"I would have loved to be there with you, you know?" Said Alistar as we washed by the river.

No training for the day, or at least not for me, I needed to get back in top shape.

Little Bush was not menacing during the day. We didn't even need to bring proper weapons, but we had all the same.

Still, there was work to do, and that work entailed that we needed to bring the water back to the Treehouse; there were quite a few of us now. What M.J. had preserved, frozen in the pit she had built with the help of Stones, was drying thin. We would have to replenish it.

"No, you wouldn't have," I answered as I slowly washed my body.

"Why? Do you think I give a damn about Avians?"

"No, Star, that's not it, but those were not true fighters… I already feel cheap about having done what I had to do; I doubt you would have felt better in doing it."

Alistar rested the buckets he was filling.

"Loke… how do I explain this to you… Right. Let's start with this: I'm a Kobold."

He paused as I expected him to continue.

"Do you see me? My family escaped the war against the Kins by coming here. I wasn't even born back then. But did you think they had an easy time coming here? Of course, they didn't. They were kicked out by pretty much… seven villages before they managed to settle in Murkstall."

"Yeah, I get that. But it's not the same thing…"

"You don't understand… listen, in this world, the rule of the mightiest is what's in force. You kill, or you get killed. You are strong, or you are weak. You are rich, or you are poor. There's no half-way. Why did you think people want to join the City so desperately? Because it's shiny? No, Loke. It's because it offers protection, protection to all. If it had to open its gates, it would be flooded. No matter what, they push us away, with force if necessary."

"If they were just malicious, they would have wiped us out a long time ago. Damn, I thought you were smarter than that," he shook his head but grinned.

I didn't know what to answer…

"So, when I say that I want to be strong, is simply because I'm here, down here, where if I'm weak I could be devoured by a passing Vortex of Terror in a second, two if I'm fast," he chuckled. "That is why I won't stop at nothing to become strong. Not even in front of other people. As long as they are against me, as long as they are a threat to me, they could as well be just classified as mere experience to boost my power further. For I don't give a shit."

"I want to live; I want to build something of my own. I've beaten the damn plague by my self for Sun's sake! I certainly won't give out in this race of life because I'm feeling remorse for people that wanted to hunt me down, and so neither should you. I know you, I know what you are capable of, you are the strongest among us, I may be good with these Combat Forms, but I don't have your fucking abilities, nor your talent by birth. So I will take everything that's given to me, and I believe so you should too."

"So man the fuck up, Loke, you've been down ever since you've come back. You've got a fucking Pet Titan for crying out loud."

He turned around back to his buckets, then looked up and continued, "Are you done washing up? I'm getting angry. Or do you have to go cry a river and hope your tears will mix up with the stream?"

I shook my head but smirked, "Fuck you. I'm coming too; you go ahead."

If that wasn't a lecture from a big brother, then I had no other idea how to classify it.

He was already quite far when he turned around once more, "And keep putting points into Constitution!" He shouted, "If you're not getting any smarter, at least your second head is growing, and Harlow won't have anything to complain about!"

I looked down at my junk, then back at him, "Son of a Moon walker! I'm going to get you for that!"

***

That same day, still pensive about Alistar's viewpoints and practicing Combat Forms that still didn't want to reveal themselves, I was challenged by Ro.

I was staring at her body performing the movements required by the Form of the Lifeline.

I saw nothing wrong with it, nor was I staring at her for her shapely physique, or at least that was so until I thought back to the way she made me feel at the Titan's cave.

Her words had entirely broken the image I had of her and reformulated it. Now I had shed my childish view and memory of her away, and their place had been taken by that of a man staring at a beautiful and strong woman.

She had gone through the Abyss and back, reformed, recalibrated to adapt to a life none of us wanted on ourselves, a life we hadn't chosen but a life we had been assigned to.

I didn't know why she broke the spell for me or why she needed to do it, but I knew that it had helped her. She was part of my family. Although in my Tracing it didn't result, I felt so.

But I had wronged her, greatly wronged her, and I was happy to have paid the price of my responsibilities.

No matter what the consequences would be, I would protect my family from all harm. I had only them, and in such a disgusting world, finding people that cared for me, for Nova. Was much more precious than any Dark Crystals or Shiny Stones.

"What are you staring at?" She said with a challenging smile.

"Just thinking…"

She got closer, "I know I should have come with you. It was a responsibility we had to share, Loke. If it weren't for my idea, we would have never gone to the Gnolls. I'm sorry."

