Sisters and Brothers

Jack winced at being moved about, he could feel warm blood seeping through his clothes. Not only had he exhausted his element energy but also his body energy. "Ar-li-tha...." He said, a bit confused as to what exactly was going on. He knew he had to stay awake or things would get worse, "Go...to...town...." He tried to say, hoping she would hear him, "Use...lightning...transport...much quicker...." There weren't many elements where you could transport but lightning was one of them, "Think of...the town...feel...your energy flowing...be calm...then release...."

Arlita felt his blood on her back and frowned, this was bad. But she did as she was told and began thinking of town as she followed his instructions. she closed her eyes as she focused and she felt a pull and felt her surroundings change and when she opened her eyes she was in town.

When they appeared in the middle of town, people stopped to look at a young girl carrying a bloody man on her back. The scene was rather odd but nonetheless, Jack needed help before he passed out. Jack's grip tightened on Arlitha, a shock of pain running through, but by the sounds and smell, he knew exactly where they were. "G-Go...left...two hous-ses on...r-right...knock and...and...pickles...." It was only getting worse and the icy rain wasn't helping. His mind was going foggy.

Arlitha didn't waste time and walked swiftly to the house and knocked hard on the door hopping she wouldn't have to try and explain anything to anyone, that would be difficult. She also didn't know how much time Jack had left before he lost consciousness.

"What is the password?" said a rather young voice as a slide opened and a pair of yellow eyes peered at the two. From inside, there was sounds of shuffling and a gruff voice saying, "Levo! Get away from that door!"
"But she has to say "pickles", its the password!" called out the young voice, Levo. Jack groaned and Levo looked at him before the yellow eyes went wide, "Master! Its Jad! He is hurt!" The slide closed and the door opened to reveal a little boy with snowy white hair and matching bunny ears on his head. The brown sweater was much too long for him as the sleeves dangled down from his hands. His pants were blue with a hole for the fluffy tail but wore no shoes. A long green scarf traveled behind him and he came barely up to Arlitha's waist. Behind Levo was an old man wearing a green robe with silver hems, he was bald but had a whiskery mustache and round rimmed glasses. He looked at Arlitha with dark blue eyes before looking to Jack. He turned quickly, "Hurry inside, follow me." He said as he went into his house. Levo closed the door when the two entered and hurried to follow the trio.

Arlitha nodded and hurried inside, not even wanting to question the boy. Jack needed help and she was going to help her new family.

They were taken to a small room with many shelves and a table in the center. "Put him on their and remove the cloak and scarf." said the old man as he went to get what he needed. Levo helped Arlitha remove what was needed before taking away the bloody clothes. Levo then removed the bandages that were placed on him earlier and went to throw them away before coming back with a bucket and a wash cloth. Levo began to wash the blood while the old man started to mix together herbs into a jar of cream. "I am Levo and this is Master Usai. We are healers!" Levo said in his enthusiastic voice as he carefully washed Jack. Now that he was clean, it was easy to see the damage done.

There was the three gashes from before but in the middle of his torso, more up towards the chest, was a diamond-ish shaped hole where the puppet hit him. Bruises and small cuts ran all over his arms and a lump was forming from where he hit his head when he was tossed. His skin was pale and still wet from the rain, his eyes were closed but his face was contorted in pain, breathing through gritted teeth.

Levo cleaned out the cloth before dunking it in the water and putting it on Jack's forehead, "Levo, take the girl out into the living space. Make her something to warm her up." Levo nodded and tugged for Arlitha to follow him, smiling, "Come on, come on! A watched kettle will never boil! I can make you some nice tea and we have biscuits too! They taste great with jam." Levo said in a happy way but inside, he was worried about Jack but he didn't want to see her upset so he was putting on a brave face for her!

Levo went into the living space and sat Arlitha near the fire, "I will get the tea going! Its really good tea, all the way from the Land of Earth! Its like being in a green forest."

Arlitha smiled softly at the little boy, he reminded her of Ame.....only more innocent. They seemed nice and she hoped they wouldn't freak out when they found out she was the leader of the Silent Sisters, it might be bad.

Arlitha followed him when he began leading her out of the room her back was still wet with Jack's blood and it bothered her. when he continued talking she would nod when it would seem that she would say something. It was times like these that she wished cutting out your own tongue wasn't a regulation of being one of the sisters.

