"Hey you, it's time to wake UP!!", the young girl gave an excited shout as she leaped up onto her brother's bed landing right on his stomach. "Up, up, up, sleepyhead, yer gonna be late!" With each word she bounced up and down rocking the bed and waking the sleeping man from his restful slumber.
"AHH!!! I'm up, I'm up!" he spluttered as he shoved the sixteen year old girl off of him and sat up. "Geez, a simple good morning would have worked just fine". He stood up on the tiled floor of his large but relatively empty room and squinting walked over to the far wall to close the window shade and block out the warm morning sun that had been flooding into the room and hurting his sleep filled eyes, "you don't always have to act like a brat you know". He turned back just in time to receive a face full of clothes she threw at him.
"Hmph, I tried to wake you up five times, it's not my fault you're so lazy...how mama ever woke you up every morning is beyond me"
He grinned at her with his lopsided smile and quickly pulled on the clothes she had given him. "Well she cooked breakfast every morning and the smell always got me up".
"I cook breakfast for you ", she said crossing her arms over her chest and staring at him as he walked over to her.
"No Roxy, mom cooked breakfast..." He placed one of his fingers on her small pug nose and continued, "you burn perfectly good food" He laughed as he saw her green eyes flame up, he loved making her angry.
"Why you...you...JERK!!!" She jumped at him and started beating on his chest with her small hands as he stumbled away laughing at her attempts to hurt him. "How dare you say that!" she screamed, "I wake up every morning so I can make you something good to eat and THIS is the thanks I get! At least I try and that's more then I can say for you, what have you done lately huh?!? I swear Neo, if you weren't family, I'd...I'd?"
He grabbed her by the forearms to subdue her onslaught, "Woah calm down. You gotta stop being so gullible, I was just kidding with you ok". Letting go of her he ran a hand through his long blue hair and started laughing again until a sharp pain from her attack made him cringe, "heh, I think you may have bruised me with that one."
Roxy scowled at Neo, "Serves you right for being so mean", with one final slap she turned around and stalked out of the room slamming the large wooden door behind her with an echoing thud. Neo was just able to hear her say something about his burnt breakfast getting cold through the heavy door. He smiled to himself, perhaps he had gone too far this morning. Roxy had been very irritable since he had received the recruitment notice from the Nichan and now that he was finally leaving she was really in a bad mood. He decided it would be best to apologize and before he left his room he ran back to the window, pulling up the shade and letting the bright yellow glow of the sun hit his face once more. He quickly pulled some of the flowers out from the window box his mother had put up years ago. Looking at the small white flowers he decided they would have to do and he did his best to pull the roots off and shake the dirt from them in an attempt to make the delicate buds look a little more presentable.
"Hey Roxy", he called as he quietly opened the door to his room and slipped out into the large living area. Looking around he saw her in the kitchen facing away from him in front of the old metal cooker, "Roxy, I'm sorry, your cooking really isn't that bad, I shouldn't have said those things", he watched her for a minute looking for some sign to show that she had forgiven him but none came, she stood exactly where she was with out making a sound. "Ah, come on you aren't gonna stay mad at me forever are you?" Walking over to her he held the flowers out towards her, "look I even got you some flowers to show you how sorry I am".
She finally turned around and looked at the small handful of flowers he held out towards her. Looking at her, Neo now saw several tear stains on her ruddy cheeks. With a small sniff she gave a little smile, "Those are from mama's flower box aren't they?"
Neo gave a sheepish grin as she took them from him, "well yeah, but I got them for you. I figured I couldn't just leave with you mad at me and all". On hearing him say that Roxy burst into tears and flung herself into Neo's surprised arms.
"Oh Neo, you can't go away!! What will happen to me if you don't come back?", she sobbed into his blue shirt, "I can't run the farm alone and mama and papa's money can only last so long. Why can't you just stay here? I'd rather face the whole Nichan army then lose you like I did Papa and whose to say they'd come anyway, maybe they'd just leave us alone if you didn't show up at their stupid camp. Besides, the Waruis are ruthless, they won't stop until we're all dead. All they care about is fighting and land, they'll kill you if they get the chance. Stay here where it's safe, please, don't go to their side of the world where they can have the chance to take you from me ", she looked up at him her eyes full of tears and hope, but Neo could only shake his head no, there would be no hiding from the Nichan, he had been called to serve in their war and to not do so would bring death to him and his sister just as it had to all the others who had tried to skip.
He gently wiped the tears from her eyes and soothingly stroked his hand through her lavender hair as his mother had done when they were small children, "You know I can't stay, the law is what it is and just like everyone else I have to serve my time even if I don't believe in their cause. You don't have to worry, I'll come home. They only make you stay for 3 years, after that I'll be back home and we can run the farm together again. I promise", Neo gently smiled down at his younger sister as she wiped the last salty tears away from her bright eyes.
"But you never keep your promises", she whispered.
"I will this one", he whispered back as he took a step away from her letting his hand dangle in her hair for a moment longer. "I've got to get going Roxy, no sense of letting this drag on any longer. The sooner I leave the sooner I can come home". Walking to the far side of the room he opened a small door in the wall that held a small room full of old clothing and traveling supplies. Neo hesitated a moment breathing in the warm scents that filled the room with the memories of long days past. Digging through the piles of old coats that were heaped on the floor, he found what he had come in for, a long sword in a sheath. Taking the sword from the pile Neo turned back around and closed the door. He unsheathed the sword and stared in awe at the long glistening blade of the hard steal, examining every dent and stain that covered its' silvery white blade and aged bronze handle that had had been so intricately carved to resemble a dragon.
"Neo, what are you doing with Papa's sword?", Roxy asked, coming closer that she could also see its' beauty closer up.
"I'm taking it with me" Neo said, re-sheathing the sword in its' old leather casing, "It's a long ways to the base and I may need it, besides it isn't doing anyone any good sitting in that room rusting away. Papa would have wanted me to take it".
"I suppose, just be careful with it", Roxy said worriedly as she watched her brother awkwardly sling it over his shoulder and nearly drop it clattering to the hard stone floor.
"If I didn?t know better I?d say you were more worried about the sword then you are me"
"Of course not, how could you say something like that Neo!"
"ok, ok, I'm sorry", he laughed for a second before taking on his serious tone again, "I'm gonna miss you Roxy, take care of yourself"
"I will and you better keep your promise Neo, I can't handle another burial" She hugged him tightly before letting him leave out the front door.
Neo gave one last glance over his shoulder before heading out of the house. Roxy gave a small wave to him trying to hold back more tears, Neo waved back and closed the small door closing out everything that had ever been important to him. He made his way through the short cropped grass to the Bakabir pen. The giant red animal startled upon seeing him as it did every time he went to the gate. Perhaps if it was more intelligent it would have recognized him as its' owner, but it regarded him as a stranger and Neo had to corner the large beast while trying to avoid its' large kicking legs and the clouds of dust that were starting to surround him and cut off his air. Finally he was able to subdue the bakabir and choking through the dust he hopped on its' back and steered it out the gate. With a swift kick to it belly, the bakabir took off in a run as Neo clung to it throwing his head back as the wind blew over his face, cooling it from the overhead sun rays that were beating down on them. There was nothing Neo loved more then riding the bakabir at its' full speed, it sent his adrenaline racing and the only thing that could possibly made the feeling better would be if he was simply taking a ride to town for supplies instead of heading off to join a war.