A/N: I've been having questions about Viktor's name usage in the book, and I'd like to casually point out that I use 'Viktor' on certain occasions and 'Jae-min' on others. It's actually kinda easy to tell when I'm going to use which! Hehe.

______________________

"You called for me?" The girl asked upon entering the darkness of the room, turning to the familiar silhouettes hidden among the shadows. She remained unfazed despite the abnormal setting.

"Jane. It's about Tori," Viktor's voice sounded low and still in the aged air, a result of a cramped and stuffy room. "And something else, as you and your friends may have guessed."

There was a Merlin in the room, or so Jing would have known only because his Avian always seemed to bother her. The other student, she was familiar with as well. She would not have liked to admit it, but their acquaintance was mostly formed by race and language—something she would have considered small in comparison to the predator-prey divide.

"Did someone die?" She'd decided to go straight for the kill, seeing no benefit in beating around the bush when death was the inevitable end. It was a deduction that she had somehow made along her way to the meeting room.

Ye Zijun laughed. "厉害~"

"Please refrain from speaking anything other than English in our conversation," Viktor directed this primarily at the Merlin who was so fond of joking around. How he was coincidentally one of the best investigators in the school, Jing herself did not know.

"And yes, someone was killed." The condor had went on to say, turning towards her with a folder in hand. She took it. "It was a sea eagle. He hadn't been attending class for almost a week, and by the time the report came in and his dorm was checked, he was no longer in the school."

Jing frowned as she glanced through the file and flipped the pages of the report, coming across a crude and unsightly photograph of what looked to her like the remains of a human head. She picked it up and stared.

"A rifle."

"Yes, he was shot. The rest of his body and where it went however, remains unknown." Viktor flipped through the folder himself and pointed out a location circled on a poorly-drawn map. "Zijun tracked the location of his last mission. Paid, of course—just failed. He found him there."

It made sense to the phoenix. Weekend jobs were often taken up by students looking for extra credit to spend, since the monthly allowance given by the school to predators was at times sparse. To be attacked on the job however...it was both unfortunate and unlikely.

"Head on a stick," the Merlin added with a grin and received a well-deserved whack on the back of his head by the hawk standing behind him. "What?"

Viktor sighed, explaining to the phoenix that the sea eagle's head had been found skewered on the lowest branch of a tree. "There was a trail of blood, but it's already been a week and the rain's washed it away."

Zijun added that he had attempted to seek out the scent but it was far too weak. "I asked for vulture nose? But he said no free." The rest of the room turned to him with raised brows and shaking heads.

"What? What. My English not very good don't ask me talk English."

"Then, don't talk." Jing took in the one who had spoken. The hawk was someone she had seen around Zijun during lunch, but wasn't familiar with his name and the exact breed of his Avian. Reasons for her to raise her guard.

Viktor broke up the pair with a snap of his fingers. "Listen." The Merlin who had been on the verge of crafting a string of vulgarities (the only English he was confident enough to say without any second thought) was smart enough not to cross the condor. "This isn't the first case we've had in the last week."

She arrived at the desired conclusion faster than he'd thought she would.

"Io."

"Predators are the target..."

Viktor had always known from her performance in the Order—the times that he'd seen her deal with heavy-handed decisions and the differing opinions across—her incredible sharpness. It was one of the reasons he'd chosen her as an exception to the rule of the day: not to interact with students beyond their class. "The fact that it was a predator, not a prey..."

"It's still under investigation," the hawk reminded, as though trying to reassure. The worst had not been confirmed. "Not until we confirm the dual avian's case. We shouldn't jump to conclusions."

The professor produced yet another folder as he summarized the incident to the best of his efforts, handing it to the girl as she let the words sink in. "He appeared fairly shaken after it happened. I was surprised when Reyes told me he'd showed up to practice the next day with a smile on his face."

Jing looked away. She felt a surprising pang of discomfort in her chest, very much unlike the dull weight it used to carry from day to day—it was both new and old at the same time. "Io didn't tell me anything."

