The fall only lasted a few seconds before soft sand crumbled beneath him. He hurtled into the anthill, digging a hole through the carefully-piled sand. Glimpses of ants rushed past, quick visions of corridors through the hills. At last, he thumped to a halt against a firm layer of earth. His head snapped against the dirt with a heavy thump.

Rowan sat up, rubbing the back of his head. Now I just need an ant.

Boots hurtled down at him. Panicked, Rowan rolled out of the way and barely dodged as Kaidu landed beside him, bending his knees slightly with the landing.

“Shit, man, what if you landed on me?” he snapped.

Kaidu glanced at him and clicked his tongue. Flicking his ponytail, he stalked off.

“Wait, were you trying to land on me? Kaidu, get back here.” Rowan jumped up and ran after him.

White flashed. Kaidu drew his coat on, the long tail flapping in his wake, then hoisted the stolen bag onto his shoulders. “We’re in the fire ants’ home territory. We’re going to die if we aren’t careful.”

“Some were carrying leaves. Are you sure they aren’t leafcutter ants?”

“Ants are ants. This is the Tower, do you think it cares about what kind of ants the ants act like? Things get a bit blurry, get used to it.”

“I get it, you know everything because your dad's amazing, blah, blah, blah. Don’t get so uppity about it.”

"Is that how it looks to you?" Shaking his head, Kaidu stretched out his legs and sped into the tunnels.

Tall enough to walk through, tunnels stretched in all directions. Ahead, ants scurried across their tunnel, slipping into and out of smaller tunnels. The ants they’d encountered before were large, but the size of a foot, maybe as large as a small dog. Ones as small as those ants hurried around, but the majority started at medium-dog and grew larger, tall as horses, even.

Rowan kept an eye on the small ants, but every time they drew near, the ants skittered away regardless of size. A few sped off into the tunnels at top speed, a sense of urgency about their rush.

Turning his attention back to his party member, he found Kaidu well ahead of him, stalking down the tunnels aggressively. Rowan jogged and caught up to him, looking up at Kaidu as he reached his side. “What, you have a problem with your dad? Who is he, anyways?”

Kaidu glanced at him. “Have you ever heard of Satoru Mizue?”

“The Swordsmaster who climbed to the top of the Tower alongside the current Hero-King, yeah. Who hasn’t?” He blinked, then jumped back. “Wait, no—that’s your dad?”

Kaidu inclined his head.

“Holy shit, dude! I had no idea.”

“I prefer it that way,” Kaidu muttered.

Rowan shook his head. “And you turned out to be a support class? Damn. No wonder. I think I get it.”

“You have no idea,” Kaidu snarled.

Chuckling, Rowan hurried after him. Explains a lot. Why he knows so much about the Tower. How he’s a semi-competent fighter, despite being a Hairdresser. Satoru Mizue’s son, damn! That’s no joke. Mizue probably didn’t even notice him nabbing a few thousand to start his shop, the kind of cash he’s got on hand. He shook his head. “Didn’t take your father’s name?”

“He did not marry my mother.”

Rowan’s eyes widened. Stepped on that one. “Sorry.”

Kaidu’s lip twitched. “It’s only convenient. Made it easier to disown me when I became trash.”

Rowan took a deep breath. This whole time, I've been jealous of Kaidu, but... he hasn't had it any easier than me, has he? Might have even had it worse. At least my parents were supportive of my class. If they disowned me for it... I can't even imagine.

He shook his head. “You aren’t trash, Kaidu. I’m trash. You’re the hottest Hairdresser ever, three question marks?”

Kaidu squinted at him.

Rowan waved him down. “Don’t worry about it. My point is, you’ve already made a name for yourself. That’s incredible on its own.”

“But I’m not a combat class.”

“No.” Rowan pressed his lips together, familiar with that bitterness.

Kaidu snapped his head up. “Incoming.”

All at once, the smaller ants vanished into side tunnels, crawling over one another in their haste. Even the larger ones backed out of sight, leaving the hallway empty. Rowan and Kaidu stood in the clear. Kaidu brandished a pair of scissors, one large, one small.

Behind him, Rowan yanked out his trusty trowel. He glanced left and right, searching for a small ant. Come on, come closer! I just need one ant!

In the corner of his vision, an ant wriggled, caught half in, half out of a hole slightly too small for it. Rowan grinned. At last.

A horse-sized ant trundled down the hall. At the sight of them, it drew to a halt. Flat black eyes regarded them. Antennae twitched, searching in their direction. It hesitated, almost thoughtful. It inched toward them, then paused again.

Kaidu stepped forward. Rowan caught his coat. “Wait, wait. The hormones, remember? We kill it, the whole hive comes after us.”

“So what, we wait for it to kill us?” Kaidu mocked.

Rowan smiled. “What if we smelled good instead?”

Kaidu stared. “What?”

Rowan spun and pounced on the stuck ant, yanking it free from the hole. The ant squirmed desperately, screeching. Avoiding its mandibles, Rowan rubbed the ant on himself. He held it out toward Kaidu.

Kaidu pushed him away. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Hold still!” Rowan grabbed the tail of Kaidu’s coat and rubbed the ant on it.

Kaidu snatched his coat away. “Stop it!”

Rowan’s eyes shone. Now, while his hands are occupied! He jumped at Kaidu and rubbed the ant on him. “Aha, got you!”

Snarling, Kaidu released his jacket and pushed Rowan away. Rowan stumbled back and fell into the wall. Stunned, he released the ant. It jumped off him and scampered off into the distance.

“The fuck,” Kaidu snapped, wiping his face with his jacket.

The giant ant drew closer. Its antennae flickered over Kaidu. He stiffened. The scissors twitched.

Rowan shook his head. He held a finger to his lips.

Kaidu glared.

The ant moved on. It reached to Rowan. Dry antennae brushed his face, feeling over the shape of it. As if satisfied, it lowered its head and nudged him on, down the hallway.

Kaidu lowered his scissors. "It isn't attacking?"

Rowan grinned, pleased with himself. “Ant hormones! It probably paused at first because all those ants crawled over us with the ant lion, and we kind of smelled like ants. Now, we really smell like that one ant, so it should recognize us as a member of the hive."

“Where’s it taking you?” Kaidu asked.

The ant reached out and nudged Kaidu on as well, pushing them both down the hall.

“More like, where’s it taking us,” Rowan replied.

Narrowing his eyes, Kaidu jabbed the scissors at Rowan. “If it kills us, I’m blaming you.”

“What will I care? I’ll be dead,” Rowan said.

The ant nudged him again.

“Right, right, I’m going.” He let the ant push him deeper into the tunnels.