by Indie Gantz
“Yeah?” I respond, strangely breathless all of the sudden.
“I wouldn’t worry about Avias,” he tells me slowly, as if not completely sure he should be saying anything on the subject.
“What?” I ask, confused.
“I know you worry about your brother, but I promise, Tirgan is safe with Avias.” Oleander smiles and pushes off from the doorframe. “He’s a good friend.”
I study his features and find nothing to hint at dishonesty. I don’t really know why Oleander’s gone out of his way to tell me this, except maybe it’s obvious that I’m worried about my brother and his relationship with Avias.
“Good to know. Thanks,” I reply, giving him a small smile.
Oleander returns the smile, lingering in the doorway for another moment before backing away into the kitchen and leaving me to hide the map in my bedroom.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Fear of Comparison
We’re late getting to the game.
Cyra had a tantrum when Robin stopped singing mid-performance so we could leave. Kor soothed her with funny voices, and Robin promised to dance the entire way down to the field to make it up to her, but, despite this, it still took awhile to get out of the house.
The toddler pulled water from absolutely every source she could and then threw it at her parents until she was too exhausted to continue. The experience gave Bo an opportunity to practice evaporation, which was a plus, but I couldn’t help but wonder…
If Tirigan and I had been given the opportunity to keep our powers as children, would we have done much worse?
I can imagine it’d be rather dangerous for a child without impulse control to have the power to destroy things just by thinking it. Of course, I don’t really know the extent of that power since I haven’t truly tried it yet, but no matter the scale, it’d definitely be a power best not left in the hands of a toddler.
When we finally make it down to the field, there are about a dozen people in uniform spread out over the grass between the two goals. Groups of people line the sidelines on either side of the field, ready to watch the game.
I spot Tirigan as we make our way down the hill and toward the field. He stands with his hands on his hips, his eyes narrowed on the ball being kicked between players.
Avias and Oleander’s team wear white, while the other’s in green. The green team has the ball at the moment, and the people at the other side of the field are cheering loudly for them. As we reach Tirigan, I hear him curse under his breath.
“Not doing so well?” I ask, stepping in beside him. The rest of the family spread out along the line and start cheering Avias and Oleander on, but I stay silent to listen to Tirigan.
Overall, Avias and Oleander’s team have done well thus far, but there was a poorly timed pass a moment ago, and the other team was able to steal the ball.
I search the field, looking for Avias and Oleander, but I find Calor first. He’s grappling with a girl with violet hair on the other team, who tries to keep the ball as she dribbles the ball down the field. Her feet move quickly around Cal, but he keeps up with her. Just as she plants her foot to pass the ball, Cal sweeps in and skims it away from her, taking the ball with him toward the middle of the field, then passing it to an open player close to the other team’s goal.
The girl catches up with Cal. She wears a wide smile on her face and says something to him that makes him laugh. His eyes stay on the ball up field, where Avias is striking the ball towards the goal. The ball goes in, and the crowd around us cheers. I join in after a second, but I keep my eyes on Cal, who’s still talking to the violet-haired girl from the other team.
After the goal, the teams reset to their own sides, and the ball is placed in the middle. Avias makes his way to center field, preparing to kick off, as Cal moves into position toward the back of the field. Cal’s still talking to the girl on the other team as she sets herself up in the middle of the field to receive the kickoff from Avias.
“Will you be needing more time?” Avias shouts back at Calor. “Or can we play the game?”
Cal almost trips over his own feet, but he says nothing in return. Instead, he just rests his hands on his knees at his position on the field. Behind him, Oleander stands in the goal box, gloves on his hands and wearing a differently colored shirt than the rest of his team.
Avias and Calor’s relationship is consistently antagonistic.
Unless Avias has told him, Tirigan still knows nothing concrete about Avias and Calor’s past, but I don’t think now’s the time to enlighten him. “Well, you can’t be friends with everyone.”
