Another. Another person had highlighted her in their memory. Maybe it was a fear of being perceived, or the thought of someone recognising her for her past, it was enough to send her into a panic.

Saphy noticed Ester's expression and turned to Spiky-hair, studying him, especially his hair.

"Your name is Ezekiel, right?" she said. "I think I remember Instructor Burnad calling it."

"And you're Sapphire...and Ester, right?" He responded, gesturing to both of them.

They both nodded.

"...and I'm Kris." The long-haired boy raised his hand as if his existence was forgotten since the training. Ester greeted him.

"So, what do you want?" Saphy turned back to Ezekiel.

"First." He raised a finger. "I am a noble. The Instructor conveniently left out those with last names, so be honoured you're talking to someone like me."

Saphy frowned.

"...But no one asked you to—"

"SECOND." He raised another finger, looking at Ester. "Do you know why someone such as myself would be interested in you?"

"Because you need friends?" Kris muttered to himself, causing Ezekiel to lose his train of thought.

"It's because you're a mystery." He leaned closer.

The only thing that could be heard was the locking of each carriage before the conductor called for the train to begin moving. With a deep sigh and a cry of the whistle, the train lurched forward on the track over the mountain. Then the tracks stopped, the train being supported by the cables overhead. The transition was nauseating and terrifying. It was only after a few seconds that the train stabilised, prompting a smooth ride through the night sky.

"It's only been the first day..." Ester responded quietly. "How can I already be a mystery?"

"Zeek has been stalking you, because he has no friends," Kris replied.

"Shut it, Kris!" Ezekiel screeched. "It wasn't stalking. I just happened to come across a few things that simply piqued my interest, that's it... and you don't have friends as well."

Kris just scoffed, reached into his coat pocket, and began snacking on some sort of lollipop.

Ezekiel coughed.

"Saying I was only interested in you was a lie. To be honest, I am interested in both of you."

Saphy's face and Ester's turned to disgust, and Kris just put a hand to his forehead.

"I-I mean I would like it if we could enter each other's good graces, that's all!" He threw his hands up.

"...You mean friends?" Saphy asked sarcastically.

He frantically nodded.

Ester and Saphy looked at each other, then back at the hopeless noble. Saphy gave an expression as if to say he's definitely up to something. Ester just sighed. She turned back to the boy sat next to her.

"...And you?" she asked him.

Kris just shrugged, keeping his head down on the table as he held the lollipop in his mouth.

"It doesn't matter to me," he said in a flat, quiet voice. "I'm just here to make sure he doesn't make a fool out of himself."

Saphy scoffed, and Ezekiel looked like he was about to protest.

"...However, friends doesn't seem all that bad."

It didn't take a genius to know who was the more mature person between the both of them.

"Wait, so you guys haven't made any friends so far?" Saphy asked rather enthusiastically.

"Well..." Ezekiel began.

"Every time he'd open his big mouth, all the other Starless would avoid us like the plague."

"DAMMIT KRIS!" Ezekiel stood up in frustration, ears red. "I told you, they couldn't handle our combined aura!"

Kris, who was seemingly used to his outbursts, waved him off. Saphy just laughed. It seemed like she was already warming up to them. Ester, however, who found herself half-smiling at their banter, was still apprehensive.

"What made you curious of us?" Ester's question was directed at Ezekiel.

He folded his arms again and closed his eyes, as if in deep thought, or a show. It could have been either. It could've been both.

"The way you showed up to the induction assembly...how dirty and disheveled you looked. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought you were just another one of the impoverished."

Saphy winced, and Ester saw it. Even Kris, who lightly began stimming, tapped his leg on the floor. Ezekiel tapped his finger on the table.

"But then you lifted that huge boulder. Out of all the Starless who did the stone lift, you were one of the only three that attempted and lifted that size...Are you a Pure Synch? Did you use Flo?"

Ester didn't even know how she did it. The only thing she wanted in that moment was the stone off the ground. She felt her ears ring, but as soon as it was off the ground, the ringing stopped and she was forced to wrestle the weight for thirty seconds.

"...I don't know how to use Flo."

He studied her face before silently nodding.

"Good thing we should be getting lessons the coming week. Seeing as though you're both on that weird kid's radar."

Saphy leaned forward, closer to Ezekiel, his face turning brighter.

"You mean Geire?"

"I-I felt the change in the air as I was heading back. I guess so did Instructor Burnad. The kid is dangerous."

They both didn't need a reminder.

Ezekiel looked around, then smiled, his voice a whisper. "Fortunately, he's not the only one."

If he was expecting Saphy and Ester to be in awe, it was cut short by Kris.

"He's lying. He can barely manipulate Flo before getting headaches and nosebleeds."

Ezekiel took that as a challenge. Sitting back in the seat, he concentrated. His eyes closed and he became still. Ester and Saphy exchanged worried glances, and Kris just sighed. Without opening his eyes, Ezekiel lifted his finger and pointed at the window to a part of the cloudy sky which turned darker in the distance. Thunder could be heard. Then, a lightning strike.

