79
Hershel pushed his way through the ornate doors, nodding his thanks to the servant who had led him there. He stopped after entering, taking in the literary collection with wide eyes. He had never seen so many scrolls in his life, even with all the scrolls Phos had kept stuffed in their tent.
"What are you doing here?"
He blinked at the angry tone and looked over to see Myrah glaring at him from a table.
"You told me to come back, remember?"
"You brought the medication?"
Hershel pulled out a pouch and her frown deepened.
"It's for Heavy Metal, not me," Myrah snapped. "Why seek me out? Is this about payment after all?"
"No. I just don't trust him to use it himself. If I brought it, I need to make sure to give it to someone who will make him take it."
"And I'm the lucky candidate?" she asked dryly. The Western Leader seemed to be in a bad mood, and Hershel shrugged.
"You obviously care about him."
"Oh, is it so obvious?" she hissed angrily. "What on earth makes you think…"
"You wouldn't have insisted I come back so soon if you didn't," Hershel pointed out. He came over to the table where the leader was sitting, dropping the medication pouch in front of her. She glowered at him.
"I respect him," Myrah corrected. "He is the previous leader of the West, he deserves our respect."
Hershel studied her closely.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. And you have no right to ask."
He smirked.
"I'm the Master Healer. It's my job to decide if people are alright or not…"
"I am not one of your patients!" she argued, and Hershel held up his hands.
"So, you aren't alright."
Myrah's expression twisted in anger and she pushed herself to her feet.
"What is this realm coming to?"
She moved away from the table, suddenly set on pacing. Hershel didn't know how to answer. But it seemed that Myrah wasn't waiting for his input as she continued.
"Once I could have easily named the few people in the realm with powers…but now it seems everyone and their hoofer have unlocked…"
"You've met someone with powers?"
She looked up to glare at him, but Hershel's gaze didn't waver.
"Who?"
"Why do you care?" she challenged, and he narrowed his eyes.
"There aren't many I know of; if there's someone you know of that I don't…"
Myrah seemed ready to snap at him again, but her gaze drifted to the pouch of medication on the table and exhaled angrily instead.
"Theodynn, heir to the realm, came to see the library today…and he brought his bodyguard. I didn't think much of the man, but then…"
Hershel had a horrible feeling.
"He reacted."
Myrah looked up at him suspiciously.
"Yes. You know him?"
Hershel was pressing on the bridge of his nose. He sighed heavily.
"Yes."
"He's completely out of control. He hurt the heir, but Theodynn flashed them both out of here before I could make retribution. Honestly, I knew the boy was young…but I didn't realize he was so foolish. I have no idea where he is now and what's become of him if he stayed with that out of control…"
"Theodynn will be fine," Hershel assured, though he didn't know exactly what Myrah meant by retribution. The Leader didn't seem to hear him as she continued, though she seemed to be ranting mainly to herself now.
"These powers are unpredictable. I can't help but wish for the days where there wasn't even such a variable in the populace. Perhaps Keyda was able to unify the realm, but is this something that will continue through the generations? How long before we crumble under the chaos of our supposed blessed powers…"
Hershel watched her warily, and Myrah finally paused as she looked up at him coldly.
"I believe the world would be better off without them…but I suppose you would have to disagree."
"Yes."
She scoffed.
"Yes… of course those powered would never wish for any other way," she muttered acidly, and Hershel narrowed his eyes.
"I wouldn't now. But there was a time I didn't want them."
She glowered, and Hershel shifted under her scrutinizing gaze.
"It's terrifying, when they're first unlocked. Hardly something anyone would ask for. Learning control takes patience…it's no easy feat. But after that…"
He trailed off and shrugged.
"I wouldn't be complete without them, now. They're a part of me…a part of who I am."
"But eventually this power will fall into the wrong hands, and someone will use it for their own selfish intentions. Then there will be chaos."
"You cannot brand something as evil just because it has the potential to be so."
"You cannot say that they would never be used for destruction!"
Hershel didn't say anything for a few moments. When he did, his voice was soft.
"How badly was Theo hurt?"
She blinked.
"Theodynn was hit in the ribs, I believe. He left before I could really see how badly he was injured. You certainly speak of him in a familiar way, but then again you did feel free to walk into his family's private dining room unannounced."
"I'm his teacher," Hershel explained evenly. Myrah narrowed her eyes.
"And that's how you know of his bodyguard?"
"I know Tolan because he's bound to my sister."
Hershel wondered if it was something he should have shared. But as angry as this woman was making him, there was no point in lying to her.
Myrah seemed surprised, but she continued to look at him severely.
"He's dangerous, and he has no control. He cannot be around Theodynn…he cannot guard the heir if he cannot even control himself!"
"No. He cannot."
The Western Leader looked shocked as she realized that Hershel had agreed with her.
"So what will you do?" she finally demanded. Hershel sighed, imagining the conversation that was to come.
"I'm going to talk with him. But chances are, he's already realized it himself."
