Cian fit right in with the Hotchners as if he had been born to them. He couldn't help but believe the story as adults had proved that magic was indeed real and he'd had a demonstration of the immortality the next day as they had forgotten to do that while they had all been gathered after dinner. There had been so much going on that night though, it wasn't surprising that they hadn't demonstrated right then. Cian was still astonished that he had magic, though his Aunt Shonda believed that he had been drawn to her so that she and her friend Jazz could help him learn control and responsibility. Cian didn't put up a fight about learning how his magic worked as he was fascinated. His new aunt and uncle certainly made sure that he had time for fun, even though he had two different sets of lessons but then, so did their other children. Cian took to his studies with determination. He was determined to catch up with his new siblings when it came to reading, writing and learning to spell. It turned out he had a head for numbers and so the simple math he was learning was easy for him.
That the four children of the Hotchners were friendly to him and didn't try to bully or at least shun him amazed Cian. He had figured he would be seen as an intruder into the family and would be resented at a minimum, but that's not the way things had worked out much to his surprise. The older children helped him with his lessons since they had already mastered them.
This spirit of cooperation shocked Cian to the core as that was not the way things had worked for him when he been living with his mother. The young man was beginning to understand that people were different from each other and that some were kind, generous and helpful.
Cian asked Aaron about why things were so different than he expected them to be and explained to his uncle what he meant
"It has a lot to do with peoples different personalities," Aaron explained calmly. "Every person ever born has a different way of looking at the world. It also has to do with how that person was raised by their parents or whatever authority figure that they had. The people in the slums where you grew up don't have much hope of a better life, which also affects how they act. A lot of them become greedy or become bullies and so will take whatever they can get from those weaker than themselves. Their ethics are flexible and their morals are not very good either."
"What are morals?" Cian asked.
"They're basically the rules of life," Aaron explained. "They're a code of behavior for every person. Some people like Shonda and me have airtight ethics and morals when it comes on how we act around other people. Both of us are kind hearted just as an example. Once you entered my wife's antique store there was no way that Shonda was not gonna help you if she could. Shonda is not only kind hearted it's also soft at least when certain kinds of situation come up."
"So some people would just born mean?" Cian asked.
"I won't say they are born mean, just that when people lack hope they can turn mean and only out for themselves," Aaron said. "A lot of people are selfish in the extreme, as it might be the only way for them to survive. That has a lot to do with whether they were raised with love, understanding and punishment for bad behavior. A lot of parents are to lax simply because they're busy trying to make a living and so the kids get away with being bullies. Now while children can grow out of that stage a lot of times they do not. It also depends on the examples adults around them set as children learn that way. Someone like you just doesn't automatically know right from wrong. It's something that's learned as a child grows into adulthood."
"My mother was kind despite our circumstances," Cian said.
"Which is at least partly why are you turned out so well despite the fact that you were poor," Aaron said. "Your father, on the other hand, we have no idea whether he was kind or cruel or indifferent, because you barely remember him. If you had been on the street longer than you were it's quite possible that you would have turned into someone like those bullies just because it was the only way to survive. You could've easily have turned to a life of crime once you were a little older because the only examples around you were drug dealers, bullies and others who had turned to a life of crime in order to get ahead."
Aaron didn't bother to tell Cian that some people seemed to be born bad from the moment they took their first breath, which was where serial killers came from. Those type of people were born without a conscious.
"Life can be very hard," Aaron told Cian. "Some people just don't know how to get ahead without becoming some kind of criminal."
"You didn't, Aunt Shonda didn't," Cian pointed out.
"You can't really use me as an example, as I was born centuries before there was as much crime as there is now," Aaron said. "There was crime of course, but things were simpler back when I was born and most people had better ethics and morals then they do today. It was simply a different time. In someways, society has gone downhill. Peoples ethics and morals are looser then they were back when I was much younger. There were also many things that were considered wrong back then that are accepted today. Females in particular weren't free to do what they wanted back when I was born. They weren't allowed to work. They were supposed to not have sex, to save themselves for marriage. That's basically all they were good for. To get married and start having children as soon as possible. Many children died from various diseases back then, things that have been eradicated in this century due to improvements in technology and healthcare. The fathers had control over their daughters until they were married and then their husbands had control. A lot of fathers and husbands were kind and treated their daughters or wives well, but there was also a lot of abuse going on behind the scenes."
"As for Shonda, she comes from a good family and was born in the latter part of the 20th century. Being from a small town protected her somewhat because there weren't as many people or criminals. She never had a chance to fall in with a bad crowd. Her parents were good people and so were Jazz's parents and the two of them were best friends from early childhood, which also stopped them from getting involved in a bad crowd. Both Shonda and Jazz were raised with love, discipline and appropriate punishments for bad behavior.
