Attention: A FC/UC Short

Synodic

Elan

Creation Era

xxxx, X.X.

Calor was more like his mother than his father.

Throughout their entire childhood, it was always Lumen who was there for them. She would be the one to dazzle them brilliantly while Noctis would watch silently; she would always be the one who would entertain the four of them and make them laugh. She was everything Calor loved - Lumen was bright, lively, and inspired them to keep pushing on. She was as bright as the sun and he found himself observing how Noctis would watch her with a fondness in his eyes when she was shining. 

As the fire amongst the four, Calor aimed to do his best to shine as well. 

It wasn’t as if he was attention deprived; not at all, actually. While Noctis tended to favor Unda and Ammon, Lumen fretted over he and Amina more times than she could count. When he noticed, he found himself confused. However, as time went on, the was able to detect why Noctis and Lumen had their own ‘preferences’, as horrible as it sounded to him until that day. 

Unda and Ammon were the quieter of the four; Ammon liked to observe and Unda liked to do her own thing. Ammon, being the oldest, made sure to keep his siblings in line. Unda, being the elder Twin, made sure that Calor wasn’t getting into anything horrible or impulsive (which happened most of the time). Ammon was more observation and internal thought; Unda was more speculation and internal feeling. Somehow, this helped them bond even more with their father. Calor would occasionally see Ammon talking privately with Noctis, or Noctis regarding Unda as his precious daughter.

On another hand, Lumen had no problem babying the younger girl and boy. She was fiercely protective of Amina, as she was the youngest, while she had a fond spot for Calor since his abilities were closest to hers. There was a difference, of course, between light and fire - but somehow, they were able to overcome that particular difference and bonded even more. Amina frequently came to her mother more for guidance while Calor found himself gravitating towards her. 

He would constantly wonder if it was a problem - if the preferences and the favoritism was something to be worried about. He would find himself throwing glances at Unda each time she impressed their father, or sulking whenever Noctis would delegate more tasks to Ammon. (It made sense, though. Ammon was the eldest child so it was the most reasonable choice.)

However, there would be times where the Noctis would take him and Amina, or where Lumen would ask for time alone with Unda and Ammon. Their parents understood the need for balance too, and they did their best to give it.

This, however, didn’t mean that the ‘preferences’ were gone for good. It went on.

When their parents left, Calor suddenly found himself with no one there to shine like he did. The main star – their mother – had left along with their father for reasons no one would know about. Not even Vito knew. Morana was too distant to even be contacted.

They took on different roles. Ammon was the immediate ‘leader’ of the four as the eldest and (arguably) most powerful among them. Unda would always provide a sound mind and ready judgment; since her childhood, the rest of them speculated that she had gotten the wisdom that their father had always been able to provide. Amina was a more defensive type – she would be there to heal in the physical and emotional aspect. Out of the four, she was the most emphatic.

And then there was Calor.

Calor wasn’t quite sure what he had gotten from Lumen. They both dazzled spectacularly and brought smiles; but whenever Calor tried to cheer the rest of his siblings up, it either lasted for a short while or simply fell flat.

For once, Calor didn’t know what his role was.

The rest of his siblings had their own, individual tasks and identities. Calor tried to fit himself into each persona he could, attempting to bring light to the situation or to make things seem even better than they were. However, it just didn’t work out.

And it frustrated him.

Without his mother to shower him with attention and light and without his father to provide the balance, Calor ended up craving for the attention he was used to.

“–I don’t understand why you’re like this.”

Calor’s ruby-red eyes met Ammon’s exasperated grey ones. The eldest sibling sat across him and Calor merely kept his arms folded. “Like what?”

“You changed, Calor. I’m not sure what triggered it. But you have.” Ammon exhaled, “Unda and Amina have noticed.”

“Come on, brother – we all changed.” Calor tried to keep the smile on his lips as he began to play with a fireball he summoned in his palm, “We all had to get used to these new changes. This is my response to it.”

Ammon said nothing for a moment and Calor took it as a chance to continue. “Besides…it doesn’t matter as much. Unda’s being smarter, Amina’s honing her skills and you’re leading us amazingly.” He shot his older brother a proud smile, “Nothing has gone wrong since you took charge.”

“Regarding the universe? Yes. But with you…” Ammon kept his face blank, “There’s something. What is it?”

Calor faltered.

“We noticed, Calor. Unda especially. Is there something wrong?”

The younger sighed. “I’m just trying to find my place. That’s why I’m…” he trailed off, but Ammon understood anyway. The latter nodded. “I haven’t found it yet.”

“You will. And if you’re thinking of it,” he eyed the other, “You don’t have to shine the way mother did when she was still here.” That sent the other into silence, and Ammon allowed himself a rare smile. “Shine your own way. And we’ll appreciate you more for that the more you do. And who knows?” he ruffled his brother’s hair with a hint of affection, “…maybe you’ll find your role when you do.”