This isn't a thoroughly  polished chap, but I tried to lessen the errors.
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Somewhere near Arktis Edge
Arktis Skyland
Northern Space

Two days.

Two days was all it took, before Alec came to a decision.

With a sigh, he tucked another one of his clothes into his small bag. He opened his drawer and rummaged through it until he saw what he was looking for. He grabbed the metal chain, and pulled it out. He bounced on the bed as he dropped his body on it, and examined the circular object in his hand.

He raised it higher and the silver and gold caught the light coming from his open window. His eyes followed the white intricate swirls that formed around a ten pointed star. He sighed again as his thumb found a small golden button on the side and pressed it. The object flew open, and despite what happened two nights ago, he smiled.

Inside the object, he saw an image of his 2 year-old self sitting on his brother's lap as they laughed and faced the light-crima. He had no memories of this happening, but Alen talked about it often, and 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 light-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.

A knock on his door, caused him to snap out of his musings. He shut the locket and threw it in a small pouch in his bag. He tied his pack closed, and made his way to the door after shutting his window. When he opened it, 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. He looked back into his home one last time, before he stepped out.

"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.

"Sorry, for my poor attempt at starting a conversation. I'm no good at that," he said, causing Alec to knit his brows.

"How did you know I was thinking that?" he said. He saw how a playful smirk appeared on the older man's face, causing his frown to deepen.

"I don't know," he said, as he shrugged. "Maybe I read your mind?"

Alec watched as he turned away, catching a glimpse of Gael's green eyes filled with laughter, most definitely directed at him. He shook his head, and followed after the man. He stopped for a moment on the spot where Crimson lay a two nights ago and stared at the ground with glassy eyes.

"We got long days of flying ahead of us, young man," his head snapped to Gael. He stopped at a nearby tree, waiting for him to catch up.

As they resumed walking for the next half an hour, Alec wondered why he even agreed to leave Arktis right at the moment Gael asked if he wanted to. He decided to think of reasons to convince himself that he made a good decision. One, is because he'd be safer from that man who tried to kill him the moment he told him his name. Although, he was capable of protecting himself on his own. And as they approached the Town of Gelun, a second reason formed in his mind.

I can get away from the people in this stupid place, he thought. His face lost all emotion in them, once they both stepped into town. At once, the eyes of the townspeople nearby fell on them. Some glared, while some frowned, as they passed and headed for the market. Alec ignored them all, and kept on walking down the white streets.

"Umm...they're waiting at the flying docks," Gael said, as he noticed the attention they were receiving, more specifically Alec. Instead of staring back, he roamed his eyes over the grey structures that towered around them, and the busy street market.

After what felt like hours, but only a matter of minutes, they saw the Floats that hovered over the metal docks facing the vastness of the infinite sky. Their 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 saw the people busy scampering on board the Floats and the workers carrying the supplies to be delivered inside.

On one corner of the docks, where a small deck spanned out into the open air, a group of townspeople gathered around a black Drae as some men in dark silver armor strapped two saddles and bags on the creature.

"Are Draes really a big deal here in Arktis for them to gather around one?" Gael asked him.

"In parts of Arktis close to the Edge, yes. But if you head for the center part, there are lots of them there which is why it isn't such a big deal when one is around," he answered.

They kept quiet after that and headed to where Gael's Drae stood, as they readied him for his flight. One of the townspeople turned to them, and when his eyes landed on Alec, he nudged the rest, causing them to turn also. Their amazed looks from seeing Asher earlier disappeared and they all fell quiet. They parted for the two as they passed on the way to the deck.

"What is he doing here?"Alec heard one of the townsmen asked. He ignored him and continued forward. When Asher's eyes met his, the Drae broke away from the men tending to him, and dashed towards them. Alec saw some of the men fell to their bottoms once he did so, before Asher's tilted head blocked them from his view. He laughed as the Drae nudged his sides and licked his cheek. He wiped his face first, before reaching out to pet his snout.

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

"Who's his Draeyer again?" Gael asked with a playful glare directed at him. Alec couldn't help but chuckle at the childish act.

"It's not my fault he's excited to see me, and not you," he answered. The older man only rolled his eyes at his answer.

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

"Sure, Asher wouldn't mind," Gael answered. 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 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 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...hahaha...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 liquid 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. Gael's cough cut through the silence, and Alec knew he tried to make his voice as cheerful as possible.

"Shall we get going?" he said. All Alec could do was nod.

Minutes later, Alec found himself settling on a saddle they placed for him on Asher's back. They took his bag away and strapped it on the Drae's side like the rest of Gael's things.

"Are you sure you two are going to be fine with going ahead?" Kreis asked as he stood next to Asher.

