(I'm going to time skip a little and say they're already inside Alfea if Aiki was woken up on purpose.)
Farah and Saul stood beside the bed Ben had let Aiki rest on when they got back. They were standing very close and whispering to each other in hushed tones. Farah was hugging herself, something she did when she was worried, and Saul stood beside her with his arm around her waist as a source of comfort. The room they were in was the dormitory shared by Andreas, Ben, and Saul, and the bed Aiki currently occupied was Ben's. It was neatly made with the standard light grey sheets and dark comforter. The soft green blanket that usually was draped over the end of the bed was covering Aiki. Andreas's bed was half made, and Saul's was a complete mess, so they made the executive decision that Ben's was the most accommodating for the situation.
Both of them were startled as Aiki woke up, and Saul quickly let his arm drop from Farah's waist. While it hurt him to separate himself from her, they decided it was best if as few people knew about their relationship as possible, and that meant limiting anything that might have been interpreted as a "romantic" interaction or contact despite who they were around. The only people who knew were Ben and his girlfriend, another Earth fairy called Rose.
"You're in Alfea," Farah explained kindly, sitting down on the edge of the bed beside him. "In the dormitories. Ben's gone with Andreas to get you some food. How are you feeling?"
(Alrighty)
Aiki blinked a few times to try and get their vision to clear and focus, and succeeded… somewhat. He still couldn't see particularly well. "Mmmnh… awful, honestly. But I'm fine, I guess… sleep helps, but I'm starving…" Their stomach growled loudly and they winced, crossing their arms over their stomach. "My head is killing me… and my whole body is kinda numb and tingly. How long have I been asleep?" He asked tiredly. His skin looked pretty pale still and the tips of his ears were quivering in discomfort.
Alfea, huh? He thought as he looked around. The room they were in didn't look all that special, after all. Just grey beds in an ordinary room. He was sure that things were probably more interesting outside, but he was in no state to be exploring. "Were you guys waiting for me to wake up?" They asked, their cheeks flushing lightly with embarrassment. "S-Sorry for passing out on you…"
"A few hours," Saul answered, coming around the bed to stand across from where Farah was. "We didn't wake you because you needed the rest after…" Farah shot him a look, and he quickly stopped himself, glancing at the door to make sure no one else heard his almost slip-up. "Everything that happened," he finished slowly.
"No, we hadn't been waiting for too long," Farah picked up. "Ben and Andreas should be back soon with some food that should give you a lot more energy. And there is no need to apologize." Both she and Saul had changed out of their clothes from earlier. Farah now wore a long-sleeved, button-up blouse the color of a pale cherry blossom with black dress pants, and Saul wore a dark, navy blue sweater and sky blue jeans.
Aiki sighed softly and sat up, pressing one palm against his forehead. He noticed that he felt a bit warm, but didn't think anything of it. They ran their fingers through their hair and turned their ears back, their eyes closing again as they exhaled shakily.
He looked like he was still very tired, but he was at least conscious now, and he was holding out for the food that was coming soon. Their own clothes—a sweater and jeans—were a bit tattered and dirty. He didn't bring anything with him to change into, of course, since he hadn't expected to be brought here. "Mmnh… I-I guess we might as well take the opportunity to get to know each other a bit better, right? Um… I'm Aiki Akaume, I'm… sixteen years old." He rubbed at his eyes tiredly. "I live with my parents and my twin brother, Eiji."
Farah's eyes softened, and for the first time since they had met, she seemed truly relaxed. She reached up and began to untangle the pieces of her hair that lead to her ponytail. "Eiji is your twin?" she asked, a smile dawning on her lips. "Does-" She quickly caught herself and lowered her voice before asking. "Does he have any… powers like you?"
"Hm?" Aiki looked up at the questions, seeming to be waking up a bit more. "Yeah, he's my twin… fraternal, though. We're not identical. He's got dark hair and his eyes are pink." He pointed at his own blue eyes for comparison. "And yeah… he's a healer type, though. Eases pain and some sort of spiritual thing? Mine's more just on the offensive, but since it drains my own life force, it's really helpful to have Eiji around to keep me standing."
"Interesting," Farah remarked. "Almost similar to some mind fairy powers, but still so different." As she nodded thoughtfully, the final tie in her hair came undone. Her hair flowed down across her shoulders, softening her jawline and making her look less severe. She quickly smoothed it out and ran her fingers through the dark honey waves.
Saul couldn't help it – the second her hair was let down, he couldn't take his eyes off of her. Farah was absolutely beautiful, and Saul despised Rosalind for making her want to hide it.
"Mhmm. He's also a couple inches taller than me, but my ears are longer, so we look about the same." Aiki waved one hand a couple of inches above his head, parallel to the top. "Um… I think I've got a picture somewhere, hold on." They rummaged through their pockets and pulled out a folded picture, showing it to Farah and Saul.
"See? I mean, we look kinda similar because we're brothers, but definitely not identical." Aiki hummed as he looked down at the picture.
