Infinity: Rising of the Soul Weavers

* NEFFEX - Alive *

"Raven and Kayla," Aella repeated with a smile. "Well met. My name is Aella, and this is my younger brother Zeru."

Now that she had time to observe them, Raven had to admit that the siblings were rather good looking.

Whereas Zeru seemed to be the quiet and mysterious kid, well in public at least, Aella was the kind and talkative type.

Even though they were siblings, their similarities didn't extend much further than their shared bright green irises that almost seemed to shine gold, and the common features siblings would have together.

However, even feature-wise, Aella didn't seem to resemble her brother that much. Unlike his dark cyan hair, she had long light pink hair that seemed soft and plushy.

Raven was tempted to touch it for herself to check how it feels, yet she decided to save herself the embarrassment.

"Hehe, nice to finally meet you in an official manner," Raven chuckled while looking at Zeru who had a 180 change in behaviour around her now.

'Is he acting all shy because his sister is here now? Or because I technically healed them?' Raven wondered.

On the other hand, the kid had his own thoughts.

'Why is my heart racing?' Zeru asked himself while trying to avoid looking at Raven in the eyes.

To others, it seemed as though he was struggling to keep his feelings in front of his crush. Of course, Kayla noticed that but didn't say a word. 

Raven wasn't into boys and she knew Zeru won't cause her any trouble. If he decided to prove otherwise, then she'll have a chance to test her new skill "Infusion". It was a win win scenario for her. 

And even though a part of her was already feeling sorry for Zeru's 'to be' broken heart, she still put a smile on her face, since Raven's safety and well-being was beyond anyone else's.

"Are those your friends?" Aella asked while taking a look at Joey, Noah, and the team behind her. 

While most of them were focusing on the music playing and the beautiful scenery under the starry sky, Dan and Danny were trying to enjoy the rich buffet to the fullest. Of course, they had managed to convince Joey and Noah to join them which meant that they weren't lacking that much after all.

"Uhm, they're my buddies," Raven nodded with an embarrassed smile, "they helped restore the area to what it looked like before the monster attack so they're trying to get the best out of it, hehe…" she forced a chuckle.

"I can tell that you did well," Aella smiled sincerely. "Zeru told me that you guys managed to repel most of the monsters while making sure no one got hurt, that's an achievement on its own!"

"Yeah, while I didn't make it in time to help, the rest did some pretty good job defending the locals." Raven smiled.

"Wait, you didn't help?" Aella asked confused. "How come?"

"Well, I was uh-"

"She was busy saving my a*s and protecting the city from a bigger danger," Noah smiled with a mouth full of meat and potato egg rolls.

"Blergh, close your mouth while eating, buddy…" Raven shivered as Noah only kept his smile until Joey flicked his ear, sending him jumping like a crazy ball.

"I'm sorry, they're quite embarrassing..." Raven apologized as she knew not only Aella and Zeru were watching, but also the locals.

'But Noah is a local, he's technically an embarrassment for them, so don't feel bad about it,' Kayla smiled as Raven adopted a similar expression in response.

Aella noticed both smiling at the same time and could not help but look between in them in confusion. Since they were using their mind link, there was no way for her to know they were communicating with each other.

"Ah it's totally fine hehe, Noah has been known to always cause trouble, I can't believe how much he has grown up…" she shook her head with a smile. "But anyway, what did he mean by protecting him and the city from a greater danger?"

"Well, you see…"

…

Telling her most of what had happened, excluding Red, Keith and Calcer's roles, Raven looked at Aella with a smile.

"Hm, an unstable portal in the forest?" Aella closed her eyes as she seemed lost in thoughts.

Shaking her head, Raven tapped Aella on the shoulder. "I realize that you're worried and all, but whatever you're thinking about is not meant to be done now, during a festival, why don't you enjoy the food and entertainment provided? 

"In a couple of minutes, we'll be releasing the lanterns so you better get ready. Take your brother and go have some fun. Plus, the people have missed you plenty," Raven said with a smile.

Looking between Raven and her brother, then the festival stalls, Aella sighed while relaxing her body. "You're right, it's been a long time since I was able togo out like this. I might as well have some fun, thanks for keeping me on track, hehe, see you around!" She said while grabbing Zeru's hand and strolling away.

As much as she wanted to spend more time with Raven, she knew that Zeru was the one deserving of her undivided attention. 

