“Whoo! See, it wasn’t so bad!” Elias brags, marveling at his own skills. For his first tine, he did a pretty good job of driving that van. He drove as close to the trains as possible, while also trying to keep the van hidden. It is property of the New Order and they will notice it immediately.

He looks over at Aria and Evritt, who look suspended in time. “We’re here,” he urges. It wasn’t that bad.

Aria blinks slowly,” We are alive?” her grey eyes look wildly at him before glancing at Evritt. Elias nods, feeling a bit offended.

Evritt and Aria scramble for the door. Practically shoving each other out of the vehicle. Elias jumps out of the other side, annoyed at their behaviour.

He sighs,” Come on. I couldn’t have been that bad.” Evritt straightens up but then runs over to a patch of bushes and heaves. Well… that answers that.

Aria groans, disoriented. “Um, Elias. We will stick to finding other forms of transportation from now on. You will not drive another vehicle.”

~

Luc frowns, seeing the man saunter towards him. something about him just doesn’t sit right with him. He looks so smug. His golden eyes narrow at him and he offers a smirk.

“And you are?” he asks, his accent thick. Surveying the man in front of him, he already senses that this man should not be here. He has a very acrid scent. It is like he has been dunked in a tub of blood. Which is highly possible.

“I am Luc. You were summoned by my superior,” Luc answers, trying to hold back a growl. He really doesn’t like this man. He can’t even explain it but he doesn’t like him at all.

The man scoffs, looking down at him,” Kuvon.” His golden eyes spark as he flashes a grin at Luc. In response, Luc rolls his eyes and signals for him to follow.

“My superior is waiting for us, pup.” He stalks ahead, leaving Kuvon to growl in annoyance. Pup? He is no pup. He follows as they enter the building. The wide corridor only leads to one place: the main office. They walk past the front desk and then stop at a pair of large doors. Luc looks into a screen, letting it scan his red eye and then waits on the clear. Kuvon looks around, failing to hide his awe at the architecture. He hasn’t been in an official building before, so this is all new to him.

Kuvon turns his attention back to the man Luc. There is just something not right with him. “So, what position do you hold?” he asks.

A smirk grows on Luc’s face. “I am, as some would say, the General’s mutt. I am like his advisor. I make sure his choices… benefit the whole of Allanus. Specifically, Faerin.”

“Interesting. I’ve never seen a salgri as… interesting as you are,” Kuvon sneers.

Luc shrugs, trying to hold back,” Let’s just say I’m a different breed, augim.” Before Kuvon could retort, the doors swing open, revealing a room with light tan walls. Sitting at the desk is a man with glowing red eyes. Immediately, Kuvon tenses. This is the second person who has had red eyes.

“Sir,” Luc bows, pushing Kuvon to do the same. Kuvon growls at him, his gold eyes glowing in annoyance.

“Do not touch me,” he snaps. Luc only grins, his own body tensing. His red eyes darken, and the veins look ghastly against his grey skin. Kuvon really just wants to slap thar grin off of his face.

“Luc, we must be pleasant with our guests,” the man smiles, the fangs in his mouth surprising Kuvon. He knows that faireborne don’t have fangs.

Luc coughs,” My apologies. This is Kuvon, kivdiner and merc. He will be tracking our prisoner.” Kuvon examines the man as he listens. His skin is a pale grey with dark, making him look like a ghoul. His red eyes are wide and his hair was sleeked back, making him look pristine. He looks a bit buff, different from Luc, who is more on the leaner side.

Kuvon nods, his eyes seeing the dollar signs. If he can catch this prisoner, he will definitely be living more comfortably. “I am highly effective in executing my job,” he brags, not even offering a bow. Luc scoffs at the blatant disrespect but says nothing.

Luc’s superior stands, adjusting his jacket. “I am General Dorius of Irion. I must say that you seem promising, Kuvon.” Kuvon grins widely, flashing his fangs. Of course, he’s promising. Kuvon has never failed a hunt.

“Thank you, sir. Who is my target?” he asks.

General Dorius sighs,” A few weeks ago, a prisoner had escaped from the Citadel. The only one to survive was Luc.”

How convenient… Kuvon thinks as he listens. A prisoner? He heard mention that he will be catching a prisoner but are they really just sending him to catch some escaped fool? And for that weird man to be the only one to survive is interesting all on its own. However, he just needs to collect his bag.

“That is just awful. How dangerous is this prisoner?” he asks.

General Dorius chuckles,” She is pretty dangerous. She needs to be detained and returned to us unharmed.” He hands an orb to him as he explains,” here is her file and her last known sighting.”

Kuvon nods, taking the orb and dropping it to the ground. The lights flash from the orb and the image of the prisoner takes to a screen. Kuvon surveys the face of the prisoner. Her eyes seem to glow, and her curls fall all around her face, almost locked together. Her wide nose fits with her full lips and her face is a bit round but she somehow manages to have a sharp jaw.

Luc narrows his eyes, not liking how close Kuvon is examining the prisoner, so he interrupts,” I will be accompanying you on this mission. Think of us as partners.” Luc watches in glee as Kuvon’s expression darkens. His ears perk before lowering as he glares at him.

“I do not need you to watch over me like I’m your pet,” he snarls. Luc grins.

