Ch. 3
Kaian walked alongside her uncle and Xaldin once they left the council's meeting and began to walk towards home. Xigbar, or his original name Braig, lived a few miles out near one of the cliffs, overviewing the waters and the distant mountains. Kaian followed her uncle behind him and tried to shake off the feelings that vestured in the meeting.
The past five years have been hard on the Braun family. For most of her life, Kaian never knew her real father, only of stories of how a great man he was before his death. Since his death, her mother, Evangeline, took her children to live in Oblivion where her only brother, Braig resided. Evangeline lived with her brother while working to support herself and her children. Most of the village knew about Evangeline and never questioned how different her children looked from her. Both of the Braun siblings have taken their late father's blonde hair but resembled Evangeline. Her dark haired complexions and eyes were the only things missing from their small family.
Despite being a single mother, Evangeline was never cruel. With the help of her brother Braig, she was able to provide her children a good life in the dynamic village. Braig, or Uncle Xigbar as the military special ops has given him, became the father figure Kaian and Gabriel didn't have.
Kaian smiled as she remembered her younger days before her mother fell ill. Noticing his niece was trailing behind, Xigbar turned around as he noticed Kaian was being too quiet. Xaldin scoffed and pushed the scarred man's shoulder a bit as to not disturb the child's thoughts.
"Knock it off, Grandpa," Xaldin muttered, "She's not going to fly away from you." Xigbar glared at the insult but quickly laughed it off.
"Oh ha, ha, Dreadlocks, and you know it's a hereditary gene." Xigbar laughed motioning to his natural grey stripes on his hair, but dropped his smile looking up at his long time friend, "I'm worried about the kid. It's not easy for her right now." Xaldin nodded in agreement as both men with Evangeline have discussed the actions leading up to her death. "I know, and having the ritual only a few months away only adds more stress, but Evangeline would not allow her to miss it."
"I can hear you two, you do realize that?" Kaian interrupted both men and Xigbar could only chuckle in response. He grabbed his niece and pulled her closer to him.
"Sweetheart, all we're talking about is how Xaldin's an old, single fart."
"Really?" Xaldin replied, "This coming from the guy who's what? Almost 50?"
"I'm THIRTY-THREE, Asshole! We're the same age!"
"Couldn't tell from here...Grandpa." Xaldin grinned like a chestire cat as Xigbar flipped him the finger. Kaian only laughed at the common spat between the old friends.
"Xaldin, be careful now, others might think you're mated to my uncle." Both Xigbar and Xaldin groaned and made hacking sounds over the suggestion.
Xaldin spoke while the other kept being dramatic causing Kaian to laugh more. "Kid, Hell would have to freeze over not once, but TWICE and have to take me before I would ever think about that idea."
"As if, I'm not that desperate to get hitched!" Xigbar added, now shooting his infamous cocky grin, "Besides, no one wants to deal with all these scares and battle wounds, along with my cocky self!" He gestured to himself indicating the several scared obtain from military years, along with his missing eye.
Kaian rolled her eyes and looked at the man who raised her. "Uncle Braig, that's not true. I love you and like your scars!" She traced one of them from an exposed section of skin on his arm. "You just haven't met the right person yet…and when you do," She looked into the yellow iris that stared at her, "they will feel the same way."
Xigbar gave Kaian one of his genuine smiles and squeezed her in a side hug. Soon Xaldin spilt away from the group towards his own quarters and the remaining duo reached upon their home. It was a simple two-story house built from hands that took many months to build, yet it was worth the wait. Kaian rushed inside past the small, blue truck that Xigbar drives where her mother was resting from her morning treatments. Xigbar could hear his niece call out cheerfully and a tired older woman's voice reply gladly. He rolled his shoulders to loosen the stiff muscles as he went to sit on the bench placed next to the door and looked out towards the river. In his own thoughts, he recalls a familiar conversation that Xemnas had with him and Evangeline regarding on Kaian and Gabriel.
Out of the two siblings, Kaian was the only one to really listen to him and has grown into a young independent woman, which was an improvement growing up. As a young pup, she wasn't an extroverted child opting to watch afar and notate the world around her, than try to experiment first. She spent her life following in her mother's footsteps as caregiver in the nursery. Once she was allowed to venture alone, Kaian began to work around the village without her mother, and soon her family began to hear the success of Kaian's work. Her hardworking drive allowed her to understand the values of dynamic life and remain in touch with herself and other dynamics, despite her brother's violent nature. While she can hold a fight against her own, Kaian would always find a way to dispute any sense of trouble before it started. While she was good with helping the village and working with her hands, she never lost her backbone and tough skin. Living with her uncle taught her to stand in your own beliefs and not back down from any threat, even towards her own family.
Gabriel on the other hand was a different story. As the older brother of the Braun family, Gabriel was only a tyke when Evangeline left the city of humans to reside in the village again. Growing up without his father, Gabriel did not feel the dynamic roots in his blood as normal dynamics would with a bonded family. This caused him to feel out casted at a young age from the older members. As a sense to prove that he belonged, Gabriel began to fight fire with his own. He became outgoing, loud, always placing his opinion first as to prove that he was smarter, and if anyone was against him, Gabriel attacked them in active dynamic fights. Gabriel mastered and accomplished everything that there was to dynamic life, even gaining the affection of the village, to the displeasure of Xigbar who saw the changes of a sweet little boy into a monster. Because of his gaining popularity, Gabriel soon felt that he could challenge his uncle into claiming the alpha status of their family, only to result in a near death experience for the young lad. Evangeline and Xigbar could only watched in sadness as the young lad turned into a parasitic monster. If the older male was not around to control Gabriel, the lad turned his attention on his younger sister, who was physically weaker than he was.
