It wasn't very often that Yakko found himself at a loss, but he certainly was now. Wakko hadn't come out at all last night, and he was definitely avoiding him today. Whether it was because he was still mad or because he was ashamed and didn't know how to apologize, Yakko couldn't say for sure. He was pretty sure it was mostly the second thing, and Dot agreed.

But she couldn't get anywhere with the middle sibling either. He wasn't avoiding her as much, but every time she tried to steer the conversation toward the fight, he simply shut down. He wasn't as messed up as he'd been that week after they found out why Salazar invaded, much to his siblings' relief, but it was close. Yakko knew they had to get him talking sooner rather than later, but they were still trying to figure out how.

Yakko did have one idea, but he had no clue if it was a good one. It was the only thing he could think of now, though, so he couldn't really see any other options. It was worth a try.

After asking around, the eldest Warner was now heading to the gardens in search of his brother's instructor. He found her on a bench by the fountain, sitting cross-legged with her hands resting palms up on her knees and her eyes closed. For a few moments Yakko hesitated, unsure whether it was a good idea to interrupt whatever she was doing. Finally, he cleared his throat.

"Uh… 'scuse me?"

Jayna's eyelids twitched, then her eyes opened so she was looking right at him. Her face showed no sign of surprise, but then again her face rarely showed any sign of things.

"Yes?" she asked in her usual cool tone.

Being addressed so casually caught Yakko a little off-guard, but he didn't really mind… and he had a sneaking feeling that Jayna knew that.

"Look, I, uh…" he said slowly. "I know you've been doing good work with Wakko, and we're really grateful. We just… don't know if it's a good idea to be doing it right now."

The woman's only reaction was a slight raising of her brows.

"Oh? And why do you say that?"

Yakko blinked, once again caught off-guard. She didn't seem surprised at all. If anything, she acted like she had expected this. Suspicion tugging at him, he narrowed his eyes a little.

"Do you… do you know what happened yesterday?"

Jayna shrugged, her sharp green eyes scanning him.

"I have an idea."

Yakko frowned.

"How do you…?"

Jayna kept looking at him with that same calm expression.

"Your brother and I are connected, through our Gift." Yakko's eyes widened, but before he could ask Jayna went on. "I can't read his mind, but I can sense what he's feeling. It isn't very hard to guess what happened."

As she continued to look at him, Yakko felt a strange urge to squirm. Her piercing gaze made him feel like she was looking right into him. Finally she spoke again, her voice soft but firm.

"Now I have a question for you… do you really believe his training is the problem, or is it just easier to blame that rather than what the problem really is?"

Yakko bristled at that, looking back at her with a frown.

"How do you know what the problem is?" he asked in an offended tone. "It's not like he talks to you about it."

Then a sinking feeling came to him, and he asked his next question with trepidation.

"Does he?"

The idea that Wakko might feel like he could talk to a stranger over his siblings, over Yakko, was so disheartening that he didn't know what to say. But much to his relief, Jayna shook her head.

"No… you're right, he doesn't. But remember, I can sense what he's feeling. And I can tell he's troubled… and that he believes he can't show it."

Yakko bit his lip at that, lowering his gaze to his feet. For a while, neither of them said anything, then he sighed.

"I just… I know it's because of me he thinks that, 'cause I wasn't there for him, and I don't know what to do."

He wasn't sure why he was talking about this with a woman he really didn't know that well, but something told him that he could… that she would listen. He looked up, and sure enough, Jayna was looking at him with her full attention. He swallowed, forcing his voice not to quiver when he continued.

"I have to fix this, but I don't know how to get him to let me."

Jayna said nothing for a moment, then lowered her feet to the ground and moved over, making space on the bench. After a brief hesitation, Yakko slowly walked over and sat beside her. When she spoke again her voice was gentle, a noticeable change from her usual cool, distant temperament.

"I know things were hard for you for a long time. I can't pretend I know what it was like, but I can imagine. And I can understand."

Yakko shifted on his seat; he didn't know why it mattered that she understood, but for some reason, he cared what she thought.

"But you need to remember, it's going to take more than a few months of change to fix years of what was normal."

Yakko glanced at her and was surprised to see that her usually sharp eyes had softened.

"That doesn't mean it can't be done, though," she said, her voice strangely kind. "That doesn't mean it can't be fixed. But what's most important is that you never stop trying. And sometimes, even just that is enough."

The eldest Warner looked down again, swinging his feet a little. What she was saying made sense, and maybe he had been a little unreasonable to expect Wakko to simply start opening up. But still, knowing that his brother was hurting and that he couldn't help yet hurt him just as much. Jayna's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"I know you just want what's best for your brother, but do you really think going behind his back is going to make him any more susceptible to you?"

At that, Yakko's ears drooped. She was right, he knew she was, but what else could he do? How could he protect his sibs if he couldn't even figure out how?

"If you want to help him," Jayna went on. "You need to keep trying, but you also need to know when to give him space… and when to just listen."

Yakko felt his face heat a little at that… she did have a point. He was good at talking, but he needed to work on listening.

"It's just… hard," he said slowly. "I do wanna help, and I'll do whatever I've gotta do, but…"

"No one said it was going to be easy," Jayna replied. "But complicated things hardly ever are. Believe me, I know."

On hearing that, Yakko's ears perked as he looked at her.

"How do you…"

Jayna shrugged again, her eyes growing distant.

"I was born somewhere… where magic wasn't looked on very kindly. My parents did their best, but they… they weren't sure how to help. It wasn't easy."

Yakko felt a twinge of sympathy at that.

"I'm sorry," he said. Jayna nodded, her eyes still distant.

"So were they. And I was too, when I understood."

"Understood?" Yakko asked, cocking his head. Jayna sighed.

"My father, he convinced my mother to send me away, somewhere I could learn about my ability, how to control it, without fear. I didn't… take it very well, and I didn't make much effort to just listen. It took me a long time to understand because of that, and before I did I said some things that I'll always regret. Things that I can't take back now."

The eldest Warner cocked his head, but Jayna didn't elaborate on her words. Instead, she looked at him with that piercing gaze she had given him before.

"And if you're afraid of your brother doing something reckless, I've already warned him that he shouldn't do any serious bending for a while. I think he's smart enough to understand that he isn't ready yet."

Again Yakko shifted, feeling uncomfortable. He thought that too, but he hadn't really done a good job showing it. All things considered it was understandable that Wakko would think his brother didn't trust him.

"I was an idiot, wasn't I?" he muttered.

He heard amusement in Jayna's voice when she replied.

"No. You were a concerned brother."

Yakko glanced at her, surprised to see that there was the smallest hint of a smile on her face. It was the first time he'd ever seen one on her.

"And by being that, you've done more than you know."

A slight smile tugged at Yakko's face, but then it faded.

"I still screwed up, though."

Jayna shrugged one more time.

"Ah, well… even the best siblings screw up once in a while. What matters is that you do your best to fix it."

Yakko let out a sigh, swinging his feet again.

"I just hope it can be fixed."

"It can," Jayna replied. "I'm sure it can."

Looking at her again, Yakko saw the certain-sure look in her eyes. Slowly, he smiled again.

"Thanks."

Jayna nodded.

"My pleasure."