The wait was not very long, but the awkwardness made it feel like a thousand years. Melmarc and Ark stood to the side, Spitfire kneading on Ark's head while occasionally leaning down to lick at the burn mark on the side of his face.

Melmarc stood with arms folded, hoping that the incident on the plane didn't hit the news or go viral. More than once, he brought out his phone, checked it for nothing at all, then put it back into his pocket.

He just wanted something to do, but he didn't want to go chatting anyone up or reading a novel or watching videos on social media. So, each time, he brought out his phone and put it back in.

Felix, the Marshal, stood next to the door with arms folded, standing like a military man. If what he had done in bowing and thanking them left him with any kind of awkward feeling, he did not show it.

If anything, he looked calm and in control. They waited awkwardly while he simply waited.

Spitfire was going through the task of licking Ark's burn mark one more time when the second Marhsal, Josh, walked into the room with three folded chairs.

"Control is asking about your report," he told Felix as he entered the room, closing the door behind him with a backwards kick. "I think they don't believe you."

Felix snorted in derision. "There's enough footage from the plane to go around. They're just looking for someone to blame for the damages."

Melmarc held back a wince. How would they even begin to explain if they were somehow held responsible for the damages? If such a thing happened, their parents would most definitely find out.

Felix must've noticed his slight discomfort because he said, "Don't worry about it. You were a passenger in a dire situation that you should not have been in. No one's going to be asking you questions."

"Yeah," Josh said, unfolding the chairs and placing them down one by one. "Besides, if word got out that they were trying to put some level of blame on you kids after what happened, it will be bad for business. The last thing any airline wants, especially a private one, is to be blacklisted from flying into Tatelat."

The chairs unfolded and positioned, Josh took a seat and gestured at the two opposite him.

"Please," he said very politely. "We've kept you standing for too long."

Melmarc and Ark exchanged looks while Felix occupied the seat next to his colleague. He looked less worried now. Melmarc was just beginning to realize that his shoulders had actually been a little tense for a while now, considering how relaxed they now looked.

Ark was the first to sit down. He moved carefully while Spitfire licked his face. When he sat down, he relaxed into the chair. For some reason, Spitfire smacked him in the face like a cat.

Ark closed his eyes and pressed his lips into a thin line with a sigh. Melmarc wondered what that was about as he took his own seat.

"Are you okay?" Felix asked Ark.

Ark nodded, lips still pressed in a thin line. "You might find it hard to believe but I deserved that."

Felix was still having a hard time looking at Ark's burn marks.

Josh beat him to commenting on it.

"Did you get those in the plane?" he asked.

Ark's hand came up to touch the scar on his face and Spitfire swiped at it, smacking it away. Ark retrieved his hand with a resigned sigh.

"Yes," he answered.

Felix looked confused. "All of it? Including the ones on the rest of your body?"

Ark nodded.

"But they are…" Josh's words trailed off as if he felt like the line of questioning would lead to a misunderstanding.

"They look old, right?" Ark asked, ever unbothered by awkward conversations. "I have an elemental resistance skill. It reduces the effects of certain elemental damages, like fire, and heals it faster."

Josh paused. "Oh." His eyes moved over to Melmarc, settling on Melmarc's chest.

Since they'd come into the airport in tattered clothes, Melmarc was sure that the man had seen it. The hand print burnt into his chest, courtesy of the representative of the 'League of Bright Flame' from the airplane.

He shook his head at the unasked question. "I don't have a resistance to anything."

"But you took the man head on," Josh said. "Maybe even more than your brother. I'm just confused, why just one serious burn mark? And why aren't you in more pain?"

Melmarc opened his mouth to answer only to pause. He had been about to say something about how he had a skill that reduced how much damage he took until Josh had asked about the pain.

The scar still hurt, but it didn't hurt enough to be something he even had to think about. At best, it was a minor inconvenience.

"I mean," Josh went on, "don't get me wrong, I watched the footage. You were practically branded in the beginning. I'm just—"

"Josh," Felix hissed, cutting his friend off.

