Something woke Elion in the depths of the night; the sound of scratching on the floor boards, growling softly in the darkness. Elion’s eyes snapped open in his bed, certain that somehow a pemalion had found its way into his bedroom.

More sounds, a low snarl. There was definitely something in his room. Elion tried to remember what Gorman had said to him about using Praxis without speaking.

“Armaments,” he whispered. “Give me armaments.”

But he couldn’t remember the name of the ability. He heard panting, the scraping of claws against the floorboards.

“What abilities do I have,” he breathed out.

The menu reappeared:

<< Manifest Armaments >>

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Before he could speak further, a weight landed on his chest, knocking the breath out of him. He gasped, wheezing for breath as adrenaline flooding through his veins like ice. In one motion he flung the creature from him, diving from his bed for the door.

A large black shadow flew across the room, crashing loudly into the dresser, sending tools clattering to the floor. Elion scrabbled for the door, but, unfamiliar with his surroundings in the darkness, couldn’t find it.

The creature yowled angrily, its cry piercing the night. Elion tripped over a stool in the darkness, tumbling hard to the ground. He pushed himself back up against a wall, looking for his assailant, breathing fast, heart racing.

A door opened and the lights came on. Keyla stood in the doorway, wearing a long t-shirt, arms folded across her chest. She hadn’t said a word to him since their altercation, when he’d called her a jerk.

“What in the name of—”

In the newly illuminated room, Elion identified his attacker.

“Snickers!” he exclaimed. The cat walked calmly across the room, turning his nose at the mess he had just made, as if to say, ‘How can anyone live like this?’

The cat walked straight past Elion, without so much as a glance, and began nuzzling his head against Keyla’s legs, purring.

“Aww,” she said, scooping Snickers up in her arms. “You’re a fluffy critter, aren’t you!” She stroked his head, scratching behind his ears. He purred, nestling deeper against Keyla’s chest.

“What were you doing in here?” Keyla demanded. “Besides making a mess?”

“Nothing,” Elion said, groggy mind struggling to respond to her questions. His heart still raced, his body prepared for another fight. “That’s my cat,” he muttered.

Keyla shrugged, then turned, taking Snickers with her as she closed the door. Snickers seemed to smirk at Elion as he left.

Elion breathed deeply, relieved to see Snickers safe and unharmed. But he was still annoyed at the way the cat had snuck up on him and then immediately left with Keyla.

“Traitor,” Elion growled at the closed door.

He got up from where he sat on the floor, rubbing at his bruised shins. He righted the stool that had tripped him, then replaced the things which had fallen off the dresser. A couple of books, some tools, and the picture frame, which luckily hadn’t broken.

Elion placed the picture of Keyla and her mother back on the dresser, noting the woman’s eyes. They were not the same crystal blue as Keyla’s, but had the same shape.

Once he had righted things in the room, he decided he’d better go rescue Snickers from Keyla. The cat was probably hungry, and he doubted she knew what to feed him.

Keyla clattered around in the kitchen, probably trying to find food for Snickers. The cat had a way of getting people to feed him.

Elion pulled on his shirt and pants, then walked down the hall to the living area.

Keyla sat on a chair at the table. She had pulled her overalls back on, over her pajama shirt. Snickers sat on the table, eating from a bowl of food, while Keyla brushed his hair out with a hairbrush.

“What are you feeding him?” Elion asked as he walked into the room. He wasn’t sure if the cat could eat Kylian food. What if he’s allergic to it?

“Just some fish paste,” Keyla said. “He pulled it out of the fridge.”

Elion grimaced, though that sounded like the kind of thing Snickers liked to eat.

Keyla glanced up at him, wisps of hair floating around her face, her blue eyes amused for once. Her face lacked hardness it normally took on when she looked at him.

“He seems hungry,” Keyla said. “Look at him eat. You’ve clearly been neglecting him.”

“Snickers is independent. He knows how to take care of himself,” Elion said, walking over to the table. “He ran off when we landed here.”

“Probably just looking for food. He’s starving. What is he, anyways? A snickers?”

