-10-House-

Year of 12-Flint

What else was I going to do except wait this through? Just count the days until the next family of days and hope this mess all blows over.

Please blow over. All this pestering is starting to get old.

"Aren't you excited, Yolotzin?" Hyats'i asked me with that stupid goofy smile he always seemed to wear on his face, bumping my shoulder to emphasize his point, leaning over to my left so his face would invade my personal space, forcing me to grimace at the proximity.

"And what am I supposed to be excited over, exactly?" I asked dryly, returning a blank stare towards the wide man, as my brow twitched in irritation. Wiping at my brow, I hack away at the sturdy tree, intending to strip it of its most outer layer of bark, the first step in the rigorous paper making process. Its the only part I'm good at, all that other stuff takes patience and it wastes an entire afternoon just to make the stuff. I could never deal with the process, it was tedious and way too slow for my taste.  I pull at the bark with both arms extended, watching as it pulls out in one long strip. For the parts I can't reach, I use a long stick I found 4 moons ago near Old Cecihuatzin's hut and scrape the underside with my right, slowly detaching it from the living thing, like a lizard slowly crawling out of his skin.

Hyats'i lazily rests against a younger tree, fiddling around with the worn-out handle on his copper axe. It is a dull-looking thing, scratched, battered and chipped, an obvious sign of its age. But its the only good axe he had so he never seemed too bothered by it. He's the son of a fisherman after all, all he needed was a good net and bait, then he could feed himself, his family and the village. It was that simple. 

"You know, the whole apprenticeship in the capital. Aren't you happy?"

"Yes, I'm elated." I dryly retorted, tossing the newly stripped bark into my pile. Hyats'i snorted loudly, the idiot nearly hitting his own thumb with his axe in the process, the dull and eroded copper head gleamed in the suns glare as he swung it far above his head, repeatedly slamming it into the trunk of the tree before him. The methodical beating noise,

thwack,

thwack,

thwack,

resounding deep within the forest's open air.

I narrowed my eyes at him, wiping at the sweat stinging my eyes as I watched his tensed back flex at the simple task he set upon himself. 

"You know, if you leave, you're going to be leaving all this behind." He snorted derisively at me as he stopped hacking away simply to gesture to the surrounding trees with his axe. "Do you really want to live the rest of your life in the capital surrounded by nobles? Sounds tiresome."

"Tell me about it."

"Then again, that would mean that you would have to get used to having a stick up your butt." Hyats'i laughed and pointed at my grimacing face with a knowing grin. I couldn't help myself, after carefully peeling the inner bark from the long strips, I tossed aside the parts I didn't need with my foot and gave him a snort of my own. He had one of those ridiculous laughs that just didn't want to die. His cheeks were bright and pink, and when he smiled I couldn't help but think that I wanted to laugh at it too.

He's ridiculous.

"Yes, a stick up my ass would be such an improvement on my person."

"You would be unrecognizable!" He guffawed loudly. My heart squeezed tightly. How could someone who I had come across just once become the friend I have relied so heavily on over the years? He is too simple and stupid to be able to grasp the idea of fate. Yet the moment I met his eyes it was like seeing an old face, someone you had known for so long they are your home. He was that kind. He would always come back and bother me even when he doesn't really have a reason to, it has just come to be that the both of us just grew comfortable in each others company.

He laughed uproariously, clutching onto his sides and wiping tears from his eyes. Then, without missing a beat he shot me another impish grin. He took the opportunity to tackle me again, wrapping his huge arms around my body and giving me a fierce hug. Had he caught me off guard one second too late I would've hacked at him too but alas, he managed to hold onto me for an agonizing minute. He clung tightly to my waist and I felt my body start to ache slightly from the weight. My breath left my body and I could not bear the fact that I could hear his heartbeat, pounding in unison with my own.

He knew better but he was still my friend. That was his answer to everything I said.

"You have to admit, this is the perfect opportunity." His eyes sparkled excitedly as he spoke, voice low as though he had a deep secret that he could not keep. His bright face leaned close to mine, a sly grin slowly appearing upon those rough, chapped lips. I gave him an expectant look, turning my body slightly so I could face him better, giving him my full attention.

