"Okay uh...Marci--right?"
"Yes. What is it"
"We really need to get going now. Lady Sora said that if we don't leave by the blue moon--which is TONIGHT, our opportunity to successfully start our journey will GO AWAY." he replied.
Sometimes, in his mind, it was very difficult to work with Marci. She was very stubborn, and appeared to not know a thing about anything. Whenever she talked, it was a short statement, and she refused to look him in the eyes. Was she intimidated by him?
"Alright, but I don't think we have everything. How long are we going to be gone? Like a...month or so?" Marci said, examining her fingernails.
"I don't know, but I say that we should bring as much stuff as possible. Lemme check to see what we have so far" he replied.
He started to check off the things they've (mostly he) hurriedly collected over the past week. Everything was moved to the cellar of the local fabric shop, which was unfortunately Hazus's job. So far he counted three bags filled with clothes, blankets, and hygienic necessities, two sleeping bags, matches, candles, and food; three knapsacks filled with assorted food.
"I just checked and I think we have everything we need. I told my family about the basics, did you?" Hazus said after rummaging through things.
"No, but I know what I'm doing." she replied, sitting on some stairs that surrounded the room.
"Really, I think that--" he started to say, but she cut him off, "Just trust me, alright? Now, I've been practicing moving plants around, and look what I can do!"
She pulled out a wooden cup full of weeds and placed it in front of her; then she closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She concentrated as hard as she could on making the plants grow and moved her hand in a pulling manner above them. The plants elegantly and slowly grew upwards, but stopped when Marci opened her eyes to see what was going on. She groaned and looked up at Hazus.
She had to admit, he wasn't ugly. He had sharp features, but they all softened when she looked at his eyes. They were almond shaped, warm, and brown. She almost could stare at them completely, when he was actually facing her...what am I thinking, she thought, I barely know him, and I really don't like him!
"Well uh...that's pretty good, but I'll show you something REALLY impressive!!" he said in a mocking way. He started to wave his arms in a circle, and slowly but surely, a small cloud formed that grew grayer and grayer as he continued. He then stopped his arms and scrunched his eyes closed--rain started to lightly pour rain.
"How was that??" he asked with a smirk. Marci stuck out her tongue and started to practice on the plant growing.
A few moments later a heavy knock sounded at the door. "HAZUS!? WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!? Hiding away in a cellar during work hours..." was heard. Oh Lord...I forgot about him! thought Hazus. "Okay. Marci, " he started in a hushed tone, "That's my boss, and he'll be coming in at any moment if I don't get my 'lazy ass' upstairs. Can you start moving the stuff thataway?" he asked pointing to a curtain hanging from the ceiling.
"You have a job? I just thought that you found this random place!" she exclaimed. He gave her a weird look. "Fine then. But is this all we're bringing? I mean, we need more clothes, right?" she asked? Hazus ran his hand along the back of his head and said "Actually these are all of my clothes. I'm really lucky though, 'cause a lot of my friends don't have as much. Plus, I plan on really practicing moving water so I can help with laundry."
"I have to do laundry, too?!" exclaimed Marci
"Obviously I'm not gonna do it all!"
"But...I've never done laundry!! And it isn't like I can control water or anything! You can remove the teeny-tiny pieces of dirt and wash it--if you get good enough!"
"Okay I'm NOT going to do it all! Wait--you've never done laundry before?"
"Uh...I forgot to tell you...I'm..." she paused for a moment. Did she really want him to know that her father was the man behind their suffering? No, of course not. "I'm rich. My father...is in charge of food trades. Yeah."
"That explains a whole heck of a lot. Fine then," he put his hand on his forehead, "you can, uh...make...a...clothesline. I hope you get way better at making tree branches grow."
"HAZUS!!! IT'S BEEN FIVE MINUTES!! I'M GOING TO BRING YOU UP MYSELF!!!!" cried Hazus's boss. "Go hide with the stuff! I'll meet you here in a few once I close up shop, then we can leave." whispered Hazus.
~
20 minutes later, lights were turned off in the shop, and Hazus hurriedly ran downstairs. "Marci! MARCI! We gotta go NOW!! The sun is going down in an hour! Lets GO!!" he cried frantically. They both grabbed the luggage and dashed upstairs and through the main door. "Wait? The gates are locked at night! How are we getting out?" asked Marci. "Follow me," he replied.
