“How’s the unsealing of my sister, Senator Alexandre?”

“It’s going well,” replied the senator.

The attendees had broken up into small groups, discussing and whining over how they were being forced to equip people who they might not even know or care about. One particular group, however, had been fired up after someone started claiming that their assigned Harvester would be the greatest contributor of ether cores, and what essentially was an unofficial challenge became taken up by every other group there.

“How many more treatments does my sister need to go through?” Gaius asked, his eyes tracking the commotion as beastfolk after beastfolk began their proclamations of being the best sponsor.

“A few left, surprisingly enough.” The senator steepled his hands. “Major Degurechaff has been a great help, as well as Campmaster Magnus. The latter’s efforts in particular, as he is one of the three Lords in Heritage Basestation. I wonder why he’s taken time out of his schedule to help, though.”

Gaius himself wasn’t sure why that was the case, but it was a great development. Making a mental note to treat Nalus and his father with more courtesy the next time they met, he glanced at the rowdy bunch of beastfolk.

“They seem fired up, at any rate,” said Gaius.

“Competition is truly the spice of life. The Warmaster should have just created a ranking board for ether core collection; everyone here would participate enthusiastically.”

“Even you, Alexandre?”

“Especially me, but I’ll feel bummed out about the fact that the senators aren’t participating.” The Senator shook his head, a faint smile on his face, and then walked towards the gathering in the centre of the auditorium, where the important men and women of Ark City were laying down some rules.

Gaius shook his head at the senator’s little joke, and then left the bustling auditorium behind. He wasn’t interested in such a competition. Even though it was a platform that he could potentially show off on, there was no point in joining them on purpose. He wanted to let the results speak for themselves.

The lecturers for Artificing and Apothecary were conversing amongst themselves as Gaius walked through the door of the auditorium. For a moment, Gaius wanted to join them, but the possibility of him becoming a third wheel in a relationship between two consenting adults was not impossible. After all, the two were lecturers of around the same age, so such a thing was well within the realms of possibility.

At any rate, it seemed like there weren’t any taboos with relationships within a professional setting. And it wasn’t impossible for romance to happen between a Harvester and a lecturer either, but there was usually an age gap.

The little boy glanced at the furtive pair again, a knowing look in his eye, and then left the building entirely.

Adults will be adults, after all.

Gaius looked around at the confusing maze of buildings, and without any hesitation, turned his body invisible. Taking to the skies, he flew for a few short minutes until he saw the tents, where Nakama was once again making snowmen.

This time, however, Nalus and a handful of guards were sitting on the cold ground, watching as she explained the basics of snow sculpturing to the assembled crowd. It was odd watching a little girl explain to a bunch of teenagers and adults how to do something…which must have been the emotions that Senator Alexandre felt when Gaius himself was beating up a bunch of Harvesters.

As the boy stewed in his own thoughts, Nakama took a snowball and reshaped it expertly, demonstrating the principles behind the art of making a limb. Gaius could tell that she wasn’t making any particular effort to sculpt it; only skill and dexterity was involved in her creations. Picking up another snowball, she repeated the process, only that this time around, she was doing it step-by-step.

Gaius’ eyeballs turned round as Nakama repeated the step-by-step breakdown of recreating the limb, only in slow motion this time. It wasn’t as easy as it sounded; she was slowing down every movement she made, from the curl of her fingers to the finishing touches she was placing on a left leg.

Smiling, the little lecturer landed beside a particularly ornate sculpture of him carrying Nakama on his back, and then undid his invisibility. Without any dramatics, he joined the small crowd listening to Nakama lecture on and on.

He had to say, she made a better teacher than Gaius ever was. All Gaius did, now and on Earth, was to beat someone up enough times to make a point across. Nakama, however, was far better equipped to teach someone the sane way.

After the little girl completed yet another flattering sculpture of Gaius, this time complete with cloak and a long sword that had no business in any self-respecting assassin’s hands, she let out a squeak as she finally caught sight of her big brother. Nalus and the other guards turned to follow her line of sight, and found a sheepish Gaius smiling weakly back.

“Don’t mind me,” said Gaius. “Your lectures are great, so go on!”

A shiver passed through the guards in attendance, and some of them were about to slip away when Nalus stopped them and said, “The lecturer isn’t angry at you lot, so why are you guys leaving?”

Gaius raised both hands as the men in question snuck glances at him, shaking his head slightly to indicate that he had no problem with them.

“Go on,” encouraged Gaius. “I think snow sculptures are something great, so don’t be afraid to learn from my little sister.

Shooting a thumbs up at Nakama, Gaius weaved past the small army of snow sculptures and entered the tent. It was great that she was beginning to do something of her own will, instead of being overly reliant on Gaius…although he did feel a bit bummed about that fact.

It was a fact of growing up, if nothing else.

Gaius cast one last look outside, and then moved to prepare for the next foray into Heritage.