"Kreis, you're forgetting that I can beat you up right here and now if I wanted to. Plus this kid right here is capable of fighting for, himself. After all he did manage to injure―" Kreis cut Gael off before he could finish his sentence.

"Okay, okay, I get it. Do not finish that sentence, or I swear you won't be seeing the light of day anytime soon," he threatened. "I can do that knowing your skills have rusted from always being indoors teaching and doing office work."

"They have not rusted," Gael countered. The second later, they started arguing and Alec and Asher rolled their eyes at them.

"You guys are acting like a bunch of children," he said, and the Drae nodded with him.

"Be quiet!" Kreis said to him. "I don't want to hear it from a child!"

"I'm no child. I've come of age and almost 19!" Alec said. "I thought for sure you said not too long ago that you weren't old either, so what was I supposed to call you guys?"

Kreis' mouth fell open at his retort. Alec saw a vein throbbing on his temple before he turned away and huffed out an air of anger and annoyance.

"Leave, before I do something the Almighty Kosmos would make me regret later!" he yelled. Gael and Asher's laughter engulfed them, as the former readied his Drae to set off into the sky. Alec leaned forward and held on the thick rope on his saddle. His fingers fiddled as his brows knit while he contemplated something in his mind. A moment later, he spoke.

"Mr. Kreis," he called. It was the first time Kreis heard him call his name, so he was unable to stop himself from turning around. He raised a brow at the young man, who had his attention on his boots.

"I'm sorry about your shoulder," he said as he looked up and met his gaze. Kreis turned his gaze away, but Alec caught the faint smile tugging on his lips.

"Don't sweat it kid. I'll see you soon," he said.

"Better hold on to me," Gael said as he laughed. Alec grabbed hold of his shoulders with his brows meeting in the middle.

"Why?" he asked. At the same time, Asher spread his black and silver wings and retracted them as he stepped closer to the edge.

"Because of this!" Gael yelled, as he turned to grin at him. In the next moment, Asher shot below with his head first.

"Drae's shit!" Alec's yell ripped through the air as they plummeted below. He saw thick clouds getting closer and closer as they dropped. His heart almost broke out of his chest when Asher spread his wings and they glided back up through the air. Asher and Gael laughed so loud that he could hear them even through the wind.

"It's not funny!" he yelled at them. It did nothing but fuel their laughter even more. He could especially feel how Asher's body shook, both from laughter and his flapping wings.

Trying to calm himself, he poured his attention on his surroundings. Endless clumps of clouds stretched out before them and once again, for a brief moment, he wondered what lay beneath those clusters of white.

He looked back and spotted the small portion of Arktis Skyland. His jaw dropped in awe at the beautiful sight of his home. The ice and snow covering it glowed in under the light of the sun. He looked down and spotted water falling from the jagged underside of that part of the skyland, and fell beneath the clouds that gathered below it. It too sparkled under the light reaching beneath it, including some of the water that froze from the cold. His homeland grew smaller and smaller as they flew away, but still beautiful to his eyes, until a cloud hid it from his view.

"Looking at familiar things from a different perspective changes your initial view of them. It may even seem foreign at some point," he said.

Alec let go of his shoulders and chose to hold his saddle instead. "I guess you're right," he said.

―――

Later that night, Alec and Gael sat around a bonfire they made to ward off the cold. Alec looked over and spotted Asher rolling on tall grass under the light of the twin moons. Earlier, Asher found the small triangular skyland and they landed for the night. It was indeed a small skyisle, for it only had three tall trees and the grassy part where Asher frolicked in.

"How did he find this place with all this clouds?" Alec asked as he threw a stick into the fire. Gael looked up from his dinner of dried meat and smiled at him.

"Well, only Drae's can answer that question Alec," he said. "Ever since they came to existence, they had helped us humans navigate these skies and protected us from harm."

They fell silent as Gael continued his dinner, while Alec busied himself by watching Asher nipping at the grass. He turned his attention back to the older man as he spoke.

"Actually, there were people who might've known the answer to your question," he said.

"Who are they?" he said. Gael sat down his empty dish and looked up at the sky in wonder.

"Who were they, is the correct question," he said. "They're the family of Skywardens. It was said that they understood the Drae's better than anyone, and knew a lot about them too. They were a private family though, and nobody knew who they really were and how much they really new about Asher's kind."

"Oh, I see," he said.

"Can I ask why the townspeople treated and looked at you like....If that's okay with you I mean," he said, unable to find the right word to finish his initial sentence. Alec kept quiet after that and stared at the fire in front of him. His hands gripped his knees as he thought his question over. He looked up and found Gael still looking at him expectantly. He sighed.

"Promise me that you won't look at me with pity," he said. Gael quickly nodded, and leaned forward toward the fire.