Chapter 2
On the second day of school class group B, the one of all boys, left Illusions cooking class chowing down on their waffle sandwiches. "This is going to be awesome! Breakfast first thing every other day? Can't complain about that sports fans." Champ stated happily.
"I must agree, and it will be nice to be able to cook something for Proud Heart," Loyal Heart swallowed the last of his sandwich.
"We have Defiant's class next, language and grammar," Snowy was reading their class schedule as he ate.
Grumpy rolled his eyes. "Yeah that won't be boring at all." He still wasn't on good terms with the badger after the way he treated Swift Heart. It didn't matter how mad he was, you never slapped girls in the face. Period. Finishing his waffle he stole a piece of bacon from Bedtime Bear. The nocturnal guardian was nursing a cup of coffee, trying his best to stay awake.
"You might want to resolve things with Defiant before it gets too severe," Snowy spoke up.
"You might want to mind your own business," Grumpy retorted, "You're telling me if Share were treated that way you would be all hunky dory with it?"
"That's not an entirely accurate example, Grumpy, there's a double standard for that. But what do you expect being angry at Defiant will bring in the long run?" Snowy asked.
"I don't agree with what Defiant did, but Snowy has a point. You should not let this fester until it comes out at a very inappropriate moment," Loyal Heart added.
"Point of order on Grumpy's behalf. His name is Grumpy bear and he's never been one to spew forth forgiveness."
Grumpy folded his arms and nodded in agreement with Champ's statement, "And I'm not going to do anything to him. I'm just not really acknowledging him until I can do so without punching him.
"Well good luck if you can't do well in his class then," Snowy sighed.
"And how long will that take, or would you like him to break a few limbs first?" Loyal Heart asked.
Turning to the dog Grumpy scowled, "Again, it's not anyone's buisness but mine. You guys can't tell me how to feel. Besides, do you really think now is the time to be making me mad? In case you hadn't noticed I haven't been emotionally sound lately."
Shoving Loyal Heart with his shoulder he moved past him and walked a few feet ahead of his group. "You guys shouldn't *yawn* be making him mad. He's been strong for Swift Heart but he's been hurting," Bedtime informed them.
"I have noticed, despite what you all think my world is not focused on my wife, I do notice things. But if something doesn't resolve things between him and Defiant then things will only get worse and I do not wish to see something tear our family apart again," Loyal Heart didn't wait for a reply but moved on.
"This is going to be a long school year," Snowy sighed.
Champ nodded, "Maybe if he finally gets laid he'll feel better." Bedtime gave a sleepy chuckle and the group arrived at Defiant's classroom.
Defiant was sitting at his desk and he nodded at each of the group as they entered the class. When Bedtime entered he asked, "How are you handling the shift to a day schedule, Bedtime?"
"I'm adjusting. Coffee is a big help and I'm trying to go to bed earlier. Also I've been napping." He gave Defiant a thumbs up and sat at a desk with his coffee mug.
"As long as you don't spill it you should be fine," Defiant said as he got up, "Well welcome to language and grammar class then. Now I need a good idea of where you all are so I'd like you to write a little one or two page essay on whatever you want. Just pick a topic and write about it. As I'm sure you can see you each have a computer at your desk and there should be a profile for each of you on there in a community network. I suggest you create a password as all your friends have done as well."
"So everyone is using these?" Snowy looked at the profile list, seeing one for every member of the family was there, including himself.
"Why do we need these?" Champ asked. "I mean aren't we just writing and stuff in here?"
"If you want then you can write by hand but most writing is done on computers these days and to be honest it will be easier than trying to decipher some of your handwriting," Defiant said, "Not to mention it's easier to edit and change things and much less wasteful."
"Makes sense to me dude." Champ began to type in his password. Grumpy had completed this already and was pulling up the word program. He began to type his essay ignoring the chatter around him.
"Can we write something fictional?" Snowy asked.
"If you wish, but it might be easier to just write something about something you know, even something about a TV show or web series you watch," Defiant answered. Snowy nodded and began typing.
Bedtime was taking his time typing his essay. Looking over at his friends screen Champ laughed. Bedtime had chosen to write about why tempur pedic mattresses were better than clouds. "You would know buddy."
