I woke up, body still sore from Ember's assault last evening.
7:55 AM. Alarm went off. I rolled out of bed, exactly the way I like it, but always landing where I need to be.
7:56 AM. Teeth brushed.
8:00 AM. Sandwich in hand, milk in the other, uniform half-on, half-off, because efficiency is an art.
I waved at Mom with a grin. "Bye, Mom." She smiled back—somehow she gets it.
8:02 AM. Out the door.
8:09 AM. School reached, exactly on time. Chaos, meet precision. Precision, meet chaos.
As Axell walked through the corridor, Ember appeared and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You prepared?" she asked, eyes sharp.
"Prepared for what?" he yawned, feigning ignorance.
"Today's school trip, remember?"
"Oh… right," he muttered, scratching the back of his head. "Could've mentioned it earlier. I was planning to take a day off."
Ember rolled her eyes and tugged at his sleeve. "Come on, let's go."
Axell grinned, letting her half-drag, half-guide him toward the bus.
Axell plopped into his seat and saw Childe already there. Arms crossed, scowl on full display.
Axell scowled back. Peasant vibes. Big peasant vibes.
The bus started moving. Axell nudged his bag. Beige dust puffed near Childe's foot.
Childe glanced down, flicked it away. Stiff.
Axell smirked. "Oops. My bad."
A tiny spark of beige curled under Childe's shoe. Foot slipped.
Childe narrowed his eyes. Kicked his bag. Hit Axell's ankle.
"Really?" Axell raised a brow. Beige shimmered faintly, just enough to mess with Childe. Childe's jaw tightened.
A flick of black rippled through the seat beneath Axell. Just a little. Enough for the cushion to shift, tilt, make him wobble.
"What the—?" Axell flailed, catching himself. Beige dust swirled under his feet. Stabilized.
Childe smirked. "Careful. Can't have you falling asleep on me."
Axell leaned back, trying to look unbothered. "Sleep? Nah, just testing the seat." A flick of beige dust made the wobble barely noticeable again.
Paper flew from Childe's notebook. Landed on Axell's lap. Spark of beige. Paper crumpled. Childe blinked.
Bus ride continued like this. Small pushes, scowls, sparks of beige and black, neither winning, both entertained. Ember a few rows ahead rolled her eyes. "Y'all are kids."
By the time the bus hit the reserve, Axell and Childe were tired. Not from the drive. From each other.
The bus was winding up the forest road, slick from last night's drizzle. Axell leaned back, nudging his beige dust just enough to make Childe's seat wobble.
"You really can't sit still, huh?" Childe muttered, glaring.
"Excuse me, I'm stabilizing the bus," Axell replied, flicking a spark of beige dust that made Childe stumble.
Childe's black aura twitched under his seat. The cushion tilted slightly. Axell smirked.
The driver shouted. "Watch the—!"
Too late. A fallen tree branch blocked the road. Tires hit a patch of mud. The bus skidded. Wheels spun.
"Whoa—!" someone screamed.
Axell grabbed the back of his seat. Beige dust puffed at his feet, trying to keep him upright. Childe clenched the armrest, black aura twisting beneath him.
The bus tilted sideways. Bags flew. A window cracked. Kids screamed and slid across their seats.
A small voice cried from the corner. One of their classmates, shaking, tears streaked down his face. "I-I'm sorry!"
Axell leaned over, whispering, "Hey… it's okay. We'll get out." A soft shimmer of beige dust curled around the kid, keeping him from sliding off the seat.
The bus finally came to rest, tilted on its side, doors jammed. The forest outside was silent except for rustling leaves.
Voices called from outside. Most kids had scrambled away during the chaos. Only a few—Axell, Childe, and the crying classmate—remained on the bus.
Axell glanced at Childe. Both of them were sticky with panic, dust, and mud.
"Great," Childe muttered. "Stuck with… this."
"Could be worse," Axell said, offering a hand to the crying kid. "Could be literally anywhere else in the forest."
The kid sniffled and grabbed his hand.
Axell looked at Childe again. "Guess… we're in this together for now."
Childe groaned. "Yeah… lucky us."
Axell pushed the door.
It fell off on its own.
(Shortly later he fell too)
Childe stared at him. "You didn't even TRY to open it normally."
"It was weak," Axell said. "Like you."
They stepped outside. The air was cold, sharp, too quiet. The bus was wedged between rocks and trees like someone rage-quit parking.
Den(the kid) wiped his eyes and stood. "I'll… I'll get wood. For fire. Something to do."
Axell: "Cool, go do forest chores."
Childe: "If he dies, that's on you."
Axell: "Nah. It's on gravity."
Den went anyway, speed-walking into the trees like he was late for an exam.
---
Den — Two Minutes Later
Den gathered sticks. Leaves crunched under him.
And around him?
Brown, brown, brown.
Trees. Soil. Roots. Bark.
His fingers buzzed. His palms tingled. Too much brown meant his power slipped out on its own.
He swallowed.
Please stop. Please stop. Not here.
But the buzzing rose up his arms.
A shadow moved behind him.
A big one.
Den turned his head, slow, like his neck was afraid.
A bear.
Huge.
Brown.
Drawn straight to the overload of energy pouring off Den.
