106
M. felt about ready to sink into the floor. Even practicing with Dani hadn't prepared him for the real confrontation.
Amber stood in front of him; he was outside her and Dani's bedroom door. After receiving the text from the pianist, he had shown up. He hadn't been sure how to start the conversation with Amber, so the second the Oni had opened the door he blurted the entire practiced dialogue to her. Now she stood looking blindsided, and he found himself wishing that he was the one who could feel people's emotions.
"Say something," he finally begged, and Amber blinked.
"Like what?"
She definitely sounded angry, and M. shifted his weight back and forth as the Oni's expression turned from shock to anger.
"What am I supposed to say after all of that?"
"That…well…"
M. felt awful and he sighed.
"I dunno."
"What did she actually say?"
He glanced up and Amber's eyes flashed.
"What did your Mom say, M? What exactly is it she told everyone in Ninjago about me?"
He glanced over towards Dani, but the musician was less than no help. She had her earbuds in and seemed to be rocking out to something. Traitor.
"Just…stupid stuff, really…"
"Stupid stuff like what?"
M went silent and Amber scoffed.
"Whatever. I'll just have Dani show me the video."
"No!"
She raised an eyebrow and he sighed.
"She's trying to make new safety laws in Ninjago…and she kinda made it sound like maybe in the future Oni could be threats. And she mentioned that you were Oni. And…you know…used your powers in school sometimes."
Her expression was murderous, but it didn't look like she was looking at him anymore. She was kind of just staring off into the distance…it almost made M. more worried.
"Look…if I'm being honest, it was my fault," he admitted, and she looked back at him. "I mean…I'm the one who talked to her about you. I never made it sound like you were a threat or anything…but I shouldn't have told her anything about you."
"I told you she hated me!"
Now she was angry at him.
"I told you and you didn't believe me! And then you went and told her everything about me!?"
"I'm sorry, Amber. Really I'm sorry. I had no idea…"
"You did have an idea! I gave you the idea that she was up to no good, but you ignored me!"
"I didn't want to lose her again!"
He was yelling now, and there were a few girls in the hallway who turned to give him a confused and dirty look. It suddenly felt like he might cry and he felt a rush of humiliation and anger. He was not about to break down in the girl's dormitory!
Dani was looking up now, having pulled the earbuds out of her ear. Amber looked like she wanted to yell at him more, but something was stopping her. He realized with another rush of shame she could probably tell how close he was to crying, and that just made his throat burn all the more as it blocked off such a humiliating emotion.
"Hey…"
M. and Amber both glanced over as Dani quietly joined in the conversation. She cleared her throat, looking more uncomfortable than M. had ever seen.
"I know I don't really know much about the situation…"
Liar, M. thought bitterly as the pianist joined in.
"…And it seems pretty bad. But from what I can tell, you guys are good friends. One thing I've learned over the years is that good friends are worth fighting for."
She paused, as if she was on the verge of rushing down some tangent. But surprisingly, she just shrugged, keeping her comment short and concise.
Amber seemed to be thinking about what her roommate had said, which made M. feel both hopeful and irritated. Since when does Amber look to Dani for advice?
"Look, Amber. I'm really, really sorry about what happened. I should have listened to you…and I promise I will from now on."
She glanced back over at him as he spoke, but still seemed to be debating. He threw his hands up in frustration.
"Can't you tell that I'm sorry?!" he burst out, and she huffed.
"Just because I know you're sorry about it doesn't mean that I'm not still mad. You're the one who said that I shouldn't be so hypersensitive…that everyone isn't always whispering about me…that they don't always hate me. But not only does your Mom really hate me, now everyone in the school does again too!"
Amber seemed pretty close to tears herself, and M's guilt twisted deeper as the Oni continued.
"It's taken this long just for people to be used to me…but Friday felt like starting all over again. I guess now I know why!" Her tone was bitter as she glared at him. "And I can't even trust my best friend, M. I can't even trust you with anything because you'll just go and rat out to your Mom…"
Her eyes flew open with a sudden panic and she took another threatening step forward.
"What did you tell her?!"
He blinked in surprise.
"Amber…"
"Did you tell her everything!? Did you tell her about…about…"
It finally clicked in M's mind, and he felt a rush of both relief and horror; relief that he hadn't actually told his mother the details Amber was worried about…and horror that his friend thought he would have.
"No, Amber! Of course not. I haven't told her anything about your realm or…you know. Stuff that's happened there. I just told her about how you showed me and those music kids that thing with your charm…or how you could tell what people were feeling. Or how you can transport in and out."
She scowled.
"She could hardly make me sound dangerous with that, M. What else did you tell her?"
"Nothing! Honest! I mean…I…might have mentioned that you slammed me into the wall that one time." He felt the shame flush up his neck and rushed on. "But that's it, I swear. I didn't talk about anything else; I certainly didn't tell anyone about what happened with your brother."
