Welcome to Gaia! ::

I was just informed, rather shortly and in a sudden fashion, that Em is gone. I mean this not in some sort of overall, philosophical, or remorseful sense, but as a statement of fact. I entered into the house to speak with her and was told by Feodor that she had, less then twenty minutes earlier, left with her mother to pick up her brother from his college in Pennsylvania.

This comes as a surprise to me. For four days Em and her mother have been arguing about Em going on this trip. Em, once she found out she would not be doing any driving, did not want to go. I supported that decision; there was and still is too much work around the shop to be done. But then I go into the house and find she’s gone anyway.

With Kancho and Simon. I have absolutely no idea how Simon ended up going with her when I did not. I wasn’t even informed of the decision until after she left, and I have not been given any reasoning behind it. She just up and left. Simon, too, when I had asked him to kindly bring me a report from the shop. I know he went to the shop this morning, now where’s my damn report?

I will be making the most of this time, though. I spent this morning studying the feien plant. Despite quite a bit of investigating, I haven’t found any gems. This is decidedly odd, unless other feien did as Arturo: collecting fellow feien gems and burying them. Perhaps that is why I cannot find them. The pollen situation around the plant is much worse than the neighborhood at large, rendering my magic detection fairly useless in that area, but if the gems were buried...

Unfortunately, that means I will require an earth feien with magic detection. I won’t even think about her; surely there is somebody else.

I have no idea who. Until I know why Simon ducked away instead of giving me a report, I won’t go the shop. But I must have an earth feien to assist me.

I get back, I relax for the evening, and something's missing.

What, pray tell, could be missing?

CORVUS. Where the frell did my feien go!???

Okay, I didn't mean to leave him, but he could have at least left a note this time! What am I supposed to do? I suppose he'll come back. How long do I have to wait this time???

Reluctantly, Simon squeezed though the crack in the office window leading out to the porch. He immediately regretted it. Roanoke, while not as hot as Miami, as easily twice as humid, and 85 degrees here was worse than 95 degrees in Miami. His wings twitched with annoyance. He much preferred staying inside, but he had a job to do.

Glancing around, Simon did not immediately spot Corvus, but Corvus spotted -- or more accurately, sensed -- Simon instantly. “Corvus?” called Simon.

Descending from the porch rafters, Corvus sank into Simon’s view. “Simon,” he noted with amusement, “how kind of you to grace me with your presence.” With crossed arms and arched eyebrow, Corvus did not look happy.

“I’ve come to make a report,” Simon managed.

“Oh, really, have you now?” said Corvus mockingly. “And what brought this on? I was under the impression you had better things to do than giving me reports. Like, say, road trips to Pennsylvania?”

Simon felt his cheeks burning. “That was an accident!” he stammered. “I didn’t know we would be gone for two days...” He knew his face had to be beet red by now and the thought only made him blush more furiously.

“Am I to understand that you waltzed off into a car without realizing you were going to be traveling to another state?” sneered Corvus.

There was a moment of panic on Simon’s part. “Yes!” he blurted, and bit his lip with shame. Despite a valiant attempt to distract himself with this pain, he could feel tears forming in his eyes. Over and over, the words, “he’ll hate me, how could I have been so stupid?” played in his mind.

The anger left Corvus’s face. “Never mind that, then.” His voice was somehow gentler when he spoke.

“I’m sorry!” squeaked out Simon, looking at his feet.

“I said never mind. It’s not anything to be upset about.”

“But I did something stupid! And I didn’t deliver my report!”

Corvus’s brow creased. Here he was yelling at someone who had clearly already spent a great deal of time yelling at himself. “I suppose you’re delivering your report now?” Simon nodded. “Then it’s fine.”

“B-but it’s not fine...”

With a sigh, Corvus drifted forward, closing the distance between himself and Simon. “Go ahead,” he said, “it’s fine.”

A tear rolled down Simon’s cheek, though he desperately tried to keep it back. He wiped at it with his arm, only to realize Corvus was offering up his own arm, covered in black cloth.

“May I?” asked Simon.

“I said it was fine,” said Corvus, rolling his eyes. Simon could be so daft sometimes.

He seemed to have gotten the message, though, for he took Corvus’s sleeve and wiped at his eyes. “I’m fine now,” he muttered.

“No, you’re really not, but you will be,” smiled Corvus, ruffling his hand through Simon’s short, spiky hair. The move surprised even Corvus. He quickly withdrew said hand, coughed, and said, “Well, let’s hear it, then.”

Nodding with determination, Simon began. “I went to the shop Tuesday morning, which you know, and I met some feien there. I was talking to one of them, only I didn’t get her name, and then I realized one of the others was San.”

There was a sharp intake of air. Corvus suddenly seemed very distant, a far cry from his friendliness a moment ago. “And?” prompted Corvus.

“And so I left the shop and came back to tell you, only you weren’t here, and I accidentally followed Em into the car and we went to Pennsylvania.”

Corvus was torn between chastising Simon and laughing. He chose neither. “Did she say something?”

“No, I wasn’t really paying attention to her,” said Simon.

Corvus covered his face with his hand. “You went to shop, saw San, and then failed to observe her?”

Simon felt the nervousness returning, but no sign of any tears. “I thought you’d want to know she was there, and- I’m sorry.”

Corvus peeked a look at Simon through his fingers and smiled. The little fairy really was trying so hard to please. “Alright, then. Thank you for telling me.” He started to turn, but Simon stopped him.

“Sir!”

It was truly a nice feeling, to be addressed in such a respectful manner. Corvus looked at Simon curiously. “Yes?”

“I was wondering, I mean if you don’t mind, I wanted to ask you some things?”

“Sure.”

“Right, I understand, I didn’t mean to-- sure!?”

“Sure,” repeated Corvus. “Ask away.”

“Well, I had a couple of things, y’see, I mean, there was the girl I was talking to at the shop, and she was really different, you see, so I asked her if she had mutations! Even though I really need to stop asking that, usually it just gets me funny stares... but she said they were mutations. But I didn’t know feien could have fur.”

“Fur??” said Corvus. “No, fur is a mutation off the basic gene base.”

“It is?”

