1 A BIG DAY

With a loud but delicate yawn Azaire found himself suddenly awake, the last vestiges of sleep almost instantly disappearing. Alert and excited he jumped out of his bed and rushed into the bathroom for a quick but thorough washing , teeth cleaning, and hair brushing routine. After that he rushed back to his room and quickly pulled out his nicest (okay his only nice) outfit and dressed in front of his full length mirror for once in his life paying very close attention to what he looked like.

He had spent this last month trying to tame his unruly naturally messy hair using some special all natural gel his mother had made for him (since the regular gel was harmful to his hair in the long run). The gel worked wonders for his pixiecut hair giving it at least some semblance of neatness, though it was a wonder how long that would last. Altogether it was really pretty! His normally soothingly calm forest green eyes were alight with mischief today matching the mischievous smile on his normally stoic almond shaped face.

Azaire had a rough around the edges appearance and chocolate brown skin with emerald green hair and matching peach fuzz on his chin. Today he wore a new style jade colored sleeveless polo shirt, a pair of golden cargo shorts that were loose and comfy but snug around the waist (to keep them from falling!) and emerald and gold colored Greek style sandals that crossed part of his legs as well. This had to be the most put together he'd ever been. And apparently he wasn't the only one to think so...

Phew! A sharp whistle of appreciation cut through his silent solo fashion show as his mother's smiling face appeared beside him in the mirror. Azaire looked down towards his beloved mother. She was so small now! Azaire was still getting used to towering over her although it's been like this since around his tenth birthday.

She was 5'2 but no one who knew her would be foolish enough to think her diminutive stature equaled weakness or being easy to handle! She was a no nonsense woman who always had a quiet laughter look about her as if she knew a secret no one else knew. She was also an unassuming beauty. At first glance she seemed average and forgettable but when one looked close her heart shaped face, intelligent eyes and flowing mid-length hair matched with her smooth dark almond colored skin formed a quiet beauty that popped suddenly without notice.

"Mom please..." Azaire said stretching out the word please as he rolled his eyes and turned from the mirror. "What! Can't a mom be proud her gorgeous baby finally decided to stop hiding behind rags and showcase the wonderful beauty I graced him with!"

His mom ran a affectionate finger through his hair while talking before standing back with a look as if she was personally giving him away to someone or something. "Mom I don't wear rags! Besides you know I find dressing up all the time so stuffy! I'll leave that for you and Lil' Sis!" After all just like their mother, his sister Aliyah was all about poise and decorum at least in public.

In private around family and trusted friends they could also make these types of expressions like his mother was currently acting. "Speaking of where is the little bud?" Azaire wondered aloud. This was his nickname for Aliyah mostly because she resembles mother so much except where mother's looks are quiet and mature his sister's looks are flawless and entrapping. Like all of mother's qualities were turned up times 10 and someone added a feature here or there to perfect it.

His mother revealed a weird expression for a moment before answering dismissively, "She's still on that pre-apprenticeship trip I sent her on last week. But don't you worry about that! Instead how are you feeling about your own official apprenticeship day today. You've been waiting so long and I don't think there's a person in the entire village that doesn't know what you want to do!"

Azaire's mom gave him a knowing look causing him to blush. "You think...." Azaire couldn't help it! He simply loved anything and everything animal related and he was GOOD with them! Like unnaturally so. He could get any animal to come to him and he always could tell how they felt and if something was wrong. He could even usually tell what was wrong. He had such a strong relationship with them he even felt he could almost understand them sometimes as if they could actually speak to him.

"Of course anyone with half a brain could figure out where you'll go! Besides what other master would dare take you even if you had a mind to go somewhere else and risk the beast master's wrath. I can just imagine the pissed off face she'd make if someone even looked at her precious student funny!"

Azaire's mom seemed to have her own mischievous twinkle in her eyes and Azaire shivered. Somehow he felt he'd hate to have those eyes pointed at him. "Well breakfast is ready and I've been keeping it warm so come down to eat before your big day truly begins!"