Chapter One: Autumn
The falling confetti of autumn leaves gently blankets the road as the wind sings soft lullabies to the people in the sleepy town of Midgard when Hearth wakes up to the squirrels chattering outside his window. Autumn, Hearthstone smiles to himself as he lazily crawls out of bed, flattening his bed hair as he crawled over to the windows to fill his room with the warm autumn rays behind his curtains. It's here.
The sunlight pooled into his room, flooding everything in golden light as Hearth blinks rapidly, eyes adjusting to the bright light as he gazed out of the window to witness Fall in its golden glory for the first time. It was in the summer when his family moved from Alfheim to Midgard, and back there they never had any seasons, so Hearth had specially marked out today just to witness his first autumn in this new town.
"Mm, Brother, close the curtains please…" Andirion murmurs as Hearth drinks in the fiery red leaves, the barren trees and the leaf-covered road in front of him, amazed by the vibrant colors and the beauty of autumn.
"Of course, Di," Hearth whispers apologetically as he lets the curtains fall over the windows once again, cutting off the enchanting scenery and the vibrant shine of the sun rays from his line of vision.
Hearth caught a whiff of burning pumpkin alongside with the creamy smell of hot cocoa from the kitchen as he slipped into his fluffy slippers, padding off into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Mom must have messed up her pumpkin pie again.
Hastily brushing his teeth and emptying his bladder from a good night's sleep, Hearth scurried down the stairs as fast has his knobby legs could take him. It ran in the family, Hearth noted as he remembered seeing Father's legs all knobby as well. Oh well.
"Hearthstone! Have you brushed your hair? It looks like a rat's nest!" Father hollered at him as he dashed through the living room where Father was reading his newspaper.
"Good morning too, Father!" Hearth yelled back as he weaved his way through the chairs in the dining room, raking his hand through the tangle of hair on his head. Just another typical 'Good Morning' from Dad again. He ignored the twinge of pain flaring in his heart. Some things never change.
"Hearth! What brings you down to Mom's lair this early in the morning, eh?" Mother laughed lightly as Hearth burst through the kitchen doors, brimming in excitement. "Did you smell the pumpkin pie Mom made especially for the celebration of our first autumn today?"
"Oh yes Mother! You are making pie! Have you burnt it like the others yet?" Hearth laughed teasingly as he hovered behind his Mother's shoulders, watching her fry eggs in a leaf-shaped mold.
"Hearth, my dear boy, don't underestimate my cooking skills! I may have failed my first few attempts, but that doesn't mean that I can't make a decent one!" Mother tapped his nose in a mock-stern way as she pouted playfully at Hearth's laughing figure around her waist. "Go set the table for breakfast, won't you Hearth? Help Mom out here a bit, please?"
Hearth quickly shielded his eyes from his mom's imminent puppy-eye look. "Okay, okay Mom! Don't give me the creepy dog eyes stare!" He yelped as Mom jabbed him in the side as Hearth darted away to get the utensils.
"It's supposed to be cute, not creepy!" Mom called behind him.
"Maybe it's your face that doesn't look cute!" Hearth threw back as Mom cried out an indignant "Hearthstone!" before the doors swung shut, blocking out her cries from the stuffy kitchen.
Heh, Hearth one, Mom zero! Hearth's subconscious mocked as he mentally punched the air triumphantly, setting down the plates and begun setting up for breakfast.
He vaguely heard Father waking Andirion up as he laid the last fork down onto the chestnut brown table and mock-wiped the sweat away from his brow. His eyes darted to the French windows and quickly he paced towards them.
Silently, he flung the two windows open and reveled in the sights of autumn as he felt the wind caress his figure in a comforting embrace while he watched the maple tree in their yard shed its leaves in the morning breeze. How could something dead seem so beautiful? Hearth wondered as his eyes lingered onto a single yellow leaf floating down, down, down…
Eh? What's that? Hearth questioned as his attention now focused on a smudge of black in the early autumn morning fog, slowly getting bigger and bigger as it traveled up the road leading to their neighborhood. It's been a month since the family in House 07 moved out. Could it be the new family moving in?
The shiny black van stopped in front of house 07 and a figure stepped out. The person was shrouded in fog and blurry in the early light as Hearth squinted, curiosity getting the better of him as he attempted to see the newcomer's face. Aww, it's so foggy, I can't see a thing! Hearth lamented as the figure stepped out of sight.
Then another figure stepped out of the van, this time smaller and about Andirion's size. Well, at least Andirion will have some company… Maybe I could join them too? Hearth fiddled with his slightly oversized sweater, childish hopes filling his mind as he watched the boy's foggy figure standing outside the house.
And just then, the wind blew and the clouds parted above to let a ray of sunlight down onto the newcomer's features, and Hearth stops thinking altogether.
The boy was… different. That was it. He had chocolate brown skin, something that Hearth had never seen before and hair as dark as night. And when the boy's head whipped around towards the sunlight, Hearth caught the mahogany orbs with flecks of gold glinting under the gleaming shine of the morning rays as the boy tipped his head towards the light, reveling in its warm embrace on his skin.
Hearth remembers reading about dark-skinned people on another continent of Earth, and excitement buzzes in his brain. Maybe he did come from Nidavellir?
When the chocolate-skinned boy's eyes met his, Hearth fumbles, head in a mess from the new discovery and the sheer curiosity taking over him as the boy stares at him and with the lack of ideas, he gives a smile and a shy wave towards the exotic boy.
The sun seems to shine brighter in Hearth's vision then when the dark-haired boy threw him back a lazy smile, hand waving and gold flecks in his eyes twinkling as he turned around and plodded off towards his house, Hearth's heart beating wild and carefree as the boy receding figure left his line of sight, swallowed once again by the hungry fog.
Great start Hearth! Hearth congratulated himself as his Mother called him to 'Give mommy a helping hand' with the food. Now to do the introductions!
Hearth fumbled with the French windows, pulling them back to their original places as his Mother starts rushing him to hurry and get the food, Hearth's head in clouds of imagining playing with his new neighbor as he makes his way to the kitchen, sunshine in his veins from the discovery of the new boy.
I guess not all the people here are stuck-ups after all.
Author's note:
Hey there! Calcium here!
How is the story going so far? Is the pace too fast or too slow? Any errors in the Chapter? What do you think of Hearth and his family? Anywhere I can improve on, language or story plot wise? This is my first fanfiction so I'm a tad bit nervous about it (-w- ;) and I could use some feedback to improve on this fanfic!
Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to pick this book up, and I hope to present to you more chapters for Always Human in the foreseeable future!
Lotsa Luv:
~CalciumWrites