Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: This chapter is dialogue-heavy, mostly because there's so many people in it . It's a little hard to keep track of them all, lol.

Solblade44 – Haha, I've been a bad influence on you. Thanks for the review! And yeah, I picked the title because water and wind could make storms, and since Jupiter Adepts also use lightning, well…

Gravaja Umbros – Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad you like it! Yes, I'm probably going to hint at Spiritshipping/Soulshipping (can we take a vote?) a few times, if not actually have it in this story. I like the pairing myself. I'm glad everything's turning out well, and thank you for reading this.

Anne Iriel Devay – All in due time, all in due time, mwahahaha. I'm glad you liked that scene, and yep, Karis is starting to realize her own feelings! Glad you liked it! Thanks!

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A Different Kind of Storm

CHAPTER 8

Arrival

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"Is that so?"

"Yes, my lord."

Amiti frowned from his throne, staring down at the kneeling spy. His green eyes were set in a serious look, and his hands gripped the throne's armrests. He released the armrests, placing his hands on his lap as he considered the man in front of him.

"…You may go," he said. "Thank you for giving me this information."

"Your Majesty," said the spy, standing up and offering Amiti a bow before leaving the room.

The king rose, turning to his advisor. "Inform the guards that the court may reenter," he said, stepping down from his throne. The crown felt heavier on his head than usual, even though Amiti knew that it was probably all in his mind. He looked out of one of the windows, seeing the newly built city of Ayuthay extending in all directions from the elevated throne room.

He sighed, recalling the spy's words.

"Three out of the four spies sent north of the Khiren Mountains were killed. The killer was reportedly a blue-haired Adept…"

"King Amiti?" asked his advisor.

Amiti shook his head. "It's nothing," he said. "I need to think about this a little bit."

He walked to the door, juggling that bit of information with Eoleo's news about Kaocho and the beastmen. If Alex was involved—and he highly doubted that Mia, Rief, Nowell, or a Lemurian would kill his spies—then the Tuaparang was definitely active in the region. He could fight Kaocho alone and win with ease. He could fight the Tuaparang alone and probably win with some difficulty. But fighting a war on two different fronts would be difficult—possibly fatal.

If it even came to that.

He let out the breath he was holding, reaching out for the door. It opened by itself, revealing a stunned messenger. Amiti blinked at the man in surprise as the man blinked at him. The messenger quickly snapped to his senses, offering Amiti a bow.

"What is it?" asked Amiti.

"Lord Matthew and his company have arrived in Ayuthay," he said. "They are being escorted to the foyer."

Amiti nodded. His thoughts would have to wait.

"Summon the others," he said, walking past the messenger and heading down into the foyer.

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Matthew and Isaac were the first to enter the room. Karis ran from between Amiti and Ivan, giving Matthew a quick hug before going over to his father. She leaned up to give him a hug as well. Karis smiled up at Isaac, taking a step back. "It's so good to see you guys," she said. "Did you have a nice trip?"

"Better than the last time we came," said Matthew with a smile. "We didn't lose Rief this time."

"No Psynergy Vortexes either," said Isaac. "That's always good news." He turned away from Karis as Ivan stepped forward, the two of them clasping hands briefly.

"It's nice to see you again, Isaac," said Ivan.

Isaac nodded. "Good to see you in one piece," he said. "Ana [1] wasn't too happy to hear about how you got here."

Ivan winced. "She sent a message?" he asked.

"A long one," said Isaac. "I'll let Jenna repeat it to you."

Amiti and Himi stepped forward, and Karis moved to the side to let them approach. Amiti smiled at Matthew, extending his hand. Matthew took it, the two of them clasping hands in the same way as Ivan and Isaac did.

"How are you holding up?" asked Matthew with a frown as he let go.

"Better than expected," said Amiti. "Ayuthay looks a lot better now than it did at your last visit."

"I'll take a look around," promised Matthew. He turned towards Himi, who quickly stepped forward and got up on her tiptoes, giving Matthew a hug. Isaac turned to look at them.

"Aww, Matthew, you didn't tell me you had a girlfriend," said a teasing voice from the door. Karis looked up to see Jenna walking in, holding a bag with her. Himi quickly let go, stepping back as Matthew turned towards her.

