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If only children came with a "return to sender" card--it would make things so much EASIER in the case of one Ambrus Preston. Not that he would have used one had Ameretat come with such a feature (as grudgingly as he admitted as much to himself), but it was the thought that counted. At least it would have made it easier for him to get a babysitter for the little bird, one that wasn't related to any member of the Preston family, as the half-faceless had a very strong suspicion that his mother was trying to kill her new grandchild.

No, scratch that. He was dead certain that Jenner intended to strangle the little bird if she were left alone with him. So it was that a bright early-spring morning in Barton found Ambrus leading Ameretat by the hand away from his parked car toward the stationary store. "No, you can't come with me, Ame," he muttered, a hint of annoyance coloring his otherwise emotionless voice.

"Why?"

This was the third time they'd pursued this round of conversation in as many hours. "Because it won't be safe, and because I need all my concentration. You'd ask too many questions and I'd have to spend most of my time keeping you out of harm's way."

"So who prrrotects you, Fatherrr?" Ambrus cringed internally. He hadn't told the kid to call him "father", but Ame had picked it up from somewhere and wouldn't let go of it no matter how many times the assassin had told him to use something else.

"Me. I look out for myself. I don't need someone watching my back, and I don't need to be watching yours."

"Why?"

"I already told you why. Look--" Ambrus stopped in front of the stationary store, pushing open the door soundlessly on its hinges and gesturing Ame inside. "It won't be more than a few hours. You can--go read a book or something. And not bother whoever I get to watch you. Okay?"

"Why?"

Ambrus was gaining a sudden appreciation for why Jenner said she should've strangled her sons at birth.

It was that time of year again...springtime. And again this year, as in the last, Elysia had to check out some invitations for a particular summertime event. It seemed that every year, another one of her friends was getting married, while nothing ever came her way. She figured she'd be the old woman with fifteen children and forty cats--no male in sight--besides a few of the cats of course. Wanting to be helpful, she always agreed to help her friends out if they needed anything in the planning process. She was a bridesmaid after all--it just wouldn't have been right to not be helpful. She'd always agree to helping her friends pick out invites...she'd worked in a party and wedding shop during her time on Earth, and her skills seemed to come with her to Gaia. As a graphic designer, her friends figured she could put a little pizazz into their invitations. None of that ugly, castle-in-the-clouds crap. Elysia was much more creative than that.

She'd rolled Rhea out of bed this morning, urging the little psion to get up...they'd be going to the Stationary Shop today, and Elysia knew how much Rhea loved meeting new kids like her. The last time they'd visited, she'd gotten to play hide and seek with Sylvester, and she found out that her powers were actually strong enough to project to another person. Who knew what this little visit might yield...

And now they were walking up the path to the front door of the shop, Rhea running ahead like usual, eager to plow through the door.

"MOM! I'm gonna go in, okay?!" she shouted to Elysia, who was at least 200 feet behind her. Her face was flushed, cheeks rosy....and of course, she was smiling.

"Okay, I'll be there soon," the woman said, waving. She continued up the street slowly, enjoying her walk on this pleasant day.

Rhea pushed the door open, and immediately, her eyes widened as she saw a group of people inside. There were more people here than usual, and she was happy to see that there were two smaller...kids? inside as well. One of them was a girl, maybe a little older than Rhea. She had pretty purple hair, Rhea thought, admiring the girl's curls that were similar to her own waves. She definitely looked interesting.

The other kid looked like a big bird---and though Rhea had never seen a creature like him before, she didn't find it too odd. After meeting Sylvester, she was prepared to see anything at the Stationary Shop. The bird was awfully soft looking, she thought, wanting to pet his feathers. In fact, she envied his feathers. She loved the feather in her hair---the one from Angelus. The raven feather had been there almost since she'd arrived, and she cherished it. Looking at the bright feathers of the kid, she was curious if he'd be willing to part with one of them...maybe later, she thought, knowing she'd ask him eventually. They were lovely.

"Hi!" she exclaimed, waving to them. "I'm Rhea. Who're you all? I've never seen you before..."

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Despite the formality--or perhaps ritual nature--of his greeting, Ameretat was definitely not uptight! He looked between the girls, eyes wide with interest. They talked so fast! Sure, he understood it all, but he wasn't sure he could keep up with how slowly he had to speak English. And they didn't seem like they'd know the unvoiced language OR Avestan, so he'd have to make do. "Tiwaz. 'Lo, Tiwaz," he said to the young warrior, appearing duly impressed as he touched his chest again and bowed a little.

"Ameretat is--immorrrtality. Undying," he explained of himself, then, since Tiwaz had done it and it seemed appropriate. "Ame is okay, too! Questions?" He turned toward Rhea, grinning as best he could with a beak. "I like questions, Rrhea!" Back to Tiwaz; the look in her eyes had caught the little bird's attention, and he ventured closer to her, a few steps. The debacle with Eki the other day had taught him that not everyone liked being attached to, so instead of latching on in a hug, he patted her shoulder cautiously.

"Tiwaz--O-K? Everrr'thing O-K?"