"And I'll follow along and live with you!" Hyats'i said cheerfully. "And we can be friends forever." 

"I think not. I'm not too fond of being tied to an idiot for the rest of my life, thanks." I teased and flicked my thumbnail against his brow, only for the older boy to gently pinch the bridge of his nose.

"This idiot is going to drag you down to Tenochtitlan either way so you're going to have to suck it up and deal with him."

"I'm not going, Hyats'i." I rolled my eyes and turned to get back on with my work, however it proved futile when the broad and wide frame of the young man blocked my way and attempted to grab my long blade with his bare hand. Obviously, I stop what I'm doing, quickly swatting his arm away.

"Ow!"

"Hyats'i, you're just so...." I grunted, blowing a strand of hair away from my face. How do you even describe something so...him. He's a good-hearted idiot but somehow I keep on finding myself trusting this man. And he always manages to annoy me no matter what I do. I shook my head and glared at him, tilting my chin down slightly, glaring at him from underneath my dark brows.

"Just so...me?" Hyats'i questioned, smiling broadly. The sun shone brightly against his face, almost blinding me as he adjusted his position on the dry soil, revealing his profile as he stared directly at me. The bastard always manages to confuse the shit out of me! It is his talent, it seems.

"Why won't you go?" He finally asks after an excruciating pause. "You're talented, gifted with the likes we never even encountered before and now here you are! Working out in these hills, in our little mountainside village with all these dreams you haven't accomplished yet. What's keeping you back, huh?"

I shrugged him off. How the hell do you answer a question like that? 

Hyats'i was a simple guy. But there was a reason that I sought after him. This gentle giant could be nothing else but the most understanding human that I knew. My chest swelled and constricted again, a slow burn rising from the pit of my stomach up to my throat. I looked at his smiling face, noticing that the color had not quite returned to him. Even now he was suffering, trying to be brave.

He really thinks that I should go. With those expecting eyes, pleading and prying, waiting, impatient and itchy to dig out every word of my answer and hope I won't choke on the truth. 

No, whenever I'm around him I trust that I won't. He won't let me, I've grown used to telling the truth around him and he'll take it all in. This guy. Even when I think about it, the things he asks are very simple questions, but no one ever dared to ask me the same questions. No one was as open as Hyats'i. No one is this straightforward. It's either outright judgmental remarks or ignorant conversations. People don't trust you and keep you on your toes until they prove you were the problem from the beginning.

He's an idiot for believing every word I say. Even i don't believe the crap that comes out of my mouth at times.

I sighed letting my hands rest in my lap. My fingers unconsciously flexed and unflexed, itching for something to occupy me. But as I glanced over at Hyats'i I could tell that I needed nothing more than to wait for the silence to pass us by.

"The allure of riches and colorful capes will never erase the fact that I am being bought and sold like some dog." I hissed, digging my nails into my skin and making dark red marks across my palm. A slow drip of blood oozed out from between my knuckles.

"Think of it, a paid vacation!" Hyats'i beamed.

"You idiot, he's buying me like some dog, I won't get to enjoy a single thing and be treated like garbage or worse."

"There, there now. At least you can make better connections and make more friends this time, it can be a new fresh start."

"I don't need connections." I huffed, getting back onto my feet and spinning the long blade in my hand to have it fully situated. There are some things that no amount of connections would solve. Things which can be solved through wit, through ingenuity, through action. Not through a connection. Especially not in Tenochtitlan of all places. No one will even acknowledge my existence and if they do it'll be to scorn and deride me.

As much as I was disinclined to give up, and despite the lack of anything better to say, Hyats'i had me all figured out. The facts were plain to see; why settle for anything else?

With a grunt, I swung my tool down and slashed fiercely at the bark before my eyes, tearing off large strips and then proceeding to add them into the pile I was collecting for paper making.

I grunted and let out an annoyed sigh. "No, I should be with her, not gallivanting around a foreign place."

