Family seeds

2388 Words
Excerpt: BEAU POV: We’d been led into what looked like a dimly lit ballroom. Those f*****g murals were back and they were everywhere. There were spots on the floor that had blankets and pillows forming a circle around a large platform raised just about 3-4 inches off the hideous f*****g carpet. Dom went to the platform followed by the silvery haired Martha. Every couple seemed to know their “spot”. There was an unoccupied space to the left of the couple Terra was chatting with at dinner. I put a hand on the small of her back and felt her instantly stiffen. Way to play it cool Terra, they’re suppose to think we’re a couple. I guided her to the spot and we knelt like the rest of the couples. Dom spoke up. “Ok, if everyone would remove their robes we can get started.” he announced. Terra’s wide eyes landed on me. I could almost hear her shouting in her head ‘this motherfucker can take several god damn seats. He’s out of his f*****g mind if he thinks I’m stripping naked in this f*****g room with all these people!’ Everybody else was already in their birthday suits. I shrugged my robe off and tossed it aside. Never one to be shy about my body. It was Kinda hard to be after the 2 f*****g years I had spent inside Cullom. As if Dom could sense Terra’s reservations he turned directly to us and said, “don’t be shy Sara, we’re all friends here and we just want to help each other. Come now, disrobe.” Everyone was looking at us now. Poor Terra had her shaking hand on the tie of the robe. Welp, now she had an audience. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and let the robe drop to the floor. f**k. She was beautiful. More beautiful than any other woman here. She wasn’t soft like the other woman. Terra had abs and muscles. But they were perfect for her petite frame, not bulky or overwhelming. Dom stared at her for what felt like a little too long, his eyes traveling down and back up her body. Her skin was a warm honey color, very different from the water shifters around us. Some of the men and women weren’t hiding the fact that they were looking at our naked bodies. I was different as well, being an air shifter I was a lot tanner from all my time soaring in the sun, not as pigmented as Terra’s Aymara skin of course. Dom turned back to address the group. “Ok, please lay down with your partners so we can get started. Rachael, Micah? Please come up for a demonstration so our newcomers can get an idea of what we do here.” He said. I reached out for Terra’s hand to help steady her breathing. It worked. As much as I knew she hated me sometimes, I also knew she trusted me. Chapter 1 NOA at 12 years old (Flashback) I was sitting about 20 feet from the edge of Clear Lake shore, it had become one of my favorite spots. The sun was peeking in and out of the clouds as I sat crossed legged with a small bag of seeds in my lap. I dug in the soil with my bare hands even though I could easily move it without touching, I just loved the feel of it in my fingers. Adriel quietly watched me from nearby. I knew he was there, but I didn’t turn to acknowledge him. I couldn’t explain it but I always felt safe with him, I felt like nothing could ever hurt me when he was near. I made a small hole in the ground and pushed a seed in with my finger, I covered the hole back up with a wave of my hand. I could do that as far back as I could remember; move small amounts of dirt around. I concentrated on the lake next, pulling a few droplets of water from it’s surface. I was better at moving water. I only needed a small amount for my little seed. I smiled to myself and waited. “Come on little seed, let’s see your beautiful leaves and petals…” I thought. The sun was hidden by a large cloud. I waved my hand above my head without looking up, the sun slowly began to peek out onto my face. I raised my head up toward the sky with my eyes closed and smiled. I could hear Adriel’s footsteps as he approached me from behind. “What are you doing, sweet girl?” He asked me as he crouched down on my right. I turned and smiled at him. “Hi Adriel! I’m adding to my flower collection. Wanna see?” I asked him, beaming. “Of course I do. Can you show me what you were just doing?” He returned my smile. “I pushed the clouds away from the sun so my little flower could grow.” I explained, waving my hand again. “You’re getting better and better at that, aren’t you?” He asked me, while I smiled proudly at him. He was the one person besides my mom who was aware I could influence not just the water, but the earth and air too. I twirled my hand above the little seed’s spot and slowly a small leafy stem popped up and a beautiful pink flower bloomed. “Wow.” Adriel whispered next to me. “Show me another one, sweet girl.” He added. I laughed and reached into my bag again with the perfect seed in mind. ADRIEL at 17 years old I watched Noa grow a few more flowers. I sat next to her and helped her when she needed water for her seeds. I was great at bringing fat droplets over from the lake. I’d scan my eyes around frequently to make sure no one was watching us. No one could know what Noa was capable of. They’d take her, and I couldn’t allow that to happen. Our water tribe was small, about 250 members. We’d always lived here at Clear Lake, California. Our tribe had a mixture of elementals; some controlled the water while others could shift into aquatic animals. But only a handful could do both, like me. My father had always told me how rare it was; that I could control the water and shift into a large crocodile. I was an only child, as most water shifters were. Our numbers had diminished over the last 50 years. Or so I was told. There were two other elemental tribes. They could control earth and air. I’d never met any of them. I only knew of their existence from a book I’d found in my dad’s office one day when he was out. Mom and I weren’t usually allowed in his office, but I snuck in from time to time and snooped around. The book contained descriptions of an air shifter tribe in Utah and an earth shifter tribe based in Peru. I knew we were