It was a normal morning for Bryce Ranvir. A thirteen year old fox Dreamkeeper who lives with his mother in a small house in the outskirts of the Norvondire district of Anduruna. A small one story home with two bedrooms, a kitchen, living room and bathroom just right for a two person family.

Waking up in his bed was always a little hard and annoying as he let out a yawn big enough to have him open his mouth as wide as possible. His eyes watered from this uncontrollable gesture, but he quickly wiped them away. He felt groggy from the early wake at nine in the morning, but he knew he had to get up so he could help around the house. It was only him and his mother after all who were around to perform such tasks. He has gotten up this early multiple times for months now but he still has yet to fully get used it. In fact it would be hard for anyone to not wake up naturally.

Standing up out of his bed wearing only a pair of pants, he stretched his arms upward as far as they could reach and slowly lowered them down in front of him to a horizontal position. He then proceeded to squat a few times before dropping them back down to his sides. A stretch like this always made him feel better after getting out of his comfortable bed, which was always tempting to lay back down in.

Heading out of his room which was connected to the bathroom on the right and his mother's room on the left, he walked through the hardwood floor kitchen area that was the direct center of the house. The floor squeaked slightly under his weight but not enough to wake up his still asleep mother. The living room area was large enough to fit a three person couch and one chair with a small fireplace in the wall they were facing with a large sized data scroll rolled up above it. Going through this room next towards the door that would lead him outside, he let out another yawn but not as big as the one before. Tiredness was still lingering within him, but a few gentle slaps to the sides of his face with both hands helped disperse it.

Opening the door which also gave off a slight squeaking sound, the early morning sun was just starting to rise in the distance where the city of Anduruna and the ever salient Sabbaton Towers could be seen a mile away. Had the sun raised behind the Towers in the direction their home was facing, they'd most likely be in its shadow.

The light shined of his body to reveal his appearance to the new day. It was bright enough to reflect off the orange fur that most of his body was covered in. The bright colored follicles almost glistened in the light like a lit fire. One of the only distinguishing features was the sand colored upside-down triangular marking on the the top of his head underneath his dark brown hair. This distinctive color was also featured on his chest, and his eyes were a bright yellow that blinked to help them adjust to the morning light. The young fox was like a living fire with his bright fur.

Aside from the triangular patch on his forehead, this color and pattern of fur color was shared with his mother. Most people would instantly know they were related because how they looked so much alike. Some thought they were mother and son but others thought they were brother and sister.

Their home was facing towards the city as it rested on a small cliff face no higher than fifteen meters tall, with a small river running down at the bottom. The cliff face itself was pointed out towards the Alchera Ocean. The forest could been seen just as easily and while Bryce has seen this view many times before, it was still a pleasantly warm welcome to his mornings. Chalice shaped trees with their pale white bark and the sparkling water of the river where many wild animals have come to quench their thirst.

Letting out another drowsy yawn, he gestured his head back and forth to the left then right a couple of times to crack his neck. Another act he performed multiple times before, only not as uncontrolled as yawning, and was like an instinctive motion at this point. He made his way to the cliff face that was about twenty meters away from the house. Far enough away to avoid falling off of it should one not watch where their going. Standing a foot away from the edge, he inhaled deeply yet calmly and slowly let it out. He closed his eyes as he outstretched his right arm until his hand was out past the edge of the cliff and held it at a vertical angle. What happened next not something and Dreamkeeper sees every day and wouldn't want.

A bright orange halo appeared above his head. He began to slowly open his eyes again, but this time they had begun to glow. They were now glowing the same color of his halo mixed with the yellow of his eyes. It was like a fire itself was born within them. A few moments passed until a small glowing ball of energy sharing the color of his glowing eyes appeared in the palm of his hand. It made a faint humming sound at a quiet volume as it flicked like a large candle light. As the ball of energy grew bigger the sound got louder. When it reached the same size of his hand the sound vanished in a split second and the ball retracted to the size of a marble in just a single second. Like an expanding balloon bursting from too much air, the ball turned into a blast of energy that exploded outward into an explosion. The sound echoed outwards through the forest like the bellow of a massive creature. The energy faded faster than fog exhaled from a cold morning breath exiting through Bryce's lips.

