[center][h2]Meet your Brother[/h2]

Afternoon, 64 years ago

[i] Flashback

Wind Wild, Tracyn[/i][/center]

Sirius was only six years old when he first came face to face with his brother. The memories of the circumstances were hazy: they hadn’t grown up together and his mother never even mentioned he had a brother but apparently he did and apparently this strange creature was him.

Sirius was young and had led a sheltered life, away from anything and everything his mom perceived as dangerous or in any capacity, capable of frightening him. Calder’s huge body covered in shiny scales definitely had that capacity. Yet Sirius couldn’t stop staring. In front of him was a true marvel, something he’d never seen before, and all he remembered thinking was “I bet he’s strong”. Sirius wasn’t, he still hadn’t displayed any magical talents and anyone looking at his weak little frame could guess he’s never going to be an athlete either. The creature in front of him was a complete opposite and yet they shared some blood. 

The young boy didn’t realise when Mr.Sparrow stepped aside and left him facing the troll on his own. When he did, panic surged in him and he looked around frantically hoping to spot him somewhere nearby. Once it became evident that wasn’t the case, he shrank into himself, looking up at the giant reptilian and hoping their first meeting wouldn’t be their last as well.

Calder looked down on the young boy. His father has sired again, not that he cared. He’d never known his father, except as a name. He’d met him once, but only briefly. Time with daddy hadn’t been part of the contract that dictated his very existence. His mother He’d seen more frequently but the contract had little room for love, so he received little enough from her, though she tried to get around the contract as often as possible. That bothered Calder when he was little, why give your word if you didn’t intend to follow through? Now he knew, and wondered if this little boy knew yet. He doubted it, He wondered if he should teach the boy, he might thank him later… Calder considered his own teachers. He had no intention of thanking them, so he decided to spare the boy his lesson on living with fae. He’d learn soon enough. Instead Calder merely asked a question, though the boy couldn’t possibly know the answer, Calder wondered how the boy would react. Calder’s voice sounded like a roiling sea, water hissing about covered in foam and crashing down on itself in tremendous waves. “So you’re our father’s latest spawn? What debt did he pay with your birth?”

“I... I am dad's son...” Sirius spluttered, misunderstanding Calder's words. When he opened his mouth, the troll could surely bite his head clean off. His second sentence contained more words Sirius had never heard before and there was nobody around to ask either. His throat was dry and there seemed to be no words left there for him to speak. This adventure wasn’t turning out quite the way Mr.Sparrow had promised.

“Can you prove that?” Calder was in between jobs at the moment, and had been enjoying a day studying and working his magic at a small lake. He stood on gravel beach, near the mouth of a stream, where the two bodies of water collided. Beyond the beach a light forest grew, full of young oaks, ash, and willow trees, with very little shrubbery. Calder glanced at the lake and with a sharp hiss, brought forth a small orb of water that wobbled and took on many different shapes, some the boy would recognize others he would not, but none of them were the usual spherical shape of a water drop. Calder even differentiated textures, with soft things being made of mist and vapor while hard things were formed of ice, ever more complex and horrifying things the water made. All things Calder had seen, many of them things he had fought, and beaten. Calder spoke once more, as he let the water fall onto the pebbles at his toes. “Can you entice the water to dance at your whim?”

The little boy's eyes were as wide and round as dinner plates. He stared at the display and couldn't believe his eyes. A shy smile formed on his lips as more textures were introduced and the shapes became more intricate and sophisticated. The water dropping to the ground startled him and made him look up at the troll once again, his attention slowly returning to his words. The boy gave a brave nod and stared intently at the lake ahead. In his mind dragons and witches were fighting each other with icy teeth and swords.. but in front of him none of this became reality.

Sirius narrowed his eyes and held his breath, his face quickly turning red with the effort. As the nothing continued to occur, he got annoyed with himself and ran to the lake dipping his whole hand in. He could feel the water resisting him but he was intent on subduing it. As he took his hand out there was an irregularly shaped ball of water in it, slowly trickling between his fingers. Half of it was spilled by the time he took it to the troll but when he handed it over it was already in the shape of a slushy snowball.

“Is that okay?” The boy panted, eyes alight with the hope for a praise and a pat on the head.

Calder grinned, it was quite good actually for a first attempt. They boy had a strong will to be sure, perhaps he’d be useful, when he could do more than conjure snowballs. Calder hissed again and the snowball evaporated, before he responded. “That will do for now. What is your name?” Calder refrained from touching the boy, not knowing how resilient the boy was Calder didn’t want to crush the boy on accident. Being gentle wasn’t a task Calder was asked to perform, ever really much less often. He was made to smash everything in his path, and to always rise again when he himself was smashed. 

He’d always liked the simplicity of his life, not like most of the sidhe, or other courtiers, where everything was on a tottering balance that had to be constantly tended. Calder considered the opportunities the boy before him offered, he’d be most useful if no one knew of his existence but Calder was not talented in crafting veils, so hiding the boy would be impossible… Calder would have to think carefully if he was to gain anything from the boy’s existence and sudden appearance in the never.

Of course, the child had no notion of being used and couldn’t recognise the signs in Calder’s eyes. All he wanted was to make his brother happy and somehow the snowball seemed to do the trick. “Sirius!” the boy responded eagerly. “And yours? And can I call you big brother?”

“Calder Dylan, if that will make you happy I will allow it.” It wouldn’t cost me anything after all. How would I explain him to my Lord? The truth usually worked, let’s start there. Perhaps bumping into that bimbo Méabh would help set the stage nicely… She’d certainly try to snatch the boy for her own uses, and I’ve been waiting for a good opportunity to simmer her properly. Still, I didn’t want to do that yet, you needed to learn a few things first. I begin walking along the beach, showing you how to do little things with water. Since you’d started with a snowball I showed you how change the water to ice, back to water, and then to steam. Though, it would take some practice before you could do it as well as I, you seemed to have the same knack for water magic I had, it would serve you well here, and in turn me.