Chapter Text
Six weeks. That was how long summer break was. It was Stelle’s favourite time of the year. They had a little bit of summer homework, but the sibling council had decided to ignore it until the last weekend, where scrambling and cramming would take place.
Summer break was both a time to relax and to train. The garden was cleared for sparring and weapons almost every day and everyone had to spend at least two hours a week training, more if you wanted to go out at night as Hunter.
Those who walked a path usually practiced with each other, but sometimes they had ‘element days’, where the focus was more on the element they chose to channel through their path.
About a week before the end of the semester, Sushang had connected to the Hunt. Everyone was super excited and congratulated her. That night, they feasted and celebrated. It was always like that when someone started walking a path. The day would revolve around them and they would be properly celebrated.
Of course, the adults made sure the praise wouldn’t get to the pathstriders’ heads. Stelle couldn’t imagine what kind of balancing act their parents had to perform on a daily basis.
Praising those who did something well but not leaving out and helping those that didn’t, making sure everyone got attention and noticing if someone felt down or sad, resolving conflicts, helping with homework, balancing a job and kids, having to make sure that none of them got arrested, politics and everything else the adults did that they weren’t aware of.
It helped that they were all pretty self sufficient though. The council dealt with most conflicts, almost everyone could cook basic meals, the homework group dealt with school and the vigilante thing was going pretty well in general.
While the police and Cloud Knights had warrants out for their arrest, they didn’t actually devote any of their forces to arresting the vigilante’s. She suspected that it was probably because the Hunters were making their job easier with every criminal they took to the station and every illegal organization they uprooted.
The internet, on the other hand, was absolutely invested in the Hunters. At first they only showed up in Luofu, and thus the commotion mostly stayed there, but then they started making field trips to Jarilo and the internet went wild.
Speculations, praise and criticism was thrown around on the daily and people started hyperfixating on the group. The fact that they didn’t seem to be interested in any publicity or possible money to make only made it more interesting to all layers of civilization.
People told of their experiences with these vigilantes anywhere they could find. People told of being stuck in a homeless shelter and being brought food by a couple of short people with masks and matching clothing. People told of just barely not having enough money and an envelope with a short note appearing underneath their pillow.
People told of being exploited and suddenly left alone. People told of being kidnapped and then freed by blurs of colour. People told of teachers suddenly paying attention to the bullying at school.
In Stelle’s opinion, people talked too much. She enjoyed fighting and seeing people smile. It wasn’t some sort of cry for fame of heroic act. She believed her siblings felt similarly. Still, it was dangerous what they did.
But before she could start lamenting the current state of the world, she was hit square in the stomach by Ren’s fist.
“Stelle! Pay attention!” Her older brother scolded. Stelle let out a pained noise as she nearly sank down to the ground.
Ren looked unimpressed as he glared at her while she gathered herself again. But he didn’t give her long though, lunging again. She managed to block his next punch and delivered a kick in return.
Her sparring partner stopped it and continued rapidly striking at her. Stelle grabbed his wrist, twisted, and threw him over her shoulder. The boy hit the ground with a slightly pained noise but when she attempted to get on top of him to start ‘punching’ he quickly rolled to the side and jumped up.
Stelle had to quickly pull her defences up again as he attacked again. He managed to get in an uppercut, but she quickly reciprocated by slamming her fist against his jaw.
Ren hissed and staggered back as his eyes watered and Stelle saw his mouth fill with something that was probably blood. She stayed in battle stance though, knowing not to underestimate her opponent. But Ren grinned and raised the hand not cradling his jaw.
“You win.” He said and she nodded, lowering her fists. The girl stepped closer to examine the damage she did. Stelle winced as she saw that she had probably delivered quite the bruise.
Her brother turned ninety degrees and spit out a mouthful of blood into the grass before facing her again, sighing and wiping his mouth. “All right, let’s go to Lynx.” He said, almost slurring his words.
Stelle grinned. “Close your mouth before your jaw falls off.” She joked.
Ren rolled his eyes but let her follow him to the porch, where Lynx was already patching Seele up. The purple-haired girl looked to be sulking, glaring at Kafka, who was smirking at her from her spot on the bench.
Honestly, they were all lucky that Lynx had learnt how to heal or these sparring sessions would be impossible. All the matches were friendly of course and they made sure that nothing too dire happened to their family. Still, they also had to take these kinds of exercises seriously, or else they wouldn’t be able to defend themselves when it wasn’t a sparring session, but real life.
This, inevitably, lead to wounds, bruises and blood. There had even been a few broken bones here and there. Stelle had once snapped a small bone in her arm because she refused to yield to March, who had proceeded to break it and start crying like she was the one with a broken arm. Luckily, their sister had been ready to heal it and Stelle managed to calm March down.
Injuries were always taken seriously and everyone tried to keep it to a minimum, but you couldn’t learn to throw a good punch while holding back. It did have the added benefit of raising their pain tolerance massively.
Lynx glanced up and sighed when she saw Ren and Stelle. “Again?” She asked, but Stelle shook her head.
“Nope.” She answered. “I think I did something to his jaw. He got a mean uppercut in though.”
The little girl rolled her eyes before urging the older boy closer. Kafka smiled. “All right Lynx. I’m going to be timing this one, okay?” The small girl nodded with determination in her eyes. A challenging grin pulled at the corners of their mom’s mouth. She turned on the stopwatch and Lynx started checking him over.
