ã€ŠCelestial Beingsã€‹


 Chapter 0: Introduction

    Only the crackling of flames and the wailing of an infant could be heard throughout the village. Broken bodies and debris filled the narrow streets and brilliant blue flames greedily devoured anything that they touched. The baby felt no pain, but the loud noise and confusing event that had occurred had provoked it to cry.

    The baby was right in the middle of a huge crater and it looked like he had fallen from heaven itself. Anything that was in the zone of the crater was immediately vaporized and turned into nothing more than a blanket of ash that he baby was lying on. The village was completely and utterly destroyed, and there was no hope for survivors.

    Although it seemed that all hope was lost for the child, the massive walls of blue flames kept anything from harming him. After two days of crying, the baby finally collapsed. Its throat was too dry to even make a sound, and ash and soot dirtied his beautiful face and hair. Miraculously, his lungs were rather clean considering he had practically been in a bath of dirt and falling ash for the past few days.

    After the first day, it had rained. Having devoured mostly everything due to the advanced heat, the fire quickly ran out of fuel. The fresh rain clung to the grass and prevented the fire from spreading even further. Soon afterward the fire died out.

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    On the second day, the bushes outside of the village rustled, and a man slowly stepped out. The man was tall and skinny, and on each side of his head was a set of long pointed ears. Taking in his surroundings, he was shocked beyond belief. Just three days ago there had been an entire village here. Although the village was not very wealthy or important, it had a decent population of three hundred people. His own village had traded with them multiple times and they got along rather well. The people of the destroyed village only took what they needed from nature, nothing more, and the man respected them for that.

    Although such a village existed three days ago, the only thing here now was black and scarred lands. The green grass slowly became brown as he approached the ¡®would be¡¯ edges of the village. That brown grass quickly became black ash. As he slowly and cautiously approached the crater, the men gasped in surprise.

    In the center of the crater, he discovered the baby boy.

 Chapter 1: Elven Village

    Chapter 1

    Sorry if the formatting is a little messed up, I inserted it from word. The rest of the chapters should be better.

    <hr />

    Deep in the Great Forest of Daeseni, there was a large village hidden in the trees. In one of the tree houses, one could hear the crying of multiple babies. As a lady slowly rocked an elven girl back and forth and patted her on the back,

    ¡°Now now. It¡¯s okay.¡± (Lady)

    Surrounded by screaming children, it was a miracle that this woman was so calm. Just as she went to pick up another crying toddler, the door burst open. The few remaining calm children all began to scream and cry again.

    ¡°Alejana!¡± (Man)

    Severely out of breath, the man could only manage to choke out at most a few words as he put a bundle of cloth on the floor. After looking at the cloth, she realized that it was the man¡¯s coat. The coat was wrapped around a child covered in black soot, who was currently breathing rapidly and making a face distorted in pain.

    Alejana, who ran a nursery for toddlers, teared up just by looking at a child in such a state. Although the village residents were elves, and this was the first time she had seen a human, a child is a child and she could not help it. She loved all cute things, and seeing this boy honestly broke her heart. She reached out to caress his forehead, but as her hand got closer she could feel a strong aura emanating from him.

    Elves were very adept at magic, since they were so close to nature, and a grown elf could even sense magic to an extent. Yet, she had never felt anything like this before.

    ¡°This child- what is this feeling? He feels¡­ off.¡± (Alejana)

    She looked down at the man, who was now on his back with his hands over his head due to exhaustion, but all he could do was give her an affirmative nod that seemed to tell her that he agreed with her.

    Although she had never met a human, something felt off about him. The school in the elf village taught about all races, and she had learned quite a bit about humans. Humans were¡­ average¡­ for the most part. Most races specialize in one thing, but humans did not. While other races specialized in something, by doing so they were weaker somewhere else. Humans had no strengths, yet they also had no setbacks. Rather than calling them average, it¡¯s better to call them balanced. Humans were capable of doing just about everything, but they were not the strongest in just one thing. Of course there were exceptions to that rule among all races, but it was true for the most part.

    But she felt none of that from this boy, by no means did he feel ¡®average¡¯ or ¡®balanced¡¯. He had more magic than just about every elf, including herself, yet he was still a baby.

    Is this really a human?

    Finally recovering, the man got up.

    ¡°What should we do?¡± (Man)

    ¡°Quinton, I need you to fetch me some wet wash cloths and warm formula from the back room.¡± (Alejana)

    ***

    After feeding and clothing the baby, Alejana was sitting crisscross on the floor with it. Quinton and her were at a loss of what to do. Although the child was just on the verge of death, the medicinal herbs mixed with the baby formula seemed to have given him enough energy to open his eyes.

    ¡°The nearest human village is around two days to the east. Maybe we should leave the brat there?¡± (Quinton)

    Alejana didn¡¯t know how she felt. She felt bad leaving a baby in a town where they didn¡¯t even know if he would turn up okay. If it were the town that was recently destroyed, then she would have agreed, but she couldn¡¯t exactly trust some random village with a child¡¯s life.

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    As she thought such things, she felt something grasp her thumb. As she looked down, the child silently looked into her eyes while maintaining his grasp on her thumb. His tiny hands and watery light blue eyes calmed her down tremendously. She smiled, as the child finally made his first noise since entering the house.

    *hguu*

    As Alejana heard the tiniest and cutest hiccup she had ever heard, she felt the boys grip tighten as his eyes became even more watery. She could feel her heart melting from an overdose of cuteness, and she had to fight back the sudden impulse to squeeze him as hard as she could. As she put him over her shoulder in order to ¡®burp¡¯ him, she felt his arms squeeze around her neck¡­ it was then she decided,

    ¡°I¡¯ll ask the elder if I can take him in.¡± (Alejanna)

    ***

    After making their way to the town center, Quinton led them inside. Practically all of the buildings in the town were made in the trees, and the town center was not an exception. It was among the largest buildings in the town, and it covered multiple stories. Anyone can enter it, yet nobody could get past reception without formal approval. Yet with just the nod of his head, Quinton was allowed in.

    Actually, Quinton is one of the few scouts for the town. With his wind magic to enhance his speed, he is among the best, and he has seen a lot of the world. Under direct request from the town elder, he was sent to investigate the star the fell close by and report back... until he was side tracked by the boy.

    As they stepped into the office of the elder, the door behind them shut.

    The large circular room was at the top floor and in the center of the building, and its rounded walls give you a full view of everything from the highest point in the village, it is even higher than all of the trees. On the outside, it is disguised in such a way that it hardly looks different from a tree, and most outsiders probably would even be able to tell it apart from the others.

    "Yo, old man. We have got a question for you." (Quinton)

    Ever since Quinton was young, he was brought up by this old man. The lack of formalities for the most influential person in their village shocked Alejana, but she quickly followed up.

    "H-Hello Elder Keeno, I am honored to have this moment." (Alejana)

    "Pleased to meet you, Miss...?" (Elder)

    "Ah- Alejana." (Alejana)

    "Ah-le-ha-na? Interesting name. Now, please don''t take this the wrong way but it will have to wait, I have something to discuss with this delinquent." (Elder)

    Just as Alejana was about to try to assure him that the strange child was more important, Quinton held up his hand to stop her.

    "You''re going to ask about what I found in the crater right? From up here and with your vision, i''m sure you already know that the town is long gone. But i''m sure you saw the crater. Well as luck would have it, I think Alejana''s request goes hand in hand with what i''m about to say but..." (Quinton)

    Both Alejana and the Elder both had a confused face.

    "What are you say-" (Alejana)

    ...Quinton had never told her where the boy had came from...

    "A boy... fell from the heavens. He was in the crater... and I brought him back with me." (Quinton)

    Both Alejana and the Elder dropped their jaws.

 Chapter 2: Mama

    Chapter 2

    Please leave feedback it would really mean a lot to me! Also if there are any errors or typos than please feel free to correct me.

    <hr />

    After making their way back to the day care, they took the fallen boy into another room away from the other children. Although most of them wouldn''t know what was going on, the privacy felt better. Like the first time they left, Alejana put the eldest child, an eight year old, on duty to watch the kids... although they were all napping.

    As Alejana passed the boy to the Elder, the Elder''s eyes immediately widened as he muttered something along the lines of,

    "What is this power..." (Elder)

    "O-Oi... old man. Are you alright? You dont look too good." (Quinton)

    "Quinton. How many stars fell on that night...?" (Elder)

    Quinton had a puzzled look on his face. The old man looked as though he was looking at death itself all the while never taking his eyes off of the boy. The boy innocently sneezed and grabbed onto the mans thumb.

    "Hey now old man, aren''t you the one with clairvoyance? Why are you aski-" (Quinton)

    "ANSWER ME!" (Elder)

    Shocked, Quinton and Alejana took a few steps back. The cries of waking infants and toddlers can be heard from the other side of the wall.

    "T-thirteen. From the information i''ve gathered there were thirteen all over the continent." (Quinton)

    The face of the Elder grew even scarier. Alejana grasped onto Quinton''s arm and hid her face behind him as they both took another step back. The Elder began to mutter under his breath. The scared duo could not understand him, but they calmed down as the Elder''s expression lightened. While cracking a bright smile, the Elder walked over to them.

