Author's note: Sorry for the delay - work has been a nightmare. x(

And thanks for all the reviews! I'm glad everyone liked my portrayal of Royal - hope ya'll like the snippet of Eleanor in this chapter!


Day Forty-Six of Forever:


It was dark by the time Beau and Royal returned to the well-lit house. Royal instructed Beau to bring the vehicle back into his garage work-space, muttering to himself about flaws in the trans-axle alignment and needing to re-calibrate the hydraulic clutch system. Beau figured he would be wasting his breath if he told his brother he hadn't noticed a single issue with the Civic so he wisely said nothing as he shut off the engine.

Leaving Royal to his fussing, Beau exited the garage, half torn about reentering the house and hiding out somewhere. He knew he had to face Edythe at some point and apologize for being short with her, but he wasn't sure if he was ready for the talk that was sure to follow.

Logically, he knew that he couldn't drag his feet forever, but Beau wanted to be sure he got all of his doubt and fear set aside firmly before he fully committed himself to recovery. He felt if he didn't it would always hold him back in some way and hinder his development. But how to explain that to his wife without worrying her needlessly?

The question was put on the back-burner when he approached the house, however. No sooner had he crossed the threshold and Carine was calling out to Beau, beckoning him to her office. Curious, he dashed up the stairs in the blink of an eye, knowing that his adoptive mother was not alone in her study.

When he appeared in her doorway, he found Carine impassive, her hands folded together on her desk as she sat in her leather chair stoically. It felt a little bit like he was being called into the principal's office and he felt on edge immediately. Edythe was already seated across from her so Beau went to stand behind her, placing his hands on the back of her chair. His wife said nothing but reached up to squeeze his hand quickly.

"What's going on?"

Carine exchanged a look with her daughter briefly before addressing Beau. "Edythe and I were discussing our continued time in Forks when she brought to my attention that it may not be as critical that we wait out the end of your time as a new vampire. It didn't seem wise to leave this area while you were still in your first few months but time has proved your control is on par with your siblings already. I feel confident that we could see you into more densely populated human areas without worry in the very near future."

Beau's eyebrows were drawn together. "I'm not sure if I understand what you mean."

"Our reasons for staying are no longer reasons, it seems," she went on slowly as if mulling it over. "Besides Archie, the rest of your siblings would no longer be staying at the high school and enough time has passed since your passing that there would be no longer be suspicions if we were to moved now. It might even be more favorable to leave now and use the summer months to resettle elsewhere. But I thought it best to discuss this with you first before we bring it up to the rest of the family."

Beau frowned, his grip on the chairback tightening minuscule. "Why is that? Would we be leaving... For my sake?"

"Not exclusively, no," Carine stated plainly. "The circumstances are forcing our hands a bit. For instance in the next month I am expected to turn thirty-three for my co-workers, implausible as it might seem due to my obvious youth. They will grow suspicious if we stay much longer, unfortunately." She paused, her expression clouded now. "That's one reason. But the murder of the other Charles Swan has created another. No one should draw connections between your death and the death of a man who shared a similar name to yours, but it is always better to be cautious."

His frown deepened. "Is it likely that someone is watching that closely?"

"The Volturi rely on a network of informants. It's hard to say but we do draw more than our fair share of scrutiny based on our diet." She held her hands out apologetically. "We are different and so held to a higher standard than most, I would think."

Beau took a moment to absorb that. "So it's best we leave sooner rather than later."

"Perhaps." She folded her hands together again. "It does depend on you, however, Beau, if for no other reason than the fact that you are central to our plans. Would you find it agreeable to leave here in the near future? I know you still have some ties to this area, for one, but the more pressing question I have is if you would be able to settle into a largely human community sooner than anticipated. I have full faith in you of course but you would know better than I if you're ready to integrate into human society as we do. Would you feel uncomfortable?"

