"Ahaha, look who's coming! The gangly wannabe resting bitch face. Talk about the devil, I say!" Brie laughed, showing her pointed canine teeth. She had put her arms around Blitz like a dangerous tiger and monopolized him. The corner of Romeo's mouth twitched slightly, but as always; he kept his wooden face.
"Brie, it's rude to talk like that. Apologize." said the smallest of the three gently and freed himself from the grip to push his sister in front of him towards Romeo. Brie grumbled and crossed her arms over her breastplate. The cold dark metal contrasted sharply with her light skin. A slight haze settled on the smooth surface because of the warmth emanating from her arms. The black-haired teenager threw her head to the left and loudly "hmpfed" before she wanted to step back again. Romeo was able to understand her dismissive attitude. He was the one who had prevented her from seeing her only family member back then, when they found them in the woods. An apology didn't seem to make up for that either. It hurt him a bit. After all, Brie now knew that he hadn't harmed her in any way.
"Big sister, be good and make me happy."
Blitz stayed relaxed and persuaded her with a friendly smile and his bright voice. Romeo's attention returned to him and the feeling of a proud parent erupted in him. It wouldn't take long and the soft pitch would break, turn deeper, and instead of the little boy, a big boy would face him. Romeo wanted to grin. He did it in his mind.
"I'm so sorry Snowflake! Can't help that you don't get muscles. My condolences."
Her very visible sarcastic grin and the over the top bow she carried out was exactly what Romeo awaited. She was never someone who stepped back or beat around the bush. Every word always tried to hit deep and destroyed the dreams of many young man and women. Her beauty was unique in the world. The midnight black hair, bronze eyes and lily-white skin that Brie had were everyone's dream. Romeo, too, was always a bit taken up by it and couldn't help but immerse himself in this strange and disrespectful dream from time to time. It almost felt like the natural course of things. Only until he took his eyes off her, looked at Blitz and was able to think clearly again.
"Brieee, you can't talk like-"
"That's ok, I'm more or less used to her jabbing. She does it every time, remember?" intercepted Romeo his little rescuer and entered the barn in which Blitz fulfilled his evening task. The big black shielah stood majestically there and bravely let the little boy brush it. When it saw Romeo, it snorted once and let the four front hooves one by one hit the floor. Then it lowered its head and nudged Romeo's forehead, happy to see him.
"Are they taking good care of you?" The white-haired mumbled softly and scratched his big happy friend. The shielah replied with a slight nod and moved his butt closer to Blitz, who was standing next to it, smiling.
"Of course, we do. Brie just gave him a red carrot. Later Zephier gets a few sugar cubes and then he is ready to go. You can ride him again at any time."
Blitz' hand got back to work – never minding Brie still sticking to his back – and let the brush slide in large circles around the back of the shielah. The short black fur shone under the bristles like a beautiful gem, almost as much as Romoe's eyes. Anticipation mixed with sadness, because the fact that he could ride Zephier also meant that he had to join the rescue team tomorrow. A quiet sigh left his lips unconsciously.
"Something bothering you?"
A voice rang quietly inside the stable. The youth detached himself from Zephier's head and briefly stopped scratching his strong neck. He looked back at the one who had spoken. Brie was still stuck in her usual position – Blitz's back – and had blissfully closed her eyes. Blitz, meanwhile, stopped moving his hand and looked at Romeo questioningly.
"Why do you ask?"
"You sighed."
"Did I?"
The boy's honey brown eyebrows contracted helplessly and his smile widened.
"Yep, you did."
"Ah, sorry."
Blitz shook his head.
"No need to apologize. Just tell me what exactly is causing the devil problems?"
Romeo cleared his throat and swallowed his laugh. This nonchalant way of using Bries' little insults had developed over the past few years. Maybe it was some kind of reassurance so Brie wouldn't turn her back on her brother in the face of all the reprimands. Although Romeo had the feeling that she would never do it anyway. Said big sister meanwhile grinned broadly and tightened her grip around Blitz' hips.
