Chapter 444 That's a nasty place
Chapter 444 That's a nasty place
The afternoon sun is gentle.
Yalinxiu blinked and regained consciousness. She sat up and found that Femeiou and Altair were awake.
"Why didn't you call me?"
"It's okay. We can play by ourselves. You can get some more sleep. I know you didn't get enough rest in the fall camp."
Fei Meiou said calmly, then picked up a notebook.
"This isn't your diary, is it? You said I could play with your crayons, and Altair and I wanted to draw in this book."
Yalinxiu shook her head.
"It's not a diary, you can draw whatever you want."
Altair remained silent as he concentrated on drawing something with crayons. Then he looked up with a hesitant look.
Yalinxiu sat on the bed, propping herself up and tilting her head slightly.
"Altaïr, are you feeling unwell?"
Altair shook his head.
He still had the same expression. He glanced at Yalinxiu and then at the notebook that Feimeiou was holding.
Femeiou also remembered.
"By the way, we saw what you wrote... We don't mean to pry into your privacy, but Altaïr wants to ask, why did you write the place 'Rainier'?"
Yalinxiu rubbed her face.
"I forgot to ask you guys, do you want to go to Lanier? I need to go to Lanier for a few days every month."
"Why would you go to a place like that?"
Altair was confused.
"Aren't you a desert cat? Are there any of Lanier's eagles among your parents?"
"No, but I need to go."
"Don't."
Altair was somewhat reluctant to leave Lanier.
Femeiou twitched the corners of her mouth; her black lipstick had faded a little because of lunch.
"Altaïr, you coward. If you don't want to go, Arlin and I will go."
"You can't go!"
"My parents can't control me, and you still want to control me? Altair, you——"
This is how Femio and Altair spend their daily lives together. Altair has many shortcomings, but he is not a bad boy. His character determines some things, and the same is true for Femio.
Femeiou thought that Altair had fallen into his old habit again, but she saw Altair's particularly determined expression.
She suddenly remembered that Altair was also from the Eagle tribe.
"Why do you hate Lanier so much? Isn't that your country?"
"No. I hate Lanier. Femeiou, don't go to Lanier."
Altair spoke slowly. He looked at Yalinxiu and asked if it had to go.
After seeing Yalinxiu nod, Altair sighed deeply.
"…Okay. Let me tell you about this strange country called Lanier."
Altair folded up his drawing carefully and stood up.
"I lived in Lanier for two years. My father is from Lanier, but he left Lanier when he was very young and never went back. My mother is from the Eagle tribe, but she is not from Lanier.
My mom and dad met, and I was born. Because of my dad's job transfer, we all returned to Lanier. That country... was very good to my dad. It was very good to me, too."
"Then why do you hate Lanier?"
Femeiou didn't understand. She frowned and thought Altair was being hypocritical.
"Because it's not good for Mom."
Altair showed a very painful expression.
"It wasn't very good for me either. Whenever I showed any part of my mother, I would be accused of not being brave enough, not being a man enough. All my barbaric and hurtful behavior would be rewarded. I only had to learn those bad habits to be praised as a little man, but I knew it was wrong.
Lanier is terrible. Lanier makes Dad not like Dad, and Mom not like Mom. Mom is miserable. In Lanier, Mom is punished for being herself. She can't even work normally, can't change back to her original form, and can't fly... My mom flies very high and far. She is amazing.
You know what Lanier had? A no-fly order. Girls couldn't fly high, even if they could.
My mom was accused and stopped by the law from doing normal things. She wasn't allowed to laugh out loud, be brave outside, work like a Lanier man... I was forbidden to play princess games, I was laughed at for being like a girl, and whenever I said I thought some law was wrong, they would punish me like a demon and force me to say that the law was sacred.
They didn't allow me to sympathize with my mother and comfort her. They told me that my mother was abnormal, but it was obviously them who were abnormal. I have been to many places. The outside world is normal, and Lanier is twisted.
But the people in Lanieri don’t realize that. They think they are right.”
"Then why didn't those girls from Lanier fight back? They wanted to claim for themselves and fight for themselves."
Femeiou didn't understand. She had been fighting for herself since she was a child, and she wasn't afraid of anything.
Altair shook his head, revealing an expression of unspeakable sadness.
"Femeiou, it was a...very, very scary environment."
"But--"
"Femeiou."
Yalinxiu spoke up, taking over Altair's words.
"What would you think if your parents told you to be a good wife from a young age?"
"They're crazy. It's okay, my grandmother will teach them a lesson."
"What if your grandmother told you that work was for men and told you to stay home and learn how to be a good mother?"
"Grandma wouldn't do that. Even if she lost her mind, I would still go out. I would know what everyone else is doing outside."
"If everyone is like this, your sisters are like this, and the whole country is like this, Femeiou, how can you have the idea of resisting? You don't realize that this is wrong because you have never known that there is any other possibility."
Yalinxiu's tone was not serious and her expression was calm.
The sun was blazing outside, but Femeiou suddenly felt very cold.
She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
She thought about it for a long time, and then suddenly found a breakthrough point.
"School! Like Brown's, where they learn a lot and realize..."
"Female O.K., before I left Lanier, there were only three girls in my class. It was like that for the whole grade. The older you get, the fewer girls there are in your class."
"This is not fair!"
Fei Meiou was indignant.
"Are the parents of those female eagles fools? Don't they realize this is unfair?"
Altair sighed deeply.
"Femei'o, in Lanier, fairness belongs to the eagle."
Femeiou was so angry that she was breathing heavily. She realized something else.
"Then why did you leave Lanier? You must be doing well at Lanier."
Altair nodded, then shook his head.
"My mom is withering. My dad is corrupting. Rainier is poison, and I am miserable at Rainier. All the good treatment I have received has turned into mistreatment for my mom.
I couldn't accept that. I knew what was right and wrong. I knew my mom was a very, very powerful person and she didn't belong at Lanier. But once she was at Lanier, she couldn't leave without my dad's permission."
Femeiou reacted quickly.
"Are those scars on your arms related to this?"
Altair nodded.
He pinched the painting in his hand.
"I am my mother's child. My mother taught me to do the right thing, even if it is something that most people don't agree with. There is not much I can do, but fortunately my father cares about me. I can use myself to get my mother away from Lanier."
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