Monster

Disobedient

The crowded group of children parted for him, the excitement and curiosity on their faces turning to guilt when they saw him coming. Coming past them, Fir saw Grake's little Human in their midst, a small piece of wood burning at his feet as he doubtlessly got pressured by the other children to set it on fire again.

"Hero!" He exclaimed with frustration and the child startled, looking up at him with his strange, white eyes. Fir unwillingly felt a discomfort running across him, but then steadied himself and frowned sternly.

"You are not to use your magic within village boundaries, do you not remember? I will have to talk to your guardians about this."

The child pouted and gave him a hurt look, which he then gave to the other children who had been egging him on. Two of the children smirked, rather than look guilty like the rest.

"You're in trouble, Briny." They snickered.

"Quiet!" Fir said to the two children sternly. "I shall have a talk with your guardians, too. Luk and Thomas." He finally recalled their names. He saw their green eyes widen in panic.

"We didn't do nothing! Honest!"

"Yeah, we just came to see what's going on!" The children protested with honest disbelief.

"You didn't do anything to stop it." Fir stated sternly and both of the older children groaned in frustration and cast little Hero angry looks.

"It's all your fault, Briny. Now we're going to be in trouble because of you."

"Just you wait."

Seeing the human child drawing his hands into fists as he glared back at them, where sparks of flame had appeared, not willing to be cowed by their threats, Fir frowned himself.

"Shellet and Knoll! I am going to ask the elders to have a good talk with your parents about your behavior. You are not to bully other members of the village."

"We weren't!"

"And anyway, he is not one of us!"

"Actually, he is as long as he lives here." Terik corrected with a frown, running up to the group and overhearing the last words. Seeing the blackened branch, which is no longer burning at Hero's feet, he sighed with dismay and shook his head.

"Hero, you know better than to use your magic in the village. Grandpa Grake and Uncle Rangil told you about that many times. Why do you listen to them?" He pointed to the other children, some of whom have already quietly retreated from the small crowd, leaving only the youngest.

In response, Hero dropped his gaze and stubbornly pouted. Though the flames from his fists disappeared and he relaxed a little, his entire stance remained stubborn and determined, at which Terik exchanged helpless looks with Fir. Fir sighed, realizing that mere words were not getting through. He then looked at the other children.

"Kshhh." He waved at them dismissively and they all ran off with relief, leaving only Terik and the little Human there facing the elderly librarian.

Little Hero frowned up at them both, unwilling to feel guilty for merely doing what the other children wanted and showing them his awesome magic. He even felt proud of being able to do something that they could not. And it was even useful – atta Beor said so. They had gone fishing and Hero made a small fire for them both. His atta then showed him how to cook a fish on it and he had done it all by himself! Why was it then wrong to use his magic in the village?

He couldn't understand the reason for this, which made it hard for him to obey it, even though he gladly obeyed all the other rules that he continued to learn now that he was older and began to understand their words.

"... Why?" He finally asked the older villager with a frown on his face. Fir's eyebrows crept up at the child's question, even though Hero asked it in a quiet and thoughtful voice.

"Why what? Why you cannot use fire magic in the village?" He asked the child and Hero nodded. "Because it's dangerous! You can cause a big fire if you're not careful!"

Hero lowered his head stubbornly, sure that he would never do that. Seeing that, Fir only sighed. "Also because we said so. As long as you live here, you are to obey the rules of the village, even if they don't make sense to you or seem unfair.

The child made a small huff and crossed his hands over his chest. "... Why?" His eerie white eyes held on Fir and he again felt a shiver, though the child's tone remained quiet and thoughtful.

"Because if you don't follow our rules, then you cannot live here with us. In fact, its disrespectful to ask such questions of another grown up in the village. You should politely ask your atta or uncle, or your grandpa Grake. That's what you should do." Fir looked at the small child with disapproval.

At the mention of his guardians, the child's eyes opened wider and his stance changed, as he dropped his crossed arms to his sides and gave Fir a concerned look. Then, it changed to a slightly guilty one as the child realized that he just broke yet another of the rules that he didn't know about. It was so difficult to remember!

"Sorry." He apologized sincerely. At that, the older villager slightly inclined his head in approval and faintly smiled.

"An apology in this case was correct. You're doing well, Hero. I know it's hard. We Villagers have many unspoken rules that we follow. Many traditions, the reasons for which we no longer know ourselves. That's just how we know things should be done for us villagers. While you are not a Villager yourself, it is important to understand these rules since you live with us. Otherwise, it is too easy to cause an offense and unnecessary troubles, for which you will then owe a recompense. It's best to avoid such a situation entirely.

Both of the children looked at Fir with big eyes and a total lack of understanding. He uncomfortably humphed, realizing that he spoke something too complex for them. He spent a moment puzzling over how to say it in simpler words, but then simply gave up and sternly frowned.

"You must follow the rules even if you don't understand why. Or else you will be punished."

Both white eyes and green eyes opened wider. "Sorry!" Both children said at the same time, tensing. Hero was thinking of the dinner he and both his brothers had to miss last week for refusing to follow uncle Rangil's directions, just because Margol made fun of him and didn't want to listen. And Terik felt guilty automatically for no reason and said it just in case.

"I will let this incident slide this time and won't complain to your guardian, Hero. But this is the last time. You are not to use your magic within village boundaries. No magic is allowed here at all. Is that clear?"

"Yes!" Hero nodded quickly, his concerned gaze growing hopeful and grateful. He really didn't want to skip dinner again.

Satisfied, Fir nodded. "Go ahead and play now. And no more fires. Imagine if my library and all my books burn down. How will I then read you children stories?"

"Yes!" This time it was Terik who answered while the human child's mouth opened in a big 'oh' as he looked at the building next to them with an expression of dismay as he imagined what might have happened. Grasping his hand, the older child pulled him away out of Fir's sight.

The older villager watched them leave. His eyes strayed to the blackened branch, recalling the stubborn way the little Human briefly behaved. Shaking his head with disapproval, he headed back on his way to the library.