6th of Season of Fire, 57th year of the 32nd cycle

If Newt thought things were suspicious before, reaching the dock confirmed it. The senior student accompanying them was an elite and a familiar face. He naturally wasn't familiar with the elite, but Roselilly was.

"Second sister." Roselilly had the decency to look ashamed at herself and her poor performance, but her second sister was magnanimous and didn't mention any of Roselilly's recent troubles.

By then, everyone knew the mission was a setup. The danger was real - they would have to fight and defeat a third realm spiketail, but the location and opponent were curated, and the odds of anything unforeseen happening were close to zero.

For some reason, the notion made Newt angry. He didn't know why. Dandelion had already explained it multiple times. Nepotism was expected in all strata of society. Some people's talents were worth more than others, and Roselilly's talents were rare enough they warranted her favorable treatment. Simple as that.

Newt considered the matter as they boarded a small merchant craft and set sail. Things were in such rapid motion, Newt thought he was dreaming. He was standing on a ship's deck, rushing towards a chain of distant mountains standing proudly beyond the vast expanse of water. All three of his roommates were with him, along with Roselilly's second sister.

The fourth realm elite was escorting them, wasting her time on a three-day trip to the Glowing Vale, and she would wait in the town until they found and eliminated the spiketail. It was a waste of her time by all accounts, but the woman didn't seem to mind. In fact, she was eager to help Roselilly and see to their safety.

"Don't worry, little sister, we'll be back in a week, and this whole matter will be behind you. Then, Eldest Sister will handle your training for a while, and everything will be fine."

With those encouraging words and a light, tranquil smile, sister Hazel turned around, staring into the distant mountains. Salty mist sprayed around her as the ship cut the waves with unnatural speed. The brown-haired woman was beautiful, as were most female awakened Newt had met. With a sword hanging from her waist, billowing hair, and perfect posture, she struck quite a heroic figure, standing proudly at the bow and looking contemplative yet serene.

Lady Woodhopper is prettier.

Newt pressed his lips together at the silly thought invading his mind.

"Rose's senior sister is real pretty, ain't she." Newt almost jumped as Jasmine whispered right behind him. Almost, but he didn't move a muscle, and he felt damn proud of it.

He slowly turned his head towards her, with as much dignity as possible.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Newt said, his voice shaking only a bit at getting caught.

The woman grinned, perfect white teeth making a captivating contrast against her dark skin, painting her smile all the more brilliant.

"And I guess your face is red because you've been running?" she teased, and Newt struggled to come up with an answer. He failed as seconds dragged on, and he remained silent.

"I don't think she's seeing anyone," Jasmine pushed further, enjoying Newt's awkwardness. "Do you want me to ask her?"

"No," Newt yelped. "Please don't."

The two just stared at each other, and Newt suddenly felt something was off. Jasmine's words were teasing, but the glint in her eyes seemed cruel, not playful.

For some reason, she reminded him of Puresnow. Back when she was trying to spite Dandelion and drag him through the mud.

"Are you angry with me?" Newt's voice was quieter than a whisper.

"Furious," Jasmine's grin remained unchanged. And yet, despite all her facial muscles not even twitching, that pearly white smile twisted. Instead of amusement, Newt sensed something predatory about it. Something that wanted to rip a pound of his flesh.

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"Why? I'm trying to help. To become a part of the team."

Jasmine stared at him, wordlessly asking him not to play dumb. Faced with his genuine confusion, the woman crossed her arms and snorted.

"Champions might be playing this game, but you're their pawn. Just so you know, if Obi or Rose die, I'll kill you myself, rules be damned. Got it?"

Newt nodded. He believed the mission would be simple, but even if there was great danger instead of the hobbled spiketail he was expecting, he would do his best to keep everyone alive.

His blush was gone, his eyes brimming with determination as he nodded.

"All right, I agree."

