by Emily Wilson
After another deep breath, Kato stands and follows her inside. “After them, can I go? I need a river cleaning after that.”
She doesn't have any objection to that and leads him back inside, but instead of going to the same, cold room he's been in, she takes him directly to a cell. “This is Xakan. They’ve been with us now for almost seven years from what I understand, but I'm not entirely sure they need to be here at all.”
Xakan looks up and brushes their short hair back with slender fingers. “Eight. Eight years, though I don't expect any of you to care.”
“Well, we do. That’s why we’re here.” Kato looks around at the rows of cells and sighs, focusing on Xakan in front of him. “Eight years is a long time.”
They nod, standing and walking closer to the bars. “I did the crime. I was caught in the act, so why are you here? I've heard about you, Kato. I know why you're standing here but I can't fathom why you're bothering. I'm guilty, and you won't hear me deny it.”
“Are you granting me permission to see for myself?” Kato tilts his head and watches them. “You admit your crime, but I want to see for myself.”
Xakan nods, gripping the bars and bracing themself as they meet Kato’s gaze. “Go ahead. Take what you need... it seems to be acceptable for everyone but humans.”
It isn’t fair, or maybe it is, but Kato chooses not to comment. He looks into their mind with a narrowed gaze, and like the others, what he’s looking for is easy to find. “Food... they just wanted to feed their family, and they’ve been here for eight years? How is that okay?”
“It's not,” Vaelyn agrees. “Which is why I wanted you to speak to them. Stealing isn't tolerable, but from what I've learned, it was a last resort for Xakan. Can you confirm?”
“Yes,” Xakan says. “I was denied a job and couldn't farm to save my life. Neither could my partner. All I wanted to do was stop my family from starving.” They continue looking at Kato and Vaelyn with a reserved, skeptical expression — but it's understandable. From what Kato can tell, the Praediti that have come in contact with Xakan have treated them like less than dirt.
“We have to get them out. I think they’ve served their time... and then some.”
Vaelyn instantly steps forward to open the cell door, but Xakan backs up. “It's been so long... there's no way my family is still alive. Just leave me here.”
The thought of their family not being alive has Kato worried, but he turns to Vaelyn. “Can I escort this one home? Do we know where their family is?”
“I do. I've made it my goal to know who lives in Embermeadow and where just in case such information is ever necessary. They're alive, Xakan. All four of them.”
Xakan’s expression immediately softens, but it looks to Kato like they're still not allowing themselves to hope. “The... baby?”
“Alive and well,” she confirms. “And quite the little terror if my sources are correct. My sister is a teacher and has told me many, many stories about your youngest daughter.”
Hearing that is enough to spark hope in their eyes for the first time. Kato smiles, holding out a hand to guide them out of the cell. “Let’s get you home.”
It doesn't take long to get to Xakan’s partner’s house, and the second the home is in sight, Xakan takes off for the door and knocks so hard, the wood nearly splinters. A woman opens it with a startled look on her face — but the second she takes in Xakan’s appearance, she throws her arms around them and squeezes tightly.
This is why, Kato reminds himself, smiling at them and backing up slowly. He doesn’t want to intrude on such an intimate moment. “I’m happy for you all. Take care.”
Xakan turns, hugging Kato before he can walk away. “Thank you. You have no idea what you've done for me.”
Their wife watches with confusion but seems to get the memo that Kato had a hand in bringing her partner home. “Come on, Xack. There's someone you need to meet.”
Kato feels much better as he walks home and nearly goes back to thank Vaelyn for not letting him stop after Kerk, but he’s already been gone much longer than he’d planned and just wants to get back home. He still gets there after Azrian, but they’re able to go down to the river to bathe together for the first time in days.
“How was your day at work?” Kato asks.
“Not bad. Had a couple orders for door knockers and one for a Hokrine knife. Those seem to be really taking off... I guess Tuyon told everyone he knows to come get one.”
“That’s great. You really are the best at them. There’s another blacksmith on the outskirts of town, but their quality is much worse than yours.” Kato sinks under the water to soak his upper half and stays under for a while. Finally coming up to breathe, he shakes the droplets from his hair and pulls Az in to keep from shivering.
