Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ The Winged Warrior ❯ Peace ( Chapter 11 )

It was hard to say what River had done to the Buke Clan; there was a grave lack of activity in the war. The Christmas truce had been respected and well observed- whether by moral or by the causalities that the main prison camp had sustained in the Buke kingdom. The winter was a hard time to mobilize an army without tanks- neither kingdom could afford to have a tank only to have it destroyed by a bomb or an IED. Besides, they were just large mobile targets for the other side- it was easier to just have everyone stay home. The death toll did rise in December though, the hospital still had the injured from the September conflict and some did die and had to be held in a freezer until the ground thawed enough for them to create graves for the dead soldiers.

River attended every single funeral from the time he got home until the last causality was in the ground. Each time it seemed to humble him just a little bit more; he didn’t seem to be so eager to go out and fight to the death anymore. This could also be accounted for the fact that he spent the last week of December in an asylum following an outburst at Christmas that made them scared for his health. He was admitted out following a reevaluation of his mind, which he passed. No one knew if he acted his way thought the test to get out or if he was really better. He seemed very different again by January, he seemed to constantly change. He gave a time out sign when he thought he was going to have an outburst and went outside to think for a little bit. It had stopped about half the fights that he and Alex would have normally have, the other half were minor or teasing arguments.

The shift of control- fell. She tried to hold it above him and one day, he finally said that he wasn’t going to do that to her anymore, so she could enjoy it all she wanted, he wasn’t going to whine and beg for her. He still had too much pride for that. It didn’t mean that things were easy. Alex had drawn a line- she was going to have night where she wasn’t spending every waking moment with him, and she expected him to do the same… after all they both had families.

This line had never really been put to the test. Their lives were very much intertwined- however, there finally came an opportunity for them to have time away from one another without having to forcefully keep each other apart while in the village. The Oceana family had a reunion down in Amara, it was about three days south of the village and very clearly, River was not to leave home by order of his parents and the school board if he really wanted to graduate this year.

This meant only one thing..

His family had him alone.
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He’d found out very quickly never to joke around with Rain about certain things- because it meant that she was going to get you up at seven in the morning to work on your little pet project. He had spoken of dedicating a musical to his life. It was just a joke to illustrate the arrogance of his life. However, Rain thought it was a superb idea for some reason. Perhaps because she thought that he was going to amount to bigger and better things in his life.

The sun was barely over the horizon line when she dragged him out of bed into the study. She had at least five dozen CDs spread everywhere and a least twenty DVDs of old performances of his old boy-band as well as many different home videos. River just stretched across the couch and listened to her talk- oh and how she talked about it, over and over again. “River, are you even listening?”

“I stopped listening fifteen minutes ago, sis.” River rolled his shoulders forward and yawned wide. With a swift motion, he sat up and then stood stretching his legs out and looking at his sister. She was giving him that disapproving look like he’d done something wrong by being tired at a time like this. “All right, I’ll pay attention; what do you have so far?” Rain blinked at him and then looked around. Her face got really red when she realized that neither of them had been taking notes on what she’d been prattling on about and now the process was back to square one. “Good, so we’re on the same page.” He rubbed his eyes. “Hold on, I can’t see you.” He took off to get his glasses on.

Rain, on the other hand, decided to take a moment to cipher through all the old videos. She held up one from a Valentine’s Day when the two of them were six- why they would have a Valentine’s Day thing on tape, she wouldn’t know until she slipped it into the dusty VCR. The moment she saw it she started to let out the traditional ‘Aw’.

Upon re-entering the room, River saw a boy on the screen. He was a little athlete it seemed, his body was built like he played little league, streamline- he was a pretty boy, it seemed. Whoever had made him do this performance had dressed him nice- but of course, River recognized himself. The little boy was singing a song that he knew very well now- they made them sing it ever Valentine’s Day after that- it was their song! He could tell by the melody of the piano in the background. “It’s always been a mystery to me” His little voice made Rain giggle. “How two hearts can come together and love can last forever.”

“But now that I have found you I believe.” The older River joined in. “That a miracle has come, when god sends the perfect one, now gone are all my questions about why…. And I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life…” River laughed a bit as he tried to sing along, but his voice had been so high then that eventually he couldn’t keep up with his younger voice. “Oh god,” He started to laugh a little harder when a little blonde girl with wavy hair come on with him- dressed in a blue dress- He didn’t think Alex knew that this footage was still around! It was a total act at the time, a lot of eye looking and smiling. River just chuckled at it a lot. As a child, he didn’t have a lot of censor of emotion so it was all on his face. He was a bit over the top at times, which made him laugh. Alex on the other hand looked shyer than shy.

He forgot that she used to be such a cute little girl… even if he knew that underneath that exterior lurked the girl that hated that dress and just wanted to go out and wrestle with her friend. “We could use this.” Rain exclaimed softly as she shifted through finding the other videos and the DVDs. She arranged all the Valentine’s Day performances in chronological order. River just laughed but he did agree.

“We could string it together until…. This year, that’s all we can cover right now.” River smiled a bit as he took the videos in one hand. “Blaze knows how to edit videos right?”

“If you want to turn out sounding like a chipmunk, yes, Will does great video editing.” Rain said taking the videos from her brother’s powerful grip delicately, as if she didn’t want him to smash them in half before their little scheme could come to fruition. “I’ll manage it, I suppose.” She said setting the videos on a secondary table where she would be reminded to put them on DVD to have a better access and not have to use the bigger editing device in the basement.

“I’m excited now.” River said jumping up on the couch; he did a back flip off the side of it. It slid back a bit and he laughed a bit at it before shifting it back into place. He looked over to Rain- then started to laugh again. Her face was just priceless; she looked a mix of shock and alarm that he would do something like that with her sitting there.

“You’re going to break your neck doing things like that!” she scolded as she cleared a section of tapes off- now that they’d gotten a ground point- or an intermission breaker- she didn’t know. She looked to him. “So how are we going to go from there? Do we start with day one and work our way up?” He just shook his head and then sat across from her. “Okay, big guy, then when did our life begin?” He shrugged his shoulders almost nonchalantly. “Don’t make me do the work, it’s your life.” She pouted leaning back and just staring at him. He just looked at her- wait, wasn’t she the one that dragged him out of bed? “Fine… close your eyes.” He rolled his eyes and then shut his eyes. “Now think… think back to the first memory the lead to who you are today.”

