DeVsia attempt parenting

This had all started over a simple game of soccer. Kiran had unintentionally pissed off the most popular kid in the class named Bryan, by winning two matches without assistance from the rest of his team; and now Bryan had placed a target on Kiran’s head. In fact, Kiran could peek between his arms as Bryan brought over a bucket filled to the brim with sand, sticks, stones… other things from the sandpit in the corner, where were the teachers? Why hadn’t anyone stopped this? 

The kids shuffled out of the much taller kid way, there was a whisper that Kiran did not quite hear and before he knew it, his arms were being ripped away and his head was being dunked into the bucket. His mouth filled with sand, the sticks scraped at his skin and and rocks dug into his eyelids. This time he screamed as his head was lifted up before being pushed back into the bucket… he swallowed sand and that caused more laughs as the kids started calling him a sand eater. 

A familiar sound of an engine being cut off, the zip of a leather jacket coming undone, near silent steps told Kiran that his aunt was approaching, just as his head was about to be dunked into the bucket for the third time he heard what could only be described as an arm being snapped in two and Bryan screaming in pain. The rest of them scattered, Kiran fell to the side and coughed and retched the sand back up, his face covered in fine cuts and his body racked with sobs from trying to be brave. 

“Come near my nephew again, touch him ever again and an arm broken in four places won’t be your only concern. Got it?” 

“I’m gonna tell my dad! He’s friends with the chief of police!” 

“Yeah, you do that. He won’t believe you.” 

“Yes he will!” Bryan tried to sound brave, when he was in agony. 

“Tell him my name. Stasia Noba. See if he’ll care then.” 

With that Stasia bent down and an inhuman sound came out of her, she cursed in something Kiran had never heard before, but it sounded ancient and powerful. His aunty reached into her pocket and retrieved her cotton handkerchief, she handed it to Kiran and he began to wipe his mouth of the vomit and spit, her fingers touched his face and he felt the usual sensation of her ability kicking in, he thought it felt like feathers but apparently for some other people it could feel as bad as being forced to swallow glass – this information was curtesy of asking Uncle Ritunen about it. 

“Can you sit up for me? I need to examine the damage.” 

He did as he was told, wincing as the world seemed to spin, he also finally noticed that he had a massive gash above his brow bone, Stasia batted away the handkerchief and instead ripped part of her shirt off and using that scrap to press it against the wound. He blinked away the tears. She began to murmur again in the same tongue that she had seemingly cursed in and he felt what could only be pure electricity shoot through his skin, mending and erasing the damage. 

“How how did you do that?”

“The term is ‘Revene.’ The ancient term for reverse. It’s used as a basic healing word. It comes from the house of Origui.” 

“Life?”

“Precisely. Does it hurt anywhere else?” 

He shook his head, he knew that his Aunties and Uncles were special, they had words that they could use as they went about their day; Aunty DeVian had even promised that if he was extra good that she’d teach him some of the ones she used, it seemed at least for Aunty Stasia she wasn’t afraid to use the words in front of Kiran but only where necessary. He opened his mouth to thank her, she shook her head; she personally wanted to kill Bryan and the rest of the petulant shits. Helping Kiran up, he found himself hugging his aunt as she patted his matted hair. 

“We’re gonna have to stop by the shops. If DeV sees you like this. She’s going to destroy the school and the surrounding areas with her halberd.” 

“Can we get ice cream?” 

“Sure kiddo. Come on.” 

He followed closely behind her, amongst all of the things he considered his favourite it was getting ice cream with his aunt Stasia, the way she smelled and the way she seemed to not give a shit about anyone or anything that got in her way. She handed him her helmet which he took obediently; shoving it on his head as she started the engine back up. Climbing on once she was seated, he wrapped his hands around her waist and knotted them so that he wouldn’t somehow fly off – it was something that Aunty DeVian had reminded him to do, seeing as  Stasia did not obey traffic laws. 

