A/N: I might have made Dahlia a little out of character at the end... I like reviews btw.

Mahad must've slept longer than he thought. It was dark and he could see the moon shining through his curtains.

He wiped the sleep out of his eyes and got up, turned on the light and yawned.

He sat back down… in silence…

All he could think about was what happened earlier in the tavern with Cortes. After all that happened and Lena's talk, Mahad didn't feel right.

Just then someone knocked his door.

Lena…

To his surprise, it wasn't.

"What a surprise to see you here, Dahlia," he smiled leaning on the door frame, but his arm slipped and he banged his head into it.

Dahlia rolled her eyes at him and sighed.

"I only came to see if you were okay… you know, after what happened between you and Cortes in the tavern," she said.

"Well, what do you think?"

"I don't know; your face is pretty much expressionless at the moment."

"Look, I'm fine," he smiled and waved his arms around.

"I still want to talk to you."

"About what?"

"The obvious."

"Come in, then," Mahad sighed and moved aside for her to walk in.

Dahlia sat on Mahad's bed and sighed again.

"So... what exactly did you want to talk to me about?" Mahad asked sitting beside her.

"Well…you flying off without Cortes's permission is an absolutely crazy thing to do, not only that but dangerous. You've got to understand that you put a lot of lives in danger because of it."

"Please don't start to sound like Cortes now," Mahad rolled his eyes.

"At least Cortes has some order here. He takes care of people, and on top if that, he's got to take care of you. Someone who should by now how to take care of themselves Mahad! So don't make Cortes sound like the bad guy."

Mahad rolled his eyes again.

"You've got to get rid of that attitude as well, 'cause it's getting you no-where!"

"You know what?! You can just leave now!"

"Not 'till I get something through that thick skull of yours. You think this is all okay, think again Mahad, someone could actually die because of you, and that person who dies could be you. You've got to understand that Cortes is not and never will let you get away with this, whatever direction you're taking, I strongly advise not to.

"Cortes is a good man, taking you in and putting up with the rubbish you do. Like Lena said, 'he is someone you can look up to yourself'. He's probably going to be the closest person you're ever going to get to a father."

Dahlia's last sentence was the most that actually got to him; Cortes being the closest person to a father, and he hated to admit it, but it was true.

Mahad dug his face in his hands.

"Mahad…?" Dahlia put her hand on his back. The fact she yelled at him for being stupid, she began to feel sorry for him because he was frustrated… a position he didn't like to be in. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, but you've got to understand."

"…why did you have to bring up Cortes being the closet thing to my father…?"

Dahlia looked down at her feet. "I hope that wasn't the only thing that got through your head… it's just that Cortes is having trouble from being able to actually trust and respect you, and they only way he can is if you do the same."

Mahad stood up and walked over to his window. "I wish I could remember the days when I was with my father and mother… it was a great life back then… we use to play for hours and never get tired…" He smiled, "… but imagine if none of this happened… my father never going missing, my mother not being one of the most wanted person in Skyland… I wouldn't have made great friends… like you."

Dahlia smiled and got up. She stood next to Mahad. "Memories are great things Mahad… so are your family and friends, life wouldn't be right without them."

"All I want is my mother and father back… I just have to make things right, but I'm only doing worse."

"You will do better, just let time tell its stories. One day the world will change because of one great action you've done."

"Sounds scary if you put it that way…" Mahad smiled.

"I'm heading to the tavern, come as well so you can talk to Cortes."

"I don't know… I should do it tomorrow."

"Tomorrow will be too late; now is the time."

"But-"

"No Mahad, now."

"Fine, I'll talk to him."

"And when you do, actually say what you mean."

"Hey…Dahlia?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for… believing in me."

"Belief is only a feeling, I'm just being nice."

They both headed out of Mahad's room. Mahad had gone to Lena's room first to say night to her and tell her that he was going to talk to Cortes. Lena said she was proud of what Mahad was doing.