A.N: Slight spoilers for Jade's past.

---

Impression

The house loomed over the snowy side street in the early morning calm, swallowing up the forms of the two children beneath it. Bundled in warm jackets and scarves, the two boys surveyed the foreboding dwelling.

"Jade..." The smaller of the two boys was shivering slightly, though it was not from the cold. He stared up at the frost-covered windows through stringy lavender bangs. The two young boys were huddled beneath the eaves at the far side of the house, away from any possible observers. "Are you sure about this? They say this place is haunted..."

The other boy looked slightly bored with his friend's talk, not even turning as he spoke. His brown eyes, the slightest traces of red creeping in from the edges, carefully scanned the brick wall in front of him. "Saphir, ghosts are just monsters made of ectoplasm. And I doubt they would be residing within a city."

"But Jade..." Saphir was on the verge of whining now, as his friend walked up to the wall and tugged slightly on the rain pipe, testing if it would hold his weight. "You could get in trouble!"

Jade sighed. "I'm a seven year old orphan, Saphir. What would anyone possibly be able to do to me? They'd look like a bully."

Saphir did not look convinced. "But what if there really is a monster?"

"Then I'll blow it up with Energy Blast," Jade replied curtly. He took hold of the pipe and kicked his feet against the brick wall, boots scraping off a slight bit of ice. "If you're that scared, then stay here. I'll tell you what I find, I suppose."

"Jade..." But the brown-haired boy was already halfway up the pipe. Scrabbling slightly on the gutter, he pulled himself up onto the sloping ledge of the roof and began prying open the high window. A few moments later, Jade disappeared inside the house.

It was dark inside. Jade stood for a moment beside the window, allowing his eyes to adjust. The procedure to heighten his fonic abilities was still new, and his eyes were more sensitive to changes in light and temperature. He was certain it was worth it, though. Innate intelligence could only get one so far in the world. Power was needed to back it up. He needed to gain as much strength as he could if he hoped to become anything more than a penniless orphan boy in a frontier town.

And knowledge was a kind of strength. That was what led him to this mansion on the edge of town. He'd heard the stories, of people slipping in at night but no one coming out, of ghosts and witches and monster nests in the attic. Jade believed none of it. There could be people here, perhaps, but he doubted there was anything supernatural about it. They were probably squatters or draft dodgers or maybe a criminal syndicate. Other children might have felt this alone reason enough to avoid the house, but Jade Balfour feared nothing he understood and believed nothing that he did not.

Therefore, when there was a rustling noise from the darkness and something hard and pointed was suddenly pressed into his back, he merely smiled.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" a voice demanded from over Jade's shoulder. It was attempting to sound gruff and intimidating, but the young explorer was not fooled for an instant.

"I'm no one who's a threat to you," he replied, turning easily and grabbing the wrist of his assailant, forcing the weapon away from him. He observed it interestedly. "And I see you aren't much of a threat to me, either. An ink pen doesn't feel much like a knife, you know."

The boy, who looked not much younger than Jade, winced slightly. "Let go! You're hurting me!"

Jade complied, but took the pen. The boy immediately retreated, rubbing the arm and gazing at the newcomer through fearful blue eyes. His tousled, shoulder-length straw-blonde hair had a blue bead braided into the left side, and he wore orange pajamas with a rappig-print pattern. The rumpled bed nearby showed that Jade had most likely invaded his bedroom.

"Now, who exactly are you?" Jade asked, putting his hands (and the pen) into his pockets.

"You're the one who broke into my room!" the boy said indignantly. "Shouldn't you be answering me?"

Jade shrugged. "I was simply curious about this house. I didn't know a boy lived here. Are you a squatter?" He eyed the boy's slightly disheveled appearance.

The boy puffed up his chest. "For your information, I am Peony the IX, future emperor of Malkuth!"

Jade eyed him for a few moments. "Is that so, your highness?" he said finally, sounding amused. "And I'm the future Fon Master, I suppose..."

"Really?" the boy asked, sounding interested.

Jade sighed. It was obvious this child was something of an idiot. "No. I am not. And I don't believe you're the heir to the throne, either. What's your real name?"

"It's Peony!" Peony said, folding his arms. "Why do I have to prove myself to you? You're the intruder!"

But Jade appeared to have become bored by the boy now. He was looking around the room, observing the furniture. Walking over to a side table, he switched on the fonstone lantern sitting there and then raised an eyebrow. It was a sizeable room, with a fireplace, rug, chairs, a couch, bookshelves and dressers. Books were strewn about on the furniture and there was a half completed puzzle on the coffee table. "Hmm... This is a nice place, I'll admit. Is that an antique Ispanian armchair?"

"You didn't answer my question!" Peony retorted. "Why'd you come here? Are you a burglar or something?"

"Definitely not," Jade said, giving Peony a piercing stare that very clearly added, And you are quite the idiot for even suggesting such a thing.

"You snuck into my house and now you're eying my stuff!" Peony defended, folding his arms. "And you stole my pen!"

Jade rolled his eyes. "I was simply relieving you of a dangerous weapon. But if you no longer intend to impale me, you're free to have it back." He tossed the black ballpoint pen back to the blonde boy, who caught it.

"Well, if you're not a thief, then what are you?" Peony asked, as he set the pen back down on his desk, or what Jade assumed was a desk beneath the mounds of notebooks, doodles, and crumpled paper.

"Simply curious, I'm afraid," the young fonist sighed, as though it pained him to admit that fact. "I was hoping to find criminals or monsters or something interesting in here. A lunatic child was unexpected."

"I'm not crazy!" Peony said. Then he stopped, and his face changed into an odd look. "Wait, you were hunting monsters? That's so cool!"

"Not particularly," Jade said, shrugging. "Monsters are everywhere outside of cities. There's nothing special about them."