“Indeed. I wasn’t even aware we had a feien with fur. What’s her name?”

A familiar red rose to Simon’s cheeks. “Er, well, actually, I didn’t catch it. I think San said it once or twice, but I didn’t realize she was San at the time, so I wasn’t really listening. And I didn’t have my notebook with me, I’d left it in the shop office.” The tips of his ears were starting to turn pink.

Corvus sighed deeply. He was trying to do his best to deal with this, but it was very hard. He wondered if Em, Saisai, and Kancho found dealing with emotional outbursts this difficult. “I’m sure you’ll figure her name out eventually,” he offered.

“B-but... While I was talking to her I knew I was missing her name, and I could’ve asked, but I couldn’t!”

“Simon, calm down,” said Corvus quickly. “Here, why don’t we sit down.” He gestured at the nearby wicker loveseat. Simon nodded, and they retired to its dusty plushness. Simon sneezed at the dust and Corvus continued. “Now take a deep dreath.”

“Huh?”

Corvus sat himself crosslegged, patted the cushion, and tried again. “Trust me. Just do it.”

Nervously, Simon sat in front of Corvus and did as he was told.

“Too fast,” corrected Corvus. “Slower.” He closed his eyes, crossed his fingers, and took a slow, deep breath as an example. “In through the nose, out through the mouth.”

“Slower,” mumbled Simon, mimicking Corvus’s position. He tried again.

“Much better.” Corvus opened his eyes. “Now I will tell you what my master told me. Everything in the world is meaningless. There’s no need to get upset about anything or worry, because the only thing that matters is who you are and what you believe.” Perhaps it was a bit of a stretch to call Saisai a “master” of anything besides lazing about, but Corvus had seen enough samurai flicks at this point to enjoy the reference.

“But,” protested Corvus, “I don’t understand.”

“Just forget about it all, Simon. While you’re sitting here with me, nothing out there matters. Not anything that’s ever happened at the shop, not anything that’s ever happened in the house, nothing.”

“Um, okay. But I did have more stuff to say.”

Since Simon clearly wasn’t going to be able to focus until he got it all out of his system, Corvus nodded. “Very well, let’s hear it.”

“I was talking to the other feien, and she mentioned stuff about... chi and meditation. Do you know what those are?”

“First, is that all of it?”

Simon frowned, thinking. “Well, yeah, I guess.”

“No, Simon, I mean it. If I start talking, are you going to interrupt in a minute to ask another question?”

Simon’s face burned. “No, sir.”

“Relax, kiddo. Alright then.” Corvus shifted his position so he was seated a bit more comfortably and began.

“Chi is energy. All things in the universe have it, from every rock and stone to every plant and tree to you and I. The word is human in origin, deriving from Eastern philosophies.”

“But of course everything in the universe has energy!” went Simon. “I need to get my notebook so I can write this down.” He started to stand.

“Sit!” commanded Corvus. “This is not something you need to write down. It is very simple. And what did I say about interrupting?” He fixed Simon with an angry glare.

Filled with fear, Simon froze where he was and slowly sat back down, eyes wide and shoulders shaking. “Ss... Sah--”

“Sorry,” went Corvus. “Just sit and listen, will you? A great deal in life can be learned by asking questions, but not if you don’t bother to hear the answers.” He took a deep breath. “Where was I? Ah, yes, chi. While you can think about chi as energy in the scientific sense, it is actually an energy that cannot be measured by present scientific instruments. Rather, it is a flow and understanding of the universe. Kancho has told you of the Force?”

Too scared to actually articulate an answer, Simon nodded dumbly.

“Chi and the Force are very much the same thing. And furthermore, as fairies, we have another name for it. Magic. While all of these concepts have slight changes in the details to differentiate each other, the core base of the ideas are the same. Life energy. And one of the ways we can unlock our potential with this life energy is through meditation.”

Slowly, Simon relaxed as Corvus spoke. He was still terrified of the feien before him, and of the anger he had seen in Corvus’s eyes, but that fear was slowly subsiding.

“Now, I did say I’d help you with your magic, so why don’t we do that now?”

“Um, okay.”

“First take another deep breath. Try to clear your mind of any interference or distractions. Picture a pool of water, still and untouched, and quiet place within yourself where you are free from responsibility and emotion. A perfectly still, perfectly calm pool of water.”

Simon did as he was told, bowing his head and closing his eyes. It seemed silly, really, but he pictured the pool of water. He wondered if the pool was supposed to be in a specific place, or be reflecting some sort of an image, but when Corvus mentioned the still water once more, Simon focused in on that one aspect. Perfectly still water. Perfectly calm water.

For a moment, there was a sensation of weightlessness. Simon’s eyes snapped open.

“Ah, you had it for a moment there,” said Corvus remorsefully.

“Huh?”

“Just for a moment, the magic within you stirred. Then you opened your eyes. Why?”

Simon cocked his head to the side thoughtfully. “It felt strange. Like floating.”

“It’s supposed to feel like that,” explained Corvus. “Don’t shy away from it. It’s probably very different than what I imagine usually goes on in that little head of yours, but try to embrace that.”

“Like different music?”

“Like different music?” echoed Corvus.

“Djerod said I shouldn’t be so judgmental about the music other people like.”

Corvus frowned. “Yes, well, something like that. But when you picture that still pool of water, it doesn’t matter what element you are, you can unlock your full potential as a person and as a mage.” It was the first time Simon had ever heard that word used in the context of fairies, but he supposed it did make sense, since they were using magic and all.

“How do you know?”

“Believe me, it’s very obvious. If you focus on that place inside yourself, you’ll find there’s a little throbbing, a feeling of something inside, almost like the pit of your stomach.” Simon was probably very familiar with the feel of the pit of his stomach given his usual skittishness. “That sensation is your magic. It’s just below the surface of the water. You simply have to draw it out. With practice, reaching the place where your magic is and using it productively becomes easier until eventually it’s like wearing a second skin.”

“But we already have several layers of skin,” started Simon.

“Figure of speech!” said Corvus, holding up a hand for Simon to stop. “I simply mean it becomes a second nature. All it takes is some practice and concentration.” He folded his hands in his lap and looked at Simon patiently.

