Who The Fire Favours (ONC2023) gxg

Chapter 13: Ixis

Attending a funeral wasn't Ixis' initial intention for returning home.

But at least it had three good points. First off, her parents were kept too busy to ask questions about why she was home injured. Secondly, she was only a twenty minute walk from Axis. The perfect place to scout out her target and keep an eye on a certain, pesky Shadow Traited. Lastly, was a new member of her family.

Ixis smiled at the cooing toddler, already growing attached to him after only a few days of finding out he existed. The guilt in her chest lessened a little as the one year old clutched onto her finger with everything she had despite only her one usable hand. Her apprenticeship and Regency had taken up so much of her time that she had even missed the birth of her own little brother. Jerimiah Hawkinson.

Ixis had no idea where her mother had plucked that overly extravagant name from but despite all the rumours and talks of a bad omen they were silenced the moment they met him. She squeezed the little boy in a half hug, tickling him gently as he squealed in delight and jostled her sling a little. She didn't mind.

The moment Ixis knew she had a little brother she had dug around in her old room to find a much loved hawk stuffed animal to give him. Jerimiah had latched onto it immediately and to placate her mother she had said she bought it for him. He deserved something from his older sister.

"Ixy?"

Ixis turned her head a little too quickly, her curly hair getting tugged by her little brother but she gently pried his hand away and distracted him with his new favourite toy. The Fire Traited locked eyes with her mother and the sight of a similar faded hat.

For a moment, Ixis' mind conjured a familiar image of a smoking Shadow Traited sitting at the end of her bed and chatting to her as if she hadn't murdered an entire room of people days ago. Still grappling with how she had agreed to such an insane plan from a mass murderer, Ixis had completely missed the conversation.

"Cole's out keeping an eye on Garrus in case he does something he shouldn't. I'll take Hawky outside for a bit." Kalaris repeated, hands outstretched and waiting for her to move.

Her grey, metallic apron looked heavy under her industrial strength clothes and judging from the amount of dubious stains, soot, dust and ash stained all over her she had probably rushed back from work to cater for the funeral. Ixis' mother tossed her familiar, chemically treated gloves on the counter, her rolled up sleeves revealing the tell tale signs of the kiln with fresh burns on her hands.

Kalaris' brown hair was messily tied up in a bun with strands of grey peeking out as she quickly untied her work clothes. Her mouth was pinched in a tired smile but her grey eyes were kind despite the circles under her eyes as she rested a gentle hand on Ixis' shoulder.

"They're gonna light the lanterns now so don't miss the Bluestone ceremony. It ain't no fancy Opalian Ashes of the Fallen but it's important. You're up last in the lineup so don't forget, okay?"

Ixis fought the urge to sigh, not wanting to let go of the little munchkin but she stood up and fixed her sling before passing him back to their mother. Leaning in for a half hug the awkward exchange turned into a side pat once Kalaris turned her attention to her son.

"Sure. I'll head outside now."

Ixis knew how hard her mother worked despite her unconventional Ash Trait. A colliding mix of flame and earth, Kalaris had jumped from job to job over the last few years simply to stay afloat. She lacked the flame control of a Fire Traited and solid structure creation of an Earth Traited but her mother had better temperature sense than anyone in Opalis.

But her temper had gotten her kicked out of bartending in the Dirty Troll tavern and the kilns in Pelt were on their last legs. Her Ash Trait constantly turned the clay to dust. It was like asking a Water Traited to stop a volcano. Her mother couldn't help it just as much as Ixis couldn't help but be drawn to the fire. It was why she found it so hard to tell her how well she was doing in the Excelliars when Kalaris was barely keeping things together.