First day

“Late, late, I’m gonna be late!” Caz bustled around his treehouse, grabbing supplies and dressing for the busy day ahead. Grabbing his pack, he took one last glance at a shield he had polished up for use as a mirror and ran a hand through his messy white hair a few times before giving up and bounding out the door. 

Sliding down his well-worn ladder, Caz quickly began his way to the Eagle training grounds. He had traced this path many times before, but today was different. Today, he was going to start his training as a soldier for the Eagles, the greatest position a young adult could hope for in the tribe. Leaping over logs and crawling under brush that his classmates would’ve easily flown over, Caz understood that he wasn’t quite the same as all of the other young people of the tribe. He was a Beorc, someone who couldn’t change form like the Eagles did. Clenching his fist, Caz swore to himself that he would be the top of his class, despite this difference. All he would have to do is-

“Woah!”

Lost in thought, Caz’s leg caught a root and he crashed down a hill, landing in a daze at the base. First, it seemed, he would have to watch where he was going.

******************************************************************************

Caz struck the training dummy again and again, dodging and weaving back and forth just as the instructors taught him. Back, forth, around, strike. Dodge, sweep, uppercut. He threw punch after punch, with the only sound he could hear being his fists against the soft cloth. Suddenly ducking, Caz leapt up with a kick to the dummy’s face, only to overshoot and throw himself past the doll. Landing on the ground in a huff, Caz lay on his back heaving. In the distant skies he could see his fellow classmates weaving around each other, working on their aerial maneuvers. Gritting his teeth, he pulled himself back up and got back into a fighting stance, setting himself against his lifeless opponent once more.

“I thought I’d find you out here, Caz!” Freezing mid-punch, Caz glanced at the source of the interruption. A young girl with brown hair was calling out to him, and she seemed to be holding something. Sighing, he relaxed and turned to face her.

“I’m sorry, Mirësi, but I’m sort of busy right now. Can it wait?”

“Too busy to eat lunch? I made sandwiches.” Before Caz could protest, the young girl tossed him one of the carefully-wrapped packages before sitting down to enjoy hers. Grumbling, Caz sat down next to her and untied the string holding the leaves in place to reveal the treat Mirësi had prepared.

“What brings you all the way out here? Shouldn’t you be training with the others?” Caz waited a few moments for an answer before noticing that Mirësi was watching him intently. Rolling his eyes, Caz took a bite of his sandwich and made a show of savoring it. “Delicious as always, Mirësi.”

“That’s good. I tried something new today, I’m glad it worked out.” She began eating her own sandwich, continuing to talk between bites. “To answer your question, I should be. This was a convenient excuse not to, though."

"Oh, to be the chief's daughter." Caz rolled his eyes playfully. “Thanks for the meal, though. Training works up an appetite, not that you’d know.”

“Speaking of which, why are you training over here?” Mirësi glanced around at the training grounds, deserted except for the two of them. “Shouldn’t you at least be a bit closer to the others?”

“No, the teacher sent me over here. Said I was ‘interfering with the others’ schedules’.” Caz motioned with his fingers, mocking the teacher’s words.

“That’s horrible! It’s not your fault that they stop just to jeer at you.” Mirësi shouted and bit into her sandwich furiously. “I’ll talk to my dad, then-”

“It’s fine. I wasn’t able to do much over there anyways. I’m a Beorc, aerial training won’t help me.” Caz glanced at Mirësi’s wings and quickly looked away, busying himself with his food.

They sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes finishing their food until Mirësi spoke. “Welp, they’ll probably be missing me soon. It’s almost time for the next lesson.” She stood up, flapping her wings and sending small dust clouds into the air. “Caz… don’t let them get to you. You have your own strengths, you just need to know how to use them.” Brushing herself off, Mirësi walked away without another word.

Caz stayed seated on the ground, watching Mirësi walk away. What could he do that the laguz couldn’t? They had claws, wings, everything you needed to live out here. The only thing he could do was... running a hand through his hair, he stood up and got back into his fighting stance with the dummy. He’d save those thoughts for later. For now, there was still plenty of daylight left.

******************************************************************************

"Class Dismissed!"

As the teacher called those words the class scattered back to their homes, the first day of training over. Caz was no different, running back to the well-worn forest trail he took to the grounds. Once they all got into the forest, however, Caz began to lag behind the others. Finding himself alone, he ducked into the trees and down a hill. Stumbling through the trees, he tried to find what he had seen earlier.

Breaking through the brush into a clearing, he found what he sought. A small camp, abandoned by the hunters who had set it up. Caz glanced behind him, then began rummaging through their supplies. They had obviously left in a hurry, since there was plenty of supplies, enough to sustain a small group for at least a month. Opening crates and bags full of food, Caz turned the camp inside out. Reaching into a tent, he began to give up hope when he found it.

"Ow!" Caz cried out in pain as he pulled his hand out of the tent. Opening the flap, he finally saw his goal. A bow, surrounded by arrows. Grabbing the weapon, he gave it a few test draws. If anyone saw him with this, he'd be exiled for sure. Beorc weaponry was a big taboo, but as Caz knocked an arrow it simply felt natural in his hands. He let the arrow fly, embedding it in a nearby tree. Even if it was against the rules, he would use this to help his tribe. This would be his strength.