Regona City: Flight (BK2)

Reunion

"Let us know when you have real answers," Terrell told him as he grabbed Sahara's hand. "And don't just randomly call us in for any false alarms," he added with a glare.

"You could drop by for tea once in a while," Rayne told him calmly.

His response was a grunt as Terrell pulled Sahara towards the door.

"Wait..." Rayne told him. "I would like to talk to Sahara...alone for a moment."

Terrell's grip around Sahara's hand tightened.

"Please," Rayne added.

"I'll give you five minutes," Terrell muttered as he let go of Sahara. He walked to the door but paused with his hand on the handle. "Oh...Rayne..."

Rayne looked surprised at being called by his name. A smile spread across his face.

"You don't happen to know any places that still have strawberry milk, do you?" Terrell asked sounding like a little boy.

Sahara turned to see Rayne's eyebrows were raised. "Aren't you a little too old to still be drinking that stuff?"

"I'm getting tired of lollipops," Terrell snapped back. His brother looked confused. Terrell shrugged. "It didn't hurt to ask." He opened the door and raised the other in farewell. "Have fun running the city...and tell the keepers to keep up the work." He turned and shot his brother a wicked grin. "You better not mess up or I might be stepping in."

Rayne shook his head. "Don't get big headed about anything, little brother. You know what I'm capable of."

"Exactly," Terrell replied. "But you don't know exactly what I'm capable of." With a cheeky smile he disappeared.

"Challenge accepted!" Rayne called after him.

The door closed. Sahara couldn't help but wonder what exactly was going on. It was as though on moment these two brothers got along, and yet in the next they were ready to tear each other apart. Whatever it was, she felt like the most hostility came from Terrell's side. Why would you make your brother think you were dead? Sahara couldn't help but wonder.

"Such a handful," Rayne muttered. There was fondness in his voice. "He was boarding before he could walk. It was quite troublesome; skipped school countless times to simply go fly around. And yet nothing was ever high enough for him. I can't even remember how many times I had to go to his school's office because of him." He shook his head. "I've never seen him listen to anyone...and then you came along." Rayne stared at Sahara with an expression that was filled with curiosity.

"I really didn't do anything," Sahara spoke softly.

"But you did," Rayne replied. "It seems my foolish brother has been bound by the one thing that can tame a tiger...love." He chuckled.

Love? Sahara's heartbeat quickened.

"I'm saying this now to get it out of the way," Rayne told her as he got serious. "If you have any ulterior motives for getting near him then you'll have me to deal with." His voice was laced with warning and Sahara felt like she wanted to shrink back; yet, she stood her ground. "And trust me, you don't want that happening."

"You really care for him," Sahara realized.

Rayne chuckled. His expression softened. "Unfortunately...it's a troublesome thing." He eyed Sahara. "I'm guessing he didn't say anything about our past?"

Sahara shook her head.

"Of course. Not many people in Regona like to look back." Rayne had a faraway look in his eyes. "Life was good for many people back then...I'm ashamed to say that Terrell suffered more than he should have at that age. I was so busy with my own things that I didn't realize until the damage was done..." he murmured. "And then the virus hit..." Seeming to realize that Sahara was there he blinked, as though coming out of a daydream. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair in the exact same way that Terrell often did. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..."