The Power Of His Art

Xino took his seat in the back of the classroom, everyone talking and getting to know each other. He decided to bring a sketchbook he had found in his room with him to pass the time, so many new ideas still floating around in his brain. He decided the first thing he would draw was a mini cloud made of all the colors of the rainbow. He drew it on his shoulder, like a pet. He barely noticed the stares he was getting from his classmates.

"Uh, Xino?" The girl beside him, Jig, asked. Her eyes were black and her hair was very curly, strands of blue and green everywhere. Her skin was chocolatey and she looked very whimsical.

"Yes?" He looked up, meeting the eyes of his classmates. Even Nymphalid, who had just entered, was looking at him.

"You have..a little something…right there." She pointed to his shoulder, curiosity and amusement lingering in her voice.

Xino looked down at his shoulder, meeting the eyes of a very cute little cloud. The cloud floated around to face him, a smile dancing. He looked down at his drawing and noticed the cloud was gone. His drawing had come to life. Xino then looked up at the rest of the class.

"Well then, it appears we have an artist in our midst? Those are rare, very rare indeed." Nymphalid smiled, her eyes following the little cloud as it floated over Xino.

"I- sorry. Um, cloud, please go away now-" The cloud made an unhappy whooshing sound and decided to make itself a home on top of Xino's head. He mumbled something incoherent before apologizing once again.

"Oh no worries, this class is to help you control your gifts. Please keep to the cute drawings though, yes? Now in class, I have some announcements!"

Everyone turned their attention back to Nymphalid as she began to write on the board. Stuff about clubs, superhero costumes, and the agenda for the rest of the year. This class was really just to teach the students about themselves and how to work with their powers. The end of the semester assignment was to work as a team against the teacher, who would be pretending as a villain.

Xino huffed, how would art help with defeating a crazy villain? He didn't know the answer to that, but he would have to figure it out eventually. For now, all he could do was conjure up cute clouds that were as stubborn as daisies. He looked down at his sketchbook, thinking about all the things he could do with his power. He didn't understand how he would be any good on the battlefield if he had to take the time to draw up every little thing.

"And class, we will eventually need to get you all your own personal superhero names and outfits! As you can see, I chose my butterfly cape to help with my flight and to match my name. You will want something that resides with you, but that can wait."

A superhero costume? Xino laughed to himself, what would be a good costume for someone of his power? An apron and a beret? And a good name, what would that be? The painter? He wanted creativity, something outside of what he had always known. Thinking was never his strong suit. Maybe he could ask his roommates about their choices.

Soon enough the bell rang and Xino was off to his English class. He also needed to head to the library after school to pick up a few books. Maybe he could find something useful there. The day dragged on slowly, nothing interesting yet. He did learn that eventually they could choose support items and learn how to use them, thus why they had a support class. Xino was hoping that it would be helpful in the long run, maybe he could find himself a fancy paintbrush.

"Hey art boy, are you busy?" Alon ran after Xino as he was just about to enter his room.

"Um…no."

"Great, Leaf and I will make you dinner and we can have some good ol' family time!"

"Sure? As long as it has color."

"Color?"

"No questions." Xino turned and entered his room, wanting to get out of his uniform fast.

His first day had gone well, or as well as it could go. He'd tripped in the hallway twice and dropped all of his things, in the process meeting Misty again and getting to know her. She was nice and seemed carefree, kinda like Leaf. The only difference was that you could see through her. She said something along the lines of it making her feel like a ghost.

He'd also gotten the chance to speak to Jig again. She complimented his cloud and told him about how she could speak to ghosts. Jig invited him to a sleepover, another thing to look forward to. He had no clue what a sleepover was, but the way Jig said it, it sounded like fun. After Xino finished getting into more comfortable clothes he headed back downstairs to see Leaf and Alon cooking. They were walking around the kitchen, Leaf singing out of tune to a song while Alon laughed.

"Having fun?" Xino smiled, his roommates giving him a thumbs up.

"Would you set the table for us, please?" Leaf asked, taking something out of the oven. Xino stepped into the kitchen and grabbed three plates and three cups, placing them all perfectly on the dining room table.

He quickly ran upstairs after setting the table, grabbing his notebook and running back down. The little cloud, which he had named Rain, followed after him. By the time he came back, Leaf and Alon had placed the food and were seated at the table. The two worked quickly.

"Bon appetit." Alon grinned, Xino taking his seat.

He held the notebook close to him as he looked at the food. Meatloaf, rice, and dinner rolls. It looked and smelled delicious. Xino had never had such a beautiful meal in his life. It was so colorful.

"Thank you.." He whispered, Leaf patting him on the head and Alon clapping.

"Why do you have your notebook?" Leaf asked as he took a bite out of his food.

"I wanted to draw something. I was thinking about my power, it seems pretty useless. But I could draw anything, right?" Alon and Leaf made eye contact before nodding. "I could destroy the whole world with just one drawing. Are there any villains with this power?"

"Well…No, the power of art is rare. Even if they did, you have to be the most creative person to be able to control your power." Alon explained. Xino nodded and pursed his lips.

"I must have drawn something pretty bad as a kid. For my parents to lock up a six year olds creativity."

"You don't remember what you drew?"

"No. I don't remember anything, the memories of my childhood are all the same. A blank white wall that I stared at all day."

Leaf reached over and grabbed Xino's notebook. He didn't protest as he watched Leaf flip through the pages. Most were empty, but the ones that did have drawings were harmless. Xino drew people, he couldn't make people that already existed. He had been testing his limits throughout the day, he even made a little hat for Rain. Xino was too scared to draw anything big, anything dangerous.

"Hey, what's this?" Leaf turned the notebook to show the other two, Xino silently eating his food while Alon sipped on his drink.

"I had a dream last night of that necklace. I don't know where it was…a dorm, maybe? I drew it so I wouldn't forget."

"Hm..well, you are a fantastic artist. Hey, is that me?" Xino laughed as Leaf continued flipping through the notebook, eating his food in content.

He was scared, to say the least. Xino wasn't sure why, but ever since he was let out of that house he called a prison, things were changing. He saw visions and drew them into his book. People, places, items. They felt important. He wasn't sure why they existed, if they did at all. He just understood that whatever was happening, he needed to be careful. He had to learn about his power. It was the only way to figure out what was happening.

(Short chapter)