Alastair's friend dropped off these strange things for us a couple days ago. They were supposed to help us avoid getting lost in Taradita. I honestly didn't understand how they worked but Alain and my sister, and probably Tiana, did. That was good enough for me.

We were supposed to go scouting today. If I had to guess, though, the main purpose was probably to make sure the strange gadgets work.

Anyway, Tiana and I were going with him today. My sister was practically glued to her typewriter. Lie wasn't keen on the idea since she'd yet to get comfortable with her new powers. Duke naturally wanted to take care of her because of that while Phoenix wanted to spend the day with his audiobooks.

We left around ten today. A nagging voice in my head said that this was a bad idea, though...

Alain didn't eat much, but I wasn't too concerned. It wasn't uncommon for him to not eat much.

Once we got into Taradita, something was off. The air was strangely cold, but I had no idea why that would be. As far as I could tell, weather wasn't really a thing there.

"Where do you think we should start?" Tiana asked.

Alain looked like he might have been shaking. "Let's find a good place to make sure these things work. Cole said we can pick them up when we're done."

They held hands as we walked eastward.

Alarm bells were going off in my mind, but I couldn't figure out why. It felt like I was forgetting something important...

I didn't think we went very far after this. Maybe a hundred yards if that?

Alain accidentally tugged on Tiana when he stopped walking. It was like he became a statue. His eyes were glazed over.

Tiana squeezed her brother's hand. "Ali? Are you okay?"

"Something wrong, bud?" I asked.

He looked at his sister, but it was clear he wasn't really looking at her. "Daijoubu, Kaze."

That was when I finally noticed. He was shivering. I'd heard him utter those words before. It was the day I saw him evolve for the first time...

"Tiana." I met her gaze. "We need to go home right now."

She nodded. "He's in no condition to be scouting. We need to keep him warm and make sure he rests."

How were we going to get home? I didn't know about Tiana, but I sure didn't know how to open the gate now. That was why Alain had to come scouting.

"Ali." Tiana put her hands on his shoulders. "Can you take us home? We'd like to go scouting another day."

I was shocked that he could manage to open the gate. I thought he was too far gone to understand what she asked of him.

Tiana and I put his arms around our necks, so we could carry him through the gate. Once we were safely back in the garden, Tiana picked up her brother. Surprisingly, she seemed to be alright by herself.

Anyway, I followed her as she carried him into their room. I grabbed a lighter on the way, because I knew we'd need it.

The princess set her brother on their bed and pulled his shoes off before draping a blanket over him. She pecked him on the forehead. "You'll be alright, Ali. I promise."

"Want me to call Hannah?" I asked.

"Please." Tiana sat beside him on the edge of their bed. "That'd be a big help."

I looked at the fireplace they had in their room. "Want me to get some wood for that, too?"

"If you don't mind... Ali's way too cold right now."

I went into the hallway to make the call. I didn't want to make the princess worry more than she already was.

Hannah picked up right away. "Hey, Marshall. Did you guys need something?"

"Yeah..." My cheeks got hot. "I think he's evolving again."

"Is someone watching him right now?"

I nodded even though she couldn't see me. "His sister is with him now."

"I'll be right there."

Phoenix poked his head out. "You guys are back already?"

"We decided to go scouting another day." I gave him my best smile, but I wasn't sure if it was convincing at all.

He followed me in, but I couldn't be sure if it was because he was on to me or not.

The kid's eyes got big. "Ain?"

"It'll be alright." T was smiling, but I could see through it. "Come here, little brother."

Phoenix looked at his sister with big eyes that made him look younger than he already did before he laid down next to his big brother. "I love you, Ain..."

This was when Hannah popped into the room.

Phoenix sat up.

"It's alright, sweetie." Hannah smiled at him. "You don't have to get up if you don't want to."

He leaned into his brother. If the cold was bothering him, he did a good job hiding it.

"Looks like you were right, Marshall." Hannah ran her fingers through Alain's hair. "He's evolving again. I've seen this before, but I'm surprised he wasn't done after last time."

Why was he evolving again? Could his powers really grow more than they already had?

"You probably don't need me to tell you this, but as long as you watch over him, fire will help him finish evolving."

Tiana and I nodded. We knew that already.

She motioned for Tiana and I to follow her into the hallway. Alain would be fine with his brother right beside him.

"This might seem like a random question, but Phoenix has gotten stronger, hasn't he?"

The princess nodded. "We found out in our last battle that he has the ability to create blue flames. I didn't even know that was possible until he did it."

"The prince of Engrada has the ability to create blue flames... I'm not even sure if I've ever seen that with my own eyes." Her eyes were the size of saucers. "I think Annie and Ame have..."

"I don't remember if we told you this or not, but Phoenix got sick a couple months ago." Tiana perked up. "Right before Phoenix finally shook it off, Ali took in some of his new flames."

Hannah rubbed her arms. "If that happened that long ago, I've surprised this has just happened."

"I dunno..." I said. "He will muddle through utter exhaustion until he just can't manage it anymore for the sake of others."

"Annie has said it's sad how impressive that is..."

I grabbed the princess before she could fall.

"Annie warned him that this could happen... I was there, but I still didn't expect this to happen..."

Hannah put her arms Tiana. "I wouldn't have, either." She sighed. "I thought KKs only evolved during their first mission and then they were done. I didn't realize that she was right about this possibility."

"It'll be alright." I ran my hand across Tiana's back. "We got through this before. We'll do it again."

"I could ask Ame to help the older boys if you want."

Tiana shook her head. "We can call if things get bad. Look after your KKs."

Hannah looked at me. "Holler if anything happens."

I nodded. If it came down to it, we'd make the call... We had to...

***

Thoughts? Theories? Predictions?

~Shino out!