Kylan was perplexed… just who exactly was Feather trying to make him stay with? This crazy girl proposing out of nowhere… the young boy didn’t know how to process it. In fact, Feather shared his exact expression, his nose scrunched up in a very evident scowl as he stared at Iden’s lowered form with her golden ring extended.
“Um. No. I’m not going to marry you, Iden.”
And the woman’s face snapped upwards, immediately storing her ring back inside her satchel before she began approaching closer, hands clasped together as if in prayer, almost like she truly was begging him to marry her. “No, please! I’ll be the best wife! I’ve even developed my strength concept for you!”
“You should do stuff like that for your own sake! I’m not marrying you!” Feather snapped in return, forcing her away from him with a quick bit of telekinesis as Iden wavered in the air.
“No no no, you misunderstand, it’s for us both!! I’m going to be so strong that you’ll need me by your side through thick and thin, through drought and flood! We’ll rely on each other, bathe in each other’s presences, love each other!! Doesn’t that sound even the slightest bit appealing to you?!” she whined, almost like a child throwing a tantrum as her younger brother caught her by her ponytail midair, snagging her wild ginger locks as Feather let go of the telekinesis so that Lian could drag her.
“Hey! Mom told you to put that ring away! Didn’t she tell you to stop proposing to Feather?! He’s already rejected you like a hundred times, you look creepy!” he scolded, Iden looking about ready to burst into tears, her lip quivering with her eyes wide.
“Do I really?? I just want to marry him!”
“And he rejected you already, so quit it! You’re making Feather uncomfortable!” Lian snapped, pointing towards the blond who was now simply staring at the two, rather unimpressed.
But Iden was now fumbling and blubbering, clinging to her brother’s shoulders as she hid behind him, knocking her head into his back with a wail. “Noooo, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to make him uncomfortable! I just figured I should try again, because he might’ve changed his mind!”
“No one’s ever gonna wanna marry you if you ask like that!” Lian accused, Iden becoming even more distressed as Feather gave up a sigh.
“Wahhhh no I don’t want to end up alone!!”
“You’re not gonna end up alone, Iden, you’re only in your early four hundreds,” the miracle worker interrupted, Lian and Iden both turning to look at him as he began his own set of scolding. “Look, I don’t wanna marry you, sorry. I see you like my little sister, and I find it weird since I’ve known you since you were little, okay? That clear? But I still care about you and I’m not uncomfortable, I just need you to cool it,” he affirmed, Iden nodding quickly before Feather shifted a finger towards Lian, who jumped at the sudden attention. “And you! Don’t call your sister creepy, and don’t tell her no one’s ever gonna wanna marry her! That was uncalled for, ya hear me?!”
“Ah, yes Feather… I’m sorry…” Lian pouted, like a puppy who’d just been scolded as Iden kept clinging to his shoulder while chewing her lip.
“Good, glad that’s settled. Now is Emilia home? I have things I need to talk to her about,” he waved his hand, Lian’s head perking up as he shoved his sister off of him, running to go get the door for the man he idolized.
“Mom’s inside! She told me to wait out here for you. Iden should be at work, so I’m assuming she’s skipping to be here right now. You should scold her for that.”
“What?! The bakery gave me permission to leave!! I didn’t skip anything!!” Iden protested, the two immediately sending each other ravaging glares as Feather walked on past.
“Alright, alright, I hear ya, don’t tattle on each other,” he laughed, moving his hand out to instinctively ruffle Iden’s hair the same way he’d ruffled Lian’s, Kylan watching with big blue eyes while attaching himself to Feather’s back. But they soon entered the nice home, Feather looking backwards to welcome Cirrus and the others inside as well. “C’mon, follow me! Don’t stand out there lookin’ silly!”
“Ah, okay…” Cirrus nodded, following along after him as Kya and Leo followed on the rear, making sure to close the door behind them while Lian and Iden ran ahead.
“Mom!! Feather’s here, Feather’s here!!” Iden smiled widely, running along through the house, absolutely not able to stay still for any prolonged period of time as she jumped up and down in the living room. “He’s here, he’s here, isn’t it great?! And he’s brought friends!! Are we gonna cook something nice, should I go start cooking?! I can make cornbread, I’m fantastic at making good cornbread!!” Iden rambled on, Feather giving her a fond smile before he turned to greet Emilia in the living room where she sat on their plush sofa, quilting tools set down in her lap as a patchwork blanket draped down to her feet, the woman greeting her guests with a wide smile.
