( I couldn't resist the bird-people references to Melia and Kallian! )

Mars nodded, though she knew no one could see her. "Yeah, okay," she said. "Goodnight," she added.

When she hung up she frowned. It was late, which didn't help her think clearly, but she didn't like the idea of young shinigami involved in a guardian affair. Especially not with someone like Anders, and especially not with Nevra so out of the loop. Things could get messy, and quickly. Although a bloodbath favored the shinigami on principle of chaos alone, Mars had to admit she preferred the company of her friends and family over the satisfaction of principle. She sighed and looked up to the moon, and then returned inside to sleep.


Silas woke to the warm sun on his face. He opened his eyes and looked up toward his clock. It was almost seven, so he rose early and turned off the alarm. He yawned some, dressed lightly, smoothed the long dark locks that had tangled in the night, grabbed a snack to-go from the breakfast hall, and then made it into the spa area for a shower.

The rest of his mind woke as a burst of cold water drenched his skin. He shuddered and hugged the side of the stall until it heated more. Jason... The name echoed through his mind as he stood away from the water. Were you cold? When you... He shook his head and cranked the temperature up. He stifled further shivers until the water was hot enough to burn and by the end of the shower he could barely focus without thinking of his former friend. He turned off the water, stepped out, and dried his extremities. It was warm but he knew the walk back to his room would be cold so he slipped into a royal blue robe as soon as his torso was dry.

"Got water in your ears?" a familiar voice called from nearby. Silas lifted his gaze from tying his robe enough to spot the cyan locks. It was Anders, dressed in his flight gear already. "You keep shaking your head."

"No, I was just thinking," Silas replied. He stood properly when Anders approached. Silas found that he could get away without formalities with his friend as commander in front of other guardians. It was even easier to do so in crowded places where most beings were out of ear shot. He could not seem to get away with improper non-verbals, though. He wrung his hair again over the drain. "Are you going somewhere?"

"I came to give you this. You'll cover for Melia today." Anders extended the folder to Silas and then abruptly snatched it back from Silas's fingers, like a cat. "Without wetting the documentation."

Silas huffed and then dried his hands out on his towel. "I wonder if anyone else sees how much you enjoy this," he quietly mused as he accepted the folder. When he turned the page to the picture of the grounded guardian, his brow twitched into puzzlement. "I remember her. Doesn't she have a patrol partner who can―"

"Kallian's in the infirmary with her. And I want you more familiar with other districts." Anders explained simply.

"Oh? Retiring early?" Silas jested with a grin.

"At this rate we'll need a new clan," Anders responded expressionlessly through his teeth as he checked his wrist watch. For a moment he grew absorbed in the interface, and then seemed to realize that he had no time to stand around. As he stepped backward to turn and go, he met eyes with Silas once. "See you at four."

Silas tucked the folder under his arm as he re-tied the knot in his cloth belt. The orders were tall, even for a busy day. The newest clan was Highrose and it was created for the sake of stricter order. Silas couldn't imagine what newer, stricter clan might look like. He took a deep breath.

He dove from the flight deck into the neighboring districts: his and the other guardian's. Normally, he would have time during the dive to daydream. Moments between assignment stages. Peace of mind as he flew home.

But today he was instructed to land in Melia's district, and although it was close in proximity to his own the landing protocol was different and it demanded all of Silas's attention. Throughout the whole day he had hardly enough time to focus on each sub-assignment. He met with Melia's mortals for the first time. He met with his own. He met with officials in Melia's district for the first time. He checked in on his own and on their the surroundings for signs of trouble. Although the number of guardians was lower due to injuries from the previous day, most of the remaining guardians doubled up such that every district was covered by three different guardians at some point during the day. It was a tactic that the guardians used in case of a localized follow-up attack. Although only a single guardian patrolled a district throughout the day (even on normal days), it was possible for up to three of them to collapse together, versed in the district's procedure, in a very short amount of time to retalliate. The bustle of assignments was close to chaos and it left everyone on their toes.

By quarter to four, Silas was half asleep as he flew upward toward the city. He landed on the flight deck and hit his wings on the doorway as he entered, having forgotten to seal them when he landed. Once content with the sealed state of his wings, Silas reported his return to Highrose. He exited the building connected to the deck and sat on a public bench near the side walk. It was close to the trainee academy, and Silas thought he might be able to catch Arael. Then it dawned on him that the young guardian's training had been postponed. "I wonder where he is," he mused aloud. "Or maybe he would have wanted to meet in the living quarters instead.."