Cadyl whittles away at the wooden branch, carving the wood into a proper shape for it to be used as a spear. Carving like this is one of the few things that he can do at his age.
In all honesty, he finds it annoying to be limited to such things by his age. Especially when his sisters are twice his age when they were born in the same year. Instead of having to grow up normally, they got to skipped straight to adulthood almost immediately compared to him.
Cadyl tries to not feel jealous, but he cannot help it as his sisters get all of the cool stuff. Spiritual powers, skipped childhood and blessings. He is even jealous the stuff they earned like Terwyn getting to be Dad's high priestess while Seryn is a goddess with two whole villages to lead.
Oh, he loves his sisters and they love him, but he is ordinary and they are not. Cadyl does his best to keep it from getting to him, but he finds it hard when he is the only ordinary person in the family. Dad, Mum and Uncle Evatine are all spirits with cool powers and villages to lead and unlike his sisters, he inherited none of that.
But even as Cadyl feels jealous and envy towards his family, he also keeps those feelings from getting to him and dominating his mind. No, he acknowledges that they did not deliberately chose to not give him any spiritual powers and instead lets his desire for greatness and power drive him to acquire such things via the conventional ways which are open to him.
Cadyl has no clue what the future will hold for him. He does not have any spiritual prowess like the rest of his family does, but the ordinary paths also do not fit him well either. He cannot take up the trade of his father or mother like many do given the unique positions of his parents. He could become a crafter or farmer, but those positions are too dull for Cadyl. He has a sharp mind and he enjoys using it.
Being a trader is an option especially as the trade between villages picks and up the various settlements are strengthening ties with each other, but such a path lacks the glory and greatness that a boy like Cadyl yearns for. He could become one of Arwyn's explorers, searching for new lands and sights. That option actually appeals to Cadyl even if it means subordinating himself to sister.
He also has the option of becoming a warrior or hunter with there being little difference between those two professions. However, that option is becoming more and more feminine over the cycles and it is only a matter of time until the Avawyrish hunters and warriors start taking the Gift of the Mighty Body from his sister. After that, it would be mere cycles at most until taking Seryn's blessing would be required for one to call themselves a warrior or hunter and depending on how soon that happens, it might be too quick for Cadyl to become a warrior or hunter without making certain sacrifices. And even if he did get in without having to take Seryn's blessing, Cadyl would certainly be at a disadvantage to those who did.
Perhaps it is just that Avawyr has too many spirits between his parents and sisters and that as a latecomer, Cadyl has got any good spots left for him to take.
Perhaps he ought to look aboard. His sister has three villages and the only spirit in them is her. Seryn would certainly have room for him. But if he did take that path, he would almost certainly have to accept her blessing, especially if he wants any position with real power.
Quite frankly, Cadyl has no clue if he wants to grow up to be a woman or not and he feels that he is too young to make an important decision like that. Still, if being granted power such as leadership over one of Seryn's village requires him to be a woman, a strong and beautiful one at that, Cadyl is pretty certain that he would take that deal.
"Hey Cadyl!" says a woman and Cadyl quickly places the voice as belonging to Arwyn as he turns to face his sister.
"Hello Arwyn," replies Cadyl as he puts his knife and stick down, "What brings you here?"
"I just thought I would see how you are doing," answers Arwyn as she plops herself down on the stone slab next to Cadyl, "Helping to craft another spear?"
"Yes," says Cadyl as he once again notices that despite being born at the same time, Arwyn is twice his age.
That fact is fairly obvious with how she is much taller than him with Cadyl only recently having grown enough to reach her chest. Which is awkward for him as he has also recently grown enough to begin appreciate the good looks of a beautiful woman. And Arwyn, like all of his sisters, have the supernatural beauty of a spirit. Only they are sisters so while it is not awkward in that way, it is still awkward as they are beautiful women, but he cannot enjoy like he should as they are also his sisters which makes certain things gross and not appealing like they should be.
"You okay Cadyl?" asks Arwyn as she looks down at him with her golden cat eyes.