“Sure, Iden, you can cook whatever you like. If you want the cornbread to be ready today before dinner, you better go and get started right away," she smiled at her daughter, before turning back to the large group in front of her. "But my, Feather, that’s a lot of guests you’ve brought me! I’m counting one, two, three, four, and… oh, hello there! How are you?” she leaned towards Kylan, the boy still stuck to Feather’s side like glue, doing nothing but giving her a firm stare underneath the man’s arm.
It took a bit of coaxing from Feather and a slight push for the boy to step forward, but he still refused to speak as he made eye contact with the woman, feeling like he was in some sort of staring contest that he couldn’t afford to lose. Kylan felt awfully intimidated, being in this big enclosed room and not outdoors somewhere or on an open ship, surrounded by people he barely knew… Feather was the safest person within his vicinity, so he backed up into the man’s front with a hand clutching his shirt, the blond chuckling softly as he ruffled Kylan’s hair.
“This here is Kylan. I’ll be asking you to watch him for the foreseeable future for me, but I’ll come visit frequently to check on him,” Feather smiled, Emilia nodding along as her smile softened towards the boy.
“Is that so? He’s very welcome.”
“Yup… we’re out looking for his mom right now, but… I can’t guarantee we’ll find her anytime soon,” he sighed, Kylan’s expression hardening at the phrase. He was well aware everyone thought his mom was dead. He’d considered it, too. But no, his mom… his mom was far too strong for that. She could command the tides, control the fierce waters, summon hurricanes… she was too strong to have died to a mere sea serpent. It wasn’t possible! She was just as great as Feather, which was why she just had to be alive! Kylan wouldn’t consider anything else!
But Emilia did look friendly, the woman smiling down at him with a fury of bright orange hair and soft green eyes, looking very happy to have him. “Well, you’re just in luck, mister Kylan, but here you’ll have a friend! I have a child who looks to be right around your age… they’re very shy, so I’m afraid they’re off hiding right about now, but how would you like to meet them?” she smiled, Feather’s eyes lighting up as Kylan’s turned more apprehensive.
He’d never actually talked to another kid his age before, and honestly, he didn’t really want to. He much preferred being in the company of adults. Kylan preferred to be around the capable folk, and let’s face it… kids weren’t usually capable. In fact, he wasn’t that capable either, but he wanted to change that, and hanging around incapable kids wasn’t the way to go. Was this family even that capable at all? He didn’t want to compare them to his mother, but she was a pirate who was often framed as the goddess of the sea… they had a lot to live up to.
Though, for whatever reason, Feather seemed excited about it, and squeezed the hands that were placed on Kylan’s shoulders with glee. “That’s right! Their name is Wren, and Emilia’s right, they’re most likely off hiding somewhere… how about you and me go and find them, hm?”
“Are they very good at hiding?” Kylan looked up at him, responding to Feather’s voice with an eager one of his own. He’d stay here if Feather really wanted him to. He understood that his safety was being prioritized here, which was why he was with some seemingly innocuous family stuck in the middle of a village on a backwater planet. He wouldn’t be travelling anymore, and he wouldn’t see the sea again for a while yet if he had to guess, but that was okay. Once he reunited with his mother, he’d be back in action once again, so he was fine waiting for her here.
And Feather smiled, pushing him along as he began leading Kylan around the house. “Yes, Wren is the master at hide and seek! Up we go, this way! Let’s take a little peak everywhere! Look over here, and this is the kitchen… ah, not many hiding places in here, hm… unless you want to check under the sink?”
Their voices were heard clearly from the other room as Feather moved around Iden who was preparing the oven, greeting her with Kylan before they began shuffling around the dining room.