"Thanks," Ambrus said to Talon. "I can compensate you when I get back." He looked back toward the door--only to see another woman arrive, and this one with questions. Argh. Good thing he'd given himself a good hour to get to the Stationary Store before setting out on the job.

"Ambrus." He didn't offer a hand to shake, instead giving a spare gesture toward the avian Tale. "And Ameretat. He's a Tale, yes."

Rhea watched as Ame greeted Tiwaz in much the same way. She appreciated the formality of the moment, and it made her smile to see him so polite. "Immortality...An excellent name," Rhea said, nodding. "I do like Ame though, so I'll call you that informally--if that's okay." She paused, and once given permission to ask questions, she dove right in. "Are you immortal?" she asked, wondering if the feathered boy knew about the capacity of his own lifespan. And then her questions became more light-hearted, as if she had forgotten about just how impressive the idea of immortality was. "What do you like to do for fun? Where do you live? How long have you been out of your Tome?"

"Oh, who were you waiting for Tiwaz? I hope next time you come you get to see your friend. I'm glad to get to meet you two though. I know there are a lot of Tales I haven't met yet either, so this is exciting!" Her cheeks were flushed, and Rhea was overjoyed to meet new friendlies. She figured that the way things were going, she would have two new friends by the end of the day.

Looking over at Tiwaz's mom, Rhea grinned when she heard the meaning of her name. "Rivers, eh? I like that. Maybe I will travel around and be a warrior...like a meandering river, I will be a wandering fighter. Who knows, maybe we could travel together sometime!" she exclaimed. Travelling around did sound like fun, she thought. "Yeah, your mom's probably right about your weapon picking you. I feel like swords, as weaopns, are calling to me...I have dreams about them. It's strange."

"Nice to meet you Ambrus," Elysia replied, pulling her outstretched hand back, and sliding it into her pocket. So much for a handshake. "Cool." He seemed to be short and sweet, so Elysia would be as well. It was wise to take social cues, she figured.

"Nice to meet you too Talon. Have your kids been here long? There's always some new Tale around that I haven't yet heard about," she said, smiling.

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Ambrus had more than earned the title of Mr. Antisocial. But hey, he'd never wanted to be particularly social in the first place--so it was all fine by him.

"Snake?" Ameretat's trill was somewhere between disturbed and frightened as Tiwaz brought Ezra up. "Is a snake?" The little bird's wings mantled, and he gave another long, musical whistle--this one sounding particularly dismayed. He backed up a step from Tiwaz and Rhea, assessing both girls as they talked to each other and him--before clasping his hands together in front of him, closing his eyes a moment and taking a deep breath.

When he opened his eyes again, he seemed to have reset his equilibrium. It was a gesture he'd learned from Ambrus very early on in life; he was almost surprised it worked. Another little flutter of the wings marked thought, before the little bird took a step forward again to rejoin the girls. "Yes," he agreed with Rhea. "Will have lots of time. To meet people, do things. Lead people. And--" Dropping into his native language, he whistled several important-sounding words, before making a face.

"Don't have worrrds forrr it. Like guiding people. Diverrr--diverrrsity?" He turned to Tiwaz, stumbling a little over the word. "Oh! Differrrent--sworrrd is rrright forrr one. Nice to be differrrent, though." A bob of the head at this; if everyone were the same, life would be a whole lot less interesting! Rhea's mention of a beach brought the little bird's attention back to her, and he bounced on the balls of his feet, clapping his hands together.

"Swimming! Sounds fun." Lapsing back into silence as Rhea made her explanation, Ame watched the entire procedure with open interest. Which was to say--he was staring, but if Rhea wasn't bothered by it, he didn't see any reason why he couldn't stare if she was showing off!

Before Rhea could talk to Ame about one of her new favorite activities--swimming--she saw Tiwaz flare up, seemingly upset about Rhea's telepathy. The hissing caused the little girl to step back a few feet, and she watched in awe as the girl's eyes glowed and the markings on her wings moved around violently. As Tiwaz took steps toward Rhea, she stepped backward in equal time, wondering what she could do. The other Tale did not look so happy to see her now...

But Rhea's own self-preservation kicked in, and the psicrystal on her forehead began to glow with a bright white light. "Tiwaz? Did I do something bad? Are you okay?" She was trying to get through to the girl inside of this creature, but she wasn't sure if she could hear her. Rhea knew that this hissing creature couldn't be Tiwaz. Her energy no longer felt the same. If necessary, Rhea would use her powers, but she didn't want to use them on someone who was her friend just minutes before. She didn't have as much control over them as she would have liked, and her mind thrust could be potentially damaging without the necessary control over it. But if she had to, she'd do it. She just hoped that the real Tiwaz would come back soon.

"Um..." she said, her voice floundering. "Could you not come at me anymore please?" She was asking nicely, hoping maybe that would work instead.

"My oh my, this is more excitement than we've ever had coming here..." Elysia said, watching Rhea back up as Tiwaz approached her, looking rather angry. "Looks like Rhea just showed her one of her powers...and she's not taking it too well, I gather." She paused, looking at the situation critically. Surely Tiwaz wouldn't hurt Rhea...or would she? The look in her eyes was intense. "Well, let's just wait a second. Something interesting may come of this," she said, ready to jump in and intervene at the first signs of battle.