✦࿐Spirit Orb ~ One ˊˎ-

Instructions

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─── Spirit Orb. ------------- Chapter 1. ------------- Beginings. ------------- He moved across the ice like it was a dry pavement. Everybody else was slipping and sliding, arms spread like stickmen in an attempt to keep their balance, but his movements were long and graceful, like he was dancing rather than walking. It’s strange; I’ve seen countless people in my 16 years of being alive, and I find most of them quite boring, but Sverre always catches my interest; he just stuck out like a lightning strike in a dark sky, like a blue flame. His icy blue hair fluttered in the wind as he made his way down the street outside my window, hands tucked into his coat pockets, scarf flying out behind him like a bridal train. The soft flurries that fell from the sky matched his skin almost perfectly. His mother strode besides him, her head held high, radiating her importance and wealth. Her pale grey Spirit Orb floating over one shoulder, pulsing with life-giving energy for both her and her son. Sverre was 16 today, as well as I was; he was probably on his way to get his own Spirit Orb right now. I was probably supposed to be getting ready to go, but I got lost in watching the blue-haired boy again, lost in his periwinkle eyes. He was perfect. “August! Hurry up! I’ll leave you here!” My mother’s voice rang from downstairs, shattering my thoughts. I stood up from my window seat, casting one last glance out the window before heading to the mirror. I frowned at the person staring back at me from the glass. Pale, sandy hair stuck upwards as if the laws of gravity didn’t apply to it. The shaved sides that I had dyed black were just starting to grow out, making the whole hairdo look messy and unkept. The freckles that covered my light brown skin were like stars, thinning out as they reached my cheekbones. I sighed, and glass-green eyes gave me a sad look right back. Sometimes I thought that the boy in the mirror was sad, but then he always smiled and turned away. “August! Now!” “I’m coming!” I yelled back at my mom, hurrying out of my room and down the stairs. “Are you excited?” my mom smiled at me from the door. Her amber hair swirled around her face, bunched up by the heavy coat she was wearing. “You can finally stop using my Spirit Orb for energy; you’ll have your own!” I have her a half-hearted smile and nodded, tugging on my own, thinner coat. I didn’t mind the cold so much; it reminded me of Sverre. The air was cold and sharp, scraping my lungs as I took a breath. I inhaled, enjoying the freezing sensation in my lungs as we made our way down the same street I had been watching from my window. Other people were out, hurrying to and from wherever they were headed. Most had Spirit Orbs glowing over their shoulders. Without an Orb, you’d wither away and die. Orb’s give you energy and strength. Before you turn 16, you have to live off your parent’s Orb’s before you can get your own. That’s where I was headed, a Spirit Shop. Everybody else who was 16 today would be going to one as well. They were all over the city, the glowing balls of light visible through their windows at night. I assumed that was where Sverre had been headed. My mom and I stopped in front of the closest Spirit Shop, one that I walked by almost every day to get to school. “Are you ready?” my mom asked. I rolled my eyes. “Mom, it’s not that big of deal, geez!” It was, in fact, a big deal. Getting a Spirit Orb meant that I was growing up, and that I would have to take on more and more responsibilities. I did not want that. The older I got, the less time there would be to actually talk to Sverre for once, rather than just avoid him, watching him from windows and doorways, dreaming. “OK, OK, let’s just go in, enough standing around.” I leant forward, took a deep breath, and pushed open the door to the Spirit Shop. ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───