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rpsquad · 7 months

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Iudicium per Ingis

8k words, 19 pages; I seriously started this story about a year ago and really meant to finish it in about half the time it took me (sorry Rain). It's been so fun to write these past weeks though. I missed my boys Aeno and Thim, and they insisted on being adorable the entire time. Very little angst to be found here, pretty much all new-friend fluff. (Credit to Robert Frost for poem)

Enjoy!

Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

From what I’ve tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

It was Aeno’s first day on the castle’s training grounds.

It was Aeno’s first day! He was going to be Uncle Seril’s squire, and get to train with the other squires even though he was only eleven years old, and eventually he would be able to become a knight and fight off all the evil people who tried to attack the kingdom!

Aneo tried his best to stand still and not squirm or stare at the other squires as they formed a line. It seemed like they were all so much older than him, Aeno was only as tall as the boy next to him’s shoulder. And he knew that they knew he was new, he saw them whispering and pointing at him yesterday when his father had brought him to the castle and helped him set up his new room.

Everyone else straightened as a man entered the courtyard, and Aeno straightened up with them.

But… he didn’t see why they were all so worried. The man was wearing a uniform, true, but he also walked like he had a bad leg and his grin seemed rather playful.

“Good morning, Commander Riaus.” The other squires all chorused, and Aeno just barely stopped his jaw from dropping. This was Fabion Riaus, Lord Commander of the King’s Army? The same man who was supposedly capable of taking down an entire encampment of soldiers, and whom Aeno’s father had always nothing but praise for?

Commander Riaus’ grin widened, “Good morning, my little trainees. I hope we’re ready for another day. I know we’ve got a new face with us, but I have a special request from his father to not go easy on him, so don’t think he’ll be getting any of you out of proper training today.”

There was a quiet grumbling at that, but Riaus seemed unaffected. Aeno wondered if the others usually complained, or if it was because of him. He hoped it was the former, but he didn’t look around to see if anyone was glaring at him.

“Alright!” Riaus clapped his hands together, “We’re starting with laps, so get running.”

Aeno agreed with the grumbling at that. He hated running.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The laps weren’t great, but Aeno guessed they could have been worse. And practicing their form and footing after that was a little boring, just doing the same slow swings over and over again, but then, finally, they got to really practice.

“Okay, so,” Riaus addressed them, looking them all over, “There’s an uneven number of you now, which means each day someone new will get to spar with me instead.” Some of the others looked stricken at this, and Riaus laughed, “Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you all. Now, I think… Yes, Proth, you’ll be with me. Pazavor with Nox and Nozaku with Ferrza, I don’t want to hear any complaining. And that leaves…” Riaus looked over their group again, and then smiled, “Ah, of course. Skyos, you’ll be with Ignes.”

Aeno jolted as his name was called, and he looked around. He didn’t recognize the name Skyos, but that really just meant that the family didn’t live in the region the Ignes family guarded, and wasn’t a really important house, like the Dragmires.

A boy with light blue hair walked over to Aeno, and held out his hand, “My name is Naisthim Skyos. I’m your sparring partner today.” He seemed like he was a bit older than Aeno, at least by a couple years, and… And his eyes were changing color, Aeno realized. Stormy grey to an orange that clashed with his hair terribly.

“I’m Aeno Ignes.” He said as he shook the boy’s hand, “Nice to meet you, Naisthim. Have you been here long? Today is my first day, really, but you probably knew that.”

Naisthim blinked at him, and his eye color shifted again, to something much less bright, “I… became a squire when I was twelve, so it’s been about a year. Do you want to begin?”

Aeno nodded slowly. Naisthim was thirteen then, he realized. A whole two years older than Aeno, and suddenly he remembered that he had become a squire early, and that most boys didn’t begin until they were twelve or thirteen. Aeno tugged on one of his curls nervously as he and Naisthim got into position.

Naisthim was using a shield, in contrast to Aneo’s empty left hand. He could use his sword with two hands, he knew how, but he wasn’t as good at it. Plus, it was better for Aeno to continue learning to just have one sword for when he learned how to use his fire magic right, and then he could just burn through his opponents.

The two boys stared at each other for a moment, and then nodded. Aeno rushed forward quickly, just like his father had taught him, but then Naisthim raised his shield, and Aeno pulled back at the last second. He tried to spin around Naisthim and get him in the back instead, but the other boy was following Aeno’s movement, and the shield still blocked Aeno’s swing. Naisthim tried to swing back, but Aeno stepped back too quickly to be caught.

Fighting someone with a shield, Aeno was finding, was frustrating. Any time he would go to attack Naisthim, the other would just hide behind his shield. Aeno kind of wanted to just swing wildly at the shield, and maybe catch Naisthim off guard and get him to drop it, but even Aeno knew that probably wouldn’t work, and he would just tire himself out. Or give Naisthim an opening to attack.