Marci followed him through alleyways of the ghettos, and soon they came to a pile of boxes and garbage. Hazus shoved aside everything to reveal a trap door. they climbed down into a long dirt tunnel, and continued to walk in the dark. "Do you know where you're going?" she pondered aloud. "Yeah, I go down here each month. You know, because of the capacity inspections?" he said.
Soldiers every month would visit each household to see how many people lived there. In fear of a revolt, Treden Talavan, the sovereign of Pi-Chi and Marci's father, prohibited having more than two children in order to keep the population down. But the people of Tama silently rebelled, and hid their children in the Tunnels.
"Right, the uh...capacity inspections. Are we close to the edge of the city?"
"No not exactly. We're technically close, but since this tunnel winds and curves so much, it'll be a while."
"Wow. How old is this thing? It doesn't look really modern."
"I'd say it's about...3,000 years old. Or so I've been told. I thought everyone knew that?"
Suddenly he heard Marci fall behind him. "Ow! That HURT! And I cannot see AT ALL! How am I supposed to keep going if I CAN'T SEE!?" she screamed. "SHHHH!!!! These tunnels aren't exactly that deep! Just feel along the wall." he said, clearly annoyed. Marci touched the wall to find that the dirt crumbled beneath her palm. "No way. I don't want the wall to cave-in on me!" she cried. "Fine then. Just grab my hand." He stuck out his hand behind him and she tentatively grabbed it.
To Marci, it seemed like hours until they hit the end of the tunnel, though it was only twenty minutes. She wasn't expecting anything from holding his hand, which was smart, because nothing happened. She was relieved beyond belief, and let go as soon as Hazus said "We're at the end."
He started to feel around for a rusty ladder, which was always in a slightly different place due to multiple uses. Wait a minute...it's usually right around here! he thought. He told Marci, who was still just standing there, to feel around for it. After about five minutes of searching blindly in the dark, Marci exclaimed "Okay, I can't find it!" Hazus sighed and looked up, and about 30 feet up was another trap door outlined by light. "Wait, how is there light if it's basically sunset?" asked Marci, who walked over to where he was standing. He didn't answer, but instead got on his knees and felt around on the ground.
"What are you doing?" asked Marci, trying to stifle a giggle. "This is dirt, earth basically. I might be able to lift us up and out of here!" he said excitedly
"Can you do it? I'm sure moving dirt is more difficult than making a cloud."
"Welp! It's worth a try, so uh, stand back."
Hazus closed his eyes and imagined himself making the dirt rise. He tried feeling the earth and forcing the energy through him and up. Nothing happened. It took a few minutes before Marci felt movement beneath where she sat. She knew what happened when she opened her eyes, so she just stood up and observed. A few moments later, the ground slowly but surely rose. They eventually hit the trap door, and the tap on the head of Hazus caused him to open his eyes. "Oh sweet! It worked!" he cried. He reached up and open the door.
Once Marci and Hazus were inside, she noticed a bunch of well-groomed men sitting in a circle by a door. They were in a meeting house, and she guessed that they were politicians. A few of them squinted and whispered at Marci. Hazus just waved (they all showed some sign of recognition), but Marci had a feeling on the back of her neck that they knew who she really was! "Um, Hazus? We need to go now!!" she said rather nervously. "Yeah, well bye guys!" he said.
Once they were out they both sighed and started to walk.
"Why did you sigh?" asked Marci as an attempt to make conversation.
"Well, I left a family of six others and I've never been out of Pi-Chi." he replied
"Oh actually my family wasn't really loving, and this my first time by myself."
"Really? Well, by that you mean out of the city alone, right?"
"No. The closest thing I've had to 'being alone' is sleeping with a guard outside my door. I've tried to escape watch, but they are EVERYWHERE."
"Ah."
There were grasslands all around, and there were trees along the horizon, which was their first destination. Lady Sora gave them a list of places to travel to, and first on the list was the Tamagons Forest. There, Marci was to learn the basics of her Light; talking and listening to animals and controlling plants. Hazus was to learn the art of controlling earth. Both were very excited to learn.
But until they reached the forest, they were alone together in the vast grasslands.
