Aidyn was looking for a distraction — and luckily, he had plenty of options.

First and foremost, the newest addition to their group.

Aidyn liked Jared. He did. Admittedly, they hadn't met on the best of terms, what with Aidyn trying to get Ari back, keep everyone safe as they ran for their lives, and find time to apologize to Ari for inadvertently getting her arrested by leading them all into that village to begin with. So by the time they were finally able to relax, Aidyn had definitely exceeded his stress quota for the day.

And then Jared falling out of a tree on top of him in the dark woods as Kei was telling scary stories did not help.

But aside from that, the screaming, and the debate over a campfire that lasted way too long... yeah. He liked Jared.

Unfortunately, Jared wasn't here. Neither were Kei and Ari. Aidyn was once again trudging through the jungle alone, something he didn't enjoy any more now than he had two weeks ago when he'd first set off from the Voc.

Distraction, he ordered himself as he climbed over a fallen tree. Literally anything else.

Okay. The little voice is his head paused. Flowers?

What? No.

Roses, daisies, orchids...

Orchids, fantastic. Something else.

Like how you're about to —

Nope. Nevermind.

Was it kinda sad that he was restless enough to have an argument with himself? Yeah, probably. It happened occasionally.

Shoving vines away, Aidyn took the bracelet out of his pocket and slipped it on, hardly noticing as he did so. He'd been messing with it a lot lately, so much that he was worried the paint would rub off. But it was the last thing he had of Damon, and it wasn't a habit he thought would be beneficial to stop.

And before Aidyn could prevent it, his thoughts were circling back to that night, almost as if being alone had given his doors silent permission to unlock and overwhelm him. His destination wasn't helping matters, either.

It didn't feel right. Nothing about this situation felt right. Aidyn had known Damon for ten years — he'd been Aidyn's escape from home, and in return, Aidyn had kept the bullies away. They'd braved the discrimination and hardships of their town together.

And now all that was gone, just because some trigger-happy humans found Damon before Aidyn had found them.

He'd gotten downstairs and crept into the kitchen to find the three humans standing there, blocking Damon from view with guns at the ready. Two of them exchanged a subtle high five behind the other's back. The third was giving orders to search the house.

Then they split up, and Aidyn got a clear took at his best friend lying face down on the wooden floor, shards of that stupid porcelain vase he'd wanted scattered like jagged snow. There was blood on the ground. He wasn't breathing.

Aidyn didn't remember much after that.

Something else. Anything else. Surely you can come up with one thing to think about that isn't depressing.

He stopped, examining his surroundings for inspiration. Lots of trees and ferns. A river roared somewhere in the distance. The ground was sloping slightly downhill. Honestly, it looked almost exactly like the rest of the jungle. The only difference: Aidyn recognized this part. He knew where he was, and more importantly, where he was going.

Why was he alone?

It all started with a tree.

The morning after the campfire, they'd headed out again, Kei steering them towards the east side of Altiu and Tercy's grave. At least, that's where they hoped they were headed. At the campfire last night, Kei had given them a brief rundown on who Tercy Cess was — a rana with some suspected ties to the sources. That, along with the obvious red circles on the coast, made that a pretty appealing destination.

On the way, Jared found a tree. Which, in and of itself, wasn't that surprising, but what was on the tree was interesting. The bark was covered in carved initials, like one of those couples trees where you profess your undying love for each other before breaking up and attempting to scratch it out months later. Aidyn, along with Kei and Ari, had come over to see, and he'd immediately caught sight of a messily carved: AM/DN. The realization felt like a slap in the face.

Aidyn knew that tree.

When Kei had told them earlier that morning that they were on the east side, close to New Earth, Aidyn's first thought was great! They were almost done. If he could get everyone through this safely, they could go back home, out of danger.

He'd failed to consider what else was on the east side of Altiu, close to New Earth — most importantly, Aidyn's hometown.

Which was where he was headed right now.

Aidyn had been fairly secretive with why he was leaving, which probably wasn't the best idea. He'd gotten a lot of confused looks (and a request for a soda from Kei), but what else was he supposed to do? They'd just gotten supplies, so he couldn't use that excuse. The real story was out of the question. The best he'd been able to come up with was that they were out of money and he knew a way to get more.

Did Kei, Ari, and Jared deserve a proper explanation? Probably. But Aidyn couldn't bring himself to give them one.

Eventually, the ground leveled out and he arrived at an outcropping of sorts, overlooking a large cluster of buildings. The slope was too steep to navigate safely, but about thirty seconds of walking revealed a concrete staircase set into the hillside, leading directly to the only village entrance.