He steps up to him, running a hand through his black hair,” Well, deal with it… augim.” Kuvon’s growl stays in his throat and he chooses to ignore the man. They have to work together? That is the most idiotic idea anyone has ever had. In all the summers he has lived, he has never met someone he’s wanted to kill so much.

“So, she was last seen at the trams, heading for the Arch in Logi. We will head them off there and then hopefully with no surprises we will have her in custody,” Luc explains, ignoring the dark glare on Kuvon’s face.

Kuvon nods, taking a deep breath,” Yes. We set out for Logi later in the evening. If she has been spotted with others then we need to tread carefully so we don’t cause unnecessary problems for ourselves.”

Luc agrees and they both turn to leave the office.

“Just to let you know, augim. I don’t like you.” Luc calmly states as they leave the building.

Kuvon glances at him from the corner of his eye. “Feelings mutual. I don’t trust anything you say at the moment.”

~

“You’ve never been on a tram, right? How did you like it?” Evritt asks. He looks up at Aria, who is enthralled by the Arch looming in the air. She doesn’t answer his question, but instead looks with wide eyes at the structure that is literally shaped as an arch.

Glancing down at Evritt, she blinks, registering his attention on her.” I apologize, what was your question?”

Chuckling, Evritt repeats his question. “It was interesting. Too many people were staring at me like I was an exhibit.”

Elias scoffs,” Because we are. Three underaged children traveling without a guardian is means for suspicion. Especially in upper end areas like Logi.” He goes on to explain,” Whenever, we are traveling, we must be accompanied by a registered guardian. It’s supposed to help lower the number of kidnappings in Faerin. However, once you get towards the underground district of Ofien, it’s a bit more difficult. Especially with the mercs and the shared border with Yalgnar.” Aria nods, kind of understanding, but not really. Then she furrows her brows.

“Wait, I’m not underage,” she protests. She crosses her arms at Elias, offended. Sure she tends to look for her age, but she did not go through everything she has been through just for her next obstacle to be an age limit!

Elias adjusts his bag, raising an eyebrow. “Um, of course you are. The age limit is 21. I’m 18. Pretty sure you can’t be any older than me.” He huffs. She may be taller than him (not by much of course) but it’s doubtful that she is older than him. even with her sharp jaw, she just has that youthful look in her almond eyes.

She smirks,” Well, I am 21 years of age, Elias. Please remember that.” Elias’s eyes widen and he shuffles his feet, embarrassed at his hubris.

“Anyways, you’re not registered as our guardian, so let’s hurry this up and not look like we stand out too much.” He turns and begins to lead them towards the Arch. Evritt and Aria glance at each other before shrugging and following. Elias is definitely seems to have more of a plan than either of them.

As they get closer, Aria begins asking questions. More than they have ever heard her speak since meeting her. “So, how do people walk in this building?”

“Is there some form of mechanism that helps this structure hold its shape?”

“Why is it shaped like that?”

Evritt is enjoying the onslaught of questions because she has never really spoken a lot unless prompted. He answers each question as best as possible, excitedly.

Elias, on the other hand, feels like he has two younger siblings instead of one. He is used to hearing Evritt speak and ask a number of unimportant questions all the time, but hearing them from Aria is strange and he does not know if he should react normally or let her have her fun.

They reach the entrance of the building and as they enter, Aria’s eyes widen at the interior. Everything is leek and it just looks so new and smooth. She has never seen anything like it.

Elias’s expression becomes a bit more serious and he glances at Aria,” I’ll be right back. Watch Evritt.” She nods and watches as he heads for the older man sitting at the desk.

She turns back to where Evritt should be and sighs,” Um, what is Elias…? Evritt?” the spot where he was is empty! She inwardly panics, her eyes widening. How does one lose a ten-year old child?! She looks everywhere, keeping her ears perked for his sound. She turns to the elevator and sees him walking towards it as if he was sneaking away. She hurries to his side, quickly grabbing hold of his wrist before he could get on and then she scoffs,” You left me! Your brother told me to watch you and I literally almost failed.”

Evritt chuckles,” I was just going to look around. Plus, I’m 10. Not a child.” Aria cocks her head to the side confused. She never had much of a childhood, but she is sure that a normal 10 year old boy is considered a child.”

Aria rolls her eyes and just drags him towards Elias. Who seems to be arguing with the elder man. “Look, I just had a couple of questions and I know you can answer because you work here. Please?”

The man looks gruntled, his brown eyes looking as tired as the rest of him. He snaps,” Well, go on then. Ask your questions!”

“Have you heard of Sien and Koal Prium?” he asks, hopeful.

The man raises an eyebrow, watching him. Aria notices the flicker of recognition in his eyes, before it disappears. “Sure have. Researchers, right. They were sniffing around here a few weeks ago but haven’t checked in for a while. We have them on file though since this is a research center.”

“What does this place research?” Elias asks, almost leaping onto the desk, before being tugged back by Aria. Now she hold both of them. Just to make sure they don’t get kicked out.

The man coughs,” None of your young business. Now I’ve answered your question. Get and go find your guardian before I call the Civics on ya.” He goes back to mumbling, looking at his book. Leaving Elias and Evritt with more questions than answers.