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There wasn't any food ready for them this late; Chen's camp adhered to strict mealtimes. When they reached the tent, Aspheera was coiled up next to a fire, watching as a skinned rabbit slowly defrosted. Primus looked up from where he picked through the stores. "Aura! Do you know where they keep human food?"

"No," she said. "I'm fine with serpentine food."

Primus tilted his head. "Is your brother?"

"I'm too hungry to care," Krux said tiredly. "I'm assuming humans can still eat it."

"If you cook it, yes," Arcturus said. "It might take a while."

Primus nodded. "I'll make what cooks fast."

Krux had only assisted with cooking for the humans at the camp, and didn't know what to expect from serpentine cuisine. They still ate meat, right? He glanced at Aspheera's rabbit. He could eat rabbit meat.

When the food was ready, Primus handed him and Aura each a plate with an insect larva the length of his forearm. Krux stared at it, speechless.

Arcturus glanced at him. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Krux said quickly. "I've just, ah, never had this before."

"It's a mealworm," Aura said. "Safe for humans. Do you know how to eat it?"

"Uh," said Krux.

Aura laughed. "Here," she said, picking up her own mealworm. "Break it apart, first. We can't exactly swallow them whole."

He mirrored her movements. The mealworm broke apart in flaky chunks, more like some sort of fried vegetable than the meat he was used to. Krux did not want to eat it, but he hadn't exaggerated his hunger, and he wasn't going to embarrass himself in front of his sister. He braced himself and put a piece of it in his mouth.

"How is it?" Aura asked.

"It's…" Krux struggled for words. It was better than he expected. Crunchy, with little flavor, but the texture wasn't unpleasant. "It's fine."

"Don't hold back for my sake. It's awful."

"Really?" said Primus. "I cooked it!"

Aura cracked a smile. "You burned it, more like. Have you ever heard of seasoning?"

"I never volunteer to cook, I don't know where they keep the seasoning!" Primus gestured at Krux. "And he likes it!"

Krux froze in the middle of chewing. Aura rolled her eyes. "I've certainly had better foods," she said.

Primus snorted. "Of course you have high standards, daughter of the general."

"I'm far from the general," Arcturus said. "She complained about what I made for her, too."

"When I was a child," Aura said. "Your food is better than this."

Krux caught movement in the corner of his eye. He glanced over and saw Aspheera taking the rabbit off the fire. Primus noticed, too. "Is that ready?"

"Should be fine," Aspheera said, and swallowed it.

Primus' eyes widened. "Is that cooled?"

Aspheera glared at him. "I was hungry."

"Clearly!"

"That reminds me," Arcturus said. "Aspheera, we must find a place for you outside the camp. Chen has given you until sunset tomorrow."

"Wonderful," Aspheera said. "Don't worry about where. I'll be fine fending for myself."

"Are you sure?" Krux asked. "Your eyes–"

"Healing," she said curtly. "I'll be fine."

Aura frowned, but didn't argue. Aspheera curled up again and rested her head on the ground. "Wake me when there's an open nest," she muttered.

Arcturus shook his head, then flicked his tongue out. "Your meal is burning," he said to Primus.

Primus swore and darted away. Krux looked down at his empty plate. "There's more?" he said. "I'm not sure I can eat anything else."

"You're full with just a mealworm?" Aura asked. "After going so long without food?"

"It was only…" It hadn't been more than twenty-four hours, had it?

Before he could remember exactly how long his fast was, Primus returned with only slightly charred rabbits. "Excellent," Arcturus said. "Give Krux the bigger one."

"What?" said Krux. "I don't think–"

"You're all bones," Arcturus said with a huff. "Humans need at least some meat on them. Eat the rabbit."

Primus put the rabbit on Krux's plate. "He's the general," he said wih an amused hiss.

Aura smiled. "You don't need to fuss over him, Father."

"Clearly he hasn't been fussed over enough."

"My father did plenty of fussing," Krux said, bitterness creeping into his voice. "I daresay I've had enough of it."

Aura's smile disappeared. Krux took a deep breath and stared down at the rabbit.

"Ah," Arcturus said, and his tone softened. "He was not kind to you, then."

"He was not," Krux said.

"Then I only wish I could have taken you both."

Krux's breath caught. Again, he thought of what his life would have been like, raised by the Serpentine–but another alternate reality revealed itself to him: what if he had been raised alongside Aura? If he had gotten to grow up with her under Arcturus' care? Tears blurred his vision. There was nothing he could do to hide them.

