“Ghost!” Veer raced after him, following him into the small hole he had lived in for the past month. “Listen to me. You can’t go there!” 

“I have to.” Eli said grabbing up his things and packing them into the deep pockets of his new cloak. “You can’t tell me that you believe the wall dwellers are putting a toxic gas into its population and expect me not to figure it out. This was my mothers last wish of me.” 

“You don’t know that, perhaps she just wanted you to live.” Veer said. “Think about it.” 

“I have thought about, Veer.” Eli turned to him. “My mother made sure I had her journal. She told me everything I needed was in my pack. She needed me to know. I have to do something.” 

“We’re not allowed to go there.” Veer protested. “The gases are deadly, wall dweller ships go in and out. And… there are other dangers out there.”

“Veer.” Eli spun around, putting his hands on the other boys arms. “I can’t stand by and do nothing.”

Veer’s white eyes were burning into Eli’s skin before he finally took a slow breath in and nodded. “Let me get my things.” 

“I don’t ask you to go with me, Veer.” Eli said, his hands still clasping at Veer’s sweater, his fingers fisting into the soft material. 

“If I don’t go with you, you’ll die.” Veer took a step away. “We’ll need supplies, it’s a long journey on foot. I’ll meet you back here.” 

Eli waited, it had almost been an hour since Veer left. He grabbed his pack and threw it over his shoulders, who knew if he’d end up every returning to Moonmire, he may as well be prepared. He stepped out of his hole and began walking towards the cities exit in the mountain side. 

“Were you going to try and go on your own?” Veer’s voice was behind him. 

Eli could feel relief filling his bones. “Wasn’t sure you were coming back.” 

“I told you I would.” Veer stepped in time with Eli as they walked on the large ice bridge before finally reaching the door. Veer pulled a glove off and pressed his palm to the door as it opened. They walked in silence down the illuminated tunnel. Eli knew what they were doing was dangerous, perhaps more dangerous than falling over to this side of the wall had been. 

They stepped out of the tunnel, the cold icy outside air burning Eli’s bare cheeks. He’d almost forgotten the frigid chill after being shielded by Moonmire’s walls for a month. 

“It’ll take us a long time to get there, not many return from a trip of this length. Are you sure you have to do this?” Veer asked pulling his mask up against his face. 

“Yes,” Eli said. “You do not have to come, Veer. This doesn’t have to be your fight.” 

“You know I’m not going to let you do this alone.” Veer met his eyes, white and crisp even against the heavy darkness. “And besides, you have no idea where to go.” 

They both chuckled before Eli looked up, unable to tear his eyes away from the boy who had saved his life. “Thank you.” 

Veer said nothing before taking a breath and pulling his goggles on. Eli did the same. 

“Getting down the mountain is far easier, but more dangerous.” Veer said. “Feel the pull inside your pocket.”

Eli shoved his hands into the deep pockets of his new cloak until finding a small handle. He tugged hard as small flaps tightened around his torso before opening against the wind. He was pushed backwards at the pressure. 

“These help you glide down.” Veer said. “Usually you would have trained on controlling the glide. Hopefully you’re a fast learner.” Veer stepped to the edge of the ledge. “Try to follow the wind. Leap out far enough to not crash into the side of the mountain.” 

Veer leapt off the ledge as Eli watched. He was falling quickly, before he seemed to catch the perfect angle and began floating slower down. He tumbled into the ice before standing and watching. 

Eli took a deep breath, there was no turning back now. He stepped back before taking a running start and leaping out into the air. The drop was startling, his stomach lurching into his throat. He tried leaning one way to avoid the cliffs, but was catapulted backwards, slamming against the rocks. He gasped before pushing his feet out and lurching forward again. He was going to crash into the ice, he bent his knees, he had to make the damage as minimal as possible. 

Veer was racing after him as his own glide down was coming to an abrupt end. He closed his eyes, no wanting to see when the ground came, he was sure it would hurt. Not quite as badly as falling from the wall, perhaps he could avoid breaking any bones this time. He fell into something fluffy as arms wrapped around his torso and both boys went tumbling against the ice. 

“Fuck…” Veer groaned as he pushed at Eli’s body, shoving Eli off him.

Eli rolled to his back, gasping for air that wouldn’t come. Finally he coughed and sat up. “Sorry.” He croaked. 

