Discovering Sanctuary

[Jai Dionysus]

It was too damn cold today; Jai knew that because the morning frost was still crunching underfoot at nine in the morning. Seemingly defiant of the cold, he exited the large stone cottage where his adoptive parents lived in nothing more than jeans and a faded flannelet t-shirt. "Jai!" called his mother from the kitchen window where she was folding clothes on the table. "You crazy boy, come in and let me give you a jacket!". The sweet, tidy lady flapped a brown tracksuit top out of the window at Jai as he passed, which was completely ignored. She sighed and tucked a loose strand of brown hair back into her bun. That boy never listened to a word she said unless it suited him. Luckily it suited him to be obedient eighty percent of the time. She supposed that allowing himself to be tucked into bed after he caught a chill would be part of that eighty percent, so it was on his own head if he did. The boy just did as he pleased otherwise, and today what pleased him was to go into the woodland off the park and continue building his tree house. From his left hand swung a red bag that was stuffed with rudimentary tools filched from the garden shed; a hammer, nails, a half empty tube of wood glue and for some odd reason, a spanner. Everything else that he needed was already high in the trees, most likely marinating under a blanket of frost. Brilliant.

Jai did not down from the canopy until hours later with his mouth stuffed with nails and his fingers scraped from the bark. He'd only allowed a single rope with no knots in it to permit him entry, and not one other child had managed to disturb his makeshift domain. For a tree house made by an eleven year old, it was fairly impressively made. The roof was airtight and stable and Jai had only one wall to go and the balcony to make. The balcony was easier since he needn't make a floor; a branch thicker that two adults put together served well enough for that, and only a rail need to be put up to secure it. No one else had ever come there before and Jai wasn't about to start letting them. As far as he knew, no one even knew it was there - until now. His sneakered feet made a soft thump on the leafy ground as he turned and sighted a very beautiful little girl only moments away from him. Don't see me, don't see me- he pleaded inwardly, removing the nails from his mouth and shoving them in his pocket. It was too late. She had seen him, and was coming over.

 

[Sureya Eidos]

Sureya Eidos loved fashion, loved muggle fashion more than anything but often got it so wrong it was becoming like a bad joke in her family now. She didn't often wear muggle clothing but when she did, she simply threw anything at all together because to her each piece was so amazing and if she seriously had her way, she would probably wear it all at the same time and appear quadruple the size she really was. Today was one of those strange days where anything went, a frilled tiered skirt beneath a black lace gypsy top cinched by a dark purple corset. Her socks were a brown shade and had a feather pattern knitted on to them while another of her old favourites, her army boots finished the ensemble. Or at least it would have if she hadn't begun to brush her hair and decided that her look needed cheering up a bit. So to not make herself look any stranger, she pinned a bright pink bow to her silvery blonde hair.

Now she was happy and grabbing her cloth bag, she happily skipped down the stairs taking an apple on her way and blowing a kiss to her mother who remained standing looking dumbstruck by the garb her daughter had decided to wear today. Sureya walked along humming to herself and smiling at anyone who passed her when her meanderings brought her to the woodland not too far from where she lived. The apple well eaten now, she tossed the core of it at the base of a tree knowing it would decompose fast enough there.

On she walked trudging over trees and roots when she saw movement ahead of her. Frowning slightly she watched for what seemed like an age as he hammered nails and built what appeared to be a tree house. She had read about them of course but had never seen one before and continued to watch in amazement. At last she could stand it any longer and skipped right on over to him.
"Hello there" she called, her voice was soft and gentle extremely feminine and extremely friendly.
"Did you do that all by yourself?" she smiled at him then, her ice blue eyes all but dazzling in the half light that filtered in through the trees. Sureya noted he was about her own age and hoped he would be pleasant.

