AN: A lot of this chapter is reminiscing and happy family stuff, which is starting to get boring. But please bear with it because the last segments will be more action packed and contain a lot of drama as well. A little warning though, things will get a bit intense in the latter half of the chapter so again probably not for the faint of heart.

No excuse for why this took so long, I could've had this finished a week ago before my memory stick decided to wipe itself. But on the plus side in that time my Blake figurine and Flynt Coal shirt arrived.

A Birthday to Remember

It was already past midday as the Gainsborough family plus its guests made their way through the woods. Zafina lead the way after deciding to veer off the trodden path and giving her an opportunity to show off her speed. After leaving her pack with Ulrich who was lagging back with the kids, she went on ahead under pretense of 'scouting' and took off leaping from rocks to low hanging branches. Ulrich could only shake his head and chuckle at his wife's unbound exuberance at a simple hike.

A short ways back down the path, the rest of the group was busy navigating a rock formation resting against a steep hill. Aero had just reached the top of the formation that his parents had scaled in matter of seconds. Looking back down the formation he could see Ishara who had been following very close behind. She stopped on the shelf just below where he was on the rocks. "You okay?" He asked noticing she seemed a little winded.

"Yeah, don't worry about me, I'm good." She replied after a deep breath. "Here." Aero said offering her his hand.

Ishara looked up to her brother's outstretched hand. "Thanks." She said as she took his hand.

"I don't know how Mom and Dad managed to do this and still have enough energy to do their jobs?" she wondered as Aero pulled her up to his level.

"I'd put it mostly down to their training and experiences." He explained. "But I think a lot of it is that they looked after each other and stuck together, so that probably helped a lot." He concluded as he looked on at the path ahead.

"Hey, there's an idea!" Ishara cried excitedly as she bounced on her heels.

"Okay, okay, what's an idea?" Aero asked trying to calm her down.

"Well, ya know you were thinking about what you wanted to do with your life." She reminded him as she settled down.

"yeah." he hesitantly replied.

"And you were talking about Mom and Dad's training, so why not train to become a Huntsman?" she suggested.

He'd be lying if he said he hadn't ever considered it. At a young age he had always loved to listen to his parent's stories from their term at Beacon and the times after as fully fledged Hunters; and he always gave these tales his utmost and devout attention. But as he grew up he quickly learned of the effect it could have on his life if he followed the same career path as his parents. They had both lost friends and comrades in battle and the effects weren't entirely obvious on the surface, but even he could tell that these events had taken a very heavy toll on them.

"I don't know Ish, not sure I'd really be cut out to be a Hunter." He responded as he scratched the back of his neck.

"And why not?" She said with a stamp of her feet that somewhat surprised Aero as she had always been on the most part at least a calm and collected girl. "You're just as fast as mom, just as smart as dad and no one is more determined than you." She continued while she paced around the peak of the rock formation. "What I'm trying to say is that you could be a great Huntsman." She concluded.

"Who could be a great Huntsman?" A voice inquired. The siblings looked over towards the edge to that Luz had finally made his way up the formation and to the top with them.

Ishara turned back to Aero. "I was just saying that Aero could train to be a huntsman if he wants." She clarified.

"I think you're giving me too much credit there sis." Aero countered which caused her to puff out her cheeks in slight frustration.

"Don't sell yourself short there bud." Luz chimed in. "Ishara's right, I mean you do realize how fast you made it up here right?" He queried as he walked up to the pair. "It might have not been as fast your parents but still pretty darn fast." He added.

"Even still, I wouldn't be able to stare down a Grimm or-or lay my life on the line without a second thought." Responded Aero and leaving them silent.

"That's not true ya know." A voice said further along the rock face. The trio diverted their attention to see that Andy had at last joined them and was a little wheezy.

"What do you mean?" Ishara Asked as she turned to Andy.

"It was back when we first met." Andy exclaimed as he came over to the group. "I was being picked on because of my weight by a couple of kids a few years older than me." He explained as the rest of them listened intently. "I had gotten used to it by then, but Aero wasn't gonna stand for it." He continued as he nodded towards Aero, prompting the rest of the group to look towards him as he coyly looked away.

"Guys we don't really need to hear this now." Aero grumbled. "Come on, we need to catch up with our mom and dad." He declared as he hopped off the rock and started down the path.

The remaining three quickly followed and set into an even pace. Luz jogged further up the group and joined Aero at the head of their group, while Ishara lagged behind a little bit with Andy. "So, Andy?" she said coming up alongside him.

"Hmm?" he murmured looking over at her.

"What actually happened back then?" she inquired further.

Andy glanced forward to see that the Luz and Aero were far enough ahead and figured that they wouldn't hear. "Well, like I said Aero wasn't gonna stand for me being bullied." He reiterated and resumed where he was stopped. "Before things got violent I saw him at the top of a staircase leading to the alley I was in." he said recalling the events of that day.

11 months ago…

Aero had just came to an alley that he planned to take to get home faster after running an errand for his father in town. He was wearing a simple light blue tunic, a black pair of trousers and black canvas shoes. Upon entering the backstreet and coming up to the stairs that led down to the alley, he came across a scene that made his blood boil. There were two boys that looked at least a couple of years older than him and they had cornered another boy that looked about his age.

"Hey, what's going on down here?" he yelled down at the two elder boys from the top of the stairs.

They didn't answer let alone acknowledge Aero's presence. Instead they shoved the younger boy into the wall behind him and slapped him across the face.

"Don't do that!" Aero yelled at them with as much gusto as his eight year old lungs could manage.

This time they acknowledged him and turned to him. They looked up at him and stared as if sizing him up. They could easily tell that they had a couple of years on him and were more than a match for the smaller contender. They quickly laughed off his presence and turned back to the younger boy now slumped against the wall cowering in fear. They soon raised their fists and Aero could see this was going to go bad fast. Without even thinking and acting on pure instinct he leapt on top of the metal bannister of the stairs and dove off at the two bullies. He hit nearest one square in the back feet first and sent him careening into the wall in front of him. As he slumped to the ground with a painful groan the other boy turned to him.

"What the hell!" he said completely bewildered to what had just transpired.

"I said don't do that." Aero repeated in a low and slightly dark tone as picked himself up from the floor after his reckless stunt.

The boy in the floor rolled over whimpering and holding his that was gushing blood. "You little punk!" he cried out as he shakily stood up. "You broke my nose!" he muttered with a nasally voice as he held his nose.

Aero raised his fists in a block. "Leave him alone." He stated still in that semi-dark tone.

The second boy snapped out his daze and charged Aero. When the bully reached him, he swung a right hook at him and Aero countered by bobbing under the swing. Aero then quickly pulled away and stepped to the side as the bully launched a couple of quick jabs. As the second jab flew past him, Aero delivered a powerful overhand punch sending the bully stumbling back to his friend.

Aero knew he probably didn't stand much of a chance and wouldn't last long against the older boys especially with the odds stacked against him, but he wasn't going to stand by while they ganged up on the defenceless boy huddled up in the corner.

Still, something in his eyes made them hesitate to reengage him, something behind his fierce expression made them think again and reassess their situation.

The stumbling bully groaned in anger. "Come on, let's get out of here. They aren't worth our time." He said to the other bully as he made his way out of the alley. The remaining older boy let a grumble and then soon followed suit leaving the alley as well. And just like that they were both gone.

"Are you okay." Aero asked as he approached the boy in the corner.

The boy looked up slowly before nodding slowly. "Uh-huh, I'm fine." He timidly responded.

"Glad to hear it." Aero said as he extended his hand to the boy. "I'm Aero by the way, Aero Gainsborough." He introduced.

The boy took his hand and lifted himself up. "My name's Andy Drummer." He responded in kind.

"Nice to meet you Andy." Said Aero as he dusted himself off and looked at his elbow that had a scrape from the fall.

"Are you okay?" asked Andy referring to Aero's wound.

"Yeah, don't worry about it." He reassured him as he inspected the wound.

"Come on, my mom can get that seen to." Andy suggested but Aero seemed reluctant. "And she owns the town bakery, so you could probably get something to eat if you haven't already." He added hoping to sway him.

Aero ears pricked up at this. "The one on Kraven Street?" he inquired and Andy nodded with a smile. "Weeelllllllll if you insist I guess I could stop off for a moment or two." And with that they left the alley and back out into the town streets each with a new friend.

Present day.

"And that was that." Andy concluded.

Ishara could only look on in awe. "Wow. So wait, why was he so dismissive of becoming a huntsman then if he if does things like that for people he didn't even know then." She questioned at her brothers unusual behaviour earlier on.

"Not really sure on that one, you'd probably be best off asking Aero himself on that one… or dropping the subject altogether." he stated as he wiped the sweat from his brow with his cap and place it snuggly back on his head.

"I might just have to do that." Ishara thought to herself as she looked further up the path towards her brother who was chatting to Luz.

Slightly ahead of them Aero and Luz were making small talk and discussing relatively mundane things. That is until Luz asked a particular question.

"Sooo, what does your sister… ya know…like…to do?" Luz questioned carefully tiptoeing each word.

"What does she like to do?" Aero repeated with a knowing smirk but choosing to play dumb.

"Yeah, like hobbies and stuff like that." Luz clarified. Aero knew exactly what he meant but he loved torturing his friend.

"oooooh, riiiiiight." Aero said in sarcastic realization. Luz however was completely oblivious to Aero's hijinks as he was too busy trying to carefully word each coming sentence.

"So, what does she like to do?" Luz asked getting excited at the prospect of finally getting his answer.

"Well, she likes to fix things." Aero plainly stated.

"Fix things?" Luz' face suddenly grew pale. "You mean like…" He says as he makes a snipping motion with his fingers. (I don't know what made me think of this little snippet, no pun intended.)

