Aresson struggled to manage his nerves as he waited in the bushes. This was the day he would finally hunt down dinner all on his own. A brambleboar makes its way through nearby brush and wanders into view. The rustling of the leaves was enough to make Aresson’s heart leap out of his chest. The boy gripped his dagger tightly, a keepsake from his father that qualified more as a short sword for the boy's size. He carefully brings himself forward from his seated position, into a sprinter’s stance. Aresson was never taught very much about the old ways of hunting, his father had left before he could teach him anything of significance. His sister treated it like fishing, only with a cannon in place of a rod or spear.

His mind recalled a time last week when his sister pitched a ball of flames at a doe, the memory made him wince. On top of her almost causing a forest fire in the process, the cries of the dear echoed through his mind as he suffered through its charred flesh later that night. “No”, he swore to himself solemnly. The days of his family scraping by with whatever flash fried cadavers Niko could cook up and drag back home were over. As the man of the house, he would be the one to make sure his family ate well.

Aresson dug his worn-out boots into the ground, his instincts told him that this was his best chance to surprise the beast. The boar was bearing its left side as it trots its way past its stalker unknowingly. Aresson’s eye twinkled at that moment. He takes off at full speed straight to his target. In an instant that seemed endless, Aresson’s mind was a flutter with the calculation of his movements.

Gotta stay low! Strike fast! My heart’s on the left right?! So...!

The youth clung to his father's blade feverishly and plunged it into the fur behind the boar’s left foreleg using all of the strength he could muster. Just as he had practiced in his mind during the hours of lying in wait for this opportunity to come. He twisted the blade clockwise before pulling back with all his might and scrambling for some distance. Aresson watched apprehensively to see what would happen next, in his heart he never thought he would make it to this point without his older sister’s help. The beginnings of a smile were struck down. The wounded beast struggled to squeal as it fought to realize what was happening. It mustered the last ounce of its pride, and in the rage of its death rattles, sent its weight into the fledgling hunter’s chest before finally, both of their worlds went black.

“Ress? Ress?!”

Aresson stirred, pain shooting throughout his torso, and his face, his whole body, in fact. Once he realized who had been calling him by his nickname, his heart filled with dread.

“Optus, help me! Are you okay?!”

Niko knelt down to him, her face flush and eyes halfway to tears. Her long red hair draped over her dress that resembled a re-purposed potato sack. He started to curse at himself in his mind for standing still like a training dummy when that pig whipped around and gave him his just desserts. She patted him all over, looking for open wounds.

“Okay, looks like it just knocked your lights out and trampled you a little bit. You’re sticky.” She examined the syrupy mess that had coated her fingers while she performed her diagnostic. “Ohhh, oh no. Little bro I’m gonna be-“

Niko shudders as she begins to understand that the blood Aresson is coated in, isn’t his own. A pigmentation of porcine origin. She wretches as she heaves her breakfast, being careful not to defile her sibling any further. A spec of biscuit bile lands on Aresson’s cheek, and he turns over to his side instinctively before reliving his last meal as well. Somehow able to hold it in, but still queasy, Aresson forces himself to rise to his feet.

“Bluhh- How’d you find me anyway?” He tried to act nonchalantly, but the strange posture he was taking showed that he was in immense discomfort.

Niko coughed a few times and cocked her head back as she began to chug from her canteen. She tapped the pendant on her necklace, it bore the sigil of the eye above clouds. Once she had her fill and cleansed her palette, she passed the water to her younger brother.

“Gehh- I keep telling you this pendant works Ress. If I put all my faith into it, the lord of visions will guide me to what I seek. This time being my air-headed twerp of a brother who almost got himself killed by a pig! What are you trying to prove anyway? Don’t need my help?”

Aresson scoffed and simply gestured towards the carcass that lied a couple of yards away from where Niko had found him. “I took that thing out by myself, with no fancy magic either! Just Dad’s old knife. I’m sure we can get our neighbors to help us skin and clean it. Plus, since it’s not burnt to a crisp, we can split whatever spoils we get from selling its parts to the market. You mom and I won’t have to eat... “

“The cuisine I labored over like crazy to keep us afloat?” Niko stood akimbo, looking irritated. After a few moments she burst into laughter, seeing Aresson at a loss for words.

“Relax Ress, I know my cooking is hit or miss... well mostly miss. I would do better if I could, I know that can’t be good for Mom, but it’s all I can manage right now outside of the odd jobs I can get here and there.”

She rustled his dark curly hair, seeing that he was too beaten up to feel like fighting her off. “I’m really proud of you little brother, just try not to put yourself in danger, even if it’s for our sake. A big sister’s job is to make sure that you’re okay, and that you have help whenever you need it. Just remember to ask.”

Aresson nods, half embarrassed. Only thinking that if he hadn’t let that animal get the best of him, she wouldn’t have any grounds to lecture him. Next time is going to be different.

“Either way you’re lucky I showed up. Even if you were in condition to walk home by yourself, how do you expect to carry this thing?”

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Aresson looked at the boar, an oversight on his part. His only option would be to drag it home, which wouldn't have been good for the skin or the meat. He neglected to think about what he was to do once he actually managed hunt something down. He scratched his head, “Well that’s why I’ve got my big sister or whatever, right?”

Niko smiled and pulled out a digit of hematite from the leather pouch at her hip. “Gimme a few minutes to try and get this thing going.”

After some time, a platform manifested out of thin air beside the boar. Thick, fluid tendrils of energy flowed forth from Niko’s palm the same color as her stone were giving the platform shape. “Okay, time for the stability test. Heave-ho, little bro.”

