Chapter -53: A Trail of Fire

The skies are blue, as they always are in the afternoon. The temperature is tepid, easy enough for the breeze to counteract.

And the sun is as bright as ever, beaming down upon its children, who gallop around their village homes to play with one another.

Each child wears a wool poncho unique to themselves and lightweight clothing fit for frolicking about, while the adults watch close by, sharing tales of yore to pass the time.

A group of four children pass around a ball of tightly knit string with their bare palms, with the wind grazing the ball with its presence, wanting so much to play along too.

The children are full of laughter and merriment, hopping free from the rocky grounds beneath their feet, and returning to the ground as gently as a dandelion seed.

As their play takes them to the center of the paths, a frantic voice shouts to them from a distance, "Excuse me! Coming through!"

One child pulls away with the ball grasped between their hands as a boy younger than them whizzes on by, his dashing feet both as light as a feather.

The children stare in wonder about where the boy could be going.

"Hey, wasn't that?!" One inquired with scant familiarity.

"Yeah! I think so!" Said another, intrigued.

"What's he doing now?" Added the third, poking his small head forward as their target of interest rounds the corner of a braced down wooden hut.

One of the adults looked on with a nostalgic smile and shook his head, "Haaa, some things never change."

The sprinting kid wasn't like the rest. He had sharp red hair with high saturation that made it look closer to a flame. He wore a dark red robe from another Tribe adorned with orange wisps of flame.

He was spry and as springy as a young rabbit, bouncing around from the ground to between the rooftops with spurts of fire coming out from below his burned out shoes.

He was constantly looking back and smirking, thinking he had the upper hand on the world around him.

He was as free as the birds that were scared off by his movements, and he wouldn't stop until his flame burned out.

As he jumped across to ol' Lostrom's abode, the portly leader wandered out and craned his head back, watching the young boy take a break to catch his breath.

"If you stay there too long, boy, you're going to be caught!" He said, prodding him in a feathery tone of voice.

The boy stood up with his hands on his hips and his silhouette standing heroically against the sun at his back, "No way! I'm as quick as the wind, just like my dad!"

Suddenly a bigger silhouette landed behind him and dropped his hand onto his shoulder, freezing his expression on a choking gasp.

"And who do you think taught your dad?" Spoke the elderly voice the silhouette belonged to.

The young boy looked over his shoulder at the weak smile his grandfather gave him, and with a gentle pat on the back the man declared, "Sorry, but I win again."

"Dang it!" The boy hung his head and sighed in dejection, "No fair, I was super fast too!"

"Haaa, you definitely gave me the run of my life for a bit there, Zeno," Said Darnia, resting his hand on his grandson's head with the weight of pride behind it, "Let's head home and eat some lunch."

Zeno continued to pout until Darnia whispered, "Your grandmother made your favorite."

He drooled and his eyes glazed over in a trance, "Roasted lamb leg..."

Darnia released the hold he had over him and the boy lit his second flame, springing off the rooftop and darting through the streets.

"LAST ONE HOME HAS TO SWEEP THE FLOOR!" He shouted, a voice trailing in the distance as Darnia landed beside Lostrom with an aged smile.

Darnia turned his head and remarked, "He's not been an inconvenience to anyone has he?"

"Oh not at all," The man replied with a jolly jiggle of his gut, "Though...the fire coming from his feet..."

Darnia looked out towards the neighborhood and sighed at the numerous footprints burnt into the rooftops, "Haaaa, honestly Sarajin..."

"I'll clean the roofs off later." He offered.

"Thanks. And tell Misty I said hello."

"I will." Darnia then took flight, beating his grandson to the front door right at the very last second.

"Gack...! No fair, grandpa! I don't get to fly like you do..."

Darnia raised his smirk and brushed the door open for his grandson to march on through, "You can sweep the floor after lunch."

As the boy passed him by, Darnia added an innocuous remark of, "And no burning the dust this time."

Zeno clenched his teeth and squirmed.