"I had advised him against telling anyone about it," Viktor said, and a slither of relief crept into her empty cage. "After all, investigations are still undergoing. These are the only two I'm letting the higher-ups know about regarding the investigation team."

"Higher-ups?" She pointed out carefully, and he knew exactly what she meant.

"Not Verity or Kirill, rest assured," he paused with fold of his arms. "I wasn't aware that you minded about these things."

She stared blankly.

"Neither was I. Or perhaps I didn't use to mind at all," the phoenix frowned in thought. "I now find that I do."

Viktor couldn't help laugh and in her, see the bit that had been nurtured by her friendship with a certain other half. "That's...good to hear, Jane. These files are yours to keep. I had called you here to introduce you to the team," the condor gestured to Zijun and the hawk. "Hear about it from them yourselves, will you? I have meeting in five, and your homeroom teacher isn't very fond of anything short of punctual."

He nodded at the rest and drew towards the door in a couple of strides. "I will see you tonight at dinner."

*

"Finally," said the Merlin in his native tongue the moment the door closed behind Viktor and the three of them remained to themselves. "Damn scavengers breathing down our necks..."

"说够了吧，你。"

Zijun appeared rather taken aback by the sudden emotion in her voice and did as told, shutting up for a good ten seconds only to realize that he was supposed to introduce the hawk. "哦。。。是，是，" he couldn't seem to kick the habit of reverting back to mandarin. "这许彩腾。"

The hawk raised a hand in greeting. Now that Jing's eyes had adjusted to the darkness, she could tell that his back was hunched slightly from the low ceiling. Even though Zijun needn't do so and the top of his head didn't so much as brush the dusty ceiling...she found it slightly amusing.

"Cai Teng? I've seen you before."

"Cai...is fine," he nodded, extending a hand and she took it. The moment she did, a brief access to his Link allowed her to hear something that amused her further. I heard from Zijun that you help him with his arithmetic assignments. I do his English, so. Consider us on the same boat.

The Merlin was quick to catch on, purposefully getting between them—somehow pulling them apart—whilst protesting that he had yet to finish his introduction. "他是我的。。。呃。。。"

Apparently stuck, he turned to the hawk. "你是我的。。。?"

"男朋友?" Jing finished with a straight face, and Zijun erupted in a flurry of colorful curses.

"呸呸呸, 妳说啥? 什么什么男朋友?"

"不就是男的朋友嘛， 有什么好激动的。"

Cai found himself thoroughly amused. He hadn't known that the phoenix had her very own streak of humor. Remaining quiet and and watching them interact his ideal choice at the moment.

"激动?? 喂, 妳可别乱说哦, 我。。。我不管你是凤 还是鸡的, okay??"

Jing expressed that she was not inclined to waste her time arguing over petty matters, and that her intention was not to pick a fight in the first place (to which Zijun huffed and called her chicken anyway). She ignored the Merlin completely and turned to the hawk to ask for information regarding their investigation as of current. There was, after all, much to look at.

He explained that if they were to make deductions considering only motives, then Kirill and Verity were pretty high on the list. "The problem lies with whether or not they're working together. Or if it's just some sort of in-fighting going on."

"There is," she confirmed, and was surprised that either of them suspected Kirill when he had yet to take up the position of headmaster. "What do you know about Kirill?"

"The Himalayan vulture? Nothing," Cai laughed shortly. "Like I said, making deductions purely based on motivations. We don't have any evidence against him because we barely met him, and yet he's the one that hold the highest probability because he's the only candidate V chose out of the few that the Order proposed. She wouldn't let anyone else replace her."

The phoenix blinked at this newfound knowledge. "I...might have what you would consider evidence. Again, how did you know about Verity?"

Zijun sat behind the pair and whistled to himself. It didn't take a genius to figure out who was strangely apt at spying on others. "诶, 我说啊, 你们俩不饿吗? 拜托, 讲快一点儿好嘛。 你爹我饿死了。"

Don't be fooled. He understands English perfectly. It's speaking and writing that he has problems with. Jing turned to the hawk who had voiced this through their Link, and found that she had learnt more about the Merlin in the past hour than she ever had over the past couple of years they had spent together.

