No. 1
By Akanji
- 195 reads
No. 1
The red, luminescent sun shone through the canopy of the evergreen; birds sang their songs in unison, as if the co- existed as one being, like the forest itself. Each vine, each root, each leaf, had it's own character, but they were all connected at the heart of the forest. If you listened closely, you could hear the slow, rythmetic hum of each tree, their hearts beating in unison, and this connection provided them with a way to communicate better; this kind of power humans will never know because greed and selfishness took the place communication, and more importantly, community.
Along the outskirts of the evergreen, just a little ways inside of it, a young boy crouched low in the grass, still and silent, as if he himself were a tree, unmoving, even when a small, harmless garden snake slithered slowly by his black leather boot, his hazel brown eyes locked onto the grazing deer, whom warily looked around herself, though there was no threat. The young boy didn't look upon the deer like she was food, but as if they were equals, and he was merely marveling at the wondrous, beyond beautiful creature. It's shiny, light brown coat glistened against the sun peeking through, not a single flaw- even the long black line that went down her back seemed perfect. It's brown eyes were filled with such wisdom that the young man could never even begin to grasp, never even understand- if he were to know what this deer knew, he would be the wisest man in the world.
His breath caught as the deer looked up, flexing it's stern muscles as it called, the noise so beautiful, the young boy couldn't help but smile, especially when a fawn slowly trotted over to it's mother, nuzzling his head in her neck. She insisted that he graze here- that it was safe to eat, and he began to graze. The young boy reached slowly for his backpack, his hand coming to a stand still as the mother deer looked towards him warily, her eyes meeting his and holding it for a moment. The young boy reasoned that what the mother deer saw through her eyes was a still tree, or a bush, not a fifteen year old boy, but her eyes were so filled with knowing and wisdom, he swore she actually saw through his disguise.
She looked away.
The young boy proceeded with reaching for his backpack, slowly opening it, his eyes not leaving the mother deer and her fawn as he pulled out a bag of apples. He stood, slowly, knowing the doe's wary eye was on him, though she was looking a different direction, and crept closer, pulling an apple from the basket and holding it out. Both the fawn and the doe looked at him, suspiciously, but the didn't move, they continued to graze. He crept closer, hesitating when the doe made a small noise in the back of her throat; on a thought, he set a few of the apples, three to be exact, down before him and stepped away, putting a set of apples down at each foot he stepped back, slowly, as to not frighten the deer. When he was a good measure away, the fawn took the first step towards the apples, sniffing them, as if the young boy had poisoned them; he looked up at his mother.
The doe silently moved towards the apples, sniffed them, than began to nibble at one, pushing the other two towards the doe, whom began to nibble happily. Slowly, they moved up to the next set, and then the next set, until they were at the last set, a foot away from him.
He slowly crept forward, and the mother deer twitched, momentarily stopping from eating the apple, but she relaxed as he came to a stand still. The young boy sat down in front of them, pulling the last two apples from his bag and outstretching his hand so that they could eat from his hand. The mother deer exhaled deeply and looked him directly in the eye, which he met with as much intensity, and for a moment, he felt as if he could read her thoughts; she did not fear him. She stepped forward, opening her mouth to take the apple, but before she did, she stiffened, looked up, behind the young boy and stepped back.
The young boy looked behind him, almost immediately catching sight of what had the deer in fright, "Deer. Only good for making a nice dinner." A young girl, of equal age, stepped from behind a tree, her arrow aimed on the doe, "I swear, you're more of a girl than me, Aiden."
"Because I care for the world and the creatures in it?" Aiden stood up and put himself between the arrow and the deer.
"Move, bonehead." The girl grunted as he didn't move and lowered her bow, hushing her voice down to a more relaxed tone, "Aren't you hungry? Surely you can't survive on cabbages and carrots and peaches and all that healthy stuff alone. Even if you protect it now, what's the point? It's going to die eventually, and for what purpose should it live on? What good could it do for you besides surficing it's hunger? Just step aside."
"No. I don't care what you think, but every living thing needs a chance at life, no matter how small, how inferior, how ugly," Aiden stood his ground, bringing he tone down to a soft whisper as the doe began to paw at the ground anxiously, "And don't you ever call anything useless! Everything has a purpose, and maybe this deer might never pay me back for giving her such a wonderful treat, but I don't care. I did something for her, and that's all that matters. I feel good for being selfless."