"You'd be surprised how much you find out when sleeping," Bedtime just smiled back.
Completing his essay before anyone else Grumpy asked, "Are we sending it to your account or printing it and handing it in?"
"It's your choice, I'd prefer you just transferred it to my submission profile in your documents," Defiant replied.
Saving his document he did just that. "What did you write yours on Grumpy?"
"Don't worry about it." He told Champ. Glaring he returned his attention to his own essay on the greatest football players in history.
Once Loyal Heart finished his own writing and sent it in the raisedhis hand, "So now what should we do?"
"Well, while I'm looking over your essays feel free to socialise, this shouldn't take too long," Defiant answered.
"Awesome." Pulling up a web browser Grumpy went to his favorite car part website and began to look at the new arrivals.
Defian just rolled his eyes, "At least Bright Heart fixed the internet connection." He began going over the turned in essays.
Champ too was surfing the web. "Hey guys! Look a monster truck rally! We should totally go Check this out!"
"Not really my thing," Snowy Heart said, he was just sitting at his computer waiting for Defiant to finish.
"I'm up for it." Grumpy told him.
Bedtime nodded, "Me too. If it's at night I am so in."
"Nice. I'll tell the other guys too." Champ told them before getting the full information.
"I will have to pass, sorry," Loyal apologized.
"You guys don't know what you're missing. It's totally awesome seeing large monster trucks painted awesomely tear little pipsqueak cars apart." Champ told him.
Grumpy was bored now and twirled a pencil through his fingers. "How much longer is he going to be?"
"I'm almost done, just give me a moment," Defiant replied. Champ folded up a paper football to pass the time. Looking at Snowy he flicked it at him.
Snowy flinched when the ball hit him, "Hey."
"Oh relax Snowy, it's paper," Champ formed the goal with his fingers, "Now try to spike it through here."
Snowy just shrugged and flicked it back almost lazily, passing it through the finger goal with ease. "Years of archery," he told a surprised Champ.
"Alright, the grading is done," Defiant said. "Loyal Heart your spelling is good but your grammar and punctuation needs some work. Champ you need a lot of work on most everything. Snowy you need to work on spelling for longer words. Bedtime you need a little work on most of your stuff. Grumpy you just need to work on sentence structure but otherwise you're fine."
"Glad we got that figured out." Grumpy responded.
Champ smirked at Defiant, "Looks like you have your work cut out for us Defiant," Leaning back he folded his arms behind his head.
"To be fair, Champ, you're not the worst I've seen. Lotsa has the most trouble thus far but I haven't had Jolly, Grateful, Secret, Treat Heart or Love-a-lot yet. But yes I do have a fair amount cut out for me so we might as well start right now." Defiant reached into the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out five identical paperback books, "I know you've probably read this but we're going to start a unit with 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. After we finish that unit we'll move on to a free choice unit, where you'll each be allowed to choose a book to read and study."
"Sounds fair enough. I actually haven't read this one before." Bedtime informed him. He was sitting up a little straighter, trying to keep from falling asleep.
"It's a good one," Grumpy told him.
"I haven't read it either," Snowy said.
"I haven't finished it, but what I read was good," Loyal Heart added as they each took one of the books.
"Good, well I'd like you to read the first five chapters by the end of the week," Defiant said, "tomorrow I'll give you your first assignment sheets and you'll have two weeks to finish them, so don't feel the need to read and finish everything at once."
Bedtime chuckled, "Don't worry about that. I never rush at anything."
"Yeah we know," Grumpy grumbled at him.
"Sooooo can we go?" Champ asked hopefully.
"I'd rather you spend the rest of the class reading, but if you want to do it outside then go ahead. No one else will be out of class until their class ends in about 25 minutes." Defiant sat back. The boys, reluctantly opened their books to page 1 and began. Grumpy flipped straight to the back and read the last chapter first. Even though he had read it already, he read all books this way. He never had cared for surprise endings so he liked knowing what he was getting himself into.
The class finally let out and the group got out and headed out. "This is really a fascinating book," Snowy commented, his nose still stuck in To Kill a Mockingbird as he walked out of the class.