    "You''re mistaken. This boy was not sent from heaven." (Elder)

    "But Elder, you saw the star!" (Quinton)

    "YOU''RE MISTAKEN. YOU HEAR ME!? TELL NOBODY ABOUT THIS!" (Elder)

    Once again, they took another step back, this time hitting the wall. Alejana shrunk her body down in fear.

    "I-I got it... he''s a normal human boy... sh-shall we return him to the hum-" (Quinton)

    "No. Never lose sight of that boy, keep an eye on him at all times. Miss. Alejana, please, i''m counting on you." (Elder)

    With that, the meeting was over. Later on the Elder would announce that they were raising a human orphan for the time being, and that the community shall be supportive.

    *POV change - Alejana*

    It has been around a year since the day that the stars fell. After the meeting with the Elder back then, i didnt know if i should be scared of the boy or not... yet as soon as I picked him up and looked into his eyes all doubt went out the window. Even if this child was a demon, he will be my demon and I will love him like I were his mother. That night after the parents picked up their children, I sat up all night rocking the boy back and forth.

    Normally for elves, babes walk when they are around two years old. Elves have typically weaker bodies than humans, since we specialize in magic, so I heard that human babies walk earlier than elves... but was this really normal? When this child was around five months old he immediately began walking. Of course I was insanely happy and proud, but now that its been a few months and im looking back on it... it seems odd.

    ***

    Quinton has been coming over every so often to look at him, and with the help of him we decided to name the child Aiden. Whenever we call out his name, he giggles and smiles... GOSH i cant stand how cute this boy is.

    "He seems to like his name." (Alejana)

    Aiden slowly waddled over to the couch where we were sitting, and grabbed onto each of our hands while smiling. He struggled to climb up, only to fall back down onto the thick rug. While heartily laughing, Quinton picked him up and set him between us.

    "It''s almost like we are a family." (Quinton)

    At this comment, I blushed. I''ve never thought about having kids or anything, and really child birth scared me. As much as I adore children it never crossed my mind to start a family... but something like this was nice every once in a while. The warmth of the fire, the warmth of eachtoher. With a smiling child sitting between us as we laughed and played... I wish I could stay in this moment forever.

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    "Well... it seems that the sun has long gone down. Man time flies, but this was... nice. I''d better get going though before it''s pitch black, but i''ll check up on him again tomorrow." (Quinton)

    As he got up and patted Aiden on the head, he went to turn around. Impulsively, and without thinking, I reached out and grabbed his hand.

    "I-it''s already pretty dark... if you want you could... st-stay the night." (Me)

    W-what am I saying!? I just acted on instinct and got caught up in the happiness. Plus, when he said family, it made me a little too happy. UGH! I can feel my face heating up!!! Please don''t make things weird, why''d i make things weird, I just had to go and rui-

    "S-sure..." (Quinton)

    Huh? He''s not grossed out? He doesn''t think i''m weird?

    As I looked up he still wasn''t facing me. Is he okay? Slowly he turned around... ah-

    "C-cute" (Me)

    His face was even redder then mine. Hah? I was sure he was some kind of ladies man, with his delinquent type attitude. Whats with this timidness? wait... DID HE SAY SURE?!

    ***

    It''s been another four or so months and Aiden was now sixteen months. I got up and made breakfast just like every peaceful morning. Walking out of the bedroom door was Quinton as he held Aiden in his hands. While I was cracking eggs, he came up and put his head to my bloated stomach.

    "Ohh, I felt it kick! How does it feel that you''re going to finally become a mama soon?" (Quinton)

    As he put his free hand on his hip and made a proud face at what he created, Aiden reached his hands out towards me. Tears began to well in the corners of his eyes. He seemed to be trying to escape and latch onto me as his short little arms desperately grasped the air in my direction.

    "Mama" (Aiden)

    The egg I was holding dropped and splattered on the wooden floor. Quinton''s posture immediately broke as he nearly dropped Aiden.

    "HE TALKED!" (Alejana)

    I ran over and grabbed Aiden from Quinton as he made a defeated face while muttering something along the lines of, ''why not papa''.

    "Again, again!" (Alejana)

    Hugging him tightly, I urged him to say it again.

    "Mama." (Aiden)

    I always knew there was something about him. He memorized everything he looked at with just a glance, and he would always mimic the other children as they walked. When they would play, he would shadow them without them even realizing him. After hearing Quinton say mama, he must have picked it up. The only times i''ve felt this much joy were when Aiden walked and when I found out that I was pregnant.

    After squeezing him and urging him to repeat it a few more times, I let him down. Immediately after I put him down he waddled over to Quinton with tears in his eyes. For some reason Aiden looked... sad. As he finally reached Quinton, Aiden pulled his leg back and kicked ''papa'' as hard as he could. Of course it didn''t hurt Quinton physically, but now he was even more confused and depressed.

    While Aiden''s tears welled up in his eyes, he put his hand on his hip and made the same proud pose Quinton had just been broken out of.

    "Mama is mama! Mama is ''ready mama!" (Aiden)

    ...what.!? I thought that babies at most were only able to say a few words... yet he is already forming sentences? Did I stumble across a genius?! My baby boy.. my baby boy.. why was my baby boy sad? Wait a minute... MY baby boy...

    "Ah-! Papa is a jerk huh Aiden?!" (Alejana)

    "Un.." (Aiden)

    After nodding his head and shouting that, he ran over and dug his face into my chest. Of course, how could we be so foolish. Even if I have never given birth, I became a ''mama'' about a year ago. It didn''t matter if he fell from the sky or came from the stork, this boy was my child no matter what anyone else said. Even if god himself came from heaven, I became a proud mother on that night. Quinton just had to go and say I wasn''t a mama yet... geez. After making breakfast for only Aiden and I, I planned to cuddle with my son and take a long nap.

    "Where''s my food, I wanna nap with you guys. Why is everyone mad at meeee?" (Quinton)

    As he approached the door, Aiden slammed it shut, keeping him out.

    "Until you realize what you did wrong, you can sleep on the couch." (Alejana)

    Napping is always the best when cuddling one''s own child. Quinton slept on the couch for three days before finally realizing.

 Chapter 3: Sister

    Chapter 3

    Before you ask, no. The whole story is not going to be all about the parents. Its hard to have an age progression story without the huge role of parents, but very soon it will be more about Aiden. Please be patient, and on that note... enjoy (:

    <hr />

    In a certain wooden nursery deep within a forest of the tallest trees...

    Aiden sat in the kitchen covering his ears as he heard his mother screaming from the room next door. He was crying as he didnt understand what was going on. Alejana had been weak and frail, and so Quinton rushed to get the doctor. When they came running through the door, the doctor completely ignored Aiden as he ran straight to the room where his ''ill'' mother is. Quinton quickly followed suit, but not before stopping and placing his hand on Aidens head.

    "Is mama gonna be okay?" (Aiden)

    "O-of course, Aiden. She is just a little under the weather... but pretty soon you are going to have another playmate... so smile" (Quinton)

    Aiden didn''t have time to be happy about what he was just told, for he had noticed something odd. Although he was still a toddler, halfway between the ages 1 and 2, his memory and powers of observation were stronger than adults. He had what could be called a photographic memory on steroids. As his father talked to him and told him that everything was okay, he could not help but think that his eyes and smile were... different.

    His father frequently smiled when he was at home, and Aiden had realized this. But the smile that he held on his face now seemed... fake. His eyes were looking straight at Aiden, but rather than bursting with confidence like normal, they seemed distant. They seemed to show regret, and sorrow. Although his father had been trying to reassure and comfort Aiden, he had only ended up making him even more worried. Normally, someone at Aiden''s age wouldn''t even be understand the conversation, so it never crossed Quinton''s mind that his son would see through his act. It''s not as if he didn''t know his son was smart, but he wasn''t even two years old. No father would think that their one and a half year old could understand them this well.

    As he heard more screaming, he quickly gave his son one last pat on the head and followed behind the doctor. After hearing the doctor yelling ''push'' and his mother''s screaming intensify for what seemed like an eternity, suddenly everything got quiet. He could hear tired sighs and a baby crying from the other room. His sister was born.

    ***

    Due to complications during childbirth, Alejana has not been the same. The doctor and his healing magic kept her blood pressure down, and it was no doubt that without him she would not be alive, but her body has been weak and she can not do much without the help of others. Seeing his mother in such a state, Aiden knew that he would have to work hard in the future in order to protect his defenseless mother.

    Although his mother''s body was not as strong as it used to be, her will and determination became even stronger. She tried to do everything on her own, so much so that Quinton had to forcefully take things from her in fear that she would overwork herself to death. The doctor makes frequent visits in order to cast some kind of curing spell, but there has not been any notable signs of change.

