Unexpectedly, Momus was the first to tire out. It seemed even the pups had their limits.

Although neither Aether nor I noticed where he had wandered off to, at least Momus appeared to have had a great time, and fortunately, didn't cause any unthinkable disasters.

The wolf cub, drowsy and clutching Aether's tail as if ready to fall asleep at any moment, immediately pounced onto Qana's bed with lightning speed the moment I opened the door, burying his face in the pillow.

Aether sighed helplessly, and I gave him a reassuring smile, indicating that it was alright.

Qana probably wouldn't mind, right?

"I thought your room would be..." Aether said, looking around and scratching his ear. "More luxurious?"

"Oh," I hadn't really considered that. "Maybe Qana doesn't like unnecessary things?"

Aether nodded, walked over to Momus, and gently tugged at the little wolf cub's scruff.

"Give us some alone time..." Momus mumbled, turning over and wrapping himself up in the blanket.

Aether sighed again, perhaps contemplating taking a more forceful approach. But I lightly held his arm, shaking my head.

"Let him sleep for a while. Qana isn't coming back today anyway," I whispered, not wanting to disturb the already softly Snowing Momus.

"So..." Aether's ears perked up as he glanced at the little wolf cub. "No midnight curfew tonight?"

"Right." I averted my gaze, looking down at the empty floor by my feet, my tail shifting slightly to the right.

"Do you think it'll be okay to leave Momus here?" Aether whispered, and I was pretty sure there was a hint of anticipation in his tone. Of course, there was also that subtle, rapid wagging of his tail tip.

"Well..." I might not be good at socializing or understanding various complicated unspoken cues, but I could recognize an opportunity when I smelled one. "He shouldn't be able to run off anywhere, right?" Trying to justify my answer with a self-serving evasion, I glanced at the sleeping wolf cub. He turned over, his right leg twitching a few times.

"Then..." Aether shifted his weight to his other foot, his tail lifting as it swayed slowly from side to side. He then met my gaze, his deep yellow eyes full of warmth. "I'd like to show you something."

Aether led me through narrow, cluttered passageways, winding and twisting in seemingly endless directions--sometimes going up, sometimes down, and sometimes it was hard to tell. There were hidden doors that blended seamlessly with the walls, disused maintenance tunnels that looked like they hadn't been touched since they were built, and we even crawled through an air duct for a good stretch.

"This is really... Achoo!" I sneezed for the two-hundredth time. "Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!" Two hundred and three.

"I feel the same," Aether teased, sounding amused. I couldn't understand why the dust seemed to affect me but not him.

I crawled along behind him on all fours, only able to see the black wolf's large tail swaying back and forth, stirring up more dust. Occasionally, the fur on the tip would tickle my nose, setting off another round of sneezing with no end in sight.

"Whew, we're here!" Aether cheered softly. I heard the clatter of metal, and then the black wolf jumped down through some sort of opening.

I heard it then... the rhythmic crashing of waves, back and forth. The cool, salty air brushed against my nose.

Peeking my head through the opening, I took a moment to gauge the height before jumping down myself, landing on a slightly damp, rough concrete platform.

"Even though the Colosseo was built through a collaboration between Ash and the Mottle faction, it's the Nyx faction that remembers all the structures," Aether said proudly, even though half a spiderweb was still clinging to one of his ears.

"Oh, is that so?" I gave him a once-over, tilting my head slightly. "But what I'm seeing now is definitely Ash, right?"

Aether blinked, glancing down at his clothes and fur. He laughed as he tried to dust himself off, his yellow eyes catching the light from above.

Then, he sneezed loudly, making me burst out laughing, and he scratched his ears in embarrassment.

"Here." I helped him remove the rest of the spiderweb from his other ear. He hadn't seemed to notice it. As I did, my fingers brushed against the tip of his ear, feeling the warmth, and though his ear twitched, Aether didn't shy away or avert his gaze.

His deep yellow eyes met mine, his pupils dilating to adjust to the light, making them look even more profound. My own ears stood up straight under his gaze, growing warm.

I wasn't sure what to do, but I wanted... more... something more. Inch by inch, I moved my hand closer to Aether's cheek. His black fur tickled my palm, making me shiver slightly. My breathing grew unsteady.

"It's rare to see such a gentlemanly Gray," he joked harmlessly, but I felt my ears, tail, and the corners of my mouth droop reflexively. My body stiffened, and my heart seemed to skip a beat. My hand, now hovering near Aether's face, didn't know what to do next, so it just stayed there.

I tried to say something or react in any way to stop the situation from becoming even more awkward, but for some reason, I couldn't move at all--not even the slightest action. It wasn't supposed to be like this. I didn't care this much, did I?

Did I?

