The To-do List

Lyle

The room was unusual in the very sense of it. It was a large room shrouded in pure white. The rug, the drapes, even the wardrobe, chair and desk were in various shades of white. The wall was bare and without any single spot and stain.

It was just the bedroom even the bathroom was not spared from this spotless perfection. Lyle let the hot water rain down on him with a sigh of pleasure. It was his third bath that morning and he could not get enough. 

Squeezing the shower gel that smelt of aloe, jasmine and sandalwood, he made sure to scrub his body strongly. He closed his eyes as he thought of visiting the Eagle Pavilion and squeezed another portion of the shower gel.

He cleaned his body and used a basic fire spell to dry the towel before hanging it in its rack. He opened the wardrobe and the room finally had a semblance of colour. He donned a light blue shirt and trousers; he picked up his shoes before he left his room. 

Carina, his stepmother and Levi were already sitting opposite him. Their eyes were on him and Lyle walked to the dining table and sat down. His eyes flickered to the absent head table and he chuckled silently. 

Just like his father to make breakfast compulsory and yet refuse to attend. It was good he was not here though.

"Go ahead, Lyle must be hungry." Carina looked over lovingly and ordered for the dishes to be served.

With every dish served, Lyle's fingers clenched even tighter. The table was filled with bowls of pearl rice, vegetables that shimmered under the light, light fragrant soup and roasted demon beast meat.

Seeing that he picked only the rice and a few vegetables to eat, Carina sweetly added pieces of meat to his plate, "You will be going for training tomorrow, you need to eat lots." 

Lyle smiled at her, his green eyes like the warmest of jade as he took a piece of meat, chewing slowly. One thought stood out in his mind. 

'What if the person preparing the meat did not wash his hands? What of if he did not clean the grill or the knife?' The thought refused to leave his head as he restricted the urge to throw um and swallowed his meal. He had learnt his lesson on that.

Levi watched the action with a little jealousy, he tugged at his mother and she smiled warmly at him adding more vegetables to his plate.

Levi looked at his brother, he lowered his eyes and his mood became low. His brother was never around. He was always in school and when he came back for the holiday, he will go for some secret training, he never told him about.

"One day, I will join you to train." He announced before going back to his meal.

The room fell silent as Carina and Lyle froze. Carina smacked her son's head, her hands lightly shaking, "Don't speak nonsense. Eat quickly so you can go and cultivate." 

Levi bent his head and he murmured with discontent. His mother was always insisting he cultivate. Cultivation was so boring, he rather has fun.

"Levi!" His voice was as soft as a summer breeze but it demanded attention. Levi snapped his head up only to see his brother's smile. A shiver ran through his body. "Listen to your mother." 

The breakfast atmosphere continued in its harmony as Lyle finished his plate. It seems like Levi's words had disoriented Carina as she didn't try to add more food to his plate.

"I will be leaving now." He said as he left his plate on the table, trying his best to ignore the disordered table.

Leaving the living room, he took out a whistle and blew on it fiercely.

A beautiful, bluish-black eagle flew into view, stopping beside him. Lyle caressed the eagle's feathers slightly ignoring its slight shiver. Ares hated anyone touching him.