Chapter 6: Distraction Carnifex

"I expected you to be here, but that still doesn't take away from my surprise," Aleron muttered, looking around the Chamber of Roots. In the center of the massive room was the Tree of Harmony, the crystal-like structure spreading out over the floor and up to the ceiling with emerald leaves along the branches. The Chamber was special in that the Tree was not confined to the room itself—the branches and roots permeated the entire Crypt and suffused the entire area with a calming aura.

At the base of the Tree was a literal mountain of pillows, atop which a silver-scaled snake woman reclined. Her long silver hair was tied back in a messy bun, and her blue eyes were fixed on a book in her lap. She didn't even move to respond to Aleron's approach. "…Moon child. It has been some time."

Her voice seemed to prick at his consciousness, as if she wasn't speaking but instead placing the words in his mind. Aleron shook his head—he had always hated dealing with Logic, given that where Discord was somewhat fun and silly, Logic was more so unnerving. But she was the one who created the Tree of Harmony, so he had no choice. But this was business. "I had questions, if you don't mind."

This got her to look up. "I suppose I have a moment, if you like. What questions did you have?"

Aleron walked closer, reaching out to touch one of the lower hanging branches of the tree. It warmed to his touch. "Remember me, huh…?"

"The tree is sort of alive," Logic stated, eyes going back to her book. "You held the seeds. You planted them. The spirit of the tree recognizes you as its guardian."

"…Right…"

"Your questions."

"Ah. Right. If there is an emotional rift between the Elements, does that affect them? Or the tree for that matter?"

Logic paused, before looking up at him. "An emotional bond is necessary for the Elements to operate. If the wielders are not in harmony, then they will not work. A weak link in the chain ruins it all."

"So this whole thing between Cori and Goldie…"

"You do not count the disharmony between you, Magic, and Loyalty?" Logic tilted her head slightly. "As Guardian of the Tree, your job is to protect it and them, Moon child."

Aleron narrowed his eyes. "MY only job is to protect my sisters. That's my main priority."

"You shouldered this burden yourself, Moon child. You carried the seeds, and now the well-being of the Elements is in your hand."

"You created the tree," Aleron shot back, folding his arms. "Shouldn't you care more than me?"

Logic suddenly appeared in front of him, her face an inch from his. It took everything in him to not flinch back from the emotionless visage. "That is why I am informing you, Moon Child. You know them. I do not. You understand them. I do not. Three of the Elements are your blood, and you just said your priority is helping them, no?"

Aleron's eyes narrowed, but he didn't speak for a moment. Logic had a point, as frustrating as it was. And he'd walked right into it. "…You are correct."

Logic blinked once very slowly. Then she was back on her pillow mountain, book in her lap again. "…More questions?"

"How should I go about mending the rift in the Elements?"

"Part of the blame lies with you, Moon Child. You underplay your role in keeping the Elements together." She yawned slightly, almost as if she was bored. "And part of the blame lies with Kindness. As Kindness and Laughter are the 'heart' of the group, if there is discord amongst them, then the others will be fragmented as well."

Aleron sighed. "So it all comes down to reconciling Goldie and Cori…"

Logic looked over at him, seemingly sizing him up. "…You expected different?"

"…Not particularly, but I thought you might have some advice."

"…I see." Logic was silent for a moment, before turning her attention back to her book. "Why did Cordelia and Golden Grove become friends in the first place? Why did they grow to care about each other? What has happened to break them apart? Answer those questions, and you'll discern what you need to do."

"…Thank you."

Logic inclined her head. She didn't say anything else, so Aleron took it as a cue to leave. He turned smartly on his heel and left the Chamber. He passed by the Crypt Guards, giving them a short nod as he passed but ultimately he was deep in his own thoughts. Cori and Goldie had connected because they were both shy. They'd bonded when Cori revealed she was a Changeling, and Goldie stood by her when she started to learn the extent of her powers. But what had changed while he was gone? Last he knew, the Elements were strong—Bramley respected Cori if nothing else, and Evie and Vibrant were her friends. At some point while he was gone however, Cori had lost those ties. Goldie had broken up with her. Evie wasn't sure what was going on, but with Vibrant currently 'anti-Winter' it wasn't going to help. Until Bramley came back, he wouldn't know where the apple-loving young man stood.

He emerged into the city proper, squinting his eyes against the noonday sun. Whatever he needed to fix things, even if only to make things civil between them all, he'd have to do. That meant more planning, and more looking into things. He was thinking hard about where he should start when a voice called out to him. "Yo! Al!"

Aleron glanced up to see Sunset walking his way, Rose at her side. He stopped walking, waiting on them to get closer. Once they were only a few feet away, Rose detached from her mother to run to him and hug his leg. That put a smile on his face, and he leaned down to pick her up. "Hello to you too, Rose. I'm surprised you're this happy to see me."

"Big Sis Jubilee said you should always be happy to see family," Rose said giggling. "Plus, Mommy said you looked like you needed cheering up!"

"You did kinda look long in the face," Sunset admitted, smirking and folding her arms. "So? What's got your tail in a twist? You got that look on your face like you're planning something."

"Do I?" Aleron blinked and touched his face. "Well, I admit I was deep in thought."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Well…" He thought for a moment. Sure, it was more between the new Elements, himself and his twin, but having another viewpoint wouldn't hurt. "I guess. It'll probably help me think if I talk to someone else."

Sunset nodded. "Plus, another view on the situation can help you look at new angles."

Aleron smirked. "Just what I was thinking. Should we sit somewhere? Rose is heavy."

"I'm not heavy!" Rose complained.

"Over there," Sunset said, gesturing to a nearby set of benches. The three of them went over to it, Aleron adjusting to Rose wanting to sit in his lap once they sat down. Sunset took a moment to smooth out her skirt before turning to him. "Alright, hit me."

Aleron sucked in a deep breath before letting it out in a slow stream. "…So, you know about all the stuff that's been going on with the Elements and all, right?"

"Something about you and Aurora getting half of the Elements mad at you in two days?" Sunset grinned. "Yeah, I heard. Wolfy tells me you and Vibrant are butting heads?"

