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The rumors had enough of a fairytale-esque quality to catch the attention of most younglings that happened to hear. When Imri first heard the tales he was with Ai and she was quick to snuff out the hearsay. It wasn’t uncommon for some of the younger sisters to spook children from time to time and the adults who gossiped leaned a little too heavily into their cups. Now that he was with others his own age, however….

…well, Imri was surrounded in stories.

As much as their caregiver tried to calm the small group at some point the frustrated Elarian had simply given up. She was supposed to be teaching them the history of their goddesses’ but instead she was trying to stem their wandering minds. It was one of the only times Imri and his sister wouldn’t have stood out which allowed him to connect with the children around him.

The girls, rather.

As far as he knew no other boys had come from Elzira yet and as much as it didn’t bother him it sure seemed to irritate some of the older Aishans. They called him names behind his back, taught their daughters to do the same and there had been times when Mama Ai came home with bruises after a fight on their behalf. He’d even heard an elder say it was bad enough she’d chosen a shifter to have children with, but a son…

Self-deprecating thoughts aside, Imri stepped away from his sister for a moment toward a smaller Elarian. Despite their similar ages and her pure blood she was a few inches shorter than him. Her name was Fritzi and she was one among a small group that didn’t seem to mind them. When she saw him coming a smile bloomed on her face.

“Don’t you think it would be neat, Imri? To be blessed by Elzira?” Because surely that’s what all of this was, wasn’t it? The gossip spoke of earthlings who had gone on similar journeys but so many only thought of their patron goddess. To them there was no other, but for Imri the possibilities were a little broader.

He was about to speak when another girl did so for him. “He already was; he’s alive. Boys aren’t supposed to be in Zinris.” To him her tone was just as ugly as her face. When he curled his lip she matched the action. “It’s true. Elzira’s already done you a favor; why would she do anything else?”

“...Probably cuz I actually pay attention to the lessons and you don’t,” He grumbled.

“What was that?” The stouter Elarian stepped up to him, nearly going nose to nose.

“Come on, Xana, stop. We’re just talking.” Knowing that Imri wouldn’t back down no matter what, little Fritzi stepped between the two. She was careful to watch out for their instructor, who was keeping an eye on them just incase things got dicey. “What would you ask for, if it happened to you?”

“Lots of eyes!” She said as if it were totally obvious. “That way I can see everyone around me in battle. No one would EVER sneak up on ME!”
It wouldn’t matter if you had hundreds of eyes if you still can’t hit a target two feet infront of you. Xana was a blow hard and slow. Imri could count the amount of times he’d beat her in training which was probably why she hated him so much.

“What about you, Imri?”

“…Doesn’t matter.” He grumbled and when Fritzi tried to say something more he asked, “What about you?”

“I think I’d like to have fuzzy antennae. Sounds like they’d be real soft and cute, you know?” She reached up to touch the tips of her own and smiled. If she hadn’t been so good with a bow he might have thought her a slacker for her lackadaisical attitude. Honestly, Fritzi was deceptive and he could respect that. “Or maybe eyes that could see a lot further? That way I could take better shots than any of the other hunters.”

Gradually they talked more and more about what could have been, but Imri never said what he’d want. It was such a silly little thing that he doubted Elzira would give him time, but…if he’d ever been blessed Imri knew he’d want antennae. Nothing fuzzy or fancy, just a pair to mark him as part of the Elarian.

He loved his earthling mother, really he did, and he served the moon goddess just as fervently as he could but Elzira held his heart. Being born a male in a tribe of women was hard enough to adjust to and even if he looked almost like them it was never good enough. He’d taken to wearing hoods in his classes to hide which only served to anger Ai. In her eyes there was nothing wrong with him, but she could say that because there was nothing different about her. So, maybe, if he was a stronger warrior in Elzira’s eyes she would grant him what he wanted most.

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