What Nova remembered from Arcturus’s memories regarding Ariel was that she was a rather reserved person. She had been a cheeky child, but as a teen, she became reserved and often kept to herself only in family–this was her true self; in front of friends and strangers, she acted as a cheerful and energetic girl. Regardless of her personality, she had managed to become a rather accomplished child actress at age eleven and still continued acting as a teen out of enjoyment.

Ariel looked rather nervous. She slowly let out her answer, “I heard you arguing, so I came to check up on you.” She started fidgeting with her fingers. “I didn’t expect Kori to be so argumentative.”

Nova knew that, despite her reserved personality, she was a good listener. Arcturus did not hesitate to respond to her; Nova knew that people would often avoid small talk in order to not ignite something bigger. Arcturus wasn’t that sort of person; he’d get to the point without hiding anything. He could tell it was because he respected his sister.

“Kori is slowly developing emotions and his own will. Keep it a secret from people, okay?” Arcturus responded; Ariel nodded.

Ariel spoke up, “If you don’t mind me asking, what were you two arguing about?”

“Kori wanted to tag along on my journey, but I kept telling him to stay. He refuses to listen to me.”

“Why do you want Kori to stay here?”

“To protect you, Grandma and Grandpa, obviously!”

Ariel turns to Kori. “Why do you refuse?”

“Because I don’t want Arc to die. I want to see him fulfill his dreams.”

Ariel then became deep in thought. An idea came to her. “Why don’t you just let Kori come with you?”

Arcturus gaped. “You’re siding with Kori?”

“I’m not taking sides. I know that Grandma and Grandpa would want you to take Kori along with you; I’d want the same. We all want you to come back safe and sound.”

“What if I die and Kori cannot find a way to return?”

“Shifties are unable to die, right? I’m sure he’ll find a way to come back to Lamina and report your death if that were to happen.”

“What if he never returns?”

Nova noticed how annoyed Ariel looked as she started screaming. “Why are you always thinking so negatively? You’re not going to die! You won’t die! You promised that you’d come back for my next birthday, remember?” Arcturus looked rather bewildered at her sudden outburst.

In a fit of rage, she grabbed her brother’s shoulders, leaned her head back and then used all of her neck strength to lean forward to hit her head against her brother’s forehead. Since Ariel was also half-Plasmian, her strength was on par with his; Nova could only witness the sight with horror. The power of her headbutt caused Arcturus to wince.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

He placed a hand to his forehead and whined, “Did your head get harder?” Nova’s heart skipped a beat after witnessing Arcturus’s childish side that he had never witnessed in reality; he found it cute.

“This is so that you can get that negativity out of your system! You’re going on that journey and coming back alive! Do you hear me loud and clear?”

“Yes, ma’am…” Arcturus whined as he cowered onto his bed to ease the pain.

Ariel huffed and then marched out of the room. Kori just glanced over at Arcturus. “You really can’t say no to Ariel…”

The current Kori turned to Nova and remarked, “Arcturus can’t say no to people he is attached to. It mainly shows with his family. He can refuse his friends, but he rarely does it.”

“It just shows he cares, right?”

“On the contrary, he behaves this way because he believes he cannot feel attachment.”

“Believed?” Nova found his choice of words unusual.

“Arc believes he cannot love another person, but he hasn’t realized himself that he is capable of loving. He just hasn’t found the right person yet. When I told him that, he laughed it off and said that I was watching too many soap operas.”

Nova shook his head in disagreement. “Arcturus is able to love. I can feel it. He has a family who loves him and friends who cherish him dearly…and he has you who protects him from the earring.”

“Perhaps, you are the person who is fated for him.”

Kori’s words resonated in Nova’s mind. His face started flushing in embarrassment. A sense of denial came to him. “No way. That’s impossible. I cannot be fated for him. I’m a lot older than he is and we have nothing in common since there’s a huge generational gap.”

Despite laying out excuses for why he wasn’t fated for Arcturus, a part of him had a bit of wishful thinking about such a possibility. Kori’s gaze on him was intense. Nova detected an unusual sense of confidence seeping out of him.

“No, you are fated for him. Arcturus traveled all this way for the past few months just to meet you.”

A lack of confidence came to Nova. “He wasn’t coming to see me. He was here to meet Souhait.”

“You harbor Souhait in your body and you grant wishes. You are just as important as he is.”

Nova’s heart felt as if it was being showered with warmth. Kori’s words of praise moved him deeply. He felt like he could do anything, even grant the wish of this man-made being.

Kori gently held both of Nova’s hands. Nova noticed a glimmer in his eyes. “Nova, I feel this unusual warmth in my soul. It’s telling me to want good things to happen to Arcturus from now on, but I cannot word it specifically. Is this what it means to have a wish?”

Nova gasped as he held onto Kori’s hands tightly. “Yes! What you’re feeling is the want of a wish you want granted. You’re developing a wish.”

“How many more memories must I look at in order to fully know what it is I wish for?”

“I have one more wish. Do you want to look at it?”

“Yes.”

Nova released his right hand from Kori’s left and then released the last snowflake from his hand, changing the memory without the need of returning to the snow-covered field.