He then slowed his way into the living room, where his grandma was setting down the plates of cooked meat along with a glass of milk...and the evil cooked greens.

Zeno couldn't hold a pout for long when his grandma was happy with herself. She had silky hair, gray like fog and a small smile held up on her pale skin.

She was slow, but put everything she got into everything she did. Zeno wanted to be as strong as her one day.

So he put up little fuss and sat down to eat his meal alongside his grandparents. That poor leg of lamb didn't even last two minutes against his carnivorous teeth.

But that left him sitting there stalling for time on eating his greens. His grandparents were wrapped up in their conversation, looking at each other with doe eyes glazed with warmth.

Zeno stuck the tip of his tongue out at them and then extended it farther when he looked at the greens, which to him, appeared like a bubbling swamp of noxious mud.

His eyes darted around between both his grandparents and then he lashed his hand out at the greens and pulled some of them down under the table.

With a quick squeeze he summoned fire to burn them down, and smiled.

He then rubbed his belly and hummed, "Mmmm, another good meal, grandma!"

Darnia reached out over his plate and summoned some more greens by wiggling his fingers. Zeno's eyes widened, then he fell into a pouty slump.

Darnia sighed and told him, "You'll never grow up if you don't eat your vegetables too."

Zeno looked to the left and grumbled, "None of 'em taste good..."

And so, another battle lost to those dastardly greens and their bearded leader!

The sick feeling in his stomach stuck around as he worked on sweeping the floors.

He started upstairs and would work his way to the living room.

He'd hang around in his dad's old bedroom for a while and stare out the window daydreaming about his dad's adventures.

Fighting bad guys, saving the world. To a young boy, his dad was titanic, and he was lucky to have a mom just as cool to look up to.

He thought about his dad's trying while looking at his broomstick. He then mimicked his dad's focused look and started swinging the broom around.

"Hwah!" He tightened his grip and swung some more.

"Hiyah!"

"Huuuuu YAH"

Then he aimed for the windowsill and swung at it right as Moses landed. The bird freaked out and flapped its Wings at him frantically.

"ACK!" Zeno went tumbling onto his back, and a few seconds later Moses dropped onto his stomach and poked at his nose with his beak.

Smiling and scared at the same time, the boy continued to imagine his parents fighting bad guys. And maybe…he'd be standing between them someday too.

"Haaaa…" He kicked back up onto his feet with a smile and Moses went back to the window.

He swept up the remaining dust here and in his grandparents' room then headed downstairs. There his efforts would be distracted by the motivation to keep practicing his swings.

Darnia stopped stitching Zeno's shoes and looked up. If he would damage something, he'd step in.

His wife walked over, drying the last dish, happily observing her grandson.

After some wistful silence, Daria smiled as well and whispered, "You did good, Misty."

"Hee hee. WE…did good, honey."

Darnia was laid out entirely by her well-thought gesture and in his vulnerable state, her cold lips upon his cheek felt like honey.

He reached out to her face and kissed her lips back, tender bites of love that kept them together for a long time.

Zeno looked and squeezed his tongue out of his mouth, "Uuuuuuugh, grandpa! Grandma!"

Misty pulled away and chuckled, "Your mom and dad do this all the time."

Zeno stood resolute and proclaimed, "Nuh uh, not MY parents."

Darnia then turned and shook his head. Misty looked back and with a strange shift towards sadness, she didn't say anything for a while.

Zeno then returned to his task with his energy carrying him forward to certain victory!

The dust balls and cob webs were vicious, but never stood a chance against his legendary bristles!

Misty gifted his accomplishments with a quick kiss on the forehead that activated his fight or flight response…but he stood and took it.

Now he was free to keep swinging the broom to his heart's content.

Misty watched over him from the comfort of her chair, until a hint of youthful whimsy gleaned from her smile.

She then looked to her husband and a few seconds later, she approached her precious grandson with a dramatic tone of voice taken straight from a story.

