Depthless Hunger

Technically Kai could have been traveling faster, but he couldn't feel any guilt over taking a little more time. What was the point of training so much if he couldn't build a life with friends? Just spending time with Inafay again had been a pleasure, and Orotaisin had proved interesting in a laid-back sort of way.

The others of the team were more conventional Windborn, strong enough to aim for the Frontier and thus not as petty as the others he'd met. So far he hadn't gotten to know them well at all, but they seemed like decent enough people. They were proud of their home nation while also understanding that the incursions were the greatest threat.

Their travels were a bit strange, half efficient sprint and half race. All the Windborn had speed-based powers that meant they could travel faster than even most flying vessels - for once Inafay was the slow one, constantly straining her wind abilities to keep up. He would have been struggling if not for Thunderbird's Wings.

At first they'd just spoken about everything that had happened to them since they parted. Kai wasn't sure what to say about Rosemount or the others, but was happy to finally talk over Krysal with someone else. Inafay seemed to believe that the changes were for the better and promised that he might even be able to communicate with people there eventually, if they met up with the Frontier elites.

One day, a week into their trip, the two of them headed off to a smaller town to chat while the others checked in with local monster hunters. Apparently they needed to correspond with other teams and meet up with some other trainees. Inafay showed him a strange restaurant that served drinks that had air bubbles pumped into them somehow. It was sort of interesting, but he was more eager to talk alone.

"So what is it?" Inafay asked between sips. "You seem like you have a lot on your mind."

"I'm just trying to sort through some things," he said. "This may seem weird, but how did you and Orotaisin...?"

"Yeah, it might seem strange. I never would have imagined it when I came here. See, the Frontier elites sent me to the Wind Union to awaken an elemental ability - you probably guessed that. What you probably don't know is that the Elemental Nations can be... weird about family lines. They're convinced that the right parents will produce more children with elemental powers. But that doesn't always mean 'pure' lines and they try to incorporate other people..."

"So your Wind Class made you an extremely eligible marriage candidate?"