"So growing up in a small town protected them from bad influences," Cian said.
"I shouldn't be surprised that you know such an advanced word as influences," Aaron said with a raised eyebrow. "Consider me impressed with how advanced your speech patterns are."
Cian blushed at the compliment
"As to your question yes, it did, though there were still some people who broke the law as that happens anywhere not just in big cities. Both Shonda and Jazz came from families who were well off so they weren't as poor as you and your mother were. There weren't liquor stores on every corner or drug dealers in a lot of the alleys. The crime wasn't as blatant. That doesn't mean that they didn't have their own troubles or that they lives were stress free."
When Aaron didn't expand on his words Cian asked, "So what happened?"
"It's not my story to tell," Aaron answered shaking his head refusing to say any more. "You'll have to ask Jazz or Shonda. I didn't meet Shonda until all their troubles were basically over and while I know the story it's not my place to tell their history."
Cian was disappointed, but realized that his Uncle Aaron wasn't about tell a story he considered not his business.
"I know you're curious so make sure you ask Shonda when she gets home from the shop," Aaron said.
"It's Saturday I'm surprised she's working on Saturday when she doesn't need too," Cian said. "If you guys needed the money that her shop could bring in I could understand it but you don't. I mean you eat real meat and I know how expensive the real deal is. I had never had real meat until I had my first slice of pizza that Shonda fed me. You also send your kids to an expensive private school which tells me that you have enough money that Aunt Shonda doesn't need to work on Saturday to make ends meet."
"I'm not," Aaron said. "It gives her something to keep her occupied. Immortality is not all fun and games, as it can be very boring unless you can keep yourself busy. It doesn't really have anything to do with the money, as you have already figured out for yourself. Walters Antiques has been around for generations before Shonda was born and she is just the latest one that runs it and makes sure she keeps it profitable."
"So the store's been around for awhile," Cian said
"Hundreds of years," Aaron told the boy with a smile. "It was started by her ancestor several generations before her father and mother were born. When it got to Shonda's father he ran it with efficiency, but it wasn't as profitable as it is now. There's only so much money you can make in a small town like Moonlight Gorge where there's less than 10,000 people."
"Seems like a lot of people to me," Cian said.
"I'm sure it does," Aaron told him with a smile, "but it's still considered pretty small compared to here in Michigan where there are millions of people in every city in this state alone. Once you grow up and gain some more experience you'll realize that I am right."
"So Aunt Shonda has run her business for a long time now," Cian said.
"Yes she has and she does really well. If she was living by herself and didn't have me or our children to worry about she would be able to have a very good life, even with the way inflation has risen in the last several centuries. The antique business is not the easiest to make money in, but Shonda is really good at it. I've learned a lot about antiques since we met, though I certainly don't know as much as she does."
"Why is it so hard to make money in selling antiques. I would think it would be easy. You just buy items and sell them."
"Because for one thing you really have to keep your eye on the antique market," Aaron explained understanding the boy's confusion. "People throw or give away a lot of things that turn out to be valuable, but it also has to do with what people take an interest in that makes it so.
"Something like an old movie poster from a blockbuster film can be worth hundreds of dollars so long as it's in good condition. While that's not exactly considered antique it's just an example. Old toys from well known name brands can also be valuable so long as they're in good condition. Depending on what kind of toy it is, how old it is and what kind of condition it's in they can be worth thousands of dollars apiece. What is considered antique changes all the time so you really have to keep your eye on what people consider valuable."
"So you have to have a talent for it," Cian said in understanding why the antique business wasn't the easiest to make money in. "You have to understand what people place value on."
"Exactly and that's why I said it's a hard profession to make money in, especially in a small town. You really have to know what you're doing. Shonda does very well, especially since we moved out of Moonlight Gorge and moved to a bigger city once Jazz's parents and Shonda's father passed away."
"I thought you met in Houston though," Cian said puzzled.
"We did," Aaron agreed. "Being in the antique business requires traveling so you can go to big cities to attend auctions and things. Shonda was simply traveling because there were several auctions she wanted to attend to see if she could get some things at a good price for Walters Antiques. I was attending one of the same auctions and I knew she was my mate the minute I laid eyes on her, so I started up a conversation. It just went from there."
"So why go back to Moonlight Gorge then if she could make more money in a bigger city?" Cian asked. "That's something I don't understand."
"That's a good question young man," Aaron told him with a proud smile making Cian blush. Much like Spencer he had rarely been praised though in Cian's case that included by his mother. "The answer is simple. Shonda had responsibilities and she's not one to abandon them. She had a business to run for one thing. She made more than enough for her father and her to live quite well from Walters Antiques in the small town she had grown up in. There was also her father Michael to consider," Aaron continued. "She had to go back because her father was ill and it was one of those diseases where he had stopped eating very much simply because he didn't feel hungry. He looked much like you did when I saw him for the first time all skin and bones. The difference is that he was very ill and had been for several years before I met Shonda. The disease eventually took him. Mike lived long enough to see me and his daughter wed and the birth of his first grandson, but not long after that he passed. The mother had died several years before Shonda and I met so I never got a chance to meet her.
