Divided Affection

Chapter 1

          My name's Peter, and I am a child of dirt. Not literally, I mean I'm not a groundhog or anything of the sort, but I am a Fliegan and that's pretty close. Just your typical brown haired, brown eyed Fliegen. You see, us Fliegens live on the hard solid ground; dirt. So we make a living working with what's around us; dirt. Hence my initial statement. The popular choice is to make a living in the fields or farms, especially since the majority of Fliegen Holders have agricultural Favors. My family, on the other hand, we work in the mountains, on their peaks to be exact. Volcanoes, Cliffs, Mines you name it; I've seen and worked it all. After my old man died, I spent most of my times working, I'd choose the higher shifts up the mountains where no one dared climb. Anyway, Grandpa was a Holder, he held our families rare Favor; the detection of precious stones. These past few months without him, our family business has been in total chaos. After his death, our families next holder should have phased, as is custom, but for some unexplained reason, the Favor is stalling its birth. Sucks for us but nothing we can do.

          "Time to head down and go, boys. Blow out those torches and be careful!" Tom's command was followed by a wave of groans. The worst and most dangerous part of the day was when the sun fell. Not only did we have to climb down, but do so without our lights. My gaze shifted upward, a few hundred meters away the glimmering lights of the Ardens mocked us. As a child I never quite understood why they could keep their lights on, that mentality changed quickly after my first Tradjk attack. It was almost 10 years ago and I can still remember the screams of the young girl, Amy, as the monster pulled her into the ocean. She was only 5 years old, only 2 years younger than I at the time. All she wanted was to pick the pretty shells she had read about in her stories. No one knows exactly how she managed to cross the wall and reach the shore, rumor is that an Arden flew her over; just another reason to hate them I guess. My thoughts were interrupted by my cousin Luka's words, "Better blow that light out, Pete. Don't want to piss off the Ardens." I rolled my eyes but obeyed and he continued to climb down. It was just last week that we had received a complaint from the "cloud folk". They even threatened to break our treaty if we didn't blow our torches in time; since the Arden's live in the heavens the Tradjk can't reach them, but us Fliegens, on the other hand, rely on Arden warning to shelter ourselves. They're agreement, that we blow out all light to prevent any unnecessary bothersome to the Tradjk and they warn us of any sightings and possible attacks. My opinion, it's a bunch of bullshit, everyone knows the Arden like to show off, and their majestic nightly lights in the middle of our darkness is just another way of doing so.

          "Mom! Lacy! I'm home." I say clumsily shutting the front door and hanging my climbing suit on the coat hanger. My head turns and I scan the room; empty. I had hoped that Mom would've cooked something. My brain was way too fatigued to even think about cooking, and I'm not even going to start on how my body feels. I Reluctantly, I grab a few items to make a bowl of cereal and sit at the table. As I chose my mouth, my mind takes in exactly where I'm sat; the head of the table. As the oldest male in the family, and father's passing, the role of our families provider falls on me. It doesn't bother me, truly; there's no one I love more than my mother and sister and I know I'd do anything to protect and supply their every need. I'm not sure if it's the immaturity of my age, my analytical anxious mind or just my plain old personality, but the amount of times I catch myself worrying about our future, stressing about work, and planning every next move with its consequence and which one to choose; it keeps getting out of hand! I can easily zone out for 10 minutes now, and my train of thought is getting hard to control; the outcomes are now ending in unspeakable dangers I've never heard of. I shake my head angrily and grumble, "You're doing it again, Pete. Snap out of it". It's amazing how I manage to humor myself in my own solitude; I let out a small chuckle.

          The beautiful melody of my mother and Lacy's voice intertwining fills the air behind me. I gasp and close my eyes, taking in the sweet melody; their singing my lullaby. When a Fliegen woman is expecting, throughout the entire pregnancy she starts to put together a song dedicated for the child; his or her lullaby. No one can hear it before the moment of the child's birth; the dedication. From that point on, it's tradition to sing the lullaby at every birthday. Which explains my present occurrence; I forgot my own birthday! Lacy, my gorgeous sister, places the cake in front of me, smiling with her big blue eyes. She was unique as always; no one else had brown hair and blue eyes. Mother kisses my forehead and I can feel the tears slide onto my face. "You are officially a man, Peter. I'm sorry for everything you've had to face with your few years." I stood, taking my mother and sister into my arms. taking a deep breath to hide my emotion I replied, "I'd do anything to keep both of you safe; you're my only family." They smiled and squeezed me tight and I obliged easily.

          "Did your lunch not fill you up, Peter?" my mothers concerned voice rang through my ear almost inexistent through mu loud munching; I had a habit of groaning when I was overly enjoying a meal. She had all the right to call me out on it; with all the stress in the mountains, my mind wasn't really focused on eating until the end of the day. It's been normal for a couple weeks; I didn't think she'd notice. "I haven't had time to eat, Mother. We've been making the most of our time up the mountains." Her eyes soften and she was about to speak but Lacy beat her to it, "That's no reason for you to starve yourself, Pete. I can bring you lunch if you want; I know you like my cooking." I let out a hardy laugh and Mother, to my surprise, a small giggle, "Lacy, I love you to pieces, but you are not gifted in the kitchen. I 'd much rather have you sew my me a new climbing suit." I tried not to laugh as she scowled and muttered to herself. "So Pete, what do you want to do for your birthday tomorrow?" Mother already knew what I wanted; permission to visit Grandfather's cave. It was my favorite place on earth. In his young days, Grandfather would spend much of his time up in his cave, once you reached a certain amount of time working up in the mountains everyone in my family had the right to claim a cave; Grandfather's just happened to be the highest and deepest one; not to mention the dangerous path to reach it. Which is why the mother hated the idea of me going there. "I'd like your permission to go to Grandfather's cave. That's all I ask." Lacy looked at Mother with pleading eyes; she knew how important this was for me. Mother breathed heavily and deeply, "I guess if it's what you want, and I know you know your way well. Just be careful, okay?" Lacy screamed, "Yes! Mother, Pete is the best seeker on the mountain! He'll be fine! Pete, you better bring me a souvenir." She winked and I knew exactly what she wanted. "Enough with the smirks off to bed with the both of you, I'll finish up here. Good Night my dears." Mother kissed us both to bed.

          A few hours later, while I played in bed planning my day I heard the cries of my Mother. Contemplating over the coming changes and challenges we have and will face without Pa. Closing my eyes. I took in a deep breathe and vowed to make things better for us all.