ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-EIGHT: Family Matters IV

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******

 

“Alden. Hey, Alden. It’s over.”

At the sound of his name coming from Winston Heelfeather’s mouth, he looked up to realize that Instructors Klein and Marion were finished speaking to the class. Earlier, Alden had pulled out his tablet in case there was any need for note taking, and it lay untouched on the desk in front of him.

His thoughts had been on another planet ever since Evul-art’h had ended the call.

“So,” Winston said, “what do you think of my offer?”

At the start of the meeting, the speedster had raced ahead of Haoyu to steal the seat directly in front of Alden, for the purpose of making another offer to present Alden’s Avowed selection story to his own fans.

Waves of disinterest had flowed through Alden as soon as Winston said “social media collab.”

“You’d have instant access to my follower base,” the boy was telling him now. He flashed a grin. “You know how much that kind of exposure would help you with your launch.”

Why is he saying “know” so…knowingly? Like we’re in on something together.

Alden had expected Winston to be extra obnoxious after running into the fishing line neck first. But he’d thought it would take the form of more jealous glares and insecure put-downs. This was so much stranger.

“The fans will love it. We have to do it this week, though. My posting schedule is completely full for months. Couldn’t fit you in anywhere else. And there’s so much interest in Anesidora right now. Globally, I mean. It’s a perfect time for—”

“I don’t think it is,” said Alden. “Who makes a ‘Meet me! I’m amazing!’ post at a time like this? I’m not interested, but even if I was, I wouldn’t do it now. It would either disappear in the noise or blow up in my face because it’s tone deaf. This sounds like a scam.”

Winston gaped at him. Reinhard snickered.

Was that too harsh?

“I’m sure that’s not how you meant it,” Alden said. “But…yeah. Thanks for the offer anyway.”

Winston sputtered something defensive.

Alden didn’t have the bandwidth for him. He’d barely gotten the gist of what the instructors had said over the past fifteen minutes.

Morrison Waker was safely back on the planet as of this morning, and he’d be returning to teach classes. Possibly with some days off since the government was trying to rope the more famous superheroes into PR work on behalf of the country.

Alden wasn’t sure what that meant. Did they want Big’nLittle Snake to talk in a comforting drawl about the strength of Anesidora while he bulldozed through the rubble?

Fragment would definitely be gone for the rest of the quarter since she was heavily involved in clean-up. Alden had looked around to make a commiserating expression at Maricel when he’d heard that, only to find she wasn’t present. Lots of people were out, though. He assumed they were watching through interfaces.

They’d be having duels on Wednesday for the first time. One-on-ones. And between now and then, they were supposed to watch footage of another first year combat class having their own duels to get an idea for the rules and how it would work.

Other than that, the instructors had thanked everyone for their good behavior during the crisis, reminded them to come forward with any personal problems that might affect their performance, and told them to be cautious about getting swept up in volunteer opportunities that might come their way in the next few weeks.

“Remember, you’re still new to being Avowed,” Marion had told them.

“None of you know what you’re doing yet,” said Klein.

“A lot of groups with good intentions are trying to assist with the recovery—”

“But most of them are disorganized non-professionals who have never used their powers for anything more complicated than lifting a piece of furniture,” Klein interrupted.

“What we mean is that they may not be the best judges of their own limits or yours,” said Marion.

“If the authorities don’t put a stop to it, someone will drop what’s left of a house on someone else’s head before this is over.” Klein’s voice was dire. “Don’t be the one who does it, and don’t be standing underneath it. If you want to volunteer, do it through school clubs with advisor oversight.”

The two of them had kept going after that, but Alden didn’t know what about.

I don’t think I missed any critical information at least. He stood up from his desk. I’ll figure it out later if I did.

He tried to turn his thoughts back to his surroundings, but it was hard.

Stuart was having a negotiation with his family in the big living room.

About me? he wondered as he tucked the tablet into his bag. It sounds like it might be about me…

But no matter what angle he looked at the information from, he didn’t see how the family could have more than a ten-minute-long conversation with him as a main topic. The art’hs who weren’t named Stu or Alis didn’t even know him.

