"Student?" Lan spat out the word like it was revolting to the taste. "Do you really think I would be your student?"

The old man smirked, "Of course." He said it with such absolute confidence Lan almost believed it to be true.

Lan glanced at the unconscious girl, trying to figure out the old man's angle, "What…."

"You want to ask why, yes?" The old man said smugly, pulling out a chair and sitting opposite Lan, who nodded half-heartedly.

"It's simple, really. I saw you sneak in here, and I like your bravery. That sort of thing can't be taught. The rest... Well, I'm a good teacher,"

"Bu-"

"But how does that qualify you to be my student?"

"No, that's not what I was going to ask."

The old man laughed, waving dismissively, "Ah well, I'm not a psychic. Anyway, I'll just explain the situation, and you can make up your own mind. How does that sound?"

Lan frowned at the old man, feeling it was futile. "But I'm going to say no,"

"Are you?" The old man cocked an eyebrow quizzically.

"Yeah." Lan didn't like pathfinders, so why would he ever apprentice himself to one of them?

"Even if I could get you anything you wanted, money, women, power?" Seeing that Lan wasn't responding to these offers, the old man frowned, "What about... an opportunity? How does going to an academy sound?"

Lan froze, "What do you mean?" His mind whirled at a mile minute. If what the man said was true, perhaps he could also help Bo.

The old man smiled, "I have friends in high places," He tapped his nose secretively.

Lan struggled to get up off the kitchen counter but found himself almost glued to the marble. No matter what he tried, he couldn't escape, couldn't even move. He was like a fly stuck to a piece of tape.

"Relax," The old man's word were more of a command than a suggestion. The second Lan heard it; his body went limp.

"Can you get my friend in as well?" Lan asked weakly. 'If I can't escape, then... I'll have to go along with this,'

"Oh, so it's the academy you want," The old man arched his eyebrows, "Where is this… friend?"

"He's…" Lan paused, "I'll tell you when you show me some proof,"

"Proof of what?"

Lan snorted, "Proof that you can do what you say,"

"Fair enough," The old man nodded and brought out a phone. He quickly rang a number and held it to his ear.

'Is he calling the police?' Lan thought anxiously; his skin crawled as he tried to find a way out. But he couldn't even move, let alone escape.

"Hello?" The old man answered his phone, nodding slowly as the person on the other side spoke.

"Yeah, listen, are there two spots in Greenwood's quota this year-"

He paused, listening to the phone, where Lan could swear he heard shouting.

"Uh-huh, no, I get it… Look, it won't be like last time." He seemed almost exasperated.

Lan watched, bemused. The old man felt far less intimidating than seconds before.

"No! You listen to me! I saved your skin twice in the last decade, and you won't do me this one favour?"

Shouting came from the other side of the phone once again, even louder in volume.

"What do you mean I used up all my favours? Maybe I should pay you a visit! I heard Greenwood has a fancy new training facility… wouldn't it be a shame if something were to happen to it?"

He paused, turning to wink at Lan as though he had just done something cool.

"Ah, that's what I thought. You've changed your tune pretty quickly!" He said smugly.

He put the phone to his chest and glanced at Lan, "It's almost done," He said.

Lan couldn't help but feel like he was overhearing a very private and embarrassing conversation. He felt like he was listening to exes argue or something of that level

Picking up the phone again, the old nodded along as the other side spoke, "No, it won't be like last time. I'll give you their names first. It's a kid called…."

He glanced at Lan, "Name?"

Lan frowned, "My government name?" He would have liked to lie, but if he did and something went wrong, there was no getting away. Despite his carefree appearance, the old man was obviously extremely powerful, and Pathfinders weren't known to have particularly long fuses.

"Yeah, obviously I don't want your bloody nickname."

'Bo hasn't fully recovered yet, so he might fail the entrance exams.' Lan clenched his teeth, 'If this man can help….' He glanced at the old man, 'I can't say no,'

"It's…" Lan paused, realising he hadn't said his real name aloud since his parents died. That was the name they gave him, and when they died, it died with them, "It's... Anord Hall," Even just saying it felt strange. He wasn't Anord anymore, hadn't been for a long time.

"Great, and your friend?"

"Bo Lyle," Lan replied, hoping he had done the right thing. He doubted the old man could do much with just their names anyway.

The old man turned to the phone and asked, "Did you catch that? Anord Hall and Bo Lyle… Yeah, I'll wait,"

He put the phone down but left the call running.

"What now?" Lan asked, not fully understanding what was going on. He couldn't tell if he was in danger or winning the lottery.