"More than that," Aleron replied, leaning back. "But that's the simple way to put it."

"So what exactly happened?"

Aleron was thoughtful for a moment, and then he spoke. "So I walked in on Vibrant and Evie about to have sex."

Sunset blinked once, very slowly. Then, she reached over and flicked him in the forehead. "Ew. And watch it around your little sister, Al."

"Ow. And sorry." Aleron rubbed at his forehead.

"So yeah, that's awkward. And I'm guessing you hit him?"

"…Yeah."

"Makes sense. You were upset, and emotions were running high."

"Yeah, but… I didn't want to. He followed after me to try and explain."

Sunset sighed. "That's one thing about guys I just don't get sometimes. I mean, no offense. Why couldn't he just let it lie? You're done chasing after Evie, right?"

"…Yeah."

"You sure?" She eyed him curiously, folding her arms. "I'm not your mother, but I'm here for you, Al. All of us are. So don't think you've got to tough it out just because your dad's the way he is."

Aleron nodded, gently rubbing Rose's head. "…If anyone has to act tough, it's Aurora. I'm just at a loss for what to do…"

"Just let big sis handle it!" Rose offered, looking up at him. "She always tells us she can handle anything!"

"And that's why I'm worried," Aleron pointed out, patting her head. He glanced over at Sunset. "Aurora is my twin. Technically, I'm the oldest, since I was born first, but I can't let her shoulder everything alone. We've always shared our burdens with each other. So it's only fair to her that she doesn't have to figure all of this out on her own."

Sunset smiled warmly at him before patting his head. "Well, you've got the right mindset. Just remember—you kids are still kids. Teens, pretty much. You're going through puberty, so that's probably going to skew a lot of your emotional responses to stuff."

Aleron chuckled softly. "I think you may be right."

"If you want my opinion, I think you guys should let it lie for a bit." She leaned back on the bench. "Go do something else. Have fun. Sun knows Aurora needs to be distracted a bit. I'm pretty sure all you've gotta do is ask her to hang out with you and she'd drop everything."

"I know," Aleron said, his smile growing. "Maybe…"

"Maybe?"

"I should probably go find her," Aleron said. "I sent her after Passion, so she might be done getting tossed around by now."

Sunset laughed. "You're probably right. That little demon doesn't take anyone seriously but your dad, and I still don't even know if she's going all out with him."

"Who knows really. I just found out she's married."

"…Wait, what?"

"You didn't know? She did say they keep busy…"

Sunset seemed rather thoughtful, running a hand through her hair. "Hm. Never would have guessed. Guess it makes sense, considering her name and all…"

Aleron tapped Rose's head and motioned for her to get off. He stood after she did so and stretched. "I'm gonna go find Ro. Thanks for talking to me, Sunset."

"Of course," Sunset replied, standing up as well. She smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Any time, Aleron. If you ever need my help, I'm always willing to lend a hand."

"I appreciate that."

Sunset smiled, but before she could say anything Rose ran up to her and tugged on her shirt. "Mommy, can I go with Al?" She asked cutely.

"Hm?" Sunset blinked. "You wanna go with him?"

"Yeah!"

Sunset glanced up at Aleron for a moment before smiling at her daughter. "Okay my little flower. You can go with your big brother—but be good, okay?"

"Okay!"

Aleron chuckled as Rose came back over to him and took his hand. "Okay, okay. Have you had something to drink already?"

"She has, but I haven't," Sunset said with a chuckle. "Take care of her for me, Al. I gotta go find your dad cause mommy here needs a drink."

"Oy. I'll watch over her." Aleron rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers, reappearing outside the training yards.

"Ooh, I didn't know you could teleport," Rose said, blinking and looking around in confusion.

Aleron chuckled. "Sorry about that—not warning you. You okay?"

"Mmhm! Mommy teleports sometimes. She said she'd teach me one day."

"I see. Well, I know quite a bit about magic too, so if you want, I could show you some things too."

Rose literally beamed—probably because she was just learning her brother was super nice after only having sisters for so long. "Please!"

He couldn't help but laugh as his littlest sister started bouncing in front of him, tugging on his shirt and repeating 'please' in the most adorable voice possible. Aleron found it odd that someone as serious yet snarky as Sunset could have such a bubbly daughter like Rose. "Okay, okay, calm down. First, your mom has to say yes. But for now, let's go see how your big sis Aurora is doing, shall we?"

She nodded, holding onto his hand as he led her into the training yards. As they walked, several of the Stonekin and Ursa greeted them, again reminding Aleron that all of Stonehearth really held him in high regard. That and Rose was well known enough to be given candy by a few of the females they ran into. She was happily sucking at a lollipop as the sounds of faint metal hitting metal reached them. "Is that big sis?"

Aleron frowned slightly—he knew the sound of blades clashing, and if Aurora was sparring with Passion, that wouldn't make sense. Was someone else here? "That's… we'll have to see."

He led her further in, thankfully the passageways in the training field being easy to navigate. They came out into one of the larger ones, built with stands along the outside edges to allow people to watch sparring matches or training bouts. Currently, there were quite a few people present. "Whoa, there's a lot of people here!" Rose remarked, looking around.

Aleron was momentarily at a loss because in the training ring at the moment was not his sister, but his father. The Wolf Lord himself was currently locked in a fierce swordfight with a strange man in foreign armor with a very elegant sword style. The two were going at it fiercely. "…Well, that's not what I expected to see."

Rose gasped and ran over to the railing separating the spectating stands from the ring. "It's daddy!"

"Hey, be careful Rose…!"

No sooner had he made the statement than the strange swordsman struck a powerful blow against their father's guard and sent Tyr sliding straight their way. Instead of instantly recovering Tyr simply kept sliding, coming to rest against the railing right next to his daughter. Not even missing a beat, he hooked an arm around Rose to pull her up close enough to plant a kiss on her head. "Hi there sweetie."

The several onlookers in the yard laughed as Rose giggled and hugged his neck. "Hi daddy!"