Myrah looked skeptical, but Hershel was suddenly feeling exhausted. He rubbed his face.
"What set him off?" he finally asked, and Myrah glanced over at the weapons still hanging on the wall. She seemed to be debating on whether to tell him, but she finally sighed.
"We have a display here of superb weapons created in a village that used to be in this province. But it was destroyed years ago by plague…"
"Oh, Tolan."
Hershel's voice was filled with realization and sadness, and the Leader hesitated as Hershel headed over to the display. His eyes scanned the weapons—there were several different knives and daggers, and a space where something large once hung. His eyes came to rest on a single katana that looked similar to the ones that Tolan had used up till their destruction a few weeks ago.
"Why should these matter to him?" Myrah finally asked, her tone both irritated and curious. Hershel frowned as he studied the weapons.
"He grew up in that village."
She seemed shocked.
"That's impossible; no one survived."
"Those who fled in time did, including Tolan and his brother."
Hershel finally turned to face the Western Leader.
"Power feeds on emotion…and those who are the most closed off to their feelings struggle the most. That's why control was hard for Keyda, and why it's hard for Tolan now. However, Theodynn and Amber have struggled less with control because they are open to their feelings."
Myrah was still frowning, but he noted that she didn't seem to be glaring at him anymore.
"Then you do not believe that love and affection make people weaker," she said, and it was hard to place her tone. It mainly sounded judgmental, but part of the statement seemed genuine.
"Just the opposite," Hershel affirmed quietly. He had looked away from the weapons now, glancing around at the many scrolls littering the room. Myrah's expression was once again stony and nearly impossible to read, but she moved away from him. He blinked, not sure if that was her way of telling him to leave. He probably should, he realized. He knew exactly where Theo would have taken Tolan, and he was realizing that Syn was probably upset. He started heading for the exit, though he wondered if he should transport to get there sooner.
"Where are you going?"
He turned to see Myrah frowning at him once again, holding a volume in her hand.
"I need to go check on Theo and Tolan," he explained, though he stared at the volume with curiosity. "What is that?"
She paused, and he thought he saw a glimmer of self-consciousness. The Western Leader came up to him, holding the bound documents out.
"In case you thought I was lying," she explained stiffly. He frowned and took the volume. It was thick, and he read the title with surprise.
"Hrshyl's Poetry," he realized. Myrah nodded. He rubbed a finger along the author's name. It wasn't how he spelled his name, but it was there. He had never met anyone who had even heard of another Hershel.
"You'll take their hoofers with you," Myrah was saying and he glanced up.
"What?"
"Theo and his bodyguard came on hoofers, but they didn't take them with them since they just flashed away. If you're going to see them anyways…"
"I can take them," Hershel agreed, handing her the volume back. She hesitated before taking it, but she finally did and Hershel gestured to the medication pouch on the table.
"The leaves are for a tea, which Heavy Metal can take up to three times a day. The salve is to be rubbed on his chest; it should help him breathe better as well."
Myrah nodded. Hershel could sense a tiredness behind her serious expression.
"It'll be alright," he offered, though he regretted it as he watched her eyes harden. Why had he said that? Healer's habit, he supposed.
"I'll make sure he takes it," Myrah said stiffly. Hershel nodded, but he felt like he should say something else.
"If he gets any worse, you can send for me."
She studied him with her strange copper-streaked eyes.
"He's dying. He's going to get worse," Myrah finally pointed out. Hershel nodded.
"But…if you want me here. To make it easier."
She scoffed and Hershel flushed.
"For Heavy Metal," he clarified, and she glanced away.
"Where would I send someone to fetch you?"
Hershel frowned, suddenly rethinking his offer. He didn't often give away his location. Those in the central villages knew where to find him…but he didn't really go far outside of those places. Not to mention that he didn't know what a leader with that information would do with it in the future.
"Do you have a map?" he found himself asking. She nodded and disappeared for a few moments. When she came back she was carrying a large map of the realm. She laid it out on the table.
"It's old; I'm sure many of the villages have changed," she admitted. "But the landmarks and fortresses should be in the correct spots."
Hershel nodded to himself. Luckily there were many landmarks drawn on the map; it was beautiful, really…with intricate details.
"I live here," he finally said, pointing out a location. "Or close to it. It's the only village within two miles, so you should be able to find it. My tent will have…"
"Healer's runes," she finished. Hershel nodded again and Myrah scanned where he was pointing, as if committing it to memory. The leader blinked in surprise as she caught sight of the swooping tattoo on the side of Hershel's forearm, near his wrist.
"Your family line," she realized, and he glanced down.
"Oh…"
He covered it, suddenly self-conscious, and Myrah frowned.
"But that mark…"
Hershel didn't meet her eye, not really sure what she would say. How much she would know about the meaning of the symbol.
"You…would have to have known Archtivus," she realized softly. Hershel's jaw throbbed, he was clenching it so hard.
"I did. Better than anyone."
"That's…"
He didn't get a chance to hear what judgment she felt like passing, because he reached the exit in a few quick strides and her words were cut off as the door swung closed behind him.