'He has sacrificed so much for me, the least I can do is provide him with my care in return.' she thought with a smile while stopping at a stall to try a game with him.

"Hello, Ms. Aella and Mr. Zeru, I'm glad to see you're both doing good! I can't believe you're finally able to walk among us again," the old man in the stall cried in happiness, which made Aella smile awkwardly, yet she appreciated the concern.

"We're glad we're back too, Mr. Henry!" Aella smiled her famous smile that would make almost everyone look at her in awe.

Seeing that, many people couldn't resist to stare at her radiating happiness that washed away their worries.

A brave handful approached and gave their gratitude for everything the siblings have done.

Seeing that, many others joined and tried to invite the siblings to light the lanterns with them. But Aella politely refused as she wanted to do that with Raven and her friends, to express her gratitude.

"Alright folks, please give them some space and allow them to have some good time, ok?" Mr. Henry said while handing Aella and Zeru both a water gun.

"Alright, Ms. Aella and Mr. Zeru, let's hope you haven't lost your touch, hahaha!" The old man, Mr. Henry, chuckled loudly before starting to cough.

Patting him in the back, Aella made sure he was alright before turning to face her brother.

"Hehe, alrighty then, bring it on, dear brother," she smiled at Zeru while pointing the water gun at the rubber ducks passing down her lane.

***

"Is everyone ready?" Ainsley called out to the group.

Currently, everyone has already finished decorating and building their own lantern.

Dan and Danny painted pictures of food and soccer balls. The duo started laughing at something together after whispering in each other's ears.

Joey didn't seem happy about what they did and decided to ruin their painting which made them sad. 

But their mood quickly got brighter the moment Joey pointed at Raven and then them, following that, he passed his index slowly in front of his neck with a 'smile'.

Erika and Ainsley both had some beautiful portraits of each other. They had made a quick contest in which one would paint the other the best. The end result was rather impressive.

Even though Aella had a pretty good painting of some trees and flowers, Zeru's painting was almost professional, which had left many speechless.

It seemed as though suddenly, his harsh attitude was longer an issue as many girls and even boys started to flock around him. 

He wasn't happy in the slightest but seeing that Aella was having the fun of her life making fun of his embarrassment, he could not complain one bit. Instead, he seemed to smile more often.

Sitting with her elbow on Raven's lap, Kayla drew a scene of herself and Raven holding hands while standing on top of a colourful hill full of beautiful flowers.

Obviously, because of her background as a Cyber Valkyrie, the painting seemed almost surreal for how beautiful it was.

Raven herself wasn't the best painter and could only make some random spots and shapes of colours and hope for the best. Of course, the end result was anything but pretty…

Nonetheless, it did give Kayla and the rest a good laugh so she didn't care much about how bad it looked.

Under each of their paintings, everyone made sure to include a small wish. Some wished for health, money, or family, and some wished for them all.

"Aye, we're finally done! We're ready!" Aella replied to Ainsley with a thumbs up.

Everyone else nodded while showing their own fully built lantern.

Seeing that everyone was ready, Erika passed a match box between them so that they could light their lanterns. Only a few minutes passed until all of the lanterns were lit.

"Is everyone ready to launch the lanterns?" The mayor asked everyone this time while standing in top of the stage.

"Aye"

"Yessir!"

"Yep, done here!"

Seeing that every group was finished, the mayor directed his gaze towards Aella and Zeru. "Would you please honour us with launching the first two lanterns?"

Smiling softly, Aella nodded, and so did Zeru. Walking to the edge of the water, they both smiled before entrusting the Lac des Deux Montagnes with their lanterns and letting go of them.

Moments later, and the water was a mix of glowing lanterns that made for a magical scene.

"This is so beautiful…" Kayla muttered while clutching Raven's hand. 

"Uhm, it is," Raven nodded with a smile. She enjoyed being here for sure, but right now, she couldn't be thankful enough that Kayla was by her side. 'It is a fun activity and all, but I'm happier now that Kayla is happy herself. This is her first time experiencing something like this and it's just so wholesome!' Raven was extremely happy.

"Indeed, it's so pretty!" Aella said while hugging Raven from behind and patting Kayla on the head.

If not for them, herself and her little brother would have never been lucky enough to attend this year's Water Lantern Festival.