"Well... I guess just do what you can." Cufre closed his eyes, which were heavy from exhaustion. "The other guy... Nath-something. He said he did something that made sure they wouldn't be able to keep him for long. Do you know what that means?"
"No, everything is not alright. My brother just got taken."
"Oh." Cufre relaxed for a moment, but then looked up at Fadran again. "A few hours? What could they do to him in a few hours?"
"Hardly. You just said you 'don't have the purest of intentions,' but you won't tell me what those are." He buried his face in his hands. "I just want to find my brother, alright?"
"I... apreciate that." He looked at Rayvyn, annoyed. "I still want to know why he looked at you like that earlier. He had seemed comfortable enough with you, and then he was terrified."
In a final flash of light, the boy disappeared.
Cufre stared at the spot where he had been, dumbfounded. He turned to Nath. "What were you doing? Couldn't you have stopped it?"
The frost expanded again, covering the paper in Tacien's hand, which he looked at, confused. Cufre sat down, horrified, and the temperature dropped and the glow strengthened. It would only be seconds now before the boy was taken.
The boy grabbed the paper, shivering, ice on his knuckles cracking. The glow became brighter, and the air around Tacien chilled.
"What are you doing?" Cufre asked, desperate. "We need to stop this!"
"He's still all... frosted." Cufre reached to pick up his brother, and recoiled. "Wow, that's cold. Do you have gloves or something?"
Tacien sat down, dejected. As he did, the ice at his joints cracked and broke away, only to be resealed.