He watched the streaks of orange sunlight shooting through the calm surface above, enjoying the feeling of being submerged in the lukewarm lake. The surface's tranquility wouldn't last long as soon he'd break out of it in the shallows, splashing the girl waiting for him on land. With his hands, he swooshed his pitch-black hair back as he rose from the lake, water running down his sharp and relatively muscular pale body, taking all sorts of different paths back down to the lake. He turned and looked at Bacha with his crimson eyes, sending shivers down her spine as she took a long indulging look at his body.
Two years had passed. It was late May, the beginning of his final summer holidays at Redhill. Paley was now 14, but he looked closer to 16. His look of constant coldness had worn off slightly and he even gave a large smile to Bacha as he approached her.
"Thank you," He took the towel she had been holding for him and dried himself.
"My reward?" She asked, putting her cheek out toward him. He chuckled, gave her a peck, and continued walking. Bacha, now 13, had grown taller but still couldn't reach above his shoulder. In fact, Paley had grown nearly five full inches, going from 5'6 to 5'11, and he wasn't showing any signs of stopping, worrying Teerom that he would be overtaken (Teerom stands at 6'1 now).
They made their way – Bacha trying to find a way to casually hold his hand - through the mana forest toward the orphanage, which was now much more than a run-down cottage. They passed through the Fulguron's nest where they saw the other boys playing up above on huge parkour nets between the trees that Teerom and Paley built. They didn't have to worry about falling to their deaths as Paley had given them Air runestones that would make them float once activated.
"Hey, Paley! Is dinner ready?" Adimia shouted from above. He hadn't changed much, choosing to remain bald, apart from a big scar running down from his jaw to his chest. The story behind that dates back to last year when he tried hunting an Antraga (a giant Fire-type ant monster) and was gashed by its scalding mandibles.
Reben climbed up the net next to him and lay down, watching for Paley's answer. He'd grown nearly as tall as Adimia now – 5'9 – and had let his hair grow out enough to cover his eyes, but he styled it backward with a few strands hanging over his face.
Amasha had lost his toddler's features; he'd turned 7 this year and his skin had darkened a little, going from a peachy brown hue to a strong chocolate. On top of that, he'd awakened his magic, a strange type of Strength Magic where his very body would shapeshift. For example, being so excited to eat, he used his magic to extend his arms, grab Adimia and Reben, and jump down from the nets. Before the jump, his legs had enlarged slightly and after a good twenty seconds of Reben and Adimia's laughing screams, his soles expanded even more to absorb the impact of the landing.
Paley and Rauba had studied his Magic in-depth, but they couldn't trace it to any known magic. He must've been a unique Magic Type (Most people fall under one of the four main elements, but some have completely exclusive Magic Types). One of Rauba's theories was that he was a Transformation Mage, but Transformation Mages often turn into a specific creature, and what was Amasha turning into? Only a Quimnia like Manoha could turn into other beasts or create new ones.
Anyways, the three boys followed Paley and Bacha back home, crossing the river they always played in and walking down a renewed path toward the new and improved orphanage. The cottage had been transformed into a small villa by a joint effort of all the orphans. Teerom and the dwarves designed the whole area to be as beautiful as they could afford. The new additions were bushes full of flowers, a garden that Madella and Jurie regularly watered, and the decorated path they stood on. Lastly, the barn had been renovated too and they raised livestock there as a second income to Paley's monster hunting and Teerom's building work. In fact, even Jurie had gotten herself a job at a restaurant near Teerom's workplace, she had applied to work in the council as she had an interest in politics, but the patriarchy refused to have a young woman working in the council and making decisions regarding Lusitra's future.
Madella's uncle-in-law's thinning funds were no longer required and if she wanted to she could completely retire from any work as the orphans were willing to not just earn money but do any chores around the house. But she would've died from boredom if she allowed Paley and Jurie to take over cooking and the rest clean. No one can garden the entire day.
The villa they lived in now was made of strong dark wood with a great number of windows on the bottom floor, where the living room and kitchen were. The orphans could've had separate rooms on the second floor, but they chose to sleep together; Paley, Adimia, Reben, and Amasha shared a room, Teerom and Jurie shared another, Rauba and Bacha too, and Madella had her own room.
Jurie and Teerom sat at a table near the front doors under the porch canopy, playing chess (the pieces looked like their human counterparts). Teerom, now 19, had grown more handsome, but his stature had remained skinny yet muscular. He had the ability to grow a beard, but Jurie preferred him clean-shaven. A scar embellished him too, though it was much smaller and faded than Adimia's and was situated on his wrist. Paley could've healed the scar away, but Teerom insisted on keeping proof of his first injury on the job, of course, the dwarves had instilled that idea into him.
Jurie had become more womanly, now being 17, her bright blue eyes and blonde hair adorned her beauty well. In fact, her hair had grown much longer, now hanging down to her hips, though normally she kept it tied up in a bun. She moved a knight that made Teerom sigh in realization and hold his hand out; he had resigned.
