Hi guys! Thank you for the patience and all the encouraging messages. I appreciate every one of your kind words.

Syaoran smiled nervously, trying to keep the new names straight in his head. It was hard with so much attention on him. He scrunched his toes into the carpet, pulling in a deep breath and nodding politely at each introduction.

Wrennen's sisters had come to visit. Briina and Wrennen had given him a few days warning but standing in the now rather crowded apartment was a lot different than picturing meeting some new people. Briina had taken the time to draw out a little family tree for Syaoran, so the boy knew that these were only two of Wrennen's sisters, the older ones. He had another younger sister who would not be coming today.

Lirenna, the oldest, was almost as tall as Wrennen. The woman's hair was long and wavy, her eyes a rich hazel. She seemed completely at ease, but Syaoran could tell she was keeping an eye on him.

Ashal was closer to Briina's height, crow's feet crinkling in the corners of her eyes. She wore her hair braided upon her head like a crown, and while it gave her a bit of a regal air, Syaoran had the feeling it was more to keep her hair away from grabby hands.

Grabby hands that were suddenly tugging at his hands and his clothes while tiny mouths cried their eager greetings.

"Syaoran! Meanwah rei brulee!"

"Pruvishah lea menaa, wan lele lele!"

"Sho-wan Sho-wan Sho-waaaan-"

"Lele wana neomre uwahlo?"

Wrennen's nieces and nephews were here as well. At least some of them.

Syaoran nearly staggered with their pulling, looking to Briina for help. She shot him a sympathetic but ultimately unhelpful look. Both Wrennen's sisters were watching him, a stranger, to see if it was okay to let their children around him. This world was generally safe, but safety had not made its residents stupid.

"Ah, um… Hanma yaowen," He managed to get out over the children's chattering. The polite way to say hello to a group, Wrennen had taught him earlier in the week.

The children paused, five pairs of dark eyes wide and full of wonder. Then the little ones suddenly cheered, hopping around and accidentally stepping on his feet.

The oldest, Siaal, made a face and turned back to her mother with an accusatory stare.

"Lea mo praream seo renna?"

Lirenna was unimpressed with her daughter's attitude, and her response sounded like a warning. Syaoran made a mental note not to give the woman a reason to look at him that way. Siaal, on the other hand, took the comment in stride and simply said okay, all traces of irritation gone.

After that, approval appeared to be given and the adults all retired out to the balcony. Which left Syaoran as a very overwhelmed babysitter.

It was pretty cramped under the kitchen table. Syaoran was curled with his knees tucked under his chin, mirroring his hiding buddy, Nenlai. The little boy insisted that this was the best hiding spot in the house.

Syaoran couldn't exactly argue, let alone with a three-year-old. Nenlai could not seem to understand the concept that Syaoran did not speak the same language as the rest of them and did not have a clue what all his hissy whispers meant. He leaned back into the leg of the table, listening to the muffled talking that wafted in through the open windows. The sun was shining on his back and it was starting to get too warm to be comfortable, but Nenlai sent him a grumpy pout any time he moved more than an inch.

It was getting warmer and raining less.

Syaoran had been here over three weeks.

Around the corner, they could hear Siaal finish her rhyme. Nenlai tried to smother his giggles in Syaoran's side. He didn't do a very good job.

Shian and Vree were under the impression that Syaoran was some sort of sentient tree. That was the only explanation he had for why the girls insisted on climbing him every five minutes. Their nearly identical faces shined with glee as he attempted to pry them off as carefully as possible.

The little gremlins were strong for being so small.

Vree cackled a laugh of complete and total victory when Syaoran stopped wrestling with them and just laid down on the floor. Her weight on his back pressed his face into the carpet and he heaved a sigh at how disappointed Kurogane would be if he could see him now. Bested by five-year-olds.

No, wait. He would love to see Kurogane try to do better.

The weight on his legs shifted and Syaoran watched with one eye as Shian crawled up to his head. She laid down face to face with him, her freckled face pinched in worry.