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< br> “River” A girl’s voice giggled over the phone, “What in the world are you doing over there?” The voice was cutting in and out ever other second. “Hey, crazy, can you hear me?” The boy hadn’t been paying attention in the slightest. He’d been trying to fix something with his phone and she’d been gracious enough to be the voice on the other end to help him with sound quality.

“I don’t know if this dagnam thing works!” he grumbled in a huff. His round childlike face was turning red with frustration. “I think I should just buy a new one.” He grumbled picking up the lower half of the phone again and attempting to remove the bottom. He heard her sigh on the other end. “I know, how many am I up to now?”

“I think that’s seven, just put the thing down.” She said softly. He set down the base for the phone and then plopped down on his bed laying his head by the base. He just listened to her voice as she spoke again. “There, not so bad, relaxing huh?” He just chuckled a little bit in reply. “Besides, shouldn’t you be resting after that little stunt you pulled in the woods?”

“Naaaaaaaaaaah.” He laughed a bit to himself. His ribs still hurt though, he’d been out and fighting- sure he was like twelve years old but he was still out there and throwing his stick body around. Well, not exactly, he just went out there to bring his dad home and the Buke army had him surrounded so he rushed in to help him. He may have fractured this or that, but that didn’t matter. He felt a little rush by being a hero for once in his life. The crowds had cheered for him when he walked into the village. He felt like he was really the prince of the Tenshi clan for just a few minutes, before they rushed him off to the hospital. Well; at least his arm was healed now! “Hey, have any of your powers surfaced?” He asked hopefully. Usually the power of the individuals remained dormant until they were hitting puberty and thus could be trusted with such a thing.

“No.” she replied almost sadly. He could hear her shifting on her bed over the other end of the phone. “My parents are worried I might just be lame…” she said softly probably staring at her feet by the mumble of her voice. He just laid there and considered what he was going to say next. He knew she couldn’t possibly be a lame duck; she was much too… strong…. Stronger than him mentally and well- physically she never would be- but that was because he was super strong! It was the best realization of his life- especially since he used it to beat Blaze in an arm wrestle, something he could never do before.

“That’s bloody impossible!” He scoffed as he threw his hands into the air. It was his own personal way of expressing himself as boy. He stopped moving his hands so much as he got older because his strength only grew and he didn’t want to knock anyone out by swinging his hand around and punching them in the jaw or something to that degree. “You! Pfft, you’re probably just a late bloomer. Or you have some badass power like seeing the future- oh wait your mom does that…. And your dad turns invisible…. Well hm….”

“Super Strength?” Even THEN she teased him. He just smiled a little at that. “Aw, are you smiling over there?” Even if sometimes it got a little annoying when she did it, he almost had no weapon in his small arsenal to defend against it. He just laughed a little. “You ARE smiling; I can hear it in that little giggle.”

“I gotta go Alex.” He laughed a little. He could hear her smile too now. “They’re bound to call me away soon.” He said a little sadder than he really did recall that he did. He didn’t want to hang up the phone then, he could have talked to her for hours and hours and he would have never cared. However, life didn’t work like that, and eventually they would come from him for any number of things.

“All right.” He could have sworn he heard the disappointment now in retrospect. He knew that there was disappointment now. He just smiled a little bit in a bittersweet way. “Hey, I’ll see you later tonight right?” she asked. It was a Saturday night, and as a prior arrangement bond him, they were suppose to sneak out onto the Hill, the very same one that he was going to escape to when he was a teenager returning from a war.

“Well, a’course.” He didn’t care that his English wasn’t perfect. He was a kid, being proper wasn’t all that important yet. Soon teacher would drill the proper way of saying things into his head, that and the hidden world of the Tenshi clan would put him under a political microscope. “Now serious, I gotta go.” He said getting up and grabbing the phone bit of his strangely weird contraption.

“Right…” disappointment again, he didn’t see it then because he was a child and not looking for those tendencies in her voice which at seventeen he knew quite well. “See ya River”

“See ya Alex.” He waited until her end cut out. Then he hung up his phone. Her voice at the end, when she said his name, it held a smile…. He felt that first burst of adrenaline that would kick start the hormones in his brain. He felt his heart pound in his chest and the little fluttering creatures that seemed to lurk in his stomach begin to soar around telling him the same thing. He had a crush on her- no, he was falling in love with her…. no he had a crush on her. He was going insane trying to figure out just what his head and heart wanted to tell him about Alexandra Oceana.

His life did not smile upon him at this moment; it did not give him the break that he so richly craved from the madness of war. It did not give him the time to be a child and think about what he felt and how he felt them. Instead it provided him with one thing that he wished they just bypassed, it provided him with a man that would train the body that would one day carry the weight of the war and the Tenshi clan it’s self. He ran a gentle finger along the receiver, picturing the face of his blond friend when his door open revealing a man that almost could have rivaled Blaze in stature. Edmund Clarence Musha, his uncle; Edmund was nearly a decade older than his father, Rex, and twice as mean with age. His father looked dwarfed next to his older brother, whose genetics were out of whack- hell the entire Musha family had out of whack genes.

“River,” his father piped on that faithful day, as he held up his stinted arm, “Your uncle and I have thoroughly discussed methods of training your gifts to better fit your life, and well, son, what it will one day become.” River tilted his head to one side, as any twelve year old boy would have. He wasn’t thinking about his entire future at the moment, he was hardly looking past tonight. “Sit down, Rivs.” Rex nodded to his bed. River jumped up on the giant bed and swung his legs back and forth. He wasn’t quite what he would turn into when puberty was finished with him but he was getting there in a steady climb. He was already taller than most everyone else in school. He was about as tall as Rain would later become at an impressive 5’5”. He eventually folded his hand in his lap as the length Edmund glared down at him like he was an insignificant ameba on the face of the earth. “Well, bud…. We talked about your super strength a lot.” River nodded quite proud of this natural occurrence in his body. He held his head up proud, beat that uncle Edmund, you crooked old man, he thought in the back of his mind. “You know, my grandfather had super strength.” Rex gave River a big proud smile. He knew what was going to happen, the corrupt bastard. “Edmund used to spare with Grandpa Musha, right Edmund?”

