Ander sat in the living room of the orphanage, a cup of tea in his hands while he studied the woman sitting across from him, or rather the witch in front of him, “How’s your tea?” she asked before sipping her own, the young man couldn’t answer. Ander had to take a moment to compose himself, his thoughts going back to a few hours ago.

He stood watching the witch who had just summoned something that not even his mother could, “Who are you?” he asked keeping his eyes on the boy who he just somehow knew was his younger brother. The woman gave him a smile before replying, “He’s caretaker” her eyes betrayed her smile, they were filled with the intent to kill and as he continued to watch the witch, an image of a mother bear protecting her cub came to the front of his thoughts.

“I will give you two choices, you can die here and I can explain you away like a bad dream… or you can surrender and we can talk this over” she said, that same smile still brightening her face while the same eyes got her point across, “But know this, I will not let this boy go” Ander had been in enough fights with witches to know that even his mother would have difficulty with this woman.

Studying the woman to see if he couldn’t at the very least grab the boy and run, Ander saw that there was an opening for such a daring move, though something in him told him that it was a trap; a way to lure him into thinking that he could best her. Deciding not to risk his own life for a chance that he didn’t think would work Ander gave in to her second option for the moment.

Ander undid Vilandia with a wave of his hand and held out his hands in front of him, the sign that witches show each other when one of them surrenders; it was something that he never thought he would ever do in his life but he didn’t see any other way out of this situation alive. The woman turned around to leave but before she started walking she threw over her shoulder, “Come on, they won’t bite good boys… but they do tend to tear bad boys apart” he could hear that same smile still present, and so hoping that she will keep her word he started after her but made sure to keep his distance from both her and the dogs she commanded.

Sitting in the chair he had been told to wait in Ander looked at the woman whom he had learned was called Hayden, he hadn’t expected to find a witch as powerful as her in this world since they had all fled hundreds of years ago. He couldn’t help but think that maybe she wasn’t a witch at all, that maybe she was from the other nations back home and that she was here to hold his brother hostage. The thought didn’t stay in his head for long though as he saw the many signs that she was indeed a witch; from the ring on her left hands middle finger to the necklace she was wearing and the slight shine in her eyes which gave away that she had to enchant them to see magic or essence. The ring and necklace both bore symbols older than he could recall but he had seen their newer versions plenty of times before in the old books his mother had.

“You’re a witch” Ander stated before taking a sip of his own tea, it tasted sweet, almost too sweet. “Bright aren’t you” Hayden joked, her eyes proving that she was pushing him, Ander could see that she was still searching for an excuse to have him torn apart so he would try and not give her one. Choosing which words to speak very carefully Ander began after putting his tea down, “Whose side are you on?” he asked and saw Hayden set down her own tea before she got up and retrieved a book from a shelf behind her, she opened it to a page and then handed it to him, there was a painted picture in it, one he had seen before in his mother’s room long ago before she burned it. It was a picture of him when he was younger, his younger brother and father were in it too, “That’s whose side I’m on” Hayden said and Ander couldn’t believe her; not just because he didn’t remember ever having a picture painted of himself along with a brother and father he had never met before. He took a breath as he let his fingers trace over the smooth picture, he was at a loss for words as saw the father he had wanted for so long and the brother he had heard so much about; he had always regretted not having anything to remind him that he wasn’t as alone as he had always thought.

“You’re working for our father” he stated more to himself then asked her when he finally composed himself, he saw her nod as she took the book back from him, “He asked me to keep an eye on Eric” Hayden explained as she put the book back, strangely it read “two hundred ways to cook veggies”.

His hands felt empty without that book and the picture it held to fill them, but he didn’t dwell on the feeling for too long as he watched Hayden sit back down across from him; she looked deep in thought as she sat there, he didn’t say anything as he watched her recall whatever memory had her smiling as faintly as she was. When she did come out of her own thoughts she looked at him and she blushed a little when she saw him staring, she cleared her throat before sitting upright which made Ander shake himself out of admiring her.