"I might have to disagree with one of your deductions."

"The one about Verity? Yes, we know."

The phoenix blinked in surprise. "You did?"

"Of course. She's the last person on the island who'd give up anything within her possession to someone else," Cai said with a scoff. "Callaghan's one thing. Her ideals are another...and then there's her position. The power she had as of current."

"She wouldn't allow anyone to take it away."

"Unless it's an order from above...or she's working together with the other vulture." Cai nodded as Jing came to a similar conclusion that he and Zijun had arrived at after some poking about. Perhaps it was the impression that they so purposefully left on the general, crafted by their difference in race and language, accentuated by the people themselves. "That, and the order's getting impatient with every passing day."

The phoenix sighed. "They hate him that much?"

"It's not a matter of hate, per se," Cai squared his shoulder in a languid manner. "Iolani Tori sticks out, and we all know that the order's pretty O.C.D. Anything that doesn't fit in their pyramid goes out."

At this, Jing quietly expressed her concerns. It was a bother that Falrir could not appear at such a time—before the order and the rest of the island—to confirm Io's identity; because then everyone would believe him immediately, essentially saving the boy from all the pain and disappointment that he would (and very well was) have to bear. It was a luxury that the girl herself had when she was coronated, the very moment she'd been introduced to the island.

For how just could it be that the extents to which he had to go to win the acknowledgement of the rest was far greater than her own? The phoenix practically did nothing to do so. She hadn't even tried.

Zijun found himself slightly taken aback by the bluntness of the girl, having never seen or heard her express herself in such an odd but strangely endearing manner.

Little did he know that it was a mere unveiling of the blinding light she harbored within, a fire she kept extinguished all these years for fear that it would come to destroy everything in its path.

This flame

Would guide.

______________________

Io was floored by the sheer extravagance of the predator's dormitories. The hallways were one thing, but the interior was another.

"Your doorknob's really fancy," the sparrow stared at his reflection in the polished brass, gazing into the eyes of his distorted face. It was particularly intriguing to see and Luka of course, had not the will to stop him from doing so only because seeing his friend so interested in a doorknob was perfectly amusing. "Do you have to do the thumbprint thing—oh."

The eagle unlocked the door with a quick scan of his thumb and ushered a curious Io inside. Unfortunately for the pair and their Avians, Luka's room was awfully chilly since the heaters hadn't been turned on for the past couple of days they were away.

Io shivered. "Wo-ah. It's really cold."

"Sorry. I'll turn the heaters on."

"Okay," the sparrow flitted across the room and opened the door to Luka's bedroom. "I'll just make myself at home."

On every other occasion, one would have regarded Io's careless intrusion to be fairly rude and disrespectful. Considering that the pair were on such familiar terms (and had practically shared a tree house together) however, Luka didn't mind the sparrow's seamless transition. In fact he was rather pleased by it, and things escalated especially when he found Io spread-eagled on his bed.

"It's kinda unfair how your bed's twice the size of mine," said his friend as he rolled around in the other's bed. "Is that the case for all predators?"

Luka expressed (in a fairly straightforward manner) that he wouldn't know if that was the case since he hadn't actually had the chance to visit another predator's room. "It's like a territory."

"Ah, I see," Io paused his rolling to sit up and stare at the eagle. "Yes, I've heard of something like that—are you, too? I mean, are you mad that I'm rolling in your bed now? Is that a sign of disrespect?"

Luka considered the question, and found that he'd already done so before. Long ago, in fact, when Victoria had come reporting to him about an intruder in the tree house they'd so frequent. At the moment then, there had been a defensive spark of possession and annoyance—as though a stranger had meddled with his nest (in which he wasn't wrong, not completely). It was the note that had changed his mind.

A friendly greeting.

And then came the nights of observation. Days, even—before Luka came to realize that he was, for all intents and purposes, mesmerized.

"It's okay if it's you," was all the eagle said quietly, and Victoria who had been showing off her nest (bird houses were terribly small and cramped for an Avian like her) to Lyra could not help but let our an amused screech of laughter.

