Before his master began to give him the information he needed, Ariel almost fell into a trance as he remembered a story that began long ago.

…

The date was around fourteen years ago and a seemingly unwavering relationship began at one of the most magnificent spots in Diondo, capital of Taiso.

Adorned with marble-carved angels and poles luxurious enough to instigate the work of a greedy thief, the square was by no means a place visited by the commoner of the city. So the boy in dirty, torn clothes obviously caught the contemptuous glances of the people nearby.

Running back and forth, he was unattended and didn't seem to care about it or the people who were watching him.

Beside his father, a boy with curly hair and freckles all over his face felt uneasy as he waited for his father to end his conversation with another man.. In the midst of boredom he found himself watching the boy who looked more like a dog playing around than a child. How could anyone behave in such a strange way? The little beggar should not be much younger than him and behaved like a baby.

Still, for a reason he couldn't explain, he felt hooked and walked over to the boy. His father was so worried about his business talk that he didn't even notice when his son disappeared from his side.

Waiting for the little beggar to notice him, he just kept on staring. After being unnoticed for a few seconds, he was questioned.

"Why don't you help me instead of looking like an idiot?"

Startled and later irritated, he could not even answer the kid.

“My name is Ariel, help me before the fireflies run away. If I get at least one you can have the rest.”

Fireflies? He had never seen one other than those drawn in the books of his house.

“Don't call me an idiot, my name is Benjamin. It's you that looks like an animal running around. How do you expect to catch a firefly with your own hands? Besides looking like a retard you are also incompetent.”

Already expecting some hostile reaction from the other kid, Benjamin regretted speaking without thinking. He didn't use to swear and use rude words. Ariel was staring at him, and Benjamin was unconsciously ready to run from where he was. He could not be more mistaken.

“Ahahah!” Curiously, the boy innocently laughed and didn't look the least bit angry.

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“I didn't know you fancy people cursed like normal people. And now that you have spoken, perhaps I should indeed wear my shirt as a net.”Ariel unblinkingly removed his battered shirt and held it in both hands, literally as if holding a net.

Benjamin looked back and realized that his father was still engaged in the conversation from before and decided to have fun, who knows, maybe he would get a firefly. After all, he was a child too.

“Your name is too long, I'd rather call you Ben. Like I said, if we can get more than one firefly, I'll give you the rest.” Benjamin nodded and that was their first contact. A while passed and before Ben left with his father, the two boys arranged to meet there again in the coming days.

A beggar and an aristocratic boy became companions through a routine of playing in the park. It took Benjamin a while to realize that his new friend was a beggar, but when he found out he made sure to convince his father to let him bring his friend home. The Marchi family consisted of Benjamin, his younger sister Estella, and his parents Berto and Alana. At Ben's insistence, everyone was moved by Ariel's situation. They were very surprised to find that even though he was living on the street, the boy knew how to read and write..

Ariel was about to move into the Marchi house when he met his master who adopted him informally. But his relationship with Ben and his family did not change and their friendship flourished even more. Benjamin let himself be contaminated by Ariel's innocence and simplicity, even dismissing many of his luxuries by becoming aware of the disparity in his quality of life and people like the 10-year-old Ariel who roamed the streets of the capital asking for food.

His friend, by contrast, became increasingly educated and versed in the arts of Taiaso, all thanks to Kiu. At the age of seventeen, the minimum age for anyone wanting to join the army, Ariel decided to follow in the footsteps of his master and enlisted himself, later being assigned to a patrol and intelligence post in Diondo itself.

Unexpectedly, Ben decided to follow in his best friend's footsteps also enlisting, obviously to his parents' chagrin. At 17, he didn't care so much about his future as heir to Marchi's heritage. Since meeting Ariel, his conceptions and ways changed dramatically. He had become an idealist who would fight the inequality and corruption of the powerful.

Their path seemed inseparable so far. It was a bond that neither Kiu nor Ben's parents ceased to be amazed when they saw the relation between the two boys. Unfortunately this was a story bound to be interrupted.

Within months of their 18th birthday and more than a year of service as a military, a sneak attack hit the base where they were stationed. It was early in the morning and the insurgents were armed with rifles and gunpowder artifacts. The entire base was vulnerable and the casualties were high, eighteen soldiers and officers killed, and five more missing, including Ariel's best friend, Ben.

Little was known about the incident and those responsible, besides that they were insurgents fighting against the political and social order of the country. Ariel had lost many friends and his non-blood brother. Since then, a flame burned in his chest in search of clarification of everything that happened.

After the incident, he withdrew from military service and managed to enter the University of Taiso in applied social sciences. He never forgot everything that happened, and now, at 24, he was more ready than ever to bring justice to Ben's death.

…

“Thanks to a former friend from the State Office, I got the latest information that details the group of insurgents who killed Ben.”

Ariel's heart was beating so fast it felt like it was going to jump from his chest.

"And apparently ... they're hiding right here in the capital."