Milynn looked into the darkness between the campsite and the passage to the spring. "What do you think is going on down there?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Leto didn't bother to look up from the map he was studying by candlelight.

"It was a rhetorical question." She sighed.

"If you really want to know, go find out."

"Are you kidding? Didn't you hear Breena when she came back with the water and saw that that scarecrow was gone?"

"Fiyero."

Milynn frowned. "What?"

"The scarecrow." Leto finally looked at her. "His name is Fiyero."

"So?"

"You keep calling him 'the scarecrow.'"

"And?"

"How would you like it if someone knew your name but kept calling you 'the redhead?'"

"I'd…" Milynn paused to think about it for a second before waving the question off. "That's not the point. The point is he went to the spring when Breena told him not to."

Leto shrugged. "You do things all the time when she tells you not to."

"That's different. We're friends."

"So if she and Fiyero were friends it would have been all right for him to go to the spring?"

"No!" Milynn growled. "Why are you being so difficult?"

Leto grinned. "Because it's fun."

"You've been around Breena too much."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"You can…"

"Shhh!" Betak, who had been listening to the exchange as she puttered around the kitchen, put a finger to her weathered lips and pointed toward the darkness. "Someone's coming."

Fiyero burst into view, looking at each of them in turn before heading for the entrance. He stopped just short of stepping outside and watched the driving rain as it fell. "Damn it!" He slammed a straw filled fist against his leg, casting another glance toward them before retreating into the shadows along the cavern wall opposite the kitchen, as far away from everyone as he could get.

Leto flinched. "Poor guy."

"Poor guy?" Milynn echoed his words in disbelief. "He probably got what he deserved."

"How can you say that?"

"Because it's true."

"Do you two realize he can hear you?" Betak looked back and forth between them. "And no matter what he has or hasn't done, he doesn't deserve to stand there and listen to people talk about him."

Milynn looked guilty. "You're right." She started to open her mouth to apologize but spotted Breena and Lion coming out of the darkness and forgot all about Fiyero. "Is everything all right?"

"I think so." Breena couldn't help but grin when she saw that Lion was still blushing. "Are you going to be OK big guy?"

"I'm not sure." The cat shook his head. "I'm all…" He gestured with his paws.

"Wired?" Breena supplied.

Lion wrinkled his brow. "Huh?"

"It means excited." Leto explained.

"Then yeah, I'm wired." Lion agreed. "I could use a good run."

"It's still raining." Betak spoke up. "And I won't have this cavern smelling of wet fur."

"Oh." His shoulders slumped.

"And I don't know how long the spell I used to go get the water would last if I tried it on someone else." Breena apologized. "And Betak's right, we can't have you stinking up the place if it didn't work."

"I know."

"What about eating?" Milynn asked. "Doesn't that help calm you down sometimes?"

Lion shrugged. "I guess."

"What do you say, Betak?" Breena looked at the older woman. "Do you have something for him?"

"I always have something for people to eat." Betak looked offended. "Especially someone like him, who actually appreciates my cooking."

Breena rolled her eyes. "How many times do I have to apologize for not being hungry when you fixed lunch?"

"Try a few more and I'll let you know when I'm satisfied with how sorry you are." Betak took Lion by the paw, sitting him at the table next to Leto.

"Elly didn't eat either." Breena was quick to point out. "I don't hear you giving her such a hard time." She shook her head as she looked at Milynn. "Can you believe her?"

"One of these days you'll realize that she's always going to look out for you." Milynn chastised her. "Now what happened to get Lion so worked up?"

"He and Fiyero walked in on Elly and Glinda…" Breena's voice trailed off suggestively.

"Really?" Leto grinned. "No wonder the poor kid is worked up."

"What?" Milynn furrowed her brow as she looked back and forth between them.

"You know." Breena gave her a look as she raised her eyebrows.

Milynn cocked her head. "Obviously I don't."

"You can't be serious." Leto laughed.

"I don't see what's so funny." Milynn glared at him.

Breena rolled her eyes. "Oh come on!"

"What? You want me to guess?" Milynn was getting frustrated.

"I think she means they were having sex." Betak spoke up.

"What?!" Milynn's mouth fell open. "Are you serious?!"

"Yeah." Breena nodded. "What did you think they were doing down there for this long?"

