It had been the longest 24 hours of Gael's life so far. He knew that Alec would come out fine, as his body was just adjusting to his sentiral power. Still, he couldn't help but stick to his side all day. Thankfully, it was easy to accomplish his paperwork and coordinate with his colleagues without leaving.

Headmaster Donovan stepped in and handled the news of Alec's sentiral power. They couldn't hide it completely, so they opted to reveal that Alec simply had an aura that allowed draes to be friendly towards him and nothing more. The others who saw what transpired at the lake were asked to make a vow of silence. Gael gritted his teeth at that.

Damn, those stupid Sentire laws that damned bastard made.

In truth, he knew that those laws were for the safety of Sentires and the general public. He was just angry that Alec would still have to deal with people trying to make a profit off of draes. Fucking bastards always forget how important draes are because they can't see what happens during the night of Preservene. It's people like them that would doom us all.

He looked up from the documents in his hand when Alec stirred. Placing the papers on the small table next to him, he reached out and ran his hand through Alec's sweaty locks. He quickly found out that doing so would calm him down when Alec was tossing and turning in his sleep.

Alec relaxed and Gael took the time to run his gaze over his little brother. His brows furrowed when he once again saw the scars littering his body. There were claw marks, bite marks, and blade marks. There were even puncture marks as well. The worst were the six crisscrossing scars on his back. It looked like the work of a blade, and whoever did it...was very reluctant but swift, like they were trying to not inflict any more pain than necessary.

His hands clenched at the sight once more. Alec had been through so much throughout the years, and he wasn't even 20. He could perfectly imagine a young child hiding in a quiet corner, silently gritting his teeth as he tended to his wounds despite the pain. The more he imagined it, the more his heart broke.

After caressing Alec's forehead one last time, he resumed his work. This child will be given all the happiness he deserves. I will make sure of it.

------

He watched worriedly as the doctor tended to Alec. The young man had fallen silent, dread appearing in his crystal eyes when he mentioned his suspicion of what his sentiral power was. Remembering what happened with Crimson and the bastard thief, Gael quickly realized why Alec reacted in such a way. He wanted to reassure Alec that the red crystal and his powers were completely different, but the doctor arrived and postponed the conversation. The moment the woman leaves, he would immediately tell Alec. It would not do for him to be afraid of using his power.

It was a couple more minutes before the doctor finished. She told Gael that Alec was fine, and would be moving about soon enough after one more day of rest. After leaving a dose of fever medicine, he showed her out the door.

When he came back, Alec sat with his back against the headboard, silently looking at his hands. At first, Gael thought he was just busy thinking, but he sat on the bed when he noticed something was wrong. He reached for Alec's hand, taking note of how clammy it was. He checked his pulse and found it was beating rapidly. By then, Alec would've already told him to not touch him but the young man held on to his hand tighter.

Damn you, Gael. Why didn't you notice sooner?

Remain calm. Do not panic or you'll make it worse.

"Alec," called softly. Squeezing Alec's hand gently, he called him again. "Kiddo, can you hear me?"

He got a tiny nod and a short inhale.

"Okay. Take a long deep breath, hold it for a few seconds, and exhale slowly."

Alec did as he asked, although a bit slow to respond. He then asked him to continue the breathing exercise, gently speaking to him throughout the process. Eventually, Alec's pulse began to slow down. Alec's tense shoulders also visibly eased as he leaned further back into his pillow. His hand still held on tightly to Gael's, but he did not comment.

Gael waited a few more minutes until Alec spoke. "I'm...sorry-"

He immediately cut him off. "It's okay, kiddo," he said. "I'm the one who is sorry for not noticing sooner. I should've waited until you felt better enough to drop the news of you being a Sentire. You have been dealing with a lot the past few weeks, and I should've known better than to add more on your plate."

Alec looked up at him in surprise, before immediately looking down at the sheets. His hold on his hand became even tighter after he did. Gael took a deep breath and placed his other hand on top of Alec's, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Remember what I said a few days ago? I'm always ready to listen if you want to talk."

The young man slowly nodded with a bit of reluctance. Gael waited, watching carefully as Alec contemplated something before slowly lying back on the bed. "My power...can I really 'control' draes? Can I...force them to do something against their will? Like the red crystal?"

Gael was right. Alec was really thinking about how his ability sounded similar to the power of the red crystal device that they encountered so far. He was starting to grow afraid of his power too. Gael was glad that he caught this sooner. Sentires that were afraid of their own powers never had a good ending.

"It's similar, yes," Gael told part of the truth. He would not deny what he saw. Alec visibly flinched, but Gael immediately continued. "But what makes you different from the red crystal is that you are a sentient being."

He then reached out and ran his hand over Alec's hand, marveling at how quickly he relaxed at the gesture. Alec was an adult the same size as Gael, but he seemed so small and childlike in his eyes. "Like the crystal, you might be able to forcefully make draes do what you want. But unlike the crystal, you have the option to not do it. You can go about it differently, like befriending draes and forming a close connection. I think you can politely ask them for favors, and give them the choice to follow you or not."

"My power sounds like it makes them amiable to me in the first place, so is it really giving them a choice?"

"Maybe, Alec," Gael said. Doubt appeared in the young man's eyes, and he knew that he would never believe him with just words alone. "When you're all better, we'll perform a sentiral stone binding ritual. It will give you the choice to seal away your power whenever you want. We can check by then if the draes are really being amiable just because of your sentiral power or because they really like you as a person."

"You don't seem so sure yourself."

"Because there are no records of any sentiral power that is similar to yours. You're going to have a difficult time trying to figure things out, but I'll be here to help when you need me."

Alec let go of his hand slowly, before turning away from him. Gael had just a moment to see the back of his ears turning red before it was covered up by the blanket. "Thank you, Gael," Alec said, voice small but filled with sincerity.

Gael suppressed his smile at how adorable he was being. He stood and placed his hand on Alec's head over the blanket, giving him a gentle pat. "You're welcome, kiddo," he said. "Rest up and call me if you need anything."

"...You look like...shit, so rest up as well."

Gael paused before a chuckle escaped his mouth. With a wide smile, he gave one last pat on Alec's head before leaving. "Sure, Alec. I'll make sure to rest too."

------

Me: Are you okay?

Alec: No.

Me: Oh...

Alec: Why do you look disappointed?

Me: I can't tease and mess with you when you're like this.

Alec:...you're the worst.

Me: *shrugs*

Gael: *barges through the door* *looks at me with a glare* *proceeds to pick me off the ground like a sack of potatoes*

Me: I didn't even do anything. This overprotectiveness is a bit much.

Gael: *throws me out the door* *slams it closed*

----------

Just an idea I got from another webnovel. Are you guys interested in me making "Peeks". Like short scenes about stuff you're curious about that are not directly part of the main story?