Rinsing In The Sun

[Aquarius Aziel Feng]

He was still a bit upset. It seemed that Joan was more reluctant to believe him than Jude would be, and usually the boy had grown up getting accustomed to the idea that girls were politer than boys, but he could’ve been wrong. He knew mistakes were made, and that everyone made such mistakes, and he knew he would be one of those people, since no one was perfect. He smirked when Joan had made that little comment about Jude being quite a talker. But the girl was right, they had been asking him questions for so long that his had probably been long forgotten.

“Nothing, really. One thing, exactly how old are you two?” He watched as Jude started floating on the water, still smirking at him but lightly smiling. He felt for some odd reason he could trust Jude more than Joan, probably because of the situation with the lying and since he did remember that Joan had started questioning Feng, in a sense. He shrugged, as he wasn’t entirely sure just what it was that he wanted to do yet. Finally, after a few minutes of wondering, he finally decided on something. “We could play a game… Something fun. I don’t want to go get the keys right now, maybe we can go when it starts getting dark.” It was about an hour after noon, and the boy would know when his stomach growled, barely audible but only to himself. He was glad it hadn’t been that loud, otherwise he would probably feel embarrassed.

Finally, he had an idea. “Hide-and-seek!” Without warning, he exclaimed, “Not it!”, and started running for the cornfield nearby. He would eventually move to the left, being careful not to leave a trail by keeping his feet away from the stalks. He was a bit glad that the dirt was a little drier, as it was easier then not to leave footprints. Finally, he had found a small clearing that he could hide in and keep an eye out for any movement in the cornfield surrounding him. He sat down, crossing his legs and propping his good elbow at his knee, placing his chin in the upheld palm while pressing his bad arm to his stomach.

[Sly Cooper]

“We’re sixteen! Our birthday is in January.” Joan smiled, tilting her head to one side. Feng had brought up the idea of hide and seek before promptly taking off. Jude and Joan used to play that when they were younger than Feng. The truth is they used to find it amusing when their lazy family members would go crazy looking for them. There were nooks and crannies that most people didn’t even know about, that they had managed to find themselves in. So the idea of hide and seek perked her up. She had just hoped that her and her twin had not forgotten the finer traits of the game, the secrets to being the best of the best. “Come on Jude. It’s time to find him.” Her sweet smile turned into a devilish grin.

“Aw, wait a few minutes first, then we’ll look for him.” Jude popped up and then got out to put his pants on. “I say we go barefoot, it’s much quieter that way.” They waited a few moments before actually heading into the corn. Sure the stalks were tall enough to cover both of the twins, but the rows were close together. So for stealth, the two were bent down and made little movements. They used hand gestures to point the other one in a certain direction instead of using words. And soon they were on their way to tracking the young boy.

The two split up, but they worked together like the blades on scissors. It’s true, Jude was much stealthier, but Joan was able to contort her body into smaller, more compact positions, after all she did take gymnastics. Gymnastics taught her a lot about bending and stretching her body, but her brother had taught her a lot about sneaking around but he never passed on his sense of close observation.

[Aquarius Aziel Feng]

It had been a short while since he had come into this area of the cornfield, the boy sitting the same way as he had at first. He was scratching his waist when he thought he heard movement behind, and swiftly looked back to see if there was anything. He thought he saw figments of clothing running through the yellowing stalks, but figured it was just a figment of his imagination when they seemingly disappeared, blending in with the area and likewise. Finally, probably about ten, twenty minutes later after he had gone into hiding, he stood up, brushing off the dirt, and several ants, from his legs, then turned to the right. There, he would try to leave the cornfield and return to the creek, hopefully to be safe and not get caught.

Quietly, he moved through the cornstalks, brushing them to the side here and there but ever so slightly so that the rustling wouldn’t be so loud and pinpoint his whereabouts to the twins. He had a smirk on his face, glad to believe he hadn’t been found just yet. If he had been spotted, then the twins could be up to something. But he wasn’t sure whether they had actually gone to look for him, as when he had mentioned he wanted to play such a game he didn’t exactly give them time to respond. They might believe that it was childish, they might not, but one thing he knew for sure, he wanted to get back to that spot before they could catch him, otherwise, he would have to go and look for them, and that meant counting to let them have time to hide. Counting was one of his worst enemies.

