Birds fluttered across the clear sky, shrieking as they dived about, weaving around one another. A light breeze pushed them along, stirring wind chimes enough to make a few clinking sounds. The chimes were hanging off a slab of wood jutting out from a vine-covered roof. The roof belonged to a building made entirely of gray-and-brown rock. 

Ren sat on the springy grass near the chimes, watching the long wooden pieces bounce against each other. She breathed in the stuffy air, wishing for more of a breeze. For perhaps the twentieth time that afternoon, she lifted her wand in front of her and commanded a brief wind to fly at her face and cool her down. It swirled through her purple hair, leaving it looking like a mess—more than usual, anyway. She sighed and rested her pointed chin on her open palm, wishing that the summer break would just be over.

Soon after school had ended, Ak-tu had announced that he’d be taking his kids (and their friend Sarala) to Vinetown nearby. Ak-tu had to get his flying ship repaired after it had crashed, and he had also wanted to check the area around the Caihong Academy of Magic for any signs of Chaocat—who had been the one to crash the ship in the first place. 

Ak-tu didn’t provide the twins with much information about the cat spirit, and the quick sketch of what they looked like wasn’t too helpful—since they merely appeared like a farm cat wearing a crescent moon necklace; the only major difference was their black eyes. 

After the tiny Chaocat lesson, Ak-tu had brought the three teens to the forest lying outside Vinetown. They had gone through the trees until they’d reached a small clearing holding a stony house covered in flowering vines. There were plenty of other plants around the residence, from pointy bushes to ferns to a dancing tree. Ren had nearly missed the house beneath all of the flowers and leaves, especially as it looked like a giant boulder with only a few holes for windows. 

Ak-tu had dropped off his kids and headed back for the school. The three were then left with his friend, Jabali Kenyada, who they’d barely met a few months prior when the school had been attacked by spirits.

Ren had no idea that Jabali existed for the longest time. And the fact that he seemed to live in a literal rock threw her off. She knew plenty of earth magicians made homes with a quick bit of magic, shaping the land around them to their liking. But Jabali’s house seemed more wild. From squelching bushes to giant spiders crawling about, there was always something new to discover in the house and its surrounding forest.

Ren still wasn’t sure how she felt about Jabali. She liked his easygoing personality, but she didn’t like that Ak-tu had kept him hidden from the twins their whole lives. Yet if her father trusted him, that was good enough for her.

Ren got up, unable to stand the heat any longer. She turned on the balls of her feet and headed for the front door (also stone), shoving it to one side and entering. The strong smell of moss and soil met her nose at once. The floor was made entirely of rock too, though some bits were covered in moss rugs to provide cushioning underfoot. Jabali would often bring in large slabs of moss, rotating them out every few weeks whenever they got too itchy. 

To the left was the kitchen, which contained one small space in the stone wall as a window overlooking the front of the house. Jabali only owned a fridge and an oven, both metal boxes. The fridge was enchanted with air magic to keep food cool, and the oven had fire magic to heat up food. There were a few clay pots along one wall where there weren’t any cabinets or counters. These containers were used to store food, with more moss draped over them to keep the contents within cool. Next to the window was a large sink, bringing in water from a well behind the house. A small bamboo table and matching chairs sat along the right-hand wall.

Straight ahead, the ground lifted a bit to form a hallway; Jabali had created his house on a small slope, making the building have a variety of levels. The hall led to three doors, though Ren wasn’t sure she could call them that. The “doors” were merely empty spaces in the rock wall big enough to squeeze through, two leading to bedrooms and one to a bathroom. They had to push through vine curtains to get into the rooms, which Jabali had only installed once the kids had arrived. 

The ceiling of the kitchen had several holes, allowing all sorts of things inside. From rain to wild animals, Ren was always hesitant about entering the house again. She peered around the room from the doorway, hoping a lemur wasn’t about to come bounding through again. She was so intent on her search that she jumped when an annoyed voice sounded behind her.