"Hey Grumpy? Should we stop him from walking into something?"
"Nah Champ. If he's that into it who are we to stop him. Besides. Someone should enjoy it."
Champ nodded at Grumpy, "Got that right man. I am so not a reading fan." Bedtime merely shuffled along beside them.
"I think I'll save the book for when I get home, if Proud Heart doesn't need my help tonight," Loyal Heart said, "We have Bright Heart for science next."
Grumpy groaned once more. "Don't I spend enough time listening to him." He had escaped questioning on the Rainbow rescue beam this long and was hoping to keep it that way.
"We all have to put up with it, though we can team up with anyone for the projects later," Snowy said.
"Are you going to team up with Swift Heart?" Loyal Heart asked Grumpy.
"I have a feeling I won't have any say in the matter." He replied with a small smile. "I'll probably end up doing the whole thing."
"She might surprise you, Grumpy," Loyal Heart said, "She might have some ideas of her own, something in science class might grab her."
Grumpy looked skeptical. "She called me once because her garbage disposal was making a funny noise and shooting sparks. I pulled a fork out of it."
"Perhaps," Loyal Heart nodded, "I heard she was very into chemistry."
"Yeah she likes the science stuff alright. And she's all but addicted to medical dramas." He cringed, "I can't even count how many times I've had to see someone spurting blood all over the floor. Plus she and Fauna used to...never mind." He looked away instead of finishing. Instead he asked, "You know who you want to pair up with?"
"I'm not sure yet," Loyal Heat said, "but we should hurry before the bell rings."
-
"I can't wait to see what Noble Heart's going to teach us," Share said as she skipped towards Noble Heart's history class.
"You seem excited," Playful said.
"Of course, I love learning about history," Share giggled.
"It doesn't hurt that he's been around forever. I'm sure a lot of what he is going to teach us he has seen first-hand." Cheer quipped. She was checking her appearance in her hand held as they walked.
"I don't think he's been around that long," Gentle Heart said as they approached the class.
Lotsa Heart was munching on some grapes from a bag. "But he does know his stuff. His book collection is huge! And they are all historical novels."
"Well let's stop chatting and see what he has," Playful darted into the classroom.
The classroom itself wasn't too different from what one would call a normal high school classroom, save for the bookshelves that lined one of the walls, filled with the books that Lotsa Heart had mentioned. Noble Heart was sitting at the desk in front of the classroom and he smiled as the group entered the class. "Good to see you all found your way here on time."
Wish smiled at him as she took a seat in the front row. "Share made sure of that. She's been waiting all day for this class."
"And that's the truth." Lotsa Heart agreed.
"Good, I'm glad to hear that someone is enthusiastic about this class," Noble Heart stood up and began to write something on the chalkboard.
The group sat and waited respectfully for him to finish. He wasn't like the other teachers. They had always seen Noble Heart as a father figure and wouldn't put him through the ringer. "Did True Heart not want to teach a full class?" Cheer asked him.
"No, she doesn't want to leave Hugs and tugs for too long so we agreed that she would be the best to tutor Terra Heart with braille and other specific things she'll need to know," Noble Heart finally finished what he had written on the board.
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it
Noble Heart put the chalk down, "Those words were said by George Santayana and that's the reason we study history. Learning from mistakes is the best way to avoid making them but not everyone will experience everything before they move on in life so we study history to learn from both the mistakes and successes that others have made, no matter how small or large of a scale they might be."
"So we are only going to be studying the mistakes of the world?" Cheer asked, a little unsure of what Noble was saying. "Cause that's totally going to bum me out."
Noble Heart chuckled, "Not just the mistakes, but often it's easier to learn what not to do than to figure out why something works so well."
"So where are we starting?" Share asked.
"Yeah I'd say we have our fair share of starting points to choose from," Lotsa Heart agreed.
"Good, because I decided that I don't have a main cirriculum to follow. We have several points we can start at, so I'm going to have each class vote to decide where we start, in the case of any ties we will pare down the fields and vote again and if that's not possible then we'll start with the earliest historical setting." Noble Heart began to write on the board, making the list of the starting points.