Aeno watched Naisthim carefully, standing back as he tried to think of a way to win. It felt like Aeno’s father had told him this before, but he hadn’t really had to spar with anyone with a shield before, or not anyone so reliant on the shield. Maybe he was supposed to get the shield away from Naisthim, like disarming, but it seemed like it would be so much harder to do with a shield than with a sword.

Naisthim stepped forward, and Aeno swung his sword at him, just to have something to do, and also to get Naisthim to back away. His attack went wide, barely glancing off of Naisthim’s shield, and the other boy stepped forward to attack, which Aeno stepped away from again.

But, for just a second, Naisthim’s shield was away from his body, and Aeno had seen an opening. Maybe. But it seemed like exactly the kind of thing father would tell him to do, so Aeno could do it.

Aeno backed away carefully, trying to plan in his head what he would do. But it seemed like Naisthim was getting impatient, and was inching forward faster than he had been earlier. Aeno bit his lip, and stepped forward to meet the other boy. He swung upwards with his sword, feeling off balance, but then when Naisthim tried to swing back he could move out of the way with his sword still raised. And then, just as he got out of the way…

Go!

Aeno swung again, sure he would finally get the older boy, but Naisthim suddenly had his sword up in time to meet Aeno’s, and then Aeno’s sword slid away as Naisthim’s sword swung forward and stopped at Aeno’s neck.

Naisthim was breathing heavily, his face was flushed and his eyes had now turned a bright, sunny yellow. It looked… good. More alive than the boy with ice-blue hair that had walked up a few minutes ago.

“Dang it.” Aeno still said, and then stepped back. Now that he wasn’t fighting, he could feel his heart beating heavily. “I was so close! I really thought I had you, and then suddenly you had your sword up, and then it was over! That shield was really annoying you know, I couldn’t get anything past you.”

Naisthim blinked at him, and then shrugged, “Uhm, sorry. I was taught to use a shield. You could too, you know?”

Aeno scrunched his nose up. Thim’s eyes had turned back to a darker color again, and Aeno couldn’t see what it was anymore. He kind of wished he could, just because it was neat to watch them change. He sighed, and sat down on the dusty ground, looking all the way up at Naisthim, “I’m gonna use magic, once I can. That’s why I only use one hand with my sword. My dad says I’ll probably be really good at it once I can control my fire better.”

“Oh.” Naisthim blinked at Aeno again, and then he looked at his shield, “I wish I could do that…”

There was a pause, as Aeno stared at Naisthim and Naisthim awkwardly sat down with Aeno, even though the shield was still strapped to his arm. And then Naisthim was looking back at Aeno, and seemed kind of surprised to see Aeno watching him.

“... What is your magic?” Aeno finally asked, when he got bored of staring, “Mine is fire. I would show you, but I don’t want to accidently set anything on fire. Or anyone.”

Naisthim looked down, losing their unofficial staring contest, “I’ve got em-path-y. It means I can feel other people’s emotions.”

Aeno’s eyes widened, and then he grinned so hard it kinda hurt, “That’s awesome! Does that mean you know what I’m thinking right now?”

Naisthim shook his head, “No. It’s emotions, not what you’re thinking. So, like…” He looked up again and squinted at Aeno, “You’re really happy? Or maybe excited. They’re kind of similar. And, uhm,” Naisthim looked around the courtyard, and then pointed at one of the other boys, “Ferrza is mad, and annoyed, which is kind of different, and kind of bored? But I have no idea why.”

“Woah…” Aeno breathed out, and then laughed, “That’s really, really cool. I bet that’s great whenever your friends or siblings are upset about anything. You’d just always know! Or, wait, have you ever tried to be a spy with it? I bet you always know when someone’s trying to surprise you with something.”

Naisthim looked back at Aeno and tilted his head, “Uhm, I don’t-”

“I’m glad you’re making friends, Ignes,” Aeno looked up and saw Riaus standing over them, “But right now is the time for training, not chatting. You two can talk in your free time. Back to sparring please.”

Aeno scrambled up and nodded, “Yes, sir.”

Behind him, he thought he heard Nasithim sigh.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

It was another week before Aeno had another actual conversation with Naisthim. A whole week, his first week in the castle, and so much happened.

The first thing, and the most important (even if it wasn’t the most exciting), was Uncle Seril telling Aeno about all the things he would have to do now that he was a squire. Most of it was boring chores like making sure his uncle’s armor got cleaned and passing messages for him, but Aeno would also get to take care of his uncle’s horse, which sounded fun! Aeno had always liked Stonehoof, and he was pretty sure the horse felt the same. And there was training, which was incredible. He’d gotten to spar with the Commander finally yesterday and it was ridiculously hard. The older squires were pretty tough too, but even with a bad leg Commander Riaus could beat them into the ground. Aeno doubted any of them would ever beat him.

And, of course, there were all the friends he’d been making!

Nyvith Proth was the oldest out of everyone, and he kind of reminded Aeno of Alima, his eldest sister. Both of them liked to read lots and lots, both of them were smart, and both of them were the oldest. Nyvith seemed to like stories and poetry more than history though, which was neat because Aeno felt the same way. At least, he did for the stories. He hadn’t really read much poetry yet.