"Stop acting like some guard dog." Hyats'i stuck his tongue out and shook his head at me disapprovingly. I narrowed my gaze, challenging the man further, but Hyats'i kept a stoic, uninterested expression throughout, eventually breaking eye contact to swing his own wood-cutting tool around. "Don't you think you've taken care of her enough? Come on, don't tell me she isn't capable of looking out for herself."

He gently grabs my wrist and pulls it close to his face to get a better view of my bleeding palm. After a quick check over, he released my hand. But the gentle contact lingers in my mind. The warmth of his skin pressed against mine was a comfort I thought I didn't have any more. 

"You've only seen 14 summers. You shouldn't have to provide so much already." He tells me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't patronize me." I warned, squinting up at Hyats'i. My anger was just building. I couldn't bring myself to rip myself off his hold and stomp away. Because no matter how infuriated I was, how much my blood boiled in response to the outbursts this lout was inflicting on me I just couldn't say anything or leave him behind. He could speak whatever nonsense he wants because in truth it didn't mean a single thing.

"Yolotl, I'm sorry. But you just can't do it all by yourself." I gritted my teeth so hard my jaw and temples began to ache. No matter how I turned it around in my mind I couldn't make sense of it. I clenched my fists tightly and dug my nails even further into my skin.

I can do it. I've been doing it since father passed all those summers ago. There's no problem, there was no need to explain why I could, I have to be enough. I'm enough for mom.

This is just ridiculous. Just an annoying speckle of gold that got into his eyes. That's all. Him and all the other villagers, lost in the allure of precious metals and status. I will not join in their frenzy. I won't allow myself to.  I can't risk myself like that. I won't allow it, and definitely won't let anyone dictate my path. Not my village, and absolutely not the pompous Lord Toquatzin. Not even Hyats'i.

No. If I'm leaving home it has to be my decision alone. My decision. My path. And only mine. So what if they pity me. So what if they want what's best for me. Let them. But in the end, this has to be me.

Hyats'i's simply stared at me, for once, quiet and serious. He seemed to be observing me, reading me like he always does. An almost longing look in his dark eyes as if pleading me for an answer I did not want to give. Finally, after a moment, he sighed and opened his mouth once more to speak.

"I don't get it." He admitted, dropping his hands to his side. I frowned and met his gaze, staring at him skeptically. His expression was indiscernible. I swallowed thickly.

"In fact, I never seem to understand you at all. You're impossible." He confessed. His arms, which were hanging lazily to his sides, raised up slightly to reach forward. He placed his arms around me and pulled me in, his chin nestled neatly in the curve of my shoulder.

"Fine then. Don't go." The older boy said with that smile that just made him seem all the brighter. That same wide grin that put butterflies in my stomach. A comforting sensation of calm washed over me.

It made me relax.

"I'll follow you wherever you go. No matter where you end up."

In the moment all I could do was be grateful Hyats'i couldn't see the furious blush that creeped up to the tips of my ears.

"Literally wherever you end up, I'll go. That way, you'll never have to make such decisions alone!"

"You'd do that?" I croaked. I was speechless. This idiot was always saying the most outlandish things. How was he able to always catch me off guard and render me unable to respond? He simply did not have the tact or decorum to hold himself back and to just...say these things! These ridiculous and stupid words that pierced my very soul and just left me absolutely breathless.

"What's with that look?" Hyats'i asked with an amused look, tilting his head to the side. "Do you not believe me?"

I sighed and forced myself out of his grip. The fire in my cheeks was rising back and heating my cheeks. I feel dizzy.

"Come on, at this rate we'll keep going until sunset! Pick up that axe, Hyats'i."

He complied obediently. I simply scoffed and got back to work. I threw a quick glance towards him and in an instant my lips curved upwards to form a smile. It didn't feel like much of a decision when I chose to stay with him.

"Thanks, big guy."

He rolled his eyes and brought the heavy axe down upon the tree trunk once more. His brown hair had gotten long and was swept away from his face so I could now clearly see the flush appearing upon the tips of his ears, stretching even towards the back of his neck, which was the darkest I had ever seen it. I watched him as he focused and moved away, too afraid to even peek.