With a sigh, Alec tucked the last of his clothes into his small bag. He opened his drawer and rummaged through it until he found what he was looking for. Grabbing hold of a metal chain, he pulled out a circular object. His thumb ran over the gold and silver intricate swirls that formed around a ten-pointed star, before pausing on the button on the side. He pressed it. With a click, the locket flew open to reveal a picture that never failed to make him smile.

Inside the locket, he saw an image of his two-year-old self, sitting on his brother's lap as they laughed and faced the cam-crima. He had no memories of this happening, but Alen had talked about it often. It made him feel like he did remember their image getting taken together. He said that he had thrown anything he could grab at the cam-crima because he was scared of the flash that came when it took an image. He only calmed down when Alen sat him on his lap and started tickling his sides.

Alec pressed the button again and found a dried piece of flower petal hidden behind the picture. With a bittersweet smile, he turned to his bedside table and picked up a small crimson scale. It was a scale from the time Crimson had shed. He found it inside one of the pockets of his coat. Alec chuckled a bit when he remembered how he panicked and thought he had hurt the drae, only to be laughed at by Crimson and realize the creature was only shedding. Smiling, Alec placed the scale on top of the flower petal. With a click, the locket was closed once more, holding precious reminders of those he held dear.

A knock on his door caused him to snap out of his musings. He placed the locket inside his bag and tied his pack closed. After shutting his window, he made his way to the door. He paused to take in the sight of his small home. His eyes landed on the picture of Alen hanging on the wall, before running a hand over the image of a young man that he resembled so much. "I'll be back."

He took a deep breath, schooling his face into a neutral expression. He turned and opened the door. Gael's smiling face greeted his blank one.

"How are you feeling?" he asked. Alec wanted to roll his eyes at his attempt to make light conversation but held himself back.

"I'm fine," he said. He took out his key and locked his door. He faced Gael, who rubbed the back of his neck with a weak smile on his face.

"I see."

Alec watched as he turned away, catching a glimpse of Gael's awkward expression. He shook his head and followed after the man. He stopped for a moment on the porch, looking at an image of him and Crimson looking up at the sky overlapped with reality.

"We got long days of flying ahead of us, Alec," his head snapped to Gael. He had stopped at a nearby tree, waiting for him to catch up. "Let's go."

Alec nodded.

-----

Alec stood by the docks, watching as groups of people moved about, carrying cargo in and out of the Floats hovering over the Edge of the skyland. The sails billowed as the wind blew, and Alec heard the faint vibrations the crystal wind-crima made as it did its purpose to keep the transports afloat. He turned his attention to the Float they were going to ride on, thankful that the crew was not made up of people from Gelun. If anyone from the town came to provoke him, he might not be able to hold himself back and stab someone this time.

If there was one good thing about leaving, it was that he could finally get away from Gelun. The only reason he stayed was because he had nowhere to go, and he did not want to leave behind his brother's final resting place. This time, he followed his brother's last wish for him to leave Gelun if an opportunity presented itself. Alen would probably not like that the reason he left was to pursue revenge. But he would understand. His brother had taught him not to take shit from anyone. Ever. To pay back what he received tenfold, whether it was something good or bad. He wouldn't begrudge Alec for following what he was taught.

Somewhere in his mind, a small part of Alec could imagine Alen grumbling and rubbing his face with both hands in frustration, going "That is not what I meant!"

Alec ignored it.

He looked up when he felt people approaching, and found that it was Gael and Kreis. Their attention was on the group of townspeople busy admiring Asher and Iris on one side of the dock.

"Are draes so rare around here that they get turned into a spectacle?" Gael asked him.

"In parts of Arktis close to the Edge, yes. There is very little forest in these areas so draes don't make it their habitat. But if you head for the center of the skyland they are pretty common," he answered.

They kept quiet after that and headed to where Asher and Iris lay on the snow. One of the townspeople turned to them, and when his eyes landed on Alec, he nudged the rest, causing them to turn to him. Their amazed looks from seeing the draes disappeared and they all fell quiet. They parted for the three as they passed on the way to the deck.

"What is he doing here?" Alec heard one of the townsmen ask. He ignored him and continued forward. When Asher's eyes met his, the drae bolted for him, Iris following his lead. Alec saw some of the people fall to their rears from the actions of the draes. Asher's tilted head blocked them from his view soon enough. He laughed as the draes nudged his sides and licked his cheeks. He wiped his face first, before reaching out to pet their snouts.

