[ Colt reaches his house, opens the door]
Colt : "Mom, dad, I'm home"
*Mark and Clarissa come running , hug Colt*
*Colt hugs back*
It's… warm.
Clarissa [ proud and holding back her tears] : "My boy … you've grown."
You say it every time.
Mark [same sentiments] : "How 've you been??"
Colt : "It was fun.. I gained a lot, I learned a lot, but I missed you a lot as well."
Clarissa [hugs harder] : "Your apprenticeship is over, you can stay with us now."
Colt [closes his eyes, speaking internally and externally] : "Yeah. I can."
*Clarice clinging to Mark's leg, looking at Colt*
Oooohhh, this might be a problem, how to tell her that she has a brother.
Mark[happy] : "This is your big brother, Colt."
Clarice [ confused] : "Big? Brother?"
Clarissa : "Yes, Colt is your big brother, be good to each other"
Nice introduction..
But, again, I don't know what to say.
Colt : "I will take care of you from now…"
[scene: Colt narrating in the background. Clarice reluctantly takes Colt's hand]
It took a few days until Clarice started to warm up to me
[scene: Colt observing Mark and Clarissa's happy faces as they eat]
It looks like they've had no trouble living..
That's good.
[scene : Colt, Mark and Clarissa are sitting around the table, Colt speaking, they laugh, Colt smiles]
I told them about my travels , about all the people I've met , the things I learned.
I made sure to make it "family friendly".
Imagine the kind and gentle Mark and Clarissa hearing that their son is a force of nature or that I decimated entire squads of bandits without breaking a sweat… that'll be a good laugh.
But, just for a little longer… I want to remain their son.
Now to business, I know there's minimal risk, but , I have to test them one more time.
Colt : "I made a friend."
*Mark and Clarissa listening more attentively than before.*
Clarissa : "Oh, dear, that's great, who's that??"
Colt [ innocently] : "Her name is Luna, she was nice…"
Here we go..
Colt : "She's an elf."
*Mark and Clarissa exchange glances deciding to let their son talk*
Clarissa[trying to hide any negative emotions] : "Oh, what was she like?"
Colt : "She was really nice to me, she helped me out when I got lost once."
Yeah, let's stick with that and see how they react.
*They exchange glances again*
Mark : "But I thought-"
*Clarissa hits him from under the table*
I definitely noticed
Clarissa [ smiling] : "That's great sweetie , Luna seems nice, I'd love to meet her one day."
You sure would , what I want to know is why?
[scene : Colt sleeping on his bed, the door is ajar, subtle wind currents flow into his ears, the scene shifts to Mark and Clarissa]
Mark [a bit anxious] : "Why? We should tell him??"
Clarissa : "No, I am not going to fill my son's head with prejudice, he made a new friend and that's it."
Mark : "But I thought elves hated humans??"
Clarissa : "What Colt said suggests otherwise and I'll take my son's word over any other."
Mark : "You're right, he's our son… we stand by him even against the world, besides, I feel sorry for the elves, what they go through is unbearable."
Again, these two pass, like every other test, with flying colors.
The strange thing is.. how come they don't have that much prejudice or hatred?
I can't believe people like them actually exist.. I can't see darkness in them just like I can't see it in Luna's family.
*Colt smiles*
Actual good people.. who would've thought..
[In the void, a small orange flame ignites]
[scene: The next day in the parents' bedroom Clarissa lying in bed, Mark worried, about an hour before he has to head to work]
*Colt and Clarice walk in*
Mark [worried] : "Should I stay today?? You don't look well."
Clarissa : "No, I'll be okay I just need some rest."
What is it this time?
*Colt goes to hug his mother listening to her lungs*
Nothing out of the ordinary here.
Colt [faking worry] : "Are you okay, mom? How do you feel?"
Clarissa [speaking to him and Clarice, smiling] : "I'm fine, just a bit tired that's all."
While she is a bit pale , those aren't the signs of malnourishment, she doesn't appear to be sick either… guess she's telling the truth.
Mark : "But, who's going to take care of you and the kids??"
Hello, you have an 11 year old here, ugghh, whatever..
Colt [looking him dead in the eyes] : "Don't worry about us, we'll be okay."
*Looks at Clarissa*
Colt : "Right? Mom?"
