Seiko rubbed his shoulder as he pouted to himself, looking away from them into the trees. Though apologetic as Talya was for being the second person that week to impale Seiko with a thrown sword, she couldn’t quite take her stunned gaze from him.

“So it wasn’t Xan?” She asked, completely baffled.

“Not unless he’s still alive,” Kito said, leaning back onto his hands and sighing.

“And that would be difficult since I saw his body crumble to dust,” Katy said.

“So there’s a Necromancer with comparable skill to Xan just running around out there?” Talya looked between them, “No wonder you came to pick me up.”

Kito observed her for a moment, “Actually,” He said quietly, “That isn’t why we came for you.”

Talya’s brows rose, slightly warping the thin scar that crossed her left eye, “There’s something worse?”

“Potentially,” Seiko added, finally looking back up, “For all we know it could even be connected.”

“It’s about dad,” Kito said, his gaze locking onto his sister’s.

Talya remained quiet, though her jaw was set. She was waiting for them to continue.

Kito paused a moment before continuing, “Apparently, he’s disappeared. He hasn’t been seen in a while, which wouldn’t be cause for much worry in and of itself, but…”

“Let me guess,” Talya’s voice was a little shaky, “He was fighting something.”

“Yeah, that’s what we were told.”

“Any idea what it is?”

“We have a few theories,” Katy leaned forward, “Nothing concrete. All we really know is that the energy signature was like nothing the folks examining it had ever seen before.”

“Guess it only makes sense they’d give you this mission,” Talya said, sitting up a little straighter with a deep breath.

“I can see their reasoning, yeah,” Kito said softly, “But you know I want you in on this.”

“Do you think Rin will want in on it too?” Talya’s eyes rose, meeting Kito’s.

“He will, but he’s undercover, as you know. He’ll join us when he can.”

“Rin?” Seiko asked, red eyes darting from Kito to Talya.

“Their big brother,” Katy said quietly, shooting Seiko a smile.

Kito and Talya looked at each other for a long moment.

“Are we going to the capital to find transport?” Talya asked, something new in her voice. It was clear she already knew the answer.

“We are,” Kito said, his voice still as soft as his smile.

“Then I’ll hand in my notice when we get there. I had some time off coming up anyway.”

Kito stood, “It’ll be good to have you, sis.”

“You can tell me all about your plans in the morning,” Talya said, stretching, “I’ll help you set up camp here, but I’m exhausted. That rogue mage was a pain.”

Seiko and Katy stood and nodded to Talya, then to each other, moving off to get the camp set up. Kito was about to walk away when Talya spoke again, a little softer than before.

“Are your powers coming back, Kito?” She asked.

“Somewhat,” Kito answered honestly, “It’s slow-going but it’s happening.”

“Are you sure you’re prepared for this?”

Kito was silent for a moment, then, “Flip the question. If I asked you the same, what would you say?”

Talya nodded, satisfied with that answer and Kito walked to the edge of the cliff. He could have sworn he had sensed something while they were all talking. It was still nagging at his senses, like something just on the edge of his periphery. He couldn’t quite place it, and whenever he tried to grasp it, it would slip through his fingers. It was an incredibly frustrating experience, and he knew he’d felt it before.

During the war, Xan’s army had rivalled the alliance not only due to numbers but due to how organised his forces were as well. Xan’s special stealth force was renowned for being able to conceal their presence to a terrifying degree. They were able to slip past alliance forces with ease, penetrate the most secure facilities and fortresses. The most successful and decorated task force among them became known as many things. The knife from the abyss. The death in the night, the face of darkness. Eventually, however, they ended up simply going by Le Masque Noir. Kito frowned to himself. It had been a decade since he’d crossed paths with any members of the Masque, and the concealment of magical power obviously wasn’t an exclusive ability... He was probably just worrying over nothing.

Seiko dropped a pile of wood onto the springy, mossy ground as Katy dusted her hands off, looking contentedly at the tent she had assembled. “You brought one big enough for three.” Talya smiled, wiping her large claymore down.

“I don’t sleep anymore,” Seiko said, clicking his fingers and setting the dry wood alight in flame, “So that turned out for the best.”

Talya raised an eyebrow, “When was the last time you saw me sleeping in the same room as someone else?”

“You make a good point.” Seiko shrugged, setting up a pan to make some soup.

“It was just in case,” Katy explained, falling onto the soft ground, “Never know, you could have been injured. We’d have needed a space to take care of that, right?”

“That makes sense,” Talya nodded, the metal sheets of her armour clinking together as she sat near the fire, “As it stands, I think I’ll manage.”

“If you need a rest I’ll keep watch,” Seiko said softly, stirring the soup, “Might as well make use of not being able to sleep.”

“You know I never did think to ask Xan’s undead generals how life was for them,” Talya mused, leaning back and gazing at Seiko, “You think they also didn’t need to sleep or eat?”

“Go a way to explain why we lost so much ground to them so quickly.” Seiko shrugged.

“Actually that would make sense,” Katy looked up at the stars, “Every siege they laid would be relentless. Constant. The elite teams tasked with hunting us down would always catch up to us, even when our resting time was getting shorter and shorter.”

“Now you have that on your side,” Seiko smiled lightly, “I’m quite the tactical advantage aren’t I?”

“Yeah you’re a real trump card,” Talya snorted a laugh, “Can’t wait to throw you at the enemy and let you run wild.”

“Oi,” Seiko said, dishing them out their soup, “Non-trump cards go to the vanguard. I stay at the back.”

Talya laughed, taking her soup gratefully and digging in.