more prevalent in the past, but this was all that was left now, according to what I had read. The book also made reference to a mysterious shifter called The Trinity. It was mostly prophetic writings copied from an ancient text. From what I could understand a shifter would be born with the power to control all the elements and shift into multiple animals. This elemental would have multiple mates from all the tribes and would need each one to complete the transformation and fulfill their purpose. I’d only ever met one elemental who could control water, earth and air; Noa. There were drawings of a symbol in the book as well. Three interlocking circles the book noted as The Trinity sign. I was drawn to it at first because I had a circular birthmark. But just the one, not three linked together. I often wondered what my single circle meant. But there was no reference to it in the thick text. “Adriel. Are you ok? I’ve been poking your arm forever.” Noa said, as she looked over at me and gestured toward her newest flower. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Large blue pedals with peeks of purple throughout. She was truly amazing. I nodded my head. “I’m fine. That’s beautiful, sweet girl.” She smiled widely at me. I looked up at the sky, It was getting later in the day and time to head back. The day had passed quickly, it always did when I was with Noa. I stood up and grabbed her hand to help her up. “It’s time to head back, Noa.” I told her, she looked disappointed. I knew she’d stay here day and night if she could. “But we can come back tomorrow, right? You’ll come back here for me?” She asked, hopeful. “I’ll always come back for you.” I told her truthfully. She smiled again and took my hand as we walked back. I walked her home, she lived in a small cottage with her mother. Noa’s father had died when she was little. So it was just her and Alora now. Her mother was sitting on the small porch in a chair. “There you are Noa. I was beginning to worry.” She said. “Hi mom. It’s ok, Adriel was with me.” Alora knew I knew Noa’s secret. Alora stood up and took a step toward us, “Noa, it’s time to tell Adriel goodnight.” She gave me a big hug as I kissed the hair on the top of her head. “See you tomorrow?” She asked me. “Of course, sweet girl, tomorrow I wanna see a yellow flower, ok?” She smiled and skipped up the steps to join her mom. NOA “Noa, you know I don’t like you spending so much time with Adriel.” What if he were to tell someone about you?” Mom asked. “Mom, who would he tell? You can trust Adriel. I do.” I said as she rolled her eyes at me. “That’s the problem.” She huffed under her breath. I couldn’t understand why my mom didn’t want me to be friends with Adriel. I didn’t really have many friends so what was wrong with just one? Mom and I were putting away the dishes after dinner so we could sit in the living room and read. Sometimes when I begged enough she’d let Adriel come in and read with me. This was our routine for as far back as I could remember. My father had died when I was two years old. My mother didn’t like to talk about it much, from the little she had told me it sounded horrible. He’d been out in his animal form and was attacked. The hazard of our kind, it’s why mom really didn’t like it when I shifted. My mother wasn’t able to shift into an animal, but she could control small amounts of water. I however, could turn into several different animals. The only my mother knew of was my otter. I saw how much it bothered her when I shifted, so I never let her know about the other three. Only Adriel had seen all the things I could really do. He was so different from my mother, he was never afraid and always encouraged me. I felt like I could do anything, be anything with Adriel. ADRIEL As I walked home to the other side of the lake it had grown dark outside. I was smiling thinking of Noa’s enthusiasm today. She was always so happy to see me, to be near me, she’d told me I made her feel safe. I remember the first time I saw her. She had been around nine years old, her and Alora were on the shore of the water. I was sitting alone on the bank skipping rocks across the water and watching them sink. I heard Alora shout “Noa Rose Carter! Get back here with those right now!” I had turned just in time to see the tiniest otter bounding toward me with keys in her mouth. She hid behind my back and peeked around looking for her mother, the keys jingling in her mouth. I had to laugh still thinking about how we played for hours after that. I even shifted into my crocodile, It scared the hell out of Alora at first. But I let Noa sit on my back in her otter form as I glided through the lake. She’d leap off and splash around me before climbing back up to do it all over again. All while Alora watched us closely from the shore. After that Noa and I spent time together regularly at the lake. She slowly grew braver and showed me more and more of what she could do. I had been speechless the first time she moved the air around us. She was amazing, laughing and giggling as the wind skirted around us blowing the fall leaves everywhere. She’d also turned into a black tailed deer and ran around the secluded edge of the lake for the first time that day. I’d sit and watch her frolic for hours at a time. She’d eventually grow tired and crawl into my lap and sleep in deer form with me stroking her soft head. It never got old. Watching the smile on her little face filled with excitement when she discovered something new. I pulled myself from my thoughts as I reached the steps to my family cottage. I lived with my mom and dad, Ada and Beck. At seventeen, I often went off on my own and they never seemed too worried about it. As I walked inside all the lights were still off. Odd. Mom was usually in the kitchen messing with god knows what and dad was either in his recliner reading or his study by now. I flipped on the light and my stomach dropped. There was blood. Not just a little either, a giant trail of blood leading down the hallway to the bedrooms.
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