Another day, another chapter. This one's for Jade.

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A tension that had been evident behind words and actions had eased with the rising of the sun. Laughs rang out more freely, and more often, verbal battles eased, and grew more teasing than pointed. They no longer competed with each other for Ace's time, but while one spoke the other listened. In turn, both learned more about the other than they would have while sparring.

And they played more. Kiley, grinning, grabbed Ace by an arm and a leg and spun her around, flinging her through the air like a carnival ride. Up towards the sky and arcing down to the sand, skimming the top of the ground, missing it by scant inches on each pass. Knives had been staring off past the spires when she began, but the wild giggles caught his attention. As he turned, Kiley let go, and his heart nearly stopped when he saw the girl come flying towards him.

He grunted as he caught her, small arms grabbing tight as he held her close. He spent a moment checking the girl over, making sure she was all right while his heart remembered how to beat. Ace squirmed under his attentions, her giggles trailing off under her demands to be let down. Relaxing his grip, he let her go, then turned his gaze on Kiley.

"What the hell was that?" he demanded. "She could have been hurt. What if I hadn't caught her?"

Kiley grinned and shrugged. "You caught her. I knew you would; she knew you would. It felt scary without being dangerous. That's fun."

"No, it's just scary," he argued. "How could you be so sure I'd be able to catch her?" He stalked over to where she stood, glaring down at her. Her amused gaze didn't falter under the weight of his ire, but her arms shifted until her hands rested lightly on her hips.

Her mouth quirked. "There isn't a force in this universe that would keep you from saving her. I know it; she knows it. Are you saying you don't believe in yourself?"

His hands grabbed her shoulders and shook her, mostly lightly. "You don't play around with people's lives like that," he insisted. "She could have been hurt. If she had fallen, she could have broken her neck. You could have hurt her, swinging her around like that. You could have slammed her head into the ground. You could have wrenched her shoulder while flinging her around like that. It isn't safe."

She shrugged, unduly pleased to feel his hands move as she did so. "She can be hurt falling from that spire right now," she said, indicating her new position with her chin. He turned and began to go after her, but she caught his wrist and held him back. "You're right; she might be hurt. She might fall, might slip, might fail to make it to the top."

"I can't believe you would let her do something so dangerous," he said, trying to shake off her grip.

"Life is dangerous. Sometimes you try, and sometimes you fail. You can't protect her from that."

His gaze shifted from Ace to her for an instant. "I can protect her from falling fifty feet."

"But should you? You can see that she's fine; she knows what she's doing as she climbs. Trying to keep her safe from every danger will do her a disservice. All we can do is try to be there when she falls."

"You can try that. I'll keep her safe." He finally succeeded in wrenching his hand from her grip, but was too late to stop Ace. She had reached the top of the spire and was sitting with her legs dangling over the edge, looking out of the world. One small hand shaded her eyes as her horizons were expanded. The world lay before her, open and inviting, the edges of the world inviting her to discover what lay beyond.

She looked down at Kiley and Knives, and waved, a huge grin splitting her face. Kiley waved back enthusiastically, and after a short pause Knives followed suit.

"I hate you when you're right," he said conversationally.

"I know," she replied simply, shading her eyes as well as she stared at the girl. "For what it's worth, letting her get away with stunts like these turns my stomach as well. But knowing when not to interfere is one of the most important things any parent learns."

"We aren't her parents," he pointed out.

"I know. But we're the closest thing she has."

He nodded, and sighed. "I don't know that we're doing such a great job."

She quirked another little smile. "I have it on good authority that what she needs is love."

He rolled his eyes. "Love." He stared at Ace again, watched her stand up and begin to explore the top of the spire. "It's hard to not love her."

Kiley nodded, then turned and stared out across the desert behind them. Her eyes grew glazed as she sent her mind out, looking for something she hoped wasn't there.

"What's wrong?" he asked, moving a little closer.

She shook her head. Whatever it had been, it was gone now. "I felt…something. I'm not entirely sure what it was, but I didn't like it. Someone is looking for us, still."

"Of course they are. No one wants to let a plant out of their hands," he said bitterly.

She let the comment pass. It felt different from that, but since she couldn't explain it she didn't try. "It's ok. I don't want to let her out of my hands, either. I can almost understand their obsession. Of course, I don't agree with using someone the way they want to use her, but I'm funny like that. I'm just so anti-lab rat."

He smiled at the way she said this. "You sound like you're speaking form personal experience," he teased.

She shifted her gaze and looked at him oddly, suddenly serious. "I am," she shrugged.