They don't often discuss the events of that rain-soaked afternoon. Partly because its so hard for Claire to remember clearly. She doesn't remember how long she spent on that rainy bridge, screaming until her throat was raw for someone-anyone-to rescue her little brother. Because she knew, she knew she couldn't do it herself.

It had been an act of the Gods, surely, that kept Nathan from been swept completely out of sight. Instead he'd only been washed to the far end of the canal, where his little body was slammed over and over against the metal grate that kept debris from washing into the main part of the canal.

Claire couldn't leave the alley for help, out of fear that he'd be gone when she returned. She had to stay, keeping her eyes locked only on him. But she still screamed. And then, she reached.

It was a struggle to calm her frantic heart, slow her ragged breaths. But if she didn't, a connection to the water would be out of the question. Just like when she'd failed her audition. She had to be calm.

Swallowing the rusty taste of blood that coated her throat, Claire sat on her knees on the bridge and reached both shaking arms towards her brother's rag-doll body-specifically, the water surrounding him. The canal was even more defiant than the dish on the auditorium stage, and it was a great deal more water.

But somehow, she did it.

She lifted the water beneath Nathan, raising his body along with it. She couldn't see if he was breathing, she wasn't sure if this was a rescue or a recovery-but no, Claire ignored those thoughts. She had to. If she let self-doubt take over, the connection would be lost and so would Nathan.

Claire wasn't sure how much time had passed. And while she'd managed to lift Nathan, moving him was another beast entirely. Bubbles like the ones she'd practiced with in the pool at home were one thing, but this was the weight of a person combined with the weight of the water.

Claire was weak. She was weak, and she could feel her grip fading. Tears slipped upward from her eyes, floating like tiny moons around her dark hair.

Not again, was all she could think. Please, don't take another brother.

"I've got you," an unfamiliar male voice called from the opening to the alley. Suddenly the weight was halved. "Don't worry, I've got him. Just help me move him this way."

Claire nodded and pushed Nathan through the air towards the unfamiliar boy.

He looked to be about her age, maybe older? His pretty face was contorted in concentration, but his blonde hair and Avia uniform were pristine. His vibrant blue eyes flicked to hers for a moment. He nodded. "Release."

Claire cut her tenuous connection to the water and gasped in a breath.

The boy caught Nathan's limp body and laid him gently on the ground. He hovered his hand over Nathan's chest and slowly moved upwards to his mouth, where he pulled a thick snake of water from Nathan's lips. "He should be alright now."

Claire scrambled to her feet and rushed to her brother's side. She pulled Nathan into her lap and hugged him close, feeling his heart beat, his lungs expand. His lips were blue, his skin was ice, and he was unconscious, but he was alive. He was alive.

She looked up at the stranger. "Thank you so much."

"I heard your screams from the street, I couldn't just ignore that. I'm glad I got here in time." He smiled. "Professor Donserli should be here soon with police and medics-we didn't know what kind of danger it was, so we thought to play it safe."

Claire was only half listening to what the boy was saying, she was too busy pressing kisses to her brother's sopping curls. She hoped he would wake up soon so she could see his pretty green eyes and apologize for how rude she'd been. If amma hadn't made cake after all, Claire would do it herself as a gift for Nathan.

The boy held out his hand. "I'm Orpheus Trevesse, second year water Elemei at Avia."

Claire blinked in surprise. She knew that name. "Trevesse, like Headmistress Trevesse?"

Orpheus looked down, his ears reddening slightly. "That would be my mother, yes."

"Wow." Claire looked him over, then accepted his hand and shook it. "My grandmother taught at Avia for years-Professor Haima Kishori?"

Orpheus's eyes lit with recognition. "Oh! That would make you um... Kayah, right?"

"Kayah is my cousin." Claire bristled. Perfect, perfect Kayah. "I have my father's last name. I'm Clarity Sable."

The professor Orpheus had mentioned arrived then with medics and officers in tow. Moments later, Nathan was laid on a stretcher and Claire was placed in handcuffs.

"Wait, what's happening here?" Professor Donserli, a gentle looking bald man in his mid-forties, asked.

"Clarity Anika Sable is not in the database as an approved Elemei. She broke the law," an officer spoke calmly.

"Was I supposed to let my brother die then?" Claire snapped.

At the same time, Orpheus looked at her with that pity she despised and asked, "wait, you're not a student?"

Claire looked down and kept silent, biting her cheek.

The officer who'd placed the handcuffs on Claire now regarded her with a shrug. "The law is the law, Miss Sable."

This would not be the only time Claire is arrested over the years, but it was the first and certainly the most unjustified. Yes, it was against the law for an Elemei to use their element without certification from Avia or one of the lesser academies. But surely a situation like this was an exemption?

Apparently not.

Indra had one prison for the entire nation, and it floated on its own skyland off the coast of Komore. Half of the prison was holding and questioning rooms for people who had committed minor crimes- flying a ship without a license, using an element without certification, petty thievery, etc.-Claire was brought to a holding room on that side.

The other half of the prison was much more highly secured. That's where the major criminals were kept. The murderers, the violent heretics. Mostly, Awakening members who'd taken their foolish cause too far. If you wanted to visit someone on that side of the prison, you first had to wade through waist-high paperwork.

The Kishori family had never had any criminals, as far as she knew. Oh, how her cousins were going to mock her. And her mother-Claire didn't want to think of how her amma was going to respond. It wouldn't be pretty, that much was certain.