As they sped off and away, he shut his eyes and told himself to focus on keeping his hands tight, sometimes he was brave enough to open his eyes and watch the world go by, today after Bryan? He didn’t feel so brave anymore. 

Kiran had always been amazed whenever he had the privilege of seeing his aunt’s studio, his jaw dropping at the pieces that were in progress; most of them he realised were modelled by his mother, and when not modelled by his mother were being made for Aunty DeVian. She knew his measurements by heart now, and quickly made up an exact replica of the shirt that he had been wearing when he had left the house that morning, after he had cleaned himself off – Stasia had told him there was no way in hell he was going to wear his new shirt dirty. 

Now that he was dressed and his hair was back to clean and fluffy, they embarked on their next trip to their local ice cream shop. Kiran could barely wait as he stepped up to the displays and looked at all of the flavours, he could never quite decide what he wanted at any given trip. Scanning the new monthly flavour, his Aunt in the meanwhile was outside on the phone speaking rapid Japanese; he heard Bryan’s name being mentioned and something about his father being fired. 

“What would you like?”

“I don’t know… I can’t pick.”

“How many scoops?” 

He looked back his aunt who was holding up three fingers. THREE SCOOPS! His grin became even wider as he looked back at the shop attendant. 

“I think I will have the mega mint chocolate, French Vanilla and…” 

He looked back to his aunt who mouthed ‘Lemon curd Custard’ he nodded and then pointed to the last flavour he wanted to try. 

“I also want the Rocky road. My aunty wants the Lemon curd custard and…” he glanced back “The strawberry cheesecake please.” 

“Any toppings.” 

“Rainbow sprinkles pretty please and some chocolate chips too if there is any.” 

He handed the shop attendant his aunt’s credit card as Stasia stepped back in and stopped just behind him, he was handed the card back, which he promptly returned just as Stasia was given the two different scoops, they picked a booth by the back of the store, as he licked at his sugary sweet treat his feet swung back and forth. 

“Want to talk about it?” 

She was asking about the event she had stopped earlier, he knew there wasn’t any point in hiding anything from his aunt. Once he had made his way through the first scoop of rocky road. He wiped his mouth on one of the serviettes. 

“Bryan is the most popular kid and I beat him in soccer. He got mad that his winning streak was ruined. Then it started.” 

“Do you like the school?” 

“Not really.” 

“It’s only your first day. Do you see them becoming a problem?” 

“Yes.” 

“We’ll transfer you out if you want. Find another school. Or you can be home schooled.” 

“I’d like to give it a week. Then I’ll move if something else happens.” 

He licked at the second of the flavours as his aunt nodded, accepting his terms. Once they were both finished he thanked her with another hug; she murmured something under her breath that he did not quite hear. Kiran realised quickly that Stasia was taking him back to his parents home when they did not turn the usual way back to his aunts home. Was something happening? 

As he handed her, her helmet back he looked at his Aunt who had gotten off her bike, shut off the ignition and was going to walk him to the front door, she was about to knock when the sound of furniture being tossed caught both of their attention. She shoved him behind her and took out the pair of scissors that she usually hid in her hair, the third ones were usually tucked inside of her left boot. 

“Stay here. If I tell you to run. You run next door and you call Aunty DeV. Got it?” 

“Yes.” 

“Good.” 

Stasia touched the doorknob, which ordinarily would have been locked when she found it to be unlocked she frowned and swung the door open as quietly as she could. The sound was getting louder as more furniture seemed to be thrown about, Kiran watched as his aunt stalked into the hallway, scissors at the ready. He was ready to run as soon as she told him to but when she lowered and relaxed her stance, he wondered what was going on. Stepping in behind her, he was met with the scene of his parents throwing furniture and an assortment of objects at each other, the only reason there wasn’t any screaming was because they were too busy trying to kill the other with household objects, most of them were deflected by Rensai with gravity. 

“Vai buscar roupa suficiente para uma semana. Vens para ficar connosco.” 

[Go get enough clothes for a week. You’re coming to stay with us.] 

