“Oh hey Kiddo, welcome home. You didn’t answer my texts, I was worried. Come sit down and eat.”

“No thanks dad, I’m not very hungry, I think I’ll just go to my room.”

“Not hungry? Did you go on date with Alexie without telling me again? Oh how nice, to be young… Make sure to at least text me in the future though, I just want to have an idea of where you are.”

Why did he have to bring up Alexie…

“D-Dad, Alexie and I are over… She broke up with me…”

He stops stirring the big pot of tomato soup he was preparing.

“W-What? But you two were so lovely togheter? Did you do something stupid again? You should treat her with more respect son, I’m sure if you apologize, she’ll take you back.”

I didn’t mean to yell, but something just snapped after hearing those words:

“WHAT DO YOU KNOW?! SHE LEFT ME FOR ANOTHER MAN! ALL BECAUSE YOU GAVE ME THIS USELESS BLOODLINE!”

Dad looks shocked and apologetic:

“R-Ryder…”

It hurts to see him like that so I simply run upstairs to my room and lock the door behind me.

*SIGH* Why did I lash out at dad?... It’s not his fault that I have a useless bloodline. He can’t help that I didn’t inherited any awakened genes from him and mom. Although, even if I did inherit his night vision, Alexie would have probably still left me for Lucien…

I was always insecure about my useless bloodline, It just kind of made me feel inferior… Not that it was very uncommon to have one or anything, especially here on Centauri…

The planet law suddenly changed 2 Centuries ago, and now only Lunarians were allowed to install flux-guides. Without flux-guides you can’t ‘awaken’ any genes and they weren’t always guaranteed to be passed down to your children either… The ruling class Lunarians were probably afraid of a revolt or something, so they handicapped the peasant Sapiens…

I think Alexie and Fraldy both inherited photosynthesis, a pretty common gene to awaken as it would decrease your food-intake.

*SIGH* Alexie and Fraldy…

…

For the past 6 days I just stayed indoors all day, I didn’t dare show my face at school, I simply felt too embarrassed…

Plus, I needed some time to sort through my thoughts and feelings. Which sadly, I suddenly had a lot of.

Dad cooked me a meal every night, he would also bring them to my room. We didn’t speak much, I think he understood that I needed some space.

The past few days were pretty lonely, I missed my girlfriend, or well, I guess she’s my ex-girlfriend now…

I’m feeling better though, I sorted out my emotions and I’m a lot calmer now. I guess all scars heal with time, although I feel like it’ll still take a while before I completely forget about Alexie… Before I can give all these feelings that I used to have a place…

During these six days, I took some time to think about the entire situation from an objective standpoint, and I felt even more foolish…

*SIGH* “I got exactly what I wished for didn’t I?”

I wanted something to shake up my everyday mundane life… Well, this event certainly did shake things up…

But still, what am I supposed to do now? Use it as motivation to become a war officer or something? To prove all of them wrong? To make them regret their decisions?

That’s so petty though… Although it would probably feel pretty good, shouldn’t I be following my own path?

Besides, becoming a war officer as a Sapien is practically impossible, it has never been done before! The Council of the GTC would never allow it… The only non-Lunarian war officer is a Zoan. He was a Lion variant if remember correctly, and he simply earned it with his immense strength…

Immense strength… Connections… I have neither…

*SIGH*

Apparently my sigh was louder than I thought.

*KNOCK* *KNOCK*

“You okay kiddo? Can I come in?”

“I… I’d rather you not…”

It’s still a bit awkward between us… I should really apologize for yelling at him…

This time my dad sighs, and with it, I can hear him sit down and lean against my door.

*SIGH* “Look kiddo, you can’t stay like this… I know you already realized that, you’re a smart kid, sure as hell smarter than your old man here… You still have a bright future ahead of you…”

After hearing those words from dad, I also slouch down and lean against the door.

“I’m just not sure what to do… I suddenly lost all my stability, I thought I wanted change dad, but I’m lost…”

“Lost huh? Changing yourself is a difficult thing Ry, even when it’s forced upon you, it doesn’t get any easier…”

From behind the door I can suddenly hear dad begin to chuckle:

“Heh, this conversation actually reminds me of my own dad, he always used to say: ‘Reason and logic rob the human spirit of its meaning.’ One day, I asked him what he meant by that…”

That’s weird, dad usually doesn’t like to talk about his past…

I continued listening to his story.

Niku20

-Explanations-

Zoan: They usually can be found working as either bodyguards or servants to the Lunarians. They were genetically engineered/created by the Lunarian race from a mix of human and animal DNA. Zoans vary greatly in size and stature depending on the animal they were crossed with, sometimes they look like regular Sapiens with animal ears and tails while sometimes they even have horns. It is thought that Zoans were created by the Lunarians for manual labor and because they missed the company of the animals back on earth. 

Awakened genes: Using the flux guide, one can awaken special genes that give the user unique abilites like: night-vision or accelerated regeneration. These genes will sometimes be passed down to the user's offspring.

Useless bloodline: Someone that didn't inheret any 'awakened' genes from their parents, they have the DNA of a regular Sapien.