August:

"What were you thinking?"

"Yes, August. For a so-called smart guy, helping another House while House Magnolia looms large isn't exactly the smartest thing that you've ever done," August's brother taunted.

"They needed help getting out of the river," he replied.

"And who doesn't? But doesn't mean we'll help them now!", Bethany roared.

"Stay out of this," August's younger brother urged Bethany while placing a hand on her shoulder.

She complied and proceeded to stay mute the entire conversation.

August thought back to events in question, now wondering whether he had made the right choice...

"Aaron!" the girl yelled as he went down the waterfall.

A little boy who had come with her had been swallowed up by the water as they attempted to disembark from the vessel.

Even two feet of water was no joke in the still river as he was pushed farther and farther out, going dangerously close to the rushing rapids up ahead.

"Someone save him!", she cried desperately as she jumped off her canoe and swam towards Aaron.

A boy called out, "Leila, don't!", while another joined Leila in the attempt to rescue her kindred and dived right into the bubbling brook. At this point, even the two boys from her House that had landed safely, turned back, their faces in horror at what they just witnessed.

Aaron was now drowning.

Not being able to stop himself, August plunged headfirst into the river.

"AUGUST!", August's older brother yelled, then muttering, "That stupid dolt, what kinda trouble has he put us in now?"

Bethany sat up upright. "Shall I fetch him, master?"

"Nah," August's youngest brother, Trent, stated. "Let him do this on his own."

"You think..."

"Let's observe whether he can do this or not. It'll be very useful for future reference."

"It'llbeveryusefulforfuturereference," August's older brother, Klaus, whined.

"Oh shut it, Klaus. You'll do as I say if you know what's good for ya."

By this point, Klaus had shut up. He was focusing intently on his brother's strategy, pondering what choices he would make to save the other House member.

And whether he could pit this to his advantage somehow in the future.

Long story short, August had saved Aaron and pulled him up to a tree branch. Then, had gone back to rescue Leila, when he realized Klaus had done the deed himself.

He had only just heaved himself on dry land when he noticed Leila thanking Klaus and other House Wolf members for their help.

Klaus had smirked at the time and asked the House Amber to meet up with them at the next checkpoint and "celebrate their triumph."

In all his years, he had never seen Klaus help anyone other himself.

This fact terrified him beyond belief.

"House Wolf waits for no man," his father declared as they bid parting words back home, urging them to persevere through the frightening odds that likely lay ahead.

No one more than they could attest that motto got them through thick and thin when fighting the gales and cyclones while out deep-sea fishing.

However, that smirk would haunt the rest of the night, he just knew it would.

If House Amber were to go past the second round, August knew Klaus would go all out to make sure they didn't succeed.

As a result, while Klaus lay sleeping in a leafy hammock above the ground, August read the constellations and charted a different course.

A route that would let them see House Amber as little as possible, but give them plenty of time to make it in the top three. It would cause a slight delay, however, at most it would be a headache for Bethany to explain away another time.

Hopefully, not seeing them would deter Klaus's determination to destroy them, albeit for a little while longer.

A shuffle in the woods placed August on high alert, so he crouched down and retrieved his blade from his right sock.

Suddenly, a pair of footsteps startled him, and he sprang into action, nearly bumping into a sleepy Trent.

"Sorry," he grunted, kneeling and putting the blade back in its place.

"No worries. Now if I were Klaus on the other hand, then you would have problems," he said while yawning.

"What?"

Sitting down on the grass, Trent proceeded to lecture Klaus.

"Don't mess with Klaus. House Wolf-we're generally nice people, and House Amber-well we've gotten along with them pretty well and don't have any bad blood between us for now-but if Klaus gets wind that you're messing with his perfect plan to take over the kingdom, you're gonna have blood on your hands, comprende?"

August stared in awe at his younger brother, only 16, yet so wise for his age.

Tipping his head, he inquired, "Well, what do you suggest I do?"

"Suggest an alliance," he stated so-matter-of-factly.

"What?"

"I said..."

"I meant Pardon? What did you just say?"

Trent sighed, then folded his arms on his lap.

"It's gonna happen anyways. At our rallypoint, just make sure to bring it up before Klaus does."

His older brother still stared at him, perplexed at this new information.

Trent grunted, "Let me clear up the confusion. I don't mean a permanent alliance. Just til the second round for now. However, if you get the words out before Klaus does, then the ball's in your playing field, not his."

"What if she says no?"

"That's her call. Even if she does, Klaus won't be involved in the decision either way."

"Why are you telling me all this?", August asked as he looked over his wilderness survival kit for the fifth time that day.

"Because I want our family dynamic not to be fraught with tension when we reach the capitol. That final round will be no joke if we want to pass it."

"You mean...if we pass it, right?"

August glanced up at the wide-open sky, imagining the same stars above the head of the girl he liked and wondered if the plan could possibly work.

"Right."

Author's note: And we're back! What did you guys think of August's brothers?