That night, Gael arrived at Star Dorm with five members of the academy security and took away the intruder. Alec was left behind to assure everyone that everything was fine and the intruder was apprehended. He did not give too much detail to not cause panic among the students.

Before dawn arrived, Gael came stumbling through the door, tripping over his own feet from his fatigue. Alec caught him before he could hit the floor, and he dumped him on the living room couch. Seeing how tired he was, Alec was not cruel enough to impose the "no-sugar-water/coffee" rule he imposed the previous day. So, when Gael woke up he already had a steaming mug on the dining table next to a plate of eggs, bacon, and some lettuce.

"Did the guy say anything?" Alec asked.

Gael rubbed his eyes and yawned. "We got the location of the supposed meet-up, and promised the intruder protection if he helps us find those sons of bitches," he said. "I already sent someone to tail the intruder to see if we can find the nest of those insects."

Apparently, Gael was more prone to cursing when he did not get enough sleep. Alec nodded, before continuing his meal. As they ate in silence, Alec contemplated sharing what he had been thinking about the entire night. It was only a speculation, but the more he thought about it, the more likely it was.

"What is it?" Gael quickly noticed his hesitation. Alec wondered why Gael always seemed to be paying attention to his moods but quickly shook his head.

"About the thief," he began. "He seems to be working together with Whispers, and maybe some other criminal groups. Seeing as there are traffickers in Serene City, maybe he got help from them to enter the skyland."

The older man's gaze met his, before nodding. "I have the same suspicions," Gael said. "Entering and escaping on the back of a mind-contr-I mean Crimson, would not have been enough to escape the attention of the city guards and Ryders. I'd been looking up possible suspects that could have helped him, and it looks like now have a clue."

Alec relaxed. With Gael around, he did not need to worry much.

"My younger brother is so smart, like me," Gael said. "He's also thoughtful enough to give me my special coffee, even though he banned it yesterday. Oh...and also prepared breakfast."

"Shut up and eat!" Alec grumbled. Around the others, he only got embarrassed one or two times, but with Gael...

I feel like a little kid under Alen's care all over again.

With that realization, Alec fell quiet. Now that he thought about it, Gael and Alen were similar in a way. Not completely the same, but...sometimes he saw Alen in Gael.

They both enjoyed teasing him. Both of them were skilled in combat and very intelligent. They can switch moods in mere seconds. Gael scared him sometimes like Alen did. And... Gael was also very protective, kind, and caring.

It was both reassuring and scary, how quickly he was falling into the long-lost sibling act.

His hands clenched around his dining utensils. What in Blazen is wrong with me? I've been fine on my own. I don't need a new family! I'm going to leave eventually.

"Are you okay, Alec?" Gael brought him back from his stormy thoughts. "You're usually silent, but this time you seem to have a storm brewing-"

"Drop it."

"But I'm conce-"

"It's nothing for you to be concerned about."

Alec's tone was even and calm like always, but he might as well have shouted. Regret filled him when he saw the hurt that flashed in Gael's eyes. He stood up, leaving his unfinished breakfast, and headed out the front door with a mumbled excuse.

He took in the cold dawn air, before heading towards Detrian Lake. A run might help calm his mind, and maybe a visit to the Sanctuary to spend time with the draes would make him feel better.

A good conversation and head-on confrontation are always the best way to go, little drae, his brother's advice sounded in his mind.

For once, he ignored it. Place him in front of a wild animal and dangerous humans, and he wouldn't hesitate to do what was needed. But in human relationships...

Sorry, Alen. But it seems I grew up to be a coward when it comes to these things.

-----

Alec's life fell into a new pattern over the next few days. In the morning, he would wake up earlier than Gael and make breakfast. Next, he'll go for a run around the lake or visit the Sanctuary. When he returned, he would shower and join Gael in heading towards the main campus. There, they would proceed to do Gael's teaching and administrative tasks. Then he'd go back to the house, have dinner, and sleep. As it was the first week, things were still slow going and nothing happened.

As for the issue with the traffickers, the intruder mentioned that the robed man had told him to meet at the end of the week. If things went well, they would find their target, get rid of some scum, and maybe gain more information on the thief's intentions and whereabouts.