"What!? No!" Aero quickly denies and playfully shoves Luz. "No, what I mean is she likes to tinker with things and fix things that are broken, mechanical things and the like."

"That…seems unusual for a girl her age." Luz said a tad surprised by her choice of hobby.

"That's what makes her unique and besides she's really good at it too." Aero pauses to consider the conversation and glances over his shoulder at Ishara. "Why are you asking me these things may I ask." Aero already knew the answer but he wanted to hear him say it.

"I may…kinda…like your sister." Luz nervously stated again choosing his words carefully.

"Bingo, about time he came out with it." Aero thought to himself in triumph. "Really; like, like-like my sister?" He inquired trying to hide his smugness at getting Luz to finally come clean.

After taking a short moment to think it through, Luz responded rather shakily. "Y-yeah." this caused Aero to stop in his tracks and Luz turned to face him with a confused expression.

"Well in that case, I'm very sorry for what I'm about to have to do." Aero plainly and solemnly stated.

"Huh?" Luz exclaimed not knowing what was about to occur.

In less than a second Aero had closed the distance between them and was right up in Luz' face. "I'm going to say this once and only once, got it." He stated in a grim tone and Luz could only nod in a panic. "If you hurt her or do anything to upset her in any way, I. will. destroy. you. There isn't a force on this planet that will save you from me, you got that." He finished and again Luz could only nod in a panic. "Good." Aero added and returned to their previous spacing.

Luz took a moment to recover from the very out of character lecture from his oldest friend. "Dude, the hell was that?" he asked still a little shaken.

"Sorry, that was the mandatory big brother speech that I am legally required to give to anyone wanting to date my little sister." Aero told him with a chuckle which somewhat calmed Luz down showing he might not have been serious, 'might' being the key word there.

"So does that mean…its ok then?" Luz asked hopefully.

"Ball's in your court now buddy." Aero answered back with a smile and immediately a smile appeared on Luz' face as well.

"Thanks man, come 'ere you!" Luz yelled as he trapped Aero in a hug.

"Okay, okay, calm down." Aero Said as he tried to pry Luz off of him.

"Sorry, sorry. You're the best friend a guy could ask for." Luz uttered still a little giddy from the approval.

"So I've been told." Aero responded as he straightened himself out from the sudden embrace. "But remember what I said, because if I don't get you she will. And while she may seem sweet and innocent on the outside, she can be absolutely terrifying when she's angry." He warned.

"I think I can handle it." Luz remarked with a confident smile.

"Your confidence is admirable, but even still probably best that you don't poke the bear." Aero warned again.

"Hey what are you guys talking about?" they looked over to see that Ishara and Andy had caught up with them.

"Nothing important Ish; Luz here was just wondering if a person has ever been born without a body." Aero told her trying to throw her off the anything that would make her suspicious. While Luz just looked over at him with a horrified expression.

She looked on with a slightly worried expression while Andy only raised an eyebrow. "Uh Luz, you feeling okay?" asked Ishara.

"Uh yeah, I'm fine." He nervously states before he leans over to Aero. "What are you doing to me man?" he whispers to him.

"Sorry, it was all I could think of on such short notice." Aero whispered back with a smirk as they broke off from one another.

"You kids okay back there!" a voice called over to them. They all turned to see Ulrich stride up to them.

"Were fine dad, just trying to keep up." Aero responded in a faux fatigued tone.

"Looks like you're doing alright so far. Come along now, it's just a little bit further. Your mother's found a good place where we can camp." Ulrich said with a smile as he ushered them up the path. Ishara and Luz followed him closely while Aero lagged behind a few feet with Andy.

"What was that really about Aero?" Andy Inquired; suspicious of his friends excuse.

"Oh, just the usual." Aero replied.

"Luz' finally going after Ishara." Andy deduced.

"You know it, took him long enough right?" Aero acknowledged.

"Your tellin' me, did ya give him the speech?" asked Andy.

"Absolutely." Aero responded with a pump of his fist.

As they fell in behind the rest Aero thought back to the day when Ishara started her first year at his school and when she first met Luz.

14 months ago...

It would be safe to say that Aero had been ecstatic when he learned that Ishara; his little sister would be going to school with him. He had it all planned out, they would take the same classes, he'd help her with her homework, probably have to defend her from the occasional bully, but mostly run, play and learn together till day's end. Aero and Ishara were making their way through the streets of Verbist with Ishara being hardly more than two feet behind her brother and because this was Ishara's first day, their mother had accompanied them.

Aero was wearing a plain brown shirt with white cargo shorts and a pair brown hiking shoes; while Ishara was wearing a plain blue dress with her shawl over the top and a pair of black plimsolls. They both also had their own backpacks; Aero's was his trusty leather one and Ishara's a small white canvas backpack.

"You two got everything?" their mother asked from a few feet back.

Aero looked back. "Yeah I think so." He told her.

"Ish, what about you?" she redirected her question. Only for Ishara to turn and timidly nod earning a worried smile from her mother.

Aero suddenly stopped and turned to face his little sister. "Hey, I know you're scared. I was too on my first day, but I'm gonna be right there beside you now okay." He softly told her and it seemed to reassure her as a small smile appeared on her face and one of her dainty little hands clung on to his shirt sleeve.

"P-promise?" she stuttered out in voice barely above a whisper.

"Of course, whenever you need me I'll always be by your side." He responded in a cheery tone. With that they continued on their way with Ishara still clinging onto Aero's sleeve and their mother in tow with the proudest smile for the entire town to see.

When they arrived at the school, the grounds were bustling with parents dropping off their kids for the new term and friends reuniting after the holidays. It was safe to say this was all a very intimidating site, especially for little Ishara. At the front gate Zafina was looking over both her children, making sure they really did have everything they would need.

"You sure you got everything?" She asked both of them as she was fussing with Ishara's hair and straightening out her dress. All the while Ishara still had a faint look of fear on her face.

"Mom, you don't have to worry." Aero assured his mother as he came up beside Ishara. "She'll be fine. Like I said, I'll be right there beside her." He added. Ishara stepped aside and waited by the school gate so her mother could look Aero over.

"You better stick true to what you said there." She remarked as she adjusted one of his rucksack straps.

"I will, I will." He responded in an exasperated tone.

"I mean it Aero; you know she thinks the world of you." She sternly told him.

"Mom, I won't let anything happen to her. What's got you so worried, this isn't like you." Aero said noticing her rather unusual demeanour.

"Sorry, sorry. It's just that Ish is a very shy girl, you know that." Zafina said as she crouched in front of Aero. "I guess I'm just scared she's going to get bullied or not speak up when she needs to, what if she falls behind the other students." She rambled out stressfully.

"Mom calm down, She's stronger than you think." Aero assured her. "You were like this on my first day and I came through that alright. And Ish is gonna have me looking out for her on her first day." He told her with a point of the thumb at himself.

"You're a good son you know that." She told him as she adjusted his collar. "And an even better brother." She added with a big smile and he couldn't help but smile back at what she had said. "By Monty, you're gonna break so many girls hearts when you're older." She remarked absentmindedly.

"What do ya mean?" Aero inquired.

She chuckled at his innocent question. "Heh, don't worry about it sweetie." She told him and he disregarded the comment.

"Still, probably gonna have to deal with a few bullies maybe if she keeps wearing that tatty thing." Aero remarked with a sigh referring to his sister's shawl.

"Hey, that's enough of that." His mother responded with flick of his chin. "The only reason she wears that 'tatty' thing as you call it; is to remind her of her hero." She told him.

"Uuuurgh, don't remind me." He groaned as he looked away.

"Aero, look at me." She said softly as she turned his head to face her. "I'll tell you the funny thing about heroes. A hero never strives nor asks to be one; a hero understands the responsibility that comes with his or her freedom; a hero fights against the darkness even when it seems futile because that's just who he or she is." She continued as her eyes softened. "But sometimes the chips fall where they may and you just have to roll with the punches, okay." She told him with a beaming smile.

Before he could respond he was distracted by a tug at his sleeve. He looked over to see his sister at his side. Their mother got up and took a step back. "Alright let me get a look at you two." She said as she scanned her eyes over the both of them. "Hmm, not too shabby if I do say so myself. Here let me get a picture." She said as she took out her scroll. Aero took Ishara's hand which caused her to smile and in turn making him smile. "Perfect!" their mother exclaimed as she took the picture. "Now run along or you're gonna be late." She said as she returned her scroll to her pocket. Before she knew Ishara had rushed up to her and hugged her as tight as her petite hands could manage. Zafina kneeled down, wraps her arms around her daughter and gives her a kiss on the cheek. "You have a good day and listen to what your big brother tells you, okay." Ishara happily nods back before returning to Aero's side and snatching up his hand.

"You ready Ish?" He asks her.

"Y-yeah, I think so." She replies in a delicate tone. With that answer they left their mother at the gate and walked into the school hand-in-hand.

Zafina remained at the gate and looked on at her two children as they made their made through the school grounds. She shook her head and laughed. "Dammit, why is this bothering me so much. It's just a first day at school; I'm becoming such a mother." She thought happily to herself.

The school morning went by without a hitch. Ishara and Aero had the first two classes together. Aero offered to help Ish with her work but was almost immediately rejected. As she was managing just fine; excelling even. Ishara may not have been the most socially active person in the world but when it came to getting work done she was second to none and it's not that she didn't want the help it's just that she didn't need it. With this knowledge Aero could tell that everything was going to be alright, this was a load off his mind considering he wouldn't be with for her last lesson before lunch. That is until it came to the aforementioned lunch period.

Aero had met up with his friend Luz whom he met on his first day exactly a year ago today and they had been as thick as thieves since.

