ETHAN

"Ethan," a small, nagging voice drawled. "Ethan."

Ugh. He tore himself off the pillow while light from between the metal blinds of the old-style cabin seared through the air. He couldn't remember what time he went to bed, but he scowled when someone's finger poked him in the side of the head. Beside him, Keren continued his prodding, holding a familiar box next to his side.

Ethan studied both. "Keren, do you know what time it is?"

"You said you'd help me build it," he pointed out, with more energy than he was capable of in the early mornings. "Remember? You said 'we'll build it when we're unpacked and at the cottage'." He motioned at the unpacked bags tossed to the corners of the rooms. "We're unpacked and at the cottage now."

Ethan returned his face to the pillow and listened to the whispered breeze brushing against the closed window. It sang in his ears as he drifted back into the endless darkness. It went quiet. Too quiet. He frowned when a finger poked his spine, and he turned to Keren, who scowled down at him.

"You promised," he mumbled and fiddled with the boxed set of parts.

He's not going to let this go. Ethan sat up and wiped the loose strands of hair off his brow. "I didn't exactly say what part of the day we would do it, Keren. You had to specify."

"That's dumb!"

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "I don't think calling me dumb will make me wake up any faster." He yawned and rolled over to ignore Keren's huff of annoyance. Sunlight glimmered among the scattered curtains as he rested his arm underneath the pillow, and tried to drift off once more into a soundless sleep until lunchtime.

"But Urtovan and Jestirian are awake already! I think one of them went to go get the boat."

"Trust me, Keren, it's not because they wanted to be awake." Ethan sniffed and settled back into his covers. He switched over to where Keren hovered over him with a growing expression of infuriation. "Go read a book or something. I'll get up when I get up." Back onto his side, he closed his eyes and longed to slumber.

Keren parroted his sniff and he grinned at his little brother's disappearing footsteps. It faltered in the small kitchen area, where several cupboards opened and closed. Ethan sighed at the constant repetition of whatever Keren got into. Arms against the mattress, he lifted himself up to investigate over the head of the pull-out. "Keren? Don't get into anything. I'll make you food when I'm awake..." He groaned when Keren ignored him, half-tempted to return to the sweet embrace of the abyss.

A capsule popped open and rang in his ears with its taunting familiarity.

He snapped his attention to Keren when he stood over the sink, box set to the side as he twisted back to Ethan with an emotionless set of eyes. In his hands, Ethan's packed brand of Tersilian coffee grounds.

"Keren," he said. "I'm warning you."

Keren blinked, then tipped over the capsule with cruel ruthlessness.

Ethan stared at the cascade of darkness as it sprinkled into the sink.

It dissipated into a puff as Keren shook the last dregs.

Ethan swung himself out of bed with the taste of bitterness escaping his tongue. Keren released a scream to put the most proficient melodramatics to shame as he bounced out of the kitchen as his hands grasped for the air his little brother inhabited. Keren tossed the coffee capsule to the side, wasting its precious ingredient. Ethan twisted on his heel as Keren rushed through the entire length of the cottage to run out the front door and into the blazing light of morning.

He swung himself out of the front door, then rushed back into the cottage when Keren ran around the other side. He pushed the window open, then swung himself out of it as Keren's shape ran out from the other corner, heading to the lakefront where Urto and Jesti attempted to release the boat beside the pier.

"I'm telling you," Jesti's voice became clear as he chase his brother the entire breadth of the yard. "You're going to break the engine if we do it your way, Urto. I know how boats work."

"He's going to kill me!" Keren screeched.

Oh, you little—

Jesti and Urto whipped around, but Ethan ignored them both when Keren dove into their shadows. He bulldozed through both of them, causing Jesti to gasp and Urto's to curse out loud. He leaped over Jesti when Keren tried to use him as cover, or a separation while Jesti rubbed his back.

"Get. Over. Here."

"No!" Keren ran back to the cottage.

Ethan tore after him, then took his chance when Keren stumbled on a rough patch of grass. He caught his brother half way through his fall, and flattened him against the ground.

"Let go of me!"

"No."

"What happened?" Jesti demanded with a wide gesticulation of his hands as he left Urto at the boat, and Ethan held down his brother to glance at his friend. "What was all that screaming for? I thought someone was chasing—"

Ethan shook his head at Jesti, then dodged when Keren threw his fists into the air, but he scoffed and dragged Keren to his feet, keeping him against his chest as Keren bit down on his sleeve. "Don't worry about it. I've got it under control." He wrestled with Keren who tried to flee his grasp, thrashing and kicking with reckless, wasteful abandon, but he dragged Keren back to the cottage against Keren's endless resistance.

"It's so gross anyway!"

"It was my coffee," he bit as he hauled Keren back into the cottage, then tossed him onto the pullout. "That I need. To wake up. Did you not think that through?"

Keren folded his arms and ignored him.

Black Holes. He pushed out the crick in his neck and grabbed Keren's boxed set of model ship parts.

"Wait!" He frowned at the fearful waver in Keren's voice. "Please don't break it! I'm sorry! I won't do it again!"

"What are you talking about?" he asked as he put the set to the side, out of the way of the food preparation area.

Keren's previous energy died with a fizzle as he drew his hands against his chest. He turned away with a small shake and pressed his hands against the mattress.