"Oshun wa?" Shian asked after a moment, the words muffled by the fact that she was also chewing on a piece of her hair.

Syaoran laughed softly at her sudden bout of shyness.

"Shun wa."

Bless his little heart, Miloa thought he was some sort of idiot. Whenever one of the other kids wasn't immediately vying for his attention, Miloa made it his duty to make sure Syaoran was educated. It was kind of sweet, in a little-kid being patronizing sort of way.

"Ho-am-eea," Miloa dragged out each syllable with the same determination he dragged Syaoran around the apartment with.

"Hoamia," The flustered teen mumbled.

Syaoran enjoyed learning new words when it was just him and his hosts… But with a six-year-old shaking his head and correcting him, and other kids tittering behind him when he got things wrong?

It was hard to fight back the embarrassed flush creeping up his face.

Syaoran was greatly relieved when Miloa pushed him toward the couch and made a highly overdramatic "STAY" gesture at him. The boy ran off for a moment and came back with a book that was very clearly for a child of Nenlai's age.

The other children clustered around him, listening with delight as Miloa read the book many times over.

Siaal, deciding she was too old for this baby nonsense, went outside to hang with the adults for a while.

Syaoran wished she would take him with her.

Syaoran kept his attention on Miloa and his book as Vree was scolded for the third time in five minutes.

Then it was Nenlai whining.

Even Siaal said something snappy soon after, and Lirenna was having none of it.

It was almost dark, and the kids were hungry and cranky.

Syaoran was doing his best to keep them occupied, but after playing with him all day they had suddenly lost all interest. While the three woman and Wrennen made dinner, the kids milled around the kitchen and made a general nuisance of themselves. Syaoran's eyebrows shot up when Briina turned around and said something sharp to Shian, who'd been tugging incessantly at the back of her shirt.

Briina, who was endlessly patient with him. Who had opened her home to him. Who defended him against irritable strangers and let him borrow her precious nature guide. Briina, who he had never seen be anything less than kind and compassionate with everyone she met.

Briina was stressed.

This would not do.

Syaoran caught Shian's now watery eyes and beckoned her over. The little girl stumbled over to where he sat on the couch and flopped against his leg, wiping hastily at her tears. Vree followed her sister and patted her back heavily.

Adopting a sneaky countenance, Syaoran exaggerated peering around to make sure no one else was looking. Immediately Vree and Shian perked up, and Miloa stopped reading aloud to himself. Syaoran leaned in towards the kids like he was going to tell a juicy secret and they copied, faces eager.

Making sure that his words were hardly louder than a breath, he lifted his hand.

"Fuuka."

A tiny wind whipped over his fingers, only enough to ruffle his audience's hair. He bit back a smile at their confused faces. Vree opened her mouth, but Syaoran held a finger to his lips and she obeyed, her brown eyes sparkling with curiosity. Miloa covered his mouth with both hands to stop himself from making a sound.

"Kashin."

He didn't let the flame linger for more than a few moments, lest one of the children give in to an urge to see if it was real. Shian let out a muffled squeal of delight, catching Siaal's attention in the relative quiet. The eight-year-old squinted but couldn't see what was happening from where she sat. Abandoning her façade of passiveness, she padded over to peer over her cousin's heads.

When Syaoran cast a spark, the kids let out a nearly inaudible "lele…" and their eyes begged him for more. Their awe was palpable.

Syaoran cast another gust of air, wondering if he ever had been amazed by magic. He'd grown up with it all around him. His mother and father had been teaching him magic since before he could even remember, but it was a nice thought to imagine his father entertaining him like this. He searched back in the depths of his earliest memories, a territory he usually avoided.

It took a little while, but something fluttered to the surface when he dug deep.

There was… It was soft. Silks? And… perfume? He… there was a, what was that? He really wanted to touch it, but an elegant hand kept pulling his little one back.

He wanted to see…

Syaoran's eyes widened with the realization and the spark he'd been casting disappeared with a snap. The children made sounds of disappointment, but Syaoran barely heard their mumblings.

His grandmother's fan.