Josh opened his mouth, perhaps to defend himself, then closed it instead.

"I'm really sorry about my colleague," Felix said. "He can sometimes miss social cues. Butt he means well."

Melmarc nodded absently. His mind was more focused on Josh's words. The Marshal was right, he had practically been branded. How had he given a far less reaction than was necessary? Even now, how was he not in pain?

The pain thing? He wondered, remembering how Uncle Dorthna had told him while healing him after he'd gone berserk that now that he had developed the aspect of pain, pain was good for him.

Was the concept not just helping him understand pain but also teaching him how to handle it better?

Melmarc paused halfway through his thoughts when he caught sight of Felix's worried expression. Beside him, Ark looked from Felix to him.

"Oh, don't worry about my brother," Ark told Felix casually. "If you told him that the sun dipped three inches when it was supposed to rise three inches, he'll look like that, too. He's just thinking of something he considers important but really isn't."

Felix's expression turned into one of interest. "Then I hope he doesn't mind if I—"

"Don't ask him what he's thinking about," Ark interrupted.

Felix and Josh looked at him.

"He'll mind?" Felix asked.

Ark shook his head. "Not at all. In fact, he'll tell you."

The frown on his face reminded Melmarc of how Ark wasn't a fan of that part of him. Ark was of the opinion that not everybody deserved an answer to the question of what you were thinking about even if you were just thinking about dinner. According to him, the response 'nothing' existed for a reason.

"If he won't mind," Josh began slowly. "Then why not?"

Ark fixed the Marshal with a serious stare. For some worrying reason, Spitfire stopped everything that it was doing to do the exact same thing.

Ark's answer came out as an unarguable fact. "Because I mind."

There was suddenly enough tension in the room to smother a giant, and Melmarc smacked Ark's leg. Ark jerked on his seat. The single act sent the tension melting.

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"What?" Ark protested.

"Stop being threatening," he told his brother.

"Why? They'll ask you, and you'll answer, and they'll realize that you'll always answer and they'll take advantage of it during the questioning."

Felix shook his head very quickly. "This is not an interrogation, I swear."

"Questioning us will be a part of your job," Ark pointed out. "Kinda hard to believe you."

Felix looked very confused. Melmarc did not blame him. Ark had just gone from being the easy going one to being the one with trust issues in the blink of an eye.

"He's right," Josh said. "This is not a questioning."

Dissonant.

Melmarc sighed in exasperation. He turned to Felix. "This isn't a questioning?" he asked.

"It is not," Felix said with a nod. "I promise you."

That was interesting. It was dissonant when Josh said it.

"Officially?" Ark asked.

"Officially and unofficially," Felix answered easily. "You two are heroes. You saved lives. Why would we question you? Alright, let's put it this way, you are free to answer any questions you want to answer and not answer any questions you don't want to answer."

Josh did not look very pleased. It seemed like there would be questions he would very much want them to answer. What Melmarc wasn't certain of was if it was because the job required it or if he was trying to cover their asses in case anything happened in the future.

Ark smiled amiably. "It's easier to believe when you say it. Your colleague? Not so much."

"It's an occupational hazard," Felix explained. "Normally, he's friendlier."

Melmarc wasn't sure what to say to that. Josh looked friendly enough if not for the teardrop tattoo just beneath his eye. There was something about it that made Josh look like someone that should not be underestimated if not he'll gut you like a trout while reading the bible.

"Alright," Josh sighed. "I'll leave the conversation to Felix if that makes you feel comfortable."

Melmarc shrugged before Ark could reply. "I actually don't mind listening to you, too," he said.

Ark looked at him in confusion. "Really?"

Melmarc shrugged.

In truth, if Josh was going to be slipping in lies, it was no skin off his teeth. If anything, it would help him understand dissonance better or at least it would aid in how accustomed he was to it. Because the truth was simple, he had spent most of his time at home since gaining the trait, and it didn't work on Uncle Dorthna and Ark wasn't much of a liar whenever they spoke.

