Purotekuta

PROLOGUE

I am sprinting to the training room to meet my Father, already late for my affinity training. Father is going to be so furious. I hope I don't get burned.
          Father often flashes fire at me if I'm not acting up to his standards during training, but he never actually burns me, though it is still scary every time.
          I've tried to fly before, but my wings aren't strong enough yet.
          I run faster.
          I burst through the training room door, out of breath, my father looming above me. His wolf ears are pinned back in anger, tail stationary behind him, and his fangs bared, growling at me.
          "Where have you been?" He growls, his hand bursting into flames; a silent threat that only we understand. "Get up," he growls.
          I stand up.
          "I'm going to ask you one more time, where have you been?"
"I was with mom helping her bake cookies," I say, my head bowed, eyes fixed on the floor. It's not smart to mess with the number one protector, even if you are his eight-year-old son.
          The flames licking my father's fist grow brighter with his anger.
          "Your training is more important than anything else, understand?"
          I take a deep breath, unfurling my wings and raising my ears in respect, my head still bowed.
          "Yes, father. I understand."
          His flame recedes into his hand, signaling to me that it's okay to stand up straight. Exhaling a deep breath, I look up at him and meet his eyes.
          "Start your training, I will be here to correct you," Father demands.
          "Yes, father."


          My training commences with riveting exhaustion.
          I train on flying, though I still can't get it. My wings are still too weak to hold my weight in the air, so I start training my affinity.
          My fire affinity is unlike my father's. My Father's fire is red, while my fire is blue. Father doesn't know why this happened, all he knows is that it's more powerful than his, and he's going to take advantage of that.
          I'm shooting a fireball when I accidentally shoot a massive stream of fire that would have burned down the room if it wasn't reinforced with steel. I can sense my father's anger as I hear his footsteps thundering toward me.
          Bowing my head, I slowly turn around to face him.
          "Hajime, can you tell me what happened just now?" He's staring at me, a dark look in his eyes.
          I close my eyes, knowing that no matter what I say, it won't change his reaction.
          "I lost control of my affinity, father. I wasn't focusing as I should have, and I don't have full control over my affinity yet to the point where I can use it effortlessly."
          My father stares down at me with a look of angry disappointment on his face.
          "You are a disgrace to this family. If I can't train you to use your affinity now, you will never learn."
          I can't take it anymore; he's just using me, and I'm tired of it. Jerking my head up, I look him dead in the eye with a look of pure anger on my face.
          His eyes widen just a bit.
          He thinks I don't notice, but I do.
          "Why can't I just be like other kids, father!? I look out my window, and I see them playing with soccer balls and jump ropes! Why can't I do that!? Why won't you let me be normal!?"
          My Fathers' eyes widen, his fangs baring. His arm lights up in a burst of scorching hot flames.
          I no longer feel that anger I felt before. Now, I feel the hands of fear tightening around my throat.
          "You dare raise your voice at me, Hajime!?" He bellows as I back away from him, the heat repelling me away.
          The fire on his arm extends into a long, fiery whip, his arm lashing out in front of him, simulating the movement you would make to use a whip, the fire rushing towards me.
          "I raised you! I trained you! You should be thankful for everything I have given you!" He yells at me, the fiery whip extending towards me.
          Having a quick flash of what I should do from the defense training Father had drilled into me, I raise my right arm in an attempt to block with my affinity and duck my head down, taking a step to the left trying to get away from the whip, but I am off-timed and instead of the flame hitting my face, it hits my right arm instead, scorching my skin.
          I scream out in pain, landing on my knees instead of my feet.
          Quickly, I get up. If I didn't, I would get another lash.
          Tears are streaming down my face, but I stand.
          I unfurl my wings, raise my ears, and bow my head. "Permission to leave training early, father?" I ask tentatively.
          There is a silence between my request and his answer, but that silence is the loudest thing I've ever heard.
          "Yes, Hajime. You may."
          I try to keep a straight face and calm posture as I walk out of the training room and close the door.
          As soon as the door shuts, I run to the kitchen where Mother is. I have my eyes closed while I am running, so when I slam into her and fall on my butt, it strikes fear into my heart.
          I throw my arms down to catch myself but forget that my right arm is burned, screaming out in pain when it hits the ground. Curling up into a ball, I cry and clutch my arm.
          "Oh my god! Hajime! What happened to you?!" My mother is rushing toward me, but I've lost control over my affinity, making a ring of blue fire swirl around me, burning my mother's hands.
