Chapter 4: The 16th birthdays

Some years pass. Javier and Elysia have their little pact, but they still act differently. Javier misbehaves in class and gets detentions while Elysia is a good student. The year they start attending the GTA that Junior Year 1 is one that no one will ever forget. Elysia is placed into a master class and she is excelling while Javier is placed in the same class and he is misbehaving. Amethyst too is in that class to keep an eye on her nephew. Javier pulls off his greatest pranks and he also gets a gang of misfits to follow him. They cause trouble and are the bullies of the Junior Year. Javier may have good grades, but he is a seriously bad owl.

By the time their sixteenth birthdays come around, they are in Fire Master Class in the GTA. The highest class of Middle Year. They are both in Middle Year 1 and they soon will be in Middle Year 2 and then Senior Year. Javier doesn't really want to be a Guardian while his sister is ambitious to become one in two years' time.

"…Happy birthday dear Javier and Elysia. Happy birthday to you." They all sing

The celebrations begin and Elysia has donned a pink sash that has "Sweet 16" written on it as she, her brother, family, friends and family friends celebrate their birthday. Blythe sings a special birthday song for her third cousins. Everyone is having a good time. Coryn invites his granddaughter for her dance and she smiles and accepts. Javier hangs back with Liana, who is chatting with Lydea, Autumn, Sina and Barran. He finds it boring and he would want to get the hagsmire out of there, but he cant. Coryn comes to sit with Liana and she smiles and joins in the convocation.

"Good party for the twins." Sina smiles

"Thank you, Sina. Well we did spend a deal of time planning this for the twins." Liana replies

"Pellimore would have wanted to see this day. They are two years from graduating the GTA and now they are young adults." Coryn sighs

"Her death was sad, indeed, Coryn. We all can agree on that." Autumn says

"Illness got her. Poor girl. At least her girls turned out ok, even without their father." Coryn says

"Hey, why don't we get away from the sad and start to smile. It is the birthday of my grandchildren after all." Liana says with a cheery tone

They then start to celebrate with the others and Coryn sees that Javier is missing. He thinks and then leaves the room to look for him. He has a fair enough idea as to where his grandson is. Javier would be hanging with his crew at a massive GTA party at Fire Master Class Dorm. He then looks and the owls inside are going chaotic and he sees Javier chugging a bottle of wine with a bunch of other kids and his crew. Coryn then barges in and everyone stops and freezes. Javier doesn't realise his grandfather is there until he is overshadowing him. He takes the bottle away from his beak and Coryn looks at him with anger.

"Oh… Grandfather… Umm…" Javier awkwardly says

Coryn then drags his grandson home and after the birthday party ends. Liana and Coryn are giving him one hagsmire of a lecture.

"I told you that you can't just ditch your family and go and be with those other owls." Coryn lectures

"…and you drank wine?! You are underage, Javier. I mean, we can accept your aunt for what she did but underage drinking is not allowed in this hollow and the Ga'Hoole Tree." Liana adds

"Yeah, Amethyst can have an owlet, but I can't even hang out with my friends. That party sucked!" Javier backchats

"Javier… We keep telling you to behave, but you keep defying us. We have tried to trust you when it comes to you going to hang out with your group, but you just won't behave." Coryn says with a heavy sigh

"Javier, sweetie, we want you to behave and also to study your little heart out. We want what is best for you." Liana says with a slight plea

"So, until you apologise to your sister and everyone else at the party and also until you have a whole week without getting in trouble, you're grounded." Coryn announces

"I hate being here. I hate everything! I hate you, grandfather!" Javier yells

"Go to your room, Javier!" Coryn growls

Javier leaves the room and pushes over a table in the hallway leading to his room and he slams the door. Coryn has never raised his voice to his grandson like that before and he falls back onto the wall in exhaustion and slides down it. Liana sits down by him and he has his wing on his face.