Aeno was pretty sure Syllora Nozaku, who insisted everyone call her Lora, was the next eldest, but it could have been Durmand Pazavor too. Lora was the only girl in their group, which was something Durmand seemed to bring up a lot, and she was really strong. Those two fought a lot, and could be pretty mean to each other when they did. Nyvith said Durmand was just an asshole (and then he made Aeno promise to not repeat that word).

Axter Nox was the only other squire besides Naisthim who was close to Aeno’s age. Aeno had thought he would be kind of quiet, like Alima or Nyvith, since he always seemed to have a book. He even sat in trees while he read them! Sometimes Aeno would be outside, and when he looked up Axter would just be there! But he knew more about family histories than anyone Aeno had ever met, and he’d tell people all about it. It was interesting, in a way. Aeno thought Alima would like it.

Everyone else, Caltus Ferrza and Durmand, Aeno hadn’t really gotten to know much yet. They only ever seemed to talk to each other. Aeno was fairly sure they were friends, but it was hard to tell when they just glared at him every time he tried to talk to them. Or, once, when Durmand yelled at Aeno to leave them alone.

(Aeno was pretty sure Nyvith was right, they were both just mean.)

And then there was Naisthim, who… Aeno didn't want to assume anything, his father always said that was bad, but Aeno barely saw Naisthim at all except at training. The other boy practically disappeared all other times. Aeno was starting to think Naisthim didn't like anyone. Not that Aeno thought Naisthim hated everyone, he had been nice when they’d trained together. Aeno wanted to talk to him more after that, but Naisthim just didn’t seem to feel the same way about Aeno or anyone else.

So Aeno was surprised when Naisthim approached him.

Aeno had just sat down with a book, something he hadn’t read before but looked interesting, when he heard someone else sit down. Naisthim was sitting across from him, his eyes the same alarming shade of orange and staring right at Aeno.

“Um… hi?” Aeno said after a second of neither of them saying anything.

“Hello.”

Aeno waited for Naisthim to say something, but the other boy just continued to stare at Aeno. Slowly, Aeno reached to open his book, ready to be lost in a world of knights and princesses, when –

“I, um.. I –” Naisthim spoke up again, making Aeno look back up at him. “I was thinking about the questions you were asking about empathy, and I know a book that explains it really well! If you want to know still of course… I’ll get it for you!”

Naisthim got up and hurried off into the maze of shelves. Aeno stared after him with growing confusion. He was kind of interested in the empathy thing Naisthim had been talking about, but reading a whole book about it sounded kind of boring. Especially when Aeno had other books he wanted to read more.

By the time Naisthim came back, Aeno was partway through the first page of his book. He barely even noticed the book being slid onto the table or Naisthim’s mumbled “Here you go.”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“Uncle?”

Uncle Seril looked up from his meal with an eyebrow raised. When Aeno hesitated to continue, the older man set down his fork and looked at Aeno more fully. “Might as well spit it out before it rots your dreams tonight.”

“I talked to Naisthim today.” Aeno admitted slowly, and Uncle Seril nodded. “It was weird though. I was in the library when he came up and just… stared at me? Didn’t even say anything until I said ‘hello’. And then he was quiet again for, I don’t know, a minute? Then he said something about his magic, got me a book, and left. Like I said, weird.”

Aeno looked down at his plate, feeling like all the words he said had suddenly abandoned him.

“I didn’t even want the book…” He mumbled into his food.

Uncle Seril hummed and Aeno looked up to see his uncle considering him. “You’ve talked about his magic before, when you two first met, right?” You asked him questions about it?” Aeno nodded. “So could Naisthim have, perhaps, been trying to start a conversation with you? Perhaps even been trying to be friends with you?”

When his uncle put it like that it seemed rather obvious, except –

“But why the staring then?!” Aeno burst out, looking helplessly at Uncle Seril.

The man just shrugged and looked back down at his food. “The kid’s awkward. I don’t think he’s made a single friend since he got here.”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

If Aeno was going to be friends with Naisthim, or even just talk to him, he was going to need a plan. As his father said, ‘reconnaissance will show you the target’. Of course, that was supposed to be about fights and battles, not how to make friends, but the two weren’t too different, right? He just needed to find the target and aim true.

(Aeno, history has shown, was terrible at archery.)

This began Aeno’s campaign of asking everyone he could about Naisthim. He turned first to his fellow squires. Lora and Nyvith were both less than helpful. Lora just complimented Naisthim’s abilities in their training, and then Aeno’s, but didn’t really know anything about Naisthim outside of the training field. Nyvith understood better what Aeno was asking for, but didn’t hold any more answers. He just frowned and commented that Naisthim spent a lot of time in his room.

Durmand and Caltus were, of course, immediately out of the question. Aeno was sure that neither of them would be willing to answer his questions, and was fairly sure neither of them would know what he was looking for anyway.