Giving himself a few seconds to make sure his whip was safely hidden under his jacket (no way was he making the same mistake as last time), Aidyn started down the steps, nearly falling to his death because he'd forgotten one of them was loose.

What a great start.

Miraculously, Aidyn reached the entrance in one piece. The two guards stationed in front of the arched entrance were deep in conversation, but it died as one caught sight of him and nudged the other.

"Can we help you?" the nudging one asked, his dark eyes immediately surveying the scales covering Aidyn's arms. His tone made it very clear he did not want to be of any help whatsoever.

"I live here."

Not totally a lie. Officially, he was still living with his mom and dad, close to the center of town. Unofficially, he'd left three years ago for the Voc and never looked back.

The dark-skinned guard made a non-commital noise, still looking Aidyn up and down as if he could x-ray people with his eyes. "Last name?"

Aidyn suppressed a sigh. "Anwir."

Another half truth. That was his dad's last name, which, as some hibri tended to do, Aidyn had always refused to go by. He'd taken his mom's maiden name and practically dared anyone to challenge it. After a while, no one did.

"Sounds legit enough." The other guard, a woman with short red hair, crossed her arms, staring at the other guy with a bored expression. "Just let him through, Alvaro. If he ends up murdering a few patrias, so what."

Alvaro sighed, stepping aside and eyeing Aidyn suspiciously. "Don't murder anyone."

"Won't be a problem." Without allowing himself a second thought, Aidyn shouldered through the entrance and started down the street.

He hoped the others were okay. He was only planning on being gone for a couple hours at most, but he didn't like the thought of them being anywhere near this town. If they got caught... Aidyn really didn't want to think about it.

"Okay," he muttered to himself, shoving his hands in his pockets and avoiding eye contact with the angui and fabri crowding the streets. "One step at a time."

The patria sector, the one closest to the wall, was just as dangerous for people like him as the human one was. The patrias were the last to get anything — food, supplies, good housing. The richest of them probably had enough money to put food on the table every night and nothing to spare afterwards. It was dirty, the concrete was cracking, and several of the shops and houses looked minutes away from collapsing. Aidyn had no doubt they'd all leave if they could, but nighttime was crawling with predators. The wall meant safety from getting eaten, even if you weren't eating either.

Hibri, on the other hand, got to live closer to the center, whether their human parents stuck around or not. It wasn't for any noble reason — just an attempt to convert the impressionable kids that humans were generous and good, and that hibri were lucky to share human DNA. As a result, hibri were seen as privileged by most patrias. It wasn't rare that jealousy turned to violence.

Which meant Aidyn made sure he could easily access his weapon should trouble arise.

Now might be a good time to think about what the hell you're about to do, he thought, catching a young anguis staring at him from the doorstep of a crumbling home. Aidyn glanced back at the sidewalk and had a mini heart attack as a rat scurried across his path. Well okay, maybe not now. Later.

Yeah. Later sounded good.

A raindrop splashed onto his forehead, and he glanced up, glaring at the dark grey sky. If it starts raining, I swear to all the moons...

Knowing his luck, it definitely would. Probably at the most inconvenient time possible.

Luckily, no one bothered him as he made his way towards the center of town, eventually arriving at a wrought iron fence. Past it, the colors were a little brighter, the streets a little cleaner. There were also street signs, though everything was written in the human language. Still, Aidyn recognized the shapes, even if he didn't know what they said.

After two more guards, several questions, and a couple of threats this time, Aidyn was through. This time, he let his muscle memory take over, watching as patrias hurried past, hibri kids sticking close and gazing at the few humans with a mix of awe and distrust in their eyes. He saw an anguis hibri huddling in front of an alley, one leg a snake trunk, the other dark and very human. Aidyn felt a pang of sympathy, but there was nothing he could do. That was the thing with hibri — having kids with creatures that weren't technically human had its consequences. Aidyn, Damon, Birk, Dalia... they were the lucky ones. They were able to function properly, live a full life if nothing else interfered. Others, not so much.

Eventually, he broke away from the main street, counting the pastel-colored houses and searching for Mrs. Kana's orchids. She was always growing them, somehow, no matter what season it was.

Eventually, Aidyn found it. A small grey-blue house with a wooden fence surrounding the grassy lawn, the windows filled with pots of purple and white orchids. A gravel path led up to the porch.

Just get it over with, he told himself as he crossed the street, stopping in front of the gate and staring at the front door. Just step inside and tell them.