"Oh hear, oh hear! Is this the legendary swordsman, Zeno of the Searing Wind?"

Zeno flinched around to find his grandma holding a makeshift blade of fine wood against her hip.

"A-And who are you?" He stammered with childish delight.

She took her "sword" in one hand, pretending the other was limping, "A traveling duelist with no name. Shall you face me, oh legendary one?"

Zeno broke his excitement to bite his teeth and murmur, "G-Grandma what are you doing?"

Her smile was like brittle glass, delicate yet as sharp as could be. With a wily chuckle she swung her sword like a feather and tapped the side of Zeno's broom.

Thus began a back and forth engagement between two masters of the blade.

Zeno was stunned by Misty's initial flurry of sloppy sword strikes. He eventually found a chance to strike back, but opened himself up to getting tapped on the shoulder.

Misty giggled along as she tiredly kept up with his endless vigor. Darnia sat by with unvoiced concern…

When Zeno felt too pressed on the defensive his fire really started to burn as he took the broomstick and ignited it at the base shouting "Here I go grandma! as he swung up.

Only to be disarmed as Misty exerted herself to hit the bottom of the broom and knock it out of his hands.

"Oh no!" Zeno shouted as the broom flew over his head and hit the ground half-burnt. Darnia put out the remaining flames with wind.

Misty then "sheathed" her sword and bowed her head, "It was a fantastic duel."

Zeno blushed and then bowed back. From the top of his eyes, he noticed a little darker r coming from his grandma's mouth, and she was fighting back a dry cough…

After setting the sword aside she said a few words to grandpa and then went upstairs to take a nap.

A kid wasn't exactly going to understand what was going on, but they could recognize that a bad feeling in the pit of their gut was important to pay attention to.

Still, his voice couldn't really come out regarding his grandma's condition and he kept spending time unable to stop walking around the living room while his dad finished his shoes.

Once they were fixed up Zeno put them on with a huge smile and wiggled his toes around, only barely hearing his grandpa tell him, "Don't burn through them again."

Afterwards his grandpa took him all the way over to the grassy pastures. It was time to resupply their milk and eggs.

Darnia took care of the eggs while Zeno ran around chasing the chickens for a bit, only to wind up having them gang up on him and requiring grandpa to save him.

They then made their way to the cows.

"I think you're old enough to learn how to milk cows. Now kneel down, and repeat what I do." Darnia went down, and then Zeno followed.

From there, Zeno had a hard time keeping focused on the cow's teats as Darnia reached out and made phantom motions to show what needed to be done.

Zeno eventually settled on staring off into the deep blue sky and enjoying the flight of the birds and their harmonious caws.

Darnia then rustled his throat with a cough "Ahem" and that got his attention.

Darnia then sighed and gestured at the teets, his reprimanding being soft-spoken, "This is important. Pay attention."

"Whyyyyyy?" Zeno groaned

"Just..." Darnia paused, took a deep breath, and exercised patience, "Try it once. I'll guide you."

With his gentle hands pulling his grandson's closer to the cow, he helped him apply a steady grip on the teats and then pantomimed the tug slowly.

Zeno groaned some more and then tried to do what he wanted. The teats were slimy and gross and reminded him of something he did when he was a baby, but those memories were foggy.

He squirmed throughout the process until his grandpa intervened, whispering into his ear, "If you take your time, and relax, it'll give you milk."

Zeno pulled his hands away and squirmed, "This is gross! I don't wanna do this..."

Darnia reached out to try and grab his hands, but pulled away at the last moment and laid them on his lap, "It'll help you more than just give you your food, Zeno."

"How?" He replied with blank eyes lacking in the ability to think.

"It will teach you patience," Darnia patted the side of the cow to send it off, then extended that same hand to create a miniature ember off his palm, "And that...is crucial to controlling fire."

Zeno's eyes widened and he repelled back in disbelief, "Whaaaaat, this is a lesson? Uuuuugh, grandpa..."