Early human history
Ancient Empires
The rise and fall of the Roman Empire
The Dark Ages
The Middle Ages
The Renaissance
The conquest of the new world
Eastern Imperialism
The birth of America
The Great War
The second World War
Recent History
"I would prefer to start at the beginning but we have so much to cover that I'll let you decide," Noble Heart said as he finished.
"Do we have to learn all of that so quickly?" Gentle Heart asked.
Noble Heart chuckled, "No, of course not. We'll study each section in depth then move on to the next subject but I may have to pull things back in order to keep things from being too confusing. Now if each of you will write down where you want us to start studying I'll come and check, remember this is where you think we should start, not what you want to study the most."
Cheer and Wish both wrote down Ancient Empires. Lotsa Heart took a little longer staring at the list. He wasn't sure when some of these eras were. Finally deciding on the Dark Ages he wrote that down. Guidance wrote Early Human History, Playful wrote down the Renaissance and Share added her own Ancient Empires vote to the pile.
Noble Heart collected the six papers and nodded, "At least you have more consensus here, with three votes for ancient empires, one for Early Human history, one for the renaissance and one for the dark ages. So we'll start with Ancient Empires, such as the Greeks, Egyptians and Persian empires. After that we'll move on to Early Human History and then move forwards in chronological order."
"Are we going to have lots of projects in here?" Wish asked. "Not that I'm complaining! I was hoping actually. I like doing research after all." She smiled as she said the last bit.
"We will but like with Bright Heart's class you'll have a bit more freedom to choose how you do them, such as dioramas or sculptures of areas or events or even just simple reports for those less artistically inclined. Just ask if what you want to do is acceptable at each project and I'll let you know if you can," Noble Heart said.
"So, what do we do now?" Gentle Heart asked.
"Well we might as well start, just get out your paper and pens and write down the notes. We'll start with the Egyptians," Noble Heart began writing on the chalkboard.
When the bell rang at the end of the period Noble Hearts class was sorry it had. They were fascinated by the way Noble Heart talked about Egyptian culture. Wish could almost picture herself back then. Outside the room she shouldered up to Lotsa Heart, "I can't wait till we have this class again."
Lotsa nodded, "That's for sure. Were you happy with it Share?"
Share smiled, "Definitely."
"It's kinda of harsh, what happened in ancient Egypt I mean," Gentle Heart said.
"Aww, well don't worry it's all over now," Playful reassured her.
"It kind of just happened. Hunters and Pegasus ya know? What they couldn't enslave they wanted to destroy." Cheer voiced. "But yea, that's over too."
"Well let's not dwell on it, we have Tenderheart's math class next," Playful said.
Cheer grinned, "Super! Who doesn't like numbers! I do, on pricetags of course!"
"Of course," Playful rolled his eyes.
-
"So, music class," Snowy Heart said, "Any thoughts?" he asked the other four in his group.
"If I hear the words 'Boy Bands' leave her mouth, I'm running for the door," Grumpy informed them.
"I agree," Champ nodded.
"As do I," Loyal Heart said.
"I just hope it's interesting," Snowy Heart said as they approached Harmony's house.
Music was floating out through the windows and Harmonys open door. "That doesn't sound like pop music to me." Bedtime said. Champ too looked surprised. Entering the house they saw chairs set up in Harmony's living room.
Harmony was tuning her guitar. "Hey boys. Take a seat I'll be with you in a sec."
"I admit, I am feeling better about this class now," Loyal Heart whispered to Bedtime as they all took a seat.
"Alright guys, I'll keep it real with you. I know how everyone up here thinks musically. So no one's class is going to be like someone else's. Just like no music genre is like any other." Sliding her fingers along the strings she played a short chord. "I thought you guys would dig learning to play some instruments, and then learn to play some of the greatest anthems of all music time." Holding her last note she smiled at them. "How does that sound?"
"That does sound fun," Snowy said.
"How many instruments do you have, Harmony?" Loyal Heart asked.
