1
Chapter 3
Teachers
The next morning was insane. Neither of them had enough money to even purchase a bread roll for breakfast. So the had to settle with nothing after being chased off by an angry store clerk. Later on it was nearly hit and miss with a bus and an attack of crazed bloodhounds.
Plopping himself down upon a bench, he moaned. Kite merely growled at the sight of his complaining companion who lay slumped against the bench. The scent of dog drool wafted through the air around them causing Atrie to cough.
"Now I remember why I live in the countryside. First day in the city, fun. Second, hectic!" Atrie cursed.
Grabbing hold of the rim of Atrie's pants, Kite swished his head side to side, yanking him off the bench. Landing on the hard pavement, he hissed and smacked the fox's muzzle, who in turn snapped back.
"Kite what's gotten into you?"
"You're the one who's been complaining for the past two hours. So if you want to leave so bad, then lets go!" Kite hissed
Sighing, Atrie pulled himself off the ground and starred out at the gray, hazy sky. With a side-glance he nodded to him. In that instant, Kite clambered up Atrie's back, onto his arm and leapt off into the air, transforming into a large golden red glider. Snatching his master from the ground and soared into the sky. Leaving behind the city and many awestruck people who had seen his exit.
Back home in the valley of Red Wind, Matt lay back in the shade of his favorite oak down by the stream. Blue whiskered oxen grazed along the hill above. Grinding a sprig of grass in between his teeth he gazed at the old branches swaying in the wind. A few red rimmed leaves softly descending to the ground, some landing upon his head. Shaking them off, he rose from his resting place. Checking to see if the oxen were content, he wandered down a small trodden path to the village below.
Coming up the path to meet him was a boy by the name of Rachet. Rachet was not part of the main family, meaning Matt had a higher status than he. Even though he was much older and had more experience. Frustrated and jealous, he was often out in the field among the only family he truly knew, the oxen. His shaggy indigo hair gave him the appearance of one of them in the tall, ever shifting grass.
Pushing his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose, he glared at his rival.
"The Elder wants to see you. I'm here to cover your shift," he sneered.
"Thanks," Matt glared.
Shoving his way past Rachet he continued down the path towards his grandmother's house. Sliding the door open, he slipped off his shoes and stepped inside. All of the lights were off and a strange scent of incense wafted through the air. The scent was not of anything he had ever smelled and it began to make him feel strange. His shoulder pulsed with an sharp pain, wincing he tried to rub the agonizing pain away.
"Gran! You home? I was told you summoned me."
Peering into the darkness, he inched his way along the dim hall. A small light caught his eye from one of the rooms. Once close enough to see it clearly, he could make out several different ceremonial candles. Those of which he had never seen before. Stepping inside he called out again.
"Gran? It's me, Matt. You in here?"
From out of the shadows, five figures leapt upon him. Next thing he knew, he was bound by the wrist and ankles. Only one of the figures he recognized in the dim candle light.
"Granny?!? What's going on here? Why are you doing this!" He cried out.
One of the figures closed the door to deafen his cries to the outside world. Nodding to his grandmother, the figure walked over and landed a harsh blow to the back of his neck. The last thing Matt saw was his grandmother waving him away before everything went black.
The sound of trickling rain rang in his ears. Awaking to the sound, Matt found himself nearly naked, lying sprawled out on a large, thickly woven, straw mat. A cold wind whistled around him. Shivering, he clasped his hands around his legs and curled himself into a tight ball. Sitting there, in nothing more than his underwear he slowly began to take in his surroundings.
He found that he was at least fifty feet up in a tree, sitting on a small, roofed platform, in a forest he did not recognize. The trees around him were tall, twisting their way into a thick canopy another sixty feet up. A hand gripped the edge of the platform. The hand's owner pulled himself up onto the platform.
A young man, around eighteen, with long golden hair tied to one side. His deep, sapphire eyes reflected the dim light radiating off the wet leaves. Matt curled up into the corner farthest from him. A friendly smile wrapped itself across the mans face.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to eat you or anything. My name is Toro, and you must be Luke," He laughed. Matt pulled himself as far from Toro as possible. His eyes never leaving his.
"Hey, If it wasn't for me, you'd be up here naked. It took forever for them to finally agree to letting you keep your underpants," Toro huffed.
Matt's eyes widened as he wrapped his arms around himself, much in the way a shocked girl would if walked in on while dressing. Leaning close to the edge, threatening to fall if he approached any closer. Toro sighed and watched him from the other side.
"I bet your wondering why you're here. You're here to learn how to control your other self. Your elfin self, the other half that you are hardly aware of right now."
"Elfin self?"
"Yes. You see, I am a full blooded elf and you are my half brother," Toro smiled, "Your grandmother arranged for you to come stay at my village so that you could learn to control your ever growing magic."
"My magic?" Matt shivered in the cold.
Reaching into his knapsack, Toro pulled out a small furred blanket and tossed it over to him. Matt greedily wrapped the warm bundle of fur around himself. Toro merely chuckled at the sight.
"Don't get comfy just yet. Your going to be here a while, so I'm going to show you, you're new home. I'm also going to be you're new teacher," He gave a nasty smile. Matt could only stare back with resentment and horror to the elf's worlds.
Soaring with the whistling winds, Atrie and Kite flew, approaching Sendai in the near distant hills. Rain began to fall from the waterlogged clouds to the earth below. The pitter patter upon Kite's wings was a warning to Atrie's ears. If the wings became sodden, they would crash and Kite would be severely injured.
"Kite, how long do you think we can hold out?" Atrie yelled up to him.
"Hopefully long enough to get to the city limits, but we'll need to increase our velocity. Ack! I feel so wet! Your lucky to be below deck!"
"I wouldn't call you a deck, Kite. Maybe a large flying parasol though," Atrie laughed.
"Very funny..." Kite hissed.
Pulling a few strings and levers he closed the wings halfway, sending them into a spiral. Their speed dramatically increasing in their decent. Pulling the glider out of the decent he shot off in the form of a giant sideways tornado, spiraling towards Sendai.
