Days passed in a flash; construction was in full swing. The foundation had been laid, and the ground was filled with dust and mud, the noise causing the beasts on the island to retreat further inland.
Tents were scattered along the shore; children played nearby, while n and won bustled about—either heading to the construction site or preparing lunch.
Eva lay on a tree branch, her legs tangling loosely as she squinted lazily.
Ethan lay on a folding chair, sipping a glass of wine from that pod. He had used Julian’s teleportation to return to that forest to pluck more pods.
"Aren’t we going to tour the other islands? We’ve been lazing around these past few days," Julian said as he bit into a skewer of at glistening with spices in the hot sun.
" "Mmm... I want to rest more. Who knows what kind of beasts or monsters we’ll co across?" Eva moaned lazily as she turned onto her side, her gaze fixed on the forest. She felt weak to the bone and had no intention of moving anyti soon.
"No, we have to leave tonight, or Mother might send us to explore with so dungeon raiders. We might have to look after them like we did those people in my space before." Ethan’s words jolted Eva awake; she sat up quickly and jumped down from the tree, landing lightly.
"There’s no ti like the present to explore the island. Let’s go. No need to pack anything—just grab one of the chefs, and we’re good to go." Eva muttered in a hurried tone as she pulled Ethan off the chair and dragged Julian by the collar.
They were caught off guard by her sudden enthusiasm, but then Julian recalled Ethan’s words and ca to a realization.
"Yeah, we should hurry," he muttered, his steps picking up. The thought of exploring in groups left a bad taste in his mouth.
Ethan quickly chugged the wine in his cup, unwilling to waste a single drop.
They traveled back toward the tent area to nap the chef when Julian spoke.
"Are we taking Aaron with us? Using his abilities to fly to the other island is easier than walking across that rocky bridge. It might be slippery from the constant spray of seawater."
Eva wore a thoughtful expression before she humd in agreent as she led the bewildered chef into her space.
"We have to be sneaky about this. I don’t want Mother to see us—she might change her mind on the spot and tell us to take so people... (●´⌓`●)" Eva whispered, a faint nervousness creeping onto her face as her gaze darted around for Grace.
"Don’t worry, I was just assuming, not that it would happen."
Ethan felt she was panicking too much; he had only assud Grace might do sothing like that, not that she had.
"You never know when assumptions can beco reality," Eva said in a sage-like tone before sneaking across the tents in search of Aaron.
Ethan facepald at her actions, fighting the urge to burst out laughing. Julian had no such qualms and chuckled softly as he followed behind her.
Aaron was looking through holographic computer displays in the spaceship at the mont. His fingers flew across the keyboard.
It had been a long ti since he had touched one of these, and he wondered what had happened to his computers back ho.
"The firewall is tough to hack into," Aaron muttered, a hint of frustration creeping into his voice, though his gaze held a competitive glint.
He had been asked to help hack into the spaceship’s stored data to retrieve its blueprints, hoping to gain technological knowledge that might help them.
"Have you gotten anything yet?" Stone asked from the entrance, his voice hopeful.
Aaron paused, turned toward the door, and spoke the truth. "Not yet. The firewalls and security systems are layered with complexity... it would take months to hack into them."
Stone’s expression dimd slightly, but he wasn’t discouraged; instead, he praised it inwardly. ’As expected of such cutting-edge technology.’
"Alright, take your ti," Stone responded in a neutral tone, not wanting to pressure him.
"I’m going to check the engines. If you need anything, you can find there." Stone muttered, then took his leave.
Aaron nodded and returned to his work. The holographic screen was covered with dense figures and symbols.
The symbols were from ancient languages he knew nothing about, which made his task even more difficult. Aaron gladly embraced the challenge, finding it worthwhile.
His mind was so consud by his task that he didn’t notice Eva and the others arrive.
"Brother." Eva’s sudden call made him flinch, and he turned back in surprise.
"Sorry for disturbing you, but can you co with us to tour the other island?" Eva asked in a hushed tone, her eyes kept darting toward the door as if expecting soone.
Aaron’s brow rose slightly, feeling she was acting suspiciously.
"Hmm. Did you do sothing wrong, bully the chef into making extra food, and get caught by mother?" He couldn’t help but ask, his tone curious as his gaze flickered with a gossipy glint.
Eva clutched her chest in shock. "How could you think that of ? When have I ever bullied the chef? ¯_(ಠ_ಠ)_/¯ I only asked nicely for an extra at dish. Are you following us or not?" she urged through gritted teeth.
She was still annoyed whenever she rembered that other chef tattling to her mother about her extra request. Only her husband’s chef understood her.
Aaron was torn between staying to study the codes and crack into the spaceship’s mainfra, or following her to the other island to keep the two of them in check.
Seeing his hesitation, Eva didn’t want to make things difficult for him; she could tell he was busy with sothing important when they walked in earlier.
"If you’re busy, there’s no need to follow us. Don’t worry—I can keep myself safe, and they will too. If she asks for us, tell Mom we’re out exploring the other islands. Bye-bye." She gave a quick wave before pulling Julian and Ethan away, not even giving Aaron a chance to respond.
He stared blankly at the empty entrance for a mont, then shook his head with a helpless smile.
She hadn’t even given him the chance to choose; he wondered why she had asked in the first place. Either way was fine—he could focus more on the code without distractions.
anwhile, Eva and others quickly left for the next island, which was close to the one they were on.
Each of them rode their beasts as they thundered through the north, the beasts’ paws pounding the ground.
As they moved past, they saw a figure flash by, and Julian and Ethan’s expressions changed in a split second, only relaxing when they were far away.
"Why do both of you look so tense when we passed that lady? Is she... your ex?" Her question almost made Julian stumble off his beast’s back, while Ethan choked on his own saliva in shock.
"Cough... that’s my sister!" Ethan quickly explained between coughs.
Eva’s heart lightened, and her hands relaxed slightly from gripping Foxy’s fur.
"Oh, why didn’t you introduce her to ?!" Eva asked in a raised voice, cutting through the thundering beast’s paw and the wind.
"You don’t want to be recognized by her. Trust . She isn’t right in here." Julian pointed to his head to emphasize his aning. If Ethan weren’t around, he would have called her a lunatic.
Eva’s brows furrowed in surprise and curiosity, but she didn’t ask, feeling it would be rude and might reopen Ethan’s old wounds. She could only turn to him, offering a look of pity and heartache, clearly misunderstanding Julian’s words.
Ethan sighed and patted his wolf to slow down. Eva and Julian followed suit, the salty breeze filling the air as Ethan exhaled. Inwardly, his heart churned with complex emotions.
Eva remained silent, giving him ti to gather his thoughts and speak.
"She isn’t ntally disabled. Instead, her emotions are extrely intense and often out of control. Julian and I have almost died at her hands countless tis, but she heals us in ti or doesn’t land the finishing blow," Ethan explained, a mix of love and resentnt for his sister.
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