Drew was stunned. He hadn't even knocked on the door yet, and the person on the other side told him to leave.

  "That's one nice way to greet your neighbor," Drew responded.

  "Go away," The voice snapped, "can't you see I'm busy."

  "Doesn't seem like that. You have time to shoo me away. Plus, I can't see you!"

  "Leave," he snarled, "You're annoying!"

  However, Drew would not give up.

  "How so?" He asked.

  "You're wasting my time!"

  That wasn't a good response. Drew thought.

  "Okay, fine! I'll get out! On one condition!"

  There was a brief moment of silence.

  "WHAT?!"

  "Can you at least tell me your name? We will be living under the same roof for a while. Mine's Drew Acker Li!"

  >>>

  Since Kraus was a colony of Earth hundreds of years prior, many inhabitants have adopted Earth's naming sense according to the colonist's laws. However, to retain some form of Krausian independence, people would use a more local name for their middle name, typically indicative of their Race. Nowadays, in Kraus, it's considered polite to introduce yourself with your full name instead of simply your first name.

  Drew was a special case since his name was given to him by the orphanage's director. Hence, even his middle name was closer to Earth's naming style.

  >>>

  "Elias," the voice answered with a trace of annoyance, "Elias Damus Ryhard. Now leave!"

  With that, Drew turned around and returned to his room, where he continued unpacking.

  Eventually, time passed, and Uncle Ryhard came back home.

  "I'm home." A voice bellowed from the floor below.

  Drew rushed down to the below.

  "Welcome back." He greeted.

  "You finished unpacking?"

  "Yeah, just about done. Though, I do need some things to finish off the room," Drew smiled as he opened up a holographic tab with a list on his communication device, "Do you know where I can perhaps get some of these?"

  Looking at the list, Uncle Ryhard pointed to a door to the right of the kitchen.

  "You can get a waste bin and a laundry basket from that closet. You would have to get the rest from somewhere else. You could try some of the thrift stores across the street. They're pretty affordable. Also, be careful when you're out there. You probably noticed earlier that those thugs were following you. They won't bother you if you stay on the main road."

  Drew nodded, understanding his advice.

  "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

  Drew ran to the closet and pulled out a small plastic green waste bin and a black cloth laundry basket. They were dusty from sitting in there, but Drew could quickly remove them with water. Closing the closet door, Drew heard footsteps coming up the stairs. An exhausted woman's voice could be heard. Turning around, Drew identified a slim woman who seemed to be in her thirties wearing business casual attire consisting of a long-sleeved white blouse, blue jeans, and black heels. A pair of black shades on her head matched her blond hair and slightly tan complexion.

  "I'm back." She greeted, placing down her waterproof computer backpack.

  "Welcome home." Uncle Ryhard smiled and walked over to the woman, pecking her forehead, "How was work, honey?"

  "Same old," She mumbled, "Those old crooks don't know a thing. They won't give me a big fat raise!"

  "Patience, darling." Uncle Ryhard responded, knowing her mood was not too good. "Quarterly reviews are coming soon. Your manager said she'd put in a good word for you."

  The woman groaned, then glanced up at Drew, watching the scene unfold before him like a movie, "We'll see about that."

  As soon as she finished speaking, she pointed to Drew.

  "Who's this?" She glared at Drew, inspecting him from top to bottom.

  "Ah, yes!" Uncle Ryhard remembered, "Drew, this is my wife, Jenny Amina Ryhard. She's an appraiser at Ozwarth's Medical Facility. Jenny this is Drew, he will be living with us from now on."

  "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Ryhard." Drew bowed with respect.

  Suddenly, she burst into laughter.

  "You don't have to be so formal," she laughed, breaking the tension on her face earlier, approaching Drew and then putting him in a chokehold, "Just call me Auntie! Don't worry, Ryhard has told me about you."

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  "Is that so?"

  "Indeed, I know all about you, kid! Your mother and I were friends at Star way back in the day!" She smirked.

  "Really?!"

  "Of course, originally, I had a crush on your father, but I somehow fell in love with the man you see here."

  "I was her backup plan," Uncle Ryhard pouted, dwindling his thumbs.

  "Aw," she cooed, hugging Uncle Ryhard, "You were not!"

  "I'll come back later. Need to finish unpacking." Drew announced, pointing to the stairs.

  "Of course!" Auntie Ryhard laughed. "Take your time. I'll tell you more when you come back!"

  Drew rolled his eyes as he picked up both bins and returned to his room.

  The Avian shrugged as he placed the bins in their respective areas.

  Ten minutes later, he returned and noticed that Auntie had begun to cook dinner. Today's menu was garlic chicken with wild rice risotto and a salad. The fragrant aromas from the kitchen reminded Drew of his time cooking in Star's soup kitchen. Watching Auntie hold the knife with grace, he fell into a trance. Her knife skills far surpassed his own.

  A musician.

  With each cut, it was as though she was playing an instrument. Xylophone, no. Piano. Every time the knife hit the board, the rhythmic cadence strung the notes together to form a food symphony. The cuts were swift and clean. Not a speck of food tainted the shining silver blade of the chef's knife. Auntie noticed that Drew was entranced by her knife work. Stopping her cutting briefly, she pointed her knife at him.

  "Would you like to help?" She welcomed, pulling out another knife and cutting board.

  "Huh," Drew shook his head, snapping out of his brief daze before responding, "Sure. Got nothing to do anyway."

  "Grab an apron," Auntie ordered, pointed over to a drawer.

  Drew put on the apron as instructed and went to the work area Amina had prepared for him.

  "I heard you used to work in a soup kitchen at Star."

