"Dairon? DAIRON!"
Trey didn't know what to do. His best friend had just been attacked by a miniature robot that was supposed to change both of their lives for the better. Trey had been standing before, but now he collapsed to his knees, tears streaming down his face.
"This is what I get for dreaming," he whimpered. "The people I care about get hurt, they always do." This thinking led to a spinning in the room.
"No, not now! I need…to get…help…"
It was a flashback, and this time Trey knew where it led.
The night he killed his brother.
***
Trey was sent tumbling deeper and deeper into the dark part of his subconscious, falling further and further into the thoughts and memories he kept in the back of his mind. The scariest part wasn't the drop, no, it was what waited for him at the bottom.
"GRRRAAAHHH!" It roared. It was the beast at the bottom of the well, the giant demon waiting in the cave, the monster underneath his bed…what Trey always ran from. It was hard for him to tell It's height and weight with his mind's eye, but "big" and "heavy" were two words he'd use for It. It was the color of a nightmare, with sharp teeth to go with It. It resembled a dragon with the head of a crocodile, and how Trey could see It's outline through the darkness that surrounded him, he didn't know.
"GRRROOOAAARRR!" It roared again. Sometimes Trey would try and flail his arms in a way to avoid It, but it never worked. This time he accepted his fate as he plunged into It's maw.
Instantly, he was transported to a familiar-looking forest trail, with a familiar-looking back in front of him…
His brother, M.
***
"Okay, here should be good." M's deep voice travelled to Trey's ears, seemingly resonating with his soul. M stopped their hike and turned around, his 5'11" frame coming to a stop, his hiking boot resting on a large stone, and his cocoa face looking triumphant.
"Here?" Trey asked. "Why not further up?"
"Because there's animals further up, and not many more clearings. Now quick…" He looked around as a force of habit before continuing, "Throw the damn ball!"
Trey gave a smile, like he did every time he went through the memory. "You know you're not supposed to say that, but you say it every time. Why do I always have to be the older brother out of us two?"
"Just shut up and throw the ball. You know it's almost dinner time, right? 'Time for suppah, old chappy!'"
Trey just chuckled and tossed him the ball. "You know, your accent just gets worse every time I hear it."
"Nah man, I'm getting closer!" M protested. "I can feel the Brittania welling up inside me! Come on, don't give me that look!"
Trey cut his sarcastic eye roll session short. "What look?"
"THE LOOK OF SOMEONE WHO MURDERED ME!!!" M screamed, and the whole memory started to fill with static. Trey's ears were ringing, so much so that his nose almost started bleeding—
"That look of attitude! Why does it always have to be me?" M shook his head, grinning playfully, his large, rough hands throwing the ball back.
Trey laughed for real this time. "Maybe don't do anything dumb? That could help." He caught the ball and spun it on his finger, watching the red and blue logo go around, once, twice, three times before falling off. Before it hit the ground, though, the whole memory started to fill with static. Trey's ears were ringing, so much so that his nose almost started bleeding. He cradled his head, but it kept hurting, hurting, hurting—
"Hey now, didn't anyone tell you not to drop the ball?" M asked, picking up the ball that had rolled to him. "You'll let people down that way."
Trey fake-smiled. "Ha ha, very funny."
"I know, right? It's one of my best qualities, right up there with being the best and most humble."
Trey cracked up in spite of himself. "M, don't make me throw that ball at you. Matter of fact, toss it here, you need to be taught a lesson."
M shook his head viciously. "Nooooo please, not the lesson! School already hurts my head so much, I don't need more teaching!" He raised his hand with the ball in the air, as if daring his younger brother to grab it.
Trey nodded. 'Challenge accepted.' he thought.
He blasted forward, his feet churning up metallic flakes and grass as he leapt up to grab the ball. M looked casually, eyebrows only slightly moving in surprise. Right before he touched the ball, he disappeared, seemingly becoming one with the wind as he appeared a few meters to Trey's back. The boy in question fell flat on his face, skidding forward a few steps, a trail of silver dust following him. He quickly pushed his face out of the ground and stood up, facing back towards M, who was simply spinning the ball on his finger.