"I've... never seen a real monster," Peony said quietly.

Jade gave him an odd look. "You must be crazier than I thought, for them to keep you locked up that strictly."

"I'm not crazy!" Peony replied automatically. Then he sighed. "Though... I suppose I may as well be. They never let me go anywhere." He sat down on the bed, leaning back on his arms. He blinked in surprise a moment later when Jade sat down beside him.

"So tell me, Your Majesty," he asked. "What is the 'heir to the throne' doing in a place like Keterburg?"

Peony frowned at the obvious sarcasm, but shrugged. "It's politics... Mother hates Father, Father hates Mother, both of 'em hate me, but I'm useful to him at least because I'm the legitimate heir... So he sent me here to keep me 'safe.' He probably just doesn't want me to bother him."

"Hm," said Jade. It was not quite a sympathetic sound, but Peony didn't seem to mind. "Well, I suppose having a lunatic for a son would be embarrassing..."

Peony sighed. "You're really difficult, you know that?"

Jade merely smirked. "That aside, if you are so unhappy here, why don't you leave? It's just as simple to get out as in."

"Well, I didn't know that," Peony replied, irritated.

"It's hardly my fault you never even thought to attempt," Jade replied.

"...You're weird," Peony sighed.

"At least I don't have delusions of being royalty," Jade said, shrugging.

"It's not a delusion!"

"Of course not, Your Majesty." Jade smirked.

Peony gave him the most exasperated look he could manage. However, before he could berate the young intruder once again, there came a terrible racket from outside the window. "Jade?! Are you all right?" Then there was a startled cry and a thump. The young fonist put a hand to his temple and gave a long, frustrated sigh.

"...so, your name's Jade?" Peony said, giving him a sideways glance and a slight smile.

"As much as I currently wish it wasn't," Jade replied, folding his arms.

There were more sounds below the window—footsteps, and raised voices. Peony suddenly looked grim. "...Your friend's attracted the guards," he hissed, grabbing Jade's arm. "You'd better hide until they've chased him off."

Jade perked up. "Now that would be fun to see."

Peony shoved Jade into the closet. "Just be quiet."

Jade toppled over a pile of objects that made odd sounds as they tumbled to the ground, then landed in the corner. He quickly crawled to his feet and sat still, crouching behind a mound of clothing and other possessions he could not identify in the darkness. As he sat, his breathing loud in the silence of the enclosed space, he heard a knock on the bedroom door. A doorknob turned.

"Your Highness? Are you all right?"

"Of course I am," came Peony's reply, sounding drowsy and slightly annoyed. "But it's seven in the morning. I'm still trying to sleep."

"My apologies, Highness," said the other person. "There was a slight disturbance, and I merely wished to make sure you were all right. But it has been taken care of."

"Well, good," Peony replied. "Now, could you leave? I'm still tired."

"Of course, Highness. My apologies again." And the door shut.

For two long minutes, Jade remained in the darkness, breathing slowly. Then the closet door creaked open, a crack of light and Peony's face peeking inside. "I think it's safe now, Jade."

Jade extricated himself from the pile of clothing, stuffed rappig dolls, and toys he had been hiding behind. He stepped outside and turned to see that most of the closet was taken up by similar mounds of possessions. "Not very tidy, are you?"

"Oh, be quiet." Peony kicked a stray plushie back into the closet and closed the door. "That was close, though.

"What would they have done if they had caught me?" Jade asked, curiously.

Peony shrugged. "Best case, kicked you out. Worst case, locked you up for knowing too much..."

Jade raised an eyebrow. "Your fantasies are amusing..."

"It's not a fantasy!" Peony replied immediately. Jade merely smirked. The blonde stared at him for a moment, and then shook his head, smiling himself now. "You're just toying with me, aren't you?"

Jade's smirk was bordering on a grin now. "...I'm impressed. It usually takes Saphir hours to figure that out. If he does."

The young noble raised an eyebrow. "Saphir?"

"Your disturbance." Jade shrugged. "My, I wonder what they've done with him..."

Peony smiled. "You're really weird."

Jade slowly glanced from the two or three rappig plushies still on the floor of the room, to Peony's rumpled pajamas and messy hair. "Indeed."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Ignoring Peony, Jade walked over the window and peered outside. There were marks in the snow where Saphir had scuffled with the guards, but no one was present. "Well, I suppose I should be leaving now," he said, tightening his scarf around his neck. "I wouldn't want to continue to interrupt your sleep. Little Emperors need their rest, after all." He opened the window.

"You don't..." Peony paused, and Jade turned to look back at him. "I mean... would you..." He fell silent, instead resorting to sending Jade a pleading look.

Jade surveyed him for a moment. "As I said before," he said finally, in a careful, measured tone, "it is just as easy to get out as in. If one wished to see monsters, one might think of coming to the north square tomorrow morning. That is... if one felt he could take a break from his busy schedule."

"...Jade..." said Peony, but the boy had already stepped out the window. The young heir to Malkuth's throne watched as his mysterious guest slipped over the gutter, down the drainpipe, and disappeared. Soon all that remained were the footprints in the snow.

Peony sighed, moving to close the window. "And he thinks I'm the lunatic...?"

---

The following morning, Jade happened to be walking near the royal mansion when a blonde-haired boy decidedly not dressed for the elements slipped out from a side street and began determinedly walking south. Hands in his pockets, the young fonist strolled along behind the boy until the blonde tripped and fell headfirst into a snowbank.

Peony blinked up through eyelashes full of snow to find a gloved hand extended towards him. "You know, Your Majesty," Jade said casually, "north squares are generally in the north. You may also want to consider finding a coat, someday when you are not too busy."

Peony rolled his eyes, grinned, and took the hand.