He ran up the stairs and began to pack like a maniac as he heard his aunt scream at his biological parents, he wondered why she even bothered. His parents were unpredictable and he wondered how and why they were still married considering all of the fights they had over stupid things. 

As he returned downstairs, the furniture was no longer being thrown instead, both of his mothers were pegged against the wall with knives, scissors and other sharp implements probably because of his aunt. 

“Kiran. Love. How was your day?” 

“Kiran go wait outside for me.” 

“彼を盗んだのか? また?” 

[Stealing him away? Again?] 

“二人と一緒にここに残すよりはマシだ あなたたちは無責任で、彼はそれを必要としません。” 

[Better than leaving here with you two. You two are irresponsible and he doesn’t need that.] 

“ビッチを盗む子供。” 

[Child stealing bitch.] 

“Jag har kallats värre. Lär dig att bli bättre föräldrar och kanske ger jag Kiran tillbaka. Tills den dagen kommer men ni båda kan ruttna.” 

[ I have been called worse. Learn to be better parents and maybe I'll give Kiran back. Until that day comes however both of you can rot.] 

Kiran didn’t want to hear the rest, whenever his aunt spoke Swedish… like when Aunty DeVian spoke Portuguese he knew it was better to clear the area and hide until the storm was over. Once they were home, his aunt helped him to move his clothes into the room he had started to call his own, the floor was covered in toys and art supplies, and there were posters on the wall. He fell onto his dinosaur bedspread and watched as his aunt folded his clothes. 

“Can you teach me other words.” 

“Maybe, what words would you want to know?” 

“I dunno… something useful.” 

“‘Hindral’ means ‘to hide’ or ‘to be hidden.’ It makes you less noticeable. It's a word that borrows from both the Contus and Woxia.” 

He played around with the word in his mind, he wondered if they worked if you only thought about it. 

“You have to say it, and there must be an intent for it.” 

He was completely off, when he said it the first time and Stasia found herself laughing under her breath as he continued to play around with the pronunciation, when she was certain he was about to give up she gave him some pointers. She thought it was ridiculous that her sister and Rensai wanted to keep Kiran clueless about his claimant heritage and what he was capable of... hell the kid had literally forgotten except for moments of sheer panic that he had control over gravity. She supposed if he was going to stay with them, she was going to have to teach Kiran some words to use. 

"Enough words today. Two is enough. Now, come let's go see what your aunt is up to." 

Kiran kept mulling over the words in his mind as they walked out of the room and towards his aunt's study – he had realised soon after that Aunty DeVian loved working at home most of the time and that it was only Aunty Stasia who worked outside of home most days. Stasia knocked gently before stepping in, Kiran waited before doing the same thing. His dark haired aunt was busy chatting on the phone whilst being cuddled by his blonde haired aunt, he waved. Not wanting to cause anymore stress, he turned on his heel and left for the backyard. As he did he could hear someone in the kitchen. Uncle Ritunen. 

"Hello squirt." 

"Hello uncle." 

"Usually you're calling me idiot, stinky or something else. What's up?" 

"Had a bad day at school." 

"Ahh. Want to help me with dinner then. You could help me make the pasta."

Ritunen asked as he poured another dash of white wine into a simmering pot of red sauce. Kiran set about making the pasta, washing his hand in near scolding hot water and soap, he sprinkled the flour onto the counter and got to work, they worked in companionable silence, occasionally switching places so that Kiran could inspect the sauce and try it out. Whilst he didn't like uncle Rit as much as he loved his aunts he knew that the man was there to stay and therefore it was ok sometimes not be a little terror. 

"I didn't like school either." 

"You never had to go." 

"No but I understood what it was to stick out like a thumbtack. The pasta machine is in the bottom drawer. Could you get out the rigatoni attachment out." 

"I think the sauce is missing a bit of salt." 

"Yeah thought so. Do you like parsley?" 

"Can't tell what it tastes like to be honest." 

"Ok." 