“Try again?” guessed Simon.

“If you like,” Corvus replied. Simon did so, closing his eyes.

He pictured the clear water, soft and deep, and tried to reach inside. “I’m not getting anything,” he protested a moment later.

“You’re not focusing long enough,” was Corvus’s answer. “Calm yourself first. Don’t force it. It will come naturally with time.”

Simon took another of those deep breaths, enjoying the sensation of the air whistling through his nose, and pictured the pool of water. Just the pool. Nothing else. Just still, clear, calm, perfect, flawless water.

He wasn’t sure how long the image had been in his mind when clarity struck. He felt it again. He wasn’t sitting on the porch any more, he was... Actually, it was more like he wasn’t. There was only the pool, perfect and calm.

And maybe the tiniest bit of breeze against his skin. That felt good. He smiled. The air was all around him. He exhaled and opened his eyes.

Corvus was looking at him very carefully indeed. Simon bit his lip. “Er, sorry, I got a bit distracted... I’ll get it this time!” He closed his eyes.

“You got it, kiddo.”

Simon’s eyes snapped open. “Huh?”

“Just now, that was your magic.”

“What was?”

Corvus hung his head. “The breeze!”

“Oh, that was real?”

“Yes, Simon, that was real,” sighed Corvus, rubbing his forehead. It was clear they had a lot of work to do. “That’s enough for today. Next you’ll want to familiarize yourself with the spells in the shop, try to think of something you might like to work towards as a goal. We can go there tomorrow, it’s already a little late in the day right now. But good work, kiddo.” He rose and crossed his arms.

“‘Kiddo?’” repeated Simon, frowning and standing as well.

“As my master called me, so too shall you now be called,” pronounced Corvus.

“But why ‘kiddo?’”

Corvus shook his head. “Never you mind that. I had been wondering, Simon, why do you get so nervous?”

“Because I’m afraid I might do something wrong!” he blurted, wringing his hands together.

Corvus knelt so he was even with Simon and leaned in close. “Don’t be. What’s the worst that can happen? You mess up. People eventually forgive and forget.”

“Do they really?”

A good point. “We’ll find out tomorrow when we visit the shop,” said Corvus. He was wondering the answer to that question himself.

“So, yes, in answer to your question.”

“But then I don’t understand why,” said Simon gesturing at the feien plant. He was talking to Corvus about the process, and they were presently on the subject of Arturo and Ares being blooms. Simon was in his usual place above the computer and Corvus was seated on the table next to the plant.

“Because it amused me, is that enough of an answer for you?” snapped Corvus. Simon winced at the verbal blow.

“Yessir.”

Suddenly, Corvus felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. He whirled around. “Aha!” Jumping to his feet, he paced once around the plant and finally came to a stop in front of Arturo’s red, white, and black rose.

“What is it?”

“He’s waking up,” smirked Corvus as a red glow surrounded the bloom.

There was a soft sigh from the plant above and suddenly Arturo touched down on the ground, stretching his arms over his head. He rubbed his eyes sleepily and peered at Corvus. After a moment of silence, he rubbed his eyes again and blinked. "Morning."

Corvus chuckled. “Actually, so far as you’re concerned, it’s tomorrow afternoon.”

Arturo blinked again. He was always thick when he woke up. Shaking his head, he stifled a yawn and said, "I knew I was a late sleeper, but that's awfully ridiculous."

“Perhaps so, but true. Isn’t that right, Simon?” Corvus turned to glance at this boy.

“Well, technically, it’s been under 24 hours, closer to 14, but...”

“Thank you, Simon,” said Corvus, cutting Simon off. “How do you feel?”

"Well-rested?" He turned to the plant, expecting Ares to emerge. His expression sobered upon seeing her flower not so much as twitch. Turning to Corvus, he raised an eyebrow questioningly.

With a shrug, Corvus turned away and headed for the table’s edge. “Do you want anything to eat?”

Arturo tried a more direct approach. "Do you know why she hasn't emerged yet? Is she all right?" He tried to keep the worry out of his voice, and he managed, but barely.

“Beats me,” replied Corvus, dropping off the table’s edge.

Arturo followed, deciding not to question Corvus further. Yes, he was concerned, but he was sure everything would be all right.

... He hoped.

"What do you have to eat, then?"

“Hum, the rest of Em’s lunch. Chips, spinach dip, and crabcake sandwich.” Corvus popped back into view, floating over to the computer desk. “Simon likes the dip. Don’t you, Simon?”

From above, Simon nodded, pretty sure he was being punished for his earlier objections to Corvus’s “surprise.”

“Anyway,” Corvus went on, “there’s really no telling when she’ll be out. Juli said in under a day, but this was my first breeding. Like the new blooms?” Landing next to the dip, Corvus dipped a finger in for a taste test.

A slow smile crossed the feien's face. "They're beautiful." he commented honestly.

“Shame you’re not the father!” said Corvus brightly.

Arturo blinked. "Bad joke, Corvus."

Corvus laughed anyway, ignoring the decidedly unamused glare Simon was giving, and licked at the dip on his finger. “Delicious!” He dug his whole hand in.

“I’m not eating it now,” went Simon, retreating to his out-of-sight shelf corner.

“I’m sure Em will,” said Corvus before gorging himself on his creamy handful of dip.

Arturo rolled his eyes at Corvus. "And now I can't eat period. I'm afraid I may lose my lunch."

“You should. Your lunch was yesterday, after all. And it’s not like I’ve touched all of the dip.” Corvus rolled his eyes at the culinary reluctance in the room. “And there’s always the crabcake.” The crabcake being two-thirds eaten already.

"I'm a vegetarian."

“Then eat the plant,” suggested Corvus, rolling his eyes once more and picking up a tortilla chip. It made a loud crunching noise against his teeth.

Arturo stared at Corvus' meal. Not very appetizing. "I'm not hungry," was his excuse, and suddenly he looked back up towards the plant. He looked towards Corvus. "Could you levitate me up? I'd like to look at the blooms again."

“Mrgh,” said Corvus, waving his hand, and Arturo was pulled into the air by an invisible force.