"Oh, you are so wishy washy!" The girl put her bow and the arrow that was in it into her quiver, "I'll just come back and shoot the damn deer anyway." She grumbled.
"Nelly," Aden warned.
Nelly grunted as she rolled her hands through her short, silky black hair, "What? I like meat! Is that such a big deal?"
Aiden turned and petted the deer, his body only half turned, because, though Nelly was his sister, and most of all his twin, he didn't trust her to pull a fast one on him and shoot the deer while his back was turned and unaware, "No, of course not... That's just your preferred.. Taste. I do not look down upon you for it."
"Ugh, okay, let's go before I kill myself over how wishy washy you are and before you start preaching about animal life and the trees all being connected and who knows what else." Nelly grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the deer, "Say 'good-bye, deer'."
The deer looked into Aidens eye as she turned silently away, as if she were telepathically telling him 'thank you'. He smiled and turned away, sighing in content as he let the cool, gentle breeze blow through his dark brown hair. "Good- bye, deer." He laughed as Nelly made a disgruntled noise deep down in her throat.
"Tsk tsk, your late again, Aiden."
Aiden took a seat at his placemat next to Nelly, who looked up at him with a disappointed gaze. She had a right to be disappointed, he was always late, and she was always on time; Uncle Jack often called her "Little miss perfect" because she always had perfect timing and did everything with great precision. Aiden, on the other hand, was a slow learner; only thing he had against her was his stealth- and it didn't take long for everyone to discover this talent of his, having been terrified out of their wits when he suddenly appeared behind them, "I'm sorry."
"Since your birthday is tomorrow, I wont punish you today," Marcion, their young, guileless home school teacher whom lived on the farmstead along with Aiden, Nelly, Uncle Jack and Aunt Sabrina, shook his head, "But expect double the punishment the day after your birthday." He smiled widely, his golden eyes shining thoughtfully at his little plan, "So' I suggest you don't be late the day after your birthday, because that will be a pain, hm?"
"Yes, sir."
"You're a bright boy, you know that?" Marcion's right eyebrow raised approvingly.
"Yes, sir."
A small smile played on Marcions lips, "Boy, you don't have to always say 'yes, sir', 'no, sir'. I have no clue where you got that proper stuff," He laughed, shaking his head, causing his blond hair to fall on his eyes; he quickly brushed it way and looked into Aidens eyes, "How many times do I have to tell you, I may be your teacher, but this aint school. Save that stuff for when you go into town."
Aiden sighed and looked down at his hands, "Sorry, sir."
"There he goes again!" Marcion raised his hands exasperatedly, but he sat down in front of Aiden, a soft smile on his face, "You know, you are just like your father."
Aidens frown lifted slightly.
"But he was more reckless. More of a in-the-heat-of-the-moment kind of guy," Marcion laughed, "But he was respectable. He showed everyone respect as if they were his equal, no matter how low they were."
"He sounds like an elf." Nelly pitched in.
Marcions eyes grew clouded and a shadow fell over his face, "Indeed," Nelly and Aiden looked at each other, making "huh?" expressions, but the both snapped their attention back to Marcion at his next words, "Now, I know you aren't supposed to receive these gifts until the morning of your sixteenth birthday, (tomorrow)," He stood and moved toward a closet, "But, I think you wouldn't mind if I gave you one present today."
"One present?" Nelly asked, squinting her eyes at Marcion.
"From your parents."
Again, Aiden and Nelly shared a glance with one another, reading each others mind, though they were muddled, not sure what to think of this...
"This came with the two of you, around your neck," Marcion held up to identical amulets, and Aiden observed it with awe, taking in the clear, smooth stone that seemed to eradicate with power, "This isn't the gift, but your uncle decided that he should give it to your sixteenth anyway." Marcion looked over at the awestruck Aiden, "Ah, I see that you can feel the power of the stone. This stone," He rubbed it evenly between his two forefingers, "is magick."
"Magic?" Nelly grunted, "Impossible!"