Dani was looking curious from across the room now, but neither he or Amber really noticed. The Oni was still eyeing him like she was trying to decide if he was lying or not, and he rubbed his neck with one hand.
"As for telling my Mom anything else, I won't. I swear. I mean, I learned the hard way that I really just shouldn't talk to you two about each other. Plus…" Here his voice became a lot quieter. "I'm not really allowed to go see her anymore."
For the first time, Amber seemed to be standing down a little. She still looked angry, but not like she wanted to blast him across the hallway. He hoped that meant that she believed him.
"What do you mean?"
M. rubbed his arm and sighed.
"My father isn't letting me go see her anymore. I thought she'd come here to see me…or at least call or something. But so far…"
He trailed off and Amber sighed.
"I'm sorry," she admitted, though she still sounded a little grudging about it. M. shrugged.
"Yeah, well. She'll come calling eventually, and my Dad will have to change his mind."
She looked at him carefully.
"M, your Mom is horrible. Why would you even want to see her after all this?"
"She's not horrible!" he argued, feeling a rush of defensiveness. "I mean…she's wrong about you and about the Oni. But it's just because she doesn't know much about you all. She's scared of new things because of all the bad that's happened in Ninjago."
"That's what she wants you to think," Amber argued, and M. flushed angrily.
"She's my Mom, ok?!"
Silence fell then, and he knew his voice had echoed down the hallway. He wanted to punch something, but instead he exhaled angrily.
"I didn't like what she said about you Amber; it wasn't fair. And I went and I told her that and made her swear she wouldn't talk about you anymore in her interviews. She doesn't need to; she can talk about safety and stuff without it. But I can't just keep doing this tug of war, ok? Defending you to her and her to you. She was wrong, but she's still my Mom. And I….I still don't want to lose her again."
She was quiet then, and across the room Dani was chewing on the eraser of her pencil as she pretended to not be listening. The Oni finally sighed.
"Alright."
It was all she said, and M. wasn't even sure he knew what she meant by it. Did she forgive him? Or was she just saying that she understood what he meant? What was alright?
"I just got back," she was saying now. "I need to get changed and ready for the day; I'll see you in class."
She moved to shut the door and he blinked in surprise and used one hand to push on the door to keep it open.
"Wait, Amber…"
"I'm not mad, M. Well…actually I am. But…"
She hesitated.
"I'm glad you talked to me about it, I guess." She looked up and met his eye. "And who knows, maybe now you'll actually listen to me."
He wasn't sure what to say, but then she pushed the door again.
"I do have to get ready though," she pointed out, and M. blinked and finally pulled back his hand.
"Right. Ok. Um…see you in class."
She nodded and the door came to a close. He stared at it a few moments longer, his insides still twisting. Had she forgiven him? She said she was mad, but he was hoping that she was saying that she still wanted to be friends. That's what she had meant, right?
He sighed and finally turned to walk away, wondering if Dani and Amber were talking about him right now. For some reason that made him feel angry; they could say anything they wanted about him, and he'd never know. At least the music chick had seemed sorta on his side. And Amber hadn't seemed too angry in the end.
M. rubbed his eyes and sighed again; at this point, he was going to have to just hope for the best.
"But say that someone did have a fever at the same time they had that kind of rash," Myrah pressed. "You said that this tea is good for fever but can make the rash worse…and the stuff for the rash causes the skin to heat, which I assume is not good for a fever…"
"I'm telling you, I've been doing this for over a decade and I've never had to treat those two things at the same time," Hershel cut in, shaking his head. "So really, it's a moot point."
"No, not moot. Hypothetical," Myrah argued, not skipping a beat. "I'm asking that if you have a case like that, where two problems have conflicting medications, what do you decide on?"
He rolled his eyes and she leaned in.
"Is this you admitting defeat? That you don't know?"
"Do you know someone with both of these problems?" he asked, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he packed his satchel. "Because if so, you could just be honest with me…"
She huffed angrily.
"Look, Hershel; I come to these lessons to learn. I understand that such cases may be rare but I honestly don't understand Healers. How do you decide what's most important? How can you claim to sell things that solve problems when in reality they can create others?"
Hershel sighed, slinging his satchel over one shoulder.
"In your hypothetical situation, I would definitely treat the fever first. Yes, the tea would inflame the rash, which would be uncomfortable…but fever can become life-threatening quickly, while the rash is merely irritating. Once the fever clears, the rash can be treated; it would be more dangerous to do nothing at all than to treat the fever and have the rash become worse."
The Western Leader frowned in thought as Hershel continued.
"Healers never claim to have the answers to everyone's problems, whether in health or other factors. We can't solve everything. And yes, sometimes we have to choose between two unsatisfying paths and just have to go with what's better."
Myrah nodded to herself. She finally turned to look at the empty seats where the Master Healer's other students had been sitting a while earlier.
"They're getting better," she finally commented as she cleared her own materials off the table. The Hershel shrugged in a noncommitted way.