"I shouldn't have let him go out…he was upset, and now Ancients knows what's happened to him."
Hershel watched as Syn chopped vegetables in a stressed fury.
"I'm sure Tolan is fine," he finally said. "Still upset, but fine. He'll come back when he's ready."
"You should have seen the look on his face," Syn argued softly. "He'd never hurt Theo, not intentionally. I'm just scared he's going to decide he's too much of a danger to be around us, or something stupid like that."
Hershel didn't know how to answer her. Syn finished her stew in silence, but she glanced at the door every time an evening wind blew it open.
Walking was no replacement for hoofer riding. He didn't care what Hershel said…it took too long. But the hours it consumed did help Tolan clear his head.
He kicked at a rock and could hear sniffers wailing in the distance. Tolan scoffed at the sound, continuing on his way. The moon was bright enough to light his way, and he paused as he reached a rock formation. It hadn't changed much in twenty years, he mused. Not like him.
He made a right and was surprised by how familiar the path felt to him, though it had been so long since he had walked it. He swallowed hard, fingering the hilt of his katanas as memories threatened him.
Come on, Tol! You won't pass the initiation if you can't even catch up!
"Idiot," he mumbled under his breath, shaking the voice from his head. And yet as he walked the path, it was almost too easy to imagine the two boys-for they were just kids at the time- sword fighting as they chased after each other.
His walk was slowing as he drew closer to his destination, and he paused. He should be able to see it from here, if there was anything left to see. From the look of it, there wasn't much. The emotions started up again inside, but this time he didn't bother trying to squash them down. There wasn't any point.
Aura winds whipped around him as he finally reached the village. Looters, sniffers, Warrack…it was hard to think of who hadn't picked over this place. Not to mention the dust of a few decades blowing in and out. There was plenty of debris; anything worthwhile had no doubt been found and taken years ago. All that remained were dried out poles and decimated old tent tarps, tattered and half-buried in the sand. A few structures were amazingly half-standing, though surely on their last legs. Tolan couldn't help but wonder why children hadn't wreaked havoc on these ruins; it would be the perfect place to destroy, or build their own world. Perhaps those crude structures were recent structures made by children, rather than old tents that had somehow withstood all those years in the desert.
Tolan kicked something half-buried in the dust, thinking it was a stick. He froze when he realized it was a bone.
Nobody had come. Sure, the looters had come. Warrack had decided to take the remaining weapons for himself, Tolan remembered with a sudden flash of rage. But no one had come to bury the dead. Not that Tolan was superstitious about that sort of thing; dying is dying, no matter how you did it. Bodies didn't hold spirits anymore anyway, so it shouldn't matter that everyone had been left to rot, abandoned here.
But it did matter.
He fell to his knees as the emotions welled up inside like a storm, but he wasn't willing to push it down anymore. If it wanted to overtake him, then fine. Let it.
He closed his eyes. The storm brought forward memories, and they flashed through his mind as he shook. A man with a sniffer tattoo. Three girls that all looked exactly the same. The sound of multiple anvils being pounded all at once from different tents, day in and day out. Peder, laughing and telling Tolan to stop being so blunt before someone decided to pound his head on an anvil. The time Tolan made his first sword, and his older cousin threw it down the well because it was better than his. The black eyes that said cousin was sporting when Peder was finished with him. The stress of meeting quotas…the feast they would have after a good sell season. The high tempered yelling that everyone used to communicate…the occasional soft conversation.
He was shaking harder now, and his face contorted. Emotions be what they may, but Tolan wasn't going to cry. He didn't cry. The people who had lived in this village didn't cry.
Except they had…that week. That day. He had heard them, before Peder had made him run. They cried in pain and fear and anger…but no one would come for them. No one would ever know that they always used hoofer patties to get their forge fires going because they burned quick and hot…or that they always hid their insignia somewhere on the weapons they made. This village was still known for its weapons…but why was it that nobody could see that it was so much more than its weapons?!
He let out a gasping sob, but he clenched his jaw in an attempt to keep his eyes dry. Aura blasts were coming out on all sides of him, giving him a semblance of relief, but then they would leave him feeling raw and empty. He was mourning the village he had left and lost all those years ago, but the feelings had taken control now, spinning him through more memories. He shuddered as he re-lived the day he came back here with Peder…they should have never come back. Or they should have done something…buried them. But it was too horrible. So, they had left….why had they just left?
His memories flew forward again, bolstered by the storm inside. It was tugging at every inky corner of his mind, making its way into every memory he had banished. Suddenly Tolan could see himself sitting in a dark cell.
"We lost someone. Who was it?"
Tolan shook his head, but Ret's voice came unbidden.
"Peder."
The tears slipped out, despite everything he did to fight it. Suddenly it was Syn's voice blaring into his mind, her young face streaked in tears.
"What if they're dead?"
Tolan grabbed his head, moaning as the aura ripped out of him, devouring everything within radius as the tears slipped down his face.