Cirrus watched, slightly perplexed by how good Feather was with children. What he was doing with Kylan now was a good way to, well, first… look for the other kid. And second, show Kylan around the house that he was going to be living in. All while making it something enjoyable and more like a game. But when he turned back to Emilia, he suddenly felt very disrespectful for not having introduced himself yet, even though that should’ve been Feather’s job in the first place, as the one who knew everybody who’d invited them in… but the blond didn’t seem like he was going to do that, and Cirrus heard footsteps thundering up the stairs as Feather led Kylan up onto the second story. But Emilia was still smiling kindly at him, and he had to lower his head to apologize, feeling rather awkward in this entire unfamiliar scenario.
“Ah, hello… um, my name is Cirrus. It’s, ah, nice to meet you,” he fumbled, his visible amber eye glancing up at her as she gave him a wide smile.
“It’s nice to meet you as well, your highness. I’ve been waiting for the day Arcadia would bring you here,” she smiled, Cirrus freezing at the offhand throw of such a powerful name. He couldn’t help but stare at her, wide-eyed and completely stunned as Emilia gave a small chuckle, completely amused with him. “Believe it or not, our family has been housing this young prince off and on for the past four hundred years. You’d think I would’ve pieced together his true identity by now, wouldn’t you? Ah, but, as you’ll probably be staying the night, allow me to show you to a room you can use… I see you have a lot of stuff, but that’s fine, we have plenty of room…”
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“Oh, okay,” Cirrus froze, watching as the woman got up and began leading him upstairs as well, where he saw Feather with another child on his hip, having picked them up and tossed them around while he introduced the tiny thing to Kylan.
Jeez, what an adventure he was about to be on… and this was only step one, wasn’t it? He knew there was a long road ahead of him, and he didn’t know what any of Feather’s training methods were going to entail… actually, how strong even was Feather? He’d been basing all his knowledge off the stories he’d heard of him moving oceans and slaying mythical beasts, but, besides that… he knew very little about Feather, when it came down to it. He wanted to learn more… Cirrus wanted to be able to truly mean it when he said he was Feather’s companion. But oh, did he feel so out of his depth here… in a town that seemed to think so little of him. But what was he supposed to do about it? He couldn’t exactly make the prophecy move any faster… if only this wasn’t his reality, stuck inside a prophecy he knew nothing about… maybe things could’ve been just a bit easier…
. . .
“I’m so tired,” Cirrus confessed in the cozy room he was staying in with Jayce, the women off in their own space next door as his best friend gave him a glance. They’d had dinner, but none of the prince’s party really spoke all too much except for Eve, who seemed to get along pretty well with Iden and Lian right off the bat… it was almost like she’d managed to make herself completely at home in Feather’s little makeshift family. But Cirrus had felt nothing but awkward. He was so relieved when it’d been over, and immediately excused himself off to bed, Jayce following along dutifully as his shadow.
Now in their room, Jayce was chewing on some of the cornbread that he’d brought with him to snack on throughout the night, as he clearly wasn’t going to be sleeping in this unknown space and would instead be keeping guard, watching Cirrus through the dark with canine eyes that were almost glowing green in the dark space. “You can go ahead and complain. Don’t keep it all pent up, Cirrus, that’s not a good thing to do and you know it. Tell me what’s up.”
“Ah, I mean… just everything, I guess,” the prince admitted, hands covering his face as he peaked through his fingers at the wooden ceiling. “Everything happened so fast. We got back from that awful underground laboratory, Feather healed both you and Kya after he woke up, and then we immediately leave the next day after a disaster of a meeting and Lavimo’s fit, and now I’ve just been told Feather is Arcadia and that he’s going to be training me…? I don’t even know how he’s going to do that… it’s all ridiculous,” he groaned, Jayce gnawing at his cornbread with fluffy brown wolf ears perked towards his friend, listening dutifully.
“Yeah, I get it,” he spoke through a mouthful of bread, green eyes flickering towards the window that sat in the very middle of the room above a desk, right where his platter of cornbread sat waiting to be eaten. And Jayce was thinking. He thought a lot, honestly. He was quite the overthinker. People always assumed he was all brawn and no brain the first time they saw him, especially since he could be quite impulsive at times, but once he started thinking, he couldn’t stop. And then he’d start spiraling… and oh boy, things only got worse from there. Cirrus was similar in that regard, except he never had the grit to speak up about his thoughts like Jayce did. Jayce didn’t mind being open about what he was thinking about. That’s where he differed from Cirrus the most.
