Ruban shook his head. “We’ll cross that bridge when it comes. For now, it’s the feather mafia we need to deal with. They’re attacking Aeriels anywhere they can find ‘em, conducting full-fledged Hunts in populated areas – markets and residential neighborhoods.

“Even a week ago, their activities were confined to Ragah. Now, they’re targeting the suburbs as well.” He gritted his teeth, his gaze flickering over to the sitting room, where Hiya had gone back to her planes. “Innocents are dying, caught in the crossfire of someone else’s war. And there isn’t a damn thing we can do about it.

“The Hunter Corps is supposed to protect the people from Aeriel threats. And look at us now. Aeriels are helping human criminals Hunt down their own kind, blowing everything in the vicinity to smithereens. And despite all their big talk, nobody in the IAW has the slightest idea how to deal with it. We’ve never faced anything like this before.”

“Baan!” The shrill voice cut through his thoughts as Hiya bounced back into the kitchen, her braids swaying from side to side. “Stop hogging Ashwin. I need him for my planes, I told you that.” She grabbed the Aeriel’s wrist and pulled him out into the sitting room.

Shelving the last of the newly-washed dishes, Ruban followed them out of the kitchen. “The only thing you need right now is to go to bed, Hiya. You have school tomorrow.”

“I do. And I’ll have it every day for the rest of eternity,” she retorted. “As opposed to Ashwin, who only comes here twice a week, if we’re lucky. Maybe if you stopped fighting with him all the time, he’d stick around longer and we can work on my planes in the afternoon.”

“The Aeriel’s bubbleheaded flightiness isn’t my fault.”

“No?” Ashwin arched an eyebrow, dropping to sit cross-legged on the floor, in front of the scattered parts of a sea-green airplane. “Maybe if you were a little less bubbleheaded about apprehending these thugs, I wouldn’t have to spend all my time luring them away from public places and trying to keep them from lopping off my wings.”

“They wouldn’t really do that, would they?” Hiya squinted doubtfully at Ashwin before turning to Ruban. Her voice shook slightly. “Cut off his wings, I mean. The seniors at school were saying that the mafia Hunt Aeriels to cut off their wings and sell ‘em at auctions.”

Ruban frowned. “Hiya, that’s not–”

“Sure it is,” Ashwin intervened. “Aeriel feathers are expensive. And rare. So if a gang can get enough of them, they can make a neat profit on the black market.”

Ruban glared at Ashwin, biting his tongue to stem the flow of expletives that threatened to spill out.

“What?” Ashwin asked, his attention on the model airplane he was fixing. “She has friends. An internet connection. And more than two brain cells to rub together, unlike some people I know. She’s going to find out one way or another, whether we tell her or not. The only difference is that now, she’ll come to us with her questions, instead of some gossip-mongering high-schoolers.”

“But what would anybody do with them?” Hiya insisted, shifting closer to Ashwin. “Your feathers, I mean. They can’t be that rare if all the Aeriels have them.”

Ashwin chuckled. “Well, it’s the Aeriels having them that’s the problem, I suppose.” His wings materialized around him, encircling Hiya and pulling her closer into the fluffy cocoon.

Hiya giggled, nuzzling closer to Ashwin. He reached over her head and plucked a feather from the edge of his wing. He held it up against the light of the wall-lamp. Ruban squinted, watching the feather sparkle where the light hit its iridescent surface.

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Ashwin held out his other hand, his gaze expectant.

“What do you want?” Ruban asked warily.

“Your lighter, of course.”

Ruban sighed. After a moment’s hesitation, he reached into his pocket to extricate the lighter, tamping down on the sudden craving for a cigarette. He flicked the button a couple of times until a steady flame appeared on the nozzle. Ashwin lowered his outstretched hand and Ruban leaned forward, holding the flame against the tip of the feather that the Aeriel held out.

Multicolored sparks flew into the air, lighting up the room like a particularly lively firework display. Shadows danced across the walls as the feather burned slowly, spitting out prismatic sparks which blossomed and faded prettily before their eyes.

Having recovered from the initial surprise, Hiya leaned eagerly forward. Her impish face split into a massive grin. “It’s so bright,” she whispered.