Apparently not.
Avias kicks off the ball and the game resumes.
It goes on like that for an hour, both teams scoring pretty infrequently. I can see why these two teams made it to the final game; most of the players have brilliant footwork and the goalies are exceptional. Bo complains from time to time about her team not making it and that she should be the one on the field, but I can tell she’s impressed, too.
At one point, towards the last few minutes of the game when Avias and Oleander’s team is one goal down, Avias ends up on the sidelines to throw in a ball that’s been kicked out of bounds. His teammates try to make themselves open to receive the ball, and one girl up front is especially good at skirting her opponent. My eyes fall to Cal, who’s once again talking to the violet-haired girl from before. She’s behind him, pushing his body forward slightly, while he pushes back against her. It looks like she’s trying to get in front of him to steal the ball should it come to Cal, but they’re laughing as they struggle.
The next thing I know, Avias throws the ball directly into Cal’s unsuspecting face. It bounces off his nose, which immediately bursts open. Blood pours down over his lips.
The ball soars out of bounds again, and a whistle sounds, but I barely hear it because my focus is on Avias. His eyes are wide with shock and immediate regret. Cal’s eyes are wide too and looking at Avias, his hands covering his bleeding nose.
“What the hell, Avias!” the violet-haired girl yells, just as another woman shouts from down the field.
“Avias! Get over here!”
Two different players on Avias’ team come onto the field while Cal makes his way to the sidelines.
He did that on purpose, Tirigan accuses, bewildered.
How do you know?
I could feel something from him, right before... he was angry.
“Well, I think that’s obvious,” I reply, watching Avias as he slowly walks down the sidelines to the woman waiting for him. I can’t hear her, but I can tell she’s scolding him severely.
“Coach Marg’s giving him quite the lickin' for that one,” Bo says from beside me. “Can’t believe he actually did that.”
The woman Bo called Marg continues to speak sternly to Avias while Cal is tended to by another boy on the team. There’s a bloody towel up against his face, and an older man stands beside him, his large arms crossed over his chest. I can’t hear what he’s saying either, but when the older man’s eyes fall to Avias, my blood runs cold. The large man starts stalking toward him, a snarl on his face.
“I want him out of the game, Marg!” the man yells as he points to Avias.
The coach raises her hands up to separate the older man from Avias. I can’t see my friend’s expression because his back is to me, but his shoulders are square and his head high. He certainly isn’t cowering. I look behind me to Kor and Vi who’re watching the exchange with interest, but neither of them move.
“Is he okay?” I ask Tirigan. “Ask him if he’s okay.”
Tirigan doesn’t respond, but I know he hears me.
Avias’ shoulders jump slightly, and then his head turns to look at us over his shoulder. It’s a quick glance, but it’s enough to see that Avias isn’t exactly troubled by this man’s treatment of him.
He says he is fine. He feels badly for what he did, but he claims he can handle Calor’s father.
“That’s Cal’s fat
her?” I ask.
Bo nods beside me. “Oh yeah, can’t you see where Luc gets his good looks?”
She laughs. I force a smile. It feels like I’m more concerned than anyone else seems to be. This man is seriously large, twice the size of Avias, and he does look a lot like Cal’s bully of an older brother. Both keep their hair short and buzzed close to their heads, both of them have arms the size of my head, and they seem to share the same temperament. Despite Avias’ goading, Cal has proven he doesn’t share that trait with his father and brother.
The game begins again, but I can’t take my eyes away from the scene playing off the field.
Cal moves up the sidelines and toward his father and Avias. When his coach sees him approaching, she steps around Cal’s father and takes Cal’s face in her hands, inspecting and then waving a hand over his nose. The bleeding stops instantly and disappears from his face.
Cal’s father says something to Avias, but I can’t hear what it is.
He told Avias to stay away from his son, Tirigan tells me.
“Should we go over there?”
“No,” Tirigan replies. “Avias is capable.”