The other swordsman chuckled, dropping his guard for a moment. "That's not fair, Tyr. That daughter of yours is playing dirty."

"Hey, she's the youngest, and can you say no to this face?" Tyr laughed when Rose kissed his cheek in response. "Plus, you hit me over here, Absalom."

"I did no such thing. You let yourself keep going backwards when we both know that blow was nowhere near that strong."

"You're just mad I have a cute daughter to hug."

"I won't argue that." Absalom smiled warmly. "Makes me miss Jennifer."

"Ah, you did say you had a family of your own."

Absalom nodded. "Jennifer and Isaac. My wife and son."

"Wait, you're married too!?" Came Aurora's flabbergasted voice. Aleron looked over to see Aurora with Passion and Design, his sister lying on the seat with her head in Design's lap. On the Angel's other side was Duty, the samurai watching her Contractor with amusement.

Absalom chuckled at that. "Yes, I am. I only see them occasionally due to my downside."

"You're an Order Mage?" Aleron asked.

The young man nodded. "Yes. My Downside is that I can't stay in the same place for longer than a month. Place meaning like a city or town."

Tyr looked rather sad at that, setting Rose down. She didn't want to leave her dad just yet, so he kept her by his side. "You only get to spend a month at a time with them? That has to hurt."

"One of these days they'll travel with me," Absalom said, looking down at his hand. On it was a rather simple wedding ring of gold. "Just waiting on a certain something to make it possible."

"Oh?"

"But that's neither here nor there. Do you want to continue our duel, or is your daughter too much of a distraction?"

Tyr chuckled dangerously at that. "Rose, go sit with your sister and brother. I got a duel to finish."

Rose nodded and held out her arms to Aleron. He picked her up and carried her over to where his sister was. Aurora finally sat up, hair messy but the battered Wolf Princess never really cared. As their father and Absalom went back to their fight, she smiled slightly. "Hey Al. Hey Rosie."

"Hi big sis," Rose said, before scrunching up her nose. "You smell bad."

"I smell like sweat," Aurora countered, booping her nose. She turned her face towards Design. "Sorry about that, by the way."

Design laughed softly. "It's fine, dear. I've dealt with worse."

"I don't like the implications of that," Passion said, frowning slightly.

"Oh, don't be like that, my star," Design said, reaching over to run a hand through Passion's hair. "I adore you no matter how badly you smell."

"You said it! You said I stink!"

"On occasion."

Passion fumed, but the sound of blades clashing took their attention away again. Absalom and Tyr were evenly matched, but to anyone who knew them it was obvious they were both simply enjoying the music that was swords clashing. "I'm not fond of weapons, but I can see when two people are having fun."

"Having fun?" Rose asked from Aleron's lap. She looked from over at Passion to where her father narrowly let a thrust pass his cheek. The return slash scraped along Absalom's blade. "…Daddy's having fun?"

"Yup! It's what I like to call dancing on the edge. People like me, your dad, and Absalom only really feel enjoyment while fighting on a razor's edge. If there's no chance of injury or danger, we can't be at our best."

Aurora nodded. "I can understand that. Training is all well and good, but if I can't push myself…"

Passion grinned. "Then you can't get anything out of it."

Aleron raised an eyebrow. "You trained with our father, right Passion? What was it like?"

"Oh, it was great! Your dad's one of the few people that has killed me at least once!"

Rose simply stared at the redhead, while Aurora rolled her eyes. "…Let's talk about something else. We're going to confuse little Rosie."

"Ah…" Passion glanced down at the youngest Winter child and chuckled softly. "Right. Sorry there, Rose."

"It's okay," Rose said, leaning back against Aleron's chest. She turned her attention back to her father, blood red eyes watching the Wolf Lord fight with pure focus. Her brother simply chuckled and rubbed the top of her head.

Tyr and Absalom's duel continued for a few moments longer, both swordsmen matching each other strike or strike. Until suddenly the Contractor of Carnage suddenly paused and threw his attention back over his shoulder. "More distractions?" Absalom remarked, stabbing forward.

A blur tore from one of the entrances, hurtling towards Tyr. The Wolf Lord only hesitated a moment before spinning, deflecting Absalom's attack while turning to the sudden figure. His eyes narrowed, and just a moment before the blur got to him he snapped his free hand up. That had the unfortunate side effect of catching Sunset around the throat and stopping her in her tracks. "Urk!" The vampiress gasped when she halted.

"Sunny…" Tyr growled softly, tightening his grip slightly. She gasped, hands going to grab at his, but he wasn't letting go right away. "What have I told you about trying to hunt me?"

The flame haired vampire gave him a nervous smile. "Uh… not to?"

"That I can hear and smell you coming from a mile away," Tyr remarked with a savage grin and drawing her close. "You thought I'd be distracted enough for that?"

She chuckled weakly. "…Maybe?"

Tyr sighed. "You're impossible to discourage, but not this time, Sunny."

He let her go, the flame haired woman only having a moment to recover before Tyr pulled her in for a kiss. When they broke apart, Sunset giggled softly. "Ooh, if I knew you were going to do that, I wouldn't have bothered trying to jump you."

"I've told you that before, haven't I?" Tyr turned back to Absalom with an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that."

Absalom simply chuckled and shook his head, sheathing his blade. "It is quite alright. We've been at it for some time now, so it stands to reason your family would want to see you."

Sunset blinked once, moving to where she could see Absalom. "Hm? Who's that, Wolfy?"

"My name is Absalom, and I am an Order Mage," Absalom informed her, bowing slightly. "It is an honor to meet you, miss…?"

"Sunset Winter," Sunset replied evenly, a bit on guard. "I didn't know we were hosting an Order Mage today."

Absalom smirked slightly. "I wandered by, as is my ken. I heard of this place via Jehu, and I thought it might be an interesting place to visit. I appreciate your guarded nature, however."

Sunset blinked at that, and Tyr chuckled softly. "He's good, Sunny."

The vampiress spared him a look before sighing. "Knowing your luck Wolfy, I can't help being somewhat on guard around them."

