The Touch of Vermillion Innocence

After a year had passed.

And the seasons had changed to welcome an Autumn that would resemble the Winters of the Southern Regions. From summit to peak of the Blackhorn Mountains, a white frigid veil covered it, and the lands below, dressing the entire town in snow. Children were held up in their homes playing with their toys or attending to their chores for the day.

Near the Milkwater River, a young boy shook off the frost from his hair before being called inside and out of the cold. Making sure to have a firm grasp on the firewood, he dragged the logs indoors, finding his parents in their usual banter with Shadow near the burning hearth in the living room.

Being welcomed with a warm embrace by his mother as thanks for the firewood, she helped get him cleaned up, as the excited Sarah lept from her seat to bring Shynerai a cup of warm drink, from the smell a sweet and nutty scent of Snowcherries and Milkroot washed past his reddened cheeks as he thanked her before drinking it. After he went off to his room to change out of his cold clothes, he returned to the living room and found an ever-smiling Sarah with snacks in hand ready to follow him into the study.

Using the door from inside the house, they enter the study area being careful to make a mess as the put everything on a small table fit with two chairs, a recent addition to the space that Shynerai made after she convinced him to eat the snacks that she would bring in the room, promising to help clean up afterwards.

Thinking about it, this was one of a few little things that he had slowly begun to do differently since meeting Sarah. 

Their encounters became less of what Shynerai was doing and were instead more about how they could enjoy their time together, but as the time they spent together grew, so too did the doubt he began to harbor...until one day what had lingered in the back of his mind was no longer hidden from Sarah, Shynerai unaware that he had spoken so plainly:

"It's been fun having you here, even though we hardly played when you did."

"Oh you don't have to say that. I really like visiting you–"

"But you don't have to force yourself to come and see me. I know that Uncle Shadow and even mom like having you over and so do I, so if you've had your fun, it's okay, you don't have to be here."

"Shynerai…why would you say something like that. What's going on?"

The young Daumier was unsure why she seemed so shaken by what he said, or even stranger why he was starting to feel sad after seeing her reaction, but he continued to speak plainly. The further he pushed his questions the more upset she became, asking why he was suddenly saying all these painful things.

"Why wouldn't I want to play with you, you're my friend. Even if you never had friends before, I will always be your friend."

"You would, until you go back to your real friends and start calling my family names, everyone has done it before. Why can't everyone leave us alone, even after we've been so kind, when we ask for nothing but the same, still everyone will always treat us the same…all because of me? Why! When my mother and father are so kind to everyone?" Shynerai suddenly raised his voice while his white bangs fell, covering his glassy eyes.

Sarah's young heart filled with sadness as she listened to what he was asking her, before telling him that:

Gripping the frills of her skirt tightly with a saddened expression that was quickly filling with tears.

"I like to play with you because you're nice, even...when you didn't want me around you at first. You're still nice enough to let me stay, especially when we read those books. Even when we don't talk alot you I don't mind because you always listen. You also teach me things and never get angry at me. I wish I said it alot more, that I like coming to visit you, I'm always happy to see my big brother."

"Big brother?"

Hearing such reassuring words from someone that wasn't his mother or father left him feeling more frustrated than vindicated, not because he no longer has a reason to be mad but because he was realizing that he managed to hurt the only person he could actually call a friend.

Within that flurry of emotions, Shynerai didn't know how to apologize so he ended up panicking, abruptly leaving the garage...all the while leaving Sarah where she stood.

Several days had passed before Shynerai's mother began to notice that Sarah was not stopping by for her regular visits which meant that something happened between the two.

Intrigued by this idea, she decided to investigate.

She had planned to start by asking her son what had happened unfortunately, he wasn't in his room, the garage or with his father on any house call.

A few hours went by and Shynerai finally returned home. As he entered the house he saw what seemed like a heated discussion between his parents when in reality the topic of their discussion was him.

When he got to the table, his mother asked him if he was okay, but instead of answering the question, Erai gave his parents a sullen look before attempting to disguise how he was feeling with a quivering smile. 