Axter, when Aeno asked about Naisthim, began listing the boy in question’s family history. Aeno listened for long enough to hear that Naisthim was an only child, and that his mother had died soon after his birth, but his attention drained quickly after that.

Beyond his fellow squires though, Aeno wasn’t sure who to ask. He thought about trying to ask some of the castle servants, but they always seemed too busy for his admittedly trivial questions. Fellow nobility would find the questions even more trivial, probably not helped by Aeno’s young age. The knight Naisthim was squiring for would likely have some kind of answers, but Aeno didn’t know who that could be.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

It was at the end of training, three days after Naisthim tried to talk to Aeno, that he discovered the answer to one of his questions.

“Ignes, could you hold on for a moment?”

Aeno, ready to go and wash up before starting his chores for the day, looked back to see Commander Riaus waving him over. With one last glance at where the other boys were headed, Aeno sighed and made his way over. “Yes, Commander?”

Commander Riaus smiled kindly at Aeno, as he always seemed to as he called them all his ‘little trainees’ and made them run enough laps to make Aeno’s lungs feel like fire. “I wanted to check in with you, but first, could you help me put away the equipment? My knee isn’t exactly what it used to be.”

“Yes Commander.” Aeno nodded and dutifully began neatly stacking the practice swords and shields into their chests. Aeno’s father might have, at some point, told Aeno the story which earned the Commander his limp, but Aeno couldn’t remember what it had been. After all, Aeno’s father loved to tell stories.

Finally, all the equipment was in the proper chests, and Aeno looked to Commander Riaus. “Alright, now they need to be put on this cart,” he said, pointing at the cart in question, “so we can bring them into storage. I’ll help, you pick up that side.”

Aeno moved as directed, and soon all of the chests were loaded onto the cart and they walked them into the practice equipment storage room. He wondered if Commander Riaus usually had help, or if he did this alone most days. Aeno had never seen him ask for someone to stay behind before, but maybe he hadn’t noticed. He was pretty tired after training most days.

“Thank you very much, Ignes. Now,” Commander Riaus dusted his hands off and leaned against one of the bigger crates in the room, “I know it’s been only barely over a week since you got here, but how are you finding the castle? Any problems so far?”

“No, Commander, I like the castle very much. I’m excited to tell my family all the things that have happened so far.” Aeno answered, thinking of the letters he had begun writing last night. One to his parents, and one for each of his siblings except Cyra, who was far too young to read.

Commander Riaus nodded. “Good, I’m glad to hear it. And what about the people? I trust everyone’s been welcoming?”

Aeno bit his lip, wondering if the Commander was trying to ask about Naisthim. He couldn’t say he felt welcomed by Naisthim exactly, but if Uncle was right and the other boy was trying to be friends than it wouldn’t be fair to say so to the Commander. Aeno shrugged, “I haven’t gotten a chance to talk with the others much yet, but everyone’s been nice. And it’s been nice to see Uncle Seril more often.”

“Good, good.” Commander Riaus nodded and scratched his close-shaven beard. His smile had continued to rest on his face during the conversation, and it didn’t fall now as much as it froze. Aeno could feel the entirety of the Commander’s attention fall on him and swallowed. “You know, Ignes, my squire is very close in age to you. If you’re looking for friends, you may want to start with him.”

The Commander had a squire? No one had mentioned that, but of course, Aeno hadn’t asked either. Usually squires had a family relation to their knights. No one Aeno had met so far looked like Commander Riaus, his naturally white hair and yellow eyes didn’t match anyone else, but sometimes family didn’t look the same. If the squire was around Aeno’s age though, that would have to mean –

“Do… you mean Naisthim?” Aeno asked. “I didn’t even know you had a squire, but if you do and he’s my age then it must be Naisthim because he’s the closest to me in age. Unless there’s another squire group I haven’t met?”

Commander Riaus snorted and his smile brightened again, like the corners of his mouth were laughing. “Yes, Ignes, Skyos is my squire. I’m his uncle by marriage.” He shrugged easily. “I’ve noticed that you two seem to get along well when I pair you for sparring, but Naisthim says you haven’t spoken outside of training. I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t want to, but I think the two of you would get along well.”

“Did he tell you about the library a few days ago? We kind of talked then, but it was a bit weird.” Aeno said, a feeling rising up in him and making his chest feel tight. Commander Riaus might have tried to say something, but Aeno kept talking. “It was mostly the way he stared at me a lot I think, but Uncle says he was probably trying to be friends which sounds nice so I’ve been asking around to figure out what to talk about because my father says you should know your target but no one knows anything so I still don’t have a plan but I want to be friends with him and I –”

A hand landed on Aeno’s shoulder, cutting off his rambling. Commander Riaus knelt down in front of Aeno to meet his eyes. “Ignes, take a breath. Naisthim told me about it, he doesn’t feel great about it either.” The Commander took a slow, obvious breath and Aeno matched him. “Better?”

