"A play? Really? You were actually picked for a play?" Father asked, one brow raised — only to be pinched promptly by Mother.
"Oh, my darling baby, Mommy is so proud of you!" she squealed, voice practically triggering the house's volume regulator. She immediately began showering Altair with praises as the ambient lighting in the room shifted to a soft peach hue in response to her elevated mood.
"Mother!!" Altair whined softly, cheeks squished by her affectionate hands. She scanned his face with a palm-swipe, her embedded nanoring snapping a quick 3D hologram. "For the archives," she whispered dramatically, pretending to tear up. "They grow up so fast."
"What's the play about?" Audius asked from the end of the hover-sofa, where he lounged with his coreband projecting floating notes above his wrist.
"Well, I think it's supposed to be about the Seven Heroes and all whatnot," Altair said casually, his voice a bit garbled through the crunchy snack he just ordered from the manor's auto-dispenser. The snack pod beeped once and retracted into the wall behind him.
"So you're playing as Thorneveil?" Caelum asked, glancing up from his smartglass tablet. He narrowed his eyes slightly — there had been no such play in their last timeline. Butterfly effects were stacking. By now, in his past life, they were still worrying about their missing parents.
"Nope! I'm playing Raventhorn. Isn't it cool?" Altair grinned, still chewing.
Father: "…"
Mother: "…"
Audius: "…"
Caelum: "…"
Lucien: "…"
Everyone: This imbecile.
"Second brother, you are a Thorneveil," Lucien said flatly, trying to remind him without having to slap the logic into him.
"I'm clearly aware of that fact," Altair said, nodding solemnly like this was a chess match and he was about to checkmate them all.
"You're playing Raventhorn in the play," Caelum clarified, brows raised.
"Yes, I just told you. What's wrong?" Altair tilted his head, completely oblivious.
"Oh, sweetheart," Mother said with both amusement and a glimmer of pity, as her ring pulsed gently — alerting the AI butler to bring tea.
"You dimwit, you're a Thorneveil playing Raventhorn. That's the issue," Audius added dryly, flicking a command at the console to dim the room's sarcasm filter.
"Why is that an issue? Sylas is playing Thorneveil while the rest decided to be lame and 'play their ancestors.' What idiots," Altair scoffed, stuffing another glowing blue crisp into his mouth.
Family (collectively): You're the idiot.
If you're wondering who Sylas is — normally, I wouldn't care nor bother to explain... but due to my soft and tender heart, I shall indulge you.
Sylas Raventhorn — second child and first son of Duke Raventhorn. Twin brother to Seraphim Raventhorn. Altair's best mate and enabler of all his ridiculous ideas.
So no need to fret. Altair is not being idiotic in isolation. He has company.
Father sighed and looked utterly done, scrolling through holo-news via his retinal implant. Mother, on the other hand, just smiled indulgently as a tray of floating tea cups hovered in, precisely arranged by the house AI.
"How is Sylas doing? That boy is sure a hassle," Mother asked, accepting her tea as it gently lowered itself into her palm.
"He's alright. We're planning to pick out our costumes today. I was hoping to take Lucien with me," Altair added, glancing my way with full puppy-eye protocol activated.
"Lucien, dear — do you mind?" Mother turned to me, her voice warm as the seat adjusted to support her posture perfectly.
I shrugged. I had no reason not to go.
"I don't mind," I said, offering Altair a small smile.
He exhaled in dramatic relief.
"Phew! For a moment there, I thought you were about to be a Debbie downer and say no like usual. But what a relief."
Lucien, the "usual Debbie downer": "…"
The smile on my face twitched. He really does have an unruly mouth. Is it too late to prove him right?
"Just be careful," Mother said gently. "The guards will be with you — don't think you can run off like last time."
"Don't fret, sweetheart. I've got nothing pressing today," Father added, leaning back as the room dimmed its lights slightly to match his relaxed pulse. "I'll tag along and watch over them."