Stelle admired Lynx. She couldn’t even imagine how difficult being a healer must be. Not to mention that Lynx wanted to be a field medic should they ever get involved in any sort of battle. And knowing them and their future occupations, that was very likely to happen.
It ended up taking Lynx four minutes and thirteen seconds to diagnose and heal Ren. “That’s a record for broken jaws!” She chirped happily, wiping sweat from her brow.
Ren nodded at her. “Thank you.” He muttered, jaw still a bit tender, before standing up and waltzing towards Seele, who grinned. The two headed to the sparring area, leaving Stelle standing around.
She sighed dramatically, plopping herself down on the bench next to mom, pulling off her ‘fighting gloves’ and leaning back with a deep sigh. It was incredibly hot. When she was out grocery shopping with Uncle Welt this morning she could’ve sworn that she saw the air wiggle.
They would probably have a water fight once training was over, or at least play a water game, and eat popsicles and drink ice cold lemonade. Summer was awesome, but it was also a a tad bit unbearable. Only sometimes. Other times it was lovely.
Stelle was pulled from her thoughts when Jingliu came towards them, a nervous Pela at her side. The young girl’s hair was pulled into a ponytail and she was wearing one of the designated ‘training shirts’ (basically just a shelf of white t-shirts that smelled faintly like a mix of sweat, blood and lemonade).
Pela’s gaze flickered up and she smiled faintly. Stelle smiled softly, leaning back on the bench while mom turned to them. “Pela, Jingliu.” She acknowledged with calculating eyes. “How did it go?”
It was the first time Pela actually participated in training. They had given her some time to adjust to the fact that there was battle training at all, but she needed to be able to stay safe just as much as the others. Thus, Jingliu was asked to asses her capabilities and teach her some basic skills.
“Pretty good.” Jingliu answered. “She’s not in the best shape, but we’ll work on that. We also talked a little and figured a few things out. Do you want to say it Pela?”
The younger girl nodded, fidgeting with the slightly torn hem of her shirt. “I don’t wanna be a fighter.” She confessed. “But I do want to help. But I’d rather do something like intelligence. Collecting information, making sure everyone knows what they need to, distributing supplies, keeping track of stuff. Making everyone’s lives easier.”
Stelle smiled. It fit Pela, being an intelligence officer. Kafka gave an approving nod, but Lynx was the most excited. “We can be off-field buddies together!” She cheered, hugging Pela tightly.
Mom smiled, waiting until she could grab the girls’ attention again. “I think that’s a great idea Pela. We could speak to Herta and Silver Wolf. They’ve been doing the intelligence up until now. I’m sure they’d appreciate a friend.”
Jingliu chuckled before dragging Pela away again to continue the martial arts instructions. Stelle watched them go silently before her attention was caught by Asta and Gepard making their way towards them, both spotting a couple of heavy bruises on their faces and Gepard supporting Asta.
“Lyyyyyyynx!” The redhead cried out. “I think he bruised my ribs!”
The younger girl rolled her eyes before opening her medical box and calling out in return. “Coming!”
----
Six kids sat around a table, serious expressions on their faces.
There were many things piled on top of the wood, including but not limited to: two laptops, a bunch of notebooks, a plethora of stationary, a small holographic projector, way too many books, a couple of scrolls that had been stolen borrowed from various places, a plate of snacks and a knife, in case of surprise blood sacrifices.
Jing Yuan was the first to speak. “We all know why we’re here today instead of at the park with the rest of the house.”
Asta nodded solemnly as she picked up a folder with a few papers inside. “These were the notes made on the night of discovery. But the topic has been, surprisingly enough, left alone since then. Yet we are here today to discuss this very topic.”
Herta smirked, the light of her laptop illuminating her face ominously. “Aeons.” There was a dangerous glint in her eyes and an excited pitch to her voice.
They decided to have this meeting after Dan Heng woke up in a panic, saying that he had another ‘Dragon Dream’, as he’d dubbed them.
At first there had just been an emergency sibling meeting (at 2 A.M., mind you), handily introducing Pela to the concept of sleepless nights, which she’d been avoiding up until now. It was weird to think that she’d already been with them for a month now.
Summer break was in full swing and they were already two weeks deep. Four more to go. Pela had been warming up to them, even though it took her a week to remember everyone’s names and even longer to get used to their routines and weird habits.
The sibling meeting had gone relatively well. And from it came the decision that a small group would be tasked with figuring out as much as they could about the Aeons and Their motives as well as what it would mean for the family.
Thus, Tingyun sat at a few of the main bedroom’s desks pushed together into a table with Dan Heng, Jing Yuan, Herta, Asta and Bronya. They were labelled by their siblings and the council as the best suited for research like this. She didn’t exactly mind, but being at the park would have been preferable to her.
Asta pulled another file from the pile. She glanced up at her siblings before speaking again. “We already took and wrote statements on our ‘Aeon Encounters’ and will be compiling what we can learn from this, as well as what we can speculate and theorize based on it, in a document. This is our objective for today, any questions?”
There were none, causing Dan Heng to take the lead. “The only Aeon Encounter we haven’t recorded yet is my dream. I told you all in broad strokes what happened, but I think that painting a more detailed picture would be ideal.”