Aeno nodded. “I’m sorry, Commander. You shouldn't have to –”

Commander Riaus held up a hand and shook his head. “No need for apologies, Ignes. I care about all the people in my care, yourself included.” Commander Riaus stood and brushed his pants off. “Now, I think you are putting far too much thought into this. What do you like to do for fun, Ignes?”

“Uhh…” Aeno looked down, trying to think. His favorite activity was sparring and had been since he had started his training with his father. But he was already sparring everyday, if he did any more he’d never have energy for anything else. Aeno liked to read too, but reading wasn’t really something he could do with Naisthim. Playing games was often fun, like the ones Aeno and his siblings played. But almost all of those required a talent in some kind of fire magic, which Naisthim did not have. Though, not all games used magic, and Aeno liked those too.

“Well, I like playing games?” Aeno suggested.

Commander Riaus smiled and tilted his head to the side. ��As do most of us, in one form or another. What do you play?”

Aeno bit his lip. “I don’t know many ball games that don’t need magic. But my father taught me to play chess and a few card games.”

“Well, then I believe you have your starting point then, don’t you?” Commander Riaus said, the corners of his mouth laughing again. “Now, is there anything else you wish to discuss with me?”

Aeno shook his head. “No, I don’t think so Commander.”

“Then, you are free to go, Ignes.”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

It was the next day, after Aeno had finished his chores (taking care of Stonehoof was proving not nearly as fun as he’d imagined), that Aeno approached Naisthim. He’d found the other boy in a corner of the library, out of sight unless you were looking for him. Luckily, Aeno had already endeared himself to the librarian, who pointed him in Naisthim’s direction with a smile.

“Hey, Naisthim?” Aeno asked, trying to keep his nerves out of his voice. He’d been practicing what to say since he talked to Commander Riaus yesterday, but all that practice seemed to have left him now.

Naisthim looked up from his book, and Aeno was close enough to see that the boy’s eyes were a light purple. It surprised him so much that he almost didn’t hear what Naisthim said. “.. what is it?”

Aeno tried to subtly take a breath in. “So, um. I was wondering if you know how to play chess? My father taught me to play, and it’s fun, but I don’t have anyone to play with now.”

“Oh.” Naisthim blinked, the colors turning darker, but he looked away before Aeno could tell what they were. “Um, not really, no. I started to learn a few years ago, but it didn’t work out.”

Both boys fell silent, and Aeno could feel the nervous energy being drained out of him and replaced with something as heavy as his father’s full plate armor. It was just… Aeno didn’t know how to make this work. He’d never had to work to make friends before, but now he was in the castle where there was barely anyone his age and he missed having real, proper friends. Uncles and trainers and other kids five years older than you didn’t count. They weren’t the same.

“Could, um… “ Aeno looked up and Naisthim was rapidly tapping his fingers on the book he’d been reading. “Could you teach me how to play?”

Aeno felt a smile grow on his face. “Yeah, I can do that. It seems kinda complicated at first, but it’s not actually that bad. Way less work than some of the card games I know.” He paused, trying to not sound too eager now. He was suddenly light enough to float off the ground, and had to stop himself from bouncing from one foot to the other. “Do you want to play now? I’ve got a board in my room.”

Naisthim nodded, a small smile settling on his face, and his eyes turned a color Aeno had only gotten a glimpse of before. Yellow, brighter and without the orange hue that Aeno’s own had. He thought it suited Naisthim.

“Sure, let’s go.”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Aeno stirred his spoon through his bowl of soup. He hadn’t minded soup before coming to the castle, but it felt as though he’d been given soup for lunch everyday since he’d gotten here. There was only so much of it he could eat before he was bored of soup.

“Can I sit here?” Someone softly said behind him.

Aeno turned his head and saw Naisthim with a bowl of his own. He instantly smiled. “Yes, of course.” He paused as Naisthim took a seat, and then turned his pout on the other boy instead of the bowl of soup. “Do they really have to serve soup everyday? There are other things to eat for lunch, you know. I like soup, generally, but I want some variety.”

Naisthim looked at Aeno with a raised eyebrow. “If you really have such a problem with it, you could take it up with the kitchens. Have you met the head cook?”

Aeno shuddered. “I can still feel the bruises from that spoon.”

Naisthim’s laugh was quiet, but one of the realest Aeno had ever heard.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“I almost got you today in sparring. Get the commander to keep pairing us, I’m going to get you.”

“Pfft, why should I do that? I’m going to tell him to never pair us up again. That way my win streak can never be broken.”

“Wh – No, you can’t! Everyone else is too hard, you gotta give me a chance!”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“You should really stop bragging about your magic to everyone if you’re going to use it in fights.”

“Why? It’s not like I’ll be fighting anyone in the castle.”

“Well, take my Uncle for example. You’ve never seen him use his magic talent, right?”

“Nope. What is it? I’ve been trying to guess, but I don’t think I’ve gotten close yet.”

“That’s the point.”

“So, what, you’re not going to tell me? Oh come on Naisthim, please? What if I guess? Light? Wind? Telekinesis?”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“Hey, Naisthim. Why are you always late to lunch anyway?’