“Are you going to move, or are you going to stand there all day?” 

Ren quickly scrambled out of the way as her friend entered the house. Sarala’s tawny skin was plastered in sweat, her crop top and short shorts being no help in the hot air. Her dark brown hair was pulled back in a long and messy tail.

“You look hot,” Ren commented. She instantly blushed as Sarala stared at her. “I mean, you know, it’s hot out and you look like you’ve been doing a lot of training again, at least I’m going to assume that since you’re all sweaty and—”

“You can shut up now,” Sarala grunted, rolling her golden eyes.

Ren gladly did so, knowing her freckled face was as red as a strawberry.

Sarala walked over to the kitchen, pulled open the fridge, and stood in front of the cool air emanating from the buzzing appliance. She let out a sigh of relief, wiping her hand over her face and hooked nose in an attempt to get rid of the sweat.

Sarala saw Ren gazing at her, and asked, “Can you send some more air my way? I’m dying.”

Ren snorted in amusement and lifted her wand. “Cool down Sarala with a very strong wind,” she ordered her magic.

At once, air swirled all around them, rushing towards Sarala. Ren merely controlled the air in her environment, rather than making her own; it took more effort to make her own element, wand or no wand.

“That feels so good,” Sarala said, closing her eyes.

“I bet it does,” Ren replied.

“I wish he had an air cooler,” Sarala commented, closing the fridge. “I suppose you’ll have to cool us all down.”

“Only if you pay me,” Ren teased.

“I don’t have any money,” Sarala pointed out. “Just my wand. And the clothes you gave me, I guess.”

“Yeah…you’re going to need new clothes,” said Ren, observing Sarala.

“What do you mean?”

Ren stared at her. “You’re joking, right? You’ve grown probably three inches since we’ve been here! You’re getting so tall.”

“I’m not that tall,” Sarala scoffed. “I’m barely taller than you and Zyn. I’m probably the same height as your dad.”

“You’re going to be a giant by the time we’re back in school,” Ren went on. “You’ll need to get some new clothes.”

“I guess I can give you these clothes back, then, in payment for your air cooling services,” Sarala joked.

Ren snorted. “No, thanks! They’re all covered in sweat! Besides, then you’d be naked.”

The two girls stared at each other for a long moment, then burst out laughing. They were still chuckling by the time the front door opened again and Zyn entered.

Ren’s twin had spiky orange hair, parted to the left like Ren’s hair. Their eyes—one green and one purple—appeared weary from the summer heat. They weren’t dressed in their typical fashion of a crazily-patterned robe, striped shirt, and baggy pants. It was simply too hot. They were instead wearing a short-sleeved plaid shirt, which was unbuttoned at the top and bottom. They wore sports shorts and no shoes on their brown feet, like Ren.

“What’re you laughing about?” Zyn asked.

“Nothing,” Sarala said simply, her face becoming serious once more.

Zyn frowned, their mismatched eyes confused. Then, they shrugged carelessly and walked over to the fridge as well. Before they could pull it open to allow the cool air to wash over them, Ren merely ordered her magic to send wind at them too.

“Doing more martial arts?” Zyn asked Sarala, staring at the sweaty girl. They sniffed the air. “Sure smells like it.”

Sarala scowled at them. “Of course I was training! There’s nothing else to do. Besides, your dad said we would learn more martial arts this summer after what happened with the spirits—and I don’t see that happening!”

“Jabali showed us a lot of complicated techniques,” Zyn pointed out.

“But we’re not advancing with our own martial arts, like I thought we’d be,” Sarala grumbled. “Besides, Jabali only teaches us when it’s convenient for him. He doesn’t seem to care if we keep practicing after he shows us stuff or not. He’s so busy running his coffee shop in town, that your dad might as well have left us at the school.”