"Giving up already?" She teased as she shook his hand.
"You're too good at this." He sat back in his chair. They found themselves in another of their spontaneous staring contests, most of which Teerom had won. This one too he'd win as she looked away blushing. Despite being together for over two years now, she still got butterflies every time she looked at him.
When she broke eye contact, she saw Paley and the others approaching from the distance and joined them with Teerom on their way in.
Rauba waited inside, reading notes she'd made from Paley's explanations on general mana and spell control as well as how to effectively use Dyaahn Breathing. She hadn't changed at all aside from looking slightly older, but her talents in Fire Magic had improved vastly. She was nearly as good as Paley, a Quimnia, and they often came up with new spells together. Just a few weeks ago, they'd been testing out their idea for a spell called Supernova for the hundredth time which resulted in their nearly burning the forest down.
As soon as Paley came in, she took him away from the others and began explaining to him enthusiastically her theories about why they kept failing, but Paley insisted they wait until after lunch. While he'd gone to bathe, he'd left a big turkey to roast in the oven in their modernized kitchen. They'd kept the kitchen and the living room together with the stairs leading up to the second floor still on the far right, but the whole area was generally bigger. Beside the stairs was a large black rectangular table with 12 seats.
Rather than the fireplace it was mostly natural light illuminating the interior. They'd upgraded their table to a black glass one that was big enough to not be cramped with plates like the old wooden one. Two sofas stood against the stairs and the little space underneath where Madella's bed used to be became storage. Lastly, the orphans' favorite addition to their ground floor was the TV, mounted on the wall opposite the sofas. It wasn't very big but was still the greatest mana consumer in the house.
(Instead of electricity, houses run on mana, so they have a mana core in a space below the house that needs to be replaced whenever it runs out, most often the interval is in years. Fortunately, Paley brings back mana cores from monster hunting now and then; it took five gold coins to refine them into pure mana cores, but it was a much cheaper option when available.)
Apart from the living room, the next best place that the orphans spent their time in was Paley, Adimia, Reben, and Amasha's room, mostly because they wanted to listen to Paley practice on his grand piano he'd bought just a few months ago.
Madella came down the stairs as the oven beeped, signaling that the turkey had been cooked nicely. She had layered shortened hair in a side part that hung down to her shoulders. An expensive home dress that Paley and Teerom bought her just the day before hung loosely over her body. In fact, all the orphans had ceased wearing their old tunics and baggy trousers and now enjoyed more stylish choices – though Adimia and Reben certainly had to work on their fashion.
"Who's ready for dinner?" She excited the orphans with a big grin on her face.
They had their usual dinner where the boys fought over portions and stole from each other. When it was down to one piece of glimmering chicken on one of the side plates, Adimia reached for it with great speed but Amasha beat him to it, extending his arm to grab it. He opened his mouth, victoriously biting down, but the piece flew out of his hand and his teeth crashed into each other.
"Using Magic's no fair!"
"Hypocrite," Paley smiled and hovered the piece over to Rauba, "She hasn't tried a single one yet because of you guys."
"Sorry, Rauba!" The trio apologized, clasping their hands together and bowing their heads.
Madella giggled, "You're a greedy bunch, aren't you?"
"Paley! Cook up another bowl of them and give them all to Rauba!" Reben demanded.
"That's really not necess-" Rauba attempted to speak, but Adimia cut her off. "It's my duty as an older brother to make sure you are happy."
"It's *our* duty!" Amasha jumped to his side.
"I didn't know you were older than Raub, Amasha," Teerom chuckled.
After the chaos that was dinner, the orphans followed Paley up to hear him play Neidu's best piece for the thousandth time. Twilight's fading red light filled the room, which had two beds against the wall on the right of the door. On the opposite wall, four separate desks littered with papers – homework, books, and drawings - where they studied. Paley's grand piano stood proudly near the window. It was black and so shiny that even the keys had reflections.
They all took their usual seats on the beds and the chairs, Amasha choosing the ground, as Paley sat down and prepared. "I'm surprised you aren't bored of this yet," He said as he began playing.
"We could never get bored of you playing," Madella said.
Paley smiled and reached the crescendo of the piece.
"Mom, I found the name of that song."
"Oh, really?" Madella scooted forward, excited.
"Mhm, Untangle." Paley didn't know the history behind why Madella loved it so much but nonetheless went to the extent of learning the lyrics and the piano arrangement for her. After My Love Eternal, he began playing it, singing as he played. It was the first time anyone had heard him sing and they were all blown away.
With the red light of sunset, it was nothing short of a magical moment. Madella with tears in her eyes watched him play and sing, closing her eyes and recalling the love of her life, Maro. Paley's voice reached incredibly high notes, yet it didn't strain at all; it remained gentle and full of passion. He finished off with a quick arpeggio and turned to look at everyone who were all stunned and speechless.