          She leaps back and screams in pain, landing on the tips of her jet-black wings, and looking at me through the fire with worried eyes.
          "Hajime, please! Let me through! I need to help you!" I can hear in her voice that tears are streaming down her face.
          My left wing was smashed under my body when I fell on the floor and is throbbing in pain. I sit up, still clutching my right arm.
          Unfurling my huge, black, feathered wings that are too big for my own body I take some deep breaths, gaining back some control over my affinity.
          I gain enough control to the point where I can stop the flames swirling around me.
          "That's better, Hajime." Mother says quietly while walking toward me like you would a scared animal, tucking in her wings to look smaller and less dangerous.
          I am still radiating heat, struggling to control my affinity.
          She reaches me and kneels in front of me, wrapping her wings around me, and pulling me close. 
          "Can you show me your arm, Hajime?" She says in a quiet voice.
          I look down, buckets of tears falling from my eyes, nodding slowly, my hair falling into my eyes.
          Mother gently takes my right arm in her hands, touching where it's burned. I suck in a breath, grimacing as the heat radiating off of me grows hotter.
          She looks up at me slightly, adjusting her grip from my arm to my fingertips and upper arm; to places where it wasn't burned.
          I look up at her through my hair, barely moving my head. Her eyes have widened, and she is staring at my arm, observing it.
          She closes her eyes and stands up, the warmth of her wings leaving along with her.
          I lift my head to look after her as she stalks off in the direction of Father's bedroom.
          As she walks down the hall and out of sight, I stand up and start following her. I peek around the corner just as she storms into Father's room, leaving the door cracked open slightly.
          "What do you need, Kori?" Father says in an annoyed tone.
          "What do I need? More like what it is you did!" Mother is furious at Father, I can tell.
          They start yelling at each other, getting into a big argument.
          I hear the shing of a knife being pulled out of a sheath.
          My eyes widen in fear, my ears sitting flat against my head, my tail between my legs, and my wings folding tight against my back.
          I remember why Father gave Mother that knife. It was to protect herself, because she couldn't use her affinity to the fullest extent, barely being able to protect herself.
          Peeking into the room, I see my father standing there with a furious look on his face, Mother pointing her knife at him, the tip of it resting against the soft spot of his throat, ready to split it at even the slightest movement from him, even despite her burned hands.
          He retaliates.
          It's faster than I have seen Father move in a long time.
          Next thing I know, Mother is on the ground, out cold, the knife Father gave her in his hand.
          He raises his head, looking up at the door, and I jerk my head out of sight of the crack.
          I run.
          I run as fast as I can down the long hallway and back to my room. I shut the door as fast but as quietly as I can with my left hand, trying not to harm the right one any more than it already is.
          Leaping onto my bed, I spread my wings to practice gliding down like I always do, and curl into a little ball, my back against the headboard.
          Footsteps that sound like thunder make their way up the hallway. I am praying that Father isn't coming to my room, but I know better than to think that.
          I stare at the doorknob, petrified, waiting for it to turn and for Father's face to appear in the doorway.
          I hear the steps pause right outside my room.
          I hold my breath, hyper focused on the doorknob. Seeing the knob turn slightly, my heart starts pounding.
          I know Father can hear it. After all, a wolf's hearing is better than almost any other animals.
          The door opens, and I see the first few strands of his black hair and the tips of his ears poke through the door.
          Before I know what is happening, my wings spread as wide as they can go, pushing me up to my ceiling. I land on a floorboard that was installed so I could perch on it once I knew how to fly; I guess it came in handy.
          Looking down, I can see Father at the foot of my bed looking up at me, furious.
          "Hajime! Get down here you brat of a black feathered winged beast!" Father roars. I can see the fury radiating off him like the fire that burns inside of him.
           Can he not reach me up here? My whole world is changing now that I realize that Father can't reach me on this perch. I have a grin on my face, and a feeling of glee in my chest.
           "No way! You can't reach me up here, and you can't shoot fire at me, or you'll burn the house down! I'll come down when I want!" It gives me great pleasure to see the sneer that appears on Father's face, so I stick my tongue out at him.
           Father's eyes widen, and he growls a low, deep growl, directing it at me to try and scare me down. It doesn't work so he just leaves, and I breathe a sigh of relief.