True to her word, Lilac Governess began taking special care in my education. This felt a little inappropriate like she was cheating the other children of her tutelage. Still, it seemed she had real enthusiasm to teach me, which in a way, gave her more energy to instruct her other wards. Why was she so eager to teach me? I had put this question to her, and she reaffirmed that it was because I was the God of Clear Skies’ Chosen. This seemed ridiculous. First of all, what even was the God of Clear Skies' Chosen? Was there even such a thing? And if there was, how would you recognize them? The whole thing was completely preposterous. Clearly, Lilac Governess's piousness had driven her a bit mad. Personally, I wasn't even sold on the idea of there being a God of Clear Skies to begin with.

All that being said, I could understand her seeing me as particularly special; I could use fox magic and I was only one year of age. Lilac Governess informed me that children usually began to awaken to fox magic after their fifth year, and she had never heard of anyone who could use it before four years of age. On top of that, it usually took about a year before they could control it. I understand once they awoke to it, there were episodes where it would spontaneously activate, causing much mayhem and this would go on for about 6 months. In light of that, my full command of this ability must seem miraculous.

Seeing as I knew the fundamentals (thanks Mom) Lilac Governess began to instruct me in the use of wind control. Conceptually, this was simple, you just moved air, instead of a solid object. Not exactly a mind-bender there. The difficulty came as you were essentially moving an invisible all-pervasive substance. Naturally, I was a bit hard-pressed on how to gain control of this substance. Luckily, that was what Lilac Governess would be instructing me in.

For the first week, she had me focus on moving blocks of air. That is, moving chunks of gas. How would you know if you succeeded? Well, you would feel the air hit you if you moved it into you, or you might knock something down if you bumped into some object. Determining success was not the hard part, the hard part was holding a block of air. Unlike manipulating solid objects, you need to control the entire space. For example, if you wanted to move a coffee mug—not that they had coffee here—you could just focus on the handle and you could move the mug. Now imagine that if you just moved the handle and it came off and left the rest of the mug undisturbed. This is how it was with moving air; you needed an expansive focus.

Well, this took me some time, maybe a week of focused study, but it was worth it. The expanded focus gave me a broader understanding of the craft. This would surely pay dividends later on, outside of air manipulation. The second cognitive hurdle to clear was causing movement within an area of focus. This was essentially the essence of wind magic; everything else was just an extrapolation. This was a challenging concept to grasp, but not one that was hard to execute, assuming you understood the idea. This was the opposite of the previous exercise, which was simple in concept, but difficult in execution. That being said, I grasped this much quicker. It took about a day to figure it out, and then it was smooth sailing. I could command the winds! Or a light breeze at least.

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My quick progress with wind magic only reaffirmed Lilac Governess's belief that I was this God of Clear Skies’ Chosen. Honestly, I was starting to find it grating. After I complained, she agreed to tone it down, commenting that it was most becoming that I did not reveal in praise. Apparently, I was just digging myself in deeper with my every action, but she did stop making reference to it.

Now some of the other children did not share Lilac Governess praise. Being as I was moving air, the air being a ubiquitous substance, it was not something that would go unnoticed; the occasional "wind incidents" that occurred were difficult to miss. Especially if you ended up with soup on you from some upstart trying to cool it with a gentle breeze that might have been more of a gale... Anyways, other children took note; it was no secret that I could use fox magic, though I might have wanted to keep it under wraps.

The real issue was with the older kids who could not use fox magic or had just started and must have suffered from some kind of insecurity. And what do you do when you are suffering from insecurity and you have the maturity of a grade-schooler? You bully the source of your insecurity. Several children would try to throw insults at me, usually related to my size, but also color or facial markings. As a mature adult masquerading as a child, I found most of these taunts amusing, much to the dismay of the agitators. I rather enjoyed watching them take a perfectly normal feature and try to spin it as some kind of flaw. I was tempted to counter with a much better-constructed insult but thought better of it. These were children after all, and it would probably be best not to give them more reason to instigate actual problems.

If that was all, there wouldn't have been a problem, however, there was a handful that were more ambitious in their schoolyard menacing. Of particular note was Dusty, no surprise there. I understood he was more of a universal problem for almost everybody. However, with the discovery that I could use fox magic, he seemed to take a special interest in me. Now you might be thinking that he had already taken a special interest, that was certainly true. Perhaps it would be better to say he had taken an even more special interest in me once he knew I could use fox magic. I wasn't quite sure why though. I speculated that he was trying to assert dominance over everyone. That being said, he was hard to read as he seemed to be missing certain key cognitive functions. I would say he was huffing paint thinner, but I don't think such a substance exists here.

