Another Day at Unity (34)

Fae set the hammer down beside him on a bench. He did it as though the metal and wood weighed almost nothing, yet the gesture made the floor shake with the force. He tilted his head to one side, wiping sweat away from his face with the other arm.

"I... don't believe we had many opportunities to speak," he said.

Julian had few examples to measure Unity—both his mother and father had quite a lot, with girls like Hayden as the rare exception. That was why she was so much more powerful than most other mythicals, even those with better training: Hayden cheated.

Fae came close. That must be where that unearthly beauty came from, capturing some of the mythical pokémon in human form. But instead of a soft kitten, the human form of Victini was a creature of confidence, motion, and avian angles.

His hair was the same orange and yellow of his daemon, with several feathers protruding from within. Somehow they never managed to look out of place, but blended smoothly with his hair. The tail behind him fit above his trousers, and twitched faintly when he moved.

Even so, Fae was not flying; he'd been standing barefoot on the workshop floor, entirely unaffected by the heat.

Julian had been staring. He winced, then stood up straight, accidentally bumping the little kitten against his chest. That made her start to drift, carrying the protection of their little bubble along with her.

Aerie didn't say anything, but she couldn't. It took too much of her abilities just to keep the bubble up. Even controlling her flight might break her concentration enough to pop the bubble.

So Julian nudged her with both hands, standing taller to make it look like holding her had been his plan all along. It couldn't be that bad, if the Shaymin always did it.

"No, we haven't. You're in... the high class, and I'm in the young one. I'm sure that makes some kind of sense to someone."

"You can call me Fae." He held out one hand to Julian, the same one he'd been swinging the hammer with. But then it reached the bubble, and the protection began to deform, bending inward from his touch.

Aerie whimpered, obviously straining under the sudden assault. He felt it too, a sudden weakness as his daemon drew on his own mental strength to keep the shield from falling. That was not a bottomless well.

"Fae." He waved awkwardly instead. "I... only know one way to stay safe from this much heat. I don't think I can shake your hand right now."

"Yes, right." Fae looked across the room, checking the door behind Julian. When he saw no one was there, the victini's face changed.

Julian couldn't read it easily, faces had never made sense to him like that. Emotions usually did, but not from the victini. He didn't broadcast how he was feeling the way mew did, making sure others knew how safe or comfortable he was. Instead, there was only a barrier.

That left Julian to guess. The change was almost refreshing, compared to what he usually experienced with servants and staff. Fae wasn't going to make this process easy. "I wouldn't want to scorch the heir apparent of House Mew." Fae gestured, and a light jacket zipped over to him from a hook, settling over his shoulders. He had no shirt underneath, a fashion so silly it must be deliberate.

"I assume you have some matter of interest for me," Fae said. "Or have you just come for the pleasure of my company?"

Julian blushed, for reasons entirely disconnected from the heat of the forge. "I... I..."

Fae was too fast; he didn't even stop long enough for Julian to speak. "I would enjoy a little fresh air after all this work. One of the lakes, perhaps? They're close enough, and quite sacred. I'm told the Lake Guardians sometimes appear to those who visit."

Lake Guardians—hadn't he read about those in one of his classes?

Fae didn't wait long enough for him to make up his mind. He waved one hand, gesturing at the space between them—and the world shifted.

He wasn't as smooth about it as Father. Julian still felt the disorientation and space contorted around them, conformed to the unnatural geometry of the teleport. He was still much better than Julian. He didn't even need to break the shield spell, somehow, bringing the two of them inside the shield.

Even with the bubble still intact, Julian felt the oppressive cold crash down outside the bubble. The shield relaxed in the much gentler temperatures, turning from a piece of metal directly in a flame back to that faintly blue outline of where the underlying bubble was hidden.

"I've never been this far from the school." True to his word, Fae had brought them to a lake, with a gentle sandy shore and water that was frozen over with a thin layer of ice. "I think... I think you're right about the lake. I can feel it, a little. There's something here."

"Eh, whatever. Never much cared for those old legends. Feels like our parents wrote half of them to make the younger generation more compliant." He turned away from the water, walking until he put himself between Julian and the lake. As he spoke, those words had a dulling effect, silencing whatever Julian had felt.

Maybe he was right—he'd probably been imagining that feeling anyway. There were only two of them here.

"I'm not sure how much longer I can keep us in here," Aerie thought. "Can I drop it?"

"Yeah. We should be okay for a little while in the cold."

Granted, the cold didn't reach Fae the way Julian felt it. Where the victini walked, the snow melted almost instantly. The water near where he stood was already beginning to groan, with small chunks of ice crumbling away into the lake. Only the supreme cold kept Fae's incredible heat under control.

"I'm sorry to disrupt your... work," Julian said. He avoided looking directly at the older boy, or else he'd have to stare through that silly open-breasted jacket.

Besides, Fae's daemon wasn't just lounging in the fire anymore. She skimmed along the water nearby, deliberately melting away huge chunks of ice to steam. "I wondered if you might be able to help me with something. I know I'm not Eldest yet, so I can't... order anyone to do anything. But I would be grateful."

"A lesser virtue, but... none could blame you for its touch upon your life, given your proximity to their house." Without the shield, he could take Julian's hand in both of his and squeeze. Despite the incredible heat of what he had just done, Fae's touch didn't burn. It was pleasantly warm, just like Valiant’s presence in general.