"Mom, she's not my girlfriend!" said Matthew as Karis giggled behind her hand and Amiti chuckled. Himi placed her hands on her thighs, bending into a traditional bow.

"It's nice to finally meet both of you," she said, still bowing. "My name is Himi. I'm the daughter of Susa and Kushinada of Yamata City."

Jenna's eyes widened. "Susa's daughter?" she asked as Himi rose from her bow. "It's been so long...How are your parents and Uzume?"

Himi frowned. "…Unfortunately, Aunt Uzume passed away shortly after we moved to Yamata, but Mother and Father are doing well. They send their regards."

Jenna frowned as well. "…Uzume died?" she asked. "…I hadn't heard. That's too bad."

Himi nodded, a sad look crossing over her face for a moment. "She was loved by all, and not least by her family." She paused for a moment, looking back up at them. "But it's nice to meet you."

"You too," said Jenna. She turned to Ivan. "Ivan, we need to talk later. I have a message from Ana." There was a grin on her face as she said that, and her eyes lit up.

"I know, I know," said Ivan with a sheepish grin. Karis smiled.

Isaac turned to Amiti, who had been mostly forgotten. Amiti looked up at him and bowed as well. "My name is Amiti of Ayuthay," he said. "Nephew of Paithos, son of…" He paused for a moment, barely significant, but long enough to be noticeable. "…Veriti. I traveled with your son for some time."

He rose. Isaac stared at him for a moment, as if he was slowly forming an opinion of Ayuthay's king. Then, he extended a hand. Amiti took it.

"Thank you for letting us stay here, Amiti," said Isaac.

"You're welcome," said Amiti. "My friends' family are family to me as well. You are always welcome in my home."

Amiti released Isaac's hand, turning towards Jenna. She smiled at him, shaking hands with him as well.

"It's nice to meet you, Amiti," she said. "Thank you for taking care of Matthew."

"It was the other way around, I believe," said Amiti. "But you're welcome."

"Alright, has anyone seen that useless son of mine?" asked Garet, walking into the palace. Jenna giggled, making Garet turn towards her. "What?" he asked.

"You're starting to sound more like your father everyday," said Jenna. Isaac grinned, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"You should hear him when he scolds me," said Isaac.

Matthew caught Karis's eye and made a face. Karis cleared her throat, and Garet turned towards her. "It's nice to see you again," she said. He smiled.

"You too, Karis," he said, then looked past her at Ivan. "Ivan, how are those soarwings coming along?" he asked with a grin. Ivan scratched his head nervously.

"Garet…" he began.

"Garet, stop teasing him," said another feminine voice. Karis looked up to see a familiar blue-haired woman enter the room, Rief following behind her. The last time Karis had seen Mia, she had been about ten years old. The years hadn't done much to her since then, but they sure had changed Karis. Mia smiled. "Hello Ivan, Karis."

Karis smiled back. "Hello, Miss Mia."

"Hello, Mia," said Ivan with an identical smile. "How was your trip?"

"It was good," said Mia. "A little long, but mostly uneventful."

Rief stopped just behind Mia, meeting Amiti's eye. Amiti stepped forward past Karis, going over to him. In the two years since the Eclipse, Rief had grown taller, and although he would probably never be very tall, he was at least as tall as Karis and taller than Himi. The two Water Adepts clasped hands briefly.

"I'm glad you could make it, cousin," [2] said Amiti with a smile as they released each other's hand.

"Cousin?" asked Garet, turning to Ivan. "Who is this kid?"

"Alex's son," replied Ivan offhandedly.

"Alex's WHAT?"

Isaac and Jenna turned towards him at the same time, shushing him. Garet folded his arms, muttering something about it being like they never left Vale. Rief smiled at Amiti and grabbed his arm, leading him over to Mia.

"Mother, this is Amiti," said Rief. "The one I was telling you about."

Mia looked up at Amiti for a moment before smiling. "It's nice to meet you, Amiti," she said. "I've heard a lot about you from Rief."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, ma'am," said Amiti.

"We brought you something," said Rief.

