~~~~~~~~
Alek's side
~~~~~~~~
Alek watched them as her cousin's family flew away by Cora, the head of Kan'nazuki. She was beautiful that it took her breath away.
Alek was brought back to reality when she was called by Cora's husband, Walter, called out her name. "Are you alright?" His face and voice were full of concern.
"Yes. It happens a lot of times." Alek told him with a smile. "So, your wife said that she is a peahen. What about you? What are you?" She asked him.
"I am an eagle. As you may be able to guess from my appearance." Walter stretched out his wings to show Alek. "Or maybe not." He said after seeing her confused look. It was easier to show when he shifted wholly.
Alek smiled with awkwardness and looked around the house. "How did you build these houses here? Why is it on the trees? Why is there so many windows?" She busted out whatever she had in her mind to Walter.
"Woah, Woah. Your daughter is something else." Walter laughed and told her parents. "I will answer the questions one by one. So the answer to the first question is by our strength. We are stronger than average humans and most shifters. The second is to avoid humans and get more nature. Some of them believe in 'harpies' and, they have been hunting us for a long time. Up in the trees, it's easier to hide and, it fits our nature." Alek tried to ask another question but, Walter paused her. "The answer to the last question is To get more natural energy. We get more healthy that way."
Alek was now free to ask. "Why does the forest looked and fell dark and cold but when you come up here, it's like a whole new world?" Her words were tangling up and, she didn't know if she was speaking right English.
"The forest you experienced before you came up here is the real forest. We had some help from the witches to make it this way. Even the satellite can not see where we are." Water knew what exactly she was trying to say. "In order to see or come to this place, you need help from our people. Either they bring you here or get an allowance from the head."
"Wah. So if random people come to this forest and climb trees, they wouldn't see you guys?" Alek asked him.
"They wouldn't see us." Walter assured her. "What they would see if they climb up the trees would be just the world or normal forest."
"Oh..." Alek nodded.
Walter chuckled. "Would you like some tea? It's getting cold." He asked the young people in front of him who had not moved to take their tea.
They slowly came to the table, which had drinks. They took their tea close to their parents and stayed a little far from Walter.
"Are witches good or bad?" Alek asked after sipping the tea. "This tastes good." She then mumbled to herself. It was a herb tea that smelled like it contained mixed berry with mint.
"That's a good question." Walter said as he too sipped the tea after shifting his wings back to his hands. "About seventy per cent of witches are good. They are not creatures from books that you may have read." He told Alek.
"Most of the witches in books are bad but, in series drama, they are great and loyal." Alek answered him. "Well, some of the witches in books were nice too."
"It seems you like books." Walter said to her. "So to answer your question, they are good and bad. Some of the witches are on good terms with us but, some of them hate us and everyone because of what we can do."
"Do you eat chicken?" Alek suddenly got curious and asked him with a serious face.
"We, bird-shifters, are vegetarian. As we have chicken-shifters in our group." Walter told her while laughing. "It would be like eating one another and, we do not like that. Also, each one of us can communicate to our own kind as the woman who had white wings, her name is Myra, can communicate with doves. Specifically, white doves. But the leading clan family members can communicate more further. Like I am an eagle so I can surely communicate with them but also any other shifters in my clan."
Alek was fascinated by hearing that.
"And the heads can communicate even further than me." Walter smiled as he remembered about his wife. "She can forcefully communicate with her people and sometimes even out of her kind."
"And how do you mean 'communicate'?" Alek asked.
"It's like a mind link in werewolves, but it's different than that." It was quite hard to explain the difference between a mind link and their way of communication. "You will learn when you learn to communicate. I'm sure your parents are better for explanation."
Alek turned to her parents for a better explanation.
"It's hard to explain it with words, sweetie." Panacea told her daughter. "But maybe your father can teach you. He is a teacher, you know."
"Dad, you are a teacher?!"Alek turned towards her father with a surprised look. Nobody ever told her and, she didn't ask him what his job was. Or maybe she wasn't just listening when he talked about it. "Since when?! What do you teach?!"
"I am a teacher since you were even born," Robin told her with an I-thought-you-knew face. "And I teach shifters how to shift and control them."
"I think my brain just exploded at the moment." Alek closed her eyes and spoke while holding her head. "Wait, then how come you were at work in half a month of August? Isn't the school be closed?"
"Teachers are busy all year, Alek." Robin told her. "I was busy with teaching the now graduates and preparing for the new class. And I also had to go to school trips with them."
"Why don't you guys go to the school dad teaches?" Alek directed her questions towards her siblings next to her.
"Isn't it weird?" Kai said.
"Also, he does not only teaches shifters how to control but also basic education." Bia also said in the same tone as Kai, the duh tone.
"He is a perfect teacher." Alek told her siblings. How could they not learn from their father while he is a great teacher?
Bia and Kai just sighed before continuing to drink the tea.
Alek turned back to her father. "Then how you rich? I heard that teachers don't make a lot of money." This question made Robin choke on the tea he had just served.
"Alek, it's a school for supernaturals." Robin told his daughter, but she didn't seem to understand what he said. "Many of the supernaturals are rich and famous. They know how to get around humans."
"Dad, when you say 'humans', it sounds weird. It sounds as if you are not a human, which is true, but is still weird." Alek told her father with a straight face.
Robin laughed at his daughter's statement and continued. "Anyway, the school is not common, so it requires quite amount of fees."
"And is that why you are rich?" Alek asked.
"Yes." Robin answered while smiling.
"Oh, did Aether go to that school?" She asked. The atmosphere in the room became a little heavy.
"Yes." Robin said as he drank another sip.
Sometimes he would have a dream where Aether is alive and here with every one of his family. But like Alek's dream, whenever he tried to touch his son, he disappeared and, he wakes up, breathing heavily. But that dream is better than what he had when he had lost Aether. He kept on dreaming about the scene with Aether lying in his blood pool with Alek crying over him. The sound of Alek's cry always made him jump awake with goosebumps. But he needed to be strong for his family. And so he managed to look fine on the outside while the inside was shredded into particles on air. And the only person who knew about this was his wife, Panacea.
Panacea also hid her sadness on the face to make her children feel okay. But this made neighbours suspicious. They gossiped about her being the one responsible for her son's death. That she hired a person to kill her son so that she would get pity and attention.
This rumour almost made Panacea commit suicide but, Robin held her back by saying that her other children needed her. She knew how it felt to lose a parent and, she was sure as hell to not make her children go through the same pain as her. Ever since that day, the couple has beared so much until this day.
Walter cracked the heavy atmosphere. "Who wants to explore?"
"Ohh, me!" Alek gulped her drink down and stood up.
"Me too." Pollux joined his cousin.
"Me." Bia stood up.
"Me, but I will explore this place myself." Kai said as he stood up.
"You are welcome to do that." Walter told Kai. "So three of you... Who would like to be carried by the way you were brought here? I don't think I can carry all of you on my back."
"ME!" Alek raised her hand like she was in a class. "I don't want to ride on the back."
"Great." Walter said as he partially shifted into his bird and went to the big entrance that was bringing fresh air into the room. He lowered his boy so that Bia and Rin could be on the back. "Alek, I want you to jump."
This made Alek's eyes wide but, she just nodded.
"You ready?" Walter asked before he and Alek jumped out of the entrance. He caught her in a second and, they were off to explore the Kan'nazuki's forest.