Ethan narrowed his eyes, and tried to sort through what little he brought of coffee grounds with Keren's unexpected disposal of his favourite brand. He rubbed his back from the rush of chasing Keren across the cottage grounds with a huff. "I'll build it with you tonight," he said with a wave of his hand. "Tor novase, Sellzora, I need to wake up first."

Keren went quiet. "Sorry, Kellzoro."

Ethan rubbed his throbbing brow of jolted wakefulness. "It's just coffee, Keren." He sorted through their packed food. "What do you want?"

Keren stared at nothing.

"If you don't tell me what you want I'm making whatever and you have to eat it."

Keren lifted his head from his staredown with air without a response. He set a hand against his hip while Keren shuffled his feet against the ground. Outside, Jesti whooped when Urto unlatched the boat onto the water. Ignoring the two, he headed to Keren to sit down beside him. "I'll build that model ship with you."

Keren fiddled with the ends of his shirt before meeting him in the eyes, wide and with a sense of desperate hope. "Do you promise?"

"I promise."

Keren's smile returned, but Ethan waited for the pressure of Mother's words.

'He looks up to you. Anything you do, he'll parrot. He wants to be you.'

Ethan prepared breakfast for Keren, with the sun touching the clouds above their head. Without coffee to jolt him with the extra kick he needed to drag himself through the afternoon, he slumped against an outside chair with one of his murder mysteries, flicking through the pages to unravel the tangle of intrigue. On the pier, Jesti and Urto threw fishing gear into the boat.

"Hey!" Urto called. "Mind helping us?"

Ethan lowered the book. "With what? I'm not going." He returned to its pages of flowing, deducing words while he tried to solve the grisly puzzle. Urto groaned, but Ethan switched his attention to Keren's shape as he headed for the pier. He set his book to the side, pages flat against the chair as he followed Keren to investigate what mischief he planned.

"Pass me the damned rope, Jesti," Urto bit as he hauled himself into the boat, while Jesti threw said rope at him. "What are you going to be doing while we're out?"

"If we're checked on, I want to tell them we're okay," Ethan replied while Keren eyed the boat. "Keren and I will stay here."

"But I want to go."

Jesti beamed at Keren. "We wouldn't mind the extra help — if you don't mind messing with bait for fish." He held out the tub of live bait, wriggling in the dirt.

"No," Ethan said, then pulled Keren to the side. "You're not going out of my sight until Mother's checked on us — which should be soon."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Keren questioned. "We can go with them. Mom will understand. We... came here to have fun, didn't we?"

I don't think so. Ethan let go of Keren, who grumped off the pier, and Ethan turned to Urto and Jesti. "Are you going around the inlet?"

"Yep." Urto motioned for the hidden box underneath one of the seats. "If anything goes wrong you'll probably hear it."

"If anything goes wrong I'll assume you fell asleep with some fish," Ethan mumbled and knelt forward to hand Jesti the extra box Urto left to the side. "I'll tell them where you went if it comes up."

"Are you going to make dinner tonight?" Jesti piped up.

"Must I? Can't you two cook for yourselves?" Ethan straightened himself out, but before he reached his height, hard footsteps ran across the pier.

Hands pressed into his side, and he stumbled off the edge, where his knees smashed the boards when he tried to catch himself and water sloshed into his ears with bubbled impunity. It left his mouth when he tried to curse with the sudden pain along his skin and legs. He adjusted in the water, then broke the surface and took in extra air as he gazed at his attacker.

Keren grinned.

Urto and Jesti stared at him in disbelief — him, who never allowed himself to catch himself without his guard down. Ethan hauled himself over the edge of the peer while the water's depths clung onto his shirt and pants. Jesti echoed Keren's smile as Ethan rubbed his knees, then turned his attention to his smug brother.

"You think your luck is so good." He groaned with a stretch, and Keren stepped back when he moved for him, clutching his shoulders. "I just don't want you going on that boat if you don't know how to swim."

Keren pouted. "I know how to swim."

"Good." Ethan wrapped his arms around Keren, who gasped in realization as he scooped him off the ground.

"No!" Keren exclaimed with a touch of laughter as he kicked. A farcry from the dread of the morning. "Wait! At least let me—"

"Nope." Ethan tossed him into the watery depths, where it splashed with foam. He ducked to the edge, finding Keren's arm underwater when he refused to come back up. He tore Keren out of the water, steadying him while Keren swam with small treads to grab onto the dock and his arm.

"I can swim, see?"

Ethan scoffed and helped Keren onto the safety of the pier. "Now we're both wet. Hope you're happy." He clapped his back, then sighed. "I guess I shall face Mother's wrath while you go enjoy the air. Take a life jacket though." He motioned for the ones in the old boat. "I'll see you when you're back."

Keren's expression fell in an instant. "You're... not coming?"

"I want to read my book, and again, someone has to stay in case we're checked on," he said and headed off the pier.

"Come on, Keren," Jesti said.

"Okay."

Ethan hauled himself back to his chair, sopping wet as he grabbed a towel in one of the capsules. He set it across the chair, then around himself before lounging back into the plush seating, where his knees stung while Jesti, Urto, and Keren went out of sight.

Peace and quiet. Thank Stars. I can hear myself think...

Darkness wriggled into the edges of his view while the words on parchment blurred and unraveled.