A boy raised his hand, looking at the bird that sat on his finger. His gaze was calm, a light smile on his face. In his previous life, he never really liked animals, but it felt more natural here. It was odd, but being reborn was considerably more odd. It was also painful. Being reborn wasn't a physical phenomenon, but it still hurt. He couldn't remember most of his previous life, only trivial things.
It was a pain, but not something he could help. His previous life did help him in school though, it made him seem super intelligent, even if he didn't think that was true at all. Still, it made his big sister proud. It was strange calling someone else his big sister. In his last life, he was the eldest, but now he was being taken care of.
"Macht, how are you doing that?" a voice whispered behind him. It was a girl's voice, soft and careful, clearly trying not to startle the bird. Glancing over, he saw his elder sister, Thalia. She was standing a short distance away, wary of the small creature. He turned slightly, his crimson, slit-pupiled eyes like blood against her electric blue ones. Both had dark hair, though hers carried a faint silver sheen when sunlight touched it.
"You mean with the bird? I have no idea," Macht said simply. Now that he thought about it, seeing a two year old with a bird calmly perched on his hand probably did look strange. Thalia didn't answer right away. She just stared at him for a while, thoughtful as always. Despite only being nine, she was mature enough to handle almost everything on her own and him. Macht knew he couldn't do half of what she did.
Before either of them could say anything else, a boy's voice broke the quiet. "You have a bird?!"
Macht turned as his twin brother came running from behind Thalia. Jason's bright blue eyes were wide with excitement, his golden blond hair catching the light. His voice startled the bird, which flinched and hopped closer to Macht's shoulder, watching Jason with suspicion.
"Jason, calm down. You're going to scare it off," Thalia said quickly, though her tone was more exasperated than angry.
Jason froze mid step, lowering his voice almost comically. "Sorry... it's just so cool!"
Macht blinked, studying the two of them. Thalia's hands were resting on her hips now, like she was trying not to smile, and Jason's energy filled the air around them like sunshine that refused to fade.
"You wanna hold it?" Macht asked casually, turning his head toward Jason.
Jason's eyes widened again, but this time he hesitated. "Can I? What if it bites me?"
"It won't," Macht said, his voice calm but faintly amused. "I think it likes quiet people more though."
Jason frowned. "I can be quiet."
Thalia snorted softly, unable to hide her grin. "You can't even whisper for ten seconds."
Jason pouted at her but then glanced back at the bird, curiosity winning over pride. Macht extended his hand slightly, letting the bird hop toward the edge of his fingers.
"See? Just move slowly," Macht said.
Thalia crouched beside them now, her earlier wariness fading into something softer. Watching the two boys together seemed to relax her in a way nothing else did. For a brief moment, she didn't look like the little adult who always took responsibility for everything, she looked her age.
"Do you wanna hold the bird, Thalia?" Macht asked her. She seemed to debate the idea in her head before nodding slightly, and as if understanding what Macht had asked, the bird lifted off his hand and fluttered gently toward her. It landed carefully on her arm.
Thalia froze, her eyes wide. Jason's mouth dropped open in awe. Even Macht blinked, not sure what had just happened. He hadn't expected the bird to actually listen.
Thalia looked back at him, a flicker of wonder behind her blue eyes. "You really didn't do anything?"
"I don't think so," he said after a pause, his tone quiet but honest. "I just asked, and it did it." He tilted his head, watching the bird. "But since you're here, I guess we can go home now."
Thalia nodded slowly, afraid to move her arm. "You can go home now," Macht said, almost offhandedly. To everyone's surprise, the bird gave a small chirp as if in understanding, then flew off into the trees.
Jason gasped. "You can talk to birds?"
Macht blinked again. "No," he said, shaking his head.
Thalia exhaled, still looking half disbelieving. "Sure doesn't look like it," she muttered, before reaching for Macht's hand. "Alright, ignoring that, are you ready to go? Do you need to grab anything else from your cubby?"
That was when Macht noticed Thalia already had both his and Jason's small bags slung over her shoulder.
"Nope!" Jason said cheerfully.
"No, you have everything," Macht said.
Thalia nodded, satisfied, and stood up, brushing a bit of grass from her knees. "Okay then, let's go."
