The flames of Willpower

Lumin tilted his head when he was reminded of Yoru's father. "He works for my father doesnt he..? Yours seems pretty uptight...I suppose he drinks often too, he looked pretty off his rocker yesterday" He grinned a little, atleast he knew Yoru wasnt in too much trouble, otherwise he wouldnt have been able to sneak out to meet him again.

Taking the bottle, Lumin took a moment to clean his hands off, not wanting to really touch anything before they were cleaned up. "Camping...? Well, my father will be going on another mission today...and by the sounds of it, this one will take him a few days, I guess I could go camping" He looked to Yoru with a curious look on his face, he hadnt known there were places the guards didnt look after, they werent as sufficient as he thought they were it seems. "We'll need food and stuff right..?" He thought a moment about what they could do about that.

Gasping slightly, he gave Yoru a devious smirk as he opened his own lunch box. "...ever been in the towers..? We have lots of great food in there, and I'm sure we can find everything else we'll need in em, I can get ya in once he leaves the towers himself" Lumin pulled the bun out and stared at it at first, it wasnt quite what he was used to, but he was very hungry. Shrugging it off, he took a bite of it only to find out it actually did taste pretty good. "Mmm...not bad! Did you have to make these though?"

"I've always wondered what the towers would be like. Think we'd caught?" Yoru gave a light chuckle. He seemed rather excited to be sneaking around. "I made everything. My mother taught me to cook. I'm glad you like it. I'm sorry it's not as fancy as what you might be used to." Yoru went over to the barrel Lumin knocked over and set it up so they could eat in peace. It's not like anybody dared to go near.

Lumin shook his head in responce to Yoru with that grin still on his face. "Once father leaves, the towers are usually only guarded at the front gates...so if we can get past the gates without going through the main doors, we're safe" He thought a moment about the area around the gates, thinking of ways they could get in without getting caught. "..I think there's actually a dead tree right next to the walls on the left side...I bet you could climb up it and jump down the other end!"

He chowed down on the rest of his own bun, listening to Yoru about how he was taught to cook and all. "Hm...I never was taught myself...instead, its all done for me" He huffed slightly at the thought before looking toward his friend and watching him set the barrel back up. "Actually my breakfast today would have been Toast, Porridge, berries and juice...I stole a slice of the toast this morning when I was on the run but that was it" He shifted slightly before looking up all of a sudden.

His eyes peered around the barrel to notice a commotion outside of the alleyway, it seemed like his father and a few knights were off on their way again, most likely heading toward their next mission in Vela. Lumin's face only scrunched up slightly as he glared at the passing people and leaning back inbehind the barrel again. "He'll be gone for a few days...so we dont gotta worry about him catching us at the towers, and the maids wont even care"

"I can climb trees great, actually." Yoru hated the sounds of the soldiers walking. He thought he heard his father for a moment. "I don't know if I like the thought of someone doing everything for me. Don't you have to worry about being poisoned or put to sleep?" Yoru seemed rather excited at this point. He felt glad to be helping someone for once.

Lumin stared at Yoru a moment until his expression slowly changed, making it obvious that Yoru was right about the poison thing. "...I've...actually had it happen to me before, Yoru...But I was treated immediately so it didnt really effect me much..." He fell quiet a moment and stared down at his lunch, mulling over the past and the things that were tried on him, people probebly did it so that he couldnt succeed in his fathers place later on. "Well...atleast that person was sent away...or...killed" He cringed slightly, knowing his father back then claimed to send the person away, but they were most probebly killed in the end for trying to harm royalty.

"Well, we dont get those kind of people anymore, atleast, not that I know of" He smiled a little at Yoru before setting the lunch box aside and digging into a pocket to pull out a strange gem and holding it out to Yoru with a smile. "Here, take it! Its proof you're a friend of mine! This gem is from the volcano, only royalty knows the way in so if you have it, the guards will know your a friend"

Yoru stared at the gem for a long moment before taking it. "Thanks. It's...warm!" He was surprised by the gem's warmth. "So not much longer before your father leaves, then, eh?" Yoru looked serious and ready for business, but he was also very eager. "Good thing you're smart, Lumin. I think you'll make a great leader someday." He gave a light pat on Lumin's head with a smile.

Lumin nodded and smiled at Yoru's response. "Thats right, father used to say the gems from the volcano actually carry the same energy within them that flows through the volcano, so it'll always feel warm" He pulled another out of his pocket that was already refined by someone, it was shaped like a triangle and was actually pretty large. "Thinking of getting this one attached to one of my outfits sometime, maybe when I'm older though, this one is a little heavier then the one I gave you" He slid it back into his pocket with a light chuckle. Atleast it seemed like he was proud of getting gifts from the volcano.