“He wasn’t much of a sparing mate; the old man was too wrapped up in the old lady…” Edmund said dryly. Rex shot him a glare over his shoulder. He needed his brother’s help and obviously, Edmund was not amused by this search for help. River remembered that Edmund have been born with blue spots in his wings that faded as he got older, or at least that was the story that his uncle George told him. Edmund had always been sore about that, and training the token blue winged boy was not going to make him any happier. “What, Rex?” Edmund scowled a bit. “You know as much as I do that all he cared about was that old dead broad.”

“That dead broad was our grandmother, show a little respect, Eddie.” Rex used the name that the man hated to get him from bad mouthing the late Alexandra Musha. The two had never met their grandmother but their father spoke wondrous stories of her. She had been a kind soul, one that put up with the bullheadedness of their grandfather, though she had some stubbornness of her own and when they got going, they had to go out with a bang. River remembered his grandfather speaking of a fight where his mother actually put a block of ice from the freezer down his father’s ‘breeches ’. His grandfather always used the funniest of words like that, but the way he laughed made the crowd laugh along- and they all knew that he’d seen his fair share of tragedy so he always deserved his laugh. Oh, if his grandfather would have heard Edmund say that their grandmother was just an old dead broad, he would have knocked him out! Well, not really, but he would give him a firm talking to about respect! “Edmund wants to train you, River.” That’s when the conversation actually got back to him.

“Train me? Why?” He felt like a naïve fool when Edmund just snorted curtly at him. Rex softly explained to him that he needed to be able to control his strength, something he already knew he would have to go; be ready to join the war effort, another thing that he knew; and they needed to find something about him out- but they wouldn’t tell him what it was. He hated it when his father was secretive. It was about him wasn’t it? Didn’t he have a right to know what they wanted to know? Maybe he could tell them, they just had to ask. However, his father insisted on doing it his way and River couldn’t argue much against his father’s way. “Oh…” he barely breathed when they finished explaining to him. “So, when is this going to start?”

“Tomorrow morning.” Edmund interrupted Rex as the man opened his mouth. “You will be packed at six hundred hours, no later. You will have forty five minutes to shower, eat, and say goodbye, if you cannot accommodate one of these things in the time provided then you will go without- do you understand me?” River just stared at him with big deer eyes. “I said ‘Do. You. Understand. Me?’” Edmund always made him feel like he was an idiot and this time was no different. River just nodded quickly as his eyes went to his feet- he had to tell Alex… would she be mad? He’d have to break their Saturday night pact. He didn’t know that while he was breaking this, Edmund would be breaking his body in.

“We didn’t discuss that.” Rex hissed almost angrily.

“He’s on my time now Rex, don’t make things worse than they have to be.” Edmund turned on his heel and left the room without so much as tipping his hat in goodbye to either nephew or brother. Rex fumed for a few seconds, probably thinking of every cuss word in every language that he’d been taught throughout his life to spew out towards his older brother. Rex didn’t use a single one though- at least not in front of River. He assured his son that this was for the better that he would be able to learn so much more away from home… Rex has no idea.

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Rive r snapped out of his delusions as Rain put a CD in the stereo. “I’m… sorry, were you talking?” he asked looking to his sister. She looked to him and shook her head. “Weird.” He rubbed his head and then got up, just wanting to get on his feet and pace a bit. He didn’t remember a lot of things now that the Buke had dragged him through the mud with their torment, but he remembered Edmund’s training like a polished knife in a drawer full of rusted spoons. He was still piecing things together and that just happened to be a chunk of the puzzle.

“So where did your life begin?” Rain asked as she sat back down. She was eager to know where his mind has taken him. “Where did your mind travel off to on this fine morning?” River watched her fold her hands together on the desk like an executive waiting for their employee to begin the big presentation. “Come on, don’t make me guess.”

“It started when I was twelve.” River finally let her in on his mental secret. “I was on the phone with Alex.” He rubbed the back of his head. He heard his sister awe and he just rolled his eyes. “You know, you just suck the good heartedness out of my efforts with your awes, it annoys me, just the sound of the awwwww.” River cringed a little bit. Rain just smirked at him. “Dammit, why did I let you have that weapon?”

“I don’t know, but I will put it to good use, little brother, I will.”

“TWENTY MINUTES!” River returned. He discovered that about Rain, because she was older, she thought it was necessary to remind him whenever she pleased, such as calling him ‘little brother’, and referring to herself as his wise, old sister; of course, she refrained on that one when Blaze interject wise ass sister. Blaze didn’t always have his moment, but when he did, he usually set the tempers off or just made people laugh. “just because you paved the way out of our mother, does not mean you have leverage over me.”

“Oh but it does River, it does.” Rain half cackled. She was joking of course; Rain wasn’t going to use that against him. She managed to hold her own with the three boys, and still maintain her sweet demeanor so he doubted that the aw thing would come up consciously again. She leaned back in the chair and started to think. “Is that when you had to go with Sergeant Pain-in-the-ass?” When Rain said it, it meant he was a colossal pain. River just nodded snicker a little bit that his sister actually said the word ass. Rain just scolded him with her eyes for being immature. “So how do we turn- aww- sorry! I can’t help it, I’m thinking romance.”

“Oh god Rain, this is going to turn into the River and Alex show isn’t it?” River looked to her with a little frown. Rain just gave him a little apologetic smile. “Screw it, let’s wait until she gets back…” He plopped down on the couch. Perhaps because they’d been best friend their lives had just become too entangled. “Besides, maybe, she can think of a climax for it, cause all I got is boning her and that-!” He was hit with a pillow.

“God River, you’re so gross.” Rain stuck her tongue out. “Boning her? God and I thought for a second you were romantic.”