Aidyn put his hand on the gate, but he couldn't bring himself to push it open. Something was rooting him to the ground, making it hard to breathe.

He was scared.

The reason Aidyn was here, the reason he had ditched the others with the barest of excuses and walked for half an hour to get to a place he never wanted to come back to... he was keeping a promise.

It had seemed unnecessary at the time. Damon had been drunk, and he was talking about what could happen to them in the Voc, and that if something were to ever go wrong — permanently wrong — Aidyn had to promise him that he'd come back and tell Damon's mom. And of course he'd promised, but at the same time swore to himself he'd never have to keep it.

Obviously, he had failed in that regard. So, he owed it to Damon to see this through.

But Aidyn was terrified of Kana's reaction. He was about to knock on her door and say that her only son was dead. Aidyn was the sole reason Damon had joined in the first place, and he was the one who survived. It was his fault it happened, and there wasn't a doubt in his mind that Kana would realize that.

Aidyn's grip tightened on the gate. He didn't want to get kicked out of his second home too.

This isn't about you. You promised him, and then you left him dead on the floor of a human's house. The least you can do is honor your word.

He didn't really have any other choice.

Taking a shaky breath, Aidyn shoved the gate open and crunched across the gravel path, climbing the steps to the porch as rain started pattering against the roof. Before he could stop himself, he was knocking on the door, forcing himself to stand still as he ran the beads of his bracelet between his fingers.

The few seconds before the door opened were agonizing. Aidyn was just wondering if they were actually home when the door swung inward, and a short caela stood in the doorway, staring at him like he'd dropped out of the sky.

He shifted awkwardly. "Hi — "

"AIDYN!" She pulled him into a hug, wrapping her red wings around him like a blanket. "Oh my moons, you're okay! You're so tall!" She pulled away and looked him over, her deep black eyes searching his. "Damon told me you'd come by, but I wasn't sure..." She frowned, concern flooding her soft brown face. "What's wrong?"

His response was instinctual. "Nothing."

Wrong answer, idiot.

Kana gave him a look that said don't even try it and grabbed his hand, dragging him through the door. "Come in. I'll make us some hot chocolate and we can talk. You have three years to catch me up on."

Aidyn blinked in surprise, trying not to trip over the doorstep. "You have hot chocolate?"

Kana let go, smiling slyly as she shut the door behind him. "I thought you'd like that. Caron managed to get me a new job as the personal healer for some human family. I don't enjoy it, but it pays as well as someone like me can get paid, I suppose."

She led him down the hall, decorated in the same floral wallpaper as when Aidyn had left. He stopped, staring at a picture hanging from the wall. It was an eleven year old Damon, grinning with Kana's hand on his shoulder, and a large ripped section right beside him. In that spot was another photo — a blonde, golden-eyed anguis.

"How is Caron, anyway?" Aidyn asked, grateful for the distraction. He wasn't ready to deliver the news yet.

"Oh, he's just fine." The clanging of pots sounded from around the corner. "Out getting groceries at the moment. He misses you two, you know."

Aidyn nodded, not sure how to respond, before realizing Kana couldn't see him.

Caron had stepped into the role of Damon's stepfather when they were twelve, after Kana found out her husband had been cheating on her. Despite being human, Damon's father had never hated hibri, and that was something Aidyn had always admired about him — right up until he proved to be a garbage human being in other ways.

"You coming?" Kana called from the kitchen. "I thought I was making hot chocolate for two."

"Yeah..." Aidyn took one last look at the picture, realizing that was probably the last he'd ever see of Damon. "Yeah, I'm coming."

The Nakoa family kitchen was small, a gas stove pressed against the wall and a fridge beside that. A wooden counter wrapped around the room, acting as the only barrier between it and the sparse living room. Kana was turning up the heat, fire bursting under a saucepan as Aidyn slid onto a stool by the counter. She dusted off her hands and turned, her smile looking so much like Damon's it hurt.

"Well, while we wait for that..." She leaned on her forearms across the counter, watching Aidyn with her warm dark gaze. "What's going on?"

This was it. That was his cue to tell her how badly he'd messed up. Just two words.

So why was it so hard?

Anger flooded Aidyn's chest, making it hard to breathe. He'd promised, and he was too much of a coward to step up and do it. It didn't matter if Kana hated him afterwards, or if she never wanted to see him again. It didn't matter if he lost the person who'd been more like a parent to him than both of his.