Kiran sat at the dining table alone as his uncle took a tray with two plates on it over to his aunt's study where both of them were still, digging into the rich marinara sauce with scallops, prawns, squid and he guessed crab, he savoured the taste of the chilli. His uncle walked back in and served himself before sitting across from Kiran, his uncle liked to pour a little bit of additional olive oil onto his own serving and a squeeze of lemon – Kiran hadn't the slightest clue why his uncle thought the need to add things like that to a perfectly good meal. 

"You know your aunts love you." 

"I love them too." 

"Is it true, the papers." 

"Huh?"

"DeVian told me you placed adoption papers on her desk this morning." 

He didn't know how to answer so Ritunen took that silence as an acknowledgment and continued eating. Once both were finished, Stasia returned the dishes before disappearing again... Kiran then wondered if he had made the right decision placing the papers there for his aunts to see and to talk about... what if they didn't want him? What if his taking a risk in order to be seen as the legal son of his aunts was the wrong choice? What if they hated him secretly and this was their final straw? He walked towards the study, picking at the skin around his fingers as he tried to build up the courage to knock... maybe he should run away and become someone else's problem. As he stood there, trying not to back away the door opened and he was met with Stasia who smiled and stepped aside to let him in. He realised rather quickly that aunty DeVian's desk was empty of its usual items and instead the only thing left on the desk were two pens and his adoption request papers. He looked at both before picking up the papers, he began to flick through on all of them he noted that his Aunty Stasia had signed them whereas his aunt DeVian hadn't yet; supposed he should have seen this coming. He looked at his aunt, she had picked up the pen and was playing with it in her non dominant hand, he bit his lip. 

"I can't go back. Please be the parents I need." 

"I've already agreed, now it's up to your aunt." 

"Please mum?" 

Restless Sleep

Kiran had been inside of his aunts wardrobe only twice, once because Stasia had to grab her emergency textile kit to fix his halloween costume that had somehow split at the seams despite Kiran not having grown at all since they had designed and made the jack-o-lantern get up, this second time was now because he was alone in the house and neither of his parental figures were there; he felt alone and scared. He had heard them moving about in the early hours of the morning, had heard his aunts unlock the part of the wardrobe strictly for their personal arms; had heard his mother go off about how she would be fine because Novevu would be there and that Stasia needed to concentrate on her own task which Kiran hadn't heard at all. He had buried further under the sheets when his actual biological mother was mentioned and DeVian's complaint about having to work alongside someone who was such a personal nuisance. He had pretended to be asleep when both opened his bedroom door to make sure he was asleep, Stasia readjusting his sheets and DeVian running her hand through his hair affectionately, he dared to open one of his eyes just by the smallest cracks and saw that both of his aunts were in their combat gear. Now he was terrified. 

Kiran reached into one of the many racks and tugged the shirt until it fell into his arms, then he reached for another item of clothing this time belonging to DeVian, not even their rings were on their holder – he had been so amazed at the sight of them initially because of how they seemed to match the woman who wore it to a tee, now that he was half covered in clothes that smelled like both of his mothers he decided rather than going back to his own bedroom he crawled into their unmade California King bed, arranging the items of clothing so that he was in a nest of scents he had to do his best to reassure himself as he fell into an uneasy sleep. 

The water was pristine, so clear that you could see everything underneath, the scent of jasmine and camomile wafted gently in the wind as they were welcomed to the realm of water by the Treasure of Water, apologetic that his father was nowhere to be seen; they had decided to visit the realm as a treat to Kiran and perhaps maybe to see if he had any connection to the element at all. Ritunen had decided not to accompany them – something about the house connections and all. Dropping his duffle bag down and into the waiting hand of a water claimant attendant, he followed after his aunts who were chatting to the treasure like it was nothing. Kiran had always wondered just how influential his aunts were for them to be able to travel to different realms on a whim, to chat to everyone as though they were either underneath them or at the same level of status. 

“Come on, I need a massage.” 

Since moving in full time with his aunts, he had learnt over twenty different Ancient words and whilst he could not say any of them without sounding like an idiot. He was grateful that knowledge like this was no longer being withdrawn and hidden, he wanted to know all of the words. She returned the water and the fish to it’s previous position and they continued on their way. 

