Own's nothing but student loans…..and maybe a soul….

This is more of a serious chapter and I decided to give you all a flashback between Randin and Tamsin and that's kinda why this chapter took so long, I wanted to touch on several different in their past together, so hopefully I found a good flow in it. But the flashback ended up taking a while so I apologize for that. And I seriously coudn't focus on studying for an organic chem test i have later this week so I've been working on it for like the last two and a half day almost none-stop! So even if I don't crush my test, I hope I did you guys proud with this!

But it's almost 70 PAGES OF LOST GIRL GOODNESS! ^_^ So I hope you enjoy it, and I can't find enough ways to dress up the words 'thank you' to you guys for all of your supportive reviews, they really make me smile.


Several hours later the morning sky was speckled with pure white clouds, so pure compared to the darkness that lingered around me. We arrived at designated place for the Counsel meeting; it was a high domed building in the neutral zone at the city limits, with a very courthouse-like appearance. I stepped out of the backseat first and took a deep breath and a rainbow of scents crashed over my senses. Out of politeness I extended my hand and helped Lauren out of the back seat, Tamsin's door slammed on the other side of the SUV, and Mom and Dad stepped out of the driver and front passenger seat. Father warned that it would only be our small group going to the meeting, the Counsel may take large numbers of Fenrir arriving as a threat which would inadvertently put everyone on edge; and as I had tried to tell Tala, we did not need to tip the scales towards their distrust again.

I was emotionally exhausted which only made my tired body seem twice as heavy. Mom rubbed my shoulder affectionately, giving me a small understanding smile; she was drained too. I took a deep breath and let a small optimistic smile take shape on my face as I turned to Lauren. "Well, let's go see what the Counsel wants with us."

"Yeah, this should be good…" Tamsin said sarcastically, folding her arms under her chest and glaring at the imposing building. She had been tense for the ride over here. I didn't know if it was from the small argument she and my Mom got into over her attendance in this matter, or that Lauren had inadvertently sat in between us on the ride over, but I didn't understand how that would have bothered her, so I was more inclined to believe the former idea.

We walked across the street and Dad stepped forward pushing one of the large wooden doors open; Mom walked in first, followed by me and Lauren, then Tamsin, and Dad shortly after. There were several skylights on the ceiling above which easily illuminated the room we now stood in. The building was in pristine condition with large white columns stretching up about thirteen or fourteen feet around the room supporting the ceiling, there was another set of large wooden doors to our left that led to a room under the dome we saw outside- at least that's what I assumed since the ceiling above us was not a dome.

"Bo?" Tamsin's voice reached across to the figure standing by a lonely empty desk in the room. It seemed so out of place without a secretary or even a chair behind it. But slightly more unsettling was the fact that none of us noticed the Succubus's presence, we hadn't smelled her at all.

'The building must enchanted on the inside with something to dull our senses because I could smell traces of them outside.' I thought as I gazed around looking for any kind of rune markings or sutra's placed in the room, but I couldn't find any…

"What are you doing here?" Tamsin said with a hard edge in her voice as she approached Bo; a tone that I easily placed as worry. She always got aggressive when she was worried, to ward off her concern; well most times, there were rare times when she actually let it show- like the past few days. Which, with the consistent expression of her concern towards me, should have caused the universe to implode on itself, but somehow we were all still here…

"Hey you, I was summoned here by the Counsel; like they're a big deal or something." Bo said doing air quotes around the obnoxious verb in her sentence. Then Bo noticed Lauren and practically tackled her, "Lauren! How'd you-? Are you okay?" Then she turned to look at me, "Did you find her?"

I stepped back with a small smile on my face, "Not me pre-say, but members of my pack did. You two know each other?"

I glanced over to Tamsin to see her roll her eyes at my question; she's been doing that a lot lately. "Oh yeah, they know each other. Much better than you and the Doc got to know each other after last night."

Lauren looks at Tamsin in shock and I fix her with an annoyed glare, she knew of the circumstances. "Last night?..." Bo said releasing Lauren from the hug and staring into the depths of those dark brown eyes.

"It's not what you think Bo…" Lauren started but Bo turned her head to look at me with a curious and searching gaze.

"It's not, members of my pack were ordered to find the Doctor and when they finally returned with her we weren't sure the Light Fae compound would be ready or welcoming to the Doctor's return, so we kept her over night to wait for orders. That's all, she just spent the night." I said calmly trying to sum up the night in a quick summary without dragging through all of the two days of events.

Tamsin gave me a 'whatever' smirk before speaking to the Succubus again. "Where's D-man? I didn't think he'd be the type of knight-in-shining-armor to let you face the Counsel alone."

"He's still trying to narrow the search for Kenzi." She said pulling away from Lauren slightly but still holding on tightly to the Doctor's hands. "What's with this Counsel meeting anyway? What do they want?"

Tamsin let out a shallow sigh letting her eyes linger on me before flicking back over to Bo. "Well for one; the Doctor was the compound turning human's into Fae, so they probably have a problem with at-"

"That's not what I was-" Lauren said quickly trying to defend herself, but Tamsin cut her off.

"Don't waste your breath, I don't care. Secondly," She said locking eyes with Bo again, "both you and Randin were part of the whole Wanderer thing…she killed him- which I'm sure grabbed their attention, and you're his daughter- which I'm sure they're also fascinated with." Tamsin said in her bored tone.

"Why don't they want to have a talk with you too, Valkyrie? You were there, were you not?" My Mother said speaking up from behind me, and she had a valid point…

"How should I know," Tamsin shrugged her shoulders, "They probably don't have anything to worry about from an Expiring Valkyrie." I looked at Tamsin with sad eyes, I didn't want to suffer another lose this soon.

"Expiring?..." Bo said turning to face Tamsin, but still never fully unlacing her hands from Lauren's.

I cocked my eyebrow at this gesture; she clearly did not want to release Lauren, but some part of her yearned to be close to Tamsin…that classic struggle, of having your cake and eating it too.

Then it dawned on me, the Doctor was Light and Tamsin was Dark, how could this Succubus want both? I opened my mouth to air my question but Tamsin steamrolled over me, brushing off the Succubus's worry like it was an annoyance. "It's whatever; that's not what's important right now. You all are about to walk in front of the Counsel without backup. It just seems odd that they would summon all of you to the same meeting…I know each of you were connected by these events in some way, but each of your repercussions drastically vary from the other." She's focused on me as she speaks, which made heat rush to my cheeks because the Succubus that we faced down the Wanderer for was standing feet from her, but she just stared at me.

"I agree with the Crow," My Mother said begrudgingly. "It seems like an ugly and horribly placed trap, calling a Fenrir in alone. The Counsel is always looking for reasons to discredit the Fenrir pack and I don't see this meeting ending in our favor."

"Randin will give them no such reason." My Father answered back quickly. "She has more than proven herself in the last few days. She's showed us that she can stand up and defend herself; alone. So we have nothing to fear when she walks in that room; alone."

Tamsin's gaze drops to the floor and her look hardens, she still blames herself for what happened to me. Mother just takes a deep breath trying to keep her temper in check; it was never easy for her to let her kids walk away from her when she could help them, and this situation was no different. She knew she could talk politics and find out what the Counsel was really digging for much faster than I'd be able to. But Dad was right, I'm ready to start being an adult, I'm ready to start choosing and finishing my own battles.

"She's never alone when she's with us, she knows that." My Mom says as she looks from my Dad to me.

I give her a loving smile, "I know I'm never alone Mom. You'll always be there for me, ready to support me in anything. But Dad's right, I can do this. I'm the only one who can. You weren't there, you can't answer their questions. This is something I need to do…" This time I took a deep breath and set me shoulders to appear as determined as I sounded.

"Sweetheart," She quickly closed the gap between us and cupped my face, "You've done so much; you can't just let everyone take from you all the time."

"I have to this time, it's the Counsel. I need to help keep the peace, like you said; they'll look for any reason to distrust us. I want to show them that the Fenrir can be trusted. That we're not the monsters we use to be." I lean up and kiss her cheek and hug her tightly. "Thank you though, I know you love me and would do anything for me. I love you too."

"You think you're a monster?" A voice says as I pull back from my Mother, and I turn to see it was Bo who asked. She has this hopeful-searching look in her eyes that confuses me, but I give her a small smirk.

"What else would you call a giant Wolf?"

I see Lauren smirk at my sarcasm, but Bo's just keeps searching for something.

"She's not a monster for being who she is Bo," Tamsin says drawing Bo's gaze and I see Tamsin's face relax and become softer. "It's other's who look upon her and form opinions, that say she is." She pauses just stars back at Bo as if she's trying to get to her understand. "It's not what you are that makes you a monster, but who you are as a person…and genetics have nothing to do with that. The argument between Nature versus Nurture is contrite; and from my experiences, I vote nurture all the way."

Tamsin stood there patiently watching the gears turn in Bo's head, and then it dawned on me. Bo thought she was a monster, for being Fae. Confusion struck me again about this woman, how could she feel that way? How could any parent let their child grow up thinking they're a monster? So much about this Succubus didn't make sense…

Then doors behind us opened and two men with metallic gold skin walked though. "The Counsel will see you now." I noticed the black marking that stood out on parts of his skin, it made me think of a mixture of Egyptian and Tribal.

"Are we permitted entry with them?" Tamsin asked quickly, surprising me.

"No, only the requested enter." One responded in a deep voice.

I looked back to my parents but held on to my confidence from before; I knew they believed in me, but on the political battlefield…that was a completely different fight that I would be lucky to understand by the time I reached my Mother's age. I was not a 'critical thinker' as one of my Grandmothers's so kindly stated once.

Mom walked up to me and kissed my cheek before hugging me, "Just tell them the truth, and they can't punish you, no matter how ridiculous it seems. And don't do what I would do, that's always a good moral compass." She said joking and pulling out of the hug and I actually gave her a smile. Mom knew she could be very hot tempered, this was her way of telling me to be like Father and wait for the right fight; don't get defensive and angry like she would right out of the gate.

As Mom stepped back I felt Bo's gaze lingering on me for some reason… I threw my arms around Dad's shoulders and he bent slightly to hug me, "You'll do fine sweetheart. Just remember that we're here with you." I turned my head and planted a kiss on his cheek; he was such a teddy bear under all that toughness.

After I released him I turned to Lauren, "Ready?" She gave me a curt nod and squeezed Bo's hand before she released it and walked towards me. I looked past her to Bo and gave her a little jerk of my head telling her to follow.

"Alright, let's get this over with." Bo said huffing out a breath before storming past me and taking lead in front of Lauren.

I paused briefly looking at Tamsin she looked calm and uncaring on the exterior. "Don't keep me waiting; you still owe me a drink." She said giving me a wink and smirking.

I smile and salute her, "Yes, Commander." Then I turn and walk through the doors and the two large golden men pulled the doors shut behind me with a sense of finality.


The hallway beyond sounded muted; the atmosphere was different in here. It was thicker, heavy. It reminded me of that silence that no one wants to break in fear of being found. But Bo didn't seem to feel the same way about the atmosphere change; I couldn't tell if Bo was trying to ease the tension surrounding us, but she broke the thick silence first. "So, what do you think this is about?"

I shrugged, "Well, a lot of shit went down. We were called in for security and ended up being storming the compound where the good Doctor here was working. So I'm sure they have some questions about that whole operation. Then there was the ordeal with your Father, I'd bet my hide most of their questions are about him… I don't know exactly what they'll be fishing for, but when huge events like these play out, it's not uncommon for the apex's around which the events were focused to called before the Counsel." At least the was the first logical conclusion I could come to. I feel Lauren's hand slip into mine as she positions herself on my left.

I give her a gentle smile as I see worry rage behind her doe eyes, "its okay, we're all in this together."

This grabs Bo's attention and she turns around to look at Lauren. "Lauren, I won't let any of them hurt you. I swear…" She closed the gap and laced her finger up through Lauren's hair, pushing it away from her face. "No one is taking you from me again." The level of possession she held in her voice made my gaze harden. What did she think she was playing at? She has an interest in both Lauren and Tamsin, but that's grounds for an excision. Whether she was Light or Dark because in this situation she had both bases covered regardless…

I don't know if she failed to notice Lauren's grip on my hand or just chose to ignore it, but she felt my gaze and turned to look at me with her gaze hardening when she saw mine had. "What?"

"Nothing, it's not my concern. Let's go." I said looking to the end of the hallway where more sunlight trickled through.

"Yeah," Bo responded, and then she hesitated for a moment before leaning in and kissing Lauren deeply.

I rolled my eyes, 'It's not like she's going to the chair…' then I unweaved my fingers from Lauren in a smooth twist and proceeded down the hallway ahead of them. I heard hushed words exchanged behind me before they quickly caught up to me.

