Mid summer, age 8.

Me and the guys are going for a swim at a beach near the village. There's a small island near the coast there, we want to see if we can swim all the way there and back. It's not that far, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Me and Andrew meet up with Tony, and now we're going to James' place to pick him up.

"So how far do you think you're gonna get inkhead?" [Andrew]

"Hm? What makes you think I can't swim all the way?" [Nathan]

"Because you're small." [Andrew]

"I live on an island and my parents are water-kin. I can swim just fine." [Nathan]

"But you said you don't like swimming." [Tony]

"I don't particularly enjoy it, but I can swim just fine. My mom makes me swim as exercise every now and again, so I've gotten pretty good at it." [Nathan]

"Damn, that means I owe James five BUCs." [Andrew]

"Why do you always bet against me, you lose every time." [Nathan]

This is not the first time they bet on whether or not I have the "physical prowess" to do whatever we're going to do. James was smart enough to bet on me, Andrew wasn't.

"Because you're small, idiot." [Andrew]

"You're the idiot." [Nathan]

He's probably just doing it to tease me.

"Oh hello children." [Alida Skywing]

"Hi misses Skywing, is James in? We are going to the beach to swim." [Tony]

"Oh I'm afraid he's on an errant with his father. They should be back soon, so you can just wait in his room.

We thank her for her hospitality and quietly go to James' room.

"So how much do you actually owe James?" [Tony]

".. About a hundred BUCs so far.." [Andrew]

"From just five BUC bets? That's really dumb Andrew." [Nathan]

"It's your fault! How am I supposed to know that your mom taught you to climb walls?!" [Tony]

"Well I told you that I could do it." [Nathan]

".. I thought you were just showing off because Sarah brought your cousin." [Andrew]

"No I showed off because you made fun of me for being small." [Nathan]

"How much allowance do your parents even give you?" [Tony]

".. Fifty.." [Andrew]

"So you owe him two months worth of allowance. Isn't it time that you stopped making stupid bets with him then?" [Nathan]

"..." [Andrew]

"Seriously, this means you have to go two months without candy, do you really want to lose more candy just so you can tease Nathan about his height?" [Tony]

"... No..." [Andrew]

He always had a sweet tooth. If you ever want him to do anything, just offer him candy.

There is a lull in our conversation, so I start looking around the room. It's rather simple, but he does have some toys and some clothes lying about. He's got some stuff lying on his desk, some tools and some wood. There's wood shavings lying on the floor, and he's got a few small crystals lying in a pile. They are all different colors, and a few of them are polished, though not very nicely.

It seems like he's practicing making something like a trinket.

"Hey guys, come look at this." [Nathan]

"Hm? What's up?" [Tony]

"Looks like he's making some kind of necklace in his spare time." [Nathan]

"Wow, I didn't know he knew how to use his hands like that." [Andrew]

"It's actually pretty impressive. This wooden piece looks quite well made." [Nathan]

"Yeah it does, so does the crystals. I think he might have gotten them from the cave." [Tony]

"It looks really good... We're still gonna use it to make fun of him though." [Andrew]

"Absolutely." [Nathan]

"No doubt about it." [Tony]

"It's a bit dirty though, if we want to tease him we should polish it first." [Nathan]

"There's a piece of cloth here, you can use that." [Tony]

"Oh thanks." [Nathan]

I take the small piece of cloth he passed me and start polishing the wood. It's mostly covered in dust and some dirt, guess he didn't wash his fingers before he started working on it. He was always a bit of a slob.

"It's starting to look half decent." [Andrew]

"It was mostly dust. Oh did you find another one?" [Nathan]

Tony had found another trinket. This one was made of a reddish metal, maybe copper, with some silvery trims. It had a single yellow gem in the center, which looked to be made from amber.

"Doesn't look like I need to polish that one." [Nathan]

We heard some footsteps in the hall, and turned around to see James open the door.

"Haha, you girl, we found yo-" [Andrew]

Tony rushed past us, and tackled James to the floor.

He started hitting him again and again, sitting on top of him.

"Wha-" [Andrew]

"Tony, what are you doing?!" [Nathan]

"YOU TOOK IT, YOU TOOK IT!!" [Tony]

James was holding his hands up in defense, whimpering.

"That's enough Tony!" [Nathan]

He kept hitting him, landing several blows to his head.

"I said that's enough Tony!" [Nathan]

I grab him from behind, and drag him screaming off of James, his arms still flailing.

James starts crawling backwards, crying and shivering.

"LET GO OF ME!!" [Tony]

"Calm down already, what is going on?" [Nathan]

"I SAID LET GO!" [Tony]

He swings around and hits me in the face with his elbow.

He hits my nose.

It hurts like hell.

Hot blood running down my face, the taste of iron in my mouth.

I stagger backwards, letting go of Tony and grabbing my nose.

Tony turns around to face, me, a look of absolute rage on his face.

He takes a swing at me.

Dodge to the side. Grab his other hand by the wrist. Twist it around his back.

And push him to the floor.

"ENOUGH!" [Nathan]

"ARRGHH!! LET ME GO!!" [Tony]

He struggles to get free, so I tighten the grip on his wrist and push it closer to his neck.

"I SAID ENOUGH!" [Nathan]

I keep him pinned until he stops struggling.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! [Nathan]

"Nathan.." [Andrew]

"What!!" [Nathan]

"This says "Sarah" on the back..." [Andrew]

I look at him. He's holding out the trinket that was lying under the cloth, with it's back to me. It says "Sarah" in golden letters on the back.

...

He wouldn't..

I snap my head around to look at James. He's holding his hands out in front of his face, covered in bruises and tears. His lip is bleeding, his left eye swollen.

A look of terror on his face.

And shame.

"Did you take this from Sarah's room?" [Nathan]

"..." [James]

"... Tony, calm down and I'll let you go." [Nathan]

"... No.. " [Tony]

"What do you mean no, you're already calm." [Nathan]

"No I'm not.." [Tony]

"Why are you even so angry, it's just a trinket." [Nathan]

".. It's my mothers funeral vestige.. The one given to Sarah.." [Tony]

...

He's crying. Crying and shaking with rage.

"I know you're angry, but you need to calm down. We'll deal with this later. Calm down and we'll leave.

"Ugh..." [Tony]

It took a few minutes for him to calm down. James was whimpering and sobbing in the hall, and Andrew just stood there speechless.

Finally, he settled down, and I let him go. He got up, and walked past James without giving him a second look.

Andrew followed him, giving James a glance full of disgust on the way out.

I stood there for a second, before I followed them out.

"I didn't know.." [James]

He whimpers as I pass him.

I stop for a second and turn my head.

".. I believe you.." [Nathan]

I say, without looking at him.