Bronya nodded. “That would be much appreciated.” She agreed with a smile. “Shall I write along digitally or on a notepad?”
Jing Yuan spoke up before anyone else could. “I’ll write it down, you do it digitally. That way we can make sure we get everything important.”
Herta piped up impatiently. “Hello? Can we get started?”
Tingyun sighed as she picked up the recorder and glanced up at Dan Heng. He nodded and she pressed the record button, red light turning on.
“It went a bit like this,” Dan Heng spoke softly.
He was floating. It was a bit like being underwater, except it was really not. The pressure was both heavier and lighter. His lungs didn’t seem to be able to decide if they wanted to breath way too much and explode or not be able to breath at all and implode.
The weirdest thing was that it didn’t hurt. Even though his body seemed to be shambling to rearrange itself so he wouldn’t turn into mush one way or the other, he felt fine. It was just really, really weird.
He could barely feel his limbs. His tongue was heavy in his mouth and he was hyperaware of every trace of stardust that fluttered against his skin. A skin that was unable to contain him. He was usually chained to his flesh and blood, but right now he was so much more than that.
He was the stars that dotted the sky, he was the planets that hung silently in the vast expanse of space, unaware of the wars that the little mounds of flesh and blood were holding on their surface. He was the moons that spun around said planets. He was the destroyed and the whole. He was the beautiful and the ugly, the angry and calm. The vast expanse of the void.
Forcing his eyes to open was one of the hardest things he’d ever done. As soon as light hit his eyes, he was back to being a small, immeasurable being. Back to being restrained by his body.
His memories returned to him though. Everything chaining him to said body held him back instantly, tugged him deeper into the confines of his humanity. Not that he could bring himself to mind though. He couldn’t leave his family behind like that.
It took a moment for the light hitting his eyes to actually turn into something to see, the fractured air that managed slight vibrations to actually turn into sound.
What he saw was so incomprehensible his mind almost evaporated. The beings he saw were... indescribable. When he looked at THEM, his brain short circuited. He now understood why THEY appeared to humans in the forms that THEY did. If THEY were to show THEMSELVES like this, the human in question wouldn’t survive.
The only thing that was keeping him from being fractured was the thin string, woven from the blessing of two Aeons. Two of these beings that existed beyond his reach.
But these immeasurable, incomprehensible beings seemed to be... arguing?
“You can’t be serious! Again, really?” A soft voice hissed. It sounded like vines, rapidly growing and covering all in their path. It sounded like blood, dripping into a pristine glass of water, colouring it red. It sounded like poison, seeping into all that lived. “If I hadn’t intervened last time even one as resilient as he would have died. What do you think would happen to her if you tried again?!”
“You wouldn’t let her die.” A calm, rumbling voice responded. It reminded him of the flow of a river, of the feeling of rolling a pearl between your fingers. “You claimed not to care for him either in the beginning, yet you saved him as well, did you not?”
“She’s five! In Human years. Does that even register in your dumb lizard brain?!” The softer voice yelled. “I can’t believe you. You’re horrible. How do you even plan to tell the others?!”
“Tell us what?” A new, shattered voice interjected. The newcomer’s voice sent shivers up his spine. It was molten gold, a cracked stone the constant entropy burning away at the universe. He kept as silent as he could, praying to whichever of these Gods was most merciful that the stardust would cover him enough. He felt like an ant compared to THEM.
“This idiot.” The soft voice spat. “Is planning to give the little girl his blessing. I mean, can you imagine the repercussions?!”
There was a long, suffering sigh from the shattered voice as another started laughing in the background. THEIR voice was a thousand voices layered on top of each other, intertwined to create something truly terrifying.
“Look.” A new voice spoke up. It was full. He shivered as it filled him to the brim, yet he was also empty, a gaping hole in his stomach. All the sensations, the different overlapping voices, were making him want to throw up but he couldn’t, for his body was not real and too real at the same time.
“You can argue for ages if this is the right decision, but you know that if one of us wants something, nothing the others can stop THEM. We’ll just have to deal with it.”
A different kind of laughter from the overlapping voices rang out. It was soft and clear like a stream, but three different streams and three different voices. “You all are speaking like the End is approaching. Don’t worry, we’ll protect the children if you all will not. We actually care about all of the children, not just the ones on our path.”
“You don’t count.” The shattered voice huffed. “You love all those puny humans with your whole being. That’s your thing. Some of us have better things to do than bend over backwards to make sure they’re okay.”
The woven laughter giggled. “Like you wouldn’t fight Qlipoth for those twins of yours.” THEY accused.
The shattered voice snarled, but the conversation was interrupted by a soft voice speaking up. He could feel THEM in his blood. THEY had seen it all. THEY were born at the end of time and lived backwards, the source of prophecy. “We have an audience. Have you all gotten so careless as to not notice your blessed when they Listen and See?”
He felt his heart fall as the attention of all beings present turned to him. He couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. He felt uncontrollable fear tear into him at full speed. His bones were folding in on themselves at the pressure of THEIR gazes. His cells were disbanding and his mind was shattering.
It took all his willpower to wake up, to banish himself back to his little corner of space. He ended up drenched in sweat, voice stuck in his throat and body shaking from the power that had just coursed through him.