“I’M A TEENAGE BOY AND I HAVE HORMONES! FORGIVE ME FOR LIVING!” River covered his eyes with his forearm almost dramatically. “I can’t help it… its just irresistible and everyone freaking talks about it… hell my friends ask me every day if I’ve gotten some yet.” He sighed. “Just because I have a girlfriend and have had one for so long they figure ohhhh he’s getting some but no..”

“ha, virgin.”

“huh-wha?!” River sat up quickly. “Implying that you’re not, Rain Jacqueline Musha?” River stared in a mixture of shock and horror. Rain went to open her mouth and he just cringed. “I don’t wanna know… god…. It makes me wanna go make a deal with Blaze for me to rip off and him to charbroil.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I need some serious mind soup now.”

“We’re not like that.” Rain shook her head. “I haven’t even seen him naked… which is more than Alex can say about you.” Rain rolled her eyes staring at the wall. “I bet that’s burned in her mind- have you seen her naked?”

“No!” He said annoyed. Obviously a sour spot for the Musha boy, “Wish I had already, burn that picture right into my memory forever.”

“God, it’s like asking Blaze if he’s slept with Angel.”

“HELL YEAH I HAVE AND IT WAS AWESOME!”

“No one cares, Will. The more you brag the smaller we all think it is!” River called out to his brother. In a moment and a half, the oldest Musha brother was in there with River on the ground- River’s feet on his chest and their arms swinging at each other. “AH! GET OFF!” River nailed Blaze in the chest multiple times. “MOLESTATION! RAIN HELP!”

“One, that’s the most disturbing thing I’ve heard, two, why would I jump into this insanity?” Rain shook her head at the two of them. “you two have fun though, I’ll keep score over here where it’s safe.”

“CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAINNNNY!” River called in the ultimate reinforcements. The youngest Musha boy came galloping in, jumping on Blaze, who surrendered to the will- no one would hurt Cain, especially since he hadn’t gotten his powers yet- sure he could fly and use the minimalistic effects of their parents’ powers but he didn’t stand a hell of a chance against either of his brothers at the moment. “That a boy!” River smiled a bit as he lifted Cain onto his shoulder. “Now we take a victory lap around the library!” He made fake crowd noises as he did a slow mo fake jog with Cain on his shoulder. Rain just laughed a little bit at them while Blaze played dead on the ground.

“It’s okay! I’ll fix you, Will.” Rain smiled a little bit getting up and going over, helping her brother up. He hadn’t been hurt but she was the most believable to go help. “Take it easy.” She joked with him as she made him sit on the couch before River and Cain were done with their victory lap. “Guess it taught you not to mess with Cain.”

“Oh woo is me, my brothers have united against me! Whatever shall I do?” Blaze rolled his head looking at them. “Shall I simply lay here and recite what I remember of old Shakespearean theatre or perhaps read off technical jargon to make you all leave me to my sorrowful abyss…”

“Or maybe we could get you black hair dye.” River and Rain piped at the same time and then looked to each other. “Twinpathy! FOR THE WIN!” They raised the same fist in the air then both of them laughed. Cain started to laugh along a little, because he didn’t get the joke but didn’t want to be left out.

“Aw, insults in stereo.” Blaze said dryly. “Where in the world did I go wrong? Why would you give me three younger siblings?” he looked to the sky questioningly. “I mean, I understand the twins were just an act of flashiness, but then another one that would be so easily turned against me? Why?!” He shook his fist at the heavens. River laughed a little bit. Blaze only did that when he was feeling rather comedic. He tried every time but it was rarely funny. “And you still owe me MONEY”

“Always the money, it wasn’t funny the first time, Willz.” Rain sighed. “It’s not funny the fifty millionth time.” Rain just shook her head as she got up and got book off the shelf. She did it to simply pretend to ignore her brother’s craziness.

“We should throw her in the pool.” River said with a mischievous grin crossing his handsome face. Rain looked up like a deer in the headlights and a squeakish what, that’s when Blaze started to smile as well. He nodded in agreement and she got up and bolted down the hallway. “GET HER!” River yelled with a smile on his face. The brothers took off after her.

The siblings took a couple laps around the house and continued to until Cain slipped and fell in the pool when they circled it. “OH NOES!” Blaze said stopping and putting his hands on his cheek as Cain surfaced, he knelt down. “Are you okay Cainy boy?” That’s when the twins shoved him in as well. Cain just laughed and watched Blaze surface on his back. “…. My pride… it belly flopped.”

“It sur-” Rain shoved River in next. He flailed for a second and made a huge splash as he went down like a rock. He emerged looking like cousin it. He hadn’t realize how long his hair really got until it was all wet. He looked funny with his hair deflated and pressed against his scalp- his ears poking out. It didn’t help that he also couldn’t see which gave Cain and Blaze the perfect opportunity to splash him in the face.

“OWNED!” She exclaimed proudly. “What was that? ‘We should throw her in the pool’ well GUESS WHAT!” The combined force jumped up and pulled her in. “Ah, I hate you guys.” She said after surfacing with all of her hair clinging down to her face. “I can’t see anything.” Blaze dunked her and then River tackled him away. “ah, Will, you suck.”

“That’s what she” River ‘baptized’ Blaze before he could finish the sentences in front of Cain. He held his brother underwater for a few seconds before lifting him up while he took in a deep breath. “LET’S GO AGAIN!” Blaze chanted childlike. He continued to chant it so River flipped him into the water creating a big splash and a ripple effect in the water that sent Cain up into the air momentarily. All four of the siblings burst into laughter as Blaze floated back up on his back.

“What in the world are you lot doing?” Their father had come out with his news paper in hand. They pushed Cain out first. “Why in the world are you all in the pool! You’ll catch your death! OUT!” Cain scrambled a bit flailing. “What is the matter with you three?” Rex pointed his finger at the three older Musha siblings. If they did anything, Cain was sure to follow.

“I fell in dad! We were just playin!” Cain flailed his arms around trying desperately to protect his siblings from punishment. Most of the time it failed, because he was young and just trying to protect to them- so their father said at least, most of the time it was the same situation.

“No. All of you, inside! Now! Wait, first take off the dripping clothes- Rain, just go in.”

