between the houses / family intro

[elijah]

[div style="margin: 0 auto; border-width:0; width: 70%; text-align: justify; font-family: arial; line-height: 1.5; font-size: 9pt;"]When he thought he got his grasp of the sand, water touched his ankles. Like a feather, sensitive to the breath of the wind, he flops again. Sand is clings to his stomach, sunken into his pelt. The boy is doused in water, wet and shivering. He hears the splash of water behind him, now looking back to see Kaisa approaching only to turn around and flee from the enemy that was the ocean. None of the rest of his siblings were willing to play the hero. It was…okay. They were not like Elijah who sometimes imagined himself to be a knight, armoured in the shine of metal, shining with an iron sword. Then he saw Eris, his own brother, bolt past him as if he were a lost cause for Priscilla. It seemed that the siblings, on first impression, were all over the place. Elijah’s problem was the strength of the tides, constantly pushing him the moment he got up because he had waddled too close. The sand was new to him, strange in texture because when it was dry he sunk into it, wet he slipped. It wasn’t solid enough for him to walk normally in. He felt alone, tired, betrayed by the sea. In the fairy tales he had so lovingly read, the ocean wasn’t supposed to be evil. It was kind and beautiful, filled with fishes that could somehow dance and sing, mermaids that played with the company of dolphins.

Suddenly, the boy feels his body beginning to move, eyes daring to open. They stung from the sea-salt, blue eyes wincing when he saw his saviour - his brimming hope, the incandescence of a dark and brooding tunnel, the angel that was gleaming within his blurred vision. His cheeks grew immediately hot, unsure if he was embarrassed or stressed. Diagraph contracting, lungs forcibly expulse the irritant particles that have shifted to his trachea – the boy hacking air and shivering. His own heart was thudding wildly, twinkling when he looked at Peppino, all-ears for his hero. A Doberman-mix. ”I-I’m Elijah Rosario, but you can call me Eli. I don't mind what you call me,” the child says, completely missing the other’s question about him having swallowed the sand. Whilst he was struggling, he had also gotten a mouth full of water which helped draw the sand away but now his throat was awfully dry. There was a bad taste left in his mouth, but he was far too pre-occupied with Peppino. ”What’s your name?” His ears were burning with interest, he could hear his own heart thudding against his chest. ”Y-You’re gorgeo --… I mean, thanks for saving me! You’re a true knight!”