“And that was basically it.” Dan Heng surmised. “I don’t think I missed anything.”
“Respectfully,” Tingyun whispered, eyes filled with fear. “What the fuck.”
Asta was staring at him with wide eyes, Jing Yuan had turned ghastly white and Bronya looked moments away from throwing up. Herta, however, was probably the most excited Tingyun had ever seen her.
Before Dan Heng had time to answer Tingyun’s not-really-question, Herta stared theorizing. “So, the first two voices were probably Yaoshi and Long. Then Nanook, Oroboros, Aha. Gods, this is the most information we’ve had in ages! I can’t believe it!”
Tingyun took a deep breath, collecting herself. “That’s... a lot to unpack. We’ll probably still be busy with the analysis for the whole summer, so why don’t we try to focus on noting down the facts for now?”
There were murmurs of agreement from all around the table and they proceeded to get to work.
----
“I know I was the one who said that this would work, but if it blows up you have nobody to blame but yourself.”
Herta rolled her eyes at Ruan Mei’s statement as she carefully connected the puppet’s final finger to it’s hand. “It’ll be fine.” She assured. “I did my research.”
The older girl sighed, voice slightly distorted through the recording. Both of them had followed Screwlum’s instructions for making holographic lenses, allowing them to project into another’s room and feel like they were there.
Ruan Mei walked over to the puppet, feet not making any sound on the carpet. She observed the thing carefully. “It’s still eerie how much it looks like you.” She muttered. “Honestly Herta, I know that it’s useful to have these, but you said this was just the prototype. How many are you planning to make?”
Herta shrugged, busy with making sure the finger wouldn’t fall off and could bend properly. “Dunno.” She said. “It really depends on how well the switching works. If I have to rewrite that program to something less efficient I’ll make a few. I’ll probably mostly need them when we’re all adults and I want to be able to work from different places and quickly be able to switch between them.”
It was silent for a moment before Herta was finished with the finger. She grinned before putting on the final touch: The choker with the key. She bounced over to her desk where the rest of her equipment waited.
Ruan Mei watched silently as Herta put on the blindfold-looking headset. It was thin, black and wrapped around her head seamlessly. She tapped the side of it and then her whole body went slack.
She had to reorient herself for a moment. This mostly worked because she had to fool her brain into thinking it was in a different body. She took a moment to get used to the feeling of her arms and legs no longer sitting down.
Then, she opened her eyes slowly. Ruan Mei was looking at her with a blank face and when she glanced to the side, she saw her limp body sitting in her chair. “Huh.” She said. “It actually worked.”
Herta turned to Ruan Mei. “I’m gonna try to to walk with it, tell me if you see anything breaking.”
The older girl sighed but nodded. “If this works well I still expect my own.” She told Herta, who wasn’t listening.
She stood up slowly, afraid that she had forgotten something or made a mistake somewhere. The puppet held up though. The girl started slowly moving around. She wanted to take a deep breath, but forgot that she couldn’t breath in her puppet body.
“Am I still breathing Mei?” She asked. “What about my heart, still beating?”
Ruan Mei hummed observing her real body while Herta picked up things and placed them back down. “Your body looks to be okay.” She announced. “You wrote your code pretty well.”
Herta grinned in satisfaction. “Awesome.” She said. “Do you think Asta would fund more of them?”
----
The tropical swimming pool was enormous.
Guinaifen was practically vibrating next to Sushang as the adults explained the rules. It was boring. The rules were always the same. Blah blah, stay together in at least duos, blah blah, ask the staff for help if you get lost.
She could barely keep her attention on it though. They had been planning this outing all summer break and now, in the second to last week, it was finally time.
The pool wasn’t the usual square, but had odd shapes. The sun came through the glass windows that made up both the walls and ceiling. But apparently the walls could be opened and closed, because there were just a few columns The main pool was gigantic. At first the water only reached to your ankles, but later on the pool had to be over two meters deep. The edge was framed by high, jagged cliffs with tropical-looking foliage on top.
There were a few staircases that Yukong explained lead to the slides. She spotted a few caves and there was even a waterfall that a few teenagers were pushing each other around under.
“And remember.” Himeko finished, dragging Guinaifen’s attention back to her. “When you hear thunder the main pool will start making waves for five minutes. This happens every half hour, so pay attention if you don’t want to be there when it happens.”
Impatient noises rose from the crowd of children and Himeko laughed. “All right, all right. You can go now.”
As soon as she said that, they were hurrying over the wet floors, trying not to slip. Guinaifen was hurrying towards the caves with Sushang, Qingni and Jing Yuan in tow.
They waded into the water, the clear liquid slowing them down more and more the further they got. When it reached her hips, Guinaifen threw herself into the water. It was a nice temperature, cooling her down from the aggressive summer heat but not freezing her.
She saw the floor dip lower and lower through the crystal clear water. Guinaifen felt the other three throw themselves forward as well, making her smile.
“Come on!” She called to her siblings. “I wanna see the caves!”
Jing Yuan laughed as he lowered into the water. “The caves? Are you sure? I read on the website that they’re really easy to get lost in.”
That got him a frown from Sushang and a laugh from Guinaifen. “Oh come on.” The redhead said. “How easily does getting lost actually happen?”
~*~
Very easily, apparently.