"You have to learn this at some point, lest your fire rages out of you like an inferno." His grandpa's stern voice was softened by the concern he had.

"I-I don't need to be taught lessons though! I can learn how to control my element by myself!" Zeno had that childish entitlement of invincibility to his tone of voice that left Darnia sighing and thinking back to days gone by...

With a mildly humored expression Darnia gestured his hand out back to the city and murmured, "The rooftops may have a second opinion."

"Mmrrr..." Zeno sucked his lips in then with a pop, turned his head aside.

Then after a few seconds he grumbled out the corner of his mouth, "I bet dad did it alone..."

"He did," Darnia admitted, "But he also knew when it was ok to ask others for help."

"Dad? Really?" Zeno said, struck with bewildered awe.

"You are...much like your father, but different in your own ways. Especially when it comes to your flames."

Zeno raised his hand and tried to create a flame. Compared to his grandpa's, he was wobbling around, trying to look like a snake.

"My skin feels itchy when I use my fire. Like I rolled around in sheep wool too much," Zeno looked at his grandpa and somehow this conversation led to him having the courage to ask, "Is what's wrong with me related to grandma's condition?"

Darnia opened his eyes with tender sorrow and then placed his hand out atop his grandson's shoulder, "Lord, no. You're just different. That doesn't mean anything wrong with you. As for your grandmother, well..."

Darnia took a deep breath, obviously not ready to have this conversation, but powering through regardless, "She's always been a little ill. But that's made her stronger than any person I know."

Zeno felt inspiration from seeing his grandma throughout his young life and stood tall, declaring to his grandpa with a powerful strength of will for his age, "Forget the milk then! I wanna do something to help her feel better."

Darnia rose to his feet and with a pause to compose himself he murmured, "I...respect your wishes, but this isn't something you can deal with."

"W-Why not?!" Zeno shouted, clenching his fists.

"Because the herbs strong enough to temper her immune system are produced only by the Titan of Tanglefae. And lest you forget...you can't fly."

Zeno's eyes widened and he hung his head, "I-I wanna go..."

Darnia looked this boy straight in the eyes as an equal and told him, "I'm sorry, but I won't take you somewhere without your father's permi-"

The longer he looked on, the more his defenses crumbled. This kid was holding back a growing sense of curiosity. Why should it be stifled?

"..." Darnia then smiled and told him, "On second thought. We have time. I'll take you to Tanglefae."

Zeno's eyes sparked and his grin stretched as wide as it would go. Darnia then gestured his fingers out and remarked, "But you must listen to everything I say. Understand?"

"Ok! Let's help grandma!"

After getting the rest of the milk from the cows they dropped it off back home, upon which Darnia took a detour to visit his wife in bed, sitting upright and distracting herself by continuing work on a poncho with flame decorations on it.

"Will you be alright for a while, honey? I'll be taking Zeno to Tanglefae."

Misty put her sewing needles down onto her lap and smiled with impish intent, "So you're going to be the one to help him spread his wings?"

Darnia sighed with a heavy feeling in his voice moving forward, "Hard to believe it myself."

"This is good," She added, "Our Sarajin has been too preoccupied lately. I worry Zeno isn't getting the interaction he craves."

"Yes, some of his actions don't paint his life back home in a good light," Darnia gestured his hand out and sighed, "But...I am willing to give my son and Auris the benefit of the doubt. It has been stressful lately...for all of us."

"Then enjoy this time off with your grandson, Darnia. I'll be fine. My lungs are settling down." She said, a notable chalkiness in her voice.

He arched his brows and then walked over to brush her hair and confirm the strength of her smile with his own two eyes, for this could easily be a dream.

He then left and took Zeno with him outside to the ledge where he'd normally take flight. After feeding Moses a treat and sending him on his way, he picked his grandson up on his shoulders.

Age only feels like a factor when one is in pain, but it was no burden to have this lightweight child on his back as his eagerness was worth every bit of effort Darnia put going forward.