"Theo looked up to you like a brother, and you don't even care whether or not he's dead!"
The memory shifted and he saw Pippa lying still and grey…and then Syn was pinned under a massive parasite as it lunged for her…
"It's not safe for you to be like this anymore, Tolan. Not with powers. And frankly, it's not safe for Syn or Pip to be around you like this either."
Another blast erupted into the desert landscape, washing over poles and old tarps and dissolving it all into black dust.
"All it would take is one accident and they could get hurt."
Theo's expression as he tugged his shirt down to cover the wound.
"Just…don't tell him about this…"
"I can't do it."
Tolan whispered the words to himself as the emotions ripped through him; grief, guilt, fear, in an endless tornado. He shook as he cried.
"I can't do this! I can't be like this!"
The emotions enjoyed the freedom they had been granted, forming power that built up and drained out of him in explosions of sweet release. But it pulled from him…it just kept pulling from him. He felt like some part of him was slipping away…perhaps the part of him that had been in control, if any of him ever had.
"I can't…hurt anyone else…"
The emotional storm ate up his guilt with seeming glee, and Tolan shook as he hunched on the ground as the reaction built up within him. Bigger than anything he had done….stronger. The power promised it would finally feel better then…when everything was gone. When it could pull from all of him, draining the last of his energy in a destructive display. When it could be free.
He was too far gone; he couldn't reign it back in now if he wanted to. The flashes of aura died off as the power pooled itself, building up for the overdrive. He was afraid, but his fear only fed it. Apathy seemed like the only true defense, but any chance of apathy was gone. It had died down in the pit with the parasite.
Or maybe….maybe it had died long before that.
The overdrive ripped out of him, and Tolan screamed at the release. It wasn't painful, but it took everything. His eyes rolled back, and he didn't see the destruction wash over everything within a few-mile radius, destroying everything as he crumpled.
Then the power dissolved, fading into the night. All that was left behind were piles of swirling ash and a figure lying face-down in it.
80
"Tol…"
The figure in bed stirred, and he felt a hand on his face. He opened his eyes and Syn was right there. He blinked, still feeling groggy and drained. Even the thought of moving an arm or trying to talk seemed too difficult.
She brushed his hair back again, shaking her head.
"What were you thinking?" she murmured. "You could have been eaten by a pack of sniffers."
He tried to say something, but it turned out he didn't have the energy for real words. He closed his eyes as the moan escaped and Syn shushed him.
"Don't talk, I'm sorry. Keyda and Hershel think you had an overdrive out there."
He opened his eyes again, to at least let her know he was still awake. He was a little less groggy now, and he realized that his wife's eyes were swimming with tears. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it.
"Tolan…I was so worried."
He had to look away. Guilt was stirring now in little flutters in his chest. In avoiding Syn's eye, he had a chance to look around the room. Stone walls…they were back at the central fortress. Syn must have sensed the question in his grimace.
"The overdrive was seen by other villages, and they sent guards to check it out. That's when they found you. They recognized the insignia on your uniform and brought you back here. They wanted payment, of course, but Keyda didn't mind giving it to them and Theo came to tell Hershel and I."
"Syn…"
He managed to get the word out, and she smiled sadly as he squeezed her hand back.
"I'm glad you're awake, Tolan. I'm going to go tell everyone; they're worried about you too. You've been lying here for over a day."
The Guard swallowed hard as Syn went to stand up, but she stopped in surprise when his grip on her hand tightened, keeping her there.
"Tol?"
"I'm sorry."
Her expression crumbled a little and she leaned in to kiss him.
"I'm just glad you're alright."
Tolan had made it to sitting position by the time Theo came in. The guard looked over with a stony expression, but the teen gave him a bright smile regardless.
"Tol! I'm glad to see you sitting up. I was going to bring you something to eat, but I wanted to see how you were doing first."
Tolan didn't answer as Theo pulled up a chair, either oblivious to his bodyguard's dour behavior or set on ignoring it.
"How are you feeling?" the Heir pressed. Tolan shifted to face the teen better.
"Theodynn," he started, but Theo made a face.
"Don't do that."
"Do what?" Tolan asked with a scowl.
"Call me by my full name. I can't even remember the last time you did that. Have you ever called me by my full name?"
"Theo…stop."
Tolan was rarely this grim. He was generally serious, but a nonchalant type of serious that felt more like "I don't care" rather than "worse case scenario."
"Look, Tol…it's ok."
"It's not."
"This is normal! I swear. I remember unlocking my powers…it's really hard. Your emotions start going all over the place and building up inside…it doesn't want to be controlled."
Tolan didn't say anything. It seemed he had decided he would rather glare at the door than speak, so Theo continued.
"And there are accidents that happen…it's ok. Don't you remember when Amber was little and she had a tantrum and she lit my hair on fire? I had a bald spot for weeks…"
"This isn't like that. I'm not like you, Freak."
Tolan's voice was hard, but Theo was glad he was at least calling him by his nickname. Though the rude name had always bothered him, now it felt like some sign that Tolan wasn't lost. That he was still…himself.
