``When, i sit under the stars.

They heal my ragged scars.

I feel the love aro~und me.

If, I feel a world apart.

My heart, they do impart.

A love, given so free~ly.

When, the world is cold and dark.

I'm guided by their mark.

A light, so kind and true.

And when I fall, they're the first thing I see.

Slowly get up, and they whisper this to~ me.

We stand watch, over the sea.

Our love, will always be.

Gi~ven~free~ly." [Nathan]

.. Sigh..

A lot happened today, huh..

So Julius has a lot of magic power.

Good for him.

Good for him..

Never saw a person change their attitude towards someone else that fast. Impressive, really..

Well, this should make school life a lot easier for him.

I stare at the night sky. The moons. The stars above. Clouds are passing, but none of them thick enough to block out the moonlight.

The children are all asleep. Nicolas too.

As are the manaflies. Not a single one is lighting up the forest below.

I couldn't sleep.

My mind keeps returning to that day.

Feeling the power surge through me, feeling extit{connected}, the exhilaration of success.

And the crushing defeat of my parents looking at me with pity.

Couldn't they have just, argh..

Couldn't they just keep it in. Just long enough to congratulate me?..

Just long enough..

Anything but those eyes of old{pity}..

Why?..

A memory flash through my head. The day a stranger stepped into Alfred's shop when I was taking care of it alone.

Ugh, I don't want to think about that.

I can't even remember what my original parents looked like, but I can't get these damned memories out of my mind.

I hear a rustle behind me.

Turning my head, I see Julius moving towards me.

``... What are you doing?'' [Julius]

He says as he sits down next to me.

Taking a deep breath, I clear my mind.

``.. Nothing. Couldn't sleep.'' [Nathan]

``... I see.'' [Julius]

``You?'' [Nathan]

``... Woke up.'' [Julius]

``Okay.'' [Nathan]

``... It's two full moons.'' [Julius]

``Yeah, it is.'' [Nathan]

``... You can't see a lot of the stars.'' [Julius]

Sigh.. There's something about talking with Julius. He's frustratingly slow, but that's also calming.

``No, you can't.'' [Nathan]

``... That's too bad.'' [Julius]

``Yeah, it is..'' [Nathan]

After that, we just sit here in silence for a while. The gentle breeze blowing past us. Even up here, it's not really that windy.

The tower is taller than the trees, so we have a good view out across the forest. The manaflies are dormant throughout the night, and very hard to spot with the moonlight, so it feels like I'm back at my old world.

Well, except for the rather large bull-like child next to me.

This might be my new favorite spot..

``What do you think the stars are?'' [Julius]

He asks me, out of the blue.

``... They are the souls of those that have passed, looking over us.'' [Nathan]

``... Are you sure?'' [Julius]

``Yeah.. My mother told me long ago.'' [Nathan]

``... Did she also teach you to invoke your aura?'' [Julius]

``.. Yeah.. She taught me a lot of things..'' [Nathan]

``... I wish I could have met her.'' [Julius]

``.. She was a go- Wait, what do you mean?'' [Nathan]

Something's off.

``... Your parents died, right?'' [Julius]

``How did you know?'' [Nathan]

I never told him. I never told anyone at the academy.

``... You live outside of the dorms, with a girl you call your sister, who doesn't look anything like you... And your parents haven't been at the academy even once.. Neither has hers..'' [Julius]

``Neither has yours.'' [Nathan]

``... No... My dad won't visit me...'' [Julius]

He slouches forward, and pulls his knees up.

``... My dad is ashamed of me.. He says i'm stupid..'' [Julius]

"... My brothers always tease me, they say I'm wrong in the head.. They never wait for me, they always talk when I'm about to answer..." [Julius]

He silently mutter, more to himself than to me.

I put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Brothers huh.. I saw them a few times before. Two and three years older than us. I saw them speaking to him once, that wasn't what I would call teasing.

In front of us, a lone blue manafly flies up to us. It flickers around before us, and lands in Julius's outstretched hand.

"Hey little buddy, you couldn't sleep either?" [Nathan]

The dim blue light of the manafly slowly pulses in and out of existence, allowing us to get a better look at it.

It's a strange little creature. The size of my thumb, more like the lizards of this world, but still strangely insect-like, as it doesn't have webbing for wings but instead a set of thin wings that cover it's back. As it stretches out it's wings, we see what makes it glow.

It's a glittering layer of dust. Like every grain of dust was a tiny glowing crystal.

It flyes off again, leaving us staring out into the dark night.

I take a moment to compose myself, then slowly start speaking.

"They.. They died two months ago. Our village was attacked by a behemoth, only me and Sarah made it." [Nathan]

"... Is that why you seem so old?" [Julius]

"I seem old?" [Nathan]

"... Yeah... Like my cousins... They are always so nice to me... They are back home... They always taught me stuff...

You're like that... You don't run around like the other children either..." [Julius]

".. I have a little sister now. I have to take care of her." [Nathan]

"... Does that make you grow up faster?" [Julius]

"Yeah.. It makes you grow up real fast.." [Nathan]