Stasia was sitting on a bamboo mat in such a strange manner that Kiran had to wonder if his aunt was alright sitting in such a way, but when his aunt opened his eyes and waved at them both he knew that all she was really doing was trying to find another way to relax, it turned out that Kiran had no affinity for water and he was a little upset – it had been proven thus because the Realmic beasts ran far and wide away before Kiran could even get close, he was a little upset still but he didn’t want the stupid animals to be the reason he resented the realm or the element. 

The dream shifted… 

It felt like yesterday when he was but a year old toddler, when he had set down inside of Nammay's big armoury, when Stasia and DeVian had come because he would not calm down, would not sit still or be held by Verin who was agitated enough that she had to cancel a shoot in order to be there for her son's weapon ceremony. He had been set down alone in such a vast space, a space that he was not familiar with, Rensai had told him to go with his gut and to take his time to pick a weapon. He toddled and swayed on his way towards the swords; they looked nice and scary maybe that would be enough? None of them called to him and he continued on his way to the halberds. 

"Why is he heading in that direction? How does he even know what a Halberd is?"

"He must have seen DeVian training."

"I wanted him to be like me, with a Warhammer."

"You know that's not how it works." 

"At least I can train him if he picks a type of hammer... I won't be much help with a bladed weapon that's more your thing."

Stasia muffled the ensuing laugh with a cough as Kiran picked up one pair of very large scissors and swayed to the right, he dropped it back on the rack and continued on his way. It must have been six hours (in reality it was only an hour) before Kiran whittled the choices down to two almost identical but not quite halberds, one was made of a lighter type of iron that had a blue-ish undertone with a pole made primarily of enchanted ebony wood; the other was a little showier with a carbon steel and titanium blade, the pole in which it was supported was like the previous made of enchanted wood, however unlike the ebony wood this latter one had been sourced from Osage-Orange. He picked both up and tried to swing each in turn – this series of actions caused both Stasia and DeVian to lose their cool and laugh out of pure amusement as Kiran tried to wave the two rather large weapons in the direction his aunts. Verin turned away from her son as he dragged, crawled and walked his way to Nammay who picked up the weapon he settled on, Nammay looked at the two women that Kiran saw as his real parents with an expression that suggested something more than just a simple choice or calling. 

"This one, is made exactly from the same materials as DeVian's." 

"What?"

"It's the younger sister."

"Surely not. It’s not oozing the void in any manner.”

"I can assure you, I don't make mistakes when it comes to identifying my weapons. I'll have it wrapped up and delivered. Besides, yours is affected by your bloodlust, this one is not. It is instead fuelled by Kiran’s anger.” 

Nammay lowered himself so that he could give Kiran two thumbs up and a smile for making his decision. 

Kiran woke up from the dream feeling even worse than when he gone to sleep and he looked around hoping that his aunts were back, he rubbed his eyes and sat up… someone was back but who? He listened as someone seemed to be throwing things around in the wardrobe, a little scared he climbed out of the bed and tried his best on tiptoes to creep towards the door where DeVian was on the floor having demolished part of the wardrobe crying. He bit his lip, what was he supposed to do? He wanted to help but he was also scared that he’d annoy her… why was she crying? Where was Stasia? 

The Ugly Truth

“What does aunty do?”

“She makes clothes, but you already knew that.”

“Then how come she comes back bruised and doesn’t talk for days at a time… just sits by the wall and stares into the void…”

“When did you see that?”

DeVian placed her fork down, Kiran and her had been invited over by Bruno to eat lunch with the mortal; he had prepared a simple version of Galinhada with what he had in his fridge. Right now he was making something else in the kitchen whilst also eating from his own plate, Kiran tried his best to pay attention to his food as his mother waited for a response to her question.