“I help Uncle Riaus put the equipment away after practice. He can, technically, do it himself. But the stuff’s pretty heavy, and he’s got a bad knee.”

“Oh. Yeah, that makes sense. How did his knee get messed up?”

“He was fighting about twenty people at once and one of them smashed a warhammer against it.”

“What?! Seriously?!”

“Yep. He still won, but it was pretty close I guess.”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“If you can control fire, does that mean it doesn’t burn you?”

“Kind of? It can, if I’m not paying attention, but it’s kind of hard to not be aware of all the flames in a room.”

“You can feel all the flames near you? Even candles?”

“Yeah. I don’t really think about it though, It’s just… I see them extra, you know.”

“I suppose that doesn’t sound so bad.”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“You grew up on the coast, right?”

“Mm-hm. Why?”

“I was just wondering what it’s like. I’ve never seen the ocean before, I can’t even imagine it.”

“Hmm… I don’t know. I still think it’s strange to not be able to hear waves and smell salt. It was very windy too. We would have kite festivals in the summer.”

“That sounds awesome. I wish I could see that sometime.”

“You should come visit then. I’ll show you around.”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“You know, I’d never seen so many trees until I got here. There aren’t really any forests where I grew up, too many rocks for that.”

“There aren’t any real forests here either. The ones back home are much bigger.”

“Really? Do the leaves really change colors?”

“Yeah, at the end of the harvests. Whole forest turns red, makes it kind of look like its on fire.”

“Wow.”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“I think Caltus was trying to… well, I’m not sure what he was trying to do. Make me feel sad I guess?”

“Yeah, he does that. Him and Durmand both. You can tell my uncle or yours if they go too far, but I honestly find it easier to ignore them.”

“I know their both older than us, but Durmand doesn’t really seem smart enough to go ‘too far’.”

“Pfft, Aeno, don’t say that! He might hear you.”

“Good!”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“Hey, Naisthim?” Aeno said. The conversation had lulled a while ago, leaving them eating their lunch in companionable silence. It had been a couple weeks since they began hanging out regularly, eating lunch together and playing games when they had free time.

Naisthim looked up, having been focused on his food. “What?”

Aeno smiled. He’d figured out that Naisthim’s eye color was a hint to his mood, but he’d only started to learn which colors meant what. The first Aeno had learned was that yellow was for happiness, and it was the color he saw in his friend’s eyes most often. “Where’d you get your name? It’s kinda long, makes me surprised you don’t have a nickname by now.”

“Oh.” Naisthim tapped his spoon against his bowl. “I don’t really know where my name comes from. I never asked. And, I don’t really think my father is the nickname type.”

They both became quiet again. Aeno was lost in his own head, trying to think of what nickname he would give Naisthim. Nais? Nai? Nothing was coming to mind. This seemed a lot easier in books.

“I don’t think I’d mind having a nickname. A lot of people get it wrong.”

Aeno hummed. “Hold on, I’m trying to think of one. Nais sounds weird.” Naisthim’s nose scrunched up when Aeno said that, so he assumed the other boy agreed. “What about… um. What about the end of your name instead? Thim?”

Naisthim tilted his head. “Thim? That’s alright.” He looked straight at Aeno, making direct eye contact. Aeno had noticed that Naisthim didn’t do that often. “How about you try it?”

“How was your day today, my good friend Thim?” Aeno asked, sure that he and Thim’s smiles matched at that moment.

“Just swell, Aeno.” Thim said, copying the silly voice Aeno had done. “Just swell indeed.”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“Hey, wake up.”

Aeno startled up when he felt a hand shake his shoulder. He saw Thim standing next to him, still in his night clothes. Aeno blinked, and then blinked again. What was Thim doing in his room at, he was pretty sure, the middle of the night.

“What are you doing here?” He repeated, out loud this time.

Thim’s eyes widened and he pressed a finger to his lips. “Quiet,” He whispered, “You’ll wake up Sir Ignes.”

“Uncle Seril sleeps like a fallen log.” Aeno hissed and twisted in his bed to sit up properly and face Thim. If he was going to be awake then he might as well be awake properly. “Again, why are you here?”

“Oh, um.” Thim scratched the back of his neck, his eyes flashing an interesting silver Aeno had never seen before. “I wanted to go to the kitchens. I thought you might want to come with me.”

That caught Aeno’s attention. He leaned forward and extracted a hand from his blankets to hold it out in front of himself and light the smallest fire he could manage, just to see by. Thim gave the flame a worried look, but Aeno ignored him. “I thought the kitchens were off-limits, especially at night. Especially especially to us.”

Thim shrugged, his eyes sliding away. “They are, but it’s not actually that hard to get down there. There’s not nearly as many guards at night than during the day, and it’s not like they’re guarding the kitchen specifically. Just… think of it as stealth practice.”