Then I stepped out under the high rise of the dome and up above us on the second level stood the Elders of the Counsel. The Light standing to our left and the Dark standing to our right, and only now could I smell traces of them… The sunlight eliminated the center of the circular room in before us, and if watching too many movies was any indication- that's where we were intended to stand. So I walked forward and Bo matched me stride for stride, showing that she wasn't intimidated by the Counsel. The Doctor was on my other side and hovered closely, tentative of the judgment she was about to face.

Then Bo broke the silence again, and I wanted to smack her… "Well, what's so important that we had to be summoned?"

I let out a sigh, "Do you have no manners?"

"Hey," She turns and points an accusatory finger at me, before lowering it tentatively as she spoke, "I use a napkin at the dinner table…"

I roll my eyes and grumble, "…Of course you would know Tamsin…"

Before Bo can retort a Dark Elder speaks up; it was the Jorogumo from before at the inauguration. "She still does not know her place, how disappointing…after so long. Perhaps new structure is needed in the Dark Fae family as well…"

"Yes, she is still Unaligned, this is interesting." This time it's a Light Fae Counselor that speaks up, and if this room wasn't cloaked in something to mess with my nose- I'd say it was Yale. He was tall and elegant, with his hair styled into two points and twisted in two different directions.

But my attention had shifted to Bo; unaligned- neither Dark nor Light…how? How could she not be tired to one, she had a family and they most certainly had a side, no one remained unaligned. What made her think she was better than the system that had held peace for hundreds of years? Tamsin had to know of this, it was probably this rebellious attitude that drew Tamsin to her… But now I had inadvertently helped the Unaligned Succubus escape The Wanderer's grasp- even if she still does not realize the danger she was in. This could cause the Counsel to question my motives in rescuing her…

'Damnit Tamsin, why didn't you say anything?' Annoyance flared up inside of me as an aversion to the Succubus settled in.

"But I would like to question Doctor Lewis first; the events that the Succubus and Fenrir partook in will require more extensive questioning, I'd like to get the least extensive done first. Any objections?"The Yale said with his voice bouncing around the dome slightly, and no one spoke up.

"Miss Lewis," A woman- an Elf, spoke up in a kind voice before she gestures to the center of the illuminated floor only two paces away from where we stood now.

I heard Lauren take a deep breath before she took those two paces and stood to face the Light Fae Counsel. She spared me one brief glance and I gave her an encouraging nod, and she craned her head to stare up at the Light Counsel members.

Then a larger figure stepped into the glow on the upper tarsi, the woman looked like an Amazon but her features easily read Egyptian. She was a Sphinx…even my kind weren't as good at interrogating as they were… "Miss Lewis, you joined the Light Fae to help human lover, who had fallen ill."

"Yes." Lauren answered quickly, not wanting to hesitate and give them reason to believe she was lying them.

"This illness was uncovered to be a curse that was placed on her by the acting Ash at the time. Is this true?"

"Yes." She responded again.

"But even after these events, you continued to serve the Fae."

"Yes."

"Not, like the Lachlan gave her a choice." Bo said begrudgingly and I gave her and 'what the hell' look.

The Elder ignored her. "You knew Taft for several weeks before this incident, did you not?"

Lauren swallowed; and here's where the difficult questions started. "Yes, I did."

"How did you know Mr. Taft?" the Sphinx asked.

Lauren cleared her throat. "Taft was a Geneticist in the human world. He attended a conference that I had won an award at several weeks ago. He tried recruiting me for his company- which he had told me was at the forefront of curing Heart Disease in Humans." She took a deep breath and swept her hair back, "It was under that false pretense that I agreed to work with him, I had no idea of his true intentions until I was at the compound."

"What provoked you to leave? You were given orders that you could only take the weekend, correct? What caused you to leave?" The Sphinx asked; the last question had been a cleverly placed trap. They had heard how Doctor Lauren knew Taft; it was just a simple test to have her walk into this one. The Counsel needed to know if Lauren Lewis was a danger of defecting again.

"I-" Lauren had to take another steady breath, realizing that she had inadvertently 'set herself up'. "With the transition of the new Ash there were a lot of constrictions upon me. I was not allowed to leave my home or go anywhere unguarded." She then steeled herself for the truth she was about to speak, "It was beginning to feel like Lachlan all over again, and I thought that the restrictions would just continue, like before. So when I asked for an extended weekend to tour Taft's lab and I was denied, I felt that was my breaking point. So I left…"

"So you left because you felt you were denied your rights?" The Sphinx asked and even I thought that was too much of a deadly trap…how was Lauren supposed to answer that without repercussion?

"I felt; at the time, the work I was putting into helping the Light Fae was not being rewarded. I regretfully acknowledge that my frustration got the better of me, but I swear on my life, I did not know what Taft was doing to the Fae in that lab." Lauren said saving face; I was impressed by the Doctor's wording.

"Glad to hear it." The snide comment cloaked in a man's voice reached down from the Light Fae group. The owner leaned against the banister and I easily caught the scent that cascaded down to us, he was of the Finfolk clan…an especially nasty brood.

The Sphinx looked over to her fellow Counsel members and they say nothing for a moment as they exchanged looks. The Sphinx finally turned back to Lauren, "Knowing that your life is in penitence, why should we trust your words? You are not a daft woman Miss Lewis; you expect us to take your story, after evidence shows that you willingly walked into that compound; and yet you want us to believe that you had no idea of the dealings within? After everything the previous two Ash's have put you through it is very reasonable to think that you helped Taft knowing full well what he was doing."

"No, I wouldn't…I didn't- I swear! I had no knowledge of it!" Lauren said finally losing her composure and raising her voice in a panic.

The Finfolk Elder had a greedy smile on his face; owning humans was right up his alley, and several of the Dark Fae Elders chuckled at the Doctor's frantic tone. Bo made to lung for her, to protect her, to stand between Lauren and the Counsel. But I reached out and grabbed her arm, holding her in place.

"Wha- What are you doing?" She hissed at me as she tried to jerk her arm from.

"You can't, that's not how this works." I hissed back between clinched teeth.

"Well, I don't like how this works. So if you'd excuse me," She growled inches from my face before she tried pulling free of my grip again.

"You don't get to be the judge of how this works…" I looked up at the Counsel, who continued to watch Lauren as she struggled to find her defense. I turned back to Bo, "Just wait." I hiss softly to her and she struggles lessen. "Counselor's, if I may add something to this…"

They all turned their heads slightly, regarding me. "And why should we listen to you, Wolf?" The FinFolk asked in the same slimily tone.

"My sister interrogated her for an hour, and her answer never changed from the first one given. She's telling the truth." I say with confidence. Kiara said she 'got bored after the first twenty minutes when her answer didn't change', and after being interrogated for an hour, there's no way she could tell a lie.

"I don't trust the Wolf's word." A new voice announced and it had an eerie echo behind his voice, like his voice was bouncing off of different surfaces of the walls in the room. I had never met one of his kind before; they were extremely rare, but I had heard the description of this kind of ability before, he was a Yamabiko.

"It is not her word we need to concern ourselves with right now. We are here for the facts." The Elf said silencing him. "And due to the facts Miss Lewis…" She pauses and looks back to the other Elders, "I give you a vote of Not Guilty; of defying the Fae and aiding in the attempted cleansing by the humans." A smile broke out across Lauren's face as several other Elders murmured their agreement of the 'Not Guilty' vote. "However; Miss Lewis, it cannot be ignored that you successfully merged the Human genome with the Fae genome. So now once again you have become an invaluable asset to the Fae. Now that you hold this knowledge; regardless of today's judgment, how could we ever let you leave?"

"I would never betray this information to anyone. No one would believe me." Lauren responded in a rushed but confident tone. She really did think it was a privilege to be allowed to study the Fae, something that would never have been known to the rest of the human population.

The Elf remained quiet for a moment regarding the Doctor, as if gauging what she was about to say was the right course of action or not. "A new Ash has arrived in the city today; she has already requested that if you were found 'Not Guilty' that she inform you of your choices…we have agreed to trust her judgment. So you will report to her out in the main hall where you entered after this meeting."

"A new Ash…so soon?" Lauren said in bewilderment; it had taken them so long before using tradition to find another Ash, how did they already find another one…

"Yes, we requested that she be the next acting Ash and she is more than qualified for this position. So we invoked the Right of Heraldry, and swore her in."

"Oh," Lauren had never heard of the 'Right of Heraldry' but apparently it gave the Counsel the right to swear in anyone they deemed fit as Ash. "Thank you, Elders." Lauren said bowing and stepping back from the center of the room.

"The floor is yours." The Elf said across the room to the Dark Fae Counsel members, and the Phoenix who I met in the Dal stepped closer to the rail.

"Randin…" She let out a sigh, "where do we begin?" None of the other Counsel members speak as she organizes her thoughts but I feel everyone's eyes on me with interest as I walk to the center of the illuminated floor as Lauren had. "Well I guess first, congratulations are in order, for surviving your Dawning at such a young age."

"Psh, I survived mine and I'm only thirty-one…" Bo mumbled out behind me and I ignored it, but the Phoenix did not.

"And I would have congratulated you as well, if you survived her Dawning; and if you played for the home team. But alas, you lack both…" The Phoenix shot back and I'm guessing from the amused look on her face, Bo made a face at in her in return.

The Phoenix turned her gaze back to me and took a deep breath, as if she didn't want to sit through this long line of questioning either. "Rumors are saying you faced The Wanderer."

"I did." I say confirming her statement.

"Elaborate please."

"I found my Mentor before the inauguration ceremony, and later after Dyson was taken she left to go find him. Then, I later found her at the human compound with Bo, and I left with her to go get Dyson- again. But after we picked him up a figure appeared in the road and Tamsin attempted to run him down, but as she hit him black smoke appeared and it transported us to another realm." I'll admit it was a crappy way to sum up the events of the day, but I'm sure they didn't want a novel as an answer. "There The Wanderer approached Tamsin saying he was going to take payment from her since she did not bring him his bounty- which was Bo. I wasn't going to let that happen. So I struggled with him, and eventually won."

Murmurs bounced around the dome, from both sides. "You fought him for your Mentor?" The Aswang asked in a smooth and silky voice that had just the right amount of roughness to it; perfect for luring in his victims.

"Yes."

He gave me a charming smile. "Interesting, I wonder what you would have been capable of if it were a blood relative who had been threatened."

"Amazing, your family must be so proud." The Jorogumo added with a smile so big her fangs showed.

"Yes, this is a most impressive, for such a young Wolf." This time it was the Each Uisge who spoke up, his red eyes were locked on me and he wore a greedy smile.

"I can't believe this! She needs to be bound!"


Tamsin watches the doors close behind Lauren, Randin, and Bo and silence over took the room. Inside questions were buzzing around her head; questions the Counsel might ask Randin or Bo, questions she wasn't sure if they could answer, questions about how the Counsel would receive both Randin and Bo. She stared at the door with a crinkled brow as the questions began to make her mind run in circles. Then her mind began to wander back to the first time she met Randin….

~~Tamsin and brigade had passed out after a night of celebration from a victory well earned. There were soldiers collapsed on tables,the floor, and even the little shabby bar they had found. Unbeknownst to Tamsin her Commander-in-Chief walked silently through the bar looking down on all the passedout warriors. He made his way directly towards her; well, as directly as the skewed bodies would allow. When he reached her he stared down at her with amusement, her forehead was resting against the table with her hair spilling all around her, and she still had one hand clutching her drink that was half empty. He looked down at one of his most talented Valkyries and shared a secret smile with himself; she was going to be most-displeased with his request of her, but it wasn't like she had a choice in the matter. He could have chosen Acacia or Morinth for his newest venture but for some reason she remained stuck in his mind, so to sate his own curiosity he decided it would be her to undergo this task.

He reached down a took the cup from her grasp and immediately she lurched out of her chair with dagger in hand poised to strike the fool who was dumb enough to take her drink. "Odin." She said in surprise and lowered her blade letting it clatter on the table. He slowly raised the cup and finished off its contents. "What brings you to our humble battlefield?" Tamsin asked in her permanent flat and uncaring tone. It had been three years since her hand was forced in a way that shocked the whole Valkyrie community, and she had become stone cold because of it. Maybe that was why he could not think of another Valkyrie for this task…

"I have a new job for you." He responded in a calculated tone as he gazed around the room at the sleeping soldiers.

"A new battle? But this one isn't finished yet." Tamsin asked in confusion; Odin had never pulled her away from a fight before. He had always thrown her to the front when all other tactics failed.

"Yes, but you've set them in motion to win. I imagine it will be a swift victory from here on out." He paused as he looked around the room locating other Valkyries passed out among the human soldiers. "But this is a different battle I need won."

Tamsin watched him closely, she knew her Commander-in-Chief was a trickster and the way he said that last sentence made her think it wasn't the type of battle she preferred...But she could not shy away from a possible fight. "What do you need of me?"

