Snow settled.
That was the first thing Elias noticed once the noise stopped—the way loose flakes drifted back down as if nothing had happened, filling in footprints, softening impact marks, trying very hard to pretend a fight hadn't just torn the space apart.
No one spoke.
Elias stood where he was, shoulders tight, breath coming a little too fast. His fingers still tingled from where wind and pressure had been forced through them, the echo of calculations fading but not gone. A dull ache pulsed behind his eyes, the familiar warning that he'd pushed too hard.
Across from him, the boy—Lyle—stood staring at him with a curious expression.
'What?'
Jamie hovered nearby, frozen mid-step, as if unsure whether to laugh or apologize. Her eyes flicked between Elias and Lyle's gleaming head, her mouth twitching.
The silence stretched.
Then Lyle reached down, brushed snow off something beside him, and calmly picked up his fur hat.
He straightened, dusted himself off with quick, efficient motions, and placed the hat back on his head, tugging it down firmly until not a trace of skin showed.
"Don't ask any questions, Elias," he said casually.
Elias blinked. "Right."
There was a pause—barely a heartbeat.
"…How did you know my name?" Elias asked.
Lyle sighed, shoulders dropping just a little. "You said you wouldn't ask."
"I said right," Elias corrected politely. "Not that I wouldn't."
"Okay, so I'm a hairless monkey because—"
"No, not that!"
"Then which is it?"
Jamie snorted.
Lyle glanced sideways at her. "She told me."
Jamie scratched the back of her head, suddenly very interested in the snow.
"Ah. Yeah. That."
Elias turned to her. "Jamie?"
She waved a hand dismissively. "Okay, okay, so—remember how I'm grounded?"
Elias hesitated. "Yeah…?"
"I still am," Jamie said brightly.
"Huh?"
"Temporarily permanent."
"You're not making any sense," Elias said, touching his temple as his headache seemed to strengthen.
Jamie just grinned, teeth flashing.
"Anyway, I sneak out sometimes. Not for too long, and not every day. Otherwise the boredom would kill me."
Lyle nodded. "You're not exactly good at your craft."
"Hey!"
"What? Even I caught you, and I'm an outsider," he continued. "I'm surprised your dad hasn't caught you lacking."
Jamie puffed out her chest. "Just goes to show how awesome I am."
Lyle scoffed.
Jamie pouted and jumped around him, trying to pull off his hat again, but he easily kept it out of her reach.
Elias watched quietly, some of the tension easing despite himself.
Jamie gave up with a sigh, glaring at Lyle as he made sure the hat was firmly secured, then turned back to Elias.
"So," she began, "one time I snuck into the forest, right? And I run into this guy." She jabbed a thumb toward Lyle. "He was… standing."
"Standing?" Elias repeated.
"In the same spot, with tears rolling down his cheeks," Jamie added.
Elias frowned.
"He was… just standing there?"
"I sat sometimes," Lyle said. "Standing felt dramatic."
Elias's brow furrowed, then his eyes lit up as he turned to face Lyle—specifically his head.
"Don't tell me it was bandits who had their way with you?"
"Why are you saying it like that? And no, this isn't about my head."
Jamie laughed. "He said he was looking for some old man."
Elias's attention sharpened slightly. "An old man?"
"Yeah," Jamie said. "Didn't say who. Just 'an old man.' Like that narrows it down."
Lyle shrugged. "He's difficult to find. We're traveling merchants, and that foul-mouthed bas— I mean, my fragile and kind-hearted gramps isn't right in the head."
He finally let the tears he'd been holding back slip free.
"I heard he joined another merchant caravan, so I've been traveling around to find him."
He took off his hat to dry his tears, then put it back on. Elias decided to ignore that.
"Since I, in my awesomeness, decided to feed him and showed him a place to stay," Jamie continued proudly, hands on her hips, "we became acquaintances."
"He's still looking for the old man, and sometimes we hang out."
"I see," Elias said quietly.
Something twisted faintly in his chest—an unexpected, sharp twinge he didn't immediately recognize.
Jamie noticed and smirked. "What? Are you jealous?"
"What? No."
She grinned wider. "You sure?"
"I barely understand what's happening."
"Like, sure sure?"
Elias looked away.
"Leave me alone."
"Aww, you big baby," Jamie said, slapping his shoulder.
Lyle watched them with mild interest, head tilted. "Your expressions are… loud. Anyway, I was going to buy some food. Then I saw Jamie leave her house."
"You seem awfully relaxed for someone looking for a missing person," Elias commented.
"And you didn't call out?" Jamie asked.
"You were too far ahead," Lyle said. "Also, you walk like you're being chased by wolves."
"I walk with purpose!"
"You sprint with chaos."
Elias sighed and shifted, suddenly aware of the weight still in his hand.
The dagger.
Lyle's gaze settled on it, appraising.
"That's a nice dagger," he said.
Elias startled slightly, looking down as if he'd forgotten he was holding it.
"Oh—this?"
He hesitated, then smoothly sheathed it behind his waist.
"Yeah. It was a gift."
Lyle raised a brow. "Since when do children carry weapons around?"
Elias didn't answer right away.
"I've been in this city four months," Lyle continued lightly, "and I still don't feel safe. I mean, knife-wielding maniacs are on the loose."
"Elias isn't a maniac," Jamie said.
"I'd use a more thorough expression to describe you in particular."
Elias's eyes flicked to the beads around Lyle's wrists and neck.
"For self-defense?"
Lyle nodded. "Yes."
Elias nodded once. "Likewise."
For a moment, they simply looked at one another—both armed, both pretending this was normal.
Then Elias's eyes flicked past Lyle.
Miss Gable was walking along the edge of the space, speaking quietly with another maid, basket tucked against her side. She hadn't noticed them yet.
"I should go," Elias said.
Jamie perked up. "Already?"
"She'll worry," he said. "And I… shouldn't be late."
Jamie smiled. "Later then."
She waved enthusiastically as she and Elias left.
Lyle casually returned the wave, a faint smile on his face.
But the moment they turned away—when they fell into step beside Miss Gable—something shifted.
Elias's posture straightened. The lazy looseness drained away. The softness vanished from his expression and his eyes went cold. The pair disappeared down the street, swallowed by the city's winding paths.
The space felt quiet.
Lyle looked up at the sky, breath fogging as it left him in a thin, shaky plume.
He wiped at his nose absently.
Red stained his glove.
"…Huh," he murmured.
Only now did the pain properly arrive, blooming across his face in a dull, spreading throb. He hissed softly, pressing two fingers beneath his nose, then laughed under his breath.
"So that's delayed."
'I thought my body was strong enough to shrug off that attack, given our difference in power. Guess I can't let my guard down around those kids.'
He wiped his hand clean against his coat, tucked both hands back into his pockets, and walked away, footsteps quiet.
Above him, clouds drifted slowly.
Lyle walked beneath them, alone, already thinking several steps ahead—careful now, wary.
Because some outcomes were getting harder to avoid.