They walked out of the yard together, passing the teachers who were chatting near the doorway. The bright chatter of other children echoed around them as they stepped back into the small preschool building.
"Bye Macht! Bye Jason!" a few kids and teachers called. Macht lifted a hand lazily in response, while Jason waved enthusiastically with both arms.
Preschool wasn't really hard, just boring. Macht spent most of it half asleep or pretending to listen. It wasn't that he disliked it, it was just too simple, like repeating something he already knew but couldn't remember learning.
"Oh, Thalia," a voice called out as they reached the hall.
Thalia stopped immediately, straightening her posture. Macht recognized that shift in her voice before she even turned.
"Yes, Ms. Magyard, is something wrong?" Thalia asked politely.
Her tone changed around teachers and adults. Macht noticed it every time. It wasn't her real voice. It was careful, practiced, the kind of tone that made adults stop asking questions.
Ms. Magyard smiled kindly. "No, nothing wrong, dear. I was just hoping to meet your mother soon. I'd like to schedule a meeting."
She'd been saying that since Macht and Jason started school.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Magyard, our mother is very busy," Thalia said smoothly.
Busy drinking, Macht thought silently. He didn't say it aloud.
"Ah, unfortunate," Ms. Magyard sighed. "Well, anyway, Macht was outside in the sun quite a lot today, so he might fall right to sleep when you get home."
Thalia nodded again. It was something everyone noticed, Macht could stay awake fine indoors, but too much sunlight made him sluggish, like it drained him instead of energizing him. "Thank you for telling me. Goodbye," Thalia said, ending the conversation quickly.
With that, she took Macht and Jason's hands and led them out of the building. Once they were outside, the polite expression on her face melted into a tired frown. They stepped outside, the air warm and heavy with late-day sunlight. Macht squinted, rubbing his eyes.
"You better not fall asleep walking home," she said, giving Macht a sideways look. Her voice carried mild annoyance, but no real bite.
"I'll try," Macht said, sounding like he meant it but knew he'd fail.
Jason giggled. "He's gonna fall asleep again, isn't he?"
"Probably," Thalia muttered, though her lips twitched like she was holding back a smile. "If he trips, I'm not carrying him this time."
"You always say that," Jason responded.
"And I always mean it," Thalia replied, though she adjusted her hold on Macht's small hand a little tighter as they started walking down the familiar path toward home.
Macht didn't say anything else. They walked in silence after that, the faint sound of cicadas buzzing in the warm air. Macht glanced up at the sky for a moment, feeling the warmth of the sun on his skin. It wasn't painful exactly, but it wasn't comfortable either. It pressed on him, heavy and soft, like a weight his small body wasn't made to bear.
Thalia noticed the way his steps slowed and tugged gently at his hand. "Come on, sleepyhead," she said, her voice softening. "You can nap when we get home."
They kept walking, the gravel crunching softly beneath their shoes. Macht yawned, dragging his feet a little, but Thalia kept a steady pace, tugging him forward whenever he slowed too much.
"You walk slower every day," she muttered, glancing down at him.
"I'm not slow," Macht said quietly. "Just tired."
"You're always tired."
"I told you, the sun makes me sleepy."
"That's not normal," she said, looking at him sideways.
"Maybe I'm special," he said, half joking, half serious.
Thalia gave a small snort. "You? Special? You can barely stay awake through lunch."
"I can talk to birds."
She gave him a look. "You said you couldn't."
"I said I didn't try to," Macht corrected.
"That's basically the same thing."
"Not really."
Thalia glanced at him with a small smile. She couldn't help it. For all his strange little comments and sleepy eyes, he was still a two-year-old, still so small that his hand barely filled her palm. When he rubbed at his crimson eyes, trying to stay awake, she had to resist the urge to scoop him up and carry him the rest of the way.
Jason wasn't paying attention to either of them, too focused on watching the cars speeding down the road. "Whoa, that one's red!" he said, pointing as another zoomed by.
"Don't get too close to the road," Thalia warned automatically.
"I know," Jason said, though he didn't actually move farther back.
Macht sighed, his voice quiet. "Is she going to be home?"