Aeno considered it for a moment. It seemed like Thim knew how to sneak down and back without getting caught, as if he’d done this before. That was honestly a little surprising, Aeno would not have expected the squire of the Lord Commander to be relaxed about the rules. Of course, Aeno wasn’t complaining. He was more than happy to break some rules as long as he wasn’t caught.

“Alright.” Aeno put out the flame so he could get out of bed safely, then lit it again and looked to Thim. “Lead the way.”

They slowly made their way through and down into the lower levels of the castle. Aeno had been living here for over a month by now, but it still seemed like a maze to him. Thim took them into corridors and down stairs he’d had no idea even existed. That seemed to be the point though, as they saw almost one one else as they walked.

A thought occurred to Aeno. “Can you sense where the guards are?”

“Can I…” Thim glanced back at Aeno with a confused frown, “Why would I be able to sense the guards?”

Aeno opened his mouth, already excited to share his logic, when Thim glanced back at him again. This time the other boy had a finger pressed to his lips, clearly a reminder to keep quiet. Aeno grinned, but made sure to keep his voice low. “Because of that. You knew I was going to speak too loud because you could feel it. You can feel me behind you without even looking.”

“Yes? I don’t see how this means I can sense where the guards are.”

“You can sense the guards too, right?” Aeno asked. “You can tell them apart from me, can tell how many are near us?”

Ahead of him, he saw Thim’s head bob with a nod. “Yeah.”

“And there’s some kind of location or direction to it, right?” Aeno had to admit, he wasn’t actually sure on this point. It was a guess on his part, just based on the way Thim looked around sometimes.

Thim stopped suddenly, and Aeno had to quickly throw his hand to the side to avoid catching his friend on fire. “Oh.” Thim turned around to properly face Aeno. “Oh, I get what you’re saying. Hm.”

Aeno watched as Thim closed his eyes, looking more like he was listening for something. But most demons didn’t have the ability to feel for others’ emotions like Thim did, so it probably would look like he was just listening extra hard.

“Huh. Yeah, I can.” Thim reported, opening his eyes. “I never thought about it that way. That’s kind of useful.” He turned around again and made a beckoning motion over his shoulder. “C’mon, we should keep moving.”

Aeno continued to follow Thim, but now his mind was stuck. There was a puzzle in it, the way Thim never talked about his magic talent unless he thought he had to. Most kids their age that Aeno had met loved to talk magic and what they could do. Who wouldn’t? It was fire, or ice, or flight, or seeing into people’s heads. It was all so awesome. But he couldn’t just ask Thim why he didn’t talk about it, could he? That would probably be rude. Aeno tried his best to not be rude to anyone, but new friends especially. They still hadn’t even known each other for that long, Aeno didn’t want to make Thim upset already.

“Why don’t you use your talent more often?” Aeno asked instead.

One of Thim’s hands came up to rub the back of his neck. “It’s not like it’s ever off. Technically, I’m always using it.”

Aeno tried to squash any annoyance he felt at Thim’s reply. “Yeah, but you’re not actually using it then. It’s just sitting there. I can feel fires all the time, but that doesn’t mean I’m using my magic.”

Thim shrugged and his shoulders hunched in. The other boy was taller than Aeno, a natural side effect of him being a year and a half older than Aeno, and so he’d never looked small to Aeno. It looked like Thim was trying to be now, and Aeno wondered if he’d said something wrong. “It’s, um… it’s different with mine. It’s like being able to see twice, and you can’t shut the second pair of eyes.”

Aeno tried to imagine that. He looked down into the flame in his hand. He was much more aware of flames he created, but very rarely made more than one at a time. To be aware of and feeding as many as ten would likely be very unpleasant. Aeno grimaced. “Oh.”

“I used to get overwhelmed by it a lot.” Thim admitted quietly, making Aeno strain his ears just to hear his friend. As quietly as he could, Aeno darted forward so he was walking beside Thim. Thim glanced at him, and Aeno tried to give him a reassuring smile. “I just can’t seem to shut it off, and I don’t know anyone who can teach me to control it more. I inherited my magic from my mother, but she died a few hours after I was born. It still…”

Thim sucked in a breath, and his voice lowered to a murmur. “I still get overwhelmed sometimes. There’s just so many people in the castle..”

Without thinking, Aeno reached out with his free hand and grabbed Thim’s. He tried to project a feeling of sympathy. It must have worked at least a little, because Thim shot him a small smile.

They walked like that, hand in hand, for a little while. Any sadness Thim had felt from the topic seemed to drain away, and now he seemed more relaxed than he’d started, if anything. Aeno had never really thought about it, but Thim still seemed shy and closed off even as they’d been growing closer. Part of that was his unwillingness to talk about his magic, which made sense now and Aeno promised himself he wouldn’t push further about it in the future, but there was also other stuff too. Thim hadn’t really told any stories about his family like Aeno did, and he rarely looked anyone in the eyes. Aeno hoped at least some of that would be changing.

“Hold on.” Thim whispered and pulled Aeno to the side, forcing them into a small alcove behind a suit of armor. “Put the flame out.”