"What? No, Ro, it's not about that. If I hadn't stolen from the Titan, nothing of the like would have happened. I was just thinking about… the past." I still couldn't look at her.

She released a heavy breath. "I think it's better not to think about the past. I think it's better just to think about how to fix the present. Maybe you don't know, but I've… changed, Loke. Yes, it still hurts. A lot," her knuckles turned white as she gripped her staff, "but it's better to channel that rage in something productive, isn't it."

"Like?"

"It may sound weird since I'm the one saying it, but… if you don't want anything to hurt you ever again, you just need to become bigger, bigger than the person you currently are, and stronger than who you were the previous day. I've been… leaving our protection to mom for all this time; she had always warned me about it. She always said that I would encounter trouble sooner or later; she also said that I had to fix my attitude no matter my past. Leafy did so as well, yet I didn't care. I did not want to fight anymore. I have seen… a lot of bloodshed because of power; I hoped that out here I wouldn't see any more. But, as it turns out, it's inescapable." She gave me a weak smile.

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"So, I've been running away for too long; it's about time I embraced who I am. Who my parents wanted me to be."

She had never, never spoken about her parents before, and sincerely, most of what I was hearing about her was new, I was quite taken aback.

"What about you?"

"What about me what?"

"Are you ready to tackle what life has in store for you? Or are you content with what you've reached?"

I had to be honest. "I have no idea, actually…"

"Well, you still have time, but in the meanwhile, grab your waster; I'm going to wipe the floor with you. It's still morning; there's no Night Hunter to be scared about."

"Oh, right? We shall see about that!"

It didn't take long for us to see that I wasn't really a challenge for anybody without my Skills and the night coming to my help.

It was indeed with bruises on my whole body that I got back to the Treehouse to rest.

Roana had taught me another lesson.

***

I had taken to coming to the top of the Treehouse ever since I was little and spent time with Leafy and Roana; it had always been my spot. But it wasn't mine alone anymore.

Nova sat with me. She had taken the cub with her and had climbed on top of the roof a couple of hours before I did.

She had yet to notice me, but it was clear that she had come here to stare at Faruq from afar.

The impossibly beautiful boy was training in the form of the Spiral with Alistar, who was learning the form of the Grid at an aggressively scary pace.

Nova stroked the cub, and every once in a while, she sighed as she stared at him.

I didn't really know if I wanted to laugh at her or cry for my Nova was growing up, and it was clear as a day that she had fallen in love for the first time in her life.

I decided to scare her, getting closer to her ear, "I mean," I shouted, making her jump up, "It's not like he's that good after all. Yeah, he's cute, tall, Flow-blessed, but that's it. Your brother is cute too."

"Loke…" Her gaze was one of resignation, "Why are you jelly? Besides… Faruq's cuter."

I sighed, "Cuter than your big brother? Like, really?"

"Yup." No wavering in her voice.

"You hurt me, you know… I might cry…"

She shrugged, "Then cry. I won't lie to you to make you feel better. Faruq's cuter, and that's it."

"You are mean. One mean girl…" I just didn't manage to tease her these days. Her thoughts were just with Faruq.

Faruq here, Faruq there… there wasn't anything special in him…

Yeah, I was a little bit jealous, but maybe just a little bit.

Yeah, maybe it was time I went to speak face to face with this Faruq and see what he was made of.

***

"Really?" I asked as Faruq kept making me laugh.

"Yeah, Captain. They were a laughable bunch; one finished the other's sentences… sometimes I wonder how they are right now…"

His eyes emptily stared at the partially red leaves, gently swaying for the wind.

We had sitten atop a tree's branch. He had invited me to a climbing challenge, which, with his Dash, he had clearly won, but just for a hairbreadth. It was likely that he had been holding back; still, it had been a nice thought.

He was obviously speaking about his family.

"They are twins. And both of them were born with two Flow Stars, just like me. They were entirely alike. When they cried, they did it together, when they shouted, they did so together, when they laughed, it was because one of them had started. Still, it was inevitable for them not to get drawn in by each others' laughter."

I wondered how it would have been if I had had a bigger brother… maybe all my concerns would have been… shared.

Yeah, right… or he might have just died to the plague…

I couldn't keep thinking like that, no. The plague was gone; as long as we were careful, it would not come back to haunt us. Really, there were bigger problems to think about.