When Yoru patted him on the back, Lumin gave off a slight frown before standing up and walking over toward the end of the Alleyway. "I actually dont really want to be a leader, I wish I was more like...well, you" He looked back at Yoru before smiling and waving him over, turning around to peer out of the alleyway to see the end of the nights leaving the capital completely. "He's gone, atleast he didnt come looking for me to join him...I dont want to go on those missions anymore"




(( the gem he just held in his hand in this post is that orange triangle he wears on his chest as an adult. ))

Yoru gave a weird look at Lumin. "You don't want to be in my shoes, either. I mean, everyone tells me how I should be more like...my father... I don't want to fight. I just... Anyways." Yoru didn't think his problem was as bad as Lumin's. "Let's just hope he doesn't suddenly decide he wants a search party looking for you.." Yoru didn't like the thought of getting caught by Horrus.

Lumin blinked widely at Yoru before laughing a little and shaking his head. "Thats not quite what I meant!" He gestured toward the town then, a smile on his face. "I wanna be more like you, because you're a normal person! You dont got the royalty title attached to you, people dont weight on you hand and food, and dont try to kill you so they can take all that is yours" He looked out toward the town and thought a moment of how he could explain. "I'll show you, watch this"

He walked up to one of the outdoor shops and spoke up. "Excuse me? Can I--" Lumin was abruptly cut off by the store clerk turning around and gasping, frantically gesturing for him to choose anything from the table. "Anything! Its yours your highness! Just take it" Lumin rolled his eyes at how the person reacted and turned to Yoru with a slight shrug. "You see?"

Walking back over to Yoru, he laughed a little under his breath. "I have that problem all the time, people think just cuz I'm royalty, they need to give me free things and immediately, or else they'll be in trouble, it's kind of embarrassing..and if its not that, its people running from me because my father apparently wont let people connect with me without being punished"

Smiling at his friend, he started walking toward the towers, it was actually nice having someone to talk to for once, and it was someone who seemed to atleast know what he was going through, even if he was a little older and all. "So you've never been in the towers huh? They're not all that great, but there are things that I guess some people would find pretty cool"

Yoru giggled at the clerk's reaction. It was pitiful that the people acted that way to a child. "Well, the closest thing I can offer you is friendship. Surely that doesn't cost anything." He didn't mind becoming friends with someone much younger. It was as if he became a little brother to Yoru.

While following Lumin to the towers he grew more eager. "My father never spoke of them like he could have cared less. My mother...has to keep tight-lipped about everything that goes on here. She's one of the few with special permission to leave under that condition. I wouldn't blame her. I'd rather take it easy elsewhere. Ara is probably my favorite...for obvious reasons, of course. I hope someday I'll be able to travel around and expand my horizons. It's such a drag here." Yoru giggled, realizing he talked too much. People that saw them walking together only assumed that Yoru was being taken to his death. He ignored the people's whispers. People will always talk... he thought.

While following Lumin to the towers he grew more eager. "My father never spoke of Lumin looked up at Yoru when offered friendship, only being able to give off a smile for the longest bit before he could finally answer. "You never have to offer me anything, Yoru..." He paused a moment before continuing his sentence. "But, I would be honored to have a friend like you.." He said this with a sign of gratitude in his voice, he was very pleased to have made such a good friend, it was nice to finally have someone he could turn to and come to trust.

The young boy listened to Yoru's short story, frowning slightly at the mention of Yoru's father. "Your...father....he's very strange, he would not fit well in a lineup of the other guards because of his posture and attitude.." He blinked up at his friend as they walked, smiling a little again before bringing something up himself. "My mother died when I was a little younger, she became ill one morning and stayed that way for atleast a month...not that she was much better then father, I mean she didnt hurt anyone but..well she wouldnt let me leave the towers at all" He sighed a little, a smile atleast still on his face, apparently talking about her death didnt bother him much.

"You know, I've never had someone to talk to other then my regular maid in the towers...kind of odd talking to you about all this!" He laughed a little and stopped when they got to the wall surrounding the towers. "Okay...uhmmm" He looked around as if searching for something, slowly walking toward the left side of the wall. It was actually a little bit of a walk until the tree revealed itself next to the tower around the corner. "There it is! careful of the thinner branches though, its pretty dead so the thin ones might break" He smiled back at Yoru and waited for him to catch up.

Once he was sure it was okay, Lumin stretched his wings out and began flapping them, slowly rising off the ground and flying up to the top of the wall, sitting on the edge of it while he waited for his friend. He wasnt that great at flying yet actually, but it seemed like Lumin knew enough to get to this height easily enough. "Come on, without the stronger guards and knights here, its totally safe!"

Yoru gave a chuckle. "It's not a problem at all. I'm honored to have a friend like you as well." He heard Lumin describe his odd father, and Lumin's late mother. "I'm sorry to hear that. I'll share my mother with you once she returns. She's amazing. You have a maid? That's pretty ritzy." He followed Lumin around and found the dead tree. "I'll see you on the other side." Yoru gave a smile before he started climbing.

Climbing the tree wasn't a problem except for a few close calls that startled Yoru. He carefully made his way along a branch above the wall. However, jump before he made his leap, the branch snapped and Yoru came crashing on the ground on the other side. "Told you I'd be there..." he said with his breath knocked out of him. He stood up and made sure he didn't hurt anything before going up to Lumin. "So we need food, rope, lantern, and some blankets. It gets chilly at night." Yoru tried to remember what survival skills he did learn in soldier training.