Pulled from Collab, chunky text. Will fix when I feel like it but for now, here's what's happened up till now.
Yato squinted up at the sun, feeling it's harsh rays on his face. The woman beside him was someone his mother had set him up with. Probably another business man's daughter wanting the fortunes he could bring her as a Prince. How pitiful she would be if she knew the way his father viewed him. He pulled his head back down and his long dark hair fell around his face. With a slow movement, he lifted the strands out of his face and behind his ears. Turning, he looked over to the woman at his side, bright blue, piercing eyes burning holes through her skull.
the woman flashed him a white smile and her slightly squeaky voice pieced the air as she said "thanks you Prince Yato, for such a ncie night out" she giggled in a slightly annoying way "you've been such a gentlmen" she wrapped her hands around his arms and leaned on him with another too-perfect smile. her hair tumbled down around her in a faux-ruffled way. she completely ignored the beautiful garden around them, and as such almost stepped on the larger-then-normal purple flower that had grown slightly over the path.
Yato almost visibly huffed as he pushed the woman over just hard enough that she would stay clear of the flower. "Watch your step." He told her, completely igorning her other statements. Kneeling down, Yato looked at the flower, trying to make sure that it was still okay and hadn't been crushed. This was his mother's garden after all, and if anything was even so much as touched, she would pitch a fit. Sighing, Yato returned to a standing postion and looked over at the woman.
"You're lucky. Mother would have had words for you if you'd damaged her beloved garden." He told her, his voice monotone and flat, his gaze piercing as always; the ever stoic prince.
the woman was a bt shocked, she didn't entirely understand how to react but then she recovered. "oh I'm so very sorry Prince Yato, but i didn't hurt it, so it's fine, right?" she let out another annoying laugh.
The furrow between Yato's eyes grew even deeper as he stared at the woman, trying to comprehend her. "Yes... It's fine..." He spoke slowly, as if thinking through something. "Anyway... I think we've spent plenty of time in this garden. If you would be so kind, could you escort yourself out? I need to tend to mother's garden." He asked her, though it felt more like a command. Soon, Yato was already stepping away as he left to find a watering can. The purple flower had looked a bit dry.
the woman frowned and crossed her arms, but he wasn't a prince, she couldn't disobey him. so she pouted and said "if you wish my lord" and turned and walked back inside, still pouting.
A few minutes passed as Yato searched for the water can and filled it with water. Soon, he was back and searching for that purple flower he'd seen before. It wasn't too hard to find and soon he was pouring a gentle cascade of water over it.
as the first rivlets of water fell on the flower the petals began to open and pulled apart and soon revealed a small area that had been protected by the petals themselves. and in that small space was a small girl, curled up in the fetal position with a wash of blonde hair that tumbled about her and half covered most of her. as the water began to rain down on her she groaned and began to move. her hair plastered against her skin as she began to move.
For the first time in years, Yato's eyes slowly widened as he stared down at the girl before him. It wasn't long however, before his poker face returned. Determination setting in, Yato began to remove his clothes. (Others looking on might think him a bit... loony. But he has his reasons.) Once down to his white button up, he tore a good swath of the fabric from his sleeve and handed it to the girl who seemed to just be waking.
"Here... Use this." He told her, his voice soft and quiet. He was still a bit bewildered as to this girl's appearance. She was barely the length of his hand and... nude. Where had she come from? Why was she in this flower? However, gentleman instincts had kicked in and told him to get her some way to cover herself. The furrow once again returned, Yato looked down at the girl.
"Who are you?" He asked, his voice commanding.
the girl blinked and looked around. she stared in confusion at him for a few seconds, then took the swatch of fabric her handed her and carefully wrapped it around herself. then she seemed to be in deep concentration for a few seconds before she replied "i... i don't know"
Yato let out a rather deep sigh, his expression softening just slightly as he looked down at her. "Well, I can't very well leave you here like this, can I?" He asked, chuckling. Another first... Clearing his throat, Yato picked up his coat and ripped shirt and put out his other hand for the girl to climb onto. "Climb on. I need to get you dry... You'll catch a cold like this." He told her.
the girl blinked and then slid herself out of the flower, tumbling into coat. she looked up at him, curious "he...hello, what's ... a cold?"
Yato blinked at the girl. It was like talking to a newborn... "It's an illness. You start to cough and you get really hot and if it's not taken care of, you could die. So, it's bst avoided, yes?" He explained to her as he stood and walked back to the palace.
she thought about it "oh, ok" she seemed jostled by the movement, and asked "where are we going?"
"Back to the castle... I'll figure out what to do with you there." He explained curtly.
"what... to do ... with ... me?" she seemed genuinely confused by his explanation, and continued with "did i do something ... wrong?"