Clarissa : "Yes, Colt is a dependable young man."
They're too easy to manipulate.
She doesn't want to keep him from work and she'll go to any length to ensure it.. and I'm using that.
Clarissa : "I'll just make the food and they'll be fine."
Mark [reluctantly leaving the room] : "If you say so…"
*House door closes.*
* Clarissa tries to get up, Colt rushes to push her back.*
Colt : "Mom.. you need to rest."
Clarissa [ a bit surprised from his unusually firm demeanor] : "But, who's going to feed you and your sister ??"
Colt : "I'll do it."
Clarissa[ touched and worried ] : "Oh, sweetie , thank you, but, I'll do it instead."
Which is a polite and considerate way of saying: "I don't know if you can handle it"
I mean.. shouldn't kids in this world be able to manage that stuff?
And considering a prodigy like me.. mother concern.. what a pain.
Fine, I hate to do this but…
Emotional extortion is my only option.
Colt [faking being sad and emotionally hurt] : "If that's what you want, I hoped you trusted me, but, I guess I'm not worth it."
Clarissa [unable to bear this] : "I'm sorry, I trust you, but come to me if you need help."
Too easy.
Colt [smiles] : "Yes, let's go Clarice."
*Takes Clarice and walks outside , closes the door*
*Clarissa , unable to push herself any further, fell asleep.*
[scene : Colt and Clarice in the living room ]
Now that I took care of my dear parents, I need to take care of my sweet little sister.
Let's see.. she's about 2 years old which means.. soup is the way to go.
[scene : Colt spoon-feeding Clarice soup]
Clarice [with a big smile] : "Yummy soup."
Their pallets aren't refined.. this world has a terrible lack of spices..
*Dim smile*
Sure would love it if they get a taste of some real spices, that would be a laugh.. it's too much of a pain to "atomic manipulate" them into existence.
[scene : Clarice is asleep in Colt's room, Colt is in the living room]
*Colt cracks his knuckles*
Time for some spring cleaning.. though unfortunately, no one's dying today.
*Colt uses water magic to clean the floors and the walls, then creates hot winds with wind magic to dry them*
*Colt goes into his room, Clarice floating in her sleep comes out and hangs in the air*
*Colt comes out of his room, Clarice goes in , the room is now clean as well*
*Colt sits in the living room, waiting*
*A few hours later, Clarissa rushes out of her room to find Colt feeding Clarice in a sparkling room*
[ evil grin]
How's that??!!
Colt : "Oh, mom! Glad you're awake, can you take over for me here? I'll clean your room now."
Clarissa[ complete and utter shock ] : "You did all of this??!!"
Colt [smiles] : "Sure did."
Clarice : "Brother make yummy soup."
Good girl.
*Clarissa just stares for a while*
Ah, this is hilarious, let's keep the ball rolling
*Stands up , goes to Clarissa's room, closes the door.*
*Mark walks in.*
Mark [shocked] : "What's all this? , weren't you in bed?? Did you push yourself again??"
Clarissa [just as confused] : "Actually, honey, this is Colt's doing."
Mark : "Colt!! Wha-"
Clarissa : "I know, I always knew he was special, but…"
Wait, what does that mean??
How much does she know??
Or is it because of the apprenticeship and the gold??
It doesn't matter at this point, I have several back up plans in mind.
*Colt comes out of the room.*
*Looks at Mark.*
Colt : "Welcome home dad, I've just finished cleaning your room."
Clarissa [confused] : "How? You went in a few minutes ago."
Colt [smiles] : "Go see it for yourselves."
*They both rush inside to find a spotless room, then the come out with gratitude on their faces*
Mark [with gratitude and pride] : "I don't know how you did it son, but thank you."
Clarissa [barely managing to hold back her tears] : "Thank you , my sweet child, sorry I made you do this."
Now for the silver bullet.
Colt [smiles] : "I had fun doing it, you're my mom, it's the least I can do."
* Clarissa bursts into tears, runs to hug Colt tightly*
Clarissa[crying from joy] : "I'm .. lucky ..to have.. a son.. like you."
Getting the exact reactions I want is fun.
But.. this time.. I just wanted… to make them happy.
[In the void, The pink and violet flames increase a little in size and brightness]