"They aren't as bad as they were," he agreed cautiously. "But it's still slow going."
He went to leave and the Western Leader followed him out of the room.
"I'm glad to see you've been making use of a hoofer. Are you still using Tolan's or have you invested in your own yet?"
"Tolan's for now, but mainly because he's been spending a lot of time stuck in trainings at the fortress. Once he starts bodyguarding again he'll need it back so he can follow Theo around from place to place."
Myrah frowned.
"Bodyguarding again? I thought he had lost that position for good. It isn't safe for the heir."
Hershel shook his head.
"Tolan's been making significant growth in his aura control," he explained. "Another few weeks and I could see him reinstated."
The Leader seemed apprehensive about that, but she didn't press. They had reached the doors leading back to the stable area.
"I suppose I'll see you tomorrow," she commented, and he glanced up.
"Will you?"
"I'll be coming by to read more of the history, as I have been doing for the last few weeks." She raised an eyebrow. "It would be much simpler if I could be allowed to bring them here to the fortress to read them. You could pick them up when you come to teach…"
"Myrah," he cut in, raising an eyebrow. "I would have thought by now you'd stop asking."
She rolled her eyes.
"It's a stupid rule," she argued, and the small smile appeared on the Master Healer again.
"Have a good evening," he said simply, and the Western Leader leaned up against the doorframe as she watched him walk into the dusk.
107
Pippa and Baffa burst through the tent doorway, and Syn turned in surprise.
"Pip!" she snapped quickly as her daughter slid off her sniffer. "Not in the house; we've been over this…"
"You let me keep Baffa inside when he was younger!" The fluffy-headed child complained, but Syn was already pulling the sniffer towards the door by his scruff. Baffa snarled, but didn't fight back as he grudgingly headed back out.
"He was smaller when he was younger. Grown Sniffers belong outside."
Pippa sighed and headed over to her bed-mat; she had claimed a whole corner of the tent where she lived with her parents and it was crowded with all sorts of odds and ends. Her many assortments of weapons sat in a pile, with various dried plants, dead bugs, and sniffer-treat crumbs among other things.
"How's your Uncle? You were good and listened today, right?" Syn continued, heading back towards the bread she was kneading now that the sniffer had been banished. Pippa shrugged as she sat to sharpen her newest dagger.
"I always listen."
Syn smiled as if she didn't quite believe her daughter, but didn't press further. Pippa started whistling some tune as she worked; she had learned how to whistle a few weeks back and had taken to making up crazy little ditties. She was proud of the skill, though the sound was soft at best and sounded more like a breathy whine then a whistle.
"Uncle Hershel's a lot happier now. Can you tell?"
Syn's kneading slowed as she glanced back over at where Pippa was sharpening.
"Happier? What do you mean?"
"He smiles more. And he doesn't get mad nearly as often. Like even when I mess up he just kinda laughs instead of doing that thing where he stares for a long time and breathes really loud out his nose."
Pippa mimicked both the expression and the noisy exhale and Syn couldn't help but smile at the impression.
"Pippa…"
"He did it all the time!" the child argued. "Remember when I broke that pot full of tea? Or when I accidentally lit that part of his tent on fire…just a tiny part, really, but he was so mad…"
"Did you do that again today?" Syn cut in with a wry smile. "Is that how you know he was happier? Because he doesn't get mad when you light his stuff on fire?"
"I haven't lit any fires since I was little!" the child said with indignation, seemingly unaware that being six wasn't exactly considered being old. She grinned a gap-tooth smile into the gleaming metal dagger before re-sheathing it proudly. "And anyways, he is happier. He's always smiling and laughing to himself." Pippa looked up at her mom with eyes wide with a sudden realization. "Do you think he's going crazy?"
Syn blinked and then laughed.
"No, your Uncle isn't going crazy." Her smile faded as she suddenly became lost in thought. "He used to smile and laugh all the time."
Pippa wrinkled her nose in confusion.
"Uncle Hershel?"
"Sure. I mean, it was never a big booming laugh or anything. Just his quiet chuckle."
Pippa frowned as she pulled out a few interesting stones she had shoved into her pant pockets, adding them to a growing collection.
"Why did he stop?"
Syn shrugged.
"Well, he didn't really stop. He just…"
She trailed off as she really thought about her brother over the last few years and sighed.
"I think he just got lonely, Pippa."
"Why is he lonely? We visit him all the time!"
Syn ruffled her daughter's fluffy hair and Pip scowled and pushed her mom's hand away.
"Mooom…"
"Go easy on your Uncle, Pippa."
"I am going easy. Geez, Mom; I said he's happier, not angrier!"
Pippa squinted at a dark rock of an unusual shape before tossing it into the pile.
"Why do you think he's happier, Mom? Cuz I visit him a lot?"
Syn's expression became pensive, thinking back to interactions she had had with her brother over the past weeks.
"I guess he does seem a little different, huh? His mind's always somewhere else."
"Yep."
