23 Glade 107
“For the love of — Mino get down.”
Admiral sounded exasperated, but that only served to spur him on. He might have been small, but he knew what he was doing. He’d told her as much before she’d told him he was only nine years old, and much too small for his age. She wasn’t much older than him; what did she think she was, his mother? Certainly not! He held his arms out to either side as he stepped further along the branch. The back garden’s trees had grown well. He’d noted as much the first time he’d seen them, and the urge to climb them had never left him. The tingle in his fingers at the thought of scaling the trunks had been what propelled him up them once more. Even if it meant that the rathari down below would nag him.
But the difference between them was that one of them was an overgrown cow and the other was (in his mind) a fairly skilled climber. He was meant for this. Or, well, he was meant for the recklessness of it all. His steps quickened as he walked further along the branch. A cool glade breeze rustled the leaves of the tree. Not strong enough to move the branch, but it didn’t stop Admiral from squeaking out another plea for him to come down. He stuck his tongue out at her as he continued on. The fence was not far now. He could see the street beyond it, full of people. Little shacks set up as people settled in to await a moment — a glimpse — with one of the ladies of the house. Because that’s all anyone ever came for.
He let his arms drop to his side with a huff, glanced down to Admiral. She looked up at him with some level of expectation and a warning. Her gaze darted up to the window and in that moment he saw his opportunity. He took off. The breeze came back and for a moment, it felt like Mino was flying. Arms splayed out, the wind in his hair. He almost closed his eyes, but the gap was too short for that. His fingers slapped down on the other side of the fence and he felt the air knock from his lungs with a “Oof!” He’d surely be sore from that, but the adrenalin coursing through his veins made for a means of forgetting.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually been beyond these walls on his own. Thus far, his ventures to the outside had consisted of being behind the skirts of his pseudo-mothers and lead by the hand by Admiral. And most were anything but pleasant walks. No, they’d made sure on multiple occasions to remind him that he wasn’t there to play. But now, without mothers or babysitters, he was free to do just that.
His landing was shaky at best. A twinge went up his ankle as he landed wrong, but he didn’t have time to worry about that. He had to put a good distance between himself and the manor before they had a chance to catch him. And it wasn’t like he was running away. Just having...a field day. He slowed when he thought he might be far enough away, glancing over his shoulder as he wandered out of an alley — and came to a halt as people milled about before him.
Mino was still learning the districts, despite all of his tutoring. Paintings and maps were static things, but this — this was a picture in movement. He gaped openly, showing off the small gap where his front tooth had dropped out only two days prior. If he pressed his tongue against it, he could feel the bud of a new tooth coming in. Bigger, sharper. Like everything before him.
“Out of the way, boy!” He perked up at the sound, hopping back in time to miss getting barreled over by a man. A toothy grin was flashed his way as he ran past. Several more men ran after him and the crowd parted for them before they melted back into the throng they’d been before. There were some murmurs and the moment had passed. Perhaps they all assumed that he would be caught in a matter of moments. He probably had been. The Skyguard was particularly efficient in this area. He swallowed.
Would it be like that when he did his work?
Probably not. Lady Blue had always told him that he was supposed to be discreet. That no one should know he’d ever been there in the first place when he took something. But that was beside the point. No thoughts of work; he was here to play! Adira’s Promenade was rife with places to leap from, to climb, to run along. He’d seen them countless times on his treks out with Lady Blue. She made sure he studied the architecture of the city; “It would be to his benefit.” He hadn’t a clue what that meant, but she’d offered him a rare treat so he’d complied.
The little rathari’s quest for something to climb was not a long one. Between the floating structures and one bound to the mountain, could chart a course that might well take him to another area of the city all without touching the ground. He stuck his tongue in concentration, looking for a good foothold to start himself off. He might have been nine, but he knew his stuff.
Sorta.
