Orrin put down his book, Essential Runescript for the Neophyte Scribe, when he heard Braden moan. His twin was seated in a meditative pose on his bed, going through Recovery. Beads of sweat poured down the other boy’s forehead and he nearly toppled over.

“Braden!” Orrin jumped off his own bed and caught his twin before he fell off the bed. Braden coughed and there were flecks of red in his spittle. The connection inside his Anima was stable though, so whatever this was, it wasn’t something dangerous.

“I hate this!” Braden grumbled when the fit subsided.

“How’s the progress?”

“About a third recovered,” he answered glumly.

“So in two weeks you’ll be fine?”

“I suppose.”

“It’s not bad considering you had a Hunter’s claws in your lung back then.”

Braden grunted. “Rotting Wyldling! That was my mistake, I shouldn’t have let down my guard like that.”

“At least you’re fine now. If you weren’t given first aid, I shudder to think if you could have survived. I might have died with you,” Orrin muttered.

Braden sighed. “I know, Orrin. It’s just frustrating now.”

Orrin shrugged. There wasn’t much he could do at the moment. Training with Yuriko and the rest of the team was frustrating for both of them simply because neither had the strength nor stamina to really compete. Orrin’s goals didn’t include physical excellence anyway and as far as he knew, neither did Braden’s.

“Are we going to Rumiga City early?” Orrin asked idly.

Braden nodded. “I want to.”

“Why? It’s much more tranquil here.”

“You want to leave Yuriko alone in the big city? Or worse, with Heron for company?” Braden gave him an odd look.

“I’m a bit more concerned about your well-being.”

“So you say, but that's only because you spent so much time with her during the training camp,” Braden grumbled accusingly.

“Relax, no one’s going to get the jump on us. It’s pretty obvious that Yuriko isn’t really interested in any of us in that matter.”

“Don’t be a fool,” Braden glared. “Have you seen how intimate she was with Heron? Even if she doesn't have romantic feelings, everything starts on a base of friendship.”

Orrin sighed. Braden always saw things with such cold calculation. As if sensing his emotions, Braden looked at him and asked, “You think I’m wrong?”

“No, you’re right, but you’ll never get her friendship if you think like that.”

“True, but the relationship bleeds off what she’s developed with you.”

“Braden…why are you attracted to Yuriko?”

That seemed to bring him up short. “What about you?”

“I can’t deny the physical attraction.”

“Yeah. I still can’t believe nobody’s courted her all this time.”

“Probably because her father’s the militia commander?”

“And the two scary elder brothers.”

“Plus, she’s pretty aloof and dense,” Orrin giggled.

“Right, right.”

“So, why?”

“I don’t know yet. There’s this part of me that just…wants to be with her. She’s pretty confident in her skills and quite driven with her goals. The intensity is quite attractive.”

“Huh. Well, she’s quite nurturing and protective of those she considers important to her.” Orrin tapped the cover of his book. “She’s saved my life several times during the training camp and, well, I’ve saved her life too.”

“I’m still envious of how you were part of her team. I wanted to be there too.”

“I suppose that’s why you want to head to Rumiga City early with her?”

“Yes.”

Over the last few days, Yuriko had confided in them, well, to the entire team really, her quandary with her mum. Orrin didn’t know much about the elite examinations but since it would be for Agaza, it was reasonable that there would be a team exercise or something.

“How are we going to pay for our extended stay in the city then? The dormitories won’t be open yet,” Braden mused.

“Ask Unc?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you feeling better?”

Braden closed his eyes for a minute, long enough for Orrin to open his book and read a paragraph.

“I’ve done as much as I can today. I need to eat more.”

“Right,” Orrin said absently. Runescript syntax was convoluted, requiring even a neophyte to memorize hundreds of rules that varied with each word. He had a few passages memorised well enough to apply. The passage to draw in heat and create a small fire was one. Another was to repel moisture. He could easily use his Facet to replicate the second passage but the beauty of runescript was that it didn’t need anything other than to be toggled on to achieve the effect. Anyone with a little bit of Animus could do so easily.

“Orrin.”

