Burning The Ocean

2: Waiting

"The darkness has enveloped me."

"Get out from under the covers."

"I can't, for as I fear, the light burns." He dragged out the 'u' and 'r' for emphasis, like the dramatic human he was born to be.

His younger sister slid off of his bed, pulling the covers from his body, "and our Ma was glad we got a kitty in the family."

"I'm a lion tier...?"

"Lioness," she corrected him. She was true, of course. He had the symbol of a lion, a dark bold cross with light circles focusing on the cross. Yet, he held the 'X' above it with much less pride and enthusiasm.

"Still a lion."

She showed her pale forearm, moving her dark long curly locks in the process. They had the same everything. Same 5'10 height, same dark brown hair, same hazel eyes, and the same peach-ish skin.

He snapped out of his own mind, something he had to do often, and looked at his sixteen year old sisters forearm. She had just gotten her tier like everyone else does at the age of sixteen. She had gotten a boar. Aureus absolutely resented that. She turned out like everyone else in their family, except for looks, of course. He and her were the only ones with their grandmother's looks.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. You're just like mom, and Hagan. I know, mmkay."

Her expression dropped slightly, he didn't know how she felt, but he knew trying to fix the problem would only worsen the damage.

"I'll make you chocolate pancakes for breakfast, how about that?" She lit up with his words, and then the joy was just as quickly extinguished.

"You know, Aureus, we don't have the time," she picked up some clean clothes from his drawers and threw them in his face. "Just change, and we can eat school breakfast since Mama won't be here to cook."

"Pa...?"

"Not home."

He will swear up and down that she was one hundred and ten percent more mature than he was no matter how emotionally unstable at times.

"Dhara, I'm sorry. You were looking forward to hi-"

"Shut it. I'm fine. Get dressed. The bus will get here in... Fifteen minutes and thirty five seconds to be exact."

Aureus jumped out of his bed, tripping over his messy floor.

"Ew. Sleep in clothes!"

"Shorts are clothes...?"

"Oh hush it and change!" The female left the room, covering her eyes and staggering.

Aureus dressed quickly. A pair of pale blue jeans, a black sweater with the words 'like a lion' and the lion symbol over the heart, and his only pair of shoes, which were a dark grey.

......

"And then, Ian was all like-"

"You've told this story a million times." Ian interrupted the excited, short female, while simultaneously hugging her to him from behind.

"I like telling this story though." He quickly shut up, she was getting angry. "Anyway, Ian was all like, 'Don't touch her'. And, of course the guy didn't listen. So, Ian goes and punches him. Most romantic thing ever! Cue my dreamy sigh. And, rudest. Ian didn't have to hit him."

"Tauriel... I wouldn't think that's very romantic. Anyways," Aure closed his locker, shuffling the books in his hands. "We probably shouldn't be talking about fighting on school grounds. A teacher could pass, and..."