Swift's headache burned as he stormed out of the tent.

Flicka immediately fled behind the purple canvas, the windchime at the entrance was swatted aside in distress. Swift felt a stab of guilt ebb in his chest for the Trollian but he headed away from the gaudy Ringmistress tent, fury blurring any sympathy towards him. He was already angry enough without his father's new pet attempting to follow him.

"Swift!"

He ignored the command, quickening his pace. He didn't have time to baby his father's Trollian. After all, Flicka's actions represented his father's and it was no surprise to find out he was nothing but a coward. 

"Swiftling!"

Swift forced himself to look forwards, the cool air doing nothing to help his Trill but the pitch black was hard to navigate. He stumbled between the mishmashed rows of tents, feeling his way through while trying to locate Whisper's voice.

"Sw-"

Strongbow's outburst was cut off at the sight of Swift's glare, swivelling round at the sound of his name being butchered. His father knew the consequences of calling out a Traited with their full name. It was seen as a major sign of disrespect and one of the easiest ways to start an argument.

"Don't call me that. You've never called me that so don't start now." Swift snapped, knowing full well how petty he sounded.

The only source of light was the soft glow of the moon and the blazing Trait illuminating Strongbow's features. His features almost looked sympathetic, his body language closed off as if guilty about the decision he had vouched for.

"Son...I know I haven't been fair with you but you need to understand-"

"Fair?" Swift interrupted, his laughter bubbling up before he could stop it.

"When has my life ever been fair before this? I'm not the one who promised me a chance to shine only to push me to train till my bones ached! I'm not the one who told me to perform while injured!"

All of Swift's frustrations over his accident, his family and his Trait poured out in a torrent of emotion. He had been holding in for months and right now the only thing he could think of was the Trill that made him want to collapse in a heap and never wake up. 

Yet you're the one who lost control! I saved you and this is the thanks I get?" Strongbow reiterated, his Trait flaring in indignation.

Swift forced himself to temper his Air Trait, not wanting to give his father the benefit of the doubt. His heart burned in his chest, his throat raw from yelling but his breathing remained steady. His Trill was desperate to make itself the focus but he focused on the person in front of him.

Swift could see the faint outline of his father's expression warp into a familiar cold fury not unlike his own. He knew the extent either one would go to make themselves heard. It was a matter of keeping a cool head and not backing down.

"You caused the blast. Not me. I could have landed on my own but you didn't trust me!"

"How could I trust the one who killed my Agar?"

Swift eyes stung with tears, his hands shaking but the wind did not come. He hated the reminder of harming such a majestic creature but he knew. Whisper had reassured him that he was not to blame. He had to believe in that. He had to control his Trait.

"The same way I trusted you not to let go. I'm your son!"

"Well, act like it!"

Swift's resolve began to crumble, his Trill rising like a shrill tea kettle at the sound of his father's abrupt reminder. His cheeks burned with embarrassment, turning away despite his father's obvious regret. 

But the ire seething in his heart began to writhe in retribution, the numbing pain of Strongbow's comments towards the accident surging forwards like a windstorm. It only took a thought for Swift to decide and took a page out of his grandmother's grimoire in wry humour.

"Like Stealth, you mean? Sure, dad. Next time I'll remember my kid is Air Traited before you blow my brains out."

The sharp slap of pain burst from his eardrums as if the Fire Trait had suddenly attempted to 'cure' his Trill. The scalding heat made him want to scream but Swift bit the inside of his cheek until it bled. He had felt his father's Trait before but that didn't make it hurt any less.

"Don't you dare pin this on me-"

"Who else do I pin it on? Mom? Whisper? You're the reason I can't think straight without wanting to scream!" 

Swift's voice became hoarse, barely making himself heard over the roaring flames. It took him a few moments to register the rising crowd behind him, the sound of screaming from stage hands fleeing the smoke from the now burning canvas.

"You're the reason I can't sleep without knowing the one person I relied on failed. Now you've taken the one thing I needed most because you never thought I was good enough."

The flash of Strongbow's flames made his eyes water, the sight in his right eye swelling over. Part of him swore he could hear the skin bubbling and hissing but he stayed rooted to the spot. He spotted Silvera clinging to her Agar with everything she had, the smoke billowing from the fields but his Trait had protected him from the worst of it. Now it was his turn to protect them.

"I didn't fail you. Your useless Trait did. One way or another that Trill would've happened and you would be exactly who you are now. A Traitless retard."

Swift winced, wanting nothing more than to run away from the rising inferno that started from his father's Trait laced fingertips. He knew the sting of so many burns but he held firm. His Trait wasn't so useless and neither was he. 

Strongbow hadn't even realised the damage he had caused to his own family business but here he was lecturing Swift on his own Trait. He could barely keep his eyes on his infuriated father, the one good eye blurring due to the stifling heat.

"Sorry. What did you say? I can't hear you." Swift said savagely, his Air Trait amplifying his voice enough to summon a small wind current.

Compared to the tornado he had summoned earlier it was a lot less flashy but Swift knew how quickly a wildfire spread if he lost control and didn't want to affect a large area. The small circle of wind commanded by his voice was about the size of a single tent but had enough strength to direct the flow of smoke away from the evacuees. 