"N-No..." Yato stammered, looking down at the girl in his hand. "You haven't done anything wrong..." He told her softly. Looking up, he spotted several gardeners near the entrance. "Uhm... I think you should hide for the time being. Please, don't question it. Just... hide in my coat. There should be a pocket somewhere..." He told her, trying to keep his voice low. He lifted the coat with the arm it was slung over and lifted the girl to the nearby pocket. "Just climb inside and be quiet. I'll even give you something nice later if you do this for me. Have you ever tried candy?" He asked, putting on a rather awkward smile for someone who never did so.
the girl looked up at him in silence as he lifted her to the pocket. she climbed in as she was told and looked up at him. his awkward smile made her giggle "i don't know what candy is, but i'll be quiet so i can find out." then she hunkered down in his pocket and was silent.
"Good evening, Your Highness!" One of the female gardeners called out to him, smiling politely. He simply nodded as he brushed passed her, headed for the doors that led inside. He passed by several of the help who all stopped to greet him but he paid them no mind. He was more concerned about the tiny woman inside his coat pocket at the moment. He climbed the spirl staircase to his chambers and layed the coat down on his bed carefully.
"You can come out..." He said plainly as he turned to close the door behind him.
the girl poked her head out of his pocket and looked around, this was very differant from the garden. she looked up at him "what's a highness? something high up?" she carefully crawled out of the pocketm keeping the piece of fabric pulled around her.
"It's a frivolous thing, that word... I hate it." Yato told her, immediately wondering why he'd said it to her. Sighing, he turned to look at her. "Right... The candy..." He spoke, his voice monotone. He turned to walk over to his wardrobe and pulled out a rather small drawer. Inside was a small jar filled with brightly colored candies shaped like stars and hearts.
"This was a gift from my sister many years ago. The candy should still be good. If you... do good things, you can get one..." He explained, taking the jar over to her. God, he felt like he was talking to a pet for some reason. Iit felt weird and he didn't like it. "Here..." He said as she opened the jar and pulled a small piece of candy from it. It was pink and about as big as her hand. "It's... sweet. Or so I'm told." He explained, watching her reaction.
the girl looked over the small piece of candy, holding it up. finally she licked it. she blinked, it was really sweet. she smiled up at him and licked again. then she tilted her head slightly "what's your ... name?"
"...Yato..." He spoke, watching her with piercing eyes. What was this girl? Who was she? Why was she like this? This was all too weird. Btu it wasn't like he really had anything to lose from it. He had nothing to lose, it was all already lost before he'd even had a chance to find it.
With that rather depressing thought, Yato's face fell even more than it was before, relapsing into his normal poker face. "Yours? Assuming, you have one." He asked, walking over to the window to pull the curtains closed.
the girl watched him walk to the curtains, he looked sad "i don't have one" she replied "at least, i don't remember one, you don't know my name?"
"No.. I don't." He responded, taking a seat in the chair near the window. "I've only just met you..."
the girl watched him then decided to wander about his bed, holding the cloth up. she stopped when she got to his night stand and crawled up on to it. she slowly walked around an object that was smaller at the base but bigger up above her. there was some sort of bulge on the base and she pushed down on it. a bright light erupted from above her and she dropped back, staring back at it "Yato! look!"
Yato, for once, let out an odd sound, one he hadn't heard for years. It bubbled up from his throat, forcing it's way out of his mouth. He... He was laughing. He coughed, trying to grasp his composure. "That's.." He began, before another fit of laughter interupted him. "S-Sorry." He told her, trying his best to get his poker face back. "That's a lamp. It makes light... Do you like it?" He asked her, chuckling slightly.
She smiled "a...lamp? it makes light?" she giggled and looked up again "it's so bright..." she stared up at it, amazed.
Yato watched her for a moment, a light smile on his face. "Yes..." He spoke absentmindedly, thinking. "You know... There's an old latin word for light. Would you like for that word to be your name?" He asked her, looking over at her. "The word is Lux. I think it's fitting..." He explained, his voice trailing off a bit. She was so amazed by the light, sort of like him with her... The name made sense... sort of.
Lux looked at him and grinned "a name? Lux? i like that" she grinned up at him again "i'm now Lux" she laid back on the bedside table and looked at him "have you figured it out yet?"
"Hm?" He blinked, a bit surprised. "Figured out what?" He asked, honestly confused.
Lux sat back up, cross-legged. head tilted "you said you wanted to figure out what to do with me, have you?"
"Ah... About that..." He began, running fingers through his long hair. "No... I haven't the foggiest. I suppose we'll just have to play it by ear." He told her, smiling ever so slightly. He let out a rather long sigh and sat back in his chair. "That was exausting. You have no idea what you'd done for me. I finally had a reason to shoo that wretched woman away." He told Lux, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and fore finger.
Lux looked confused "what did i do?" then she thought again "what woman?" she looked deep in concentration for a few seconds "i heard something before i woke up, i wasn't quite sure what it was, a voice i guess, was it the woman's? it was high and squeaky, the only thin gi remember cleary is the sound of falling water and..." she blushed a little "your voice" she sat down on the very edge of the bedside table, her feet swinging "if you're sleepy why don't you sleep?"