"Good to see you again Luz." Aero greeted as he sat down next to him with his lunch on a bench in the school grounds.

"It's good to see you too Aero." Luz replied as he took a bite of one of his sandwiches.

"And how was the 'Shining city of Thatcher' may I ask?" Aero inquired. Luz had spent the school holidays away with his family in the city of Thatcher. The city itself had earned the moniker 'Shining city' because it liked to brag that it was the most technologically advanced city in the province.

"Not as shiny as it thinks it is. It was all too robotic, the place had no emotion." Luz replied with a sneer. "Not like Verbist, you had the right idea staying." He added now with a smile.

"Oh I don't know about that. Verbist is great n' all but it wouldn't hurt for a change of scenery" Aero responded after he chugged down his juice box like it was air.

"Well why not try Lenista, that's within walking distance." Luz suggested while unwrapped a chocolate bar from his packed lunch.

"A Verbistan wandering around Lenista, yeah I can see that ending well." Aero remarked sarcastically before wolfing down his sandwiches in record time. "That civil war may be long over and the two towns are now at peace. But a lot of people still hold grudges." He added as he got up to throw his rubbish in a nearby bin.

"Tell me about it. My dad is always having to deal with some sort of rowdy Lenistan who thinks they can start a revolution." Luz said as chewed the last of his chocolate bar.

Aero turned and leaned against the bin. "You still thinking of joining the prefecture?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think it's all I'd really be good at." Andy remarked as he screwed up the wax paper that held his lunch.

"Well regardless, I think Verbist would be lu-." Aero was stopped mid sentence by a thud in his back. He looked over top see Ishara clinging onto him and sobbing into his shirt. "Ish, what's wrong?" he asked her as he turned to face her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Who's that?" Luz asked as he came up behind him.

"My sister, she just started in the new year." He explained. "Ish, look at me." She slowly craned her head up to look at him with tears streaming down her face. "What happened, did someone hurt you?" he asked, his voice laced with concern for his baby sister.

"She went out here!" an angry voice echoed out from the courtyard entrance. Two boys quickly ran out and halted a few metres short of Aero and his sister. "There you are!" one of them yelled. Ishara buried her head into Aero's shirt with a whimper and continued sobbing.

"Is there a problem here?" Aero asked the two boys with a hint of anger in his voice as he guessed these were the ones responsible for his Ishara's current state.

"Yeah, this little brat wouldn't let us copy her work. Now we have to stay behind after school to do it!" he angrily stated as he pointed at Ishara who burrowed further into her brother's chest.

"So basically, she refused to do your work for you. Is that right?" Aero surmised as he looked back down at his sister who was still crying into his chest.

"Yeah, now hold her still while we teach her the importance of sharing." They said menacingly as they cackled and cracked their knuckles.

"That true Ish?" He tenderly asked her. She looked up at him with her eyes still watering and a quivering lip. He didn't need an answer; he could see it in her big blue eyes. "Okay then." He whispered to her and kissed her on the top of her head. "Get behind me." He told her and she quickly shuffled behind him.

"What is she, your girlfriend?" one the bullies asked.

"Sister, actually." Aero clarified as he rolled his shoulders and took a step towards the two boys. "And you fella's just made the biggest mistake of your-UNF!" Aero was cut short when one of the bullies socked him in the face sending him back a few steps. Aero recovered quickly and wipe his face with his shirt sleeve. His nose was bleeding profusely and his sleeve came away bloody. "Like I was saying, the biggest mistake of your life." He finished in a dark tone with gritted teeth as he swiped his arm away and sending a few blood droplets to the ground.

"Whatever, you're outnumbered. Now why don't you step aside before you get seriously hurt." Said the bully that delivered the punch.

"Then how about we even the odds." Luz announced coming up beside Aero who nodded in appreciation at his loyalty.

"This doesn't concern you." The other bully warned.

"Well when you assault my friend, it kinda does." Luz retorted.

"Don't say we didn't warn you." One of the bullies said.

"Duly noted. Now, shall we?" Aero stated with a sinister smile as he raised his fists in a guard with Luz quickly doing the same beside him.

Not wasting another second, the bullies rushed the both of them and split off to handle their individual targets. The one that charge Aero was about the same build as him but he seemed light on his feet. Aero threw a jab at him and he simply sidestepped it and grabbed Aero's arm as it went past. Getting a firm grip with both hands he dragged Aero past him and elbowed him in the jaw before shoving him away. This momentarily surprised Aero as he wasn't expecting him to be that nimble, but he quickly gathered his wits and instead decided to let the lightweight make the first move. He didn't have to wait long as the bully launched another charge. Aero waited until the last second before making his move. Just as the bully was a foot away from him, Aero dropped down to a near crouching stance and used the bully's momentum against him and sent the bully flying over his body and onto the floor. However the bully recovered quicker than he thought and grappled with Aero catching him off guard but not immediately overpowering him. But the sudden retaliation did allow the bully to fit in a few punches during Aero's hasty defence efforts. Nonetheless Aero would not give an inch that he could hold; these guys threatened his sister and on the inside he was acting on rage alone.

Meanwhile, a few metres away Luz was all the while busy evading his bully constant blows. Considering his had a much larger build, he figured he would try and tire him out and then make his move. It's something his father taught him in preparation for the prefecture, which to make your enemies strength work for you and in this case it was his size. After a few more wild swings, the brute's motions soon became sluggish and he was breathing heavily. Seeing his opportunity Luz grabbed a hold of the bully's collar before he could do anything. Once he had a firm enough grip he looked over to Aero who was slowly gaining the upper hand in his grapple. "You ready!?" Luz called over to him.

"Born ready!" Aero replied before he landed a couple of quick jabs and momentarily dazing the agile boy locked in his grasp. Using this momentary lapse to his advantage he seized his collar just as Luz had done with his. With an exchange of nods from one another they took their individual catches and ran them at each other and bonk their heads together before letting them fall to the ground out cold.

By the end of it all four boys had at least a couple of cuts and bruises on their person, Luz coming out best having only taken a couple of punches from the outset of the brawl resulting in a light bruise on his cheek; while Aero had two large bruises forming on his face, his nose that refused to stop bleeding and had absolutely soaked his shirt by now and a small graze next to his forehead.

"You okay?" Aero asked Luz as he dusted himself off.

"I should be asking you that." He said referring to Aero's face where bruises were quickly starting to show.

One of the bullies started to stir. Aero quickly came up to him and dropped his elbow in the middle of his back sending back to the floor. "shhhhh, sleepy time for you." He serenaded.

Both Aero and Luz took a moment and noticed that a small crowd had gathered to watch the brawl and the teachers of course took notice. Before the two still standing boys knew what hit them they were snatched by their ears by said teachers. "CRAP, CRAP, CRAP!" Aero muttered out.

"AGGGHHHHHHH!" Luz groaned.

All of them including Ishara were sent to the principal's office. After a heavy verbal scolding and a short while in the nurse's office; their individual parents were called to come collect them.

Later out by the front gate Aero, Ishara and Luz were waiting for their parents to show up. Aero was talking to Luz while Ishara was leaning against the low wall connected to the gate. She had been teary eyed and forlorn ever since she found Aero in the schoolyard.

"Thanks for that back there." Aero praised his friend for backing him up.

"Hey dude, I'll always have your back and besides it was actually kinda fun." Luz told him.

As Aero looked over Luz' shoulder at Ishara he saw the two bullies walk out of the gate. They stopped when they saw that he had noticed them. Aero and Luz moved closer to Ishara still sitting on the low wall. The two pairs of boys tried to stare each other down for a moment, until Aero did a fake lunge in their direction causing one the bullies to falter and stumble to the floor while the other simply retreated a few paces. Aero scoffed at this cowardly behaviour that they now exhibited before they fled down the street towards their own waiting parents. He joined Ishara sitting on the wall. "How you doing Ish?" he asked in that gentle tone he always showed when talking with her.

Without saying anything she pulled her legs up onto the wall and hugged them to her chest. Once she had her balance she leaned on Aero's shoulder and closed her eyes with a sniffle. Aero wrapped his arm around her shoulder with a sigh and a relieved expression.

"Hey Ish, this is my friend Luz McCole." Aero said gesturing to his friend standing in front of them.

"H-h-hi, i-i'm L-luz." He managed to stutter out as Ishara slowly opened her eyes and looked at the boy curiously.

"Luz, buddy you feeling ok?" Aero inquired as Luz stared awkwardly at Ishara.

"Hi, i-i'm Luz." He repeated in an awkward daze.

"You already said that." laughed Aero as Ishara let out a little giggle that caught his attention.

"Hey, there she is." Aero stated seeing that his sister had cheered up a little. She blushed and hid her face behind her shawl out of embarrassment and the two boys chuckled at this cute behaviour.

"Luz, Time to go!" a voice called out. All three kids looked over to see a man walking up the street in a prefecture uniform.

"That's my dad, I'll see ya tomorrow." Luz said as he walked off.

"See ya then." Aero replied whilst Ishara just timidly waved as she poked her head up from behind her shawl. Little did Aero know was the feelings that Luz would develop for his little sister and the comically lengthy time it would take for him to Confess to anyone, regardless of it already being obvious to almost everyone in town.

The two siblings sat on the wall leaning against one another for a while until Ishara started to fidget in his hold. "Something on your mind?" Aero asked with a sigh.

"I'm sorry." She choked out with another sniffle.

"Beg ya pardon?" he asked looking confused.

"If I had just given them what they wanted then this wouldn't have happened to you." She told him in a shaky voice as she looked up at him and reached up to place a hand on his swollen cheek.