Whining could be heard from outside the tent, and Pippa turned.
"Awww, Baffa…can't he come inside?"
"No, Pip. Now go tell him to cut that out, and when you're done you can take the loaves to the village ovens."
Pippa made a face but headed to the doorway to oblige. Syn began hurrying to finish the loaves so Pip could take them, but she frowned as her mind worked through everything Pip had mentioned.
Tolan pushed his way into the tent. Soft snores from one side of the tent indicated that Pip was already asleep, but he could make out Syn's silloutte sitting by the dying coals in the fireplace. He headed over.
"Heya, Syn," he murmured, and she glanced up as he sank down on the rug next to her.
"Hey Tol. How was the week? As boring as last week?"
"Basically. But Jaqah said starting next week I can start going out with Theo again."
Syn turned and raised an eyebrow.
"Really? That soon?"
"Soon? I've been off the job for awhile," Tolan griped. "That brother of yours took his sweet time putting in a good word for me."
She leaned in, resting her head on his shoulder.
"So Hersh says your good to go this time, huh?"
Tolan scoffed.
"I'm good, Syn. I've felt good for weeks."
"Good. I was getting worried there for a bit, Tol."
"Shouldn't worry; I had it sorted," he murmured. A louder-than-normal snore cut in and they glanced over at where Pip was sleeping in the corner.
"Pip went to spend the day with Hersh; she says he's been a lot happier," Syn commented. "You're there a lot; does he seem happier? I mean…I feel like he's been more distracted…"
Tolan was unwrapping his arms and frowned.
"Happier? Mmm….I guess. You're there with him as much as I am."
Syn shook her head.
"Actually…after Pippa talked to me I was realizing that I hardly go anymore. You're there for training, but I guess before that we didn't visit a whole lot. And there were all those months we were on the move and even Pippa wasn't going over…"
"What are you getting at, Syn?" he asked quietly, and she sighed.
"He spent all that time on his own. And I didn't even realize how lonely he would have been. I mean, when we first lost Phos I was careful to never leave him on his own, but as the years have gone on, I spend less and less time in that tent. Why is it I didn't realize how lonely he would get?"
"You did realize. That's why we moved back, so we could be closer," Tolan reminded. "Besides; like Fluff says: your brother's doing alright now. Why is this eating at you all of a sudden?"
Syn was silent and finally shrugged.
"Seeing him with some of that old spark in him…it just suddenly made me realize that he hasn't had it. And I was trying to figure out when he lost it."
They sat in silence for a few minutes before she spoke again.
"What is it that gave him his spark back?" she asked. "I mean…I don't know that anything's changed."
Tolan had finished unwrapping his arms and was bundling the cloth as he frowned.
"He goes to the Western Fortress a lot."
Syn's brow wrinkled.
"He doesn't even like going there."
"Doesn't he?" Tolan questioned wryly and she looked over.
"I didn't think he did; he's always talking about how annoying it is to trek out there to teach those new traveling Healers. I even offered to help him do it, but he wouldn't take me up on it."
"I'm not saying he's crazy about the lessons," Tolan murmured as he finished bundling and started pushing himself to his feet. Syn watched him in confusion.
"Then what are you saying?"
He shrugged.
"I'm not really saying anything. But I have noticed that he and that new Western Leader seem to be spending a lot of time together."
Syn stared, the realization of what her husband was insinuating sinking in.
"But…"
He raised an eyebrow and her voice became more hushed.
"That's impossible…right?"
"What's impossible?" he asked sarcastically, heading to put the wrappings away and get ready for bed. Syn stood as well, following him.
"Hershel wouldn't…I mean…"
She hesitated, remembering the distracted looks and soft smiles she had seen over the past few weeks. If he really was in love, then this was something Syn had actually hoped would happen someday for her brother, but in this situation, she suddenly felt sick.
"You don't think he likes her like that, do you?" she whispered. Tolan shrugged.
"I'm not the one to ask. All I said was they're spending a lot of time together."
"And even if he did, she couldn't possibly like him. I mean, not like that. After all, isn't she extremely apathetic? Like I've heard her described as a leader carved from stone."
"She's pretty serious, and self-righteous," Tolan agreed, scowling at the memory from the library. The sick feeling in the pit of Syn's stomach twisted deeper.
"She's a leader, besides. I can't think of what she would see in Hershel."
Tolan just shrugged and Syn found herself chewing on her thumbnail.
"Do you think she's using him? Because he's the Master Healer?"
"Like I said, I wouldn't know."
Tolan seemed ready to drop the subject, but he paused and said one last thing, his voice barely audible. "But if something were going on…I'd say that he's more invested than she is."
He headed to the back of the tent to change, leaving Syn standing stunned near the fireplace. She rubbed her face, suddenly exhausted as worry gnawed at her. She hadn't seen this coming; should she approach Hershel about it? Or would he just be annoyed at her for telling him what to do?
"Oh Hersh…" she finally murmured, hugging herself. "Please be careful."