 

[Jai Dionysus]

Oh great, now she was talking to him. Jai hated talking to strangers because they always asked him questions and he never knew what to say in return, because frankly he didn't care about their lives. Worse yet, the girl who'd approached him ridiculously, dazzlingly pretty. Jai was just a kid who never even noticed those sort of things, but even he was taken aback by her beauty. He had to focus on something else; like what she was wearing. He had no idea about muggle fashion and what went with the magic-less people these days, but he couldn't help but think that her clothes were just plain weird. Now Jai had an eye for art and could appreciate the strange sort of symmetry in the colours and textures of what she wore, but that didn't mean that he liked it or wanted to speak to the girl wearing it. Someone who was adventurous with clothes was undoubtedly a freak and would bother him. That wasn't saying much since everyone bothered him and he had no friends because of it. Jai looked to the side and scratched the back of his head uncomfortably as the girl approached.

"Yeah ..." mumbled Jai, hurriedly rubbing a smudge of dirt from his cheek. He probably looked like a right idiot, standing there like a criminal being caught and a hammer shoved into his back pocket. "It's um, called the Utopian Sanctuary." he said in his soft, low voice. He didn't have a clue why he was telling her this, but it seemed like the right thing to say and she wasn't being unfriendly. "You, um ... what are you doing here? Do you live near?" asked Jai, going a little pink in the cheeks despite himself. That was another thing; why the hell was he asking her questions? He just wanted her to go away and pretend she'd never seen his tree house. But it was a little too late for regrets and he had to stay and listen to her answer.

 

[Sureya Eidos]

Sureya didn't like boys really, they were always fawning all over her and dying to do anything feasibly possible to please her. So this boy intrigued her greatly that he did not seem to care how she looked and more importantly he didn't come running up to her expressing his delight at her very presence. She was always weary of making any contact with strange boys but so far this one seemed fine enough.

When he spoke she found she liked his voice very much, it was merely the content and how he spoke that she didn't like at all. She frowned slightly at him perplexed that she would even be questioned as to what she was doing in such a public place.

"I live over on the other side" her slender pale hand reached up and pointed in the direction she spoke of, "I was out walking. It's no crime you know."

She did not understand why she became perturbed by him or why her hackles were rising either but they were. Sureya noted the slight tinge of colour to his cheeks and wondered why he was angry with her because he surely was. His demeanour practically roared it at her. But Sureya behaved true to form and did not let anyone's angst bother her in the slightest. Stepping forward with a bright smile on her face she glanced up at the tree house.
"It's really cool. Can I go up?"

 

[Jai Dionysus]

Stupid girls, Jai thought to himself. That was your cue to go away. The pretty girl was being determinedly friendly to him which was putting him in a grumpy mood. Most people got the message that he didn't want to speak to them when he spoke so shortly to them, but the blonde-haired girl didn't seem to quite get it; that, or she was only hanging around to be annoying. He'd be more impressed yet more irritated if it was the latter, but Jai didn't and wouldn't understand that some people could be nice despite others not being so to them. He glanced casually to where she indicated but made a point to look disinterested in her answer as if regretting asking her in the first place, which he did. Maybe the girl wasn't so stupid after all; she could tell he was trying to shoo her away and mentioned that walking wasn't a crime. A tiny smile tugged on the corner of his lips but his eyebrows went down as if trying to counteract it. Worse yet, she asked him if she could go up to the Sanctuary! No one went up to the Sanctuary, especially not a girl. Jai doubted she could even get up there even if he said yes, since he'd spent a lot of time figuring out how the climb the rope without knots in it. She'd have to hold onto him while he climbed ... no way, no how.

Jai folded his arms and said "Don't you have somewhere to be, little girl?". Sureya could have been slightly older than him for all he knew, but that's what he usually called people he didn't think much of. Yet some tiny part of Jai wished that she might retort; he didn't want her to go just yet. She'd approached him. Nobody did that. Maybe they'd have an argument! How very exciting.