Skill mastery increased with how much you used the skill, so maybe he would get better with the trait with how much he used it.

"Okay," Felix said, a little confused but clearly glad. "We'll start with the simple one, would you like us to inform your parents of what happened?"

Melmarc and Ark looked at each other for a very brief moment. Then they looked at Felix.

"No," they said in unison.

Felix's lip moved about in contemplation before he nodded. "Alright."

"They are minors," Josh pointed out, unhappy with his answer. "It is only right that we inform their next of kin. Their parents should know. It's procedure."

"Procedure is to inform next of kins in the event of an unfortunate circumstance like the maiming, death or loss of the individual or minor. They are neither maimed, lost nor dead. We have no business with the next of kin if the passenger reaches their final destination with no issues. Informing the next of kin of their safety in such an event is the duty of the passenger not the airline or the Marshals."

Josh frowned but said nothing.

"Next," Felix said, returning his attention to them. "Would you like to file any complaint regarding the airline?"

Ark shook his head. "No."

Felix nodded. "Would you like to sue for damages?"

Josh looked as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Are you trying to make their parents spend unnecessary amounts of money on legal fees? You just said that they are fine."

Melmarc was beginning to wonder if these two worked together because they were good cop and bad cop and it just came naturally to them.

Ark shook his head once more. "No damages." His eyes looked up as if looking at Spitfire. "Wanna file for damages, buddy?"

Spitfire smacked him.

"Ow!" Ark frowned. "You've got to work on your temper." He looked back at the Marshals. "No damages."

Felix nodded. "Then I guess we're done here. Do you need any help getting to your final destination?"

Ark and Melmarc shook their heads. From here, they just needed to get to Fallen High, were as per the email they'd gotten from the school, they would be checked into the orientation dorms, pending final admissions or something like that. Accommodation was already taken care of.

As for transportation? They could just order a ride.

Felix nodded, getting up from his chair. He paused halfway out of his seat.

"One more thing," he said.

Ark and Melmarc looked at him expectantly. "We're listening," Ark said.

"Your… uhm… scars," Felix finished, awkwardly, his voice drowning in guilt. "You don't have to worry about it. Tatelat has the best [Healer]s in the country. I can recommend a few hospitals to you and they can have you free of them in less than a week. The department or the airline will be more than happy to get that sorted out. You don't have to worry about your insurance or anything like that."

Dissonant.

"The department will definitely not," Josh said, pulling his friend aside by his shirt. "Do you know how much paperwork that will cause? And you know very well that finance won't sign off on this."

Felix looked at Melmarc and Ark, knowing that they'd heard him. Rather than give them reassurances of what he could do to make sure it happened, he slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a card, he held it out to Ark who took it.

"That's my card," he explained. "Just call me. I'll get you the name of a hospital you can go to, and I'll let them know you're coming. You'll get express treatment at no charge."

"By no charge, you mean bills on you?" Ark asked.

Felix nodded. "It would be my pleasure."

Ark nodded. "We'll look into it," he said smiling.

Dissonant.

With that Ark and Melmarc rose from their seats. They moved over to their luggage and began picking them up. They each had a backpack where they kept their laptop and other simple electronic devices, along with some clothes, and a duffel bag each that housed the rest of their clothes and footwears.

"One moment," Josh said, stepping away from Felix. "I have one question, if you don't mind me asking."

Melmarc looked at Ark who shrugged. To Josh, he responded with a nod.

"The fire guy?" he asked. "Do you guys know what happened to him?"

Melmarc looked at Ark who was already answering.

"He kind of flew off?" he said. "If you could call it flying."

"Flew?" Josh asked. "He has a flying skill?"

Ark shook his head. "Not really. When we went skydiving, I tried to hold him down, you know, have fun on the way down. But he didn't seem enthusiastic about it. He got away and kind of slowed his fall by blasting explosions from his hands. I won't say he flew, more like he descended very slowly."

