Meeting In A Dream

As Canelo was getting ready to go to bed, Ian told him to be careful and not to be persuaded by proposals that would not benefit him. The boy noticed that since he had told his mum about his dreams, she had started to worry more about him. He was surprisingly cheerful when Ian was more cautious of their surroundings, especially as he didn't have to make excuses for his mum to spend more time with him. Canelo, though he didn't look it, liked to draw Ian's attention to himself; if he'd known his guardian would be so alert to these dreams, he'd certainly have revealed them sooner. Although the boy had his own room with Aqua, they both preferred to sleep with their parents for the time being, usually lying down between Vincent and Ian. Canelo cuddled up to Ian and then slowly fell asleep. For the past month, the boy's dreams have started in much the same way. In the beginning, there's always a whole white room that seems to go on forever, but after a few minutes, the scenery changes to a meadow full of flowers, where he was today with his brother and his mum. Maybe it would have been a nice little reminder for him, if only the people he saw in his dream hadn't had no faces. It did make him a little sad, though. As if nothing had happened, he sat beside the faceless silhouette of his mum, watching 'Aqua' run in circles, probably having a great time. After a while, he saw the meadow slowly covered in mist, and then he could see a silhouette emerging from the mist.

|| How was the day, Driffin? ||

|| How many times do I have to tell you? My name is Canelo now. ||

|| Haaaa, don't tell me you've grown fond of your second chance at life. ||

|| Of course I do, I have a loving family now, what more could I want? The only thing that bothers me now is you. ||

|| You have been awfully mean to me lately. If it were any other god, he would have killed you long ago. ||

|| And do you know why that is? Everything was fine until you came a month ago. Can't find a new favourite? ||

|| We're friends, I wouldn't abandon you just because I made a mistake and sentenced you to death.... If I had been more careful, you wouldn't have suffered so much because of me.... ||

|| You are the same as you have always been, Cartidio. ||

|| In that case, will you agree to our working together again? I would love to meet your new family. ||

|| Sure, but you have to listen to me and not act on your own. I've already died once because of you and I don't want that to happen again. ||

|| I promise to listen to you. ||

|| For a god who deals with reincarnation, I must admit that I did not expect a power that would allow me to control corpses. No wonder they thought I used black magic. ||

|| In fact, I didn't even know what kind of power you would get at the beginning, but I'm glad that fate wanted you to have the same power as in your previous life, so that you could master it faster and make it stronger. ||

|| That is probably the only positive thing about it. ||

|| ....Leave aside your powers and tell me about your new family, the only thing you told me when I asked you recently was that they were young and very young. ||

|| Who would you like me to start with? ||

|| The best place to start is with one of your parents, maybe your favourite? ||

|| In that case, I will start with my mum. She was the first person I met when I ran away from home, if it wasn't for her I would have starved to death a long time ago. ||

|| She sounds like a good person. ||

|| She is a good person, although I sometimes worry about her bad luck and her lack of physical strength. Although her bad luck is not as bad as it was a year ago, it still haunts her sometimes. ||

|| I didn't expect her to be such a fragile creature. She doesn't even sound human. ||

|| I once heard my dad say that mum's background was a real mystery. Even she lived in the belief that she was a mere mixture of elf and human, but it turned out that this was not the whole truth. ||

|| Hmm, interesting, I'll be happy to check it out when I get a chance. I think that's enough about your mom, and maybe we can move on to your dad? ||

|| Good idea, my dad is really strong enough to be worthy of the title of Demon King in the future. As well as he is a member of a powerful noble family. I would say that he would be a problematic opponent even for the hero himself. ||

|| .... You are telling me that you live in the same house with a being as strong as the most powerful demon. ||

|| Don't worry, dad is really cool. ||

|| I don't know whether to worry about you or myself.... Aren't you afraid of how your parents will react when they find out you've been reborn? ||

|| ....I understand that they might not want to know me anymore, but I can't blame them for that. They have the right to do so. I would just prefer it if they didn't find out about it. ||

|| I'm beginning to pity you.... ||

|| It doesn't matter. The more important fact is the hero who will soon appear.... Because of his skills, he will easily get into the Academy, no matter what age difference separates him from the others. Although dad can beat him easily, I worry that it will be dangerous for him in the long run. ||

|| I'm afraid it's going to be more difficult than you think, because you can't just tell them to avoid the person. ||

|| Cartidio, you're a genius! ||

|| Eh? What do you mean? ||

|| At least I can tell my mother. I'll say it as if it were a message from you. Who would have thought I could ever use you as an excuse. ||

|| I feel used.... How confident are you that your mum will listen to you? ||

|| She may not believe in church, but she is cautious and will not sweep such information under the carpet. ||

|| Let's hope your plan works. ||

Before Canelo knew it, it was morning and he had to get up. It didn't take him long to get out of bed and get ready to go downstairs for breakfast. There was usually nothing interesting going on in the mornings, so they always spent those few hours in peace and quiet. Of course, the boy hasn't forgotten the information he needs to tell his mum. Once they were alone in the kitchen, the boy told Ian about the hero who would be coming to the Academy this year. As soon as Ian heard this information, he knew it was going to be a tough few years of study. He thought of all the ways they could help him with the new problem they had encountered. The only way it could work with such a specific person is to simply play for time and be yourself, and if they suspect something is wrong it will be as significant as a death sentence. Ian's already got used to the fact that things don't go his way, but it's overkill to guard against a future hero, but who knows, by some miracle he may manage to befriend him. Canelo could only watch his mother's thoughts on what to do with this information, he really wanted to help but could not reveal too much information.

....