Children of Night and Snow

23. Twins

"And so I said he can shove that stupid dress us his ass and I ran!" Lucia was in the middle of her failed heist story, having about thirtieth cup of mulled wine as we were sitting together in a small circle by one of the bonfires. It was now nearly midnight and we spent the whole day just dancing, drinking and eating all kinds of delicious food I've never had before in my life. And when we got too tired to dance, we found ourselves one of the little bonfire areas on the side to sit by. My five companions were exchanging wild stories they lived through in this strange land while I was content with just listening and learning. Getting a glimpse of who the people around me really were.

"Okay, that's enough wine for you my love," Demi said as she snatched the cup from Lucia's hands by tricking her for a kiss. Lucia pouted and tried to get her drink back, but unsuccessfully.

"I think this is just about a great time to call it a night," Connor said, seeing that we were all just about ready for bed. So, reluctantly we all got up. Devan, whom I was leaning against for the past two hours, helped me up on my feet and offered me his arm to lean on on our way home.

"This was fun. Thank you for letting me come with you," I said as we walked back, knowing full well they all heard me.

"Hey, you're part of the group now, of course you gotta come party with us," Nolan said as if it was the most obvious thing. But it wasn't. They didn't have to do any of the stuff they did for me. They didn't have to take me from those tunnels, nurse me back to health, spend so much time helping me become stronger or take me anywhere. I was a complete stranger who could have turned on them at any given moment, yet here I was, out having fun with them and them putting trust in me.

"Alright, enough of this. We must siiiing!" Lucia exclaimed and began to sing a tune I never heard before but the rest of the group clearly did because all them, Devan included, joined in. And they did not stop until we got back home.

"We're hoooo-" Lucia barged in and stopped in her tracks, nearly tripping Demi over.

"Luc, what the heck?! Oh! Aaron! Az!" Demi called out into the darkness of the house. The two names I've heard so many times but whose owners I was yet to meet. My stomach dropped with unexpected dread. Just as I began to get comfortable with the five people in the house, I was about to meet another two. And there was no telling if they'll be okay with me being around. I swallowed hard, half contemplating if I should ask Devan to wait and not go inside, but then where exactly would that led me, I didn't know. So, I said nothing and just followed everyone inside, hidden behind a group of bodies, hoping that maybe I won't get noticed.

"Looks like you had a party without us," I hear an unfamiliar voice speak with dark amusement.

"Not our fault you're late," Connor mumbled and stepped forward to go greet the owner of the voice.

"Brothers, it's been so long," Nolan called out and followed Connor. So did Lucia and Demi. All of them went and exchanged hugs with two men who stood by the fireplace. And then they all turned to Devan and me, still leaning on his arm. Devan was silent, but there was a smirk on his face, a sign I assumed meant he was happy to see them. But I couldn't really tell with him. Whenever I felt like I started to figure him out, he'd do something that would completely throw me off.

"Oh right! Aaron, Az meet Freya, she is our new thief! Or will be, once Devan trains her," Demi introduced me to the brothers. I knew they were twins. I knew their names. But really not much else. And now I stood there, looking at them, feeling so small under their gaze.

"Nice to meet you, Freya," the first one of them spoke. He had hair so dark they could have been black. His eyes were dark brown and there was a scar that ran down the side of his face all the way to his neck. "I'm Aaron," he introduced himself as he approached me. He was about as tall as Devan was, which just made him another giant in this household full of them. And his twin brother, Az, wasn't much different. In fact, he looked slightly taller even. Az was so similar to his twin brother. They had the same build, the same color hair, the same chin and nose and lips. But Aaron's hair was longer, nearly a shoulder length, while Az' was short. Az also seemed to have more tattoos and more scars. His entire neck was covered in ink and there were three scars running down the left side of his face, likely caused by some kind of claws or talons. But the biggest difference, the thing that stood out the most was Az' left eye. While the right one was the same dark brown as his twin, the left one was bright grey. Brighter than Nolan's.

"H-hi," I whispered, hesitantly reaching out to shake Aaron's hand, my eyes shifting from one brother to the other, waiting for some sort of judgement. I didn't really know how did these two fall into the group dynamic. Where was their place exactly? How much say did they potentially have if they decided they didn't like me? Aaron gave me a wicked smile before he moved onto clasping hands in a firm shake with Devan.

Unlike his twin, Az didn't move an inch upon seeing me. He didn't even say a word. He just stood there, his expression completely blank. His posture and approach made me wonder if Devan and him weren't the siblings in this group. But I was used to Devan's presence by now. He was my friend, or at least as close to one as I had had in this place. Having all the attention of any of the twins was uncomfortable, so I was relieved when Lucia approached Az and gave him a warm hug. The way he stood there, I honestly expected him to push her away or at least ignore her, but instead, he returned the gesture.

"It's been a long day, let's make some tea and then we go to sleep," Demi clasped her hands and motioned for me to go and join her in the kitchen, so I did, happy for a chance to escape the room for a little.

"You looked like you needed to be saved," Demi winked at me as we were making tea in silence. I just looked down in shame, not wanting to admit just how uncomfortable I was. "They won't eat you, you know? I know twins can be a little intimidating, but give them a chance," she said.

"It's not about me giving them a chance. It's more of the other way around," I mumbled, causing her to laugh.

"Let's go," she said, putting all the mugs on the tray along with sugar, honey, lemon and milk. I reluctantly followed her out of the kitchen into the living room, where everyone was already sitting down in the circle. Demi put the tray down and sat between Devan and Lucia, reaching over and lacing fingers with her mate. For me, the only spot left was right across, between Nolan and Az. I wanted to just disappear, but as I was getting ready to say that I was actually really tired and wanted to go lie down instead, Nolan grabbed my wrist and pulled me down leaving me no choice but to stay.

"So, did you manage to get him?" Connor asked, when we were all sitting down.

"No. Well yes, we got him, but he died before he could talk," Aaron replied, giving Az a pointed look. If he got a response, I didn't know, because I didn't dare look and Az still hasn't said a word since we entered the house. I tried not to think about the topic of the conversation I didn't understand, or the insinuation that was just made, but it was hard to ignore so I just pretended to be very invested in stirring my tea.

"Okay, back to point zero then," Lucia noted, putting some milk into her tea before taking a sip. I did the same only to realize I forgot the sugar. Except there was none on the tray left. I looked up to see who had it only to find Az casually handing it to me, as if he knew. I took it from him, giving him a small smile but got nothing in return. I quickly turned attention back to my tea instead.

*** 

We have new faces on the scene! 

What are your guys' impressions of Aaron and Az?  

What do you think their role within the group is?