“No, Snickers is his name. He’s a cat.”

“A cat,” Keyla said, the word sounding forced and strange in her mouth.

“Yeah. I guess they’re more common where I’m from,” Elion said. “Maybe something like a small pemalion?”

Keyla laughed, stroking Snickers more as he continued eating. “A pemalion? He’s not nearly vicious enough.”

“Oh, he can be vicious,” Elion said, standing awkwardly over them. He sat down at the table. “Trust me.”

Keyla brushed a few stray strands of hair behind her ear. “Where did you come from, anyways?” she asked. “You’re weird.”

“Gee thanks,” Elion said, furrowing his brow. He didn’t want to have a heart to heart with her. Gorman had warned him about revealing his identity. “Why?” he snapped, “Did Gorman order you to talk to me or something?”

Keyla looked hurt, and Elion backpedaled quickly.

“I know I’m imposing already. I just didn’t want you to feel like you had to take care of Snickers if you didn’t want to. I didn’t come here to be insulted.”

“Oh yeah?” Keyla said, eyes flashing. “You’re the only one allowed to call people names?”

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Elion got up and turned to leave. “I was feeling upset and you were reminding me of—never mind. Besides, you were being a jerk.”

“Reminding you of who?”

Elion hesitated. So far he’d had no luck getting any information on the transmitter from Gorman. If he opened up to Keyla, maybe she’d start talking to him.

“Just my sister,” he said, turning back toward Keyla. “We used to fight a lot, and I guess I’m just worried about her. I miss her. We’ve pretty much always been together, since we’re twins, and I just don’t know what to do without her around.”

“What happened?” Keyla asked, attention shifting away from Snickers. “Where is she?” Her eyes searched him appraisingly, scanning for signs of deception.

“I don’t know,” Elion said. “I was trying to find her, and I ended up here in Aterfel by mistake.”

“Because of Kasm’s summoning,” she said.

“Maybe.” Elion shrugged. “I don’t really know how any of that works. I don’t know anything about this place. I just hope Liora’s okay.”

Keyla’s face softened briefly, a layer of hardness and suspicion melting away. “You’re telling the truth,” she said.

Elion nodded. “Seems like I’m just causing problems. I’ll be getting out of here soon, and you won’t have to worry about me messing stuff up anymore.”

She stiffened in her seat, then whisked away Snickers’ empty food bowl. She crossed the room, bringing the bowl over to a washbasin.

“Well none of us are going with you,” Keyla snapped. “You’d better go back to bed.” She didn’t turn to look at him. “It’s late.”

Elion’s neck prickled, his face flushing with anger again. What happened to her? She’s so hard to read, jumping from interested to cold in a split second. He clenched his fists, biting back an angry retort.

“I just didn’t want you to feel like you had to take care of my cat,” he said. “Come on Snickers.”

He reached out for the animal, but Snickers sprang away from him, running between the legs of the table. Snickers pawed at Keyla’s legs, mewing.

“He can stay with me,” she said, picking him up and stroking his head.

Elion scowled, thrusting his lower lip out in a pout. Keyla didn’t turn to look at him. He spun on his heel and stormed out of the room.

Behind him, Snickers purred loud enough for Elion to hear.

Elion fumed as he walked back down the hall, leaving Keyla and Snickers to explore their budding friendship without him. The hall ended in darkness, a set of stairs leading down into the garage.

Something flickered in the darkness ahead. Elion froze in the hall, wondering if Gorman had gone back to his transmitter to make more calls. But the color was different, not the normal, ubiquitous teal light that powered everything in Aterfel. The light was green, a pure shade that reminded Elion of freshly cut grass.

He headed down the hall to investigate.

The heavy padding of Snickers running behind him reached him too late to react. The huge cat struck him from behind, knocking him flat on his face.

Elion grunted as the floor knocked the wind from his lungs. Snickers ran forward into the darkness, bounding down the stairs. Keyla laughed softly, an annoyingly pleasant sound, as she came up behind Elion.

Ignoring her, Elion picked himself up off the ground and ran after Snickers. Keyla was getting on his nerves.