"Oh, damn it!" Aether's pupils dilated even more as he grabbed his muzzle, his ears flattening against his head, looking guilty. "Sorry, I just... because you mentioned it... and you're all gray now... Oh, damn it!" He smacked his forehead and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

Suddenly, I felt weak, my limbs starting to tingle. Slowly, I sat down on the edge of the concrete platform, letting my legs dangle over the sea.

The tide ebbed and flowed, rhythmically lapping against the seawall with a gentle swishing sound. Occasionally, the cold seawater would splash against my shoes and pants.

Aether sat down beside me, hunching over slightly, maintaining a somewhat stiff posture. His body heat spread from where we touched.

"Sorry... I ruined the mood," he said quietly, looking out at the sea. "I rarely do this... speaking without thinking..."

For a moment, I couldn't respond. I tried hard to calm the emotions churning in my chest, but that wasn't easy, even after all these years of practice. It was like the tide, coming and going, wearing down the foundation until it eventually collapses.

Even though I knew it wasn't anyone's fault, why did it still hurt so much?

The waves rippled across the sea, reflecting the lights from the top of the seawall, like a broken starry sky--flickering, ever-changing.

"I'm the one who brought it up, so it's not your fault," I said after finally calming down a bit, brushing the dust off my torso. "And I overreacted."

"I should've thought about that..." Aether murmured, his voice heavy with guilt.

"I think... not thinking might be... better." I placed my tail in my hands, dusting it off and starting to groom it. "I'm not entirely white."

I felt Aether's entire body tense, his ears standing straight up, his mouth slightly open as he stared at me in surprise. I wasn't sure why I blurted it out; maybe I just wanted to prove to myself that I didn't really care.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"At the tip of my tail, there's a small patch of gray fur." I knew it hadn't grown back yet because I had plucked it recently, but I still checked around the same spot. "I have to pluck it almost every month. No matter how many times I do it, the new fur always grows back gray."

I let go of my tail, leaning back on the concrete platform, my hands supporting me as I looked up at the sparse, moonless sky.

"That's a pretty clear sign that no matter how hard I try to pretend everything's normal, I can't avoid the question of 'who I really am.'" I let my ears flatten against my head in the breeze, then took a deep breath, the salty, moist air filling my nose.

Aether's body relaxed, and he mimicked my pose, propping himself up and looking at the sky.

Then, I felt it--a warm, soft sensation as he draped his tail over my lower back. After a few moments of silence, I shifted closer, leaning against Aether. I decided to rest my tail on top of his large, black tail. After a few breaths, he gently leaned his head against my shoulder. The sudden surge of emotion made me shiver slightly, but I quickly relaxed, responding in kind by resting my cheek against the top of his head.

We communicated without words, not even needing body language, yet we understood each other so deeply. We shared the warmth of our closeness, and even in the cool sea breeze, I began to feel a little warm.

A little warm... and it felt... good.

"It's the airship replenishing the sulfur dioxide gel!" Aether straightened up, excitement in his voice as he looked up. "It's my first time seeing it with my own eyes."

"How can you tell?" I followed his gaze, searching the sky but only seeing a small dot and a faint trail left by the aircraft in the night sky.

"I've seen a description before. The airship is in the stratosphere, and I can tell from the speed and the paint on the body," Aether explained, his tail tip flicking rapidly. Our fur rubbed against each other, making a soft rustling sound that tickled me slightly.

"Your perfect memory is really amazing, Nyx are like walking databases," I said enviously, watching the airship disappear from our sight, leaving a thin white trail behind.

"Unlike the Mottle branch, where nearly half of the members have at least one form of synesthesia, the number of Nyx with perfect memory is very small, never exceeding ten at any given time," Aether replied in a calm tone. "I don't have perfect memory."

"Oh," my ears twitched in embarrassment. "Sorry, I didn't know."

"It's nothing," he shrugged. "I'm grateful for my good fortune."

I looked at Aether, tilting my head slightly with my right ear folded down. The black wolf's yellow eyes were still fixed on the night sky, as if searching for something far away.

"Imagine a life with perfect memory," he murmured. "You would remember everything, whether you wanted to or not; you wouldn't be able to forget anything, no matter how hard you tried." Aether blinked slowly. "Ignorance is bliss, and forgetting is a breath of relief." His tone, full of distant understanding, stirred a familiar feeling within me. Perhaps this is why Qana said that psychics are always drawn to each other.

Is it because loneliness is a prerequisite for awakening one's abilities? Or is loneliness merely the path all sensitive souls must walk?

I suppose I don't have an answer for now.

So, I quietly listened, waiting for Aether to be ready to continue sharing his thoughts.

