The weight of his spear in his hands was surprisingly comforting. Thoughtfully, Thael took the spear from its storage locker. He and Roy-now appropriately dressed-had stopped by the training centre to collect their equipment. The small cantina next door would have icecream, which they could eat on the way to the front gates. Thael carefully pulled out his shield next, running his hands over its familiar contours, it’s golden sheen catching the light. Thael’s weapons were strong evidence that not only were spirits sentient, but also had aesthetic preferences.

Both the spear and shield were made of an ultra-resilient titanium-carbon nanoweave alloy, and originally had been a rather uninteresting shade of grey. As Thael used them more and more, they’d begun to change colour. It was slow at first; they’d seem a little shinier from one day to the next, but not really different. The day Thael mastered his Sunspear technique was when the change became noticeable. He’d been in one of the larger testing rooms with a few teachers and scientists. They’d been trying to develop the fitful bursts of light Thael emitted when sparring into something a little more reliable, and they were close. The researchers had been insistent: he shouldn’t need to throw it to get a result, but after repeated attempts they agreed he should give it a try. Thael had whipped the spear downrange with all his strength; as it left his hands, the spear had become bathed in golden light, and suddenly dozens of bolts of crackling golden energy appeared in the air and smashed into the solid concrete wall at the end of the range, gouging out chunks and sending debris flying. Upon retrieving his spear, Thael discovered it was a pure gold colour.

His shield had followed suit a few months later, which had inspired Thael to name that technique Golden Aegis. His weapons weren’t the only example. Thael himself had been born with deep black hair, but that had changed to his present sandy blonde as he grew more in touch with his spirits. His dogtags had also changed colour since he first received them, and Thael could’ve sworn the WARG badge was already looking shinier.

Thael donned his armoured combat suit and clamped his weapons into place on his back, then left the armoury, waving goodbye to the quartermaster. As planned, he met Puck at one of the smaller cafeteria’s near the armory, one they knew maintained a stock of frozen treats. Thael liked to keep things simple; two scoops of vanilla, no frills. Whilst Roy got as many scoops of most flavors that he could handle, with sprinkles—sprinkles are a necessity.

Thael licked happily at his icecream cone as they walked, his earlier dejection almost completely forgotten. “This was just what I needed,” he said to Roy, lightly kissing him on the forehead. “Thanks Puckins.”

As usual, Roy’s cheeks flared with a small blush, but he smiled regardless. “Just for you, Goldie,” he said, wrapping an arm around Thael’s waste gingerly as gave his own ice cream a lick. Almost as quickly as he’d done it, his hand found its way back to his side, coyly grasping at Thael’s fingers.

Thael not-so-subtly wrapped Roy’s hand in his own. He looked over at his companion, and suddenly he felt his cheeks flush slightly, but not out of embarrassment. He considered a detour, since they wouldn’t have much time alone together for a while, but ultimately decided against it. They were cutting it close already. Instead he turned his mind to the challenges ahead of them. “Do you think she’s ready?” he asked suddenly. “She’s done an amazing job keeping us all together, but she never really got over Sam. Do you think she’ll hold up in combat?”

Roy’s face didn’t flush from anything but embarrassment, but he smiled as best he could. Turning his attention away from his ice cream and toward Thael he shook his head. “I don’t think anyone’s ever ready,” he mused, “I know you think you are, but there’s always something out there that’s going to remind you that you’re anything but. Give her a chance, Thael.” Roy’s hands squeezed tightly and he gave Thael a reassuring grin, “People have a knack for surprising others. As for her mental state: just remember that none of us are any better. Remi’s got a cosmic Napoleon complex and Kim’s psychotic. Freddy can’t use his inside voice and I have issues with seeing people as… people. Sam gave us a chance; give Olivia a chance.”

“You’re right” he said in agreement. “I’m sure she’ll do fine. I’m sure we’ll all do fine.” Thael said the words, but he still worried, especially about Roy. An unpleasant image came to mind; Roy, cut off from the group after a badly timed shift, alone and surrounded. He squeezed the other man’s hand tightly. “Promise me that, when shit hits the fan, you’ll be careful, alright?” 

Giving a cheeky smirk, he tilted his head at Thael and asked, “Can you use that word in a sentence, please? I’m having difficulty recognizing it.”

Thael sighed. “Just don’t die alright? I...I don’t really know what I’d do without you.”

“You’d have Freddy,” he said, licking his ice cream. After a brief pause, Roy looked at Thael, “And Emily, and Olivia, and Kat, and Remi, and Kim… should I go on?”