“THAT IS SEXIST!” Blaze boomed pointing his finger at his father. “I will not stand for this injustice! Why must we stand out in the cold in nothing but our under-roos while she gets to go inside? What is this? Huh, huh, huh, huh, Huh?” Rain just looked up at him for a second and then shoved him into the pool again. “OH COME ON!”

“Next time I throw you in a lake got it?” Rain turned on her heel and trotted inside. Blaze just floated there grumbling and cursing while River and Cain laughed at him. “You understand now why you stay outside while I get to go inside and be warm now or should I get my car and find the nearest lake?” Rain said sticking her head out the window.

“I’m good.” He gargled as he slinked out for a second time. He shot flames out of both hands and the liquid turned to steam; “there, steam cleaned.” Blaze smirked a bit at his dad. “Can I go in now?” Rex just shook his head taking a seat in his pool-side reclining chair and opened his paper.

“Your fan girls are somewhere crying that you didn’t take off your shirt.” River nudged him with a laugh. His shirt still clung to his body while he tried to keep his pants from falling to the ground. Perhaps wearing pants that were too big on purpose wasn’t a good combination with water. “Cheater…”

“Not really, he’s charred seven shirts doing that.” Rain said walking out with her dry clothes on and her hair wrapped up in a towel. “And god knows how many pants.” She just smirked at her older brother. Blaze jus glared for a little while and she glared back. “Willie.”

“Stormie.”

“CAIN! ” Cain jumped in between them with a smile on his face. Conflict averted and comedy achieved in a single bound by an eight year old boy. River reached over and ruffled his hair up. Cain just kept smiling as he knew that Rain wouldn’t do anything while he was standing there to Blaze.

“Classic.” River chuckled, getting Cain in a headlock and gave him a long noogie then just laughed for a little while longer. “Hold, pants!” River quickly grabbed them. “ah, f my life.” River put his head back and sighed, “Rain, Blaze, could one of you bring out towels or something?”

“Why?” Blaze chimed looking down at River. River’s golden eyes met with the chestnut brown orbs, he broke into an easy smile at his older brother. This one was just too easy for him.

“cause you’re running the risk of finding out if I went commando today.”

“EW! RIVER!” Rain flailed a bit “That is so gross!”

“Then please get me a towel so that you don’t find out and I can go get new pants on.” River just shook his head, crazy siblings. Rain sighed and then looked at River and then to the ground it seemed and then up again.

“Get your most pathetic face on” She smiled a little, almost as if it was payment for making her go get a towel for him. River sighed and then put on his ‘I’m a poor pathetic puppy, love me?’ face on and Rain’s phone snapped a picture she just giggled and he looked utterly betrayed. “And Sent.” She chuckled

“Wh-What! Traitor! Who did you send that to?” River demanded rushing over then grabbing his pants and pulling them back up to his waist before they got passed the indecent point- he was wearing underwear he just had to instill the fear that he wasn’t into his older brother and his twin sister so that he could get the much desired towel. He’d learned throughout his course with the Tenshi Clan that he had an extensive fan club because he was a prince and built like he was- a photo opportunity with his pants around his ankle would not be missed, there was someone around there that could take a picture and it would quickly circulate the internet- well the WW International connection service; which happened to be invented so that the humans wouldn’t find the pictures of winged warriors on the internet and try to figure out who ‘made them’ or what made them. Nothing was ever to be leaked, it was against the law.

“Who do you think I sent it to?” Rain said stepping away and laughing her charming little laugh before sticking her tongue out at her brother. “Oh I wouldn’t do anything to embarrass you River!” Rain just smirked to one side. For the sweet innocent one, she sure managed to stay in the mischievous section with her brothers. “Or maybe I would… I don’t know.” She just lifted her phone and gave a little pouty aw face.

“Oh. For. The. Love. Of. God. Who. Did. You. Send. It. To?!” Blaze demanded saying each word as thought it were its own sentence. Rain simply stuck her tongue out with her headstrong belief to keep this little ‘secret’ to herself. Blaze made gibberish sounds before pouncing towards Rain trying to grab her phone. “Why Rainy? Why won’t you just tell us?” He looked up at her with his big soulful chestnut brown eyes, looking more pathetic than a sad puppy… she snapped a picture of him and sent it to someone else. “She’s evil… EVIL! EVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLL!!!” Blaze chanted throwing his head back with his mouth wide open pointing dramatically at Rain.

“Cain, I think we’re the last sane two…”

“We?”

“Touché little brother, Touché. You are the last sane one left.” River sighed looking at Rain and Blaze. Blaze was now poking Rain and making her make these little squeaky sounds like a trapped chirping bird. “Goink.” River snatched Rain’s phone and flipped it open. “t’ank ya Rain.” He smirked a little holding it victoriously in his mighty hands. In a moment, she leapt for it- and missed. “ha ha, shortie.”

“Tall maniac…” she grumbled glaring up at him from her landing spot on the ground. She pushed her self up and went for another grab. “Come on! That’s personal River! It’s NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!”

“ap-ap-ap, you made it my business when sending photos of me to someone and refusing to tell me who.” He corrected going through text messages now. “you and Jack send text back and forth before bed… aw that’s so… gag me.” He chuckled a bit. “Blaze, she sent yours to Angel.”

“GIVE IT BACK RIVER!”

“LOL, he just screams luv meh. Tell Him to txt me later kthx Rain- Angel” River read aloud keeping the phone out of Rain’s reach again. “Now who or who did you send my picture to?” He went through again. “Ah, that’s not even cool.”

“Who’d she send it to what did they say?” Cain said eagerly not even ending his first sentence before starting the next hyperactively. He was jumping up and down by his brother. He got hyper when they did crazy things like that.

“Rain- Push him in Again- Alex.” River then pouted, he gave Rain her phone back right as her foot made connection with his shin. “ah, my life is hell.” He grabbed his shin. “First you’re sending shit to my girlfriend, then you’re taunting me and Blaze and then you’re kicking my shin, aw my life is hell.” He hopped a bit finding a chair and sitting there with his jeans still nuzzling down against his body. Cain just laughed a bit as he looked to Rain and Blaze. Blaze was rubbing his head. Cain was still learning the appropriate times to laugh and this was not one of them. The youngest Musha boy just gradually stopped laughing.

