Flashback The Innocence of Youth (Raven/Wade/Savio)

[Savio]

25th of Spring, 508AV

The spring sun shone brightly, high in the sky above. The blue sky only slightly clouded by white fluffy cotton ball clouds. Spring was in full swing in Syliras, even though the air still held the slight chill of winter. The snow had finally melted and a small group of young performers congregated just outside the confines of the Syliran city walls. Savio was 16 this Spring, and was once again spending a season in the city to learn clerical work from his beloved Aunt Rachele. Or at least, he was supposed to. He was forever sneaking off to run the streets of the city with his acrobatic lowlife friends. Today, they were practicing their routine and teaching Savio the basics of their trade.

Savio could feel the sweat drip from his face as he attempted yet another handstand. His flung himself forward onto his hands and lifted one foot into the air, then brought up the other one. His friend, Adean was there to catch both of his legs and hold him up until he was able to hold his balance. Savio’s arms trembled from the strength it took to hold up his body.

“Hey! You are getting better at this, Savi!” Adean complemented with a small laugh. “Your arms are not giving out from under you and making you eat dirt.”

Savio could hear the good natured chuckles of his other friends in the troupe. Adean was right, though. In the last couple of days, Savio had eaten more than his fair share of dirt and grass and his body held a bruise or two from falling. Savio was determined, though. He would try a thousand times until he got this basic move down perfectly.

“I am going to let go now, Savi.” Adean warned as Savio felt his hands leave the boy’s legs. Savio struggled to hold his balance. His arms were tucked in close to his ears and he looked ahead like he was told to do.

Despite his inner struggles though, Savio stayed up right! Joy and pride rushed through him in a wave. He could hear the other’s clap and cheer him on. Of course, Savio planned on doing this over and over again until he was perfect and didn’t need someone to stand next to him to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself.

“Alright kido, you can stand back up.” Adean commanded. Savio lowered one foot, and then the other. He raised his body until he was back upright, grinning like a fool. Adean laughed and clapped Savio on the shoulder and congratulated him. “Well, that ends our lesson for the day. We need to head back into the city and make a few Mizas.”

Savio sighed, he wished desperately that he could join them but he would only get in their way.

[Raven Nightfoot]

Another boring day in Syliras and Raven found herself heading outside of the gates as usual, in order to avoid the hustle and bustle of the city folk as they went about their daily business. Life in Syliras seemed very redundant, everyone followed the same procedure, day by day, where was the fun, the excitement? Even Raven found herself doing the same thing everyday, wake up, eat breakfast and leave the city gates for some peace and quiet. Oh how she longed for something different. She had just exited the gates when she noticed a young group of boys/men performing some acrobatic tricks nearby. Raven figured that they must have been performers because of how they pulled off each trick with ease, all except for one. There was a boy who looked a bit younger than the rest, it seemed like he was still in training since the others were assisting him and cheering him on. Raven found herself slowly edging closer to the group, she had always enjoyed watching acrobats and aspired to be a skilled acrobat herself one day. She watched them closely, scanning for any tips to help her improve her own skills. She noticed the younger of the boys, the trainee, was actually quite cute with his warm tanned skin and dark brown hair. She was leaned against the city wall, hiding from the heat in it's shade, her amber eyes fixed on the upside down young man and his older friends. She wore her usual attire of matching tight black leather boots, pants and corset. The outfit served to allow her ease of movement with the added benefit that it accentuated her lithe curvaceous body, after all...a girl's gotta look good. Before she could decide whether or not to ask for some tips from the performers, they had all begun to walk back towards the city gates, leaving only the handsome younger acrobat. Raven figured that she might as well just ask him, he must have gotten plenty of tips from his friends. She walked up to him casually, not a shred of awkwardness or shyness evident, Raven had always been confident. "Hey, I see you're an aspiring acrobat, me too." she said in a friendly tone, a small smile on her face. She hadn't noticed before, but now that she was closer she could see his stone gray eyes, a very unusual but still attractive colour.

[Wade]

Wade ran happily through the street. He had narrowly evaded having to go out and help his father at his work. That would have made the fourth time in a row; a dismal prospect for the poor young boy. As per the norm, his father had awakened him before dawn and told him to prepare himself. This day, however, a man had come to the door with pressing business and his father had left after placing his sister in charge of him.

His sister was not very adept at keeping him in the house.

