Chapter 26

After Anthony's visit

Anthony was flung across the room and the fire died. I realized I wasn't burned. Zara took me away. We were back in my room. Ragen burst in. They held and cuddled me. My body was stiff with fear. I guess I was still a bit afraid of fire. I calmed down after a while. Their presence helped reassure me I was ok. I sat up.

"Mistress?" Ragen asked.

"It just reminded me of the Phoenix." I said.

"I stay with Mistress." Zara said.

"Zara, no. You should go see your grandpa." I said.

"Stay with Mistress!" She argued.

"I told you if I needed you during those two weeks, somebody would let you know." I reminded her.

"Mine!" She rested her face on me.

"Mine!" Ragen scooted me closer. Zara clung to me and we were dragged together.

"Oh, that's where he went. We better let them be." Alex looked in my room.

"What happened?" Amaka asked.

I looked at Alex. He nodded. I told them about the visit from my birth dad and what happened when David came in. Alex frowned, clearly confused. Amaka was a mix of emotions. Angry, sad, indignant.

"What did you talk to Alex and Amaka about?" I asked Ragen.

"We told her why I was born and stuff. Then we put spell on her so she wouldn't accidentally tell anybody about magic and our powers. She said it was ok. OH, and then Puck came in. He said I was a special Halfling." He added.

"Why?" I asked.

Ragen was about to speak when Amaka looked at him. She was shaking her head. Alex was too. Ragen nodded and leaned in close.

"I have a knot." He whispered.

They groaned. Apparently, he remembered the wrong thing.

"What's a knot?" Zara asked.

"It's on my penis. It swells up and-" Ragen told her.

"No…" I squirmed, trying to get away.

"It's ok, Mistress. You're ok." Zara rested her head on mine.

They released some magic. Ragen cooed and wagged his tail. Zara smelt like blackberries, pine nut, and clover. Ragen, however, had more of a spicy scent; saffron, nutmeg, and honey.

"Behave." Alex warned them as he left.

I let them snuggle a bit longer before I got up. They stretched and followed me. Fox found me.

"Your father decided it would be best if you went to therapy for you fear of birds and fire." She told me.

"Ok." I knew I was going whether I wanted to or not.

"Your first session is next week." She left.

We went to the kitchen. I looked in the fridge, trying to find something to eat. There was fruits and stuff, but I didn't want fruits. Ragen brought me some dry spaghetti. I shook my head. Zara dug through the cupboards and found some marshmallows. She opened the bag and started eating.

"Mistrif!" She smiled.

"Let's see…" I bent next to Zara and looked in the cupboard. She handed me a marshmallow.

"Gimme." Ragen said.

"Mine!" Zara hugged the package close.

"Talia, what are you doing?" Owen asked.

"I want food." I rifled through food and found nothing appealing.

"What would you like for lunch?" He waited.

"Um, shrimp, noodles? Spicy." I looked at him.

"I believe we have a bag of shrimp. Ragen, you may chop the vegetables." Owen took his jacket off.

"Ok." He got out the knife.

Ragen chopped the garlic and ginger while Zara and Owen deshelled the shrimp. Then Ragen made the sauce. It was soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar, Sriracha, oyster sauce, ginger and sesame oil. He mixed it all up then put it aside. Then he shredded the carrots. Zara threw away the shells.

Then she warmed the yaki soba noodles in the microwave. Dad cooked the shrimp with some of the sauce. Ragen found some water chestnuts and baby corn and opened them. The noodles weren't done yet so Zara put them back in for a another minute.

Ragen added the vegetables into the pan. They cooked for a few minutes before Dad added the shrimp, sauce and noodles back in. He tossed them together, letting the noodles brown at the bottom for a bit. Then he got out a serving dish and brought it to me.

Ragen got me some milk. Zara watched as Owen plated another dish of noodles. Her tail wagged when he gave it to her. Ragen was given another plate. We ate and then Owen took the dishes. Lunch was good. Then Amaka came in.

"Good, you're here. I was trying to find you. I gotta go back home, baby." She kissed Ragen.

"Nooo…" He whined.