"Thank you," Arturo replied as soon as he landed on the table. He instantly circled the plants, studying the blooms. Three of them, all red and blue, all beautiful. He then peered at Ares' bloom. He had never seen her in this stage. Her blossom was so unique looking, and with a sigh, he touched one of the petals. He hoped she was all right.

There was no indication either way from the bloom. It hung there, suspended in time, oblivious to the world around. No indication or reassurance from Corvus, either, whose only comment on Arturo’s inspection was another loud crunch of tortilla chip.

Arturo moved to the edge of the table and peered over. "Corvus?" he called. Another crunch. "Is there any way to tell if the blooms are healthy? The new ones are all right?"

“They’re perfectly fine,” said Corvus through a mouthful of food. He smacked his lips together. “Ready to be taken off the plant, actually.”

Arturo grinned, unable to contain his excitement. "That's wonderful news," he said, sitting on the edge. "Are you excited to see what might come out?"

“No, not particularly,” admitted Corvus. “This is hardly my first blooming. I’ve already got an idea, anyway. Regardless, they’ll just look like a cross between you and Ares, which Simon has already taken the time to guess at based on your genetics. He’s looking forward to testing his hypotheses on the subject.”

Arturo blinked. "The cabbage? I'd like to see his hypotheses, if that's all right." Arturo said, shrugging.

“Simon!” barked Corvus, spraying a tiny piece of chip onto Em’s tablet.

Simon rolled, gave an exclamation of pain as he rolled over the bandage on his side, and finally scrambled to the edge of the shelf, pushing up his glasses. “Just the hypotheses, right? Not the test results?”

"Slowly now," Arturo drawled, peering at Simon like he was insane. "Show me what you think is important."

“Nothing,” replied Simon. “I haven’t got anything important. I’m just playing around.”

Arturo sighed. "Show me what you have."

“Can’t.”

"Why's that?"

“Because you can’t see another feien’s genetic code without permission of that feien or the bondmate,” recited Simon.

Should've eaten the bugger when he was still a leaf. "Okay," Arturo began slowly, an eye brow raised. "Show me what you can."

Simon reached behind him. “I made these sheets and listed all your apparent attributes. From what’s concretely known about your genes and Ares’, your offspring will either be red and black or red and blue in color.”

Arturo nodded. "Anything else?"

“Well, if hair genes are anything like prellan ones, dual coloration is the result of recessive genes, so you must have a recessive white and recessive black gene. Depending on Ares’ genes, your offspring blooms with either have blue and black hair, blue and white hair, or blue hair.”

Arturo idly pulled his hair over his shoulder, blinking at the white hairs that eventually turned black. "Makes sense." he said, nodding.

Simon, seeming to take that as a request to delve into further detail, railing off, “Barring mutations, your offspring should have normal hands and feet, and may or may not pass on the mutations of secondary wings or third eyes. Possibly one will have a third eye and secondary wings. Skin will be pale or medium. Magic weak. Markings square...”

"What about wings?" Arturo asked, head cocked to the side. "Think they're more likely to be feathered or bat?"

Simon shook his head. “There’s too little information on wing genes and feathers. Particularly feathers. I can’t even venture an educated guess on the matter. There are a number of missing wing configurations, so perhaps combining the two will result in a third.”

"Interesting." Arturo replied, looking over his shoulders at the flowers. "Have you made specific predictions for each individual bloom, then?"

“It wasn’t really necessary. After all, the probabilities for all three were the same, it’s just a matter of which landed where. The only purpose the blooms can serve at this point is refining my statistics and adding more data to my genetics research.”

“Sounds terribly interesting,” mumbled Corvus through another handful of dip.

Arturo chuckled. "I wish Ares were out. She'd probably find this all fascinating." he said, shaking his head.

“Really?” asked Simon, thinking back to when he had first met Ares. She hadn’t seemed all that interested, but he didn’t know her very well.

"Most likely, since it concerns her."

The seemed to confuse Simon slightly. “It does?”

"They're our blooms, aren't they?"

“They’re the blooms that resulted from a blending of your genetic codes,” corrected Simon. It was clear he and Arturo had slightly different definitions of the blooming process.

Arturo rolled his eyes. "Yes, they are. That makes them ours."

“No, one feien can’t own another,” pronounced Simon. Corvus’s only comment on the proceedings was a hastily stifled chuckle.

"Okay, but -" Arturo paused. Why was he trying to argue here? No point in it. He lightly pat Simon's head and horns, shaking his head. "Okay, Cabbage."

“Feien don’t have families,” was Simon’s last point as he crawled back out of sight, shooting a dark glare behind him.

Arturo's brows knitted together. "What a strange little boy," he commented, snorting.

“Perhaps.” Corvus took to the air and flew back to the plant’s table, admitting, “I like him well enough. Good mind despite being a tad hardheaded.”

Arturo raised an eyebrow and smirked. "He seems bright, I'll admit. Nice to have someone help with the genetics, I suppose?”

“Among other things, yes,” shrugged Corvus. “Did you have any plans for the blooms?”

Arturo blinked. "Me, personally? Or do you mean our guardians?"

“Anyone,” tried Corvus. “Someone has taken that much time in thinking ahead, haven’t they?”

Arturo laughed. "Of course. Puchiko and Neko are both taking one to keep, and the third is to be given to someone else by some means." He waved his hand dismissively.

“Which will probably somehow be my responsibility,” sighed Corvus. “Perhaps you should go inform the humans the blooms are ready, then? They’re ready to be taken off the plant.”

Arturo snorted and flapped his currently ineffective wings. "No flying, remember? I can't do much of anything right now."

“Maybe you should have brought a human along, then,” concluded Corvus.

Arturo snorted. "I'll return when the time comes. Personally, I don't want to leave until Ares emerges."

“Suit yourself.” Corvus lifted into the air and made for the curtain. “Yell if you need anything, someone will be around the help you.”

"Thank you," Arturo said, lifting his eyes and offering a wry smile to Corvus.

Corvus paused once at the room’s edge, looking at Arturo next to Ares’ bloom, and left. His part of the job was done.

With a hefty slam of the door, Emperial stormed into the house, pausing only momentarily to place the covered bird cage she was carrying on the floor before letting out a bloodcurdling, ear-piercing scream of fury.