Wade skittered up one street and down the next laughing happily, ignoring the looks from passing people. He had the sudden longing to feel the sun on his face so he passed through the city gate and to the outside. He ran along, close to the city wall. His father had warned him to always keep a hand on the wall whenever he was outside the city and away from an adult. The many horror stories that accompanied that order were enough to keep the boy in check.

Wade came across a group of tall, older people playing around and doing all sorts of acrobatic tricks not long into his journey. Immediately, he plopped down in the grass and started watching. He gave an appreciative ooh and ahh every time he saw something exciting and even tried to mimic the handstand one of the large boys was doing by using the wall as support.

His head on the ground, he struggled to get both legs up over his head. He got one leg up and kicked hard with the other one, trying to force it above him. Instead, the rest of his body came down. He sprawled on the ground for a moment facedown and his entire face wrinkled in anger, then embarrassment.

Wade rolled back over and resumed his sitting position. Luckily, no one had seemed to see him. He decided that he would try that again later in his room when there wasn’t anyone who could look over and laugh at a boy falling down on his face. For now, he decided to just keep watching.

[Savio]

Savio sighed as he turned around to grab his tunic and small satchel that was resting next to a tree when he heard someone approach. Must be one of the other acrobats! Savio’s imagination jump started and spun hopes of perhaps they were going to ask Savio to join them this time. Savio quickly turned around but was only met by a VERY beautiful girl who looked to be around his age.

To say that his was instantly captivated was an understatement. Everything about her just screamed attractive, from the glossy pitch black hair, to her sultry eyes, to her pouting lips…and oh gods… That body. He was unaware of how he was looking her over with obvious awe.

When she spoke, it was smooth and calming. It took him a moment or two to register what exactly she had said. His whole face blushed into a flaming shade of red as he tripped over his own tongue to answer her.

“I-I-I…um…Y-yes, I am an acrobat! Erm…A-at least…I will be…eventually.” Savio’s voice, which had just deepened last season still cracked and squawked embarrassingly.

Savio was so focused on the pretty girl in front of him that he did not notice that there was another person who had been watching him.

[Raven Nightfoot]

Raven watched curiously as the young man fumbled about awkwardly, seemingly caught of guard by her presence. She couldn't help but giggle as he stammered about nervously while trying to speak to her, it was adorable. She stared into his beautiful stone gray eyes for a moment before responding. "Maybe you could teach me some tricks some time? I'm Raven by the way. " she said cheerfully as she extended a hand for him to shake. As the two youngsters spoke Raven felt a pair of eyes on her, it could have been her imagination of course but she turned her head in search of the source regardless. She noticed a boy watching them from not far off, her eyes meeting his. She turned and began walking towards the young boy, assuming her new friend would follow. "Hey there, why're you sitting here all alone?" she asked happily. The young boy looked as if he had just hit his teens, he was adorable, with his brown eyes and black hair, much like her own.

[Wade]

To Wade's disappointment the acrobats had dispersed, leaving only an older boy and an older girl. He frowned as he considered heading back home. He would probably be in trouble as soon as he stepped in the door. His sister was such a goody-goody and would be eager to tell their father on him. He shrugged and decided that if he stayed out he might manage to miss his father's entire work day and at least avoid that.

As he looked about for other things to do he saw the girl walking up to her. He watched her approach silently, not really that afraid but shy with youth. A couple of his father's warnings about strangers bounced around in his head but he dismissed them because he thought she was pretty.

"Um, I was watching," Wade said. "The acrobats," he added to clarify. "They quit playing though..." he added also. The girl was smiling and pretty, so Wade warmed up to her very quickly. He smiled in response to hers, the ear-to-ear grin of a child. He stretched, all limbs pushed to their limit, and stood up as he waited for what the girl would say next. Shyness overcame him a little and he wasn't sure what to say.

[Savio]

Savio was mentally kicking himself in the arse for how terrible he sounded when trying to talk to her. She even laughed at him… Well, it was more like a giggle and it sounded endearing. How she looked into his eyes made shift nervously. Savio’s experience with women only extended to Annabelle, and that was a single kiss because she wanted to be his first kiss.

Savio gulped when she asked him if he could teacher her some tricks. Tricks? He hardly knew any, himself. But he could try, if that meant he could get to know her better. And her name was Raven. It seemed fitting, with her black hair and aloofness. Savio looked down at the hand that she offered and shook it. The thought of lifting it and kissing the back of it like he had seen Adean do to many a pretty girl had crossed his mind but he pushed it away because something like that seemed too cliché for a girl like Raven.

