Wyn was no stranger to seeing people die, especially beastkins. The harsh realities of the world had taught her not to sympathize with others.
Instead, she showed them the same cold-hearted attitude that the rest of the world displayed toward her race. It was easier for her to see herself as the strong one who had managed to survive and everyone else as the weaker, even if those others had a higher status or power.
I could see the suppressed hurt in Wyn's eyes as she said those words. The same hurt I saw in my own reflection every day. I could also see Ravus' pain as he tried to hide behind his anger.
Ravus sat back down and rubbed his temples.
"Sorry, sorry. I just get a little frustrated sometimes. It's hard living life knowing there isn't anything I can do to help, especially when it comes to you two. I can't change the past, I know. But I just feel useless otherwise." His voice trailed off, and he buried his face in his hands.
Wyn placed her hand on his shoulder. "It's alright. Just keep being yourself. You're better than any of those weaklings I've met. Even if you can't be as perfect as my beloved, you're still a good friend. Don't you worry your brainy little head about anything anymore; let's just listen to his story; not every day we get this glorious opportunity."
Ravus smiled slightly at the compliment. "Thank you, Wyn."
Then he turned his attention back at me and said, "Fine, please finish your story."
"Okay." I exhaled heavily. "I had always counted my days, wondering if there would be a time I would be the next to be sold off, but strangely it never came. I grew up being taught that the way to survive in life is to always think about how you might die tomorrow. And if you thought about death often enough, eventually you'd realize it was inevitable and accept it as fact."
"That sounds depressing," Ravus said.
"Yes. It was. For some reason, however, I found myself looking forward to leaving the orphanage. I wanted to see the outside world. To explore and experience new places."
I took a deep breath and continued.
"One day, while walking down the hall, I overheard the nuns talking. There had recently been a fire in one of their mines. A group of children had died because of it."
Ravus' expression went cold.
"Yeah, it's as you thought. People will do whatever it takes to make money. Those poor children were treated like nothing more than animals. No different from pigs or chickens. They didn't have a chance."
"Your only family sent there didn't survive, did he?"
"Aiden," I began slowly.
"Huh?" They both asked simultaneously.
"His name was Aiden. He was the closest I had to a family. Also, a body was never recovered after the mine fire. The bodies of all the other orphans were burned beyond recognition, but Aiden's body wasn't among them. So we assume he must have survived somehow. I was dealing with a lot of unaccounted emotions at the time that I had subconsciously suppressed all of that in my mind."
"Let me guess, that's when your ability awakened." Ravus guessed.
"Yeah."
"Why are you telling us this now?"
"Because...because..." I sighed deeply.
I couldn't explain why. Maybe I just needed to tell someone what happened. Who knows?
"He appeared in my dreams one night," I explained. "And after that moment, I realized what had always felt wrong about everything in my life. That something was missing. I finally knew what I had lost and why I drifted down this path of the entertainment industry."
The room fell silent except for the sound of the wind blowing through the open window.
"You don't have to say anything," Ravus said softly.
"No," I replied. "I want to talk about this. It's important to me."
They nodded silently.
"So, anyway," I continued. "If I couldn't find him through any of the usual methods, then I decided to take matters into my own hands."
"By being a game show host?" Ravus asked sarcastically.
"Y—"
"I thought you came up with all these for the money and fame that came along with it."
"Oh no, those are real," I chuckled. "But yes, they're great perks too!"
"Alright, so our boss and best friend, who rules in the entertainment industry, has tons of cash at his disposal, fans who worship him like gods, connections that could get him anything he wants, and an endless stream of women who throw themselves at him every single day..."
Hiss!
Wyn sneered at him. "Women don't throw themselves at him! Not on my watch. So are you done yet?!"
"No." Ravus looked away from her. Then he turned back to me. "...every single day he had subconsciously been using his fame, hoping one day Aiden would come to him on his own accord."
He summed it up perfectly. I hadn't really thought much about it until he said it out loud. But yeah, that's exactly right.
"What else?" He raised an eyebrow.
"What else?" I repeated.
"This is the first time you've actually opened up to us about this, isn't it? You've always been the happy-go-lucky guy who smiles and laughs and doesn't seem to care about anything. Yet here you are, sitting here with us, crying and telling us how sad and lonely you've been before you met us."
It stung a little bit, but I couldn't deny that he was right.
"I'm not crying, jerk ass," I muttered.
"Whatever. What else do you know about your brother? Do you even remember what he looks like?"
"Of course I do. He was tall for an eight-year-old. Very cute. Red hair. Green eyes. Fair skin. He was also very athletic. We used to call him 'the beast' because he was constantly wrestling with anyone or anything who dared pick on us."
"Beast?" Ravus scoffed. "You guys seriously named him after a fucking animal?"
"Hey!" Wyn protested. "That's not bad if you think about what beastkins in our clan call each other! I think it's a pretty cool nickname!"
Ravage glared at her. "That's different, and you're not helping."
She rolled her eyes. "Fine. Whatever." She huffed and crossed her arms.
I continued on as if she'd never spoken.
"That was a nickname given to him by other orphans, and he hated it. So naturally, we all took to calling him that. To be fair, it was more endearing than the others."
"Okay, so he's a red head with green eyes, fair skin, and a cute face. Does he look like a red-headed guy with green eyes or a guy with ginger hair? Because if he does, that narrows things down quite a bit."
"Ugh," I groaned. "It was striking red. Like fire. But also kind of a dark crimson. Sorta like wine."
"Yeah, okay, so he probably didn't look like that," Ravus interrupted.
I sighed. "No, he did. That's the point."
"Right. Okay. So maybe he had freckles? Maybe he was a bit taller than you? Maybe he wasn't as strong?"
"No, he was stronger than me."
"Hmm... maybe he was stronger because of an awakened ability?"
"No."
"How about you try thinking outside the box? If he has a unique trait, wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that someone with a unique trait would stand out from the rest?"
"Maybe," I conceded reluctantly. "I guess you have a good point there."
Ravus smiled. "Good; once we're back at our lodging quaters, I'll run an analysis through my database to see what comes up."
I nodded. "Thank you. For everything."
He shrugged. "Don't mention it. Now, all that's left is to figure out which one of us pays for our drinks and food tonight. Cause you sure aren't doing it."
I laughed and shook my head. "Nah, I'll take care of it."
"We'll take the rest to go!!" Wyn yelled excitedly.
Whoosh!
Everything froze. The room stopped spinning around us, the air grew quiet, and the world went still. But for some reason, Ravus, Wyn, and I were not frozen in place.
Wyn's pupils growled dangerously. Her lips curled into a snarl, revealing teeth that glinted wickedly in the light of the moon streaming through the windows.
A low rumbling echoed in her chest. It sounded like a lioness, ready to pounce upon its prey.
"Something's coming," she said, her voice dripping with menace.