Reconstruction was beginning to ramp up. There were a few Yellow Monkeys in the territory of Rebble. They were here to close the wind punctures on the island made from Aeragis and his wind pressure blast. Clara was still working at shelters to help with the recovery by providing food and assistance to the needy.
There was an adult couple that came with a bowl out. "Bless your heart angel. We'd be lost without you kids doing your part today,"
Clara grumbled. "Yeah, yeah… aren't you two old enough to get back to work. I should be napping right about this time if I wasn't here,"
"Clara!" Nuna nudged her.
She sighed this time. "Here's your food for today. Please be sure not to become a neet because of this," She got nudged again.
"Wow. Though your words are harsh, that too feels like something of a service," The man said. Clara just looked at him with such disinterest, she could have shown more of it if it was about watching paint dry.
The couple walked away to their area to finish their food.
"You know, you would do well to start smiling more and stop loathing everyone that comes across your station," Nuna said.
"Bubbly façades are annoying. I honestly don't know how you keep it up," Clara said.
Nuna blinked at her question. "Bubbly facades? You think I'm giving some kind of façade?" Nuna asked.
"C'mon girl. Nobody is this happy all the time. Especially not after everything we've been through. Learn to keep your feelings on your face sometimes," Clara said.
"If I did that, then people would never feel bright enough to keep hope. We must show the people that things aren't over," Nuna said.
"Wow. A little bit of adversity and they need a teenage girl's smile to uphold them," She grumbled bitterly.
"What was that?" Nuna asked. She wasn't quite sure she heard correctly.
Clara rolled her eyes at the question. "Nothing Mrs. Bubbles. I said nothing,"
They continued their work in relative silence. To them, it was like total opposites working side by side. One never smiling, always looking upset, and spoke to people like they really shouldn't be there. The other was all cutes and giggles. Smiled at everybody that came to her regardless of who they were.
The light of radiance was emanating from Nuna so much it was getting too bright for Clara to stare in her direction for too long. She had to shield herself from it.
It wasn't until a pair of children had stepped into her line and made it to the front did she finally stop shielding herself from Nuna's purified attack.
She blinked twice at the two unexpected children coming up for a bowl of her porridge. She was taken off guard.
The older one was a boy of five years old named Tazile. Most people knew him prior because he was the first kid of the Red Dogs born in Rebble territory. The second was a girl slightly younger than him. It was unknown the fate of her parents, but for Tazile, he lost both of his parents the night of the festival.
Suddenly, Clara beamed with radiance of her own. She was in an entirely different headspace right now.
That was it! All the men in her vicinity blushed when they looked to the beaming Clara. Of course Nuna's was good, but she gave it out all the time. Clara on the other hand was simply a culture shock to them. Her usual contrast was simply radiant.
"Don't be modest. Have as much as you like," She said. Her now sweet and angelic voice, her charcoal grey hair. Not only did she captivate the males around her but the child as well. The young boy couldn't help but blush and fall in love. It was not her intention to seduce a child but when it came to children, she had such a soft spot for them. She couldn't treat them on the same level as adults.
Nuna choked. Her eyes turned white with anger. "You know it pisses me off that you can do that,"
Her face went back to its usual plain expression. "Do what?"
"I've never met someone who can control their stage presence at will! You're a scary opponent," Nuna said.
Clara looked at her with an eyebrow raised. She didn't get what the girl was on about, but it looked like she just made herself a rival. Hopefully, she didn't take that thing with Ryuma too seriously.
She felt a tug on her arm. It was Tazile trying to get her attention. She went right back to smiling for the youngster all while the men around were wishing they were boys again.
"Is there something you needed Taz?" She asked.
"Mrs. Clara… you're a Red Dragon too, right?"
Clara tilted her head to the side. Clearly that was rhetorical. Even if Red Dragons weren't wearing the priest garb, they'd at least dress in the color scheme. It usually was a strong indicator of where one came from. "Yes I am,"
After an awkward pause and a ton of eye shifting and not being able to look her in the face, Clara finally responded. "Is it something you can't say?"