Jasmine gawked, then her eyes and features softened.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I'll blame it on the booze." She drew a breath and looked away from Newt, towards the open sea and the distant land. "It was a stressful time. Everyone was and still is having a difficult time, you included. What I said was unfair. We are all adults, making our own decisions, and blaming it all on a kid—"

Hey!

"—is the most immature thing I've done in a long time. Sorry."

"Hey!" Obsidian chose that moment to drop into the conversation with all the subtlety of a rock. "What are you two whispering all alone?"

He glared at Newt as he stood beside and put an arm around his neck. "Are you making a pass at my sister?"

"Kidney stone!" Jasmine looked at him and offered a smile much more sincere than what she had spared Newt. "I haven't seen you this lively in ages. You must be a wreck of nerves when you're beaming so much fake positive energy."

"I'm a bit nervous." Obsidian's smile faltered before resuming with twice the energy it had before. "But it feels so good to finally leave the order. Don't get me wrong, Explorer's Island is a wonderful place, full of things to do, but when you've shut yourself off from the world in general, it just becomes a nice-looking prison."

It beats a mine, Newt thought, but kept silent as Obsidian kept talking in a joking tone.

"Anyway, Jas, what you're doing is immoral, hitting on a kid barely off the tit."

"Hey!" Newt shouted, but Jasmine just laughed.

"What, he's fair game. He's older than Rose." Jasmine faltered as she watched her brother's grin. "Right?"

"Kid, do you want to tell her, or should I?" Obi lightly poked Newt's ribs with his fist. "I don't know what's better; you telling her or me."

Newt sighed and removed Obsidian's arm with ease. The man was buff, but Newt was a third realm mageknight, without spells, he could fold Obsidian in half.

"Hello, I'm Newstar Salamandra," Newt said in a fake cheerful voice. "I'm seventeen years old, second layer of the third realm."

Jasmine's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and her jaw dropped.

"He's a kid!"

Hazel and Roselilly turned around, and Hazel spoke. "Right, your new teammate is a kid."

Newt wished everyone would stop calling him a kid. He was legally of age and had been such for two years.

Roselilly gave him a long look and nodded before she returned to chatting with her senior sister.

"Is Roselilly avoiding me, or does she enjoy her senior sister's company that much?" Newt whispered.

"You're freaking seventeen?" Jasmine hissed. "What did they feed you?"

Fortunately, Obsidian stepped in.

"I don't think she's avoiding you. I think she's just enjoying the feeling of safety around a higher realm sister who wishes her well. And I apologize for the way Jasmine's been acting. The midwife dropped her on her head when she was a baby."

"Hey!"

While Obsidian and his sister devolved into a mix between a family argument and chatting about all the childhood wrongs they had suffered, Newt enjoyed the air and the view.

Newt leaned on the railing and pushed all thoughts away. He watched the sun shimmer on the clear, azure water, and after a while noticed a school of platefish darting towards them. Rather than being plate-shaped, the yard-long fish were covered in bony plates, offering protection from predators while reinforcing their massive jaws.

The group had around thirty members, and they chased a much larger school of thin, yellow fish. The fish stood no chance as armored jaws snapped shut around them, platefish tearing at their prey.

Newt watched nature's brutality at play, as platefish grew sated, and slowly swam into the depths.

Huh? Newt saw one of them clearly moving faster than the rest, but his mindcore didn't detect anything. And then he realized how odd it was; he didn't even see the fishes' auras.

The water mana is blocking my mindcore, but that makes no sense. Does that mean awakened can become invisible by swimming?

Newt doubted it and filed away the thought as something to check in the library once he returned home. He looked at the Deeproot twins, rapidly exchanging whispered words, then his gaze shifted to the two women staring at the rapidly approaching land.

They have water affinity. I could ask them, I guess?

Newt didn't like the idea. He was still very much an outsider, and after Jasmine's tease, he would feel awkward about approaching Hazel.

I have better things to do.

"I'm off below deck to sculpt my realm; call me when we get to our destination," he declared to the world at large and went to his cabin.

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