S15 street, which Xander was walking on, was littered with leftover ration wrappers and the occasional newspaper floating by. It was silent in the street, aside from a nearby couple whispering sweet nothings in alleyway. He increased his pace.

It was about time for the quiet part of the layers even in the absence of the sun and the moon. The artificial light from up above, powered by what little electricity was afforded to them, was off. The various sounds of machinery below ran at a quieter pace, and in general, most of the lights were off in each household. It was a general consensus among the Outer dwellers that 11pm-5am was time for things to quiet down. Even in the lower layers, the criminal overlords abided by the same rules. Everyone needed sleep.

However, a single source of orange light emanated from a humble apartment enclosed by gray crumbling concrete. It was crammed between two much larger buildings and held about eight apartments each about 20 square meters. Xander remembered how Lady Fortune described the place a good few years ago.

"As far as things go," she started, "It's neither the worst nor the best. It's small, but not uninhabitable. You have to use the communal bathroom on the first floor, but a kitchen is provided. The bedroom is fine enough. Just watch out for the bugs."

The woman took the cigarette out of her mouth and tossed it just outside of the apartment. She ground the cigarette with her black heels before taking another one out of her fur coat and placed between her lips. Her lips suddenly seemed very appealing to Xander (not like he was tempted by it, of course) as she muttered something under her breath, whereafter suddenly lit on on its own.

"It should be perfect for people like you. It was, after all, built to keep up with the waves of immigrants from the surrounding kingdoms." Fortune took a drag of her cigarette and waved a strand of her raven black hair away from the tip of the joint. "The people here are quiet, the best part of the place in my opinion. Don't bother them, and they won't bother you. I'll do the same as long as you pay your rent."

Sorry Fortune, but trust me I'll pay you back tomorrow. So stop staring me whenever you pass me on the streets with that disapproving look. It makes me scared, Xander mused to himself.

He guided himself calmly to the middle apartment on the second floor where the orange light originated. Standing in front of the oak door, he jostled the Jade inside of his pocket gladly before grabbing an unassuming key. Inserting the key, he happily opened the door while trying to hide a smile.

A kitchen laid directly in front of him with the barest assets. A gas powered stove, a sink on the counter flush with the wall, and some simple wooden drawers that came with the place. A leftover meal for him, made up of bread and a vegetable dish of some kind, was on the dining table, and opposite of it, a brown disheveled mess of a girl was reading.

"River", Xander nagged cheerfully, "How much times do I have to tell you that you don't have to wait for me to go to sleep. You know I'll be fine."

River slowly raised her head over her book and yawned. Blinking her eyes a few times and putting away her round glasses, she scratched the bridge of her nose and stretched carefully, having her hazelnut hair cascade down her figure.

"Stop sounding so happy.", she disagreed sharply with a scowl on her face. "I was reading late into the night and lost track of the time. Not everything is about you. You're such a narcissist."

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Xander tossed his old patchy jacket onto the nearby coat rack near the entrance and sighed. Taking off his cloak, he sat down across from his sister who was slowly analyzing her book once again.

"Whatever." Xander rolled his eyes as he picked up the fork and knife in front of him. Greedily, he began to eat the boiled potatoes in front of him.

River analyzed her brother from behind her book and pursed her lips silently. Right as Xander was going to take a drink from her glass of water, River began to say, "Wh-"

"It's too starchy. Soak your potatoes in cold water."

"That's not what I was talking about!"

"Sorry, just reminding you about how awful of a cook you are. You're five years too early to match chef Xander the great."

"Ew." River muttered as she slowly calmed herself down and went back into her book.

Xander began to scarf down the bread in front of him."So... whatcha reading about?"

"One of the guards gave me his beginning textbook on fluid dynamics. Said I reminded him of a sister of hers or something, I don't know. Not like you'd understand it, as always."

"As always?"

"As always."

"You always act so smug like that. You know they called me a prodigy, a genius unparalleled when I was even younger than you. And you don't see me bragging about it."

"You're thieving in the Zones, living in a tiny apartment, and arguing with a fifteen-year-old. Lot of good being a prodigy does."

"Well, being a prodigy doesn't mean you-"

"Talk back to me when you get some shoes. Cheapskate."

"..."

She grinned, satisfied. She had that young glimmer of victory in her eyes that he really didn't want to see directed at him.

He was getting really irritated right now, but he had to remember, he had a Jade in his pocket right now. No matter what she said, he could always one-up her at the end. Just wait for the reveal.

"Cheapskate. My older brother is cheap and unappealing scum. He hasn't even held a girl's hand even in his twenties other than when I had to escort him out of-"

"I got a Jade!" Xander declared suddenly. In a sudden outburst, he triumphantly placed the Jade in the center of the table with a loud thud. Screw dramatic reveals.

River stared with her mouth open as she gazed at the object in the center of a table. The Jade was transfixing, enigmatic, and yet full of certainty and purpose, direction. River was staring at it with a strange expression on her face.

"I know right, pretty good if I have to say anything myself. Not the finest job I made, but..."

He grabbed the Jade again and slammed on the table once more. That shut her up quite nicely.

"In the starlight, I outwit three guys and got you this singular Jade. Incredible, beautiful, amazing, isn't it?"

Let's rub it in for a bit. She did deserve it for talking about that one time.

River didn't recoil as he smacked his hand on the table. She was focused on the Jade. It was glimmering bright in a beautiful green hue and warranted admiration from anyone, even God. With wide eyes, River stayed silent as she stared at the precious gem which moved ever so often whenever he hit the table.

River looked up with a strange expression on her face, "Is this real? Are you sure you didn't like... get scammed or something?"

"Trust me, I got it covered. I know my stuff"

"We'll get a few gold coins because of this, allowing us to pay Fortune back and... we'll have some pocket money for ourselves."

"Does than mean that we can get some textbooks?"

"Of course." Xander confirmed kindly. She was always so concerned about books instead of basic things, like food or utilities. "We'll go on a spending spree together tomorrow. It'll be Saturday, so no need to worry about school. It's about time I spoil you rotten for once."

He grinned as he smacked the table one more time. "Tomorrow, we're rich."

A strange sound like glass shattering sounded out from beneath his hand.

The smile on his face went away, and River's entranced and glad eyes turned into a mean glare.

"Xander. You're an idiot, aren't you."

Raising his hand slowly, he saw a pile of shards of green gemstones on the table. There didn't seem to be a lot of intact Jades in the room.

He laughed nervously to himself and placed his hand on the back of his head and scratched it as nonchalantly as possible. This didn't look good.

"So... the Jade broke."