The memory his mind dredged up wasn't even of his parents. He didn't know how to feel about that. As upsetting as that was, he'd loved spending time with his grandmother and cherished any memory of her he could keep.

He missed her.

Would she even know he existed? She was an incredibly powerful sorceress… but with time being re-written…

Cheering jolted him out of his reverie. He whipped his head around and saw the children run off to where the balcony had been laden with dishes and food. It looked like everyone was outside, leaving the apartment feeling strangely hollow. Or maybe that was just his chest.

Syaoran blinked and swallowed thickly, twisting his hands into the hem of his shirt.

"Syaoran?"

Briina was behind him. How long had she been there?

There was a sharpness to her that he'd not seen before. She eyed him with subdued surprise and wariness, but there was a hint of a brittle smile on her lips. Briina was trying to hide her reaction from him. It was such a Fai thing to do that he suddenly had an even more difficult time composing himself.

Syaoran opened his mouth but nothing came out. He bit his lip, unwilling to look away, refusing to give Briina any sign that what he had been doing was something she would not approve of. She didn't look fearful or angry, and that eased the tension in his shoulders slightly.

Their moment was broken by one of the children calling in for Auntie Briina. The woman startled slightly and called back, her tone distracted. Syaoran did not move. This was her house. Her rules. He would let her make any judgements and would take them without complaint.

Then she stepped forwards and held out her hand in invitation, nodding her head towards the door. The smile on her face turned genuine. Syaoran took her hand and let her help him up, still a little anxious. It must have shown because she squeezed his hand and let out a sigh tinged with exasperation.

"Oshun wa, Syaoran."

The boy wondered how many times he would be told that before he believed it.

Syaoran reveled in the quiet that night. There had been no rain, so there were hardly any frog songs for once. Insects keened ceaselessly, the rhythmic sounds drifting through the warm air. Syaoran lay on his bed, blankets around his shoulders regardless of the temperature.

"The kids probably won't tell, right? I did make it feel like a secret… Even if they did say something its possible Ashal and Lirenna wouldn't believe them," He smoothed a finger through the spirit cat's fur. "And Nenlai didn't see, so…"

The creature let out a low purr, nudging at his hand when he paused his petting. The little one laid on its back and pawed at his side through the blankets. Syaoran took great comfort in talking to these spirits. They often visited him as he was falling asleep or early in the morning, the press of their paws sometimes the only tell that they were around.

"Are the others here and just far away, or have they not even arrived yet?" He whispered the question knowing the cat could not provide him with an answer. His heart ached for his strange little family. Though his days here were enjoyable, Briina and Wrennen couldn't quite fill the void of Fai and Kurogane. Why couldn't he have both these facets of his family at one time? His parents' faces flashed behind his closed lids and he opened his eyes in alarm. He hadn't forgotten about them. As if he could. He still wanted them back as well, it was just… Kurogane and Fai were the more immediate option. He wasn't replacing them. He couldn't.

The spirit seemed to feel his unease. It shuffled forward, nosing its way under his chin. Its purrs rumbled against his neck and chest, loosening the tightness that had been creeping in. His breathing settled again, and he blinked slowly up at the dark ceiling. Without thinking, he wrapped his free arm around the smaller spirit feline, threading his slightly shaking fingers through its ghostlike fur.

"I'm glad you guys are here…" He mumbled softly.

He was so tired, but he wasn't drifting off as easily these days. He no longer dropped into a dead sleep the moment his head hit the pillow. Syaoran couldn't recall the last time he had been so well rested.

The sound of wood creaking gently interrupted his thoughts. Someone else was awake and if Syaoran had to place a bet, he would choose Wrennen every time. Once Briina was out, there was little that could wake her.

Unable to move with the spirits pinning him in place Syaoran could only tilt his head back. It was indeed Wrennen coming out of his room and staggering sleepily towards the bathroom. He paused, a hand against the doorframe, and turned to look over to Syaoran. The boy could barely make out the man's face in the feeble light of the bath night light, but he could see Wrennen's dark brows raise in surprise.

"Syaoran?"

