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 Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2023 3:14 pm
Elias 1 It was a typical day just like any other. Or, well, ever since the family had fully moved into the much larger house provided by Deric. Though it had been many, many years since than, in truth, it still felt as if it were yesterday for Elias. Getting up in the bed right next to his sister in the tiny house by the beach, with their parents' bedroom next door. Two bedrooms was generous for a house of that size and it was obvious those rooms had once been one large one judging by the size of the final product. Far too small for a growing family with a son and daughter who would need their own space. No one had expected that space to be offered by his uncle one day. It had been such an adjustment for everyone, going from so small a house to one so large. Except for their mother, who took it it like a fish gently placed back in the water. She went into full force redecorating it and hiring some staff to help out. Elias had never thought much of it at the time. Honestly, he never thought much of it today, either. His uncle needed a place to stay when he was in Matori for business. Seemed only natural to offer the place to his sister and her family.
Even if it was kind of cheating at life. As much as his parents tried to pay for their share of things with their own earnings. Not that anyone would catch him complaining. It was still nice to wake up in his own bedroom.
Tugging on his running shirt, the young hybrid made for the front door, intent on doing a few laps around the house before sitting down to breakfast.
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Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2023 5:00 pm
Elka 1 For Elka, the change had been a much smoother one. It wasn't as large of a house as she was used to. Not by far. But it was still a bigger house than the one the family had been in before. When she had proposed to Kayde that they let nature take its course after their marriage, she hadn't expected to increase their family so soon after. She didn't regret it, though it had lead to many worries about space as the children grew. The one room they had might have sufficed for a single youngling. Not two. Especially not a boy and girl. Not as they got older and into the teenage years. They would have to move onto something larger. And soon. So when Deric offered his own home away from home, Elka jumped at it. Kayde fought the decision, feeling as if they hadn't earned it. Thinking he wasn't adequate anymore. When that was of course not true. He was her everything. If he really didn't want to move on, they wouldn't move on. Still, she was thankful that he had come around. It wasn't just for her. She wanted to share her world with him. He deserved the best, to live like the best. This was a push in that direction. And the children were thriving off all the space and privacy. Elenora had all the room for her books to sharpen her mind and Elias space to swing his toy sword.
Only those toy swords were no longer wood. Or toys anymore.
Just coming down the staircase situated in the corner of the front room, Elka spied the tall form of her son reaching for the door handle of the front door. How very like Elias to try to skip out on breakfast until after some exercise. The boy was becoming quite obsessive about his personal training schedule. Doing more and more all the time to try and force his still-growing body to bulk out like he wanted it to.
"Elias!" the Zenan called out sharply. "Where would you be going before even eating?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2024 5:55 pm
Elias 2 His hand had just enough time to reach the handle of the door before the sharp tone came behind him. Elias' shoulders stiffened in the realization he wasn't going to get away with this after all. His mother had left her bedroom much earlier than she usually did. That or he hadn't realized he had left later than usual.
With a sheepish smile, he turned around, keeping the doorknob pressed against the small of his back. "I thought I still had some time to go for a short run."
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Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2024 6:17 pm
Elka 2 Ah. Of course. Just the answer she had expected to hear. Elka clicked her tongue as she continued on down the staircase, standing just beyond the last step and staring at the boy with pursed lips, her mouth making a small flower shape. "You can always run to your heart's content after breakfast is done," she scolded, her golden eyes suggesting he had best not argue with her. Not that Elias was ever in the habit of doing so. He usually obeyed her when she told him to do something. Or not to do something, was was the case. "It shouldn't be much longer until it is served."
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Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2024 7:06 pm
Elias 3 Not that he was going to argue with her. Far from it. He would never argue with her. Elias had learned at a young age to hold a little bit of fear towards the Zenan woman. Where Kayde was always much more of an understanding parent, sitting down with each child when they had a problem and carefully listening to them, Elka was often a little bit sterner on them. This wasn't to say that she was a bad parent. He felt her love as surely as he felt his father's. Still, it didn't change the fact that she'd always made him a little bit nervous. He was always a little unsure about telling her anything. Which made no sense to the teenager. She had never mocked or dismissed his feelings. Not even once. She just had a presence that was difficult to ignore.
"Uh..." He stumbled about for a good explanation, something better than what he had already said. His mother's eyes only widened more as he fought with his brain, making the teen flush with embarrassment when he couldn't come up with anything.
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Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2024 7:30 pm
Elka 3 The clicking of the woman's tongue only continued, broken up only in the short space between waiting for Elias to answer and gather his thoughts. No good excuse this time? The boy was becoming far too obsessed with his jogs and drills for Elka's taste. He would wear his body out in his chase to be as strong as he wanted to be. Though dancing was far different from swordplay, she felt she had plenty of experience in this to give a professional opinion on the matter, if she needed to. Kayde himself had worked his own body to be stronger around the time the kids were born, the man wanting to have the strength to easily lift her up during dances, sometimes completely above his own head. He didn't work out nearly a quarter as much as Elias kept trying to do.
Glancing over at the chair sitting by the front door, a beautiful side-table beside it for messages and letters for the family, Elka walked over and pulled it away from the wall, more in the middle of the floor. "Sit."
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Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2024 7:39 pm
Elias 4 "Yes, mother." The teen swallowed, already feeling guilty over the scolding that was sure to come once he did sit in that chair. The thought of running was high on his mind and, with the chair now between him and her, he felt perhaps he could get a good head start if he did. The doorknob was still pressed against his back. He could easily reach up a hand and turn it, using his well-trained body to quickly dart around the door and outside. But he knew it would only delay what would come later. And what would come later would be worse. Far worse.