That scream, of course, caught the attention of every creature in a four block radius, but only a dozen or so people knew what an interdimensional piercing scream was and where it came from. Of course, that dozen came running into the living room as fast as they could.

Max was the first. Retired general and now full-time household chef, he dropped his spatula in alarm.

Orriole and Feodor were next. Bounding down the stairs (Orriole passing Feodor with a clever use of time distortion), Orriole was at Em’s side in less than an instant with a worried, “Filia mea!” Feodor’s more sharply barked “Em!” was quickly after.

Next was Kabuto, who as acting guard, was never far. His only response was to widen his eyes, alert for danger.

And then the person who possibly counted the most. Lord Admiral Djerod Andries Rayyololai Piett, retired, the only other person in the room who was capable of piercing dimensions with a yell. Otherwise known simply as “Kancho.”

Bringing up the rear were Corvus and Simon, the feien, who both had some sort of primal understanding of what they had just heard, even if it wasn’t clear.

“THOSE BLASTED, FRELLING, IDIOT GAIANS!” screeched Em, albeit at a more normal level. “Those sniveling, whining, putrilous Gaian! I hate them!”

“Kiyel paht!” said Kancho. Even though no one in the room outside of Kancho, Em, Corvus, and Simon understood Rhea, Rheans had a peculiar manner of being able to get their meanings across anyway. That one clearly meant, “back off, everyone.” Which they did, albeit reluctantly in most cases. Max took one look at the expression on his best friend’s face and returned to the kitchens. Orriole shrank back and found Feodor’s arm hooking his own, dragging them both back upstairs. Kabuto bowed his head and retreated.

Which left only Kancho, Em, Simon, Corvus, and the bird cage.

“Those fools of Gaians!” continued Em. “I should blast their dimension off the charts!”

Corvus started to speak, but Kancho silenced him with a hand. “Calm down and explain yourself,” the elder Rhean said smoothly. “What precisely has happened?”

“Every time I’m walking around, it’s, ‘Oh! Rik! Why haven’t you brought Yttrium into the Mendel shop lately?’ Or, ‘Oh! Rik! We haven’t seen anything about Yttrium lately!’ So I trapped my Mendel in a bird cage, carried him down to their precious shop, and they STILL were not appeased!”

“Who wasn’t appeased?” prompted Kancho.

“Puchi, and presumably all the other Mendel owners who weren’t there but keep stopping me in the streets. I say to them, Yttrium doesn’t want to visit the shop or write in his journal! And the refuse to believe me! I’m supposed to FORCE him to go the shop, I’m supposed to FORCE him to write in his journal. For their collective amusement!”

Taking Em by the arm, Kancho steered her towards the nearest couch and sat her down. Then he picked up the bird cage, removed the cover, and examined the Mendel inside.

“Kancho, it’s just not fair, it’s not my fault Yttrium doesn’t like to do those things, and I’m not interested in making him! But they won’t stop!”

“Mhmm,” hummed Kancho, more concerned with Yttrium for the moment. The Mendel was attached to the far side of the cage, watching the Rhean with eyes wide as saucers.

Reaching into his pocket, Kancho pulled out a penny and held it through the bars of the cage. Yttrium’s face lit into a large smile. “Polly!” he cried happily, lunging for the penny. He gave the coin a big hug and immediately engaged it in pointless conversation. Kancho placed the cage back on the floor.

“Kancho?” said Em pleadingly. “Well?”

Before answering, Kancho sat himself down heavily on the couch next to Em and let out a deep sigh. “You children,” he began at last, “will be the death of me. Ignore them, Emperilu. They are not worth your getting worked up about it.”

“But they keep asking! And I tell them and they don’t believe me!”

As they spoke, Corvus snagged Simon and the two feien sat on top of the entertainment center, close enough to observe and interact if need be.

“Is it the truth?” queried Kancho.

“Yes! Of course!”

“Then it doesn’t really matter who believes it. Sadly, the truth is very rarely as liberating as many would have you believe, but it is worth a great deal. Particularly as far as your honor is concerned.”

“Honor, compassion, loyalty,” recited Em.

“The motto of the Piett family,” smiled Kancho. “And how are we doing so far today?” He crossed his arms, and though the question was a serious one, he was grinning with amusement.

“I told the truth, I maintained my stance and thus my honor. I stuck by Yttrium, even his faults, so there’s my loyalty, but I am quite frankly sucking in the compassion department today and I don’t care.”

“And what would have been the compassionate thing to do?”

“Not put Yttrium in a cage for the benefit of others.”

“Which could very well be seen as a fault in loyalty and honor, but I’ll let that one pass. In any event, two out of three is quite acceptable. We Pietts are, if nothing else, consistent underachievers.”

Em giggled a bit at that. It quickly passed. ”But I’m going to get in trouble. Puchi is probably going to try and take Yttrium away. She thinks like all the others that Yttrium should do more on Gaia. He doesn’t like to.”

“No, he doesn’t seem to.” Kancho glanced over at the cage, where Yttrium was happily bouncing around despite the confinement. “But exposure to others of his kind might not hurt.”

“Which is fine, but I’m never putting him in a birdcage again. He can go down there when he wants. He told me the times he went down there, one time there was nothing going on, and the other time there were just a lot of un-fun people. Quite frankly, I’m inclined to agree.” She puffed out her cheeks with annoyance. “Puchi thinks Yttrium is supposed to be more social.”

“Em, who knows Yttrium, you or Puchi?”

“Me!” she replied smartly.

“Then it doesn’t matter what she thinks.”

“Only it does, because she’s in charge,” protested Em.

“That may be so,” admitted Kancho, “but it shouldn’t matter to you or to Yttium.”

Em nodded sharply. “Right! And anyway, Yttrium is social, just not with other Mendels.”

“I think there’s someone who agrees with you there,” noted Kancho, eyes glancing to the pass-through linking the kitchen and the living room. Lemon was crouched there, tangled red hair spilling over her shoulders, staring not at the proceedings but the bird cage. When she noticed that she’d been spotted, she nearly skittered back into the kitchen.