Kiran had never really met Bruno until a few weeks ago when he had opened the door and the old man had given him a large wrapped package and told him unwrap it and put it in the oven for forty minutes at the lowest possible setting. He had done as directed and forty minutes later, his mother figure had come down from her office and had immediately served herself a rather large portion. He had never had it before, DeVian explained it was a dish made mostly of black beans that had been stewed with pork; furthermore that her own mother used to make every year at a certain point of the year. Served along side the stew that Kiran only had a spoonful of (Ritunen had explained that even if he loved the stew to bits that the dish was meant solely for his mother, something about making sure she ate and felt better… but his mother was not visually ill which confused Kiran) were small rolls of cheese bread, again he was told not to eat it (he managed to sneak one roll away for himself but apart from that the rest went to his mother). 

Kiran had no idea who her mother was,  he wondered if she meant that old lady that hung around DeVian’s side.  Come to think of it, Kiran felt his mother had been acting awfully strange in the past few weeks; barely talking constantly working and always drinking herself to sleep… come to think of it the old lady Kiran had gotten very used to seeing around DeVian had all but vanished into thin air. 

“I hope you are still hungry, the Pudim is almost ready.” 

“There’s always room for dessert papai. Right Kiran?”

“Yes! What’s Pudim?” 

“Pudding.” 

“Oh… should have guessed from the name.” Kiran giggled 

“You want caramel or passionfruit. Querida?” 

“Caramel.” DeVian answered without hesitation. 

“Just like your Mãe.” 

Kiran watched slightly nervous as DeVian rubbed her chest before resuming eating in silence. He made sure to clear his plate before Bruno came to the table with the proffered dessert… it smelt sweet and amazing and Kiran suddenly felt like his stomach was empty all over again - despite having two bowls of Galinhada. 

“You never answered my question.”

“Last week.” He finally let out, DeVian nodded. 

“Do you know why she wears her bracelets?”

“She said it was to keep us safe. So she didn’t hurt us.”

“What house is your aunt in?”

“Postnos.” 

Even saying a house’s name felt like one was summoning the element, the air felt like it did before a thunder storm, Kiran shuddered. DeVian placed her glass down and put her hands together, almost as if she was praying - or at least that was what his friend did before they ate at lunch everyday, Kiran wondered why his mum was being so quiet - it was like she was waiting for something, to perhaps see something in Kiran's eyes. Finally after all of the suspense DeVian began to speak in a tone that suggested that if she was interrupted she would stop and never speak of it again. 



"As you know, your aunt and I have lived many lives. Aikekunai we are. Your aunt's lives have a sole purpose for as long as the Ancients have wanted a soul of her kind to exist." 



Bruno served Kiran a small serving of Pudim. He had heard this same story from his wife years ago when Stasia had been rescued from the Program and he was trying to make sense of why his wife had been so relieved and yet so devastated. For a moment Kiran could have sworn his mother's eyes weren't her own and belonged to someone else and he had to tell himself to stay quiet as his mother changed her position and began to trace her skin... almost like a Polaroid being exposed to the correct chemicals; Kiran's jaw dropped... his mother's skin was a kaleidoscope of colours that showed pictures and memories and seemed to be buzzing with her aunt's element despite DeVian being from a different house entirely. 



"She is a mind thief, a gift that allow her to steal whatever is in your mind no matter how hard you fight. To some, that makes her a monster because she could steal everything and leave nothing in her wake." 



He spooned a mouthful of Pudim into his mouth and savoured the sweet and tangy taste of passionfruit flesh. 



"So, as part of her job she has to do things that you and I would not have do ever."



His look must have told DeVian what he was thinking for she looked up at the ceiling. 



"If that means sleeping with the enemy then she will. It disgusts her." 



Kiran no longer felt like he wanted to eat, he pushed his bowl away as DeVian placed a hand on his shoulder. 



"You and I will never know the horrors, she has worked all her life. She makes clothes otherwise to keep some control of her life. Keeps her happy. It's why she goes away so often. When she comes back she needs time to remember that not everyone will hurt her." 