"What about your mother? It's weird because it shows in your tracking… but your father's house says otherwise…"

"I… I'm sorry, captain, but I don't want to speak about it. Let's skip to something else."

Well, I wouldn't have spoken about my parents too, we had just met after all. There didn't have to be who knew what sort of mystery… still; it was quite intriguing.

"What do you want to talk about then? To tell you the truth, I came here to understand if you were really the good guy that your face shows."

He turned to look at me, puzzled.

"You might have noticed that my sister feels something for you, right? But she's still too-"

"Captain. I would never, you don't even have to worry about that. There really is no need to worry about it." He nodded to himself as he stared at me.

"Well, that's a weight I lifted from my chest…"

"And you? Is there anybody special in your life? Besides your sister?" He smirked.

"Hey! Don't be a pervert!"

Faruq laughed sonorously. Even his laughter seemed to belong out of some fairy tale prince.

"Anyway, yeah. My Harlow."

His golden eyebrows rose. "You mean, Harlow Raive? The Clock-engineer's daughter? That Harlow?"

"Yeah. Do you know her?"

What a stupid question; everyone knew Logan Raive, which meant that everyone knew Harlow.

"Everybody knows the clock-engineer, Captain."

"Yeah, yeah. I had understood."

I changed the topic abruptly, "Faruq…" I had to remove that lingering doubt, "You are a Speedster. I'm curious, how did those slave traders even get you?"

Faruq did not answer right away; he laughed first, "I'm going to tell you, but you have to promise not to laugh."

That was interesting, "Alright, go on."

"I was pooping after having eaten too much spicy crab and radish… I really was not minding what was coming at me."

My promise obviously broke.

***

"I see you are still thinking about it," M.J. said, climbing up to the roof.

This time, I was finally alone on the Treehouse's roof, or at least, I had been up until then.

The cub was with Nova; that much was natural; she and Ro had taken a liking to it. How couldn't they? It was too cute to resist.

Jane sat near me, "What you've got yourself into was… well, maybe I shouldn't speak about it, I've done worse."

"Like what?"

Rarely momma Jane spoke about herself; no, rarely was not the right term. Never was more like it. She had been secretive ever since I met her, not that I cared back then, but growing up, I, too, started to ask myself questions about Elves and Half-Elves. Sundoor and consecutively the Wastelands' people were at war with them since... Well, since we had memory, how could I not ask myself why?

She sighed heavily, juggling in her hand her trusted carving knife. "I was a delver, but I did not delve here, in the Wastelands. That much should be clear by now."

Yeah.

"I was a rogue. Trying to survive alone with my mother was not… not easy. We did many things, good and bad, well, more bad than good..." She raised her arm, calling one of the Eagle-Rocks; the creature perched on it, and she lowered the bird on the roof's tiles. Caressing its neck, M.J. continued with her story, "What happened to Ro could happen to us, any day. Delver or not, we were not invincible. We had no home, so we kept moving about, going from region to region; it wouldn't be long until we met up with someone tougher than what we could chew."

"We got ambushed one day, not much farther from here, in Kins territory. But… we were not prepared. That day my mother died, protecting me. I believe I don't have to tell you how I answered those people."

The night air refilled me with energy; every fresh breath was lightning for my lungs.

"That was when you let go of your Class?"

Jane nodded, "Soon later, yeah. I met them first, though." She said, stroking her bird's chest; it closed its eyes in pleasure.

"What you did, Loke. It is not something that you have to wear as a badge, but you will not forget it. It might happen again, it surely will, for you have a lot of responsibilities on your shoulders."

"Yeah…"

"People have started to look at you as an example, and although you are still far, far too young for that. I see potential in you. The Moon rays… they look for you. I've always noticed it. Just as much as the Sun rays do for your sister."

"What are you talking about, M.J.?"

"I don't precisely know… but Elves have a certain sensibility for that, and although I've only got half of their blood, I grew up with my mother; she was a True Elf." She chuckled, "It was probably why we were always in trouble."

"I didn't know that… but it still doesn't answer my question."

"Neither does it answer mine," she smiled, "but that's how it feels."

Momma Jane got up after that, "See you tomorrow, Loke. You are going to unlock the Form of the Vector. I can feel that you are ready."

I didn't answer; I let myself fall back on the roof.

I want to know that people looked at me that way, but three years of being an entire village's pillar had indeed shaped something in me. No wonder my highest stat was my Willpower.

I just needed to do right with it; then maybe, I could try and start cutting a little time for myself.