“But nobody would be able to watch us there,” Ren said. “Khurshid went traveling, Aster and Fern said they’d search the spirit realm for Chaocat, and even the cooks have all left for the break. Technically, Fern said she’d pop by to make sure there are enough enchantments to keep Chaocat out of the school, but she’s not staying there. So we’re not allowed to be there, either.”

“We don’t need to be watched,” Sarala growled. “We can look after ourselves. We did during that fight with the spirits, didn’t we?”

Ren shrugged, wishing she could forget all about the spirit attack. She hated viewing spirits in a bad light, as she grew up praising the spirits during each holiday and festival. She knew that spirits as a whole were neither good nor bad—that it all depended on the individual spirit—but she still felt uneasy scoffing at the “bad” ones that had attacked the school.

“I hope we get to go back soon,” Ren muttered, steering the conversation away from the spirits. “It’s getting so boring here.”

Zyn nodded. “I know what you mean.”

“Boring? Just practice martial arts,” Sarala scoffed. 

“Eh, I like doing classes more than doing it on my own,” Zyn admitted. “It’s more fun with others.”

“Then practice with me. I could do with a sparring partner,” Sarala said, her eyes glinting.

“We don’t have any sparring gear though.”

“We don’t need any.”

“Yes, you do!” Ren exclaimed. “Sarala, you hit way too hard!”

“I can go easy,” the girl muttered. 

“I think I’ll stick to exploring the forest and collecting rocks, thanks,” Zyn commented dryly.

“Ooh, is that what you were doing?” Ren queried.

Zyn shrugged. “I don’t know what else to do. I’m getting tired of doing art and playing games.”

“Then do martial arts with me!” Sarala hissed.

The twins both snorted in amusement, then Ren said, “I suppose we can practice. Dad will want to hear that we did some training without him. I’m sure he’ll teach us more once the ship’s repaired, and we get back!”

“I hope we get to play with weapons!” Zyn exclaimed.

“You will, if he’s going to teach us the level of stuff we’re currently on,” Sarala said. “Blue sashes get to learn the stick. And I’ll get to learn the staff, as a purple sash!”

“Ooh, that sounds like fun!” said Ren.

“Not as fun as swords or knives, but it’ll do,” Sarala said with a shrug, but she smiled.

“You can’t wait to work with weapons again, huh?”

“I miss my knives,” Sarala murmured.

“I tried to make you keep them,” Ren reminded her, thinking of the large butterfly knives Sarala had owned the previous year. “Just ask Dad to give them back to you. I’m sure he still has them somewhere. He offered them to you after getting rid of that spirit possessing them.” 

But Sarala was shaking her head before Ren had finished speaking. “No…it’s fine. I don’t want them. They’re a connection to her.”

A stony silence fell. Ren knew Sarala rarely called Mimiteh Donoma by her name, but it was obvious when they were discussing the woman. The blacksmith had taken Sarala under her wing, showing her how to craft weapons. They lived together for a while, until Mimiteh suddenly dumped Sarala off on the side of the road with a pamphlet for the Caihong Academy of Magic. Sarala was wounded by the action, no matter how much she tried to hide it.

“Hey—what if we made a martial arts club?” Zyn asked abruptly, breaking the quiet.

“A martial arts club?” Ren pondered. “That would be neat!”

Sarala’s eyes glowed. “Are we allowed to make clubs?”

Ren nodded. “Only first-years aren’t allowed to, but we’ll be second-years!”

“Mostly, sorta,” Zyn muttered, shifting uneasily. “I have to retake all the first-year classes because of the whole no-magic thing, remember?”

Ren bit her bottom lip. “Umm…well, I’m sure you’d still be able to make the club with us!”

“The club can have multiple people in charge?” Sarala asked.

“Yep!” Ren said, eager to move away from the touchy subject of Zyn’s magic. “We need to run it by Dad, and probably have a teacher supervising during the meetings. Ooh, this will be so much fun!”

Sarala nodded keenly. “We could do martial arts every day! Once-a-week classes aren’t enough.”

