"Look, Ozzy baby." Iz led carefully. "I think if you really knew why she does even half of the things she does the way she does them, you wouldn't worry as much as you do."
"Do you know something I don't?" His brother growled.
"Doesn't he always?" Jazz all but jeered.
Iz's warm brown hair and even lighter eyes had made it logical for Ozzy to not piece together their connection at first. Neither of them had any knowledge of being related at first, but Iz definitely held no qualms about keeping his mouth shut after he had connected all of the dots. Ozzy now often openly loathed the way Iz had got quite the kick out of being a paid informant rather than eventually being liable to be squeezed for information via the mostly outdated principles of familial loyalty their world demanded.
Ozzy's breath caught in realization as he found himself hoping Zory was not exactly where she shouldn't be on a night like this. "Tell me she's not at the starlighter's gala."
"She's not." His brother shrugged, but the tell all sign of the amusement blazing in his eyes spoke for itself.
"Iz?" Ozzy practically snarled with impatience. "Tell me she's not planning on showing up there tonight either."
The starlighter's gala was just one of several events being hosted in Stelli City on every passing Declaration Day. It was known to be an overly glorified talent show the chief royals put on to showcase various abilities from all across all Greater Zayin. They would spend the entire night banging the drums of how they were seeking to prove how much greater it was still destined to become while continuing to prove it might never actually be better all over again the very next day.
Without a trace of remorse for the rest that went without saying, Iz simply laughed. "I can promise you it's best you stay right here until she gets back in time for Stargait."
"Stargait?!" Ozzy exclaimed, "Tell me you didn't actually sign off on her being topside at starfall!"
"Doesn't matter what I co-sign or not." Iz chuckled with an oft wink. "She's a big girl, Oz. She answers to no one."
If only that were true. As the next in line to be prophetess of a feign land, Zory's every public move anywhere was on every media channel and site at home whether she succeeded in keeping a lower profile than her predecessors or not. When she had completed ascension, her rights to privacy as the face of one of the higher worlds had become absolute nil.
Ascension standards were rumored to vary by world, but Ozzy was certain the rumors that Zimiiria was by far the most strict of the lot had proved accurate. There really wasn't much he managed to dig up about it that wasn't already within the average scopes of public knowledge, but he was willing to do whatever he had to do to earn his stripes by her standards.
"I think he's going red again, Iz." Jazz sighed.
"He had better not." Iz bit back the impulse to try his luck laughing it off. "Earth to Planet Ozzball."
Jazz frowned as they remained obliviously irrelevant in the mind of mind of Ozzy. "Mayday, captain."
"Roger that." Iz nodded with an equally concerned sort of expression sculpting his face. "Abort mission to Plant Mars, General Noiré, abort… Do you copy?"
Ozzy could never bring himself to care about whatever people would say about it as much as he agonized over how all of the trouble she tended to get herself into affected her. It didn't matter to him that there were things only she could do for even their people here. She didn't owe anyone anything more than she had already given a hundred times over.
"Do you get how much danger she's in?" He spat.
As the mug in his grasp shattered in response to the energy he had begun to radiate, his pastel blue eyes suddenly took on an electric hue instead. There was no telling how horribly all of this could start to go in the blink of an eye. Departing from the safety of the underground unescorted was dangerous.
While his brother sighed over the latest glassware Ozzy had destroyed, Ozzy slammed his fist on the counter with zero regard for the shards that lodged into his hand. As the blood began to pool on the marble top, Ozzy bellowed at Iz without any regard for how much attention he was drawing.
"WHY DID YOU LET HER GO?!" He boomed.
"It's one night." Iz encouraged him with a grin that was more than just a little too tight. "She told me when she would be back and that's a win… I know how to pick my battles with her and take what I can get once her mind is made."
"Are you out of your mind?!" Ozzy erupted. "Do you not understand how reckless this is?!"
This was more than just a calculated risk that was heavy on the risk, it was borderline suicidal. Zory had every right to face all of the people who were responsible for the massacre she was the lone survivor of, but not like this. He had taken great care in forging all of the details regarding the falsified reports of her death by bribing witnesses with protection. They didn't deserved to be dragged back into the limelight with her.
"You need to let me explain." Iz ordered strictly.
"Allow me, Izzy baby." Jazz offered with a hearty laugh and a toothy grin. "The caveat that she's the guest of honor tonight should spur your people to keep security high."
"I'm sorry, what?" Ozzy stammered.