    In regards of his new sister, she is perfectly healthy. Although Aiden feels lonely whenever his mother pays attention to the baby, his worries are blown away when he looks at the child. Much like Alejana and Quinton, she has blonde hair... yet she has Quinton''s gray eyes as opposed to Alejana''s bright blue. The eyes are not dark like Quinton''s, but they are lighter and more calming, and they reminded him more of heavy clouds.

    Although Alejana obviously had to pay more attention to the newborn, she did not neglect Aiden. Whenever she could she would sit with both of them, and now that she always seemed more tired, she would take naps with both of them. Unlike Aiden, who in everyone''s eyes is abnormal, the newborn cries very frequently. Although it is hard to rest, it pleases Alejana. All healthy babies cry, and to be honest it is more reassuring as opposed to a silent child that only cried when it wanted food or a change.

    They decided to name her Hana, based off of Alejana''s name. Although the spelling was different, the sound of Jana in Alejana has the same Haa-Naa sound. Considering that Alejana was on deaths door when giving birth, they were all relieved to find out that Hana was a perfectly healthy elfling.

    Hana began walking at the normal elf age of two, and she also began talking around roughly the same time. Aiden was now three years old, yet he looked a little older due to the fact that he was taller than most human children. His height looked no different than an elf three year old, who were typically taller and skinnier than humans.

    Going back to the topic of Hana, she spoke her first words a little before her second birthday. Much to the despair of Quinton, her first words were Mama as well, although a little while later she said Papa just as frequently. She addresses Aiden as ''Den-den,"melting the hearts of the parents every time they hear it.

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    ***

    "Quinton, honey? Will you go to the store for me? I have to watch over the daycare kids but we are running low on milk and diapers." (Alejana)

    "Papa, can I go?" (Aiden)

    Hearing Aiden say this, Alejana felt a little dejected. Although Aiden didn''t frequently play with the other kids at the daycare, he normally spent the day shadowing his mother and clinging to her pant legs. She had grown accustomed to the daily routine of the cute boy clinging to her.

    "You don''t want to stay here with your mother?" (Alejana)

    "Uhmmm... but I want to see the village. I hardly get to see it." (Aiden)

    "Fine, you can go. I''ll miss youuuu." (Alejana)

    While waving him goodbye as he held onto Quinton''s pant leg, Aiden turned around and waved back. Just as they approached the door, Hana waddled over and tugged on Aiden''s shirt.

    "Den-den." (Hana)

    "Did you want to come too?" (Quinton)

    While smiling, Quinton picked both of the children up and walked out the door. With a baby in each hand, he could only laugh. He had always been a delinquent and a troublemaker when he was younger, and he never saw himself having a family like this. As they passed by a few of the guards who he used to be buddies with, they could only laugh at him. Taking the friendly ridicule with open arms, Quinton could not imagine any other scenario that could make him as happy as his current life.

    ***

    When Aiden turned five years old, he was put into schooling. At the daycare, he didn''t often play with the other kids and always stuck to his mother, and the other children were jealous of him. All of the children loved Alejana, and just the fact that Aiden had her as a mother was enough to be jealous. So as one would expect, with jealousy coupled with the fact that he was ''human'', the school life wasn''t exactly normal for Aiden.

    Although there was no direct bullying, he was almost an outcast. Of course, not everyone went to his daycare, so there were quite a few students who did not ignore him. However, since a lot of them did ignore him, the others didn''t have much of a choice other than to do it as well. Out of his class, about 80% ignored him, while about 50% went to his daycare. The other 20% that didn''t ignore him were children who either didn''t go to his daycare or they did but they just didn''t feel jealous.

    Since Aiden had a photographic memory coupled with just being smart in general, school came easy to him. However, Aiden''s personality could probably best be described as ''laid back'' or ''mildly listless''. It wasn''t like he was totally lazy, it was just if given the choice to play or nap, he would chose nap. If given the choice for a calming rainstorm or a bright and hot day, he would choose the rain storm.

    Due to this fact, it was hard to approach Aiden in school. He was always looking either out the window or had his head down, and when spoken to he would give short replies. He passed all of his tests with amazing scores, yet he fell behind in homework due to the lack of motivation. Due to this, although he deserved the number one spot in his grade, he was considered average. Although the teacher''s all knew that he was smarter than any other child, they could not give him credit for empty assignments that he did not bother to do.

    At home, he was asked

    "What are you doing, falling behind in school? How hard is it to trace your own name or write the alphabet?" (Alejana)

    "I understand the material. What''s the point? In the future, it''s not like the scores will matter. Nobody looks at them outside of school, the scores are only there for placements that mean nothing." (Aiden)

    Although Aiden was right, and there were no colleges or jobs that actually cared about scores other than tests, Alejana was still upset. If you had the potential, why would you not try for number one? Don''t most kids his age want to be ''the best'' and better yet, what five year old kid looks that far ahead?

    She was about to protest and scold him more, but she noticed that he was slowly nodding off to sleep. The pitter patter of the rain always put him to sleep, and his head slowly bobbed up and down until he finally fell asleep sitting up straight on the couch. His silky light blue hair, which was on the verge of being called white, fell down over his eyes as he was completely out. Hana, who was sitting on the couch next to him, waved her hand in front of his face. After confirming that he was asleep, she smiled as she rested her head on his lap and nodded off herself.

    Watching the scene take place before her, Alejana could only let loose a sigh of defeat as she went into the kitchen and began preparations for dinner.

 Chapter 4: Magic

    Chapter 4

    <hr />

    Two years have passed by with not much change. Aiden is still rather alone at school, but it doesn''t bother him because it is peaceful for him. His sister, however, is living a perfectly normal school life. Although the circumstances should have been pretty much the same, being that she is the daughter of Alejana as well, Hana actually had nobody avoid her. Aiden could only sigh when he realized this fact. But like said before, he didn''t let it get to him.

    Hana was perfectly ordinary, well... she was a little above ordinary. It wasn''t to the point to where everyone loved her, but she had a lot of friends in her class since she knew a lot of them from the day care. Her long blonde hair and beautiful cloudy eyes made Aiden expect that when middle school started, the boys would start to be all over her. But since she was still only six years old, there was still a long ways to go before Aiden had to worry about even more jealous boys targeting him.

    Hana seemed to have a playful and adventurous attitude, the opposite of her ''brother''. She would do anything in her power to go outside to play, and would often drag other children with her. Although her favorite person to drag into her shenanigans, was Aiden. Ever since she was little, it''s been ''Din-Din this, Din-Din that'' with her. To Aiden, who only wanted to read and rest, it was a little troublesome. But he had only ever seriously denied once, and his sister had cried the entire night. Ever since then, the most he has done was complain, but he has never once said no.

    Although it was troublesome, he still loved his sister.

    ***

    While sitting under a tree and reading a book that was far too advanced for a child of his level, Aiden welcomed the cool breeze as he spent a relaxing day off from school doing whatever he wanted. Like all seven year olds in the village, soon he will be starting magic lessons.... although it was mostly just the basics like finding out their strong elements and controlling mana. So he made sure to study up on it, hence the current book ''Mana in Nature''. As Aiden sat and read, his sister was playing with a squirrel a few feet away. For some reason, most nature and wild life favored elves, and unlike with Aiden, wild animals would readily approach an elf as long as they stayed calm and collected and did not scare it off. Due to the giggling of his sister, Aiden read the same line three times in a row, yet the distraction was too much and he understood none of it. Sighing while setting the book down, he decided to take a break until he could collect his thoughts again.

    As he got up and approached Hana, the squirrel squirmed out of her arms and scurried up a nearby tree, causing a sad ''ah'' to come from his sister. As he sat next to her on the soft grass, Hana put her fist straight into his chest.

    "Din-Din, why would you do that!? It took forever to get him to let Hana touch him. Uuu, now Hana has to start all over." (Hana)

    While blocking second flying fist,

    "That hurts. I was bored, and you wouldn''t let me read in peace. Anyway, how is school going?" (Aiden)

    Taking a change in attitude, the small tear that began to form in Hana''s eye completely disappeared and she frowned a little.

    "Uhh..." (Hana)

    "Whats the matter?" (Aiden)

    "Don''t tell mama or papa, but I failed the pre-test..." (Hana)

    Hana was now in the first grade, and Aiden was in the second. If Aiden remembers correctly (which he always does) then the first grade test around this time of year was mostly just simple adding and subtracting. Realizing his sister was on the verge of being classified as ''slow,'' as she wasn''t even able to know the simplest of things, he felt desperate to help. Other kids see Aiden''s ranking and think he is stupid (because he never does his homework) so if people realized the other child from the same house hold was stupid, it could ruin his parent''s reputation. People already ignored him, so he decided to at least salvage his sitser before it was too late.

    "Come on, let''s go upstairs. I''ll help you study." (Aiden)

    At this words, Hana brightly smiled and grabbed onto her brother''s hand as they walked towards the rope ladder that led to their house.

    "Thank you, Din-Din!" (Hana)

    "...try not to become an idiot... idiot." (Aiden)

    As they playfully teased each other, they stayed up late that night while Aiden taught her shortcuts and easy memorization tricks involving the numbers 1 through 10.