He gently took her hand from his face and covered it with his other hand. At this she started to tear up again. "And where would that have gotten you?" he asked her as she looked back at him with sad and teary eyes. "Ish, if you gave in they would never have let up and that's not right." He told her as he wrapped his other arm around her and bringing her into a hug. "I'll tell you something grandpa told me once. He told me this after my first day and believe it or not I had my fair share of bullies as well." He continued.

"I can believe that." Ishara giggled out and Aero lightly pinched her cheek causing her to yelp. "Hey, quit it!" she cried out.

"As I was saying, what he told was that bullies would always back down when they were afraid. Back down from the heroes that faced their fears, those who stared down the dragon and stood their ground...those were his words, not mine. I don't know why he included dragons." He concluded.

"It's ok, I understood it. Thank you." She said with a big smile as she leaned up and quickly pecked him on the cheek before placing her head at the crook of his neck.

"Glad I could help." He said with a smile as she curled up and started to doze off.

A short while later Ulrich came jogging up to the school gate and found the two still sitting on the wall with Ishara sleeping peacefully against Aero's shoulder. "Sorry I'm late. Your mother was supposed to meet you but the council needed her professional opinion on something." Ulrich explained in a hushed tone so as not to wake his daughter up. "Is she okay?" He softly asked.

"Just sleeping. Today took a lot out of her." said Aero.

"What do ya say we get you two home?" Ulrich suggested as he made his way to Ishara's side and gently picked her up. She stirred a little but didn't wake up and instinctively clung to her father.

"Sounds good." Aero happily agreed springing off of the wall.

"Now I'm gonna put on a serious face and you're going to have to look sad until we're far enough away from the school. Because I'm supposed to be mad at you and we gotta fool the teachers somehow; but I am proud of you, you did good son." Ulrich told Aero as they walked down the street.

"Got it...and thanks dad." Aero said keeping pace with Ulrich.

"And you certainly have the bruises to prove it." Ulrich said looking over to Aero as he came up beside him.

"No telling what mom will say though, you should've seen her this morning." Aero said in a glum tone.

"Oh I wouldn't worry too much about that." Ulrich assured him as Ishara shifted in his arms slightly. "She'll probably end up telling stories about every scar and bruise she got in school." Ulrich surmised.

"Oh joy." Aero remarked in feigned happiness. He and his father shared a laugh at this, both knowing how Zafina loved to over exaggerated stories of her 'proudest moments' at the drop of a hat.

"Hey, how about when sleeping beauty here wakes up; we stop off for some ice cream." Ulrich suggested

"Ok!" Aero immediately replied.

"And you of course will be paying Mr. Hero." Ulrich told him cheerfully.

"Sure!" Aero agreed again without hesitation.

"Hehe, I was actually kidding Aero. I'll pay, you done enough for one day I think." Ulrich told him, clearing up the misunderstanding.

"Well, don't say I didn't offer." Aero casually retorted.

"Heh, I'll keep it in mind." His father snickered back as they made their way to the town centre

Aero had rarely got in trouble at school before today and he was sure it would almost certainly not be the last. But if it meant keeping his sister and his friend safe, well...he didn't mind getting into trouble every now and then. Not long after that day Aero approached his grandfather who visited on a bimonthly basis and asked him a favour. Aero asked him to train him in at least some basic hand-to-hand techniques to better defend himself. Aero would defend Ishara no matter what; but it didn't mean that he had to suffer a bloody nose each time. The elder happily obliged seeing the child's determination to stand up for what was right. Ever since that day Ish' confidence had skyrocketed with the unwavering support of her brother and the occasional comic relief from Luz that always brought a smile to her face. In just a few months she had grown from a fragile and shy girl into a girl that stood up for herself even when vastly outnumbered. Although she may have need her brother's help on occasion it didn't stop her from facing those seemingly insurmountable odds and to be honest it gave Aero an opportunity to put his new skills to the test.

Present day.

Aero thought back to his mother's words that day when she left them at school. 'A hero never strives nor asks to be one'. That he'd be okay with. The real question would be could he take the punches if he needed to, both physical and metaphorical.

Aero had been reminiscing so long that he didn't realise they had come to a clearing where his mother was already setting up camp with his father quickly joining to help.

"Anything we can do?" Aero asked.

Zafina having just finished setting up her tent stood up and made her way towards the treeline. "There absolutely is!" She exclaimed happily. "Luz and Ish why don't go and gather some firewood, there should be plenty lying around in the woods." She told them as she gestured to the trees around her. "While you and Andy help your father set up the rest of the tents." She said turning back to Aero.

"What are you gonna do?" Aero inquired into his mother's intentions.

"Me? I'm gonna go catch us some dinner." She responded before once again taking off into the trees leaping and bounding from rock and low branch.

"Ooooookay." Aero quickly intonated. Luz and Ishara dropped off their backpacks with Aero and Andy before they went to gather the firewood.

The camp was set up quite quick and in a simple fashion. The clearing was next to a stream running through a rock bluff that connected to the mountain. They had three tents in total meaning it was two per tent and the tents themselves encompassed a small fire pit which was the first thing to be dealt with upon arrival.

The camp was setup in matter of minutes and once Ishara and Luz returned with the wood everything was soon squared away. As everyone was getting their personal effects into their shared tents, Zafina returned and her excursion proved bountiful. "I come bearing gifts!" she hollered as she strolled into camp.

"What'd ya get?" Aero asked poking his head out from inside his tent so see his mother sauntering up brandishing a dead wild boar like a scarf.

"Take a guess." Ish said with a smile who was sitting in front of him, securing a tent peg.

"~And noooooo hints~." Z added in a sing song voice as she posed with the beast around her neck making it obvious. The three of them laughed at the scene that anyone else would probably find peculiar.

Due to the long hike through the mountains, the sun was quickly slipping behind the mountain's summit. Everyone migrated to and gathered around the fire pit that was now roaring. "Okay Aero, it's your show now." Zafina exclaimed.

"Right, right." Aero responded as he stood up from the circle they had formed and leaving everyone else to talk amongst themselves. He made his way over to the corpse of the boar his mother had caught.

He knelt down in front it and scratched his chin in thought. "There's plenty here to last the whole weekend. Could make a stew or fry some pieces with some rice and for breakfast make bacon out of what's left. Even then we probably wouldn't get through it all" He thought to himself analysing his options. One of Aero's most recent hobbies has been cooking. He hasn't done anything too extravagant, but he did use whatever he could get his hands on and experimented with that. Long story short, most turned out good while others were a more acquired taste.

"Here." Ulrich said kneeling beside him and stopping his train of thought. Aero looked over at him and then down to see he was handing him a folding hunting knife with a redwood handle.

"Thanks." Aero smiled. He took the knife and got to work gutting and filleting the boar. A short while later he had the choice cuts all gathered in a bowl they brought, had washed his hand and the knife in the stream before returning to the group. He sat down next to his father. "Thanks again." Aero said handing back the knife.

"No, you hold onto that." Ulrich said pushing the knife back into Aero's hand. "Aaaannnd you might as well have this as well." He added as he reached behind him and pulled out a leather hunter's belt with a box-frame buckle, a couple of pouches and a holster for the knife. "Happy birthday son." He said happily as he handed him the belt. Aero eyes lit up as soon as the belt was revealed. Without saying another word, he took the belt, quickly buckled it up before folding up the knife and slotting the blade into its new home.

"It fits perfectly, many thanks." Aero said with a two finger salute.

"Ooh! Ooh! Are we doing presents now?" Zafina asked to no one in particular in her usual childlike manner whilst Aero was still standing adjusting to his new belt.

"Go ahead dear." Ulrich said to his wife who was bouncing in her seat like a hyperactive kid. She scrambled over to her satchel resting by hers and Ulrich's tent and was standing at attention back with the group.

"Happy birthday kiddo!" she merrily said, slightly out of breath from the sudden and frantic rush to and from her satchel. As Aero sat back down she handed him something bundled in a white cloth. He gently unwrapped it and as he did he realised the wrapping was actually a cotton scarf. "Made from the best linen in the area." She revealed.

"Oooooh, so you got it from my mom's store." Luz interjected with a smug look.

"Uuuuuh, yeeeeeaaah." Zafina nervously stated. "crap." She chided internally.

"Well, either way I love it, thanks mom." Aero said as he draped the scarf around his neck. His attention was then drawn to what the scarf was actually holding. What it held was a small wooden box that fitted in the palm of his hand. "What is it?" he asked.

"Open it." His mother coaxed.

He opened the lid of the box to reveal a fine brown powder inside. He took out a small pinch and inspected it closer but was still confused as to what it was.

"That is a mixture of all the known premium spices in all of remnant." Zafina explained.

"Wooooaahh." Aero gasped out expressing his awe.

"Figured you'd want it now so we can start dinner off right." She smiled.

"A dinner that I'm cooking." Aero retorted with a smirk.

"Like I said, start it off right." She reiterated. Everyone shared a laugh at this.

"Heads up!" Luz got up and suddenly called out as he chucked something to Aero who he fumbled with it for minute before getting good a grasp on whatever it was. He opened his hand to reveal a brass lighter. He flipped the top and sparked it on the first try. "You never know when you're gonna need one of those in a bind." Luz said with a grin.

"Thanks man!" Aero stated as he came up to him and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Before I forget, this is from my mom and dad." Luz went on and retrieved something form his pocket and furtively placed it in Aero's hand. Aero looked down at what his friend had place in his palm. It was a patch with the Verbist escutcheon embellished on it. He looked back up at Luz questioningly. "My dad told me to tell you that there's a place on the town prefecture if you want it and my mom made this for you as a sort of honorary thing." Luz explained.

"It's a quality patch and I will seriously consider it." Aero told him.