"I wasn't supposed to have these powers. Don't you get it? Yours unlocked naturally, but mine didn't. It wasn't supposed to happen. But it did, and now there's no way for me to control them."
"Of course there is! Tol, honestly…I promise everyone has been there. But…"
"I can't be your bodyguard anymore."
Theo fell silent. He wanted to say that Tolan could…but Hershel had already talked with the ruling family about what would be best. It made Theodynn angry that Tolan was being punished after one mistake, but it seemed even the guard himself didn't want the job anymore.
"You'll learn to control it, Tol. Then you can be my guard again."
"You shouldn't be in here, Theodynn. You could get hurt."
Theo stood up, his eyes flashing.
"You aren't dangerous. Well, at least not when you don't want to be; I've seen you battle enough times to know that you're a wicked fighter. And if you don't want to be my bodyguard, then fine. But I'm not going to avoid you now just because you're afraid something might happen…"
"Something did happen!"
Tolan leaned forward, and his eyes flashed. He immediately sunk back into the headboard of the bed, grimacing and cradling his head.
"Something did happen," he repeated. His voice was softer, but no less bitter. "I hurt you. I can't be around you anymore, Theo. I can't be around Syn or Pip or…"
"No."
Theo grabbed Tolan's arm, and the guard glared up at him. Theo's tone became commanding.
"I know you're scared of hurting them, Tol…but there's more than one way to hurt someone. If you disappear and leave Syn and Pip behind…if you start avoiding them…it's going to be a thousand times worse than whatever you're afraid you might do."
Tolan looked away, but he seemed to be considering the teen's words.
"You don't have control yet…that much is true. But you're going to work at it and you're going to get it because you succeed at everything that you work for, Tolan. The only way you're going to lose everything is if you throw it all away. Don't do that, alright? For your sake…and for all of our sakes too."
Tolan finally glanced back at Theo's earnest expression.
"You're pretty sappy…you know that, Freak?"
Theo smirked.
"Yeah, I know. But you know I'm right, right?"
Tolan was silent for a few minutes. Finally, the guard sighed heavily.
"I'm not gonna leave Syn and Fluff," he finally decided, and Theo felt a rush of relief. Tolan continued. "But if I start reacting, they have to agree that they'll get out of the way. That they'll get somewhere safe."
"They will, Tolan. But it's not going to be as bad as you think. You're going to get this…I know you are."
Tolan didn't answer, and the door creaked open as Hershel came into the room.
"Theo…your mother's looking for you. Something about a party…"
"Oh, right," Theo said, glancing back at Tolan. "Get feeling better, ok Tol? I'll come see you later."
The teen shut the door behind him, and the two men left in the room regarded each other warily.
"Are you happy now? You were right."
Hershel scowled at Tolan's bitter words.
"Tolan…"
"You said I would be a danger to everyone, and I am. You said that I couldn't control it and I can't."
"I'm positive that you are fully capable of learning control. You just have to be willing to learn it. And I didn't mean to say that you were a danger to anyone…just that if you didn't work towards control, there could be accidents and people could get hurt."
"See? Mr. Right."
Hershel shook his head as he came over to take Theo's abandoned chair.
"I'm sorry, Tolan."
The guard just scoffed.
"What do you have to be sorry about?"
"I shouldn't have let you go right back to being Theo's bodyguard. Control is something that takes time, for anyone learning. It took me weeks of thorough practice to get in control. Even Theo and Amber struggled. It was foolish of me to think that you could have learned it so quickly."
"So, you should have locked me up for a few more months, is that what you're saying?"
"Tolan, you're just making this harder by being so bitter and touchy about it. Your powers are unlocked. You've been reacting. A few days ago, you lost control. If you are dedicated to really learning how to control yourself, then it won't happen again."
Tolan just scoffed and looked away. Hershel continued softly.
"At least now you know your limits."
"You mean because I had an overdrive?" Tolan snapped. "What's the point in knowing my limits?! Once I'm headed towards that kind of reaction, there's nothing I can do to stop it. Trust me, I tried to. But it just devoured everything inside…and then left to devour everything outside."
"I know…"
"It was sickening…and my own emotions are powering that sort of stuff! I know control, Hershel….despite what you think. To be as good as me in combat, you have to have perfect control. I used to be able to look at things realistically, without emotion. That's how you make a decision. That's how you stay in control. But now it's impossible for me to be like that anymore. It's like I'm being betrayed by myself and the only way to fix it is to go back to apathy, but I'm too far gone!"
Hershel was silent as Tolan ranted, his eyes flashing as occasional whispers of wind brushed past them. The Master Healer leaned forward.
"It's probably hard for you to admit that anyone has felt like you have, Tolan. But the truth is everyone feels like that…especially when times get hard."
Tolan was stubbornly silent as he glared at the blanket covering his lower half. Hershel continued.
"I know what it feels like, to be wiped out by an overdrive."
"You've had an overdrive? When?" Tolan scoffed. Hershel frowned.