"So glad you asked." Pointing with her finger she beckoned them to follow. She led them to her garage door that connected to her house. "I keep them all out here." Turning on the light she put on display her 5 guitars, acoustic and electric, 4 bass guitars, a drum set, and a collection of typical symphony and orchestra instruments. "You guys can borrow one for class hours to learn on, but they don't leave my house. Go ahead. Check them out."
Grumpy went straight for the pretty emerald green drum set. It was covered in band stickers. "Harmony this is sick!"
"I know. I own it."
Snowy went for a piccolo, "This seems like something I would like."
"Do you have any suggestions for me?" Loyal Heart asked, staring at the rather staggering array of instruments.
Grabbing a silver trumpet off the wall she handed it to him. "Blow this horn. I think you'll like its vibe."
"Sweet a Gibson." Champ took down the purple electric guitar.
"I know you know a little Champ." He nodded to Harmony and plucked at the strings. Bedtime was admiring a keyboard in the corner. Loyal Heart took the trumpet and gave it a test. Snowy blew on his piccolo a bit, listening to the note that came forth.
Harmony winced since both were slightly off pitch. "Alright lets head back to my living room. Everyone grab your new toys." Going to the drums she helped Grumpy disassemble it and carry it inside.
"May I ask, what purpose does learning music have?" Loyal Heart asked, as he sat in Harmony's living room.
"Lots of things." Sitting on a stool she continued to strum her guitar as she listed the pros of music playing. "You get to express creativity. Music is an art, and through art we can show our innermost emotions. Playing an instrument is a good way to take your stress away. And learning how to play helps in other areas too. Memorization, strategy for studying, and concentration." Her fingers picked up the pace and she closed her eyes, grooving to her tune.
Bedtime sighed loudly, "Brave Heart is one lucky guy." Grumpy and Champ looked at him startled.
"Definately," Snowy agreed with Bedtime.
"That does make a lot of sense," Loyal nodded. "Will anyone be singing in this class?"
Harmony nodded, "Sure man. If you feel the need to express yourself vocally then go right ahead. Tell my why the caged bird sings." She clenched her fist and grinned at him. "I want this class to be all about self-expression, finding your inner voice. I am so not going to be harping on what you can and cannot do."
"Well I can't sing," Loyal Heart said. Before any encouragement could be given he just sighed, "the last time I tried to sing Trust to sleep, he starting crying harder and Proud Heart had to take over," his cheeks reddened as he averted his eyes from the others.
"Alot of people sing even though they can't. I mean look at half the artists out there today." Feeling her temper rise Harmony took a moment to compose herself before she went off ranting on the occurrences of lip synching and autotune. "Anyway if you don't want to you don't have to." Looking to the others she asked, "Any other takers?"
Bedtime smiled at her, "I wouldn't be opposed to learning singing."
"I might like to try," Snowy admitted.
Harmony applauded them "Awesome. For now let's get you started on these beauties. We'll start vocal exercises next week." Looking at Grumpy she asked, "Will you be singing too." His folded arms and scowl was answer enough for her. "All right guys here we go." She handed each of them sheets with finger placement and a few basic notes to practice for their instruments. "Look these over for 10 and then I'll help you out."
Loyal Heart regarded the three buttons on his trumpet then looked over at the many more on Snowy's piccolo. "Is my instrument limited on notes?" he asked.
Harmony shook her head. "No. You have a brass instrument. Snowy has a woodwind. In brass, it's all about your lips." She puckered hers in demonstration. "The looser the lower the notes. The tighter, the higher."
"I see," Loyal Heart turned back to his instruction sheet.
"So that means you Snowy my dear have a lot more finger combos to remember. Plus you'll have to master angling your air through that hole," she tapped the mouth piece with her nail.
"Alright," Snowy pressed a few of the key and covered some of the holes but didn't try to blow again yet.
Champ was doing fine running his scales so she left him for the moment to go to Grumpy. "Alright so each drum has its own line on the score." She showed him the different ones and which drum they corresponded with. "Just get used to hitting each one for now and make up a few of your own rhythms."
"That I can do." He began beating away.
Eventually the day came to an end and Noble Heart decided to call everyone to the Hall of Hearts for a meeting and assessment of how their days were going.