Levo came back with a tray of tea and biscuits with jam. He set it on the table next to the chair before hurrying off upstairs, tripping on the sleeves but got back up. He came back with a sweater much like his, but green, and pair of black pants along with a red scarf, "These are my clothes, they are big for me but they will fit you. My mommy always use to say to me that I had to be nice and clean so that I can enjoy a meal better." He said happily as he held Arlitha the clothes, "So you can be clean and dry, I don't want you to get sick cause getting sick is aweful. You can change in my room cause I have my own bathroom. It is on the right at the end of the hall."

Arlitha watched him with great interest and when he returned with clothing she felt her heart warm a bit. She took the clothing and bowed lowly, it was the best she could do. Then turned to go to his room and get the new clothing on.

She entered the room she made her way to the bathroom. she carefully lifted her skin tight black shirt off and used it to wipe off as much of the blood as she could before she put on the sweater. She felt a little weird wearing green though since her usual color scheme consisted of black, purple or brown. she quickly finished changing and wrapped the red scarf around her throat before folding her clothing and leaving the bathroom and Levo's room to return to where she had left the boy.

Levo had a biscuit with jam, nibbling on it the way a rabbit would. Levo looked up to Arlitha with his yellow eyes before smiling with the biscuit still in his mouth, he waited for Arlitha to sit down before saying, "So you are Arlitha, right? The leader of the Silent Sisters? I bets thats cool, hanging out with a bunch of girls. So much boobies~!" He giggled as he kicked his feet together (which are human like), "My sister was part of them I think, I can't remember because I was really small but I think she was, I think!" Levo said before chewing on the biscuit some more, "I got out the good jam since the good jam is for guests and you are guests." The bunny-boy smiled.

Arlitha couldn't help but be a little surprised at the fact that he knew of her rank in the sisters, but it made her happy to know that he wouldn't attack her because of her position. Hearing how he thought about her living situation made her laugh silently. "can you understand signing?" she signed the question and if he understood her then she would actually be able to speak to him.

His left ear twitched as he tilted his head and blinked, "Hmmm...sorta...I am still learning from Master." He said before nibbling on the biscuit, "I know all the basics but nothing advance." He frowned slightly, his right ear drooping a bit, "Master hasn't had the time to teach me, not with Lasser causing trouble...." Levo looked down, the happy and innocent demeanor suddenly changed into a sad and broken one, tears welled up in his eyes, "He has been so upset lately...because his granddaughter died...a monster attacked us a few months ago...she was so nice too and she made the best cookies ever. She use to tuck me in and sing me songs and tell funny stories. She was like my mommy but looked human...." Tears slipped down his cheeks, "But Jad helped me and Master out a lot...so when I saw him...." He trembled a little, he was trying so hard not to cry in front of Arlitha.

Arlitha felt her heart ache for the little boy, she hated when children were sad. She didn't believe that anything should ever try to make a child sad. She walked over to him and pulled him into a tight embrace the second she saw tears beginning to form. If she could have spoken she would have whispered sweet words to try to comfort him, but since she couldn't this was the best thing she could think of.

Levo dropped his biscuit down and hugged back, sniffling against Arlitha, his little bunny ears pulled against his head. He missed them all so much and he was never able to do anything for them, that is why he begged Usai to take him in, so he could learn how to help people. "Arlitha...can you promise me that you will keep Jad safe?...please? I can't lose him too...."

Hearing his sad pleading she nodded. She would give her life to protect her family. She pet the boys hair, trying to calm him down a little bit.

Levo sniffled as he kept hugging Arlitha, he closed his eyes, "Thank you...." He said before pulling away and wiping his tears. A sudden smile appeared on his face, "When I grow up taller and bigger, I wanna be a healer and travel around and help people!" He said, smiling in his innocent way again.

The door opened softly and Usai came out, sighing a little. Levo jumped up off where he was sitting and went to hug the old man's legs. Usai rested a hand on the boys head as he smiled at Arlitha, "Jack is going to be alright but he is asleep now."

(Note: Levo calls him "Jad" because that was the name Jack used when he 1st introdued himself to them but even after his real name was revealed, Levo still calls him Jad)

Arlitha smiled down at him as he told her his dream, and she playfully ruffled his hair and nodded. She could tell that he could do anything once his mind was set on something. It was that kind of thing that made children wonderful to be around.