“There’s only two minutes left in the game,” Vi tells us, her eyes on the field. The other team just scored. Oleander has his hands on his hips and his head bent back, obviously frustrated.
“Oleander will need some cheering up later,” Kor supplies. “Perhaps we could fill his half of his bedroom with lilacs tonight. He’d like that.”
“I can grow those!” Robin shouts with pride.
“Well then,” Kor says, bending down to his son. “You shall be our resident cheerer-upper.”
Robin cheers again, and Cyra joins in, both of them jumping and dancing around while they pull water and flowers up from the ground.
I shift my focus back to Avias, who’s walking back toward us and leaving Cal’s father looking very angry. Avias looks smug more than anything else, so I guess he was right about being able to handle the older man.
“What did you say to him?” I ask as Avias reaches us.
“I just gave him a gentle reminder, that’s all.” The statement is loaded with things that are a mystery to me, but it’s obvious that Avias has no intention of elaborating. He turns his attention back to the field as his team makes a valiant attempt to score before the game’s over. But time runs out and the whistle blows, signaling the end of the game. The other team and their spectators cheer wildly. Avias curses as Oleander sulks away from the goal.
“I apologize, Oleander,” Avias says when Oleander makes it to us. “My behavior probably cost us the game.”
“Probably?” Oleander responds, eyebrows up. “Cal is the best defender we have. Without him, I was completely buggered!”
“I know,” Avias replies. “I don’t know what came over me. I... I’m sorry.”
Bo steps between them and places a hand on each of their shoulders.
“Well, what’s done is done, yeah?” She nods her head in Cal’s direction. He stands between his older brother and his father, his eyes on Avias. “Although, I’m thinkin’ Ollie here isn’t the only one you need to be makin’ amends with.”
Avias scoffs at his sister. “I’d sooner jump off the nearest cliff, thank you.”
Kor looks less than impressed, narrowing his eyes at his son and cocking his head to the side. Avias notices, his chest falling slightly under Kor’s scrutiny. The elder Aérasian doesn’t let up, his obvious disapproval radiating through the group without a single word spoken.
“Oh, stop it,” Avias finally says. “You’ll give yourself an aneurysm. I’ll go over and apologize.”
Kor steps back and smiles. “Really?” He shrugs, as if he hadn’t been pushing his son do to exactly that. “If that’s what you think is best.”
Avias rolls his eyes while the rest of us chuckle softly.
The crowd is thinning significantly, most of the players and spectators leaving the field in various directions.
Cal, Luc, and their father are still on the sidelines, but the older man begins to make his way towards the hill.
“Better run and catch him, Ave,” Bo teases. “Wouldn’t want to miss your chance to grovel.”
Avias gives his sister an unamused glare followed by a rude gesture, then turns and walks confidently in the direction of Cal and Luc. Surprisingly, Tirigan follows behind him after a moment, giving Avias space but staying close at the same time. I share a look with Bo and Oleander, who both shrug and step in behind Tirigan. I follow them without pause.
“What do you want?” Luc asks as Avias approaches. His chest puffs up as he steps in front of his little brother, but Avias doesn’t look impressed. He ignores Luc and turns his attention to Cal.
“I came to apologize for what I did. It was uncalled for.”
Cal looks stunned by Avias’ remorse, but says nothing.
“You cost yourself the game with that stunt of yours,” Luc interjects, taking another step forward. Their father is half way up the hill now, not looking behind him.
“I am aware,” Avias replies, his tone even. “Hence, the apology.”
“You think you’re so damn smart, don’t you?” Luc replies, taking another step so that he’s nearly chest to chest with Avias.
“Careful,” Avias taunts, almost cheerfully. He steps into Luc’s challenge. “Don’t want to get too close. It might be contagious.”
Cal rushes forward and pushes Luc and Avias apart.
“You got some kind of death wish?” Luc yells over Cal’s shoulder.