He smiled at her; a smile that told her he knew she'd say yes. "Excellent, I'm so glad you're eager to help, Tamsin."

Odin clapped his hands together and got that excited glint in his eye like he did every time when someone agreed to take on one of his ridiculous tasks. And his tasks were never easy, unlike the ones on the battle field. 'Go here and secure this location.' or 'Wipeout then enemy encampment.'

Many Fae still haven't even returned from his given tasks, and it had been years! "Whoa, whoa. I'm not eager, I just-"

But he paid her no mind...Tamsin was screwed now. The static electricity began to grow around them and Tamsin knew what would come next. So she lunged for him to try and break his concentration, but right before her hand landed on him the static became too blinding and it forced her to shut her eyes tight. The ground fell from below her feet and she felt a rush of vertigo and her hair whipped across her face. Finally her feet slammed into ground and she crouched until the vertigo passed.

Odin already began to walk away by the time she had righted herself. The sky was darker here, so black with a tint of dark purple, and it was much colder here as well. Her armor clicked as she turned to find Odin, he was walking up the incline of the hill they stood on with his white toga providing a striking contrast to the darkened environment around him. Tamsin looked down at the grass, it was short- like really short, and the blades of grass looked much firmer than usual.

'The tundra…but what's-' Tamsin began to question, but then she looked up above her Commander and saw four figures standing there.

"Come along Tamsin, they've been waiting long enough." Odin's deep voice resonated back to her like a distant thunder.

She stormed up to him, "What is this Odin?" But her mind started to piece things together because as they drew closer to the four figures noticed that two of the figures were smaller- younger.

'Not even over my bloodied corpse.'

"No, Odin! Take me back to the encampment, I am not becoming someone's puppeteer!" Tamsin shouted finally catching up to him. "I'm not a teacher!"

"Nonsense Tamsin, I cannot think of a better exercise to prepare you for the position of Commander in my army." Odin said unphased by her tone.

"I'm one of the best warriors you have on the field, why take me out of the fight? One more push and the Giants will be defeated! This is trivial! Give the task to Acacia; she's a Mentor by trade!" Tamsin growled out now that they were close enough to make out the features of the group waiting for them.

"I happen to think this is the perfect exercise for you. You want to further yourself up the chain of command, why not gain experience getting others to follow your command by being a mentor?" Odin finally smiled and came to a stop, leaving a distance between the other group and them. He knew Tamsin hadn't gotten all of her irritation out of her system yet.

"Teaching someone is not the same as Commanding troops. Troops know they have to follow orders, they don't question it. Teaching someone requires patience….which I shouldn't have to tell you, I lack." Tamsin growled again through clinched teeth.

He finally met her gaze, "Enough Tamsin, I've made my decision. You will teach her. You will be the bridge from our side."

Tamsin didn't argue it further, she could tell by his tone that if she questioned him again he would lose his temper, and she'd still be stuck doing this stupid assignment. She turned and stood at attention before the group. When she finally looked at them she was surprised that they had a very uniform appearance; black shirts, black pants, black hair, and cerulean blue eyes. She must have looked very out of place in her battle armor.

Her breastplate was red with gold accents along the edges; the top part of her breastplate became staggered with metal spines near her neck shaped like small feathers, which stretched back to secure her red cloak in place. Her dark leather bracers with the mark of the Valkyrie on them, her battle skirt made from the same dark leather material, and her boot styled the same way as her breastplate- red with gold accents, and the same feather feature along the outside facing edge of each boot. Pair all of that with her white gold locks, and steel blue eyes; and Tamsin was the epitome of the symbol of a Valkyrie.

Tamsin wondered just what type of Fae they were, in order for Odin to say she would be the bridge from their side… Then Tamsin shifted her gaze to the two younger girls, scrutinizing everything about them.

"I'm sorry we're late; I had another affair to deal with." Odin said as the corners of his lips pulled up into a smile once again.

"Must have been an important affair; you preach to us for months about the brilliance behind this arrangement and then your late when the day finally comes. I'd say that's a sign that you don't have faith in your own words, Odin."

The older woman spoke up as her eyes narrowed at Old God. Tamsin took a step forward but Odin cast his arm out stopping her. "I still agree with my first sentiment; after arguing with the other Gods about this; and convincing you, I'd be mad to let this die now. This union will be the start of something truly groundbreaking."

This caught Tamsin's attention; what kind of Fae would the other God's disapprove of being mentored by a Valkyrie. She quickly flicked her gaze back to the younger girls; they were both about the same height but the one on the left stood a closer to the other girl, she seemed to be using the presence of the other girl as support- she was younger by Tamsin's guess. They both held their exterior composure well considering they were several feet away from a God, but she saw hesitation in both of them. The girl on the right met her gaze for several seconds before she slide her gaze over to the older woman, then Tamsin glanced over at the other girl and it took this girl several seconds before she met Tamsin's eye.

"As you keep saying, but I don't see how it's going to work. One of you Crow's mentoring a Fenrir, this will do nothing but breed chaos." The woman barked out again and Tamsin slowly turned her head to face her Commander-in-Chief.

"A Fenrir?..." She slid her gaze back to the girls, "I'm with the bitch on this one. This is insane."

The woman growled at her, "I'd watch your tongue Crow."

"Why? Yours clearly has no leash." Tamsin shot back uncaring.

"Enough Hel," The man said finally speaking up, "It would be a shame for our sides to go through all of this and nothing comes of it. We will at least try. Randin, step forward and greet the Valkyrie."

Tamsin watched as the girl on the left stepped forward, 'The younger one, just my luck.'

The girl bowed causing her short hair to become untucked from behind her ears. "It's an honor to meet you. I'm Ran-"

"Yeah I got your name, I'm not deaf. Stand up straight." Tamsin said cutting the young girl off and staring deep into her eyes with an emotionless face.

"Watch your words Crow." The woman growled out again.

"You want her to become s a warrior," Tamsin turned her gaze to the woman, "then she'll be treated as if she's to become one…" Tamsin once again scrutinized the girl, getting a read for her tone and endurance- and finding nothing note worthy. The poor girl was already looking up at her with puppy-dog eyes; Tamsin's scowl couldn't be helping the poor girl's nerves. "So am I to stay with them?" Tamsin called out directing her question at Odin but never looking away from the girl.

But it was the man who answered, "We have a room for you and the pack has been notified of our arrangement, and if this does not work out then we have already agreed to let you walk, no harm will come to you since this is highly experimental."

'…If it doesn't work out, hn….I'll be back on the battlefield in no time, she won't last two weeks through my training.' Tamsin thought and a smirk grew on her face.

"Alright," Tamsin said resigning to her fate, "we'll start in the morning." She turned to Odin once more, "Your crow-shit crazy, just so you're aware."

"Excellent, I shall be watching." Odin as a wide smile erupted on his face, and he reached forward for the man's hand. "Tamsin will not disappoint you Leidolf, she is one of my best." The man Tamsin now knew as Leidolf nodded his head and shook the God's hand, the woman; who if she heard correctly, named Hel, scrutinized her as if in disbelief.

Then Odin walked over to the girl Randin, "Do not fear her child, I think you're just what she refuses to need."

Tamsin rolling her eyes at his lame sentiment and the girl tentatively nodded her head and looked again up at Tamsin. "Try to play nice Tamsin." He said turning to face his warrior now.

Tamsin just stared blankly back at him, still not pleased with the situation. "You owe me a drink since you finished mine."

"Do this; and you shall get a fountain." He said with his smile still in place as he walked past her, and then Tamsin saw a bright flash light up the front half of the girl standing before, and the girl flinched away from the sudden flask. And Odin was gone. Tamsin didn't bother looking because all he wanted was to drop Tamsin off and move on to tinker with his other 'affairs'.

"I trust you have a training area, we'll meet there in the morning." Tamsin said when the young girl recovered and relaxed her form again. "If you could show me to my room please." Leidolf nodded and turned to walk towards the mansion behind them and Tamsin quickly followed.

Randin let out a heavy breath when the Valkyrie walked away flanked by her parents. "Well, I don't think that exactly went bad." She said speaking to her sister who remained behind with her.

"Yeah, she was behaving for her God, we'll see if her attitude changes now that he's gone." Tala said turning to watch the Valkyrie leave. Then she turned back to her little sister sensing her unease, "Don't worry, I'll always be here to protect you. Not even a Valkyrie would scare me." Tala said pulling her sister into a one armed hug as they began to make their way up to the house as well.

As they walked up the steps to the house finally Randin turned her head to Tala, "What do you think the training is going to be like?"

"I don't know; nothing like what I've gone through, I think would be a fair guess." Tala responded and then thought better of it and decided to relive some of her sister tension. "Maybe she'll ask you to groom her feathers." Their laughter rang out in the foyer and even through the laughter they could feel how tense the house was now that the Valkyrie had officially taken up residence.

The next morning Tamsin had found the training area easily enough, it was just outside the mansion with nothing but the sky and flat planes as a view. She was now pummeling several of the practice dummies with a broad sword she picked up. She heard footsteps come around the corner and she brought the sword across in an arc, lopping off the dummies head. She turned her head towards the new comer and saw that it was her trainee.

"Am I late?" She girl asked in a quiet voice.

Tamsin didn't say anything for a few moments, letting the girl grow worried. "No, I'm actually impressed you're up this early. But we can get a few more hours of training in now. Come here."

The girl jogged over with a bright smile on her face, "Us wolves are usually up earlier than this and sleep during the day. The darkness gives us more of an advantage; like we need it."

"Good to know, we can start earlier than I had planned then." Tamsin said stoically and saw how crestfallen the girl looked. "Look over there." She said gesturing off to her left and the girl obeyed, 'Fool.'

Tamsin's fist came up and struck the girl almost knocking her over but she caught herself. She looked up in shock at Tamsin, "Always take every advantage you can get on the battlefield because your opponent will not let one slip by, of that you can be certain. So, congratulations that was your first lesson. Now you'll start this morning by doing a few runs to warm up, go." She said waving her hand dismissively in the same direction she made the girl look.

When the girl didn't start jogging Tamsin slowly turned back to face her, and looked at her with mild curiosity. "If I need to show you how to run, we're really going to have an issue, Little Pup…"

"N-No, I know how." Then she took off, quite unsure of her direction but Tamsin watched as the girl put more distance between herself and Tamsin before turning to run perpendicular for a while. When the girl turned again to run back towards Tamsin, Tamsin walked over and replaced the sword from where she got it.

The girl had a light sheen of sweat worked up across her face and chest. "What next?" She said with a smile back on her face and Tamsin cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Did I tell you to stop?"

She looked confused at Tamsin's words, "No…"

"Good, you're not hard of hearing. I said a few runs, that was only one by my count. So, WHY ARE YOU STILL STANDING HERE! MOVE!" The girl flinched at her words before taking off again on the same path as before.

Tamsin had to admit she was…impressed by the young girl stamina- although she should have guessed it since the girl was literally part dog. The girl was on her seventh lap and still only a sheen of was evidence on her torso. So Tamsin decided to let her run a bit longer until the sky started to lighten. She went over and retrieved the broad sword again and went to work on the dummies.

Just when the light blue color had started to dye the sky the girl slowed down as she ran by, "Can I stop running now?"

"How many laps did you run?" Tamsin asked as she carved another notch in the dummy with the sword.

"I don't know, I stopped counting after thirty-three…" She panted slightly as she responded.

"Well, I bet you'll count this time. Don't stop until you reach thirty-five." Tamsin said turning to look at the girl with a blank expression on her face. By this point she too had built up a sheen of sweat with different trails streaking down her torso under her warm up gear.

"But I did more than two laps since I stopped counting." The girl said complaining.

"Well then, I'll bet this time you'll count… Now go." Tamsin said pointing down the slightly worn trail now and the girl let out an exasperated sigh. "And then we'll work on your resistance training."

"What?" The girl looked at her like she was crazy; was she really this immature?…

"You still hard of hearing?" Tamsin asked planting her with a death glare and the girl quickly trotted away.

"No!"

Another hour and a half later the girl ran by and came to a stop panting heavily. "….thirty-five…as requested….."

Tamsin's sweat sheen had long since worn off and she had taken to lying down on the luscious grass about half an hour ago. She cracked an eye open at the young girl, "Go get a drink of water, then we'll start you resistance training." The girl made no sound as she gratefully went to the water pump.

Several minutes later Tamsin got up and walked over to a large log towards the edge of the training area and the girl walked over. "Flip this up on its end."

"This one? But the men train with this one." The girl said in shock again.

Tamsin cut the young girl a look and smacked her on the side of her head, effectively boxing her ear. "Funny, I don't see any men here. Lift it."