[Sly Cooper]

Jude heard the stalks moving and brushing against one another. A smirk stretched across his face, he had found the boy, but why spoil the fun and let him know he had found him, pulling a prank would be much better. He shifted, and made sure to keep quiet. Chances are Joan was way out in the field somewhere; she never was very good at seeking. His movement was moved to a crawl. If he played it out right, the prank would be priceless, but if not, then it wouldn’t be much fun. Jude stalked Feng like a tiger hunting its prey. He had followed him out near the opening, ready to make his move. Sure, he liked the kid well enough, but he liked playing games. And he wasn’t always very good at playing nice, that was more of Joan’s strong suit.

He grinned, on all fours, he wiggled his toes to feel the dirt beneath him. It had been sowed so much that it felt like silk, and dry, perfect to do what he had planned. He began to run at full speed on his hands and feet, stealthy like a cat, then plunged forward at his target, his prey, at Feng.

[Aquarius Aziel Feng]

Feng wasn’t aware at all where the twins would be at this moment, so he was pretty anxious to even break out into the open where they could actually be waiting for him. Teenagers were that smart and sneaky, although children would usually be sneakier if they knew plenty. He rather liked the idea that he could consider such teenagers his siblings now, but felt somewhat bad because it felt like he was replacing his late sister. But then again, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that they could just be looked at as an addition to his family or something like that. Maybe someday he would figure it all out when the time would be right, but for now, he had to focus on getting to the safe spot as soon as possible.

Feng was very surprised when he found himself tumbling forward out of the cornfield into the grass, sending clouds of dust up in the air. He felt a weight upon his back, and realized that someone had tackled him. But he got worried, for he wasn’t sure at all if it was the twins or someone worse. His heart beating rapidly, he inhaled sharply and held his breath, then started stirring to try and get away. When he found that one of his feet was in a certain position between the intruder’s legs, and very well near the groin, that particular foot shot up from the ground directed toward that particular position between the legs, and if Feng had succeeded, he would then be able to get out from under.

But upon realizing that it was his new brother, he had a look of horror on his visage, and gasping once with widened eyes, he rushed forward and wrapped his good arm around Jude, yelling, “Yikes! I’m sorry, Jude! I didn’t know it was you! I thought it was someone else! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to! Honest!” Hopefully, his frantic apologizing and one-armed hug wouldn’t get him into a whole deal of trouble. He wondered where Joan could be, though, as he didn’t see her anywhere around yet. She might’ve heard his yelling, though.

[Sly Cooper]

After a severe pain, a sudden pain Jude found himself, naturally, holding himself, swearing loudly, his voice cracked. Yeah, so Feng was apologizing, but Jude didn’t really seem to hear anything that he was saying.

Joan on the other hand, was about a quarter of a mile into the field when she heard her brother yelping and such. “Oh dear, what did he do this time?” She started to run toward the sound of her brother’s squealing. It was really the only way to find him; it was easy to get lost in the rows, and even easier to get turned around. When she ran till she was out of breath, then got there and saw her brother on the ground, still gripping himself, with a huge pout on his face. “You idiot.” She pretty much, by one look around the scene, could tell what her moron brother did. It wasn’t unusual for him to pull pranks, and it wasn’t unusual for him to jump out at you.

“How was I supposed to know what the kid would do?”

“You could’ve figured it out.” She shook her head in disappointment. “Are you alright, Feng?”

[Aquarius Aziel Feng]

When he had ended his apologetic embrace with Sly by releasing the teenager, his face was pretty much red as he felt rather embarrassed for having done such a thing, or perhaps it was from that he was upset about what he did. When Joan had emerged from the cornfield, Feng had been a little startled but upon realizing right away that it was only the girl, he sighed out of relief but was still nervous. A small exchange of words were passed between the twins, Feng’s face becoming even redder as he crouched down to get a closer look at Jude’s face. He shrugged at Joan’s inquiry, “Yes, I think. But what about him?”

After a few minutes would’ve passed, Feng would then stand up, brushing off the dirt from his legs with his good arm before turning and heading for his shorts. He would quickly pull them on, trying his best, and then button and zip them shut before picking up the shirt and handing it to Joan. “Will you please help me? We can go and get the keys now, Jude. I’m sorry I did that…” He tilted his head, nervous as to what Jude might say or even do next. The twins were rather unpredictable, Feng had figured that out by now. But he was willing to try and make Jude feel better, and the thought of Jude being back at his old home might cheer up the teenager a bit.

[Sly Cooper]

Jude, after the pain relieved itself slightly, sat up and exchanged glares. He grumbled to himself, mostly incoherent swears then snarled. He figured it was probably best not to take his anger out on Feng, even if he wanted to, because that's when his sister would punt him in much the same place.