The train car held its breath for a second, the only sound the steady hum of the haulage cable and the wind outside. Then, Ezekiel's finger dropped. He slumped back, breathing hard against the leather, a sheen of sweat on his forehead. A single drop of blood welled at the edge of his right nostril before tracing a path down his lip.

He wiped it away with the back of his hand, a triumphant grin splitting his face. "What were you saying?"

Kris just looked at him with shock in his eyes. "You could barely change a cloud the last time..."

"I've been doing some mental training," Ezekiel said, a glint in his eyes.

Saphy's earlier expression had vanished, replaced by a look of intense curiosity. "You...you actually did that? You summoned lightning?"

"Influenced it." Ezekiel corrected. "Sure, some high-level Synchs could create lightning out of thin air, but the amount of stamina and concentration conjuring lightning takes is what makes it one of the hardest elements to conjure. Whereas, manipulating clouds to produce lightning..." He took a deep stretch. "Much easier...well, for me."

All they could manage was tiny rounds of applause as he basked in the glory.

Ester stared. She'd never seen someone manipulate Flo so deliberately before. Was this what she could do if she learned control? Or was Ezekiel just naturally gifted?

"Is clothing and picking up a rock and having altercations all it takes for someone to be a mystery?" Ester, who had been quiet for a while, spoke up.

Still slumping, he didn't look at her.

"You can also read. I saw you with a hefty book going back to your dorm earlier. Contrary to how you looked on arrival. So if you can read, and you have somewhat experience with Flo, yet you appeared unkempt the first day, the question is," he looked at her, "who are you really?"

Ester pursed her lips. He was deceptively smart. Anything she said would either solidify his thoughts or make her look more guilty.

It was then a deep whistle left the train.

"Ten minutes till the train arrives at the Capital," Lin Hua appeared, passing through the carriages.

After a few awkward silences, something moved under the table. Ezekiel yelped, jumping in his seat and cursing under his breath. Kris's foot retreated subtly, his expression innocent.

"You know what?" Ezekiel said, wincing slightly and rubbing his shin. "I don't care as much. All that matters is that we're all friends."

Ester cocked her head, trying to figure out what just happened and how he reached that conclusion.

"And as friends, we should play a game!" He turned to Kris. "Do you have the cards?"

Kris reached into his pockets and fished out a pack of playing cards, before shuffling it and placing it in the middle.

"You pick the card which is the smallest, and you have to reveal something about yourself," Ezekiel said, sitting up.

"...You're a weird noble," Saphy concluded, picking a card from the pile. So did Kris, so did Ezekiel, and reluctantly, so did Ester. They showed each other. Three, four, seven, eight. Ezekiel got three. He threw his hands to the back of his head and sighed.

"I...am from the proud Barak family. The son of Ezekiel the Second. The Great Ezekiel the Third."

Saphy and Ester's eyes lit up as the realisation slowly dawned on them. Everyone in Geneeva knew about them.

"...You're part of the Great Families," Ester answered him. "One of the richest..."

His eyes shone with pride upon the recognition of his lineage.

"That's right." He puffed his chest.

Saphy bit her lip.

"Are we playing again?" Kris asked, already reaching for the next card. Saphy followed, and then Ezekiel, and finally Ester. Four, five, seven, ten. Saphy got the lowest number.

"Tell us, tell us, tell us!" Ezekiel chanted. Saphy was in deep thought before something popped in her head.

"I'm the oldest sibling in my family," she whispered.

"Oh?" Ezekiel inquired. "Younger siblings?" She nodded, but she never elaborated. Her eyes fixed on the pile of cards.

"Next—" Before they could, a deep whistle left the train.

"The train is about to arrive at the Capital, everyone!" Lin Hua's voice could be heard carrying throughout the train.

"Right!" Ezekiel said, getting up. "Come on, gang!"

Kris piled the cards back into the box and slipped it back into his pockets. He looked at the two before attempting a soft smile. "He's not as bad as he appears." He slipped from the seat and followed his friend, leaving Saphy and Ester alone.

"...What just happened?" Ester muttered.

"I have no idea," Saphy rubbed her head.

"Saphy...how many people do you think know about the Capital Incident?"

Saphy shifted uncomfortably, as if trying to dodge the question.

"Ester. I don't think you truly understand what you did. It's like you put into place a war between Synchrites and Regulars."

"I know." Ester groaned, putting her head on the table. "What am I going to do?"

Saphy took one more look outside before getting up.

"For starters, you can stop looking so damn guilty...even though you are...you know what I mean. Now come on!"

Ester looked out the window. Through the falling snow, she could just make out the capital's spires emerging from the darkness. Somewhere down there was the execution platform. The dungeon. The Church.

Saphy was right. She needed to stop looking guilty.

She just wasn't sure if that was possible.