Rising, Kancho motioned for her to come forward, clucking encouragement. He held out an arm towards her.

With a flying leap, Lemon attached herself to the arm, grinning toothily, and was rewarded by being carried to the bird cage. She detached herself quickly and climbed on to it, grabbing the wire frame.

“Lemon!” squealed Yttrium. “Gemme out!”

Lemon paused. Though she was very mischievous, she didn’t usually go against Em’s wishes. “Go ahead,” offered Em. “I think he’s had enough of that.”

Lemon, being larger and stronger than Yttrium, was easily able to flip open the latch. Yttrium leapt out and tackled her to the floor, where they both rolled, a pile of giggles.

The sight brought a smile to both Kancho and Em. Em’s smile weakened after a moment of thought. “I hate being regarded as some sort of failure of a parent because I don’t parade Yttrium around. It’s not fair, Kancho.”

“Life very rarely is.”

“What if she tries to take him away?” Tiny years began to form in the corner of Em’s eyes.

“Honor, compassion, loyalty,” said Kancho. “That will be enough. Even if they do take him away.”

“Emiemiemiemiemiemiiiii!” yelled Yttrium. “We wanna go OUT!” He pointed enthusiastically at the door.

“Kabuto?” queried Em. Kabuto stepped out from the sunroom office. “Do take Yttrium and Lemon outside. And be careful, it looks to rain today.”

“Yes, ma’am,” bowed Kabuto, smiling at the Mendel and the Sigil. He was rewarded by having Polly thrown at his head.

“BIG MEANIE!” screeched Yttrium. “YOU PUT ME INSIDE!”

“I was under orders!” replied Kabuto. “It was nothing personal.” He rubbed at the sting on his forehead, just below his head protector and above his eyebrow. The Mendel had increasingly good aim from weeks of harassing the neighborhood.

“Meanie! Meanie! Meanie!” chanted Yttrium.

Em couldn’t help it. She started to laugh. “Yttrium, it wasn’t Kabuto’s fault. It was mine, okay? So be nice to Kabuto.”

“Yes, please be nice to Kabuto?” implored the ninja. “Tell ya what, we’ll go tease that mean dog across the alleyway and then go to the corner store and get some taffy!”

With a gasp of surprise, Em pointed at Kabuto and exclaimed, “It’s YOU! You’re the one who keeps giving him sugar!”

In a flash, the door was open. “Out! Outside!” yelled Kabuto, scooping up both Mendel and Sigil and dashing away.

“Byeeeeeeeee!” called Yttrium.

“Yeeheeheee!” squealed Lemon.

“KABUTO!” yelled Em, running for the door. “YOU HAVEN’T HEARD THE LAST OF THIS!”

From where he was standing, Kancho chuckled. The picture looked perfect to him.

Not long after dismissing Lemon and Yttrium, the floor boards creaked and even though she was behind a hefty curtain, Emperial knew someone to be on the move just outside. Reaching over, she pushed aside the wall of silver fur and peered out.

Aha, just the prize she’d been looking for. Kabuto had just finished his shower and was wearing nothing but the towel she had handed him earlier. His clothes were wrapped into a cylinder under his arm. And best of all, he was smirking.

She liked it when he smirked. That meant he was off-duty.

Of course, by giving him permission to take a shower, she had basically terminated his shift two hours early. Not that it had been an official termination, but...

“Where are Lemon and Yttrium?” he asked as he approached, careful to hold up his towel. Not particularly careful, since he wasn’t feeling particularly shy at the moment, but if someone else came in it was a good thing to have.

“You creaked the floorboards. You’re a ninja, you’re not supposed to creak the floorboards,” she countered.

“Touché. Maybe I did it on purpose?”

“Maybe I sent them away?”

From behind two pairs of glasses, two sets of eyes glinted conspiratorially. These were the best moments, the ones she treasured, the ones with just her, an incredibly cute but sinister guy, and a towel.

Kabuto moved up to take the curtain from her. “Forgive me, but the downstairs bathroom was too small to dress in.”

“It’s not too small for me.”

“You’re a smaller person.”

“Only by seven inches.”

Kabuto stared at her.

“Okay, so that’s a lot of inches. But only... okay, we won’t go into the weight difference.”

“Might I point out muscle weighs more than fat?”

“But a forty-pound difference--”

“--Is accountable given the fact I am seven inches taller and have more muscles,” finished Kabuto.

“Why do all of our conversations end up being so technical?” mused Em.

Kabuto shrugged, nearly (but not quite) dropping his towel in the process. “Because we can’t help but to try to get the better of one another?”

That suited Em fine, who leaned back and stretched in her chair in imitation of a cat. “Did you know that pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconioses, often purported as the longest word in the English language and another name for Black Lung Disease, was actually the invention of a man in the 1930s and isn’t a real word at all?”

“My life lacked meaning before now,” smirked Kabuto, ever so delightfully. “Emi, look, what are we doing?”

She put on an innocent face. “I was just explaining the history of a really long word that isn’t really a word at all.”

“No, I mean you, me, and, you know.”

“Hatake-san, of course.” That ended her play. She leaned forward in her chair, planted her elbows on the desk, and considered. Only the faintest sprinkle of rain outside interrupted the quiet.

That, and the sudden noise of the screen door opening, followed by the equally sudden opening of the front door. Kabuto startled, attempting to dash ninja-quick away, only he was still wet from the shower and had the misfortune of slipping on the wood floor. The clothes in his hand flew away into the distance.

“Kabu--“ started Em, launching herself from her chair at the same time. Only hers was the rolling type, so as she pushed off it slid back, sending her crashing to the floor with a yell.

And Kabuto, in typical superfast ninja gentleman fashion, gave up his tentative hold on his towel in favor of catching Em.

Which warranted a major explanation given who had just walked in through the door.

Kancho. Corvus. Simon. And a tall, blue-skinned stranger who was hardly a stranger to Em. All four stared down at the naked man and former Galactic Empress with differing expressions of shock.

“Ah, so that’s what humans use,” was Corvus’s amused remark. He was perched on the shoulder of the blue-skinned stranger, arms crossed. “I’d always thought it would be bigger, but it’s not even the size of a full-grown feien!”

