A strange thing happened today.
As Luc walked to his tree with his dinner, this being normal and a daily routine, a curious older brother stalked him.
Caies.
Caies, being the fifth oldest, was deemed a shy and curious child. He hardly ever talked and while the other brothers played he sat by himself and read books or played on his lute.
It didn't take long for Caies to realize Luc's absence from the dinner table, creating an anxious curiosity for the whereabouts of Luc.
As Luc reached his tree, he turned around and sat down, his back against the tree with his dinner on a plate in his hand. As he touched the ground with his flat, he noticed a shadowy figure standing not to far from him.
This startled him, his dinner almost falling from his hand as he shoots his head up to gain a better view.
Caies just stood there, hands behind his back as he leans forward, head tilted.
"So this is where you go," he says, a childish and soft voice.
Luc just sat there, finding himself in a new and cornered position.
"You don't speak much, do you?" Caies asks as he blows onto his silver hair, trying to get it away from his eyes.
"Go away.", Luc said quietly.
Caies begins to pout, placing a hand by each of his hips. "That's not very nice."
"Go away." he repeats.
Caies burrows his brow, "You're weird."
After realizing his first two attempts weren't very affective, Luc attempted a more blunt approach.
"I'll hit you."
"And I'll hit you right back."
The plate dropped down to the ground, spilling its contents as Luc charged from his sitting position.
It didn't take much to had Caies drop down too, the punch causing him to land on his flat.
Luc didn't want to continue with the fight, afraid of what his father might do if he figured out. He just stood there, above Caies as the arm he used to hit him still remaining outstretched.
A sniff was all that Luc heard before his brother clumsily got up and ran off, thinking he wasn't too much of a fighter. Yet again they're kids, most would cry on the spot from a hit like that.
As Luc watched Caies run off into the distance, he turned around and looked at his dinner with a frown.
Little to say, he didn't get much to eat that night as he cuddled up by his mother, his head neatly placed against the wooden roots. 'What a strange day.' he thought to himself, this was the first time in a while that a brother came up to him, yet alone came to him when he was by his tree.
The next day was typical; He got up, grabbed his plate and returned it to the kitchen. Not finding much to do other than to walk around, keeping a curious eye out in case Caies was looking at him, which to his avail he didn't even find him.
As the sun rose to it's apex and began it's decent back down, Luc was waiting patiently for his meal which a mother had to come by and give it to him. Always without conversation.
He began his walk home, his true home.
He would nibble on his food a bit on the journey, being patient with it always since he enjoyed eating with the company of the tree.
He would sometimes talk to the tree, pretending it would listen and offer its feedback. But deep down he knew the tree was incapable of such things.
He hummed to himself as he continued his journey, taking only a few glances back at him. Making sure Caies wasn't following him again.
"Hm?" he questions himself, confused at the sudden brightness of the day. The sun should be setting now, but he finds it nonetheless over the hill.
He stopped, legs refusing to continue further. He eyes widen as they stare into a fire, a trees silhouette engulfed in the middle.
'I would hit you right back,' Caies's words echod in his head.
Luc let go of the plate as he began to scream, dropping to his knees as his hands furiously tear on his hair.
Hours pasted before Luc got up from ground, his face covered in dirt. His legs barely supporting him as they trembled.
His eyes refused to meet the tree as he turned around, the crackling of the flames dying out behind him as he started to slowly whimper back his way to the house.
His legs gave in twice on the trip, knees covered in scratches dirt.
He finally arrived at the house, face dried from tears. The cape of night covering the lands as the house showed few dimmed lights, the house being asleep as the dark cloudy sky loomed above it.
His eyes would stare at it, hating it for standing as a home for those he value little while his home falls. Clenching his fists, he began to creak into the entrance. To his surprise, the door was unlock.
He hasn't been inside the house at this late of an hour, at least to the best of his memory. The living room was dark, only having the fireplace to lit it.
His mind only ran one basic simple principle at the moment, hatred.
Grabbing an unlit torch by the entrance, he ran to the fireplace. His undeveloped legs sprinting quickly to it as he stabs the torch into the fireplace. His breathing became heavy as the torch was lit, pulling it out as more air was being fed to it.
Turning his back from fireplace, he looked at a familiar painting. The painting showed a family tree, each of his brother's names neatly handwritten by a root, oldest being Alekith and youngest being Ceplen. His name burnt off.
He let out cry as he threw the torch at the painting, nearly knocking it down from the wall.
His stagger breathing slowly being calmed down as he watches the flames erupt from below the painting, catching the carpet on fire.
He did not wait to watch the painting catch fire, he escaped the house and ran a distance before turning his gaze back at it. The fire grown to fill the entire entrance.
Laughing was the only thing he could do right now, he starred at the lit house as his eyes began to fill up with tears again, his smile wobbles as he falls once more. His knees not being there to catch him as he falls completely flat on his chest, crying.