Luka ignored her.

"That's nice," Io commented lightly, appearing rather fatigued as he swung his legs over the foot of the bed and dangled them in a lazy manner. "Can I see your bathroom? I bet it's huge."

"Sure." Luka led the way and his friend tailed him with a rub of his eyes and clap of his cheeks. For some reason, his eyes wouldn't remain open.

Io hadn't been wrong about the bathroom. There was a tub the size of a jacuzzi and two showers—one in the tub and another sectioned off by frosted glass. The floor was a ridiculous choice of marble (ridiculous because it was obviously not anti-slip and Io was not fond of bathrooms that weren't anti-slip) and there were two basins for some reason, coupled with two brass taps that were eagle-shaped.

"It's the size of my room," the sparrow said in awe, eyes crossing at the number of switches on the wall that was meant for a different part of the bathroom. "And, why do you need two basins? You're one person," he huffed, prodding Luka's elbow with a frown. "Unfair."

The eagle watched, quietly amused by his companion. "We're two now."

Io blinked.

"W-well, yes...you're right, I mean—now, we are. But on normal occasions..." He saw his friend turn on a switch and the tub began to fill itself automatically. "Oh. You're going to take a bath? Makes sense, I mean. We just returned from a long flight after all."

"No, I was filling it for you," Luka corrected, returning to his bedroom to grab a fresh towel from the wardrobe and hand it to a confused-looking Io. "I can use the shower."

Io expressed that he hadn't expected this at all and went pink with joy. "I've never used a tub before. This one's huge by the way."

It was custom-made for Luka, Victoria explained. A fairly good size for someone his height. Even the bathrobes are custom-made! Oh, he has it easy...I had to make my own nest. Absolutely preposterous.

The sparrow laughed. "No wonder it's gigantic. Well, for me at least." He turned to Luka. "Can I borrow one of your bathrobes? Sorry I'm such a bother. I'm practically the worst guest anyone could have."

Luka shook his head and opened his wardrobe once more. Then paused.

"What?" Io peered at his range of clothing.

"You're going to sweep the floor with it," the eagle admitted rather bluntly, lowering his gaze with a blank expression. Io knew that he'd said it only to tease him and was about to disregard his comment and take the bathrobe for himself when he saw its actual length and froze.

"N-no kidding."

*

It was almost two in the afternoon when Jae-min decided to drop by his step-brother's dorm and check on his condition. What he meant by 'condition' however, remained vague and indistinct. All he had felt after the staff meeting was an urge to do his part as the older sibling and ensure that the young, bitter vulture wasn't cooking kimchi ramen for lunch agai—

Great.

"What are you doing?" The condor demanded as he entered the kitchen, gesturing towards the pot of ramen over Vaughn's stove. The latter pretended not to have heard him come in. "Hey. Eeeve? Hyung is talking to you."

"And I'm telling hyung to mind his own business," grumbled the vulture as he peered into the bottom compartment of his refrigerator and produced a box of homemade kimchi. It was characteristic of him to forgo the polite and sickly-sweet front he'd put up in front of prey and strangers alike at times like these.

It often had to do with the person he was talking to, and since Jae-min was the kind to see through his lies right away, Vaughn figured that anything false was wasted effort. Nevertheless, he'd been quietly concerned about the meeting with the new investigation team that Jae-min had pushed for ever since the stupid sparrow's incident. Yes, he had the strange and ridiculous ability to somehow blame every existing misfortune on the sparrow named Iolani Tori.

"Mm, it didn't go too bad."

The vulture did a double take. Unfortunately for him, it had slipped his mind that Jae-min was allowed access into his Link; only because the former tended to let his guard down whenever his step-brother was around. A special case since they had first met six years ago.

He made a face. "Get out of my kitchen and stop invading my Link."

The condor didn't budge, proceeding to lean against the door frame with folded arms. He watched as Vaughn cracked an egg and carefully arranged a side of kimchi and bakchoy on top of his ramen. "What, is that for me?"

"No, of course not. Why would it be for you?"