"He's going to do a background check, and when that clears, we're all set," The old man leant back in his chair and smiled wryly, "Must be some friend you've got,"

"Yeah… He's pretty great,"

Lan still remembered arriving in the District alone. He had nowhere else to go. The orphanage was hell, and he didn't have any living relatives, at least, none that he knew of.

His first night there had been the worst. He had spent hours fleeing from a gang of traffickers, desperately running down the cramped, grimy streets that seemed to have no end. Lan had run for all he was worth, but no matter what he tried, he couldn't lose them. At the last moment, as the strength left his legs, Bo had been there, pulling him into a hidden alcove. When the gang ran past, and Lan was sure he was safe, he almost collapsed from exhaustion.

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He would never forget the way Bo hugged him. It was gentle, so kind. He hadn't been hugged like that in a long time.

At the time, Bo was in far better health but he was still only a child. If the men had caught him, he would have been just as helpless as Lan. Bo didn't need to save him, In fact, he probably shouldn't have saved him, but he had. And Lan would never forget that. Even as Bo grew sick from the rotten food and terrible environment, Lan was happy to stay and help him. After all, Bo was a friend, and Lan didn't have many of those.

"I still don't know your name…." Lan said nervously.

The old man laughed, "Oh, of course. You can call me master,"

Lan looked at him with thinly veiled disgust and made a solemn vow never to do that.

"Okay, okay, call me Kin." The old man muttered begrudgingly.

Lan nodded, and they waited awkwardly for the person on the other side of the phone to return.

"So, why do you even want me as a student?" Lan asked finally, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Simple, really-" The old man smiled, "Kids from the District are tougher than the spoiled brats who live around these parts. They adapt to what the Bridge throws at them quicker and generally make better soldiers. Now, there is a risk that they resent the government and plot against it, but I don't mind taking that risk, not when we are so desperate for troops,"

"But why me specifically?" Lan couldn't see himself as anything special. There were hundreds of kids just like him in the District.

"Well, I guess it comes down to chance. I was flying back home after… Well, that's top secret. You were the one I saw sneaking through the streets and avoiding patrols, not any of the other kids."

Lan's blood ran cold. If Kin had seen him, he clearly hadn't been doing a good job at sneaking.

"I was impressed by your initiative. I rarely see a kid attempting something like that, let alone succeeding. Say, what were you even looking for in here anyways?"

Lan blushed slightly, "A toy…."

"For yourself- No, your friend?"

Lan nodded.

"And you settled on stealing something from her." Kin gestured at the sleeping girl.

Lan nodded again.

"Well, why don't we have a look while waiting for this slow prick to do his job?"

Suddenly, the force holding down Lan vanished, and he was free. For an instant, he considered running, but if the old man could fly, there was no way he would escape. So, he climbed down from the kitchen counter and walked over to the sleeping girl.

"Let's bring her to her room. That's probably where we'll find the toys anyway," Kin added.

And so, they did. Lan grabbed her feet and the old man her arms while they hauled her up the stairs to her room. The house was so unbelievably extravagant that Lan was lost for words. Everything from the chandeliers to the ornate staircase was a piece of art that felt untouched by human hands.

But something about the house felt lonely. Perhaps it was the occasional toy scattered on the stairs or the frisbee caught on the chandelier. It was too big for a child, too cold, and too empty. The house resembled a museum, not a home.

The girl's room was bright pink and packed to the brim with toys and posters of various singers. She had a bed that a princess would be jealous of, and the floor was littered with unfinished jigsaw puzzles.

"Wow, what a room!" Kin whistled appreciatively.

Lan burned with envy and threw the girl down on her bed a little more forcefully than was needed. It wasn't fair that she had this, and he didn't even have... anything. But he took a deep breath and focused on the task at hand.

Thumper, he needed to find Thumper.

Starting at one side of the wall, there were boxes piled high with stuffed toys. They were filled so completely that teddy bears overflowed onto the floor, mixing with scattered jigsaw pieces.

While Lan ran over to the nearest box and pulled it apart, looking for a rabbit with an eyepatch, Kin hung back, talking on the phone. After speaking for a while, he placed it on his chest again and spoke up.

"Looks like Bo's application went through already; kids even got a decent talent potential!"

Lan nodded over his shoulder, concentrating on finding Thumper in the second box he was looking through.

The old man smirked and lifted his finger, pointing at the boxes, "What are you even looking for?" He asked.

"A rabbit with an eyepatch," Lan replied, moving on to another box.

"Gotcha, I'll show you how it's done!" Kin waved his hand, and the boxes rose into the air before turning over and dumping the contents onto the ground.