"It was part of my training."
Tolan gave him an incredulous look and Hershel explained.
"It was back around the time that Syn left and moved to the fortress for the first time. Phos would take me clear out into the middle of nowhere. He said that I had mastered basic control, but that it wasn't enough. I would get pushed to the edge of an overdrive, and then have to pull out of it."
"Impossible."
Hershel had a hint of a smile.
"It was, at first. I was wiped out all the time; Syn was worried sick. Even when I did manage to pull out of it in time, I was so drained."
"Why would he do that? That sounds like torture."
The Master Healer was silent as he thought about it.
"He didn't do it so I would suffer. He did it to build up my endurance; teach me a higher level of control."
"Why?"
Hershel looked up.
"I think Phos always meant for me to take over for him. I didn't realize it at the time, but he wasn't just training an apprentice. He was training the future Master Healer."
Tolan didn't seem impressed.
"I don't need all that fancy training…for me, it would be enough to just not react unless I want to react."
Hershel smiled at that.
"I can help you get there, Tolan. But it's up to you."
The guard scoffed and finally looked up to meet Hershel's eye.
"Alright. Teach me how."
81
"Happy Birthday!"
Amber smiled awkwardly as Jay and Nya's family came tumbling through Lou's door. Jay ruffled her hair and Nya squeezed her shoulder while the twins breezed past and Colby lugged a present in that look suspiciously like a canvas. She watched as they went in to mingle with the others in her grandfather's living room before she sighed heavily.
"Hey, the birthday girl isn't supposed to look so sour."
She looked up to glare at her older brother.
"I only agreed to a little party!"
"This is a little party!"
"No…all Dad's friends are here with their kids. This is just like our big get-togethers."
"Not everyone's staying the whole time, Ams. Besides, I couldn't not invite them; if I invited one of the ninja families I had to invite all of the ninja families."
She folded her arms and scowled, and Theo nudged her shoulder.
"You know how much Uncle Jay hates being left out of stuff," he prompted. She finally sighed.
"It's not a long party, right?" she muttered, and Theo shook his head.
"C'mon, Ams. It's going to be fun. Didn't you notice that Grandpa and I moved the couch so there would be more room for dancing?"
Amber's scowl softened slightly, though her tone was still stiff.
"I don't think anyone else even likes dancing, Tay."
"But you like dancing, and it's your party," he argued. Just then, the doorbell rang again and Amber turned in surprise.
"Who else did you invite?" she demanded; Jay and Nya's family were the last to arrive. Theo just gave her an infuriating grin as he pushed her to the door.
"They're your party guests…why don't you let them in and see?"
She was ready to throttle him, but Theo had wandered away to talk to the twins, leaving her to answer it. She blew her bangs out of her eyes and pulled the door open. Her expression froze mid-scowl.
"M?"
He was just wearing a T-shirt and jeans, and he gave her a little smirk. In his hands he was holding a small gift-bag.
"Heya, Oni-girl."
She stood a few seconds longer before finally moving out of the way to let him in.
"What are you doing here?"
"Was I not invited?"
"Of course you are! I mean, I assume…"
Amber sighed in frustration.
"To be honest, this was all done kinda against my will."
M. laughed and handed her the gift.
"I was a little surprised when your Grandpa contacted me. I didn't know Oni did birthday parties."
"Oni don't. My Dad does. Theo loves them too…me and my Mom just sort of tolerate them for their sakes."
M. smiled and looked around the room. After a minute he whistled low.
"Wow…and I thought the Openheimer celebrity breakfast was full of famous people…"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean you have like the full ninja team here, Amber! Even the Green Ninja!"
He pointed Lloyd out where he was in the corner talking with Kai.
"He's one of the busiest guys in Ninjago, and here he is chilling at your birthday party."
Amber just frowned as she looked around at the various guests in the room.
"I dunno. I've never really known them like that…they've always just been my aunts and uncles."
"You call them your aunts and uncles?"
She looked over at M and he shook his head in amazement.
"You lead a crazy life, Amber."
"Whatever," she said, but she couldn't help but feel pleased. "I'm surprised your father let you come, all things considering."
His expression became sheepish and she raised an eyebrow.
"He doesn't know you're here, does he?"
"Things have been better the last week or so," M. admitted. "I've been on my best behavior and he finally agreed to let me go out into the town today."
"This isn't the town, M. What if he finds out?"
"I can't stay long," the sandy-haired boy admitted. "But I figured I'd just pop by and give you your present."
Amber looked down at the gift bag.
"I should open it now then, while you're here," she realized. M. shrugged.
"If you want."
"You didn't have to bring anything…really."
He rubbed that back of his neck.
"Nah…I wanted to. I saw it in a shop the other day and I thought of you."
She frowned, trying to guess at what it could be. From the tissue paper she pulled out a small jewelry box. She blinked; this looked fancy.
"You didn't spend a lot of money, right?"