Rune Scrivening was more a practice of logic than anything esoteric, or so the book said. An effect will always be thus according to the runescript as long as it was created well and the materials it was scribed into held out. A runescript to control the light switches would always do so. The user’s Intent was irrelevant so a person using runescript to turn on the light cannot make it change colour.

The scrivener, however, could impart his Intent into the runescript and have it become part of the logic. So, the said light switch could be made to change the colour of the lights if the scrivener imparted the Intent, even if the basic script was unchanged. Imparting Intent beyond the runescript’s original purpose degraded the material quicker though. Something that could have lasted technically forever would only last days if the additional Intent added too much strain.

“Orrin!” Braden smacked his back, jolting him out of his reverie.

“What?”

“Let’s go talk to Uncle,” Braden sighed.

“Why?”

Thwack!

“Ow!” He gave Braden a wounded look while the other returned a pointed one. “Oh. Right, let’s go.”

He put away his book and walked out of the room with his twin. Uncle Colin’s room was right next to theirs but it was a question of whether he was there. Uncle Colin was barely in his room these days.

It was almost time for dinner, so maybe they would be lucky. But alas, there was no answer when they knocked on the door.

“You need to eat, right? Let’s go to the common room,” Orrin grumbled.

“Yeah.”

The Homestead Inn’s common room wasn’t so crowded this early in the evening. Arturus Seonid, their innkeeper, was busy chatting with a few patrons at the bar. The two of them sat at a table and waved at a serving maid.

The woman came up to them with a smile, “What’ll it be, gents?”

“What’s the special for today?”

“Fillet of bass, clams served with butter sauce, and freshly baked bread.”

“Do you have roast beef?” Braden asked.

“Yes, I think there’s a bit of roast left.”

“I’ll have that one, please. Lavan berry juice,” Braden added.

“I’ll have the special,” Orrin said lazily.

“You got it.”

Orrin observed the people in the common room, a couple of early drunks, probably a cargo transport driver, or a logger, some of those staying in the rooms who’ve wandered down for an early dinner, and a few serving women sweeping the floor or wiping the dust off tables. The repairs of the inn’s facade had been completed before the Festival, but the dust of their labours hadn’t settled completely yet.

Thok, thunk!

The plates plopped down in front of them, along with a mug each of lavan berry. “Thank you!”

Braden shovelled food into his mouth while Orrin ate a bit more sedately. The fillet had been battered and fried but he found it had absorbed too much of the cooking oil, leaving an aftertaste. The clams were an effort to pry open to get at their succulent meat, while the bread was excellent. Nice and chewy centre with a crunchy and salty crust.

The lavan berry juice was a bit watered down and perhaps mixed in with green berries, but that was fine since the sour tang underneath the ripe sweetness made for an interesting mix in his mouth. He finished the mug soon after and wanted to ask for more but before he could flag down the serving maid, Uncle Colin wandered through the front door.

“Unc!” Braden called out.

Uncle Colin made a beeline for them. He had a subtle smile on his face, the look of a cat that caught the canary. “Good evening boys! How’re you feeling, Braden?”

“Improving,” Braden said while Orrin could feel his brother’s confusion. Unc had always been a little pessimistic.

‘I wonder what happened?’ Orrin thought. He kept a hand raised until the serving maid came up to them.

“Enjoyed the meal?” she asked.

“Very much so. I’d like another mug of lavan juice, please.”

“My pleasure.”

“Oh,” Uncle Colin interrupted. “I’d like some dinner too. What do you have?”

She rattled off the menu and their uncle settled for a pulled pork sandwich with dark ale. Braden picked at the crumbs on his plate and before the serving maid left the table, he asked for another serving.

Braden was thin as a rail, a clear difference from his robust physique when he first came here, and with a glance of surprise, she nodded and hurried off.

“Good appetite. You’ll need it to recover the lost flesh and nutrients sacrificed to heal you,” Colin observed.

Braden nodded mutely.

“You seem happy, Unc,” Orrin said idly. “Deal gone right?”

“Hmm, can’t say, can’t say. Maybe.”

