Alekzander was standing in front of his mother’s grave when Zoran showed up to tell him it was time. “Thanks, little buddy,” he said, ruffling his brother’s hair. “Try not to cause too much trouble for Father while I’m gone and remember to fix anything you break. If you don’t know how, text me and I’ll call and explain as soon as I’m on break. Fair?”

Zoran nodded solemnly and bowed to their mother’s grave before the two boys hiked the three miles to the crossroads. He may not have understood exactly how bad their situation was, or why his brother wanted him to fix things instead of throwing them away, but he loved his brother and knew that if Zander was telling him to, there was probably a good reason for it and he’d understand eventually. He knew that he could ask and Zander would give him a well-explained, satisfactory answer, but he also knew that there were just many things that would go straight over his head. Better to just listen and understand why later, especially when Zander only had fifteen minutes instead of two hours to explain the situation… and all the confusing words he’d used.

Alekzander shifted on his feet. He wanted to sit down. For that matter, he wanted to fly to the darn school, not wait for the magic transport that was scheduled to show up in fifteen minutes whether the students were there or not. He looked around and saw three other kids headed his way.

“Hey,” one of the them said when she got close enough. “Bit chilly out here, isn’t it? ‘Specially for the middle of summer.” The others nodded, but Zander was too busy checking Zoran’s homework. “Is that your brother?”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Alekzander straightened and debated whether or not to answer. Before he could come to a conclusion, Zoran grinned and bounced up to her. “Yep! I’m Zoran, I’m only eight. I wish I could go with him though.” It wasn’t until Zoran had started speaking that Zander had realized the question wasn’t meant for him.

His eyes never left his brother as Zoran and the girl chatted, but his ears picked up on the sound of something approaching rapidly. His instincts told him it was their transport and that if they all stayed still it wouldn’t hit them. He set a hand on Zoran’s shoulder and the boy glanced at him. Reading the message in his older brother’s eyes, Zoran stayed perfectly still as he continued his conversation with his new friend.

Zander saw one of the other students, a guy and clearly a dragon like him, watching the brotherly interaction with interest. Looking up, the guy caught Zander’s eyes and flushed. He started to move closer to tell him something, but stopped as his instincts kicked in. Suddenly he understood what Zander had just told Zoran and nodded at them in respect. Only the strongest could sense something that far out.

The bus landed with a loud fwoomp and Zander wondered briefly how they fixed the craters left behind each year. He gave his brother’s shoulder a squeeze as Zoran hugged his leg and whispered, “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Make sure to keep Mom company, okay?” When Zoran nodded, Zander pulled himself away and climbed onto the bus, waving only once through his window before the bus took off again. He watched his brother become smaller and smaller until he was finally out of sight.