The four of them had been wandering around the dimly lit caves for ages now. The tiles on the bottom of the pool had gone from the pristine white of the main body of water to a dark blue, reflecting even less of the pulsing purple lights.
Sushang had latched onto Jing Yuan two minutes in and Qingni insisted on clinging onto the older boy’s hand at all times.
He was the only one who could stand, so the rest of them clung to him when they needed a break. And for the brave one amongst them, he was acting suspiciously scared as well.
The sound of thunder had echoed through the caves a while ago, causing Qingni to shriek loud enough to rival the sound itself.
They had encountered a few people who either looked incredibly lost as well or still optimistic about having fun in the maze.
Qingni squinted at a particularly large rock in the middle of a cross section. “Are you sure we haven’t been here before?” She asked Jing Yuan, who shrugged. “Dunno.” He answered. “The rock looks familiar, but all rocks here look the same.”
Sushang pointed at the left path. “I think we went that way last time. Should we try the other way?”
“I think that sounds like a good idea.” Guinaifen decided, pointing at the gently flowing water. “To the right!” She called out before leading the charge.
The little group swam for a little while before Qingni suddenly shrieked. It echoed for a moment before being swallowed up by the water. Guinaifen turned to the sound, almost summoning her bow-staff before realizing there was no real threat.
Sushang was floating in the water with wide eyes and she caught a glimpse of Jing Yuan diving into a side river she hadn’t seen before.
“Qingni!” She called out as Jing Yuan’s head came above water again. She then saw the bobbing head of her little sister being carried away by the current.
Current?
“Su-chan.” Guinaifen addressed the brunette, who turned to her with a slightly panicked look on her face. “We’re going after them. You stay by the side, make sure the current doesn’t take me.”
Sushang nodded, calming down before her face set itself in determination. “Got it.” She said before they both hurried towards the current.
Guinaifen grasped Sushang’s hand tightly, even though their hands were wet they still managed to keep hold of each other. Sushang held on tightly to the tile edge of the pool while Guinaifen called out to Jing Yuan.
“A-Yuan! Can you get her!?”
He only managed to call out a: “Yeah!” Before he had to close his mouth again in order to not get drowned as he made his way towards Qingni. She was panicking while trying to grab onto anything but instead grabbing onto nothing.
Sushang let go for a moment and both she and Guinaifen got swept away again before she grabbed the edge again. That was enough time for Jing Yuan to hurry over to Qingni, who was struggling to slow herself down against the tiles. He grabbed her tightly, pulling her against his side.
The foxian sputtered, coughing up water while Jing Yuan pulled himself along the edge towards where Guinaifen and Sushang were still hanging. Both were drenched completely again. Sushang’s diving goggles hung around her neck and half of Guinaifen’s hair hung from her ponytail.
But, they still had the strength left to grab their brother’s hand and pull the two towards them.
The little group hung there for a while, clinging to each other and catching their breath.
“That was really scary.” Qingni said, breaking the tension. Jing Yuan laughed and hugged her tightly. “It’s okay. We won’t let you drown.”
She giggled, but didn’t resist like she normally would. She didn’t dare.
“I think we should make a plan.” Guinaifen said softly. “I don’t think we can go against the current, it’s too strong. And maybe it’ll get us out of here.”
“Or it’ll lead to inevitable doom.” Sushang said in an almost whiny voice. Jing Yuan snorted. “This is a recreative pool, Sushang. We’re not gonna die here.”
After more debating, they all held each other’s hands tightly as they let themselves be carried away again. Now that nobody was almost drowning it was actually really fun. They squealed and laughed as the water swung them around corners and they sped down artificial grotto’s.
Their laughter and the rushing water made them miss the loud thunder.
Then, they were flushed out of the cave system into the main pool. Guinaifen looked around, trying to assess her situation.
When she was promptly hit in the face by a wave.
----
As soon as mama allowed them to go, Caelus, Stelle, Dan Heng and March had hurried towards the slides together.
The four of them did their best not to slip but Dan Heng had to catch March on multiple occasions. Caelus grinned. He was excited to do something with them again. Dan Heng had finally duped his boring boyfriend (no hate to Ren or anything but they were always together and he wanted some time with just Dan Heng) and Stelle and March agreed to go down the slides together when they were on the train.
“Come on slowpokes!” Dan Heng called out teasingly from in front of them. Stelle huffed. “Not everyone’s as in-tune with water as you, asshole.” She joked in return.
He laughed and let the three of them catch up to him at the beginning of the staircase. Surprisingly, the stairs lead down into a dark cave, lit only by flickering purple and cyan lights.
March peeked over the edge nervously. “You don’t... expect us to go down there, right?” She asked, glancing at Dan Heng nervously.
He shrugged. “The sign says ‘slides this way’. Let’s just see where it goes.”
The eldest started making his way down first, Caelus following a few steps behind and the girls in the back. March’s whimpers grew louder as they went further down until they reached a giant, circular space.
Caelus’ eyes widened as he looked around. The middle had a large tank, in which floated small crystals that the sunlight coming from the open top of the tank bounced off of, creating beautiful colours on the walls.
Surrounding the tank were many small pools. The water couldn’t be higher than his eight-year-old hips, but he realized when a pair of teenagers came from the dark, gaping hole that lead to one of the pools, that they were the exits to slides.