The girl looked sullen but she bent to lift the log, her hands hooking as far under the log as she could without them being crushed under its weight, and she slowly went to lift. The log lifted from the ground under her shaky and unsteady grip. Tamsin now knew the girl had stamina, but she could tell from this dead lift that she failed at applying all her strength when she really needed it. If a solider could call on all their strength whenever they desired it, it made them an incredibly dangerous opponent; and Tamsin would be damned if she didn't turn this girl into one.

After almost a minute of trying to lift it the girl could only get it up to her chest, and Tamsin could tell she was about to pass out. So she stepped forward and pushed her away from the log causing it to drop, digging up the earth around its edges. "Alright that's enough of that; I don't want you to hurt yourself, Tiger. I know where to start your training from that-"

"Can you lift it?" The girl asked in a daring tone, as if to prove that her small lift was an incredible feat. Tamsin cocked her eyebrow at the girl and walked in front of her squatted, and successfully lifted the log while letting out a puff of air as she stood to her full height and then easily pushed the end of the log over her head, extending her arms to their full length. "You're legs are the most powerful muscle in your body, if you lead with them you'd probably be able to lift it. Your arms got to tired from the initial lift." Tamsin stepped away from the log and let it drop. "Now, let's see where your hand-to-hand combat is."

"I can't try to lift it again?"

"No, you had your chance. You can try again tomorrow." Tamsin said walking into the middle of the area. "I need to get a good baseline of your skills so I know where to push you, and where to develop your skills." She calmly took up a fight stance- as if she hadn't just tired her muscles by lifting that ridiculously large log. The girl nodded at her and took up a stance opposite her and the sparing began.

It was now well past lunch and the poor girl could barely support herself, completely coved in sweat by this point. Tamsin too had worked up a decent sweat; from flipping the poor girl and landing massive combos…that were starting to show on the young girl. Tamsin had pushed her hard the last few hours, seeing just how deep her stamina reserve was- and yet again she surprised Tamsin. But now she could tell the girl would not be able to hold herself up right and would just continue to take the hits.

"Get rested and eat a lot of protein. I'll see you tomorrow morning, same time." Tamsin said as she turned to walk away.

"I don't even get a day off!" The girl shouted after her.

Tamsin shouted back at her, "You still hard of hearing?"

She heard the girl let out a loud groan and followed by her head thumping on the ground where she laid spread eagle in exhaustion. Tamsin smirked, she'd learn.

This was the extent of their relationship for the next four years, and it was not due to a lack of effort from Randin. The young girl would always try and strike up a conversation with her Mentor during training and sometimes Tamsin would answer, other times Tamsin would just hit her harder during sparring. Randin had seen other pack members go though mentorships and they always had a good rapport with their mentors by the end it. But she knew her mentorship was unique…Valkyrie and Fenrir had practically been sworn enemies since their ancestor had devoured Odin's earthly body during Ragnarok. Yet, centuries later that same God proposed this union so there had to be more to it…and Randin was determined to get to know her mentor; even make her mentor proud. She knew Tamsin was a great warrior and she thought if she earned Tamsin's respect then maybe they could start building a bridge to something more…

So as the years passed Randin's complaints grew less and less, she would show up for training daily and take the physical abuse, then ice her achy muscles at night. She would still goof off with the other members of the pack but she was always serious when it came to time with Tamsin. She wanted to show Tamsin she could push herself that she would achieve every task Tamsin handed to her. By year two Randin was able to lift and up-end the large log on the training field, and that's when Tamsin really started to push her.

So after one particularly grueling day of training Randin asked her mentor a question she had been trying to work up the courage to ask for weeks, "Are you going to the Pub later tonight?"

Tamsin slowly turned back to face the young girl, her brow furrowed and her eye's showing she was clearly confused by the question. "Possibly, why?"

"Oh, nothing…Tala said they were going out tonight, so I was just wondering if I would see you there." Randin had seen her mentor out at the pubs before when she had been out with her sister or her friend, but she always left before her mentor did. She also never made an effort to approach her, it seemed like a forbidden action but the more Randin thought about it, it was stupid. So she decided to maybe change that.

"Maybe…but don't delude yourself into thinking we're going to bond during off-hours, that's not why I'm here." Tamsin said in her usual hard tone that Randin now expected every time they spoke.

"Maybe it is…" Randin said quietly but Tamsin heard every syllable and slowly turned back around to meet the girl's eye again. Randin stood tall before she finished her sentence, "Anyone from the pack could have been my Mentor but instead Odin convinced my parents that a Valkyrie would be a better choice. Why? You're not a Shifter, you can't teach me the fundamentals of all the different abilities I'll gain as I get older and pass my Dawning, that's something only another Wolf can teach me. So why would he pair you with me? It had to be something else besides making me into a 'Warrior' like you keep saying. The pack it full of great warriors, so what more is there to us?"

"Nothing." Tamsin said quickly. "I'm not looking another Ward to claim. I don't need another burden like that. You're an assignment, nothing more. And once I'm done training you I get to leave and go back to the battlefield where I belong." She took steps until she stood right in front of the young wolf and she glared down at her for her stupid words.

"And when is that?" Randin said back daringly.

Tamsin cocked her head at the young girl; she was getting braver…something Tamsin hadn't realized until now. "Until you can defeat any threat that would endanger your family or the Elders."

"And when do you determine that! Are you going to pit me against every type of Fae! That's going to take forever- you'll be stuck with me forever!"

Tamsin quickly reached up and grabbed the girls' throat as she took a step closer and the fire burning behind Tamsin's eyes showed the girl that she had just gone too far. "Don't. Raise your voice to me…I'll rip your soul from your body… And trust me; I'll know when you're ready. I'm one of Odin's best, I've fought may Fae, I'llknow when you're ready."

Tamsin could tell from the girl posture; even though she had yet to release the girls' throat, that the girl was completely submissive to her again, her momentary bravery had passed. "…I don't need to be your Ward…I'm not asking for that….it's just- if we're stuck together, why not get to know each other?"

Tamsin released the girl's throat and spoke in a soft tone in spite of her anger. "Because when you get to know somebody you begin to care for them, and when you care for them…it makes it harder to do what you need to do." Tamsin watched as the girl's eyes widened up at her and Tamsin took a deep breath allowing some of her anger to slip away, "I'm only here for a fraction of your lifetime, so there's no need for us to get to know each other. You're a Fenrir; I've seen how some of your pack-mates look at you because I'm your mentor. You don't want to get to know me; it will just push your family further away. So let's just train and I'll leave when you're ready."

"And I think my pack-mates are ignorant because they don't even know your character, they're just judging you on the events of the past. I think Odin put us together to get past that finally, so that's why I want to try." Randin said in an honest tone as she stared up at her mentor, and for a moment Tamsin was speechless. This girl had obviously put a lot of thought into this.

After a few moments Tamsin's features softened, it was the first time Randin had seen this change in her mentor, but Tamsin's demeanor did not change and she still used that quiet voice when speaking to the girl. "Innocence if the purest form of ignorance. You're still young so you don't know there are thing's even time can't fix…but you'll learn, so far you've been a quick study." Tamsin turned and walked away from the young girl who now looked crestfallen.

But despite her mentor's words Randin still went out the Pub later that evening with her sister, Varkus, and Kiara. When she walked in Randin almost let out a sigh of relief when she saw Tamsin sitting at the card table playing rummy with several men she knew to be Berserkers. Tamsin's gaze flicked up to survey to the patrons and her smile faltered slightly upon seeing Randin. Randin had never seen her mentor smile, but something in the smile told her it wasn't a genuine smile, she was only smiling because she was winning.

Randin made no motion right away to go over to her mentor, she just walked over to a table with her sister and friends and they all ordered drinks. Many of the packs members frequented this Pub so Randin easily fell into a rhythm in the crowd. Usually Randin was too worn out from Tamsin's rigorous training to do anything but sleep when the sky became dark, but as of late her training had plateaued so she figured she could deal with some nights out. A few hours later is when the trouble started; Tamsin had been cleaning up at the rummy table and some of the Berserkers were starting to accuse her of cheating. As she tried to walk away to the bar one of the berserkers reached for her elbow to stop her, but Tamsin quickly spun and slammed her elbow in the side on his face. His friends immediately jumped up and started shouting at the Valkyrie, who was still unphased; she just wanted to cash in her prize at the bar.

"Well, this should be good. The Valkyrie usually gets into a fight; hopefully I'll be there when she finally meets her match." Varkus said not caring to hide his dislike for the new addition to their town. He slid his arm around Tala as they all watched the confrontation kick into full gear.

"No one helps her?" Randin asked as Tamsin easily flipped one of the charging berserkers off to the side, while easily deflecting a punch from another.

Randin jumped out of her seat and she heard Varkus's voice call after, "Why, she means nothing to us." His words incited anger in her, she wasn't by any means close to her mentor, but she deserved better than this. To stand alone everywhere she went…

Randin pushed place the last bystander right as another Berserker charged at Tamsin; it was chaos. It seemed like the more Berserkers she knocked back, the more got to their feet. But it was just the way of the Berserker, if you kept knocking them down they bounced back more angry and powerful each time.

Tamsin saw Randin race forward quickly and slam her fist into the side of the Berserkers face and then spun quickly catching another in the jaw with her heel. Tamsin continued to dodge and weave between the several Berserkers she was still paring with; if the girl survived this fight then maybe she would share a drink with her…maybe.

"Looks like a pup wants to play." One of them taunted but Randin just waited patiently for one of them to make the first move. The rest of the wolves were on edge now that one of the Alpha's daughters had stepped in. If anything to serious happened to her, all the wolves would descend upon the Berserkers in a heartbeat. But they waited for it to get to that point first; then maybe the young wolf would know better than to step into someone else's battle.

But it never got to that point; both Tamsin and Randin were paring their opponents blow for blow and even started landing more. Tamsin spun out of the way of a punch and kicked the berserker in the side of his knees, instantly dropping him to the foot, and then she grabbed the back of his head and slammed his face into her knee- effectively and instantly knocking him out. He was the last one she had to deal with, so she turned and saw that Randin to had dropped at least two men, three remained.

'Not bad…' Tamsin watched as the girl's chest heaved and the men charged. Tamsin's eye's darkened and the air grew cold; she saw doubt race across their faces as they saw the Harbinger staring them down over the Wolfs' shoulder. Then, as if rehearsed, Randin took in a breath and let out a trembling roar causing the men to drop to their knees in fear before they reached her. The combined power of the Valkyries doubt and Fenrir's fear broke their resolve to fight very quickly.

Randin then turned back to Tamsin with a wide smile on her face, as if proud of what she had just accomplished, but it was quickly squashed as she saw Tamsin's Valkyrie features fading. It had been their combined powers, not hers alone.

"I didn't need help." Tamsin said walking to the young girl. One of the Berserkers came to with a groan behind the young girl. As he looked around to see his comrades either knocked out or too terrified to move, he looked up at the blonde. She perched her elbow to rest on Randin's shoulder and smirked down at the man, "How's it feel to get beat by a Bitch?"

"I thought you said to use every advantage on the battle field? I'd say I gave you a clear advantage." The young girl next to her said responding to her first comment.

Tamsin looked down at her, as she was still perched leaning on her shoulder; which the girl didn't seem to mind. "Me deciding to fight is the only advantage I need." Tamsin said in a cocky tone. The Pub had grown more quiet as some people had also been affected by Randin's roar, other's were Wolves just watching how the Valkyrie would react. "But at least we know your fighting is on par."

Randin smiled up at her, "I've got a pretty good teacher."

This caused Tamsin to roll her eyes, "No one likes a kiss-ass. Now come on, you've earned a drink and thanks to these bozo's I've got plenty of cash to drink all night." Tamsin saw how Randin's face lit up at the mention of sharing a drink together. Silly girl; gets excited over nothing…

Randin shadowed her to the bar and conversations resumed like normal. While perched on the bar waiting for their drinks Tamsin felt someone's glare on her and she slowly turned her head to find Randin's older sister Tala glaring right at her. So just to get under the girl's skin Tamsin sent her a wink; she didn't know what the girls' problem was with her suddenly but she wasn't going to go out of her way to find out. Randin didn't ask any stupid questions, or try to be too buddy-buddy with her. To Tamsin's amazement again, Randin asked about fighting styles. She was curious if Tamsin had any tips on what she could have done differently, and what she had done correctly. Tamsin obliged on most points but somewhere deep inside she was amused because she could still see that excited sparkle in the girls' eyes that her mentor was giving her the time of day to sit and talk with her. The girl was really quite adorable…

Over the next two years this pattern continued; Tamsin was still a stiff to deal with during training, but now every now and then at the Pub they would share a drink together, and Randin was finally getting to know her Mentor. She didn't know what made her so distant to begin with but she knew that story would take more time; hopefully she had enough in her life time…

Randin walked in the dining room for a late lunch and smiled upon seeing Tala, Kiara, and Varkus. "Hey, you guys still eating?"