Thalia frowned. She knew exactly who he meant. Macht had never called their mother anything like "mom." The few times Thalia had asked him why, he'd just said, "If anyone was my mother, it's you," and left it at that. She didn't really understand what he meant, and he never explained. Then again, there were a lot of things Macht said that she didn't understand.
"I don't know," she answered softly.
They walked the rest of the way in silence until the house came into view, a small building with worn paint and a crooked mailbox that leaned a little too far forward. Thalia pushed the front door open, the faint smell of old wine lingering in the air.
"Come on, Jason," Thalia said, glancing back. Jason was still standing near the gate, staring at the sky like he'd forgotten what they were doing.
He turned when she called. "Okay!" he said quickly, running up the path and slipping inside.
"I'm gonna take Macht upstairs to bed. Are you going to play or sleep?" Thalia asked.
"Play!" Jason shouted immediately, already halfway to the living room.
Thalia smiled faintly as she turned back to Macht. He was half-asleep, his head tilted slightly forward, small fingers still loosely holding hers. "You're impossible," she muttered, but her voice was fond.
He blinked up at her, eyes glassy from exhaustion. "You're loud when you smile," he mumbled, his words slow and quiet.
Thalia blinked, caught off guard, then let out a quiet laugh. "That doesn't even make sense."
Macht hummed softly, like he didn't care if it did or not.
She guided him up the stairs carefully. He wasn't walking so much as being pulled along, his small feet shuffling just enough to keep up. By the time they reached the top, Thalia had to crouch and steady him with both hands. "Almost there," she said gently.
He didn't answer. His eyes were already half closed.
Thalia pushed open the door to their small room. It wasn't much, just two small beds and a shared dresser, but it was clean. She led Macht over and helped him climb up onto his bed. He flopped onto his side immediately, burying his face into the pillow.
Thalia sighed and brushed a few strands of dark hair from his forehead. He looked peaceful when he slept. Too peaceful sometimes. It always made her worry, like he wasn't just tired but fading somewhere far away she couldn't reach.
She pulled the thin blanket over him, then sat at the edge of the bed for a moment, watching him breathe. "You really are something else," she said quietly, her voice almost lost to the creak of the floorboards.
Downstairs, she could already hear Jason opening drawers, the sound of wood scraping and toys clattering echoing faintly through the hall. She shook her head, half amused, half exasperated. Typical Jason, he could never sit still for long. With one last glance toward Macht, who was still quietly staring out the window, she left the room and started down the stairs.
As she reached the bottom, she caught sight of their mother, Beryl, coming out of the kitchen with her hair tied up neatly and a rare smile on her face. "Tomorrow we're going out for a picnic," Beryl said as soon as she noticed Thalia. Her tone carried that same authority that always made it sound more like a command than a suggestion. "It's going to be a nice day, and I want to make sure the boys get a good amount of sunlight."
Thalia blinked, momentarily thrown off. A picnic? That was... new. "Alright," she said carefully, though her brow furrowed slightly.
It wasn't that she disliked the idea, it was just that her mother rarely initiated things like this. And more than that, Beryl's words told her everything she needed to know. She hadn't been paying attention again. If she had, she'd remember that Macht could barely stay under the sun for long without feeling sick. His skin didn't react well, and his energy dropped almost instantly.
Thalia's lips pressed into a thin line. It wasn't worth arguing. When her mother decided something, there was no changing her mind. "That sounds nice," she said instead, forcing a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
Beryl nodded, clearly satisfied, and moved past her toward the living room. Jason's laughter echoed a second later, followed by their mother's fond but distracted voice.
Thalia lingered at the base of the stairs, her mind already working. Macht probably wouldn't complain, even if he started to feel bad. He never did. He'd just endure it quietly, and that thought made her chest tighten. She sighed softly and crossed her arms.
"Guess I'll bring an umbrella or something," she muttered under her breath.
Jason poked his head out from the living room doorway, grinning ear to ear. "What did you say?"
"Nothing," Thalia said quickly, giving him a small smile. "You just focus on finding your toys before Mom tells you to clean up again."
Jason's eyes widened in mock horror before he laughed and ran back into the room. Thalia watched him for a moment, then turned her gaze toward the stairs again, her expression softening. She knew Macht would go along with it tomorrow, quiet as ever.
So she'd just have to make sure he didn't suffer for it.