"She also had her best friend to consider, as Jazz was pregnant with her and Dave's first child at the time and she had been named godmother. She just couldn't abandon her business, her father or her best friend just so she could make more money in a bigger city. Shonda isn't the greedy type unlike so many people. If Shonda is anything it's that she's loyal to the people she loves. Something I soon discovered for myself. It's not like I minded moving to Moonlight Gorge, so that wasn't a problem for me. All I was doing before I met Shonda was traveling from place to place which can get very boring when you've been doing it for decades. I did have houses in various cities and I won't say I didn't settle down for a few years here and there, but I never stayed in one place too long, not until I met Shonda."
Cian understood better now why his aunt hadn't just packed up and left Moonlight Gorge where she had been born. Being immortal though Cian figured that they had eventually moved on, as they wouldn't want everybody to know their secret and it would become obvious they were different if they stayed somewhere to long.
"I understand better now," Cian told his uncle. "People are simply different from each other. We're not all the same."
"No, we're not, as some people who are generous and kind come from abusive backgrounds or were originally poor and some people that grew up with plenty would betray their own mother to get ahead. Everybody is different remember that," Aaron told the boy sounding very serious.
"I will," Cian promised.
"If you have any more questions you're welcome to ask either me or Shonda and we'll be happy to answer them unless we don't know them or it's not our story to tell."
"Thanks, Uncle Aaron," Cian told Aaron sincerely.
"You're quite welcome," Aaron told the boy ruffling his hair affectionately.
~~~Aaron and Shonda~~~
"Cian, I know you have been wanting to meet Spencer and Shawnda and they are finally back from traveling in Europe so they will be here for lunch," Shonda informed them
"Yes, I have been wanting to meet them," Cian said clearly excited.
"I'm glad you're so excited," Shonda told him with a smile ruffling his brown hair.
"I was beginning to think I would never to meet them," Cian answered. "Everyone else mentions them fondly all the time, which only makes my curiosity worse."
"I can't really blame you there, because the rest of us know them and you've never had a chance to meet either one. You know Shawnda is my goddaughter and also the first child that my good friend Jazz had."
"Yeah, you told me how you and Aunt Jazz had been friends all your lives so of course, you were going to be named godmother to any children she had."
"And vice versa," Shonda added smiling. "I admit though it was very hard to come up with a name similar to Jazzlyn. It's a sort of name that doesn't really have any variations, so we simply named her Jazzlyn, but called her Lyn for a nickname."
"I'm still amazed that the two of you have been friends for hundreds of years," Cian said shaking his head.
"I don't blame you for being astonished," Shonda told him with a smile. "Not many people share our deep friendship. It's why when Aaron and I move somewhere new the Rossis follow and vice versa. We might have separate residences, but we always live in the same city usually within a couple of miles of each other. We always make the decision together, as to where to move next."
"Now that's really weird," Cian decided. "I mean if you didn't have the money to visit each other I could understand you moving to the same city but you do, so why not separate for awhile? Why don't you and Aaron settle somewhere like New York while the Rossis go somewhere else."
"Well, one thing I never mentioned, is that when we were young Jazz and I took a magical oath to always be best friends. This happened back when we were teenagers, so long before we met our men. Also, it's always good to have someone exactly like you are close by, which is another reason we always move to the same city and state. Aaron and I can only be totally ourselves with Jazz and Dave and our families. We don't have to hide parts of our personalities like we do with humans or the magicals if we happen to meet any. While all of us are well used to keeping our secret some people are intelligent like you are and might be curious if we slip up. It's only with others like us that we can be totally ourselves. It helps release some of the tension of keeping such a major part of ourselves concealed all the time for one thing and this way Jazz and I get to see each other almost every week instead of a few times a year. While Dave and Aaron weren't friends before we met they are now and they can talk about anything. They took time to work up to that though, because unlike Jazz and I they didn't know each other since childhood."
"Makes sense," Cian decided.
"Also, we have somebody to go to if we're in some kind of trouble so hopefully, we can figure out a solution together. Dave is always good for ideas if there's some kind of problem and Jazz is no slouch in that department either. The four of us have solved many problems together over the centuries."
Cian didn't ask what kind of problems because he knew that his aunt probably wouldn't tell him.
"It's always nice to have someone you can depend on for anything," Shonda added.
Just then the front doorbell rang and Cian knew that the guests had arrived.
~~~Aaron and Shonda~~~