"Wow. So you've got nothing better to do than watch a bunch of kids pick out costumes? You sure are the interesting one, Delirian," Audius drawled without looking up.
"Oh, Odious, the ever-lonely one," Father replied with exaggerated sadness. "It brings me great joy to watch youth bloom in peace. Something you clearly wouldn't understand, having neither youth nor peace."
Old, childless Audius: "…"
"Alright, enough from both of you," Mother cuts in, sipping her tea. "Don't influence my lovely babies with your foolish antics."
___--------------_______
After meeting up with Sylas where he and Altair schedule to meet, we decided to use transport pods to reduce the amount of attention we call to our, we even wore mask and everything, we were two heroic families among the seven, the less attention we drag, the better.
The transport pod slid to a halt with a soft click, its gravity field adjusting automatically as we stepped out into the open-air atrium of VividWear 7, the capital's premium hologear boutique.
Altair was practically bouncing beside me. "This is it, Lucien! Just look at that!" He pointed at the massive floating display above, where a ten-foot-tall hologram of a woman shifted rapidly through glittering costumes — from battle armor to mythical robes, to a gelatinous jello beast with wings.
Sylas was already sprinting ahead, laughing. "Dibs on the costume with plasma wings!"
The building itself was more sculpture than store. Translucent walls curved like waves around us, shifting colors based on movement. The floors responded to our steps — glowing with each contact, not just for design but to trace traffic and customer patterns. Suspended above were thousands of tiny drones, silently repositioning lights and directing atmosphere flow.
Our father trailed behind us with his arms crossed, observing everything with a look that said I am here to spoil and to pamper.
We entered.
Immediately, a humanoid AI in the form of a very excitable duck greeted us.
"Welcome to VividWear 7! I'm Quackston, your fashion assistant. Please do not panic, I am only 62% self-aware today!"
Altair clapped in delight. "I love this place already."
"You would," I muttered, as Quackston bowed dramatically and spun in midair, his hologram suit changing into various historic outfits.
Around us, mannequins weren't still — they moved, posed, and mimicked the customers, trying to match energy and body language. Digital mirrors didn't reflect — they previewed. One glance was all it took to project a dozen different outfit possibilities around your body, rotating them in sync with your breathing rhythm.
"This… is so stupidly impressive," Altair whispered, eyes wide as he twirled and watched the display follow him.
Sylas, from across the store, shouted, "Guys! They've got battle robes that shimmer with your mood! Look at this — I'm wearing guilt!"
"You wear guilt well," Father muttered.
I stayed still.
I wasn't here for fashion, or fun, or fitting in.
I was here for them.
Watching the others — Altair laughing with his best friend, Father pretending not to be amused, Sylas tossing bolts of light across the hologlass panels — it felt like a story I didn't belong in. A picture I was afraid to ruin.
The brightness. The noise. The warmth.
I loved it.
And I hated that I didn't trust it to last.
In my last life, places like this became haunted halls. The laughter faded. The lights dimmed. Costumes collected dust in untouched closets.
It was all too easy to imagine Altair gone. Sylas too. The sparkle drained from their faces. That same mall, once alive, standing silent under power-saving mode.
But not this time.
I closed my eyes and pushed the image away.
Not this time.
"Lucien!" Altair called, waving a metal claw-glove in my face. "Look at this one — I'm totally gonna steal the show!"
I blinked. The glove was huge. Ridiculous. It glowed neon green and roared like a tiger every time he flexed it.
"You already steal the show, with or without that idiotic gauntlet," I muttered.
"Awwww. You do care." He grinned.
I allowed myself a small smile. Just enough to be real. Not enough to make me vulnerable.
Only to be brought back to reality after seeing dad walking in an all pink cloak.
I looked at him with an eyebrow raised in amusement.
All he said was
"I'm wearing embarrassment".
I chuckled so did Sylas and Altair.