Momj sat up in bed and stretched. The breeze flowed in through his open window, bringing him images and sounds of the past night, and hope for the new day. Momj smiled to himself smugly, remembering that Aria, the Elemental Master of the Wind, didn’t know that he could Wind Scry the image way, not just the sound way. The constant tugging at the edge of his vision had been a bit distracting, until he learned to ignore it.
He swung his legs out from under the bed, and shivered. Why did spring mornings have to be so darn cold? Momj wondered. Birr…
As Momj went to the bathroom to brush his hair and wash his face, he passed Tynan and Darice. He stepped out of their way, and nodded to Darice. Darice, who was rubbing her head, nodded back with a slight smile which warmed Momj’s heart. They were from the farthest outpost of human civilization, in what was called “The Big Empty” by people who actually liked talking with their mouths. You see, there was an outpost about halfway between Sol and the closest star and when people first went there, they began to change in subtle ways. At first they filled the station with light and noise and chatter. But their second generation loathed the noise and light and chatter, and began to make a new culture. As generations passed, their eyes grew large like the owls’, and their ears large like the bats’. Their vocal chords began to shrink, and they spoke less and less. Eventually, they began to speak with their minds, first with actual words, then with compact images and feelings. And what we would call quiet and dim is noisy and bright to them. So just imagine what city life would be like!
When he reached the bathroom he filled the sink with water and dunked his head under. Coming up, he shook his head vigorously, spraying water all over the small third floor bath room. He looked at himself in the mirror. He blinked when he noticed some peach fuzz on his chin. Then he laughed. “I wonder what Darice would think of that,” he said to himself.
Aria, Elemental Master of the Wind, had a house in an isolated part of the Old Mars Reserve, a place where the deserts, straggly groups of trees, and wild oases of Old Mars, as it was called, still thrived. The house had four stories, starting with a large courtyard with open sides on the first. A slightly smaller floor rested on top of that with Aria’s bedroom, her library, and other rooms. Three small bedrooms, including Momj’s, and a bathroom were on the third floor. A small covered platform was the fourth floor where Aria would sit for long spells and scry the winds. Momj had only been up there once, and before he could see more than graceful pillars and a tiled floor Aria had forbid him to come there ever again. There were also four one story wings off the first floor, where other bedrooms, bathrooms, and sitting rooms were. They were called North Wing, East Wing, South Wing, and West Wings, for their cardinal directions, and each had flat decks on their roofs, accessible from the second floor. There were also several outbuildings for storage, including the Sand Buggy garage.
As Momj clattered down stairs he saw Candice and Adish, the Elemental Master of Fire and her apprentice, coming up from the South Wing. They were from Io Station, the base above Jupiter’s closest moon. They called greetings, but didn’t talk. Adish was somewhat older than Momj, so they weren’t that close. Just then, Barak and Mika also came up from South Wing. They were from Skimmer Base, the station that orbited Jupiter, regularly dipping below the cloud base. Adish and Mika immediately slipped off into a corner to talk. Or at least it looked to Momj like they were talking…
The chatter of preteens came from the stairs down the hall going to East Wing. Fai and Lucine, the twin apprentices of Epifanio and Aysel, the Elemental Masters of Light ran up. They expertly dodged Momj and rushed to the breakfast nook for about 3 boxes each of chocolate cereal for breakfast. Momj rolled his eyes at their boundless energy, much boosted by all the candy they ate on a regular basis.
Quiet murmurs came from down the hall toward West Wing. Brooks and Ikan, apprentices to the Masters of Water and Ice respectively, came up. Brooks laughed, and Ikan touched his face fondly. “Hey guys!” Momj called. He didn’t know exactly what went on between them, but he didn’t mind as long as they didn’t involve him.
“Hellooooooo Momj!” Brooks called. “Wanna have breakfast with us?”
“Sure!”
As they walked into the kitchen, Ikan remarked, “Still wearing our PJs, are we?”
Momj looked down at his Marvin the Martian pajama pants and t-shirt. “Well, yeah... But did I tell you? I have fuzz on my chin!”
“Congratulations! You know, I did see Ikan with a shaver…” Brooks teased. Ikan grunted and poured himself some morning granola.
Momj grabbed a bagel and popped it in the toaster while Brooks mixed up a bowl of oatmeal. In friendly silence, a bit wary on Ikan’s part, they ate.