'MY GOD, you're heavy!' I coughed as I tried to get my heavy armoured brother off me. For some reason the weight made the pitch of my voice shift. 'LUKALI! Please let GO!'

'But I missed you so much~ you're my adorable little baby sister and I haven't seen you in six months~' He whined in a baby voice, making me blush bright red. I was starting to think he was doing this for the sole purpose of embarrassing me, because most of the guards that were in the room were sniggering in our direction. Even Vincent and Hunter stifled a laugh.

'Okay okay yeah I missed you too, now can you please get off me? You're kinda killing my back here!' I complained behind gritted teeth. 'You're a general! Act like one!'

He chuckled lowly, which was never a good sign, before finally letting me go and pushing me once again next to Vincent. 'You want me to act like a general, huh?'

'Uh-oh...'

'In that case. Iris Kester and Vincent Rax, for entering my office without permission...' he paused, glaring at my friend and I with his piercing ice blue eyes.

'DROP AND GIVE ME TWENTY! RIGHT NOW!'

We flinched right into attention as we saluted, before dropping onto our hands and knees and beginning our twenty pushups.

'You... really should've... kept your... mouth shut...' Vincent muttered to me, sounding rather annoyed.

'Oh will you... suck it up... I have... pride... and refuse... to be treated... like a child...' I responded behind my gritted teeth. An amused smirk tugged at Luke's lips, as he watched us fulfill our 'punishment' with his arms crossed.

'Why is Iris obeying? She's not a Resukian guard.' I heard Jet ask behind all Vincent's heavy panting. The academy armour was designed to be heavier than normal armour, so it was like training the student's stamina. Unfortunately, it also made it five times more difficult to perform pushups.

'Because a general's order is like law to any guard, no matter where they're from. If Iris disobeyed General Lukali just now, it would badly damage her honour and reputation as a guard. And since she's pretty well known it wouldn't be very good for her.' Hunter explained, while leaning against the wall. 'Didn't they teach you this back in Alzdrak?'

Jet shook his head. 'I'm not a guard, nor am I training to be one, so I wasn't informed of any of this.'

'Then why exactly did you come with Iris?' Luke asked as he walked over to them. Despite being a General he was quite the curious type, as well as having a pretty childish personality. It's no wonder why some think I'm the older sibling, when in fact it's the opposite.

Jet shrugged at his question, kinda hesitant to answer, but before he did- he was cut off by:

'Guards one duty: to protect, all Eriska, no regrets! For our Kingdom we will fight! For Lady Emira gave us might!'

Vincent and I chanted, as we did our handshake while continuing our push-ups.

'IRIS! VINCENT! NO MESSING ABOUT!'

'We're still doing what you asked, so I don't see the problem...' I replied blankly. '18... 19... 20! Done!'

Me and my brunette friend jumped up, high fiving in the process.

'That's childhood friends for ya...' Hunter mumbled, shaking her head playfully. I stuck my tongue out at her, before turning to my brother with a smirk.

'So anyway. How've you been, feathers?'

'Feathers?' he scoffed 'What's with the nickname all of a sudden?'

I shrugged 'Meh. I've just spent enough time with Crimson to know siblings give each other nicknames.'

'When did you hang out with my brother?' Silver asked in her usual monotone voice as she blew the strand of hair that covered her eye away, only for it to fall back into place.

'Last week. Since you don't spend time with him as his twin sister, I thought I'd keep him company.' I explained, crossing my arms with a smug look on my face. Silver just rolled her eyes.

'Whatever... let's just deliver these damn potions and get-'

'Wait!' Jet interrupted 'Why feathers out of all nicknames? Shouldn't a general have something a bit more, I don't know, menacing?'

Luke and I glanced at each other, and he mouthed a 'should I tell him?' to me. I nodded in response, and he looked over at Jet with a grin. 'I think it's a pretty fitting nickname.'

'Why?'

His grin widened. 'Because I'm an angel.'

'Oh oka- wait I'm sorry what?'

Luke chuckled lightly, before turning to the other guards who were watching in amusement. 'Men, you all are dismissed!' He told them bluntly. They saluted with a 'yes sir' and began piling out of the room. My brother then turned to Jet once again 'You aren't allergic to feathers, are you?'

'No, why?'