An awkward silence ensued while Braden wiped the last of the gravy with a piece of bread and gobbled it up.

“Hey, Unc,” Orrin said, “Braden and I were thinking of heading to Rumiga City early.”

“Oh, why?”

“We wanted to take the elite examinations.”

Uncle Colin eyed him appraisingly, “Are you sure? There’s a cost to taking the exams, you know? Cheaper than the training camp tenfold, but that’s still a silver crown. And you’re more likely to fail than anything else.”

“The experience would do wonders for us.”

“Right, and I’m sure your little sweetheart has nothing to do with it.”

“Sweetheart?” Orrin felt himself flushing.

Braden snorted. “If only it were true.”

“Well, I commend your campaign. Her lineage is one of the best in Faron’s Crossing,” Colin laughed. “Well, I'm not against the two of you heading out early or even taking the elite level exams. I can’t go with you two, yet. But maybe I’ll follow you there before the end of Season.” He tapped his fingers on the table while suddenly deep in thought.

Thonk!

A new mug of lavan berry juice was placed in front of Orrin. He took a sip and let the flavours roll in his mouth. A few minutes later, Uncle Colin’s and Braden’s meal arrived. His twin ate as if this was his first meal of the day, shovelling the strips of meat and chunks of potatoes into his gaping mouth. He washed it down with water.

Uncle Colin ate sedately, watching with no small amusement at his nephew. “Ah, this takes me back. I ate like that whenever I got injured too. You’ll like Rumiga City, boys. It’s quite different from Haveena, though I’d say it lacks a certain, hmmm, character, compared to our neighbours to the south.”

“Have you been to Rumiga City often?”

“Not at all, I’ve been there a couple of times, about a decade apart. The city doesn’t really change much. Sure the Chaos Channel and the surrounding fortifications and harbour is a sight to see but after that? It’s much nicer out in the countryside. It’s not even that much safer than out here.”

“Are there Wyldlings there too?”

“There’s a Chaos Channel, isn’t there?” Uncle Colin noted drily.

“Oh.”

“Well, hmmm, if you’re going there early anyway, I have a letter for you to deliver.”

Orrin frowned, why wouldn’t his uncle just use the Imperial Postal Service? Sure it was expensive, and it sometimes took a while, but it could deliver mail from one frontier plane to Realmheart, and from there to another frontier in the opposite direction, easily enough. Well…it was expensive and Orrin supposed that was the answer.

Braden paused in his gluttony, eyeing his uncle suspiciously, but evidently, he had come to the same conclusion as Orrin: that Uncle Colin was cheap. Not that that was so bad. Colin ran the family emporium after all, and every expense minimised was an added bonus to the bottom line.

“Sure, Unc,” Orrin said. “Do we just activate the messenger crane when we get there, or?”

“No, no. Personal delivery, please. The man isn't an acquaintance so I don’t have his Animus signature.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Thanks, boys, I’ll have it ready before your departure. When is that, by the way?”

“Er, we’ll tell you tomorrow.”

“Hie hie, it’s like that, huh?”

Orrin grinned sheepishly.

Colin leaned over and whispered conspiratorially to both of them. “Tell me, if you do succeed, who will she end up with?”

Orrin and Braden looked at each other, emotions mirroring. They both liked her, but…Braden’s eyes narrowed and his glare shifted to their Uncle.

“Hah hah hah!” Uncle Colin laughed uproariously. “Just food for thought, boys, something to think about before it gets to that point.” He wiped the tears off his eyes and stood up. “Well, I’m off to bed. Tell me when you’re planning to leave as soon as you can.”

He left the table and headed up the stairs near the back that led to his room. Braden and Orrin finished off the rest of their meal and signed the ticket for their meal on behalf of Uncle Colin. When they were back in the room, Braden made to resume his meditation, or maybe to rest. Orrin, in the meantime, picked up his book and continued where he left off.

Just as he was getting into it, Braden interrupted him.

“Orrin, we’ve always shared everything.” He stated decisively.

Orrin looked at his twin blankly. After a while, he nodded. “Yeah.”