Okay, so I really like writing extra little blurbs of writing that take place either away from the main timeline of the story or before the main timeline of the story. I figured I would start posting some of them here, and some will be longer than others. Here are a couple to get you started 🙂

(In this, Ferris is around 9 years old, making Skyler 17)

Skyler walked up the hallway, holding a cup of coffee and trying to think straight. He heard the thundering of small feet and pressed against the wall, just as Ferris charges past, laughing maniacally. Skyler considered this suspiciously. This is the child that rarely smiles, and he looks far too mischievous. Ferris had paused in his running and was now crouched behind a small book case, peering out from behind it, still grinning. Skyler walked over quickly.

“Ferris, what are you doing? Where is Doug?” He asked, worry mounting.

Ferris reacted by giving him a confused look, followed by concern. He glanced around himself, and then gasped.

“I LEFT DOUG BEHIND” he yelled, charging back down the hallway.

Skyler paused for a moment before racing after him “WHERE IS ‘BEHIND’ THOUGH?”

End.

(In this, Melanie is 8 and Sullivan would be 13)

Melanie walked into the living room, humming to herself quietly. In her arms, she carried various art supplies, along with play makeup and hair ties. Sullivan walked in with a book and smiled at her. She smiled back up at him and he asked what she was doing.

“Skyler is sleeping.” she reported seriously.

He returned her serious look and asked, “Were you playing quietly so he didn’t wake up?”

She nodded solemnly, and Sullivan smiled. She smiled back again, and added, “He didn’t wake up for the whole makeover”

Sullivan paled and raced out of the room.

End.

(I’m sorry these are really short ones that’s why I’m combining them)

(In this one, all the younger kids are 9, Sullivan is 14, and Skyler would be 17… It was requested by my Beta reader/editor that I write a birthday party or a BBQ so I combined them kind of)

(Spoiler warning I guess

Sinley is a metal dragon, and he will be in the main storyline, he just hasn’t been introduced yet. that’s important to this blurb though)

Sullivan had taken a poll between ‘the children’ and now he had to go see Skyler about it. They’d long ago procured a house through money begotten by gems, and through the most gullible workers they could find, who went along with building a massive mansion for a 17 year old after they’d bought a huge slab of land. It helped that Skyler had pretended to be a super spoiled rich child the whole time, and just thrown a lot of money at the project so not a lot of questions arose. Maybe they thought this was his ‘play house’. Either way, now that they had settled, they had decided to have a joint birthday for all the kids because they knew they wouldn’t be able to invite anyone from their school to the party, so the best way to solve that would be for them all to be each other’s guests. Most still only had the most basic grasp on their powers, as Vikki, Oscar, Atlas and Sinley had to be homeschooled after Skyler’s own school was out for the day. Sinley’s was more by choice as he and Vikki weren’t totally trusting of the world yet. Having multiple children around that they needed to hide their powers from was just asking for disaster, so they had to make accommodations.  So if they just threw one big party for the kids until they were older, then they should be fine.

 Skyler was a firm believer in them needing as much happiness as he could give them, to make up for the horrors they had faced. He had picked up two toys for each of them, and wrapped them, which was quite a bit considering how many kids there were.

Sullivan walked into his brother’s room, watching Skyler nearly falling asleep in a giant textbook well beyond what he was actually studying in school.

“Alright, so the kids all want to have a Barbecue for their birthday, or at least the majority do. I told Melanie we can’t have ponies, and Oscar said he wanted to go to a place that had a jungle gym but metal conducts electricity so I told him not right now. He’s a little sad.” Sinley reported, and he could see Skyler thinking deeply about how to fix Oscar’s problem.

He shook his head, as he knew Sullivan was waiting for an answer. “Okay, go to the store and get whatever they want for a barbecue. Hamburgers or hot dogs, or both, pop and don’t forget the cake.” Skyler told him, and Sullivan nodded.

“We can ask Doug if he can make some ears of corn to put on the grill too. I wonder if any other vegetables are able to be cooked like that?” Skyler asked.

Sullivan gave his brother a long stare. “I’ll only go if you agree to have a nap while I’m gone.” He told him plainly.

Skyler rolled his eyes, deep bags underneath them. “We missed a lot the three years we were in there, Sullivan. If I want to get a good job, I have to catch up, especially if I want to teach the kids anything.” He replied, leaning back in his chair, back popping in a few places.

 Sullivan didn’t stop his minor glare. “That textbook is already leagues above what you’re doing in class, and you can’t even think properly if you don’t sleep. I’ll go, but I’m taking Melanie and Sinley with me to help carry groceries and to pick out the cake, alright?” Sullivan finally decided. He wondered for a second if he should leave one of the kids in charge. They were all pretty self reliant, but things could get hairy if their powers got out of control. He knew if he had to pick one to be in charge, it would be Doug, because the main instigator would be Ferris, and he would always listen to Doug. Atlas would get in trouble as well, but if Ferris wasn’t willing to argue with him, then he could go back to being agreeable most of the time. Then he looked up to see Skyler had fallen asleep in his book, and was now drooling on the page. Sullivan sighed and walked over, carefully, and with a bit of difficulty, picking up his brother. He was, after all, only 14, and his brother was 17.

 Skyler must have woken up a little because he tried to protest as Sullivan placed him down on the couch, it being the closest thing to the desk.

“Just five minutes, okay?” Sullivan asked, but Skyler had already passed back out.

Sullivan leaned over and turned off the desk lamp, drawing the curtains closed. Before he left, he undid the cape he was wearing and placed it over Skyler, and then walked out. He found the kids playing in the living room, and stepped in between Ferris and Atlas before a fight broke out.

“Okay, Skyler is sleeping so we’re going to be quiet. Also, I have to go to the store, and Melanie and Sinley, you guys get to come with me.” Sullivan announced in a hushed voice.

 There were groans through the crowd and one cheer from Melanie, before she realized she was loud and stopped quickly.

 Sullivan continued, “Doug, you’re in charge. I won’t be gone long, and Skyler is always here if you need him. You wake him up if something happens, we get attacked, someone gets hurt, something gets set on fire…” He stopped to look pointedly at Atlas, who smiled back at him. “Nothing should get flooded…” He looked to see Melanie standing beside him, ready to go. “Don’t fill anything with snow, rocks, plants, or anything else you can find or create.” He finished, grabbing another cape from the hall closet and putting it on.

They all promised they wouldn’t, and he ordered Melanie and Sinley to each take a corner of the cape so they would follow him and not wander.

“Sinley, if I find out you attached a weight to take your place again, you don’t get cake” He warned. It was an important precaution; as if they got separated they usually got spooked, and lost control of their powers. They were still curious like lots of kids are, but they also were their own undoing as they didn’t trust the world they were in. With one last look to make sure they were behaving, Sullivan and his crew left.

End.