M shrugged, not admitting one way or the other. Amber popped the box open and gasped. It was a silver necklace, with the word dance spelled out in swooping letters. At the end of the word a single charm hung; a dark red poppy.
"Where did you find this?"
"The poppy technically didn't come with the necklace originally…but I thought it was a nice touch, you know?"
Amber smiled as she studied the necklace.
"You shouldn't have," she said again, but this time she was less sincere. M. seemed both embarrassed and pleased.
"Try it on. They had like a billion different necklace lengths and I really don't know anything about that sort of thing. So I just picked like a middle-sized one."
She put the gift bag down so she could pull the necklace out. She clipped it in the back and smiled; it hung right where she wanted.
"Hey, don't be breaking the gift-rule, Amber!"
She looked up to see May smirking at her.
"You have to wait and open them all together, remember?"
"Give her a break, May!" Mia cut in, putting an arm around her twin sister. "If her boyfriend wants her to get his gift early, then who are we to stop that?"
Amber and M. both reddened and Amber's eyes flashed.
"Shut up, Mia!" she snapped, but the twins just laughed and sauntered off. She turned back to M, but she couldn't really look him in the eye.
"Sorry…the twins are insufferable. They just like poking fun."
"No, yeah. I know plenty of people like them."
They were saved from saying anything else because Lou called for everyone's attention as he stood next to his phonograph.
"Thank you all for coming to celebrate our little Amber…though she's not so little anymore. 12 years old; I can't believe it. It feels like only yesterday she was toddling around, listening to music for the first time on this very phonograph."
Everyone chuckled and Lou smiled, his expression misty.
"She's a hard worker…and she's made her family very proud. Her grandfather especially. So now we're going to have some dancing, in her honor."
Amber knew everyone was looking at her, so she stared at the ground. It was strange; when she was on stage she didn't mind being the center of attention. But in almost all other contexts she hated it.
Luckily, her grandfather finished speaking and went to turn on a song. A lilting waltzing melody began playing, and everyone in the room began talking and trying to will each other out onto the dance floor. Zane and Pixal were the first, and Amber smiled as she watched them. They had excellent technique, but it must be at least a little easier when you were a nindroid. She scanned the crowd for her parents, and she couldn't help but chuckle as she saw her father coaxing her mother to the dance floor.
"There isn't a lot of space, Cole…we should let other people dance first," Keyda was arguing, but he just shook his head as he led her through the crowd.
"You're going to sit out our song? You know he played this one first on purpose."
Keyda gave up with a laugh, and Cole waggled his eyebrows as they reached the empty space. They began waltzing and Amber watched with a contented smile; she really did love watching her parents dance. She wasn't sure what it was…but it always made it feel like everything was ok, even after everything that had happened, if they could still dance with each other.
"I thought your Dad hated dancing."
She looked over and saw M. watching the waltzing couples with a strange look on his face. Amber shook her head in surprise.
"No…he loves it."
"But he quit. Didn't he quit because he hated dancing?"
Cole spun Keyda, and then kept spinning her. She managed to get him to stop, lightly slapping his arm in reprimand while he chuckled and led her through another step.
"He doesn't hate dancing…he just didn't want to be a dancer. It wasn't his passion; he wanted to do something else with his life. Maybe he didn't really like it for a bit after quitting, but I think by the time he told his Dad the truth he rediscovered his love for it. At least, that's the way Grandpa Lou always explained it."
Cole had picked Keyda up to spin her around, and she laughed and chastised him while Zane and Pixal wisely gave them a wide berth while chuckling. M. couldn't help but smile a little.
"It looks like they're having a good time," he commented, and Amber shrugged.
"They like it. When they were dating, my Grandpa made my mom learn how to dance. She thought she'd hate it, but I don't think she minds it. I can't see her dancing with anybody besides my Dad, though…like I don't think she'd ever dance alone."
M. nodded, but his mind seemed far away. The song ended and Lou put on another one, this one faster paced, and the other teens filed onto the dance floor to goof off and dance. The clock on Lou's wall struck two and M. looked over at it.
"I should probably go; I don't want Dad getting all suspicious on me. It took this long just for him to trust me to go out on my own."
"Thanks for the necklace. I really do love it."
M. smiled, but then he glanced away.
"Sure. I guess next time I see you will be at your audition, huh?"
Amber's stomach twisted at the thought.
"I guess so."
"Well…see you then. I'm sure you're going to do great."
Amber wasn't sure what to say so she just smiled. He nodded to himself, and then turned to go. It occurred to her after he left and the door closed behind him that maybe she should have walked him to the door. She wasn't sure why she felt like she should have…but maybe it was bad manners to just let him leave the party like that? Maybe she should have said something else?
She shrugged to herself and looked down at the necklace with a small smile. She was sure to get an assortment of different gifts today…but she had a feeling she already had received the one she'd like the best.
Cole took the last of the plates to the kitchen. He set them in the sink with the rest of the cake-covered dishes. The party had come to an end, and he figured he'd help his Dad with cleaning up; Lou wasn't as spry as he used to be.