After they shook hands, Raven became distracted and turned around to look back at the Gates of Syliras. Against the stone walls stood a small boy, he appeared to be almost in his teenaged years. He was just sitting there, watching. How long has he been there? Savio thought to himself.

She then left Savio’s side and started to walk over to the boy. Curious, Savio followed her. Upon closer examination, the boy looked very much like Raven. Perhaps they were siblings? But his silent questions were answered when she started talking to the boy. No, she didn’t know the kid either. She asked him why he was by himself outside of the protecting of the city walls. He was much too young to do such a thing, since monsters and wild beasts roamed the wild lands.

The boy answered her questions shyly. Savio didn’t blame him. It seems Raven had that effect on most males, no matter the age. So the boy had been watching the troupe as well? Oh dammit all, they had both seen his pathetic attempts at a handstand. It was mortifying!

Savio remained silent though as he watched how she handled the boy with gentleness. He even offered the kid a reassuring smile whenever the boy would look in his direction.

[Raven Nightfoot]

Raven listened intently as the boy spoke, curious as to why someone as young as him was outside the safety of the city all alone, all the while with a friendly smile on her face. This boy's features resembled hers slightly and she already felt like playing the 'big sister' role, something she'd never had the chance to do since she was an only child. The boy stood up straight and so did Raven as she took a small step back to give the boy his space, not wanting to overwhelm him with her presence. She turned her head to see the young acrobat beside her and flashed him a smile too, happy to see he hadn't left. Her attention turned back to the boy as she thought on a response, "Oh you like the acrobats, me too. Our friend here is training to become one you know." once again her tone was cheerfully friendly, she gestured to the young man as she spoke. Raven noticed that the boy looked awfully bored just roaming the outside of the city all alone and she felt like she should at least try and entertain him(actually she really wanted to). "You look bored here all alone...Hey, do you want to play a game of tag?" she paused for a while thinking on her proposal. 'No, of course he doesn't want to play tag with a bunch of strangers! Introduce yourself!'. "Oh, my name is Raven by the way, nice to meet you...and this is... she paused for a moment looking at the stone eyed young man beside her and realising that she hadn't gotten his name in return for hers, "...actually I don't believe you told me your name." she finished. She searched the surrounding area for any other young people who seemed like candidates to play along with them but saw none. Turning to the gray eyed young man, she spoke with a cheerful pleading in her voice, her bright amber eyes on his as she spoke. "You wouldn't mind playing tag with us would you? You can't play tag with only two people."

[Wade]

Wade nodded excitedly at the mention of game of tag. He hadn't been able to get out and play anything almost a week! Now that the opportunity presented itself, he grabbed at it with his little hands. "Yeah! That's be fun!" This woman was all smiles and gentleness and it lulled Wade into a sense of security very quickly. At this point, his father's warnings had fallen out of his ears and blown away in the cool spring breeze.

She gave her name with another of her pretty smiles. "My name is Wade," he responded. He looked from the girl to the boy and back again, smiling happily. He started bouncing up and down, truly impatient to get the game started. It wasn't fair to tease a boy by challenging him to a game of tag and then just stand around talking, he decided. He nearly took off running into the fields, but then the girl started talking to the acrobat and regained his attention.

"Yes, please play tag with us!" Wade pleaded. "I want to see more of your tricks!" He gave another of his winning, ear to ear smiles. Playing tag was all good, but if he was chasing someone that was doing back flips and front flips it would be even more fun! He would be legendary in his circle of friends for catching an acrobat in a game of tag.

[Savio]

Savio watched Raven talk to the boy with an amused expression on his face. She seemed really good with kids, and Savio found that endearing of her. Savio blushed sheepishly when Raven gestured to Savio and told the boy that Savio was trying to become one.

She then suggested that the three of them play tag. It had been a long time since he did such a childish thing. It made Savio smile all the more. But when she went to introduce them, she drew a blank at his name. Aw! He had managed to forget to introduce himself to the lovely woman in his rush to actually speak to her.

“My name is Savio. It is a pleasure to meet you, young man.” Savio made a grand sweeping bow to the boy in hopes to make the child smile and laugh, like how he had seen Adean do at the end of the performances.

The boy’s answering smile and pleas won Savio over, though. How can anyone say no to that? “And of course, I would love you play tag with the two of you. Though, since I am still learning I haven’t quite mastered the fancy tricks. But I will show you what I can do. Okay?”