He nodded. Clara almost squealed at how cute that looked but she wanted to stay professional. "That's ok. You can whisper it into my ear,"
She pushed the side of her hair out of the way and offered her ear. That too was seductive to the men around her. He leaned close and whispered something inaudible to those around. As lucky as he was, they all wanted to know what the kid had said.
Whatever it was, it caused Clara's face to go from a radiant smile, to one of her more serious expressions. After pondering and seeing Tazile's bashful expression, Clara stood up and grabbed his hand.
"Take over for me. I got something I need to take care of," She said. She neglected to wait for a response and began walking out of the shelter with heavy strides. She could only leave the people there with more questions.
Once outside she found herself in a secluded part of Rebble with just her and the boy. Eventually she felt like she was far enough away from people so that it wouldn't bother her. She knelt again. "Tazile. Tell me what you said back in the shelter,"
Tazile sighed. "Are there Red Dragons that can't feel the flame?"
Clara cupped her own chin. He doesn't believe he can feel the flame. Though he was a bit too young to be practicing fire artes, at his age, he should at least be able to feel the flame. What was going on?
It's understandable that he would ask her this problem. She's never developed fire artes in her style either. He felt like he could relate.
"Go ahead and try and give me a flame," She said. She wanted to see how it was with him.
Though he felt ashamed to try in front of her, he complied with her demands. He pressed the tips of his fingers together. He strained his face and tried as hard as he could. Try as he might, however, a flame failed to ignite in front of him. There wasn't even a spark. It was just… nothing.
Clara didn't get it. No matter how bad one was in their element, at this age, the child should have no qualms about producing a flame. Why was he inept in it? "Have you tried digging deep and finding the fire within?" It wasn't her own advice, but the advice she heard some Red Dogs say when trying to teach each other Fire Artes.
Tazile shook his head. "I keep trying but all I get is air,"
Clara stood up and pondered it over some more. She's never heard of a child not being able to call forth his blessing. {Did Igneous not give him his blessing?} She jokingly thought it, but his last words echoed through her mind. He kept trying but all he got was air.
"Wait a minute… no way that can't be it!"
She knelt again if just to confirm. She was sure it couldn't be the case. Both of his parents were known Red Dogs. There's just no way.
She turned his palm over. "Ok Tazile. I want you to try again, only this time, think of the wind breezing on your palm,"
He gave her a more confused look than ever.
"Just do it for your big sis. All right?" She winked at him. His blushing gave her the answer she wanted.
"OK," He put his palm forward, and Clara dug up some small loose grain of sand and put it there.
He did exactly as instructed. After a moment, the sand began twirling around his hand as if it were the center of a small tornado. Clara's heart skipped a beat.
"Hey I'm doing it! I got wind!" he cheered.
This child did not know the ramifications of that. There were plenty of other children here that had fire why not he… no… it's already known that he was the first one physically born here. Could that have made all the difference? If so, then the children after Tazile born here regardless of their parentage would be White Dragons.
{Why would the Edicts increase their numbers?} Unless of course… the Edicts didn't know…
Since the founding of the Skylands, moving into another's territory was unprecedented. Even Faction mixing was taboo. It was bound to happen now that they were here, but to turn out that all along, it wasn't who you were born under, but where you were born was the deciding factor.
The priest has been isolated from interaction for so long, did they just forget that? "That's right. They're called blessings," It made a little more sense now that she thought about it. A blessing was something bestowed upon them by the Shining Spirits. If he's not in their territory…
"I can't wait until I tell everyone," She heard Tazile say in the background of her thoughts.
"Tazile! If it's alright, can you keep this a secret just between the two of us?" She leaned forward and pushed her chest together. A young boy like him shouldn't stand a chance. Even a God wouldn't find out his secret if she did this much. A small peck on his cheek only solidified it.
"Ok. I won't tell anyone," He couldn't stop his face from reddening.
Clara smiled at his response. Aside from that, this was for his sake as well. Who knows what the Edicts will do when they find out. It was only going to be a matter of time before they found out. They had a few more years at best before more kids started noticing their talents. Or the adults start noticing all their kids not being able to use Fire Artes begins to happen.
For the future, Tazile would still be teased by other kids for his lack of Artes. This time, he'd only give them a smug and pitying look, while they were unaware of his knew circumstance.