"What's wrong?" Liana asks her husband

"He is as arrogant as his father was. Remember when he tried to take Amethyst from us?" Coryn complains

"I know he is acting like this, but he is a teenager. When you were a teenager weren't you like that? You were the son of Nyra." She reasons

In Coryn's mind he hears voices…

"Mum, I am so sick of this. I hate having to train all the time. I hate how you never let me be with the others. I hate how you never tell me things. I hate you!"

"Go to your room, Prince Nyroc! You are disgracing your father by being arrogant."

"…Coryn?" She asks, snapping him out of his nightdream when he was hearing nothing but his mother's sobs.

"Liana, I don't know how to answer that." He replies

"I know how hard you have been trying with him, but…" She says

"…But nothing. He is turning out like his mother and father. We know who they are, Liana. He is just like those bastard Pure One leaders." He abruptly interrupts before he pouts "…I should have seen this coming…"

"He can't be like Nyroc and Elanore. Sure, he may be hard sometimes, but he has been raised by us and he has a positive background and the Pure Ones were wiped out. There is nothing that can corrupt him, Coryn." She reasons

"How can we know for sure? Morin and his family are still alive and Autumn and Ezylryb's forces haven't even found them yet. They could be rebuilding the Pure Ones and waiting for a king to swoop in and take charge…" He says before a shocked pause

"You know that Javier will never leave the Ga'Hoole Tree. Also, we won't tell him the truth until we think he is ready and you know that." She says snapping him out of his trance

"If we can be grandparents at 22, fate could have its hold on Javier." He says

"I'm going to bed." She sighs "I will be leaving for Middle tomorrow. I won't be back for two days because of the festival and you know that. Will you manage to put up with the twins, Amethyst and Plum?"

"It isn't the first time. Sometimes I think why I married you." He replies

"Because I love you." She smiles cheekily

"Of course. I remember the night we met. I couldn't keep my eyes off you." He laughs

"Yes. You were frozen." She smiles

She kisses his head and leaves to go into their room. Liana may prefer to live in Ga'Hoole with her extended family, but she has to leave to go to Middle Kingdom often. It has been like that ever since after the War of the Ember. She was at one time Queen of Ga'Hoole when Coryn was ruling before his death, but she is queen of her kingdom, which she rules by herself while Coryn is one of Josh's seconds in command. She gets into bed and Coryn stays up for a bit drinking a glass of the wine that was once kept under the royal perch. He then walks down the hallway when he hears a baby crying and It is his youngest granddaughter, Plum.

Amethyst, her mother, was dating a boy and she ended up losing her virginity and at the same time conceiving a child with him. He was a 17 year old who went into Moon Master Class and died in the really big monsoon that swept Ga'Hoole. It wasn't a pretty death… Amethyst laid an egg and it hatched a girl. She called her Plum.

Amethyst is at her friend's house for a sleepover and Coryn is looking after her baby. He enters the room and she is lying in her nest crying.

"Hey, hey. It's ok, don't cry." He lulls as he strokes her face

She calms down and starts to fall back asleep. Her green eyes that she got from her mother slightly being covered by her drooping eyelids as she falls back asleep. Coryn has been raising babies since he was only a young adult and now, his third grandchild is no different to the twins and also his daughter (which is this owlet's mother). She closes her eyes and falls asleep. Coryn places the blanket on her, which she kicked off and she lies asleep in her bed, peacefully sleeping.

"Good light, Plum." He says before he leaves the room and closes the door to have it open a little bit.

He walks past Elysia's room and she is doing her homework when it is First Light and she should be going to bed now.

"Elysia, time for bed." Coryn says to his eldest granddaughter

"Alright, grandfather." Elysia replies

"Good light, Elysia." He says

"Good light, grandfather." She replies sweetly as she gets into her bed

Coryn closes her door and walks to Javier's room. He knocks.

"Go away, grandfather." Javier yells from behind it

Coryn sighs and walks off. Javier is still mad at him. He ends up going to bed and his dearest wife, Liana snuggles up to him. He breathes a heavy sigh before he falls asleep.

"What have I done wrong?" Coryn thinks to himself