"We finished a while ago, we're just talking now. How'd today's training go?" Tala asked smiling back at her sister.

"Ugh, she was quizzing me on all the Clan heraldry while I trained today. It's more painful working out my brain than my actual muscles…" Randin said sounding tired as she walked over to the buffet and taking a heaping plate of food.

"That's because your actual muscles aren't that big…" Varkus said earning a solid smack from Tala.

"Be nice." She said glaring up at him; if anyone was going to be mean to her sister, it was her.

"What, you can't think she's actually getting a good workout from the Bird. What does she make her do all day? Try to fly? She's a Wolf, she doesn't need a Bird as a mentor. It's pointless." Varkus said looking down at Tala who smirked at his words.

"It doesn't matter, she's been here for the past six years, get over it Varkus." Tala said looking back at her sister who sat down on the other side of the long table.

Randin took a big of her turkey leg, "What's your problem with her? You don't even interact with her Varkus."

"She's a Valkyrie-bitch and she's not supposed to be here. So why don't you do whatever you need to do to get her to leave." Varkus barked out losing his temper slightly, earning yet another smack from Tala.

This struck a nerve in Randin, and she couldn't help but act upon it. "You really need to get over it Varkus, and don't call her that again."

He chuckled, "Why, does it bother you?" Randin didn't say anything as he stared at her, then his smirk grew. "It does, doesn't it? Shit, what has she got you doing during training that's got you so whipped for her?"

"Just don't call her that, she doesn't deserve it." Randin said in an even tone.

"What? She's a Valkyrie! Or have you forgotten what they did to Fenrir!" Varkus said standing across the table and raising his voice.

Randin quickly stood to match him; even though he was taller, "No! But I'm just saying she doesn't deserve it!"

"You side with them now!" He shouted and Tala tried to pull back down into a sitting position but he ignored her.

"No! But doesn't deserve what you're saying about her! You don't know her!"

"And you know that Bitch!" He growled out at her with his eyes flashing red at her.

That's when Randin snapped, she launched across the table, tackling him into the one behind them. She landed several punches on his face as she held him down against the table. "Don't. Call. Her. That!" She pulled him up to his feet and in the same motion flipped him over her, slamming him on his back on the floor. But he quickly flipped into a crouched position and tackled her to the floor.

"Varkus, stop!" Tala shouted getting to her feet.

"Randin!" Kiara shouted over the growls coming from the two wolves.

He landed several blows, but all the training was finally paying off. Randin remembered to attack the oblique's when she was pinned, so she started to land her punches there. She felt him start to flinch from her blows so she used her strength to push him off. As Randin stood she let out a threatening growl, but Varkus wasn't afraid and he answered her growl with one of his own. Varkus was large and his body movements were easy to read, so when Randin saw him lung for her she dodged to one side and landed a strong hook punch to his jaw.

"Randin!"

My Father's voice startled me and my head quickly snapped towards the main hall entrance; he stood there with Tamsin by her side. Tamsin looked confused by the situation, she had seen me fight with some other members of the pack, but this exchange seemed serious rather than playful.

Varkus stood and wiping his chin to make sure I hadn't drawn blood. He shoved me away from him and I growled at him again. "Varkus! Don't touch my daughter again!" Randin saw the inner struggle in Varkus but after a moment he obeyed and stepped away from Randin.

Tamsin watched as Randin glared at Varkus before walking towards them; towards the exit. When she got close enough Tamsin spoke in a low voice knowing Randin would hear her, "What was that about?"

"Nothing." Randin said shortly before pushing past Tamsin and leaving the hall. Tamsin half expected Randin to stop once she reached them, but when she didn't Tamsin looked back towards the small group occupying the room. She locked eyes with Tala before slowly turning to find Randin. Tamsin wasn't one to care about family matters and she had no idea what she was going to say when she caught up to Randin, but her legs seemed to be in control right now.

Even though Randin was doing an 'angry-speed walk' Tamsin was able to keep her in sight. She ended up out in the training area and once Randin got there she stopped and took a deep breath. Tamsin slowly approached the girl and crossed her arms under her chest; this situation was making her uncomfortable.

"…You okay?" Tamsin said after the silence hung around them for a few moments and Randin was quick to answer.

"That was wrong of me; I shouldn't have snapped at him like that, he's family."

Tamsin waited a moment for saying anything more; the compulsion to speak with the girl was like an annoying itch, and Tamsin loathingly wanted to quash it…but it seemed the universe had other plans… "It's never easy when it's family we have to fight." Randin slowly met her eye, waiting to see what her Mentor was going to say. "I had to once…not quite like this, but I had to kill someone I loved…someone I thought of as family."

Randin watched Tamsin in wonder; Tamsin was opening up to her…not what she expected, but she was going to share part of her past with the young girl. So Randin remained quite not wanted to break this moment, and Tamsin slowly continued.

Tamsin looked down as her feet as she shuffled her stance, "I don't know when it went wrong…but one day he was just…obsessed with the idea of our power- the power of a Valkyrie." Tamsin paused and met Randin's eye again and the girl was entranced by Tamsin. Tamsin looked out across the flat yard and continued; despite the logical voice telling her to shut-up. "He was my Ward at one time… he was one hell of a warrior and he just became obsessed with the idea of our power…and he decided he wanted it for himself. He thought he could get it if he took my wings…so one day he took a sword and started to hack my right wing off."

Randin's face dropped in shock, but Tamsin still didn't stop, the words just tumbled from her freely now. "One of my sister's heard my screams and came to help but, it just caused him to turn on her…I don't even remember summoning my bow but when he raised his sword to strike at her… the next thing I knew was my arrow had passed through his chest. And I remember he turned and reached for me, as if I was supposed to hold him in his last moment. But I just let him drop." Tamsin looked down at her feet one more time before meeting Randin's eye once more; the girl was still staring at her in shock. "This is the first time I've talked about it since. Fighting family is never easy and I hope you never have to do what I did, but in understand your confliction right now…"

Randin didn't say anything for a moment, "So that's why you said you didn't want a new Ward…" Tamsin cut her a look immediately annoyed with her approach. But Randin amended when she saw the look on her Mentor's face, "No! I'm not saying 'pick me now that I know', I just- I understand. You shouldn't choose another until you're ready…I'd never demand that of you." Tamsin's features softened at Randin's words, the more opportunities she gave this girl; the more the girl won her over.

"But…" Randin paused as she tried to think of the right words, "I could be your family if you wanted…" Tamsin's defenses went up instantly. "I could be there for you if you ever needed it, or wanted it. You deserve more Tamsin, more than that man's twisted version of family was. I could stand with you; back you up when you needed it and you could come to me for anything- I'd be there."

Tamsin's look hardened at the young girl, but the girl's declaration sparked a warm feeling that she had thought she cut out of her heart a long time ago. "I'm still not asking anything from you, I'm just letting you know what I'd do for you. You're my Mentor, you deserve better."

"You don't know what I deserve." Tamsin said in a low voice, still in shock from the young girl's words. Tamsin had purposely held her at a distance and yet in this small conversation the girl managed to cover that distance in the matter of seconds.

"No one deserves what you went through." Randin answered back smoothly, "And I'd never do that to you."

Tamsin felt that undeniable tug from a spot in between her wings and for a few minutes Tamsin can do nothing but stare at Randin. 'When did this girl become everything- No! Do NOT think like that, you're here to teach her and leave, that's it!'

Then Randin's face became distracted and Tamsin saw her take in a deep breath and look out across the yard. "What is it?" Tamsin asked, thankful for the distraction; her eye had started to wander…

Randin held up her closed hand to cover her nose, "I don't know. It smells like bad body odor and a lot of blood." Tamsin turned to watch the edge of the plain but nothing moved.

Then a large black wolf trotted into view and when it reached them he shifted back into his human form, "Giants, on our border."

"Giants?" Randin asked confused, "but they've never pushed our borders before."

"They're here for me." Tamsin replied stoically. "Go inside with him and let me deal with this."

But Randin ignored her and spoke to the other wolf, "Go inform my parents."

Tamsin turned and glared at the younger girl, "Just because we had a heart-to-heart doesn't mean you don't have to listen to my orders anymore, Kid." Tamsin wasn't sure where the new nickname came from but it sounded right.

"Did you not listen to anything I said?" Randin said sounding slightly hurt.

Tamsin thought she was just being a smartass because Tamsin had used that line on her many-a-time during her training sessions, but saw the honesty behind the young girls' eyes and rolled her eyes before responding. "You said you'd be there if I needed it, but I'm not needy, so go."

Randin heard heavy footsteps and looked out across the yard; she could barely make out a few blurry images. Tamsin saw them to, "You wait here." She said pointing to the ground where Randin stood before walking out to meet the Giants.

"Strange finding a Valkyrie in a house of Wolves, but I'm happy to see that the rumors were true. We can finally repay our debt to you Harbinger." The Giants' booming voice echoed across the yard, he stood twenty feet tall and held a club half his size.

Tamsin cocked her head to the side, "Which debt would that be? Relieving their bodies of their heads, or are we reaching way back to then I started with their limbs?"

Tamsin smirked as several of the surrounding Giants growled at her, stomping their feet like they were about to charge. But the one with the club remained calm and laughed at her, "You take pride in what you did to them." Tamsin did nothing but shrug, "Well trust me when I say, we will take great pride in bringing your corpse back to our village, Crow."

"Still living in a fairytale are you?" Tamsin asked as she began centering her energy on her back, readying her wings.

"No, there will be no happy ending here Valkyrie. KILL THE CROW!" He shouted and several of the Giants lunged for Tamsin, but her wings quickly extended from her back and she took flight causing them to crash into one another.

"Haha! Blundering fools!" Tamsin focused her energy and summoned her bow and right as one looked up to spot her, she let her arrow fly. It ruptured through the back of his skull and he slumped to the ground with a dull thud. The other Giants roared in anger to see their brother fall and then the chase was on the catch the Valkyrie. Tamsin whooped to the left to dodge a spear and released another arrow at the attacking Giant, this one punctured through the chest.

'Two down, five to go.' Tamsin thought merrily as she continued to dodge their attempts to swat at her.

Randin watched as her mentor showed off her battle prowess and even thought she knew Tamsin could handle herself, she was still worried. She heard more footsteps off to her right and looked up the stairs. Her Mother and Father stopped and watched the battle being raged on their lawn. Ten in a split second everything changed; Tamsin had become too confident and one of the Giants clipped her and sent her tumbling to the ground. Randin didn't think she just charged out.

Hel shouted after her daughter but Leidolf stopped her, "Let her go, she needs to be responsible for her own decisions. If she chooses to fight then let her fight."

Tamsin flipped and rolled dodging the Giant's feet as they tried to squash her. Then she heard a deep growl and a black wolf charged into the circle pushing the Giants away from Tamsin. Randin's wolf stood with her hackles up, growling deeply at the Giants as they recovered from the shock of the Fenrir wolf making an entrance.

Tamsin righted herself and walked around the wolf to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with her. "I told you to stay out of it." The wolf's growl died and Randin looked down at Tamsin and leaned her head over to nuzzle Tamsin's arm with her nose. "Knock it off." Tamsin snapped out quickly while jabbing her elbow at Randin's nose, and Randin turned her head back to face the Giants and her ears fell back against her head as she let out a menacing growl.

"The Wolf interferes!"

"Kill the beast as well!" One of the Giants answered the other's shouts and they charged back in, now accounting for the new threat the Fenrir posed.

Tamsin took the skies again and Randin charged forwards crashing into one of the Giants. Tamsin summoned her sword as she dodged the swing of a mace, and then slit the throat of the attacking Giant before she vaulted over the Giant's head and moved on to the next. She chanced a glance at Randin and a smiled. Randin released the Giant's throat as his struggles stopped and turned back to the fight, picking her next target.

Tamsin's next target blocked her arrow with his sword, and then Randin dove in and latched onto his leg and pulled him off balance. Tamsin flew higher out of the reach of the other Giants and released another arrow pinning the downed Giant into the ground below. Then Tamsin descended down and landed in front of Randin, her features darkened as she turned her back to the large black wolf and faced the Giants.

"You're nothing but worthless bags of meat. And now you don't even feel like breathing." Tamsin spoke in a monotone voice as her powers of persuasion reached each of the Giants. Each of the Giants hit their knees and slowly the she heard each of them exhale their last breath. The Giant that initially spoke to her seemed to be fighting her influence, but then Randin let out a monstrous roar and he tried to fight it but his last breath seemed to want to escape to leave the presence of the Harbinger and the Fenrir. Tamsin felt no fear even though Randin stood behind her when she let out her roar, something deep down told her that she had nothing to fear from the girl.

Tamsin then turned and watched the black smoke cascaded off of Randin. "What did I tell you?"