"You and Luna both and it only makes me love you more," Tyr remarked, pulling her close and nuzzling into her hair.

"Wolfy… stop~!"

Absalom chuckled good naturedly. "I suppose I've kept you long enough, Tyr. No doubt your wife here has opened the floodgates for the rest of your family to demand your attention."

Tyr chuckled at that, glancing back to where the twins and Rose sat. "You have a point there. It was a pleasure dueling you though."

"I had to take the opportunity to test myself against you," Absalom admitted. "Cancer—or should I say Catarina—spoke highly of your prowess."

"…Catarina?"

"You didn't know? The Zodiac Knights no longer go by their constellation names. That was a choice of Leo's, to unify them in purpose. Now they go by their chosen names."

Tyr pondered that for a moment. "I guess next time I see any of them I should ask. Regardless, I should get going, Absalom. Feel free to stay as long as you want."

The wandering swordsman nodded at that, before heading out of the arena. Duty got up as well, nodding to Passion and Design before following her Contractor. Tyr watched them go, before turning to look back at his kids. "I'm heading back up to the castle. What about you, kids?"

"I've got nothing else to do today," Aurora said with a stretch. "What about you, Al?"

Aleron was quiet for a moment. He glanced over at his twin. "…You know, I kinda wanted to spend time with my sister."

Aurora froze in place, before snapping her attention to him. "You… what?"

"I. Want. To. Spend. Time. With. My. Twin." Aleron chuckled at the sky haired girl's stunned expression. "Is it that hard to believe?"

"I… I just… you never…" She stammered for a bit, color rising in her cheeks before she stood up quickly. "I-I-I-I gotta go take a shower!"

Without another word, she rocketed off into the sky and shot towards the castle. Aleron and Rose watched her go, the latter chuckling softly. "She does realize I can teleport her, right…?"

"Big sis is silly," Rose pointed out.

"That she is."

"You probably should go after her," Sunset pointed out with a wink. She waved her hand at her daughter. "C'mere, Rose. Let your brother and sister have fun."

"Okay~!" Rose called back. She turned a bit to give her brother a little peck on the cheek before hopping out of his lap and heading over to her parents. Aleron smiled after her while he stood. "Have fun with big sis!"

Aleron gave her a little wave before heading back out of the arena. Instead of walking the whole way back to Wolfhome keep, he instead simply teleported to the main foyer. To their credit, the guards barely batted an eye at his sudden appearance. He looked around, spotted one of the tubes that Ishanvi used to get around, and headed over to it. After taking a moment to find an opening, he found a pale blue button on the outside of the tube. "Hm… wonder how fast she'd respond…?"

"Wolf Prince."

It took everything in him to not jump out of his skin at the sound of his title. Turning slowly in order to keep his composure, he came face to face with a kneeling Pathfinder. They were hooded, though he could see the faint wisps of dark grey hair. "…Who?"

"My apologies for startling you, Wolf Prince. I've been assigned to be your shadow, until you deem it unnecessary."

"Until I deem it… wait. Red cloak. You're a Pathfinder. Why isn't one of the Wolf Guard assigned to me?"

"Captain Carver and Marshall Aurora both thought you'd appreciate more… hidden help than someone in full armor."

Aleron chuckled softly. "I guess that makes sense. Though I'd expect a Changeling instead of a Stonekin in that case."

The Pathfinder looked up, revealing dark black skin, pale green eyes, and wispy hair. She smirked. Right before his eyes, her form rippled and burned into a carbon copy of him. Though the voice stayed female. "Mirage, at your service, Wolf Prince."

"Oh, you are a Changeling."

"Bishop Class, specifically."

"…What class?"

Mirage straightened up, standing at attention and reverting to normal. Aleron noted she was very slender despite the cloak obscuring her form, with sharpness to her eyes and a spark of intelligence deep in the viridian glow. Though all Changelings shared similarities, the one before him seemed closer to 'unique' than 'similar'. "Queen Chrysalis and King Tyr devised a more ordered structure for Changeling intelligence. Bishops are the highest class, though we are specialized for more complex thought patterns than your standard Changeling."

"Hm. Interesting—You mind if we walk and talk? I need to meet up with my sister."

"Of course. Your sister has a new room by the way; will you need me to direct you?"

Aleron nodded. "Thank you, that's actually exactly what I needed."

Mirage nodded and started walking, with Aleron quickly moving to walk alongside her. "You may ask me any question you like, and I will do my best to give you an answer."

"Right. Are all of the… 'classes' named after chess pieces?"

"Yes. Bishops are the highest, and we typically are given tasks such as guarding the royal family and spying. Knights are our military minded and next highest. They are specialized in anything involving combat or assassination. The members of the Rook class are our domestic spies, gathering information around the city and our surroundings. They are also the second largest group, as our Maids and Butlers here in the castle."

"I see." Aleron nodded thoughtfully, spotting movement out of the corner of his eye. Through one of the windows he could see Penumbra with Ancè and Jubilee, obviously nervous but still smiling at whatever the hairdresser was saying to her. It put a smile on his face. "Is that all of the classes?"

Mirage glanced back at him, noticed where he was looking, and smiled. "There are the Pawns, but they are simple drones. Would you like to go join them?"

"Them?"

"Your sisters."

The young Wolf Prince glanced her way, before looking back out to where his sisters and friend were. Accord was out there now, with Ancè messing with the young Seer's braids as if she was explaining something to Penumbra. The young woman actually seemed at ease now, though Aleron did notice that Accord's Seer stones were floating about her head. "…No, that's fine. I promised to spend time with Aurora, and they seem like they don't need me interrupting."

Penumbra seemed to notice something, her gaze turning to him for a quick moment. She perked up, but then smiled softly and waved. Aleron smirked, waving back before turning and heading down the hallway with Mirage on his heels. "It seems your sisters are very welcoming to your companion."

"I think that's just how our family is," Aleron replied thoughtfully. Then he paused, glancing back at the Pathfinder. "You're inquisitive."

"If it bothers you, I will keep silent."