“Then let’s do it,” Ren said. 

The three teens moved to the kitchen table and sat down. The Caihong family mirror was on the wooden surface from where they’d left it that morning. Ren tapped the glass, causing the reflected ceiling to vanish. She typed in the password quickly to unlock it, and a list of boxes appeared on the home screen. 

She scrolled through the apps, then tapped one, which allowed her to take notes. The three started discussing what sort of martial arts classes they’d run, whether it’d be Kung Fu or Tai Chi, how long the sessions would go, who would teach at which time…

The teens sat at the table for the next few hours, only getting up to grab some watermelon juice and pretzels to snack on. They were in much the same positions by the time Jabali arrived a bit after 5.

“Yo, kids!” he called as he walked through the doorway and spotted them. “How ya doing?”

Jabali looked worn out. His dark skin was covered in more sweat than Sarala’s had been, and the ends of his long blue locs were tangled in his backpack. He peered at them through his droopy eyes, as if ready to fall asleep.

“Hi, Jabali!” Ren greeted, glancing up from the mirror.

“Have y’all been sitting there the whole day?” Jabali asked, signaling to them with his large hands.

“No,” Ren replied earnestly, picking up the mirror to make more room at the kitchen table. “Only since this afternoon.”

“Mhmm, sure,” Jabali said, setting his backpack on the table, where he then proceeded to untangle his hair from the straps. “Wanna go to town for dinner tonight? We ain’t got much to eat, huh?”

“I’d rather stay here,” Sarala grunted, keeping her eyes glued to the mirror.

Ren sighed inwardly. Sarala hadn’t gone to the city all summer. The twins had gone with Jabali to get dinner a few times, but felt uneasy leaving Sarala all alone and therefore rarely went. They also felt guilty for making Jabali drive his boat again, especially in the pressing heat.

“Well, you two?” Jabali asked the twins.

Ren exchanged a glance with Zyn, knowing that they were thinking the same thing. She replied, “Maybe tomorrow, Jabali. It’s too hot to go anywhere.”

Jabali shrugged, not looking bothered. “Okay, but don’t y’all complain ’bout having nothing to eat!”

Ren turned the mirror off, and it was soon reflecting the ceiling. She then hurried over to the kitchen, searching the fridge for food they could make. Zyn joined her, checking the various cabinets. Sarala grabbed clean plates and set the tiny table. Jabali, meanwhile, sunk onto one of the bamboo chairs, letting out a deep sigh of exhaustion.

After a bit of looking, the twins agreed on making a tofu scramble, using the random ingredients they came across: tofu, tomatoes, an onion, several garlic cloves, a few handfuls of spinach, a large prickle-pepper, and some spices. While Zyn sliced the tomatoes on one of the counters, Ren grabbed the onion and a few garlic cloves. She set them on another counter with a cutting board, then pulled out her wand.

“Make an air bubble around my head, so cutting these onions does not make me cry,” she ordered her magic.

A bubble formed over her head, and she quickly set to chopping. The air cavity saved her eyes and nose from the fumes, though she could hear Zyn give a sniffle on the other side of the room.

Ren was soon adding the chopped onion and garlic to the fire-enchanted pan, then Zyn put in the tofu and tomatoes. Sarala cut up some leftover fruit for a fruit salad, using the table as no more counter space remained.

Within minutes, the tofu scramble was done. A spicy aroma filled the air, causing Ren’s mouth to water. The fruit looked as good as the scramble too—she could see finely-sliced pieces of strawberries, watermelon, rettishes, and scorlengs. 

“Mmm, this looks tasty!” Jabali said, straightening up as the food was placed on the table in front of him.

Ren piled some tofu scramble on everyone’s plates, while Sarala passed out the fruit. They left the big dishes on the counter, as the table was crammed with all of their plates.