At any rate, I was ready to issue my declaration of war after his past transgressions. His physical assertions, we will say, were, unlike his motives, easy to read. It was of no difficulty to trip him up. Quite literally, as this was the tactic I usually took. Didn't take much effort. And with a little practice, I could even direct his fall to a degree. Dusty was such a dolt that it was easy to arrange for him to fall into all kinds of less-than-ideal surfaces: Fireplace ash, water pale, a pile of animal dung that one time. But the crowning jewel of my counter-Dusty maneuvers had to have been when I slid a small angular rock, what basically served as a Lego, under his foot; the whole congregation got a good laugh as he rolled around the floor holding his foot like a cartoon character. Dusty slowed down his toddler tipping attempts after that. Lilac Governess did give me a resigned lecture, saying it was okay to protect yourself, but the whole "Lego" scheme went too far. She said that, but I'm pretty sure she was laughing too.

All that aside, what really got to me was how Dawn reacted. She too seemed a little insecure with this upstart being so versatile with fox magic. She at least had the good sense to recognize that you shouldn't act on it. She tried to be congratulatory, but it was clear that she was bothered by my command of the art. At first, she was only mildly affected. But as I started quickly picking up wind magic, she began to become more distant. Personally, I was hurt. I could understand feeling inferior to another in some regard, I could even understand being envious; I did hang out with Ripley after all, but that didn't seem reason enough to shun someone. Perhaps that is strong language, but by the end, she would only talk to me if I spoke to her first, and I had to go out of my way to find her. Eventually, I just decided to let it go.

"She is just sulking," is how River tried to console me. "She can be like this sometimes, just give her time." She was dismissive of the behavior, but I found that I couldn't be. I was sensitive to this kind of thing, you know. Anyhow, for River's part, she was totally impressed with my abilities. "With the two of us, we will rule the village!" What did she mean by "rule the village?" I got the impression of running some kind of street gang. Was she joking? I had to imagine that she was.

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Today was just another day at the Kite's Klub (TM Pending). The days had a kind of rhythm to them, and for the most part, followed a set pattern, but there was variation in the pieces of that pattern. On this fine day, I awoke at the prescribed time, around sunrise. I was sharing a bed with River, and no, not like that you pervert! I was barely a year old! But allow me to shed some light on how sleeping arrangements worked in the Kite's Klub (TM Pending). When bedtime came, the children, and Miss Lilac Governess for that matter, would go and fetch a sleeping pad from a storage area located in a corner of the den. These were fairly similar to a shikibuton for those of you in the know. You would then pick a spot and unroll it, grab a blanket if it was cold, and you were all set.

Now as children, it was not uncommon for friends to share a sleeping pad. This wasn't done out of necessity, there were plenty of pads to go around, but many preferred the security of a sleeping companion. River being a good friend, we often share a space. I would also share with Dawn sometimes until she started distancing herself... I was still bummed about that whole situation.

Anyways, once the sun rises, we children get up at our own speed. Well, today, I would be getting up at River's speed, as she was a bit of an early riser and she always made sure to rouse me at the same time. Lilac Governess was already up, she was always the first one up, probably out of necessity. She was at the cauldron cooking something up; the whiffs I caught did not forebode a pleasant morning.

It takes some time for all the children to get up, but anyone still roaming in dreamland after a certain point will be forcibly ejected. There was always one or two who chose to get the wake-up service. Today was no different. Once everyone was awake, we began our day with some light calisthenics. I suppose this was to wake everyone up, not least of which was Lilac Governess herself. She had a routine she followed to the letter day in and day out: Push-ups, sit-ups, squats... I felt like there should have been a run in there somewhere, but we ended with stretching large muscle groups instead. Aside from getting the blood moving first thing in the morning, this was also a way of killing time while breakfast was brewing.

I didn't mind the calisthenics, and I usually looked forward to breakfast. However, today this would not be the case. We were arranged around the central eating area from youngest to oldest, with the cauldron containing the morning "meal" in the center. Why youngest to oldest? Tradition I suppose. Being the youngest I got to sit next to Lilac Governess. This wasn't usually a problem, actually I usually liked this arrangement. However, today would not be one of those days. Of course, there were more intrinsic problems with this setup. Today for instance I could already see some of the middle-aged children gearing up their utensils to start flinging today's morning rations at each other. Honestly, it was probably more suited to that, but I digress, it would still be a problem.