They fit together even better in the water, and Az kisses him softly before grabbing the soap to wash Kato’s hair for him. “I still wonder if I'd be better with my powers. At blacksmithing, I mean. Not anything else.”
Knowing Az still doubts himself has Kato softly shaking his head, once again wishing he could kiss them away. “No... you’re amazing without them, Azzy. You don’t need them. You’re exactly who you’re meant to be.”
“I know that. I still don't want them, but sometimes I think it would be easier to just... use the energy instead of the forge. It's just so hot, and we really don't have any kind of a plan in place if there's a fire. Just a couple of barrels of water that we use to cool the metal.” Az rubs the soap into Kato’s scalp and then taps him to dip underwater, continuing to clean him once he comes back up.
“I’m sorry fire still bothers you... I wish there was some way to light up a room without fire or Videre. Maybe going to Anzore wasn’t such a bad idea. It’s obvious we have a lot we can learn from them.”
Az freezes, then circles back around to face him. “You're right. There are some serious areas for improvement here, but the last thing I'd ever want are Athozians to go to Anzore. Praediti or not, we'd ruin them. And if one goes, more will follow, and we just don't have any business ruining their lives. I'm afraid you won't convince me that we can go there without screwing things up.”
Azrian’s right. Deep down, Kato knows that, but he still can’t help but dream of lights — lights that don’t drain the person providing them. Ronan tries to help as much as possible, but if there was some way to make it so he could just be a kid, Kato would be a fool to pass it up. Even still, the last thing any world needs is Praediti messing things up. It’s bad enough in Athoze. “You’re right... Athozians are shadowheads. Maybe one day we’ll get there on our own.”
“Yeah,” he says, a soft smile spreading across his face. “Maybe we will.”
There isn’t much talking after that, and if Kato’s brothers didn’t show up and ruin the moment, they would have been taking advantage of that time in the water. Even still, the evening is spent surrounded by family and Kato definitely can’t complain about that.
WHEN AZRIAN WAKES, he knows it's going to be a long day. It's the day he has to tell Kato’s brothers they need to leave, and something tells Azrian they're not going to do so willingly. “You up, Jellycrai?” he asks quietly.
“Hmm,” Kato hums, his giant body rolling on top of Az’s and pinning him to the bed. “Morning, Azzy.”
He struggles to adjust his breathing as he grips Kato’s sides and fights a smile. “You make a better pillow than a blanket, y’know.”
“Of course I do.” Kato rubs their noses together and pulls back with a grin. “Is everyone still asleep?” He rolls his hips, thinking that was why Azrian woke him.
“Nngh,” Az mumbles, his thoughts getting a little fuzzy. “Jelly, we... they're all here. They didn't go to the inn last night,” he reminds him. “Entire house is full.”
“So?” Kato bites Azrian’s jaw gently and lifts his hands above his head. “You’ll just have to be quiet,” he whispers.
The likelihood of that happening is exactly zero, so Azrian doesn't complain wh
en someone knocks on the door... much. “We gotta get up, Kato. But the good news is that if they don't leave today, we’re going to the inn tonight. Ronan can go to Miya’s or something.”
“Leave?” That seems to clear the hormonal haze in Kato’s mind enough to have him sitting up. “You want them to leave?”
Shadows. “Yes,” he admits, bracing himself on his elbows. “I do. I'm sorry. I know it's selfish, but they've been here for weeks now and I miss you. I miss our life; I miss not having Zero put volucrae in my hair every time we step outside.”
Kato swings his legs off the side of the bed and looks down at the ground. “Okay, Azrian. I’ll talk to them today. I want to ask about my other brothers first and then I’ll tell them they have to go. We’ll visit them another time... you’re right. This house isn’t big enough and I miss you too.”
The tone of Kato’s voice contrasts his words, and Azrian immediately feels bad for even suggesting it. Kato's been deprived of his family his entire life, and just when he finally gets it, Azrian’s trying to make him give it up again. “Kato, wait. You don't have to. Forget I said anything, we can find time... sometime.”