"I gotta go home." She repeated.

"I love you." Ragen nuzzled her.

"I love you too." She smiled.

They separated. I finished my milk. Zara looked at them. Her tail wagged.

"Hi, human." Zara waved.

"Don't call her that, Zara." Owen told her.

"Why?" She asked.

"They don't like that." He explained.

"My human." Ragen glared.

"Bye, Ragen. I really gotta go now." She turned.

"Say bye bye to Mistress." He requested.

Ragen pushed me forward and Amaka sighed. She held her hand out. I gave her a high five. Ragen was pleased. Zara turned into her fox and jumped on Amaka's legs. She let Zara give her a high five too. Then she went to Owen. He petted her. Ragen had also turned into a fox, wanting pets. He had brown fur except for the tip of his tail.

"Yes, you'll miss me, I know. I know. It'll be fine, baby." She pushed Ragen off her when he started licking her face. "Be a good boy."

He flopped on his side and whined.

"I'll call you later." She left.

Ragen barked before going to lay down on the couch. I petted them both. Their fur was soft. Dad finished the dishes and he took me to back to the classroom. He got my math packet. I pouted, but he made me do it.

"Is she done?" David asked.

"Yes, sir." He stood up and took my packet away.

"I wanna go play." I whined.

"Go with your father, Talia." Owen told me.

"No." I refused.

"Talia." He warned.

We glared at each other. Owen won. I dragged my feet as David led me to the training room. I got changed. I wore my sweatpants and a tee shirt. I walked out. David was waiting for me on the mat. He had his gi on. He had a couple odd shaped bruises on his chest.

"Alright, Talia, show me what you remember." He said.

"Pfft." I stuck my tongue out.

"You're only delaying it more." David pointed out.

We bowed. Then we circled each other and he came in for a kick. I moved out of the way. I was way out of practice. I went for a low kick, but he saw it. He tried to jab me next, but then we heard a commotion from outside. Zara and Ragen tackled David. Puck was behind them. David tried to escape, but they were determined to keep him down. Ragen punched him in the face.

"Run away, Mistress!" Zara yelled.

"Puck, do something!" David shouted.

"Talia is fine! See, she's fine?" Puck gestured to me. "She's practicing karate, fighting. She's learning how to fight."

They looked at me. "Mistress's not in danger?"

"No, not in danger." Puck said.

They let him up. David dusted off his shirt. "Tomorrow, I will get you Talia's schedule so this doesn't happen again."

"Ok." Zara said.

"What was that?" I asked.

"They have a sixth sense for you. They're supposed to protect you." Puck said.

"And it's on, like all the time?" I frowned.

"Well, yeah. They'll learn what's what soon." He added.

"Can we continue?" David asked.

Ragen and Zara went to the edge of the mat and sat on it. They waited.

"It's for the best if they see what's going on." Puck joined them.

I went back to the middle of the mat. David was telling them something. Zara nodded along while Ragen was deep in thought. He joined me on the mat. I had to bow again. Everything was fine until David threw a punch. They shot up and tried to charge in. Puck held them back.

"Mistress is fine, Talia is fine! She needs to learn." He shouted. "Just watch."

The lesson was continued. Puck stayed near them so they wouldn't dart out. Zara whimpered. Ragen pouted. They flinched as I fell down. I got back up and gave them a thumbs up. Puck didn't seem to think it was effective. They didn't relax, but some of the tension was eased now that they saw what was happening didn't hurt me.

After practice, I took a shower. I was a little sore, especially around my waist for some reason. Zara tried to help me, but Owen said it was fine. The warm water helped. I went to my room and laid on my bed. I summoned Adri to my room. She was wearing her art clothes.

"Talia!" She scolded.

"Cuddles." I grabbed at her.

"Tai, you can't do that." She told me.

"Today hard. Need cuddle." I whined.

"Alright." Adri softened.

I gave her some pajamas. Adri laid next to me. I scooted closer and smooshed myself aginst her. She was cooler than me, it felt nice. She petted my hair. Luckily, she didn't smell like paint. I nuzzled her neck and went to sleep.