"I'm sorry," Arcturus said. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"No," Krux said, wiping his eyes. "It's–it's fine. You don't have to…"

He couldn't speak. He stared at the rabbit and finally realized he had no way to cut it. He half-heartedly tried to pull the meat apart.

"We need knives," Aura said. "Primus, do you at least know where the knives are?"

---

The next morning, the camp awoke to find that Chen had gone to the capital, leaving Clouse in charge. For most of the humans and serpentine, nothing changed. Breakfast was made, jobs were done, and the two species of people sat together and chatted in the quiet moments.

For Aura and Krux, Clouse called them into the hut almost as soon as they woke up.

"Can I at least get some water?" Krux asked, tired from the few hours of sleep he got. "Wash my face? Anything?"

The human shrugged. "With Master Chen, gone, Clouse is the highest level of command," he said. "I wouldn't go against him."

"I'm not–" Krux cut himself off with a yawn. "Oh, fine."

Aura nodded at him when he entered the hut. "Good morning, Krux," she said. "Did you sleep well?"

"No," said Krux. He glanced at Clouse, who stood in front of Chen's chair with a scowl. "What's going on?"

"Where is Aspheera?" Clouse asked.

"I don't know," Krux said. "Is that all?"

Aura frowned. "I last saw her before going to sleep," she said. "Primus found a nest for her."

"And no one watched her overnight, did they?" Clouse shook his head. "Typical."

An edge crept into Aura's voice. "Typical of who, exactly?"

Clouse ignored her. "Outsiders aren't allowed in this camp for a reason," he said. "Now someone has to track her down and ensure she can't tell anyone our location–a waste of time and resources."

"Or," Krux said, "you could not do that. She's one serpentine who apparently intends to fend for herself in the wilderness, as she put it. The only reason I'd want to fetch her back would be for her safety."

"I wasn't intending to fetch her," said Clouse.

Krux threw his hands in the air. "Good grief, you don't have to kill her, either!"

"And what authority do you have to stop me?" Clouse snapped. "You are not in charge here. I am. We can't let a potential security breach–"

"I'm calling in my favor."

He snapped his head to stare at Aura. "You can't be serious," he said.

Aura clenched her fists and straightened her back. "I killed the emperor for you," she said. "I was aware of the risks, and we all knew it would be going above and beyond my duty. Master Chen promised me a favor upon completion of the mission."

"And you're using it on her?" Clouse shook his head. "Choose something else."

"I will not," said Aura. "Let Aspheera go."

"I won't allow it. Sending Krux to extract you–something I doubt was necessary–was favor enough."

"Oh, good," said Krux. "Then I take it I no longer owe Chen my own favor?"

Clouse glared at him. "How is that relevant? Of course you do."

"No," Krux said. "Chen promised he would help me find my twin in return for a favor. He did so by sending me to the capital, where I found her. If that was merely fulfilling Aura's favor, then there's no reason for me to owe Chen anything further."

"Master Chen isn't here!" Clouse snapped. "You answer to me!"

"And I'm sure your master will be delighted to hear what went on while he was gone."

"Master Chen allowed Aspheera to stay the night," said Aura. "Our instructions were for her to leave this site before sunset today, and that has been fulfilled. I shouldn't have to call in my favor for you to leave her alone, but if that's what it takes, I'll do it."

"Think of it this way," Krux said. "All you need to do for Aura's favor to be fulfilled and for me to still owe my favor is nothing. Continue the operations of the camp and let Aspheera do what she will. Yes, there's a faint risk that she will betray us, and a fainter risk that she will be believed. More likely, she will go about her business and all parties can move on."

"Fine," Clouse said. "Fine. We'll leave her alone. But I'll be informing Master Chen of this. And Aura?"

Aura met his gaze with a glare.

Clouse lowered his voice. "Master Chen may think you're human," he said, "but I know the truth. You'd better watch yourself, snake."

"I'd better–" Aura sputtered, her face flushed. "You are not Master Chen! When he–"

Clouse didn't let her finish. "Get out," he said. "Before you say something you regret."

Krux stepped forward, speaking quickly. "Leave him," he said to Aura. "Chen will deal with him as he sees fit."

Aura shoved him away and stormed out of the hut. Krux stumbled and barely caught himself in time to follow her.

Outside, Primus got in his way. "She's mad," the anacondrai said. "You'll want to leave her alone."

Krux huffed. "Has Clouse spoken to you about Aspheera, too?"