    ***

    Later that week, Hana was pleased to inform her brother that she got the highest score in the class.

    "Everyone was congratulated Hana, and Mrs. Luna even asked me what methods I used." (Hana)

    "Hoh~ congrats." (Aiden)

    Replying in his usual tone all the while while not looking up from his book, Hana felt a bit dejected. She sat still for a bit, while thinking of something else to say to get her brother''s attention.

    "Ah! Yeah! When Hana told Mrs. Luna about the method, she smiled and said, ''tell your brother I said hello, and that he never visits me anymore''." (Hana)

    At these words Aiden looked up from his book. Seeing her brother finally have a reaction, Hana smiled. She always found it fun to try and break his seriousness, almost like it was a game. As her brother''s lips slowly curved into a smile, she internally gave herself two points.

    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    She could tell that I taught her just by my methods? She really is one scary woman, I mean it''s not illegal to help my sister out right? It''s not like I took the test for her, she did it on her own. Seriously that woman is scary. (Aiden)

    (NOTE: It''s pretty common in fictions or translations, but to clarify... when there are italics, it normally means that someone is thinking something rather than saying it out loud.)

    Mrs. Luna was Alejana''s childhood friend. They both loved cute things, so naturally they got along well. Following their shared passion of cute things, one became a first grade teacher while the other started her own nursery. Most of Aiden''s teachers could tell how smart he was just from tests alone, and Luna was no exception. If anything, her levels of observation were on a level that rivaled Aiden''s. Although he referred to her as scary, she was still one of Aiden''s favorite people as she was always nice to him and she reminded him of his mother.

    He would often stay after school in her classroom to read, and Luna would take these time to teach him things or urge him to do his homework. He was excited to learn things that he normally did not have access to, such as spells or advanced history, and she would even let him borrow books from her personal library. But he found himself stopping going there when he entered second grade due to the troublesome talks about homework she would always lay on him. Since his magic test was coming up soon, he decided to visit her one more time.

    ***

    "Ahh! Aiden, long time no see." (Luna)

    As Aiden and Hana entered the room, his former teacher''s face lit up. She was... short. If he had to guess, he would say she was at most 5ft tall, if that. Even among human standards that is considered a short, but among elves that''s even shorter! By elf standards she could classify as a midget. Aiden laughed to himself as he joked that he could very well be talking to the shortest elf to ever live... maybe she''ll go down in the records. Aiden, who was taller than most humans and was on par with the elves, was almost as tall as her even though he was still only seven.

    Considering that this woman and his mother were childhood friends, Aiden guessed that she was somewhere in her mid to late thirties. Although that''s how old his mother was, elves had high vitality. The oldest elf lived up to 230 years, although the average elf only lasts around 170. Their aging slowed down a lot once they hit twenty or so (although they still aged, but it is not very noticeable)... so both Luna and Alejana were in their prime of womanhood and looked like they were at most 25 or 26. Although this woman may have looked even younger considering how short she still was.

    "And hello to you too, Mrs. Knowitall. Very nice job on your test." (Luna)

    While saying this, she winked at Aiden... fully aware that it was him that helped her go from a failing grade to best in the class in a few days. Aiden returned this wink with a small laugh and a bright smile. Much like with his mother and father, Aiden felt more open when he talked to this person. Although he still wasn''t super energetic, compared to his normal listlessness and straight face, this was a major improvement. Meanwhile Hana was blushing as Luna slowly rubbed her head and congratulated her.

    "So Aiden, how is the magic going?" (Luna)

    Aiden was one of Luna''s favorite students, mainly because his magic was unlike anything she had seen before. The first time she had seen it, she did not know what to say. She was speechless, and she even ended up consulting the town elder. The town elder calmly told her that Aiden was a special case and not to press into the matter, and much to her disappointment, he would not tell her why he was so special. The reason she thought his magic was so unique was, that it was limitless. Most people could use any element, yet they normally stuck to the one or two that they had an innate talent for. Yet this child...

    He could control none of the elements. She had tried most of the ones known to her including; fire, water, air, earth and she even threw in more advanced ones such as lightning, darkness, and light. Yet he could not cast a single spell. However, what he could do was more powerful than any spells she had tried to teach him. He could control raw mana, both from nature and himself, and bend it to his will. Practically anything he immagined could be controlled or created as long as his mana supply did not run out. It was insanely unique and the color of his mana was beautiful... a light blue/white that resembled his hair and looked like the stars themselves.

    She had no prior knowledge to the element, and had no ideas what spells or power he could create with it...

    Unknown to her, it was the power of the cosmos...

    Capable of creating the hottest flame, or the coldest ice,

    [Celestial] magic.

 Chapter 5: Outside

    Chapter 5

    <hr />

    As Aiden concentrated, visible light blue light began to swirl around in the air. It danced around his head, before twirling around his arm and making it''s way into his palm. As this light show occurred, Hana had been jumping up and down while clapping while Luna sat in her chair with her arms crossed.

    "It took you nearly ten seconds this time... you have made basically no improvements..." (Luna)

    Of course she was impressed, he had willed the beautiful blue lights that held so much power into his hand. Normally, magic came from one''s own body and they could control it through spells and incantations. Yet this power, came from nature. Almost as if the power was granted from heaven. There was natural mana all over the world, with varying concentrations place to place. It is practically endless, but while everyone knows it exists, it is untouchable. Or so she thought...

    Normally only used by divine creatures and spirits, there had not been a single person capable of controlling it... until now. It packed a far higher punch and was seemingly endless, yet it''s still strange. Divine dragons used it in elements such as lightning and fire, and there were faries that used it for light spells, but for some reason this boy who would control it could not use it for any of the elements. Not knowing what elements he could use, Luna was unable to teach him any spells. It was bad, not being able to cast spells. No spells meant no fighting power. Thinking of how to help Aiden, Luna had told him to concentrate it into his hand, hoping that he could possible use raw mana... but it had taken him ten seconds just to get it there. Ten seconds could be the difference between life and death in a real battle.

    The elder seemed to know something... maybe he knows what his element is? (Luna)

    If he keeps practicing and is able to manipulate it better, then maybe he can fight without spells... but ten seconds was far too much time. As she told him to, Aiden dispelled the mana. As per usual not a droplet of sweat was on his face.

    I understand that it''s not his own mana, but really? No reaction? Does it really take no effort to do what mages have been trying to accomplish for years? (Luna)

    ***

    It was still light out, so on their way home Hana asked for Aiden to follow her.

    "Someone at my school told me that there was a nearby waterfall. She said even the fairies played there, and that its gorgeousness made it the perfect spot for a picnic!" (Hana)

    "If I say no, you''ll cry again... you baby. I''ll follow you." (Aiden)

    "Will not!" (Hana)

    While playfully patting his sister''s head, his smile turned into a frown as they approached the town wall. Made out of wood logs, there was a small hole that looked like somone had burrowed underneath to the other side.

    "You know that we aren''t allowed to go outside the walls... it''s dangerous." (Aiden)

    As he pulled his sister back, who had already got on her hands and knees as she prepared to crawl under the wall, she looked up at him. With tear filled eyes she sat on the ground where she was and began to cry. Try as he may, anything that he did could not get her to stop. As people began looking in their direction, Aiden finally gave in.

    "Ugh! Let''s go. You win." (Aiden)

    As he pulled his still crying sister through the hole, they entered the forest.

    ***

    As they went through the forest, it felt like a whole different world. No pathways or houses, just tall trees and rough pine needles... even Aiden had to say that he felt like an adventurer. It felt as though he was walking on uncharted territory... and he was glad that he followed his sister. They ran through the forest as many different animals played around them. They played together and his sister even got a few of the animals to play with her.

    After tiring themselves out, they sat on the prickly bed of pine needles and laughed it out. Birds and squirrels that normally ignored him rested with them as he truly felt blessed. He looked as his sister one more time, and as they locked eyes the quickly began to laugh again.

    "....one hundred points." (Hana)

    Unaware of the game she played in her mind,

    "What was that?" (Aided)

    "Unn.. nothing. Don''t worry about it. Thanks for coming with me Din-Din." (Hana)

    As he sat with his sister, they cuddled around until it finally became dark out. A thick fog began to roll out as their vision became blurry.

    "H-hey Din. Do you remember the way back?" (Hana)

    "Of course I do. You''re right though, it''s getting dark already and I can hardly see through this fo-" (Aiden)

    Aiden''s voice cut off as he heard a strange noise. He felt a sense of hostility traveling through the mana in the air. How many were there... 8? maybe 10? As he thought such things, he got up and aproached his sister. The rustling of the grass and hissing cut off and left them in an eerie silence as they sat together. Just as Hana was about to tell Aiden she was scared, the silence was broken by something else.

    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    Out of the fog, jumped a twenty foot snake. Aiden grabbed his sister and dove to the ground as two more jumped out at them. Clutching his sister close, Aiden put his back to them as a pair of fangs dug into his shoulder. The other one grabbed him by the leg, as Aiden wildly shook it off. He grabbed his sister''s hand and ran.