Mia nodded, reaching into her bag and pulling out a blue and white bundle, held together by a piece of string. "These are traditional clothes of the Mercury Clan," she said, handing them to him. "I hope you won't mind wearing them, even though…" she trailed off.

"Even though you might not like how you came to be a member," clarified Rief.

Mia nodded again. "If you don't mind being related to us," she said.

Amiti stared down at the clothes in his hands, his head bowed and a look of surprise on his face. Slowly, he handed the bundle to Rief. Rief took it, a frown on his face. Amiti lowered his head, his hair shadowing his eyes as his waist bent into a deep bow.

"I would be honored to be related to you," he said as he was bowing. He rose, taking the bundle back from Rief.

Karis smiled at him. She knew that Amiti had never really known much about family. Paithos had raised him like a son, but for a long time, it had just been him and Paithos. Then he found out who his father was, and that had been hard on him. It had been hard on all of them. She imagined that he wasn't sure just how Mia would react to him when they finally met—him being the child of her clan's traitor.

Himi stepped forward, smiling shyly at Rief. "Nice to see you again, Rief," she said, her hands clasped in front of her.

"Nice to see you too, Himi," said Rief, turning to her.

"Alex's son?" whispered Garet.

"Yeah," said Matthew, turning towards him. "Amiti didn't find out about it until about two years ago, though. It was a surprise to him. I thought Tyrell told you."

"Tyrell didn't say a thing," said Garet, frowning. "So that's King Amiti?"

"Of Ayuthay," said Karis, nodding.

"And he can hear you," added Ivan.

Matthew and Garet looked up, seeing Amiti looking straight at them. Matthew gave Amiti a small grin.

"Yo, Amiti! What's up?" said Tyrell from behind Amiti, hooking an arm around Amiti's head and pulling him back. Amiti's eyes widened as he stumbled back, nearly falling over. Tyrell was grinning. Amiti smiled briefly, turning around to embrace Tyrell for a moment. Then he stepped back, pushing Tyrell away.

"When was the last time you had a bath?" he asked.

"What the hell?" asked Tyrell. "I come all this way and that's all you can say?"

"I'm sorry," said Amiti, straightening out his crown. "The baths are in that direction."

"Hey!"

"They're always like this," said Karis with a smile, turning towards a confused Isaac and company.

"They're good friends," added Rief with another smile. "Really."

"Hello, Tyrell," said Himi.

"Hey, Himi," said Tyrell, waving. "How are things?"

"Everything's going well," said Himi with a smile. "Everyone's much happier now that my brother is home."

"Great," said Tyrell. "Where's everyone else?"

"Eoleo went to the docks to discuss repairs for his ship," said Himi. "He said he would be back tonight."

"And Sveta?" asked Matthew, turning to Amiti.

"Her ship should be docking tomorrow or the day after, depending on the wind."

Karis frowned. Sveta was a Wind Adept. "So…tomorrow then?" she asked.

"Most likely," said Amiti.

"I'm interested to meet this Sveta," said Isaac, conversationally. "Did you know that Matthew revised her encyclopedia entry five times?"

Amiti, Karis, Tyrell, Rief, and Himi turned, looking for a moment like sharks that had scented blood in the water. Matthew flushed, shifting uncomfortably.

"Did he now?" asked Amiti, smirking.

"I—uh—," began Matthew.

"Did Matthew tell her about how he almost died because Sveta asked him to go with her?" asked Tyrell.

"Oh, what about the time he decided to trust her after finding out she was Volochek's sister?" asked Karis. "That's a good story."

"I prefer the time he was knocked out by that Fury Demon on the Endless Wall," said Amiti.

"Oh right," said Himi. "What happened then? I forget."

"Sveta transformed into beastform and proceeded to beat the monster to a bloody pulp," said Rief, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Guys, come on," said Matthew.

They laughed.

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[1] Ana – Random name because I had to think of something for Karis's mom. Or maybe not entirely random. You'll see when I finally get to writing that story.

[2] Cousin – Alex is Mia's cousin, which would make Rief Amiti's second cousin. Since Amiti's royalty and they take note of things like this, I imagine Amiti would consider Rief one of his cousins.