The entire time, conversations between him and Gael were formal and clipped like it was in the beginning. He did not respond to his teasing or react to his dramatic antics like before. The house was cold and quiet.

The housekeeper, Mr. Rowe, seemed to notice this and would often leave as quickly as possible. Gael still had his signature sunny smile, but it was dimmer than before.

Because of this, Alec spent the entire week getting swarmed with concerned draes. Everywhere he went, at least three draelings, Bonded or not, would cling to him. When doing volunteer duties in the Sanctuary, he would barely get anything done because one adult drae would always try to tuck him under a wing and force him to sleep or just hold him.

Asher would try to do the same, but Alec would immediately stop him when he began sharing what he felt from Gael the entire week. Draes had no sense for personal boundaries and never understood the concept of privacy no matter how hard he explained it to them. He guessed that living all their life with emphatic bonds made them more open about their feelings.

Draes were lucky creatures. That was probably why there were no records of draes ever fighting against each other.

Alec let out a big sigh as he sat against a tree, looking at the draelings happily sleeping next to him. He had just finished Sanctuary duties and was watching the sun slowly falling below the tree line. He was also contemplating how stupid he had been acting the past week.

He overreacted to Gael's trivial words. Usually, he would not care. He could readily admit that he was an asshole. But he was an asshole to other assholes. Gael did not deserve his treatment.

As he continued to slump against the tree, he did not forget to take note of the two figures hiding behind a tree a little further away. Recognizing that it was the Munstone twins, he had no reason to worry. They had been following him during his volunteer hours the last few days. It seemed that Knox and Solana were very perceptive, especially Solana, and had immediately noticed something wrong with him and Gael.

Alec had evaded their questions, making it clear that he did not want to talk about it. But the two were persistent. Hence, why they were having a poorly hidden conversation behind a tree.

"It's Gael's fault, I'm sure of it," Knox said.

It's my fault, actually.

"No, I don't think so. At least, not entirely," Solana said. "If it was, he'd be constantly tailing Alec and apologizing. Instead, he seems to be giving him space."

"Space for what?"

To wallow in shame from my overreaction?

"We both know how overwhelming Gael is when he's trying to show he cares."

Understatement.

"Right..." Alec could swear he heard a wince in Knox's voice. "I keep forgetting that they're basically still strangers right now. Of course, Alec would feel overwhelmed."

Alec decided that he did not want to continue hearing the rest of the conversation. He gave soft pats to the draelings before leaving. But two minutes later, the twins came running up to him, acting like they had come from another direction and had not been trailing behind him.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

The twins looked at each other for a few moments. Their mouths remained closed, but Alec could see the silent conversation they were having with their eyes alone. He wondered if this was what they called twin telepathy. Their conversation came to an end, and they both looked him in the eye.

"Alec, are you free tomorrow?" Knox asked.

Tomorrow, the intruder they captured was going to meet up with the robed man. Alec wanted to know how it would go, so he intended to be present in the meeting area. Nevertheless, he was curious about what the twins wanted to do.

"Why?"

"I was planning on picking out a new bow. I've worn out my current one," Knox said. "I assume that you probably know a lot about bows because you're a hunter and I was wondering if I could get your opinion to help me choose?"

Solana spoke from beside her twin. "I also want to ask if you have any good beginner recipes from Arktis and acquire the ingredients ahead of time. We're going to make foreign dishes next week for cooking class."

They were up to something and their excuses were proof of that. He did not want to find out. He decided to turn them down but felt two emphatic threads latch on to him.

Looking down at his feet, he found Uby and Dia looking at him with, pleading with their yellow eyes. From the thread, he felt encouragement and enthusiasm, with barely concealed mischief bleeding into the connection. He also received feelings of disappointment about him not giving them much attention the past week. Alec's lips twitched.

It was the first time he was being guilt-tripped, so he could give in for a bit right?

He could also use the outing as an excuse to be out in the city tomorrow. He had a feeling that Gael would stop him if he decided to join the surveillance team attached to the intruder. Not that he needed Gael's permission...or something.

