Slice of (magic) Life

Chapter 1 - Axle

Axle had always wanted to be normal. Well, 'always' meaning ever since that night his mother left and never came back. The night he discovered his powers was also the night he saw her last. From then on it was just Axle and his father.

"Focus Axle!" He heard his father yell as another blob of glowing energy was hurled towards him. Axle braced himself and thought of strong, durable barriers and focused his magic to form a round, glowing, copper-colored shield. The blast of energy connected with the shield he made. Axle stumbled a bit at the great force but he pushed back against it. Eventually the strength of the attack fizzled out and the energy ball shrank into nothing. Axle dropped the shield he was holding up, which immediately disintegrated, and gasped for air. The only reason he managed to block the attack was because of his dad's warning and the adrenaline rush he got as soon as he saw the incoming danger.

He thought that was it, but Axle's father wasn't finished yet. He then threw a flurry of multiple energy-filled attacks. Axle gave a surprised yelp and tried to throw up his shield again. In an instant he materialized a shield. The onslaught of powerful magic attacks pushed Axle back across the backyard. With each hit, Axle's shield was quickly shredded because he just conjured it up in a panic.

When the last of the energy balls hit Axle and his now very much destroyed shield, he was thrown back by its force and landed on his back, the air in him forced out. His father walked over to him wearing a disappointed expression. "What was that? You could have easily defended that one." He held his hand to help his son up. Axle sighed as he was hoisted up, "Sorry dad. Just had a lot on my mind. I couldn't focus hard enough to make my shield last." Crossing his arms, Axle's father said, "It's too early in the morning to have such a distracted mind. What were you thinking of?" With some hesitation, he asked, "Is it about mom again?"

Bingo.

That's Axle's father for you. He always was so accurate at guessing other people's thoughts and feelings. Axle, too stunned at hearing mention of his mother, sat slowly on the steps to the entrance of their house from the backyard. He buried his head in his hands and sighed again. His father joined him on the stairs. "Hey, I miss her a lot too. But we can't let our past stop us from living right now, today." Axle responded, "I know I know. I just can't stop thinking about it. If I'd waited longer. If I only showed you then maybe... maybe she'd still be living with us."

His father placed a hand on his back, "Well, even if you delayed the news of your magic, I think your mother still would have done what she did." "Do you hate her for it?" Axle asked unexpectedly. His dad gave him a sort of hurt look, "No of course not. I could never really hate your mom. But I felt very hurt when she vanished and left just a note to tell me. I won't blame her for her decision. After all, if people got word of the existence and use of magic by people like us, we'd be in danger of being hunted or even killed. I'm guessing she wouldn't be able to bear seeing both of us get taken away or just wind up dead somewhere and on the news, so she just left so she wouldn't have to go through it."

Axle asked, "But isn't that so selfish of her?" His father just laughed "Yes I suppose it is quite selfish. But I know that it was also done out of intense fear and love for us. I'm sure that once she realizes her mistake she'll come back to us. I know we'll be whole again someday. But for now..." Axle looked on as his father aimed the palm of his hand at him and everything blurred in then out. When Axle's vision was clear, he saw that he was teleported into the bathroom along with his bath towel and clothes which appeared there in a small puff of silvery smoke.

"Get ready for school!" He heard his father yell to him from the backyard, finishing his sentence. Axle laughed, his mood already lightening and his thoughts clearing as he showered and did his morning routine. When he came down the stairs, he could smell his father cooking him some breakfast. He entered the kitchen to find his dad using magic to make bowls and other kitchen things work and move around on the table. "Daaaad" Axle said with a noticeable laugh, "I thought you said no magic in the kitchen! A knife could accidentally fly across the room." His dad just waved his hand dismissively which caused a couple of the bowls on the table to slide themselves across and off the table. Axle moved towards the two falling bowls quickly and thought of soft fluffy pillows that would help catch the bowls. Right before they hit the ground, the two bowls landed on the glowing pillows Axle made. He went over to it and snatched them from ground level and placed them firmly on the table again. His dad just gave him an unapologetic smile, "There are times when rules can be bent, changed, or even removed completely! It all depends on how we as people adapt to a higher level of sophistication and unity."