(Zack)

After we evict some goblins from a usable house by way of Max killing them and tossing out their corpses, Luca runs a bath. As soon as he finishes filling the bath, I have Braden drag him back to the yard so that we can eat dinner as a group before the bath.

We eat dinner, then Max cleans up everything as Braden and Luca head to the bath. Gavin sets up our sleeping space, then he and Braden head to the bath as well. I climb up onto the roof. The goblins did repairs to it to protect them from the elements, which was nice of them to do for us.

My team talks in the bath, discussing what they hope we find here. Our journey into the Lost Territory isn't to reclaim the Cities, after all. No, it's for our own fun and amusement. They don't know who the brothers are, as I didn't tell them, but it doesn't matter. All they know is that I have stated that the Shadow of Life is set to die.

They trust me well enough to know that if I make a statement like that as confidently as I did, then it is an inevitable future. Bryce is safe, because we are the brothers of the vision. He is the one who will end the war by running his blade through Alexander.

As they talk about hoping to find this or that, I think about my role in the vision. I'm glad my part is over. I did the three things which heralded the changing of the tides, and because of who the brothers are, it's in the favor of the Crystals and reality, not in the favor of Alexander.

But my role? What could possibly be something I'd realize which would turn me to Alexander's side? When I think about it further, there was nothing in the vision which specifically stated I would actually side with him.

All it was in the vision was me realizing something. The only reason I've thought that I'd join him was because of Big S. Now that I'm thinking about it, and now that I'm aware that Big S knew we were the brothers, I know he knows something more. Something that makes him sure that I would have joined Alexander.

That I would have helped him, all because of that realization. I suppose it doesn't matter. I could probably ask Big S about it, actually. Since there's no chance of me actually siding with Alexander, the realization doesn't matter. It's irrelevant now.

"Big S?" I ask, then wait a minute. He doesn't respond, though I'm sure he's listening. "What was it I realized that led me to siding with Alexander?"

I wait, but Big S doesn't answer. I know he's listening, though, and that he heard it. He's pretending to snooze in my mind, which he'd only do if he wanted to try and trick me into thinking he's sleeping.

A pretty obvious attempt, but I'll give him credit. He might be billions of years old, but he's still a child in both heart and mind.

Well, as I said, it doesn't really matter. There isn't a thing that I could realize which would make me side with that bastard. I know the truth of the situation – while I was unconscious after resurrecting Bryce, I saw the event which caused the creation of the Boundary.

I saw him killing the boys who Big S turned into the Crystals, stealing their power with his allies assisting him. So the 'realization' isn't anything like 'the Crystals have been lying to you this entire time' or something just as cliche. Plus, I know my father would have told me if the Crystals were evil or lying.

It must be something I'd realize if he hadn't turned me into his permanent enemy. Or rather, something which would only matter if he hadn't. I'm not sure what I'd realize that would turn me to his side if he hadn't made me h is permanent enemy, but I guess it really doesn't matter.

Maybe Big S didn't answer because he doesn't know what I realized? That he just knows I had turned to Alexander's side, and not the actual reason behind it?

Oh, well.

"No, Luca," Gavin says, and I tune back in at the sound of his exasperation. "I highly doubt we'll encounter monsters that are just giant chickens which attack by shooting eggs out of their butts."

"Asses, Gavin," Luca says pointedly. "I said 'out of their asses'."

Pretty sure such monsters don't exist, Luca. Well, it's nice to see he's dreaming of weird things even while awake. There's a good chance those chickens he wants to encounter will end up in his dreams while he sleeps tonight, too.

Eventually, my team finishes their bath and dries off, then heads to bed. They're in bed for maybe an hour when Luca decides to climb out of his, the others asleep. He makes his way outside, then climbs up the side of the building, looking at me with just his head poked over the edge of the roof.

"Do you think we'll come across a Fluffy Monavar?" He asks.

We went from Luca thinking I was making it up to screw with Braden and Braden believing in it to Braden thinking I was making it up to screw with him and Luca believing in it. That's amusing. The reasoning behind the shift is simple, though. Braden got to know me better and Luca realized that if I said it, it has to be true, just because that's the way his mind works.

"I doubt it," I tell him. "We'll probably be off the mountain in a day or two, and unless we come across an area with plenty of cliffs, it's doubtful we'd come across a Fluffy Monavar."

"Okay," he says and starts to return to the ground.

"And Luca?" I say, and he pokes his head back up. "Your pants are on backwards."

He looks down.

"Oops!" He says, then quickly returns to the ground, then makes his way back inside.

Once in our room, he fixes his pants, then goes back to bed, and I snort. He's a dork. Also, why didn't he just climb out the window? Yeah, he's a dork. He passes out within seconds of going to bed, so I suppose what kept him up was that question.

A presence appears next to me, and I sigh.

"Go away."

"Why not talk?" Alexander asks through his avatar.

"Want me to behead you?" I ask. "Because I will. Actually…"

I sit up and look at his avatar, which is seated beside me.

"Want to find out what happens if I use Blood Scar on your avatar?" I ask. "It might give me a bit of peace from you."

"Could you please-"

He stops talks as my knife embeds itself in his chest.

"Oops," I say sarcastically as the avatar fades, and I catch my knife and put it back inside its sheath. "My knife developed a mind of its own and attacked. My bad. I guess it didn't want to see your ugly face."

I stand and stretch, then hop off the house. I don't need one, but a bath sounds relaxing, so I make my way to the bath.