Ever since they’d been young, Jayce had been the one who acted as Cirrus’ decision maker. Because while he overthought a lot of things, he was ultimately more paranoid than indecisive, and would therefore act to make things safer and better. Cirrus was the opposite. He wasn’t very paranoid at all but was very indecisive, and often just… didn’t make any decisions at all. He’d gotten better about that as they got older, but still, it wasn’t in Cirrus’ nature to be a leader. That’s something Jayce had always believed. This prophecy that expected him to lead the world into a utopia… he didn’t really think that was what Cirrus was all about. Cirrus didn’t have the heart of a leader. Rather, he had the heart of a nurturer. He saw things, imprinted on them, and then wanted to take care of them forever. That’s just what he was like. He didn’t like fighting, he didn’t like arguing over politics, he didn’t like making big decisions… he just wasn’t the type of person Jayce thought of when he heard the word leader. But he didn’t think that was a bad thing. He just thought people were interpreting the prophecy a bit too strictly, rather than interpreting it with Cirrus’ heart and soul in mind…
“Yeah, everything’s been hectic lately. We finally get a moment of peace, and it’s somewhere completely unfamiliar. You’re probably gonna have trouble sleeping tonight, huh?” Jayce spoke, carelessly taking another gnaw of his bread as Cirrus turned to glare at him.
“Well don’t jinx me…” the prince mumbled, Jayce snickering through his food as he took a big swallow.
“Yeah, well, whatever. Lemme tell you what I think,” he began, having situated his thoughts enough to be able to get them out. And Jayce turned to Cirrus with a snarl, something that was habitual for him when he was teasing his friend, before he situated his face into something more serious. “You like Feather, don’t you? Like, you love him. It might not be deep love yet, because let’s face it, you and I both know you don’t know him as well as you’d like to, but we can definitely say you’re very fond of him and are drawn to him. That’s hella obvious, so… and now you know he’s Arcadia, you’re prophesied lover. Which means you’re falling in love with someone who is literally guaranteed to eventually love you back. That should comfort you a bit, yeah? So why doesn’t it?” he asked, Cirrus turning his head back into his hands as Jayce didn’t receive an answer. It left him to snort, and he picked up another slice of cornbread as he continued with what he wanted to say. “In my opinion, it’s because he’s so much stronger than you. You don’t feel like you can compare to him. You’re starting to believe what the village brat said, that maybe the prophecy is wrong, or was at least interpreted wrong, and that Feather’s actually going to do more work than you, making you useless. That’s what you’re thinking, right? Oh, woah is me, I’m Cirrus Aixon and I can’t do anything to help, boo hoo, everyone pity me!”
“Huh? I’m not expecting anyone’s pity,” Cirrus protested, immediately sitting up from where he’d been laying as Jayce shot him a toothy grin.
“‘Course not. Not verbally, anyway. But deep down, you want to be noticed, don’t you?” Jayce pointed out him with a claw, the moonlight shining through the window, causing his transformation to be a bit more obvious. But Cirrus couldn’t really tell, he was far too used to it, and was more focused on Jayce’s words at this point in time. “Look, all I’m trying to say is that you need to stop feeling sorry for yourself. I know you’re really eager to grow, you’re eager to fulfill your spot in the prophecy, and you’re not being passive about your fate anymore. Which, all of those things are thanks to Feather, which is why I tolerate the guy… because, as much as I used to hate him at first, and as annoying as he is all the time, he’s a good influence on you. So now he’s alright in my book, if not still a bit insufferable at times,” he laughed, Cirrus calming down a bit as he tossed his legs off the bed, facing Jayce with a tired frown.
