Icefall City
Arktis Skyland
Northern Space

Alec sat on one of the brown-cushioned seats around a table, surrounded by the cozy atmosphere of the Govonos' family restaurant. To his left sat his guardian, who kept rolling a meatball over his almost empty plate using a silver fork. Gael's shocked expression from earlier was still quite evident in the depths of his green eyes. To his right, eating a meal of red sauced fish, sat the woman who all of a sudden attacked him in Xavier Park and then unexpectedly peppered his face with kisses after calling herself his eaana.

Ever since that moment, Vaneesa tugged their silent and stunned selves to Sierra's. She kept up her animated chatter until they reached the restaurant, yet all Alec could do was stare at her with her words passing through one ear and out to the other.

"Alec," Vaneesa called. He snapped out of his train of thoughts, and with the way Gael jerked in his seat, the man was interrupted from his deep musings as well. Alec's eyes trailed from his guardian, along the top of the table, before rising to meet the woman's clear grey eyes. A bright smile lit her entire face, adding to the entrancing beauty she already possessed. He blinked at her, not knowing what to say.

After another minute of silence among the three of them, Vaneesa's sigh shattered it. She tucked a lose strand of her black and blue hair behind her ear before speaking. "Judging by the look in your eyes, Alen never mentioned me, did he?"

The young man stopped himself from lowering his gaze and met hers as he shook his head. Something similar to pain flashed in Vaneesa's eyes and the corner of her lips turned down. She was the one who looked away and her forefinger traced circles on the table cloth. "I see," she almost whispered. The happy air around her vanished in an instant and was replaced by a gloomy mood. Alec felt the need to somehow raise her spirits, surprising himself. It was something he only felt doing for Solana whenever she was sad. He still had no idea what to say but he spoke anyway.

"Are you...really my sister?" he asked. Vaneesa paused from circling her finger over the cloth. Ever so slowly, her gaze rose to meet his and she smiled. It was so small that he had to look hard to see it. She reached out and ran her hand through his short hair before her slender fingers cupped the right side of his face. Her thumb gave his cheek a gentle caress, causing his body to go rigid from such an affectionate gesture. Vaneesa seemed to notice which made her retract her hand.

"By blood, no," she said, "but in a sense I see you as my little brother."

From the corner of his eyes, Alec saw Gael lean forward and stare at the woman with curious eyes. He found himself doing the same soon after.

"Alen's work was in this city that's why you moved here. You were three and he was fifteen, but he didn't act like he was fifteen though," she said. "We were neighbors, which was why your brother often left you in my mother's care whenever he had to leave. I helped in looking after you. We were playmates too.

"Alen was like the eouno I never had the privilege of having. Whenever the other students in the preparatory schools bullied me, he scared them all away and he baked biscuits to comfort me. He also offered to braid my hair but I never let him."

A smile tugged at the corners of Alec's lips. While looking into the woman's warm gaze as she spoke of Alen, he somehow felt happy. All his life, he had heard nothing but scornful words thrown at his brother. It was the first time somebody else other than himself to spoke so fondly about him.

"The biscuit-part sounds like Alen," he said. He then thought of the time in his childhood wherein he had long flowing hair, and his smile widened. "He was terrible with braids though which is why I eventually asked him to cut my hair before he got it all tangled. But of course I didn't tell him that."

Vaneesa's melodious laughter drifted to his ears and he looked up to find the smile back on her face, enhancing her beauty once more. Another sigh came from her before she spoke. "I'm sorry about attacking you earlier. You looked so much like Alen and I really thought he was you."

"It's fine. Nothing bad happened," he said and smiled at her.

The sound of jingling bells interrupted their conversation. They fixed their attention on Gael and saw him pull out his commu-crima at the same time. He glanced down at the device before looking up at them both with a smile. "I have to take this. Just continue your conversation."

Alec frowned for a brief moment, knowing who was calling and for what reason. His glower disappeared though when he remembered Vaneesa's presence. When Gael was outside, he spoke.

"What was eouno's job...Vaneesa-ana?" he asked. Even though he sounded hesitant in addressing her, the woman smiled and reached out to ruffle his hair. However, her smile softened as her brows met in the middle when she pulled her hand back. She tilted her head to the right as she spoke.

"You don't know that too?" Her head shifted so she was facing her front and not him. She seemed to be deep in thought as she frowned even more. After releasing a sigh, she answered him. "Are you aware of the requirements for becoming a Special Officer in the Regiments?"

"Yes," he said. "All you need is to have a very high level of combat skill and intelligence, including perfect physical health."

Vaneesa nodded before speaking with a faraway look in her eyes. "It's a bit unbelievable, but at the age of 15 your brother met all those requirements and became part of the First Ryder Regiment. He was stationed here when there was still a small base for the Regime outside the city."

Alec dropped his jaw in surprise at the information. He knew his brother was skilled. Alec experienced it first hand during all those session his brother put him too. No matter what he did, training with Alen never ended without him getting bruised or cut. However, his brother always treated his wounds and gave him all of his tender attention even though Alec never sought for it.

"Where is Alen anyway? He should be the one answering you, you know," Vaneesa snapped him out of his thoughts. "I promise that I'll only try to give him a bruise or two and not break his face, so don't be afraid to tell me."

Alec froze, and his head jerked to meet her grey gaze. As his eyes roamed over her smiling face and saw the hopeful and excited gleam shinning in her eyes' depths, heaviness filled his heart at the thought of ruining it. He had no other choice though. It was better to tell the truth, no matter how much it hurt.

