The Mission

Umbra struggled to reach the end of the branch, clawing for a glimpse at the sky. His Faen treetop house was built into a massive oak, one of the largest in the Realm. At this height, the jungle canopy was thin, and Umbra could see the wide expanse of the night sky.

Admiring the stars, the child's heart fluttered. The twinkling lights resembled his father's magic. Umbra had tried time and time again, but he could never manage to perform the spell.

Umbra slid farther down the branch, holding his hand out, as if he was grasping the sky. The wood was slick with jungle precipitation, and Umbra felt himself start to slip. He fell from the branch, crashing onto a lower level of the tree.

"Father!" Umbra sobbed, struggling to pull up his head. His arm had to be broken.

Above, he could see his house, the yellow light bleeding into the darkness. Apastron was silhouetted in the door, staring solemnly below. Umbra wails grew more frantic, calling for help.

Apastron turned and disappeared from sight.

----

"Who was that?" Matthew asked, cocking his head.

"Just some brat," Umbra hissed, trudging to the fridge. He absentmindedly began searching through it, unwilling to meet Matthew's gaze.

"You can't speak that way to a kid!" Matthew cried, scrambling for the door. Once again, he threw open the door, facing the teenager.

"Hiya! Is Umbra Mortis still here?" he asked innocently, shuffling on his feet. He peered away, "And, um, I didn't mean to be rude. He just didn't look like the picture I had." He held up a magazine clipping.

"Huh," Matthew observed, adjusting his glasses, "It's about Alcorith Horizons. Some sorta interview...Wait, this is about us!" Matthew gaped, flabbergasted, "I don't remember doing an interview!" He squinted. "Or submitting shirtless photos of Umbra!"

Umbra choked, his cheeks heating up

"Um, I may have been asked to do an interview about life as a mercenary a month or so ago."

Matthew snatched the magazine clipping from him, raising his eyebrows as he read from it. "'Local father and famed leader of the mercenary team Silver Moon has this to say about guild life: 'It feels wonderful to help people in their time of need. I get this warm feeling assisting the underprivileged. I don't need the cash- the knowledge that I'm contributing to the greater good is all I want.'" He snorted. "Really?"

"I may have embellished it a little."

"We'll talk about this later," Matthew said, retaining his friendly grin. He turned to the teenager patiently waiting at their doorstep. "Ah, so you tracked Umbra down from one magazine article?"

The boy covered his rosy cheeks, giggling. "I was really interested. But, um, it seems he's kinda...let himself go."

"Let myself go?!" Umbra snapped, throwing his hands in the air, "I'm just as attractive as those photos imply!"

He sprinted to the stairs, in the process of unbuttoning his shorts and slinging of his shirt. Rounding the corner into his room, hot fury that resulted from damaged pride burned through Umbra.

I may hate my body right now, he thought, pulling out his finest silken dress shirt, but no one's allowed to tell me I look unattractive! In a rage, he dressed himself in the most expensive tuxedo and tie owned. He even lined his eye with kohl.

"Ha!" he screamed, pulling on his shiny black shoes as he nearly tripped running down the stairs, "Who are you calling unattractive now, you little snot?! I'm smoking hot! A solid ten! Tall, dark, and handsome!" He stomped his foot for emphasis, only to find Matthew and the teen sitting calmly on the couch, talking.

Umbra's shoulders slumped, realizing his time to shine had passed. "What's going on?"

"Oh!" Matthew said, smiling, "This young man would like to contract you for a mission!"

Author's Note- ah, umbra is my favorite character to write tbh