"No, that's fine. I've just only met one Pathfinder that was… talkative?"

Mirage nodded. "Most are not. The training imparted by Mentor Grace requires dedication and focus. Master Harrier has been a Pathfinder since the beginning and is one of the trio assigned directly to King Tyr. I believe he rubs off on them."

"Trio?"

"The… ah. I forget, you've been in the Crystal Empire for some time. Your father has three primary guards—Captain Carver of the Wolf Guard, Stoneforger Etch of the Shapers, and Master Harrier of the Pathfinders. One of the three is near him at all times, and they no doubt have picked up a lot of his mannerisms. Captain Carver more than most."

"Makes sense. She is his right hand mare."

"Your mother and the rest of the Pack each have their own guards, though given their particular abilities Lady Luna and Lady Sunset do not truly need them, and Lady Chrysalis has the entire Network behind her."

Aleron nodded. They rounded a corner, spotting the familiar face of Warren seated outside of one of the hallway doors. The Shaper was reading another book, though she glanced up when she heard their footsteps. "Ah, figured you'd be along soon. When Princess came tearing through like a bat outta hell blushing up a storm I figured you were behind it."

Mirage sniffed. "There's another that has picked up the mannerisms of their Lady."

"Princess told me to talk more commonly, and so I did," Warren offered. She nodded to Aleron. "Apologies for not jumping up to my feet to bow."

"Not my style either," Aleron admitted, smirking. "My sister is still in there, right?"

"Yup. Judging from the smell, she's done with her shower now. You can go in if you want."

"Again I find myself amused by my sister's choice of subordinates," Aleron said, but when Warren simply grinned at him he shook his head. "I'll just go in. Mirage?"

The Pathfinder nodded. "I will wait here. I have your pheromone signature now, so even if you teleport I would be able to track you."

Warren sniffed derisively. "Weird."

"Efficient."

Leaving them to their silent disagreement, Aleron simply pushed open the door and entered the room. Aurora's room was surprisingly spacious, with a very large bed against a far wall and a desk across it at a window. There was a dressing panel off to one side, covered in flower designs and seeming quite out of place among the scattered clothes and assorted pieces of armor and weapons his sister kept. Aleron sucked at his teeth slightly, before letting his magic aura light up as he began tidying up. "Let it not be said my sister is a neat freak…"

"Al?" Aurora's voice came from the connected bathroom, the sound of dripping water reaching his ears. "Is that you out there?"

"Of course it is," Aleron replied, settling Aurora's things before turning to look at the bathroom door. "You think Warren would let anyone else come in here?"

"Mm… Nah." Aurora emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in a towel with another wrapped about her hair. She grinned at him. "You're the only one who'd be allowed in besides mom or dad. Or our sisters."

"Did you just finish, or…?"

"Nah, I forgot to dry my hair. I've got underwear on… well, not a bra, but you know."

"Oy. Sit—I'll dry your hair for you."

"Thanks bro!" She moved over to the bed, pulling away the towel around her hair. Al moved behind her, his aura glowing again as he channeled heat into his sister's long mane. It didn't take long before it was bright and shining as usual, and for his part Aleron took a moment to run his fingers through it. "…What's up, Al?"

"Just surprised you keep it so long," Al said, fluffing it. "It doesn't get in the way at all?"

"I tie it when I need to," Aurora said, shaking her head. "Plus, I kinda like it long.

"Hm."

Aurora leaned forward, but she paused. "…Hey, what happened to my clothes? I had some set out…"

"You mean the ones lying around your room? I put them up."

"…Ah…"

"…You need to be a lot neater, especially with clean clothes."

"It's fine, I'll just grab a new set…" Aurora stood, heading over to her dresser. After rooting around for a bit, she pulled out a pink shirt and black skirt.

"…Are you keeping your clothes in the same drawer?"

Aurora froze, before turning a sheepish look back at her brother. "…Kinda?"

"Okay, first off? Seriously? Secondly, keep your stuff organized."

"I know where everything is!" Aurora protested, tossing her shirt on the bed and unclipping the skirt. "It's just… I have my own sense of where things are."

Aleron narrowed his eyes, before casting a glance back at the door. "Mirage?"

"Yes, Wolf Prince?" The Changeling replied.

"Get a maid to organize my sister's things for me while we're out?"

"As you wish—Warren, why are you laughing?"

"No reason," The Shaper replied between chuckles. "No reason at all…"

Aurora sighed loudly, grumbling as she tossed off her towel and pulled on her skirt. Aleron sat back on her bed, thoughtful. "Ya know, most boys don't sit and watch girls get dressed," His sister pointed out with a smirk.

"Most boys don't grow up with their sister never caring if he's in the room or not when she gets dressed," Aleron muttered in response. While they were younger, despite having individual rooms the two spent a lot of time with each other. Being royalty meant they had to dress up occasionally, and they tended to help each other get dressed. As aware of his sister's attractiveness to the opposite gender Aleron was, he'd never felt 'attracted' to her like some rumors said. And that went both ways. "And you know we're a lot different than most siblings."

"I mean, I guess. I never feel uncomfortable around you, and I know I can do whatever around you."

Aleron raised an eyebrow. "Except whenever you eventually find a boyfriend, I'm not hanging out if you're going to make out with him."

Aurora scowled, throwing a sock at him. "Of course not! I wouldn't want you to watch that!"

Her brother grinned, and she couldn't help but smile back. The twins were a special sort of pair, infinitely closer to one another than most would expect and almost impossibly in tune with one another. Some might say they loved each other a bit more than normal siblings would, but the Wolf children were a close knit group regardless, and just the twins more so. They knew their limits—though in private they typically didn't care how they acted around each other. Aleron assumed it was due to having a bit of Changeling in them. Being half (or third, however it worked) Changeling probably meant they fed off each other's emotions. "Finish getting dressed so we can head out."

"You have something in mind to do?" Aurora asked, pulling on a bra.

"Considering you're still half naked, no. I honestly thought you'd be done by now."

