Fallen

Chapter 1: The Party

It was dark.

He closed his eyes and focused on his heart beating in his ears. The light thumping eased his mind as it continually drummed in its own leisurely pace. He felt his chest rise and fall to his easy breaths, as it entered through his nose and whispered past a small gap in his lips.

"Daddy says you have to choose a weapon today." a small voice reached his ears. He opened his eyes and saw the source. A young teen girl with a sharp nose and pointed chin. He likened her to a bird. Her black hair fell in heavy curls around her face as it fell to her shoulders. Her frame itself was tall for her size, but she was already well muscled for a child of her age. Her shoulders and biceps were already bulging as well as her thighs, indicating her already physical progression. The fact she was wearing a tank top and shorts with bare feet didn't help in any way to make her appear more feminine. Yellow irises encased her pupils as they narrowed at the boy in front of her. He took a mental note that she already looked more like their father than he himself did

He rolled his eyes and placed a hand on his hip saucily. "Da' said I didn't have to choose yesterday." He sighed and quickly twisted his head, swishing his blonde hair out of his face.

"Not to mention you haven't been able to summon your wings to fly yet." She snickered. The younger brother clenched his fist and his jaw set.

"Serene, that's enough." A deep voice emanated from the steps of the house to their side. A tall man with midnight hair and yellow iris's walked more towards his children, placing a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "You know better than to torment your brother." He scolded. The house he came from was small, as their property was rather vast compared to it. However, most of the freed up land was transformed into training grounds. In the far corner, there was a large tree that shaded half the yard though.

"But it's true! He hasn't been able to summon his wings and he definitely won't be recruited into the militia if he can't su-"

"Enough." Their father's voice warned his eldest child. The young brother looked away sharply, back up into the distance of their property. "Why don't you help your mother inside."

Serene looked up at their father with her brows furrowed before she stomped over to the house and went inside with the slamming of the doors. As soon as she was out of view, the dad's shoulders relaxed as he pinched between his eyes in frustration. His son looked at him curiously.

"You know not to summon your wings." He muttered lowly. His son nodded his head. His father's face turned soft as he looked at his son. "You know what would happen if anyone saw your wings?"

The son shuffled his feet, looking down into the grass, nodding his head solemnly. "I won't be able to stay with you and Mama anymore..." he whispered. He felt his eyes get hot as the tears already started to build at the thought of being taken away from his family, even as frustrating as Serene was. The father knelt down into the dirt as he neared his son, placing both his hands on either shoulder of the small boy.

"And don't listen to your sister. She's just angry that she had spent so much time mastering her heavy spear while you seem to just... have a knack for it all." He smirked. His son looked up at his father, his bright green eyes watered as he tried desperately to stuff down his tears. His dad's countenance grew sad as he brought his son into a hug. "You'll do great. You were made for great things. Don't you forget that... your mother and I are so proud." The boy closed his eyes and hugged his father, clenching tightly against the oncoming tears that fought so hard to escape as he sniffled.

As they hugged, the dad lifted his head and looked at where his son had stood before. His heart dropped as he just saw the glimpse of golden feathers just disappearing as they faded back into nothingness.