Zeno was adjusted to moving through the air with his parents but Darnia took things a little slower, allowing him a chance to take a look at his surroundings and figure out what could excite him.

He had an adverse reaction to the big sea of Aquamoria, but seemed to enjoy the brief peak of Canofloe's mountain to the south of the forest.

When their little journey was at an end Darnia brought him right down to the entrance of the forest and let him take the lead.

"This, is Tanglefae."

"This is it...?" Zeno tilted his head and looked wholly unimpressed.

Giving a puffed up lower lip he muttered, "Dad said it was colorful..."

"This is just the outside. Go in. Take a look, but stay where I can see you," Right as Zeno took that as the cue to let loose and run, Darnia raised his voice to make him brake in his tracks, "But DON'T use any fire."

"I-I won't grandpa!" He shouted, nervously rubbing his teeth together because he knew he was caught.

Darnia kept to a brisk pace while Zeno was more engaged with his surroundings. He certainly had a more...aggressive way of expressing his curiosity, but if all that meant was he climbed trees and got scared off by the bugs then what was the harm?

He didn't really have much of his own stake in this place. He hadn't been here for decades.

Yet somehow, this tapestry of plant life remained the same.

So for once, Darnia relaxed out of his comfort zone and let the warm spring air surround him, feeling the nurturing pull of its resident Titan take his body to younger days...

It only lasted a few seconds before his grandson's groaning got the better of him.

He was running out of steam fast and started kicking up leaves as he paced around, "This place is booooring. I don't wanna be surrounded by these icky greens!"

Darnia placed his fingertips against his temples and sighed, "Ah, the impatience of youth..."

But this wasn't unsalvageable, far from it.

"Do you want to see something exciting?" Darnia gestured his hand out to his boy, "Let me show you."

Zeno had his doubts, any kid will have trust issues when their expectations aren't being met. Yet there was something to be said for the bond between a grandson and grandpa...

Zeno took his grandpa's hand and followed him to throw another pathway hidden away, bloated with colors.

It was a short walk but eventually, they found a small knoll with a tree sticking out, and Carmine laying down against it.

Zeno's eyes widened and he gasped, "I know him! He's Carmine! One of dad's friends!"

The resting man awoke from his nap to meet the approach of his company, "Ah, Darnia. And...Hmmm."

Carmine rested his hand on his chin and Zeno felt weird, especially as his smile grew, "Red hair, impatient disposition. You're Sarajin's son, Zeno."

Zeno raised a brow and remarked, "W-Who are you calling impatient?!"

Carmine sat up more and chuckled, "I must admit, I thought our first meeting would be with your father at your side."

He then looked to Darnia and asked quietly, "Off world again?"

"For the second time this week at that..."

Carmine looked worried, "He's becoming a little too obedient to their requests...And with diminishing returns for the sake of our world."

Carmine then threw another look Zeno's way and closed his lips temporarily, "But I'll stow that type of talk while the boy's around."

Zeno was just kind of...dizzy hearing him talk anyways, and looked to his grandpa to wonder, "I-I'm happy to meet one of dad's friends but he's kinda long-winded."

"What do you mean, long-winded?" Carmine said with a light-hearted chuckle.

Darnia let go of his grandson's hand and gestured to Carmine, "I want to show him something exciting. With permission..."

"Ah, I see what this is about," Carmine smiled and closed his eyes, patting the ground by his hip, "Say hello, Ividae."

The ground trembled and Zeno went stumbling onto his back as the hill Carmine sat on rose up, four feet made up of tangled roots revealed beneath it. The tree then turned around, the wood creaking with a majestic moan.

Zeno's eyes widened until they were under threat of spilling out, "Coooooool...!"

Carmine slid onto the ground and rubbed the side of the mighty moss covered beast, who bent their head to poke towards the awestruck boy.

Ividae pulled away mighty fast with a hint of panic, and Carmine realized, "Don't worry, he won't hurt you."