“No it’s okay; I’ve been selfish. Rone is uncomfortable too, I told you I’d never put anyone above you... that includes me. I’m sorry you’ve been uncomfortable in your own home. Zero... I can’t make excuses for him. He irritates me, too.”
It still doesn't make him feel a whole lot better, but he kisses Kato as the intruder knocks again. “I promise I'll make it up to you. All the sweetbread you can eat, and we’ll kick everyone out of the house so we finally have a night to ourselves. I don't think I could deny you again if my li—”
“Come on!” Ronan yells through the door. “I can hear you, and if you don't come out here and save me from Zero, I'm going to take your door off the hinges!”
“Go ahead! You won’t like what you see,” Kato bluffs, grinning as they hear Ronan scoff and walk away. “Little shadowhead.” He turns to Az again with a small smile. “All the sweetbread?”
“All the sweetbread,” he promises, meaning it with everything he's got. He'd do more than that to show Kato how much he appreciates this. “Now come on... I think you should spend as much time as you can with them today.”
“Okay.” Kato stands, pulling up some pants and staring at Az like he’s something to eat himself. “But I’m eating that bread off you, and you’re going to lay there and take it.”
Azrian’s entire body flushes with that particular promise, but he's more than willing to accept the punishment. “Don't threaten me with a good time, Jellycrai. Though, that might get messy.”
They get dressed and make their way out to join the others, and every single set of eyes is pinned on them. “Sorry to interrupt,” Aleon says with a grin. “But breakfast is ready.”
“I was already enjoying some breakfast.” Kato smirks over at Az and walks to make a plate.
Teagon snorts into his cup of water and Ronan hides behind his hands, not one of them missing what Kato meant with that joke.
“Remember when I threatened to run away? I'm doubling down on that,” Az mutters, but follows Kato to get some food. Zero takes every opportunity to poke fun at him during breakfast, but Teagon eventually puts him in a headlock to shut him up and it's oddly satisfying to watch.
When they finish eating, Azrian can tell that Kato's looking for a way to bring up his other brothers, but so far, he's been reluctant to press them about it after that first day. Figuring that he owes Kato about fifty favors, Az clears his throat and does it for him. “So, there are other brothers, right? What about sisters? You guys never really said.”
The two decent brothers share a look and start with the sisters. “K1.0 was a sister. None of us got to meet her because she passed away before any other sibling was born. Melior ran so many tests on her she didn’t make it. We weren’t told much more than that.” Teagon hesitates before continuing. “Neena would have been younger than you. K9.0. She was with us until a couple years ago... unfortunately she passed away, too. They were our only sisters.”
Kato looks nauseous as he grips Az’s hand, but he keeps his gaze on his brothers. “I wish I could have met her.”
“She was great,” Aleon says quietly. “You'd have loved her, I think. Everyone did. Well, those of us with hearts, anyway.”
“And that's a good segue to the rest of them. You're 8.0, Aleon here’s 7.0 as you know. Then we've got Six. He's a Tactare, total... how do you say it? Shadowhead? Anyway, I'm 5.0 and Zero's 4.0, which brings us to —”
Aleon holds up a hand to cut Teagon off. “What you have to understand, Kato, is that we all had very different upbringings both inside and outside of Deadrun. Six might suck, but it's because he spends all of his time with 2.0 and 3.0.”
Zero’s face is almost unreadable as he listens to his brothers speak, but it looks as if he’s fighting a laugh. For some reason, that makes Az even more uncomfortable around the squirmy brother than anything before.
“Tell me about them.” Kato leans forward with a concerned expression. “I need to know.”
“Well,” Teag says as he takes a deep breath. “3.0 named himself Tripp. He's an Itinerae like Aleon, but absolutely nothing like Aleon. He's lazy and mean, and no, Zero, I don't give a stone about what you think.” He stares at Zero until he stops whispering under his breath, then faces Kato again. “Syphon is our oldest brother. 2.0, if you didn't already guess. There's something seriously, fundamentally wrong with him. I don't know if it's something Melior did or if he was always destined to be a stult, but that's what he is. He's crazy manipulative and colder than an Etrian night.”