So maybe some of the buildings made for poor climbing starters. And maybe they were too much in view of the people on the streets. Sweat dripped down his brow as he made yet another lap around one building to find a good point to climb. It took him a moment, but he finally found what he was looking for: a small space he could stick something to. Nothing too big; a crate, perhaps? It would give him a boost to a low window ledge. But that, too, took him another minute of searching to find and even then, it was slightly too heavy for him. His arms ached with the exertion of pulling it, but at least. He could climb.
He pushed himself up on it, then to the ledge. He had to hold his feet at an odd angle to stand on it, but he felt a familiar rush with the start of the climb. More still as he pushed up on the balls of his feet to reach to the top of the window. The burn in his arms was pushed down with his excitement, fingers straining and knuckles white as he continued to pull himself up. The process was not meant to be a long one, but it was becoming apparent that his small arms would need a break every so often if he had any hope of reaching the roof without hurting himself. It was only two stories, but more than enough, in his opinion.
Mino winced as the tiles of the roof bit into his hand. He’d definitely get a scolding for that later. But he couldn’t work up the urge to care as he lifted his leg up to get it onto the roof. With half his body up, he had more leverage to pull the rest — and was soon rolling onto the tiles. His chest rose and fell with quick, labored breaths. A chuckle left his lips.
It felt nice to be out.
Connected to this building, he saw when he turned his head, was another. But it was tethered. His eyes trailed the rope that lead up to the next building. A floating thing; he’d seen structures like this before, but he’d not seen them tethered to grounded buildings. As if it would drift away otherwise. He snickered at the thought, sighed with more years than were held in his little body before he rolled onto his stomach. By now, his clothes were ruined. Stained with sweat and dirt. There might have been a tear in his pants; he could feel the breeze on his knee in a way that was similar to it brushing against his skin. Oh, he’d be in so much trouble.
It was the thought that pushed him to his feet with renewed energy. The rope wasn’t far off, but it was the lack of balance. The roof sloped, his shoes sliding along the tiles. He tossed them off without hesitation to get a better stance going. He picked his way toward the edge of the roof, where it began to curl and he could balance on it better. The clatter of the tiles must have drawn attention to him; there were murmurs and gasps as he went. He flashed the crowd a grin, much like the man on the streets below had given him. Something reckless in his eyes, he sped up. His feet carried him toward the rope with speed powered solely on adrenalin and the wild aspirations of a boy cooped up for too long.
This time, he was flying. A spread of his arms and legs as he leaped for the rope. His grin widened and his eyes began their slide into darkness so he could savor the moment. And as his fingers reached out for where he’d aimed in throwing himself toward with reckless abandon — they came up empty. Just barely. The rope brushed against the tips of his fingers and he was falling much too fast. The feeling of flying was lost as his eyes flew open with his panic.
A building below was a much better alternative to hitting the ground. He stretched his arm out as far he could, kicked his legs out as if that would push him closer to it. But — a hot flash of pain shot up his arm and down his spine as the appendage slammed down onto the roof. He scrabbled to hold onto the tiles, but his fingers slipped away. Panicked squeaks left him as he fell once more, eyes squeezing shut as he braced for impact.
Admiral had warned him that he would break his neck one day. Maybe that day was today.
Or maybe not. The air whooshed in his ears and there was applause following soon after. He cracked one eye open to stare at a visored face staring down at him. There was enough of a reprimand in the expression to cow the boy into silence and curl up in the arms of his savior. As best he could, at least, with only one working arm. The other lay limp at his side.
“Might have dislocated it.” As if he could understand what that meant. But he certainly felt it as the avialae, without warning, jammed the shoulder back into the socket. Tears sprung into child’s eyes and something akin to a yowl left him as he clutched at it.
“That ought to teach you about climbing things.” Admiral’s voice was deceptively calm, but through his tears (and as he was passed to her waiting arms), he could feel the worry radiating off her as he clutched him close.
It had certainly taught him to keep his eyes open at all times.
For now.