Milynn shrugged. "Taking a bath?"

Leto laughed even harder. "I'm sorry." He tried to stop but couldn't. "You're just so cute sometimes."

"Shut up!" Milynn growled as she threw herself down in the other chair next to him.

"I'm just going to…" Leto thought about it for a second as he climbed to his feet. "Go over by the fire to study this map."

Milynn made a shooing motion at him. "Good, you do that."

Breena chuckled as she took Leto's place, earning herself a glare.

"Don't you start too!"

She held up her hands in a 'don't shoot' gesture. "I didn't say a thing."

"You didn't have to." Milynn sighed. "I can't believe I'm so dense sometimes."

"You're not dense." Breena put her hand on her friend's back. "I wonder if you shouldn't have been a blonde sometimes, but you're not dense."

Betak cackled as Milynn punched Breena on the arm. "You girls play nice." She put a bowl of vegetable stew down in front of the feline. "Lion has seen quite enough female shenanigans for one day."

Lion looked up at her. "Shenana whats?"

"Never mind." The older woman patted him on the shoulder.

He shrugged and dug into the stew.

"I'm trying." Breena shoved Milynn as she tried to hit her again. "She's the one being violent."

"Whatever." Milynn backed off.

Breena was in the process of shooting her friend a bratty grin when she noticed Fiyero lurking in the shadows. She caught Milynn's eye and nodded ever so slightly toward him. Milynn covered a microscopic shrug of her shoulders by pretending to stretch. Breena continued to look in Fiyero's general direction for a second before quirking an eyebrow. Milynn caught her meaning and discreetly nodded.

For his part Fiyero, who had been trying to ignore the others and failing miserably, noticed a lull in the conversation and looked toward the kitchen just in time to miss their silent communication. He didn't mean to eavesdrop, but they were in a cavern. Voices carried.

"So." Milynn drew out the word. "Can I ask you something without you making me feel stupid again?"

"I'm sorry if I made you feel stupid before." Breena was being sincere. "And you know you can ask me anything you'd like."

"Does it bother you?"

"What?"

"The fact that your cousin is in love with another girl."

Breena frowned. "No. Should it?"

"I don't know." Milynn looked uncomfortable. "It's just… Glinda's female, you know?"

"I noticed."

"And it doesn't seem odd to you that a woman would want to be with another woman?"

"People can't control who they fall in love with."

Betak grinned at Breena. "Good answer."

Breena nodded. "Thanks."

Fiyero leaned back against the wall, thinking about what Breena said. It was true, you really couldn't control who you fell in love with. He was a prime example. He could have had the perfect life with Glinda, a girl his family would have approved of wholeheartedly, and threw it all away for Elphaba who was… Well, green girls didn't exactly top any family's list when it came to who their sons would choose to be with. But that didn't change the fact that he still loved her and was upset by the fact that she was with Glinda.

"I know but…" Milynn sighed and shook her head. "It just seems odd to me."

"Odd as in something you'll be able to get used to or odd as in you're going to start acting strange around them, because I don't want anyone upsetting Elphaba." Breena words were intense. "She's been through more than enough without people trying to make her second guess her relationship with Glinda."

Elphaba had been through a lot. Fiyero had to think maybe that was part of the reason he fell for her in the first place. She had led such a hard life and just when things started to look up for her, the Wizard took the modest hopes and dreams she had managed to acquire and shattered them. It reminded him of a broken doll. Watching her try to rebuild her life after staging her own death was like sweeping up the pieces. And he wanted to be the one to help her glue them back together.

"Have you ever heard of soul mates?" Breena continued.

"I have." Lion licked his lips between bites. "The idea of there being one special someone out there for everyone is very big in the animal kingdom. It's in our nature to only have one mate in our lives, so we want to be sure to get it right."

"The same can be said for some humans." Breena gave him an appreciative pat on the paw. "Not all mind you. There are far too many who latch onto the first person they have any sort of feelings for and give up the search. It's only when they are miserable that they realize they did the wrong thing. They tend to repeat that pattern throughout their lives, never really finding the one they were meant to be with all along."

Lion frowned. "That's sad."

"Yes, it is." Breena agreed. "Because they never really feel complete. Something is always lacking."