A few wild ryuu-neko could be seen running away through the brush from the sudden loud sound. A faint echo could also be heard in the distance. Citizens of the city, especially in the Norvondire District would be able to faintly hear this echo had they been on the outside of the wall, but for anyone who was outside were none the wiser to it. Most just brushed it off as a simple avalanche on the Star Fall Mountains or a wild creature bellowing.

As Bryce lowered his arm back down to his side, he closed his eyes once again and his halo faded away. Opening them up again, his eyes had gone back to normal and appeared to be more awake then earlier. They looked out at the forest and admired the view as if what had transpired never even happened at all. “Phew,” He said as he scratched the back of his head. “Never gets old.” He headed back to the house with a little skip to his step, and upon opening the front door he could see his mother already starting to make breakfast in her nightgown and open robe. His mother did in fact share the same coloring on her fur as her son, only she had shoulder length hair and had a tip of sand colored fur on her tail while he did not. Her name was Naylene Ranvir and as far Bryce cared, she was the best mom in the whole world.

Both of them tend to wake up a couple minutes apart from each other, she just so happens to take a little longer to leave her room. Had she still been asleep though, Bryce's power would've surely jolted her awake. “Morning kiddo,” She said with a warm welcoming smile. “I see you've already done your routine as usual. And before I even left my room too. You're getting better and better at doing this all on your own.” She spoke with a soothing tone and her smile also expressed that she was proud of her son.

Bryce sat down on a spinning stool that sat in front of the center table of the kitchen where they enjoyed their meals. He playfully spun around in it slowly as he gripped the seat between his thighs to keep his balance. “Does that mean you trust me to make breakfast again?”

Naylene scoffed facetiously at his words. “After that fiasco with the bander meat three diners ago? Not on your life kid.” They both laughed cheerfully as Naylene opened the fridge and grabbed a carton of milk. Bryce grabbed the box of cereal that was already sitting on the table as his mother grabbed a couple of bowels and spoons and brought them over. Despite what she said about not trusting him to make dinner, this one would've been simple enough to trust him with had she had not already had it ready. They each sat quietly and merely pondered their thoughts as they ate. Breakfast was just a rather fast meal for them to get through so they could get all their daily chores done before the afternoon.

Once they were finished, Bryce was nice enough to take both his and his mother's bowls and spoons to the sink. They relied on their water from a tank that drew water from river, but they made sure to only use the amount they needed for cleaning the dishes and themselves. Naylene made her way to the broom and dustpan leaning up against the wall in the bathroom as Bryce cleaned the dishes in the sink. She got to work immediately sweeping the floors staring from the kitchen and leading into the living room. She'd only sweep the floors every other day while the ones she didn't were the ones where she would take care of the laundry.

It was a complacent task from her perspective, as she felt like it always made the inside of their home look clean and tidy. This aspect was shared with her son who enjoyed making dirty plates look clean as he felt like he performed a perfect job no matter how trivial. Sense of accomplishment was one of their favorite feelings that made them feel alive in a small yet enjoyable way.

Once Bryce finished with his little chore, he went into his room to grab a fresh pair of clothes to get his morning shower done. Naylene was still busy sweeping the living room floors while he began freshening up. This little routine took at least ten minutes to finish, but a nice refreshing shower was always the best way to get started for a new day.

As soon as Naylene finished sweeping the last corner of the room she could hear the shower stop and Bryce getting out to dry off. As he exited the bathroom he was now wearing a dark gray zip up hoodie and light brown shorts, still scrubbing his head dry with a smaller towel. Naylene finished performing her task as soon as he pulled the towel off of his head.“You can go ahead and sweep the fireplace out and get some logs to burn later. I'm going to go ahead and freshen up myself now.”

Bryce tossed his towel into a hamper through the still open bathroom door. Enough practice made it so he could make it every time like a simple game. He got to work on cleaning the fireplace as Naylene grabbed her own pair of clothes to change in to and made her way into the bathroom, closing the door in the process.