'Okay good, 'cause you're gonna see a lot of them.'

I smirked 'You might wanna step back a bit, Dragon boy.'

As soon as Everyone stepped back, giving my brother space, he closed his eyes and placed a hand over his heart. Before muttering some shit in Latin under his breath 'Domina mea, ut det mihi ad te peto a virtute coeli...'

Almost immediately a sky blue light shone out of his back, causing him to stumble forward slightly. A wave of some kind erupted from the light, causing all of us who watched to shield our faces. As soon as we let down our arms to look, Luke stood proudly with a pair of large white feathered wings sprouting out of his back.

'That's my brother.' I whispered to Vincent proudly, who just rolled his eyes and smirked.

'Wow... I've seen this so many times before, but wow...' Hunter breathed in awe, bawling her fists up in excitement.

'Wait wait wait! So let me get this straight!' Jet shook his head in complete shock, as he used the index of both his hands to point at Luke and I 'Two siblings: One is an angel and the other's a demon?!'

'Yeah pretty much.' Luke and I replied in unison. We gave each other an 'eyyyy', followed by a high five.

'How?!' Jet yelled, hunching over and making hand gestures at us.

'That,' I began, sitting down at my brother's desk and propping my elbows on it 'Is actually a pretty simple and depressing story, my friend.'

Vincent whistled 'O boy...'

'We are 'bout to take a trip down memory lane.' Hunter added in a weird accent, causing all except Silver and Jet to snicker.

Luke cleared his throat, and his face suddenly went serious 'Jet, have you ever heard of a species called the 'Emira Guardians'?'

'I've heard tales of them from my people, yes. But I've never actually seen one with my own eyes, due to the Lands of Dragnir being too much of a hostile environment for their wings.' Jet paused 'Wait... Are you meaning to tell me you-'

'Yes.'

The ravenette's eyes widened 'But you can only become an Emira Guardian if you-'

'Die. Yes I know...'

Jet's ocean blue eyes travelled to me. They were filled with sympathy. He continued 'How?'

Luke's eyes travelled to the ground, so did mine. Between us, we began speaking the memory of the night my brother was taken from me.

Flashback - Third POV

'Lukali, Iris, wake up!' A mother whisper yelled, trying to wake up her two sleeping children as quietly as she could.

'What is it, mommy?' A nine year old Iris yawned as she sat up and rubbed her eyes. The woman placed her hand over the child's mouth and shushed her. Lukali woke up too, only this time from an agonizing scream from outside.

'What was that?!' The fifteen year old whisper yelled, looking half petrified.

'We are under attack. We must make haste!' The mother told them, trying her best to act calm. 'Lukali, I need you to take your sister down to the cellar. You'll be safe down there.'

Lukali, who was still shocked about the situation only nodded, and scooped up Iris in his arms. She reached out for her mother, her blue and grey eyes glimmering with unfallen tears.

'Mommy's gonna be okay, right?' She sniffled, turning her head to her brother.

'She'll be fine. She's a commanding officer after all.' Lukali replied, though not convinced himself as he opened the trapdoor that lead to the cellar. He walked down the stairs, only to hear the door close and lock behind him, followed by some shuffling on the other side. Lukali assumed this was his mother covering the door with a rug or something.

'Mom...' he whispered.

The siblings sat in complete and utter silence. Iris was cuddling up to her brother, who had his hands over her ears to muffle the unpleasant noises from outside. Slaughters. Sword fights. Screams. Fire crackling. Whips. All hell had broken loose on their village. Suddenly a thud came from the floor above, causing both siblings to jolt.

A man's voice could be heard through the floorboards, along with a feminine growl which Lukali assumed came from his mom.

'Where are they?! Where are the little fuckers?!'

'I have no idea what you're talking about.'

'Mom, no...' Lukali winced, hearing her scream out in agony was unbearable.

'You better tell us where those kids are, commander! Or you don't know what's gonna happen to you!'

'I have a pretty good idea...'

'Tsk. She won't talk, therefore she's useless! She is of no use to me! Dispose of her!'

The boy heard a sword swing, followed with a gurgling sound, and finally a light thud. He went pale in the face, clutching his trembling sister closer to him as he thought of what might have happened to his mother. One thing was for certain though, judging by the red liquid that now dripped from the hole in the ceiling. She was gone...