“Over there!” His twin called out, pointing at a white staircase to the side. “I think that’s the staircase up.”
“Seems like it.” Caelus responded as he started walking. “I wonder how high it goes.”
They made idle chatter as they started their way up, but after a minute or so March was already complaining about her legs hurting and Stelle looked about as miserable as Caelus felt.
Only Dan Heng looked fine, which made them cast envious gazes upon him as they climbed the stairs, winding around a large beam in the middle.
After what felt like an eternity, they reached the top. March was wheezing and even Dan Heng looked a bit out of breath. But they looked around and saw a few short lines of people standing in wait for the multiple slides.
At this sight, March’s exhaustion disappeared in an instant. She gasped and then squealed as she started chattering animatedly about which slide they should go on first.
They made their way towards an aquamarine slide with a few people waiting in front of it.
“We should go in duo’s.” Dan Heng decided. “Losing each other would be bad, especially since we’re smaller and more easily swept away in the water.”
“Good idea!” March chirped, immediately latching onto Stelle. Caelus smiled as he held out his hand to Dan Heng, who took it with a smile. They watched as March plopped down into Stelle’s lap and they waited for the slight to turn green, signifying that they could go.
Then, with an excited squeal from March, they took off. Caelus and Dan Heng watched as they sped down the slide and around a corner. Caelus started laughing as he heard their screaming fade slowly.
“Well.” Dan Heng said with a raised eyebrow. “That was interesting. Are you going to scream like that too?”
Caelus snorted. “I’ll try not to. You wanna go in front or in the back?”
The shorter boy blushed slightly. “In front please.” He muttered. Caelus beamed, plopping down first.
“Awesome!” He said as Dan Heng gracefully climbed in front of him. “You ready?” At his brother’s nod, they took off.
The first few seconds were dark, but then they turned a corner into rings of bright light. Caelus could’ve sworn he heard Dan Heng mutter: ‘Guess this is what the epilepsy warning was for’, but that might’ve been in his head.
As they turned again, the lights turned rainbow and Caelus squealed in joy. He was pretty sure that if he were to see himself now, the rainbow would be reflected in his eyes. It would look pretty in his golden eyes, but probably even prettier in Dan Heng’s.
Being siblings with people like Dan Heng was awesome. They shared everything they wanted to and everything they needed to. He was allowed to offer up all his feelings and his family would return in kind.
They exited the tube with a large splash, Dan Heng getting hit with the brunt of it.
March and Stelle laughed at them as the two boys climbed out of the pool. Not before splashing a bunch of water at their sisters though.
In the end they went down each slide twice, the best ones even thrice. Even March said that the climb up the stairs each time was worth it. They switched sliding partners every time, so Caelus had gone with all three of them multiple times.
After that, they made their way back to the main pool just in time for the sound of thunder to rock the pool.
Dan Heng immediately waded into the pool and then dove with all the grace befitting a Vidyadhara. Caelus laughed as March belly flopped in after him and Stelle tried to grab March’s ankles to stop her from drowning. That endeavour inevitably resulted in both of the girls struggling to stay above water and push the other down while Dan Heng laughed to the side.
Then, they started to notice the waves.
March was the first to speak up about it as the gently rocking of the water became more aggressive. At that point, the four of them just barely couldn’t touch the bottom of the pool with their feet anymore, floating daintily in the water.
The water next to the rock wall became more and more turbulent. The four of them floated there, frozen for a moment as a wave rolled at them. Luckily, they were small enough that they floated on it.
After that wave, the panic set in. March threw herself at Stelle, who was grabbed by Dan Heng as he pulled her and her twin closer to him.
“It’ll be okay.” He assured the others with a steady voice. “It’s artificial. If something goes wrong we’ll be saved.”
March let out a soft sound of terror as the next wave looked much bigger than the first. Looking back on it, the waves probably weren’t that big, but they seemed ginormous in the moment.
Dan Heng cursed, tugging them even closer as the wave rolled towards them quickly. “Hold your breath!” He called out.
Then, he pulled them underwater. Caelus hadn’t even realized how far into the pool they’d gotten until he saw the gaping emptiness beneath his feet. March and Stelle had their heads tucked into Dan Heng’s shoulder and chest as he pulled them down, but Caelus dared to glance at their surroundings.
They were almost at the bottom. Above them, people were still bobbing on the waves, seemingly having the time of their lives.
When Dan Heng started swimming towards the edge, Caelus closed his eyes too. He tried to focus on reciting the alphabet backwards instead of how his air supply was quickly running out.
Luckily, they broke through the water’s surface a few moments later. Caelus gasped for air with his sisters while Dan Heng looked as unfazed as ever. “You okay?” He asked them, to which March just spiralled into another coughing fit and Stelle rolled her eyes.
Well, there was that answer.
----
Bronya honestly couldn’t believe it was the last day of summer break already.
She mourned the comfortable, homework-less mornings, the games or training in the afternoon, the popsicles at every opportunity. Hell, she even mourned the hours spent carefully crafting their ‘Aeon Thesis’.
All 26 of them were sitting around a large bonfire. Many large pillars of smoke rose from all across the city. Most people lit some sort of fire and the more people there were, the bigger the fire.