Cole caught sight of the rest of Amber's birthday cake sitting on the table and smiled. He fished a fork out of a drawer and snuck a few bites.
"Still filching, I see."
He turned in surprise and gave his father a guilty grin. Lou was nearly completely gray now, his eyes surrounded by smile wrinkles.
"Hey, I bought the cake," Cole argued sheepishly, but he put the fork down as he headed back over to the sink. "Thanks for hosting the party, by the way. I think Amber really did enjoy it."
"I do as well."
Cole turned on the sink to start washing and Lou slowly made his way across the room.
"I was happy to get the call about the party…"
"Sure, Pop."
Lou reached Cole and the ninja turned as his father put a hand on his arm.
"Not only am I happy to celebrate Amber…it was a relief to know that my entire family was no longer missing."
Cole's smile faded immediately. His father's expression was surprisingly sad.
"I know that Theo pulled Amber out of school to look for you and Keyda…but I don't know anything else. And I didn't know anything…for weeks."
"I…"
Cole was caught off guard; he hadn't been aware that his father had even known about all of that.
"I'm sorry, Pop. You were probably worried," Cole finally admitted, not sure what else to say. Lou leaned heavily on his cane.
"Indeed. But worse than waiting for you to contact me was knowing you probably wouldn't even mention that you were ever in danger once you did. It makes me wonder how many other extreme situations I am unaware of. Maybe today you were busy fighting in a realm-wide war but you managed to make it here for a bit of cake and conversation."
Cole rubbed his face and sighed.
"I'm sorry we worried you. We weren't supposed to be gone long, Keyda and I. It wasn't supposed to be dangerous or anything…"
"Was it dangerous?"
Cole scanned his father's expression.
"How much do you know, Pop?" he finally asked.
"Why? So you know how much you can still keep from me?"
Cole hesitated.
"I can tell you the full story if you want. It's not that we wanted to keep things from you, we just…"
"Don't want me to worry." Lou finished softly. "I know…but I am worried, Cole. I'm worried that one day something will happen and I won't even know about it. You'll just…stop coming. And I'll never know why."
"We've had peace for years, Pop," Cole promised. "This thing that happened was a fluke. It was never supposed to involve the kids."
Lou nodded to himself and his son sighed.
"I'm sorry. From now on, we'll call and update you on everything that happens."
Lou tugged at his mustache.
"I suppose that's all I can hope for," he said softly.
"Dad…"
"I want to believe you, Cole. And at this point in my life…I guess I just have to."
Cole turned back to the sink, where the water was still running. He woodenly picked up a plate and began scrubbing it.
"Who told you about it? Amber?"
"No…her friend M, actually." Lou tugged his mustache again. "I noticed he came to the party today, though he didn't stay very long."
"Yeah…they seem pretty close."
Lou seemed lost in thought, as if remembering back to something.
"Cole…you know I'm not ashamed of you, right?"
The plate slipped and clattered in the sink. Lou frowned while Cole stared down at the frothy water swirling down the drain.
"Um…"
It was all he could say, taken off guard. His father rushed on.
"Because I'm not. And I assumed that after everything we've been through you knew that…"
Cole turned to his father, concerned.
"Of course I know that, Pop. Why?"
Lou cleared his throat and tugged at his bow-tie.
"That young Openheimer boy…he came to talk to me a few weeks ago. It seems he's in a similar situation as you were all those years ago."
"Oh."
Cole turned back to the sink and finally turned the water off. Lou continued.
"It made me think back…and I realized that I haven't been very supportive of you."
Cole shook his head.
"You've been plenty supportive. You got Amber into school, and we know that we can always come to you for anything."
Lou didn't look convinced.
"I mean supportive of you, personally…especially in front of my friend Marty. He's said several things now, and I never corrected him…"
"Oh, Dad."
Cole dried his hands and turned to face Lou full on.
"I know Marty put you in an awkward position. I mean…I didn't ever know what to say either…"
"But I still should have said something. He slandered you, several times…and I just stood there and let him say those things about my son."
"It's fine, Dad…really." Cole scanned his father's face, a sudden fear hitting home. "Is everything alright with you?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean the worrying about us and the guilt about what Marty said. You're not…sick, right?"
The confusion in Lou's expression cleared with understanding.
"I'm in good health, Cole. Not quite the dancer I used to be, but I intend to be around for a while yet."
Cole visibly relaxed.
"Good."
He smiled and put a hand on his father's shoulder.
"You're right, Dad…we've been through a lot. And I like to think that we're still doing well, even with pretentious school-headmasters and realm problems."
Lou met his son's eye and smiled, seemingly comforted.
Cole tugged open the silverware drawer again and Lou raised an eyebrow as his son pulled out two forks. Cole handed one to his father with a smirk.
"What's this?" Lou asked, and Cole shook his head.
"Don't tell me that you're above cake-sneaking; you're the one I get it from."
Lou blinked in surprise, but then he smiled as he turned to the cake.
"Well…one extra taste won't hurt."
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