If he was honest with himself, Beau wasn't completely sure one way or another. Logically, he knew that his gift would be a huge asset in his transition into rejoining the world and the same fears that plagued other newborns were largely nonexistent for him. Now that he knew that his shield was the reason he could escape his blood lust he felt confident that with ample practice he could attempt to blend among humans. But on the other hand, he had seen now how spectacularly he could be rendered into a base creature, how easily he could kill and destroy with the right provocation. It made him skittish to imagine himself around humans in abundance, in a high school setting no less, so soon after. But he also understood the need for discretion - the longer they stayed the more chaos they might be invoking with their presence.

He turned the idea over silently, going in circles. He did not wanting to think about some of the larger the implications if he was to decide to leave, of what it would mean to leave his closest human family behind and start over far away. They wouldn't return to the area, not for a period so long in which everyone who might have remembered them would be long gone. This would be good bye for real. He would never be as close to Charlie physically again as he was right now but maybe that was a good thing.

In fact... that was maybe whole the point.

Beau's shoulders slumped as that realization washed over him. "Edythe put you up to this, didn't she, Carine? It was her idea to leave Forks early."

Edythe herself didn't flinch but Carine was easier to read; her too-honest face fell a bit, her eyes flicking to her daughter's face for guidance. It was confirmation enough for Beau.

"Edythe?" He leaned around the chair to look at his wife who was staring ahead pointedly.

"Yes?" Her voice was low and maybe a little defensive.

"Is there a particular reason why you thought to go to Carine with this and not me?"

"I'm trying to help."

"By making a decision without me," he said calmly. "By deciding what is best for me."

"She meant well," Carine promised, her eyes soft. "Edythe is worried about you."

"I know." Beau sighed as Edythe finally met his eye. He couldn't deny feeling disappointed that she went around him about this. "But I wish you had talked to me about this first before going to Carine."

She frowned. "I didn't think you had the distance necessary to consider this option. You might be too close to the situation."

"By which you mean my father."

"Yes," she said sadly.

Carine stood silently, excusing herself so that the couple might have some privacy for this discussion. Once she was gone Beau turned the chair Edythe was in around so that she couldn't look away from him. She touched his face gingerly, her eyes apologetic. But he wasn't angry - he just wanted to understand.

"You think we should leave." It was a statement, not a question the way he posed it.

"Yes. For your sake as much as his," she said imploringly. "I wasn't strong enough to leave you when I should have before, but I can be strong for you this time. You're afraid we are putting him in danger by being here and I can't deny the truth to that." She took his hand in hers. "And so I thought this might be the best way to move past this fear you feel."

"Moving away from Charlie isn't going to do that," he argued.

"It could. It would be a clean break to sever this tie physically by leaving the area. We have to go anyway but maybe if we leave now it will force you into the separation that you need." Her eyes were hooded. "Being so close to Charlie isn't doing you any good, Beau. You can't have closure if you leave yourself even the smallest hope of seeing him again, of somehow being a part of his life still."

"I have no illusions about that anymore," Beau said glumly. "I fully understand that it'd be a death sentence for him."

"Maybe, maybe not. But we are better off not taking that chance."

"And I agree. But you didn't need to do this. You could have talked to me." He tried not to sound hurt but he didn't fully manage it.

"I've been trying," she whispered, her tone echoing his. "I've been trying to talk to you, love, but I'm not getting anything from you. I thought it was best to approach Carine on my own about this. And she has agreed with me that this could be the smartest move."

"I don't doubt that you're both a lot smarter than me about this especially." Beau kneeled on the floor in front of his wife. He looked down at their clasped hands. "But you can't just go around making decisions for me unilaterally. Even if you're right and I wouldn't have been open to talking about this yet, I think I still deserved the chance to prove you wrong before you ambushed me with this."

"You're right," Edythe said, properly admonished. "I just felt so useless..."

"And that is my fault," Beau said, knowing he was equally in the wrong. "I didn't make you felt like you had any choice but to do this. I know I've been... Difficult lately. I'm sorry about that."

"Don't be sorry. I should have been more patient and had more faith in you." She smiled sadly. "I'm not used to not knowing what do to. I am an usually arrogant person."

"And I love you still for it." Beau tried to smile back but the expression eluded him. It came out as more of a grimace. "I'm still trying to find my way for now, Edythe. I will get there at some point, after I've muddled through all of this. But I'm not there yet." He reached his free hand up to cup her cheek. "You're probably right about leaving, though. I don't like it but it might be for the best. Let me think about that and get back to you."