Kato meets Azrian’s eyes, speaking into his mind instead of out loud. “We know all about that cold.” He glances back at Teagon. “Why? Why are they so different?”
“Beats me,” Teag says with a shrug. “But they suck, all of them. That's why me and Aleon settled down south. Leave the north to Syphon and his goons... but Zero bounces back and forth.”
“Somebody has to. Let’s not pretend you don't all use me to keep tabs on the others.”
Az takes a slow sip of his coffee and watches the argument that ensues. If they're really using Zero to spy, it might explain some of his attitude issues, though certainly not all of them.
“We are? Are you sure Syph isn’t the one using you? We never know when you’re going to show up, or when you’re going to leave. You just vanish,” Aleon argues, looking angrier than Azrian’s ever seen him.
“Let’s not fight, brothers. Isn’t there enough division already? We have to talk to them... make them see reason.” The hopeful look in Kato’s eyes tells Azrian he won’t be swayed. He always tries to see the best in people — sometimes to a fault.
“There's no talking to them, Kato,” Teagon growls. “This is why we didn't want to bring them up. They're lost causes. Syphon can’t be reasoned with; don't you think we've tried?”
“Yeah but... maybe I can try. I’m sure they’ve wanted to meet me just as you have... right?” Kato’s golden irises dart between all their faces, desperately looking for an ally. “Right?”
Azrian’s heart breaks watching him realize that he doesn't have any. As badly as Az wants to have his back here, all he can hear is the warnings given — he doesn't want Kato going anywhere near his eldest siblings, no matter how sad it makes him. “I'm sorry, Jellycrai,” he says quietly, reaching over to take his hand. “You've still got three, right? That's good.”
Kato drops his gaze, his resolve setting more with each passing second. “Yes, that’s good. But I have more brothers... I have to try. They have to see reason... to see there’s a better way.” He stands and walks to the door, rounding on them to say one last thing before storming outside: “I have to try.”
Teagon and Aleon share a look, but before they can speak Zero cackles loud enough to make everyone turn and look at him. “What? He’s definitely one of our brothers.”
“He’s going to try and walk
to... where are they again?” Az asks.
“Rostya.”
“Then Rostya. He's going to try and walk to Rostya now. Good job.” He gets up, squeezing past Zero to follow Kato outside. Sure enough, he's already almost down the walkway. “Kato! Wait up!”
Luckily, he waits for Azrian to catch up — but he begins his argument before his feet can even come to a stop. “I have to, Az. I can’t live every day wondering if I could have helped them... or worse, helped others they would see harmed.”
“Kato, this is insane. We have Ronan to think about now. We’re supposed to be done. You're still not finished at the prison, it's not the end of the school year yet—” he huffs, scrambling when he realizes he's completely out of points, “—You can’t. You don’t even know where they are.”
The truth of it all is finally enough to make Kato see reason. He nods, deflating before Azrian’s eyes as he runs a hand through his hair. “Shadows. I don’t have a clue where they live. Okay, fine, I won’t go today. But one day, Az... I have to.”
“And one day, I’ll go with you. This isn’t something you’ll have to do alone; we just need to be smart about it. We can’t ask my mom or Rhix to watch Rone, you know they won’t. Or... they’ll say they will, but he’ll just end up somewhere not even Cettia knows.” He reaches up to touch Kato’s face and smiles softly, hoping the promise he just made helps. “Sound good?”
He only responds with a nod as he takes Az’s hand and tugs him back toward their porch. Zero is there to greet them with his arms crossed. “Let me guess, the misses talked you out of it?”
“Don’t call him that,” Kato snaps, clearly done with Zero like the rest of them. “Why are you so infuriating? We’re supposed to be family.”
“We’re... yes. Him?”
It wakes up something in Kato that Az has only seen a few times, and every time, he’s been happy it wasn’t pointed at him. “I won’t say this again. He is my family, more than anyone ever before. I will marry him one day, whether you’re around or not. But if you’re not going to show him respect in our home, you can get faeched... brother.”