Fortunately, the portal opened exactly on time. Had it been a few minutes earlier, Rai and Sin would have probably felt so embarrassed that they’d die on the spot.

As the portal opened, Rai and Sin walked through it. They ended up back in Ms. Talvier’s house.

“Thank you, Ms. T. For the portal, and... whew. And for your advice on where to go in the city!” Rai said, slightly out of breath.

“Oh, for the ma... I mean, for you I’d do whatever I could to help!” She replied, backtracking her initial cut-off statement.

Rai and Sin gave their thanks and left Ms. Talvier’s house.

After they walked down the road a little bit, Sin stumbled. But she caught herself.

“You alright?” Rai asked her.

“Mhmm... my legs just kinda... gave out.”

Upon remembering what had just happened about 10 minutes ago, Rai felt a little bit of guilt.

“Sorry about that.”

“Oh please! If every time is gonna be like that... then I want even more! That was way better than the first time.”

“Well, we actually talked to each other about what we wanted this time, right? So I think it makes sense that we had more fun.”

Sin nodded in agreement.

She got her balance and strengthened her legs with mana to make sure she wouldn’t fall over again.

“Good now?” Rai asked.

“Yep. Should be fine now.”

After a few minutes of walking, Rai and Sin saw Rai’s family farm in the distance.

Just beyond it were Zenith’s twin suns, descending in the sky.

Rai slowed down for a moment.

Sin did the same upon noticing him do so.

“It’s so beautiful, isn’t it?” He said.

Sin didn’t reply.

For just a moment, Rai looked out in the distance.

The warm, textured tones of light emanating from Zenith’s twin suns was enough to put the sky to sleep. Without a cloud in the sky, Rai watched the suns fall. His posture relaxed for a while, before he finally turned to Sin.

He noticed a glistening sheen roll down Sin’s cheek.

Rai stopped exactly because he realised what an incredible scene it was to behold. It would only make sense that Sin would end up emotionally overwhelmed by the beauty of the sky.

But what came out of her mouth was what caused Rai’s heart to ache.

“Mum...”

Sin recalled the warmth of her mother’s embrace.

A memory that she couldn’t remember found its way to the surface.

A little red-haired baby, sat on her mother’s lap, swaying in a gentle wind.

The light of Zenith’s suns were just as beautiful on that day.

Sin’s legs buckled.

Rai caught her.

He held her close to him as she sobbed tears she never even knew were possible.

As Sin slowly came back to herself, the scent of roses wisped by Rai.

As if it was the only correct thing to do now, Rai whispered something into her ear.

Sin was quiet for a moment, as the whole world seemed to stop. All Sin heard was Rai’s heartbeat, and the echo of his words in her mind.

Quickly though, her body relaxed in Rai’s embrace.

Sin repeated his words back to him, before locking her lips against his. The moment might’ve lasted forever, had a wolf not howled in the distance.

Rai wiped Sin’s tears away, and kissed her forehead. She locked her arm with his as they walked back home.

“Oh! You’re back early!” Reiki said.

She was preparing dinner as Rai and Sin walked through the kitchen door.

“Yeah... we got what we needed from our research in the city and came back as soon as we could!” Rai replied. The deflation in his voice as he started replying was clear as day to his mother, though.

“It doesn’t sound like you had a great time...”

“Well we may have run into a biiiiit of trouble.”

Reiki’s demeanour changed quickly. She somehow transformed from a lovey dovey mother to a terrifying eldritch beast.

“How much is a bit, Rai?” His mother asked coldly.

“Uh... maybe like this much?” He said, holding his fingers a relatively big distance apart from one another.

“Rai...”

*THNK THNK THNK*

Sounds of banging came from the door on the other side of the house.

“This is the Draconis Elite Guard! Please open the door and comply, or we will be forced to open it ourselves!” Came a voice through the door.

Rai quickly turned to Reiki.

“We’re not here, okay mum? You got this!” Then he turned to Sin before Reiki could reply.

She was already on it before Rai even asked.

Sin grabbed Rai’s hand and turned them both invisible.

Reiki shook her head wildly as she came to terms with what her son had just said.

Rai tried to figure out how they’d been tracked down so quickly, and how the Draconis security somehow managed to get here just after them.

But there was a more pressing matter at hand.

*THNK THNK THNK*

“Please open the door and comply with our investigation! I will wait no longer than-”

*Click*

Reiki pushed the door open.

Rai looked over the 3 people stood outside the doorway.

The first one, who knocked on the door, looked like a plain officer. He didn’t have anything special about him, so he was probably an investigator of some kind.

The second one, behind him, looked like he was a magician of some sort, with his big hood and robe in the colours of the Life clan. He seemed well versed in magic, given his station. That explained how they got here...

But how were Rai and Sin tailed?

A little shuffle within the officers revealed the third one.

It was the same man who found Rai and Sin in the capital while they were invisible.

Ah, shit.

“Hello there gentlemen, how are you all doing this fine evening?” Reiki said.

“Evening, mam. Apologies for being so rough, but we’ve been put through the ringer, so I hope you’ll forgive our crass behaviour.”

“Not at all. Would you like a cup of tea? Any of you?”

“No no, thank you though mam. Actually, we were wondering if you’d seen 2 students around here at all? Our expert here,” He gestured to the young looking man that Sin recognised as strong in the capital, “insists that the two students we’re after came this way.”

“Oh... 2 students?” Reiki asked. She glanced behind her for just a moment. It wasn’t long enough to notice if one blinked, but the young looking officer noticed it.

“I don’t be-”

“They’re here.” Said the young man, cutting Reiki off.

The officer barged past Reiki, only to bump into a very sturdy wall.

Upon looking again, the officer realised that it wasn’t a wall at all.

