[Polaris]

"Well then how'd you make my sword float in the air?" he demanded, a perplexed look on his face.  Zen could tell Ika was a little bit exasperated with his questions, and decided to let up. He lowered his eyes sheepishly, realizing that he'd been staring unabashedly before.

[31]

[Polaris]

"Cause I control metal. That is all... Lifting it up just makes the rest of it easier, so it lifts up," Ika explained. A low rumbling sounded in his ears, not a voice of metal, but a voice of the sky. No one else in the town could hear it, he was sure. The storm was probably still far away... Had he really heard it? A bit of terror showed through in his silvery blue eyes. "Um... What were we talking about again?"

{31}

[Polaris]

Zen searched Ika's face for a moment- his amber eyes looking for a clue as to what was going on behind Ika's mirror-like ones. "Coa and how you want to talk to her. But I wanted to know how you did it first." He walked over to the counter, "You mind?" he asked, motioning to the surface.

{32}

[Polaris]

Ika nodded slowly, his mind still somewhere else, "Be careful, it's just a piece of plywood..." Then his mind wandered off to yet another place! Once he started, he just kept going and going. Why did he have a piece of plywood next to the fire? And to support his precious metal? Sometimes that got heavy! He must get a real counter... "The sword..." he mumbled quietly to himself, trying to come back to reality, but it was difficult to have your mind in three places all at once.

{32}

[Polaris]

Jumping up on the counter, Zen swung his legs around, kicking his heels in the air. "Don't worry I'm not that fat." Realizing how off topic they were, Zen held his sword out for inspection, "Have at it." Hopefully Ika would be able to do some good with her.

{33}

[Polaris]

Ika blinked a few times before completely comprehending the statement. "Right..." He refocused his hearing on the metals surrounding him. "So, tell me more about your brothers..." he paused, waiting in anticipation for any sounds from the metal.

{33}

[Polaris]

Nothing happened for a moment, then a strained sound- like that of a guitar string breaking- shivered through the metal. Zen looked worriedly at the sword, "Well, take it!" That sound had caused a weird vibration... And it really was kind of spooky.

{34}

[Polaris]

Ika winced at the noise. "Calm down..." His ears were ringing. "What is it? Speak softly..." He could barely hear his own voice through the sounds of the sword. How was he supposed to understand it if he could focus on nothing but the pain in his head?

{34}

[Polaris]

Coaxcoach made the tinny whining sound again, as if straining to say something, but not being able too. It shivered, and almost seemed to tense up, before falling completely and utterly silent and still. Zen kept up his nervous worrying over the sword, rubbing the ruby in the pommel with his thumb, as if to comfort her. "I think... I think she can't talk or whatever... maybe?" Zen looked up at Ika for conformation or some sort of sign as to what the hell was going on.

{35}

[Polaris]

"She was takling eariler... I really don't know right now..." Ika rubbed his head, and in the sword's silence he heard the not so far off rumbling of a nearby storm. He shut his eyes, biting his bottom lip. It was coming, so close... He must send Zen away! He mustn't see him! How absolutley humilating it would be. But would he leave without an explination for his sword? It was sure to start talking again soon. It was moving quickly, and the pitterpatter of rain started on the tent's roof. "Leave me now..." Ika muttered, bracing himself for the first strike of lightning and the boom of thunder that was always soon to follow. He felt his face contort slightly with fear, and he had a feeling that he would soon be tasting blood yet again...

{35}

[Polaris]

Zen took a step towards Ika as he saw his face twist, "What's wrong...?" he trailed off, setting the sword on the table once more. "It's not Coaxcoach is it?" A look of worry crawled across his features as Zen too, heard a rumble in the distance, and then a closer one. Was Ika afraid of storms? Zen almost smiled, "Don't worry about the storm, there's like, a one in a millon and two chance we'll get struck by lightning. "

{36}

[Polaris]

"It's not that...." he muttered. The tent was illuminated, not just by the glow of Ika's glowing fire, but by a sharp flash of electricity that was reaching its fingers down to earth. Ika's hands flew up to his ears just in time for the deep, yet extraordinarilly loud boom of the thunder. Tears streamed from his face as he bit his lip in agony. The rumble rang in his ears like a sonic boom. A small drop of blood rolled down his chin from how hard he bit his bottom lip. "Go!" He screamed, louder than he had ever talked before, his own voice added to the painful noises inside his head. He crumpled into a small ball on the floor as another boom of thunder hit his sensitive ears.

{36}

[Polaris]

The sharp crackling boom of the lightning hitting the ground rammed through Zen's bones, and the sharp smell of ozone wafted through the air. Zen was shocked at first when Ika yelled at him, but then put two and two together. Walking over to Ika, Zen picked him up gently by wrapping his arms under Ika's and around his chest. Zen's tall, though quite slender form had a hard time getting the kid over to the bed. Finally setting him down, Zen then took the pillow and put it over Ika's ears. "Hold it there-" he commanded, and then started moving the metal sheets and scraps around the tent away from Ika. He mused that the sounds would vibrate off them, and the would just hurt Ika's ears more. Of course, the best thing would be to get him inside an actual building- but Zen didn't think Ika would appreciate being watched by others in the lobby of a building, nor would he like the walk there. Having done all he could in the way of moving the metal, Zen sat down on the corner of the bed and crossed his legs. "It'll be over soon..." he consoled, "Everything passes."

{37}

[Polaris]

Ika groaned, "But the ringing stays for so long...." He felt the ground shake the bed, as if the planet itself was anticipating the next sound wave. Without a thought, Ika found himself moving closer to Zen, his pale white fingers clutching onto his shirt as if his life depended on it. "I lied, don't leave me..." he muttered quietly, his entire body started shivering as the next boom hit his ears. He felt drops of sweat on his brow and his entire body sweltering from the fear. Why did he wear such thick clothes!? They were killing him! Yet he shivered in his heat. Once again, a stupid storm gave him a fever. How wonderful. He would be deaf to his metal friends for days to come...

{37}

[Polaris]

Zen’s harried face softened, and he chuckled as he wiped away the perspiration on Ika’s forehead with the edge of his sleeve. “Shhh…” He murmured, and brushed his hands over Ika’s as if to stop their trembling. Then, placing his hands flat over Ika’s ears (for the pillow had fallen to the ground with Ika’s violent shivers) Zen sat through the storm, looking towards the door of the tent where snaps and roaring shook through the thin fabric that were the walls. Even though his face was impassive most of the time, there was a certain happy creasing around the corners of his eyes and in the line of his mouth. Zen was remembering when he’d lay in much the same fashion back at home when he was young, and how he had always lamented the absence of anything but silk pillows to hold onto. The child’s body trembled under the pile of pillows, curled into a tight fetal position. Her eyes scrunched up tighter as thunder clapped outside the tall glass windows, and the rain came down in sheets against them. Shaking off the bad memory, Zen slumped a bit, watching Ika’s face. He was happy to be here, in a thin tent with water soaking the edges of the dirt floor rather than that horrible room.

{38}