Aeno closed his fist and the fire disappeared, just in time for a rather bored looking guard with a torch to turn a corner and walk past them. Aeno held his breath, and he could feel Thim tense beside him. But the guard must have been tired, or just not paying attention, because he didn’t even stop to look their way.

After the guard had turned another corner, both Aeno and Thim let out a sigh of relief. Aeno laughed. “I can’t believe he didn’t see us, we were right there.”

Thim shrugged. “I’m not complaining.” They carefully pulled themselves out of the alcove, and Thim peaked his head around the next corner. “C’mon, this is where the kitchens are.”

They rounded the corner, and mid-way down the hallway was a large wooden door. A rather obvious sign hung above the door announcing it as the kitchens. They approached the door, excited to have reached their goal, when Thim held up a hand to stop them both. Aeno looked at his friend in confusion.

“There’s someone in the kitchens.” He whispered, sounding confused. At Aeno’s obvious continued confusion, Thim continued. “I can sense someone ahead of us, where the kitchens are. I – I don’t think they’re a guard. The guards tend to be bored, this person is… Determined? Maybe frustrated? I’m not sure.”

Aeno crept forward and pressed an ear to the door. He could faintly hear someone moving around, clanging pots together like they were moving stuff around a lot. “Whoever it is, it sounds like they’re looking for something.”

Thim placed a hand against the door, standing next to Aeno. “This is strange.” He muttered, and Aeno wasn’t sure if Thim was talking to Aeno or himself. “Who looks for something in the pots and pans at midnight?” He paused as they both tried to puzzle it out, and then he stepped away from the door, grabbing Aeno to do the same.

“They just became happy.” Thim said, sounding unhappy about it. “I think they found what they were looking for.”

Aeno bit his lip and looked around the hallway. “Which means they’re leaving and coming out here.”

Thim nodded, a movement Aeno could still see in the dim light. He hadn’t lit a new flame, but they could still just barely see each other by the light of the few torches kept lit. And, if they could see each other, then whoever was behind the door would be able to as well.

“We have to run.” Aeno hissed and grabbed Thim’s wrist, pulling him away from the door. He searched the hallway for anywhere to hide, but there wasn’t really anywhere. No closets, no alcoves, no suits of armor. Just stone brick walls, torches, and… a couple benches.

They seemed to have both realized the only option at the same time, and each dived under a stone bench. The kind which everyone avoided sitting on unless they really had to, making Aeno wonder why they existed and some had been placed in this hallway. He was, of course, quite thankful that they had though.

The kitchens’ door opened, and Aeno could hear the footsteps of the person inside leaving. The person began walking in the opposite direction of where Aeno and Thim were hiding, leaving them both to sigh in the relief of not having their hiding spots too heavily scrutinized. Before the person turned the corner, Aeno peaked his head out and caught the outline of a male figure with a very large bronze pot floating behind him.

Aeno crawled out from under the bench and ran to the kitchens’ door with Thim on his heels. They slipped inside, shutting the door behind them, and Aeno turned to look at Thim. Thim was already looking at Aeno, a twitching grin on his face which devolved into giggles. Aeno quickly followed, forced to hold his stomach from the ache of their laughter.

“Heh, that was… ridiculous.” Aeno heaved, his breathing slowly evening out again. He looked up and Thim was still looking at Aeno, an odd look on his face. Aeno thought he might have seen a light, warm color that he didn’t remember seeing in his friend’s eyes before, but it must have just been the light because Thim was smiling again.

“Completely.” Thim agreed. “I never thought I’d be thanking Hylia for some benches.”

Aeno nodded and began walking further into the room. He hadn’t been in the kitchens properly before, and he was excited to see what they would be able to grab. “I feel like my father’s going to come give me a lecture on blasphemy.” He paused, and his eyes caught on a rack of pots and pans. “Hey, did you see that giant pot the man carried out of here? What do you think he’s using it for?”

“I didn’t get a good look, no.” It sounded like Thim was wandering in his own direction, footsteps getting further away. “How would he even carry this ‘giant pot’?”

“Well, it was floating.” Aeno said and turned around, though he still couldn’t see Thim. “He must have been using magic.”

The sound of Thim’s footsteps stopped. “... it was floating? He wasn’t touching it at all?”

Aeno nodded absently as he followed the sound of Thim’s voice. “I mean, I didn’t get a great look at him, but that’s what I saw.”

When Aeno found him, Thim was standing still and his eyes burned alarm-bells orange. “There’s only one person in the castle I can think of who has telekinesis, but I have no idea why he would be stealing a pot from the kitchens. It makes no sense.”

“Who is it?” Aeno asked, torn between concern and feeling like his friend was overreacting. They hadn’t wanted to be caught, but that was just to avoid the punishments that might come with it. Not any fear of the man himself.

Thim began rubbing the pads of his fingers together. “Lord Trayvon Diaditor. He’s the Master of War.”

“Oh.” Aeno blinked, wondering if he should feel relieved or worried. “That is strange.”