The holding room was plain. White walls with no windows, a white cot in the corner, a white table with two chairs, a glass of water on the table, a ticking clock on the wall, a harsh marcellic light over head.

They'd removed Claire's handcuffs just before locking her in the room, so while she waited to be told her fate-surely they didn't intend to keep her here? She was only a child after all-she sat at the table and made ripples in the glass of water.

An hour and a half later, the same officer who'd handcuffed her came to the holding room and told Claire she had a guest. Claire's heart jumped into her throat. She wasn't ready to deal with her parents just yet. But then the officer stepped aside and held the door open for Professor Donserli.

The officer closed the door and Professor Donserli took a seat across from Claire. "Hello, Miss Sable. I wanted to have a chat."

"Is my brother okay?" Claire asked. She didn't care to hear whatever lecture or scolding the professor had prepared.

Professor Donserli cleared his throat. "I apologize, I haven't been to see him. I needed to procure the necessary paperwork as quickly as I could, since visiting hours here end at sundown."

Claire frowned and crossed her arms, her eyes flicked to the folder the professor was holding. "What sort of paperwork?"

Professor Donserli's kind purple eyes sparkled. He was an air Elemei, Claire realized. She'd only met a handful in person. "Miss Sable, would you like to attend Avia Academy?"

"I-what?" Claire blinked, sure she'd misheard him. "Of course I would but... I failed. I failed all three years in a row."

"What was this year's test?" Professor Donserli asked.

"To levitate a small sphere of water six feet above its dish for at least a minute," Claire recited with a sigh. What did this have to do with anything, was he just here to mock her?

"Now, I didn't see it personally, but Orpheus vouched for you rather adamantly. When you rescued your brother, you had to lift quite a large amount of water from the canal-a moving water source, no less-and hold him for much longer than a minute. Is this accurate?"

Claire's breath caught. That was true. Unable to find her voice, she nodded.

Professor Donserli slid the folder across the table to her. "This contains a few documents you'll need to sign, and then a parent or guardian will need to sign off as well. I've already signed my part. The other papers are a list of things you'll need to pack, when to catch the ship for move-in day, and your required reading for the remainder of break. Be sure to bring the signed documents with you."

"I'm going to Avia?" Claire breathed. Her nerves buzzed. "How? I failed the actual admission test, so why do my actions in the alley matter?"

"I'm a certified recruiter for the Academy. I have the right to offer admission to one worthy student a year, regardless of auditions," Professor Donserli said with a grin. He stood. "I look forward to seeing you at Avia next semester, Miss Sable."

Claire blinked back tears, sure she was going to faint. This was real. This was happening. "Thank you so much, Sir. Really, thank you, I-" She pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle a giggle.

The professor left then, and Claire was alone to calmly look through the folder... or dance around the holding room screeching like a crazy person. Naturally, she chose the latter, which is how her mother found her.

"Daughter!" Amma hissed, "are you so enjoying your time in prison?"

Claire caught herself mid twirl and dropped her gaze to the floor. "N-no, Amma, I'm celebrating my acceptance into Avia." She couldn't fight the goofy grin.

All anger left her mother's face then, replaced swiftly with shining exuberance. "You've made it then? Oh, thank the Gods, some good has come of this day."

At that, Claire froze. "Nathan. He's alright, isn't he?"

"He's alive." Amma's jaw was tight. "We're going to the hospital to see him now."

Claire didn't miss her mother's choice of words. Alive, not alright. Her joy vanished in a flash, replaced by a sense of dread that followed her from the holding room all the way to the hospital.

It was replaced by curiosity only for a brief moment, when on the way out of the prison she caught sight of that maddeningly talented fire girl arguing with the desk clerk. Something about wanting to visit a prisoner on the bad side of the prison. But Amma's grip around Claire's wrist was tight, and she was pulled too quickly from the prison to hear any more.

Nathan's hospital room was full to bursting with aunts, uncles, and cousins. It looked as if every member of the Kishori family was at his bedside. As such, the floors were tracked with mud and the air smelled of damp hay and farm animals. The family parted when Claire and her mother arrived, and at the sight of his big green eyes, Claire flung herself onto the hospital bed with Nathan.

"Thank the Gods you're okay," Claire cried, hugging him tight and sighing in relief when he hugged her back. She pulled back to look at him. He wasn't hooked to any wires or IV drips, and he didn't seem to have any broken bones. "I have so much I wanna talk to you about when we get home. I got into Avia, can you believe that? I did it!"

"I don't know what you're saying, Sissy." Nathan's eyes welled with tears but not the happy kind Claire was expecting. He put his face in his hands and sobbed. His voice was far too loud. "Everything is so quiet. I can't hear anything. I can't hear."

Kane Sable, Claire and Nathan's father, sat to the right of Nathan's bed. He took Claire's hand when her terrified gaze found him. "The doctors said the incident in the canal caused serious damage to his inner ears."

"Okay. What does that mean, baba? Can they do something?" Claire asked, heart thudding.

In the corner, amma was crying. Her sister, Aunt Arameta, hugged her close.

"Nathan's gone deaf," Baba said, his voice breaking with tears of his own. "It can't be fixed."

Claire was still. Her brother would never hear anything again, and it was her fault. He'd never even hear her apology.

__________

Soooo there we go, sorry for the misleading end of the first chapter! Nathan isn't dead, but he's gonna have a lot of adjusting to do. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope you'll check in again next wednesday for chapter three!

Coming up, we'll take a look at Claire's home life and meet cousin Kayah while they prepare to leave for Avia :)

- Dino