"Momus has perfect memory." I hadn't expected Aether to say this, so I just pricked up my ears and slightly opened my mouth. "You wouldn't think so, would you?" He turned to me and asked.

"No," I replied honestly, since I had never really thought about what having perfect memory meant or what impact it might have on an individual. Nor had I ever considered that Momus, who seemed so out of place among the Nyx, would have perfect memory.

"I suppose that's why he's always so resistant to learning... it has something to do with it." Aether paused, and we listened to the rhythm of the waves crashing against the seawall. "All memories become barnacles, permanently attached to your mind... and you have no choice in the matter."

"But there must be some... benefits to this kind of... trait, right?" I said slowly. "After all, you are... Nyx." I spoke in a compliant tone, not wanting to seem... presumptuous.

"Of course, that's why everyone is so tolerant of Momus," Aether shrugged. "But even by the relatively open-minded standards of the Nyx in the Senate, Momus is still too unconventional." He leaned his head against my shoulder again, gently nuzzling it. "This tolerance is built on the belief that he will become a valuable asset, not because..." Aether paused again, and we listened quietly to the sound of the waves.

The frequency of wet droplets hitting my calves increased; perhaps the tide was coming in?

"And not because..." Aether tried to speak again, but still couldn't finish the sentence, leaving the sound of the waves to fill the silence.

I mimicked Qana's earlier gesture, resting my chin on top of Aether's head, gently nuzzling him and exposing my throat to him.

"When Momus was younger, I couldn't accept his... rebellion at all." Aether's breath warmed my skin as he spoke, a slight dampness clinging to my neck. "I was always worried that he would never be able to adapt to life in the Library of Alexandria... or find a place in the Senate."

Aether let out a long breath and stopped speaking again. We stayed in our supportive embrace, listening to the waves.

"Of course, I'm still worried now, but I was much... more forceful back then." He raised his right hand to inspect his fingers. "No... I should say, worse."

Aether's body trembled slightly. I didn't move, trying to continue offering support.

"When Momus was six, just after he left our parents' care and started his basic education, I was his only support in an entirely unfamiliar environment. The only person he could trust amid all the predators waiting to exploit his value," Aether spoke, with pauses in his sentences, but he managed to get the words out. "At least I was supposed to be."

The black wolf beside me trembled slightly, and I thought it wasn't due to the temperature. Nonetheless, I shifted closer, letting us huddle even tighter.

"The irony is, I don't actually remember the scene or the details," he laughed bitterly, expelling a breath through his nose. "I can only be sure that, once again, when Momus behaved in a way that didn't conform to Nyx norms, I tried to 'correct' him..."

I sensed a certain wave emanating from Aether's consciousness, resonating with my own. Our matching wavelengths didn't add up but instead accommodated each other perfectly. Unlike the time with Piqsirpoq's wave, this happened naturally.

"That day went particularly badly for me, and he resisted more than usual, but none of that is an excuse." Aether spoke again, his tone deliberately calm. "I was so angry... At that time, I couldn't understand or accept why, when it was so simple... why couldn't he just be... the same, why did he have to cause trouble, why did he have to... cause me trouble." He sighed, finishing his sentence in an almost inaudible voice.

Aether's pause this time was so long that I wasn't sure if I felt something wet on my shoulder. I guessed it might not have been seawater.

"I hit him," Aether said in that deliberately flattened tone again. "Even without perfect memory, I could never forget Momus's expression at that moment." He took a deep breath, tensing up. "The fear, helplessness, and... betrayal when you're hurt by someone you trust, someone who's supposed to protect you." Aether exhaled slowly, his body occasionally trembling. "And, as mentioned before, Momus has perfect memory."

I didn't know how to respond. I wasn't even sure if I truly understood the emotions Aether described or the situation Momus was in. Even though our consciousness was resonating with the same wavelength, it could be for entirely different reasons. So I just continued to listen quietly.

"Piqsirpoq never hit you, did he?" Aether asked softly.

"No." Although I wasn't sure whether violence and cold violence could be compared.

"See, that's me, the worst..." Aether murmured, "...coward."

"I don't think you're... a coward." I wasn't sure what to say, so I simply stated my feelings.

"Isn't that right? After all, you've known me for two whole months." Aether exhaled sharply through his nose. "I don't even have the courage to apologize..." His wavelength faltered slightly. "I can't forgive myself, let alone... Momus, who relives every detail constantly."

"Oh..." I still didn't know what to say, but I felt like I should say something. "Maybe... apologizing could help clear the air?" I recalled that evening's conversation with Piqsirpoq on the balcony.

"Yes, it's possible." He sighed again. "But I think I'm more afraid of another possibility... What if Momus doesn't intend to forgive me?" He looked at his hand again. "I don't have the courage to accept that outcome."