“Back off, Luc,” Cal commands, pushing his brother away. “Let’s just go.”
He spares Avias a cursory glance, then turns back around toward the hill. Luc starts to turn around, but before he does, he sends another scathing look Avias’ way.
“Don’t think just because you talk like you’re something special that it means you actually are. I know what you are. You ain’t nothing.”
I’m prepared for Avias to either ignore him or send back a dry rebuttal, but what I’m not prepared for is Tirigan’s reaction. I feel it before I see it, a sudden rush of rage that overwhelms my senses. Then my brother’s hand is jutting out quickly, sending Luc flying backward. His body skids across the ground, pulling up grass as he goes.
“Tirigan!” I yell, jumping in front of him to block any attack Luc or Cal might send back to him. Cal doesn’t look like he intends to do anything about it, but he does look just as shocked as I do. He looks frantically at Avias, who steps in front of me. Tirigan pushes me aside, refusing my attempt to block him, and stands next to Avias.
I check behind us to see that Kor and Vi are each holding a child and looking at us cautiously.
Luc gets to his feet, his face red and contorted into a furious expression. He slams his fist together and they burst into flames. I find myself more irritated with the situation than afraid. How the hell is he doing that without exploding?
“A bit of an overreaction, Tirigan,” Oleander breaks the tension, speaking calmly. I nod in agreement.
Seriously, what were you thinking?
I-I couldn’t help it. I was just so angry. I lost control.
“Luc,” Cal says quietly, arms up again. “Let it go. You pissed him off. It’s over. Let’s just go.” His older brother ignores him. The fire running over his closed fists grows bigger and bigger until he has two balls of fire hovering over each hand.
They hurl towards us a second later.
I’m the first to react, remembering just in time that my public element is Aéras now. I push the fireballs back in Luc’s direction, and he absorbs them back into his hands as if he were putting on gloves. His hands appear to glow for a few seconds, and then they return to normal.
The fire in his eyes, however, hasn’t tempered.
“This is pointless,” Avias says softly, his eyes flick to Cal who nods in agreement.
“He’s right, Luc,” Cal agrees. Luc jerks his head so fast in Cal’s direction, I’d be surprise
d if he didn’t have a spasm right after.
“What? You’re defending him?” He steps forward, eyes now falling to me. His body looms over mine, but I’m not afraid. I don’t know why, but I’m confident I can take whatever he comes up with. I may not know everything he does about Fotiá, but I know I have more power.
I keep my eyes on him, leveling him with my stare, and then step forward, making Luc take a step back. My lips curl into a smile I doubt I’d recognize in the mirror. It must radiate my confidence. My strength. I feel them both coursing through me and begging to be exerted. Before I can make a move, though, Luc’s eyes widen with fear. He stumbles backward.
Charlie?
Tirigan pulls me out of whatever adrenaline rush pushed me into this state of artful dominance.
Luc’s still staring at me, albeit with more distance between us, but I break our eye contact to look at Tirigan. When I do, I feel a release of sorts, like I’m letting go of something heavy.
Tirigan’s thoughts stutter as our eyes meet. Your eyes…for a moment… they were indigo again.
“I’ve never seen eyes like that,” Luc says, anger still coating his words but fear cutting through them.
Oh no. I’ve just exposed us again, and this time I really didn’t mean to. Why can’t I control myself? Why can’t I just think?
“How did you even—” Luc continues to question. His eyes trail over my body, likely taking in the lack of Gi stones to allow such a cast. “You’re supposed to be Aérasian. How—”
“Listen, Luc,” Oleander interrupts, moving between us and placing a hand on Luc’s shoulder. It’s a bold move. Oleander has more height on Luc, but I’m pretty sure Luc is strong enough to bend him in half. “Avias has apologized. Tirigan here was simply defending his friend’s honor, and Charlie just wants to protect her brother. It’s over now. Let’s all just go about our days, yeah?”