The evening air was cool and quiet as Spectra walked beside Crow, their day's training complete. The jungle smelled of damp earth and distant rain, the sound of nocturnal creatures humming in the background. Spectra's steps were slower now. Part of it was due to exhaustion; he was still a small child after all, but he was also taking in the night scenery.
Even with his blindfold on, Spectra was still able to see the light show of auras that the bug and small jungle creatures emitted. Although they were plentiful, their combined output was insufficient to overstimulate Spectra.
Until he spotted a towering, domineering aura approaching.
A figure emerged ahead on the path, tall and broad-shouldered, the curls of his black hair bouncing in the evening breeze.
"Just making sure an Umbrawild beast didn't eat you two," Nocte said, his voice carrying that dry humor only he could make sound both sincere and teasing.
Crow smirked. "I didn't know you worried about me so much."
They both laughed — the short, sharp kind born from years of friendship and too many battles survived side-by-side.
"I'm glad you're the one training him," Nocte said at last, his tone softer, more genuine.
Crow glanced at Spectra and gave a slight shrug. "He's worth the trouble." Then, to the boy: "Keep listening to your Dad, eh?" He clapped a hand to Spectra's shoulder and gave the father-son duo a wink before turning off toward another trail. "I've got something to check on."
The path felt quieter once Crow was gone, the night pressing in around them.
"You tired?" Nocte asked after a moment. "We can go straight home… or take a stroll first."
Spectra's answer came instantly. "Let's stroll!"
He grinned up at his father, then added in a mock pleading tone, "Papa, carry me?"
"No, no — you're too old for that," Nocte said with a teasing smile.
Spectra, having danced this dance many times before, persisted, "Papa, please."
Nocte gave a long, exaggerated sigh. "Fine."
A moment later, Spectra was perched high on his father's shoulders, the world unfolding before him in a way it never did from the ground. The twin moons hung low and bright in the velvet sky, one silver-white, the other tinted deep crimson.
He slid the blindfold up to his forehead, letting the cool air touch his eyes as he drank in the sight.
"Any better at controlling them?" Nocte asked, his voice calm but edged with quiet curiosity.
Spectra tilted his head, thinking. "As long as I don't focus too hard, and there's not a lot of energy around me… It's fine. But if there's too much happening, my eyes start… over-focusing. Everything gets too bright, and even if I close my eyes, I can still feel it."
"Hm. I see." Nocte considered the boy's words. He had long been fascinated by Spectra's eyes and the ability they held. Without the blindfold, the boy didn't see people as physical bodies but as living silhouettes of energy. Nocte never pressed too hard, but each time he asked a question, he found himself wanting to know more.
He opened his mouth to ask again — to probe deeper into what the boy saw, how he perceived it — but Spectra's voice interrupted, even as Spectra's casual.
"Someone's coming."
The air seemed to change in that instant. Nocte's posture shifted, his easy stride slowing as his senses sharpened. Somewhere up ahead, faint but growing, came the sound of approaching steps.
The sound of approaching steps grew louder until two figures emerged from the trail's shadow.
A tall, silver-haired man walked into the moonlight, the hitch in his gait barely noticeable after years of moving with a wooden prosthetic. Beside him strode a boy, skin tanned and hair matching his father's, his sharp gaze already locked on Spectra.
They stopped before Nocte and Spectra, and the man gave a slight bow — respectful, but without warmth.
"War Chief," he said, each syllable clipped. "I am Eclipsis, and this is my son, Calypso. He's the same age as your boy."
His eyes lingered a moment too long on the black-and-gold blindfold before he offered a thin smile. "You're… well-known in the village. Many expect great things from you."
Nocte's expression cooled, a faint glint in his eyes. "I know who you are," he said flatly.
"I've heard about your… accident." His gaze dropped briefly to the man's left leg before returning to meet his eyes.
The air tightened between them, unspoken things bristling under the surface.
Calypso broke it, his voice edged with boyish pride. "Why's he up there?" He jerked his chin toward Spectra. "Is he a baby that still needs to be carried?"
Nocte's eyes widened, a breath drawn in for a reply—
—but Spectra's voice cut cleanly through the moment, calm and cold.
"I sit here because I belong above others. It's natural I'm high up." His gaze locked with Calypso's, unblinking. "You, however…" He pointed down at the boy. "…belong beneath me. So this is exactly as it should be."
Then, as if the exchange were beneath him, he yawned. "Papa, can we go now?"
Nocte let the silence stretch before answering. "Of course we can. Clearly, we've stayed out too long."
Without another glance, he turned and carried Spectra down the trail.
Behind them, Calypso's fists clenched. "Father! Why did you let them talk like that? About your leg?"
Eclipsis's tone was calm, but his eyes stayed fixed on the fading figures. "Because, my son… You will be the one to show them the cost of arrogance. But you'll need patience."
Calypso's jaw tightened, but he said nothing as his father guided him into the jungle.
Nocte walked in silence for a while, the boy's weight easy on his shoulders. His mood stayed light—until curiosity crept in.
"You were quick to snap at them. You've never met them before. Why so hostile?"
"They were faking being polite," Spectra said simply. "I could see it. Envy and greed mixed in their auras. They're jealous of us and want what's ours."
Nocte slowed. "You… saw that?"
Spectra nodded. "Yup. Auras change color with moods. Strong feelings are the easiest to read. Those two—" he pointed vaguely behind them "—were the same colors as the people who tried to hurt me when I was a baby. Before you took me."
Nocte stopped outright and lowered the boy from his shoulders, gripping him by the arms. His gaze searched Spectra's face. "You remember that?"
"I remember everything and everyone since I was born," Spectra said, as if it were obvious. "Well… the colors, at least. Can't everyone?"
Moonlight caught in Nocte's eyes as he stared, stunned into silence, the boy's words quietly rearranging everything he thought he knew.