks and brush that could be burned; both quickly warmed up from the labor. The two stopped as they heard their door creak, and Kat stepped outside, her breath fogging in the late sun that covered the ground. She smiled at the two, and helped pile the pieces Sharely had chopped and made multiple loads into the house, bringing Chachi out with her after a couple loads. He knew Fritz and Raven would be stacking and coaxing a fire from the small coals they’d buried and kept all day. He brought down the heavy hatchet and broke the stump in half, and chopped again until he had fourths. The logs would help burn all night, keeping some form of heat running through the home. Chachi grabbed one, Cress staggered under another, and Sharely pulled the last two into his arms and followed the procession inside. He watched as Raven stacked the wood and Fritz added some of the already stacked pieces strategically around the flames that had started to lick the inner pieces. “Nice job, guys,” he smiled, and the thought of how Azmarine would never enjoy a family life like this. His warm smile vanished, and sadness seeped into his dark eyes. He stepped outside, brought back in the rest of the wood and brush, and started to block the windows with the curtains they’d sewed. He looked as Cress yawned, and rubbed his eyes. The last of the sun had started to seep away until tomorrow, but in summer the days were longer, and Cress was only eight. “Hey Cress, buddy, why don’t you crash? You’ve worked really hard, and you’ve earned it.” Sharely suggested, not looking so it seemed like nothing. He heard Cress’s annoyed breath whoosh from his lungs. “I’m not tired, Sharely, I want to stay up and…and yeah,” the boy had no reason to stay up. “I think you should get some sleep, and we’ll do something fun in the morning, okay? Maybe go catch something, I’ll show you how to set a squirrel snare, cool?” he bribed the yawning boy, and eyed the sun. He still needed to slip back to the castle before eight, when his family always gathered in the library to discuss anything major that needed to be addressed. He had a pretty good idea what tonight’s topic was going to be, and it was not one he could miss. He eyed Cress and shoved some rags into the cracks between the door and it’s frame. It let out the most heat, and the window was at the top of the room. “Fine, you annoying older brother I never had,” Cress stooped and Dove immediately went after him to force him to go to bed correctly, since she still remembered what good hygiene did to you. Sharely did too, but he couldn’t really afford to here. “Night Cress,” he called cheerfully. “Sure,” he mumbled and the sound of clothing slumped to the floor could be heard. “Cress! Really, you can scrub yourself once in a while, you’re starting to smell like Izzy!” Dove’s voice raised at the end, and Izzy’s eyes narrowed. “So funny, Dove,” he called monotone, and Cress laughed. “I thought it was,” Murphy said quietly from the corner where he was staring at the coals of the fire. Nobody laughed for a second, Murphy hardly talked let alone joked, but Kat smiled at him and the rest followed suit. “Hey, I gotta get out of here, sorry peeps. I’ll be back by noon tomorrow or you can give me hell for it, Fritz. Only,” Amber rolled her eyes, “We’ll make without you, we have bread and berries left over, and I’m sure a bird lives around here somewhere.” Sharely grinned, “That’s my girl,” and slipped up the ladder to the window. He’d already stuffed the door, so he’d just climb down using the tree. “Bye,” he called with a wave, and received some byes, mostly grunts. The prince slipped down the tree easily and sprinted. He was late, and it would take all he had to get back in time just to get to the castle when he should be in the library.