Evul-art’h had made it sound like the “family negotiation” had started because someone had found out about the Privacy of the House contract. But Alden had told her he wouldn’t mind doing it. In fact, he’d prefer to do it so that Stuart’s family would be comfortable around him. As far as contracts went, one that asked you not to share embarrassing private information you learned about someone as a visitor in their home was mild.

Like having magical backup to support your basic decency.

What if I really never get to talk to him again? She didn’t mean never-never, right? She was being dramatic?

Evul-art’h hadn’t clarified, and Alden had been too off-balance to ask her before she hung up.

He felt like someone had pulled a rug he hadn’t even known he was standing on out from under him.

In just a few long phone calls, Stu-art’h had come to occupy a larger spot in his life than Alden would have imagined right after Thegund, when the Artonan boy mistook him for a hallucination and closed the door in his face.

He’s the kind of person who asks me questions about my life purpose and makes it seem like something we should obviously be talking about. And he’s actually got a good sense of humor when he finally relaxes enough to bring it out—“Would you like me to have Aunt Alis dig an ocean?”

He tried to explain how auriads work because he noticed I was curious.

I watched him watch his sister die.

He’s going to be a knight.

Alden was afraid he should have expected something like this from the start. He’d had worries that some stickler for rules would eventually put an end to the message exchange with Kibby. But Alis-art’h had said it was all right, so he’d been letting the fear go.

He’d never been concerned someone would object to him befriending Stuart, though, since Stuart himself hadn’t seemed at all concerned about it.

He invited me to his house. He’s old enough to pick his own friends.

Maybe it’s not really about me. Maybe it’s about…

He couldn’t think of anything. He didn’t really know the art’hs or their family dynamic.

Because of the number of secrets still between them, he didn’t even know Stuart’s specific concerns well enough to guess. Evul-art’h had said her brother was trying to force everyone else to understand something that would only ever make sense to him.

I can definitely imagine that, but at the same time—

The world around him intruded suddenly in the form of Konstantin vaulting over the row of desks to his left. He gave Alden a smile that thoroughly showcased the new gap in his teeth. “I’m coming with you and Lexi! Thank you so much.”

Snap out of it, Alden. “Sure. It’s no trouble.”

“You can meet our sister. She wants to tell everyone she’s been to another planet, so you can say, ‘Me too!’ And you’ll hit it off right away. The important question, though…how fast are we going to fly?”

Alden hadn’t actually pre-planned his flight speed across the water. “I don’t even know what the top speed is. Not so fast I knock anyone off.”

“That’s not what you’re supposed to be asking him!” Everly shouted from across the room. “How can you get distracted in two seconds?”

“That’s right,” said Kon. “Everly wants to know how many people the General’s green thing can hold. She’s heavier than she looks, but she’s still very small.”

“Oh my—stop. Stop talking. I’ll ask him myself!” Everly broke off her conversation with Jupiter and rushed over, a baby blue tote bag swinging from her shoulder as she bumped her boyfriend out of the way.

She looked up at Alden. “I told him to ask you if you minded carrying someone else, and then to ask you if you wanted to charge anything. My parents would pay you.”

“I’m definitely not charging.” He did wonder what the nonagon’s weight limit was. Four people would easily fit space-wise. “I think it’ll be fine with all of us.”

If not, he assumed Drusi-otta would prevent them from doing it.

 

******

******

 

They all headed back to the dorms after class so that everyone could pick up whatever they needed. As soon as the door to the huntski lodge closed behind Alden and his roommates, Haoyu said, “What the hell…the Velras.”

 

Lexi made a face like the name had struck his vitals.

 

“I was on a call with Lute when Aulia made the announcement.” Alden dropped his bag on the kitchen table, eagerly taking in the familiar furnishings.

 

None of it got wet or ruined.

 

There was a trail of dirt on the fluffy rug. It led between the sofa and the fireplace to the window, where one of the metal wastebaskets they had in their bedrooms had become home to a large tropical plant with long striped leaves.

 

That’s new.

 

“How was he doing?” Haoyu asked.

 

“Not fine.” said Alden. “I told him it would be okay —-.”

 

“In what universe?” said Lexi.

 

Alden shrugged.