  Drew gave a solemn smile, "Those were the days."

  "And now you are here in our household. That means you reached Low F-Class."

  "Mid-F Rank," Drew corrected as he brought some dressing from the fridge.

  "Ha," she huffed, then punched the countertop, "He was compromised. That guy always tried to take all the burden himself. Always sacrifices himself for everything. Your parents. Those blasted Families."

  "He looked up to them, my parents?" Drew asked with a solemn expression.

  "Not just him!" Auntie snorted as she cut the onions, "We all did. They were our leaders. They lead us to countless victories. Saved us from our darkest times. They were the light of our generation. To Mathis. To Linus. To myself. To all of us! Linus was the closest to both of them, especially your father. His family served yours for generations!"

  Drew cocked a brow.

  "Uncle Winter is an Avain?"

  "No," Auntie shook her head, "He's Human. As you know, the Winter family is a prominent Snowhawk Avain Family on Xolk. Despite most Avains living in Xolk, some other races live there as well, including Humans. You know, kid, the world is much bigger than you think. Linus's family was the first of the Human families to settle down on Xolk over a thousand years ago. They were researchers your father's family rescued on multiple occasions during the early exploration of Xolk. Since then, they've served the Winter family as butlers, and Linus was one of them."

  After hearing this, Drew realized the more he heard, the more he realized how complicated his family and past were.

  "I didn't know."

  "Of course, you don't," Auntie chuckled as she poured some white wine into a pot, "This is only the tip of the iceberg."

  "Can you tell me about my mother?"

  "Of course, dear! Ah, Terane! She and I were roommates on Star's Xolk campus. My first impression of her was pretty good. Despite being the first daughter of the Night Family, she didn't act like a spoiled rich girl; rather, she was the most humble person I had ever met. I remember her leaving the dorms with me every weekend to volunteer at refugee camps. She was incredible when handing out water bottles, spending long hours caring for residents, and taking pictures to raise awareness. I could talk about her for days!"

  "She must've been incredible," Drew responded in admiration.

  "An angel with a heart of pure gold! But that stupid incident killed her and your father. Their Families believed that your power could make either one of them the strongest in the Orion Alliance. What fools they were. It's not like being mixed-blood was rare! Seriously, you were a frickin' infant who just opened his eyes!"

  "Everyone had been saying the same thing." Drew laughed, although it was not the appropriate time.

  "Of course! It's ludicrous!" Auntie shouted, slamming a spatula on the marble counter.

  "Anyways," she continued, "Have you met Elias yet?"

  Drew nodded, "But he shut me out. Is that normal?"

  "No," she said, her voice lowering two octaves as she grabbed some plates from the cupboard, "he wasn't like this until a few months ago. He just shut himself in there and wouldn't talk to us afterward. He'll come out for meals and speak before holing back up but won't say anything else."

  "What happened?"

  "I'm not sure. He never told Mathis or me what happened, but I have a hunch that it might have been something that happened after he graduated from Compulsory Education."

  "Bullying?"

  "Perhaps," she replied with uncertainty, "come on, dinner is almost ready."

  "Should I call Elias?" Drew offered. He was eager to meet Elias face to face.

  "Sure." She nodded, placing a plate of piping hot food on each bamboo placemat on the table, "I'll get Mathis. He should be closing up the shop right about now."

  Taking off her kitchen apron, Auntie scurried down the stairs to fetch Uncle Ryhard while Drew ran up to tell Elias that dinner was ready. Knocking on the door, Drew was faced with the same hostile greeting.

  "What do you want now?"

  "Um, your mom told me to tell you that dinner is ready," Drew told him.

  Silence.

  "I'll come down," Elias sighed, "give me a minute."

  "Alright, I'll see you down there."

  Silence, once again.

  What happened to him? Drew thought as he hurried down the stairs. Whatever it is, I'm going to find out.

  Arriving at the dining table, Drew was greeted by Uncle and Auntie Ryhard with warm smiles and hot food. The fragrance from the juicy chicken could be smelled from upstairs, while the musty aroma from the white wine in the risotto hiding within the strong chicken fragrance tickled his nose a bit. Taking a seat on the left side of the table, the three of them waited as their guest of honor was about to arrive. Loud footsteps came down the stairs, and Drew saw two pale, plump legs. More of the figure began to appear one loud step at a time. His large fatty arms, his round belly that could be seen falling out of his red tee-shirt, his dark eye bags that could be seen behind his medium-rimmed glasses that showed signs of sleep deprivation, his unkempt orange hair and faded blue eyes it was him.

  "Elias," Uncle Ryhard welcomed, "so nice of you to join us for a meal."

  Silence. The figure, Elias, slowly dragged the chair, causing it to scrape against the wooden floor. The sharp sound caused Drew to jerk his body a little. Elias sat down, grabbed his fork and knife, and ate—more silence.

  Uncle Ryhard continued, trying to set a cheerful mood, "This is Drew. He is going to be under our care for some time. I hope you two can get along well, you guys are the same age too!"

  Silence. Awkward silence.

  "Well," Auntie began holding up her mug filled with tea, "since we've gained a new member to this family, I propose a toast."

  "What a wonderful idea," Uncle Ryhard said, raising his voice to the point where it sounded artificial. Holding up his mug filled with coffee.

  Hesitating a little, Elias held up a glass filled with water.

  "I guess I'll join."

  "That's the spirit!" Uncle Ryhard rejoiced. "Come on, Drew, this is our welcome to you."

  Like the rest of the 'family,' he held his glass up, letting the light from the chandelier reflect off its rim. He stared at himself in the reflection. This was the start of his new life.

  "I'll be in your care."