Randin sighed and looked crestfallen again, "I just, wanted to show you I could back you up…be there for you."

Tamsin stared at the girl for a moment; this girl was so bent on gaining Tamsin's praise, Tamsin was sure if she asked her to run a lap around the world she was sure the young girl would do it. She took a moment to look at the girl; her muscles were now toned from the days of training, her hair was down past her shoulders, and yet her face was still as sweet and innocent. Tamsin cracked a smile at the girl, "Well done, Kid." She then walked up and put her arm around Randin's shoulder and the young girl glowed. ~~


A shrill voice echoed around the dome and I turned to look back at the Light Fae Elders. The Yamabiko had his eyes locked right on me, pitch-black and full of hate.

"Have something you would like to air, Counselor?" The Phoenix asked in a snarky tone that surprised me.

"She has accomplished the unthinkable! She has grown too fast in such a short time, she must be bound!" He said once more this time with his power playing into it causing his voice to project from several different locations at once. It was very unnerving how much it overloaded my senses.

"Excuse me?" I glared defiantly up at the Elder who decided to be a dumbass. "I saved your Doctor from my sister- who would have killer her! And you want to bind me? I've done nothing to deserve it!" I said with a raised voice- not yelling, I was still in control of myself enough not to let my Mother's gene take over.

"And what happened to your sister? Why is she not here today?" He shot back with a fierce biting tone and I flinched away as his words. "You killed her! Because she did something you didn't agree with. She is a danger! Can't you see it, the second things don't go her way she will be an unstoppable wave! We cannot allow her progress further!"

"I killed her because she would have killed Lauren! And then you would have had cause to take action on us; which you're trying to do anyway!" I shouted back, enraged that this conversation was even taking place. "And how would you even know what happened at my house? To my sister!"

"That is ENOUGH!" A voice bellowed across the dome. "Light Elders, please control you college. His accusations will not be tolerated any longer!" It was the Minotaur who shouted across the dome at the Light Elders, daring the Yamabiko to say another word.

After a momentary silence I turned around and faced the Dark Elders once again, and then another voice from behind me broke the silence; and as long as I hadn't misjudged, it was the Cherufe. "As brazen as my college's technique may have been, I will not deny it was a worry in my mind. She is accelerating at a rapid pace; she could end up being a problem like Fenrir…"

"And she had done nothing but show loyalty to the Dark and ensure no harm befell her pack!" The Phoenix shouted back finally angered since it got suddenly hotter in the room.

"And that's just fine with you, as long as she plays for the 'home team'! You don't care for the danger we would face because she would have her back to you and her teeth to us!" The Yamabiko shouted still livid that his idea wasn't accepted more widely.

"Shigeki…that's enough…" The Elf on the Light Counsel tried to reach for him but he ignored her as he glared down at me again.

"You are giving me reason to direct my teeth, Elder…" I said in a low voice as my fangs extended and I quickly whipped around to face him.

"You dare bare your teeth at me, Kin-Slayer! You, disgusting child of Fenrir! I won't stand by in silence and watch as another Wolf recreates his deviation!" He yelled and his words penetrated deep as his voice projected and bounced off of every wall. It was an over load as different parts of his statement would ricochet and echo at different times.

"Kin-Slayer…Disgusting child…You dare..Kin-Slayer…teeth at me…Kin-Slayer…KIN-SLAYERKIN-SLAYER!"

It was more than I could take, hearing someone else speak my dark truth. I bared my teeth with purpose this time and let out a low resonating snarl.

'….Shit…'

I quickly stopped and turned my head from him, he had won…they had seen my temper flare…at and Elder…

"See, she's brazen. She bares her teeth at me! She needs to be bound! We cannot have a Fenrir progressing as she has! It is what we have always wanted to avoid! I don't see why you're conflicted about this, if she remains unchecked she will continue to grow stronger, bigger, and her abilities along with her! We cannot let this happen, we are sworn to it!" He shouted at the Dark Elders with his voice echoing and bouncing around the room again. I had to grind my teeth together to stay quite.

"Fenrir was defective from the beginning!" The Phoenix shouted back at him, heat flaring in the room again. "She has been nothing but loyal! And any action taken upon her will be treated as an act of War!"

The atmosphere became electrified as the Elders gauged each other; seeing if side would stand as a united front. The Phoenix's declaration was not a light one but this is what happens when the two sides are thrown together and tensions fly. The Minotaur took a step closer to the Phoenix, showing that he would indeed back her, and slowly every member of the Dark Elder's stood shoulder-to-shoulder.

"Now, I would ask that your college leave this meeting so it may get back on track." The Phoenix said with her voice and temper back under control.

"Leave, Shigiki." The Yale said in a firm tone.

The Yamabiko cut his eyes at the other male but he was also met with the gaze of the Elf, Phoenix, and Sphinx. The Finfolk man seemed indifferent about the whole altercation, he just watched me as if debating if his college was right. The Cherufe also stared down at me with a hard gaze, as he openly agreed with his college.

The Yamabiko let out a hiss that was disorientating in the room with his power, causing it to bounce and echo off all of the walls. "Fine. You'll realize I'm right when it's too late." Then he stormed out with a loud slam of the door being his final echo.

The silence rang for several moments before the Dark Phoenix Elder spoke up."Now, carrying on…you fought The Wanderer and won."

I swallowed and waited a moment making sure I was also calm. "Yes, and as he bled out that's when he sent me into my Dawning."

"-Which you returned from, and seem to be doing just fine." The Phoenix added with a smile.

I nodded remaining quite about the exact details of my Dawning, and praying that Bo would too. The events of my Dawning would not help my cause right now after hearing the Light Fae Elder speak his worries about my growing power.

"Well, unless anyone else has questions to ask…" She said looking over at the other Elders.

"What was The Wanderer's power like?" The Each Uisge asked with his red eyes intently fixed upon me.

I stared off into space for a moment, trying to think of how to word it. "Unlike anything the stories talked of. He used some kind of unseen force…that was strong enough to knock me back when I charged at him, and at first, he wasn't afraid of me. I couldn't incite any fear in him…"

Flashes of the battle raced through my mind: My claws streaking across the top of the dome…The dome quaking under my jaws….My roar that finally made him feel something….

"But something changed, I guess eventually when you hit something enough, you'll finally leave a dent." I said finally looking back up him.

"What was this force capable of?" He shot back.

"Anything, but it always remained unseen." I responded easily, "It took any shape that he desired. It acted as chains at one point to hold me in place; it acted as a dome to protect him; it was a force that held Tamsin against the wall…it was anything he needed it to be."

"Fascinating…" He said staring at me before letting his gaze drift over to Bo for a moment before looking at the other Counselors, to see if they had any more questions.

The Jorogumo spoke up and asked with a gleam in her eye, "What did The Wanderer want as payment from Tamsin?"

"Her wings." I respond back stoically.

"Interesting…I haven't seen a Valkyrie's wings in some time…" The Jorogumo said clicking her fingers nails together so fast in repetition that it sounded like an insect running across the floor, an eerie action when her beady-black eyes were starting down at you.

"You fully healed from the encounter?" The Minotaur asked with his arms crossed over his large chest.

"Mostly; I have scars marking the encounter." My jaw tightens as I speak, but I try not to let it show. I should be proud of them, which I was still adapting to…

"He held no others there as prisoner?" He asked.

"I didn't care to look at the time, and after I got back from my Dawning, I passed out."

"So you wouldn't know if Bo was his only child or not?" He asked in a gruff tone.

"No, sir...I'm sorry."

"Your sister; Tala was her name- is dead?" The Erinyes asked, watching me with a stoic warrior face very similar to Tamsin's.

"Yes." I feel anger flare up in my chest again, but I quell it and remain unemotional as I wait for their questions to end.

"And you killed her?"

"Yes…"

"Why?" She pushed further. I told myself it was for reassurance from the earlier accusations, but it didn't make it any easier.

"She had interrogated Doctor Lewis longer than we were supposed to by human regulation, and she wasn't going to stop; she more than likely would have killed Dr. Lewis. I stepped in and took the Doctor from her custody and she snapped at me, so we fought." I paused a moment debating if they needed any more information. "Tensions had been building over the past few years as my sister and I came into our own more and more. There was a lot of debate which one of us was going to be Alpha…and with everything that happened; it just reached it peak…"

"Why didn't you stop?" Her tone was so authoritative that I suddenly thought I was being court marshaled.

So I answered quickly, "She wouldn't have stopped if it were me. Even if I had stopped she would have got back up and come at me again and again. So my hand would have been forced in the end anyway…and I just-…I didn't want to lay down and take it anymore… she wouldn't have stopped."

She waited a moment before speaking to me again in a softer tone, "I'm sorry for your loss, it's never an easy one bare… You did the right thing."

I said nothing. I was really getting tired of people saying things like that. I didn't want to know my parents would have been proud or that I made the right choice because it sure as hell didn't feel like it.

"Well, thank you for shedding light on the encounter. It's good to see firsthand that you still stand with the Dark." The Minotaur said signaling that my questioning had come to an end. They just wanted to get a firsthand account of all that had happened since they had heard the rumors. "And thank you for your help at the compound."

I bowed, "Of course." Then I stepped back from the center of the room.

"Step forward, Succubus." He said once more in a firm and demanding voice as I walked the short distance to Lauren and Bo. Bo took a deep breath puffing out her chest a bit before she marched into the center of the room with the sound of her boots echoing throughout the dome. She looked from the Light Counsel to the Dark, unsure of which way to stand before she decided to turn and stare back at me and Lauren; walking the proverbial line between Light and Dark.

"Let's start at the beginning." The Sphinx said in an even tone. "When did you arrive at the compound?"

"Maybe half an hour before Randin and her family arrived; Tamsin had traced Dyson's phone to the compound so we went to save him." Bo said with a defensive undertone in her voice. She knew she was going to be under the microscope and she didn't take kindly to people judging her life.

"What happened when you arrived at the compound?" The Yale asked; this answer I too was curious about.

Bo's dark hair cascaded over her shoulder as she turned her head to face him, "We got there, tried to sneak in- and failed because Valkyries suck at sneaking; were taken prisoner, met the Taft guy, saw Lauren- very briefly….Umm, oh yeah! Put into some creepy Fae containment cells; saw my Mother down there- who seemed to be crazy and mumbling weird things." She paused, throwing her hands up and flicking her eyes around as she filed through all of her thoughts trying to make sure she got everything; but to my displeasure she didn't say how Tamsin ended up with a bullet wound. "Then Randin knocked on the front door and as Tamsin said 'it pays to know a bitch', and she busted us out." I smirked at Bo's quote of Tamsin; she would say something like that.

"Your Mother was there? We didn't find her…" The Light Elf said gazing around at the other Elders; I didn't understand what the big deal was about her Mother, she'd just be another Succubus…

"She was there, I saw her. You can ask Tamsin, she met her…well sort of." Bo said with her voice trailing off at the end.

"How'd they take you prisoner? Your Fae and their human, why not just drain them?" The Each Uisge asked studying Bo.

She whipped her head around to face him, "Because there were several of them and they had guns. What do you expect me to do, sweet talk my way through all of them and each of them watch as the guy in front of the passes out?"

"I've heard you can suck Chi from multiple victims at once." He said plainly, as he watched her more closely without actually leaning over the railing to view her better.

She rolled her eye and took a deep breath, "Yeah, that's not exactly something I can do on command yet, Pal."

"So there's a chance that other powers lie dormant within you?" He asked and the room suddenly became tense as the rest of us caught onto what he was asking. He wanted to see if there was a possibility that Bo could possess powers like her Father…

Bo shrugged, completely missing the memo. "I guess, maybe."

"Have any other powers 'acted up' before? Or anything happened that you shouldn't have been able to do?" The Dark Phoenix said jumping in the conversation.

"…No, that's the only thing that happens every now-and-then. Why?" Bo asks back scrunching her face in confusion.

How she's enough of a warrior to attract Tamsin's attention suddenly baffles me…

None of the Counsel members answer Bo's question and Finfolk Elder jumps in before the Phoenix and ask another. "What triggers that power to awaken within you?"

Bo quickly turns to face him, "…Umm…" She looks to Lauren for a moment and gives a helpless shrug, "Whenever someone I love is about to die."

'Possessive much?...' I think to myself with a smirk on my face. Then I think about Tamsin's relationships; she's usually the possessive one, so these two would be like throwing fire on fire.

"Why did it not become active when Randin killed your Father?" The Aswang volleyed back quickly, they practically had her spinning back and forth between the different sides of the Fae.

Bo stared at him with her jaw agape. Then she turned her head to look at me and I stared blankly back at her. It was a good question, why hadn't she taken mine after I took his…

She searched my face for something and then began shaking her head, "I- I don't know…it's not something I can control…I don't know…"

Then the Counsel member looked amongst themselves before the Light Elf spoke up, "It's possible some of her powers have been bound and she's slowly able to activate them as she becomes more powerful."

