Falling Stars

(This is a speedpaint I did on stream a while back! It was to accompany a little written piece, so I hope you enjoy it!)

"Alright lads, time's up!"

Meta lowered his wooden sword, turning in synch with his cousin Galacta to look at his uncle, Ano, who was walking towards them. He had a satisfied smile on his face, and he stood tall before them, a proud giant before his students.

"You both did excellently today, lads," he said before looking toward his son. "Galacta, I see you're mastering your wings quite well, but do be more mindful of where they are in a fight. It's easy to instinctively use it as a shield, but doing so might render you flightless, so always keep them against your back."

"Got it!" the elder of the two young'uns replied with a nod, closing his growing lavender wings on his back, a shy grin on his face.

Ano turned to his nephew, who was already spacing out and staring off to the side. Meta came crashing back down to reality when his uncle talked to him and said:

"Meta, however, you need to be more focussed. I saw you take needless hits back there, hits that you would normally be easily able to block. If something is on your mind on the battlefield, you won't survive for long, don't you think?"

Meta lowered his eyes to the ground, feeling his face warm up with shame, but he still gave a slight nod, replying a timid:

"Yeah…"

"That will be all for today lads, you're free until your parents call you in for dinner," Ano said in a joking manner, turning around to walk off himself after taking the training swords from his students.

As his father walked away from the floating platform on top of the lake, Galacta turned to his little cousin and cocked his head to the side, asking with a worried tone:

"You okay? You were acting weird during the training. Something on your mind?"

Meta looked away.

"N-no… I'm fine, I just… I just need to be alone for a while, sorry."

And without asking for anything else, the cadet walked off, leaving his cousin most confused on the platform. Meta walked back all the way to their house, where he hid in his room for the rest of the day. Laying on his back on his bed, he stared at the ceiling, lost in his own world; even in his sanctuary, the words of his uncle echoed like drums – the words of his uncle, and so, so many others…

Little Meta felt his core shiver. No matter what he said or did, one day, he would find himself on a battlefield. No matter what he did or said, that day was growing closer with each passing year.

He was already one-hundred and seventy five. Time… was going by too fast.

He would be lying if he said he wasn't scared.

He sighed, deeply, with a slight tremble in his breath. This wasn't fair.

That evening, he didn't attend dinner with the rest of his family. Claiming he wasn't hungry, he locked his door shut and wrote stories. He lost himself in his own little worlds, his own little adventures, and if he could make it so he could do nothing but that, he would do it. He felt more comfortable typing away on this writing machine than holding any kind of weapon. It seemed only his parents understood that… The others, despite how much Meta loved them, they couldn't see anything past the prodigy; the little wonder that came upon their family, the Star Child who would… save… the Universe…

As his thoughts wandered, Meta stopped typing, his train of thoughts derailing into unwanted territory. His core shivered again, and the boy curled up on his chair, holding himself together as if he was afraid that this little core would fly off to hide somewhere else. With a deep sigh and a little side of annoyance at forgetting where he was in this chapter of his story, Meta sat back against his chair and looked out the window beyond his bed. Night had already fallen on the Hollow, and from his window, he could see the Eye, that giant hole that allowed them to live in this cavern; and through it, he saw the sky… white little dots scattered all around, shining along with the rings of Khazta Star…

Then, one of those little dots flew by, leaving behind a bright streak of light that lasted for a brief second. Then, another, and another. Meta broke into a large smile and he jumped from his chair to his window in a heartbeat.

"Oh!" he exclaimed. "A meteor shower!"

Excited at the idea of watching this stellar event, Meta opened his window and climbed up on the roof, before jumping down to the ground down below. Making a soft landing on his belly and bouncing back on his feet, he started running toward the stairs that spiraled around the cavern walls of the Hollow. At this hour, the Light Man had already passed around and lit all the lights lining the stairs, making it easier for the young Kiridan to run up them without tripping over and falling all the way down – like it had happened so many times before.

When Meta reached the top of the stairs, he emerged into the outside world; nothing but endless fields of tall grass, stretching as far as the eye could see. Walking forward into the dead of night, away from the road and into the hills surrounding the Eye of the Hollow, Meta stared up at that sky with wonder; the stars mirrored back in his tall pale eyes, meteors shining brightly as they zoomed across the heavens.

