"A 75%?" Dirk exclaimed.

"No way."

"Even I studied harder for that exam than I usually do!" Owaissa pouted with her arms crossed as Dirk and Aurelia turned to her. They all knew that it was Owaissa's grades who always suffered the most.

"It's alright. We'll figure out how to do even better next time. Owaiss—"

"It's not Owaissa."

"Wait what?"

Dirk furrowed his eyebrows and repeated, "It's not Owaissa. It's Ember."

"What?!" Aurelia and Owaissa exclaimed in shock.

They all turned to look at Ember, who was leaning on the pillar of the bunk bed, his head down and his hands in his pockets.

"But…you always do well Em," Owaissa said, confused. "What happened?"

Ember simply shrugged. "We had to read a stupid book."

"And?"

"So I didn't do great."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"I meant what I said," said Ember, irritated now.

"You know this grade could hold us all back a semester," Dirk spoke up in a low voice. "I've—I've done the math." Dirk's hands clenched into fists and his voice hardened. "You did it on purpose, didn't you."

Ember's eyes went slightly wider at the accusation. "No—"

"To PISS US OFF!" Dirk yelled in a rare display of anger.

"Dirk!" Aurelia protested.

"YOU STINKING ROTTEN SON OF A MUTT!"

"DIRK!" Aurelia shouted forcefully, stepping between Ember and the raging giant.

"Don't you 'Dirk' me, Aur! We're trying our hardest to be Huntsmen here and get out as quickly as we can so we can save the world! And this sneaky little COWARD is getting in the way!"

"I'm warning you—"

"What does he even care?! He doesn't even want to be a Hunstman—"

SLAP.

Dirk stared in disbelief. The other two held their breath, still processing what had just happened. "Let. Him. Finish." Aurelia spoke in a low voice, hard violet eyes boring into Dirk's. Dirk opened his mouth to protest but in the blink of an eye, Aurelia had two fingers pressed hard against Dirk's chest. Normally the force of that blow would have thrown back Owaissa a few feet. As it was, it only made Dirk stagger back a step.

"SIT." She said through clenched teeth. After a moment, Dirk closed his mouth and obeyed, his eyes still smouldering.

Aurelia turned her eagle-eyed stare on Ember. "You. Talk. NOW."

Ember gulped. "I…I don't read all that great." ("All that well," Dirk muttered to himself. Aurelia aimed a kick backward at Dirk's shin, eyes still locked on Ember.) "It was fine when we had lecture. I could listen to everything and learn that way. But the way it's been now with Professor Peach gone…" Ember trailed off and looked down at his feet, still with his hands in his pockets, though he seemed more subdued than usual to Aurelia's astute intuition.

"So…you learn by listening, but can't learn by reading." Owaissa summarized. Ember said nothing.

"Owaissa, grab me that book." Aurelia pointed, her eyes still fixed on Ember. Owaissa sent out an aura stream, retrieved the book of interest and laid it gently in Aurelia's open hand. The air felt like nothing more than a gentle brush. Aurelia thumbed open to a chapter and put it in front of Ember, pointing to a spot. "Read."

"This is a kid's book! I know how to read that—"

"READ."

There was no arguing with Aurelia. Ember looked down at the page.

"Out loud."

Ember looked up for a second, an indescribable emotion flickering across his face before he looked back down. "The…duck said…weir…where…it's where…are you…going." Owaissa had her hands over her mouth, and Ember wasn't sure whether she was shocked or trying really hard not to laugh. Dirk had his head in his hands like he was done with life.

"Well. There we have it." Aurelia plucked the book out of Ember's hands and tossed it onto Dirk's bed.

"How come you didn't just tell us?!" Dirk blurted out. "We could have helped you and then we wouldn't be failing like we are now!"

Ember bristled. "You filthy—"

"That's ENOUGH!" Aurelia cut in. She glared at Dirk, gave Ember a look that made him look away, then turned to address the whole team. "Starting tomorrow until the rest of the year, Ember you will study with Dirk for two hours. Dirk, you will teach Ember to read." Both Ember and Dirk's heads shot up simultaneously, surprisingly similar expressions of stubbornness and indignation on their faces. "One hour will be dedicated to textbook reading for Professor Peach's class. The second hour will be a book of Dirk's choice."

Ember retaliated. "But I don't—"

"Need to read?" Aurelia finished, a dangerous edge to her voice as her violet eyes flashed at Ember. "You think you can have your revenge without reading wanted posters? Without scanning shipment documents for important information? Without stealing and reading his letters? Or his scroll messages? You think he'll give you five full minutes to read a sentence on his laptop screen?! NO! You'll be lucky to have five seconds! And then what will our pool little lad do, hmm?"