The man spoke again 'We'll find those little shits. We'll find that devil child and her troublesome fucker of a brother! I WILL have their heads mounted on my wall!'

With a gasp Lukali held Iris by the shoulders, holding her at arm's length as he stared into her oddly coloured eyes. 'Alright, Iris, we have to get out of this cellar. I need you to hold onto my hand as tight as you can and not let go. Can you do that?'

Iris nodded, her lip quivering 'Y-Yes...'

'Good. 'Cause this will be one hell of a run-for-it!' The teen growled, before standing up and taking Iris's small hand in his, clutching it tightly. They walked towards the back exit, listening out for an opening to run. It came sooner than Lukali anticipated. 'Now!' He ordered, pushing open the door with his free hand and making a mad dash into the night. The scene was horrible. Dead bodies, pools of blood, Limbs, heads. Iris gasped at the sight.

'Iris, close your eyes.'

'B-But-'

'I promise I'll lead you through this. Nothing bad will happen to you as long as I'm around.'

Iris hesitated, but closed her eyes anyway and let Lukali tug her hand through the gruesome remains of her home. Lukali ran as fast as he could, while still keeping a firm hold on his sister so he didn't lose her. She was the only thing he had left. He stumbled across an alleyway, which had a stack of barrels at the end. They were big enough to hide Iris, but not himself. He knew what he had to do. Quickly he picked the small girl up and gently placed her into the barrel. Iris looked up at him, fear in her eyes.

He smiled down at her, before resting his forehead on hers 'Stay here, okay? It'll protect you. Just, promise not to make a sound.'

Iris grasped her brother's hand in her tiny ones, not wanting to let go 'B-But what about you? Where are you gonna hide?'

Lukali kissed her forehead before pulling away, placing his free hand on top of hers 'I'll find somewhere. Don't you worry. Just be a brave girl for me for the time being. When this passes we'll find each other and run away. We can go to Rusuk like you've always wanted, and find jobs and live together. Okay?'

Iris smiled at the thought, as she let go of her brother and wiped her fallen tears. 'I can't wait!'

Lukali caressed his sister's cheek one last time, before whispering a 'goodbye' to her and closing the barrel. He turned to walk away but froze as he heard a voice.

'I heard someone, over there!'

Lukali stumbled back as a man turned the corner and trapped him in the alleyway. He was a tall muscular fella, with spiky red hair and grey eyes. He had a scar running across his bare chest, and a sharp canine poking out of his mouth. He grinned evilly, showing off his pointy set of teeth.

'Well, if it ain't the brat we're looking for.' He cackled, his grey reptile-like eyes darkening. 'Where's your monster of a sister, eh?'

Anger boiled inside of Lukali as he stood his ground 'She. Is. Not. A. Monster!'

The man 'tch'd, as he stepped towards the boy 'Listen, kid, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Surrender now and we won't cut you down.'

Lukali wasn't going to back down. Not when his sister's life was in danger. Swiftly he pulled his dagger from his belt and lunged at the man, who attempted to punch the boy. He dodged, before slicing the man's arm and jumping back before he could land a hit. His eyes widened.

Instead of a gash, a patch of red scales were in the spot Lukali hit. The boy's mouth went dry.

'Y-You're a Dragnian?!'

The man chuckled 'Yep~'

Suddenly his hands turned into red scaly claws, which he used to lunge at his his opponent with. Lukali was paralyzed.

Iris found a hole in the barrel she hid in, which she peered through to see what was going on.

Big mistake...

Her irises shrunk in horror as she saw her brother being cut down right in front of her eyes, and she resisted the urge to scream. The man who killed him stared down at his body, his claws dripping with blood. Lukali's blood...

Iris tore her gaze away, her chest rising and falling at an unnatural rate as she clutched her head. Tears fell to the bottom of the barrel as she silently cried.

'Luke...'

About another hour passed by, and soon the remains of the village fell silent. Iris finally decided to come out of hiding, and therefore climbed out of the barrel. She ran over to her brother's body, which was lying in a pool of his own blood. Iris's eyes welled up with tears and she fell to her knees.

'No... NO!' She screamed, gripping her orange hair in her hands. 'LUKE!

End of flashback