Aero tucked the lighter in one the pouches on his new belt and placed the patch in his back pocket as he would store it in his rucksack later. Before he could return to his seat though, Andy approached him. "This is from me." He said as he withdrew something from his backpack. It was a canvas hardback journal. "I don't know if you ever had a need for a journal, but I thought you could use one anyway." He said handing him the crisp almanac.

"I'm sure I'll think of a use for it, don't you worry." Aero responded. "Thanks very much." He said with a smile as he extended his hand which Andy graciously shook.

"Aaaannnd this is from my parent's bakery." Andy stated as he removed something else from his backpack, this thing was wrapped in tin foil. "It's a lemon and banana cake made fresh before I left." Aero didn't catch the last part because he was too busy already fantasising about the cake. He could still remember when he first stepped foot in that bakery, he never wanted to leave. A few feet away Zafina was salivating as she too only had cake on the brain at the mention of it. Zafina and Aero both made a zombie-like reach for it until Ulrich spoke up.

"We can have that AFTER we've had dinner, but not a moment sooner." He said sincerely. Zafina and Aero both audibly groaned at this but accepted it nonetheless.

Aero returned to his seat next to his father. "Aaaaannnnd laaaastly." Zafina chanted before looking to her daughter sitting next to her. Ishara silently got up and sat back down next to Aero and she had in her lap something wrapped in paper.

"Here you go." She softly said handing him the parcel and he offered a warm smile in return.

"Thanks Ish." he responded taking the package from her. He slowly and carefully un-wrapped the gift and discarded the paper. In his hands was a quite thick leather bound book with a simple one word title with gold lettering. "Drood." He said the title aloud and savouring the word.

"Yeah, it's about a writer that survives a disaster but soon learns that it may be a conspiracy. But he also has to consider whether or not he can continue to trust his closest friend and fellow writer who chose to help him as he hunts down the man behind the disaster." She explained her voice clearly showing her nervousness. "I didn't know whether you would be into that sort of thing or not." She added as she fidgeted in her seat and fiddled with her hair.

Aero couldn't help but smile and laugh inwardly at this adorable behaviour as he dragged a hand down the book cover admiring its quality. "I never thought she'd be this nervous about whether I liked her gift or not. Heck I'd have been happy with the thought alone" Aero thought to himself. "It sounds great Ish, I'm sure I'll love it." At those words she calmed down a little and relaxed. "I could read some of it to you later if you want?" He proposed as he set the book down with his other gifts.

Ishara smiled and gently hugged his arm. "I'd like that." She quietly answered as she stared into the fire.

"Now, how about we get some dinner started!" Aero proclaimed with a cheer.

"Yeah!" everyone replied happily and a fist pumped in the air.

The dinner was relatively simple with the meat being stir fried alongside rice and vegetables brought from town. Aero even threw in a pinch of his new spices which made the meal nothing short of incredible. The cake they all had a piece of after was practically inhaled being gone in an instant.

Because of the trek taking a considerable toll on their bodies, everyone was too tired to do anything much after dinner. Thus everyone unanimously opted for an early night and retreated to their tents. with Andy and Luz to one, Zafina and Ulrich to another, leaving Aero and Ishara to take the last tent.

While Ishara had stepped out to answer natures call, Aero had changed into his maroon shirt and dressed down to his boxer shorts. He was busy packing away his birthday presents from the day into his rucksack when Ishara re-entered the tent in a hurry. She was wearing pink long pyjama bottoms with a purple tank top and she took off her boots that she had put on when she went outside.

"Cold out?" Aero asked knowing full well that the temperatures dropped pretty low at night and especially in the mountains.

"F-f-freezing." She chattered out before diving into her bedroll and swaddled herself in her blankets. Aero could only look on and laugh as he continued packing his rucksack. Ish slowly wormed her head out her blankets and look across at Aero. "Hey, Aero." she whispered only showing her face from the wrappings.

"Hmm, what's up?" he responded as he got on his bedroll having packed all but the book Ish got for him.

"Is it okay of I give you one more present?" she asked softly with those cute eyes she always sported.

"I don't see why not, go ahead." He smiled as he slipped under his own blanket but remained sitting up.

Ishara stuck an arm from her blanket cocoon and fished around in her pack lying next to her. After a moments rummaging she finally found what she was looking and pulled it back into the blanket with her.

"Got it?" Aero asked with a raised eyebrow, curious as to what she had retrieved.

"I got it." she responded looking back at him with a smile. After taking a momentary glance at the space separating them she rolled herself across the tent and over to Aero's bedroll whilst still being bundled up in the blankets. He caught her to stop her rolling too far or rolling back across the tent.

"You good?" he questioned with a grin at her peculiar travel method

"I'm good." She replied. Satisfied that she wouldn't be rolling away anytime soon

Ishara shuffled her arm back out of the blankets and placed something in Aero's hand as he presented it. What lay in his hands was puzzling at first. It was a crudely made tan rag doll that fit perfectly in the palm of his hand. The doll had a dress made from scraps of cloth that matched Ishara's shawl, even its hair matched hers and the eyes were little buttons that were sewn on with uneven stitching. He looked back at his sister still wrapped up in the blanket with a confused look.

"I think I'm a little too old for dolls don't ya think" he chuckled out which earned him a disgruntled look from Ishara as her smile dropped.

"That's not why I gave it to you." She growled in frustration and ducked her head into her blanket in a pout.

"Okay, then why did you give me this?" he said sincerely seeing that she was trying to do something heartfelt.

"Promise not to laugh anymore?" she asked, her voice slightly muffled by the blanket.

"I swear upon pain of death, that I Aero Gainsborough will not laugh." He said with a grin as he raised his hand. Ishara giggled at this over the top gesture as she poked her head out from her bundle.

"Good enough." She said as her laughter died down and she shifted on the bedroll. "Earlier today I was thinking back to when I was ill that time and you gave me your old blanket from when you were a baby." She told him as she shifted again. "And now I always wear it to remind me of you; well I just thought that I could give you this to remind you of me." She expressed timidly. "I know. Kinda dumb right?" she added with a half-hearted chuckle trying to negate her earlier nervousness.

"No. no, actually it's very sweet." He smiled at her. "But I don't need this to remind me of you." She looked at him confused. "I could never forget my best friend and only sister and that's a promise." He added as he wrapped an arm around her in a hug and she shyly buried her head in her blanket again, trying to hide her blush. Aero snickered at her undeniably cute reaction. "Now, how about we get started on this book?" he suggested.

"Thought you'd never ask." Ishara said bringing her head out from the blanket for the umpteenth time. She curled up against Aero and looked down at the book resting on his knee as he opened it up to the first page. But her focus was quickly taken by something else on her mind "now or never I suppose" she deliberated in her head. "Aero?" she mumbled as her eyes glazed over.

"Hmm?" he murmured as he read.

"One more thing." She said turning her head slightly

He let out a sigh. "Ya know at this rate we're never gonna get to read this." He complained.

"I know, I know. It's just that I talked to Andy about that day when you first met him." She confessed.

"Oh?" he exclaimed having an idea of where this was going. He set the book aside and Ishara looked up at him.

"Why were you so against becoming a huntsman if you did what you did then? Not to mention all the other times you stood up for someone without question." She questioned staring at up at him.

"It's not that I'm against becoming a huntsman." Aero clarified scratching his cheek. "Okay, What I'm about to tell you doesn't leave the tent, alright?" he told her and she just made a face that made him feel silly for even asking as it showed his secret would be safe. "To tell you the truth….I'm…scared." he tried to choose the right words but decided in the end to be blunt. Ishara looked at him with concern as he continued. "I'm scared that I won't be able to protect anyone from the bigger threats in the world. I'm scared that I'll be a disappointment. I'm scared of losing those I hold most dear. But most of all, most of all I'm scared of dying." He grimly said whilst staring into space.

Ishara looked on in shock before suddenly burying herself in Aero's chest and bursting into tears. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know." She threw herself into a panic feeling absolutely terrible for not dropping the subject initially. "I shouldn't have pried it out of you, please forgive me." She whimpered through her sobs.

This had caught Aero completely off-guard. He stroked her head and looked down at her. "Ish its okay, I told you of my own free will. I couldn't really keep my mind on much else after I had a talk with mom." He told her in an attempt to soothe her.

Ishara pulled away from him. "What kind of talk." She said wiping away a tear.

"We talked about her childhood and where she grew up. We also talked a little about her time as a huntress as well." He explained.

"And?" Ishara queried.

"And I realised I wasn't that dissimilar from her when she was at school when I looked back over the fights I got into at our school. So what I'm saying is that I'm not absolutely a hundred percent disinterested in being a huntsman." He went on. "Don't get me wrong the fear is still there; I'd probably be crazy if it wasn't. But I realized the good I could do and that'd be worth it I think." He speculated.

Ishara took a moment to think over what he had just said. "Well, if you do become a huntsman. I want you to take that doll and use it as sort of like a good luck charm. That way I'll still be with you and protect you at the same time." She proposed.

"You got it." He vowed. "Wait, does that mean I shouldn't use it to remember the name of that girl. What was her name, Asha, Anaya or something like that?" he said with a big grin. Ishara playfully slapped his shoulder.

"Shut up and start reading." She said with a smile of her own as she huddled closer to Aero as he picked up the book, placed it back on his knee and opened it back up.

"Okay, chapter one." He started.

My name is Wilkie Collins, and my guess, since I plan to delay the publication of this document for at least a century and a quarter beyond the date of my demise, is that you do not recognise my name. Some say that I am a gambling man and those that say so are correct, so my wager with you, Dear reader, would be that you have neither read nor heard of any of my books or plays. Perhaps you Elysian or Mistralian peoples a hundred and twenty-five or so years in my future do not speak the common tongue at all. Perhaps you dress like Tottenkhoi, live in dust-lighted caves, travel around in airships and communicate by telegraphed thoughts unhindered by any spoken or written language.