Aidyn would lose it all if it meant Damon was happy. Even if Damon would never know.

So, he took a deep breath, stared at the counter, and forced the words out. "Something... something happened."

There was a long pause before Kana spoke, her voice shaking ever so slightly. "It's Damon, isn't it. That's why you're alone."

All he could do was nod.

Another short pause. "Is — " Her voice broke. "Is he alive?"

Aidyn squeezed his eyes shut, trying to shove his emotions away for later, after the screaming and throwing things, but it wasn't working. He was still angry, scared, and grieving, and no matter how many distractions Kei, Ari, and Jared had given him, those feelings had never gone away. They were overwhelming, and he didn't know what to do.

Apparently, Aidyn didn't need to answer. A sob broke the silence, and suddenly, someone's hand was on his arm. Before he knew what he was doing, Aidyn flinched away, his walls sliding up, only to find Damon's mother standing beside him, crying, her arm still partially outstretched.

And slowly, Aidyn let her pull him into a hug.

He didn't know how long they stayed there, and Aidyn might've started crying at some point. He wasn't sure. But by the time Kana pulled away, he just felt numb. Rain was pounding on the rooftops now, providing some white noise for him to focus on as he tried to piece his composure back together. It wasn't working terribly well.

Kana wiped her eyes, pulling a stool out from the counter and sitting down. Her voice was unsteady as she asked, "Are you okay?"

The question was so absurd, Aidyn almost laughed. Sure, he was perfectly fine. Fucking fantastic.

"I'm sorry," he said instead, still unable to meet her eyes. "I didn't get there in time, I just... I thought he'd be okay — "

"Aidyn. Look at me."

He did. Kana's voice was stern, but her eyes were filled with tears. "You are not responsible. I don't know what happened, but I know you would've saved him if you could — " Her voice broke, and she put her face in her hands, shaking. Aidyn knew he should probably do something, but he wasn't sure what. Before he could figure it out, Kana had composed herself. "Stay here. I have something to give you. Then, you tell me what happened. Okay?"

Aidyn didn't trust himself to speak. He nodded instead, and Kana slipped off her stool, disappearing down a hallway at the far end of the room. She was gone for a while, and Aidyn took the time to breathe and listen to the rain, trying to convince himself that it'd be okay. Kana didn't hate him. And if she did, she was great at hiding it.

Damon's mom returned a few minutes later, a folded piece of paper clutched in her hand. Calmly, she turned off the stove and slid the paper towards him. "Damon told me to give you that when you came by. He wouldn't tell me why, but..."

Something didn't quite sit right as Aidyn grabbed the note, debating whether to read it now or not. He didn't understand when Damon could've come back here without him knowing, or why he had to write a letter instead of just telling Aidyn whatever it was.

Aidyn also didn't want to break down again, but if it was going to happen, better in front of Mrs. Kana than his friends.

Finally, his curiosity won out. He flipped it open.

Hey Addy.

If you're reading this, that means you decided to keep your promise. Thanks for that. And yeah, Lyla told me what happened. Which is why I'm writing in the first place.

I guess I owe you an explanation. Or at least, the best one I can give, since I'm still not totally sure what happened. All I know is you went upstairs, and I went to check the sitting room, hoping for a desk or something. Found nothing, but I did grab that really nice vase, cause I figured it would brighten up Mom and Caron's place a bit. Made my way through the kitchen and heard footsteps. I was heading back to warn you when they got me.

I got lucky. They must've hit me at the highest setting, cuz I woke up feeling like I'd been dead for a week. If I'd been any other hibri, I probably would be. But you know, us caeli are tough. We don't go down easily.

Beyond that, I have no idea. All I remember is waking up who-knows-how-long after and seeing two of the officers dead. I searched the house, but you were gone. I thought something had happened to you, but I had no idea where you were. I figured if you were alive, you'd go back to the base, so I started in that direction and wound up back on the main road, where the protests were. Got arrested for being out past curfew, and by the time I got back to the base, you were gone.

I don't blame you for leaving me. Really, I don't. And I know you'll be blaming yourself, and I also know it'll take a lot to convince you otherwise. But Aidyn, I want you to know that I chose to come to the Voc with you because I wanted to be with my best friend, and nothing that happens could ever make me regret that decision. Not even this.

Ryne's worried about security, so we're heading up to the Almoons Festival. It's on the northeast side, right before the mountains. She won't tell us more than that, but you can probably get a more detailed answer from just about anyone else.

We'll be there for a few days. Come find us. I'm worried about you.