Farah leaned in to look at the picture and smiled. "Yes, I remember him from your memories."
At first, Saul was confused, but he remembered the memory scan Farah had performed in the forest while they were still lost and trying to figure out where they were.
Suddenly, a knock came from the doorframe. Farah and Saul whipped around to see Ben carrying a tray full of food and Andreas holding a small stack of folded clothes.
"So sorry, did we interrupt?" Ben asked, entering the room and setting the tray down on Aiki's lap. Andreas stayed in the doorway for a moment, staring at Farah, before he blinked and realized that Ben had moved and he hadn't. He quickly made his way over and placed the clothes at the foot of the bed.
Aiki nodded a bit, briefly forgetting that Farah had gone through his memories as well. "Yeah… he's a pain, but I'm probably more of a pain to him than he is to me." He laughed softly, a slightly sad, homesick expression spreading across his features.
They looked up when Ben and Andreas came in, tucking the picture back into their pocket. He quietly thanked the two of them for the clothes and food, bowing politely before he began to eat. He really needed the nutrients, and he was already slowly starting to feel better the more he ate.
Farah had prepared to tell Aiki about Saul and the battalion's history, but she clammed up when Ben and Andreas returned, specifically Andreas. Suddenly, she became very self-consious of letting her hair down, and she reached up to tie it back into a knot.
"Don't do that," Andreas protested, approaching her from behind. "You look great with it down."
Farah froze and shot Saul a side-eye look, and she saw him eying the situation with a fire behind his stare. In one swift motion, Farah put her hair in a tail and shifted her seat so she faced away from Andreas and more towards Saul, Aiki, and Ben. The weary smile on her lips didn't spread to her eyes. She briefly cleared her throat and asked, "How's the food, Aiki?"
Aiki, despite being a bit distracted with eating, still noticed and felt the tension in the room whenever Andreas spoke. His eyes flashed for a moment as he turned a pointed look towards Andreas. They didn't know Farah all that well, of course, but they still didn't like to see someone being made to be so uncomfortable. Something about Andreas just made Aiki very wary to trust him.
He looked away when Farah addressed him again, turning his attention to her instead. "It's very good, thank you…" They replied softly, smiling to reassure her. "I'm feeling a bit better already. You guys have been very helpful."
"I'm glad you're feeling better," Farah replied. "We'll get you back in no time, I promise. Eiji will barely have had any time to miss you."
Saul's gaze shifted from Farah to Andreas, who was already looking at him with narrowed eyes. Saul looked as though he was about to challenge Andreas when footsteps appeared at the door. The entire battalion turned their heads to see Rosalind at the entrance to the dormitory wearing the same jumpsuit from earlier.
"Farah. Come here," she said coolly before disappearing into the hallway again.
Farah drew in a breath and stood to follow Rosalind into the hallway.
Aiki laughed weakly. "Y-Yeah… he's probably worried by now. I wander off sometimes, but I've been gone for long enough that he's probably started to get a bit nervous." They took another bite of their food, averting their eyes. He glanced up when Rosalind came through the door, feeling himself tense up at her imposing presence.
They were clearly uneasy when Farah was called away, but it wasn't like they could really do anything about it. He watched her stand up, glancing to Saul to see if he would allow it.
Saul crossed his arms over his broad chest and shifted his weight from his left leg to his right and back again as Farah left, but as much as he wanted to, he couldn't contradict Rosalind's orders. He sighed anxiously when Farah rounded the door and disappeared from sight.
"Close the door," Rosalind ordered. She was leaning against the wall with her eyes shut.
Farah's heart began to race. She reached back inside the room to pull the door shut. When she did, she spared a look at Saul, who was already looking at her. Their eyes made contact, and he saw the fear threatening to break through the surface of her normally gentle and cool features. The second Farah pulled the door shut, Rosalind's eyes flew open, and her power unleashed. Farah's eyes turned grey like Rosalind's were, and she winced as Rosalind's voice rang in her mind.
"What the hell, Farah? What took you two so long to bring back the Burned One, and why did you come back with this creature?"
"Aiki is not a creature," Farah replied out loud. "He was weak in the forest when we found him, and–" Searing pain ripped through her head. Farah cried out and fell to her knees, whimpering.
"Pitiful," Rosalind sneered. "Now tell me. What role did this creature have in your fight against the Burned One?"
"We protected him from it," Farah whispered.
"Don't lie to me." Another bolt of pain forced Farah to curl into a ball. "Don't make me push further, Farah."
Aiki couldn't fully relax while Farah was alone outside with Rosalind, but there wasn't anything he could do. They finished eating the food that was offered to them and sighed softly, their ears twitching and pricking to catch any noise from outside. He winced upon hearing that Rosalind had referred to him as a "creature", turning his ears back and deciding he didn't want to listen anymore.
