Kael
We dumped everything onto the table like we were trying to summon answers by sheer chaos.
Missing persons reports. Dates. Locations. Witness accounts. The warehouse notes. The cleaned trail. Mira's investigation papers. The bounty list. The sketch of Celine.
Paper everywhere.
It looked less like strategy and more like we had robbed a librarian.
Jane had spent the afternoon with threads stretched across half the market — walls, beams, floors — listening to vibrations like the city itself was gossiping.
Liora talked to people. People told her things without realizing they were telling her things. She came back with three separate sightings of cloaked figures near the eastern road.
Branik stood in the market and stared at traffic like he was judging it personally. He came back with four movement patterns that did not match normal flow.
All pointing east.
I drew lines on the map.
Every line.
Every direction.
They all converged.
East.
Far east.
Past the city.
Past the forest.
Past the part of the map where the artist had clearly given up.
"That is not a walk," I said.
"No," Kairo said.
"That is a commitment."
"Yes."
I stared at the map.
"I need to say something."
Everyone looked at me.
"I do not know directions."
…silence.
"In my world we had GPS. You type where you want to go, an arrow appears, you follow the arrow. I have followed arrows my entire life. I do not know east from west."
Kairo blinked.
"You do not know east from west."
"Not instinctively."
"You have been adventuring for months."
"Yes."
"And you navigate how."
"I follow Rael."
Rael slowly looked at the ceiling.
"That explains several things," Liora said pleasantly.
"Several," Jane agreed.
"I just need a human arrow," I said defensively.
Kairo tapped the map.
"We go here. I handle directions."
"Thank you."
"You stay close to me."
"I cling to competence."
Rael leaned forward.
"You have been navigating by following me."
"Yes."
"For months."
"Yes."
"And you never mentioned this."
"It was working."
She pressed her fingers to her temples.
"It was working," I repeated quietly.
Kairo started laughing.
"I like him," he said. "He admits weakness confidently."
Rael narrowed her eyes.
"Wait. We met three days ago."
"Yes."
"You are acting like childhood friends."
"We have compatible stupidity," Kairo said.
"You have been finishing each other's sentences."
"That is exagger—" I started.
"Since this morning—" Kairo said.
We stopped.
Looked at each other.
"That was not planned."
"No."
"We just—"
"Think similarly—"
"About certain—"
"Things—"
Rael slammed both hands on the table.
BAM
Jane tilted her head.
"Brothers, even."
Liora smiled.
"It is sweet. In the way two people with no survival instinct finding each other is sweet."
"Liora," Kairo said.
"Yes?"
"That was an insult."
"Context matters."
Jane watched them.
Then:
"Gosh. Enough. You two should just date already."
…freeze
Kairo looked at Jane.
Liora looked at Jane.
They looked at each other.
Then immediately looked away.
"That is—" Kairo started.
"Completely—" Liora said.
"Unrelated—"
"To the—"
"Jane."
"Jane," they said together.
Jane folded her arms.
Branik spoke.
"Older women."
Everyone turned.
"That is what I look for. Experienced. Someone who has survived life and still chooses to smile."
Pause.
"Branik," Kairo said, "that came from nowhere."
"You discussed relationships. I contributed."
Kairo pointed at Jane.
"If you keep acting like that, you are never going to find a husband."
Jane turned slowly.
"I do not need just any man. I have standards."
I leaned back.
"If Jane had a man, she would probably tie him to trees."
THUD
Her fist hit my head.
"OW—"
"WELL THANK GOODNESS," Jane shouted, "THE MAN I FALL FOR WON'T BE AN IDIOT LIKE YOU."
"I MADE AN OBSERVATION."
"YOU MADE A MISTAKE."
Branik nodded.
"Young love. All fire."
"So you are into elves," I said.
"Yes."
"I knew it."
Kairo pointed.
"Same."
We nodded together.
"And demi-humans," I added.
"The ears," Kairo said.
"The ears."
"The tails—"
"The way they move—"
"When they hear something—"
"And the tail just—"
We both made a motion.
Branik nodded.
We understood each other.
I looked up.
Rael. Jane. Liora.
Eyes closed.
Fists clenched.
Stars above their heads.
"HUMANS AREN'T GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU IDIOTS."
DOUBLE THUD
Rael punched one shoulder.
Jane punched the other.
I tilted sideways.
"WHY—"
Liora punched Kairo.
THUMP
He made a wounded noise.
I was on the floor.
"WHY WAS I DOUBLE TEAMED."
"You annoy me most," Jane said.
"WHAT ABOUT BRANIK."
"He is consistently like this."
I stood abruptly.
"Nature calls."
"I will join you," Kairo said.
"What."
"We go together."
"Yes."
"To—"
"Kael. Outside."
Branik was already standing.
We exited.
Cold air.
Stars.
Silence.
Then—
Kairo started laughing.
Then I did.
Branik made a deep rumble.
We laughed like idiots in the dark.
It felt correct.
Rael
The door closed behind them.
The room felt… different.
Not quieter. Just missing something. Like the noise had taken warmth with it.
"Boys are stupid," Jane said.
"My brother says the same thing," she continued. "He says it is easy to understand how boys think because they are simple creatures."
"Your brother is correct," Liora said softly. "These ones are particularly simple."
I laughed.
It slipped out before I could stop it.
Jane noticed.
She always noticed.
"What about your love life," she said.
I looked at her.
"That came out of nowhere."
"It did not," Jane said gently. "We have been talking about it for the last twenty minutes. Everyone contributed. You did not."
I looked at the map.
"I do not have one."
"No one," she said.
"No one."
She watched me carefully.
"What about Kael."
I looked up.
"What about him."
"He is right there. Every day. In your party."
"He is an idiot," I said quietly. "He talks to ceilings. He fell into a sewer twice. He described himself as a confused pigeon. There is no way I could fall for someone like that."
Jane did not argue immediately.
"You watch him," she said.
"I watch everyone."
"You watch him differently."
"I do not."
"You worry about him."
"I worry about all of you."
"You notice when he is quiet."
I looked away.
Jane's voice softened.
"You get angry when he is reckless."
"That is because he is reckless."
"You get quiet when he talks about dying."
My fingers tightened slightly around the edge of the table.
"You move closer to him when he is hurt," she continued.
I said nothing.
Jane leaned forward slightly.
"You do not realize it," she said, "but your actions say more than your words."
"I respect him," I said.
"I know," she replied softly. "That is usually how it starts."
Silence.
From outside came their laughter again.
Warm. Unbothered. Alive.
My chest tightened.
Jane watched me.
"Listen," she said quietly. "You do not have to understand it now. But do not push it away. Do not hit him every time you feel something. Do not pretend you do not care. Because one day he might not be there. And then you will realize too late that you cared."
Her words settled slowly.
I looked at the door.
I pictured him outside, laughing.
Carefree.
Smiling.
Not knowing.
Ba-dum.
The door opened.
They came back in.
Kael's face was slightly red from the cold. He was still smiling. He sat down. Picked up the cup meant for him. Drank without asking.
He did not look at me.
Ba-dum… ba-dum.
Tomorrow we go east.
He will follow someone who knows.
I will know.
That was just how it worked.
And for some reason…
That thought made my chest feel warm.
I drank my tea slowly.
Not understanding why.