"So now I'm the devil." he slowly said, listening to how Blitz would react now.
"Oh, don't take it serious it's just a saying. But that doesn't mean you can talk yourself out. Tell me at last, or I'll be standing here, brushing Zephier till the next winter."
As if to confirm it, the shielah grumbled, letting his butt gently bump against the eleven-year-old's body. Romeo's hand slid to his mouth to hide the unstoppable smile. Really, his head would burst if he kept swallowing so many laughs.
"All right, all right. I'm already confessing."
"It's about time." Brie lamented in between and then proceeded pretending to be a slime. Romeo just glanced shortly at her before he started to talk.
"Father gave me the order to join the rescue team for the border forest."
"The rescue team?" Repeated Blitz, slightly shocked. The sound of brushing died down again.
"Yes. That's why I probably won't be at headquarters for a few months."
A feeling of discomfort spread in Romeo after he had spoken this thought out loud. He automatically looked at Blitz again and the discomfort increased. At that moment their eyes met briefly and Romeo tried hard to see what went on behind this facial expression that was directed at him.
"Isn't that far too dangerous?"
Shortly after Blitz asked this question, a relieved and happy "Finally!" came from the sticky slime. Romeo stared at her out of the corner of his eye again and caught the little one gently slapping his sister on the forehead. The white-haired youth was overcome with contentment, but just a second later he reprimanded himself internally. Somehow, he often felt satisfaction when Blitz did something like this for him.
"Sure, it is, but I think I am capable of taking part. My guess is that this is a test from Father. He wants to test whether I'm really as strong as everyone says."
'Or stronger…' The teenager thought and looked at Zephier again, who was now searching the pockets of his coat for treats.
"Who else is taking part?"
"As far as I know Horan. Maybe he can talk to the ghost which is making problems."
"They should have sent him from the start." Said Blitz with a hint of disappointment in his voice. Romeo's ears twitched and he looked questioningly at the boy who seemed to internally call every single adult idiot.
"I agree. They underestimated the problem by far. Even though let's go on. I think Thea will come with us, as she has just returned from the capital. Marshall and Garan are also there. I don't know about others yet."
Romeo pushed Zephier's snout up again. The shielah nibbled happily on another carrot he had fished out of Romeos coat.
"There aren't many suitable people coming with to fight a ghost that lost its mind."
"Do you think so?"
"Yes, for real now! The first squad hasn't returned in 3 months and we haven't had any news since. I know that Father is the information king, but isn't this action too rash?"
The brush had now landed in a small wooden bucket, with all the other cleaning supplies and Blitz had turned entirely to Romeo.
"What if exactly the same thing happens again?"
"I don't think it will." Romeo responded calmly.
His attention quickly went to Zephier, who also turned his head and looked in the direction of Blitz.
"You think, but you don't know." Blitz said sharply, and if it weren't for Zephier's wide neck, Romeo would likely be pierced by those turquoise eyes. Sometimes the white-haired had the feeling that he wasn't talking to a small child. Rather it felt as if he conversed with a centuries-old being which could afford to assess and evaluate everyone at its own convenience. He swallowed and Blitz sighed.
"I'll accompany you."
Surprised, the youth's eyes opened a little wider and then he hesitantly emerged behind the shielah's head and neck. Disbelief was reflected in the cold blue of his eyes.
"What?"
"If Blitz goes, then I'll go too!" Brie opened loudly. She seemed to have come back to life and had raised her arm. She didn't seem to take it too seriously because her carefree posture looked just like at combat practice, when the question "Who wants to fight first?" emerged.
For a slight moment, Romeo caught a nearly invisible twitch at the corner of the boy's mouth in front of him. It was so fleeting that he could have imagined it well and gladly. He buried his fingers in Zephier's mane. His heart was pounding faster than before and a premonition bloomed.