They carried buckets of water to the largest areas, causing the wet ground to scatter and splat against varying degrees of burning brush and material. But it wasn't enough to stop Strongbow's Trait or his own. The cutting words still burned in Swift's mind, the unfairness of his Trill ringing shrill enough to burst but his father looked right through him. 

"You're not my son. Not anymore."

The Fire Traited turned his back on his son, steam rising from the vacant stump of his arm before commanding what little flame was left upwards and away from the carnage. It was as if Strongbow had turned back time, leaving only a lingering smell of smoke from a small campfire and the deafening sound of snoring people bundled up in their tents. 

No sound of screaming. No sign of any Traited. No amount of flames except the burning scar against his cheek.

In an instant, he had overturned Swift's Trait and repaired the damage done by his own hand as if everything that had happened was inconsequential. That his fight to be heard and control his Trait was nothing compared to the grand gesture and sheer power of the Timekeeper.

Swift had no words left to say. His father was gone, leaving the argument like a lingering memory on the wind. It didn't matter to him. He didn't matter and that's what hurt the most. Before he had realised it, he had crumpled to the floor and started to sob.

'Swifty?'

Swift lifted his head towards the sound, his ears burning both physically and literally. There was no mistaking the high pitch lilt of his partner, the Steam Trollian barely visible against the night sky.

"Swifty not here." He whispered, suppressing a sob as best he could.

Whisper's airy giggle reminded Swift of her own rebuke the other day. But he couldn't bring himself to look at her or cheer himself up. The tears fell and brushed against his scab, causing him to flinch as Whisper came closer.

"Whispi is bad?"

The Trollians voice made Swift's heart ache, Whisper droopily floating beside him and hovering worriedly beside him. He curled up into a ball, knees drawn as his Trill rang in his ears with the cries of help from his fellow acrobats.

"No." He admitted, sighing as if trying to find the words to apologise.

His hands brushed against the dirt, the heat from the wet soil still lingered as the night air made him shiver, aggravating his already scabbed over burn. Swift barely felt the weight of the Trollian against his shoulder, providing an ear despite the Trill blurring her voice.

"Strongbow is bad?"

Swift couldn't bring himself to answer, burying his head in his chest to hide away from the situation. Whisper's steam moulded body brushed against his cheek but the comfort of his Agar was marred by the anxiety of Strongbow's Trait.

"Whisper can help."

Swift shook his head, his eyes blurry with tears but the fear of him constantly being watched and his father changing his life to suit his needs was...terrifying. The burns on his arms flickered back and forth from healed skin to grevious wounds as if not quite sure what pain it wanted to inflict.

His eyes clenched shut, the continuous reminder of his father burning him or his entire surroundings only to reset everything to his perfect world. Strongbow's Trait had him experience humiliation and pain from his family time and time again only for Strongbow's inevitable erasure. Once the Timekeeper chose the outcome he wanted there was no point fighting it. It was inevitable.

"No. Not with this. He's too strong."

Swift reminded the Trollian reluctantly, rubbing his arms to try and distract himself. He didn't know the full extent of his father's Timekeeper ability but he did know his micromanagement tendencies came from the fact neither of his sons were Fire Traited.

He couldn't help but be frustrated about something he couldn't control but it made his Trill hurt even more with the fact Strongbow could have prevented his accident but chose not to. Swift had no idea why but he'd had enough of his father abusing his overpowered Trait.

"He is strong. Name and Trait. But Whisper help. If Swifty play?"

Whisper floated around in circles, swaying in time to her own little routine they had been practicing for the Limelight. Swift couldn't help but smile, her speaking habit of grouping things in threes turned into a chant to help her pronounce things. 

It took a few moments for him to recognise she didn't want to play a game; she wanted him to play music.

"How did you…"

Whisper continued to weave about and start zooming figure eights around them, humming the tune to the performance material just to play dumb a little more. Swift couldn't help but laugh, rolling his eyes at his own stupidity at not noticing his sneaky Agar snooping on his hobbies.

"Of course you knew about it, you're my partner." Creed said, a resigned sigh making Whisper huff.

His head rested against the smooth trunk of an Ironwood tree, hesitating for a fraction of a second before Whisper nudged his hand forwards. His fingers brushed against thin air, the intricate illusion coming undone as the Trollian dove into the hidden portal.

"You know it's not finished yet, right? I still need to calibrate the strings and test how my Trait reacts to the wood and-" Swift tried to explain, the portal glowing blue to signify that a lost spirit had activated it.

"The Nook Knoll? It's in here?"

Whisper's voice seemed to echo around the whole forest before a misshapen object was sent flying into the grass beside him. It took Swift a moment to realise his half constructed instrument strewn next to him but the fact that the Trollian knew exactly what this pocket terrain was astounded him.

"Y-yes? Is it bad? I only wanted to hide it from-"

The winter wind suddenly grew chilly as a thin layer of frost clung to the branches above them. The wiry frame of his twin dangling in the treetops and pointing at something a few metres away.

"Swifty? What's that?"