Joan shook her head, and without bothering to ask her brother if he was okay, looked down at the young boy, "He's fine." She grabbed the shirt when Feng asked her to then pulled it over his head. Like before, it made a loud pop, as if it was a cartoon. "Yes, Jude. Let's get those keys." She shot a glare at him, as to threaten him without actually saying anything. The two of them would do that a lot.

"Yeah-- why the hell not?" Jude was still a little soar, in more ways then one, but he tried to get it passed him. He grunted as he pushed himself up off the ground and threw his shirt back on. "Let's go--"

[Aquarius Aziel Feng]

He bit his bottom lip, still nervous. Would Jude be mad at him for a long time? Would the older, bigger, obviously stronger, male try to overcome the younger, smaller, and weaker male? It was man’s nature, to try and one-up each other if something had happened. Feng had seen plenty of it happen, he had even used to wrestle his father and always tried to beat him back whenever he would lose. But, of course, Joan was there, and he did feel a bit safe with her there, as she could then jump in the way and keep Jude away. It was not a good thing, that they had just become adopted siblings and already he had hurt his bigger brother. He reached up to the back of his hand after Joan had helped pull his shirt back on, scratching through his wet hair as he muttered nervously once more, “Sorry, Jude…”

He wasn’t aware of them exchanging glances, but he was still nervous when Jude had agreed to see the keys; after all the teenager had cursed, and although Feng would’ve been more than happy to curse just for the fun of it, he wasn’t really fond of curses when someone was using them angrily or in an upset manner. His lips curved downward to the side, a crooked frown appearing across his face as he watched his brother getting up and putting his shirt on. After he had finished getting dressed, Feng would then automatically go up and try to grab the teenager boy’s hand to hold it firmly, as if to try and comfort him. He was watching Jude’s face intently, concerned but hoping that nothing bad would happen. “Ready to go get them?” His voice croaked in timidity as he asked.

[Sly Cooper]

When the smaller boy reached out to grab Jude’s hand, he looked at the child funny then looked strait in front of him. It wasn’t in Jude’s nature to hold a grudge. That was something that Joan was more known for. Granted, he was good at being angry, throwing tantrums, and all in all, acting like a young child. On the other hand, he had other childish qualities that were quite adorable at times. Joan loved the things she also hated about her brother, but she couldn’t help but smile when he grabbed Feng’s hand and swung it back and forth. “Goin’ home to get the keys.”

Joan then went to Feng’s other side and went to grab his hand. After all that’s all she’s every really wanted was a family. “Don’t worry. Jude isn’t one to stay mad, even if he acts like it,” she said quietly to the young boy so that her twin couldn’t hear. She then winked at him.

“We’re off to see the wizard. The wonderful wizard of Oz—“ Jude started to sing, then Joan joined him, “Here he is, the wonderful wiz, wherever the wizard was—“

[Aquarius Aziel Feng]

When Jude had accepted his hand and held it, he had let out a crooked smile. He was starting to feel relieved but still the twins were strangers to him. At this point they were still unpredictable, and he had indeed met people who had sudden mood swings, in particular the females more than the males. The teenage males were always grumpy, though, and trying to be cooler than the other. It was a never-ending competition among them. Boys like Feng were fine with themselves, although they did often try to be more like their role models, but most of the time they were being themselves more than often.

Feng’s other hand was then occupied by the girl’s, and the young one smiled a bit more broadly. The twins liked him, obviously, and he pretty much liked them back in return. It was a good feeling, to be a little brother again, although he still felt a little remorse about it all. He glanced up at Joan as she spoke, and then averted his gaze to Jude. Hopefully Joan was telling the truth. He wasn’t quite sure whether to trust the twins one hundred percent, but so far, he trusted them more than he felt he needed to, and that was enough for him. When they started singing, he cringed, as he wasn’t very fond of the movie that the song suddenly reminded him of.

“I don’t like that movie, I don’t like that song.” He muttered lightly under his breath, hoping that he wouldn’t upset them. Otherwise, he would just remain quiet for the rest of the way until they would arrive at their designation, where then Feng would be able to finally rest his eyes upon an awesome treasure, a pile of keys that he could have, courtesy of the twins. The more he thought about it, the more he was excited and eager to get them. Of course, one day those keys could come in handy. One day. But he wouldn’t really know that until he would be a bit older, of course.

[Sly Cooper]

“You don’t like the Wizard of Oz?” both the twins said in stereo.