She leaned into his touch, closing her eyes. "Take as much time as you need." Edythe turned her face, grazing her lips against the palm of his hand. "I won't rush you."

"Thank you." He replaced his hand with his mouth, kissing her softly. It was the closest he had felt to being comforted and he clung to that knowledge. It was all he had amidst his tormented thoughts.

Edythe clung to his lips a beat longer before pulling away. She ran her fingers through his hair on reflex, gazing into his murky eyes, looking for something. Whatever it was, she didn't seem to find it. A sad smile stole over her lips as she leaned down, kissing the top of his head.

Beau looked at her questioningly but Edythe shook her head. "It's nothing."

But the way she ran his hand over his cheek and down his neck slowly said otherwise. It was as if she was desperate to touch him, to keep contact with his skin like she was afraid he could disappear at any moment.

It reminded him uncomfortably to the unease he had picked up from her when they separated during Joss's hunt. Just the flash of that memory made his stomach knot.

"I'm here," he whispered, the urgency in tone exposing his own unnerving.

"I know," she replied, her eyes glimmering in the warm light of the office. "I know that, love."

"Then why are you looking at me as if you'll never see me again?"

She startled, dropping her eyes to her lap. "I'm not... Not exactly, anyway." She shook her head. "It's just so strange to see where we are now versus how we were even two days ago. How things have shifted between us." Edythe slid her hand to his chest, over his still heart. "It's just... difficult to accept, I suppose. I just miss how easy this all was back in our home. No missteps, no miscommunication, just you and me."

Beau said nothing, knowing he could not comfort her as she wanted him too. She was right that things were radically different now, that the ease that had blanketed them had been ripped away with Victor's return. He didn't know how to get back to the rose-colored world that had enraptured them in the cottage. He didn't even know if it was realistic to try to get back there. Maybe the honeymoon period really was over.

His silence spoke worlds to Edythe, however, and she found herself fighting back a wave of sorrow. So much progress - all gone. All the barriers that had fallen away were replaced with new ones now and she had no idea how to surmount them. It made Edythe feel very small.

But she didn't know how to express that to her husband without seeming callous about what he had gone through. It was selfish of her to want to lay with Beau as they had before as husband and wife, to wrap themselves in their love again and ignore the outside world as they had for the past few weeks; he was going through a difficult time, she knew, and it might be months still until he was ready for that sort of bliss again. But it didn't make her long for it any less.

Was this going to be how their wedding bliss fell apart? It was perhaps Victor's ultimate cruelty.

With some difficulty Edythe shoved away that thought; it was too painful. She lightly pushed Beau's shoulder away so she could stand.

He got to his feet as well, his eyes dark and unreadable. Unfamiliar. His eyes had always served as a window into his thoughts for Edythe, her only clue to what he was thinking without the aid of her gift. It was starling to see him become someone else before her eyes, a hardened version of the man she loved. She didn't want him to change but she supposed it was unavoidable in the wake of everything he had been through. She could only hope he came through the other side of this in a way that he could still recognize himself; there was so much about Beau to love and Edythe didn't want him to forget that about himself.

Edythe left Beau shortly after, claiming she needed to help Archie with preparations to leave Forks should the plan come to fruition. He thought that now she was perhaps the one who needed space, however. Beau couldn't fault her for that.

With Edythe gone, he wandered around the upper levels of the house aimlessly, turning over their discussion from every angle meticulously. He knew she might have been right about him being opposed to the idea for the wrong reasons so Beau was trying to think if there was anything else keeping them in Forks, any good reason why they should wait out the year as originally planned. He came up short, however. Besides being the ideal climate for a coven of vampires, Washington State no longer served their purposes and instead hindered their need to blend it.

The Cullens were too noticed, too exposed here, since their part in playing the family of a girl mourning the death of her boyfriend, the police chief's son. Beau's death had been the biggest thing to happen in the sleepy town for years and he knew the notoriety of it wasn't likely to pass for some time. It would be brought up again when his birthday rolled around in the fall, every time someone remembered why Archie was going to be attending his senior year of high school without his grieving sister, and quietly gossiped about whenever Charlie was brought up. Eleanor had even showed him that there was a full page in remembrance of Beau in their yearbook, short as his time at Forks High School had been.