Ren ate the tofu slowly, the spicy flavor setting her mouth on fire so often that she needed to drink plenty of the watermelon juice in between. She definitely had to remember to put less spice in next time, or leave out the prickle-pepper entirely. She finally turned to the salad, which helped her mouth cool down.

“I was thinking of making tomorrow a fun day in town,” Jabali said. “Y’all interested?”

Ren glanced at Zyn and Sarala. Sarala frowned and got to her feet, finishing her meal. She left the dish on the table and went down the hall, saying something about needing to use the bathroom. Zyn was chewing, so Ren replied.

“That sounds nice,” she said. “I don’t know if Sarala would like to go though.”

“It’ll be fun!” Jabali urged. 

“Sarala has a different definition of that word,” Ren replied, trying to keep her face straight and failing.

Jabali shrugged. “Well, if she ain’t wanna come, we won’t make her. But the rest of us can go have a good time, eh?”

Zyn nodded, swallowing. “What do you have in mind?”

“You’re gonna have to wait and see!” Jabali said, winking.

Ren rolled her eyes and popped another tart rettish piece in her mouth. She imagined the four of them having fun in the city, getting out of the boring house. Her lips soon formed a frown though.

“What’s wrong?” Jabali asked, catching her look.

“I wish Dad was here,” Ren muttered.

“Yeah, it’d be like the good ol’ days,” Jabali chuckled, leaning back in his chair and linking his arms behind his head.

Ren glanced up at him, her heart picking up speed. Was Jabali going to reveal something about his shared past with Ak-tu? About Chaocat? She and Zyn had pestered him all summer for more information, but he often pretended not to hear them. 

“What do you mean?” she asked, trying to keep her voice innocent instead of inquisitive.

“Oh—y’know…me, him, adventuring all over the world, in boat or ship or even on a slab o’ wood,” Jabali said indifferently.

Ren leaned forward eagerly. “Was I there too?” she queried, all thoughts of innocence forgotten. “As a baby?”

Jabali frowned, his eyes getting a guarded look to them. He lowered his arms and said simply, “No, you didn’t come ’til later. We’d mostly gone separate ways at tha’ point.”

“But why?” Ren asked, fidgeting slightly in excitement.

Jabali shrugged. “We’d been growing distant for a while. Eventually, I left to start up some businesses. That’s when your dad called me up, told me ’bout needing some help off an island, and I went to rescue him. He had you in his arms, said he’d explain it all later. Barely did.”

Ren’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. So Jabali doesn’t know anything, after all… He doesn’t know I was a gift from the spirits… He doesn’t know anything about where I truly came from…or if I am a spirit…

She had been pondering this very much since the last day of school. Ak-tu had pulled the twins aside to discuss the matter of Chaocat further with them, then told Ren about how she had appeared after his fight with Chaocat years before. Ak-tu was convinced that Ren was a gift from the spirits, but not a spirit herself. 

Ren didn’t know if that was true or not, and found her thoughts returning to the matter again and again over the summer. After all, there wasn’t much else to do. She wished she could access the school’s Library, to research more into spirit-gifted babies! She tried to look more into it through the air-net, but there was barely any information of spirits online. 

“Anyway,” Jabali continued, Ren perking up, “after I gave you two a ride back to the mainland, I stayed with your dad awhile. Tha’ creepy cat wasn’t hanging ’round, and Ak-tu said they got into a fight. We traveled a lot after, taking care of ya together. Then he went and got Zyn there, not sure why—one baby was already a handful.”

Ren snorted in amusement, trying to imagine the two men attempting to take care of a baby as they traveled across the land and through the sky. 

“Well, I’m glad Dad decided to get me,” Zyn scoffed. “Can you imagine me not being here?”

“Not at all,” Ren said honestly. “I don’t want to think of that!”

“Then, a bit later, I had enough of changing diapers and decided to get my life together,” Jabali chuckled. “I didn’t wanna leave your dad with nothing, though, so I gave ’im the ship and bought a house when he finally decided to settle down.”