Naturally, they were sitting around a home-made fire pit. The grass of the backyard had been covered with improv-tiles and a large, metal fire basket. It hadn’t taken long before a large, roaring fire had been started up. Of course, there were fire extinguishers nearby in case something went wrong. But nothing had ever gone wrong according to Stelle.
They had eaten Penaconian, take-out, junk food for dinner and uncle Welt and Himeko would wash all the plates, so they didn’t even have any chores tonight. Everyone wore loose, comfortable clothing and they were sitting on soft pillows and blankets in the grass that was still warm from the sun that had scorched it all day.
Stelle and Dan Heng could apparently sing and, accompanied by Serval playing the acoustic guitar, guided the sing-along.
“Come with me, take the journey.” They finished softly, the sound of at least ten voices dying down in the wind.
Bronya smiled softly as Serval started playing again, fingers gliding over the guitar easily. She plucked at the strings in a simple but not boring melody. Chatter started up softly as Kafka and uncle Welt came from the house with a large plate of cookies and a tray filled with mugs of hot chocolate respectively.
Cheers rang from around the campfire as the cocoa was accepted and whipped cream was put on top of the ones for those who liked it.
Seele was poking at the fire with the metal stick Kafka had given her as Bronya watched from behind, also holding her girlfriend’s hot chocolate.
It still felt surreal sometimes that a little over a year ago, she’d still been on the run from Madam Cocolia’s guards with her then-crush. And now, she was sitting around a fire with her family and her girlfriend, drinking hot chocolate and singing, even though most of them didn’t like how they sounded when they did.
All of it was so... so different from Qlipoth fortress and it’s rules and restrictions. The atmosphere there was colder than any snowstorm. Even now, Bronya still felt the urge to panic and hide when she did even the slightest thing wrong.
“Hey.”
Bronya startled. She hadn’t noticed that Seele had come to sit next to her, poking stick lying next to the fire pit. “What’s bothering you?” Seele asked softly. “I can see there’s something.”
The silver-haired girl smiled softly in return. Nothing escaped Seele. “I just...” She bit her lip before trying again. “It all feels so good. Like it’s just a dream that’s going to end some day. And I know that it’s not, but something will change. It always does.”
Seele was silent for a moment, as if mulling over Bronya’s words. “That’s not a bad thing you know?” She answered eventually. “Change brings all good things, just like it brings all bad ones. It’s not anywhere on the moral spectrum, actually. Change just puts you in different situations, allowing for different choices.”
Bronya thought about it, staring into the fire as Seele got up to get them some s’mores. Seele was right. Chang wasn’t good nor bad, it was just really scary. That was the case exactly because it put her in different situations.
But without change she wouldn’t be where she was today. She wouldn’t be here at all without the change of Seele in her life.
Maybe, even if everything changed, she could still just take everything step by step, decision by decision.
“Bronya!” Gepard called out to her from a few pillows and a blanket over, pulling Bronya from her thoughts. “Do you want me to roast you a marshmallow?”
She smiled at him. “Yes please! I’d appreciate that.”
He nodded, pulling another one out of the bag before handing it to his little sister, who snuck a few to Pela before actually putting them on their wooden sticks. They had taken to each other surprisingly quickly. What was perhaps even more unexpected was how much Pela seemed to like Silver Wolf, who was sitting on the young girl’s other side with Ren, Dan Heng and Jing Yuan.
Everyone liked everyone, but there were still relationships that were closer than others. Her and Seele, for example.
Then, conversations were quieted by Himeko, tapping the side of her coffee mug with her metal spoon.
“May I say something?” She asked with a smile dancing around her lips. There were nods and a few murmured ‘sure’s from the circle, allowing Himeko to continue. “I just wanted to tell you all how proud I am of you.” She told them.
“I’m proud of you when you’re strong and when you’re vulnerable. When you try and when you can’t bring yourself to. When you fail and when you succeed. During the day and during the night. Because I love all of you to death. It doesn’t matter if I’ve known you for a few months or for half your life.
“I’m incredibly grateful fate brought me to you and you to me. And though I feel that this family is far from complete, I already count myself lucky for what I do have. For what we all have together. Thank you for being here kids.”
She sat down again and just barely managed to put down her coffee before five girls came barrelling into her, followed by gentler hugs from more kids. Bronya and Seele made their way to the adults’ blanket as well, piling on top of the cuddle pile.
“I love you too mama.” Bronya whispered. She knew it was heard, even in the loud mess of sniffling and other declarations of affection from her siblings.
It took several minutes before everyone was back at their spot. It didn’t take long though before Kafka started speaking as well. She expressed similar things to Himeko, just adding that she would always provide them with help and always be on their side, no matter what.
Then, another ten minutes later, it was uncle Welt’s turn. He spoke about feeling lost and finding himself again when he became a part of the family. “I love all of you and I hope that I can help you find yourself too.” He ended softly.
After yet another cuddle pile had formed, they just stayed like that as Yukong spoke up. More of the same, though it still hit just as hard and was just as genuine. “And I can’t even imagine what kind of person I’d become if I had a family like this.” She said with a smile. “You are all so kind to each other and I can’t believe I get to be part of this. I love you all and I don’t doubt that Caiyi would have too.”
At that note, Qingni started bawling loudly. Tingyun was also crying, just a little more silently.
Bronya hadn’t known Caiyi personally, but she heard stories from her siblings. It always filled the air with grief to mention her, so they were silent for a moment. Letting the woman’s family cry.