With love and seriously come back before Ryne personally finds you and beats your ass,

Damon.

｡･ﾟﾟ･｡

There was a lot of swearing. Loud, varied swearing. Mostly directed at himself, Ryne, and the universe in general.

Mrs. Kana bore it well. She continued to make hot chocolate as Aidyn paced her living room, trying to process what the hell just happened. After reading the note (with Aidyn's permission), she told him Damon and the other Voc members had passed close by a couple days ago. She'd thought he died afterwards and that Aidyn had come back to tell her.

He couldn't believe this. Six goddamn tides, what had he been thinking? Of all the stupid things he'd done in his life, this had to be at the top.

It was so moons-damned infuriating, it was almost funny.

"If you're going to pace around my carpet, at least take your shoes off," Kana ordered, walking over and setting a steaming mug on the side table. Aidyn sighed and flopped onto the couch, grabbing a pillow and burying his face in it.

Suddenly, another sickening realization struck him.

He'd killed those two men for nothing.

If anything could make him feel worse, that was it.

"What did I do?" he muttered for the thousandth time, but the words were almost indecipherable through the pillow.

Kana passed by, ruffling his hair before walking back into the kitchen. "It'll be okay. We both know my son can't hold a grudge very well."

"It's more than that." Aidyn slid the pillow off, staring at the ceiling as the last of his shock wore off and anger once again replaced the numbness. "I've successfully dragged three innocent people into danger with me, and none of them had any idea what they were walking into. If one of them gets hurt or — or worse... how am I supposed to make up for that?"

A small "hmm" was her only answer.

After another few minutes of silence and rainfall, Aidyn was very aware that he'd been gone a while. It was still pouring, and the others were probably stuck in it. He should get back, if only for the sole reason that he was finding it impossible to sit still.

Damon was alive. Damon was alive and out there.

And Aidyn had an obligation he couldn't abandon.

Tossing the pillow behind him, Aidyn sat up and took a sip of hot chocolate. It was good, but he was having trouble focusing on it. "I should go. I've got to get back to my friends."

"Leaving so soon?" Kana smiled, but she looked sad. "It's pouring outside."

"Yeah, I know. Sorry about... you know, all this."

"It's okay. I'm proud of you, Aidyn. I'm glad you told me."

He nodded, not sure how to respond.

Kana clapped, radiating the same determined cheerfulness that Damon did. "Well, if you're leaving, I have some things to give you."

The first thing was money — enough to last them a couple weeks at least, even though Aidyn had never mentioned their lack of currency. He tried to convince her to keep it, but she threatened to give him more if he didn't shut up and take it.

The second thing was another hug. After making him promise to visit again or else, Kana let him go, and before he knew it, Aidyn was sloshing down the street, the rainwater several inches deep already and coming down hard. He made sure Damon's note was tucked away in his jacket before setting off towards the jungle.

On the way, he bought Kei her soda. 

｡･ﾟﾟ･｡

*distant cackling* tHAT'S RIGHT BITCHES HE WAS ALIVE THE WHOOOOLE TIME HOW'S THAT FOR A PLOT TWIST

Anyway! Merry day-after-Christmas, if you celebrate, and thank you for reading chapter nineteen! Also thanks to SilverBeams for writing it! We have some exciting announcements, so keep on reading...

First off: the aforementioned SilverBeams has at long-awaited last completed drawing official art of all eight main characters! So we now! Have official art of all main characters! Which shall be posted when Almoons hits 5K reads! Are you excited? We hope you're excited! You really should be excited!

(This has now been posted, near the beginning of the book. Go check it out if you haven't already. It is fabulous.)

Second off: remember our six-month anniversary, back in mid-November? We claimed we had some exciting content for you coming in our spam book, and then were like "lol no spoilers sorry." Well... we actually weren't shitting you! And now the spoilers have been canonically spoiled! So if you haven't already, PLEASE go add our spam/extras book, Six Tides, to your libraries, and expect some bonus oneshots coming soon! And by soon, we mean in a literal half hour! A oneshot will be posted at 11:30 EST! We're that cool!

(Yes it's out now go read it.) (Yes there's more out now go read that too.)

Third off: there's actually not a third announcement, but we'll take this as a moment to remind you that we desperately want Almoons content! Fanfics! Fanart! Fanedits! Fancovers! Other creative endeavors with the word "fan" slapped on them! PM us if you want details. Thank you, kind Almonds!

With virtual hugs, purple Google features, and secret sources,

Gay Fan Children

(G.F.C.)