That night, no matter what I did, I just couldn't get to sleep. You seemed tired enough, so I didn't want to wake you up with all my tossing and turning, so I got up and went to the living room.
During the day we usually had the aircon running in the living room with the doors to the other rooms closed off to save electricity. Then at night, we reverse this, so it was hot and stuffy enough that I opened the window.
The air outside was still warm but there was a breeze that at least made it bearable.
Pearl City, was it like how I'd imagined? Hardly. Of course, there was all the drama with my father and being a dragon but even the city itself was far different than I'd expected. I strained my mind, trying to recall my most recent memory of the place but I failed. Things were too murky in my mind.
But that wasn't what was really keeping me awake.
I turned back from the window and let my gaze drop to the hard, black instrument case sitting inconspicuously against the opposite wall. All the lights in the flat were off but there was still a strong enough glow bouncing through the window from neighbouring neon signs that I could see the case clearly with its glinting metal clasps.
I walked to the case and sat down, cross-legged in front of it.
I didn't trust Amethyst, at least, not as much as I trusted you, but I couldn't stop her words rolling around in my mind about your sword being a demon blade. What did it mean for a sword to be a demon blade, I had no idea, but it couldn't be anything good, not when you'd purposefully made sure I hadn't even held the case when the sword was in it.
I'm not a nosy person, I like to think that makes me a good friend, but right then, in the dead of night, it was hard for me to quieten my suspicions.
I sat there for a time, not long, just a few minutes, listening to the world outside. There was the creak of old air ducts and the low hum of television sets and…
Open it up if you're so curious.
There was that voice. It had been next to impossible to hear it during the day but now, with all the background noise turned down, I could finally hear the actual words.
I reached for the case, lay it down on the floor, and unbuckled it. Then, slowly, I lifted the lid.
The gleam from the window caught the blade and the whole sword shone for a moment. I'd seen it a few times before, but each time had been brief and there'd been more important things to pay attention to, so it was only now that I really got to see the thing properly.
It was a sword, like the one's I'd seen in the museums in Pretan with a wide blade and wider crossbar. The handle was also long and looked to be able to fit more than just two hands. I must say it surprised me. I'd been expecting a more Asian looking blade.
There, that wasn't so hard, was it? I heard the sword say. Now, go ahead and pick me up.
"Do you think I'm stupid?" I asked it.
The sword had no face, no body, yet I felt its playful facade crack. The air around it shifted, and suddenly I was looking at a very different sword, one still equally as long, but now with a more Chinese style rounded guard with a hilt just long enough for one hand and a golden pommel at the end.
I'm not quite sure what to think, said the sword. We've barely said a word to each other on this date.
This time it was my turn to have my calm falter.
"On this what now?"
I heard the sword give a twittering laugh, then it morphed again, this time into a dainty, fencing rapier and ornate handguard.
Blood, blood, blood, blood, BLOOD! Give it, give it, give it-
The case snapped shut and I jumped to find you next to me, hand resting atop it.
"B-Bran," I stuttered.
"We're going out tomorrow. You should sleep more," you said. Your hand left the top of the case as you stood and headed back to the bedroom, leaving me in the dark, heart hammering in my chest.
--
Amethyst was feeling much better the next day so when Bran announced that he and Misha would be going on a field trip, she raised a hand and asked if she could come too. Bran hesitated until the woman produced enough money for food, so Misha set about making sandwiches. The bread wasn't like how he was used to, nor where the ingredients, but he made do and packed them into a series of plastic containers that went into a large backpack Bran rustled up from somewhere. Bran was carrying his instrument case as usual, so it was up to Misha to be the packhorse of the outing.
All through the trip on the train, Misha tried to catch Bran's eye, to find some chance to offer an apology, but he never found one. There was always some noisy mother and child or a hoard of school children or even Amethyst asking questionings about the scenery as it sped past. Normally Misha would be asking about it too, but he felt too awful.
Just what had he been doing last night?
He knew in theory that he'd been curious and maybe a bit suspicious, but he couldn't shake the sense that something had gone wrong with him, like he'd been… bewitched.
His gaze landed on Amethyst as she sat on the other side of the train car, body half turned to better see out the windows.
It was a beautiful day with clear blue skies and the greenery outside only got more green as they headed further and further out. Dragon Ridge was highly developed with buildings upon buildings, and the bits of Pearl Island Misha had seen had had their fair share of skyscrapers, yet here, it was almost like another world with low-rise buildings nestled between large swathes of forest and vines and all other kinds of sub-tropical plant.
Misha looked over at Bran again and saw that he was still leaning against the side of the railing on the side of the seats with his eyes closed. Misha wasn't sure if he was actually sleeping or not, but he didn't dare try to find out.
Just what had happened last night!?
The recorded voice of the train announcer came over the speakers, letting everyone know this was Tin Shui Wai Station. Bran opened his eyes.
"Time to change trains," he said with a yawn.
--
The wetlands were beautiful to the point that I forgot to be worried about me and you and instead joined Amethyst in staring out the window of the light rail. Everywhere the green was so dense and so alive that I could almost feel the excitement of the plants around me. They seemed to affect the gu-huo-niao too and for the first time she seemed almost happy as we followed you to the Ticket Office then enter the park proper.
It had taken us quite a while to get there on the train, but it was still early enough that there were only a few people meandering around, half of whom looked more like park rangers than guests.
I'd visited some marshy, bog-like areas on family holidays years ago down in the north of Pretan, and of course I'd been to the scenic highlands, but none of those experiences were a good comparison to the wetlands before me.
Sure, there were bog-like qualities about it - there was water, there were reeds, there were insects and birds - but there was something innately different that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Maybe it was a temperate vs sub-tropical kind of thing.
But bog or not, you walked ahead with full confidence, much more confidence in fact than when you walked around in the Walled City and led us across the flat bridges and walkways that crisscrossed the place.
We walked for a while, dragonflies buzzing in our faces, until you finally stopped at what seemed to be the most remote corner of the park.
"Here should be good," you said then gestured for me to give you the backpack.
"Are we eating lunch?" Amethyst asked. We'd eaten not too long ago yet she sounded like she'd quite like to have a sandwich or two.
"If you want," you replied.
You unbuckled the main body of the backpack and pulled out the plastic containers, giving them to Amethyst, then reached in deeper. The hungry bird, with food clasped tightly in her talons, left the pair of us while she went to go occupy a nearby wooden bench.
"Don't feed the birds," you called after her.
She waved a dismissive hand at us and began her lunch.
You shook your head and turned back to the two large metal cannisters you'd just pulled from the backpack. They looked like huge, overly designed water bottles with rocket ship aspirations.
"What are they?" I asked.
You handed me one of the cannisters. "They're... actually they don't have a name. They collect luck when they're turned on."
"Luck?"