Xigbar sighed and closed his eye. The sounds of the forest calmed his senses and he breathed slowly to the slow currents of the river. As he sat there, he remembered a moment when he had a conversation with a young twelve year old Kaian after an afternoon of getting attacked by Gabriel and his friends.
"Kid, you got to stop this." Xigbar said resting against the wall while Evangeline cleaned her wounds with her, "Crying about it isn't going to help you."
"Braig!" Evangeline snapped at her younger brother, dabbing a gaze on an open wound, "Leave her alone! Gabriel should've have known better!"
"Gabriel's a little shit that'll get what's coming to him, I'll give you that but." Xigbar looked at his niece whose tears were drying along with her wounds, "Kiddo has to show them that's she is better than them! Her mother can't help her every time!"
"It wasn't my fault, Uncle!" Kaian whimpered, "They're bigger than I am and I couldn't fight them all!"
"Doesn't matter, so what If you lose, you've always try to prove how strong you are and not just with brute strength!" Xigbar walked over to Kaian and placed his hands on her shoulders, pausing Evangeline's care. "Kid, fights are going to happen, but being scared and crying about them allows Gabriel to win, hands down." Kaian tried to argue but Evangeline stepped in to wrap her last cut.
"He's right Kai," Her mother agreed setting down her tools as she tied the last bandage. "You have something that Gabriel can never get, and he's angry at the fact."
Kaian looked at her mother and uncle with a questioning look, "How?" She gestured towards herself, "What do I have that he doesn't, Mom? He's big, I'm little, he can run, jump, scout, howl, and is the best out of everything he does, and I'm only second rate towards him. He shouldn't even be afraid of me!"
"But he is kid," Xigbar stated "I used to see this growing up, you see, while your brother may be the best of everything, he doesn't have the ability to connect to people like you do. You like to help people, and in return you learn something about yourself right?" Kaian nodded as her uncle continued, "Gabriel only helps people just to get the award at the end, not to understand the process in order to achieve it, you do." He looked at Kaian in the eye and gave her a soft smile.
"Kai, people talk about you and your achievements and you're humble about them. THAT'S what makes Gabriel insecure, he can't accomplish something on his own without having some sort of award at the end, he's dependant on what's given, not what is there to learn." He pulled back and walked towards the door. Xigbar almost left when his hand caught the frame of the door, swiveling his head over his shoulder. Grinning madly, Xigbar added one last thing to his niece. "You DON'T have to prove to anyone that you're strong, because you've already done so."
A scent of a honey and sweet dimmed flowers snapped him back to reality and quickly turned with his gun that he strapped on earlier towards to the opening door. Evangeline stood there, her black hair flowing past her shoulders as her hands held up in surrender.
"It's just me, little brother," Evangeline softly spoke, as he lowered his gun at her, "I saw Kai, she gave me the supplements from Midgrids healer." Xigbar gruffed and looked back out at the river while his sister took her seat next to him. Evangeline wrapped her thin arm around his and leaned against the smell of aftershave of wood and mirth.
The siblings didn't speak for a moment, enjoying the company of the forests and themselves. Evangeline spoke first.
"Kai told me about the age ritual," She chuckled softly at the memory, "I've forgotten about it honestly."
"No one expected you to remember, Sis," Xigbar glanced down and planted a kiss on her head, "You've got other things to worry about, like how to not sneak up on people."
Evangeline laughed and watched as the river otters placed themselves alongside the shoreline below the cliffs, "At least I have my strength to walk still, I can sneak up on you whenever I like."
"Yeah, but Kai's gotten better at it, sooner or later one of you is going to have their eye taken out by a bullet, then we'll see whose laughing." Evangeline laughed a little louder and tighten her grip. Her dull dark eyes from age crinkled the few wrinkles that caress her flawless white skin. In her former glory, her black hair glistened in the sun, and her skin tanned beautifully from hours in the heat, not the pasty white color that coated her now.
"You wouldn't, our scents would give us away before you could see us." She gazed up at her brother, "After all, you love your niece too much to let that happen."
"I dunno, she keeps saving humans, she might face my wrath." Xigbar joked and gestured his head back at the door, "Your daughter takes after you, Gene. She saved a human who fell off the path, would've bled out if she wasn't there."
"I know, she told me." Evangeline smiled, "I think we raised her well, tried too at least."
"The damn kid will be the death of me, Gene, but I don't regret it." Xigbar noticed a familiar scent and felt the young blonde trying to appear quietly behind the door, "Kid don't even try; I've smelt your smelly butt before you walked downstairs." Xigbar called out facing his head to the door.
Kaian laughed as she rolled her eyes and walked outside to meet her uncle and mother, "Dang it! How can I practice my skills with you here, Uncle?"
"Simple, sweetheart," Evangeline replied nudging her brother, "You do it when he wakes up, it always scared him when we were kids."
Xigbar glared at his sister while the women laughed and soon the three of them sat outside on the bench watching the sun descend down the mountains and the moon to greet them once again.