"That is a possibility…but then that begs the question- what other powers are bound within her?" The Dark Fae Elf shoots back. This was the first time he had spoken; to be honest I had almost forgotten his presence all together, he seemed to be very observant rather than an open tactic's kind-of-man.

"Wait- What? I have bound powers? How do you know that?" Bo asked looking between the two Elder groups.

"We don't know it's an educated guess." The Dark Phoenix said catching Bo's attention. "We'll only know if a Sorcerer takes a look at you. And I put forth neither of our groups arrange that," She gazes across the open area to the other Elders, "She is Undeclared, until she declares she should receive no help from us."

Bo does a dramatic eye roll as I hear the other members murmur their agreement. Surprising they agreed on something…

"Now, back on track," The Dark Phoenix started again, "You were in the compound; Randin had just freed you and Tamsin. What happened next?"

"Well Tamsin ended up leaving to go pick up Dyson- who chased after Taft, and Randin left with her. I went back to The Dal to see if Kenzi was safe, but she wasn't there- no one was. Then black smoke started appearing and it enveloped me and took me away." Bo paused and stared off into space as if she started to recall the memories for the first time.

"I woke up in a room and he was there waiting for me, my Father. He was so warm and happy to see me; he started to tell me stories about how he searched so long for me. Of how he fell in love with my Mother… He just seemed like a normal parent who was happy to find his long lost daughter. There were others there, servants of some kind; that's when I started to notice the power he controlled. So I asked him about it and he didn't really give me a straight answer, but I saw it when Randin fought with him…And he talked a lot about how we'd rule together or something, so I don't know, maybe I do have bound powers. But that's all that really happened before Tamsin, Randin, and Dyson showed up."

The room was quite for a moment. That's when it really hit me, Bo lost a family member too just like I had. Under very different circumstances- mind you, but still we both were carrying that pain with us right now. 'She's unaligned though…' I voice chimed in the back of my head like a warning bell. 'But maybe I don't have to be completely indifferent to her; she knows my pain better than most right now…although I don't know how she'd find in her heart to speak with me about it. Although she didn't seem that hateful earlier…'

"And that's all that happened before they arrived?" The Light Phoenix asked.

"Yeah, we just talked and got to know each other, like a normal family reunion….well, for the most part…" Bo answered unsure of how normal it really was.

"Alright, well I think the next thing on the agenda- unless there are any more questions pertaining to this incident?" I the Dark Phoenix said bring a sense of order to the room again and the Cherufe quickly spoke up.

"How would you judge the Fenrir's power?"

The Phoenix cut him a look and the room grew warm again, "I thought this line of questioning was closed."

"I just wanted a firsthand opinion of the Fenrir's power, not from a shell-shocked human." He responded back smoothly before turning his gaze down to the Succubus.

"She's powerful, but not out of control." Bo looked over at me and I was genially surprised by her, I had given her no cause to have any kind words towards me, but here she was backing me and saying that I did not need to be bound. "She's just a powerful Fae, like all of you. I'd rather have her free to protect us than bound in one place."

Now I saw why Tamsin would do anything for her. She had a kind and tender heart; she'd probably never turn anyone away if they expressed their need for her. I couldn't be like that, I had loyalties; loyal to a fault was what Tamsin called me when I was younger, and it still held true. I gave her a humble nod of the head and the Counselor's opened up the dialog again.

"Now, if you're done with that line of questioning, we can back to important issues." The Dark Phoenix said in a short tone and then the Sphinx spoke up as she regarded Bo.

"You still have not chosen a side. Why?"

"Because I don't like how either of your sides do things." Bo said reciting her usual answer.

"Yes, we've all heard that squabble before, but it's been three years and you've seen how both sides work. It's time to make a choice Succubus." The Finfolk said exasperatedly.

"Yeah, and what are you going to do if I don't?" Bo shot back at him with a challenging look. It's amazing she hasn't known Tamsin longer with that kind of attitude.

"I could take your precious Light Fae Doctor away from here to my facility and she'd work for me. How's that for starters?" He said with a cruel grin on his face; Finfolk loved to collect humans. They would keep them for years just to boast about how long they had them for…and all the different things they would do to them… The Finfolk were not a kind race, about as kind as a Vampire would be when bait was dangled in front of him.

"I dare you to try." Bo said in a dangerous tone…and I felt a shift in the realm. The other Elders in the room must have felt it as well because no one said anything for several minutes.

"But you do need to make a choice soon Succubus-"

"Yeah, well I don't believe that." Bo said cutting off the Light Phoenix this time.

"It doesn't matter if you believe in it Succubus. We will start to press you until you choose and if you still refuse, then you'll die for what you believe in." The Phoenix shot back quickly finally showing a small crack in her temper.

"It's better than conforming to what I don't believe." Bo said defiantly.

I had to give her points, she had gusto. She wasn't going to lay down and roll over for anyone, not even when the Elder threatened to pressure her.

"Very well, don't be surprised when life becomes difficult for you very soon." The Light Phoenix said in finality. "I would like to call this meeting to a closure; I believe we have learned what we needed to about these events. Anyone who thinks otherwise, speak now."

No one spoke showing they were in agreement. "Excellent, this meeting in adjourned."

Bo walked over to me and Lauren letting out a breath of air that ruffled her bangs. "Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought. Kind of pointless really…"

"They just wanted to make sure all the rumors were true and nothing important was being left out." I said as I watched the Elders leave from the upper tarsi. When they were finally out of view I turned and headed for the door; Bo and Lauren walked with me.

"How would they know that we didn't leave something important out?" Bo said with laughter in her voice.

"The Sphinx," I looked over at her, "She can detect lies just by hearing your voice. She solves riddles for a living, so she loves decoding the details and figuring out if you're hiding anything. She listens carefully to the pitch of your voice and she can tell if there's even the slightest change in it and that's when she presses you. My kind only can tell if you're lying by using our 'roar' to threaten you, but if we have no indicators that you have lied, we won't think to question you about it. A Sphinx just knows; I can count on one hand all the stories I heard when a Sphinx was actually out smarted." I said explaining it to her a bit more.

As we approached the doors they opened on their own accord, and as we walked through I saw that the large golden men from before had pulled them open again. Mom let out a breath of relief at seeing me and Dad's stance relaxed, but neither of them rushed to meet me- it hadn't been a life or death situation, even though it almost took that route. Tamsin was perched on a desk across the room from us, her gaze looked far off as if she was remembering something but then she blinked and she was all there again.

Then I noticed a woman standing off to our left flanked by two men, there was an underlying feeling when you looked at her, that she was important and not to be overlooked.

Lauren tensed and I felt her fingers curl around the cuff of my sleeve. 'The new Ash I presume…'

"Let's go introduce you." I said to Lauren and she looked at me in shock.

"What- you don't have to."

I smiled at her, she was trying hard to become independent again but it's not something you can just will yourself to have again, it had to happen on its own, and I could be patient. "Come on, I think I'd like to meet her anyway." I looked over to my parents, "Give me a few minutes? The new Ash is here to pick up Lauren."

"Yes, we know. She arrived several minutes ago." My Mother said looking over at the new guest while the Ash stared patiently as us. Tamsin too turned her head to regard the new arrival, she had been so caught up in her memory that she didn't notice.

The woman was tall enough to look Tamsin in the eye and had chestnut brown hair that was swept back from her face and reached down to her lower back. Her facial features were hard and defined but yet she didn't look strict, just strong- enduring. And her dark marine blue eyes alluded to the power that lurked beneath.

"Yeah, I'll tag along as well." Bo said after she gauged the new Ash, and due to the previous history of Ash's, she wasn't going to trust quickly.

Lauren released my sleeve when I took the first step in the Ash's direction and stayed close as our small group approached, and I have to say she seems even taller up close. I stopped leaving a stride between us and bowed my head slightly, "It's an honor meeting you, I'm Randin of the Fenrir pack." I inhaled deeply as I stood to my full height trying to get a read on the new arrival. I got a large smell on minerals and dirt, but also water…and I scent I always registered as reptile.

She bowed her head back, "I know, you've caused quite an uproar recently- excuse the pun. The Counsel has given me some background on you and your pack so I wouldn't be completely blind walking in here." She gave me a radiant smile and her voice was calm and patient. "Thank you for keeping our Doctor safe Randin, I understand it was…difficult, so I thank you and you have my condolences."

I cocked my eyebrow at the woman before me; but I just watched as she turned her gaze to Lauren, "Hello Doctor Lewis, I'm glad your well." Her gaze didn't seem deceitful, she seemed genuine. "And unless it's too soon, I'd like to discuss your terms of agreement for returning to work for the Fae."

"Oh, ah- of course," Lauren said tentatively just as unsure as the rest of us were about her intensions.

The Ask kept her kind demeanor in place and in a way it was soothing, meaningful even. "I understand you've been through a lot recently so I'd like to give you the time you needed to re-acclimate. Only if you felt like returning to work for us; if not, I can smooth over the process if you'd like. I hear you've had quite a run with the Light Fae." She continued with a smile on her face, "You have an extensive knowledge of the Fae and I'd love it if we could continue this partnership-"

"Yeah, well this partnership hasn't exactly been a two way street with the last few Ash-holes who have ran the Light Fae, so why would she believe you were any different?" Bo said slightly angling her body between Lauren and the Ash. I gave my head a small shake showing my disappointment in her actions…I knew they were under good intensions but she really needed to learn to respect and protocol.

The Ash's demeanor didn't falter, "I understand that, and yet I am not them." She locked eye with Lauren again, "I'd be willing to accommodate a more open work schedule with Doctor Lewis; she'd have normal work hours like any other human, she'd get paid like an employee- not just the free room and board and accommodations as before. She'd be working for her living just like everyone else, and she'd accrue vacation time- that she'd get to use, and if she'd like to take time to work on another projects- like curing heart disease," She gave a playful smile and wink; and I couldn't help but chuckle, "then I'd be more than willing to accommodate."

Laruen stared almost in shock at the Ash and I saw the gears in her head struggling with each other, debating if she should trust the Ash's words or not. Then Bo leaned back towards me and tried to speak out of the corner of her mouth- which never worked. "Hey, can't you do your 'roar' thing to make sure she's telling the truth?"

My face deadpanned as I stared back at her and I responded evenly, "No."

Bo frowned at me, "Just to be sure, she's kinda been boned by the Light Fae the last few times."

The Ash smiled at Bo, "I understand you concern for your friend Succubus, but she's already been on a rollercoaster with the Fae and I'm not here to make it worse. I want to make it better, get everything back to normal; everyone working together again. Fluidity of the system is important to keep it functioning, that's what I strive for. I just want everything in balance with only a touch of chaos; that's the best way for any system to thrive."

'Well said…' I thought to myself. It was no surprise that the new Ash was wise, but she spoke of the 'system' like an ecosystem, and she had all the details worked out already.

"So what do you say Doctor Lewis? We can even do a trial period if you'd like and if you don't like the new system you can leave, no repercussions. By my blood honor." The Ash said putting the icing on the cake; she was really trying to win Lauren over but she was very adamant that if the Doctor wasn't comfortable she could leave at any time.

She and Bo stared at each other for a moment before Bo took her hands, "This has to be what you want, I'll back you no matter what your decision is."

Lauren swallowed and looked back to me, for God knows what, so I just shrugged. Her decision didn't affect me in the long run. Then Lauren turned to the Ash, "Okay, trial period."

A smile broke out across the Ash's face, "Brilliant! Thank you for giving me a chance Doctor Lewis. You may call me Marin, a sacred tree name doesn't really suite me but I agreed to it for formal occasions."

"I'll remember that." Lauren said returning her smile and I'd dare to say she actually seemed excited about being able to return to her lab.

"Your lab has been fitted with some new tech and some slightly newer models of the machines you already had. I'm changing several other things around the compound but I've kept the layout of your lab the same, just gave it a face lift." Marin reaching back to the body guard on her right and he extended a set of keys to her; which she then handed to Lauren. "These are the new keys to get into the lab, and the key to your apartment- unless you'd like a new apartment, then we can arrange that; and a company car." Lauren looked down in shock at the keys in her hand, "You're an assent Doctor Lewis, it's about time you were treated like one."

"Th-thank you." Lauren said politely to the new Ash and she looked to Bo with hope shining in her eyes. Looks like this may have been just what the doctor ordered to get her to stand on her own feet again.

"Randin," Marin said catching my attention as she stepped away from Lauren and Bo, indicating for me to match her stride. Once we were several paces away she spoke again but by this time Lauren had calmed down and I felt everyone was watching intently. "I understand that tensions maybe…high between the Light and the Fenrir pack right now," She said hinting at what happened inside the dome, "but I'd like it if, in the future, we might start to rebuild the bridge between the Light and the Fenrir again."