"Hey, you moved all my clothes, so meh!" Despite her protests, Aurora quickened her pace and finally got the rest of her clothes on, adding thigh high stockings to the arrangement. "Mind tying my ribbon for me while I put on proper shoes?"

Her brother gave her a curious look before gesturing to the footwear held in her hands. "Those are boots."

"I have a fashionista sister who I attempt to pacify by doing these things."

"I was arguing semantics. Move closer, dummy."

"Well excuse me for not getting your meaning, Brainiac."

Aleron grinned, sweeping his sister's hair back and pulling her signature silver ribbon to him via magic. Just like his father, he had plenty of experience tying ribbons a number of ways, though some of that was from his occasional time babysitting Flurry Heart while in the Crystal Empire. But he had plenty of experience handling his own sister's hair too. "I've been meaning to ask, do you have other colors besides silver?"

Aurora smirked. "Of course I do. One for each sibling!"

"One for each sibling…?"

"Mmhm! Violet for Ancè, pink for Jubilee, green for Cori, red for Rosie, and brown for Sherry."

Aleron finished with her hair before leaning forward over her shoulder. "Not one for me?"

"That one's blue," She pointed out, smiling at him and resting her cheek against his. "With a bit of black on the tips."

"Hm. You wouldn't rather wear that one?"

"Jealous I'm wearing dad's colors over yours?"

"Hmph. Never—Dad's awesome, way more awesome than me."

Aurora frowned, twisting around to wrap her arms around his neck and rest her forehead against his. "I agree that Dad's awesome, but you're awesome too."

"Oh?"

"You killed a curse that predated even Logic. And you brought back the Tree of Harmony! Plus you're my brother, and that trumps all of that."

Aleron grinned. "Bias."

"But I love you."

"Still bias."

"But I love you!"

"So biased."

Aurora grinned back and yanked him backwards, hugging him tightly. "But I loooooove you!"

"That's adorable," A voice from the window chuckled. Both twins turned to look, seeing the familiar figure of Harrier sitting in the window. The Pathfinder was in a different uniform this time, white instead of red. It was also more simple, more like a robe than an armored cloak. "Should I have waited?"

"I almost made him say it back," Aurora pouted as she released Aleron so he could sit up. "What do you want, Harrier?"

Aleron chuckled good-naturedly as he patted his twin's head. "Something you needed us for?"

"Just passing on a message," Harrier said, smiling. "I was about to get off for the day and Charlie said she was finished with the thing you asked her to make. You can go by any time to get it, she says."

"OH, it's done?" Aurora sat up, smoothing out her skirt as she did so. "That's good—just in time, I wanted it done before we had the Selection."

Aleron frowned. "So I guess I'm being left out of the loop?"

"The Selection is the test where Aurora gets new members for the Vanguard," Harrier explained. "But the other thing is actually a surprise, last I checked."

Aurora poked her brother in the side. "It's for you, silly. So you have to wait until we go see it—if that's okay."

"That's fine," Aleron responded with a shrug. "Should we go now?

"Sure!"

"Though I'm curious," Aleron continued, glancing back over at Harrier. "You seem rather casual. I thought you, Carver and Etch were always on duty?"

"Your father won't let us," Harrier replied with a shrug. "Plus with his natural resistance to most things that could kill him…"

"Come again?"

"As an Elemental, your dad's naturally resistant to poison, and his Concept is Carnage, so he's pretty much always ready for a fight."

"Makes sense…"

Aurora got up and stretched. "I guess we can head down. If that's okay with you, Al."

Aleron got up as well, smirking slightly at his sister. "I literally told you I'm spending the day with you. I could care less what kind of shenanigans we get into."

"You make it sound like I'm gonna get us into trouble or something!"

"Out of the two of us…"

"Shut up, dummy!"

Harrier laughed softly again as Aurora weakly punched her brother in the arm. "You two are something else. As much as I'd love to sit here and watch you two be cute, I have a prior engagement to get to."

Aurora perked up at that, glancing over at the Pathfinder. "Prior engagement? I thought you were off."

"I am. I have a date to get ready for."

Both Winter children paused at that, sharing a quick look before looking back at Harrier. "…You have a date?" Aleron asked slowly.

"What? I can't have relationships outside of my job?" Harrier folded her arms. "Etch is planning to get married sometime next year, and even Carver gets looks from some of the people around town. Though she's married to the job."

"Go figure," Aurora mumbled, hanging her arms around her brother's neck. "Have fun on your date, Harrier."

Harrier smiled. "Same to you, Ro, Al. See ya around!"

With that, the Pathfinder dropped out of the window, vanishing into the street below. Aurora was quiet for a moment, before sighing. "She just called us hanging out a date."

"Hm…Some may see it that way."

"But we're brother and sister!"

"Very close brother and sister, to be fair."

"You love the others too, just as much as I do!"

"But we spend more time together than with the others."

Aurora frowned, hugging him slightly tighter. "So should we fix that? I don't want any more rumors spreading…"

"…Anymore?"

"…Oh. You never heard, huh. Yeah, apparently the nobles in Canterlot have a rumor that you went to the Crystal Empire because you and I were… having an affair."

"…What."

Aurora let him go, moving over to the open window. "Ancè told me after her last trip up there that she kept getting asked if it was true."

"And why should that matter to us? It's not true, and no one here in Stonehearth believes it, do they?" Aleron frowned.

"As far as I know."

"Then it doesn't mean anything. The upper crust of the Crystal Empire thought I was staying there in order for Flurry to get used to me. That I was her fiancé."

"…What."

"Exactly!"

Aurora sighed. "I guess this is what Dad meant that since we're older and more in the spotlight that life gets harder."

"True enough." Aleron stood up, stretching. "Let's leave that topic for now—we're off to the forges, right?"

"Mm. Al…"

Aleron crossed the room in an instant, reaching up to cradle his sister's face with his hands. He leaned forward slightly, resting his forehead against hers. "Aurora Dawn. As your twin and your other half, I don't want you stressing over this."

"But if I don't—!"