 

[Sureya Eidos]

She waited for him to tell her to get lost, to leave him alone or like other boys and offer to lift her all the way up there. She could not help but smile at this thought for something told her that this particular boy would not in any way shape or form want to do anything like that. Unintentionally she took another few steps closer viewing the tree house all the time. If she had known such a thing as her very blood and nature could effect any boy so deeply, she would not have stood so near him. She would have tried to be more considerate and not be around boys at all but she didn't know and as much as she didn't like boys in general, trying to stay away from all of them seemed like such a silly thing to do.

The boy folded his arms across his chest and the movement caused her to look at him as he spoke. Her ice cool blue eyes seemed to smile at him.
"I am exactly where I am meant to be little boy" she told him turning her attention back to the tree house and reaching her slender hand out for the rope. Never in a month of Sunday's would she be able to scale it on her own and she did very much want to see inside it.
"Is there another way up?" she asked him, after all he hadn't said she couldn't see it.

 

[Jai Dionysus]

The girl obviously didn't see the harm in pursuing her interest, and Jai was forced to step back as she moved forward to inspect his treehouse. He almost wanted to say 'Eyes off it!' except he was too distracted by her proximity. Jai had backed into the tree and couldn't quite move any further away from Sureya. Worse yet, boy hormones told him that he didn't want her to. Jai looked too the side moodily and hoped that she'd at least look and see how uncomfortable she was making him. Isn't that what other people did? They saw when they were upsetting someone and stopped because they were considerate. Apparently not in this case, for she was too fixated on her curiosity and appeared not to notice. Some traitorous part of his mind informed him that she smelt quite nice, too. It's nothing, he thought irritably. All girls smell nice. Even mum smells nice. Forget about it. She was a cheeky one, though. Jai's lips grew a bit tighter as he forced himself not to smile when she retorted so coolly. She was clever enough, he had to admit. But she still wanted to look at his damn tree house! He stalked forward despite how her presence irked him and wound the rope out of her grip. "No, there isn't." said Jai firmly, his dark brown eyes boring into hers. Now go away- he meant to say, but something else unexpected came out instead.

"I'll take you up, alright? Then you leave me alone." Appalled with himself, he now had no choice but to comply with his own words. He thought about it for a moment and decided that as far as girls went, she wasn't completely intolerable. If the end result was her skipping off happy and never bothering him again, he might as well take the chance. Now Jai had no doubts that he'd be able to take the weight of her small frame, but figuring out how to keep her there while he climbed was going to be tricky. He looked her up and down and circled around once before abruptly taking her arms and placing them around his neck. He could have recoiled then, the spark of her touched was so potent, but it didn't register on his face and he carried on. Jai wrapped his right arm around her waist in a slightly awkward fashion and lifted her as easily as a doll. It was a simple matter then of tugging them both up and climbing with one hand and both of his feet. So up they went quite smoothly, with Jai fighting not to look at the blonde haired girl in his arms.

 

[Sureya Eidos]

She was rather taken aback that he hadn't told her how far to take a good run too, Sureya's ice cool blue eyes stared at him them but she could not reply with anything other than a nod of her head as he circled her. She wasn't sure just what it was the boy was up to but it was beginning to unnerve her some. Just as he came to stop before her once again, his hands reached out and taking both her arms placed them around his neck. Startled she did nothing, when usually she would have stomped on his foot or kneed him one good and swift but she did neither because a part of her realised just what it was he was about to do.

Her pale hands clasped tightly about his neck, she didn't know him so wasn't sure she could trust him but this was one of those moments where a leap of faith was necessary. With one hand now holding tight to the robe, his other circled her waist. Sureya had never been particularly close to any boy before and had never wanted to. To her they were all insidious creatures demanding and vying for her attention when she didn't want theirs. She felt them moving upwards and clung tighter to him. Her petite frame was easy enough to carry, it was like lifting a doll.

