Tristan trudged back to the address written on the piece of paper. He was shocked at how fast his scrapes closed, leaving behind bruises. Grace had claimed that only injuries exposed to air essence would be repaired, however this was better than he had expected. Air essence was evidently in the air.
He stewed on what Harp had said. Tristan was mad, he was actually more angry at Harp than at the warrior brat. One was a bully, one was a friend. You expected friends to have your back, not stab it. That and the message had been from Harp’s parents they did not have the guts to tell him, instead they used their daughter. He swore he would get them back for it, but there was nothing he could do about it now.
The new home was in the middle district. It most likely did not have indoor plumbing and he would have to make use of an outhouse as opposed to a bathroom. He supposed that it would not be to big of a deal, as most of his day would be spent as a metal detector at the mine. The building was a small brick structure, making a higher quality than most of the other buildings, but lower than what he was used to.
The door opened after the first knock his mother, Hellen answered the door. She had tears in her eyes and instead of talking she just hugged Tristan. She made a cooing noise like he was a child and patted his hair. At first he was confused, then he realized he looked like he had the crap kicked out of him. It was just that was not anywhere near the highlight of the day, so he had forgotten about it.
Hellen pulled him inside where he found a two room home with only a stove in one room and a bed in the other. Through the door he could see Shadow Fist sitting with a vacant expression. When he saw Tristan’s face it was quickly clouded with anger.
He stomped over and cupped Tristan’s chin, “Did the miners do this, I will beat Conni within an inch of his life if he doesn’t have a good explanation.”
Tristan quickly shook his head, “No, dad, it wasn’t Conni, he is a very good man, he and his wife treated me very well. Siren also was nice to me.”
Shadow Fist seemed confused, “How did you get hurt then?”
Tristan explained about how the boys had kicked him. At that Shadow Fist deflated, it got even worse when he heard that Harp was also tangentially involved, He looked over at Hellen who was covering her mouth with a hand.
“What?” Tristan was confused by their reaction.
“Normally, I would try to get rid of anyone who tried to harm our family, but we were replaced by a warrior family,” Shadow Fist said.
“Who,” Tristan asked, most warriors lived near the edge of the caldera to keep mythical beasts out, rarely taking up permanent residence in the Forest Caldera.
Shadow Fist sighed, “The Gold Hearts.”
The Gold Heart family were originally workers with a tier zero kern, however they got their name by setting up a gambling ring that allowed them to purchase artifacts to increase their kern’s capacity. Though they were barely tier three it still qualified them as a sort of merchant warrior. However they got lucky when their son was discovered to have a natural tier two kern, so he has a good chance of breaking into tier three with the proper artifacts. They were a poor excuse for a warrior family, Shadow Fist could most likely overcome the difference in kern tier with experience if it ever came down to a fight.
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Hellen finally spoke, “We were considered a disgrace to the clan leaders and they no longer consider us family.”
“Is it because of me,” Tristan asked.
Hellen tried to answer, but no words came out. She opened and closed her mouth a few times before looking at her husband. How could she tell him that yes, the shame of having a silver blooded demon in the family was greater than the combined honor that her and Shadow Fist brought.
Shadow Fist sighed, “Yes, and no,” at Tristans frown he continued, “Yes, because your kern is the reason, No because they are afraid. Metal kerns are undocumented outside of the Grand Ancestors legend. They are worried you will break their comfortable lives.”
Tristan was shocked by the words, he was no threat to anyone. He had just lost to a few kids, how was he supposed to threaten adults. Even if he had the same powers as the invincible killing machines, it would be scaled down to a tier zero kern. Shadow Fist contented himself with simply being available to his son.
Hellen pulled a pot out of a box just inside the door and lit up the wood burning stove with a spark from her hand. She proceeded to make dinner. Tristan was still thinking about what his father had said when Hellen finished with the chili. They ate together on the floor simply eating out of the pot. Evidently plates had not been at the top of their moving priorities.
Shadow Fist cleared his throat and started talking, “So the people at the mine treat you well?”
Tristan nodded around a mouthful of beans and tomato paste. It had been quite the opposite of Forest Caldera, the teens here abandoned him while the one there saved him. Yes, Luke was vastly more brutal, but he at least was not targeting Tristan. The adults at the mine were kind as well, going so far as to heal him. Tristan knew that it was because he had something they wanted, but then again, that is how every relationship started. He was never angry when another kid played with him because he had better toys.
“Good, I think it is a good idea for you to stay there for a couple of months or even a year, at least until things settle down here,” Shadow Fist said.
Hellen almost spat her food out, “What, Why?”
“Think about it,” Shadow Fist said, “Our son is only alive because children are weak. If an adult starts next time, he will die. I am simply proposing an environment that relies heavily upon his well-being is a better place for him.”
Tristan’s mouth hung open. He was being abandoned, how could his own father abandon him. It did not matter what the reason was, families were supposed to stay together.
That did not seem to matter to Shadow Fist, Hellen cried and tried to get her husband to change his mind. He was firm in his decision, he claimed that Tristan had no human rights and was only alive due to a technicality. Tristan was not the first child to posses a metal kern, he was just the first one to be spared.
Most of them were stabbed through the heart, which was a plausible target considering his lung was punctured. Was his life saved by a time limit? Because he squirmed a little to much? Tristan did not know, but he was able to realize that the only reason he was alive was because Elder Forest and Elder River were rivals.
Tristan still felt betrayed, however he could not find a flaw in his father’s logic. His mother seemed to be distraught, but when he looked into his father’s eyes he could only find hardness.
“Can I at least sleep here before being abandoned?” Tristan asked, venom in his voice.
“Of course honey,” Hellen said immediately, before continuing, “We will never betray you.”
Shadow Fist shook his head, “It is not abandonment, it is relocation. You won’t live long here, even if you stay alive you won’t have a life.”
Tristan simply scowled, the words were true but the tone was cold. It was late when they finished dinner and both Shadow Fist and Helen had a long day so they decided to go to sleep. That night was one of the longest he had ever had. There was only one bed and not enough room for three people.
Tristan was given a blanket that barely padded the wooden floor. While he was staring up towards the ceiling he realized something. His parents had only brought a single bed, supposedly they thought he would be staying with them. However their actions seemed to indicate a plan to send him away.
He gritted his teeth, Shadow Fist at the very least was planning on getting him out from the very beginning. Tristan did not believe his mom was involved, but there was no way to prove it. The situation made him so angry that he actually looked foreword to leaving the next day. If they wanted him gone for a year, fine, he would stay away for two. Maybe then they would realize how important he was to them.