“I thought it was funny.” He said meekly before heading inside when his dad’s back was turned. He’d get away with it since he was the baby. River did it and they would throw him into the training field so fast and beat the tar out of him in scenarios that he wouldn’t even have time to blink. Ah, the hierarchy of age- rather more of a bell curve- the oldest has seniority but the baby has the naivety. Rain and River were on the lower curve, they were old enough to know better, but young enough not to be considered ‘out ranking’. Basically, they couldn’t get away with anything that Blaze hadn’t done or Cain wouldn’t try to do.

Eventually this wouldn’t matter, as Leah had come to with a towel to save her middle son, still dripping wet without a ‘friend’ to help him out and not particularly wanting to strip down to his underwear in front of his family. “Thanks for the help guys.” River grumbled at his siblings when he returned into the living room in dry clothes. “Really appreciate it.”

“Oh quit bitching, man-hoe.” Blaze shoved River as he came in with a large bowl of Doritos under his arm. “It’s annoying as hell.” Blaze plopped down on the floor after getting out a game control and quickly taking over the living room with the game he was playing. Rain just rolled her eyes and looked to River giving a little smile to him. He just glared at her for what she’d done to him. He headed off to his room to be alone as he usually did on quiet days like this.

He turned the light back on in his studio apartment like room when he entered and then wasted no time rushing over and sliding simply under the covers. The fabrics were soft, the bed was cushy, he was quite glad that he could just relax there and not have to worry about someone rushing in and dragging him out somewhere. He did miss Alex though, despite her telling Rain to push him back in the pool. It was sort of quiet and dull without her around- not that ever waken second he needed to be with her, just that it was sort of slow when she wasn’t around to at least talk to- even harder not to see her during the week at some point in time. Alas, the only thing that could take his mind off missing her was homework.

He piled the books on the bed around him and opened up a notebook, skillfully letting words flow from beneath the lead tip of the mechanical pencil in his mighty grip. Though Calculus was a class that would usually numb the brain from most other thing that would come into contact with River, he couldn’t help but still feel as though he needed to talk to Alex. He thought about just keeping the whole thing under wraps and forgetting about it, never mentioning it and acting cool and collected when Alex got home, making her think that her absence didn’t have a profound effect on him so she couldn’t use it over him, but he didn’t like that. It sounded too cold when he played the scene and audio over in his head. He didn’t like it, that wasn’t him and he knew it, she’d know it too the moment he tried to pull that bull with her. He decided to satisfy his urge with a text message to her.

River, unlike many teenagers, never got into the whole ‘txt talk’, he personally typed out all of his words. He thought it sounded more intelligent, even if it didn’t really save all that much time. He had a keyboard on his phone for Christ sake; he could type out an entire word without having to short cut it just for convenience of time. So he set out to articulate a message simple enough to let her know that he was hoping that she was having fun and yet having her gone was hard and he missed her. He let his thumbs fly and type out the message to her.

“Hey Alex <3,
Hope you’re having fun with your family; try not to get into too much trouble. Wouldn’t want to have to come and bust you out of Jail, ha ha, just kidding.
I was just thinking of you while trying to do homework (I know, bad River :( ) , and how I was hoping you were having more fun than me behind the books. I miss you, babe, little too quiet without you around. – Rives”

Once content with his message, he sent it on and placed the phone on one of his text books, he didn’t know if she would text him back yet but if she didn’t he would take that as a sign that she was either having fun or in a place where she couldn’t answer him because there were too many people around and she didn’t want them all talking about her text message- or Alan was there and was trying to read over her shoulder. He didn’t get a text back, instead he got a call. “Yello?” he asked picking it up and putting it to his ear.

“Bad River.” Was the first words that came out of her mouth and he just laughed a little. “I think I read too much into that, you sounded like a sad puppy, and the picture I got earlier today didn’t help that image of you.” He just chuckled a little at that, moving the book from his lap and getting up so he could pace while on the phone, a task that he did often while talking on the phone for one reason or another.

“I am a sad puppy.” He chuckled a little bit. “I thrive on attention and I’m all alone.”

“You’re not alone, your siblings are downstairs- or upstairs, I don’t know they’re in the house.”

“… They shoved me in a pool earlier, I mean good attention.” He smiled when he heard her laugh on the other end. “It’s surprising to me how nice it is to hear your laugh… even if you haven’t been gone all that long.” He shifted a bit. So he was showing a little weakness, she had a right to know what made him weak, and being apart was one of them, he’d had enough humbling experiences to understand that now. “Though, seriously, you’re having fun right? You’re not breaking away from this fun to talk to your sad puppy boyfriend are you?”

“Don’t worry about me, I’m having a blast, but I could use a break from the cousins.” He could hear her shifting where ever she was and finding a new comfortable position. “Lo and behold, I pick up my phone and see a text message from you. Thanks for the excuse to have my break.”

“Oh well, you’re welcome.” He chuckled a little bit. “I won’t keep you long though, wouldn’t want you to miss out on anything outrageous or fun because of me.” He frowned a little bit. “Just wanted to let you know I was thinking about you anyhow.”

“Oh… well… thanks.” She was smiling, he could tell. “I’ll be home in a couple of days, don’t fret too much, will this phone call tie you over or should I call back again?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be fine, and if I’m not, I’ll throw a text message your way.” He stopped pacing and leaned against his bed post. “A sloppy kiss awaits you upon return, by the way.” He chuckled a little “May involve tongue.” He said very seriously.

“… ew.” She finally said after a long moment of silence. “Can’t we hug or something?” She laughed, “I don’t know about you, but maybe French kiss upon meeting isn’t the mark of a healthy relationship…”

“I’m kidding” He smiled a bit, “but there will be a kiss and a hug waiting for you at your command- oh crap, I said at your command.” He heard her jokingly cackle evilly and he couldn’t help but chuckle himself. “I’ll see you when you get home, okay?”

“All right River.”

“Love you, Alex.” He said as his second nature now. “And I miss you.”

“Miss you too River.” She hadn’t said I love you to him since the last big fight in December.