Seeing the pain on his son's face, Astral quickly changed the subject and asked him about his day. To answer his father's question, he decided to sit down so that he could recount the events of that day.

After Shynerai's interrogation session with Sarah in his garage a few days ago, Sarah had stopped visiting although at this point he didn't care whether or not Sarah didn't want to see him anymore, opting to return to what he would usually do.

Still, he couldn't help but check outside from time to time or even taking a moment to stop and look as if he was expecting someone to accidentally trip over him. These minor but consistent alterations to his daily patterns only grew as each day passed.

After a few days of this, Shynerai had enough, he simply wanted things to return to the way they were...but that wasn't possible especially after how he managed to treat Sarah.

Shynerai didn't want to admit it at first, but he had adjusted himself to having his friend alongside him and now that she wasn't...nothing could be as it was. 

Realizing that they would most likely never be friends but still wanting to leave things on a better note than they are now, he decided that the least he could do was apologize for treating her terribly...he owed her that much.

Shadow's homestead was located near the outskirts of Glynnfoldt on his own livestock farm.

Travel from Shynerai's own house to Sarah's was about an hour and a half long on foot. When he arrived the time was 10h30. 

As he was reaching for the door, it instead swung open as Shadow stepped out and was greeted by the distressed face of a young man. 

Worried that something had happened to the boy, Shadow quickly invited him into the house. As soon as they were inside Shynerai stopped abruptly and asked if he could by any chance talk to Sarah.

Shadow, still amiss about the presence of the lad, decided to call down his daughter. As she was coming down the stairs the two could feel an awkward tension begin to arise and realizing that Shynerai somehow had a role to play in it, he decided to leave the two be to sort it out for if his daughter didn't mention it to him then he knows that she isn't in any real danger.

Shadow decided to return to his initial plans and not long after Sarah had arrived, he left. With the two of them alone, Shynerai assumed that the first thing out of Sarah's mouth would be her unbounded hate but to his surprise what she said was instead:

"I didn't think you wanted to see me again after our fight, but to be honest I really miss playing with you".

Despite being thrown off by her unexpected demeanor, he was still fully prepared to take advantage of her permissive manner but deep down he could never bring himself to do it, and instead, the first words he uttered were of a remorseful apology.

"Sarah I'm sorry for saying all those things and for making you feel like a bad person. I…it's just, you're the first friend I've had and the idea that you could be pretending to enjoy spending time with me scared me and made me say a bunch of stupid things".

Continuing as he looked at the ground to avoid eye contact all the while fidgeting with one of his bangs.

"I know that it still doesn't make it right, but I still want..."

He's interrupted by Sarah as she walks over to him before she hugs him.

Hearing that he came all this way to make amends made her really happy because she really did like spending time with him. With the final doubts about Sarah's friendship cast aside from Shynerai's mind, the pair became inseparable once more only this time he would always look forward to seeing Sarah.

With that Shynerai had recounted the entirety of the events leading up to now. Considering the outcome of the entire ordeal was a positive one, his parents were still confused about why he looks so drained and exhausted.

Shynerai lets slip a sigh before telling them:

"Well after I apologized to Sarah, we started playing again, and we continued up until I had to come home. But what I had forgotten during all the fun was that home is an hour and a half away... and I'm soooo hungry" With stomach growls accompanying his cries.

Astral bellowed loudly with the sound of his laughter echoing through the house before Shynerai's mother told him to calm down before the neighbors started complaining, all the while disguising her own laughter behind her hands.

After a moment or two, she told Shynerai that he can go and reheat his dinner in the oven, to which the young man excused himself leaving his parents with all too noticeable grins.

Once out of the room, his mother began scolding Astral, but he simply stated that:

"Can't you see how things have changed...he has a friend, someone he can call upon in need. A companion he can look to aside from his mother and father."

"But was it so bad that he relied on us, I mean isn't that our job as parents?" His mother responded.

"Of course honey, but I...I mean we might not always be around for him when he needs us, so at that moment he'll need companions and people he can rely on." Astral tells her as he comforts her, wanting her not to worry and instead be happy for him.