Ashwin reached out to gently pull her dangling braids away from the fire.

“And that’s just the one.” Ruban shifted from one foot to the other, his skin itching with a strange restlessness. “Imagine a whole bouquet of these, set on fire all at once. Imagine what that’d look like.”

“We’d have brighter days…a brighter world!” Hiya bit her lip, peeking up at Ashwin through the corners of her eyes. “I can see why someone would pay a lot of money for ‘em, I s’pose.”

The Aeriel chuckled, his focus back on the scattered airplane parts in front of him. “Out with it, then. What do you want?”

“Who says I want anything?” Hiya’s lower lip quivered, a pout threatening to form.

Ashwin tinkered with one of the metallic wings of the airplane, slotting a miniscule component into place before attaching it to the main body. “So you don’t?”

“I didn’t say that.” She looked away. “Okay, fine. I’ll pay you somehow. How much is it?”

“Is what?” Ashwin’s voice was tinged with amusement.

“A feather. How much does it cost?”

“An A+ in math. And no less than a C- in history. And that’s only at a special discount for customer loyalty.”

A moment passed in silence. Then, Hiya’s eyes lit up and she threw her arms around Ashwin’s neck, knocking the nearly completed airplane from his hand. “You really mean that?”

Smiling, Ashwin wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her back into a sitting position. “Sure I do. But what do you plan to do with it?”

Hiya’s eyes twinkled, sending a shiver down Ruban’s spine. “That’s a secret!”

Ashwin’s amused gaze flickered over to Ruban. “That doesn’t bode well for our sanity. Oh well…”

He caressed the surface of a wing and casually plucked out a handful of feathers, holding them out to Hiya. “There you go. That should last you till the semester exams.”

Hiya squealed, elated, taking the feathers carefully into both her hands.

Ruban groaned. “And so, with a few minutes of pouting and haggling, she now has more money in her grubby little hands than I have in my retirement account. She’ll be utterly unmanageable as a teenager.” He pointed an accusatory finger at the Aeriel. “And it’ll be your fault.”

Ashwin smirked. “Don’t be jealous. If you live long enough to retire, I’ll give you all the feathers you could want. But we’ll have to get through all the different factions of humans and Aeriels trying to kill us before we can get to that, won’t we?”

“And why isn’t your sister helping with that, huh?” Ruban snapped back, his temper flaring. “Why isn’t Safaa doing more to stop the mafia? The Exiles?”

“We’ve talked about this before. She can’t afford to get directly involved with earthly affairs. Not yet—”

“Can’t? Or doesn’t want to? What’s stopping her, exactly?”

Ashwin looked away, frowning.

“You’re all the same, aren’t you?” Ruban sneered. “Useless hypocrites, judging everyone from above. Refusing to get your pretty little hands dirty—”

“Baan, please!” Hiya’s bony fingers clutched at his forearm.

“Our scouts have lost their lives fighting the mafia,” Ashwin snarled, his silver eyes boring into Ruban’s. “Trying to prevent human casualties, when they could’ve just retreated and saved themselves. Don’t you dare imply—”

The doorbell rang.

Jolted out of his indignation, Ruban cursed. “Shit. They’re here.” He grabbed Ashwin’s hand and yanked him to his feet before pushing him towards the bedroom. “Quick. Get changed.”

“Ruban, I didn’t—”

Ruban’s steps faltered, forcing him to halt mid-stride even as the doorbell chimed again. “You say you like it here. Our food, our music,” he chuckled. “Our toy planes... You say you love the earth.”

“I do.”

“Enough to fight for it?” Ruban turned around, his hands clenched into fists. “If all else fails. If there’s a war between earth and Vaan. Where would your loyalties lie, Ashwin? Or should I say Shwaan?”

A moment passed in silence, the air heavy with tension. Then, the Aeriel sighed, moving towards the bedroom. “Neither of those names is a lie, you know. Not anymore.”

“And yet?” Ruban prompted.

“And yet, if I had to choose…my loyalty lies with my sister, Ruban. And it always will.” The bedroom door clicked shut behind him.