While they were walking across the grounds after leaving the building, Karl squeezed his eyes shut as strong winds blew. "Ugh. I feel like I need to hold on to a lamp post or something or else I'll fly away."
"You can hold on to me, if you'd like," said Rywa. Karl puffed his cheek at how the man still looked grudgingly elegant albeit his long hair flying in all directions.
"Senpai!!!" Twin girls, who were running while clumsily trying to keep their skirt from being blown away, stopped in front of them. The blue butterfly clips on their short black hair looked as if the fluttering wings were going to come off any second.
"Please help us. Our flight partner was trying to pick up a fallen nest at the side of the cliff when he fell off!" One girl said.
"What?!"
"It's okay, he fell on a ledge. But now he's stuck and can't climb up!" The other girl added.
Karl sighed. "You guys. If you're going to attempt a rescue, be careful not to put yourself in a position where you'll end up needing to be rescued."
Karl suddenly remembered the night he and Rywa first met and awkwardly looked up at the man beside him. Rywa did not say anything, but the meaningful smirk on his face made Karl wish the wind would actually blow him away. Far away.
Unable to maintain eye contact, he turned to the girls. "One of you take us to him and the other go get a rope. Let's go!"
One of the twins led them to a cliff overlooking the beach where Karl and the others were the day before, which was empty save for the lone wolf trotting about on the shore. His face relaxed into a soft smile when the wolf looked their way. They reached the spot and the younger female operative pointed down. "Over here!"
About a few meters below, the other pilot was sitting on the ledge, holding on to the nest. "Please help me! I don't want to die!!!"
Karl's eyes drooped. "Why does this feel awfully familiar..."
He recognized the voice as well as the face. It was the pilot whose fighter was hit on the day of the flight exams.
"You're not the luckiest guy, are you. I'm coming down!"
"Wait, Karl!" Rywa called after him, but Karl had already jumped off the cliff and landed on the narrow protrusion.
"Yo. Who would've thought the next time we see each other again would be in this kind of situation." Karl gave him a reassuring smile as he added "Don't worry, we'll get you out of here. Are you okay? You're not hurt anywhere?"
The other pilot seemed to recognize him and visibly relaxed. He grinned sheepishly. "I'm fine. And I never got to say this last time, but thanks for saving me, sir."
"There's no need to thank me. Like the Headmaster said, we're a family here."
Karl quickly surveyed the area to see if it would be possible to have his fighter pick them up but branches sticking out from trees above them made it difficult, if not impossible, to jump in from below. Sea stacks left no space for the fighter to pick them up from the side either. "The only way really is to climb up, huh..."
"Here's the rope!" The other girl yelled. Rywa and the twins secured it on a tree trunk then tossed the other end down to Karl. However, it still fell short by a meter. Karl bent down and gestured for the young pilot to get on his shoulders.
"We're gonna have to get you up first, so leave the nest here for now. I promise I won't let anything happen to them." He nodded his head towards the chicks twittering in the nest.
"Ye... Yes sir!"
As he reached for the rope and climbed up the wall, he slipped and accidentally kicked Karl's shoulder, causing the ace pilot to lose his balance, stumble, and fall backwards.
"Karl!!!" Rywa screamed.
He saw the look of pure horror on Rywa's face before a powerful gust of wind blew, strong enough to push him back onto the ledge. He lay on his side, too stunned to register what just happened until the distant sound of a wolf's howl pulled him back from blanking out and he heard Rywa calling his name.
"Karl! Karl!!! Are you all right? Wait there, I'll come down!"
"No, don't! I'm okay."
Karl pushed himself up. He turned Zephyr's sweater around so he was wearing it backwards, with the hood in front. He then picked up the nest and gently tucked it into the hood, securing it with the string attached.
After Rywa pulled the other pilot up, he tossed the rope back down. Karl climbed up the cliff's wall until he could reach the end of the rope so Rywa could pull him up as well. Karl then took out the nest to check on the chicks.
"Looks like they're fi-"
Rywa swiftly took the nest from him with one hand to get it out of the way and pulled Karl close with the other and hugged him tight.
The twins looked at each, wide-eyed, while their hands could barely cover the huge grin on their lips. Their flight partner could only stare in awe, mouth gaping.
"You scared me. Thank goodness you're safe," Rywa pulled away and touched Karl's cheek, caressing it with his thumb.
Karl quietly smiled up at him then turned to the nest. There were five little nestlings, all twittering loudly except for one who was still keeping his head inside half of a cracked open eggshell with his tail sticking out.
"You guys are lively," Karl chuckled.
"I'm trying to tell them to calm down, they're all right now. But it's no use, they're too excited," Rywa shook his head, smiling fondly.
Karl laughed. "They're just babies! They won't get it."
"I'm so sorry for what happened, sir!" The boy bowed to Karl, who waved his hand dismissively.