"Then I will. I'm the shadow to your light, Ro. You just keep smiling, and I'll handle rumors and back alley whispers."

Aurora frowned at him. "That doesn't seem fair to you."

"Well, I'm not saying I'll do it alone. But just leave it for today, okay?"

"…Fine. Come on, let's go down to the forge."

Aleron nodded in agreement, and the twins left Aurora's room and headed into the depths of the castle. Without a word Mirage and Warren fell in behind them. "So what's changed in the forge while I've been gone?" Aleron asked his sister as they walked.

Aurora tapped at her chin for a moment, thoughtful. "Well, for one Aunt Vanna redesigned everything. Now instead of just one forge, we have the Ironworks which is where most of the mass production comes, and the more unique stuff comes out of the Heartforge."

"The Heartforge typically handles tools and equipment used by Lord Tyr and the Pack, along with pieces for the higher ranks in the army," Mirage informed him.

"Exactly! But then there's one last area where the best of the best is made—and that's the Dragon's Heart."

Aleron nodded, glancing up to the marking on the wall. The path they were taking was leading them deeper in, and was marked with a bronze dragon's head. "…And I'm guessing that's where Aunt Vanna works?"

"Yup! Charlie's got her own little laboratory too for her inventions." The castle seemed to get warmer as they walked, indicating that the forges were getting close. Aurora turned them down a side passage, eventually coming to a solid metal door. "This is it!"

"Not chewed up like the last one," Aleron said thoughtfully, looking it over.

"They had to get a new one after Grace had her baby," Aurora told him, grabbing the door handle. "Turns out when a dragon baby is teething they literally chew anything."

"Huh. Can't say I'm that surprised."

Aurora pushed her way inside, the rest of her little group following. The interior of the Dragon's Heart was a bit spacious, with a few work tables scattered about with much more advanced metalworking tools set up around the main room. "Aunt Vanna? Charlie? It's Aurora!"

Her call went unanswered, though a bit of motion caught their attention near one of the side tables. A young girl with long dark red hair sat up, her pale gold eyes blinking open with the grogginess of sleep. Her skin was a dark tan, and as she stretched and yawned she revealed rows of shark-like teeth. "Oh… I didn't think I would fall asleep…"

"Benny!" Aurora exclaimed happily, walking over to the small redhead. Benny for her part simply held out her arms, accepting the eldest Winter child's hug.

"Hi, Ro," Benny offered softly, still rubbing at her eyes. They blinked a few times before focusing on Aleron. "…Is that…?"

"Oh, I need to introduce you!" Aurora let her go to hold out a hand towards her twin. "Benny, meet my other half, Aleron! Al, this is our darling cousin Benevolence Pyrros!"

"Nice to meet you, Benevolence," Aleron offered with a smirk.

"Most people just call me Benny," Benny pointed out with a slight blush. Much like Charlie, she wasn't a fan of her full name being used it seemed. "Though mom likes calling me by my middle name sometimes."

Aleron frowned slightly. "Something rather feminine, I suppose?"

"Celestina."

"Oh, that's cute."

Benny blushed a bit more, before pulling away from Aurora. "S-So! What brings you down here? Mom isn't here at the moment, but you know I can help if you want."

Aurora smiled warmly. "I'm here for the thing Aunt Vanna and Aunt Rarity were working on."

"Oh! I know where that is. Give me a sec." The redhead hopped off her stool and walked over to one of the storage closets. That's when Aleron noted that her long hair fell almost to her ankles in the largest waterfall of hair he'd seen since Miss Fluttershy or Miss Heart Song, Vibrant's aunt. Benny's hair fell in a barely contained mass to her calves, tips almost dragging along the floor because of how short she was. Considering her parentage, she wouldn't get that much taller though. She started rooting around in the storage closet before pulling out a box. "Here we go."

"What is it?" Aleron asked as Aurora took the box and carried it over to a table.

His sister set it down before smiling at him. "Open it! It's for you!"

"For me?"

"It's what I said."

"…Okay…" Aleron lifted the lid off of the box to reveal a soft, dark blue velvet material. Curious, he reached in and lifted it out, discovering it was a cloak. The first thing he noticed was how soft it was, though it seemed a bit firm. It had silver accents to go along with it, and although the outside was a deep blue the inside was more black. "This is…"

"It's metal weave made," Benny explained, hopping up onto a stool. "Along with clasps made from dragon teeth, special magic conducive fibers in the weave… It's the perfect defensive gear for a mage."

Aleron blinked at that, before looking up at his twin. Aurora had a sheepish grin on her face. "You had this made for me."

"No! I mean, yeah, sort of," Aurora chuckled nervously. "I wanted to give it to you on our birthday, or something like that, but…"

"It took pretty much all of us working on it," Benny pointed out. "And then Aurora couldn't decide on when to give it to you!"

"Well, I didn't just wanna give it to him randomly—oop!" She was cut off by her brother pulling her into a tight hug. "A-Al?"

"Thank you, Aurora," Aleron said softly, burying his face in her hair. "Makes me laugh, though."

Aurora wrapped her own arms around him, smiling warmly. "What?"

"My own gift seems a little lackluster in comparison."

"You got me something too?"

"Birds of a feather," Aleron said, letting her go. "Or in our case, wolves of a litter."

He held out his hand, a cube shaped magical construct appearing in his palm. "What is that?" Mirage asked, eyes wide.

"A spell of my own creation," Aleron said, taking his other hand and grabbing the corners of the cube. While all the girls in the room watched he extended the magic box, opening it up until it was about as wide as the box that had held his cloak. Once it was that size, he opened it. "Hold out your arm, alright?"

"Okay…" She held out her right arm, only for Aleron to snap his gaze to her, frown, and then shake his head. "My left?"

"Uh huh."

"Okay…" She obliged. Then Aleron pulled out a dark crystal bracer inlaid with a shining gold snowflake design. Her eyes widened, then widened even more when he turned and opened it up. "That's… so pretty…"

Aleron smiled at that, taking her hand so he could put the bracer on her. "Shard will be happy to hear that. He did the inlay for me."