Bryce was carefully sweeping the ash and soot into a pan so as not to dirty the floor that his mother had just swept. Naturally they originally thought that doing this first and then sweeping the floors would be the best option. But Bryce wanted to show his mom that he can do such a great job that he could clean the fireplace without dirtying the floor in the process. A task that he had mastered weeks before and could proudly pat himself on the back for. Once the pan was full, he carefully carried it outside to the garbage can that was next to the door, and next to that was a stack of firewood stacked to his height. He grabbed three logs on the top on the stack and carried them inside with just one arm wrapped around them. He placed them in a neat pyramid inside the fireplace and wiped his hands and arm off above them to not get their sawdust flakes on the floor. Any residual flakes he washed off in the sink and dried off.

Naylene was still in the bathroom getting ready although the shower had ended. Bryce took this chance to pull down the data scroll and see what was new in the informational world. The info on today's weather was first to pop up and he could see that is was going to be a sunny cloudless day in the city as well as the outskirts where they live. These were his favorite type of days as he would be able to enjoy the day fully without bad weather getting in the away. Even though sometimes he'd just lounge about merely enjoying the perfect day by soaking in the rays and breathing the fresh air. He switched it over to the CNC news feed after learning what the weather would be like, and a pig-like Dreamkeeper was already talking about what was trending in the news of Anduruna. Bryce sat down on his knees in front of the scroll to watch and hear what was already in mid-sentence .

“-on the whereabouts of the three missing persons but we'll keep you posted as the story progresses.” Bryce frowned angrily at himself for not getting done fast enough to catch the whole story. The news was his favorite thing to watch on the scroll and his favorite way to pass the time. “In other interesting news a couple of teenage hooligans, a raccoon and a badger, were arrested today for public usage of their powers. Something you'd think people would've taken a hint for by now.” Bryce took a few seconds to respond to his words, but he anxiously grabbed his upper arms with each hand as if a slight chill had entered the room. He calmed his nerves a little by taking a quick breath and exhaling it slowly.

The pig Dreamkeeper seemed to behave in an agitated way. “Their names have been withheld to avoid any excess animosity towards their family and friends, but here's what I heard went down. The raccoon was spotted using his Dreamkeeper Power to levitate large rocks on the shores of the Margate District. Whether this was an elemental or telekinetic power we don't know. This negligent act injured a young girl in the process. The badger also idiotically used his own power to stop the Safety Troopers pursuing them by freezing them in ice. The hospital they were admitted to says that two of them suffered sever hypothermia while the third could lose his left foot to frostbite. The CCA has informed the public that they will improve their armor and equipment to deal with Atmospheric based powers that have the elemental effects of ice and other elements that may spring up in the future. Hopefully they can keep their word and no other brave troopers will be harmed should such a fiasco spring up again. This has been Mr. Boore, and we'll be right back with more mind blowing stories after a word from our sponsors.”

Commercials soon followed and Bryce got up from his sitting position. A thought that he had run into multiple times before decided to pop up once again. He felt scarred that if anyone found out that he was using his powers every day that they'd treat him the same way as those troublemakers. Even if he had no ill intentions with it.

Little did he know that his mother had already exited the bathroom, fully dressed in her shirt and jeans, when Boore started to talk about the illegal power-users. She didn't know what to do when he started talking, like whether she should walk up to the scroll and turn it off or to let her son continue watching it. Either choice would make him feel worrisome about himself and what others would think of him. Instead, she pretended to have just now exited the bathroom. “So,” She said cheerfully. “Anything interesting on the news kiddo?”

Bryce turned to face his mother. “Nothing yet,” he said while playing dumb. “Just some boring morning stuff and whatnot.” Naylene kept her composure but could tell that Bryce had gotten just a little shaken by what he had just watched. But Bryce was quick to shake these negative feeling off and change the subject. “So, are we going to go to Norvondire and see the sights today like you said?” Excitement filled his voice as he smugly crossed his arms at her. “Or are we just going to sit around and watch the news while you read another book again?”

Both of them knew that this was their daily routine but every once in a while it got a little boring. Every two weeks or so they'd head to the Norvondire District to get away from the quiet country life and just enjoy some louder city life to mix things up.