Edythe hadn't been exaggerating when she had once told him that if Beau had died after spending so much time with her publicly there would be consequences for her family. The implications were not what she might have predicted, but there was no denying that the Cullens' normal life had been disrupted none-the-less. Carine couldn't get through a single shift without someone asking her how Edythe was holding up since everyone believed the public story that she was still distraught. Eyes were turned on them in ways they usually weren't and that was simply dangerous - too many eyes bred a chance to be truly seen.

Beau knew he had brought this on the family and with a sigh came to the obvious conclusion: they had to leave the state. Even putting aside the promise of a clean break Edythe had talked about, there didn't seem to be anything but benefits for them leaving. And maybe the normalcy of settling into his new role as a vampire pretending to be a high school student would give him distraction enough to forget everything else. He resolved to give Edythe his decision when she returned later so they could tell Carine together.

His choice made, Beau left his pacing to make his way into the main living area. The house was largely empty besides Royal - still tinkering unnecessarily with his already perfect Honda - and Eleanor who appeared to be watching some football game on the couch. Not wanting to be alone with his thoughts anymore, Beau decided to join her. The house was pleasantly quiet besides the rumble of the television and he wanted to capitalize on it.

But no sooner had he dropped himself onto the upholstered sectional and Eleanor broke the silence he had been looking forward to enjoying.

"How much longer are you planing on hanging around here anyway? Don't you have your own house?"

Beau looked over at Eleanor who was propped over the back of the couch backwards, her feet in the air and her head an inch from the ground. He frowned at her. "Trying to get rid of me already?"

Eleanor smirk was upside down as she sprawled over the sofa, her hair spilling over the floor. "I just didn't expect you to still be here when you're supposed to be going at it like rabbits, little bro. Honeymoon over so quickly?"

Beau froze, somewhere between embarrassed/annoyed at her casual mention of his sex life, and being unnerved that she echoed the same sentiment he was still coming to terms with. He worked his features into a disapproving expression. "That's really none of your business, Eleanor."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh don't get all modest on me now. Like we don't know what you two were up to for the good part of this last month. Or are we supposed to believe you guys were just holed up playing a very long game of chess?" Her frame was shaking with laughter. "Though I guess that could be possible considering how tame you've been as a newborn..."

Beau rolled his eyes. "Think whatever you want, El. I really don't care."

"Well it makes as much sense as anything. I just can't picture you and E getting down and dirty for three straight weeks."

"Please stop trying to picture it," he replied dryly.

She held her hands up - or rather down - as if in surrender. "Just saying. You still wouldn't be anywhere me and Royal's record though - 58 days solid. Now that was doing a honeymoon right." Eleanor's grin widened. "But all spent up after less than a month? Tsk tsk. So much for vampire stamina."

"Eleanor," he growled, the warning in his tone evident.

But she either didn't hear it or else actively ignored it and kept going. "And all of the walls of the cottage are still standing? That is really disappointing, Beau! That chess match theory is starting to come together, you know."

Beau clenched his fists. "Okay, my sex life is not on the table for discussion, Eleanor. Give it a rest."

"And if I don't?" Her eyes were dancing.

"I will throw you through the TV and not even feel sorry about you missing the rest of the game," he promised darkly.

Eleanor shrugged. "It's not even a good match-up; Packers are up by thirty in the last quarter so I wouldn't be missing much. Besides," she added, flashing her teeth menacingly. "I could use a little work out. I do owe you a good ass-kicking anyway."

"Take it outside," Royal called from the detached garage. "Earnest will be upset if you break the house."

Beau shook his head. "I'm not really in the mood for this, Eleanor. Just lay off, okay?"

"So touchy!" She snickered, making the couch shake with her laughter. "Sure sounds like you need to work out a little... frustration? That may or may not be of the sexual kind? A honeymoon of just playing chess will surely give you a wicked case of blue-"

Beau went to level a kick at Eleanor, but she gracefully arched off the sofa and out of the way before it landed. She winked, straightening out as she tied her hair into a messy ponytail. "Alright, now we're getting somewhere. Come on, let's go, little bro."