“hey… Alex…”

“yeah?”

“Are you ever going to say I love you to me again? Are you still mad about the thing in December?”

“I’m not mad, and eventually maybe I’ll say it again, I just have to get comfortable enough to be able to reply with the word love.” She discussed freely. She just hoped he didn’t take it the wrong way and feel rejected then flip out on someone and start a fight with her. The grunt that erupted from his throat gave a fight warning and she was ready to sharp her wit when-

“Okay,” he didn’t start the fight. “I rather wait until you want to say it… of course, you know the whole, ‘don’t feel pressure just because I say it’ spiel.” He smiled a bit. “Take your time, I’ll be here.” He said softly, really meaning for her to take her time. He worried about what he said now, that he was pressuring her when he didn’t mean to pressure her. He’d gone from being a jerk to being terrified of losing her because of his own actions in a matter of months. He noted the long silence, “uh… did I say something?” he blinked and bit his lower lip.

“No, no, I was… expecting a fight or something…”

“oh…” he replied almost a tad sadly. “Yeah, I can see where you would get that.” He rubbed the back of his head again. “I’m just weeding out overreacting better now than I did before and honestly, I’m trying to become a better person so we don’t have to have the huge arguments- I mean sure we’ll still have little fights cause naturally people disagree but we don’t need to like…. Throw daggers at each other because of things we didn’t say or because one of us, I think it’s mostly me cause I’m a nut job, has taken it way too seriously or just was so cold that it cause the other to feel jaded… I guess I’m just trying to outgrow those days.”

“At times like these, it’s almost hard to want to decide if I want to say it or not.” He heard the smile again and that made him smile a bit. “But don’t let that go to your head Musha there is still a long way to go before I’m going to feel comfortable again.” She seemed to shift in her position wherever she was he could hear it in the stillness around her. “Are you pouting over there?”

“oh yes.” He laughed. “God, I’m going to keep you for hours! Hun, go have fun.” He urged, “I’ll see you when you get home Alex, and I love you, so go now and be joyous!” Her laugh made him smile yet again. “You going to hang up or do I have to?”

“I’ll force you to.” She chuckled a bit to herself “or we could get into a cutsie argument about who should hang up first…” She mused at him with a smug snicker escaping her mouth. She was sure she would win a cutsie argument, he’d eventually not be able to give up another section of his manhood and she would reap the benefits of being a shameless individual. “or you could hang up first…”

“I think I’ll be hanging up first.” He said as even toned as possible. She just laughed contently. “All right really, see ya.”

“See ya. Lots of kisses mua.” She joked with him- her brother must have come in the room as the faint but distinct sound of an ‘ewwww’ came over the line. He tried not to laugh a little louder. He waited a little bit to get anything else but instead hung up the phone and smiled to himself. He finally got back to his homework and focused entirely on it instead of letting his mind to wander off into the vacant spaces in his mind. Once the homework was out of the way he shoved it aside and sprawled out on his back again, he just stared at the ceiling and wondered about what he’d done in his life again.

The change that had occurred was deep and it didn’t seem like him. He didn’t really know that anymore. He wanted to be the best man he could be as well as the best warrior…. He didn’t know how to do that without sacrificing a little on each side, Alex wasn’t ever going to be thrill that he was going to go out and fighting but he couldn’t just give that up. There was a massive conflict in his own mind to be the lover that he wanted to be and the warrior that his body told him to be. He was built to be a war machine not a fluffy lover boy that lay in a long red bed with his hair messy and his eyes lustful. He wasn’t going to be that person. He couldn’t physically manifest it, not now at least, if the war was won and the enemy was in the ground perhaps, but today he was the warrior and he was only home for the time being to be comforted and getting sexy. His long body stretched more and his hand went across scratching the muscled chest that held more invisible scars than a burn victim.

He sat up and stared at the wall again. He thought about what to do now, but he couldn’t think about it. He was stuck in the past again. He was working through the torture and the war was still heavy upon his mind. There was so much that he still couldn’t understand about it, for example, why it wouldn’t leave him alone now…. He didn’t focus on it too much though… it wasn’t all that important. He slipped out of bed again and looked at his homework, with that done, he had nothing to do besides go play with his siblings in some mindless game that he might as well jump into the pool again for- no; he wanted to do something else. He gave a final nod to his homework and then opened the window, crawling out onto the small ledge. He turned and closed the window and crawled over a bit before kicking off the wall and taking off his necklace. He could feel the wind pick up under his large wings and for a moment the world disappeared and he was in a lovely space of mind that couldn’t be touch with his feet on the ground. He felt everything hanging in the air like a misguided glider. He didn’t need t be anyone but River with his wings holding him soaring in the air, free of commitment and strife. He’d forgotten how much he felt completed by the large blue monstrosities on his back. His life had felt so empty before and then in a quick zoom through the air he had found years and years of incompletion had now found its final part. They were covered in feathers. He took turns in the air making sudden jerk and changes in altitude while letting his inner child explore the one thing that human children dreamed of but couldn’t have by natural means… flight. It had just been too long since he just…. Flew because he loved flying, usually there was somewhere to go and someone to see… he never got the ‘Just go out and explore the world speech’ no, he was going to stay there and be lord of the Tenshi clan and then get married and have his own children when the war was over and he and his son could play around in the back yard- he would have a son by the way, maybe not at first but eventually he would have a boy. He just had a feeling- though he really wanted a daughter.