"Eaana," he called with his voice soft. He assumed that whatever look he had on his face was the reason why the frown flew back between her brows and the look of excitement was replaced by worry. "Alen...he's not with us anymore." With that said, he looked down at the table and waited for her reaction. Silence engulfed them with the exemption of the other customers in the room.

"Since...when?" she heard her ask. Alec didn't know what to feel when he detected the crack in her voice as she spoke. All the more so when he heard her sniff.

"Almost nine years ago. The Raze Boils took him."

"I see," she said. Alec looked up when he heard a chair scrape across the floor, and found that Vaneesa had stood. One of her hands wiped away a tear from her left cheek. "Excuse me for a moment. I need to go to the lavatory."

Before Alec could utter another word, the woman walked away with her steps brisk like something was chasing her. He knew that that something was the reality that the person she loved as an older brother was long gone.

As if on cue, Gael strode back to their table with his face a bit on the grim side. When his green eyes fell on the empty chair where Vaneesa occupied, a crease formed between his brows. "Where's Vaneesa?"

"She went to the restroom," Alec said. "I told her about what happened to Alen."

As he looked up at Gael, he saw the man stare down at him with surprise as his hand froze from pushing his chair back so he could sit. The man shook his head with vigor in his movements before plopping back on his chair. Gael sighed.

"I think it would be best if we accompany her home," he said. Alec could only nod as his response.

―――

Vaneesa's home was not too far from Icefall Academy. Their entire walk was silent, and Alec watched Vaneesa's solemn mood every now and then. Her nose was a light shade of pink and the puffiness of her eyes were the only evidence that she cried. Gael walked to her left and was gazing at her in concern. Up ahead of them, his Triplets frolicked on the snowy ground and glancing at their direction every now and then.

"You're brother was always secretive," Vaneesa started. Alec was a bit taken by surprise before he forced his eyes to return to their normal size. "He told me that you lived in Desro, but when I asked why you moved from that country to Freon, he changed the subject."

Alec's brows rose at that one. He kept his lips clamped, not wanting to interrupt her. She was looking down at the white rode as she continued speaking and walking. "When I asked about your parents, he just answered a curt 'dead' before ignoring me for the whole day."

"So they are...dead," Alec said. He didn't even know their names. There were only two possibilities why his brother never talked about their parents. Most of the time he thought it was because they abandoned them, which was a good explanation to Alen's silence and evasion of his questions. Sometimes, he assumed they were dead and Alen was too much in pain to even mention their parents.

He turned his attention back to Vaneesa who looked at him like he had sprouted another head. She brought a hand to her forehead and a groan left her mouth. "He didn't tell you, did he? Ark! Your brother is so..." An incoherent grumble came from her as they turned a corner to another street.

"I don't even know their names," he said. A hand fell on his back and rubbed circles on it in a soft caress. He released a sigh.

"Your mother was named Vera and your father, Aled," Vaneesa said. "That's all I got out from your brother. It was a time I managed to trick him into spilling some of his secrets. He kept his mouth shut tightly about the subject after that one."

Alec only nodded as he echoed the names of his parents. He was almost 19 and it was the first time he heard it. A smile tugged at his lips while a bit of happiness forced its way onto a spot in his heat, carrying with it the names of the people who brought him to their world.

When he looked up and met Gael's gaze, the older man had a smile on his face which reflected his. They resumed walking in silence after that, but the air wasn't gloomy like before. Even Vaneesa had a smile on her face and slight bounce in her steps. It didn't take long before they stopped in front of a two story building between two stores. Alec assumed it was a residence that allowed people to rent a room or two.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Vaneesa said. Her eyes darted to Gael, who in return raised a brow at her. "I'll see you both tomorrow."

She stepped forward and her arms slipped around Alec's waist. Alec wasted no time and returned her tight embrace. When she broke away, she went to stand before Gael.

At first she looked hesitant, but she embraced him eventually. Gael stiffened like a statue, before his arms wrapped around her waist in a rather awkward manner. Alec suppressed a chuckle when he caught sight of the pink tinge covering his guardian's face.

Vaneesa finally let go of him, only to reach up and cup the right side of his face. She lowered his head and she rose on her toes to give him a kiss on the cheek. Gael's previously a light pink face turned a bright red when her lips made contact with his skin. He remained in the same position before he straightened and coughed.

"Thank you Gael," Vaneesa said, "it would have taken a while for me to realize that my little brother was so close, if I hadn't met you. I didn't plan on getting up to date about the happening in the Sky Games so I probably wouldn't have seen him."

"I didn't do anything," Gael said. He refused to meet her gaze. "But I'm glad you met each other again. If Alec is happy, then I'm perfectly contented."

Vaneesa chuckled before she placed a hand on his shoulder. Gael glanced down at her hand while she spoke. "Now I know why I was so comfortable with you," she said.

"And that is?"

"You remind me a bit of Alen," she said, "and you're a good man."

Another cough came out of Gael's throat. Alec learned from Kreis that if Gael kept fake coughing, he was nervous. At that moment, Alec knew why the great Gael Fenrin was acting like lovesick teenager.

"Thank you," Gael answered. As the man looked up at him, his pale blue eyes met his emerald ones. Alec smiled at his guardian.

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Just want to ask. How does... Shana Zeren D. sound as a penname?