Kancho, who was holding a bundle of blankets and carrying Simon on his shoulder, looked down in complete horror. “Whatever act you were presently engaged in with my daughter, I can assure you it was not one for which you are being paid,” he gritted out, barely containing his temper.

The blue-skinned man, or alien as the case may be, simply said, “Grand Admiral Thrawn, retired. A pleasure.” Not a trace of humor rested in his glowing red eyes: he took this situation at face value and merely assessed it calmly for what it was. He was wearing a pure white uniform and holding a box..

“I can explain!” blurted both Kabuto and Em at once. Kabuto hastily moved to cover himself with one hand; the other hand was securely fastened around Em and seemed to have frozen with shock. Em looked at Kancho with total innocence.

Taking a deep breath, Kancho closed his eyes and started mumbling something under his breath. Em, taking advantage of the opportunity, snatched the nearby towel and pulled it around herself and, well, Kabuto. For his part, Kabuto was starting to turn slightly red.

“Er, Kancho, this isn’t what it looks like,” Em offered. Kancho’s eyes opened.

“Whatever the case may be,” he said slowly, the anger gone, “if you would please excuse yourself, we will discuss this after we have dealt with the matter at hand.”

Slowly, Kabuto released Em, careful to keep the towel between himself and open air, and rose to his feet. “Yes, sir.” He did not look at Em as he turned away and started collecting his clothes.

“Nihishrell, ma’Kancho, ighreesh ken ve daal kals tuum. Ke del vip!” All present except Kabuto were able to comprehend Em’s words; for the uninitiated reader, they were, “He was taking a shower, Kancho. And he slipped!” With an emphasis on the totally everyday nature of the event, even though this was the first time any of them had witnessed such a thing in real life. Em noted the bundle of cloth in Kancho’s arms. “What’s that you’ve got there, now? And Min’n, what are you doing here?” She carefully pulled herself to her feet and rubbed at her sore hip. It would probably bruise.

“What was the quote you are ever so fond of?” wondered Thrawn, or as he was nicknamed here, Min’n. “Ah, yes. Beware Romans bearing gifts.”

“Romulans,” corrected Em. “Though Romans are much the same in that respect.” Behind her, Kabuto finished collecting his belongings and headed for the stairs, keeping his head down and avoiding eye contact. Em’s eyes flickered to him a moment, but she kept her gaze trained on Kancho and Min’n for the most part.

“Perhaps Simon had better explain,” suggested Kancho, in large part because he was still desperately struggling to contain his rage and disappointment.

Poor Simon, who had up to this point been very much enjoying the lack of attention, pushed up his glasses and cleared his throat. “You were upset!” he squeaked, easily an octave higher than normal. He cleared his throat again and managed to drop back down to his normal voice. “About not getting a new pet the other day?”

“Meh, it was better I didn’t get it,” shrugged Em.

“Yes, well, we all know how much you like, well, adopting pets and the like, and so I thought, maybe... Well, um, first I went to Djerod and he suggested I see Corvus, and then I had to go see a lady, and him--“ he pointed at Thrawn-- “and then we went to Gaia and Corvus traded a bloom--”

“What Simon means to say,” interrupted Corvus before Simon could continue his meaningless recollection of the events, “is that your love of new family members is well-known, and we have conspired together this day to bring you two.”

Kancho stepped forward and uncovered the top of the blanket. “This is an Astra from Gaia. His name is Corvus, but we thought it might be more fitting to call him by the Alpha star of the constellation, Alchiba.”

Em’s mouth was open with surprise. “It’s-- He’s-- Oh my gosh!” She stepped up to Kancho and held out her arms for the bundle eagerly. She quickly found her arms filled with the bundle. “He’s beautiful!”

“And as for the other,” said Min’n, “I have been waiting some years to give you this. I was intending to wait for a more... special occasion, but your Simon is very convincing.” He smiled at her and placed the box on the floor. It was a hefty, clunky sort of box, metal and with quite a few dials and levers. Min’n pressed a button and the top slid open to reveal a furred creature.

“Is that-- Is that a ysalamir!?” exclaimed Em, carefully bending to her knees. “Min’n!”

“I have been raising her for you. Would you like to name her?”

Emperial’s eyes filled with happy tears. She looked down at the baby Astra in her arms, who was looking up at her with something akin to fear, and then at the ysalamiri in the box, who was ignoring her, and finally at the wonderful people who had made these things possible. “I’d like to name her Ygmella! I just, I don’t know what to say to you all! Thank you! Thank you all so much!”

Though nobody replied to that, the thoughts in their minds were unified: the smile was thank you enough.

The invisible portal behind the shop, clearly marked “for emergency use only,” led straight to the front door of Em’s Roanoke house. It was, coincidentally, the same moment of Em and Kabuto’s sliding off the roof, so the arrival of Corvus and San was punctuated by a scream.

San jumped, or would have, if she'd been standing on something instead of floating in mid air. 'What was that?' she asked, startled, her wings fluttering uncertainly.

“Oh, sounds like Em screaming. Never mind, let’s go.” As he spoke, a low rumble rose up. Yesterday’s rain was retuning, and from the sound, it was nearby. Corvus ignored the cloudy sky and the thunder and started heading away from the house.

San followed him uncertainly, casting frequent looks back in the direction of the scream. 'Shouldn't we find out if she's OK?' she asked, drawing up next to the other Feien as they flew.

Corvus pursed his lips. “I’ll find out when I return.” He led her up, up, up into the air until they were flying above the two-story houses and had a bird’s-eye view of the neighborhood’s quiet streets and sidewalks.

'Okay,' San replied meekly, following him up into the sky. It was better not to argue, of course. Even if it WEREN'T Corvus, notorious for taking things with bad humour, not arguing when someone else seemed to know what was best was in San's nature. It was safe to do what they said. She looked around with interest, never having been so high in the air before.

Their flight took them several blocks away to where the houses were smaller. The entire neighborhood was on a giant hill, so from their vantage point they could see the industrial sector of the city a few miles away. The whole area was ringed by the Blue Ridge Mountains, their coloration caused by chemicals released by the trees.