Hearing that Jack was going to be alright made the girl smile in relief. "that is good, i better be getting back though. The girls will worry if i'm gone for to long." she signed before giving a low bow. When she straightened she began to sign again. "Thank you and it was wonderful to meet you."

"Please take care and if any of you need help, just come to me and I will not have a problem. Think of it as a thanks for saving him." Usai said as he smiled. Levo frowned before running to the kitchen and coming out with a box too big for him, "Take this, take this!" He said, pushing it towards Arlitha. It had two jars of the "guest" jam, a container of tea, and a bag full of biscuits.

Arlitha smiled and nodded to Usai, thankful for his kindness. When Levo back in with the large box she smiled at the boy and kissed his forehead gently before taking the box. She decided that she would try to transport herself with her element again and so she did as Jack had instructed earlier and thought of her home. She felt the familiar pull of her element and soon she was near her house. It wasn't exactly on target but she was fairly close and that made her a bit proud.

A sickly laughter was heard just before a glow appeared inside the house. The house, their home, suddenly exploded. A fire puppet grinned sickly at Arlitha, it stood over one of the girls who was dead, "Aren't you going to scream?" it said inside her mind before shooting fire at her.

Lasser stood not too far, a form crumpled at his feet. It was Ame, she was still alive. "You should have just died and let me kill Jack. Now you have made me angry." Lasser gave a sharp kick to Ame, to whom he made sure she wouldn't be able to escape, "But...I will be willing to forgive, all you need to do is bring me Jack and I will give her back...I will leave you alone." He said before grinning, "But if you don't...I will kill the girl, understood?" He didn't wait for a response as he and Ame disappeared into smoke.

Arlitha stared at the scene before her. One thought was in her head, 'they're dead.....all dead....all but Ame.' the thought kept going through her mind. Even the little ones weren't spared. He was going to pay......even if she died returning the pain she felt mentally to his physical being. A dark aura radiated around her, her dark element seeping from her skin as her anger and horror grew.

Misha who had stepped out of the house for a while was surprised to see the home in rubble and Arlitha standing before it. He noticed that she looked like death itself and that worried him, but not as much as he wondered where his sister was. "Arlitha?" his voice surprised the leader and her gaze snapped over to him. "W-what happen?" He questioned. He had never seen that look in her eyes, and he definitely did not like it. "He took her. the man who did this. He massacred my girls and took Ame with him." She signed. Misha's mood turned dark as he saw what she was saying. "It was Jack wasn't it? I'll kill that man myself." Arlitha shook her head. "no. it was not Jack. But" she paused and sighed, trying to calm herself down but all she could think of was having Lessar dead. "We will need his help to get you sister back." she told walking over to him. "Follow me." She said as she took off running for town and where she had left Jack.

The rain had stopped and the two wouldn't get to Usai's home until morning. Levo slept on the couch, curled up into a ball as he bit on the sleeve of his sweater. Usai was getting ready for the day when he heard Jack waking up. Calmly, the old man went into the healing room where he found Jack blinking to adjust his eyes, "If you are wondering where you are, you are in my healing room." Jack looked over to Usai before scanning the room.
"The shelves are a nice addition...." He mumbled before trying to sit up. "Jack! Take it easy, you almost died you moron!" scold the old man. "I ain't getting off, I just want to see what condition I am in." Jack's chest and middle were covered in bandages, he also felt a bandage on his forehead. Besides those two things, Usai was able to completely heal everything else. "I managed to close the wounds but the damage was very deep. You lot quiet a lot of blood so you need to rest for a day or so."

Levo suddenly appeared in the doorway, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, "Master, there are people at the door."

Misha was slamming his fist on the door, trying to wake or stir the people that Arlitha was wishing to see. He didn't notice that the girl was trying to tell him something as he pounded on the door. That was until the girl tapped his shoulder to get his attention. "The password is pickles." she signed. The male nodded and knocked again, more calmly this time. "Pickles, now let us in!"

Levo opened the door and yawned, "You woke me...I was having a good dream...." He said before walking inside, waiting till the two were in before closing the door. Usai was in the living space, two cups of tea on the small table as he sat next to the fire place, "Jack is awake but he needs rest." He said, not looking at them. Levo went to Usai and sat at his feet. The little boy hugged his legs and closed his sleepy eyes.