I stared at her in shock at first, "I think my family would like that too. But why speak to me about it? My parents are just over there and they lead the pack." I responded politely, but asking the obvious question.

She chuckled a little letting a bright smile cross her face again, "You are the future of the pack, it makes more sense for me to build this alliance with you now when you're still gaining influence and then one day when you are Alpha maybe we can really make some head-way."

'Duh…' I thought scolding myself. "Sorry, that actually makes a lot of sense," I paused thinking if anything bad could come of this, which there was always a possibility of but she seemed very genuine about making a change. "I'd be willing to try with you."

"Excellent," She said extending her hand which I met half way and shook. "I have dozens of things to attend to so I'm afraid no actions can be taken directly. But in the future we will create some ripples." She said with a smile and another playful wink.

I cocked my head at her, "Basilisk?" Asking her genus.

She shook her head, "Close, Guardian."

"River Guardian," I said in shock, her kind were even more rare than the Yamabiko. "It truly is an honor then."

She bowed her head again, "Now if you'll excuse me." She turned to the Doctor, "Would you like to come with us, or meet us there? There is no rush, you can come by and see the lab whenever you'd like."

"Um…I think I'm ready." Lauren said tentatively at first but then grew confident.

I cocked my head again and gave her a crooked smirk, "Really?" I said implying that she was going to leave my company.

But she just gave me a confident smile, "Yeah, I think I'm ready. Thank you for everything Randin. I can't express-"

"It's okay," I said giving her a wink, "Go check out your new shiny toys."

"Do you think…I mean can I call you if I need you?" Lauren asks in a tentative tone and Bo cocks here eyebrow high at the request.

I let out a little chuckle, "Well I don't exactly have a cell phone because I never know when I'm going to need to shift. But we have a 'go between', he's kind of our guy who lets us know when someone needs us or anything important like that. I can give you his number and if you need me you can call him."

She nods her head and hands me her phone, I punch in the repetition of numbers and save it a 'Wolf Contact'. "There you go," I handed the phone back to her and she just stares at me for a moment.

"Thank you…"

Then Lauren turns to Bo and reaches forward rubbing one of the Succubus's arms before saying she's call Bo later. Needless to say Lauren was more than ready to have a small piece of normalcy back in her life; even if that was a beyond top secret lab that was used to aid and study the Fae. Marin and her bodyguards walked Lauren out of the building and when the doors opened to the outside I noticed the buzz of the world beyond which further solidified my belief that the building was enchanted somehow.

Bo and I walked back over to my parents and Tamsin, and my Mom opened her arms up motioning that she wanted me to hug her, which I obliged. "So what'd they ask you about?" Mom asked making conversation.

I noticed that Bo took up a close residence to Tamsin, and yet Tamsin just watched me. I was so lost about what was going on between those two… "Well, the expected: did you fight The Wanderer, did you win, did you survive your Dawning. They hounded Bo pretty bad about her Dad and about her still being Unaligned."

"Unaligned…." My Mother said from beside me and she and my Father looked over at the Succubus. In shock; just like I was, to learn that the Succubus I fought to save from The Wanderer was unaligned.

Tamsin looked down at Bo and she just shrugged her shoulders, "Yeah, like that conversation is going to finally make me choose…It's like these Old Folk don't know who I am at all." Bo said with a coy smile growing in her face as she squeezed her hand in the crook of Tamsin's elbow that was folded under her chest.

"Anything else?" Tamsin said looking back towards me again, but I didn't miss how she slackened her arms slightly allowing Bo's hand to rest more comfortably on her arm.

"Yeah; there turned out to be something very unexpected… The Yamabiko thinks I need to be bound, and I think several others agree with him even though only one spoke up." I said knowing Mom's temper was going to explode, but it would have come out either way.

"I'll devour that little Ape." My Mother growled out as she loosened her side hug she had me held in.

"Come again?" Tamsin asked at almost the same time.

"He thinks you need to be bound even after everything you did for their Doctor! That Son-of-a-bitch! No wonder he ran out so fast!" My Mom said letting out a low-deep growl.

"Calm down, there's nothing to be done now." My Dad said keeping a level head in this, thankfully.

"You saw him? You didn't hear anything from inside the Counsel room?" I asked looking between my parents and Tamsin.

"Yeah, he ran out of here pretty fast, not really looking at any of us. But no we didn't hear anything from inside, that's why we didn't think anything had gone wrong. Why?" Tamsin said in her ever 'soldier' tone.

"I just…maybe…kinda…growled at him, a little…" I said wincing waiting for m parents to scold me.

"I would have done a lot more than growled…" My Mom said grinding her teeth.

"I would have made him doubt he was a man." Tamsin said plainly.

"Growled at him?" Dad asked in a disapproving tone.

"He kept throwing Tala in my face…calling me a Kin-Slayer…" I mumbled looking down at my feet. I hadn't changed from the clothing I wore to Tala's funeral and suddenly I wanted to strip all of them off, to get away from it.

"Well, in that case…" Dad said and I briefly looked up high enough to meet his eye, "your Mother is right then. You did well restraining yourself Randi'."

"Thanks," I said giving Dad a small smile.

"She really did do well in there. She composed herself better than I did- which I know isn't saying much, but all things considered, she conducted herself very well." Bo said offering her kind words again and a smile.

"You did pretty well too; they had to bouncing around like a ping-pong ball for a while there." I said smiling back at her.

"Bo's always been a ping-pong ball…" Tamsin said rolling her eyes up to the ceiling and receiving a smack on the arm the Bo.

"Bo!" The main door flew open and Dyson stormed into the foyer. "Bo, I think I found Kenzi!"

We all turned to observe the other shifter and Bo immediately released her grip on Tamsin and ran over to him. "What do you mean?"

I heard my Mother let out a small 'hm' in approval at the other shifter's tall, lean appearance so I leaned back and spoke out of the side of my mouth as Bo had earlier- and it was just about as successful at being covert. "He's Light Fae…Trust me, I already checked up on that."

"Damn…" My Mother said sharing in my lament…what? She only wanted the best for her daughter. Tamsin fixed me with an 'unimpressed' look that looked strikingly similar to her 'annoyed' look.

"I spent hours but I went through all the video and tracked your car out of the city limits and using her cell phone signal and other videos and surveillance cameras in towns to the North, I think I know where she went." He said almost out of breath as he tried to get everything out.

I now leaned over to Tamsin, this time not bothering to speak out of the corner of my mouth. "Who's Kenzi?"

"Another one of Bo's human friends." She said watching her partner intently.

"Another human? Geez…." This Bo was seriously a strange character.

"She's only a day's drive North; we can make it there by tomorrow morning if we leave now." Dyson said finally looking over Bo's shoulder, "Tamsin, I need you partner."

Tamsin made a little 'click' noise with her tongue and teeth before she tilted her head to the side, "Nah, I think you got this one D-man."

Bo turned back to us; her eyes already water logged from the news of her friend, and it just made her brown-doe eyes hit you right in the gut. "Tamsin, please…I need you. You helped me save her before, I need you again."

"You're just being dramatic Bo. Dyson is more than enough to handle anything, you don't need me." Tamsin replied back in her smartass tone.

"I'm not being dramatic!" Bo shouted with a tears racing down her cheeks and Tamsin let out a dramatic sigh and slowly turned her head towards me.

"Don't look at me; I'm not the 'needed'." I said jokingly as I did air quotes around best.

Tamsin sighed and turned back to Bo how looked even more hurt at Tamsin's placid attitude. "…You don't need me for this Bo."

"Actually, Tamsin, we do." Dyson called out across the room. "If my guess is right, she's at a Dark Fae residence. We need you to get in."

Bo stormed over to the Valkyrie. "Kenzi is out there, probably taken by God-knows-who, and I know Dyson is good but with all of us together we're unbeatable! And that's what I need right now, to rescue Kenzi! …I need the best Tamsin, I need you…please." Bo took Tamsin's hand and Tamsin took a deep breath as if the touch burned, and for a moment she watched their hands entwined there together.

She looks up into Bo's eyes and slowly slides her eyes back to me. "You wouldn't feel like going for a road trip would you?" Tamsin asked trying to make it a joke of it, but honestly she didn't want to be parted from Randin just yet…she knew it was selfish and weak- which is why she didn't say it outloud. Randin was still healing, not only physically but emotionally now too, and she deserved all the support that could be given. Tamsin didn't want Randin to feel like she could never be that for her…

"Your unbelievable…" Hel growled out, "and stupid if you think I'm going to let her leave here with you."

I held my hand up to my Mother signaling for her to wait. I stared at Tamsin for a moment, "Bo has a kind heart, so I understand why you need to, but I can't. I didn't know she was Unaligned, I don't think it would have changed any of the outcomes of recent events…but I can't help her now; knowing that she is. I'm Dark, she's Unaligned, he's Light," I said gesturing over to Dyson. "Things are black and white for me, I can't help this time…I wish I could-"

"If things are so black and white, why did you help Lauren? She's Light and human." Bo shot back without pause, and I must applaud her it was a good call. But I had a feeling she was excellent at finding loop holes, and if it was what Tamsin wanted; she would have found one that got me to help them.

"She is Light, and anyone protected by the Light is off limits. No matter what their crime, they are not for us to punish- unless they kill one of our kind... I protected Lauren because it was what needed to be done to protect the peace. This" I said nodding directly at Bo, "this would only cause problems for my family, and I won't do that to them."

Bo opened her mouth to respond but Tamsin threw her hand over it, "Stop. I was just mostly joking anyway, Bo. I can't see us being longer than three days for this," She looks over at me, "we'll take a rain check on those drinks until then?"

I smiled at her; it was cute to see her trying to keep this drinking date when destiny clearly didn't want it to happen. But I gave her a playful salute, "I'll try not to drink it dry without you."

"Ha, you could try Kid, but you're still just a rookie." Tamsin said giving me a small smile. "Alright D-man, let's go."

We follow closely as they leave the building and we get into our separate cars. Dyson takes the driver seat and Bo takes passenger, Tamsin pauses as she moves to get in the back seat and watches as Hel plants a kiss on Randin's forehead before she got in the car. Then Randin chooses to look back at Tamsin's little group before stepping up into the SUV and locks eyes with Tamsin.

The wind blows around the corner of the building and I see Tamsin's lips move. Seconds later her voice crashes against me, "I'll see you later."

My heart freezes in my chest, those were her words to me when she left…but she wouldn't…would she?

I watch as she slips into the car and Dyson speeds off down the road. This had already been one hell of a roller coaster and I still think there were a few more twists as far as Tamsin was concerned. I stepped up into the SUV and the past few days quickly caught up with me; one moment I was watching the city go by and the next my Dad was opening the car door and lifting me out. The next image I remember is laying on the couch in the lounge with my head on my Mom's lap and she fingers dancing through my hair as the fireplace popped with life. The warmth was comforting and being home with family just made it better, even though one piece was missing…


So again I'll apologize for any bad grammer mishaps...seriously 70 pages makes your eyes blurr after a while...x.x lol

I'd also like to welcome all my new fav's and follow's ^_^ It makes me really happy you guys like my story enough to keep up with it- even though I'm bad about updating...but I try. lol

So I'm going to try doing something new at the end of my chapter, one of my fav authors does this and I think it's adorable. So here we go:

fireman12468:Thank you, I tryz hard to appease the crowds, and think of cool new twists you guys might like :-)

laurenrulz1: It's wasn't a quick turn around, but I continued :) lol

Caliber13: I literally smiled when I read your review, thanks so much! I'm so glad you like it! ANd I'm trying to keep it fast pace and intresting for you guys!

team-valkyrie: x.x I eternally sorry I made you cries... But that was something I had planned since likt he beginning, so it only felt right to keep it in there. (And if it helps, I dialed it way back cuz of all the Valkrir love. lol)

Okay there's a few Guests so I'm going to try and differentiate you guys...x.x

Guest (with the Randin romance): Originally I just started writing this for the action points, but EVERYONE I reall curious about if Randin's going to ship with someone, so I may have been brainstorming shipping her with someone... no spoilers shall be given though. lol

Guest (with all the built up tension): - sry, could not control my immature side with that one. *clears throat* Muhahahahahaha you shall have to wait even longer dear. And with all the stuff I'm about to throw at you guys, I dont know if I'll be able to flip the tables on who comforts who, but you've planted a seed so I've been toying with it.

Guest (get coupley): haha such a cute mental image, not even going to lie! I'm so glad you like Randin, I wanted to make sure I developed her character enough to provide competition against Bo, since she's kinda awesome! :) And as stated above, no spoiler shall be given. MUHAHAHAHAHA And my goal is to one up myself after every chapter, and I gotta say, I'm really excited to write the next few. ^_^