"Just be more careful next time, and as they say in training, ensure your own safety before helping others. That said, you saved these guys. You should be proud of yourself," Karl grinned. "Good job, everyone! Now let's go get some supplies. We better hurry and get these babies back up on a tree before their mother comes looking for them."
They made a makeshift hanging pot out of a used food container from the cafeteria and strings, then filled the gap with twigs and leaves so the nestlings would not fall into it, and then tied it securely on one of the higher branches. After they were done, Rywa accompanied Karl to the underwater bullet train's station.
As he was about to board the train, Karl found it strange that he felt lonely to have to part ways with someone he had just met. And it must have shown on his face because Rywa said "Don't miss me too much. We'll see each other tomorrow" with a playful wink.
"Silly," Karl snorted.
*******
Karl was crouching down behind bushes. He craned his neck to take a peek at a boy who was wearing a cloak. When Karl saw that the boy was looking the other way, he hugged his knees and giggled softly. The boy paused. Karl squinted, trying to see what he could in the small gaps between the bushes. He stifled a gasp when the boy turned on his heel and walked in steady strides towards him.
"I wonder where my little friend could be?" The boy made binoculars with his hands and theatrically scanned the area, looking everywhere but the spot where Karl was hiding.
Karl pulled his hood low over his head, hoping it would help conceal him, and shut his eyes tightly. The rustling of grass with every footstep got closer and closer, and when it stopped, strands of hair brushed against the tip of his nose, making Karl scrunch his face.
"Found you!" said a familiar voice, chuckling.
Puffing his cheek, Karl was lifted up to stand on his feet while the boy knelt on one knee to brush the leaves and twigs off his pants and the hem of Karl's cloak.
"We should head back now; it'll be dark soon. The nights are getting colder and you might catch a cold."
The boy, whose hand was bigger, took his as they walked side by side.
"Are you tired? Would you like me to carry you on my back?"
Karl shook his head, grinning. "I'm okay, M-"
His smile faded when he heard voices calling from a distance. He looked down on the ground, frowning, but his friend stood in front of him and held both his hands.
"Don't make that face. We'll see each other again tomorrow, I promise."
His face relaxing into a smile, Karl looked up. But before he could look at the boy's face, his phone's alarm rang.
*******
Forcing one eye open, Karl pressed the snooze button. The time on the screen read 04:00.
"That dream again..." He absently muttered, then rolled over. Five minutes later, which to him felt more like two seconds, the alarm sounded again.
After his morning routine, he changed into his GDF uniform and put on his fanny pack as well as his gun belt, which was deftly concealed by his standing collar blazer that had sapphire buttons. As he passed by the dining room on his way out, he was surprised to find onigiri and a travel mug ready on the table with a handwritten note from Zephyr:
Don't forget to eat!
Smiling, he slipped the rice balls into his pocket, grabbed the mug, and headed out. He rode his bike to the station and went down the hidden underground entrance, scanning his GDF pass to get to the platform. With the nature of their operations on the base, the underwater bullet train ran twenty-four hours a day. The car was mostly empty when he got on and sat by the window. He took off the mug's lid and blew on steaming hot chocolate as he waited for the train to depart.
His mind drifted to the dream he had the night before. Karl frowned, trying hard to remember the face of the boy in his dreams, but once again it was to no avail. Even though the voice and the touch were so vivid, he had no face or even name to connect them to. The announcement of their arrival on GDF snapped him out of his thoughts.
While Karl exchanged morning greetings with GDF staff boarding the train as he got off, it was easy to spot the long crimson mane even though he blended right in with his dark-coloured casual clothes.
"Good morning!" Karl greeted brightly.
"Good morning, Karl," Rywa answered with a pleasant smile.
They exited the station and walked side by side on the luminous path, their footfalls mixing with the sound of the waves. Karl closed his eyes as he relished the feeling of the wind gently brushing against his cheeks. "The wind feels nice. It's a good day to fly." He turned to Rywa. "Sorry you had to wake up so early. Our contact said the best time to catch him would be when he and the other fishermen come back at dawn, after they drop off their catch at the port."
"No need to apologize. Did you sleep well?" Rywa asked as they made their way across the grounds.
"Yep. I had weird dream, though."
"A weird dream?" Rywa sounded intrigued.
"I was playing hide-and-seek with a friend when I was still a child. I often dream of him, but for some reason I can't remember who he is. I asked my dad before, but he said I had a lot of friends in school, so it was hard to pick out which one if I couldn't even describe what he looked like," Karl said, then finished the rest of his drink.
"You do seem like the type people would naturally gravitate towards. In fact, the force of attraction is so strong that I am also pulled in."
He reached for Karl's hand, but before he could even touch the tips of his fingers, Zephyr spoke from behind.
"It's a little too early for pick-up lines, don't you think?"