“Of course we are.” She said directly. “That is...” Changing her tone to mild sarcasm and rubbing her left index finger across her chin. “Unless you got some soot on the floor I just cleaned.” Bryce gestured his right hand towards the fireplace with a proud grin on his face. Naylene made her way over to the fireplace while keeping a leery look on him. Kneeling down in front of the fireplace she turned her head towards the bottom where the brick met the floor and examined it thoroughly. She wiped the tip of her right index finger across the floor and then held it up to her face. She narrowed her eyes to see if there was any black dust on her finger tip, and saw that there was none. She changed her expression to an appreciative grin and stood back up. “Great job kiddo. You've been able to keep your promise again like all the other times.” Bryce smiled happily that he was able to keep making his mother proud.


***


The trek to Norvondire was a mile long walk, but Naylene and Bryce didn't care about that. They got to enjoy the fresh morning air and the smell of nature as the forest got less and less thick and lush as they neared their destination. The chalice shaped trees were met with the afternoon sun shining through the holes in their tops as a wild Ryuu-neko ran past the trail they were on. The small green furred creature stopped for a brief moment to stand on its hind legs to take a curious look at them. It then hopped off into the brush.

They stayed silent with each other for a few minutes after that little encounter, until Naylene looked down to see a troubled look across her son's face. “Hey kiddo, you doing okay?” She didn't show it but she eagerly waited to hear his response so she could say the proper words to cheer him up.

Bryce took a calm breath in through the nose and slowly let it out. “Hey mom...I know I've asked this before but...is it bad that I keep using my power?” Naylene knew that it was because of what Boore had reported on the news that made him feel uncomfortable, and had a feeling he'd start a conversation about it without bringing up the news story itself. “I mean I know why I have to use it once every day, it's just that I'm afraid of what will happen if I'm caught. Is letting it build up really worse than getting arrested and banished?”

Naylene sighed worriedly but spoke to him in a reassuring voice. “Sweetheart, your power is nothing to be ashamed of or feared. We all are born with a power that is either largely unique or commonly small to us. We just aren't allowed to use them in public around other people. Yours is incredibly powerful and should be treated the way you'd treat a wild animal as a pet. You be patient with it, you train with it and as you allow it to perform it's purpose once in a while it can become a part of your life even if you can't share it with the world.” She could tell her words were affecting him in a positive way as a smirk began to form on his face. “Besides, if you didn't shoot off a burst of explosive energy every day, you know it would just stockpile on top of each other each day that you didn't. Imagine if you didn't do that for a week and set it off then? How dangerous would that be to yourself and what's around you if you set off a burst of power the equivalent of seven sparker grenades?”

Bryce had been told this multiple times in multiple different ways in the past to help him continually understand how dangerous yet awesome the power he was born with can be. He still felt scared for himself and his mother because of it, since it was a power that basically forced him to actually have to use it so that it wouldn't become a life-threatening danger in the future. “Explosive stockpiling.” He said putting his hands in his hoodie pockets. “It sounds cool every time I say that, but I still can't accept that it's causing so much trouble for us.” He sighed annoyingly as he kicked a rock in front of him. “Why did that stupid knossus have to suddenly decide then and there to trample through town and head straight towards me that day during the festival? I could have been able to go my whole life without ever awakening my power.”

Naylene placed her left hand on his right shoulder. “If you hadn't, then that stupid knossus would've killed you and those innocent people behind you. You should also count yourself lucky that everyone thought one of the safety troopers trying to stop it managed to throw a sparker in it's path. If they saw you had actually used your power we'd possibly be living out in the Diony Desert or someplace even worse.”

“Like that small house we're currently living in?” Bryce said jokingly.

Naylene gently punched him in the arm. “You know you love that quiet little place.”

Bryce scoffed playfully. “You got me.” He held up his hands in defense. Placing them back into his pockets he decided to tease his mother a little bit more. “Well, at least my power's a hundred times cooler than your power.”

“Hey,” Naylene said defensibly while pointing at her son with a challenging grin. “Creating a small ball of fire in my hand has its uses and coolness too you know.”

“Yeah,” said Bryce sarcastically. “But it'd be cooler if you could throw it from your hand instead of it just floating in your palm.” She gave him another gentle punch to the arm. They then started to share a playful laugh together as they continued their hike to Norvondire.