An Ambition to Protect

In the heart of the Juria Rainforest, the beautiful chirping of the songbirds and the gentle drifting of the water streams  define the sounds of this rainforest; however today, they were suddenly pierced by a deafening burst of winds. 

"Yikes! Better be more careful there Glare or you might end up losing an arm." 

"Don't worry about me Zero,  you'll won't land a hit on me, not on this lifetime." 

These friendly taunts were being shared by the two best friends, Glare and Zero, two Spirit Threaders training for the upcoming Spirit Tournament held once a year for newcomers in all of Elyria's six kingdoms. 

Glare's eyes and medium length hair are devoid of all color, occasionally lighting up in different hues. He wears a comfortable silk black and white top with one sleeve, baggy white pants and an ornate white wooden bow strapped across his back.

 Zero sports spiky black hair and a wide grin, wearing a black vest over a green shirt and black shorts which hold a scabbard for his pure black katana. 

"You rely too much on your eyes Zero," a blinding light emanates from Glare's palm as a spiritual pure white Wolf emerges and pounces on top of Zero, knocking him prone, snarling his teeth and then licking his cheek, "maybe if you weren't so lazy and trained a bit more you'd be a contender for Sentinel of Juria. Stop licking him Fenrir, he doesn't really deserve a reward after that, does he?" 

The spiritual wolf wags his tail and is pushed aside by Zero. "Hey! If I can't have my free time to do some drawing, life ain't worth living. Besides, not everyone can just fight with their eyes closed Glare, that ability of yours is just not fair! " 

"Any ability can be powerful if you practice it enough, I mean... you remember, they used to call me a flashlight when I was a kid. They all said light was the weakest element of all."

 "Well I never believed that. And soon enough when we win the tournament, no one will think that." They both look at each other with a look of contempt before rain begins to pour down. "Aren't you gonna be late to your mom's dinner?" said Zero as he points two fingers above their heads and a swirling wind shields them from the relentless rain. Glare's face grows pale and he winces from the thought of facing his mother's fiery wrath. 

"Oh crap... Let's hurry!" He motions Fenrir to return inside him and the spiritual white wolf that once stood on solid ground now runs impossibly close to Glare as it dissipates its energy into Glare himself. 

The trek back to Root Haven is a brisk but colorful one as different songbirds, tree frogs, elks and other wild life run around looking for some warm shelter in this violent rain. A trail of lanterns that emit a warm amber glow mark the passage home. Mahogany brown houses amidst the thickest Ipe Trees with vibrant pink flowers fill the town of Root Haven. Cobblestone paths decorate the bottom part of this town and water mills carry water down the side of these paths and into the homes themselves. A harmony of civilization and renewable natural resources define the city of Root Haven. Houses are built either on the trees themselves or utilize the tree's own unique shapes to merge into their housing. Some utilize the plentiful ferns of the rainforest to form hut-like roofing on their homes to gather further rainwater. Following the water streams next to the cobblestone path, Glare's two-story home is built with the familiar beige wood that decorates this forest, a stone fence and a wooden balcony that goes around the entire home, connecting various rooms, and whilst it looks beautiful, its decoration isn't what defines this house.  

The smell of spices, onions and peppers fills the Haoru Household and its wonderful fragrance carries through the air even through the thick vicious rain. Ashe Haoru, Glare's mother, is a world renowned chef whose restaurant "Carmine Spice" is known all across Elyria as the food of gods. Ashe's famous recipes such as her Jurian Fried Rice, Wild Arcgame Curry, and Coconut Crusted Shrimp with Jurian Berry Chutney are regarded as culinary masterpieces. Her cooking skills is matched only by her temper which is quickly shown when Glare hurries to open the door, seeing his tall 6'2 scorning mother, with long fiery red hair and bright orange tips that flow to her waistline, holding her signature Chef's Knife decorated in beautiful burning flowers.

 "... Do you know what time it is?" A silence that only lasted a second felt like an eternity as Glare looked at the clock and said "I know I'm late but "

"BUT NOTHING, GET YOUR ASS UPSTAIRS AND SHOWERED BEFORE DINNER AND SO HELP ME ELYRIA IF YOU MAKE ME WORRY ONE MORE TIME YOU'RE GONNA ABANDON THIS WHOLE SENTINELA NONSENSE AND COME WORK AT MY RESTAURANT. WE HAD A DEAL, I EXPECT YOU TO HOLD YOUR END, GOT IT?" Glare wanted to reply yes but as the mother threw her knife to the wall, all he could muster was a nod before running upstairs to shower. 

"Someoneeee's in trouble, wouldn't happen if you just stayed cooking here instead of chasing danger at every turn you know," said Genesis Haoru, Glare's younger sister with long, messy black and blue hair. 

"I'm not chasing danger Gen, all the opposite, I'm trying to get stronger to prevent danger from happening again. I owe it to Zero and to myself." replied Glare as he closes the door to shower.

 All three reunite once more in the living room to have a delicious rice and soft shelled crab dish, yet sad expressions are worn by the family.

 "Are you sure about this? The road you embark on is so dangerous, your idiot father almost died countless times and he still didn't become the Sentinela." The mother says with her mouth half full of food in a dead serious tone. 

Glare thinks to himself how much of a slob his mother is but those words would never leave his mouth, lest he has a death wish. "It's not really about becoming a Sentinela, Dad became strong enough to protect us only because of his journey. I want to have that power too." 

"Your father can protect us sure, but I CAN DEFEND US JUST FINE WITHOUT HAVING GONE THROUGH THAT." As the words leave her mouth, Ashe chokes on her food, coughs and pounds the table for a few seconds and takes a huge swig of her wine ending with a sigh. "MY POINT IS... this isn't the only way... And I worry for you." 

"Look, I understand how you feel about it... but I've made up my mind and nothing you say will that." As these words leave Glare's mouth, his eyes are turned to Genesis as she widens her eyes and awaits the wrath of their mother. But where they expected wrath, there was only a sigh. 

"Sigh... I always did encourage both of you to take your own decisions in life and not let anyone say otherwise... I suppose I should be a bit more supportive. I love you Glare, promise me you'll come back ok?" The mother knew this promise would be meaningless but it was all she could come up with to provide some comfort. 

"I promise mom, besides I'll have to come visit often since I still can't make a fried rice as good as yours." 

"HAHAHAHA AND YOU NEVER WILL." 

Genesis takes this opportunity to carry the momentum of the mood and yells "I KNOW WHAT WE CAN DO TONIGHT! LET'S PLAY A SONG." 

Everyone takes a final bite to make sure not to leave the plates with any food and walk out to their balcony that overlooks the beautiful town of Root Haven which is still under heavy rain.  Glare takes out a precious white wood violin, decorated with blue, orange and white flowers. He summons Fenrir to his side, begins to slide his bow across the strings and as he does, colorful musical notes start flowing out as the music comes to life and Fenrir jumps to bite and explode them into colorful fireworklike explosions.  

Genesis puts on two silver metallic earpieces and beautifully dances with streaks of blue lightning coursing through her extending finger tips and across her elegant spins. Ashe grabs her wooden spoon and begins singing into it with all her might. With this came the smiles of the two siblings and even the frustrated but caring mother who longs to keep this moment going forever.