Zeno grinned and stood up shaking all over, "T-This is the kind of stuff dad gets to see all the time?"

"That's right," Darnia put a hand on his shoulder and supported his enthusiasm towards the grand unknown, "Never feel you need to come to me to see places like this. Ask your father or mother. I'm sure they'd love to take you out for a day."

Carmine then walked up to Zeno and said, "I'd be willing to show you around. I could even introduce you to my daughter. You're the same age, I'm sure she'd appreciate having another friend."

"Does she talk like you?" Zeno wondered aloud.

Carmine fluttered his eyelashes then mouthed something to Darnia, only for the man to shrug.

Carmine, dejected, now spoke with a light stutter, "S-She's more...shy, than anything."

"Uhhhh, ok." Zeno didn't know what that meant.

He then had a flashed of lucidity and squeezed his fists with urgency, "O-Oh! Right! Grandma needs an herb! Titan thingy, could you give us one?"

"An herb?" Carmine said towards Darnia, who put a finger over his mouth and whispered.

Carmine smiled and with a hearty chuckle he turned and gestured to the Titan, "I suppose there'd be no harm in handing out an herb to someone in need."

Ividae moaned and Carmine put his hands in his pockets with a puzzled expression, "Ividae, no need to be so obstinate. Just go along with this."

"...Okay fine, will it be better if Darnia takes it?"

Ividae budged and then with its body lighting up with a leafy green glow, it created a special herb right in Darnia's open palm. Once it was in his possession the man tucked it into his pockets and nodded, "Thank you, old friend."

"So grandma will be ok now?"

"She'll feel much better now, and it's all thanks to your help." Darnia said, a little white lie to help Zeno feel less than a stationary extra in this little lesson.

The boy smiled and with their journey accomplished and his sense of curiosity for the other Tribes satiated for now, the two said their goodbyes to Carmine and Ividae and made their way outside of the forest.

As Darnia carried Zeno back home, the boy started to finally tire out, his body and thoughts drifting away.

And with that, came a more mature kind of thought that surprised his grandpa, "I wanna be more like dad..."

Darnia went silent and heard the boy out, "I look up to him cause he's so cool. And mom's strong, and cool too...And dad's gotten to explore the whole world, and other worlds..."

"He's a hero in my eyes, but...it doesn't feel like I get to do enough with him..."

"Well," Darnia interjected, "Your father has tasked himself with an immense purpose in life. Somedays, that means leaving behind the people he loves."

"But it doesn't mean he never wants to be around you. He fights on with all the love in his heart to make this world a better place for you, for your mother, and for the rest of us as well."

"He'll make a world one where there's no longer a need to fight, no matter what it takes..." A hint of sorrow slipped inside.

"Dad fights...to stop fighting?" Zeno mumbled in confusion.

"Ha ha, maybe you're still too young to understand...But listen to me anyways," Darnia looked forward with a gaze cast in both the past and present, "Strength is more than just defeating someone stronger than you. It's about finding the will to protect those you care about, and the conviction to carry it through."

"Zeno...do you want to fight alongside your father someday?"

"I...would love to!" He shouted with childish glee.

"...I would object. And so would your parents, no doubt. But...the decision should ultimately lay at your feet. You may even change your mind. Take it from this old man, you're never too old to have your view of the world changed."

"Hmmm, I don't think I will!" Zeno asserted.

"Maybe not. I don't know what the future holds..." Darnia then relented to his joy felt towards this spirited young boy and whispered, "But I feel as though it'd be wrong to consider retirement anytime soon. Not as long as your fire burns bright."

"Because you're more than just my grandson. You represent the future my son wishes to create. A world where all Tribes can bring their experiences together...and create the dreamer of dreams."

By then, Zeno was asleep snuggly against his back, and Darnia smiled and wished him well. Because every day brought forth new adventures and possibilities.

There was still hope.

Because that boy exists as proof of it.

Next Time: Ezekiel Gaia's Rite