 

“I have no idea what it’ll be like other than crazy,” said Haoyu. “The internet’s like a minefield right now. People are saying everyone with a ‘V’ in their last name should be arrested, but also that Aulia is a hero for apprehending her own grandson and revealing ‘the truth about the hidden enemy on the High Council.’”

 

“Wow ….. they’re going full government conspiracy theory already?” Alden asked

 

Lexi groaned again.

 

“We all have to get on the same page,” Haoyu announced. “And we’ll make sure we’re saying something other than urghhoooumnooo when someone asks us what Lute knew and what he thinks and what —”

 

“I didn’t sound like urghhoooumnooo!” Lexi protested.

 

Alden looked at him.

 

“I didn’t.” Lexi said.

 

“As far as what Lute knew and what he thinks…he didn’t know anything, and he was freaking out,” said Alden.

 

“He knew nothing. He’s horrified. He’s barely on speaking terms with his family…what else?” Haoyu wondered aloud. “It’s hard because if people end up pro-Aulia, then should we tell them that he’s super mad at her?”

 

“Maybe we just emphasize the fact that he’s been out of the Velra loop since he became an Avowed,” Alden suggested.

 

“He should change his last name,” said Haoyu.

 

“Does his tattoo allow that?”

 

“I don’t know how to figure this out,” said Lexi. “I’m just going to spend the rest of the day and tomorrow focusing on my own family. On Wednesday, I’ll try to think of some way to prevent a mob of people with pitchforks from killing Lute.”

 

“He’ll be touched,” said Haoyu. “For real.”

 

******

 

Alden didn’t know when he’d get called back to Matadero by Esh-erdi.

 

So far, he seemed to have free rein and an open schedule, but in case the situation changed fast, he grabbed a few clothes for himself and stuffed them into his messenger bag. When he looked around his room, his eyes stopped on the learning cushion Stuart had sent him. The note that had come with it was tucked in his hand casting book.

 

May you gain knowledge all the days of your life, and may your days be many.

 

Haoyu and Lexi were still banging around, collecting stuff. The doors were all open, so Alden could hear Haoyu having an excited phone call with his dad. He’d be spending the night with his parents, and tomorrow they were going to sit on the floor in their pajamas together, watching all their favorite movies. It was a tradition, he said, whenever one of them had been away.

 

Alden shut the door.

 

He knelt beside the new cushion. He watched the translations for the logograms appear and disappear one by one as he focused on them:

 

siv ochoth – a growing path.

zet – effort.

utyoda – student.

 

Alden touched his fingers to a gold one that meant “the pride of one who seeks.”

 

I didn’t get to tell him how much I like it.

 

He decided that when Stuart called, if he called, the first thing he would do was thank him.

 

And the second thing I’ll do is ask what it is—the thing he’s trying to explain to his family that his sister is sure will only ever make sense to him. And I don’t care if it’s the weirdest, most incomprehensible idea that ever fell out of another person’s head. I’ll make him explain until I understand it, too.

 

If it’s something he can tell the human about, anyway.

 

It wasn’t much of a return present. But it was better than a random gift shop purchase, wasn’t it?

 

I’m staying on Matadero with nothing to do tomorrow…what about the cushion?

 

Having it for practice would be nice, but hauling it over the ocean and back sounded a little ridiculous.

 

He made it back into the living room before Lexi, but not Haoyu, who was flicking water from a glass onto the new tropical plant.

 

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“That’s a nice plant,” said Alden.

 

“I’m going to keep it alive,” said Haoyu, still flicking. “I think it’s some kind of bromeliad. I’m mimicking a humid environment for it.”

 

“Where does one get a giant bromeliad?”

 

“Look at the time! I really need to go meet up with my parents.”

 

I probably couldn’t have resisted a rainforest souvenir either. Avowed didn’t get to visit beautiful places on Earth every day. But I’d have taken, like, a rock or a stick or something tiny and normal. He dug up a plant the size of Lute.

 

Lexi had just emerged from his room with a stuffed backpack and the bag full of all the rhinestone jewelry he’d collected at Benjamin Velra’s birthday party. Before he could say anything, they received a group video call from Lute.

 

When they answered, they saw him standing in a store aisle surrounded by boxes of hair dye. He had a pair of large sunglasses on top of his head.