"I..." If Piqsirpoq hadn't taken that first step, could I really have apologized to him? "I don't know." In the end, I admitted. "I suppose Snow isn't exactly known for being... 'wise'..."

"Apparently, some Nyx aren't either..." Aether chuckled bitterly. "I never even considered looking for opportunities outside the Empire, even though the London House on the Lunar is a precedent. I only thought about forcing Momus to adapt, thinking it was for his own good..."

"If not for Master Faurik's willingness to help connect me with opportunities, I probably wouldn't have any idea about my future, just wandering aimlessly. I'm lucky to have someone willing to help me," I admitted. "And if I were a Nyx... I suppose the faction wouldn't want to let go of such a valuable talent..." Like Momus.

"For now, let's just take it one step at a time. At least it's better than having no hope at all." Aether said. "Maybe sometimes, solutions really do pop up on their own."

I murmured a quiet acknowledgment, thinking about the question concerning "them." I still don't understand why Qana harbors such strong animosity towards "them." From what little he's willing to reveal, "they" trained Qana and taught the sword master everything he knows about psychic abilities. But perhaps that's also why Qana understands just how dangerous "they" truly are.

Aether is also an psychic... So, could "they" offer him help, solve Aether's problem? Or are "they" just as dangerous to him as they are to me? If that's the case, why doesn't Qana warn him? Is it simply because Qana doesn't care about Aether's safety? Or are "they" only a threat to me?

I really hate being in the dark like this. But every time Qana mentions "them," he becomes so... agitated that I don't dare ask more questions.

First, I'll confirm the details with Master Faurik. Who knows? Lately, things have been going quite smoothly for me.

Another wave crashed in, wetting the soles of my shoes, and the lower edges of my pants were already pretty soaked. I wondered if this place would be submerged soon.

"Sorry..." Aether murmured softly. "I just wanted to show you the sea up close..." He paused for a moment, then gently tapped his feet on the water's surface, making soft splashing sounds. "But instead, I've been going on about depressing things, wasting our last day."

"No... It wasn't a waste." I imitated Aether's action, tapping the water's surface with the tip of my shoe, watching the ripples dissipate on the rising and falling waves. "I feel... happy." I realized I was venturing into unfamiliar territory, where every word needed careful consideration before being spoken. "Being able to... reveal my true self, it feels... like a great relief." I rubbed my chin against the top of Aether's head a few more times. "And thank you for being willing to share... these things with me."

"Hmm..." Aether's ears twitched as he adjusted his sitting position. "I feel like a weight has been lifted too." He let out a small laugh. "Though I doubt it'll help with anything practical..."

"I think, having the strength to keep moving forward is always helpful." I crossed my legs, and Aether followed suit, to avoid soaking our shoes. This made us stop leaning against each other, but our tails were still entwined, and I could clearly feel the lingering warmth. "As long as we keep taking steps forward, we'll reach the end eventually, wherever that may be."

"I thought Snow wasn't exactly known for being 'wise.'" Aether leaned back on his hands, raising his muzzle slightly to gaze at the dark sea ahead.

"Well..." I mimicked Aether's posture, swallowing nervously. "I'm half Gray, so that should help a bit."

Once I said it, it didn't seem as difficult. Like a spell being broken, I couldn't even remember what had been holding me back in the first place.

I was merely accepting a simple truth.

I could even feel a smile forming from a sense of humor. So, I laughed.

I must have looked ridiculous because Aether joined in, laughing along with me. For a while, all we could hear was our laughter, accompanied by the sound of waves crashing against the seawall.

"Although it's not as vast as space, the ocean is still pretty expansive, isn't it?" Aether asked, wiping the corners of his eyes after we had calmed down, turning his gaze back to the sea.

"Yes..." It was then that I understood why Aether had brought me here. A warm feeling rose in my chest as I followed his gaze into the distance. "Expansive enough that it feels like... like..." My limited vocabulary couldn't capture the scene or my feelings. "I don't know."

"Maybe when you get to the Lunar and see the even vaster space, you'll know?" Aether asked, his tone a bit lazy.

I turned to look at the black wolf, watching as he closed his eyes, raised his muzzle, and let the sea breeze blow back the fur on his ears and face. The dust-covered shirt on his back flapped freely, making a soft rustling sound.

I could really appreciate this sight and never grow tired of it.

"How much longer until this place is submerged?" My clothes were getting wetter from the waves, and I had to be somewhat practical.

"About ten minutes," Aether said after glancing at the markings on the seawall and checking the time on his terminal.

"Then I suppose," I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "we should make the most of the time we have left."

So, for the next ten minutes, we silently watched the horizon where the dark sea met the sparsely starry sky, trying to grasp that indescribable vastness and enjoying each other's company.