Once everyone had assembled he quieted everyone down and spoke up, "So, now that everyone's gone to each of the classes we set up, how do you feel about school?"
"It wasn't as arduous as I thought it would be." Wish bear announced, while sending a smile at Defiant. "I learned that word in Grammer class."
Friend nodded, "I for one was pleasantly surprised by how well prepared our teachers were."
"Well we made sure to be. Now I just wanted to convene to explain how school is going to be. You will alternate the classes you have in the same order you have these last two days and you will have every Friday, Saturday and Sunday off," Noble Heart explained.
A couple shouts of joy were heard until Tenderheart spoke up, "We're only doing four half days a week because we still have a job to do. We're not going to stop being Care Bears just because we're in school."
"So that means you will continue to go on missions in the down time when you are asked too. There will no longer be any excuses." Brave Heart added. "We have all, myself included, let our personal lives effect our job. That can't happen anymore." murmurs of agreement sounded through his family members.
"Now since there were no major homework assignments today, unless there's an emergency everyone is free to do as they wish," True Heart said.
Almost immediately everyone began to find their social groups and plan out what their next moves would be. Funshine found Playful and latched onto his arm. "You survived! I was so worried your ADD would kick in and your head would implode," she told him teasingly.
"Aww, you were worried about me," Playful giggled and kissed her.
"Not worried worried. Just concerned," she replied. "You ready to get out of here?"
"You bet, let's get out and have some fun," he grabbed her hand and they bounded out of the hall.
Jolly instantly sought out Illusion. "What'dya say mate? Kill any leftovas ya have an watch our shows?"
"Oui homme. I like dat plan. I tink I managed to save a good amoun o' frostin from mah one groups devil food cake."
His face lit up, "Bonza!" Turning to Cozy he called, "Later sheila." Cozy waved a quick goodbye to him before she left with Gentle Heart and Treat Heart.
Brave Heart sought out Harmony quickly, "We're lucky, our classes don't give out much gradable homework," he said, giving the purple bear a kiss.
"That's for sure." Facing him she draped her arms around his neck, "How exactly would you assign do at home aerobics that you can then grade them on the next day?"
"Tis true," Brave Heart nodded, "How about we go and catch a movie? I heard that the new OZ movie is pretty good."
"I think that sounds tight." She gave him a kiss and pulled away to grip his hand, "Just us two or should we make this a double date?"
"Who did you have in mind?" Brave Heart asked.
"Oh I dunno. Anyone really. If you'd prefer to keep it just us I am totally cool with that, chilled to the bone in fact." Harmony told him giving his hand a squeeze.
"Good, cause I think we need some time alone," Brave Heart kissed her as he led her out of the hall.
Swift Heart smiled at the two. She was so glad they were doing so well. Brave Heart deserved to have a high point in his life. "You still crushing on the lion?" Champ asked her.
"Oh yeah you know it. I am so jealous I'm about to poison Harmony's water supply." Resting her hand delicately against her chin she pretended to look him up and down, "Although I am a sucker for the dumb jock type as well."
Champ played along and flexed his muscle, "Yeah well who wouldn't."
Cheer however wasn't having it and pushed Champ away. "Come on honey, we're going to be late."
"Late for what?"
"Just go. Bye Swift Heart."
Swift Heart laughed and called, "Oh relax Cheer, we were just messing around."
"Just be careful she doesn't get jealous," Grumpy said, walking over to join Swift Heart.
She shrugged, "If she's that insecure it's not my problem. Besides everyone else knows I save all my threats for girls interested in you. How was music class?"
"I won't be singing Bye Bye Bye anytime soon so can't complain." A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth, "Harmony is letting me learn on her drums."
"Oh cool! The green ones with all the band stickers?"
"Yup."
"Very cool." She got to her feet. "What are you doing with your afternoon off?"
"I dunno, did you have anything in mind?" Grumpy asked, moving behind Swift Heart and putting his arms around her.
"Just want to visit Fauna real quick. Let her know how the first days went." Swift Heart rested her arms over top of Grumpy's and flattened her ears so they weren't in his face. "But something tells me that you have something in mind for us." Turning her head slightly she kissed him gently.