Amber glanced over at M again, but he didn't seem to be listening to the professor's lecture. Eventually, it came to an end and everyone in the class packed up their bags. The Oni headed over to where her friend was sitting.
"You ok?"
He looked up in surprise. Amber raised an eyebrow and M. shrugged half-heartedly.
"Yeah, fine."
She didn't want to ask…but she had been avoiding it for the last two weeks. Amber finally sighed.
"Have you heard from your mom yet?"
M didn't look at her as he shook his head. He pushed his own textbook into his bag as he stood up.
"Nah…but I mean, it's fine."
She knew it wasn't, but she had learned that even though she always knew what people were feeling, there wasn't really a need to correct them when they claimed to feel differently.
"What are you doing for free hour?" she asked as she followed him to the door of the class. Here M. scowled a little.
"Aren't you hanging out with those musical kids? You generally do…"
"You could come to, you know," she pointed out, but M. was silent. She really didn't understand what it was that made him so squirrelly around Dani and the others. Amber shook her head, trying a different approach.
"Why don't we go fencing?"
M. turned.
"Seriously?"
She shrugged.
"Sure. We haven't done that in a while."
M. smirked at the memory.
"That's because every time we try you refuse to follow the rules. Fencing isn't sword fighting…you don't just beat your opponent into submission. There's a certain amount of finesse."
She slugged him as they headed towards the fencing room.
"Come on, Openheimer; I'm full of finesse."
He just laughed. They reached the room and M. spent most of the hour laughing and correcting the Oni as she took short cuts to her victories. Eventually she humored him, and he grinned as he finally landed a touch on her.
"Gotcha!"
She shook her head as she smirked at him through his face mask. As always, she couldn't get one on due to her horns.
"How about a break?" she asked, heading over to replace her fencing foil into a bin with others. M. pulled his mask off, sweat dripping down his face.
"Admitting defeat after one loss?" he teased, and she rolled her eyes.
"Just don't want you passing out before our next class," she corrected, taking a seat on a bench on the side of the room. There were several other fencing pairs still going, and she watched their matches as M. replaced his own equipment and came over to sit next to her.
"Are you sure you're ok?" she pressed, her eyes still following the back-and-forth parries from the match closest to them. M. didn't answer and she pushed her bangs back out of her face and continued.
"You're quieter lately…and you just feel kinda sad," she explained, and the teen finally sighed.
"I dunno. I guess I would have thought she'd contact me by now."
His answer was quiet enough that she had to strain to hear it over the grunts and sounds of ringing metal as foils hit each other.
"I'm sorry."
It was all she could think of to say, and M. shrugged again. She decided that he seemed to be doing a lot of shrugging lately.
"I think she's just busy. I've been keeping track of her on the news and on the NCST webpage and stuff. They got those laws signed into action, and she's started doing lots of campaigning and debates and stuff." He glanced over at her. "Don't worry; she hasn't said anything about you again. A few people have asked her about the Oni and she's changed her tune."
Amber frowned.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Now she's focusing on people breaking the law, you know? Like anyone who breaks our laws here in Ninjago should be considered a threat. But there aren't any Oni who live here besides you, and you haven't broken any laws. I think she's realized that she can't just accuse people willy nilly. She needs evidence…like law-breaking."
Amber thought about it and shrugged.
"I guess. What kind of laws is she passing?"
"Eh, safety stuff. Making sure buildings are up to snuff; I guess there have been a lot of deaths in the past because there weren't enough emergency exits to buildings to get everyone evacuated in time. And people coming into the city go through toll-booths now; probably cuts down on gangs."
He was fiddling with the mask on his lap and Amber finally looked over.
"Yeah…she sounds busy," she offered, trying not to make the comment sound as grudging as she felt.
"Yeah." M straightened, as if trying to shake off the dour thoughts, and turned to her. "That's enough about Mom. How's your family? How's Theo?"
"Good. He's fine."
M must have caught onto something in her expression because he didn't seem to buy it.
"What's up? He still acting kinda…kooky?"
Amber scoffed.
"No, he's fine. It's just…"
"Just what?"
Amber tried to decide how much to say. She finally glanced over at M and could tell he wanted to know.
"There's this other leader…she's new. And I can't really feel her emotions; she's really good at blocking them. She's been spending a lot of time around Theo, cuz he's the heir and stuff, but because I can't get a good read on her I don't think I can trust her."
M. thought about that and shrugged.
"What does Theo think?"
"He thinks she's just reserved. I dunno. The nightmares I have are always about Theo…about someone targeting him, or hurting him. So now I guess…"
"…You're paranoid that someone's gonna hurt him?"
She scowled.
"Not paranoid. Just concerned. I think I have a right to be concerned though; someone who hides their feelings isn't really someone I feel comfortable trusting!"
"Has she actually done anything specific to lose your trust? Anything else suspicious?"