So instead, Elias swallowed his growing anxiety and sat, placing his hands on his knees.
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Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2024 2:18 pm
Elka 4 Elka, now standing behind her son, put her hands on his shoulders, raising one long enough to pay his cheek. The action was gentle enough, though she put a little bit more force behind it than she normally would have. Not enough to hurt him. She'd never do that. But just enough to let him know how much she disapproved of what he'd been doing. "Good boy." After speaking, she stood in silence, staring at the door that stood in front of them, the sight of the clouds slowly moving in the sky shimmery through the foggy glass at the top. After a while, she finally sighed and moved around to stand in front of him.
He was watching her intently. It wasn't hard to see the nervousness in his pale eyes. So like his father's in color only. Kayde's never seemed so unsure of anything, even when they were both the age Elias was now. How curious it was.
"Look at you," the Zenan began, reaching up with a hand to run her fingers through the hair was was a mirror of hers, combing out the last of the tangles that he had forgotten. "Feels like yesterday you were barely up to my hip. Now even sitting in this chair, you're already so tall. Taller than your father. Broader, too," she added, brushing at invisible dirt on his shoulders, straightening out a wayward wrinkle. "Are you unhappy with the way you look, Elias?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2024 2:56 pm
Elias 5 As his mother stood over him, her fingers tight on his shoulders, Elias hoped she couldn't feel the hammering of his heart. For surely it was making his entire body vibrate from the sheer pounding of it. He didn't like the tone of voice she had used. Like she was talking to a disobedient animal. But he knew better than to say anything. She could say plenty in due time.
It just wasn't what he had been expecting to hear.
The teen blinked in confusion, watching his mother look over his head and shoulders, idling fussing over him as she was always doing. That was not quite the scolding he had been expecting to hear.
"I....uh...." How could he tell her that wasn't quite it?
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Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2024 4:39 pm
Elka 5 "You know we're worried about you, right?" she continued, as if he hadn't made a single sound in an attempt to answer. She continued to fuss over him, straightening his hair over the one side of his head he liked to wear it, a more youthful version of Kayde's hairstyle where both sides of his head were shaved instead of left to grow out. She refused to look him in the eye. Maybe afraid of what she'd find there. Guilt? Shame? Confirmation that she was right? Determination to ignore her and everyone else's warnings?
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Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2024 4:49 pm
Elias 6 Yes. He knew that. It wouldn't be the first time his mother had told him. Nor the last. Nor was she the only one to warn him against working his body too hard, harder than it could handle. But how did he know his own limits if he didn't test them? Maybe if he worked just a little bit harder, he could train his body to do more. Run more. Lift more. Go longer periods of time swinging that sword around until it really was second nature to him.
But how did he tell her that?
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Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2024 6:16 pm
Elka 6 Elka sighed, a sound loud in the quiet of the front room. Of the other members of the household, there was still no sign. Elenora was likely still in her room, pouring over some book and Kayde probably in the kitchen helping the cook. The only time that man ever relaxed was when the sun went down, as if the lack of light zapped him of all his previous energy. Than he would settle down somewhere comfortable with his own book. How alike their children were to him. Like two halves of a coin.
If only Elias' energy was the same as when he was younger. At least that hadn't been self-destructive.
"Elias, you can't keep doing this." Her hands stilled and came away, going rest on her hips. Elka stood up straighter, looking him in the eyes this time, seeing the guilt. So he did know what he was doing. Did that make it better or worse? "I already had a talk with Cahira. As I'm sure she has with you plenty of times already." Tilting her head, the Zenan waited for his response before deciding to continue with her current train of thought.
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Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2024 6:27 pm
Elias 7 Yes. Yes, she would. Elias had tried to keep it a secret from his teacher, for fear of a scolding. He knew he shouldn't do it. It wasn't a lack in Cahira's teachings that made him do this. It was just a feeling that he wasn't good enough. Would never be good enough unless he pushed himself and found his limits. Than pushed himself further, to test those limits and increase the distance he could go. Sword fighting was the only real skill he had. He tried to stop himself, but he just wanted to put his everything into it. Even if sparring made him nervous.
"I'm sorry. I know."
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Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2024 6:35 pm
Elka 7 The admission was worse than if he hadn't known, Elka realized as she stood over him, eyes narrowing in anger. His eyes were telling her he knew exactly what he was doing and had no intentions of stopping. What could she do to make him? Take away all his swords and lock them away? But than he could still jog and find other heavy things to lift. And she couldn't very well lock him away in an empty room until he learned his lesson. Did he not have good influences around him? She couldn't understand where all this was coming from. That pale hybrid boy from down the beach would be no help as a distraction.
"Do I need to arrange playdates for you as if you were a youngling?" She hadn't really meant to say that out loud. But there it was and it couldn't be taken back.
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Posted: Mon Jan 29, 2024 8:19 am
Elias 8 The teen's head shot up, his eyes locking fully with his mother's, fear etched all over his face. She clearly was saying something to try and frightened him into changing his ways. She couldn't possibly do that. Not at his age. He, and everyone else, was far too old for playdates. No one else would agree to it.
Than again, he wouldn't really put anything past her.
"You don't have to do that..." How embarrassing would it be if this got out to anyone. That she'd even suggested such a thing.
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