Only after they had crossed over several residential streets and a more main avenue did they finally near their destination. It was a thickly wooded alcove at the end of a dead-end alleyway. Corvus ducked under the protective covering of an old oak tree and drifted towards the ground below.

San followed him, her eyes wide as she took in the ancient trees. 'This is a beautiful place,' she whispered to Corvus in awe.

“It should be,” he said, landing in front of a vibrant green plant. “This is a defunct fairy alcove.”

'Really?' San asked, landing next to him. She didn't doubt him, the entire area tugged at her in a way she'd never experienced before. 'That's so sad,' she said softly.

“Tragic,” drawled Corvus. “I’m looking for something I believe to be buried here. Something magical. The place is seeded with magic, though, so I need an earth specialist, which is where you come in.”

San nodded. 'So you want me to call on my magic, like before, and look with it to see if I can find what's buried here?' she asked.

Corvus nodded. “Indeed. It will likely be more difficult, as we are standing on earth that’s the decayed matter of a magical plant from seasons past, but I’m confident you can do it with a bit of effort.”

San blushed a little, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear and ducking her head shyly. 'I'll do my best,' she said, sitting down on the ground and taking a deep breath to steady her nerves.

The place seemed to buoy her concentration despite the faint chirping of birds and distant noises of people and cars. Corvus watched her expectantly, wondering if she would even be capable of doing the task he’d set up for her.

San closed her eyes and sank deep into herself like before, finding that spot inside of her more easily this time, not just because she knew where to look, but because the magical ambiance of the area seemed to make everything flow more easily. Soon her breathing slowed, the expression falling from her face as she filled with liquid magic.

She felt herself almost humming with power, directing the flow downwards and outwards, seeking a brighter spot in the overall background of magic. Long minutes passed, with no sound other than the rustling of the plants and her slow, even breathing, no movement except the fluttering leaves and the steady rise and fall of her chest. Finally, she opened her eyes. 'There,' she said, pointing to her right and downwards. 'About six inches away, and almost as many downwards.'

Corvus practically teleported outside of his toga, so quickly did he lose the clothing. He knelt over the spot. “Here?” he asked.

San stood, carefully trying to hold onto the feeling even through the distraction of walking over to the spot. 'Yes,' she said, putting a hand to the spot. 'It's right below. I can feel it like an ember, whereas everything around is just general flow, like lava,' she said, unaware of how strange her comparisons might be to a non-Earth Feien. 'Maybe I can try to move the earth aside,' she suggested.

“Try it,” said Corvus, voice cold and hard as he stared at the ground beneath his feet.

San closed her eyes and concentrated, her magic flowing out through her hands. Slowly, she began to sink as the earth separated out from under her, humping up in little mountains as she pushed it aside.

Corvus watched this display with immense respect, and something glimmered in the back of his mind. Placing his hands upon the ground, he pushed at the dirt experimentally, and with a cry of surprise, found that it moved at his bidding, He looked back over to San. Hers was clearly more effective, but the fact remained that he was capable of doing it by focusing on her.

San continued to dig, conscious of nothing but the earth and its movements as she used the powerful natural forces of the stone and soil to help her. Finally her hands encountered something solid, not a rock, but something that glowed brightly in her mind. She opened her eyes and found herself at the bottom of a keep crevice in the earth. 'I...I think I found it, Corvus,' she said, slumping down as a wave of weariness assaulted her.

Corvus’s eyes adjusted easily to the darkness of her small tunnel. “Hold it up, I’ll levitate it out,” he offered, securing the top part of the hole through a combination of mimicking her spell and Mending the result into firmness.

San curled her hands under one of the small stones and picked it up, holding it up high despite the weariness that seemed to weigh down her whole body. 'There's a lot of them, Corvus,' she called. 'I'll have to lift them up one at a time.'

“Then one at a time,” he said, annoyed. His victory was so close at hand.

San held the first one up and it glimmered in the darkness of the shaft, bathing her face in a colourful light as the sunlight high overhead passed through it. So tired...

Silhouetted as he was, it was hard to make out the cruel grin that emerged on Corvus’s features. He stretched out his dirtied hands and the gem came soaring towards him. It felt almost electric to his senses and tingled against his skin as he collected it.

Holding it up, he noticed its multifaceted surface to be a bright red shot through with streaks of silver. The very center seemed to glow a faint purple and it was warm to the touch. It was a feien gemstone, and it practically shone with power.

San dug up and held out each one to Corvus for him to levitate out. There were seven in all, though to her weary body it felt like many times that. Finally she couldn't find any more and she called up. 'That was the last one, Corvus. Can...can you help me out, please? I don't think I can fly.'

Corvus very much resisted the temptation to tell her she should have thought of that before she went down there and waved his hand nonchalantly, lifting her from the hole with little difficulty. As she floated upward he turned his attention to the gems, hastily wrapping them up in his toga and mending the edges together to seal them in.

San knelt on the ground, fighting her exhaustion. 'What are they?' she asked.

“Feien gemstones, of course,” he said, hefting the bag over his shoulder. The stones clinked together inside, setting off to his magic detection what seemed like a cavalcade of sparks. After a moment’s thought he levitated a nearby rock and placed it over the entrance to the hole. With a bit of scuffing around the edges, it looked as if the rock had been there all along.

'And what do they do?' San asked, struggling to her feet with a visible effort. 'They seem so...bright with magic.'

“They don’t actually do anything, but as they contain magic, they will hopefully be useful. I’m heading back. Can you fly yet?” he asked with impatience.

'I...I'm not sure,' San replied. Her hands shot out to wind around Corvus' arm. 'You won't leave me here, will you?' she asked with sudden panic.

He sighed, “I suppose not,” and lifted from the ground with her on his arm. There was a time when this had been exactly what he wanted, but that time was gone and now the fairy on his arm was little more than a dead weight. “Can I simply take you to the shop?” Or would he have to carry her all the way into Aileron’s arms?

'I...I suppose so,' San said softly, realizing that Corvus didn't want to take her all the way home. She buried her face against his shoulder. 'Thank you,' she whispered.

Corvus shuddered slightly and lifted them up into the sky, flying back towards the shop portal at top speed.