LOCATION: HOUSE EZURA – OUTER FLAMEHOLD — SOLAGUN
"Still water never means silent water. It only means you're not listening right."
— Omilori River-Sayer Proverb (Water Dominion)
---
Taye had fire.
Kọ́lá had fire.
Damaso had nothing.
That's how it always was. First son, second son, third son. One, two, leftover.
Taye could light a torch with just a snap. Kọ́lá once burned through a training dummy by accident and laughed like it was a joke.
And Damaso? He used to clap just to look like he was doing something.
But now… things had changed.
Not that he was about to show it. That's why he wore the shirt. Long sleeves, high neck, dark fabric that hugged tight. His chest still felt hot underneath, where the Mark was like someone lit a fire and told it to behave.
---
The dinner table was full. Not because of him. Probably some political nonsense. Or maybe they just liked eating together when he wasn't around.
Taye sat straight. His red robes were glowing slightly, which he definitely did on purpose. The family crest was pinned to his chest like a medal he gave himself.
Kọ́lá had his boots on the chair. Already eating. No manners as usual. He had gold rings on his fingers and that stupid grin on his face.
Their father—Lord Ezura—sat at the head. Silent. Still. Sharp.
He didn't look up when Damaso entered.
Nobody did.
---
"Are you going to sit or stand there like a lost pilgrim?" Ayanda whispered.
"I'm just thinking."
> "Dangerous habit."
"They all look so... normal."
> "You look better. Sit down, little flame."
---
He sat.
Nobody said anything.
Kọ́lá belched.
"So... the fireless one returns," he said.
"You were worried about me?" Damaso asked, trying to sound calm.
"Worried you'd come back and ruin dinner," Kọ́lá said with a laugh.
Taye didn't speak. He just looked. That judging, analyzing, "I'm-better-than-you-and-you-know-it" kind of look.
Lord Ezura still hadn't said anything. He was drinking some thick red stuff that looked expensive and tasted like melted charcoal.
"Maybe you should've stayed wherever you were," Kọ́lá muttered.
> "Maybe you should shut up," Ayanda said inside Damaso's head. "Say it out loud. I dare you."
"Not yet," Damaso whispered without meaning to.
Kọ́lá raised a brow. "What was that? You say something?"
Damaso: "No."
Kọ́lá: "You're mumbling. What, you talking to your food?"
Damaso: "Just leave it."
Kọ́lá: "Tch. Weird."
Ayanda laughed like thunder with rhythm.
> "You're not very good at hiding me, are you?"
"This is new, okay?" Damaso whispered.
---
Finally, Lord Ezura spoke.
"Where were you?"
Damaso kept his eyes on the table.
"Below the outer wall. In the Burnt Grounds."
Lord Ezura: "Why?"
Damask: "Because I was chasing something."
Pause. Then —
Lord Ezura: "Did you catch it?"
Damaso: "No. It caught me."
Lord Ezura: "And yet you're here."
Damaso: "Because I died."
The room shifted. Taye blinked and Kọ́lá stopped chewing.
Lord Ezura finally looked at him—just once. Not a long stare. Not a loving one. Just... to see if he was serious.
"Explain."
"I died," Damaso said again.
"But I came back. Something brought me back."
---
Ayanda's laugh rang in his skull like a drum tapped too hard. "Something? Really?"
"You want me to say 'a goddess in my head who can light up monsters like suya' at family dinner?"
> "...Fair."
He didn't realize he said that last part out loud.
Kọ́lá's spoon paused mid-air.
"He's talking to himself again," Kọ́lá said, grinning like he just won something.
"What, the heat finally cooked your brain?"
"Leave it," Damaso muttered.
"No, I wanna hear. Who you talking to? Suya ghost?"
He snorted. "Or did the Burnt Grounds finally give you friends?"
"Kọ́lá—" Damaso said.
Kọ́lá: "Say it louder, third son. Maybe the rest of us can hear this your imaginary friend."
Ayanda was wheezing with laughter in his head now.
Wheezing.
> "Tell him I'm hot, flaming, and way out of his league."
"Stop it," Damaso whispered under his breath.
"You stop mumbling, then!" Kọ́lá snapped. "Acting like you're the only one with problems!"
---
Lord Ezura raised a hand.
Just one.
The room went dead quiet.
"Enough."
Even Kọ́lá froze, spoon still halfway to his mouth.
Their father looked straight at Damaso now.
"Take me to where you said you died."
Damaso froze.
"I can't."
Lord Ezura: "Why?"
Damaso: "I'm not... ready."
> "Liar," Ayanda said softly.
"You just don't want them to see what you've become."
---
Lord Ezura stood now, obviously not taking him seriously... As they always did.
"Then you'll report to the Watch Wall at dawn. Same post you abandoned."
"I didn't abandon it." Damaso muttered sadly.
---
He left the room. Just like that. Not a single other word.
Taye followed. Kọ́lá tossed a chicken bone on the plate and left last, muttering something about crazy people.
---
Only Damaso was left now.
He reached under his shirt and touched his chest. Still warm and still him.
> "You should've burned the table," Ayanda whispered.
"That would've gone well."
> "They'll regret treating you like smoke."
"I'm used to it."
> "Don't be."
He just leaned back and exhaled slowly.
"I hate this shirt," he muttered.
> "Then burn it."