"I'm not fighting with you," he growled, glaring at the television.

"Okay, I'll give you two choices," Eleanor said, putting her hands on her hips. "Either come out with me and have a little rough fun or I can keep making cracks about you banging my sister. You kick my ass and I never say another word about what you two get up to behind closed doors again." She raised an eyebrow in challenge. "But if you don't get off the couch in the next five seconds, things are going to get worse. A lot worse. Ya feel me?"

Beau wasn't exactly sure what she meant by worse, but having been around the Denali brothers and their crude vernacular, he had a hunch. He begrudgingly got to his feet.

El clapped her hands together thunderously. "Smart man. Follow me, Beau."

She lead him out of the house without much ado. He figured they would just get right into it but Eleanor surprised him by taking him on a hunting trip into the deep forest area first. It was barely raining under the dense trees so they stayed relatively dry as together they felled random game they came across. Beau even managed to pick off a decent-sized black bear virtually unscathed, which improved his mood a little.

After they had their fill, the twosome continued into the mountainous area where the terrain became rocky and inhospitable. Few scent trails managed to go out this far besides the occasional wild cat or bear. It was as remote at the wilderness got.

After trudging a few dozen more miles along, Eleanor finally signaled they could stop. She threw off her hoodie, stretching her arms overhead with a content grin. Beau eyed her warily, expecting her to charge at him at any moment now that she was ready to get down to business. He wasn't exactly looking forward to their rematch but wanted to have the moment over with as soon as possible. This really wasn't his idea of fun.

Eleanor sauntered over to the mountain that divided the overgrown forest area in half. It was a decent size, maybe the height of a small high-rise building and about half a mile across. Even El looked small next to it. She waved Beau over, who hadn't moved from the treeline, watching his sister with careful eyes.

"So, confession time," she said with a smirk. "I didn't bring you all the way out here to beat up you - even though I think you deserve a good whooping. I actually had something else in mind." Eleanor jerked her thumb over her should, towards the towering peak behind her. "I want you to crush this mountain instead."

Beau waited for the punchline. "Okay I don't get it. What do you mean?"

She rolled her eyes. "I meant what I said. Come on, break it."

"You're not serious, El…"

She looked serious though, more serious than he had ever seen her actually. Her arms were crossed impressively, making her look just as intimidating as always, but with none of the laugh lines around her mouth that he was used to. Serious Eleanor was very off-putting.

"We're not leaving until you do it," she threatened. "Break. The. Mountain."

"Um, no. Why would I do that?" He couldn't understand what she was aiming for but he wasn't in the mood to play games.

"Because you're afraid of how strong you are," she said matter-of-factly.

Beau didn't bother trying to disagree with her; she'd see through it anyway. "And how would breaking a mountain will help that exactly?"

"Making you face your fears head on." She sighed as he continued to look at her incredulously. "Look, Beau, you need to face this now. Get back on the horse so to speak. If you don't, it's always going to haunt you. You're not going to be quite this strong in a few more months, but you're still going to be strong enough. And we can't have you hesitating over everything you do and self conscious of yourself.

"Take it from me," she said, her words kinder now. "I'm freakishly strong. I was a wrecking ball as a newborn and that strength never really went away. It was a little disconcerting to always have to be mindful of what I could do and know I was capable of destroying everything I touched, but I had to accept what that meant for me. I couldn't keep tiptoeing around it."

"So smashing stuff made that better?" he asked skeptically.

"No it didn't."

"Then why-"

"I needed to learn to accept myself for who I was, Beau. I had to come to terms with my strength before it took over who I was." Eleanor's eyes were gentle. "I am more than my strength, more than the destruction that comes with being who I am. I am smart and somewhat nice and so much more than people might give me credit for when they first see me. I'm also super funny and pretty darn hot, too," she added with a wink, defusing the tension in her voice. "But it's too easy to pigeonhole me just as the strong girl.