Syaoran hummed a quiet hello, his hair falling into his eyes. He scrunched up his face against the intrusion, his hands both occupied.

"Premle nyamwa shu le?" Wrennen's quiet voice was accompanied by gestures the boy could not make sense of in the dark. He supposed he could be asking why he was awake so late.

Thoroughly exhausted with how much effort it was to communicate, Syaoran found himself speaking plainly.

"I can't sleep."

Wrennen wouldn't understand.

For the first time Syaoran didn't care.

Water dripped towards his elbows, leaving a cold trail on his arms before splattering onto the countertop. The morning breeze brought in the smell of new flowers from the floor below.

Syaoran washed his face, the water cool and refreshing. He held his breath and brought his cupped hands up one last time before grabbing for a fluffy towel. The boy dried himself, peering at his reflection in the mirror.

With a decent, if perhaps not as long as he would like, sleep between himself and yesterday's emotional mess he felt a lot more clearheaded. There wasn't anything he could do about his parents right now. There wasn't anything he could do that would get the others here faster. All he could do was wait for the time being. He was in a safe place with people who cared about him and he was grateful. He could enjoy what he had.

The boy in the mirror stared back, a small smile and determination in his eyes.

Today would be a good day.

Syaoran pulled on his borrowed shirt and hung the towel back on the rack. He nodded to himself in the mirror once before clicking the light off and heading out.

He wasn't more than two steps out of the bathroom when a scream and the sound of glass breaking shattered the morning calm.

Heart in his throat, Syaoran whipped around to the kitchen. His vision nearly blurred, and his stomach dropped through the floor at all the red… there was so much red-

Briina was covered.

Syaoran's sword was in his hand, terror squeezing his lungs. Wide eyes cast around frantically for the threat. He hadn't felt anything strange. Hadn't heard any sound of an intruder…? How-

A noise behind him sent him whirling, his blade ready to defend.

Wrennen's stunned eyes gazed back unblinkingly and the world froze. The only thing that moved was Syaoran's shaking.

He thought he'd been safe here.

Then ever so slowly, Wrennen brought up his hands in a gesture of surrender. His lips were moving, but the frightened boy couldn't hear until he pushed past all the static in his ears.

"Oshun wa, Syaoran. Oshun wa, ne. Oshun wa, oshun wa, oshun-"

You're okay, Syaoran. You're okay, yes. You're okay, you're okay, you're okay-

Wrennen's low voice was the only thing he could hear. There were no sounds of further attacks. Syaoran felt out as far as he could but detected no malicious magics. Unsure of exactly what was going on, he cautiously turned back to the kitchen, his sword lowering but his grip as tight as ever.

Briina stood stock still in the middle of the kitchen, dark green eyes wide with shock. A large blue frog struggled to cling to her outstretched arm, oblivious of the tension in the air. Glass shards glittered all over the floor amongst the splatters of…

Sauce.

It was the leftovers from last night's big dinner. Thick globs of red sauce dripped down the cabinets and onto the floor. Soaked into Briina's socks. Her pajama pants.

Briina had dropped a jar.

Syaoran's sword fell from numb fingers, hitting the tile with a clatter. He swallowed roughly. He'd never… It had never been a false alarm before. There had always been an emergency. Vague memories of Mokona tricking the other Syaoran with misleading statements trickled into his brain like slurry. Syaoran's relief when Sakura had just been sleeping.

But he didn't feel relief. Every cell in his body was still screaming danger, even though there clearly was none. Panic itched in his blood. He needed to… to do something to alleviate the pressure building in his ribcage.

No one moved.

Syaoran's brows furrowed. If nothing was wrong, then he'd…

Oh my god, he'd just threatened Wrennen at sword point.

Today was not a good day.

His throat tightened, and tears prickled in the corners of his eyes even as Briina continued to stare openmouthed at him.

No one in this world wielded magics like that.

He had just ruined everything, hadn't he?

