Guns—

The first thing Sebastian, the sixteen-year-old he was, noticed about Sandrock after stepping off the train was the guns. He said nothing, despite noting how this differed from other places in the Alliance of Free Cities as the Church of the Light banned such things, sighting them as something that would lead to even more violence if left unchecked.

The sense of adventure—

Even as the heat beat down, a heat Sebastian disliked with a passion, there was the urge to go out and explore the desert, to discover what secrets the vast desert with its red sand held.

Yet—

Sebastian glanced over at his mother and Demetrius as they greeted Demetrius' mother, Vivi. Robin remained oblivious to the fact Sebastian's urge to adventure managed to crop up, and yet—

Vivi gave him a wink as she took Robin's hand into her own. "Why don't we old folk head inside while your son makes acquaintances with the other young ones in town?"

Sebastian watched his mother startle, then turn to look at him. "Stay out of trouble, alright."

"Uh-huh," Sebastian said, watching his mother and stepfather follow Vivi into her clothing store before heading in the direction he saw the person with the gun head. He glanced around, seeing a stable often indicating the local of the Civil Corps in the cities of the alliance. He turned his head, taking in the buildings, unable to discern which one was the Civil Corps building until—

He heard a gun going off and headed in that direction, up the stairs, looking out at the train tracks as he did. As another gunshot went off, the sun continued baking down on his light skin. Heading around the building at the top of the stairs, he quickly discovered a firing range where a man aimed at a set of targets for practice.

Sebastian opened his mouth, a hand reaching up to wipe the sweat away, but nothing came out. He swallowed, closing his mouth, noting the man wore clothing that looked like a Civil Corps uniform, yet the uniform differed in color from his own. He shifted, making a sound as he did, and the person shooting the gun looked up at him. "Oh. Hello. You're new to town, so a tourist?"

"I," Sebastian started saying, then took a deep breath. "Your uniform."

"Civil Corps," the man said, looking down at his uniform.

"It's different than Arlo's," Sebastian yelled out.

"Arlo?" the man said, an eyebrow shooting up.

"My older brother," Sebastian said.

"Well, I've met Arlo," the man said. "Didn't know he had a younger brother, though." The man frowned. "Wouldn't that mean your dad used to be the head of the Civil Corps in Portia as well?"

"Don't bring that up with my mother," Sebastian muttered.

"And she is?"

Looking over the question, Sebastian frowned and said, "Demetrius' wife. He's..."

"One of Vivi's kids. She and Hugo brag about him attending university, but," the man said, then laughed. "Oh. You're her other grandkid who's attending university."

"Uh," Sebastian's eyes blinked. He frowned, shifting his stance again while rubbing the back of his neck. "But I don't..."

The man laughed, "Kid, everybody calls Vivi grandma out here, but there's no way she'd not accept you as one of her own. And yeah, it's obvious your not blood-related, but family out here isn't always about who's blood-related."

"Practically related to everybody in Portia," Sebastian frowned.

A crackling sound was heard, and the man motioned for him to get down. "Geeglers."

Sebastian ducked behind one of the boxes as the man walked over, looking over the railing as the man headed over. He peered out, frowning as he did so, noting the behavior of the creatures who swarmed the bridge that allowed the train to cross the gorge. The creatures were reptilian, yet they also wore clothing akin to what the people of Sandrock wore to protect them from the harshness of the desert. "They're organized?"

"Ah, yeah," the man said, getting up. "Hold on a sec. I've got to take care of this. Stay behind cover."

Sebastian watched the man hurry in the direction he'd come from. Still, when the man headed down the stairs, Sebastian turned to look at the train tracks down below, noting how the creatures continued approaching the desert town without hesitation and in an organized fashion. He turned slightly, swallowing. "Those creatures are likely dangerous alone, but in an organized group..."

A shot rang out, echoing into the canyon over which the tracks proceeded out of town. Sebastian moved out of cover slightly so he might get a better look, upon which he saw the man approaching the creatures, two guns drawn as another shot rang out. The sound of one of the creatures howling in pain drew his attention towards the animals again, in time to see one stumble backward, its back arching right before regaining balance.

Another shot from one of the man's guns knocked the creature down, while an image from the other hit one of the other creatures, knocking off the cowboy hat the reptilian creature wore, which only made the beast angry enough to try rushing the man. Sebastian let the air in his lungs escape as he leaned out, ignoring the order to remain covered, wondering if he should shout a warning.

A warning, however, wasn't needed.

The man shot the reptilian creature dead center in the head before shooting another in the shoulder, resulting in the animals running back the way they came, over the bridge to the other side of the gorge as the last shot finished echoing. The strange crackling sound the Geeglers made left with them.

Sebastian stood, brushing the dirt off his pants as he kept his eye on the bridge while the man disappeared back the way he came. "Wow," he muttered to himself. "Mom would throw a fit if she knew I came close to that kind of action."

"Then I'd better not tell her?"

Sebastian turned, eyes wide at the man. "Uh, yeah." The corner of his mouth twisted. "She doesn't like—well, she doesn't speak to Arlo."

"What did Arlo do?" the man asked, frowning.

"He became leader of the Civil Corps," Sebastian said, frowning. He glanced out at the train tracks crossing the canyon. "And things aren't like this in Portia."

"Does this have to do with what happened to the previous leader of the Portia branch?"

"She's remarried and moved on," Sebastian muttered. "Doesn't like to talk about it. But..." He let out a sigh. "Arlo takes after Dad."

"So do you, I guess?" the man asked. "I mean, should I be asking if you're prone to looking for adventure and if so do I need to watch for you?"

"Oh. I can take care of myself," Sebastian said, turning his head. One corner of his mouth twisted up. "She still doesn't like it."

"Ah," the man said. "Name's justice. And I'll keep mum. Just stay safe."

"I will." Sebastian let out a laugh. "You can't grow up out on the frontier of the alliance without learning how to take care of yourself."

"That is certainly true.