Josh and Felix shared a look.

"I don't understand," Josh said.

Ark scratched his head, trying to think of a way to explain better. His hand landed on Spitfire's head and he just scratched that instead.

"You know how explosions push things?" he asked. "It was like that. Each explosion pushed him up, reducing his fall speed while moving him away from me. Personally, I think he landed somewhere and is perfectly fine."

Felix and Josh exchanged a look.

"I'll start making the calls," Josh said, leaving the room while taking out his phone very quickly.

Ark looked at Melmarc and it didn't take much for Melmarc to figure out what was happening.

"We landed not too far away," Melmarc muttered as he put it together. His eyes widened in realization and he looked at Felix. "He's still in the city."

Felix nodded solemnly.

"And a man who failed to blow up a plane full of people," Melmarc continued, his brain working everything out, "can always go for the next best thing."

"A building full of people," Ark finished in realization.

Then he looked at Melmarc and said what Melmarc considered the most ludicrous thing to ever come out of his brother's mouth.

"We need to stop him."

Melmarc pressed his lips into a thin line and raised a very, very sarcastic brow. "And how do you intend we do that, brother dearest?"

Ark paused. "Oh, that's true."

"Exactly."

Felix was looking at them with a smile on his face. "Your brother's right," he said to Ark. "That part's our job. In fact, what you did on the plane was also our job. Don't worry about the pyromancer. We have his name and identification including what he looks like. He won't get far."

Melmarc nodded.

"Maybe we should start booking our ride," he suggested to Ark.

"Ten steps ahead of you," Ark said, looking down at his phone.

Felix was shaking his head. "There's no need for that. There are a million rides around, I'll just call someone to come pick you up at the entrance. If you call a ride, you'll have to go all the way to the parking lot since they aren't allowed beyond that point."

Melmarc turned to tell Ark that Felix's suggestion sounded like a better idea when he saw the look on Ark's face. He had a very wide grin. He looked like a boy who had just won the competition for strongest man in the world.

He had that smile while looking at his phone.

"What?" Melmarc asked, having a bad feeling.

Ark's smile only grew wider as he turned his phone screen so that Melmarc could see what he was looking at. "We're going viral."

On his screen was a full colored video of the both of them fighting against the [Pyromancer], taken from behind a few people buy still very much clear enough to make out what was happening. Melmarc watched himself tackle the man, staring aghast as the video moved on.

Ark was standing with him now so that they both watched the video with very different expressions.

"That was so badass," Ark chuckled as he looked at Melmarc in the video, said something that wasn't audible and tackled a man as bright as the sun out of the plane.

Melmarc watched the way his entire body froze with a singular purpose when it happened. Then he just kind of disappeared. He could trail the path, he took as a blur simply dashed out of the plane.

"OH MY GOD!" someone shouted very close in the video. "THEY JUMPED! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!"

Ark looked at Melmarc with surprise. "I didn't know you could move that fast. You almost looked like a speedster."

Melmarc didn't know he could move that fast either. But he was more concerned with far more important things than the fact that he was about to resume in a new school where almost everybody would now recognize him.

"How many views, Ark?" he asked panicking.

Ark paused. "What?"

Melmarc grabbed his brother, eyes wide in panic. "How many views?"

Ark shrugged, looking down at the phone. "I don't know… two million, so far? Why?"

Worry placed a very self-satisfied hand on Melmarc's brain.

A notification popped up on Ark's phone, sliding down to occupy the top as a banner while the video continued to play in the background.

Ark's grin fell from his face very fast as dread took over everything.

"Shit," he muttered.

Ark shoved the phone into his hand. "You pick; you're her favorite."

Melmarc leapt away from the phone as if it was a scalding thing and it fell to the ground. Him and Ark stared down at it as it continued to vibrate, a very existential threat to their existence.

Shit was a vast understatement. Shit did not even begin to classify their current state. It paled vastly as they both stared at the caller ID. It read one simple word.

Mom.

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