"This is amazing, Al!" Once Aleron secured it to her forearm, she smiled brilliantly. "And I know you enchanted this. I can feel your magic on it—you know I can."

Her twin's smile only grew. "I know you can, Dawn. But… do me a favor. What kind of shields do you like?"

"Shields?" Aurora blinked at that, before frowning a tiny bit. "Um… Well, recently I've been practicing with kite shields…!" She jumped as the crystal snowflake design glowed suddenly, and a silver shield made of magic formed over her arm. "This is…!"

"It's a magic shield," Aleron explained, watching his sister move the magical construct around. "It can take on any shape you want it to, and as long as you want it there it'll stay. To put it away, just say null."

"Okay… Null." The shield flickered a bit before vanishing completely. "…Hm. It's tied to my magic, isn't it?"

"That it is. That way that shield won't ever go away unless you want it to."

"I love it. I've been wondering what to do with my shield lately, and this is perfect."

Benny had started chewing on a twisted strand of metal, watching the twins curiously. "Yeah, considering Charlie was gonna start making you pay for the shields she made you."

Aurora laughed nervously while her brother stared at her flatly. He knew how bad she was about defensive equipment—most things just weren't as tough as her. As Charlie was the best armor smith in Stonehearth, no doubt only the dragoness had the ability to make something last being used by Aurora. "I don't think the allowance Dad gives me would cover it…"

Aleron laughed. "That's my sister for you. Though I have to ask—who made it?"

"The cloak? Our dear cousin here," Aurora said, gesturing to Benny.

"…Really? I thought Charlie was the armor and shield maker."

"I am," A voice said. All eyes went to the door, where a lanky golden haired young woman walked in. Tan, brimming with hidden strength, and chewing on a piece of metal as thick as a finger was Charlotte Pyrros. The current Soul of Auriga grinned at the twins. "Hiya Aleron."

"Hey Charlie," Aleron said, momentarily taken aback by the appearance of the dragoness. She was in a long, flowing dress and had her long hair braided up. "You're… girly."

Benny stifled a laugh. Charlie flipped him off before laughing a bit herself. "Smartass. I had to dress up for a meeting. As much as I'd love to stay casual, I was meeting investors."

"Investors?"

"I help design surgical tools," Charlie said, walking over to her little sister and ruffling her hair. "Since it's my work, I sell them. Helps that my other mother is the best at actual surgery."

"I suppose that's fair," Aleron remarked, watching as Charlie played around with her sister's hair. "So Benny made this herself?"

"I did help, since Benny isn't allowed to work with metal weave yet."

"Why not?"

"My skin isn't tough enough yet," Benny said, scowling as Charlie dropped her mane of red hair in front of her face. She blew it out of the way. "Mommy says I have to eat lots of metal before I can handle it."

Aurora folded her arms. "Hm. Aunt Vanna did say that's why Aunt Rarity doesn't help with the manufacture of the weave itself. It's crazy sharp when it's first done, right?"

"Metal as thin as thread? You best believe. It's why I made Rarity those dragon scale gloves for when she's working with it," Charlie pointed out. "Your dad would kill me if she started cutting up her hands and I didn't do anything."

"Or more like Auntie and Dad would get into one of their usual arguments," Aurora said with a laugh. "You know how they are."

Charlie stuck out her tongue. "They're dorks, but our dorks."

"I wanted to ask though," Benny piped up, swinging her legs a bit. "When are you going to the Everfree, Ro?"

"Probably in a couple days. Icon says he'll be done with the recruits for me by then, and I should have everything set up for the Selection."

"What do you have to set up? I know you've done this several times, but I don't know what you do."

"I'm curious too," Al said, pulling on his new cloak and shoving his hands in the pockets. "…Holy crap this thing is comfy as hell."

Aurora grinned at him. "I know, right? But anyway, we take a cohort of recruits into the forest for three days. While we're there I'll be testing them on following orders and adaptability. The forest is a dangerous place, after all."

"You expect trouble?"

"I'm a Winter, and that forest is evil. I wouldn't go into it unarmed even if you promised me nothing could hurt me. I'm making sure anyone that comes in with me can get out alive, but that's only if they follow my orders."

Her brother smirked and raised an eyebrow. "And me?"

"You keep me safe!" Aurora replied with a giggle. "No seriously, I want you and Penumbra to be our 'VIPs'. The primary objective is protecting you and Penny. Secondary is getting back home again. Since you wanted to go to the old ruins, we can make that our location to go to."

"You've really though this out."

"Alloy and Warren helped. But yeah, I've got pretty good rules for the test."

"Good to hear."

"Your sister is pretty reliable," Charlie pointed out, moving to stand behind her own redheaded sibling. This time Benny simply leaned over into her. "Though I think that's your family at large to be honest."

Aurora grinned. Aleron simply shook his head—he knew his sister well, after all. Warren cleared her throat. "Onn that note, we should probably get going Princess. You've still got logistical stuff to get done."

"That is true." Aurora let out a sigh. "Unless you want to watch me bother a bunch of supply officers for stuff, you could start getting ready."

"Now?" Aleron frowned. "I thought you weren't going for a few days."

"Never hurts to be ready! Plus I know you're gonna hide away in the library until it's time to go, so I want you to be ready!"

"I'm not gonna hide away!"

"That what you say now~!" Aurora giggled, "But I know the moment I take my eyes off of you—!"

Suddenly Aleron teleported next to her, placing a soft yet very chaste kiss on her forehead. "Love you too, sis."

"Hey!" She exclaimed as he blinked over beside Mirage. "That's not fair!"

"All's fair in love and war. You mind if I…?" He directed the last part at Mirage, who simply smirked and hooked her arm into his. "Clever girl. See ya Dawn!"

They teleported away, leaving Aurora somewhat miffed. It didn't help that she had two dragonkin giggling behind her and a Stonekin chuckling in front of her. "You're lucky you don't have a brother," Aurora said with a small blush.

"Ah, stop complaining," Charlie laughed. "You know you love him."

"Of course I do! That's why it's so hard!"

-x-