"And you're doing that to yourself right now too," Eleanor said walking back towards him, jabbing Beau in the center of his chest when he was close enough. "Not seeing yourself for all the faucets of who you are. And I'm not going to let you get away with it any longer. So you are going to get out all your frustration and anger and whatever other messed up feelings you have by seeing your full capabilities right now. And you are going to remember what you can do - and then you're going to move the hell on.

"Because yeah you are strong but you're also well-read and stupidly kind and caring to a fault," she said, her arm around his shoulder, squeezing roughly. "You laugh at really lame jokes and can be very sarcastic even though you usually end up apologizing a bunch afterwards for it. You're a good person, Beau, who would never hurt a fly willingly, but who is capable of a lot more damage now than you were as a human. So accept yourself for who you are now. Cause it's painful for all of us to see how down on yourself your being. We love you Beau, so you should love yourself too. You deserve to."

Beau couldn't respond to that. So he let Eleanor push him closer to the small mountain, eyeing it decidedly. Experimentally, he held put his hand on the side of the ridge and found it solid to his touch. But he knew it would take only a fraction of his strength to punch a crater into it. How much of his strength would it take to level it all? More than he had used before besides when he destroyed Victor…

But that was the point, wasn't it? To use that same amount of raw power, to push himself to his limit and see who it was that remained after? Would he break apart as he did after tearing Victor limb from limb, or could he still be the person Eleanor thought he was despite it?

Hoping he wasn't going to end up letting his sister down, Beau took a deep breath and swung his fist. The mountain trembled, cracking before him in an impressive fissure. His fist was partially embedded in the rock two feet in.

Eleanor snorted. "Pathetic. That all you got?"

Beau frowned. "Um, you do see my fist is in a mountain, right?"

"Yeah, exactly. I see a still standing mountain," she said sharply.

Beau pulled his fist out and struck the mountain again, more forcefully this time. The tremble was more of a roar this time, ominous as it cut through the air with his impact. Huge chunks of rubble dropped to the ground from above. The pair avoided them easily.

Beau gestured towards the mountain as if to say 'ta-da'. But Eleanor shook her head.

"Clearly we won't have to wait months if that's all you can do now. Maybe you didn't have too much of your own blood in your body after all if you're this weak already."

He glared at her. Being strong had never been important to him - he actually cringed from it - but it was insulting for her to imply all the same.

Drawing back his fist, Beau pounded into the side of the rock, pulling his fist free and punching again after. And then before he knew it he was using both fists, striking the mountain in rapid secession in movements too fast for human eyes. He couldn't stop, didn't want to stop. He was a boxer in his prime, a bolt of lightening with deadly consequences, a force of nature. The solid stone and earth couldn't stand up to him.

He practically tunneled through the mound with his hits, crushing everything in his path. The mountain cracked and creaked around him, dropping into chucks that crushed the earth below, but he kept going, channeling everything he had into his balled up hands. Every dredge of anger, every speck of pain, every tormented memory fueled his destruction until there was nothing else. The mountain took his punishing blows, falling apart spectacularly.

Beau didn't wait for the dust to settle. He kept punching, kicking, pounding every sheet of rock he could find. The mountain was being pulverized by a one-man demolition team.

Finally, he had to stop. There was nothing left to crush. Only ground up rock and crumbled remains surrounded his feet.

Beau was breathing hard, winded not from his expulsion of power, but from the roars of anger that had scraped up his throat as he all but screamed out his demons. His whole body was trembling still, pulsing with the power he had been keeping a lid on. He wrapped his arms around himself, trying to will away the shaking. Again, he knew he was out of control. He felt dangerously unhinged.

"Not bad." Eleanor was beside him. She ignored his quiet warning hiss, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Took a bit, but you did okay here."

He didn't think, he just acted. Beau grabbed her by her arm and flung her down into the destruction before him. He couldn't be sure if it was instinctual or if he was honestly annoyed with her, but either way he didn't feel sorry.

Eleanor's impact kicked up a cloud of dust. She didn't seem surprised by the throw though; she must have expected it as she retaliated immediately. She swept her legs out as she hit the earth, a movement so fast that Beau couldn't react and found himself on the ground too. The ground shook again.