"You're Draeyers did not tell you to this?" he asked the draelings. Knox and Solana looked down in surprise at their draelings.

The two babies rubbed their heads on his legs and looked up at him with wide innocent eyes. He sighed.

"Fine, I'll go," he said to the twins. "But teach your draelings to stop guilt-tripping me."

It was apparently the wrong thing to say. The moment the twins learned about their draelings guilt-tripping him, the same mischief he felt from the draelings flashed in their gray eyes.

He should have kept his mouth shut.

-------

The following day, right after lunchtime, Alec met up with the twins. They spent two hours choosing Knox's new bow and collecting ingredients for the dish Solana wanted to try out. It did not escape his notice that the twins did not need his input at all. The two had been distracted by something, and he often saw them having their eye conversations, nudging each other with their elbows.

Alec did not comment and put most of his focus on Uby and Dia. He was also waiting for time to pass until the scheduled meeting between the intruder and the robed man.

When midafternoon arrived, they sat outside of a coffee shop for a break. After they received their orders, the twins tried to make small talk. By that point, Alec was just looking at them, silently asking them to give up and tell him what they were really up to.

How could the twins resist the pressure of his stare, when grown and experienced hunters back home couldn't?

Knox was the first to give in. "Our excuses yesterday were bad, weren't they?"

Alec nodded.

Solana sighed. "We're sorry," she said. "It's just...we're worried. You and Gael were getting along just fine, but then suddenly..."

He narrowed his eyes slightly at them. "Just out of curiosity...what good does it do for you to know if Gael and I are getting along?"

The twins made a face at that, a wry smile mixed with a grimace. "He didn't tell you, yet?" Knox asked.

He tilted his head in confusion.

"It's not official, but Gael is considered the third child of our grandfather, Donovan Munstone," Knox said. "Although he wasn't legally adopted, he's family in every sense of the word."

Alec's hand clenched unknowingly over the handle of his cup. He knew Gael had a close relationship with the Munstones, but not to that degree.

"I see," he said. "You're here today because you're concerned that I'd hurt him or something?"

"What? Of course not!" Knox said. "You're Gael's brother. His family. We just want to help."

Alec failed to keep his words to himself. "There's nothing for you to help with," he said. "I'm not his family."

His teeth clenched at the chaotic emotions brewing inside him. He had to leave before he hurt the twins with his words too.

Refusing to look at them, he placed his cup on the table and stood to leave. For once, when the draelings reached out with their threads, he brushed them off. He forced himself to ignore their sad whimpers as he left the coffee shop.

Coward. You're such a coward.

He let out a deep sigh and decided to take a walk around the city streets. Maybe he could find something to do to keep his mind off his...emotions.

He wished he could back to the days when he did not need to deal with these things. Back to a time when he didn't have to worry about his relationships with people. But that would mean...not meeting Crimson at all. Crimson's death had set off a lot of changes in his life, but he couldn't regret it. Although it was painful, regretting the changes, was the same as regretting having been friends with his drae in the first place.

He spent the rest of the afternoon touring the city before he found himself in the busy main street of Serene City. Looking around, he stopped when he spotted a bookstore. Compared to the newer buildings around it, the store looked older and less busy as well.

"You know what would make me feel better?" Alen said in his memory.

His eight-year-old self rolled his eyes. "Reading your old and cheap romance books?"

"Exactly."

Alec let out a bittersweet laugh at the memory. Among the things he brought along to Draeyer Academy, were a few of said romance books that were filled with Alen's annotations. The plots were so frustrating and the characters even more so, but he read it because of Alen's notes. Reading those books felt like...Alen was reading right beside him.

Maybe he could try his brother's weird hobby?

With that thought, he decided to enter the old store. The moment he did, a familiar green blur flew towards his chest. Soon enough, Emera stopped and settled herself in his arm.

A deep sigh came from the front and he spotted Areisha Roselintine looking at her draeling in frustration. His light blue eyes locked with her deeper blue ones before they looked away from each other. Wordlessly, he urged Emera to go back to her Draeyer and proceeded to look for the romance section.

