Ciro followed Noah up the steps of the inn. Both were anxious and Noah had no clue if this guy was telling the truth or really was just crazy. Ciro was a bag of nerves. It had been centuries since he had last seen his brother; to this day, he was thought to be dead. As they walked closer, they heard muffled yelling coming from the room. Noah motioned for Ciro to wait in the hall.

Noah went in to find Theo and Gabriel yelling at each other.

"You need to grow up and realize that those stories are just that," Gabriel retorted to whatever Theo had said.

"But if magic exists then the Gods really could have roamed..." Theo was cut off.

"Not everything you read is based on facts Theo," Gabriel interjected. He was becoming heated. Neither one was about to back down.

Theo slammed the book down. "Then why did Elmar tell me that Gods existed?"

Noah kind of coughed to get their attention. They both looked at Noah standing in the doorway. "So um..." Noah didn't really know how to phrase this.

"Yes?" Gabriel folded his arms. He was weary of what Noah was about to say.

"So Ciro is outside." Gabriel looked ready to kill Noah. "BUT! Before you say anything. I think we should hear him out."

"Exactly." This came from Theo who was looking at Gabriel with an expression of determination. He wanted to be right so badly.

Gabriel held a hand up to stop Theo from continuing. He looked over at Noah eyebrows furrowed. "Did you say Ciro?"

Noah nodded.

He felt the paper that had been sitting in his pocket since the day they left the elvish town. Gabriel knew he would at some point need to talk to this man. Elmar clearly knew something he didn't and he trusted Elmar.

"Noah, just... just tell him we'll talk tomorrow." There was a tiredness in his voice. The yelling had dried his throat out and this whole thing had sent him into a spiral of confusion.

"Alright." Then Noah left.

Theo watched the two without a word. When Noah left, he turned his attention to Gabriel, but he knew better than start the argument again.

Gabriel pulled his shirt off and paused. Theo noticed dark jagged scars that covered Gabriel's back. His breath hitched making Gabriel pause. Theo began rummaging through a bag to appear busy. He soon heard Gabriel slip into bed and he let out a pent-up breath. Soon after Theo decided to head to bed as well. His head was swimming with questions and replaying the events of the night. He tossed and turned but eventually found sleep.

~~~*~~~

The next morning Theo woke up on the floor and a pretty little bruise on his forearm. Gabriel was still asleep and Noah at some point made it back last night. Theo stood and stretched before inspecting the bright purple bruise. He saw Noah sprawled out all over the bed and quickly put two and two together.

"Fucking asshole," Theo mumbled as he grabbed his pillow. He stood over Noah full concentration and TWACK!

Noah received a full face of the pillow. He yelled out in surprise as he shot up. Theo stood there, face scrunched and pillow still in hand. He was getting ready for a second hit, but Noah held his arms up to block the hit. "What are you doing, you psycho!"

"You kicked me off the bed!"

"No, I didn't." Noah rubbed his eyes. He had a bewildered expression as he sat there waiting for Theo's next move. He glanced down at Theo's arm. "Maybe I did."

Theo reared back for another hit. As he swept the pillow towards Noah, it stopped mid-swing. Noah grabbed it and yanked it out of Theo's grasp. He began swinging the pillow at Theo landing every hit until Theo was laying on the floor in a fetal position.

"Do you two ever stop?" A sleep-deprived Gabriel was sitting up in bed looking at the two. Noah holding the pillow over his head and Theo peering up from the floor. Gabriel glanced between the two and shook his head.

"He kicked me out of bed," Theo argued as he cautiously stood up. Noah still had the upper hand.

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Noah rolled his eyes tossing the pillow back on the bed. "Well, if you didn't take up the bed then I wouldn't have moved you."

Gabriel stood there waiting for them to finish. It was too early to deal with them. He ignored their continued bickering and went to change clothes. As he turned, Noah caught a glimpse of his back.

"Holy shi..." Theo clamped a hand over his mouth and gave him a warning glance.

"What?" Gabriel pulled a shirt over his head. Theo shook his head and quickly removed his hand. Gabriel raised a brow but shook his head. Whatever they were doing he didn't care. "Get ready. We're going to talk with Ciro."

Theo perked up. "So you believe him."

"That's not what I said." Gabriel frowned. "Elmar said for me to speak with a Ciro. I'm assuming this is him. Nothing more."

~~~*~~~

Noah left first to find Ciro. They agreed all four would meet at the inn entrance and go from there. Noah finally appeared with Ciro in a tote after almost thirty minutes of waiting.