At one point her eyes shut tight fearful that he might drop her but then slowly she opened them and cast him a curious look. Almost as intense as the look she had given his tree house. What was it about this boy that seemed so different from the others?
They reached the top and within moments she was standing on solid ground again, or close enough to it. The wooden beams that were in place for the tree house floor seemed sturdy enough. It took her another moment to realise that she still had her hands wrapped around his neck and swiftly released them now, moving further into the tree house to inspect it. It was brilliant, she would so have loved to be able to help him with any finishing touches it might need but with the nod of her head earlier she had agreed to her leaving him alone.
"It's brilliant" she beamed turning to face him, "Your Utopian Sanctuary is brilliant."

Another realisation swamped her as she looked at him, taking a step closer with her hand outstretched she was more than happy to introduce herself to any boy who didn't flounder all over the place at her close proximity, though why he showed bursts of rudeness to her was slightly disturbing.
"I am Sureya, Sureya Eidos" her smile was one of those all encompassing smiles, that seemed to reach out and wrap a person up in it's warmth and right now that smile was directed completely on the young boy.

 

[Jai Dionysus]

Just as Sureya forgot to release Jai, he kept his arm around her for a good moment before courtesy and common sense made him let go. The girl wasted no time though, hurrying off to inspect his sanctuary while he was left outside looking slightly disgruntled. The little room itself was pretty bare, only a few old crates and some throw rugs to decorate the silky oak flooring, but the impression came with the carved beams above their heads and the little paned window facing the woodland side. The roof beams were small and not essentially impressive; it was Jai's carvings that showed the most through the dripping stain work. They were crude and done by hand but sweet in their own way. Little bears, children dragging wagons through the dirt, pine trees and all sorts of things that Jai had never seen nor been to. Even the children were foreign to the boy who was friends with no one. It had never occurred to him that these might be things to be proud of. He treated his Sanctuary like a secret and the carvings like the diary of someone he wished he could be. Suddenly the girl turned and told him that this, the Santuary, was brilliant. Jai was too startled to hide his smile. It was such a rare thing to see that the transformation made him seem entirely unlike himself. His eyes crinkled up in the corners and his cheeks appled with spontaneous happiness. Then, just as suddenly it had come, it was gone. Jai pursed his lips slightly and went blank again - a testament to his self control.

"I'm Jai," he said, omitting his last name. This mostly distrust of a different kind to the usual 'stranger danger'. Not that he underestimated anyone, but Sureya wouldn't have posed much of a threat anyway. He simply didn't want to give her more than he had to; especially after he'd unwittingly given her his attentions. Oh yes; boy attentions. Luckily he had less of an idea what to do with him than most, or he'd be trying to clumsily hold her hand like the rest of them. That, and his involuntary affections irritated him. Startling himself, he asked her another question. Anyone would think he gave a rat's left buttock about her. "Are you going to school around here?" asked Jai. He knew better than to just ask her whether she went to a fanciful school full of witches, wizards and funny smells. Yet something told him that this girl might be just like him.

 

[Sureya Eidos]

She liked his name, liked it alot. It sounded strong and powerful and wondered if he would live up to having such a name. She only smiled at him though, not minding that he had not taken her hand to shake it. Turning away from him once more she knelt down to inspect some of the wood carvings. The were crude of course but they were also very good. Running the tips of her fingers across them she could picture him cutting them out of the wood. Something like this was a solitary past-time though and she glanced at him carefully wondering if he had many friends.
"Did you do all of these?" she asked though she was certain she knew the answer was yes. As he asked his own question of her she stopped touching the wood and turned herself around instead, so that she sat on the floor with her back against the odd shaped wooden children. Bundling her legs up close to her she smiled once more, somehow she suspected he wasn't a muggle. There were some living around of course but not many came into the woods here.

"I will be in September. To Hogwarts" she told him proudly, waiting for him to say he was going as well. Perhaps it was just her intuition but it had always been strong and this time was no different.
"Will you be going there too Jai?" she liked saying his name and promised herself she would look it up as soon as she got home. Her father had many books concerning names and their heritage for what purpose she did not know but the library in their home had an entire shelf dedicated to such books.