It just happened to be in the same spot where Areisha Roselintine was.

He began perusing the shelves, picking stuff at random. The plot did not need to be good. According to Alen, the more frustrating it was the better.

As he grew older, he began to realize how weird Alen really was.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Areisha Roselintine's surprised gaze. Her eyes were drawn to the four romance titles he held in his hand. She looked like she wanted to say something, and was soon unable to hold back.

"Those are no good," she said.

"Plot and characters?"

She did not get confused by his short wording. "Extremely frustrating...I threw them across the room."

"Then I found the correct ones."

"The smut though..."

Alec stilled and looked down at the books in his hand. Very carefully, he placed them back where he found them.

He heard a small giggle come from her at his actions. The back of his ears immediately felt hot, but he made sure to face her calmly. "Anything here that fills my requirements...except the last one."

Without a word, she picked out four books before handing them out to him. He made sure to stay a safe distance away and not loom over her. Despite himself, he remembered what Emera shared about her Draeyer.

"Thank you," he said.

He got a nod from her in return. When he was about to head for the counter, he stopped when he heard her speak. "I told the twins it was a bad idea to meddle, and it looks like they did not listen."

He remained silent at that as he looked at her back.

"They mean well-"

"I know," he cut her off. "But I'd rather not talk about it."

She glanced at him from over her shoulders, before giving a shrug. "Okay."

When she had nothing more to say, Alec headed for the counter. He received a raised brow from the old lady there because of his purchases, but soon paid for it and left.

It was only when he saw the sun setting behind the buildings did he remembered about the meet-up. Paper bag in hand, he rushed in the direction of the meeting place mentioned by the intruder.

Just as he was about to arrive, his commu-crima buzzed. When he saw the caller, he reluctantly accepted.

"What is it?"

"Alec, you're with the twins, right? Where are you?"

"We separated around an hour ago. I don't know where they are right now."

Gael's sharp exhale came from the other line. The sound coming from the other end suddenly quietened, like Gael had moved the commu-crima away from his mouth. Alec still managed to hear what he said.

"I want all the Draeyers in Star Dorm accounted for in the next two minutes! If you can't find anyone immediately, have some people go out and search for them."

Alec started to grow concerned. "Gael, what happened?"

"The intruder arrived at the meeting spot and he waited for an hour. Just when we were about to call things off, he suddenly fell over and...died."

Alec's mind raced with numerous possibilities for the situation before he arrived at a conclusion. "Distraction. The students..."

"The only Draeyers in Star Dorm are the freshmen," Gael said. "Rei is in the dorms. Keiver as well. I can't get in contact with the twins and Areisha."

"I was with Areisha a moment ago. I'll get her. You find the twins. They were in a coffee shop named Altran last I saw them."

He immediately turned and ran back to the bookstore, all while keeping Gael on the line. When he arrived, it was empty save for the shopkeeper. "Excuse me, ma'am. But did you see which direction the girl from earlier go?"

"She went in the same direction as you did. Her draeling flew off and she followed the little creature."

"Thank you."

He left and ran back, looking for any sign of the green draeling and her brunette Draeyer. He found none.

The paper bag in his hand crumpled at his clenched fist.

Why did they fall for such a simple trick? The intruder was fed false information, knowing that he'd be captured. While all attention was on the meet-up, the real people behind this situation were actually aiming for the students.

"I should've been more careful," Gael's voice came from his commu-crima. "Why am I so careless?"

"Save that for later, and find the twins."

Alec looked around, trying to spot any possible areas where Areisha Roselintine and Emera could have moved. As he searched, his eyes fell on a gray draeling perched on top of a building statue next to him.

He approached and the little one opened one eye to regard him. "I need your help," he said.

After saying so, an emphatic thread reached out to him. When it connected, he immediately sent his worry and urgency to the little one about the situation.

The draeling stood and let out a small roar. The sound was answered by three more roars coming from the same building.

It reminded Alec of the roars from the hunting animal companions of his fellow hunters.

"Thank you," Alec said.

If there was one good thing about the situation, it was the fact that Alec would have something to vent his frustrations on.

It was time for a new hunt to begin.