“There are some rules that I will have you follow as long as you are here” Hayden said trying to divert his attention away from her; Ander looked up as she held up a hand to count them off, still glad that she had allowed him to not just stay alive but to stay alive close to his brother, “First, Eric does not know anything or learn anything about witches, magic or anything of the sort. Second, Eric will not be going anywhere with you without me as an escort. Third, well you don’t really need to know number three right now… so let’s just stick with those two for now but just so that we are clear… Shade, aqui chico” Hayden finished by calling, and to Ander’s surprise a black Chihuahua came bounding into the room and onto her lap, the dog looking right at him the second it got comfortable and it’s eyes flashed red for just a second to show what it really was.

“Shade here is my eyes and ears, everything he sees I see and everything he hears I hear so behave yourself” Ander didn’t scare easy but when a spell that powerful was cast on another of the same level he couldn’t help but be very afraid, this woman wasn’t someone he could hope to defeat.

“Now, you are free to stay here as long as you like. Spend some time with your brother and in return for my kindness you can help out around here, or if you want you can find a job in town and live there, either way I don’t care much about you as long as you follow the rules and play along” She said before getting up and taking their cups, Shade however stayed on the chair to watch him, his eyes flashing red again just to send a shiver through Ander, and when the dog saw it Ander could have sworn that he saw the thing smile the same smile it’s master wore so well.

Ander just took a deep breath and held it for a few moments before letting it go, he didn’t move as he let the events of the last few hours play out in his head. He decided to take a look around the house to try and familiarize himself with everything so that he wouldn’t stick out as much as he knew that he already would. After all, there was no technology like this worlds back home and he didn’t even know much about it back there; witches didn’t really like technology since it messed with their connection to magic or essence.

Eric woke up with a start again, strangely though he wasn’t drenched in sweat like he normally was but just like always he couldn’t remember much; getting out of bed he saw Drew still asleep and then he looked at the clock, 05:45am, it was fifteen minutes earlier then the house normally woke up at. Walking over to the bathroom Eric almost jumped when he saw Shadow, Shade’s brother laying by the door to the room, it was weird for the dog to be away from Hayden since the five brothers always stayed close to her.

He decided to ignore the dog in favor of just getting an early start on his day, the dog seemed to ignore him as well when he walked by. Standing in the shower Eric tried to remember anything about last night, but try as he might he couldn’t remember anything, nothing after he had decided to go and see if the person had really been there. He rubbed his eyes which burned, it was normally a sign that something was off but right now he couldn’t quite figure out what that something was; his head felt like it was stuffed full of cotton, like he was half asleep.

When Eric came out of the shower and got dressed Drew came bursting into the room, “Eric, you won’t believe whose here” he exclaimed before grabbing Eric by the arm and dragging him along, the boy trying to finish putting his shirt on and thankfully got it on before he was suddenly stopped at the entrance to the living room. Eric came face to face with someone whom he thought he knew, this person resembled him; they had the same hair, same nose, ears but their eyes were different, ice blue against a deep green that resembled the darkest forests, the two just stood there and studied each other while everyone around them held their breath at this reunion, except for Hayden who watched carefully from where she sat.

The two did nothing but stare at each other; Eric didn’t know what to do or say and at the way that this person who he somehow knew fidgeted he knew that he wasn’t the only one at a loss for both actions and words. It was Hayden who broke the silence with a loud sigh and a single clap of her hands.

“Eric, this is Ander, his your brother. Ander this is Eric, your long lost brother… now say something before I smack you two on the head” Hayden said before getting up and leaving, Shade and two others were still laying on the ground next to the chair as she walked out, Hayden ushered the rest of the kids out of the living room so the brothers could talk, but she made sure to throw a look Ander’s way as a warning, “Say something you shouldn’t and your dog food” it said and the young man understood that as he saw the three Chihuahua’s out of the corner of his eye.

