Fenre was sitting in a chair in his room, having a nice, long think. He liked to think, it made him calm. He thought about his home town, his mother, his brother, those trippy ideas you can't explain to anyone else... Eventually, though, something caught his attention. He had realized that today was his 14th birthday, the birthday that would decide it all. It would decide if he had magic powers or not.
Most people had no problem becoming a mage. It just happened when you turned 14. Specifically, in Fenre's family, it was much more difficult. Maybe it was the eye color, or even maybe the hair. It could be linked since those seemed to be passed from generation to generation, but Fenre didn't think it had anything to do with that. Fenre had dark brown hair, almost black, which was different than everyone else in his family. His eyes were a pale orange rather than the traditional blue-gray.
Fenre's mother was less than pleased when she found this out. She thought it could turn him against them, make him want to kill his family. Then again, Fenre felt like she was obsessed with worrying. He liked it though. It meant that she cared a lot about him and his brother. Maybe a little too much, but mothers are mothers.
He got up, setting his notebook he had been scribbling in down and walking through a small hallway into the common area. Fenre's family had a significantly big house for how tightly packed the city was. However, unlike most of the houses in the city, the house was long and stretched down the majority of a street.
He arrived in the room, sitting down next to his brother. Fenre smiled at his brother Henre, receiving a smile back. Their mother and father intently watched as Fenre looked at the paper on the table. The paper had a short few sentences you had to say but they were really hard to pronounce. Plus, if you said the wrong thing or pronounced something wrong, something could go horribly wrong depending on the word. He took a deep breathe and began to recite from the paper, feeling a rising feeling in his chest as he went.
Fenre's brother watched him as he spoke, seeming almost in awe. He continued reciting the writing, doing his best to pronounce everything the best he could. His parents seemed to be getting really excited, so he must of been saying everything correctly. Right?
He was reaching the end. This seemed to drag on forever for Fenre. Even though it was only a minute or two, it seemed like years. Things were slowing down and speeding up and it was hard to keep focus. His vision kept wanting to fail him, but he blinked it away. Fenre felt like he was about to burst as the feeling kept growing. His vision started to fade, losing focus on the words. He felt someone's hands on his head. Henre's? There was only a word left. It slipped out and Fenre set his hands on the table.
He felt strange. It didn't seem like he was him. His vision was black. He felt nothing. There was nothing around him, nothing to notice. Then again, he did feel something. He felt his brother's presence. It was strong. Very strong.
Fenre's vision snapped back, feeling his head fly up as if he had been a rubber band returning to a relaxed position. His family had been looking at him concerned for a split second, his mother looking close to breaking down before they realized he was back.
"Fenre!" His mother exclaimed. "We thought we lost you!"
"I-" Fenre was in a tight embrace from his mother, standing up out of his seat and returning it. "I thought I had too." He felt normal again. As if nothing changed.
Fenre's mother released him and walked back to his father with Fenre and his brother. They exchanged a few glances, a lot of smiles and then dispersed. Fenre wasn't allowed to share his first experience with his magic with anyone. It had to be by himself, it was customary.
Fenre wasn't interested in trying his magic. Something felt out of balance. His brother had felt so friendly, so loving as a brother would. After Fenre had blacked out, he seemed different. He had expected him to just break into a hug, possibly almost in tears. Fenre knew he would if something terrifying like that happened during an initiation ritual. Why didn't he?
Fenre followed his brother into the living area, sitting down next to him on the couch. I looked at him and he looked at me. His eyes seemed cold.
"Are you alright?" Fenre asked, concerned.
"Yeah, why?" His voice didn't match his eyes.
"You seem off." Fenre was getting worried.
"What do you mean? Do I have my shirt on backward again?" Henre smiled. It seemed fake. He seemed fake.
"You..." Fenre faltered. He just couldn't figure it out. What had happened to him? "You can tell me anything, you know."
"Yeah, I know. I remember our conversations." Henre's eyes seemed to warm slightly, but it was faint and went away almost instantly. I grinned, remembering some of our more interesting conversation topics, but immediately jumping back to the current problem.
"Please tell me what's wrong." Fenre asked. He let the worry flow into his voice, looking his brother straight in the eyes.
"Nothing. Is. Wrong!" Henre suddenly freaked out, standing up and dashing away. Fenre sat there, dumbfounded.
"What on Earth..." Fenre said to himself, sinking into the couch before laying down. It had been late and it was possible his brother was just jealous. His birthday was the day after, so it did make sense.
Fenre wanted magic to wait until morning, until he tried to reach for his watch. He felt something internally connect and then the watch flew into his hand. Like a magnet.
Like a magnet.