Meal time was self-service. Some of the younger children needed to have Lilac Governess dole out their portion, but most children were at least capable of using a ladle. There was only one, so they had to wait their turn. As is only proper, the oldest goes first. In theory, it shouldn't matter who goes first, Lilac Governess had made it known that we should all wait until everyone had been served. In practice, however, everyone just started eating as soon as they got their food. Well, there were people like Dawn, who would wait, but they were far and few between. However, today I could see the struggle was real for Dawn as she resisted the temptation of possibly her favorite food.

I, for my part, could get away without waiting for the ladle, as I could use fox magic to help myself to a serving. Thanks to my wind magic training, I could do that. Today, however, I wasn't in any hurry. As you might have guessed, today's entree was the bane of my stomach, the green fruit. Or at least it formed a significant portion of it. I took my time ladling out my portion. Though Dawn had been avoiding me, I couldn't help but notice the impatient stare she was casting my way as I reluctantly let the substance spill from the ladle into my bowl.

"Alright, you can now begin eating," Lilac Governess announced as a way of formality, and Dawn was off to the races. I won't say she ate like a starved castaway, but her usually polite eating habits were just a bit less polished as she consumed her food with a gusto she reserved for such occasions. She really did love this stuff, didn't she? Looking around the area, it seemed like the children had a generally positive opinion of it. I assumed it was true even for those children now launching it across the way to uninvolved third parties.

"Gale, Dry-wood! What are you doing" Lilac Governess was forced to address this situation, leaving her spot momentarily vacant. This is when an idea came to me. Truth be told, I would prefer to skip breakfast entirely than to ingest this stuff. However, Lilac Governess would not hear of it and would force me to partake. This was the one drawback to being seated next to her. But she had just been called away. If I could just find a place to ditch this stuff, I could pretend I just choked it down really quick. Now all I needed was to find a place to dispose of it.

Looking around the room, I was reminded that there weren't a lot of good places to hide things, certainly not within magical reach. Well I suppose that wasn't strictly true, there were places I could ditch it where it wouldn't immediately be discovered. But it would be found eventually, and probably sooner rather than later. As consternation built, I hadn't given up.

It was just as Lilac Governess was berating Dry-wood and Gale and a few of the younger children inspired by their antics, that I caught sight of the fireplace. The fire was still crackling as it was slowly dying, its purpose of heating the cooking stones, now complete. Of the three, only one remained unused, the other two presumably in the cauldron. It was certainly out of range, but not if I shot the green fruit concoction much the same way those delinquents were doing. I can't say I had practiced, and I had never shown an aptitude for such things in my previous life, but by God, this was do-or-die time! And as far as I was concerned, this stuff was a mild poison. I would take my chances.

I made sure the Lilac Governess's attention was thoroughly captured, which was due to the escalating chaos. Lining my shot up and using the bowl to help launch the payload, I gave it my best attempt at casting it into the fireplace. I also used some fox magic to try and keep it in one discrete piece and not spray it across the walls. I watched it soar across the room as it headed to the target. Luckily, everyone else was also distracted by the ensuing antics so nobody saw it, I think... I watched with bated breath. My salvation depended on it finding its mark. What would happen if it missed? Well, Lilac Governess would probably be mildly upset, not that that really amounted to much. However, she would force on me another serving of this bile and she would watch me eat every bit. A crueler torment I could not conceive.

Fortune was with me, however, and it struck true. It did however make a loud hissing sound that grabbed everyone's attention. "What was that!?" Lilac Governess immediately turned her head in the direction of the fireplace. Once she saw no obvious signs of disturbance she quickly began to survey the den. Of course, nothing was out of place. She then switched to scrutinizing the assembled children, looking for a sign of guilt. Knowing I would probably break if I made eye contact with her, I too searched the room for the source of the disturbance. I was something of the golden child, so I wouldn't be a suspect. Well, I might be if she knew what the disturbance was; she was well aware of my great dislike of green fruit.

"Honestly, children." She rested her forehead on her hand as she massaged her temples. Yep, today was just another day in the Kite's Klub (TM Pending).