"You comprehended your Manifestation more?!" Trey asked, incredulous. "What do you call it?"
M stopped spinning the ball, his hand going to the back of his neck as he rubbed apprehensively. "I…don't have a name for it."
"WHAT?! Names are everything, M, do better! You'll gain another quantitative and qualitative—"
"Annnnd that's where you lose me. What do I always say about big words? Use them to impress the big people out there, not the ones you know, love, and trust."
This left Trey's mouth opening and closing, not unlike a fish. 'How…shameless. He really turned my lecture into one about trusting him.'
"Besides, with all the research I'm doing on Sooths, I've discovered something big, something huge, something—"
"Get to the point already!"
M blinked, then laughed. "Alright, alright, so it's like—"
"TREY! MONTEZ! GET Y'ALL ASSES IN HERE FOR DINNER!" The voice came from seemingly nowhere, yet echoed all around the clearing they were currently in.
M grinned mischievously. "Race ya!"
"You do realize I just joined the middle school track team, right?" Trey bent down low into starting position.
"Emphasis on just," M said, with an air of competition. "Three-two-one-go!"
He sped back down the trail, meters ahead of Trey before he could even blink. 'That piece of—'
SNAP!
The ambience of jazz music permeated the sounds of nature easily, a soul-trembling saxophone solo drifting through the air, taking root in Trey's bones and washing everything in black and red.
"Fatty, I presume?" A voice took hold of Trey's mind, compelling him to answer.
"Yes…" His voice trailed, feeling the pressure bearing down on him from all sides. "Who's asking?"
"That matters not." The voice, who Trey was sure was a powerful masculine one, dismissed his questions. "What does matter is that you are the catalyst for growth in our dear Dairon. So…I'm going to have to lay some ground-work for things in the future."
"Ground-work? Catalyst…? What do I have to do with Dairon's growth? In what, his Sooth?" Trey laughed in spite of the situation. "We both joke around, we know it's weak, either a Quad or a Quint—"
Immediately, the music halted. His vision went dark, his mind instead filled with images of his head exploding into bone fragments and brain mush. He screamed, a guttural, throat-shattering noise that seemed to last an eternity.
"Let that be a lesson to you." The man boomed. "Never speak of his power being anything lower than Unity Grade." The music began playing again, and Trey's screams subsided. "You will be his catalyst, the reason for him growing closer to my Sooth. You'll understand what I mean when the time comes. For now, when you wake up, why don't you take a look at your brother's journals? You never know what you may find…"
As the man's voice faded, the music did as well, eventually leaving Trey in silence. He somehow knew his conscious self wouldn't allow him to remember such a terrible occurrence, at least not so soon after waking up. All he could do was run down the trail, after his brother, silver dust flying in his wake.
***
CHARACTER PROFILE: MONTEZ "M" SIMMONS
Attributes: Air, Thought
Powers: Minor Wind Deity - Has minor power over wind. This displays itself as complete control over winds 5 meters from his body and lesser control 15 meters from his body. Has recently comprehended his Manifestation further, allowing him to meld his body with the wind for a short, undisclosed amount of time.
Backstory: Montez "M" Simmons, 20, was born on his grandparents' forest property expected to carry on his parents' powerful Earth Attribute. When he wasn't born with a hard outer metal casing expected of a Simmons baby, and instead came out with relative ease, his whole family knew he was going to rock the boat. That he did, causing mischief and mayhem with his Air Attribute, bypassing all the usual preparations his partners had made for an Earth Simmons. After his brother was born, when Montez was eight years old, he learned to calm down and take care of his younger sibling. His rambunctious nature calmed, and he wore the mantle of older brother proudly. As he grew up, his more inquisitive, scholarly side shone through, and he grew up to be a great researcher of Sooths, traveling the world to find more and more Manifestations to investigate.