The kaleidoscope seemed to fade from his aunt's flesh and she looked at Bruno who only now served her a healthy amount of Pudim. Kiran looked down at his hands and tried to envision what that kind of life would be like and failed. He then looked at this mother and realised a little too late that he was crying - the tears fell without reason and DeVian took a moment to shut her own eyes and rub the bridge of her nose before pulling Kiran off of the chair he had been sitting on and placing him firmly on her lap; enveloping him in a tight hug. 



"Verin might call your aunt all kinds of names, but you must remember that unlike Verin. Stasia has and will sacrifice everything to keep us safe and happy. You can never forget the sacrifices she makes to ensure it." 



"Is that the reason you don't like her?" He rubbed at his eyes 



"I have my own reasons but I at least want you to understand why your aunt is so important to me." 



"She's important to the both of us." 



DeVian ran her hand through his hair and he leaned into her touch, shutting his eyes he fell asleep. She wiped his tears away and looked at her mortal father figure who had a look that suggested that he was proud of her for revealing the truth rather than hiding it away or trying to disguise the nightmare for a dream, DeVian carried Kiran over to the couch, covering him in one of Marjorie's wool blankets before returning to the dining area to help Bruno finish the rest of the food - and if not put it away for the old man so that he would have to worry about food for the next few days. Bruno cleaned the dishes silently as DeVian rearranged the fridge. 



"He will never look at his aunt the same way." 



"I know and now I worry." 



"Don't, it is good you told him the truth. Better he find out this way from you than for him to find out in a much uglier manner." 

Uniform

Kiran tugged at the shirt and scowled, he looked ridiculous in this get up and in fact he still had several layers to go before he was fully dressed. The fabric was so itchy but he tried not to protest too much as Stasia stuck needles and pins into different parts of the outfit, she worked silently and Kiran wondered why he hadn't been struck or stabbed with any of the tiny metal implements his aunt was working with. Kiran, much to the relief of well his aunts had been accepted into a prestigious private school, and that meant two things for the young claimant that he was not only going to be forced to wear this stiff ugly uniform with its maroon and green and white but he would also have to be away from his aunts. It was called a finishing school, what the hell was a finishing school?

"Do I have to wear this?"

"Yes."

"It sucks"

"What sucks even more is that if you don't you'll be expelled and we don't want that." 

"Do I have to go to a finishing school." 

"It's only for two years Kiran, much better than going through seven years of geisha training." 

Kiran shuddered, that was true as his aunt stood up and backed away, she walked around his still form and nodded in approval. He spun around as though he was wearing a tutu and his aunt rewarded him with a laugh and a hug before reaching for a box that had sat unopened for the longest time by his aunt’s side as she worked on him. As she picked it up and opened the box, he peered inside and saw a beautifuly intricate pocket watch, it hummed with something that could not have been human; Stasia slipped it out of the velvet lined box and placed it in Kiran’s hand, it was more weighty than he had originally thought as he allowed himself to bring it closer to his face. 

“It’s so pretty.”

“It’s your first heirloom too, to keep you safe and to help remind that time will fly by at the School. Soon you’ll be back with your mum and I.” 

“It doesn’t feel human.”

“Correct, you’re detecting a small part of your mother and I’s element, hold it up to your ear.” 

He did as he was instructed and he could have sworn he heard a heart beat. He furrowed his brow.

“Your mother’s heartbeat. The clock hands run on electricity, but the internal workings? Your mother’s element, it’s connected to her pulse. We thought that it might comfort you.”

“This will be quickly lost or broken.”

“Indestructible and linked to you. Anyone tries to steal or break it and they’ll be in for a nasty surprise.” 

“Like?” Kiran held it close to his heart, the metal had warmed and it felt like he was hugging DeVian. 

“A small painful, non lethal electrical shock. Had to compromise with your ma. She wanted heart attacks.” 

Kiran and Stasia laughed, as he slipped the watch into his blazer pocket, maybe going to this school wouldn’t be too much a pain after all; not with a watch like that and his aunt being so confident that time would past quickly.