Ciro didn't say much as they approach the other two. The air became tense between Gabriel and Ciro. Theo shot Noah a nervous glance as they stood in the line of fire.

"Anyone hungry?" Noah asked. His nerves were going to get the best of him if they stood there any longer.

Gabriel nodded. "I could eat."

"There's a bakery just down the road," Ciro added

They all headed off. No one dared to speak.

The morning was cool and the smell of rain still lingered in the air. Many were still enjoying the warmth of their beds which left the streets almost empty. A few store owners greeted 'good mornings' as the four passed by. Theo smiled in return but none of the others acknowledged the greetings.

The visit to the bakery was rather quick and painless. Noah had found a table outside in a small courtyard by the bakery and thought it was a good place to eat. The other three soon joined Noah and began eating.

Gabriel finished a bite and looked over at Ciro. "How do you know Elmar?"

"Elmar?" Ciro smiled slightly at the name. "We've known each other for centuries. I helped him build his village."

"Funny because I've never seen you around." Gabriel leaned back in his chair arms folded.

Ciro nodded. "I haven't visited in some time. Not after..." Then he trailed off lost in thought. "What've you been doing all these centuries?"

"Centuries?" Theo choked on his food. At the end of his coughing fit he saw all eyes were on him and he sunk into his chair. "Sorry."

Gabriel shook his head at the wild statement. "I'm only twenty-two. The only ones who can live that long are elves and last time I checked, there isn't a drop of elvish blood in me."

"Before you protest to anything he's about to say, Gabriel, what happened to make you think he was dead?" Noah interrupted. Gabriel sent him a warning glare but he ignored it.

"Three centuries ago there was a war that had been going on for almost ten years. We decided to join the fight to finally end the cruelty of the North. It was a very dark time in the mortal and celestial realms. Erebus had laid waste to most of the northern kingdom and no one wanted to fight. I had taken to the Court of Gods hoping I could persuade them to do something." Ciro looked over at Gabriel and smiled sadly. "You never enjoyed the diplomacy and took matters into your own hands. Somehow you managed to gather a rather large group of rebels and charged into the royal city to kill Erebus."

A memory flashed across Gabriel's mind as Ciro said this. Yelling and faint figures running. He tried to remember more but the memory was gone as fast as it came.

"Most of the rebels were killed that night, but several were able to escape and tell us what happened." Ciro's eyes were full of guilt and heartbreak as he stared across at Gabriel. "One of them saw you. He said you were laying on the floor yelling for them to run."

The yelling was him. Gabriel could feel the burning in his throat as if this all occurred yesterday. He swallowed hard hoping his face gave nothing away.

"We all assumed you were dead."

Theo finished his breakfast and spoke. "So Erebus has always started wars?"

Ciro turned his attention to Theo. His golden eyes were clouded over with a mixture of sadness and anger. "After he took Ahmes, he settled down and the war just stopped."

"But now."

"Now it looks like he's become restless again and is a lot stronger than he was before," Ciro added.

Gabriel sat there in silence letting everything wash over him. It felt like new weights were stacked on his shoulders pushing him deeper and deeper into the chair he sat in. He looked over at this stranger who sat across from him. He studied Ciro's features which became eerily similar to his. They could be twins. So why couldn't he remember that he had a brother?

He stood and sighed, "I'm not saying I believe you. However, I trust Elmar and he said to find you. I'm assuming now that it was a ploy and he wanted you to find me alive I guess."

Ciro smiled. His smile seemingly warmed the air around them and it was welcomed. "He's always been one to have something up his sleeve."

"Yes well..." Gabriel smiled briefly. Laughter caught his attention for a quick second before he pulled away. "Listen it's been... strange meeting you, but I think this is where we part ways."

Theo and Noah snapped their heads to Gabriel with confused expressions.

"If you want, I have a friend that could help you regain some of your memory," Ciro explained. "He's in Ifera though."

This was the point where Noah realized they would be going their separate ways. Gabriel must've been thinking the same because he was already looking at Noah. Noah slowly looked away with a heaviness sitting on his chest.

The street around the four had slowly come to life as they sat there. Gabriel realized though that the crowds had gathered tightly. Their conversation was over as several protests rang out from the crowd. Gabriel sent a worried glance toward the boys before heading off to the commotion.

Ciro stood as well. "You two stay here."

"We can hold our own," Theo protested.

Ciro held shook his head. "This isn't some game. Stay here."

Noah sent a warning glare and Theo sat back down. The hairs on the back of Noah's neck stood on end and goosebumps raised. Whatever was going on wasn't good.