"Well we have all evening off, once we visit her we could just pick up some pizza and curl up in your rabbit hole and relax until we drift off. Maybe watch a movie or two," Grumpy suggested.
"Perfect as always. Tell me the truth, you're psychic right?" She rested her head against his. "That's exactly how I want to spend today."
"Only with you," he kissed her cheek, "let's go say hi to Fauna."
Meanwhile in the Falls, Renegade was about to begin his shaman training. White Fang stood with him at one of the pools the Falls formed. Above their heads the waters roared loudly as they crashed down on the rocks of Pearl Head Mountains. "Alright kinderlach, step one to shaman training is cleansing yourself of negative traces. This includes strange magic." He pointed to the waterfalls, "These flow from the top of the tallest peak in our home and are the purest sources of water in our home. To cleanse yourself you must fly through all five of them. It will hurt, the water will pound down on you but it is necessary to be ready for the complicated spells and rituals you are about to learn. Got it?'
Renegade gulped then took a deep breath, "I got it. I guess we'll find out if I'm ready." He spread his wings and flapped, lifting off the ground. He took one more deep breath and flew forwards right at the first of the falls.
"You'll feel the pureness of that water as strange magic. Don't fight it. Let it in," he yelled up at his young apprentice. Indeed, Renegade felt the strange energy pouring on him as he struck the water. He felt an urge to run, or at least resist but he took his teacher's advice and let down his guard without slowing down, breaking through the first fall and going straight for the next
"That a boy! You got it! Relax your mind and do some self-reflection. Figure out why you want this." He called next.
'I want this because I want to find purpose,' He thought as he struck the next waterfall. This time the feeling was more intense and he felt as if it would overwhelm him but he pushed through, letting the energy flow into him without resistance once again.
White Fang watched as he went towards through the third one, "Think about what you have to do to accomplich this. Being a shaman means dealing with the nagging questions of the others. I can't even tell you how many times I've been asked for a love potion or one to make someone's coat shinier. Are you ready to hear out every request no matter how stupid?"
"I am!" Renegade actually shouted aloud as he flew through the fall.
"Most of all however, you must be ready to serve our king in anyway he may require. We along with the other shamans are his magical assets and we take this as a huge honor. Are you prepared to declare your loyalty to our king?"
"Always, now more than ever," the memory of Fauna's sacrifice flashed in his mind. 'I'll do anything to help him now,' he thought.
As Renegade flew through the last waterfall he came to land in front of White Fang once more. The older pegasus nodded at him "Good, he needs us more than ever." Smiling as water dripped off the soaked Renegade he asked, "How do you feel?"
"Umm, wet, and kind of funny, like an old weight lifted from my spirit," Renegade shivered a bit.
He slapped him with a wing, "Good. You should feel like a blank slate. And now we get you dried off and start some basic spell work."
Renegade smiled, "Good idea. Thanks for teaching me Grandsire."
"Well it's not like they have a book on this stuff." He told him. "Plus all the other shamans are shmucks! I've been doing this the longest."
"Shmucks?" Renegade tilted his head sideways.
"It just means they are fools, in my opinion." He translated for him. "They think they can do things on their own. They don't need me."
"Sounds like Fauna," Renegade couldn't help but smile, "I'll be strong for this, but I'm going to go borrow a towel from blue to dry off first. Where should I meet you when I'm dry?"
White Fang actually snorted when Renegade compared the other Shamans to his sister. "Pah! Your sister actually didn't need anyone. She wasn't delusional. You can meet me at Sunflower Meadow." He pointed his nose in the direction he was heading.
"No she wasn't, a lot reminds me of her though. I'll check on Blue when I'm there then meet you at the meadow," he added before taking off towards the royal caves.
White Fang headed off, ignoring the looks he was getting. "What? You think I never leave my igloo? You all are a bunch of yentas!" He scolded a group of mares nearby. They look affronted but said nothing. Looking pleased with himself he continued on.
Renegade landed in front of the royal cave and nodded to the guards, "May I enter?" he asked.
They nodded to him. "Be advised the King is home. But it's been quiet in there." Toadstool told him. He seemed worried.