It took a bit, but the atmosphere became cheery again. The s’mores and Serval dramatically starting a sea shanty, causing almost everyone to join in loudly. Bronya sat close to Seele as they sang and talked and ate.
Yeah, she’d mourn nights like this.
----
Pela had never dared to speak to Dan Heng in private.
She discovered that the boy was really intimidating sometimes. He basically dripped in godly favour, was elegant and smart and everyone seemed to respect him a ton. For the first month, Pela had been nervous to be alone with anyone who wasn’t Himeko, Lynx or Silver Wolf. It had gotten better after that, but she was still a bit nervous about it all.
The heavy feeling of mama and papa’s death still weighed her down. Sometimes she’d forget and then it’d come crashing down again. Those were the worst moments. A week or two into summer break she and Himeko made their way to a cemetery and were allowed to erect a stone for them.
It had hurt a lot, but Pela couldn’t bury them along with that empty casket. She just couldn’t. She hated it. The others didn’t seem to be bothered by their dead parents!
At least that’s what she thought until about an hour ago, when Qingni and Tingyun wept for their mother, Yukong for her wife, March, Dan Heng, Caelus, Stelle, Serval, Gepard and Lynx for their aunt and the others for a person they never even knew.
It finally caused her to gather together the courage and ask Dan Heng if they could talk for a moment.
“What do you want to talk about?” The boy in question asked softly. Pela’s eyes swept up to meet his and she swallowed, taking off her glasses and placing them on the table next to her.
They were standing in the dining room, allowing them the privacy they needed. She opened her mouth, closed it, but then finally pushed out her first question. “Does it get easier? Losing people?”
Dan Heng stared at her for a moment. Then, he pulled out a chair and sat down, bringing them to eye-level. He was four years older than her, but it felt like he had eons of wisdom that Pela lacked.
“Eventually, I think it does.” Dan Heng answered softly. “I... kind of lost someone close to me once. Multiple people. But I got them back, so I don’t know how grief goes beyond what I experienced. While they were gone though? It hurt so much.”
He gently placed a hand over his heart, meeting her eyes. “I think it’s like a wound. One like yours runs deep. It’s not open and bleeding anymore, but it won’t ever fully heal. It’ll turn into a scar that still hurts if you press it. The trick is cleaning and caring for the wound so it doesn’t keep hurting constantly.”
Pela’s eyes stung as a knot formed in her throat. “I don’t want it to still be open.” She breathed. “I want it to close! Please, how can I turn it into the scar? Please, Dan Heng. I can’t deal with this anymore! It just- It hurts so much.”
Dan Heng’s eyes filled with sadness as tears started rolling down Pela’s cheeks. “I’m sorry Pela. I can’t close it for you. Over time, you’ll learn how to deal with the pain until you barely notice it’s there anymore.”
A sob pulled itself from her throat. “I want it to go away now! It hurts! Why did mama have to go?! Why did papa go after her?! I hate her, I hate him too! I wish we didn’t live in Jarilo! I wish mama didn’t become an explorer. I wish-”
She choked on her words as any semblance of dignity she had folded in on itself. “I wish they were still here.”
Dan Heng gently pried her hand away from where her nails hand been digging into her arm. Then, he pulled her into a hug. It was warm and soft and only made Pela want to cry even more for some reason.
She sobbed into his shoulder for who knows how long while Dan Heng whispered sweet nothings into her ear. But none of his words were lies. Pela knew that she’d be okay eventually, but she wanted to be right now. She wanted the sick feeling in her stomach every time she thought of her parents to go away.
Eventually, her shoulders stopped shaking and her tears stopped flowing.
Pela was still curled up on Dan Heng’s lap, face in his shoulder. “What should I do?” She asked, voice barely a whisper.
The older boy squeezed her. “Let us help.” He whispered. “Don’t keep it to yourself. Even if you don’t see us as such, you’re our sibling now.”
She snorted. “I feel like you all don’t really get the definition of a sibling. Everyone’s your brother or sister, even if they call a different person ‘mom’ and ‘aunt’. Isn’t it a bit weird that it’s okay to date your ‘siblings’ too?”
Dan Heng laughed softly. She still couldn’t see him, but felt the laughter rumbling through him.
“Well, we don’t actually see each other as siblings. At least not everyone.” He explained softly. “Our relationships are complex. Far more complex than words can describe, especially if you only try to use one word. It’s the close bond that family usually has with each other, but it can also be the intense desire to help and protect you feel for your friend or the searing desire you feel for a romantic partner.”
Pela could basically feel his smile as he continued. “You can feel all of those things for one person at the same time. And those feelings aren’t defined either. Like I said, they’re emotions, not words. We don’t like putting labels on things that are inheretly labelless. And feeling the bond of ‘family’ also begs the question: When does your partner become your family? Me and Ren have been ‘family’ from the beginning. Since we were six.”
She listened quietly as he explained. “We use labels like ‘family’ and ‘siblings’ so others can understand it better. You can choose when someone is your sister or brother here, but still feel the same kind of love for someone who isn’t.”
Pela thought about it for a moment. Lynx was more like her close friend while Silver Wolf felt like what she imagined a big sister to be. And Dan Heng...
“Can you be my brother then?”