Things are never set in stone; they can change almost instantly or you could have to work hard to make them change. You're born a certain way, but that doesn't mean you have to grow up that way. You can decide who you are, decide whether you want to continue on in the direction your parents show you or make your own path.
Whatever decision you choose to make, however, you've got to prepare yourself for the consequences. Something good can come out of anything, but some decisions result in guilt. Eternal guilt...
My name is Raiku Hirata, and this is my story...
The sun was bright, beaming through the trees. She felt relaxed for the first time in quite a while. No one to tell her what to do, no one to decide whether she should be the one to fetch something for them (which she would probably have sent someone else to do anyway..), and no one to chat her ear off. She loved the silence, the quiet. The kind of silence where she could hear the voices of nature calling to her.
She smiled a little and laid her head back against the tree she sat in. Her bubblegum pink, curly hair rested off her left shoulder, hanging over. Her layers stuck out a little on the right hand side, a little floof that was never able to be put down. She'd tried... and failed several times. She sighed as she played with the little devil of hair, trying to shove it down. She gave up after a few short moments, knowing it wasn't going to get her anywhere.
Her deep, ice blue eyes scanned the sky. She knew nothing was going to come at her, but it was habit. 'Stay on your toes', her father always told her, 'Don't let anything take you by surprise'. She knew that already, but he just had to say it every day. Oh well. At least he cared.
She continued to relax, her body finally loosening up from all the training that morning. She could feel her muscles relax and become less tense, but something told her not to relax too much. She started following that thought, wondering why....
"Raiiiiiiiiiku!!!" A young boys voice called out, echoing in the forest.
Her eyes shot open again and she jumped a little. Her body tensed yet again and she looked around. She should've guess he'd be the one to ruin her relaxation. He was always there to make her day worse than it already was. Of course, there were days that they got along just fine, but those days hardly come along with a cursed child around.
A young boy with the same hair and eye color as her walked over, a smug look on his face. He stared up at her, the same look that he always gave her getting on her nerves again. She glared at him. "What do you want, Elkade?" she asked, her jaw clenched together.
He smirked. "Dad wants to see youuuuuuu~" he said in his devilish little sing-song voice.
"I didn't do anything. Why?" Her voice was harsh, yet soft.
Elkade shrugged. "Because he said he wanted to see you," he answered her.
She rolled her eyes, but jumped down. It was best to not make her father wait. He had a short temper. It was where she got hers from as well. 'Thanks, daddy dearest...' she thought to herself as she realized that fact. She didn't dare say something like that out loud in front of Mr. Dad's pet beside her. Elkade would tell on her in a heartbeat.
As they walked, Raiku kept quiet. She didn't have anything to say to him, only responding with little 'Mhmm's and 'Hmm's and 'okay's as her brother chatted her ear off. Today he was a little more chatty than usual. 'Greeeaaat...' she thought.
As they walked up to the boundaries for their village, Elkade sprinted toward the third house to the left...their house. They had a little bit bigger of a home simply because they had one more kid than most of the other village members. There were a couple houses like theirs, but the village tended to keep to one child per couple. However, there were accidents... like what happened with her own family...
Elkade pushed through the front door. "Got her dad!" he yelled, causing Raiku's ears to twitch. Her pointed ears poked through her hair a little, but not as badly as the Elves... theirs were just ridiculously long...
A man walked down the stairs, his blue hair sticking up in every which way, his bangs doing the same thing Raiku's did. That would be where she got her cowlick from. yet again, she mentally thanked her dad, but didn't say anything out loud. He was quite proud of his floof.
He looked at Raiku, smiling a little. "Good morning, Ku," he chuckled at her childhood nickname that didn't match in the least bit now.
She rolled her eyes. "Morning," she said simply, not looking at him. He wasn't the most supporting father, so she didn't think he deserved that much praise.
He nodded to Elkade, who nodded back and left the room. Raiku watched him leave, knowing this wasn't going to be a good conversation. Once her brother was gone, she looked at her father. "What do you want?" Any kindness in her face had vanished when her brother left.
His smile was long gone. He eyed her rudely. "How many times do I have to tell you to not talk to me like that?" His tone was hateful now.
The two of them never got along. They hadn't since Raiku had been 10. Eight years had passed with their hateful talk towards each other when no one was around. Anything good between them was usually fake, acting like loving family members when others were surrounding them.
Raiku rolled her eyes, looking to the side. She made an irritated noise as she looked away. "Well what did you want from me?"
He sat down at the table, holding his cup of tea as he leaned back in his chair. "A little Elf boy has been sneaking about lately..." he swirled the tea in his cup a little.
Raiku looked at him. "So? He's a little boy. He's probably curious," she suggested, continuing to stand up.
Her father didn't look so sure. He shook his head. "Even so, he could be watching our weak spots. They started teaching Elves to spy at a young age."
She glared at him. "You want me to kill off a kid?" Her body tensed up again.
He chuckled slightly. "You're a Gravarian. You're not supposed to care about something like that." He noticed her unamused look. He sighed and shook his head. "Don't worry, he's not that young."
She clenched her fists, not saying anything. She thought for a moment, wondering if she should start a fight about this matter or not. Most of the time, the fights weren't worth it. She sighed and looked at him. "Where is he usually?"
Her father smirked. "Behind the village, sneaking to the left. It's the same route every day."
She tilted her head, a serious, harsh look on her face. "Why haven't you done it then?" she asked, suspiciously.
He shrugged. "I thought you could use more practice. It's not every day you get experience killing another person," he explained, taking another sip of his tea.
She sighed, looking out the window beside the table. She nodded. "I'll see you when I'm done..."
"Bring back proof," he ordered, getting up. "Good luck."