Legs suddenly wobbly, he sank to a crouch, his hands coming up over his mouth and nose almost like a prayer. Tears rolled down his cheeks silently and the tile in front of him wavered. Soft words were exchanged above him, and then a hesitant hand rested on his back. It surprised him, but he stopped any outward reaction. He was afraid of doing any more magic around them. Of what was going to happen now. Of questions they might ask.

He was afraid.

He refused to look, but he knew it was Wrennen on his knees beside him. Syaoran breathed shallowly and kept his eyes trained on the floor. The hand rubbed his back as he let the adrenaline run its course.

A red stained foot entered his line of sight and he flinched back, the sight disturbing even with the knowledge that it was not blood.

Wrennen's arms wrapped firmly around his shoulders and a whispered argument filled the air. It didn't last long and Briina retreated a moment later. Syaoran forced himself to look away from the footprint, his stomach clenching. His thoughts were trying to pull his back to the Utaki. He never wanted to see someone he cared about with that much… Never again.

He vaguely registered a deep sigh, and then he was being pulled to his feet and guided to the couch. Blocking his view of the spill. The TV turned on and flipped to a children's channel. The arm around his shoulders never loosened its grip. There were sounds in the apartment. Running water and clinking. Shuffling and drawers creaking. Wrennen turned up the volume on the TV.

Syaoran's shaking subsided after a while. He brought up a hand to wipe at his face, blinking away the last of his tears. Nervously, he raised his head to look at Wrennen. The man was a little paler than usual, but otherwise he showed no reaction to the fact that he'd had a blade at his throat recently. There were no signs that he was going to say anything at all. His hand still gripped Syaoran's smaller shoulder as if to keep the boy from running away.

Syaoran couldn't understand it. The more he did things that people normally pulled away from, the harder these two held on to him.

He wanted to apologize for all the trouble they'd gone through, but…

"Wrennen?" Syaoran hated how his voice crackled.

The man hummed, a façade of normalcy.

"I… Thank you."

His host's eyes lit with recognition and squeezed him tighter for a moment.

"Yoor welgum."

Syaoran jerked, his eyes widening at the familiar phrase. Wrennen and Briina struggled so hard with his language that they rarely attempted it anymore. It was a significant gesture.

"Syaoran," Briina's voice behind him made him clench his fists. He braced himself and turned around on the couch slowly.

He needn't worry, she had changed clothes and the kitchen was spotless. Her face was crumpled with concern and his heart skipped a beat to see that her eyes were misty as well. Hoping to comfort her, he held out a hand. She dropped onto the couch and pulled him into a hug so quickly he didn't have time to react.

"Johoa, Syaoran. Johoa wae…"

Briina crushed him against her, an arm around his waist and her other hand carding through his hair. She tucked his head under her chin and whispered words he didn't understand. The boy couldn't recall the last time he had been held so completely. He'd been hugged, sure, but Briina was curling around him, as if trying to shield him from the rest of the world. His arms were pinned, and he had to work hard to wiggle them free enough to hug her back.

How hard could he squeeze and not hurt the baby?

It was getting hard to breath. He felt that normally that would be alarming, but strangely the tighter she pressed, the freer he was. Like he spent so much energy holding himself together that now that someone else was doing it for him he felt wonderful.

The relief was here. Finally. No one was hurt. They still cared about him. A lot, it seemed.

Syaoran coughed a little, then let out a strangled chuckle.

Wrennen scooted over on the cushions to lay a hand on his back as well.

He suddenly was overcome with such fondness for these people that the idea of leaving them hurt. He pressed him face into the fabric of Briina's shirt, committing everything he could to memory.

He would treasure it all while it lasted.

*Cries* I didn't expect to love this chapter so much, but I love all the little ones I made up. I love my spirit kitties. I love Briina and Wrennen.

I am sorry if this story is giving anyone emotional whiplash. Its my whole life right now. Chapters 5 and 7 were always planned to be heavy. My mom once screamed and when I whipped around there was red splattered all over the wall. She started laughing and it was tomato paste, but the second it turned out not to be a medical emergency I burst into hysterical tears. I swear I have been, at some point in my life, every different person in this chapter. When I need a hug, I need my bones to feel it.