It was the same night, only a couple hours until sunrise. Red was walking home just after separating from Rennen, the cold air could be seen from his breath. Stopping in front of the porch he could see Jane rocking in a chair with a cup of tea and wrapped in several blankets.
A sharp tingle hit his lower neck, slinging a tusked boar off his shoulder he steps onto the porch and without words pours himself some tea and sits down next to Jane.
Jane reached over and overlapped her hand onto his "I need to tell you something."
Red takes a sip of tea."mh?"
She tells him about the flower, the way it disappeared. How Anecus said he simply "agreed" with it. Red doesn't interrupt. His fingers flex against her hand.
Red "That wasn't any Pillar or ability I have ever heard of. It sounds new."
She pauses. Then turns to face him more fully. "You know my family's bloodline. What it's known for. Contractors, Deviant traits passed from mother to daughter."
Red nods "Dozens of daughters, No sons."
With her eyes wet from worry "Not for generations not until me. Even I wasn't what they wanted. I was too curious, too loud." A smile found her face, bitter and fond at the same time. "They used to whisper about what would happen if a boy was born. A true heir. A son who inherited not just the gift, but a mutation." Anecus hadn't just inherited Jane's Deviant trait but it mutated into something greater. Further strengthened from Red's bloodline.
Resulting in a unique being who isn't like anyone else. Jane puts it into the best way she could "He wasn't just born with a simple deviant ability. It's almost like he, himself, is a living deviance."
Silence fell for a while, the sound of the flickering lantern filled the space. Until Jane "if my family ever finds out… if they even suspect."
Immediately, coldly Red responds "They won't." gripping her hand a little tighter.
Jane "They'll try to claim him or worse recreate him into whatever they think he is."
Looking into her eyes with the warmth of a husband and father but at the same time what he used to be. "Then they'll die before they get close."
Jane doesn't flinch. She reaches for his other hand "I don't wanna have to hide him, Red."
Red "Then we teach him how to survive. We prepare him for the day he can't hide."
The orchard is wet with dew and the house is quiet, Jane brews coffee inside. Cassia and Naia still sleep. Anecus is already outside barefoot, walking toward the far end of the grove where the sun breaks first over the fields.
Red is there Waiting. To his side stood a training post weathered from his own routines. At his feet a swatch of stones and some leather wraps for hand to hand combat.
Anecus stop in front of the satchel of stones and Red speaks. "Your mother wanted me to start your training early. She fears for your future…don't bring her fears to light."
Anecus for his credit only flinched a little. Red gestures to the stones "you'll carry these when we run, you'll speak only when asked. You'll learn to listen, for the lie in a voice and the truth found in silence."
Anecus, already following his father's instruction, doesn't speak and just nods in understanding. He bends down to pick up the stones, they're heavier than they look. "Well go until your legs shake. Then you'll carry them longer." Red pointing down a path singling for him to start. "When you stand before the world one day it won't care who you are unless you bend it to your will."
Hours passed…no days? 'How long have I been running?' Anecus weighed down by the rocks almost trips on a root. "Ugh, my legs hurt and my lungs are burning."
Red was running alongside him, not even out of breath. "If you can talk, you're not running fast enough. Pick it up." Anecus cursed at himself 'me and my big mouth.'
Anecus had been running for so long he had entered an autopilot state 'I can't even feel my legs anymore, the pain is gone?' crossing over a hill he starts running toward a tree line that's outside the warded fence of the town. 'I'm not out of breath anymore?'
Red lead Anecus through brush and trees, it became quieter the deeper they went. The trees seemed more respectful, somehow. Finally they came to a wide patch of flat earth surrounded by three old will trucks…'The grass is soft.'
Red stopped and turned, this caused Anecus to stop as well and it all hit him at once. The pain in his legs, his lungs. He wanted to throw up. Gasping on the ground, Red did nothing letting his son go through the motions.
It took a good 10 minutes before he could sit up again. Anecus looked around and noticed that the sun was already in its late evening position. 'I have been running all day.' pulled out of his thoughts by his father's calm voice "tell me what you see."
Anecus measured his surroundings, "a training spot?"
Red raised his brow "look again."