Why couldn't anyone just side with her that Myrah was bad news? M. didn't even know anything about the situation and he still seemed to be on Theo's side rather than hers.
"Nothing yet. But I don't know enough about her yet. She could be plotting something and I wouldn't know it until it was too late. I just wish Theo would listen to me and keep his distance at least."
"Mmm."
She frowned at his tone, trying to figure out what he was feeling.
"What?"
He looked over.
"What?" he repeated back, and she scowled.
"That noise…what was that supposed to mean?"
He was embarrassed now.
"Nothing…"
"M!" she snapped, and he cleared his throat.
"It's just…you know…your reasoning. You kind of sound like my mom."
She stared at him and he reddened.
"Like I said, it was nothing. I didn't mean that you're like my mom, it's just that's kind of what she told me about Oni when I asked her about it…"
"But your mom didn't have any reason not to trust me! I'm not like Myrah. I'm not all reserved and secretive and…"
Amber trailed off as M raised an eyebrow, and it was her turn to flush.
"I'm not!"
"Not anymore," M agreed with a tight smile. He seemed uncomfortable now and he pushed himself to his feet and held out a hand to help her up. "C'mon; we better head to class now."
She accepted his hand, though she kept her scowl. M. returned his mask and they headed for the doors.
"Tomorrow, you should come to the music practice room with me," Amber said decidedly. M frowned and she rushed on before he could argue. "You're the one who's mad we don't see each other outside of class much. I think you would like it; they've been working on a new song all week."
"I dunno."
She turned and stopped, and he was forced to stop as well.
"Come on, M. If you hate it you never have to come again."
He rubbed his neck as if he was trying to figure out some excuse for why he couldn't, and Amber sighed.
"Please? I want you there."
Here he glanced up.
"Really?" he asked, almost doubtfully. She folded her arms.
"Really," she assured with an eye roll. "Believe it or not, I still like spending time with you. So, you coming or not?"
He gave her a little smile and finally shrugged.
"Alright. Maybe just this once."
Amber smiled.
108
"What do these do? You haven't brought them to any of the lessons."
Hershel looked over and froze as he saw the jar of dark-colored petals in Myrah's hands.
"They make a special kind of tea," he finally explained softly, and she frowned as he came over to gently take it from her.
"A special tea that does what?" she asked, and he shrugged.
"Not really sure what it does to the average person…but it helps those with powers make certain connections."
She watched him replace it on the shelf and tilted her head.
"What kind of connections?"
He didn't answer as he headed back to the chair he had been reading in. That was something she had realized with this Master Healer; he only gave answers when he wanted to. It left her both intrigued and frustrated, and she followed him back to pick up a scroll of her own. They sat in silence for the next little while; it was the pattern they generally fell into whenever she made time to come to Hershel's tent. They didn't always speak, and yet she was realizing that reading like this felt different than the long hours she spent reading alone in her cold library. There was a different kind of feeling here, and she had yet to really put a finger on what it was.
She was nearly to the end of the scroll when she realized that the golden light of pre-sunset was leaking in under the door flap to the tent and cursed softly. Hershel glanced up.
"Is everything ok?" he asked, and she pushed herself to her feet.
"I was supposed to be at a meeting tonight; I lost track of time."
He followed her to the door.
"History has a way of pulling you in," he mentioned with his characteristic soft smile. She found herself returning it.
"A bad habit of mine," she responded. "A good leader knows how to research without shirking other duties."
Myrah had pushed the door open now, ready to head out to untie her hoofer, but she realized that Hershel had followed her all the way to the door today. She turned with a frown, not sure what he wanted to say.
The golden light from the doorway illuminated the Master Healer's pale face, and Myrah tried to read his expression. He seemed to be searching her face.
"Myrah?" he started, and she turned towards him a little more.
"Yes?"
Was he getting closer? Myrah was aware that her heart was pounding now, and she had no idea why. She had the sudden urge to flee and yet found herself frozen to the floor.
Hershel was very close now, but then something flickered across his expression. Suddenly he was looking down…backing away.
"Ride safe."
Her heart was still pounding, but suddenly the strange magic that kept her bound dissolved. She blinked, part of her wanting to demand that he tell her what he had been doing…why he was acting so strangely. But instead her voice came out soft.
"Alright."
She left quickly and spent the trip back to the fortress trying to reconcile why she felt so strangely…and trying to figure out why there seemed to be a knot of disappointment in her stomach.
"Myrah?"
The Western Leader glanced up as Bula pushed her way into Myrah's bedroom. Myrah tried not to sigh in annoyance; she had known this visit would be happening.
"Bula." Her tone was crisp and unapologetic as she turned. "I assume this is about the meeting…"
"You're never where you're supposed to be," her senior advisor cut in with a scowl. Myrah's calm, stony demeanor didn't change.
"I am the leader; I am quite free to go where I please," she reminded, and Bula narrowed her eyes.
"Of course…but you have a responsibility to this province. Where were you? Visiting the heir at the central fortress?"