"Nice to see you two," he said. The draes nuzzled into his hand and purred.

"Are you their Draeyer or something?" Gael asked with a playful glare directed at him.

"In the past two weeks, I think Iris sometimes forgot about me a lot," Kreis chimed in.

Alec couldn't help but chuckle at the childish act.

"It's not my fault they're excited to see me, and not you guys," he answered. The weirdos only rolled their eyes at his answer. Alec had the very childish urge to stick his tongue out at them but stopped when he realized what he was going to do. Did watching these two bickering somehow infect me with their childishness?

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a tug on his coat.

"Can I pet their heads? Please?" a small voice grabbed their attention. They looked down, including the draes, and spotted a little boy with brown doe eyes and a wide expectant smile.

"I'm not their Draeyer, little one," Alec said. "You can ask them." He pointed to the two men.

The child looked confused for a moment, looking back and forth between the two men and Alec surrounded by two draes.

"Oh," the kid said. "Misters, can I pet your draes?"

"Iris wouldn't mind," Kreis said.

"Sure, Asher wouldn't mind either," Gael answered. There was amusement in his eyes, as he directed his gaze towards Alec. "Will I expect this confusion to happen a lot from now on?"

Alec only rolled his eyes, before looking back to the boy.

He placed a hand on the Drae's neck and nudged him to lower his head for the child. Asher's face came in line with the boy's, and at once, the latter reached out and touched the spot between the creature's nostrils. All of a sudden, Asher sneezed. He let out a gust of wind causing the little boy to fall and sit on the ground.

"Eww..." the boy said. Aside from the gust, Asher sneezed out some of his saliva. But to their surprise, instead of crying, the little boy let out a joyous laugh as he stared at Asher. "He sneezed on me.....gross," he said. A couple of laughter joined his, including Alec's and Gael's, and rang throughout the flying dock.

As they laughed, Alec stepped forward and bent down towards the little boy. With the sleeve of his coat, he wiped away the saliva from the boy's face and hair. He was about to lift him to stand when an angry voice broke through the cheerful air.

"Don't touch him!" a man yelled as he stomped towards them. He shoved Alec away and picked the little boy in his arms. He turned to glare at Alec, before he stomped off, carrying the boy with a bewildered expression on his face as he looked at Alec.

"But, Papa, he was only helping," Alec heard the boy say as he turned his back on them. The laughter stopped, and he felt the people's heavy gaze on him once more. Kreis gritted his teeth and was about to shout when Gael's cough cut through the silence. Kreis deflated, glaring at the direction of the man.

"Okay!" Gael said. "It's time to go. We're on a tight schedule and I have still have to make arrangements for your stay with me." Alec knew he tried to make his voice as cheerful as possible, and maybe to distract him from what happened.

He welcomed the distraction and allowed himself to think about the arrangements Gael made for him.

Initially, Kreis wanted Alec to be placed under the protection of the Ryders. However, Gael protested, stressing that the confidential nature of the case made it troublesome to explain why Alec would suddenly be under Ryder protection. He also added that Alec might feel like a prisoner in the stiff and disciplined atmosphere of the military.

They were all valid points that Alec could agree on. He did not want to be placed in the military where his movement would be very limited. Still, it pissed him off a bit that they were deciding these things only between two of them. He was young, but he could definitely make his own choices.

Gael must have felt his mood back then—or read his thoughts, Alec suspected he could— so he had turned to him and presented the options.

One, be under Kreis' protection, but with very limited freedom to do as he pleases.

As for option two...

Alec paused as he remembered option two.

Pretend to be Gael's long lost little brother—well, half-brother, and stay with him in the skyland of Draeyer Academy.

He did not like either option. But for the sake of autonomy and safety, option two was best.

Gael had also reassured him that they did not need to act like close brothers with each other. He could continue to dislike him, but this time under the pretext of "disliking the older brother that started suddenly deciding things for him, after popping into his life out of nowhere."

When Alec asked why he couldn't be Kreis' younger brother, Kreis protested. "Are you crazy?" he had said. "Do you want my mother and father to divorce?"

Alec wanted to ask if Gael's parents would mind suddenly having a new child, but thought better of it. It might be an insensitive question.

To conclude, option two was best. How hard could being Gael's little brother be?

He paused.

Did I just jinx myself?

---------

You did, buddy. You did.