"Not magic, child, magick." Marcion handed then the amulets, "Once you put it on, it's bound to you forever, and it only answers to your touch." He put the necklace around Nellys neck, "This amulet is connected to the amulet Aiden holds in his hands."
"Magic, magick, same difference." Nelly rolled her eyes, but she, too, was captivated by the energy that flowed through the necklace and into her body.
Aiden nodded slowly and looked at the stone, rubbing it between his fingers; he had in his hands a piece of old magick that reflected the old ways... Perhaps his father was an elf, "So, what your saying is I can find Nelly with this, as long as she's wearing the necklace?"
"See?" Macion laughed, "I told you that you're a bright boy!" He moved quickly towards the closet, pulling out a long, thin box, and a shorter, thin box, "These, here, are the real gifts." He handed the long one to Aiden, and the shorter one to Nelly, "Well, don't just stare at me! Open them up!"
Aiden opened the lid of the box and peered in, at a loss for words as he gazed down at the crimson claymore; even Nelly gawked, having pulled out a eloquent bow and a dozen or so arrows.
"Wow." Even Marcion was at a loss for words, "Do you know what that is, boy?"
Aiden shook his head, his eyes not leaving the crimson claymore for a moment, "A claymore?"
"Not just any claymore," Marcion reached out for the claymore, but hesitated over the blade, "May I?" Aiden nodded, slowly, still in utter awe at what sat before him, no mortal man could have possessed such a fine weapon... Marcion ran his hands along the blade, "This is your fathers claymore."
If he was completely awestruck before, now he was mesmerized, his mind trying to grasp at what kind of man his father was, and how he came to possess such a weapon that felt alive, as if it's heart was still beating with the immortal heart of it's previous owner, "My fathers?" He tried to let his mind grasp around the idea.
"Makes my gift look like a piece of dead wood." Nelly whistled.
Marcion finally tore his eyes from the claymore and looked at Nelly's gift, "Are you kidding me? You are just as blessed as Aiden with this gift!" He picked the bow up and brushed his hands against the delicate pattern, "Elves made this bow from the sacred tree, those arrows, too," He pointed towards the arrows, "I suggest you use those carefully, because you have a limited amount of sacred arrows."
"This is... Unreal."
Both Nelly and Marcion turned their heads towards Aiden, his words sounding more like what Nelly would say, "And why do you say this?"
"My father wielded such a powerful weapon, and yet, he is mortal? How can any normal human being wield such a power without going mad?" Aiden pushed the box away, "No, I can't accept this gift... I'm not worthy."
"Says who, bonehead?" Nelly rolled her eyes, trying to be the sympathetic sister that she normally was not, "If father thought you were ready to use such a weapon, than you are. Don't you trust in your, our, fathers choice?"
Aiden gazed down at the shining, crimson claymore, wondering if he really was worthy of such a weapon so fine, so sharp to touch, so warped in magick, that an utter breath of it could drive him mad with power and cause him to lash out on everyone he loved. He looked away, "No. I can't."
"Yes, yes, you can." Nelly touched his forearm, but Aiden brushed it away. She pulled back with a sad sigh and shrugged, mouthing, "your turn," at Marcion, who was already squatting at Aidens side.
"You see this weapon here boy?" Marcion pointed to the weapon, but he kept his eyes on Aidens face, "Hey, look at me when I speak to you!" Aiden recluently looked up at him, "Now, you see that weapon? I want you to look at it, focus on the energy that pours through," Marcion waited patiently as Aiden sighed and gazed at the wonderful, crimson claymore, feeling it's power warp through his body, "That claymore, your fathers, was never once used to harm anyone without justification. Every life it took was no that of a greedy, selfish owner, but of a just, kind owner, who learned to harvests it's powers; but," Marcion began to whisper into Aidens ear, "Your father gave it as much energy of his as he took from it.
He treated the claymore as if it were a living being, his partner for life, his equal in every way." Marcion paused, gazing down at the crimson claymore with a sigh, "If you want, if you are willing, I could teach you how to use this claymore justly, like your father."
"You are wise beyond your years, old man." Aiden smirked, having pulled his gaze from the claymore to Marcion at his offer.
"Who you calling old man?" Marcion shook his head in laughter, letting his blond hair fall over his eyes, "I swear, you are your fathers son."
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