    Although Aiden was not particularly strong for his age, he wasn''t weak either. He had never really had the motivation to work on his body, but he was at least in decent shape. Yet, the snakes were easily catching up on them. He felt that although they had a head start, it wouldnt take long for the group of snakes to catch up. Luckily, all that he needed was ten.

    As the blue light danced throughout the air, they formed thin lines and wrapped themselves around Aiden. Suddenly he felt his body becoming lighter as he put his sister on his back and ran for his life. Although he had this idea before, this was the first time he had used it. Due to this fact, it was sloppy and hardly effective. Luckily, since he was not an elf and his sister was, he was a little stronger and his sister was a little lighter compared to a human. This coupled with the, for lack of a better word, shitty ''spell'' that he had came up with on the spot, he was barely able to stay in front of the snakes.

    As the fog began to thicken, both Aiden and Hana could hear a noise. It was the sound of rushing water. As they approached a river, the snakes had finally gained on them. With no choice, as they were backed into the river and had no hope of crossing, Aiden jumped in. Three snakes jumped after them as the rest of the pack followed on land. The snakes... were able to swim, good too. Aiden had lost all hope, the river was their domain. He once again put his sister''s head to his chest and put his back to the snakes. All three attacked, while two bit into his left arm and one went around to try and reach Hana.

    "Agh! Hana hold onto me! Don''t you dare let go!" (Aiden)

    His sister was crying louder than he had ever heard before, although he could not see tears on her face due to it being completely soaked in water. As she wrapped her arms around him, Aiden''s fears had came true. The river was soon going to empty out... into the waterfall. When she told him earlier the direction the waterfall was in, and saw that the current ran in that direction, he had figured... but he had hoped against it.

    Bearing through the pain of the snakes repeatidly tearing into his flesh on his left arm and neck, he grabbed the snake that had went around him. Since it was far too thick to grab with one hand, all he could do was push it away with his terribly controlled mana. All it did was buy time for his gamble.

    The water fall.

    As he put his hand over his sister''s head and turned, they began to fall. The snake he pushed had gotten out of the river, as one detatched from his arm. The other snake was too coiled around his arm to notice, and it had fallen with them. As it quickly unwrapped and detatched from him, it landed on a rock and splattered. Aiden had no time to celebrate, as he put his back to the ground as it was the only thing he could do to try and protect his sister. They hit the water with a deffening *SMACK*.

    Pain rushed through his back as it grew sore. It reminded him of when he first learned how to swim, and his mother pushed his father into the lake, causing him to do a back smacker. His father complained that it stung... but Aiden''s pain was multiplied by the speed he had been going due to gravity. His whole back grew numb. He took the brunt of the blast, but his sister still took quite a bit of damage.

    He did not feel like moving, or maybe he simply couldn''t.

    I wonder how peaceful it would be to just sink to the bottom of the lake and never come back up... (Aiden)

    As such thoughts ran through his mind, his sister grabbed him and raised him to the surface. Normally, there was no she could pick him up, but since they were underwater it was rather easy for her since he was already practically floating. As they reached the shore, she could not pull him anymore and let him go on the very edge.

    She was still crying... only this time it wasn''t totally out of fear. She was looking at her brother. His white shirt was terribly torn and stained pure red. As he mustered the strength to prop himself against a nearby rock and tear the rest of it off... his sister''s cries grew even louder.

    His arm... was missing most of it''s skin. It was terrible, and looked like some kind of animal had been attacked. His flesh was torn off and pure red blood, bone, and muscle mixed together. With his fingers, he followed a long trail of torn flesh from the razor sharp scales that spread up to his neck and ended at his eye. As his fingers reached his eye, he prodded it with his fingers. Terrible pain ran through his entire body as his adrenaline finally wore off. Before he could even let out a scream of pain, his body fel far to heavy and he slowly shut his eyes. The last thing he saw was his sister crying over top of him.

    <hr />

    Sorry for the shorter chapter and cliffhanger, but I plan to release one more chapter later tonight :)

    Look forward to it!? Please clap.

 Chapter 6: Guardian

    Chapter 6

    <hr />

    Quinton walked across one of the rope bridges that connected the plaza and the section where he and his family live. He had just got done buying some material that they use to craft formula at home after Alejana had requested it of him. He had also found a beautiful sapphire ring that had been sold by a dwarvern merchant a while back. It wasn''t all that common for lower level families to give rings to their spouses, but he had recently come into some money after a scouting quest and had decided to splurge a little. He could not wait to see the look on his wife''s face when she saw the ring that was so clear it matched her eyes.

    As he was walking, he heard two elven women talking. He had managed to pick up something along the lines of ''blue haired boy and sister''. He laughed as he could only imagine what trouble his mischievous daughter had gotten his son into this time. As he walked through the door, he noticed his wife''s face. It was pure panic.

    "Alejana. ALEJANA! Are you okay? Do you need a doctor?" (Quinton)

    "Please, have you seen the children?" (Alejana)

    "Wha- they aren''t home yet? It''s pitch black out and it looks like a storm is coming!" (Quinton)

    As he threw down his backpack and picked up his coat and walked out the door,

    "It''s probably nothing, don''t panic. I''ll go get them. Stay here." (Quinton)

    "Please, I believe in you." (Alejana)

    Although he said it was probably nothing, he wasn''t too sure. Although his daughter always got her brother into all kinds of trouble, he knew that Aiden was responsible enough to come home before dark. It worried him that he was not home yet... something wasn''t normal. As he ran out the door, he went back towards where he had heard the two women talking.

    ***

    "-din." Slowly, a voice brought Aiden back to his senses.

    "Din-Din! Please! Get up!" (Hana)

    He woke up to his panic sister screaming at him. He could not see out of his left eye, although he knew that it was still there due to the fact that he had touched it earlier. Although it was there, it seemed to be cut beyond functioning. The pain throughout his body was unbarable, and he looked down at his arm to see that his torn shirt had been wrapped around it in an attempt to stop the bleeding, although it was already soaked and was practically useless. He took off the makeshift bandaging and replaced it with less sloppy ones using one of his pant legs. He could probably stand if he wanted too, but he''d much rather not.

    So troublesome. Hana is all cried out, it looks as though she has been crying for over a few hours. She must be all out of tears, I hope she isn''t hurt. (Aiden)

    "I think, they are here." (Hana)

    At these words, the bushes rattled. Out of the bushes came two more snakes. It seems like these were part of land crew that had split off from the rest of them. In total, his senses had been a little off and there were about seven of them. One had died, while the other two had ran away, so that leaves four left. There''s two more... somewhere.

    The one that had initially attacked them had been at least twenty feet long, and the rest were at 9-15ft long. Due to his photographic memory, the ones that ran away or died were around 12ft, and the ones in front of him were 9 and 10ft long. That left a 15ft and a 20ft somewhere. The 20ft long one seemed to be the leader at first, but it baffled him that the leader was the first to attack. Did snakes even have leaders? It seems unlikely, but their coordination by splitting up earlier seemed like a command was given.

    When it was seven of them there was no hope, but these were the two smallest ones. If he could not beat even these ones, there was no way he could get him and his sister out of here. As the two snakes jumped up, Aiden finally stood up. As he stared at the snake, fear ran through him. Thoughts of it turning his remaining arm into hamburger meat as well ran through his mind. As he took a deep breath, he grabbed a nearby stick with his right arm, he swung it as hard as he could with his enhanced arm. The mana was more controlled than before, since he only put it into the one arm as opposed to his whole body, and the stick cracked in half as it tore through the metal like scales on the first snakes side. The other bit him directly in the left shoulder, but the pain was already so immense that it was like a drop of water in a desert.

    He grabbed the snake with his right hand, and since it was the smallest of the group it wasn''t too hard. As he did, he directed the mana directly into his fingers as opposed to his arm, and squeezed the snakes head. It squirmed for a bit and tried to wrap its razor sharp scales around Aiden''s arm, but its skull was crushed before it could. Shards of bone cut into his hand, but he did not care as he through the snake that was taller than him to the floor. His sister looked into her brother''s eyes that were full of nothing but hate, and involuntarily squeaked out of fear. She knew that he was protecting her, but she couldn''t help but crumble under the immense pressure he released. With one arm glowing in bright blue light, he ran forwards to the rustling of the bushes, with nothing but his bare hand, he took on the remaining ''boss'' snakes.

    ***

    *POV Quinton*

    As the girls specified, I jumped over the wall at the location the kids climbed through. Using wind magic, I dispersed the fog. After a bit of searching, I found a trail of blood. I stopped dead in my tracks. There was... too much. It felt as though the person that was bleeding would die soon. The fear of my dead children shocked me. However, I did not have the time to be shocked. Even if there was a 1% chance that they were alive, even if there was less than that... I would do whatever it takes to find them. I followed the trail to a river. This river lead directly to a nearby waterfall, but we tend to stay away from it due to a terrible creature that sleeps at the bottom. I hope to god they did not get swallowed up by that. I followed the river down to the waterfall and stopped at the cliff.

