Og!Cale Oneshot: His New Family

Part 1 (edited)

It was that time of year when trees turn different colors and the skies desaturate. The winds rotate from warm to chilly, and blow the fallen leaves into whirlwinds that crunch beneath the people's feet.

Children with red noses run up and down the streets, laughing. The winter festival is happening soon; just a couple more months to go. Most windows and doors are shut tightly to ward off the cold, but inside every home is a lit fireplace, burning sweetly in the midst of the fall-time chaos.

The bakeries are always fragrant with the smell of pies and breads lasting not even a second on the displays before they are bought, and the candy shops are also buzzing with gleeful children. Even the stray cats and dogs seem to be having a good time jumping into leaves and climbing the bare trees.

All of this could be seen by one little boy who sat on a hill, and one little crow who was perched on a low branch beside him. They sat in a comfortable silence, as they did every time the little boy visited.

Occasionally, the boy would toss a piece of bread on the ground, and the crow would swoop down and snatch it up. The crow was content with watching the boy, since he was the one hand feeding it throughout the harsh seasons.

The crow was not self aware however. It was just a normal crow with normal crow instincts. This particular boy meant free food. That was why it liked him.

The boy liked the crow as well; It was nice company when all other people avoided him, including his own father.

The boy sighed to himself, looking out at the golden clouds. It was almost dinner time, and the sun had already started going down. He should get back home before someone notices his absence.

As he trekked down the hill which overlooked the city, his crow friend hopped down next to him as if to ask where he was going when there was still bread left in his pocket.

"Don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow with even better bread. So don't forget about me, okay?" He looked down at the black blob hopping next to his feet as he spoke.

Caw!

The boy smiled for the first time in a while. At least he wasn't completely alone.

***

The boy was settled in his bedroom, counting his allowance to buy expensive bread, when someone familiar knocked on his door and called out to him.

"Young master, the count wishes to see you in his office."

Gasp!

"Really?!" Cale couldn't believe it.

"Yes, young master. He wishes to talk to you as soon as possible. It seems important."

The boy, whose name was Cale Henituse, immediately jumped up from his seat while frantically brushing his hands through his red hair.

"I, I'll go see father right away!"

His butler, Ron, opened the door for him as Cale rushed out of the room, practically jogging through the halls until he reached his father's office. With a bounce in his step, he knocked a few times on the office door. This would be the first time he was invited to talk with his father since his mother's passing, which was just about a year ago.

"It's Cale!"

"Ah, come in."

Cale excitedly twisted the doorknob and opened the door, happy that his father was finally paying attention to him. However, he froze the second his eyes took in the occupants of the room. There was his father of course, but there were two strangers as well.

A woman, and a little boy who seemed to be around 6 or 7 years old. He could not see their faces, as they were facing away from him and towards his father, but he was completely sure he had never seen them before.

Who are these people? Why are they in his father's personal office? Why does father's normally stoic expression seem so affectionate? Many questions circled throughout Cale's head. Closing the door, he walked a few steps forward before talking.

"Father, you wanted to speak to me?"

The second he talked, the little boy's head turned in his direction just enough for Cale to see his face.

It was full of curiosity, innocence, and confusion. It also confirmed Cale's belief that he had never met these people before.

"Cale, my son, I would like you to meet Violan, the new countess, and Basen, her son. Violan and Basen, meet Cale, my son. I thought we could all go to the upcoming winter festival to get to know each other a bit more, since this might be a bit sudden. I hope we can all get along before then, however."

The count glanced between the three people who were now a family, and eventually set a firmer gaze on Cale. His eyes seemed warmer than anything Cale had felt during the past year, but it rubbed him the wrong way. It felt bad, knowing that his father was only looking at him like this because of the two other people in the room.

"Cale, could you show Basen to the available bedrooms on the second floor?"

Cale, who had subconsciously walked up to the table so that he could see everyone's faces, had stopped listening at 'new countess'. A million thoughts raced through his head.

'New... New countess... new, new, new countess. The new countess... What about mom...? There's a boy... Is he father's...? No, he can't be, he's too old... There's a new countess? He replaced... He replaced her! Is he replacing me too? Did I do something wrong—?'

Panic flashed across Cale's face as the situation registered in his mind. He felt very overwhelmed.

"I... I'm sorry, I have to go finish my studies. I apologize."

He talked with more emotion than he mean to as he quickly backed up to the door. He nodded as he apologized and closed the door behind him, speed walking away. His breathing was growing increasingly erratic, as was his heartbeat and a fresh headache. Too many thoughts seemed to burn straight through his skull.

He eventually opened a random door, slammed it shut, and slid down until he was sitting against it. He attempted to calm his obvious panicking, but it was hard to do. At least he wasn't getting worse, but he could not seem to control his breathing.

Tears pricked at the corner of his eyes, and his nose became uncomfortably stuffy. His hands itched and felt clammy as well, and the cool air seemed to burn his lungs with every breath.

One thought repeatedly stuck to the forefront of his mind:

His dead mother had just been replaced, and he was next.

A/n: Alright I cleaned up the dialogue and added some filler shit to make it smoother.

Thx for reading.