"Yes, of course. I'm apparently in big trouble once Chen returns." He shrugged. "I'm not afraid. Clouse talks big, but Master Chen has the final word."

"Talking big is one way to put it." Krux sighed. "When is Chen supposed to return, anyway?"

"Who knows? Sometimes he stays in the capital for weeks at a time."

"Ugh," he said. "We have to put up with his number two for that long?"

Primus snorted. "Don't let him hear you say that."

Krux excused himself and returned to the bunk he had spent the night in. After a few minutes of tossing and turning, he decided he wasn't getting any more sleep that morning and got up to have breakfast.

Aura wasn't around, but after getting his food, Krux spotted Arcturus sitting with a human he wasn't familiar with. Maybe Aura's father would know how to approach her.

The human stopped talking abruptly when Krux approached and stood up. "My apologies, general, but I shouldn't take up any more of your time…"

Krux stopped walking, confused. Arcturus shook his head. "Nonsense," he said. "This is Aura's twin. He has been nothing but kind to her. Come, Krux, sit with us."

"Of course," he said, and sat on the bench with Arcturus. He glanced at the other human, who still stood there awkwardly. He had a thin, scruffy beard, and though his body was shaped more like a woman's, from the way he was dressed Krux could identify him as a man.

Realization dawned.

"I should hope I don't give you any reason to cut your conversation short," he said to the man. "Though I didn't know him long, I had only respect for Donny."

The man relaxed. "I never had the chance to know him personally," he said, sitting down again. "My name is Kazuo. It's good to meet you, Krux."

"Donny was one of few humans who traded with serpentine," Arcturus said, "so while we did not meet personally, I knew of him in that regard. It is my understanding that he sent humans to us who were in need of our magic."

"Magic?" Krux said.

He nodded. "Mostly, humans who wish to transition between sexes will seek us out. Donny helped them along that path."

"It saved my life," Kazuo said. "I was raging against my body, and the Serpentine showed me I could live in harmony with it."

Right, Krux thought to himself. He knew some people had such feelings towards their body, though it was a foreign concept to him. He may want to be perceived differently, but that was necessary to keep his identity secret; Krux never felt a need to permanently alter his body.

Kazuo was still talking. "I hope that when the war ends, Serpentine can share their magic with all humans who need it," he said. "That's why I joined with Master Chen. He's the only one in the empire with the power to change the world for the better."

"For the better," Arcturus echoed. "I do wonder how many people must die to reach that better world."

Kazuo frowned. "And how many will have the opportunity to live?"

"True, true." Arcturus stood up. "If you'll excuse me, I must take care of my dishes."

"Arcturus–" Krux stood up, but he was already slithering away.

He glanced at Kazuo, who just shook his head. "He never exits a conversation gracefully," he said. "You can go. I won't be offended."

Krux apologized and rushed to follow Arcturus.

He caught up at the kitchen. Arcturus glanced at him, then turned back to his plate. "You need something from me?"

"Clouse said something to upset Aura."

Arcturus hissed. "It happens often, Each time, I bring my concerns to Chen, but nothing changes. What do you want me to do?"

"I was wondering how to approach her," Krux said. "I don't want to make her feel worse, but… you know her better than I do."

Arcturus stopped. Krux wondered if he had said the wrong thing, but Arcturus just shook his head and put the clean plate aside. "Give her time," he said. "If she needs you, she will seek you out."

"So I'm supposed to do nothing while she suffers?"

"You are not doing nothing," said Arcturus. "You are giving her space, and that is worth doing."

Krux didn't have a retort. He just sighed.

"You care about her deeply," Arcturus said, "and I'm sure she respects that, but you are still mostly strangers. She needs time to know you, and to trust you with her suffering." He glanced at the sky. "And you have the time, now, to know each other. The war has halted in the wake of the emperor's death. We have a moment of peace. Approach Aura when she's ready."

He knew everything Arcturus said was right. Krux nodded. "Thank you, Arcturus," he said. "You're a good father to her."

"I did try to be." Arcturus flashed a fanged grin. "I'm certain that, with time, you will be a good brother as well."

He left the kitchen. Krux cleaned his own dish and rejoined Kazuo at the bench. They chatted about nothing in particular, and eventually, Krux spotted Aura with Primus, talking and laughing together.

The war would be over soon. It would take time to heal the rift between humans and serpentine, but a future approached where they could live in harmony. Perhaps the twins to be born in this new age would be allowed to grow up together.

Aura noticed him and walked over to join him. Krux smiled and stood up to greet his sister.