Jude took his hand back and jumped out in front of Feng, walking backwards. “Get your hands off of me you damn dirty ape,” he let out a small chuckle, refrancing movies is something he would do a lot. “Well then what do you like, that’s right Kung Fu movies.” The teen really gave no time for Feng to answer or even speak. “No accounts for taste—“ His face wrinkled as he thought for a moment, then a wide grin stretched across his face. “Come with me, and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination. Take a look and you’ll see into your imagination—“ Joan giggled as her brother not only went on but began to dance as well. “We’ll begin with a spin, traveling in the world of my creation. What we’ll see will defy explanation—“ Jude continued on with the song that he memorized from his childhood.

Joan, still holding onto the boy talked to him while her brother did his thing. “He’s always quoting, and singing, and such. You’ll have to ignore him most of the time. That’s what I do.” She continued to laugh at her twin’s actions. “See—the truth is that singing is something that children do naturally. They sing until the grow to be adults and their voices fade away. But with the whole He Who Walks Behind the Rows thing, we’re not aloud to sing. Which is too bad. We grow into adulthood even faster when we cant sing, laugh, and play—“ She stopped laughing. She was happy she at least didn’t have to go into the corn alone.

[Aquarius Aziel Feng]

He gulped suddenly, realizing he might’ve upset the twins indeed. Jude had rounded about to face him but continued to walk ahead, only backwards. He was going to respond when asked of his preferences in movies, but Jude had stolen the answer right out of his mouth and then continued on rambling until his talking evolved into singing. It was an odd song, one that he had never heard before, and all he could really do was blink in utter confusion at the bizarre actions of his older brother. His left eye twitched just a bit, as he felt that perhaps a man singing wasn’t right. Other than that, it was also against the rules. “Um, so how far is this place we’re going to?” He was aware that they were to go into the corn.

Joan started to speak, of course, and all he could really do was smirk at the idea of his brother being ignored for his singing. Children did naturally sing, but not in Gatlin, unless they were on their own isolated in a quiet room where only they themselves could hear their own voices. But sometimes, that would certainly drive a child insane, as it could sound like other voices joined in and thus would be enough to freak any little child out. He suddenly belched out loud and blushed, “Sorry.” Then his stomach growled next, so loud that perhaps all of Gatlin would’ve heard it. Hopefully they would think it was bears or dragons or something, as he wouldn’t like to be embarrassed. However, he didn’t have much choice knowing fully well that the twins could’ve heard it and known that it came from him as they were close enough to him.

[Sly Cooper]

Jude, like always, was in a world of his own. He led the way ‘home’ and danced merrily all the while. Joan heard the burp, but ignored it, because she was used to it from her twin all the time. It was just a boy thing to do in her mind. “Right—you wanted to know how far. Jude?”

“Just another step in the right direction!” He continued into the stalks, and began to sing again, this time a different tune, but a chipper one nonetheless.

“What he means to say is, we’re close by. It’s only a short walk through the corn if you head in the right direction.” She made sure to keep Feng close. It wasn’t hard to get lost in the rows if you didn’t know where you’re going. “Another reason that is our favorite spot in the creek, I suppose. It’s close to home.” Although, to the twins, home is wherever the other is. Family. And now they had a new family member. Joan grinned from ear to ear at the thought.

“Righty’o then. Here we are!” Jude stopped and stretched out his arm in the direction of the farm. “The family farm!”

[Aquarius Aziel Feng]

OOC - Just remembered, his wrist's broken. =3

Feng’s face was pretty red at the time, but it seemed that the twins had ignored his stomach’s loud roar, so decided he would play along all innocent-like. But he knew he was pretty much starving, yet he was nervous to ask the twins if they had food. His good hand being swung back and forth when Jude would swing it, he glanced ahead and stuck close to them as much as he could until finally they had arrived at a farm. It wasn’t really big, but it wasn’t really small, either. He remembered that his own family farm was big, but it had been a few months since he had been there. He knew he did want to try and mow the lawn there, though, however, he couldn’t find the lawnmower because of the grass being too tall for him to go through. He was nervous that he could stumble into the other children, or worse, teenagers that could harm him right there and then.

But he was still in awe with the farm, as it seemed decent at least. He glanced at the twins from one to the other, but then he felt like he was going to puke. Usually that was his cue to eat, but for the time being he was nervous. He casually stole a glance at their house, wondering if they could have anything to eat in there. With a slight frown, he finally gave in as he stepped in further onto their land and then turned to them, saying quickly as he held his stomach firmly, “Got any food?” His stomach growled lightly at that, and just the thought of food basically started to make his mouth water. He quickly reached up to wipe it dry and muttered under his breath, “Sorry…”