Aresson groaned as he dug deep and took a low stance, grabbing the boar’s legs before squatting it up high enough to drop onto the platform his sister conjured. “Can you hold it? I don’t think I have another one of those in me.”

She sucked her teeth, “I’m self-taught but there’s really nothing to this stuff! You just think about what you want to form and focus on the stone. You should be able to do this yourself no problem.”

Aresson walked ahead of her slashing at any plant life that obstructed their path. He had always wanted to wield magic, but like both of his parents, he had no aptitude for casting with or without a catalyst stone. “No Niko, I’m pretty sure you’re just a freak of nature.”

The children make their way home after bartering with some of the traders in town. Niko, being popular with the young men of the village was able to find some bargains. She convinced the village tanner, Heidi, to help skin the hog and allow Niko to train under her as an apprentice as long as she can continue to bring materials in the future. She also arranged for Aresson to learn how to de-bone an animal properly from a local trapper, Skylan, who the two of them had grown up with.

"Sure thing, I'll have my new pupil rounding up grub on his own in no time. Safely."

Skylan beamed down at Aresson, who rolled his eyes. The young man saw this and chuckled before shaking Niko's hand to confirm the arrangement. "You guys saved me a lot of time, I was running late today didn't have time to check all of my traps before dark. A hog leg should hold me over just fine for supper!" He rubbed his stomach with anticipation. "We'll check my spots in the morning while I show you the basics. How does that sound, Ress?"

Aresson made an about face and motioned for Niko to follow suit. He only tolerated that nickname for his elder sister. "I'll see you in the morning."

Skylan blinked, wondering what he said to make him get the cold shoulder. "Uh yeah, that's the spirit Ress! Bright and early!"

Niko gave Skylan an appreciative smile that was enough to make the young man blush as he nodded to her. "You know, Skylan thinks he's like an older brother to you. What's more, he's agreeing to help you provide for the family like you wanted. You should try to be nicer to him."

Aresson ignored his sister's lecture, too busy imagining different approaches he could have taken to put down his prey from the morning. The more he thought about it, the more he's surprised he didn't leave with anything broken. A hunting knife is effectively only one step above using his bare hands in terms of hunting. Aresson decided next time he would try to strike down his target from a safer distance. A weapon with reach that is just as simple to use, Aresson was sure that if he had a spear in his arsenal, he wouldn't need much help from Skylan at all.

Aresson remained deep in thought considering any corrections he could have made towards his ventures from today. The siblings had made it home before he had realized it. Aresson began to puff out his chest, ready to tell his mother about his achievement, and show off the spoils that they would be enjoying for dinner tonight. He imagined his mother being starry-eyed and amazed with his accolades as he regaled her with the details of how he felled a beast that could feed the family for at least a week. His mind wandered into the future where the food he

would provide and the money he would make with continued success, would eventually cure his mother of her ailments and earn his sister a spot in a proper phrontistery where she can make the best use of her talents. Now that he was a man, their future looked brighter than ever. An abrupt bump into Niko's backside brought his daydreaming to an end.

Aresson blinked as he gazed at the living room, usually spotted with dust due to careless cleaning jobs, and cobwebs in corners that he couldn't reach without help. This evening it was spotless, and warm. The fireplace was rumbling with a well sustained flame atop an abundance of wood. What was most alarming to both Niko and Aresson, was that their mother, Nyla, who was usually bed-ridden and bundled in blankets and robes was laughing and enjoying tea with a complete stranger at their dinner table. The table itself was adorned with an embroidered cloth and a spread of fruits, jams, honeys, and cheeses. A level of decadence that evaded their family even before their father's departure.

Confused, Niko finally spoke, "Mom?"

Nyla, for the first time in years ran over to her children and scooped the both of them up in an embrace. Startling the two with the sudden return of her strength. "Mom?! How are you-?" Aresson gasped as his mother twirled with both of them in her arms before setting them down.

She gestures with an open hand to the black-robed man who sat across the table from her as casually he spread some honey on a cheese cracker with a twirl of his fingers before sending it into his mouth with a satisfying crunch. "This is Ninesh of Elisir! Our new friend. Now come and sit with us! Oh, but please clean yourselves up first. Where have you been to get your clothes so soiled?"

Ninesh waved at the children before skipping his way over to them, his gold dancing and jingling with each step. " It's no problem Nyla dearest just let me take care of it and we can all sit down and relax." He reaches into a pouch on his side and pulls out an orb of soap. Ninesh then taps a ring with a blue signet on his left hand and water begins to flow from the ring into the palm of his hand, dissolving the soap orb in mere moments. Finally, he whispers "tidium" and a splash of suds coats the children's clothes. Before Aresson could register the discomfort, his guest hums, "aridus". A gale of warmth shrouds both Niko and Aresson, immediately drying them leaving no spots or stains. The magus then continued snacking, looking pleased.

The siblings were left speechless after the display and were soon swept up in the charisma of the stranger that had breathed new life into their home. The evening was spent indulging in decadent hors d'oeuvres as Ninesh stroked his beard and told tales of his travels as a distinguished magus. While each anecdote met the ears of both Nyla and Niko with a response of reverence, Aresson began to sulk once his belly was full. This man's presence for a single afternoon put an end to all of the struggles and hardship that his family had been wrestling with in the years of his father's absence. He thought he should have been elated, seeing his mother move was such fluidity and vitality. Holding conversations without coughing through every other sentence. She was healthy again. Aresson admonished himself as he tried to control the thoughts seeping into his mind about how insignificant this made him feel, and instead fought to focus on the good fortune that had fallen into his lap. For the remainder of the evening, he focused on the echoes of his father's final order.

Be good, son.