“But they wouldn’t be you.” Thael couldn’t help himself; he turned Roy around and kissed him soundly, getting a quick sampler of the various icecream flavors his companion had been enjoying. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be such a drag,” he smiled apologetically. “Let’s pick up the pace, maybe you’ll even be early for once!”

“I think that’s the point,” he mumbled, but nodded with a smile. “Don’t count on it. In fact, you should probably run ahead just incase,” Roy said, slapping Thael’s back and lightly pushing him forward.

Thael was seriously considering throwing Roy over his shoulders and forcing him to be early when his train of thought was abruptly interrupted. “Hey, Jared!” a voice yelled from overhead. Thael bristled at the use of his first name as the eldest of his younger brothers dropped from the sky, only slowing his descent with puffs of air mere centimeters from the ground. At 19 years old, Cameron Conrad had his brother’s face, but that was where the similarities ended. In fact, a stranger casually glancing at the three of them could easily have assumed Cam was actually related to Roy, with his slighter build and dark hair. Cam was also quite a bit more free-spirited than his brother; he was in trouble almost as often as Puck, and had a tendency to play fast and loose with the rules. He was also a notorious womanizer. Cam was well on his way to becoming a powerful Guardian in his own right; he had incredible control over his wind spirits. He couldn’t fly on his own, but Cam had taken to wearing wingsuits everywhere, using his spirits to achieve nearly indefinite gliding.

Thael glared at him. “One of those days, that’s going to get you killed.”
“Yeah right, these little bastards are way too fond of me to let that happen.” Cam said dismissively.
“No, I meant calling me Jared.”
“You’d have to catch me first.” Cam grinned, then turned to Roy. “Hey Roy, still boning this big lug?”

Roy flushed in response. “As much as you’re boning your five girlfriends,” he said, rolling his eyes, “At the same time, I presume?”
“Naturally” Cam said with a smirk.

“Cam, don’t you have training?” Thael interrupted.
“Yeah, but I heard you were shipping out and thought I’d see you off.” Cam’s tone grew serious. “Don’t get yourself killed out there, alright?”
“I’ll try not to. You watch out for Kyle and Mitch alright? Especially Mitch, the last year’s been tough for him.” The youngest Conrad boy was brilliant, but lacked social skills and was desperately homesick. At 13, he was at an age where those poor social skills were becoming problematic. “I’ll call them later, before I get to Norton city.”
“Alright, and I promise I’ll take care of them. Stay safe.”
The brothers shared a close hug, then Cam set off at a run. He abruptly dove forwards, spreading his limbs and calling his spirits to lift him up into the air. Thael watched for a moment, then resolutely turned towards the front gate. “Come on, we’re probably going to be late.”

------At the front gates-----------

As it turned out, they were just in time. Thael only had a few seconds to fondly greet Kimberley’s family and stuff an offered snack in his mouth before Major Sawyer called them to attention. Thael was used to loudmouthed drill sergeants, and accepted that they played a pivotal role in establishing discipline and enforcing the chain of command, but he also knew that any good officer understood when to use the carrot and when to use the stick. Major Sawyer evidently didn’t know what a carrot was, but Thael’s ‘at attention’ mask showed no sign of his disapproval. It was not his place to undermine anyone’s authority.

Once they were dismissed, Thael turned back to little Sammy as his friends prepared to march out. His deep voice was poorly suited to baby-talk, but he did have a trick that Sammy liked. Concentrating for a moment, Thael formed a luminous smiley face out of thin air. The infant cooed in awe and grasped at image, laughing as her little fingers passed through its warmth. Thael suddenly became aware that the rest of the group was already moving, so he quickly grabbed another tasty snack and said his goodbye’s to the Appleburry’s before racing after his friends.

--------On the road----------

The play of the sunlight across the rolling crowds was stunning as they walked along the side of the road to Doral. Though Thael would’ve prefered to take lead, he realized that was now Olivia’s responsibility, so once he caught up he stayed near the back of the group, falling in beside Kimbo. “Hey Fuzzy” he said by way of greeting. Kimbo gave him one of those ghastly smiles in response, but after that the two of them stayed quiet, just enjoying the walk. Thael liked that about Kimbo; he didn’t feel the need to fill the air with unnecessary talk. It was very relaxing.

When the group came to a halt, Thael was puzzled. Sure, he wasn’t exactly in top condition today, after last night’s festivities, but they were already almost halfway to Doral, and they had a 14 hour boatride ahead before they arrived at Norton City; there would be plenty of time to rest on the voyage. But again, he didn’t want to undermine Olivia’s new authority, so he stayed quiet. Five or ten minutes either way wasn’t likely to make much difference anyways.