“You said you were looking for a student? Well I’m right here.” Jin said.

Rai’s eyes might’ve just popped out of his head. He had to pinch himself to believe it.

Jin was posing as a student, of whatever kind, just for them.

If only there was a way to capture this moment for all time.

“No no, we’re looking for 2 students.”

“I couldn’t finish talking before, but what I was going to mention was that I only know of one, and it’s my father.” Reiki replied.

The young looking officer had a look of regret on his face as Reiki spoke. He immediately bowed in apology.

“I’m sorry for acting before hearing you out! Please forgive my actions!”

“Oh no no no, it’s fine. Please, stand up. You fine young gentlemen must be so stressed about it, so I can forgive your earnestness.”

“If you don’t mind our asking though...” The one that Rai pegged as an investigator said. “What kind of a student are you? Surely you’re past the age of being a student, no?” He asked Jin.

“It’s never too late to learn!” Jin replied angrily. “I’ll have you know, I take offense to that! How rude of you to say I cannot be a student at my age, when you don’t even know how old I am!”

Rai giggled to himself at Jin’s obviously fake reaction. Thanks to Sin’s advanced invisibility, he didn’t have to worry about being caught laughing.

“You’re... right, we’re sorry sir. Please forgive us, and keep an eye out for any individuals who might look like younger students to you. We don’t have a good description of them as they were wearing thick cloaked hoods over their heads... but please keep an eye out anyway. Have a good night!” The first officer said before ushering his fellows out of the door.

“You too, officers!” Reiki said, before closing the door.

After waiting a while, Jin breathed a sigh of relief.

“You’re good to come out now.” He said.

Rai and Sin appeared from thin air beside the sofa, causing Reiki to jump.

“Thank you mum... and Jin.” Rai said. “It would’ve been really bad if we were caught there.”

Reiki hobbled over to Rai. She grabbed his hands with her own, which Rai noticed were shaking a lot.

“... Sorry. Sorry for putting you through that.” He said.

Reiki hugged her son.

“Anything... anything to keep you safe, I’ll do. Have that much faith in me at least!”

Rai felt her shivers calming down while she hugged him.

Sin thanked Reiki as well. She knew that it mustn’t have been easy for her to put on such an act.

“Rai... Sin...” Jin said sternly.

They both yelped.

“What did you do to bring the Elite Forces down here?”

Rai gulped audibly before answering.

“We got pegged as spies for the Arbiter by a crazy old priest that possibly used to work for dad. I still don’t know how they tracked us here, but maybe it had something to do with portal residue and they just found that we ported to this area in general.”

“There’s something else. Tell me all of it.”

“We... spent an hour in a subdimensional room just waiting for the portal to open. What I don’t understand is how their timing was so tight, to almost coincide with us coming here.”

“Hmm...” Jin pondered. “I think it’s because they were looking out for it. Portals aren’t infallible, and if you’re looking for it then you’ll find where they go from and to.”

“Then... shit!”

Rai zipped out of the house, causing a gust of wind that nearly blew everything away.

He ran around the area the long way around and found what he was looking for.

The officers weren’t gone.

Rai found a quiet place to hide and watch them.

“What do you see?” Jin asked. He’d kept up with Rai the whole time.

“They’re waiting... they know that we’re still in the area, so they’ve camped up. That young one was the strong one in the city who managed to find us even when we were invisible.”

“I see... You’re missing something then.”

“... I am?”

“Look closely at the young one. See his eyes darting around?”

“Ah... you’re right, they are. But I don’t see how that changes anything...”

“What happens when an object enters a space?”

“That’s such a vague question, how am I supposed to answer that?”

“Fine... then how about this. In any given space, there’s a finite amount of air within it. If an object enters that place, then what happens to that air?”

“... It bends around the object.”

“Exactly. He found you two because you were changing the airflow around you simply by being there.”

“What... the fuck?”

“And now, he’s doing practice. You were right in what you said, but you failed to notice the real problem.

He’s a master of the element of wind. He feels even the butterflies around him bending the air to make room for their bodies.”

“That’s absurd.”

“As absurd as your lover literally controlling gravity?”

“... Good point.”

“Besides, you sounded worried when you left. You know I can feel their presences, even if they’re that far out... so what actually made you leave in such a hurry?”

“Ms. Talvier. She’s the one who set up the portal for us, so I was worried that they’d hurt her, or worse.”

“Then let’s go check on her.”

Rai nodded in response.

Stormflow.

Rai dashed around the fields that were far out from the officers’ camp to get to Ms. T’s house to avoid getting noticed by the wind-master.

“Ms. T?” Rai asked, loudly enough for her to hear him. Her house was far from their camp.

“Coming!” She replied.

As she opened the door, relief made its way to Rai’s heart.

She seemed fine, physically.

“Are you okay, Ms. T?”

“I’m fine! Those officers gave me a little scare, but I’m legally blind! How can a ‘blind’ woman create a portal when she can’t see where it’s supposed to go?! BAHAHAHAH! Oh the look on their faces, I tell you, you had to be there!”

“I’m glad you’re fine, Ms. T. But they’re still around here, so be careful when you go out. We’re going to have to be extra careful...”

“Rai, dear. Could you be a dear and throw them off? Send em someplace else, so they don’t bother us here?”

“That’s... a brilliant idea! Thanks Ms. T! I’ll see you later!”

Ms. T said goodbye before closing the door.

“It was a learning opportunity, but she just gave you the answer outright. How boring is that?” Jin said.

“Better than me having to think about it for years before realising it was the simplest thing ever.”

“... Touché.”

“Anyway... I already know exactly how we’re gonna do this.”

“Please, enlighten me. I’m curious to see what kind of mania you’ve come up with.”

Rai smirked cheekily.