Jhades. POV

On the morning of the same day, Jhades narrowed down his eyes in a bad temper. He rarely spoke more than he should and when he did, it was to blurt out cheeky remarks or complaints. Because he was so bothered by the brightness, he wrapped himself between the sheets and mumbled between his thin, pale lips the following words, "Why does there have to be brightness when I can see perfectly well in the dark?"

After hearing and feeling his teacher stretch, he remembered that the time to return to the house had come and it was time to see mother and father. With a little more motivation, he slipped between the bed sheets and, after dressing, went out as he always did. Katherine usually didn't get up until later: she intended to meditate on the day before getting moving.

Jhades walked fast, motivated to get home to see his parents. He thought that if he was the first to arrive, he would be celebrated. He also thought there was no point in wasting time talking to his siblings, none of them would benefit him at all. Already, as he crossed the trees and peered out into the brightness of the path, he was forced to stop abruptly and within seconds preferred to join the shadows around the path. Not because he felt threatened by the brightness, but because he felt safer from his brother Rey, who along the road was walking and he had spotted. "So that's the Of-Bastador of the family. A beast without a collar capable of unleashing his aggression against anyone who provokes him."

To the blue-eyed vampire, Rey had the same way of looking and walking as the elders of the pack. Individuals who walked without apertures, perhaps because they were always fighting for survival, not an aggressive beast in the face of anyone. To Jhades, his brother didn't fit the descriptions, but he also had no reason to doubt the words of his teacher, who particularly looked happy every time he got the news that Rey had done something wrong.

On the other hand, it was true that the intimidating expression in the hybrid's eyes made words of his mentor come to Jhades' memory. If one could speak of cautious, the little vampire was the most cautious of the three brothers and the one who made the least unnecessary efforts. Of course, fighting a "troublesome" brother, as his mentor called him, would not be smart at all. "Her eyes have an edge, you can see arrogance and pride, as Katherine says. I understand why she feels the need to kill him in the initiation process. But what kind of environment does it take to give birth to such an arrogant person? How is it possible that he suddenly has so much knowledge and greater fighting ability than mine? If he knows he's going to die, why is he still here?" he wondered, intrigued, to add a cynical comment. "I don't think I can kill him and keep the credit ."

...

In the middle of the road, between the Ever-Changing Forest and the house of those present, stood the Great Wise Wizard; he was reinspecting the depth shown in Rey's eyes. He had another opinion of the matter, totally different from those that Jhades or Dante might have taken. The place was Paradise, the only place of the three planes where the currents of time flowed abnormally and already Rey, in particular, had eaten of the fruit of knowledge. The old man had no doubt that one more night would be enough for the little one without a surname to figure out how to control something that no one should: the flow of time.

The Great Wise Wizard, ignoring the presence of Jhades and Dante, gave a half smile with which he illuminated the wrinkles on his face to return the greeting that Rey had given him. The old man's eyes still saw someone arrogant and haughty.

Slightly taller than Jhades, unlike his brothers, Rey had long hair as if it had been left unkempt. He also carried sharper and more suspicious eyes. He left most of his body exposed and wore only the black-striped white furs of one of the Paradise guardians.

To be specific, Rey was covered in the fur of White's father. How? That's a good question. The feline that was missing a fang and on the first night died by Rey's hands, now lived inside Rey, therefore, Rey, using his skills acquired from his mother, could summon the furs of the feline. Although only summoning the skins of a being was but the hints of an incomplete skill, but it was not long before he could fully resurrect him.

Rey, with sharp eyes full of haughtiness, said:

"Long time no see" he said after receiving a greeting and inspecting the old man, who was acting so suspiciously. Rey remembered that the Great Wise Wizard appeared whenever a problem needed to be solved and, as he appeared in front of him, perhaps the problem was him. The Great Wise Wizard said.

"You never cease to amaze me...the last time we spoke and you left, despite my second warning, I didn't expect you to still be here, but the resilience you showed over the next few nights were not what I expected. Keeping yourself living is a problem when you still refuse to "act normal" in front of others... You cling to behaving like an arrogant and haughty being to remain in control when you are the only one who is rational. Precisely because you are distrustful, you don't make it so easy for someone else to end your life. I have to make you vulnerable and unstable so that, in your collapse, you might be worth something...", thought the one who then said aloud as he turned and marched in the opposite direction:

"Come with me, there is an urgent matter of which you must be aware. Jhades, Dante, you too. Don't stay behind..."

