Rei didn’t care if all three of them were deemed cowards; he enjoyed the peace of mind, knowing that Kyoumi and Sorai wouldn’t go out to fight. Roken chose to personally lead his troops, but Kasper and Emelie seemed sure of their father’s ability to protect himself or, in the worst case, run. Gin’s soldiers knew better than to die for a worthless war, as well, even if it painted their retreats as inelegant attempts to flee in Kuro’s eyes.


    It left Rei with plenty of time to acquaint himself with his age mates; aside from the mix of Hiroki blood, Kasper and Emelie were the only fellow teenagers. They could go wherever they wanted in the fort itself, but needed permission or a guard to head into the town behind it. Sometimes it was easier to give a soldier or servant some money and ask them to buy things for him.


    With a bag of candies acquired through that method, he found Kasper and Emelie sitting in one of the viewing areas—facing the town, thus more decorated than the one that let you stare at the river border.


    Emelie perked up first at the bag’s rustling and waved. Kasper half-waved without looking up from his drawing, scribbling new lines and scowling at it.


    “Are you up for an icebreaker game?” Rei asked. “Just to pass the time, mostly.”


    Emelie enthusiastically nodded; Kasper sat his pencil down and folded his sketchbook shut. Rei took that as a ‘yes’ and sat down in one of the empty seats. He carefully shook the candies onto the table.


    “All you need to do is pick a color candy, and the others ask a question related to that,” Rei explained. “Red is for a question related to yourself, brown is for a question related to family, and gold is a question related to your hometown. If one of you picked a gold candy and asked where I grew up, for example, I’d say it was Gin’s capital. Sometimes conversations build off of that, but sometimes it’s just straightforward questions and answers. Sound good?”


    “Mhm!” Emelie hummed. “Are the different colors different kinds of candy?”


    “They’re all the same,” Rei replied, shaking his head. “Simplifies the thought of ‘what if someone only does one question just because they like that color’s taste better.’”


    “Fair enough! Since me and Kasper already know each other, can we still ask each other questions?”


    “Yeah. It’s a good way to tease siblings if their crush is around.”


    “You’ve seen it?” Kasper asked, slightly amused.


    Rei managed a little smile. “My brother has a knack for it. He does it for friends, too.”


    “I volunteer to be the instigator of chaos,” Emelie half-sung.


    Kasper gave her a tired look for a second, but she reached for the candies before he could make any comments.


    “I’ll go first!” She dramatically took out a brown and immediately unwrapped it. She giggled when she plopped the candy in her mouth.


    “Do you have any aunts or uncles?” Rei asked.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Emelie nodded, although it took her another few seconds to eat and swallow the candy before she fully answered.


    “Yup! Aunt Amanda. She lives with us.”


    “Her and Father are twins, actually,” Kasper murmured.


    Rei perked up. “Fraternal?”


    “Yeah. Do you know a set?”


    “Taiyo and I are identical,” Rei explained. “For the longest time, only our parents and grandfather could tell us apart. It must be easier with a girl and a boy.”


    Emelie’s eyes sparkled with more questions, but she didn’t ask any. Maybe they were about Taiyo, and someone—Roken, most likely, if he knew—told them it was a touchy subject.


    After a nod of permission from his sister, Kasper took a red candy. He flicked it over to Emelie shortly afterwards, thanked by a silly grin.


    “I noticed you draw a lot,” Rei said, gesturing towards Kasper’s sketchbook. “Is that a hobby of yours?”


    “Yeah. My mother liked to paint, so every now and then I’d draw something for her. To this day, I’m pretty good with lineart but shading and coloring are…far beyond my abilities.”


    “It’s hard to master,” Rei reasoned. “I can’t draw anything to save my life, but my girlfriend doodles cats pretty well.”


    Emelie perked up but didn’t say anything; Rei ventured a guess as to her question and picked up a red candy for himself. She wasted no time in spouting out what piqued her interest.


    “Is that girl with the kitty your girlfriend?”


    Rei nodded. “Maeko and Snowbell, respectively. I met Maeko four years ago and we adopted Snowbell last winter.”


    “She was really nice!” Emelie noted, smiling. She unwrapped the candy Kasper gave her. “And the kitty’s super sweet, too. Do you think she’d be able to visit?”


    “Her mother’s a little protective,” Rei said, hoping he didn’t sound disdainful. Miss Nesshin was no more or less ‘protective’ than Kyoumi, really, and he understood her reasons. “Unless the front line gets pushed into Kuro—which has never happened, mind you—and we stay here at the border, Maeko won’t visit.”


    “I can’t blame her,” Kasper mused as Emelie plopped the candy in her mouth. “Kuro doesn’t exactly have a pristine reputation.”


    Rei murmured some agreement and gestured for Emelie to take another candy from the pile. Better to keep going than dwell on negatives for too long.


    Emelie chose a gold candy, patiently waiting a few seconds before Rei thought of a good question.


    “How would you describe your hometown?” Rei asked. “I’ve heard mixed messages—some say there’s only a difference in the winter, some say it’s colder year-round, others claim it’s hundreds of times better or worse than the grandest city in Gin or Kuro.”


    Emelie paused for a moment to think of a response, then ventured a bit thoughtfully into the answer.


    “It’s not much,” she admitted. “There’s a comfy community fire in the center of Byen Roken—in the center of most Sólstaeuric towns, honestly. Roads are well-established and there’s lots of forests; it’s fascinating to go from heavy woods to a residential center in only a few minutes. The houses are tiny and they hold more people than they were built for, but it’s home so I can''t complain.”


    She unwrapped and quickly ate her second candy, then continued. “Although temperature-wise, it is warmer here than over there. It’s not safe to stay outside for hours on end during the winter—just hunting can be risky if you’re not careful—but everyone knows the limits and how to avoid reaching them. It’s not a maze like Gin’s capital is.”


    “Most cities in Gin are more open than the capital,” Rei said. “They say Ginshin had a fondness for riddles and perplexing others, and his city reflected that. Kuro’s capital supposedly mirrors it, but only one or two people have seen both and compared them.”


    After a short pause, Kasper picked up another candy and the game continued. Rei did his best to keep everything light. The Roken kids picked up on it and silently did their best as well—more than he could say for a majority of people, his age and older. It helped the time pass by nicely even after the candies were eaten and the game ended.