Kindred

Chapter 3

"Hey, Dad!" Moira flung herself forward as her father turned around just in time for her to wrap her arms around his midsection. He affectionately wrapped an arm around her and set the mallet he was still holding in his other hand onto the table behind him. He was wearing a white tank top, and it made his Cerulean markings extremely visible. Almost like tree roots, they wound their way over his skin. There was no real starting point. The main line that coursed down his arms looked as if the markings were carved into his skin, with smaller root-like lines twisting away from the main. In the valley on the main line was a vibrant blue that showed through a thin barrier of skin; everyone was born with them this way. The color of his markings highlighted their path underneath the thin fabric covering his torso.

The thing that determined the color you'd be born with depended on which color Kindred your parents were; this would also determine the powers you were born with. So, of course, Moira had Cerulean markings, the same as her father, with the ability of mental empathy.

What would happen if two different Kindred had a baby? Moira sighed slightly, just another question to add to her ever-growing list.

At the moment, her markings could only be seen at the edges of her uniform, around her wrists, and at her neck. A few people had markings that were on their faces, but not many.

"Haha, hey kiddos, how was school?" Robert looked up at Riley with a smile on his face. Letting go of Moira, he turned back toward the table that was scattered with his woodworking tools and placed his hands on the edges of the table. Riley walked up to the table, looking at the project in front of him to gauge how close to completion it was.

"Oh you know, same ole same ole." Moira dragged her fingers down her face, exaggerating an expression of agony. "Mrs' Silverstein is convinced that we need to know every step that was taken in the planning of the city.... Always a blast listening to road development." Next to them, Riley pointed a finger gun at his head and made an explosion sound.

"Well, it is always good to learn as much as possible, especially while the information is so readily available to both of you." Robert gently grabbed Moira's shoulder with an affectionate squeeze.

"I know it seems silly now, but you shouldn't take it for granted."

"After we are out of the academy, we can always go to the information center if we need to know anything, but I guess you're right. But who in their right mind wants to spend thirty minutes walking there anyway?" Moira picked up a paintbrush and rounded the table toward the window frames leaning against the far left side of the workroom wall. Robert chuckled lightly and rolled his eyes.

"Alright, you two, let's get to it." Her father rolled his shoulders and his neck simultaneously, to release tension from an already long workday. "We have at least three hours worth of work here, so we'd best start now. Dinner is in the oven on low, Riley you staying for dinner? I can send an Ob-messenger to your house to let your parents know."

"Oh man, that sounds great! My mom wanted to try out a new casserole tonight, I'm sorry, but tuna and eggplant do not sound like a good combination to me." Riley put a hand over his stomach with a worried frown dawning on his face. Taking off his school shirt, Riley haphazardly threw it over a nearby stool, leaving him in a white short-sleeved undershirt. Moira did the same; only she was wearing a white tank-top.

"Happy to have you!" Robert made his way over to a box on the wall, on the right side of the shop, about shoulder height. Opening it, he pressed the black button inside.

"Ok, so the frames there all need to be sanded. I don't mind how the two of you divide the work." Stepping back from the box. "But there are eight frames total that need to be sanded and stained, and remember we need four layers of stain on each one for the color the Stanley's are looking for. I'll be right back; I'm going to give the message to the Obsidian I just called for to deliver to your parents, Riley." Robert rubbed his hands together, eyes dancing at the idea of finishing a project with a nice payout. Then he turned and made his way out sliding door that had been left open.