As he stared at that heavenly painting, Meta fell on his back in the grass, and surrounded by those walls of green, he could stare into that infinite sky and fly with the stars. With them, he felt whole. They whispered in his ears, sweet stories of the past, stories of love and companionship, and as the meteors told their unique stories, Meta felt right at home.

As he relaxed his body and mind and listened to the stars above, Meta saw a shadow appear in his field of vision; right above his head, another head looked down at him, familar ruby eyes blinking at him. Meta waved his hand, saying:

"You're hiding the stars, man! Move!"

Galacta laughed, moving out of his cousin's eyesight. Although he couldn't see him, Meta felt him move around behind him, and soon enough, both were laying down in the grass, their heads slightly touching, staring up at the sky together. For a long time, they just laid there in complete yet serene silence. Meta smirked. At times, Galacta couldn't stop talking, but at other, calmer times like these, he knew when to stay quiet. He liked that about him. He wouldn't say it aloud, but… he did.

But of course, that silence didn't last. Eventually, came his voice, calm and collected.

"So… what's got you so worked up lately?"

He didn't answer.

"I… haven't really said anything," Galacta continued, "but I did see it. You appear… I dunno, I see… fear, in your eyes."

Meta closed his eyes. As always, he was an open book to those who took the time to read it. He sighed and slightly shook his head.

"I don't know," was his answer. "I guess… this stuff just happens. A case of the blues, I dunno…"

Two meteors fell in synch.

"You're not really convincing when you say it like that. I'm serious, what's on your mind, Meta?"

The stars shone brightly.

"Well… Ugh, I don't know, man, I just… I guess I'm just tired of it all."

The rings of Khazta Star were a sea of glowing lights, intersecting in the sky in the shape of an X.

"Tired of what? Of training?"

"Tired of everything. They… They watch me constantly, since I was born, they tell me what to do from a distance, they tell me I'll go on the battlefield, they tell me I'll fight, and I just nod, and nod, and nod, and…"

Silence.

"I'm… Oh… I'm sorry, bud…"

"I don't… want any of that. I just…"

Silence again filled the space between them… until soft sobs came to the elder's ears. They weren't sobs of sadness; they were sobs of fear.

"T-they… T-they keep telling me… that I'll go and save the Universe. T-that I'll go and d-destroy Nightmare. That I-I'll be a hero… but…"

Hiccups, followed by a harsh breath through gritted teeth, trying to control but failing.

"T-that's… not what I want to do… I don't… I-I d-don't want to…"

The sobs came back, and the dam broke. In silence, Galacta listened to his distressed cousin as he tried to say more things but couldn't, and he felt his core tug harshly. The 'they' that Meta kept talking about… He knew who they were. The higher ups at the Galaxy Soldier Army. The people of the Council; those who weren't soldiers, those who stood on the sidelines and sent people to fight for them. They were the ones who kept coming here, the ones who took notes and validated Meta's training. They were the ones controlling him from a distance, making him into this sort of… weapon. Meta was aware of it, and so was he.

He knew that Meta had felt out of place with his status, but he didn't know… he was afraid of fulfilling that purpose. Admittedly, he hadn't… thought about how it must be. Being told you would face off against the Emperor of Darkness… As he listened to Meta's calls for help, Galacta made a decision.

Without a word, he extended his hand above his head, right next to Meta's, palm open. He waited for a moment… until he felt Meta's paw slide into his. He held on tight, and said:

"Whatever you end up doing, wherever you go, I'll be with you. Whether you have a choice in what you do or not, I'll be there with you. Until the end."

He pointed his other hand at the meteors falling against the sky.

"I swear on all of those stars watching us right now. You won't be alone in this, Meta."

Meta's grip on his hand tightened. His voice was a whisper, but a whisper that overflowed with a radiant gratefulness.

"Th… Thanks, Galacta… Thank you… Y… You'll be with me… when I face him…?"

"Until the very end."

That night, both boys made decisions that would shape their lives in ways no one could quite predict… and the only thing they could hold on to, were the fleeting lights of these falling stars that reflected in their eyes.