An odd sensation washed over Fiyero. He had left a trail of heart broken girls behind in his trek through the schools of Oz and not one of them made him feel much of anything. Even Fae didn't make him fell so much as think. Before her he used the whole 'life is painless for the brainless' outlook on life because it was easy. He was a prince. His life was mapped out for him before he was even born. He had been catered to his whole life and would never want for anything. But Elphaba made him realize his actions had consequences, just like everyone else's. That he controlled his destiny, not the other way around. Their short lived relationship before he was turned into a scarecrow showed him a whole different side of existence, but did it mean they were meant to be together?

"This from the girl who says she'll never get married." Betak shook her head.

"That's my point." Breena answered. "I don't want to mess it up. Mom always told me I would know when I met the someone I was meant to be with. That something would just click. I might not realize it at first or want to admit it when I finally did, but I would know. And when I did everything would seem right with the world." She grinned wistfully. "Like it does for Elly and Glinda."

And that's when he realized something he should have seen all along. Yes he loved Elphaba, but he wasn't in love with her. The feelings he had for her ran deep but they were nothing like what she shared with Glinda. Their love was an almost visible aura connecting their hearts. How could he have mistaken his meager feelings for the same thing they shared?

Fiyero stepped away from the wall and headed for the kitchen, determined to make things right.

"I have to admit I've never seen Glinda so happy." Lion added. "There's a sparkle in her eye that wasn't there before. Kind of like the look you get on your face when Leto is around." He glanced bashfully at Milynn.

The redhead furrowed her brow. "I have a look?"

"Oh yeah." Breena nodded. "It used to make me half sick to my stomach."

"It still does me." Betak quipped.

"Hey." Fiyero swallowed hard as he reached them.

"Hey yourself." Breena greeted him.

"I…" He took a deep breath. "I just wanted to say thanks."

Lion looked confused. "For what?"

"Helping me see the truth." Fiyero answered his question but kept his eyes on Breena. "I've been an idiot."

"I was leaning more toward moron, but you're on the right path." Breena grinned. "And no thanks are necessary. I was just looking out for my cousin. She doesn't have many friends, Fiyero. I'd hate for her to lose one over being in love."

"I'm going to apologize as soon as they get back."

"Eh." Breena scrunched up her face.

Fiyero frowned. "Do you think I should wait until tomorrow?"

"That would be a safer bet. Give her some time to cool off."

"You're right." He nodded. "She was pretty upset."

"You can say that again." Lion agreed. "Does this mean Fiyero is part of out little group now?"

"Yes." Breena chuckled. "He is most definitely a part of our group now."

"Good." He stood, putting his paw on the scarecrow's shoulder. "Come on, we can help Leto map out our route to Upland Manor."

"Oh goody." Leto finally spoke up, rolling his eyes when he saw the look Milynn gave him. "I mean, come on over guys. I could really use the help."

Betak came to stand behind Milynn and Breena. "I bet they could use you at Wizomania."

"Huh?" Milynn looked confused.

"You two are quite the little actresses."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Breena was the picture of innocence.

"Don't try that with me." Betak reprimanded her. "I saw that silent little conversation you had before you started waxing all poetic about love and soul mates. You two used to do that all the time when you were younger."

Milynn shrugged. "It helped us keep our stories straight."

"Which kept us out of a lot of trouble." Breena nodded. "And I meant what I said. I was just looking out for Elphaba."

"Whatever the reason, it was sweet." Betak put her arms around them, drawing them into an awkward group hug. "I love you both."

"And we love you." Milynn smiled.

"Speak for yourself." Breena tried to get away.

"Oh stop with the tough act." Betak squeezed her harder. "I know you love me too." She kissed her on the cheek before letting them go.

"Ew." Breena made a show of wiping off her face but grinned the whole time.

"She's right." Milynn watched her grandmother walk away. "That really was sweet."

Breena rolled her eyes. "Enough with the mush already."

"And she's right, you know. You're not nearly as tough as you make yourself out to be."

"Wanna make a bet?"

"I know you better than anyone, Breena. You're just a big old cream puff."

"I'll give you a cream puff."

Milynn ignored the comment as she leaned over, kissing her on the cheek before throwing her arms around her.

"What is it with you two slobbering all over people?" Breena groused.

"Shut up."

Breena was all smiles as she returned the hug.