Myrah looked away. She was seated in front of a polished metal mirror, brushing through her long hair. It was rare that it was ever down; in fact, the only time it was ever unpinned was when she brushed it before bed and when she woke up. Some would hire servants to do so, but she had grown up self-sufficient and was often annoyed with the mistakes the servants made as they tried to braid her thick hair. She had long since decided she was best at maintaining it herself.
"Well?" Bula pressed, and Myrah wondered why she didn't want to tell her. She was the leader; there was no reason she shouldn't be visiting the Master Healer.
"I was researching history," she explained, and Bula's frown deepened.
"I checked the library. You weren't there."
The brush hit a snarl and she worked for a few moments in silence, trying to pick it out. Bula continued.
"You were at the Master Healer's, weren't you? You've been going several times a week; don't think I haven't noticed."
"You are free to notice," Myrah replied coolly. "There are some histories that we do not have at our library, and I intend to read them. The Healer will not let me take them from the tent, so I have to go there to read them."
"Why do you need to read them? We already know that they're full of bias and lies…"
"We don't know that. We assume."
Myrah's answer was a little too snappish, and she kicked herself internally for breaking her calm demeanor. Bula scowled.
"Myrah…"
"I intend to learn as much as possible before becoming Ruler of this realm. I don't want to be caught off guard by any surprises."
That seemed to smooth her advisor's ruffled feathers.
"Well…I see. Just don't get too caught up; you have other responsibilities."
"I am aware."
There was silence again, the only sound the soft shushing noise of the brush pulling through her long hair.
"Are things going well with the heir?" Bula asked. For some reason, a knot of unease twisted in Myrah's stomach at the mention of Theodynn.
"Well enough," she said. Her hair was done; there was no reason to keep brushing it. But she found that she didn't want to stop; there was something relaxing in the brushing motion…and it meant that she didn't have to turn and face her advisor.
"He's still hooked up on all that affection nonsense, isn't he?" Bula guessed. "Having met him now on several occasions, I can see what you mean about him being young. It's going to take a while to get him where he needs to be…"
"Probably," Myrah agreed softly. She forced herself to lower the hairbrush and turned to face Bula. "I'll be at the meeting in the morning, but for now I'd like to head to bed."
Her advisor realized she was being dismissed and seemed irritated, but she finally bowed her head respectfully.
"Of course. I'll see you tomorrow."
The door closed as Myrah turned to face herself in the mirror again, but suddenly she didn't feel like she had the energy to plait it like she normally did. Instead, she stared at her reflection with her questioning eyes and thick locks of hair spilling over her shoulders and struggled to recognize herself.
"So…you play the giant violin?"
Amber smirked a little at M's question, but David looked affronted.
"It's a cello," he corrected coolly, and M. rolled his eyes.
"Right. But those are violins, right?"
He gestured to Jennifer and Conny, who were tuning their violins as they watched him out of the corner of their eyes.
"Right, those are violins. And this is a piano, Openheimer…I'm sure you've heard of them before?"
M. turned to scowl at Dani who was speaking, rubbing the top of the practice piano with a relished smugness. Amber couldn't help but snicker, and the sandy-haired teen turned to glare at her.
"Geez, I know most instruments. It's just the bigger ones I don't usually see. You know…the giant violins, the giant trumpets…"
"You mean a tuba?" Jennifer asked dryly. M. ignored her as he continued.
"Those I get a little mixed up. But I bet you guys wouldn't know a quarter of the dancing terminology I've heard in class just today!"
"It's fine, M. You don't have to know what the instruments are called," Amber assured, coming up next to him. "I didn't know any of them either."
"Do you play an instrument?" he asked, his tone surly, and she shook her head as she lead him over to the seats along one wall.
"Nah, I just listen. I never did go along the instrument path; I'm more a dancer than anything else. Theo knows some piano. He's ok, for an amateur, but he's always wanted his own piano. My parents never did get him one; I think that it would be too hard to transport home. Not to mention I don't think Oni would really appreciate the noise levels required for practicing instruments."
M relaxed as she spoke, and she hoped it meant that he was done being defensive today. She could still feel his small spikes of jealousy every time they were around the Musicians, and it was starting to dawn on Amber that he had never been jealous of her, he was jealous of them. She just had no idea why.
"Do you know how to play any instruments?" she asked, but he shook his head.
"My father wouldn't have let me learn even if I wanted to; anything that distracts from my lifelong career in dancing was a waste of time in his book."
She processed that as the musicians finished warming up their instruments.
"But did you want to learn?" she asked. M just shrugged.
"Not really," he admitted, and he seemed genuine. Amber was lost; what on earth was he jealous of, if he didn't even want to learn an instrument in the first place?
"Attention, ladies and gentleman!" Dani was saying now, and Amber turned to face her roommate. The bespeckled girl was beaming at them in the chairs; there were only a few girls here today, and M was the only boy—hence Dani's use of gentleman.
