Courtyard

[Mayah Playah]

'Powers? But I thought this was a music school?' Myka thought. She stood and walked to Erik, stopping when she was by his side and staring at the grass. "What kind of Heaven? The mortal Heaven that only the good get a taste of or the Heaven reserved only for the Gods?" Myka turned her gaze from the grass to the blossoms in the tree.  

[Its Smiley]

The young man chuckled softly at her question. "It was a metaphor." he said as another breeze came by, blowing a few leaves of the trees off. It was a beautiful sight, seeing the oak trees' green leaves mix with the cherrie blossoms' pink leaves. "In Heaven, it is rumored that nobody is ever sad; the Valley of No Tears." he spoke as he watched the leaves gently land on the water of the fountain, the wind also bringing some water sprinkles towards the two and giving him a type of sparkle. "I was happy... Then everything that made me so was gone." he whispered.  

[Mayah Playah]

She smiled lightly as the wind finally blew the last of her unruly hair from it's braid. "I know. What I meant was, the happiness that makes us mortals happy only for a while, or the happiness that never really goes away, and the glow of which you can feel forever." Myka clasped her hands behind her back and finally made herself look at the man. "I've seen this Heaven of yours. Let me tell you a story." Myka took a deep breath and sighed. "The once was a man. He was half-Minotaur, yet he never let it get in his way. One day, he fell in love with a beautiful young woman, and when he married, the beast in him came out to play frequently, although he was kept in line. They were happy, with no tears, no worries, and many children. After the last of the children had grown, the couple continued to live happily, until one day, the beast finally overcame the man. It was that day that he killed his wife, three of his daughters, and himself in front of his youngest granddaughter. She was never truly happy again, so I hear." Myka very lightly placed her hand on Erik's arm. "Heaven is a strange thing. One day it's there, and the happiness is so great, you can barely handle it. But your strength is shown the day it leaves you. That is the day you must prove to the world that you are stronger than they think. That is the day you truly become a man."  

[Its Smiley]

He listened to her story, matching only a small part of it with his own life. When she touched him, he looked at her hand then at her, all emotion leaving his green eye. "Please do not talk to me through philosophy." he said and pulled his arm away. "We have to learn how to understand it before we can say it," he said and watched the leaves dance in the wind. "And even if you do think you know it now, philosophy is tricky even for me." he sighed, not wanting to hear one of those 'Love is the answer to everything' or 'Always be strong, because someday you'll have to be'.  

[Mayah Playah]

Myka crossed her arms in annoyance as all of her shyness and cowardice melted away, her stubbornness taking it's place. "Look, I'm not going to go into some Zen mode and go all 'You must look beyond what you seek' on you, but I'm not stupid. You were in that graveyard for a reason. I saw you looking at the graves beside me, and I know what's going on." Myka pulled her hair into a ponytail and huffed. "Erik, philosophy isn't what you need and neither is this anti-emotion barrier that you've put up. If you want something that bad, then why have you stopped fighting?" She looked into his emerald eye and mentally challenged him, trying to break his barrier.  

[Its Smiley]

He looked her in the eye, even the emotionless state leaving and being replaced by emptiness. "Because everyone I fought for died.... and I don't even know how." he said and let a silence wash over, giving her time to soak it in. "And would you like to know the worst part?" he asked then looked back at the water, moving so that the side of his face that was covered by his hair faced her. "I never even got to say good-bye..." he whispered and rubbed the bridge of his nose, tired of crying today.  

[Mayah Playah]

Myka unfolded her arms, letting them limply drop by her sides. "Neither did I....." Myka whispered, so quietly that she wasn't even sure than he'd heard it. Myka slowly closed and opened her eyes, the tears long gone. 'People are wrong when they say that the initial shock is the hardest part. It's the moving on that takes the longest.' she thought as she watched Erik and read his emotions.  

[Its Smiley]

The faint red glow came again, protecting him and helped keep his privacy. "You are trying to read my emotions?" he mused softly.  

[Mayah Playah]

Myka smiled shyly and bowed her head. "How'd you figure it out? Usually nobody can tell when I'm reading them." Myka sat on the grass and looked at the clouds.  

[Its Smiley]

"The same way I managed to block it." he muttered quietly, not willing to fully reveal his little burden.  

[Mayah Playah]

Myka frowned. "I don't understand. The only species that can block my readings this effectively are high level alchemists, demons, minotaurs, and gods." She stated in confusion.  

[Its Smiley]

"I believe you have answered your own question." Erik sighed and ran a hand through his jet black hair before plucking a blossom leaf off his shoulder.  

[Mayah Playah]

Myka's eyebrows furrowed in thought. "You can't be a demon or a god because I'd be dead by now, and you can't be an alchemist because you'd have passed out by now from exhaustion, so that means....." Myka gasped. "Erik, are you a minotaur?"  

[Its Smiley]

"A minotaur with a little demon blood." Erik admitted silently, the red glow beneath his hair deepening.  

[Mayah Playah]

Myka's eyes widened and she unconciously leaned away from him. Myka suddenly was caught in a vision of her past, forcing her to relive the murder of her aunts, her sister, and her grandmother. She quickly shook herself out of it and leapt to her feet, staying a careful distance from the young man. 'Now it all makes sense...' "You fell in love...didn't you?