Ren frowned. “A house? That little house?”

Jabali nodded.

“I thought that was…well, Dad’s house,” Ren mumbled.

“Well, he ain’t exactly rich,” Jabali replied bluntly. “I even funded that school of his.”

“Why?”

“He’s my friend,” Jabali said simply. “Besides, I have too much money I don’t need.”

“You don’t seem rich,” Zyn commented bluntly, glancing around at the torches lining the wall in place of metal ceiling lights. 

“Zyn!” Ren hissed.

“What?”

But Jabali didn’t seem offended; he laughed lightly, though the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Yeah, I ain’t one to live in a fancy mansion or buy expensive clothes. What’s the point of livin’ in some big house if you’re all alone, eh? I’d rather put my wealth to something that needs it more than I do—or someone.”

He got to his feet abruptly and exclaimed, “Well, that sure was a tasty dinner, eh? Y’all mind cleaning up? I’m gonna shower and head for bed, so I’m all refreshed for tomorrow’s fun!”

Jabali quickly headed down the hall before either twin could reply. Ren and Zyn exchanged a baffled glance.

“Well, I guess he sorta told us more than before?” Zyn mumbled.

“Yeah, but—”

A loud shrieking noise sounded from the counter. Ren jumped in her seat, then realized the family mirror was receiving a call. 

“You really need to change the sound that thing makes!” Sarala hissed, entering the room again. 

“Sorry!” Ren snorted. “Zyn was the one who chose it.”

Zyn was laughing too hard to respond for several seconds, then choked out, “I was the one who made it!”

Sarala rolled her eyes in annoyance.

Ren hurried forward to the mirror, seeing an image of her father on its glassy surface. He was quite recognizable with his unibrow, long mustache, and violet eyes. She answered the mirror call and he then appeared live on screen, his indigo hair tied in a tail and tall jungle trees around him. His face lit up as he caught sight of Ren, hunched over the mirror.

“Hi, Dad!” Ren said, as Zyn scrambled off the chair to enter the mirror’s view as well.

“Hey, you two! How’s it going?” Ak-tu asked.

“Just finished eating dinner,” Ren replied.

“Your call scared Sarala so much, she flew away!” Zyn added, shooting the girl an amused look. “Maybe she’s secretly an air magician!”

Sarala scowled and turned back down the hall, going into the shared bedroom as quickly as she’d come.

“So why are you calling?” Ren asked.

“What—do I need to be calling for a specific reason?” Ak-tu asked, pretending to sound offended. “Am I not allowed to see your lovely faces?”

Zyn instantly made a funny expression, stretching their mouth wide and curling their eyebrows, appearing almost frog-like. Ren snorted in amusement.

“I guess you can call to see Zyn’s fabulous face show,” she said.

Ak-tu smiled lightly, but soon turned serious. “Actually, I was calling for a reason,” he said briskly. “I don’t have much time to talk—you always have to be alert when you’re in the jungle. Anyway, there’s supposed to be an eclipse tomorrow.”

Ren gasped in excitement. “An eclipse? That’s so cool! I want to see! What time? Oh, I hope it’s not super early in the morning, like it always seems to be!”

Ak-tu raised one side of his unibrow at her, and she could tell this wasn’t the reaction he’d expected. “It’ll be sometime in the afternoon, if I remember Aster’s calculations correctly.”

“But why’re you telling us about some eclipse?” Zyn asked, frowning in confusion. “We’d see it for ourselves, if it’s going to be during the day.”

Ak-tu nodded. “I’m aware you’d see it without me telling you. I just wanted to let you know, as eclipses are big when it comes to…spirits. Chaocat may make an appearance…”

“Ooh, does the eclipse open a portal to the spirit realm or something?” Ren asked eagerly.

Ak-tu frowned. “It can,” he said. “But it’s Chaocat that we need to be worried about. Keep your eyes open. Who knows what they might do during an eclipse…”