"Oh no no no no—" he whispered.
The bear snarled.
---
Back to Axell & Childe
Axell was sitting on a rock, picking dirt off his uniform.
Childe leaned against a tree, arms crossed, pretending he wasn't worried at all.
Then—
ROOOOOAAAARRRRR.
Axell blinked. "Den screaming?"
Childe: "Sounds like it."
Axell shrugged. "Well… sucks for him."
Childe: "Mm."
Silence.
Then Childe smirked. "Unless you're scared to go."
Axell raised a brow. "ME? Scared? Bro, YOU'RE the coward. Your birth color is black—your whole brand IS hiding."
"Oh please," Childe snapped, "you're the one who can't run ten meters without dying."
"Oh? Oh? You wanna go?"
"Lead the way then."
"You lead."
"No, YOU."
They stared each other down.
Another roar.
Both turned instantly.
"Fine," Axell said. "I'll go because YOU won't."
Childe: "I'm only going so YOU don't cry later."
And just like that—they both sprinted.
(Dramatically. Aggressively. But definitely reluctant.)
---
The Rescue — But Not Really Heroic
Den was backed against a tree, trembling, the bear towering over him like a final boss.
Axell arrived first, panting.
Childe arrived not panting, looking very proud of that fact.
Axell: "Damn… that thing is big."
Childe: "He's definitely dead."
Den: "PLEASE DO SOMETHING—!!"
Bear roared.
Axell flinched but stepped forward. Beige dust burst around his shoes wobbly but intentional. He swung his hand and sent a rough sand-ball straight into the bear's face.
PFF—!
Blinded one eye.
The bear swiped wildly.
Childe's eyes glinted black. He grabbed the lingering shadow around the bear's pupils and forced the eyes open, dilating them unnaturally wide.
"Axell! Make him regret seeing anything!"
Axell kicked up more dust—this time controlled—and blasted it into the huge exposed pupil.
The bear shrieked.
Childe, ready?
Yeah let's do it.
3..2..1..GO!
SAND BALL!!(Axell)
SHADOW BALL!!(Childe)
Both launched their first ever named attack, a orb of their respective colour each damaging left and right hands of the bear respectively.
Den panicked and flung his arms forward.
Brown energy surged.
A thick tree bark behind him snapped loose and LAUNCHED like a cannon shot, smashing into the bear's ribs.
The ground cracked under its weight.
Axell blinked. "Yo—Den??"
Den stared at his hands in horror. "I-I can't control it! There's too much brown everywhere! I think— I think that's why the bus crashed— I didn't mean—"
"No time, it's still moving!" Childe shouted.
The bear staggered, dazed.
Axell stepped in, beige dust curling into a thin slicing arc.
In one smooth motion, he cut across the air.
A precise razor of compressed dust shaved across the bear's fur—clean, non-lethal, but painful enough to finally send it sprinting away.
Silence returned.
Den collapsed.
Childe exhaled.
Axell casually pulled salt and pepper from his pocket.
Childe stared. "Why do you have that."
"In case food happens," Axell said.
They dragged themselves back to the crash site, all three scratched up, dirty, and way too tired for 11-year-olds.
Den dropped to his knees beside the pile of sticks he had gathered earlier — the same pile that indirectly almost got him killed.
"Okay…" he whispered, still shaking. "I-I can try again."
Axell tapped Den's shoulder. "Try without summoning wildlife this time."
Childe smirked. "Yeah, preferably no more bears."
Den glared weakly at both of them, then placed his palms over the wood.
Instant reaction.
The sticks darkened instantly — brown to deep brown — then to pitch black like the color drained straight out of them. Small cracks formed, tiny pops echoing as the moisture evaporated unnaturally fast.
Within seconds, the whole pile had turned into clean, dry charcoal.
Den pulled his hands back, dizzy. "There… charcoal…"
Axell caught him before he toppled over. "Bro, your power has zero chill."
"It responds to brown… and there was just… too much of it," Den muttered.
Childe knelt beside the charcoal, extending a hand.
A pulse of black slid from his fingertips into the coals.
FWMP.
The charcoal ignited instantly — a perfect controlled flame.
Axell blinked. "Okay, that's actually kinda sick."
Childe flicked ash from his hand. "Black manipulates shadows. And fire's basically aggressive light. Simple."
Axell reached into his pocket dramatically.
Salt. Pepper. Two tiny packets.
Childe froze. "…You carry seasoning like it's Pokémon items?"
"Survival essentials," Axell declared proudly.
"You never know when life turns into Bear Encounter DLC."
Childe: "You didn't know about the trip."
"Details don't matter."
They used a bent metal lunchbox lid as a pan, placed it over the flames, and cooked whatever survived the crash — dented sandwiches, cheese slices, and the main course freaking bear meat.
The fire crackled.
Smoke drifted upward.
The forest got darker, quieter.
Den finally stopped shaking.
Childe poked at the flames like a pyromaniac with a purpose.
Axell sprinkled salt like he was performing a magic trick.
For a weird second…
it felt peaceful.
Like three idiots sharing dinner in the middle of a mountain wasn't the most chaotic thing ever.
I wonder what others are doing..(Axell)