"I'm not surprised," Renegade took a deep breath and trotted into the caves.
He hadn't been lying. Blue was nowhere to be seen in the main cave or in the cave to the left that held the modern human amenities he and Fauna had brought in.
Renegade searched around but stepped towards the human amenities cave. One set of complicated shifting later he was dry and he could hear shouting coming from somewhere in the back. Now in his pegasus form again he trotted closer. "Blue?"
The Kingsire's voice was coming from The Spirit Chamber, meaning only two people were on the receiving end of the yelling. As Renegade came to the chamber he saw Blue facing off with the deities. Daybreak and Nightshade were looking somber as Blue stood before them. His eyes were glowing and his magic was shooting off his body in emotional fireworks.
"YOU KNEW! HOW COULD YOU KNOW AND NOT TELL ME!" He bellowed making the walls vibrate.
Daybreak winced "As we've said, we aren't permitted to-"
Blue cut him off, "Nightshade is dead! You watched a castle crumble and fall on her and you know she isn't able to survive it. Your heart is gone! Then you hear I knew all along but did nothing to help her! Tell me you wouldn't be reacting just like me!"
Night Shade watched in surprise as her mate, the god of the Pegasus, flattened his ears in submission to the young king. Clearly Blue's speech had affected him. "I am sorry Blue. We both wish the rules could be different. It was not certain Fauna would be lost, it was just a possibility."
Blue was panting, "You should have told me." He wasn't letting this go.
Night Shade spoke up, "All we can offer you is our condolences and our sorrow at your loss. We cannot say we would have done anything differently. I am sorry." The two exchanged a look before leaving.
"Cowards! Useless cowards! Thats all you are!" Blue yelled after them.
"I'm guessing this is a bad time," Renegade said, backing out of the room.
Seeing the movement Blue looked to the entrance way, "What? Do you need something?" He snapped at Renegade.
"I just needed to borrow a towel. I already used it and left it to dry off," Renegade replied.
"Good. In case you missed all of that, they knew Fauna was going to die." Blue told him, voice still angry. He moved past Renegade.
"I noticed," Renegade said. "This is awkward," he added under his breath.
Stopping he glared over his shoulder at Renegade. "If you hadn't just let yourself in it wouldn't be awkward."
"Right, I'll leave then," Renegade trotted past Blue on the way out of the cave.
"And tell Toadstool and Kingblade my door is no longer open. They have to check with me before admitting anyone." He barked after him.
"I don't think I need to tell them," he sighed as he left the cave, nodding to the two guards. "But yeah, don't let anyone in without telling the Kingsire." Renegade spread his wings and took off.
White Fang was rolling on his back in the sunflowers when Renegade returned. "I'd forgotten how nice being warm could be," he mused aloud. Renegade nodded but said nothing as he landed.
Tilting his head back he gazed at his apprentice, "Oy what now? What did Blue say to make you look like a raincloud is dumping water on you?"
"He was yelling at Daybreak and Nightshade when I came in, then he snapped at me because I didn't ask to come in then said that his guards can't let anyone in without his permission," Renegade said. "I think just seeing me reminds him too much of Fauna so I doubt he'll want to see me again, ever."
"I'm sure that's part of it." Rolling over he tucked his legs under us body but made no move to stand. "But he's been acting that way towards his mishpucha too. And you're telling me he'll never want to see Frosty, Red Snout, or Thunder again? Ever?"
"Probably not, but they don't look like Fauna," Renegade shook his head, "but I don't want to dwell on this now. At the very least he needs time to cool off before I talk him again."
"Always the best way to approach his temper. Now come lay here and forget it. First step to Shaman training is meditation. A busy mind is a mind not ready for spell casting."
"I need a clear mind now more than ever," Renegade said, moving to sit across from White Fang.
White Fang nodded in agreement. "It's very simple. You close your eyes and take a deep breath." He demonstrated. "As you exhale send any negative thoughts and feelings with it. Do this until you feel calm. Then just let your mind drift away, don't try to think on anything."
Renegade nodded and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and exhaling, trying to push out the feelings of failure he felt about losing Fauna. It would be hard but he'd do this, no matter how hard it was.