Janius clenched his jaw and pressed his lips together. After an apprehensive moment of staring into space, he answered. "Maybe." He moved to follow Ahnasha. "Let's find them as soon as we can."

Fendros followed along as well. "They're old enough to not give us away, at least."

[hr]
Rhazii took a look back through the door behind them before Harald gently shut the light away. They walked onto the street with less success than they had set out to attain.

While Rhazii was trying to think of excuses as well, he did not think out loud like Julan did. He looked up to the starry sky and pondered the bathing idea. "It's better than anything I can come up with. Even if there is water at the castle, we can say that we didn't know where to get it."

They turned and walked down the dark street in the direction of the canal. After a few seconds, Rhazii gave Julan a sympathetic look. "Sorry it didn't turn out exactly as planned, brother." He put an arm around Julan and squeezed him for a moment. He let go and continued. "I guess the next thing will be convincing uncle Janius to stay in the courtyard with us."

Rhazii breathed in to give a suggestion. He stopped in his tracks. "Wait, do you hear that?" Rhazii twisted to look over his shoulder, mouth slightly open and ears pert.

There were running footsteps coming towards them. Just one short set of legs by the sound of it.

Their source was revealed a second later. From around a corner came the moonlit silhouette of a short human girl in a nightgown. Her long, straight hair was flickering up with the speed she was going. Rhazii and Julan could hear her breathing heavily, but she still tried to call out. "Hey! Wait!" She raised a hand.

Rhazii turned around fully. A flash of recognition went over his eyes.

The girl closed the distance, slowing to a stop and bending her hands to her knees to catch her breath. She raised her blonde head and swallowed, revealing a set of brown eyes and a diminutive nose. She looked barely a few years older than him. "Hey, you said you know Janius, right? Can I meet him?"

Rhazii's eyebrow lifted and his ear angled to one side. "You're Aurana, aren't you?" he slowly hazarded. "I saw you watching from the stairs and...yeah, from the stairs."

The blonde girl grinned and nodded. "Yeah! I'm his sister. So, can I meet him? What are your names, by the way? It's nice to meet you two."