Lan froze, watching the hovering boxes with wide eyes. This was magic, pure and simple, magic. 'Will I be able to do that?' He wondered, awestruck. It was only just hitting him that he might actually be able to enter the Bridge himself! He could be a Pathfinder, maybe even find the man in white. Anything was possible as long as he got this one chance. He could stay with Bo, he wouldn't have to be alone. It was like a dream come true.

Next, the stuffed animals started to separate and float up slowly, as though filled with helium. "Wow," Lan gasped.

One by one, the stuffed animals fell back down to the ground. This continued to happen until there was only one remaining. A single toy rabbit.

"Is that it?" Kin asked.

Lan grinned giddily, "Yeah!"

The rabbit floated down into Lan's outstretched arms, and he hugged it against his chest as though scared it would come to life and hop away. Its fur was so soft it felt like he was embracing a cloud. He couldn't even remember the last time he had felt something like this. Even when his parents were alive, they could never have afforded such a nice toy.

While Lan hugged the rabbit, Kin picked up his phone again, listening intently to what the other side had to say. From time to time, he glanced at Lan, his face transforming from a frown to a wide smile. He looked at Lan as though he were a gold mine.

"Are you sure?" He whispered.

"Yeah, I get that… but there's really no way around the ban?"

He sighed, shaking his head, "No, I understand his talent potential is dangerous. Believe me, I do... But is there really no other way?" Kin listened to the phone intently and grunted in acknowledgement, "No, It's not your fault; you did your best,"

He watched Lan and frowned again, "When they take the test, let the first kid in any way. I'll… I'll figure something out for the other one,"

Lan watched Kin walk over and smiled, "Thanks!" He grinned, hugging the rabbit tight against his chest.

"Yeah…" Kin glanced at Lan and smiled gently, "I'll take you home now. We wouldn't want to wake the spoiled brat up,"

"Okay," Lan nodded, "But what do I have to do to get into the academy?"

"Easy," The old man grinned, "Take the test. Leave the rest up to me,"

Lan smiled sincerely for the first time in a long while and followed Kin out of the girl's bedroom and down the hall. They walked out through the kitchen after Lan had finished pillaging the fridge, and stepped out into the back garden.

"Should I run back?" Lan asked anxiously. He knew that if the old man had seen him on his way there, it was almost certain he would get caught on the way back.

Kin laughed and grabbed Lan's shoulder, "Don't worry, I'll have you home in a minute,"

For some reason, Lan couldn't really remember the details of the journey back. He couldn't even remember telling Kin where he lived. His mind was foggy, but he had a vague feeling they flew back; he just didn't know how. One moment, he was standing in the garden. The next, he was beside the fallen bus. It all happened in an instant.

When he regathered his wits, he checked for Kin and found that the old man had disappeared into the night, leaving Lan alone in the Boneyard. A distant dog howled into the darkness, its lonely call echoing through the skeletons of massive shipping tankers that had fallen into disrepair.

On another day, Lan might have felt depressed. Having seen how some children lived, to return to this was cruel.

But in that moment, he didn't care. His belly was full, and clutched in his arms was a teddy bear so soft it made him want to cry. He could already imagine Bo's face when he woke up on his birthday and found the bear. It would be priceless.

'Should I tell him about the deal?' Lan frowned, suddenly realising he had no idea what the deal even was. Now that he thought about it, had he lost anything?

'Kin made me his student… I think. But I don't know what that means. If only he were here so I could ask him,'

But in the end, there was no use worrying about that. The sun would rise soon, and Lan wanted to steal a few hours of sleep before taking the test the next day.

Exhausted by the whirlwind he had just experienced, Lan clambered back into the bus and crawled into the nest. He sidled up to Bo and hugged him tightly, placing the teddy between them.

With his belly full, and his future bright, Lan drifted off into the best night's sleep he'd had in a year.

***

The Present - Sixth Step

Lan woke up in the gloomy cavern, lit by only the faintest of glows from the damaged lantern, and sighed.

All things considered, the dream hadn't been too bad. Or at least, there were far worse things he could have dreamt about. It always improved his mood when he remembered that Bo had made it out… Even if he hadn't.

He still didn't know whether the deal had ever been completed or not. Bo had ended up getting into an academy, but whether that was through Kin's intervention or Bo's own talent, Lan didn't know. Although Lan was almost 100% certain he wasn't Kin's student. The last time he had even seen Kin was the night they met, so there definitely hadn't been a student-teacher relationship going on there.

Shaking his head, he sighed, 'I don't know why I'm surprised that a pathfinder couldn't be trusted,' He should have been used to such things already.

Pushing Kin and Bo to the back of his mind, Lan stood up and glanced at the roof of the cavern, finding the narrow chute he had arrived in.

'Now, which piece of the crown should I take next?'