Even so, I would wager my current fortune, such as it is and all future royalties from my…

Aero continued reading till the end of the chapter when he looked down to see that Ishara was completely out cold and lightly snoring away with a smile on her face. He slowly tucked the book away into his pack and gently picked Ishara up. She squirmed a little at first but quickly settled in his arms. He set her down back on her own bedroll and brushed back a strand of hair obscuring her face. "Sleep tight Ish." He whispered with a smile before returning to his own bedroll. He reached over to turn off the dust lamp situated between them before settling down and letting sleep take him.

Meanwhile, higher up in the mountains something dark skulked around a rock field before climbing atop a larger rock and wrapping it tail around the entirety of the rock upon which it sat. The night obscured the subject's finer features but it was clearly large and definitely not human. A viscous substance was seeping from its mouth and dripping to the ground below where it momentarily ignited and partially illuminated the creature; showing off its scaly features that had blood reddish tint as well as its jagged horns sweeping off the back of its head. The creature had a steely gaze, but looking out at nothing in particular. Instead all it did was sniff the air for a moment before suddenly turning its attention to a small group of rocks a few yards away. It stared over at the rocks for a moment and saw what it had smelled. A boar came trotting out from between two rocks in a mad dash. The creature sat on its perch and waited a moment to let the pig run as if toying with the animal. After letting the boar run around for a while which was much to serpents amusement; it finally took off with flap of its huge wingspan and flew low over the boulder that the boar was scampering to and fro in a grassy valley that declined slightly.

Before the wild boar could dash into another bundle of rocks it was viciously snatched up by razor sharp talons and flung against a rock wall splattering blood up the surface. The stricken animal slid down the wall leaving a red streak and squealing in pain throughout it all. It fell in between the valley wall and a large boulder, thus becoming the proverbial stuck pig that it was. The winged beast landed on the boulder next to the pig and stared down, eyeing it curiously. This prey had quickly become a bore to hunt and its flesh was hardly as delectable as the wyrm's last meal back at the cave; but it sustained him and it was a good opportunity to develop his hunting methods. Seeing the bleeding sow before filled him that same bloodlust he had felt before, whilst he knew it wouldn't be the same as the before; the anticipation had remained unchanged. Delaying no longer, serpent leapt from the rock and pinned its meal with one of winged claws sending the boar into a wilder panic. At the moment after this, all that could be heard was the tearing of flesh, the crunching of bone and the fading squeals of a hunted prey.

Moments later the winged hunter climbed back onto its perch with blood dripping from its chin and parts of its face. After a momentary flex of its wings it settled down on its rocky throne. Before he could comfortable though another smell caught his attention and his head shot up. This smelled just like another boar but it had another scent wafting alongside. It smelt new, powerful yet vulnerable, and he wasn't going to pass up this opportunity to become mightier. His eyes lit up with a fire and a hiss escaped his mouth as the tantalising aroma filled his nostrils. Without a seconds hesitation he slithered off of the rock and crawled through the rock maze with incredible speed, desperate and eager to hunt down this new and intriguing quarry.

The next morning was a bright and very warm one at the campsite. When Ishara and Aero awoke the first order of business was for Aero to reread the parts of the book Ishara was asleep for and after some minor persuasion on her end he agreed despite his drowsiness. Aero soon left the tent to get breakfast started and give Ishara a chance to straighten herself out.

It didn't take Aero long to get the fire relit, what with the abundance of firewood and kindling collected from yesterday and the use of his new lighter. He brought out with him a wooden box and inside was a bed of salt. However what lay on top of the salt were thin cuts of bacon from last night's cuts.

Zafina soon emerged from her tent and her hair was sight to behold. It was nothing short of a mess to put it bluntly with clumps sticking out in every direction possible. She stumbled across the camp ground in a daze having not completely woken up. She's wearing black sweatpants, a plain white T-shirt and her usual boots that were lazily tied. "G'morning." She yawned as she plopped down across from Aero with the fire between them.

"Morning." Aero smiled with amusement at her ensemble. "Have you seen the skillet?" he asked.

She grumbled at this. "Murrgh, it's in myyyyahhhh pack." She mumbled as she began to drag herself back to hers and Ulrich's tent.

"Need a hand?" He offered only to have her wave it off. He smiled at her behaviour. "She has never been a morning person." He thought as he poked the fire with a stick.

When Zafina had re-entered her tent, Andy and Luz came out of their tent and Ishara soon emerged as well before all gathering around the fire pit. "Would you like some bacon with your salt?" Luz remarked with a chuckle referring to the box in Aero's lap.

"You don't know what that is?" Andy said chuckling at Luz's ignorance.

"What? What is it?" Luz asked slightly confused.

"It's a way of curing the meat, makes it so that it doesn't spoil as fast." Ishara explained as if it were common knowledge whilst she patted down a cowlick in her hair.

"Huh." Exclaimed in surprise and slight nervousness due to what he said earlier. "Well I guess you learn something new every day!" he said shrugging off the embarrassing situation whilst slightly red in the face. They all shared a laugh at this.

Zafina and Ulrich exited their tent a moment later, with Z twirling the skillet in her hand and Ulrich carrying his backpack. They strolled up to children who were still laughing around the fire. "So what has chef prepared for us this morning?" Zafina asked as she passed the skillet to Aero.

Aero got up and stood as a butler would. "Today I will be making a rare delicacy. Using the meat supplied to us by our very own resident huntress." He said gesturing to his mother who smiled in return. "Eggs bought fresh yesterday from the fine city of Verbist and bread baked fresh by the Drummer family. I will be attempting to make the world renowned..." he paused for emphasis. "Bacon and egg sandwiches!" he finished. Everyone let out a whoop and laughed at this over exaggerated performance for such a simple meal.

Aero went to work and retrieved the bread and eggs from his father's pack. The breakfast so straightforward he worked like a machine; scooping eggs and bacon into everyone's waiting slice of bread as they were put forward.

Afterwards, everyone made their way down to the stream to get cleaned up while Ulrich offered to stay behind and get everything cleared up. Ishara and Zafina went further downstream and past a large outcrop so they would have privacy while the rest stayed near the bank. The boys were just finishing up and Aero and Andy were already dressed in fresh clothes they had brought down and getting ready to head back to camp. However Luz suddenly heard a lot of splashing and distant feminine giggling and this had completely distracted him from anything else

"Huh?" he exclaimed. Wondering if what he heard was real or in his adolescent mind.

"What?" Andy inquired from the bank as he threw on his pack.

"Oh nothing, don't worry about it." He responded. "I didn't just hear that did I?" he pondered.

"Eyes front Luz." Aero bellowed and snapping Luz' flustered looking face forward towards the opposite bank.

Unfortunately for him, Aero had heard the same thing. He barked at him partly to remind him of their conversation from the journey up here, but mainly he did it just to bust his chops and this did not fail to amuse. "Andy, keep an eye on him would you." He said, Andy gave a nod in return.

After having got changed back into his khakis that were still good and a plain white T-shirt; Aero stopped by the waterside for a moment to fill up his water canteen. As he was doing this he thought he spied something in the sky through the refection of the water. "What the hell is that." He muttered under his breath. He looked skyward but they were absolutely clear, not even any birds and that didn't help to sway his worries any more than the shadow that he thought he saw swipe across the ground. He cast a worried look up and into the sky above. "Must've been my imagination I guess." He thought pushing his worries aside and deciding to get on with the rest of the day.

When he returned to camp he could see his father gathering up the dishes from breakfast and began to make his way down to the stream. Aero in the meantime went to his tent, retrieved his pack and sat by the fire. He pulled out his book and quietly read for a moment until he saw some of the party returning. When he looked over he could see Luz, Andy and Ishara all strolling up in their usual attire along with their packs that they took with them.

"So what are the plans for today then?" Ishara asked as she sat down next to Aero with the others sitting across from them.

"Well, I figured we'd do a little bit of fishing down by the river then see where the day takes use from there." Aero proposed as stowed his book away and gave them his full attention.

"I say we have a little competition to see who can catch the most." Andy said in excitement.

"and what does the winner get?" Aero asked with a smirk.

Andy thought for moment. "...Respect." he responded.

"You're on." Aero exclaimed now standing up.

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around how the school added swordfish to the lunch menu. But hey I'm not complaining." Luz added with a shrug.

"Okay then it's settled. Ish, you wanna help me get the fishing gear while you two head down to the river and find a good flat to use." Instructed Aero and at this they went to their individual tasks. A moment later having gathered the rods and a handful of the boar meat, Aero and Ishara started the trek back to the riverbank.

However, before they were even a few feet away from the camp, the shadow from earlier passed over them and this instantly put Aero on edge. "There it is again, what the he-." Before he could finish that thought and register what happened he was on the ground. He turned over with a grunt to be met with the most fearsome sight that could only be the stuff of nightmares. Staring down at him were the most heinous looking eyes with blood red sclera's and acidy yellow irises. The eyes belong to a creature that was nothing short of horrifying; it was covered in grimy looking scales, white jagged horns ran off the back of its head and the front ended in a pointed snout with a plated white tip. These finer traits made it instantly recognizable as a creature of Grimm, but not one Aero had ever seen or heard of; this demon was the epitome of a nightmare come to life.

The beast had surrounded Aero with its enormous wingspan preventing any easy escape, not that he could as he was frozen in shock. The Grimm lowered its head towards him before sniffing him and the air around him. It slowly raised its head back before opening its mouth, letting out a low growling hiss and slipping its tongue as it did so. What finally broke Aero out of his stupor was what fell from the creature maw as it hissed; an ooze of sorts dribbled down and fell next to him before instantly igniting. He instinctively rolled to the side away from it, only to have another glob of the volatile liquid splat down on that side too.