The victini radiated heat this frozen wasteland could never offer. It would be better to be held—but if he couldn’t do that, at least Aerie could, flying over to the victini and pressing close to her. It was almost as good—at least one of them would be warm here in the wasteland.

"I, uh—" The heat had him so flustered, he almost forgot what he'd come to ask in the first place. "It's... this awful frozen hell," he said, exasperated. "I can't go anywhere without Aerie freezing her tail off. Nothing sane lives this far north. But I've heard my mother talk about ways to stop it from being so awful."

"Fire moves," Fae said. "There are no frozen mythicals of significance, and few enough with heat burning continuously within them sufficient to sustain them in this frozen place."

He turned away from Julian, though held on with one hand, leading him away along the shore. Where they walked was more snow and ice, melting away from Fae in a wave and leaving mud behind. But Fae wasn't actually touching the ground, so neither would he.

Poor Aerie would need to sleep for hours after all this work. He sent the kitten his gratitude. "At least you're warm."

The victini didn't seem to mind her company, letting the kitten circle her, brush against her feathers, or float right up against her. She had plenty of extra heat to spare.

"Yeah! I think that's what she said. There's obvious attacking moves out there, starting fires and stuff. Any common pokémon can learn those. But there are other ones too, that all the mythicals learn sooner or later. We can make heat inside, just enough to stay warm no matter how bad the weather gets. I wanted to ask for help learning... from someone who actually knew."

Fae said nothing for a few seconds. Normally Julian didn't mind waiting, since he could just look and see what someone was thinking about saying before they said it. Without that, he could only do his best not to leak his own feelings, keeping his thoughts placid and calm. I'm not nervous I'm not nervous I'm not nervous...

"I'm surprised you would come to me," Fae said. He stopped atop a low bluff overlooking the lake, with a view of snow rolling out over the horizon as far as Julian could see. The sun was already getting low in the sky, staining the snow atop distant mountains bright orange. "What of the wildling girl, your betrothed? I've heard the two of you were unusually close for an arranged marriage. Couldn't she teach you?"

They must be very far from Unity—he couldn't see any sign of the school no matter where he looked.

"She's—" A dozen different words flashed through his mind. Infuriating, frustrating, annoying, inconsiderate, unpredictable, impolite, wild—but the longer he thought about it, the more other thoughts took their place. Brave, exciting, interesting, pretty—"She's the reason I'm stuck here," Julian said, before he could remember too much of his time with her. It could be like that again if she would just say she was sorry.

"It's her fault," he said again, more confidently. "All of this. Stupid training for us... we don't need this. I'm not some wild kitten picked up out of the gutter. My family was teaching me just fine back in Johto."

Fae released his hand. The cold against his skin was one more shock, however expected. Julian tucked his hand into his pocket. That helped, as did having Aerie still sheltered in the warmth of another daemon. Between that and the radiant heat of the victini's presence, they could survive these conditions for a little while.

Julian still wished he hadn't taken off his coat back in the workshop.

"I know exactly how you feel. This insistence of changing what has worked for our families for thousands of years, just... doesn't seem fair." He rested one hand on Julian's shoulder, almost casually. "I don't know how she convinced your father. But everyone knows how badly Lord Moonstone wants to join the ancestors, and leave human life behind."

Julian stiffened, unsure of what to say. Even indirect criticism of his father was incredibly rare among the other families. Couching it in implications and hints softened the blow a little, but the intention underneath remained clear.

Could the Eldest be wrong? Maybe they didn't need to change anything. Let the new kids come somewhere boring and awful, while those who belonged to real families did things the ways that already worked.

"I'll have the power to change it one day," he whispered. "Another century, maybe two. I'll take his place. Then I can fix it."

"Too late to save us," Fae said. "Alas, the cruelty of fate. But I will still rejoice knowing we have a young, vital Eldest holding the balance of Great Families together. Someone who won't be easily manipulated by every trend and whim of the common masses."

"You think that could be me?" Julian asked. He tilted his head to the side. "I'm not as strong as everyone here. Can't do what you do. Or even what she does."

Fae touched his other shoulder now, turning Julian gently in place. "She isn't the Eldest, Julian Moonstone. She followed the shortsighted path of greater power now at the cost of her future potential. That alone proves she would never have served the office you're trying to fill. You are growing exactly the way every enlightened member of the Great Families always should. Your power is feeble now, perhaps—but you're young. It's no shame to be born later than others."

Yeah. I'm the important one. She's only stronger because she cheated. And because she had, his betrothed could never challenge for the only real position that mattered. She would only ever be his wife, or at least the first one. The Eldest would outlive her, and probably a few others who followed after her.

"You're right."

"Course I am." Fae released his shoulders. "I'm not telling you anything new. You already knew. I'm only an advisor. I serve the office, even if you don't hold it yet."

Fae held both hands together, and a faint blue flame appeared between his fingers, as though he were holding the combined warmth of a campfire. "The move you're looking for doesn't have a name, since it doesn't do damage or serve any purpose in battle. We have to be out in the cold while you practice, so you'll know when it's working. Sit down next to me, and I'll show you."

He did. The older boy rested behind him on the snow, so the cold never got too close. "Your daemon will learn it quicker than you. But you both need the move if you plan to go anywhere cold. It starts by..."

Julian rested his back against Fae's, lifting up both hands to try and copy what he was doing. There were strict rules here, requirements he would have to master with practice.

But Julian could learn. He was going to be the Eldest one day, after all. And he wouldn't have to learn alone.