[@Crimmy]

[b]Luke Schwarz[/b]

[b]"So,"[/b] I began, after confirming that Galla had indeed lost interest, not that I blamed her. [b]"Anything [i]else[/i] I need to clear up before you go running wild with it?"[/b]

[color=ffcf40]"Uuuh..."[/color]

[color=00aeef]"Hm..."[/color]

In perfect stereo, they rubbed their chins in thought, and I sighed, folding my arms and tapping my foot. For all I built them up to be in my head, I had been ignoring the simple fact that they were still teenaged girls, and teenaged girls who loved accosting their elder brother at any slight, perceived or otherwise. In a way, I had kind of earned it over the years.

It was no secret that we didn't get along.

It was no secret that I resented them.

It was no secret that they resented me.

We had clashed countless times over anything and everything under the sun, no matter which of us started it. Me with my words, April with her fists, Dawn with an awl, anything was fair game. It was only natural that they would grow to distrust me— Anyone would distrust the person I used to be. 

A guy who shunned any form of societal engagement, would regularly spit depressive nonsense and unnecessarily harsh words without regard for the feelings of others, or even worse, would do so with full intentions of hurting them for no other reason than to be petty and have people share in his own misery. Despite being superheros in training and part-time dispensers of hometown vigilante justice, those two were by no means safe from my cynical wrath.

I was a nearly a dropout of high school, and already a washout of a person. I may have turned a new leaf at the eleventh hour—

But even that was simply months ago. Some built up distrust was unavoidable. On one hand, I intellectually understood the situation with mostly perfect clarity, but on the other, less rational, emotional side...

Well, let's just say negativity is a feedback loop.

But back at present, if they hadn't thought of anything yet, they weren't going to now.

[b]"So, when are Mom and Dad supposed to get here, then? Do you know?"[/b]

[color=00aeef]"As soon as they can, that's the best we got."[/color]

[color=ffcf40]"In other words, not a clue!"[/color]

Huh. Busy day today, wasn't it? It was no skin off my back, thankfully, because I understood the situation.

Freeing up the schedules of a police chief and an active huntress at the same time was like asking for a small miracle.

And to speak of hunters with miraculously free schedules...

[b]"Dawn, you two didn't happen to catch where Tanner ran off to, did you?"[/b]

[color=00aeef]"We haven't seen him since we got off the airship. In fairness, we did ditch him, though."[/color]

[color=ffcf40]"Left him right in the dust! Heheh, bet he didn't see that coming!"[/color]

No, he entirely did. You don't get past that man so easily unless he lets you, which opens its own can of worms when you think about it. That guy wants to play surrogate uncle and trusted chaperone for these two and he lets them go once I'm here to deal with them?

Dude, that's really cold.

[b]"What about you, Galla?"[/b] I asked, hoping the stoic girl wasn't too absorbed in the local news. [b]"No scruffy older dudes in aloha shirts on the way here? If you saw him, you'll know."[/b]