The Grimm brought its head back down; only this time with its mouth wide open and ready for its next meal. Seeing there was no escaping this and still in too much shock to even call out; Aero closed his eyes and prayed for it to be over quickly.

What had happened next left him completely dumbfounded. As he cowered under the beastly Grimm, waiting for his demise; he heard the creature bellow out in agony. Opening his eyes he could see that the monster had recoiled back with a large cut straight through one its wings, and standing between him and it was his mother. She had her sword drawn and angled down in a protective stance. "Run!" she yelled to her son whilst maintaining eye contact with the horror before her.

Aero sprang up and ran in the opposite direction away from the showdown only stopping momentarily to grab Ishara, who like him only moments before, was trapped in a state of shock as well. "Ish! Come on! We gotta go!" he yelled grabbing her hand and snapping her out of her dazed state. They ran to a nearby ditch and jumped down into it. "Are you ok?" Aero asked slightly out of breath.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." She mumbled. She held a hand to her chest to try and slow her breathing. "What is that thing?" She asked turning towards him.

"I-I-I don't know." He stuttered out still in slight shock from what had just transpired. His heart was racing so much he couldn't even process the last few seconds properly, almost like it was a dream. Gathering his nerves, he decided to take a chance and peer out over the top of the ditch. He looked up just in time to see his mother charge the beast just as it had recovered from her opening strike.

The Grimm reared its head and shot out a torrent of flames from its mouth. Zafina countered by quickly planting her sword in the ground. The flat of the blade faced her and she threw herself against it, shielding her from the inferno. As the flames died down the serpent moved to inspect its handiwork and approached what it assumed was just a standing sword. Zafina took a moment to listen and judge the monsters distance as it closed in. When it was less than a yard away, she swiftly reached up and gripped her sword before swiping it up in a wide arc up at its face. She was too fast for the beast to react, but it made little difference whether he reacted or not. The blade simply glanced off in a shower of sparks and leaving the smallest of scratches in its facial armour.

However, this glancing blow did give her the opportunity she needed. She began diverting as much of her aura into her left hand as she could; so much so that it began to glow a faint turquoise colour. But the Grimm recovered faster than she had expected, it reared its head back again and prepared to breathe another jet of fire at her. Using whatever aura she had mustered at that point; she lunged at the monster and threw her fist at it only to be met with its fire breath halfway. The flames had entirely engulfed her left arm; wisps of aura could be seen escaping from the bright orange blaze. Her face grimaced in pain but she managed to follow through with the mighty swing, landed the hit right in the Grimm's face and leaving a web of cracks on its armour. This sent the Grimm stumbling back a few feet and momentarily stunning it. Not wasting another moment, she took off towards the ditch as fast as her legs would carry her and dove in.

Zafina collapsed into the trench rather clumsily with her sword clattering to the ground next to her. "Mom, are you ok?" Aero asked with Ishara coming up behind him as they crawled over to her. What they saw next however made them hesitate to come closer. Zafina's arm was a mess; with almost no skin left on it, covered in blood and hanging limp at her side.

"I'm fine." She responded with a shaky breath. She noticed their eyes drifting to her afflicted arm. "You should see the other guy. Don't worry about this, I'll be fine." She assured, although it did little to sway their worries. They could see she was struggling, with her good arm shaking from the adrenaline, her face drenched in sweat and her hair had fallen over her face as she doubled over panting from the agonizing pain.

"Z!" Aero and Ishara turned to see their father running towards them along the ditch before stopping beside his wounded wife. "What happened?" he asked worriedly.

"That happened." She grunted out and weakly pointed over the edge of the ditch. Ulrich slowly peeked over the edge to see the bizarre Grimm orienting itself and shaking the dirt out of its scales.

"What the hell is that thing?" Aero impatiently asked.

"Watch your language." His mother retorted with a smile. "And that thing is a Wyvern." Ulrich had a look of dismay on his face once he crouched back down. "The funny thing is they're supposed to be extinct; nothing more than a myth." She added as she moved to pick up her sword. She got a sure grip and used it to help her stand.

"You gonna be okay?" Ulrich asked concerned about her wound.

"Don't worry about me!" she barked as he gripped her shoulder to support her. "What you need to worry about is getting our children out of here, okay!" she said through gritted teeth.

Ulrich turned to Aero and Ishara. "Where are Luz and Andy?" he calmly asked.

"They were headed down to the river." Ishara quickly responded.

"Then that's where we'll go. Once we find them, we'll make a run for Verbist." Ulrich said with a nod. He turned back to his wife who brushing here out of her face. "Are you sure about this?" he said recognising that look in her eyes.

"You know me." She replied casually ignoring the pain in her arm.

"That's what I'm worried about, be careful." He said forcing a smile onto his face. "I love you, you know that." He said as he cupped her cheek.

"Yeah, yeah, I love you too and all that. Now get going would ya, you're gonna cramp my style." She said playfully pushing him away. He quickly rebounded though and caught her lips in a kiss. They separated after a moment. "Time for you to go." She said softly with a gentle smile. "Okay, when I make my move, you three make a break for it." she peered back over the ditch to see the beast wandering about trying to search for them.

Zafina waited a few seconds before leaping out of the ditch and back into the field. "Aero, Ish, follow me!" Ulrich exclaimed as he took Ishara's hand. They took off in a sprint along the trench and into the tree line.

"Dad! Where's Aero!?" Ishara frantically asked. He looked around to see that he in fact wasn't with them. Looking back along their path he could see he was still in the ditch.

Aero had watched the whole conversation between his mother and father, and quickly understood what she intended to do; she was going to stay behind while they escaped to the river. He wasn't going to stand for this. As his father and sister left for the tree line; he stayed behind, drew his hunting knife from his belt and climbed out of the ditch.

Zafina drew the attention of the Wyvern with a sharp whistle and it snapped its head towards her instantly. She raised her sword slowly in a guard stance, which proved bothersome with only one good arm. As the wyvern approached however, she saw it gaze shift slightly. Following it, she saw the last thing she wanted to see in this situation. Aero was standing just a few metres away with his knife drawn and a furious look in his face. "No! Stay down!" Zafina cried out as she rushed up to him. She dropped her aura so she wouldn't hurt him too much before she unceremoniously shoved him back towards the ditch and made him tumble back into it. Zafina came up to the edge of the ditch to see Aero looking straight back at her with a disgruntled expression. "Stay here!" she ordered down to him. However this carelessness proved fatal. Before Aero could even respond, something happened that would stick with from here to eternity. As Zafina began to turn back around to face the wyvern, she was suddenly stopped in her movement and her face became one of vacancy. A second later a barbed spike erupted from her chest, spraying blood all over the ground and she let out a bloodcurdling screech as it slowly lifted her a few inches off the ground. Aero's face had instantly turned from one of annoyance to absolute fright.

"MOM! NO!" Aero cried. He reached up to her but she was quickly yanked away from his sight and in turn splattering him with his mother's blood. His heart dropped seeing this and it was a great effort just to get his body to move. He was able to pull himself up just in time so see his mother be flung down hard to the ground; along with her sword that came down spinning and stabbed itself into the ground at the edge of the trench. As she lay there, the wyvern violently ripped its tail free from her body with a sudden whip and sending a spray of crimson into the sky. Aero could only look in stunned silence upon seeing his mother's stricken state.

She laid there battered and broken with blood slowly pooling beneath her. She very slowly rolled over onto her back whilst coughing up a bit of blood; blood still poured out of the large hole in her chest, blood soaked her hair and open wounds covered the entirety of her body. After all of this Zafina was able to struggle to her feet and retake a guard stance, despite being weaponless. She was breathing heavily and a red mist had clouded her vision from blood covering her face. She forced the last of her aura into her hands and stretched them out in front of her in preparation for the Grimm's next assault. The wyvern reared its head back just like it did before and unleashed a flaming tide that entirely engulfed the weakened huntress. Her aura or what was left of it, was holding against the flames; but it was deteriorating at an alarming rate.

She soon realized her fate as the last of her aura depleted. "Well, if this is how it has to be." She thought with a confident smile, as if she was having a normal conversation. The shield ultimately fell and the blaze had finally enveloped her.

The wyvern satisfied that this small nuisance would no longer be a hindrance moved in on the scorched and still burning earth. It began actually eating the ash that was produced; although it was curious at first, it soon consumed it like it was part of its everyday diet.

The last thing Aero saw of his mother was a silhouetted figure amongst the flames and slowly falling to the ground lifelessly. He looked to his right to see his mother's sword a few yards down from where he was. He crawled along the ditch until he was sitting below the sword as it had angled slightly so that it was perched precariously over Aero. The fear that had set in his heart was quickly replaced with anger and the desire for vengeance. He reached up to grip the handle of the sword only for his hand to be burnt as soon as he gripped it; what he didn't realize earlier during the wyvern's continuous flame breath against his mother was that her sword was also caught in the path as well. He withdrew his hand with a painful cry and saw that the skin on his palm had been burnt completely off. Aero looked back up at the sword that was still towering over him; he could see that the leather that had wrapped the handle had completely melted off and he had gripped the bare metal handle.

The anger he felt before was now gone, as having been so careless had brought something to light. What could he possibly hope to do to this thing in a fight that his mother couldn't. He was just a child and if he hadn't intervened then maybe she would still be alive right now. These thought's and feelings alongside the numbing pain he felt in his hand made him sick to his stomach.

Aero having vomited numerous times after seeing this horrific sequence of events, was suddenly dragged out of the ditch by someone at his back. As he was in transit he could see that the wyvern was too distracted with its meal to be concerned about him. When he managed to get a look whoever had a hold of him, he saw it was his father. Before he had a chance to speak he was thrown to the ground amongst the tree line.