(Gavin)

"Psst," Luca whispers into my ear, which is quite easy as he's riding on my back as we walk towards the next City.

"Yeah?"

"I think Braden," Luca hesitates for a moment. "I think Braden might be…"

He stops whispering, almost as if afraid of what'll happen if he says it. If Braden hears his suspicion.

"I think Braden might be younger than Lord Zack."

That is not what I was expecting. I have my own suspicions about Braden being something, but it wasn't younger than Zack. Actually, I thought he was older than me.

"I am," Braden says from the rear. "My birthday is two months after his."

"I always thought you were older than him," I say. "You seem more mature, even if the same height."

I knew Zack and Braden were both short, and had never paid attention to their heights, so I didn't realize Braden was the same height as Zack. With his headpiece, though, how it makes him look taller came up, and he mentioned that he didn't mind it, and Zack muttered that he wanted to rip it off because it made Braden taller than him. That's the only reason I found out they're the same height, making me realize just how small Braden really is.

"Zack's more mature than he shows," Braden says. "He's just a mischievous goof at times who has a flaring temper. He prays to his patron more than I pray to mine."

"Yeah, yeah," I sigh. "I know Zack does. I think you just admitted that you're more mature than him, Braden."

It's easy to imagine Braden shrugging at my response, even if I'm not facing him and can't hear a shrug. At least, not with my current Perception, even if it's higher than normal senses, ones without the bonus from it.

"Actually," I say. "Who's the oldest of us? Max, how old are you?"

"You're the oldest," Zack says from the rear, and I turn my head to look at him, finding him walking with his hands on the back of the head, as if going for a nice stroll rather than walk through monster-infested woods. "You turned fourteen a week before the battle for the valley, and Max turned fourteen two weeks ago, while I was out."

"Your birthday passed?" Braden asks I look forward again.

"Yeah," there seems to be a notice on our birthday informing of us it. I suppose because time is variable in the Boundary, and months are not the same length every year. "We were busy with the prep for the battle, so I didn't want to bring attention to it. I thought it might come off as selfish."

I stop walking and look back to Zack again.

"Now that I think about it," I say. "You'd have known, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah," Zack answers. "I knew you were trying not to call attention to it because you'd consider that a selfish act, especially with the battle prep, so I didn't say anything. I know you got yourself a cake after the battle was over, though. I'm the one who told them to add the raspberries, since I know you like those."

I thought they were just doing that for some random reason. That maybe they'd mixed up the orders, then hoped I didn't complain and want it remade or something.

"Oh," I say. "Thanks."

I return to walking, because Max doesn't seem to have stopped, and the others resume as well. We walk a little fast to catch up to him, then return to our previous pace. The forest creeps me out, with how quiet it is.

"Max," I say. "You didn't tell anyone it was your birthday? We would have celebrated."

"Max told lots of people," Max says. "Me told Aurum, and Kit, and Gold, and Theodore-Flame, and Boss-Boss, and Great Normar, and Jesse-Pervert, and Blaine-Potion, and we had a big party at the Dark Flame Servant House, and-"

"Max," I say. "You didn't tell your team it was your birthday."

"Me didn't?" He looks confused. "Me thought me did."

"Erm," Luca says softly. "Maybe I forgot to pass the message on?"

"Alright, everyone!" I say as Braden laughs. "No one give Luca any messages to pass on anymore! He always forgets!"

"It's not my fault," Luca mutters. "I'm ten. My interests include eating, beastborn, Lord Zack, and bopping things on the head."

He quickly lets go of me with his right hand, bops me on the head, then returns to holding on tightly. I've come to learn the reason why he grips so tightly when being carried is because he's scared of falling on his rear. He's not confident in his ability to catch or correct himself as he falls backwards.

"If it's not one of those, I'll probably forget it."

"Yeah," I say. "You do. That's not bad, Luca. But it means that everyone needs to stop telling you to pass things on to the rest of us."

He mutters something about trying to be more responsible, though I also catch something about a demon bunny, so I'm not sure of what, exactly, he's saying.

"How did your birthday celebration go?" I ask Max. "I'm guessing you did it with your brothers, too?"

"Oh, definitely," Max nods, his tail wagging in his excitement. He's one of the only wolf beastborn who's reached their teens to still have lack of control over their tail when they get excited. "Nit and Nin were happy. We had lots of cake, and it be the first time we be able to celebrate our birthdays! It was fun! Me used some of the special cream Boss makes for the fruit! Well, me tried to, anyway. Blaine-Potion helped me try and figure out the recipe, but me not think I got it right."

Max stops walking and turns to look back, and I look at his target: Braden.

"You be there," he says. "Me not tell you, only Luca. Did Luca tell you?"

"No," Braden answers. "And it wasn't the same as Zack makes."

"You were there?" I ask Braden.

"You were in the mines," he tells me. "Or I'd have gotten you. Luca probably forget and made the trip in, since it was a few days after he went in that Max's birthday was."

"How did you know about it?" I ask.

"Brandon was visiting the Dark Order," he explains. "To drop off something, and I noticed the party going on."

"You were with him?" I ask.

"Yeah," he nods. "He was helping me practice to make these. We were seeing if anyone there wanted some of the vests and stuff that I made from wolf pelts."

He indicates his outfit, reminding me that not only did he make it, but he had to have practiced for that skill, too.

"Ah," I say. "So you found out by chance, then?"

"Yeah," he nods. "If you want to get some experience for a Skill, there's a small group of goblins coming this way."