The twinkling of the stars and the subtle moonlight illuminated the sky by the time Varna and Yura returned as they spotted Viktor sitting by the living room sofa, with a cup of coffee in his hands. “Took you both long enough!” he boomed, chuckling to himself as he noticed Varna’s annoyed expression.

Audible fighting was heard in the distance as Yura found Elais in the kitchen preparing iced tea and juice, running over to him the moment she spotted him as she hummed an upbeat tune to herself.

Elais looked down as he noticed her now dirt stained dress and unkempt hair. “Did you have fun today?”

She giggled in response. “I had a lot of fun. I wished you were there, though.”

His eyes widened slightly in response. His presence was generally unwanted, her words bringing him some peculiar yet familiar warmth. “Then I’m glad,” he said, his eyes softened as he petted her head, fixing some of her unruly hair.

He picked up the vague scent of blood on her clothes, immediately scanning her for any sign of injury. “Did you injure yourself by any chance?”

She nodded with a tad too much enthusiasm to his short-lived concern. “I fell over when Viktor made us race him. Varna patched me up with her magic, though.”

Elais exhaled in relief. “I see. Clean yourself up before you go to bed,” he responded.

He handed over her glass of juice which she took with her as she ascended the stairs into her room, watching as she took each step.

Elais walked over into the living room with iced tea for himself and Varna that he placed on their respective spots at the table. “Were there any issues with her powers today?” he inquired, noticing that they seemed rather playful upon arriving into his home.

“None, thankfully. She took it like a champ,” Viktor grinned, his tail thumping on the sofa. “That means she can proceed to learn with safety.”

“I do believe that at this point in time, her emotions are still some form of trigger for the powers,” Varna commented, stirring her iced tea. “Were you able to find anything else so far?”

Elais shook his head. “If it’s a new form of magic, I know nothing of it. Yet, if it’s older magic as you theorised, it doesn’t line up with her situation since she doesn’t seem to have any clear rune marks on her.” He ran a hand up his hair. “Yet for her protection ward to work in older spells, the bearer would also have rune marks. It’d take forever to find a matching set if she had one.”

“It definitely isn’t new magic. If anything it might not be magic at all,” Varna interjected. “I’ll look further into it in the academy’s archives for more theories.”

Viktor looked over at Elais with curiosity. “You know, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you fired up for anything, if ever, really.” He took a sip from his coffee, finishing it in one gulp. “I’m happy to not see you moping around for once in that bathroom for once. The house doesn’t smell as rusty either, which is fantastic.”

Elais crossed his arms. “It’s the same for you. You’re back to your old self.”

Viktor looked down at his cup, twirling with it as it hung on the tip of his pointer finger. “It’s thanks to her that I feel as if I can actually move on.” He placed the cup back down on the table, and warmly smiled at Elais. “Thank you for this. It was very thoughtful.”

“It’s nothing,” Elais replied, avoiding his gaze.

Varna smiled at the boys interacting as she finished her iced tea. “So what direction should we take for the time being, with her powers that is.”

Elais paused briefly, contemplating their options. However, there wasn’t much to ponder.

“I believe all we can do now is wait and observe it when it happens, as we have been. At the very least, we’ve been able to make some findings on our own,” He responded, shifting in his seat. He still couldn’t understand how she could have been related to his peculiar case of immortality. With the growing complications of her powers, he noted that it wasn’t an impossible theory. If things were to follow similarly in his case, he feared for her safety, with their lack of knowledge of the cults and clarity of their goal. At the very least, he didn’t have to shoulder it alone anymore.

“I do agree. I just hope that harm doesn’t come her way in the process since we don’t know how the magic will develop,” Varna said as she crossed her legs.

Elais responded with concern as he noted her words, as there was truth behind them.

Viktor hummed as he shifted in his seat. “You know what, Elais. You’ve grown soft.”

“I most certainly have not,” Elais huffed, glaring back at him.

The twins chuckled as they gave each other a mutual cheeky look, their laughter resounding into the stillness of the night.

***

The rapid flicking of pages came to a halt, proceeded by the ringing of the ping of a needle dropped on the ground. Bits of thread laid everywhere, and the thumping of a heavy object echoed in the dark room. The flicking of the switches resounded, as the screens switched from reddish-brown colours to black, the buzzing of electricity humming throughout the room.

“Looks like things are going well after all.”