Ander was the first to sit down, and he motioned for Eric to do the same which the boy did after a while, neither spoke as they just sat there, Ander in the same spot he had been ever since he came here and Eric in the same chair Hayden had been in, the dogs at his feet keeping their eyes on Ander as he thought of how to proceed.

Hayden had told Ander that Eric wouldn’t remember much if anything at all, and she made sure to give him an idea of what to say to keep it that way. Ander didn’t want to anger her or worse still her dogs which he would admit only to himself are one of the few things that he truly fears.

“I feel like I’ve seen you before” Eric said, his voice shocking Ander out of his thoughts, remembering not to give anything away Ander carefully worded what he would say, but out of instinct his right hand raised to summon Vilandia, an action that got him several flashes of red, “My bus came in a few hours ago. I had been searching for you for a while, and a few weeks ago I finally found you and I began planning to come here to meet you” Ander said in one rushed breath while his eyes kept darting from the boy before him and the dogs that lay at his feet which had been glaring at him like they begged him to use the hand he had raised.

“Bus? The bus stop at the park?” Eric thought aloud, Ander holding his breath as the boy spoke, he knew that should he figure something out then Hayden would interfere again, “Yeah, it was a long ride but I had to see you after all the stories I’ve heard from our mother” Ander saw the dogs lift their heads again when he mentioned their mother, “So our mother is off limits” he thought.

“Why?” Ander heard Eric ask, the boy looking serious all of a sudden, “Why?” Ander repeated the question. Eric stood up suddenly, “Why didn’t she come here with you? Why did she leave me? Why was I abandoned?” Eric exclaimed, the boy was trying to hold back tears but he failed as they ran down his cheeks. Ander didn’t know how to respond but before he could even try and say something, anything Eric ran out of the room and back to his and Drew’s room.

Drew went after his friend when he ran past him while Hayden walked calmly back into the living room, “You didn’t think he wouldn’t ask you that did you” the woman began, her voice stating the fact and not asking the question, “Even if I wasn’t here to protect him you would have had a hard time convincing him to go with you. He’s been through too much and he hasn’t had many people he could blame for it all until now, because when he saw you and heard you try to explain he pushed the blame of everything that’s happened to him onto you and your mother” She finished as she stood before him.

Eric lay face down on his bed, his face hidden in his pillow which muffled the sounds of his crying. Drew stood next to the bed, he knew that his friend didn’t like being touched when he hurt but he couldn’t stop himself anymore as his hand moved until it rested on his back, “It’s okay, You don’t have to be okay right now, so just let it all out… I promise I won’t tell anybody that you did” Drew said softly, his voice betraying his emotions.

Drew stayed with Eric as he cried, the boy not once moving his hand for fear that his friend might shake him off, “Thank you” he heard whispered softly as he sat there, the sound of Eric’s crying gone now as the boy just laid there while his friend stayed by his side. Hayden was the first to check in on the two, she could only smile when she peeked into the room and saw the two boys asleep in each other’s arms, Drew held Eric close to him. Eric looked the calmest she had ever seen him as his friend held him in his embrace; she knew all about Drew and the crush he had, but she didn’t mind because it wasn’t for her to mind, she wasn’t there to judge them and if the boy helped Eric then she would make sure that no one else judged them either.

Closing the door Hayden looked down at Shadow who laid next to it, “Keep an eye on them for me, I have to go help our guest settle in” the woman said before walking off, the little dog following her with its eyes until she rounded the corner.

Ander waited for Hayden in the living room, the young man still a little shocked at the outburst of his younger brother, “He’ll come around, so you’ll just have to settle in and wait for him to come to terms with you, after all, he thought that he didn’t have a family all his life so having one all of a sudden could be a bit overwhelming” Hayden said while she pulled him into a hug, the action causing Ander to go rigid because it wasn’t something he was used to