Following the Trail

“You good? Or do we gather your pride before it blows away?” Aisling asked.

“I am good.”

Roe brushed dirt from his palms as he stood.

“Better now.”

Arin stared at the ground, shoulders tense.

Aisling smiled, warmth brightening her eyes.

“Hi. I am Aisling. Nice to meet you. I am her research partner.”

She offered Roe a hand.

“Research partner? You do not say.”

Roe grinned.

“She has not told me about you yet.”

Arin groaned and rubbed her temples.

“Some parts of this forest need tribal permission. I needed a partner.”

Roe shook Aisling’s hand.

“Roe.”

Arin coughed behind him.

“Rohan,” she muttered.

“Shut up.”

Aisling's lips twitched upward, her eyes dancing with amusement.

“Well, now that we are acquainted, should we return to camp?”

They left the clearing and made their way back through the forest.

By the time they reached camp, the fire pit sat cold and empty.

Roe dropped beside it while Arin and Aisling settled across from him.

“Sorry. I can leave if you want,” Aisling said.

Roe sighed.

“No, it is fine. If Arin trusts you, then I can put some trust in you too.”

He gave Arin a small smirk.

“That is my sister after all.”

Arin rolled her eyes.

“Anyway, I am Akilosi. But I was raised with the Purani.”

His expression softened.

For a brief moment, vulnerability flickered across his face.

“So I know what it feels like to be powerless.”

“That is not true. We are not powerless.”

Arin smiled faintly.

“You never beat me in a fight.”

“That is because we had Grandpa.”

“He taught us how the world works.”

“Back in his day, being Purani was harder.”

Roe stared down at his open palm.

“People act as if things changed overnight.”

“Like hatred disappeared just because the laws did.”

He shrugged.

“But deep down, some people still look at us like we are pretending to belong.”

His eyes shifted toward Arin.

“I am Akilosi.”

“But I was raised by Purani.”

“To some people, that means I think I am better than them.”

Arin frowned.

“Not everyone thinks like that.”

Roe nodded.

“No. They do not.”

His gaze drifted toward Aisling.

“Some people just see people.”

Then he opened his hand.

A small ember flickered above his palm.

Arin stayed quiet, her fingers knotting together in her lap.

“He said the world decides for you before you can.”

Aisling watched carefully.

“Fire?”

“And ice,” Roe answered casually.

The flame suddenly froze.

Thin frost crawled over the ember without extinguishing it.

Aisling blinked.

Surprise flashed openly across her face.

“Both?”

Roe shrugged.

“I do not really know what I am doing half the time.”

The frozen ember rolled across his fingertips.

“I just figured out that when I understand something well enough…”

The ice sharpened into delicate crystalline spikes around the flame.

“It gets easier to make happen.”

Arin looked away quickly.

Her lips trembled.

She blinked back a rush of emotion before it could escape.

“Cooking helped the most.”

Aisling tilted her head.

“How?”

“You spend enough time around heat, smoke, pressure.”

Roe paused.

“Eventually, your body starts understanding it before your mind does.”

The ember dimmed.

“When I was younger, it used to happen by accident.”

“But now I can usually control it.”

Usually.

Roe closed his hand.

The frozen flame shattered into glittering frost and sparks.

Aisling studied him closely.

Clearly, she was thinking about something.

“The world is getting worse,” Roe said.

“More monsters. More danger.”

“And when it gets close to my daughter…”

He looked down.

“I start wondering if staying hidden is selfish.”

“If you have power, you must protect.”

“That is the problem.”

“I want the freedom to choose who I protect.”

He ran his fingers through his hair.

“Am I making the right choice?”

Aisling raised a hand gently.

“I am sorry to interrupt, but talking about food made me hungry.”

A soft smile appeared on her face.

“Roe, could you grab some firewood?”

He nodded and disappeared into the trees.

The camp grew quiet.

The forest seemed heavier after he left.

Aisling turned toward Arin.

“What are you not telling me?”

Arin's voice cracked.

Her hands trembled as they gripped each other tightly in her lap.

“When I met him, he was eight.”

“He did not speak for months.”

“He was empty.”

She looked up.

Her lower lip quivered.

Tears glistened in her eyes.

“What if that emptiness comes back?”

“He has Sofia now. A life.”

“If he pushes too far, he could lose himself.”

Aisling gently squeezed her shoulder.

“If he wants this, you have to let him choose.”

“He is my brother,” Arin whispered.

“I have kept him alive for twenty years.”

“You are not losing him.”

Aisling's voice remained steady.

“You are helping him grow.”

She paused.

“Maybe he needs a mentor.”

“Someone who understands Akilosi power.”

Arin blinked.

“Who?”

Aisling smiled.

“I know someone.”

A short time later, footsteps crunched through the undergrowth.

Roe emerged carrying an armful of wood over one shoulder.

“What did I miss?”

“Girl talk,” Arin said quickly.

Roe snorted.

“Lies.”

He knelt beside the pit and struck the flint.

A spark caught.

The wood ignited.

Aisling watched the flames carefully.

“Roe.”

Her voice softened.

“I think I have something that might help you.”

Roe looked toward Arin.

She nodded once.

That was enough.

“Alright,” Roe said.

“I am listening.”

The fire crackled to life.