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DeValo eyed his sisters from a spot in the bushes. His practice had paid off and his steps made very little noise. The girls had a sort of best-friendship thing going. At least, that is what it seemed like. Granted, they didn't really know anyone other than their parents so the idea of being friends with anyone else never really came to mind. DeValo wasn't quite so close. He was jealous of his sisters' bond. He got to play with the others naturally, but everything somehow felt less special that what the girls seemed to have. Devalo's habit of watching his sisters chat and play only started a few days ago.

DeValo and the others had been playing like any other day. It was girls vs. boys, as they liked it. DeValo and Rai'Talun were to hide and the girls were meant to find them. The boys ran off into the forest together and chose hiding spots near the same tree. DeValo climbed up the tree and waited... and waited... and waited. It did not take long for him to get utterly bored. He looked at Rai'Talun's hiding place, but couldn't see him. In another minute or so the girls came walking by. DeValo was thrilled as that meant the game must be nearly over. Surely he and his brother were not such amazing hiders that the girls wouldn't find them.

Unfortunately neither of the girls even bothered to spare the tree a second glance. They were looking for the boys of course, but they almost seemed like they were having too much fun. They weren't taking the game seriously enough. They were talking to each other about the beauty of the forest when they should be discussing strategy and narrowing down where the two boys could be hidden. DeValo remained quiet for as much as he wanted to get out of the tree and move, he still wanted to win. He watched the girls search the area (a rather inexhaustive search in DeValo's opinion) and waited quietly. When he decided they were far enough out of earshot he jumped out of the tree. On soft as a feather paws he zipped over to Rai'Talun's hiding spot.

"Did you see that?" DeValo pouted. "They weren't even trying! Why did they suggest this came if they don't want to play it right!" The little kage plopped down beside his brother. "Did mum and dad say when they'd be back?"

He blew at a dried leaf on the ground. Maybe the girls had suggested the game to get away from them. DeValo didn't like to think that his sister's disliked him, but sometimes he wondered. Usually at times like this, when he was bored and annoyed. With himself or with them he wasn't sure which.

How is it, that a game that sounded like such fun in the beginning could turn out to be so boring. DeValo watched his brother wriggle around in the dirt. He crouched down low then pounced on him. "Scared yah!" He wasn't terribly good at wrestling, but given the element of surprise he managed alright.

"Hey, maybe we should try that." DeValo smiled viciously. "When the girls come back by here, we jump out and scare them. That'd show them for not taking this seriously. And! And we'd be doing them a favor. Y'know the woods are dangerous, they shouldn't be wandering around without at least attempting to watch for danger."

DeValo shrank back a bit. It was easy to forget how skittish his brother was. He hadn't meant to really frighten him. He was just being playful. "Sorry Rai, I forgot..." He sat down a way from his brother. Best to give him some space.

"What is it you are scared of Rai?" It wasn't a mean question, merely a curious one. DeValo knew he would never hurt his brother intentionally. He wasn't sure why Rai seemed to think differently. "Maybe we should try to fix it... whatever it is. I don't like it when you're scared."

"Broked?" DeValo didn't think his brother was broken. Over-sensitive maybe, but not broken. "I don't think you are broked..." There had to be some way to help his brother get over his fears. Their mother and father probably wouldn't help much as Rai'Talun was scared of them too. Then again, Rai'Talun was scared of DeValo too. Still, maybe not as much. DeValo wasn't much bigger than his brother. The mention of their previous souls sparked an idea. "Maybe we could figure out who your soul belonged to before. Maybe that would help us figure out why you are scared." DeValo had no idea if that was even possible, but maybe it was worth a try.

"I... have no idea." DeValo was encouraged by Rai's acceptance of the idea. He jumped up in to the tree. "I'm gonna try to see if there is anybody we could ask." As he climbed his confidence grew. Surely someone would know who was in charge of souls. He called down to his brother, "If we don't find anyone, maybe mom and dad will tell us. We might have to pretend to just be curious though. I don't think they'd be happy if we told them we were going to go find such a person." He was getting higher then he usually went. The breeze was cool and the skies clear though getting darker, but there weren't any new kage around. Off in the distance he thought he saw his sisters coming back in their direction. In the other direction, he could clearly see his mother and presumably his father.

They probably would not have time to do much searching today. He started his descent. "I don't think we'll be able to do much tonight," he yelled as he jumped from branch to branch. As he descended the branches seemed to get harder to see. It was only a matter of time before he missed and crashed to the ground. Luckily he didn't fall far. He was a little dizzy when he stood up, but figured he'd be alright. "We'll try again tomorrow."