“It’s fine.” Veer sat up too, rubbing at the shoulder that Eli had slammed into. “Anything broken?” 

Eli assessed his own limbs, surprisingly he was fine, probably thanks to Veer taking the brunt of his impact. “I’m okay, just had my breath knocked out of me.” 

Veer stood as Eli too scrambled to his feet, far less limber than the other boy. “You’ll feel that hit against the cliff tomorrow I’m sure. For now, lets go as far as we can tonight before finding some cover. We need to gain ground before they realize we’ve gone.” 

“How long will that take do you think?” Eli asked as they began walking around the large gathering of mountains. 

Veer shrugged. “I’m due for a meeting with my father in three hours. I’ve left my coordinates on though, so they can find us if we get trapped.” 

“And if they try and stop us?” Eli said. 

Veer said nothing for a while before finally looking to Eli. “That may not be a bad thing, Eli. This is still… a very bad idea. We may not come back at all.” 

“I know—“ 

“You don’t. Not really.” Veer said. “You haven’t seen the gas lakes, you don’t know how quickly a person succumbs to their poison.” 

“There is still time to back out, Veer. I won’t blame you.” Eli grabbed the other boys sleeve. “You don’t have to risk your life for me.” 

Veer said nothing, just continued pushing forward. Eli would be eternally in debt to Veer for the rest of his life, however long it may span. Nothing he could ever do would come close to repaying what Veer had done for him. If he was a better man, he wouldn’t have allowed Veer to join, not that he could force the other boy to do anything. But he needed Veer, he needed the navigation, he needed the knowledge of the land and the creatures that scoured it. More than this he greatly desired the company the other boy gave. 

“What responsibilities do your parents expect of you?” Eli asked as they hacked into the ice finding solace in its coverage. 

Veer grunted before the ice finally gave way enough for him to jump into the hole they created. He began hacking a tunnel that Eli followed him into. The ice tunnels were exhausting work that would normally take days had Veer not been constructing them his entire life. What started as hard flat land was now a small cavern, large enough for them to sit squashed side by side. 

“My father wants me to take over leadership once he ages out. His father did before that, and his fathers father. The lineage is long of my family ruling over Moonmire.” Veer said. 

Eli sucked a glob of tartan onto his tongue, forcing the sticky mixture down his throat. “But you don’t want that?” 

Veer shook his head, his translucent skin illuminated by a light orb stuck into the wall. “It’s all business and meetings and battle strategizing.” 

“Battle strategizing?” Eli scoffed. “Battling with what, the wall dwellers?” 

Veer looked over before nodding his head slowly. “We don’t intend to stay hidden away for much longer, Eli. My father has plans for us, and for the wall dwellers. We’ve known for a long time that they need to be overtaken, especially if what your mother discovered is actually true. Your government is corrupt, it has to be snuffed out.” 

Eli said nothing. He couldn’t disagree even if he had wanted to. He had enough of his own reasons for wanting to see the government that raised him turned to rubble. 

“I love my job now. I’m good at it. Following the land, learning new information. I tracked the Miom’s all the way to their hibernation caves last season. We now know when its safest to roam and how to avoid the ships.” Veer sighed. “But Sayer thinks that my role as Reconnaissance leader can only be temporary until he is ready to step down. That’s why I’ve been required to attend his meeting with him. He’s trying to ready me for his position.” 

“Why not just tell him that’s not what you want?” Eli asked. 

“It’s not that simple. I’m his only child. There’s no one else to take his place when he dies. Someone has to continue the lineage.” Veer practically whispered. 

The weight of his role weighed down on both of them. The idea of Veer being trapped in that office for the rest of his life, forced into war meetings and lineage responsibilities made Eli feel sick. 

“And does your responsibility involve…reproducing?” Eli asked, staring down at the ice below him. 

“Always so clinical with you.” Veer snickered, nudging Eli with his elbow. He sobered quickly and nodded. “Yes, at some point I will be required to continue our family line.” 

“So at the end of the day, population still plays some role, even out here.” Eli looked up to find Veer already watching him. 

Veer’s brow furrowed, the muscles in his forward visibly tugging his face downward. “I don’t want them to be.” He said quietly. “I… don’t want that life for myself. Any of it.” 

Eli met Veer’s gaze, it was sad. Eli shook his head. “I don’t want that life for you either.”