Disclaimer still applies.

Day 23
Prompt: #92: Father and Son (400 words)
Song: Animorphs: Shattered Reality OST – Place to Dwell (The Swamp)

Based off Thicker Than Water (AdoptiveFamily AU)

"Now remember: you don't have to copy my stance for this to work. Your fire might manifest differently than mine, so go with what feels right or you could hurt yourself." Narcius leaned back on his right foot, ready to dash forward if prompted. He brought his hands up by his waist and curled them into loose fists.

Inhaling slowly, Narcius called up the familiar warmth from deep within his chest. It spread down his arms to the palms of his hands, sending pulses of heat to his fingertips. He exhaled slowly. Shifting his weight, he released his hold on the heat and let it flow back into his core. He smiled. "Just like that. Alright, your turn."

Axel – just across from his father in the practice space – took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Hesitantly, his arms lifted to hover at his sides.

Narcius watched Axel shift so that his stance was wider, feet more firmly planted against the ground. It was interesting to see, interesting to try and guess what form his son's magic would take. Already he could tell that it would be different from Narcius' own; the Trapmaster's flames were bursts, streams of fire erupting from the ground at his touch or fireballs shot in rapid succession from his palms. He called them forth by cracking his body like a whip – spine straight until he either dove forward to summon a plume, or lunged back to hurl the fire at his target. Never standing still, never lingering.

But Axel was different. The ten-year-old had hunched slightly, ducking his head and rolling his shoulders back – almost as if the flames in his skin were coiled inside his arms. He lifted his hands a little higher, pushed them out and away from himself with a flick of his wrists. Nothing happened.

He stayed that way for a few moments, scrunching his face up as if he were straining, before finally dropping from his pose with a frustrated exhale. He looked up at his father with a whine of disappointment.

Narcius offered a soft smile. "Hey, it's okay, just don't force it." He thought for a moment. "…Try unlocking your knees."

Relaxing his stance, Axel tried again. He flicked his hands out once more – and this time, plumes of red and yellow blossomed from his fingertips, spiraling around his body like a whip born of flames.

Narcius grinned.

Not directly linked to the AdoptiveFamily AU, but still set in the same universe as my story Thicker Than Water. Can also be set sometime after/around chapter 4 of this work.

(I wanted to have kid!Demyx in there, too, accidentally discovering he could wield water, but I ran out of words. Another time, perhaps...)