The Unified Soul

Let's Begin Again

The gentle falling of the snow hit the roof of the house, the first snowfall of winter bringing a thick blanket of white across the neighborhood. Snuggled deeply in her dark blue bedsheets and blankets, Airis slowly rose from her warm slumber, the smell of pancakes reaching her ever so keen sense of smell.

Her eyes cracked open allowing for the soft rays of the morning to stir her out of sleep completely. Sitting up in bed, Airis shivered from the chilly air as her bones cracked from her restful sleep and she smiled ready to brave another day. The little girl excitedly rushed out of bed and ran downstairs to get the day started. Why was she so excited? Why, because it was two days before New Years Day, her birthday!

Airis would be turning eight in just two days time, and she was even more excited because this would be the first major holiday she would get to spend with everyone. Sure, there was Christmas and Halloween, but this was her first birthday after everyone came back from the island. Albeit, there were still many things her family had to work through, their pain, the trauma and physical disabilities, but everyone seemed to be working through it well and started to get their lives back on track once again.

And that's something she would always cherish for as long as she lived and beyond.

"Good morning!" Airis called out, racing to her chair at the kitchen table and sitting down, ready for an amazing beginning of her day. She looked up to the kitchen and saw her father, Aaron Lycan, flipping a pancake onto a large stack of them, a big smile on his face as he turned to see his daughter happily awake.

"Good morning, Airis. I hope you're hungry 'cause we've got a lot to do today." He said. Airis happily nodded and watched as Aaron brought her a plate of pancakes to her seat, covered in tons of strawberry jam packed on top. Airis grabbed a few pieces of bacon sitting on the table and Aaron brought her a glass of milk, but before she started eating, Airis noticed that her mother wasn't there. Aphmau was nowhere to be found in the kitchen or the living room.

"Papa, where's Mama? Is she sleeping in?" Airis asked.

Aaron shook his head and took his own seat with a stack of pancakes in front of him, "Not today, sweetie. Your mom went out with Sylvanna today to do a bit of last minute birthday shopping for New Years. They wanted this birthday to be the best birthday you've ever had."

"Of course it's gonna be great! I'm gonna have everyone here to celebrate. Is Grandpa Terrence gonna be here, too? What about Grandpa Derek and Grandma Rachel? Are they--"

"Easy, easy, slow down a bite, Airis." Aaron chuckled at his daughter's enthusiasm, "I promise you that everyone is going to be here for your birthday. Why on earth would they miss it?"

Airis, even though she knew that everyone would be coming, had a feeling that something was going to happen between then and today. Maybe she was worried about Terrence. It had been only a couple of weeks since he was released from the Guardian Forces' custody, after deeming him no longer a threat to himself or others in the world and finding no trace of dark magic within him. The only thing they found abnormal was his health. He seemed weaker than before and had aged visibly, but they declared that it was simply due to the stress of having the Demon Warlock locked within him for so long. However, Airis and Terrence knew the truth. It was because his soul was split into two, one still here in this world, while the other is forever locked away with the Demon Warlock's soul.

Airis didn't know whether or not Terrence told his son Travis about their deal, or if he would ever tell him the truth about what happened, but it wasn't her place to force the truth out of Terrence. She was simply glad that Travis had his father with him and was excited to seem them together on her birthday. All of her family would be there.