Conversion

Felix and religion don't mix; his parents stumbled upon this little nugget of knowledge early in his life, before he was even five. They were ambivalent about religion themselves, preferring a calm morning stroll to praying in a chapel, and always said that no service could afford them that sort of peace. However, his disgustingly overbearing and mildly well off grandparents did not share this view and a few months after Felix's fourth birthday, in addition to holding financial security, they seemed to be well on their way to owning a shiny new set of death. Felix, though busy with playing mage and writing stories, understood very well just what cryptic terms like "kicking the bucket" and "waiting for the Grim Reaper" meant, and, moreover, knew that these fell far from compassionate terms. But his mother, despite her kind and mild nature, almost exclusively referred to her parents' imminent deaths with these phrases.

Even with rapid mental development, their son didn't understand that as soon as rich, old family members let it slip that their health was failing, their descendants were on them in a rush, trying to win favor. In this attempt, church attendance was absolutely key, as was a dash of grandson, since seldom was there an elderly couple that didn't coo over the chubby bundle of toddler.

Unfortunately, as the saying goes, even the best laid plans can go awry, and this was no exception. Everyone was well aware that today was the day that the ultra traditional cathedral held their 'sacred water' festival and Felix's parents were positive that this day was chosen solely to try their patience, with all of the unnecessary regalia and rituals. What no one had counted on was young Felix's utter distaste for the entire situation.

Said distaste led to a nasty incident occurring when he was carried to the front of the cathedral by his parents. To relay it simply, he made a mess. To elaborate, he managed to pierce the eardrums of those near him with many unearthly shrieks and douse every member of the holy order with their own blessed water, which in turn led to more injuries, due mainly to water-related falls. How did Felix's small family fare after that? Well, another story for another time, that is.

Despite all of the trauma associated with religion, Felix, now an educated teenager who not only old people cooed over, sat in Olacion's temple, staring forward intently. This was not the first time for this either, though no one but Olacion attendees knew that. Ever since Jack had dragged him here on one of those inane missions, Felix had returned, usually once a week, and recently the Felix-sightings have been on the rise. This could almost be considered a conundrum, if it wasn't so ridiculously easy to figure out, once you followed the boy's line of vision anyway.

The answer? Kain.

Practically the whole town worshipped this man, the one person that seemed to be able to give hope to the town when peace seemed out of reach. A 'cornerstone' of the city, even, inspiring others to defend their town, with his occasional trips into battle by Jack's side. With no exaggeration, he was the celebrity for the common people and a household name, no less famous than Lord Jasne himself. When he proclaimed, without any doubt or fear, that their beautiful city would never fall, no matter what was thrown against it or who the enemies had on their side, everyone believed him, and that was the magic of it all.

Now, even though he was sure that he had too much pride for this, he dreamed of the welcoming, smiling man that headed up Olacion and during hours of idleness his usually well-disciplined mind would slip into Kain-centered daydreams and he would find himself imagining, for a few scattered seconds, what it would be like to kiss him. And even if his fellow students wouldn't tease him mercilessly for "liking" men, Felix understood the futility of it: he might as well be trying to marry the queen.

Yay! I've picked up another challenge, but this time at 30kisses on livejournal and, predictably, I've decided that Kain and Felix will be my highly improbable pairing. :D

This was written for theme 7, which is 'superstar'. Review pleeease! Also, I hardly looked over it once, so if you notice anything... off, please let me know!

Also, I'm thinking of making these stories in a different 'world' than the other ones I was writing, wherein Kain was once a mischevious, rich boy and Felix was still an amnesiatic (real word?) scholarship kid. Obviously. :D