Axis Mundi [HP]

CH 2 [Blondes And Birds]

It was an average Thursday. The sun was hanging still upon the wide expanses of the satin sky, politely warm as the hour of 12 suggests.

Acher was spending that particular day, face down on the grass, smushing his entire body to the earth as if beckoning a tectonic plate to sweep him under the soil. At that point, due to his stillness, several ladybugs have made their home on the reincarnates back, wiggling themselves between the folds of his knitted orange sweater.

What was he doing? Well, perfectly normal things a kid is supposed to do during recess in their kindergarten's backyard. Like a mouse worming its way into a small hole, the boy extended his tight coil of magic right out of his chest and pierced the appendix through the dirt, constricting and expanding its metallic body. The sensation was...peculiar. In a way, it reminded him of just sticking his regular hand into the dirt but that soon turned out not to be the case. As he traveled down, bumping against rocks and pieces of broken glass his magic came upon a faint buzzing-like sensation. Curious as to what it was, Acher twisted his magic into a tighter string and followed the vibrations.

Huh. It was a worm.

A small, unassuming creature, eating its way through the mounds of dirt and other waste, coiling and releasing its small gooey body like a flimsy yet effective spring. Acher hesitated for a moment before tentatively reaching his magic to the creature, poking its side. He felt the worm wobble and still. Its body was cold and moist, like a cobbled pavement of a rainy day. Just more rubbery. The worm kept still,  like a man contacted by some higher being, awaiting judgment. Feeling a bit bad about it Acher retreated his magic back into himself, not wanting to disturb the wildlife even further.

And just like that, trouble came.

The blond got startled out of his musings by the distant yelling of children coming his way. Reluctantly, he picked himself up from his rather comfortable position, patting off frills of stray grass off his shorts and sweater.

"What are you doing?" the squeaky voice of Paul, a scrawny 5-year-old with which Acher shared the same year. The boy's wide blue eyes stared at him from behind round spectacles. Behind the brunette stood two of his friends, Tallhill didn't remember their names though.

"Relaxing." Acher shrugged.

Pauls's pudgy face scrunched, he didn't seem to believe him. "Yeah right. You're always 'round doing weird things." he spat. The reincarnate wondered where all that spitefulness came from and how on earth it fit into such a small body. Suddenly the other boy's face lit up in a smile as the two of his friends snickered behind him. "Why do you look like that anyway?"

Acher arched his pale brow. "Like what?" Was there still grass in his clothes, in his hair?

"Like that." Paul proceeded to squint his eyes, dragging them back with his fingers. His two buddies burst out laughing.

Tallhill could do nothing but stand there, absolutely gobsmacked. These were children, barely reaching 6 years of age. Acher knew this was something they picked up from their parents and just regurgitated but it still left him completely stunned.

"Hm." He hummed to himself, shaking out of the stupor. "Better teach 'em young." he proceeded to punch the other boy so hard in the face that his two friends needed to help him get to the infirmary as Acher snapped his glasses in half.

He got in trouble for it, of course, almost immediately as Paul came running to their teacher claiming that Acher hit him for no reason. The supervisor, bless her heart, knew better than to take the boy's words for granted and interrogated Tallhill about everything that happened. He didn't come out of the situation unscathed, the teacher gave him a long lecture about 'maturity' and 'self-restraint'. She took pity on him though, as she didn't call his mother and even gave him a piece of candy by the time their talk was over (after he promised not to do it again of course). He could see that she was sympathetic although she couldn't necessarily say it. Paul wasn't so lucky, his mother came to the kindergarten with her face red from embarrassment as she dragged the boy back home.