"You are about to be the first audience to hear our newest rock-classical single in it's full glory…"
"Rock-classical?" M muttered under his breath as he folded his arms in a condescending way. Amber elbowed him as Dani finished.
"It's called The Strings That Kept Us Close Have Broken. Or The River Couldn't Stop Moving. Title still pending…" the brunette said, with a sideways glance at David. The Cellist rolled his eyes, and Amber couldn't help smile a little. She had been there when they had fought over the title initially; it seemed they still hadn't come to a consensus.
"Anyways….One, two, three, four!"
Dani always counted off at the beginning of their songs, like they were about to play hard rock. Instead, classical music made of a handful of string instruments, a piano, and one clarinet created a very different musical aesthetic, but Amber had always thought that it was a nice detail. The song sounded sad to Amber. It was melodic, with the piano and clarinet trading the melody as the strings sounded like a wistful ebb and flow in the background. At the end she and the others clapped; even M. seemed begrudgingly aware that it was a well made song and he joined in.
"The first title is better," he said as the clapping died down. "It's too sad to just be about a river."
This seemed to make Dani happy, but David just scowled as he turned to the Openheimer.
"The song isn't sad. It's serene…"
"It's sad, David. Just admit that it's got a definite air of melancholy," Dani cut in, a hand going to her forehead in a dramatic way. The heavy-set cellist didn't seem convinced and Amber bounced one leg.
"Both titles are good," she tried, and Jennifer rolled her eyes.
"Don't lie, Amber. You just said last week you liked the first one too. Deal with it David, your title got overturned."
Amber could feel David's annoyance and even hurt and she jumped in again.
"But it's still a good title. You just need a song that matches it more perfectly than this one. You'll get it."
David didn't really say anything as he began twisting the top string's tuning knob on his cello; Amber had decided he always did that when something was bothering him.
M was looking at her with a strange expression and she turned to her.
"What?"
"Is this it, then?"
She frowned.
"Is what it?"
M gestured to the musicians.
"They play music and you just sit here and listen?"
She shrugged and he scoffed, leaning back in his chair.
"Why?" she demanded.
"Well, that seems kinda boring to do over and over all week…"
"Sometimes they play famous songs and we all sing. And sometimes we just talk…"
"You sing?"
Amber blinked at M's tone, and the Musicians all looked over at him almost warily.
"Sure, if I know the words," Amber said, her own tone a little defensive. "Why is that so hard to believe?
M seemed a little embarrassed now, but he continued on in a nonchalant manner as she shrugged.
"I dunno, I've just never heard you sing before. I mean…your Dad can't."
Amber stiffened; what was with him lately? Dani had come out from behind the piano, her hands on her hips.
"Amber sings fine," she pointed out defensively, and she looked over at her roommate. "And I'm sure your Dad sings fine too…"
"How would you know?" M. snapped back, and Amber sighed in frustration.
"Look, if you don't like to sing, you don't have to come on those days…"
"You don't need to get defensive, Amber," M said, turning to her, and she scowled.
"I'm not the one acting defensive," she pointed out. By now the other musicians came over and were eyeing M skeptically.
"Do you have a problem with us, Openheimer?" Conny asked, and Jennifer rolled her eyes.
"I told you dancers think they're better than us…."
"Yeah, if you're too good to hang out with us musicians and singers…" David was saying, and M's blush darkened.
"I don't care if you're musicians, geez!" he snapped back, glancing over at Amber. His emotions were all over the place and she really couldn't figure out what the heck was up with him today.
"You've made it clear you don't like hanging around us," Dani pointed out with folded arms, and M. pushed his hair out of his face in what looked like an effort to look casual.
"I don't mind hanging out with you," he argued. "In fact, we have a free day next week. Why don't we all spend it together?"
This seemed to surprise everyone, and Amber could pick up on suspicions coming from her musical friends. The Oni raised an eyebrow.
"You sure, M?"
He didn't seem sure, and she wondered if he had offered the suggestion without really thinking about it first. But at her question he blinked and smoothed his vest.
"Course I'm sure. We could go to town, or hit the beach or something."
Silence fell, and Amber turned to see what her other friends would answer to that. After a minute Dani shrugged.
"Sure; I love the beach."
At their ringleader's agreement, everyone else seemed to follow suit, nodding and shrugging and 'whatever'ing. M. seemed both irritated and pleased with himself; Amber wasn't really sure how those two emotions could coincide. He glanced over at her.
"You in, Amber?"
"Sure. Maybe we can have a picnic or something." She had a sudden panic and frowned. "You…have picnics in Ninjago, right? Where you eat outside?"
Her friends all laughed, M included, and she flushed. Dani seemed to sense her embarrassment and was quick to reassure her.
"Yeah, we do picnics all the time. In fact, I'm kinda sad we haven't done one before now."
M. sort of scoffed, but he turned it into cough as everyone turned to him.
"Ok. Sounds like a plan."
24