He looped in the air just enjoying the wind against his face as he looked out towards the town. There were other warriors out in the air going about their lives and enjoying the leisure of flight to get to where they wanted to go. Air traffic was minimal as people tended to avoid one another in the air as they zoomed around their lives. River perched himself on the roof and stared out into the day. A smile graced his lips as the vast world sprawled out before him. He’d needed this piece to complete him before and now that he had it, his world was complete. If he could be anyone different with just the request of a word, he wouldn’t change. His life was a complete cycle, perhaps that was why he was so willing to run out into battle and risk his life. Even if he was to die tomorrow, he felt as though his life had been completed with just the flap of his wings. Maybe that was why he lived so irresponsibly, even when he knew how mortal he was. He was ready for the fall that came after the high… in fact so ready, that he took the step forward and let himself freefall till just inches before the ground where he spread out his large wings and picked up the wind carrying him into the air. It may not have been the most logical thing for him to do, leaping off the roof and all, but it sure was exhilarating. He could feel his heart pumping out the thick tidings of adrenaline and he let out a cry f excitement as he zoomed up as far as he could into the air and just stared out into the world- the forest stretched as far as he could see, the mountains in the distance held up far beyond a smoke screen making them just visible enough. He could hear the wind howling with the wolves packed together in the cold months for warmth. He could see the evergreens swaying with that lonely moan. He took in a deep breath of the crispest air that he could remember in his life and let it out with the warmth of his body. His breath stayed visible, saying hello to him right in front of his face. He couldn’t help but let his lips curl up into his one sided smile.

This was tranquility in his war ravaged world. The earth let out a melodious tune, but he never once heard the sounds of the society below him. He had to continue to beam while his feet were hundreds of feet from the ground where his head could literally be in the clouds and his mind could stretch as far as the ground below him. He thought of life and love and all that was there below him. He thought about war and peace and how both were present and almost unachievable, and yet there were the silent victories in the air. He knew that his opposite was sitting in a house right now near a fire, devising and plotting how to destroy a man that he otherwise wouldn’t have cared about had it not been a mistake of their ancestors. River secretly pondered what life would be like if Tenshi had joined forces with his friend, Enzeru- or if Enzeru had surrendered his megalomaniacal quest to rule over the human race. Perhaps the Buke clan would still have their wings; maybe the Tenshi Buke Clan would rule the world… River hadn’t the slightest clue what the world would have given them if they had dared to surrender to the opposite side’s views. Perhaps there would be no winged warriors if the groups had surrendered to one another, or maybe they would be considered the elites of society. Though the images were grand and some sad and destructive, he knew why they could never be, those two men had to be stubborn individuals since they built the original Tenshi Buke Village from the ground up- just the two of them. Tenshi and Enzeru were success stories. Tenshi had been the son of a bar owner and Enzeru had been poorer than the pub family but when they left and founded the Tenshi Buke Clan Kingdom, they gain their success almost overnight, those long afraid to be what they were came out of hiding to join them…. But the fractions went as they would and the clan split in two, one side doomed to never again take the skies by a curse placed upon them by Tenshi after he tore the wings off of his once dear friend.

The two gentlemen’s souls were destined to fight until the matter was resolved- that was the drive that River believed he felt, and possibly also the drive that drove his enemy, Engel. It would make sense that Enzeru’s ancestors and soul reincarnations would be so compelled to destroy him or tear the wings off of him in revenge for the betrayal of his best friend. Of course, Tenshi never saw it as a betrayal, he just thought that Enzeru had gone mad with power and when he refused to join him on a quest for domination, Enzeru accused him of being a traitor and said ‘if you’re not with me, you’re against me’.
Those words caused a war that hadn’t yet ended, seven generations after the men who had that first brawl in the streets of the city they built together as friends. It truly amazed him how such a disagreement could turn into such large scale combat. Those who followed Enzeru were passionate about it and those who followed Tenshi were just as passionate, the people kept the flames going- if it had just been Tenshi and Enzeru disagreeing maybe it would be a different world to live in.

He knew he couldn’t change the past. As much as River knew he’d want to if he could, he could never go back and stop that fateful day, foe once in his life; it was not about his love of fighting. More so that he feared what would occur without the war. He didn’t care about his position in the Tenshi clan; he just didn’t want the Tenshi clan in ruble. He stared out at all the people who would be changed by the end of a simple argument, and then he looked over to the National Cemetery. His face drained of the color it once held strong.

How many men and women would have gone home if they could have settled the argument without throwing their fists? He couldn’t count the number of casualties in total that the war had seen, nor did he want to; he knew that the news of how many soldiers-- how many fathers, sons, and brothers-- mothers, daughters, and sisters-- had died to preserve the Tenshi clans side of the argument. Yet, even with so many people lying in the ground, the proud people would still chant out their love of the kingdom. They would still run into combat and many of them would still die to keep the belief alive, to say we were right all along. River didn’t know whether to swell up with pride, cry for the lost, or be sickened by how power a thought was upon people. He knew that he too believed Tenshi’s agenda so deeply that he would never dare question it or even falter to the Buke Clan’s will. His mouth turned down into a frown. He couldn’t imagine the world in these different lights anymore. He went off to find a place where he could relax and think for a little bit and maybe just play with his powers a bit.

He found a nice soft spot off in the woods just before the boundary of the barrier. He couldn’t help but find his smile again. He looked around, he could play around with his powers here, get to know them again. He found a bolder that really didn’t have any real purpose. He could still recall the dream where he heard his hand crunch under the power of the boulder…. So now he had to crush this one to prove the dream false. He cracked all of his knuckles waiting for the right moment he wrapped his fists up and he took in a deep breath and POW! The bolder turned to pure dust under his might. He stared for once in shock of the power that hid within his fist. He took in slow and unsteady breathes. He let out a yell of excitement and surprise. He did a couple back flips laughing and just enjoying how powerful he’d become. If alex could have seen him…. His eye softened at the thought, if she saw him, she would probably think he was acting childish…. But he was sure that secretly she led seeing him sort of…. Not serious…. Not a fighter for a little while… “…. Pow!” He shot his hand out towards another rock. He saw a beam of blue light that blasted from his hand. He stared in utter shock. “oh damn.” His eyes remained wide as the bolder he had jokingly pointed at was now vaporized by the beam that came out of his fingers. “… oh my…” he lowered his hand. “… I gotta learn what I actually do….” He blinked realizing just how irresponsible it was not to know exactly what you could do when you were throwing your first around. He thought about the blue tunnel vision and then sat on the round. He closed his eyes and for a while, he tried to unlock it. He must have sat there for an hour…. Nothing happened. He tried for hours and hours but eventually, he decided he just wasn’t going to get it done today.


“RIVER!” he heard his name from the distance. It didn’t sound like his family….. but he didn’t think twice… something in him told him to run towards it and he did.