“Snickers,” Elion called, keeping his voice low to avoid disturbing Gorman. He thumped down the steps into the dark garage, but stopped abruptly before reaching the bottom. Keyla bumped into him from behind, causing him to stumble down to the last step.

“What is it,” she asked, pushing her face over his shoulder, where he could feel her breath on his ear. Elion flinched away. “Oh,” she gasped, seeing what had stopped him.

The garage had transformed into a jungle. All the workbenches, tables, power tools, and other equipment were still there, but faintly glowing bands of energy had woven through and around everything. Almost invisible at first, the pulsing green light grew subtly stronger as Elion watched.

Green motes flickered in the air like fireflies. The central pillar looked like an enormous tree trunk, a grandfather of the forest. The stink of the garage was gone. Instead, the air smelled fresh and clean, like a garden after the rain, with a hint of floral perfume.

Everything pulsed rhythmically as waves of light swept around the room. A peaceful sound like a distant spring grew, matching a gentle rustle of foliage. At the heart of it all lay Kasm, still peacefully sleeping on the table, blankets tucked up around him.

Snickers sat beside Kasm, licking the boy’s face.

“Heranan cultivation,” Keyla whispered, startling Elion. He’d forgotten she was there.

Elion took a cautious step down onto the concrete floor of the garage. He did not feel the cold hard ground on his bare feet, but instead found himself stepping on soft, loamy soil. Walking as if in a dream, he and Keyla crossed the room to stand beside Kasm’s sleeping form.

“What is going on?” Elion marveled.

“Healing,” Keyla said, placing her hand on Kasm’s forehead. Her face glowed in the soft green light, eyes filled with wonder. Keyla pulled the blanket back, uncovering the boy. Shimmering threads grew from Kasm’s body like roots or vines, bursting out of his injured side.

Elion reached forward, brushing his hand through the strands. He felt nothing as they dissolved, crumbling into a spray of twinkling particles. The weave of light regrew as his hand passed through, twisting in the air, forming a new pattern.

A wholesome warmth crept over Elion, a sense of peace, relief, and relaxation. He looked down, and found his legs wrapped in green filament, like vine-covered tree trunks. The cuts in his legs warmed, tingling as they healed.

“What is happening?” Elion asked. “How is this happening?”

Gorman’s boots clomping down the stairs signaled his entrance. He glanced around briefly at the foot of the stairs, looking mildly annoyed.

“A Heranan and an Aurelian?” he grumbled. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I don’t think I’m doing this,” Elion said.

Gorman raised his eyebrows, surprised.

Kasm’s eyes opened, and he inhaled sharply. He shifted, but Gorman’s straps held him to the table.

Gorman and Keyla quickly undid the restraints, and Kasm sat up. He pulled his knees to his chest, unseeing eyes skipping around the room. His breath came more quickly now, in shorter, more panicked gasps.

Green light dwindled from the room as glowing threads faded, plunging everyone into darkness.

Kasm screamed, then gasped for air, hyperventilating.

"Someone get the lights,” Gorman shouted, and Elion heard Keyla shuffling around in the darkness. Elion grabbed Kasm and felt the boy shaking in his arms, wheezing for air.

Kasm whispered something, but Elion couldn’t distinguish the words.

The bright overhead lamps turned on, shedding blinding light over the scene. Elion blinked in the light as Kasm screeched again.

Gorman pulled bandages away from Kasm’s side, even as the boy shivered and rocked back and forth.

“He’s totally healed,” Gorman said. “There’s no sign of an injury.”

Smooth skin rippled over Kasm’s exposed side, revealing no scarring or damage. Kasm moaned.

“He’s obviously not okay!” Keyla shouted, picking up Kasm’s blanket and wrapping it around the boy.

Kasm’s eyes stopped rolling, locking on a space in front of him. He continued whispering.

“What’s he saying?” Elion asked.

“They’re coming. They’re coming. They’re coming,” Kasm said, his voice growing louder. “They hate Gorman. They’re going to kill us.”