Tough Families

Althea was reprimanded about destroying things inside the base. The day her brother showed up, she destroyed Daniel's door which earned her an earful from the base's commander, and then, during her trips to the gym, she had destroyed a few sandbags and weights which should've been impossible since they were reinforced to handle wielders who were stronger than regular soldiers.

She also accidentally broke a soldier's leg during a practice match so Daniel also told her off about it.

Percy thought it was weird of her. He knew Althea was level-headed and nonchalant most of the times, but after the visit of two soldiers from the British Royal Air Force, she had been acting weirdly aggressive and out of control. As the leader of Zero Squad, where she was newly part of, it was his job to maintain discipline among his subordinates.

He found her sitting under a talisay tree on a beach outside the base. She was finally allowed to roam around Tabogon, but she had to wear the watch at all times. It was also with the watch's help that he was able to find her.

She was just sitting under the shade of the tree, watching the sea. On her lap were her wolf pup and fox cub, asleep. On a side note, Percy still couldn't believe he two were relics. He had never encountered a relic that had the forms of animals.

"Hey." he greeted and sat next to her.

Althea looked at Percy skeptically. She could never read the guy and he was pretty good at reading people. And honestly? She was still a little confused why Akeras chose him as her wielder. He did not look powerful in particular, but there was something different about him, but she never really had the chance to check.

She shook her head out of such thoughts and proceeded to greet him.

"Lt. Col. Ahstein!" she said and attempted to salute. She ended up doing it sloppily since she could never get their saluted right. She couldn't help but compare it to the one in Siela, the one there was just simple but definitely held impact.

But then again, she was in a different world.

"At ease Special Officer. You can be casual since it's our break and we're outside the base."

"Really? Okay then."

Percy had to stifle a brief chuckle before reverting back to his stoic expression.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I'm trying to cool my head. Your brother told me I've been getting too hot-headed and frustrated lately. That's why he allowed me out of the base without supervision."

"It's not like you're completely unsupervised." Percy commented nonchalantly.

"Yeah, you're right." Percy saw her brush the black watch on her left wrist. "What do you want with me?"

"I want to know what's going on with you."

"Really?"

Percy just nodded and petted the sleeping wolf pup. He remembered his pet dog at that. Unfortunately, it was already dead but he loved the dog very much. The time it died was probably the last time he ever shed tears.

"By the way Percy, how is that guy? The one that I broke the leg of?"

He noted that she sounded worried. "He's fine. Dr. Cabigas and Dr. Orquez said he had already recovered."

"Oh, that's good then."

"They said it was because of that medicine you left to him when he was still asleep."

Althea only pursed her lips. She still felt guilty about breaking the leg of the soldier. That day, she was really angry and before she knew it, the soldier was already on the ground, his leg bent in an odd angle.

"Is it because your brother?" Althea looked at Percy skeptically yet again, like asking how he knew it. "Unlike you, my own brother dotes on me and can easily spill the beans when it's me that's asking."

"Spill the beans? I don't understand… I-"

"It means he can't keep a secret from me."

"Oh, I see."

"Are you still pissed off about your brother?" Percy asked.

"A little. We were never really close."

"Can you tell me?"

Althea stared at him again. She did not like it when she couldn't read him, but she felt like she could trust the candidate Akeras chose for her. Just like 'him'. She shook her head and proceeded to tell him the story.

"Alexis and I are twins. We were the prized children of the Stanley Family, a prominent family of combat mages. I was the eldest."

"But you-"

'Your last name's not Stanley.' Percy wanted to say but he stopped himself and motioned for her to continue.

"Unfortunately, when we were seven, Alexis discovered his magic potential and he was powerful for his age. Meanwhile, I didn't. The Stanley's put magical potential and strength more, so he was chosen as my father's successor and was considered a prodigy." Althea scoffed in distaste. "They gave him all the attention and it gave him a big head, so…"

"What happened to you?"

"Me? I was discarded. I did not show sign of awakening a magic potential so they just let me be and focused on my brother. One day, when we were ten, we set out on our first expedition…"

Althea could still remember that incident as clear as day.

Since she had no magic potential, she still vowed to protect her younger brother so she focused on learning and improving her martial arts instead, and luckily she excelled at it. But since she had the blood of a mage in her veins, she could not wield a relic and had no other choice but to use regular swords as her weapons.

When they were ten, they tagged along on an expedition to the woods. It was their first trip and it was also the first time they encountered a warden. Althea believed her brother since she was great at magic, but the younger brother she trusted and loved froze in fear.

She understood that since they were only children and decided to protect him. But she did not expect for her own younger twin bother to be rotten to the core. He used her as bait so he could run away.

'Is this the end for me?' Althea thought as she laid at the mercy of the warden. Her left arm was gone, as well as her left leg. She could also barely see since her left eye was pierced by the warden a while ago.

Althea had lost hope, but…

"It was that time I activated my powers for the first time." she told Percy with a sad smile on her face. "I made the warden explode with my magic, teleported myself in who knows where and luckily survived."

"How did you even survive?" Percy asked a little surprised at her back story.

"Through the help of someone. I'll tell you later. Anyway, Alexis wasn't even guilty of my death and when I showed up in front of him five years later, he was really surprised. What's more, I was more powerful than him. It's the reason I have a different last name, in respect to the man that saved me and raised me, Jatha Niadgel."

"And your family, the Stanley's?"

"They tried to get rid of me, but grandfather was an archduke, they could do nil." she sighed. "I hated my brother ever since then. If he only regretted and showed remorse even at my apparent death, I wouldn't have been angry at him, but he made it look like it was my destiny to die that day and blamed me for being weak."

Percy couldn't help but scoff in amusement. "I guess we're the same in that regard. We have a tough family."

"I guess so."