The two brothers, realizing that they had been noticed and that mention of their names by the Great Wise Wizard aroused no reaction in Rey, approached, but, as a precaution, they made sure to take their furry companions with them. If by chance a fight broke out, it is always better to have the advantage of not fighting alone. They had the same liguer cubs that their masters had sought out for them, as soon as they learned that Rey had one.

The two felines were both males of the species, but their coats suffered from the absence of grooming and washing. As if they did not know the behavior of grooming themselves because they had not learned it from their parents, or they suffered from some disease. Both looked at each other as if they were always hot, stinky, dirty, hyperactive eyes turning to their owners as if suffering from the anxiety of being left behind at any moment.

Down the trail, the three little ones walked in silence. Neither Rey nor Jhades made a sound in their footsteps, unlike Dante, who walked as if he wanted to shake the earth with every step.

"What would be an ideal topic of conversation to be a leader?" wondered the wolf cub.

Dante, about to launch into a sarcastic comment, was interrupted by Ehimus' shrill voice. As soon as they encountered the elf, the three little ones stopped.

The Grand Wizard kept walking while the green elf spoke in a jocular tone:

"Doesn't it feel good to be back!" she said while acting as one who was trying to break the tension in the atmosphere. It was fine with her that three normal kids were jumping around, playing and fighting with each other, but not that they were so serious and quiet.

"You're telling me!" replied Dante almost shouting.

With his voice turned on full blast, he sounded as if he wanted to intimidate the others and, referring also to the feline accompanying him, he continued:

"Mijan's training made me invincible."

Diverting his gaze, he saw his prey; what better way did Dante have to stand out than by putting his other brother underneath him? So he didn't hold back from asking:

"Did you fare better...Jhades?"

Rey, silent, merely studied his red-eyed brother's demeanor as he spoke. Dante, standing with one foot in front and one behind, tightened his lips with more pronounced breath. Fiercely he glanced sideways and flicked his ears, when the odd noise out of the ordinary made itself known. His hands were active; over-expressive, barely closing and opening as he gestured. Among those present, the heart that could be heard the most was that of the wolf cub. Rey thought his brother didn't notice, but he was expressing a body language crammed with inner fears, constantly growing fears, forced to transform into fury and aggression.

Jhades, the smallest in stature among the three, was forced to respond:

"If no one has offended you, why are you shouting so much?" refusing to be left intimate.

As soon as Jhades answered Dante's question, Rey changed the direction of his gaze. Though it was few words in response, the micro-expressions on the vampire's part were not lost on the young hybrid's sharp white eyes.

Face defeated, posture discouraged, the vampire seemed to be despising his life in order not to threaten the one who questioned him. Few words preceded a sepulchral silence from someone whose image was impeccable and who perfectly managed his efforts, making the whole conversation uncomfortable for the wolf. Turning his face away, he broke all eye contact; Jhades escaped having the particularity to communicate how upset he was. Calm, he breathed who struggled in his own way to have superiority, harboring in his silence a whole abyss of insecurity repressed by low esteem, not for him, but for all those around him at the moment.

Dante, taking the attribution of changing Rey's name to one that combined the words "bastard" and Of-Bastador, said:

"What about you "Basty"!" again asked the eager voice of the competitive wolverine, who seemed to be searching for something.

Rey kept silent, stared at Dante and then went on to ignore him. But the wolfling himself hadn't realized that he had used an offense to address his brother, and it was the reason why his brother wasn't responding to him. Still, ignoring the silent treatment and being intrigued to see how the furs of a liger made up part of his white-eyed brother's garments, the wolfling decided to be more aggressive in his words:

"Answer me. I had to endure several reprimands from Mijan because on your second night you crossed the boundaries of the place and that caused me discomfort. Even if you keep your silence, of all of us, you are surely the one who has the most to tell. Tell me... Did you try to escape because you know Katherine is going to kill you?"

Ehimus, ignoring the final part of a baseless comment, said:

"Rey, now that I notice, Dante is right... Are your skins from a Paradise guardian? Did you defeat him?" she asked curiously.

Rey, as he heard his name from the elf, responded by projecting himself in a gently serious manner.

"Ah, a long story..."

After pausing, he turned his gaze to the curious elf, who reminded him so much of Edith.

"The furs that cover my body are a symbol of a victory that I will never be able to forgive myself. They belong to a noble animal that gave me everything I now have. His flesh, his blood, his bones, his own residence, his offspring and a second chance for me to go on living."