After shaking off their daze, they were both on their feet, grappling now. Beau went to lift Eleanor over his head but she dug her heels into the dirt, planting herself firmly. This gave her the leverage she needed to drag Beau into a headlock. He tried to break her hold but her strength was too much. She forced him into the earth again, slamming her elbow into his back to keep him down.

Beau winced, throwing his hands back to try to shove her off of him. Eleanor stayed firm though, pinning one of his hands successfully. He managed to keep the other free, punching upwards at her and landing a hit. The air was forced out of her lungs, distracting her enough that Beau could regain the advantage.

With the pressure eased up, he threw his entire body upwards at her, shoving Eleanor until she was airborne. She didn't fly far and so Beau was able to grab her by her leg before she landed, slamming her into the dirt with such force the ground split. The crumbled remains of the mountain trickled into the fault, rushing to fill it around Eleanor's form. She made no move to get up, pinned still by a sharp-eyed Beau.

"You could have made better time," she said finally, picking the conversation back up as if they just hadn't had the short brawl.

"I'll remember that for next time," he all but growled.

"You should. My best time is twenty seconds with one this size," Eleanor explained with a shrug.

Beau scoffed. "Just how many mountains have you crushed?"

"Fourteen," she answered immediately. "One for every human I've killed."

Her honestly shocked Beau silent. His hands released Eleanor, allowing her to sit up while Beau kneeled beside her. He felt ashamed of his behavior now that he was rational again.

"It was - is - how I cope with all the blood on my hands," she added lightly. She shook the dust from her ponytail, watching her brother with unguarded eyes. "How I dealt with my frustrations for letting everyone, including myself, down."

"I… I didn't know."

She reached out to pat his shoulder. "Well it's not something I broadcast. I try not to let my weakness out there. I don't want it to control me any more than my strength does." Eleanor smiled but it was rueful. "Destroying the mountains was more about forcing myself to confront what I capable of, to remind myself of the danger I presented. To see what I could do to these giant rocks was supposed to keep me in line around the much more fragile humans. Keep me on my best behavior, you know. Each time I slip up, I do it all over again - I never want to forget that I am responsible for minding myself, for being better. And now you won't either," she finished with a nod over her shoulder. "You know what you can do now. Don't fear it; learn from it. Keep yourself in check. Got it, little bro?"

"Yeah. Got it." His tone was more resolved than bleak now.

"Good. Now dust yourself off and go home - your home."

Beau shook his head. "I don't think I'm ready to go back there."

"You better be. Edythe is waiting for you there," Eleanor explained to his confusion. He drew his eyebrows together. "Look, you guys can't keep running from this. She wants to be there for you, to help you heal. But you have to let her help. Don't shut her out."

"I'm not trying to shut her out. I just don't want to make things worse. She's hurting too. Because of me."

"Because she almost lost you," she corrected. "And she's a mess about it, yeah, but her main concern is for you, Beau. She's trying to be a good wife to you, to push away her own pain to get you to a better place. It's not easy for her being back there, I'd assume, but she's trying. For you. So get your butt in gear and return the favor."

Beau felt hopeless. "Are we just supposed to go back to our honeymoon like nothing's changed?"

"No, you're supposed to go back to your honeymoon and accept that things have changed - but not everything. You still have each other. Be grateful for that. Love her and cherish her, hold her close and be all stupid like newlyweds are supposed to be. Don't let the things that have changed change you," Eleanor said wisely. "Or change your relationship. Now go be the husband you promised her to be, Beau." She shoved his shoulder playfully.

"Right." He ran his fingers through his thick hair, mental preparing himself. "Right, okay. I'm going then." He stood, brushing off his clothes, facing north to where his wife was waiting for him. But he ducked in to kiss the top of Eleanor's head first. "Thanks for kicking my ass and getting my head back on straight, Ellie," he said affectionately. "I needed it."

She beamed. "It's what sisters are for, little bro. Come find me again when you need another ass kicking."

He laughed, the sound almost making him lightheaded. It felt good to laugh. Beau gave his sister a short wave before shooting off into the deeper wilderness. He was going home.