Yami - Vyse
Strong Bond
Somewhere off in the distance he could hear the annoying chatter of an angry squirrel. It was probably mad that it had been caught in the rain, kind of like him. In fact, when he had left his manor, in a fuming fury that caused even sweet Miles to steer clear of him, it had, in fact been barely even overcast.
Now, though, he was drenched to the bone. He shivered where he sat, legs pulled up into his chest, his arms wrapped firmly around them. His green hair, which was usually styled playfully, was plastered to his face in stringy locks. He wasn’t really one to care much about the rain, it never did make him depressed, but today… today it just hurt.
Vyse’s fingers clenched around his uncomfortably wet slacks and he ginded his teeth. Stupid Scout. Why were they even close? They were always fighting over one thing or another. He should just stop bothering with that stupid blue-haired freak.
He let out an annoyed noise, burying his face further into his arms. He hated how the rain was making him feel so much worse. There was just something so unfair about the way the mud was seeping through his slacks, or how he felt heavy—like his entire body had been dipped in lead. It just wasn’t fair. Why did it have to rain on him—on this day? This was the same day so many years ago that he and Scout had been abandoned… Vyse was angry whenever this day arrived…but Scout, he was so indifferent. Vyse was convinced his ‘twin’ brother was so unbothered by it because he was an idiot. How could he not be mad about their real parents leaving them out in the cold to die? How could you not be mad…?
Angrily, Vyse took a twig and began to snap it into tiny pieces, scowling furiously the entire time…
…Meanwhile, a very openly distraught and slowly panicking father wandered the woods searching for his son. The crimson-eyed man carried an umbrella that padded the rain above but there was still something that made him entirely too uneasy. It wasn’t so much that he was afraid Vyse would be hurt somewhere, or in danger, Vyse often left like this to sit in the woods all the time, but now that it had started raining, Kaelin had sent Yami to find their young son—the monk was fearful that the green-haired boy was going to catch a cold…
No, Yami’s fear were more deeply rooted in the terrible rumble of thunder he was convinced would following the terrifying flash of light.
Yami wanted to find Vyse, and he wanted to find him fast. It was cold, and miserably wet. It didn’t help that he kept slipping in the mud. There was nothing Yami enjoyed more than the flowers in full bloom during the Spring, but he did not in any way shape or form felt he needed to enjoy the seemingly monsoon like season beforehand… He found all this wetness quite unpleasant.
“Vyse?” Yami raised the umbrella a little higher so his eyes could more easily find the young man huddled under some broken and dead looking tree. Yami’s eyes searched the tree, which he noticed (ironically) was killed by a lightening strike. The black scars across the split bark were proof of it. Yami cleared his throat, coming closer, “Vyse?” he called again, louder.
Vyse lifted his head slightly, made eye-contact with his father, and then very deliberately turned his entire body away, scrapping his boots in the mud as he did so. Yami sighed softly. Vyse was so stubborn.
“Vyse, it’s time to come home. Kaelin is worried sick about you.” The small man leaned forward to raise the umbrella over the drenched nymph but much to his surprise Vyse’s hands shot out to shove his arm away.
“Go away! I don’t want to go home. I can’t stand it there. I hate it there.” It wasn’t really true—Vyse often said terribly mean things when he was upset, but that didn’t make the words hurt any less.
Yami flinched back, his head dropping slightly. Why was Vyse so upset? He knew it had something to do with Scout—the other boy had gingerly come to him nearly an hour or so ago and announced that Vyse had left for the woods in a fit several hours earlier. Vyse and Scout were always fighting…
“Would you like to talk, Vyse?” Yami questioned softly, leaning closer with the umbrella’s handle resting over one shoulder to shield his back from the rain. Vyse sniffed loudly in response, but did not make any more effort to speak to him. Yami frowned. “Vyse?”
“I said go away!” Vyse turned, fists clenched at his sides and his face was flushed with rage. “I don’t want to be around you people, all right? I just want to be alone. Can’t you understand that?”
“…” Yami crouched down, resting on the back of his heels and he tilted his head, “Come now, Vyse. I could never leave you, especially not like this. It’s cold, it’s raining…” his eyes unconsciously raised to stare worriedly up at the weeping clouds above. “Let’s go home.”
Vyse shook his head stubbornly, his arms crossing tightly over his chest. “No.”
Yami felt his eyebrow twitch. Of all his children, Vyse was by
far the most difficult… but he didn’t love him any less. Yami chuckled softly at that thought. He wouldn’t change Vyse for anything in the world. Why would you want to? He was a lot more loveable than you would think.
With that thought, Yami’s eyes saddened and he suddenly realized why his son was so upset. It had been today—fifteen years ago… Fifteen years ago when he had lifted that crying, nearly frozen, little boy from the snowy streets of Flanaria. It had been that day that Vyse and Scout had been left to the bitter elements.
Yami made his way over to his son and crouched beside him, lifting the umbrella up so it covered them both—not that it truly matter, Vyse was already soaked through (and Yami could see he was shivering) but the gesture itself was comforting.
“I’m sorry that you’re always troubled on this day, Vyse… but I want you to know that whoever it was that left you made a grave mistake.” Yami gently reached out to place his hand on his sons trembling shoulder, “Please, Vyse…”
Vyse sighed softly, lifting his muddy hands up so he could stare at them. “Scout doesn’t think so. He doesn’t even care. Wouldn’t you care, Dad? If…” He trailed off—if what? Hadn’t his father gone through even more traumatic events—ones that he
could remember? And even so, hadn’t he turned out all right?
Yami gently reached out and his fingers ran through his son’s green hair and he briefly wondered when it had gotten so long. “Vyse, I—“
A flash of lightening appeared above them— the Prince of Aurora’s eyes widened and he sucked in a startled breath—followe
d by a terrible roar of thunder. Letting out a whimper the prince threw his arms around his son and clung to him desperately, shaking tremendously himself, but the cold had very little to do with it.
It was then that Vyse remembered how terrible his father’s fear of thunder was. In an instant he stood, pulling the smaller man to his feet. The green-haired nymph took the umbrella, “Sorry, Dad. Let’s go home.”
Shaking, and pink from embarrassment, Yami nodded as he huddled closely to the taller boy. Another flash of lightening forced the woods to light up in a brilliant dance of white, and a crash of thunder followed. The prince flinched again, but all he did was grip his sons arm more firmly. He did well not to let out another startled cry. It was all he could do to keep his legs moving and his heart from escaping through his chest.
Vyse smiled gently down at his father—if he would brave one of his worst fears for his sake, then Vyse was certain he couldn’t ask for anything more than the father he had.
In fact, he couldn’t think of a better family.
A/N:Bond 9/81 of a project I'm working on to get to know my characters.
I was trying to think of something serious for Vyse and Yami--and when I was walking through some pretty miserably rain tonight, alone and shivering, I came up with this idea. A little emo-ness never hurt anyone, yeah?
Vyse...is pretty stubborn and he can say some pretty terrible things that he doesn't mean... but that's just how he is, and I think he's pretty neat.
Yami is terrified to death of thunderstorms, but at this moment in time I can't come up with a good explanation as to why. I have some ideas that are floating around, and I know I want it to be a fear of his since it makes him seem all the more human... but I just can't think of a reason as to why he's so scared right now... I'll think of something eventually.
Back to: Story Bonds
or Ramirez's Art
Stumble!