'Why is there always a riddle!' Anecus frowned, eyes scanning with more care. The grass was too even. The trees are scarred in subtle and mirrored patterns. There were no birds, no underbrush. Almost like the wilderness didn't dare encroach on the area.
His eyes widened. "...this is where you train alone." looking back to his father. Red nodded once. "Correct. And from now on, this will be your training area as well." Anecus stood straighter at the words.
Not moving from his spot, Red started today's lesson. "No punching today, or any flashing techniques." He crouched and drew a perfect circle with some invisible force. "Sit here."
Anecus obeyed without question, crossed his legs and settled in. 'I'm so tired.' he watched as his father sat across from him just outside the circle. 'I wonder if we are almost done.'
"You have exhausted the body, and now we can start the first lesson. Stillness."
Blinking in confusion…"Stillness?" Red nodded "you want to be strong. But strength is nothing without silence, without direction. Every real move starts with knowing when not to move."
Taking in a deep breath, 'what does that even mean?' Anecus had some many questions. But his attention was brought to pebbles being placed between them. "You will sit here until one of these stones moves."
Tilting his head "Moves how?"
Sitting cross legged a few paces away "you'll know." and that was it. Anecus's mind was swarming and asked questions but Red stopped replying. Time passed with the only way to measure being the sun. The wind whispered gently through the willows, the world began to slow.
Anecus's breath had stabilized and the sweat had dried, 'is this a trick? Will he move them?' Red, noticing his son's scattered mind, gave a little push. "This is no trick, there are three stillnesses you must reach, body, speech and mind." he paused for a moment "you need to reach thoughtless awareness, before today's end."
Anecus nods his head 'ok…first breathe in breathe out.' and adjusted his breathing to be slower, more steady. He threw away his questions and did his best to empty his mind, 'no thought.'
After a few minutes the quiet sank in, the bird songs left. The swaying leaves left his perception, the earth warmed under him and he breathed. One hour passed, then two then three. Red said nothing.
At some point 'I don't know when but I forgot about the stones and forgot the waiting.' even his vision and hearing dulled…no division and he stopped taking in stimuli. Some drool started to fall down his lip.
Then ever so subtly Anecus began to come out the other side. First it was his hearing that came back, but it was different…there was more of it, more refined but not distracting. It was like the sounds were in his subconscious. Aware of it, but no thoughts regarding it. Then his feelings came back.
The fine grain of earth beneath him was warm from his body heat, it was sand like but smoother, a result from Red's constant Vector splicing. His touch sense heightened to feel the static pressure of the air. Lastly was his vision.
His eyes refocused along with his collective awareness, everything was brighter, and had sharper edges. He was aware of everything but at the same time not overwhelmed and had no thoughts or adjective opinions on anything.
Red, still sitting in silence in his own meditative state, opened his eyes and measured Anecus. 'He did it quicker than I thought.'
Looking at the pebbles Anecus didn't actively try to focus on them but just let them invade his vision, everything else blurred. Ever so slightly the pebbles started to vibrate. Then one of them in the smallest way possible shifted.
His eyes snapped to Red and said nothing did nothing, just smiled triumphantly. Red stood and stepped forward without applause but in a voice that held the faintest approval…"good" he placed a hand on top of his head. "You noticed without reaching."
Anecus looked up curiously, "what now?"
Red's eyes glinted beneath his brow "easy now, we have only just begun. You have taken the first step into a wider world." Red mid speaking looked down and noticed Anecus was on the verge of falling asleep while leaning against his leg. With a small chuckle Red picked up Anecus, rested his head on his shoulder and started walking home.
The cottage came into view, lantern light flickering through the windows, Cassia had tried to stay awake. A blanket was half draped over her, the rest bunched under her chin as she snored lightly on the couch. Jane was sitting at the hearth waiting.
She turned the moment she heard the door creak, her eyes softened instantly. "He didn't make it?"
Red chuckled under his breath "out before we cleared the tree line."
Jane stood stepping forward as Red shifted Anecus gently into her arms. She couldn't help but hold him close, brushing a bit of dirt from his cheek.
Looking up at Red "how was he?"
Red taking her and Anecus into a hug "he listened well." That was all he said.
She gave a knowing laugh because that's all she needed. They stood together in the warm hush, Anecus dozing between them, and the night folding softly around their little world.