"Stupid boy." Ulrich muttered under his breath with a scowl. "Are you okay?!" He angrily asked. Aero didn't answer. "Aero! Are you hurt?!" He asked more forcefully. The situation was becoming too much for Ishara and she was quietly sobbing whilst huddled up against a tree. "AERO!" Ulrich shouted this time and it got his son's attention this time. Aero was trembling as he looked around him; first at his sister then to his father, whom he frantically nodded at. "Okay, that's good." Ulrich said with a sigh as he ran his hand through his hair. "Listen, we have to keep moving. Do you think you guys can do that for me?" he said as he helped his son off the ground.

"What about mom?" Ishara whimpered out with her eyes shut tight.

Ulrich opened his mouth to answer but hesitated. He took a moment to think and put on a smile. "She's gonna me-" he was cut off midsentence when he was knocked aside with a mighty strike and smacked into a tree.

Ishara started to scream hysterically seeing her father thrown around like a ragdoll and the approaching form of the beast responsible. The wyvern had had its fill with the ash and had quickly homed in on their location. Ishara screaming caught the attention of the Grimm bearing down on them and it stalked towards her almost as if just to incite more fear. The wyvern slowly opened its mouth and a tar-like substance spewed forth, coating the ground in front of her. The beast took a second to adjust its aim and readied another glob of the black ooze.

Before it could spit though, Ulrich had recovered, jumped over to Ishara, threw her a short distance away and clear of the wyverns attack. He didn't have time to save himself as the viscous liquid coated him from head to toe and rooted him in place. The substance was unlike anything any of them had ever seen; it clung to his skin, and no matter how much Ulrich clawed and tugged at it, the sticky substance just wouldn't come off. This wasn't the worst thing about it though; it was constantly burning Ulrich and slowly working its way into his circulatory system.

He could feel it burrowing its way into his mind. It was consuming absolutely everything, his thoughts, his dreams but most important of to him...his memories. It was like they were being erased from a chalkboard before his very eyes.

His childhood, gone.

When he first met Zafina, gone.

His time as a Huntsman, gone.

The birth of his children, gone.

And when he turned to Aero and Ishara whilst in this macabre state; all he could feel was the unyielding desire to kill and to infect.

Aero pulled Ishara closer to him as the corrupted form their father approached. "Don't look Ish." He whispered to her and she held onto him tightly whilst burying her head into his shoulder.

Ulrich was now a shadow of his former self. He still retained his human form, only it was more twisted. His skin was pitch black from the tarry substance; it covered the entirety of his body and was seeping off in some places. His hair had completely moulted off from the transformation and his fingers had bent into claw like forms. What were most terrifying of all though were his eyes; they were no longer the gentle brown that his family had always known. Now they were a blood red but with no sclera. This gave them the appearance shining red beads that were almost hypnotic in a sense.

He reached out with one of his clawed hands with a guttural sound escaping his cracked lips, whilst the wyvern watched on gleefully. The wyvern itself was only watching because it was curious at what this new ability of his could actually do. But, just as the corrupted Ulrich was less than a foot away from the two; he recoiled and this made the wyvern growl in annoyance. Some part of Ulrich was still alive and it was fighting back internally. The abomination let a loud roar that sounded a lot like Ulrich only it was heavily distorted and it wrapped it arms around itself as it slumped to the ground. The wyvern eventually grew impatient at this fault and decided to get the job done itself; that is once it had dealt with another pest. The corrupted Ulrich was still bellowing in its demented way as the wyvern bounded up to him.

Aero took this opportunity and picked up Ishara in his arms before running off further into the woods. He briefly looked back to see the wyvern had snatched his father up in its mouth with his top half sticking out and all the while Ulrich was still hollering out as if nothing had changed. Aero turned back around just as the wyvern bit down and his father's corrupted form screamed no more. As he ran all that he could hear was Ishara's whimpering in his ear and the gnawing of flesh behind him.

He ran and kept on running non-stop until he came to the stream. The skies had turned gray by this point and the wind carried the sound of thunder. Ishara had stopped crying for a moment and was quietly resting in his arms. He stumbled down to the water's edge and stopped to look around for a moment. "What just happened, everything was good and then...then all of this. Mom...an...and dad, both...just...just gone." He sadly thought as he stared into nothingness having completely zoned out during the run.

"A...Aero?" Ishara croaked out still in his arms.

He snapped out of it and looked down at her. "Hmm, how you doing?" he murmured.

"Fine, Y-you... can put me down now." She worriedly told him.

"O-okay, hold on." He said looking around once more.

He moved to gently set her down but he didn't realize how exhausted he was after the run. He dropped to his knees abruptly and Ishara slipped out his grasp with a yelp as she hit the ground. He quickly crawled up to her on his knees. "I'm sorry Ish, I'm so sorry. I...I guess I didn't realise how tired I really was." He said hold back tears of his own

"It...It's okay, its o-okay." She said in obvious discomfort. Aero lifted her up slightly and rested her head on his lap. "Aero, your arm." She said as she weakly pointed at his left arm.

He looked down to see a small horizontal gash around part of his upper arm. He looked back to Ishara upon hearing a ripping sound. She had torn off a part of her shawl and made it into a strip. "Here." She said as she tried to move to bandage the wound. Aero tried to take the piece of cloth from her to do it himself but she batted his hand away. "No, let me at least do this." She said as she carefully lifted herself up to get to his arm. He handed her his canteen from his belt; she splashed a little water on the wound making him wince slightly. Ishara took the scrap from her shawl and quickly wrapped his arm. "That should do for now." she muttered mainly to herself. As she turned and was about to lay back down, she noticed the burn on Aero's hand. She smiled and shook her head. "Come on, that too." she said as she grabbed Aero's hand and poured some water on the wound while he remained somewhat detached from the situation. He was running over and over again in his head what had happened only moments ago and trying to think what his mother or father would do in this situation.

As Ishara wrapped his hand Aero broke out of his train of thought and noticed something under her shawl through the part that was torn. He raised it up slightly whilst she continued bandaging. Part of her arm was covered in that same tar-like substance that had taken their father. "Ish" he said in a soft and concerned tone.

Music cue: In the House, in a Heartbeat. (Piano version, low volume recommended)

She finished wrapping his arm; she then slumped her shoulders and hung her head low. Her shoulders were trembling and Aero gently wrapped his arms around her and brought her back onto his lap. They both had tears in their eyes as they looked at each other. "What...what...how...when did..." he managed to stutter out before he couldn't continue.

"When the wyvern first spat that stuff, some of it must've gotten on me." She said still trembling. "I only noticed it as you were carrying me through the woods." She added with a few tears now streaming down her face.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Aero asked as he wiped some of her tears away.

"I was scared and I didn't want you to worry. You've been taking care of me ever since we were little and I just didn't want to be any more of a burden." she told him sounding very despondent.

By now it had begun to lightly rain and the clouds were only getting darker.

Aero took in what he had just learned and what his sister had told him. At those words, what was left of his world had come crashing down. He just wanted everything to go back to the way it was, but he knew that wasn't going to happen. Right now he had to care for his sister and he would do everything he could do, even if it was just to see a smile on her face.

"E-Everything is going to be alright, okay. I-I'm gonna get you out of here an-and then we're gonna go home. I'm going to read you some more of that book and then we're gonna get some ice cream like we did on your first day of school. How does that sound." He told her forcing a smile onto his face despite the tears now staining his face. He didn't know what to tell her; he couldn't outright tell her she was going to die. So he told her anything that he thought would keep her mind off of that.

"I-It sounds great." She replied softly and returning the smile. She would be fooling herself and Aero if she believed all that would be possible again; but she played along nonetheless, for him.

This charade was paper thin, they both knew what was going to happen to her eventually; they both saw it happen to their father before their very eyes. They saw what a monster he became and what he intended to do to the both of them.

Aero's smile soon broke; he couldn't even lie convincingly enough to fool himself. He buried his head into his sister's shoulder and held her as tight as he could. "This is all my fault! Ish, I'm sorry. I-If I had just followed you and dad in the first place, then...then..." Again he couldn't finish, he descended into incoherent babbling and then into silent sobbing.

Ishara maintained her smile and calm tone, for his sake. "Shhhh, it's okay." She whispered to him as he shuddered against her and she stroked the side of his head. "You'll think of something and everything will be alright just like you said it would be." She added as she wrapped her arms around him. The venom was slowly working its way into her system, sapping her of her strength and she could feel every bit of it. She held onto him with what little strength she had left.

The only thing that could be heard in that clearing by the side of that stream; were Aero's quiet sobbing as he rocked back and forth with his sister in his arms, the low drum of thunder from the approaching storm and the increasing volume of rain tapping off of rocks and splashing in the river.

Two great heroes died this day.

But another will arise in the new light...but at a cost.

A cost that can neither be avoided nor denied.

One closes behind one the little gate of mere boyishness – and enters an enchanted garden. Its very shades glow with promise. Every turn of the path has its seduction. And it isn't because it is an undiscovered country.

One knows well enough that all mankind had streamed that way … One goes on. And the time, too, goes on – till one perceives ahead a shadow-line warning one that the region of early youth, too, must be left behind.

-Joseph Conrad.

AN: If you haven't read "Once Upon A Time" by Kraven Ergeist then I highly recommend that you do. That story inspired a couple of things in this chapter.

Anyway this is where the story really starts to pick up and really starts to branch out so chapters should be coming a bit faster by my reckoning now that I have a lot of people's backstories out of the way.

Disclaimer: Drood is not owned by me; that is a product of Dan Simmons own genius.