When Ember didn't respond, Aurelia continued. "You will both notify Owaissa every day where you will be and what time you will start and finish." Owaissa looked up as Aurelia called her name. "Owaissa will be checking on you regularly to ensure you are fulfilling your two hour time slot. You have all authority to knock these two bozos in the head if necessary."

Owaissa slowly nodded, a hint of a smirk on her face, ignoring the glaring ninja on her right and the incredulous giant on her left. "Done. And you?"

"At the end of each week, Ember, you will submit a report to me on the book of Dirk's choosing. A legible report, mind you." Owaissa stifled a snicker. "Dirk will instruct you as necessary on what kind of report to write and how to write it. I will function as your third party evaluator to see that progress is made at an appropriate pace. That is all. Am I understood."

"But—" Ember and Dirk protested at the same time.

"AM I UNDERSTOOD?"

Dirk hung his head immediately. "Yes ma'am," he squeaked. Aurelia looked at Ember, who after a few seconds, finally nodded once. Aurelia glanced at Owaissa as if to ask, Is that a yes? Owaissa looked sideways at Ember, then back at Aurelia. I think so?

That's enough for me. "Good," Aurelia said aloud. "Dirk, you're in charge of curriculum. Start planning what you want to do this afternoon. Owaissa, help him." Both her and Dirk looked up in surprise. Aurelia rolled her eyes. "Otherwise, he'll make Ember read The Seven Histories of Mistralian Architecture, and we would not want that, would we?"

Owaissa giggled, Dirk cracked a smile, and even Ember smirked a little. Dirk's love for all things built was no secret amongst the four of them. The tension in the room immediately lightened and everyone felt like they could breathe again.

"Roger that, team leader!" Dirk saluted Aurelia, back to his usual goofy self. This time, both Owaissa and Aurelia rolled their eyes.

Ember was two steps away from the door. "Hold it, I'm coming with you." Aurelia grabbed Aerafet from where it hung on the pillar of her bunk and strode out in Ember's wake. The door shut out Dirk and Owaissa's now enthusiastic voices, leaving nothing but the sound of their footseps as they walked down the hallway towards the training rooms. Ember was brooding as Aurelia tried to figure out what to say.

"I know you don't like being told what to do. You—"

"Yeah, well, you didn't act like it." Ember lashed out.

"Hear me out, please."

"I've already heard you out! You're not my mother, Aurelia. Stop acting like it." Ember stalked forward. Aurelia was tempted to lash back, but instead bit down on her lip and brushed past the abrasive comment. "Think of it as training, Ember. That's all I ask."

"Training?" Ember's tone was less harsh now as he considered the implications of what Aurelia was saying. Aurelia caught up to him.

"Yeah. Just like you train physically to kill Grimm and…you know…you've also got to train your mind." Aurelia paused as she watched her words sink in.

When all Ember gave was a noncommittal grunt, Aurelia took that as an okay to continue. "You're strong Ember. You've had to be. You hate it when people tell you what to do. And above all, you hate being weak. Like…like me." Both Ember and Aurelia hadn't expected to venture this deep, and Aurelia quickly backtracked. "But this is a chance to become even stronger. Dirk is—"

"Dirk's an idiot." Ember stated flatly. "A bumbling blockhead."

"Fair," Aurelia agreed. "Yes, he can be an idiot. But he's also…" Aurelia trailed off, searching for the right words. "He has good intentions. When he says he wants to help…he genuinely means it. He doesn't have any other motive except to help people become better versions of themselves. I know," Aurelia responded to Ember's skeptically raised eyebrow. "It's hard to believe. But…its true." They reached the door of the training rooms. "Just…give him a chance, okay?"

Ember paused with his hand on the doorknob. Finally, he turned around and stared right at Aurelia with his orange-yellow eyes. Even after months of being around him, Aurelia could never get over the feeling those two intense, almost glowing pools of golden liquid gave her. Some mix between awe, and fear, and strength. "For your sake, I'll try," Ember said softly, then turned back around and walked into the training room.

That will be enough. "Alright. Because if you don't, I'll kill you." Aurelia had on a straight face as Ember glanced sideways at her, but almost immediately she broke into a grin.

"As if you could, "Ember scoffed, but his eyes held a rare glow. Was he joking too?

"Let's find out, shall we?"