 

[Jai Dionysus]

Looking towards the carvings that Sureya was running her hands over, he nodded when she ask whether he'd done them and deigned not to comment further. No doubt she probably thought he was some kind of weirdo reject who spent all his time make a tree house and carving it like an old man. Despite the fact that he liked to portray the unfeeling character, Jai did care what this girl thought and made the stupid assumption that she was laughing at him in her head and was too polite to say anything. His mood darkened, but he hid that too. Jai hid everything. If she'd asked, he probably would have hidden the meaning of his name, but she neither asked and nor did he know it. 'Jai' meant blue crested bird, a jay. As the Indian name though, it meant victory. He would have found it fascinating to find out with her, however unlikely he would be to admit it. Jai raised his eyebrows at Sureya for a moment after hearing the word 'Hogwarts'. "Well that was a silly thing to say. Suppose I was a muggle and you'd not known. I'd liked to have seen you squirm your way out of that one," he said derisively. Then, almost too low to hear, he said "PigsPancreas." to himself, then "SwineSkull. Hogwarts is a stupid name for a school. It's not even rhythmic," he said a little louder. "Should be HogsHeel. Or PorkPelvis." He caught Sureya's eye, then began to giggle. "Or maybe FowlFemur. ChickenCheeks." Embarrassed, he covered his mouth and laughed into it for a long moment, scrunching up his nose as he tried to control himself. Jai couldn't help it; plays on words cracked him up.

Sureya was probably staring at him. He was such an idiot. Jai was instantly furious with himself and looked it, too. No one should see him laugh like that, especially when he gave that ridiculous little hiccup at the end. It was childish and silly. He cleared his throat and told Sureya that he'd soon be going to Hogwarts as well. Somehow he'd gotten the impression that the girl was younger than him but in fact she was the same age, if not older. He looked around for a moment before deciding that he'd made enough of an *rse of himself and he ought to change the subject. "You ... you wanna see the balcony?" asked Jai gruffly. "It hasn't got a rail yet, but you won't fall if I'm here." Oh great. Now he sounded sensitive, too.

 

[Sureya Eidos]

She merely grinned at him as he spoke to her, getting up then from her sitting position and walking over to him.
"I could tell you weren't one, I had a feeling about you" she told him honestly, she couldn't explain these things they just happened to her. Her instincts were strong and had never let her down yet. "And if you were a muggle I would have told you then that it was a school for juvenile deliquents and only the truly crazy went there or knew about it" another smile as she leaned against the wall this time standing there looking at him as he chopped and changed between various names. It was funny but she liked it, the names were hilarious and she had just begun to laugh herself when he suddenly stopped. His laughter had been infectious and she had thoroughly enjoyed watching the change in him, even the wee hiccup at the end but now he merely reverted to the serious boy once more.

"I'd love to see the balcony" she told him honestly and could not help the slight blush that rose to her pale cheeks at the thought of him keeping her from falling. Usually when boys said heroic type things to impress her she was anything but, yet with this boy his words had not been said with that intent at all. It was said as a fact and she believed him. Knowing somehow that she would be safe from falling once he was there with her.

It so happened though that they did not get near the balcony, she heard the voice of her mother calling her name and instantly she smiled directing it at him.
"Maybe another time?" she asked before heading back out and reaching for the rope. Going down was surely not in any way as difficult as getting up was.
"See you on the express or at school Jai" she smiled again before clambering down, her tender hands going red from the rope. By the time she had made it to the ground they were sore from her efforts but her mother would take care of them.

Climbing back on to her bike she began to pedal homewards, looking back only once at the tree house and waving farewell. Her mother met her along the way and together they returned home, all the time Sureya telling her about the amazing treehouse, the wonderful carvings and the boy who wasn't like any of the others.

[sorry for making her flee - but Y10 tomorrow so this area will be all closed down to them ]