"It is just really irritating for all of the beautiful girls in my life to also be my sisters," answers Cadyl honestly, startling a laugh out of his sister.
"I keep forgetting that you reached point in life," says Arwyn with a smile on her face as she places a sisterly hand on Cadyl's shoulder, "Yeah, that must be annoying. But you should not worry about that too much. When looking for a girl, do not worry about looks. Find someone who has a good heart and a strong spirit and Mum or Seryn will handle her beauty for you."
"I know that, but thank you anyway," replies Cadyl, having already received variations of that advice from his family before on various occasions, including from Arwyn.
"Still, if you do want to have a feel, I would not mind-" starts Arwyn before breaking out into a fit of laughter at the disgusted look on Cadyl's face.
"That is gross," protests Cadyl even though he knows that Arwyn is joking even as he knows his sister would still make that offer even if he would accept it, "Besides, if I want to feel a woman's chest, I would get my own from Seryn rather than go for one of my sisters."
"True, true," acknowledges Arwyn as her laughter settles down, "I take it you have been thinking about that possibility then?"
"I have to if I am going to consider all of my possible options for the future," answers Cadyl, "If you want to become a hunter or warrior, being a girl is going to become a requirement. Even if Dad does not want that to be a case."
"Yeah, Dad is going to have to come around sooner or later," agrees Arwyn as Cadyl pulls her tail over to him and begins to stoke it, "Even some of my explorers want it, but those are mainly the ones which are also hunters or warriors when they are not explorers. While women might be made for fighting these days, that is not what exploring is about. We survive in the wilderness, away from civilisation, discovering new things and new lands. You do not need fighting for that even if it does come in handy when faced with wild beasts."
"I might try exploring some day," says Cadyl.
"You will have to wait a few cycles first until you are older," replies Arwyn, "At the moment, you are a tad young for a dangerous and laborious activity such as hunting."
"I know," grumbles Cadyl, "It is just that...I have an idea about that."
"Oh?" says Arwyn inquiringly.
"I was thinking that if Seryn's blessings could make someone older become younger, they could make some younger become older," Cadyl tells her, "She could make me old enough to do dangerous tasks and I would spend a few cycles with her and learn how to fight, hunt and wage war. And then once I would be old enough in my normal body, she could turn back to normal and I could return home to do other things after gaining a bunch of experience. Plus it would also give me the chance to decide if I want to be male or female when I am older."
"That plan could work," says Arwyn thoughtfully, "Seryn would also certainly agree to it, but you would have to get Dad to go along with it."
"You think it could work?" asks Cadyl excitedly.
"Definitely, but your mind would remain young even if your body does not," answers Arwyn, "Less of a problem for you than anyone else as your mind is already older than your body, but it would be something that you would be wise to keep in mind."
Arwyn sighs before continuing.
"It also highlights the differences in our generations," muses Arwyn, "When I was growing up, being able to your gender was not an option. A boy grew up to be a man and a girl grew up to be a woman."
"A girl still grows up to be a woman," points out Cadyl before another thought occurs to him, "And we are the same generation! Mum gave birth to us at the same time."
"True," concedes Arwyn without a fight, "But we grow up in different times. What was true when I was your age may no longer be so."
"I wished siblings my age when I growing up," says Cadyl, leaning against Arwyn, who swiftly snuggles back.
"Yeah, it sucks that you did not get to grow up with the rest of us," replies Arwyn soothingly to her little brother, "Maybe it was for the best. We were trouble when we were younger. Morwyn was rather cruel to those around her rather than being just standoffish like she is now. And Seryn had such a big head. Her pride was ridiculous before Dad dealt with her. Now her pride is limited to what she can actually back up. I also had my fair share of troubles, but I will not be going on to those. Thankfully Dad took care of us while we were still young and curbed our worst traits."
"I cannot imagine you not being extremely nice," Cadyl tells Arwyn honestly, causing her to breakout into another fit of laughter.
"You are a great kid," says Arwyn as she hugs her little brother, "Do not let that change."