    Tears formed in the sides of my eyes. Surrounded by dead Rank D creatures known as Razor Boas, was my son. Bloodied and battered, his left arm looked as though it had been gnawed on as a toy for a dog. He was passed out on the floor, as my daughter remained virtually untouched. She was asleep on his bloodied chest, and it looked as though her puffy eyes had seen a little too many tears. With both of them passed out from exhaustion (and one from blood loss) I hurried home with them on my shoulders using wind magic.

    ***

    Quinton burst through the door to the doctors home. It was the dead of midnight, and it raining bullets, so the sleeping doctor was instantly woken up from his happy dream. As he awoke, he saw Aiden. Getting up without saying words, he pushed the plates and cups on the table to the floor. He put down a white sheet as the still panting Quinton softly placed his son on the table. While nodding,

    "Doctor... please. I''m begging you." (Quinton)

    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    As he said these words, he left with his daughter to go home and get her to sleep before coming back. As he got home, his wife was crying. He had been gone for over an hour, so she must have correctly assumed that the kids were not in the town. Their town was fairly large for being hidden and secluded, but for the most part, everyone knew each other or at least knew of each other. It wasn''t hard to find one of your children just by asking around, so the fact that it had taken more than an hour meant that they were outside of the walls in this storm.

    Alejana''s face brightened as she saw Quinton walk in with a sleeping and virtually unharmed Hana. Her clothes were torn and she had some scratches and bruises but she was fine. Just as she was about to relax, she noticed,

    "Ai-Aiden. Where''s Aiden!?" (Alejana)

    He cast his gaze to the floor.

    "He''s alive." (Quinton)

    "Where is he!?" (Alejana)

    "At the doctors house." (Quinton)

    Hearing these words, her eyes began to flow tears again. She rushed out the door without even grabbing her shoes, wearing nothing but a plain long white negligee. Quinton quickly ran out to stop her.

    "I-I don''t think you want to see him." (Quinton)

    "Wh-what the hell is that supposed to mean! He''s my son!" (Alejana)

    As they went through the rain and approached the doctor''s house, again Quinton tried to stop her.

    "Honey, i''m serious. You should give him time before yo-" (Quinton)

    Slapping him, she walked past him and opened the door to the doctors house. As she did, she saw her son. She instantly fell to her knees.

    I-I tried. (Quinton) As he rubbed his red cheek, he followed his wife in and placed his hand on her back.

    Alejana looked over her son. He was naked and lying on the table, and he had multiple bite marks across his body. What did the most damage though, was the snakes scales themselves. His right side was mostly unharmed besides for his hand, which still had the snake''s skull fragments stuck in it. However, his left arm.

    She threw up. She was ashamed, but she threw up. All of her dinner was put into an empty bucket after looking at her sons arm. The skin was torn off, and it honestly looked like some kid''s first attempt ad butchering an animal. It was torn to shreds, as pumping veins, bones, and muscles were all visible. Quinton held her hair back and patted her on the back as she emptied her stomach.

    She puked at the sight of her own son''s injuries, and she hated herself for it. However that wasn''t the end of it. A long cut wrapped around his shoulder and reached all the way up to his neck. It split into three, and twirled around his neck as if it were actually three skinny snakes. They all met up again on the left side of his chin before going up past his eye. His eyeball was there, but it was not salvageable. One of his beautiful eyes were cut in half, and it was completely red now. The most the doctor could do was disinfect it and Aiden could keep it, but he could never see out of it again. Instead of the beautiful white and blue eyes, the entire eyeball besides the pupil was red. His eyelid was slit as well, the cut reaching just past his eyebrow, and it would probably take an effort to even open it.

    The doctor had stopped the bleeding on his arm, and it had already started healing. The bone and muscles healed and were all intact, but the skin hardly grew back and it still looked disgusting.

    "His eye, he can''t use it anymore. The eyeball itself is okay but it is not going to transfer any light to his brain. He will probably have trouble opening it anyway, so it will most likely be closed. Also... his arm. I don''t think that it is going to look any better than this. I prioritized his muscles and bone, so it should be functional but..." (Doctor)

    They all cast their gazes to his arm. Alejana gagged again, but held it in. Quinton looked away as he pat his wife on the shoulder.

    "You can sew right? I would suggest getting a sleeve or something for him. I-I''m sorry to say this but... I don''t mean to sound rude but... Look. I- I don''t think anyone would want to see that." (Doctor)

    Although it seemed rude... he was right. Aiden was already an outcast... now he looked even more intimidating and it looked like he had been through a war.

    My... baby (Alejana)

    "He is stable. He will live, and he will be able to function just like normal, minus the eye. I-I''m sorry. He... he is a brave boy. Seeing as Hana was unharmed and all of his injuries are focused on one side, I can only assume that he protected her with not only his power, but when that failed he used his body. This boy is sure to grow up to be a great protector." (Doctor)

    "Of course, he is my son after all... but Doctor, I''m sorry as well. I broke into your house in the middle of the night, it''s just... we trust you the most. You''re the only person i thought of. I know you are supposed to be retired but... I''m sorry I was selfish." (Quinton)

    As Quinton pulled out his coin purse, the doctor held up his hand.

    "I''m not going to allow a child to die in my own home. I didn''t do it for money, I did it because it was right. Please, just take care of my upcoming grand children in your daycare and i''d be more than happy. I would like it if you could bring him in for monthly checkups... although preferably not at two in the morning next time..." (Doctor)

    "You sure know the right times to joke huh. Haha, it''s okay. No offense taken, you saved my son. We would be glad to take care of your grandchildren for free, but even that isn''t enough. If there is ever anything we may do for you please let us know." (Quinton)

    On that note, the night ended. Alejana stayed up creating a skin tight black sleeve for Aiden''s terribly torn arm. When she finished she went into Aiden''s bedroom and saw her husband asleep in a chair next to the bed. While smiling, she kissed Aiden on the forehead. Although he was asleep, he winced at the touch, causing Alejana to jerk back. Tears formed in her eyes but did not flow, and she apologized. The mental trauma on the children may be greater than any physical pain...

    In his dreams, Aiden was afraid. Snakes... snakes were everywhere. He was in a bath of snakes. His sister was sinking, further and further. His mother was sinking and his father dove in after her. Everyone he knew was sinking in the sea of razor sharp snakes, as he was powerless. Powerless... powerless... he had to become stronger. As soon as he awoke he would train both body and mind to the limits.

    He convinced himself. He repeated it over and over again in his dream.

    ''Never again, never again.''

    <hr />

    Eaton here. Sorry for going all typical tragedy eye loss on you guys, I don''t mean to be a fuxxkboi. Hopefully you like the chapter and sorry for the poor quality of the last one.

    Like I said, hope you enjoyed.

    please clap.

 Chapter 7: Teacher

    Chapter 7

    <hr />

    The first to wake up was obviously Hana. She had slept for two days. When she first woke up, her parents were both so happy. She cried for three hours while in the arms of her parents before she fall asleep again. She woke up a few hours later to some food, and after eating she was questioned.

    "Can-can I see him?" (Hana)

    "Do you not want to talk about it?" (Quinton)

    At these words, memories of ''it'' flashed through her head.

    "Din-Din warned me. He said it was dangerous. I-I made him. It''s my fault. Where is he?! Is he okay?!" (Hana)

    "He is just resting, and his eye and arm are healing. Although they won''t be the same, he is healthy again... for the most part." (Alejana)

    At the word arm, Hana winced. Memories of it flashed through her mind. She remembers watching as her brother put his arm over her head, blocking the snakes from getting to her. If she wasn''t there, he could have gotten away... or rather he wouldn''t be there in the first place. Even when it came down to it, and all he wanted to do was rest, she woke him up. She was scared, and she heard the noises. She knew that he was injured and could barely even move, yet she woke him up anyway. She couldn''t fight or do anything, the entire time all she could do was rely on her brother. Even though he was on the verge of death, she woke him up and sent him to fight. Like some cruel leader that only cared about her own life.

    As the gruesome memories came back one by one, and she watched her brothers arm be torn apart like it was put through a meat shredder while he paid no mind to it and kept on protecting her, she began to breathe heavily. She knew that he felt it, but he had no idea what had happened as he only looked at her.

    "We, we were having so much fun at first.... it''s... im.." (Hana)

    Useless. That''s the word that ran through her mind.

    "I''m useless." (Hana)

    "So become stronger." (Quinton)

    This immediate reply, as if he anticipated that she would say that, both Hana and Alejana looked up.

    "If you want to protect yourself so no one else has to, or even protect others when they cant do it themselves, become stronger. Study magic, and become stronger. That''s all you can do. Listen Hana, we love you. Aiden loves you. We don''t think bad of you, so please... talk to us about it when you''re ready. Until then, go to your brother." (Quinton)

    Alejana, who had not expected such wisdom, looked at her husband with surprised and loving eyes. After looking towards her daughter, who got out of her seat and began running towards the room, she could only smile. Although all she had done was cry since the accident, for the first time... she smiled.