"It doesn't matter who she was..." He spoke softly, his eyes still closed. "I can't sleep these days... All I ever have are nightmares." He explained, though he was certain she wouldn't know what a nightmare was. "All the same, you need some clothes. Let me see if my sister still has any of her old dolls. You..." He paused, as if thinking about something. "Wait there..." He told her as he got up and walked over to his wardrobe once again. He pulled out another white shirt and pulled it on. Next, he walked back to pick up his coat and pulled it on.
Walking over to Lux, he let his hand down to her. "Get in my pocket. We'll be headed to my sister's old room. She's not here right now. Mother took her out shopping. Maybe she has a few doll clothes we can borrow for the time being." He explained, waiting for her to hop onto his hand.
Lux blinked and then crawled on to his hand and asked "is it far?" then crawled into his pocket when he brought his hand up again.
"No, it's just across the room." He explained curtly as he began to walk towards the door. He turned his head from side to side, making sure no one was around before rushing into his little sister's room. It was drabed up as a princess's room would be, pretty and pink. His eyes scanned the room for any sign of dolls. Spotting a doll house, he walked over, looking for a nearby case with clothes. Locating it, he pulled it open and set Lux down on the vanity nearby.
Handing a little black dress over to her he told her, "Here. Try this."
Lux watched as he rifled through the clothes and picked up a dress. he handed it to her and she looked it over before dropping the fabric and starting to pull the dress on over her head, as the largest hole was at the bottom, that seemed the logical way of putting the dress on. and when it was on she took a few steps about on the vanity, it was a little tight but nnot uncomfortably so. she smiled at Yato, she wasn't quite sure if she was suppossed to say something or not so she didn't.
"Well? Do you like it?" He asked, a bit anxious for some reason. She looked... rather pretty. For some reason, he felt like finding the largest swath of fabric he could and drown her in it so that no one could see, but that wouldn't do. "You don't.. like it." He turned and rifled through the bag again, hoping to find some pants and a sweater or something... Pulling some out, he held them up to her.
"Try these." He commanded. Realizing his mistake, he coughed and tried again. "P-Please, try it on."
Lux didn't mind the dress but he told her to try on the other clothes so she took them. she pulled the dress off over her head and tried pulling on the shirt. she let out an annoyed sound as the clothes were still tight like the dress but seemed more constricting "i don't think i like it" she pulled at it with a frown "it's tight". she picked up the black dress "i liked this better" she tilted her head "what do you think?"
"Ah... I-I don't think it suits you." He lied, turning his head away. He felt himself getting all flustered. She wasn't even his size! Letting out a small sigh, he turned back, his eyes a bit softer. "No, it looks fine on you. Ignore me. I don't know what I'm thinking anymore." He explained. He held out his hand for her to give him the clothes back so he could return them. Nevermind the fact that he'd been seeing her naked this entire time. The thought only occuring to him now.
His cheeks went red like beets as the realisation swathed over him like an ocean wave. "S-Sorry! I-I'll turn around!" He shouted, feeling a bit silly as he turned around again.
Lux handed him the clothes but was surprised when he went red and turned around, modesty being an unknown idea to her, "are you ok?" she slid the black dress back on, it felt more comfortable by comparison.
"I'm fine... Are you done?" He asked, moderately more calm down. "Nudity isn't very good manners here... especially in the presence of the opposite gender. You are female, I am male. It is... inappropriate and foul..." He explained, his head hung low.
Lux looked away "i'm sorry, i did something bad" she pressed down the dress with her hands "i'm done" she hung her head.
"Ah, no! Don't blame yourself!" He shouted, wheeling around. The shock on his face was evident despite the cold man's poker face. "Ahhh... Just blame me, okay? You do look very pretty in that dress..." He told her, sighing once again.
Lux looked up at him and had a small smile on her face "i wasn't bad?" she raised her head "why would i blame you?" then he said she looked pretty and she blushed "thank you Yato"
"You just should... blame me that is." He sighed, shaking his head slightly. "Anyway, how about we head to the library? I have some things I need to do there." He asked her, his poker face returning.
"library? what's a library?" she took a few steps towards him, until she was on the edge of the vanity "i wanna find out, let's go"
Yato chuckled slightly and held out his hand to her so that she could climb into his pocket. "You'll find out soon enough."
The two headed for the library without much happening, Yato sat at his desk, his face in a book when he heard the sounds of someone coming in. Suddenly, he was very concerned as to where Lux was.
"Brother?" He heard Yukio ask from the doorway.
"I'm here, Yukio. What do you need?" He asked, leaning back in his seat. For now, he was pretend nothing was wrong.
"I just wanted to see you. What are you doing?" She asked, ever curious.
Lux was set on a bookshelf a little ways from him and was staring at the books, climbing up and down the shelves, not actually comprehending what any of the words were or meant. when she heard the voice she turned and realized she was rather high up. she kneeled down on the edge and looked over at the 2 people, Yato and a girl who looked similar to him.