“So what should I do then? How can I grow?” Cirrus asked, voice sounding almost pleading as Jayce took another bite of his cornbread. The prince was looking in the middle of his hands, ice steaming off his palms as he felt almost ready to break down and cry about it. “I’m not ready to be by his side yet. He’s so far out of my league… he’s so powerful, and he’s so capable, what am I in comparison? I barely have three concepts, and only two of them are reliable… my all-knowing eye is so finicky, so even though it’s supposed to be my most powerful weapon, it's average at best… I’m supposed to wield six concepts by the end of this, but damn it, how many does that guy have? He’s got to have at least twenty, it’s insane… how do I compare to that?” Cirrus asked, both to himself as well as Jayce. But the werewolf merely clicked his tongue without even glancing his way, Cirrus turning up to look at him at such a nonchalant answer, confused. “What? How can you…”
“The answer’s already right in front of you, ya dingbat,” Jayce snapped before he could finish that sentence, which was very predictably going to be about how could he stay so calm when Cirrus was so distressed. But that was his job, wasn’t it? Not only to protect Cirrus and guard him and follow him places, but to make sure he felt safe in his own mind, as well. That’s what part of his job had been for centuries. “Feather said he’s going to train all of us, didn’t he? Ruba even seemed excited for it, so it’s obviously gonna be a good thing. Why are you so pressed to get good all on your own, when the man himself has audibly announced that he’s going to whip you up into something proper? You don’t have to worry about getting stronger yourself, because the very man you want to be strong for has already said he’s going to help you. And I’d say we’re in good hands… though I am wondering what exactly he’s gonna want us to do…”
“Ah… and you trust him, Jayce?” Cirrus wavered, staring at him in shock as his best friend turned to glance at him. “Feather, I mean?”
“Huh? ‘Course I do. You’re in love with him, so of course I’d want to like the person that catches your eye, but it’s more than that. He genuinely is a good guy,” Jayce admitted, turning to look back out the window as he leaned on the boards. “At first I thought he was crazy, and I still think that’s true. The guy’s insane and a piece of work. But he cares a lot more than your average person. He went out of his way, despite claiming he doesn’t like you, to get you out of your mindset of only doing what you need to fulfill the prophecy and ignoring the people and things who are right there in front of you. He cares a lot, and he wanted you to care, too. And with the way he treats everyone in this town, and with the way they treat him… it’s obvious he’s a pretty cherished figure in their community. And, knowing him, he probably achieved that status all by accident. Because he doesn’t search for glory or fame. He just… does whatever he wants. And he wants to help people,” Jayce turned his gaze from the window, smiling a bit wryly at Cirrus as the man’s visible golden eye gleamed under the moon’s rays. “And I can get behind that. Can’t you? If you really wanna do something for him, just pamper him or somethin’... give him all your attention, he’d probably like that, I think.”
Though, when the conversation twisted with that last bit, Cirrus could only let out an audible groan before putting his head back in his hands, bending himself forward to where his head sat in between his knees. “This is so frustrating… you’re telling me all I’m capable of doing for him right now is spoiling him a little bit?”
“Well, you’re the Crown Prince of Lilino, so you might as well use all that gold for something. What else have you been doing with it?” Jayce shrugged, Cirrus cheeks burning beneath his hands.
“You’re making this sound awfully shady… I don’t want to woo him with just gold…”
“Well, if it works, why not? Feather does seem pretty materialistic, doesn’t he?”
“That’s not…”
“Go on! Next chance we get, offer to buy him something. You’ll prolly get a pretty good response,” Jayce grinned, Cirrus looking up from his hands to stare at his friend in utter defeat.
“...fine. I’ll try it. But you know he’ll probably just make fun of me for even offering,” he sighed, turning back onto his bed as he rolled a hand over his eyepatch, holding his palm there for a long moment.
He… he hadn’t told Jayce, yet. He hadn’t told Achitha or Eve, either. Or Feather, but… he wasn’t sure he even had that third concept anymore. Of course, he could always shift it to his right eye that had been left untouched by the concept, but… then he’d probably be blind in both. Because his left eye, the one that had originally held his concept of knowledge seeking, was now completely blind after his most recent departure. He’d overused it for far too long, and had strained it farther than it could withstand. Cirrus didn’t know what he was supposed to do, or how he was even supposed to go about explaining this to his companions that he’d gone blind in one eye. Well, if anything, at least that made it to where he had room to learn four more new concepts instead of three… maybe Feather could teach him something pretty cool… something to make up for the fact his previous concept had run him blind… ah, this, Cirrus was so tired of this… he just wanted to sleep…
Is Jayce a good therapist for Cirrus?