    ***

    After about a week, Aiden woke up. Without treatment, he surely would have been dead... was healing magic really that strong or was that doctor something else?

    He woke up to a calming feeling, and he opened his eyes to see his mother. His mother was bed bathing him, and right now she was scrubbing his torn up and ugly arm. The pain was completely gone, but it still looked rather... gross. His mother''s facial expression was relaxed as she was humming an old nursery song that used to put him to sleep. She didn''t seem to mind looking at it anymore.

    Although it didn''t hurt, he wondered if it functioned properly. Nothing felt odd about it, and he squeezed his hand into a fist and released it. It seemed as though it was in perfect condition... besides the looks. He looked on the bed table and his eyes fell upon the home made black sleeve. He assumed that it was to cover up his arm, and he smiled upon the thoughtfulness of his mother.

    When he had squeezed his hand into his fist, his mother had looked up. As she saw her son looking over at the table and smiling, she burst into tears. She dropped her wash cloth and jumped onto him, giving him a hug.

    Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a moving shadow. Figures of snakes ran through his mind as he instinctively threw a hand out in retaliation. While heavily panting as his pupils dilated, his arm was about to strike his own mother''s gut. Luckily, she noticed his face as she quickly stopped herself. Upon realizing how terrified her son was of his own mother... her tears grew. Happy he woke up but sad at his trauma, she only wanted to reach out and touch him.

    Realizing the situation, Aiden quickly shook his head and hugged his mother. They sat like that for a while before they both, at the same time, said ''Im sorry''.

    After snapping back to reality and realizing he was at least safe in his own home, Aiden calmed down. After both saying sorry at the same time, they began to laugh and cry at the same time.

    "I''m so glad that you''re okay... my little hero." (Alejana)

    Due to the sound of the laughter, the door quickly burst open as the other two family members ran into the room.

    "Aiden!/Din-Din!" (Quinton/Hana)

    As they both dove onto the bed and dog piled on the recent coma patient, Aiden could only help but laugh. After a while,

    "M-my lungs are collapsing." (Aiden)

    His usual indifferent tone, that only his close ones could tell was filled with love right now, brought happiness to his family. His sarcastic humor had been missed for over a week.

    "No really. Dad." (Aiden)

    "Ahh.." (Quinton)

    ***

    Shortly after the reunion, somehow the talk tuned into an argument about school. Although she had a point, his mother was stressed that her son who had just woken up wanted to go back right away. Although Aiden loved his mother, she always was majorly protective. While what she said made a lot of sense, the doctor seemed to have done a wonderful job. Aiden felt like a million coins. He looked into his father''s eyes, who in return looked at his... eye. After their silent exchange ended, Quinton turned to Alejana.

    "Let him go. Personally, I have returned from the brink of death plenty of times from that doc in my life, and I always felt perfect when I woke up. I''m telling you, that doctor is amazing. Aiden will be perfectly fine, I think we should let him go." (Quinton)

    Nice assist, Dad! (Aiden)

    Hana, who was just happy that Aiden was okay, twirled her long blonde hair as her legs dangled off the side of the bed. After another smaller argument broke out, Quinton finally convinced her to let him go to school. The night passed without any other major issues, and they happily ate dinner together. To Quinton and Alejana, this dinner meant the world to them. Although it had only been a little over a week, it felt like forever since they last ate dinner together as a family.

    "Aiden, your 8th birthday is coming up in a month. I know that it is a little early, but what would you like to have for dinner?" (Alejana)

    At these words, he looked down at his bowl. They were eating a soup that mostly consisted of garden vegetables. Although he loved his mother''s cooking since it was made with love, he was different than an elf. Elves, in his eyes, were weird. It was like their tongues were completely different. Although elf cooking tastes good enough, what he really wanted was what he had only read about in books.

    "Meat." (Aiden)

    At these words, both Alejana and Quinton stopped eating and looked at each other. It seemed that they had grown so attached to their adopted son that they completely forgot he wasn''t an elf. Although he got enough protein through soy and other beans and nuts, if he wanted to get stronger... it all came down to meat. Or at least that''s the conclusion he came to.

    "I''m sorry son. I know you''re not like us, but as long as you live in this house hold, please never think about killing and eating an animal for food. I''m afraid you''re going to have to think of something else." (Quinton)

    ***

    *First time Aiden POV? Be gentle ;) let me know if it doesn''t feel natural.*

    As I walked to school with Hana, I looked at my reflection in the water. Ugh... it is still pretty noticeable. Although the scar that was on my neck and upper arm were still very prominent due to the razor sharp snake wrapping around me, the one on my face had gotten thinner. The snake had only nicked me on the face when we fell off the waterfall, so the face scar was a lot more shallow. Still, considering it was so sharp that it left a life time permanent mark just by barely touching me, I have no idea how I got out alive. Pure luck. I am currently wearing the black sleeve that mother made me to cover up my scarred arm, as it stretched from my shoulder to my wrist. Using my left hand, which was still fully functional, I held open my left eye lid as I looked at my eyeball. It was still quite red, and the cut hadn''t healed fully, but the doctor had said that it will look relatively normal if I visit him for a few more doses of healing magic. Apparently, with just two doses a week apart, I had already healed this much. Although I couldn''t see out of it again, It could at least look normal.

    Like I said, my arm and neck were probably beyond repair, but my face looked relatively normal. The scar on my face was thin and light. Although it was still very much there and anyone could see it, it didn''t look gross or unnatural anymore. You definitely couldn''t tell that it only happened recently. Man, I owe that doctor big time. If he could take the redness out of my eye, then it would look like I was cut bad with some glass when I was five or so as opposed to ''I fought bare handed against razor sharp snakes''. All in all, I looked normal besides my neck and arm. But it was nothing my long sleeve and white scarf couldn''t fix. We were in the middle of the rainy season right now, so it was rather cold out. There were quite a few people who still wore their scarves, but I will have to find a solution before the dry season comes if I don''t want to stand out.

    School went by like normal, and apparently the elder exempted me from having to take the test. I have never really talked to him, but apparently he heard of the situation and decided that I was strong enough based on that night. It would be troublesome to go in front of everyone, who has already taken their tests, and take mine alone as they watched. I''m thankful to him for getting me out of such a situation. Apparently, various rumors had spread. Not that I care enough to hear about any of them. I shut my surroundings out and put my head on the table. Sometime during my slumber, I felt the presence of my teacher beside me as he tried to give me my built up homework. I think he gave up as he realized I had no intention of doing any of it.

    As I slept through homeroom, it came time to make my way over to magic class. I went outside to head to the public bathroom to relieve myself first, but when I came out... The elder was standing in front of me.

    "Hello, Aiden. You have grown up a lot since the last time I have seen you." (Elder)

    Fake. His smile is fake. He had years of experience on me, but I could tell in a moment. For some reason, he had always avoided me during festivals or speeches. Was he afraid of me or something?

    "Ah. I''m sorry Mr. Elder. I don''t mean to sound rude to someone of your stature, but I have only ever seen you from afar. Have we met before?" (Aiden)

    "Ahh, I heard that your memory was very strong, but obviously it''s foolish to think that you could remember when you were an infant. That makes me kind of sad... I met you when your parents first adopted you, you were tiny then. You were rather cute too, but what is with this cold feeling? Hmm?" (Elder)

    I inwardly clicked my tongue. It seems that he was able to see through my formal front just as easy as I was able to see through his. Well, it was too late to drop it now. I''ll try to play it off. I turned my head to the side in a confused look, and ignored what he had said about my attitude.

    "Ahh, I''m sorry that I do not remember our meeting, but thank you for your compliments." (Aiden)

    "Hmm... how mature for an eight year old. It''s like you''re from a totally different plannet, the children here are all snot nosed brats... although I love them all the same." (Elder)

    I didn''t know what to say, so I ended up just bowing my head and saying thank you.

    "Haha, what a strange child. Never mind all that, what I really came here to talk to you about is your magic. You want to learn more, yes?" (Elder)

    At these words, my ears perked up. The chance to become stronger. The chance to protect myself and my loved ones. Of course I would love to. Although it would give this senile man satisfaction, I had no choice but to agree.

    "Well then follow me, you will not be going to the same class with those children." (Elder)

    ***

    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    The school is really just a bunch of different tree houses connected through rope bridges rather than one large building. It was like this for mostly all of the buildings in this town. However, the building that the elder led me to was on the very edge of the school area, and it was different than the rest of the buildings. This building, on the corner of the school campus, was not in a tree but was on the ground. There were few buildings that were on the ground in this village, and the only ones that were normally housed soldiers or the elderly.

    When we walked in there was a human. She was younger, and seemed to be in her early twenties. I quickly turned around and faced the elder.

    "You''re keeping two humans?! Does the village know about this?" (Aiden)

    I was shocked. I didn''t think that there were other humans living among us. Nobody had ever talked about it, and it could cause a huge uproar. The capital of elves accepted most races, but this village was hidden because the people living here would rather be secluded. The elves that lived here protected this Great Forest, and honestly only elves had such favor with nature to be able to do such a thing.