Jae-min laughed shortly. "Well, I see you're making the effort to do some presentation. So," he shrugged, drawing closer to the stove. The vulture muttered something under his breath.

"Hm? What was that?"

Vaughn sighed, clicking his tongue. "Tsk, I said it's just a habit. You used to do it all the time when we made ramen together."

The silence that his words had made way for was filled with the sound of Nox roosting in the living room and the bubbling of Vaughn's meal over the fire. He turned it off after arranging slice of processed cheese (carefully proportioned to fit the sides of the pot) on top of the noodles.

Indeed, it had taken the older male a moment for the words to sink in thoroughly, and when they finally did—he burst out laughing.

"It's been so long since I've heard you say that kind of thing, it made me forget how cute you could be!"

Vaughn growled harmlessly. "Shut up. That was the past."

"Oh, so you admit that you used to be cute?"

"No. Ugh, just—shut up already!" The vulture slipped on a pair of mittens and brought his pot of kimchi ramen to the living room where he'd already had a small makeshift table and foldable chair set up. The usual.

Jae-min paused at the poorly sight of step-brother's tiny dining table. "Where's my seat?"

"You don't have one," replied the latter with a smug look on his face, picking up his chopsticks and slurping on his noodles at once.

The condor rolled his eyes and did himself a favor (he considered it to be doing Vaughn a favor, really) by pulling up a foldable chair he'd spotted under the stairs. He stared at the steaming pot of kimchi ramen and teased that it would have made his day if the noodles had actually been made for him.

As much as the bitter vulture appeared as though conscience was not something he had within (which is certainly quite true regarding certain people in his salty life), the off-handed remark caused him to withhold the next mouthful of noodles.

His gaze remained on his pot of kimchi ramen. "You can...have one strand."

"One strand?" Jae-min reached out to mess with his step-brother's hair which he absolutely hated because then he'd just have to brush it again—"Hyung was kidding. It's alright, you enjoy it."

The vulture narrowed his eyes. "What? That's already very generous..."

"How about this," thought the older male all of a sudden. "I'll make us two kimchi pancakes each and you share some of your ramen in return. Deal?"

Jae-min could practically see the gears turning in Vaughn's head as he paused to consider the offer, chopsticks raised mid-air. He prompted once more, only to receive a fairly perplexed 'I heard you' in return. At last, he agreed.

"Fine. But make three pancakes just in case; and add more spring onions," specified the picky eater, to Jae-min's amusement. "And make them really spicy."

"You used to hate spicy things."

Vaughn did not bother to comment on his change in tastes. "Whatever. Go and get yourself another bowl before the ramen cools..."

His step-brother laughed, making his way towards the kitchen. "Aw, are you concerned? That's cute—"

"Can you please just shut up."

_______________________

The dining hall was filled with a dense buzz of raw anticipation; the beginning of what seemed to them like the first chapter of a brand new book—one that had a deceptively pleasing cover and a synopsis that boasted quality content. Happy endings.

Io entered the hall together with his class and to his surprise, found everyone else already seated. His gaze wandered towards the side of the hall in which he last sat, searching for Pipa and his friends but there were far too many faces in the sea and each stared blankly in return. His name on the tips of their tongues.

"Wait. V's not at her seat," Shri was the first to notice and point this out. After all, she'd already suspected that the news had something to do with the council. Either that, or it was Falrir's order that had something up their sleeves. "She's seated with the staff."

"Haha, looks like Faustes got that promotion he's been waiting for," Dmitri concluded poorly, as expected of his observational skills. Lucienne rolled her eyes.

"No Dmitri. That's not it..."

Vaughn could not believe his eyes. Surely, there must have been some sort of mistake? It was his mother they were talking about. His mother—Verity Ann who had crawled her way up the ranks and stuck to her stringent beliefs that consumed her very bones and destroyed everything in her path including her child; sacrificed everything—displaced?

The vulture seethed within. Not for his mother but himself.

Everything he once had, lost to a petty role, to magnificent power only to have this very power taken away within days, no—a single hour.

"Please rise to welcome Headmaster Kirill and the new class of hearts."