There wasn't a ton of things that made Aiki super uncomfortable, but being referred to as an animal was one of them. He stared blankly down into his lap, his eyes closed and his ears back. Animalistic terms just brought back bad memories of a time when he was younger when he had gone missing as well, and had fallen into the hands of some less than kind people. They seemed to be trembling slightly, and they were tense and uncomfortable.
"Tell me why he really is here. Tell me why you and Saul suddenly decided not to brief me about your mission. Tell me why it took so long for you to track, kill, and return with the Burned One!"
Farah's head pounded as the agonizing pain built up. It was too much for her to bear, but Rosalind continued to push. A painful scream erupted from her lips.
–
Farah's screams reached Saul's ears through the door, and white-hot fury consumed him. He stormed towards the door only to be intercepted by Ben.
"There's nothing you can do," Ben muttered as Saul strained against him. "Farah is strong. She can handle it. She has before."
"This isn't right," Saul countered, shoving himself towards the door. "She doesn't deserve this!"
Aiki covered their ears with their hands, whimpering shakily and visibly trembling. He was growing increasingly uncomfortable with the situation and he really just wanted to escape, but that wasn't really an option considering he didn't know how to get home and wasn't in any condition to be traveling. They drew their knees up to their chest, shaking their head a bit.
He hated listening to the screams. He hated that Farah was essentially being tortured for his sake. They choked a bit and hid their face, the fur on their tail bristling with fear and anger. Please… just leave her alone… she doesn't deserve this…
The screams stopped abruptly. After a few minutes of silence, the door reopened, and Farah entered. "Andreas," she addressed him quietly. "Could I have a moment alone with Saul, Ben, and Aiki, please?"
Andreas' eyes narrowed slightly, but he respected Farah's wish. He left promptly, shutting the door behind him. The second he was gone, Farah sank to her knees, racked with sobs. Saul was at her side in less than an second, hugging her and whispering in her ear, and Ben knelt beside her, rubbing her back gently.
"It's okay. She's gone. He's gone. I'm here. Ben's here. Aiki's here."
At Aiki's name, Farah quickly looked up at him. "Oh, Aiki… I'm so sorry you had to hear that," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."
"Did you tell her?" Saul asked, and Farah replied by shaking her head slowly.
"No."
Saul closed his eyes and sighed. "Farah…"
She trembled violently and burst into another round of tears. Saul hugged her close, and she buried her face in his chest while he gently placed kisses in her hair.
Aiki looked up when Farah returned, his eyes stinging with tears. His gaze looked distant, and he didn't seem to be fully there. Their ears were turned back and they honestly looked pretty pitiful; drastically different from the aggressive display they had initially employed to try and intimate Saul in the woods.
His breath caught in his throat and he coughed weakly, his chest growing tight. They were struggling to draw in a full breath; all they could do was weakly gasp for empty, shallow air. "It's— it's— f-fine…" He choked in reply, trying to breathe in, but unable to do so due to the tightness in his throat and chest. "S'not— y-your fault…"
After another minute of ragged breaths and choking sobs, Farah forced herself to stand and walked over to Aiki, much to the surprise of Saul and Ben.
She sat on the edge of the bed. Her warm chocolate eyes shone with tears. "I'm sorry," she whispered again, wrapping Aiki in a hug. "You're going to be fine. Rosalind won't hurt you."
Aiki seemed unsure what to do at first, his air still caught in the tight knot in his chest. After a few seconds, they clung to Farah and buried their face in her shoulder. "I-It's stupid… really…" He whispered. "J-Just… something she said really struck a chord, a-and…" They shook their head a bit, keeping their face hidden. "I-I'm the one who should be s— s-sorry… you're going through so much worse…"
"You don't have anything to apologize for," Farah whispered, trying to keep her voice level despite the cries that wanted to come out. "This isn't your fault either. I can handle it."
Saul's vision blurred at Farah's words, and he turned away. His beautiful, precious Farah was hurting, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Nothing hurt him more.
Aiki fought back tears, trying to retain what little dignity he had left. "You shouldn't h-have to handle it…" He replied in a weak whisper. Their breathing hitched and they started trembling a bit harder. "T-This isn't… this isn't good for you. For any of you…" He choked a bit, his tail puffing up more. "I-I don't even wanna know what Rosalind wants from me… I doubt she'd be very kind. T-To her, I'm just a 'creature', after all…" They said the word with disgust, struggling more to fight back their tears now.
"Shhh, shhh," Farah whispered. "It's alright. It's okay." She exchanged a look with Ben. "Don't worry about Rosalind. I will protect you from her. She won't get near you, and she certainly won't call you a 'creature' again if I have any say in it. And… don't worry too much about me. This… wasn't the first time. I've gotten used to it," she tried to joke, but her voice was tight. Her head still pounded violently.
At that, Saul whirled around, his anger back. "Damn it!" he exclaimed, lashing out at the air. Farah hugged Aiki tighter against her, and Ben moved out of Saul's way and sat down on the opposite side of the bed as Farah. They both knew better than to get in Saul's way when he was angry.