    "Of course not, and don''t you dare tell anyone! I pulled a lot of strings to get her to come here in order to teach you, so don''t ruin this perfect chance. If you want to become stronger, this is all you have." (Elder)

    Now that he mentions it, she probably arrived recently. I have never seen this building, and it looks rather new. Well, it''s not like I cared what happened to the village as long as my family is okay. So I stepped into the classroom. As I walked in, the door shut, and the elder was nowhere to be found. Did he really run away?

    The woman in front of me had long black hair that complimented her purplish eyes. She was at normal height for a human of her age, and this was the first time i''ve seen another human. Unlike most women in this village, she had larger breasts. Noticing my gaze, she spoke up.

    "If it turns out you''re some pervy little brat then i''m not teaching you. I don''t have any attention to be harassed by someone weaker than me just because that old man pays me." (???)

    Ugh. I can already tell that she is going to be troublesome.

    "Breasts are just flabby. Your ass is as flat as this wall, so you have no need to worry about me being attracted to you." (Aiden)

    Maybe I went a little too far. Every boy in my class always talked about human or beast-kin women and how their breasts were larger than elves. There was a lot of art in our study books, showing both genders of all the races listed, and they all went gaga over it. I never really saw the attraction, i''d much prefer them smaller. It seems like they would only get in the way during a fight anyway.

    "Listen kid, we are going to be stuck with each other for a while now... so I don''t think you want to piss me off on the first day. If you want to get stronger then shut up. Let me tell you about myself. My name is Kana, although I doubt that you''ve heard of me in this dinky little backwater village. I am the youngest person to achieve Rank S mage, and I now work in the royal guard. The only reason that i''m here teaching a single kid like you is because it seems like the human king owes your elder a favor. I hate nobles and snotty brats, and I enjoy magic and astronomy. Your turn." (Kana)

    Ugh she is bitchy. She is so full of herself as well. I understand I have to deal with her if I want to get more powerful but...

    "*Sigh* My name is Aiden. From what i''m told, I was adopted by elves here and I''ve lived here as long as I can remember. I like sleeping and reading, and I hate noisy and vain people." (Aiden)

    Taking another subtle stab at her, I walked towards the center of the room. It was a lot like a normal classroom, but there were no desks or chairs.

    "Well, Aiden. There will not be any sleeping in this class. If you want to become stronger, then you are going to stand during lectures." (Kana)

    Oi, are you kidding me right now. What is this all about?

    "There is no way that you are going to become stronger if all you do is sleep. Also, we probably wont be using this classroom very much, so follow me." (Kana)

    As she grabbed her coat, she pushed me aside and pulled on the rug in the center of the room, revealing a trapdoor. As she opened it, she took another look at me.

    "What is this?" (Aiden)

    "We are going outside the walls, so get a move on" (Kana)

    No way no way. Not at my current strength. I need to learn how to use my magic first! The area outside the walls is full of magical beasts. There are snakes, bears, deer, snakes, wolves, snakes, snakes, snak-

    "Come on! We are going hunting!" (Kana)

    "Hunting!? For what!" (Aiden)

    "Anything. You''re far to skinny for a human. Among the elves your age you must be fine, but you will probably get beaten up by kids your age. We are going to get some meat. M-E-A-T." (Kana)

    I paused for a second. I don''t really care about the rules or anything, it''s just I would prefer not to do anything else that dirties my parent''s name.

    "Woah- wait a minute. You mean you''ve never eaten meat?" (Kana)

    "You don''t have to answer, I can tell. If you have had it before then you wouldn''t even be arguing right now. Meat is amazing, the flavor and juiciness cant compare to the dry beans that you have been living off of." (Kana)

    "Fine. If it will make me stronger in the end then I guess it can''t be helped." (Aiden)

    At these words, I followed her down the hatch as we walked down the tunnel leading to the outside. When the tunnel ended, there was another hatch. This time, it opened up under a bush. We walked out into the open forest, and embraced the nature. Kana stood in the wind as she welcomed the fresh air, as her hair lightly flowed backward. The wet dew of the long grass made the ankle parts of my pants wet.

    "Ahhh~ this is the stuff kid. I''ve been stuck inside for days because that old man doesn''t have the balls to tell his citizens about me." (Kana)

    It was a very nice day out. It had rained the night before, but it was rather sunny out... although it was still a bit chilly. It was refreshing, and the singing birds lightened my mood a little. This woman made me angry, but now she was acting like a child as she clasped her hands with glee. Although her foul mouth was still a problem, she seemed more approachable. When I thought about her as the students that never treated me as an equal, she at least became easier to deal with.

    After she led me through the forest, we eventually reached an open plain. Standing in the center was a beautiful doe. Moments such as these makes me wish that I was an elf so that I could get it to come towards me. Just as I had such thoughts, an arrow of fire shout out from Kana''s palm. It pierced a spot in the torso just above it''s front leg, killing it before it could let out a cry.

    "Bulls eye! Right through the heart." (Kana)

    As she said these words, she hopped out of the bushes and ran towards the animal. I quickly followed her, and we soon stood over the beautiful corpse.

    "Since we cant carry it all back, we are going to just take some with us. Luckily it is rather small, so we wont be wasting much meat in the first place. Watch carefully, I''m going to begin gutting it. This skill will prove useful in the future i''m sure." (Kana)

    She took out a knife and began to cut open the torso. I was amazed at her swift movements, and how she seemed to know where everything was. I watched intently as she pulled out each of the organs, and eventually she pulled out what used to be the heart. It was now just a bunch of torn meat after her fire bolt passed through it, but it was still fascinating. The way she separated the meat from the bones and organs was engraved in my mind.

    "Most kids your age would be totally grossed out by this you know... yet you''re smiling. You know you seem really weird right now right?" (Kana)

    "Aren''t you smiling as well?" (Aiden)

    It was true, her smile was probably even bigger than mine.

    "Well maybe we both are a little strange huh?" (Kana)

    At these words, she patted me on the head with her blood soaked hand before wrapping up the meat. It seemed like she was a totally different person when she was not cramped inside that little house, and maybe she wasn''t so bad. Although she was strict, she acted like a child sometimes. Maybe i''ll have to reevaluate her.

    Before we left she burned the body and bloody mess, claiming that it would be bad if the elven scouts found it. We retreated back into the forest before she stopped to light a fire. She made three rock spikes using magic, and placed them on top of the fire. After placing the meat on top of the make shift grill top, she let me sit down for the first time. She sat on the other side of the fire as she watched the meat.

    "Hey, how old are you?" (Kana)

    "I''m turning eight soon. Why?" (Aiden)

    "Hooh, you seem a little older. Although back where i''m from, all of the noble''s kids that I deal with are snotty and spoiled." (Kana)

    I didn''t reply. I normally don''t tend to reply to someone unless I feel the need to or I want them off my back, but for some reason, I didn''t mind if she went on.

    "Although I said that I was forced to, I gladly took the offer to come here. It''s nice to get a break from the hustle and bustle of the city, and everyone in the noble school is so rude. There are of course exceptions, but it''s still really stressful. I miss things like this, it was fun." (Kana)

    "Yeah. I normally don''t like the outside... but this is... okay." (Aiden)

    "Do you go outside the walls often?" (Kana)

    As she asked this question, she sat up and flipped the meat with a stick. The sizzle of juices hitting the fire could be heard and the smell of the meat made my stomach grumble.

    "...once." (Aiden)

    Other than when I was adopted, there was only that one time i''ve gone outside. The time I should have stopped my sister, the time that because of my poor judgement, I almost lost her. It was the reason that I need to get stronger.

    "I meant to ask you this, but what''s with your eye? And that sleeve on your arm?" (Kana)

    I paused for a moment. Does she really need to know? She is getting to personal, even though I just met her. Although it was nice to hear about life outside the walls, she didn''t need to tell me all of that, so why should I tell her?

    As she saw my reaction, she sighed.

    "-Oh! The meat is done, you ready for it?" (Kana)

    As she skewered the pieces of meat and set them on a cloth, she handed me one.

    "Although it goes better with vegetables, eat it. Magic wont always cut it, so you need to get stronger in the body as well." (Kana)

    As I took the meat, the aroma made my mouth began to water. I took a bite, and the juices spread throughout my mouth. Unlike the dry beans, there was an explosive and wild feeling flavor that took me by surprise. As the tender meat of the female doe melted in my mouth, I couldn''t help but let out a few words.

    "... so good." (Aiden)

    "Right?!" (Kana)

    ***

    After eating until my stomach was full, an overwhelming sense of fatigue swept over me. It was a nice kind of fatigue, and my whole body felt warm. After gaining Kana''s permission, I fell asleep. The next time I woke up, I was being carried towards the tunnel over her shoulders as she hummed a song. The sky was already turning dark, and I quickly smiled as I fell back asleep.

    <hr />

    In the future, I dont think that I am going to make it first person. It seems weird making an indifferent character when you can read all of his thoughts, and It also doesnt seem like he is eight. In the future I think that I am going to do third person.