Orion awoke with his transformation at dawn. He'd only gotten a few hours of sleep, and his mind was still swimming with everything that had happened.

"Good morning, my loves," Adelpha greeted them and Bonnie bounced to her feet at the scent of the hot breakfast Owen had laid out for them on the table.

"He brought up your school clothes as well," she commented, "Apparently there was some sort of incident with your shirt?"

Orion smiled and he recounted the tale of his 'bathroom emergency' escape from Shawn over a mug of coffee and milk. Adelpha didn't seem at all upset by the story.

"You are becoming stronger in your ability to control the spell," she observed, clearly pleased by his progress.

"That's good, right?"

"I believe so. If you become the one to control it, then the spell is no longer a curse, but a great power that you wield by your own will. It may be that this special power puts you in the position to defend your clan, when they cannot defend themselves."

Adelpha smiled as she glanced at Bonnie, whose small, sticky fingers were slyly sneaking their way past the coffee pot toward a second chocolate croissant.

"If only we all could get our act together!" she laughed and Bonnie stuck out her tongue and stomped her bare foot on the floor impudently.

They continued to chat and enjoy their breakfast, but all the time, Orion felt a sick feeling rising in his stomach. He wanted to tell Adelpha about the arrival of Coldstone and ask her if she knew anything about what had happened the night before. But he didn't know how to bring it up, or if it was something he was even permitted to tell her about. He suspected that she knew the reason Coldstone and Coldfire did not wish to see her. Surely she had to know something about it, if she had offended them that much! Orion considered the possibility that whatever it was, it was really none of his business. But then again, Brooklyn had found it serious enough that he had seemingly taken their side in the matter, even after decades of time had passed. None of it made any sense to him and his heart ached at the thought of Adelpha being locked away from the clan for the foreseeable future.

"What is it, my son?" she asked him again, with a frown. Orion hesitantly opened his mouth to speak, but they were interrupted by Owen who arrived in the doorway.

"Forgive me for intruding," he chanted in a cold tone that suggested that he was not the least bit sorry, "But Miss Madison has arrived for Bonnie's dancing lesson."

"Hooray!" cheered the chocolate-smeared girl as she pirouetted around the table. Owen raised an eyebrow at her before continuing.

"Orion, I'm told that Cesar will be your driver to school this morning and will have the car ready in the garage in twenty minutes. Your lunch has been prepared and is waiting in the rookery. Kindly get your things together and meet him in a timely manner."

Adelpha gave Xanatos' steely-eyed servant a genuine snarl, to which he did not react before turning and standing beside the doorway.

"Well?" she demanded, "You've delivered your edicts. Now, off you go!"

"The gate to your room will be closed once the children leave," Owen explained.

"Oh, and why is that?" she asked, temper flaring in her green eyes.

"Brooklyn asked that I give you this message," Owen said by way of an explanation, and handed a note to Adelpha. She took it and unfolded it, reading the contents with a frown. Then she returned her gaze to Owen with a look that clearly demanded further explanation.

"I am not at liberty to say any more," he told her, anticipating the questions that were meant for him, "But I am quite busy today as Mr. Xanatos will be returning and-

"You will stand there and wait until I am finished speaking with my children," she directed with an attitude that would suffer no fools.

"Very well," Owen agreed reluctantly.

Turning her attention to Bonnie, she lifted the wild little girl into her arms and embraced her tightly.

"Enjoy your dancing lesson, my treasure!" she bid and then set her down on the floor, giving her tangled hair a swipe with her fingers. Then she reached for Orion, and placing her arm around him, she said,

"It is clear that there are things you wish to tell me that you feel you cannot. What did your leader tell you to do in this situation?"

"To tell you to speak with him," Orion remembered, "But how can you when he isn't here?"

"But you can speak with him," she reminded him, "And he can speak with me if he wishes to."

Orion's face brightened a bit. She was right. Goliath had promised them that he was only a phone call away and if the clan leader told Brooklyn to do something, there was no doubt that Brooklyn would do it. Orion was confident that Goliath would be fair and make the situation right.

"Have a good day at school, my love," she told him, "I'm sure I will see you again tonight."

All through school, Orion had trouble staying focused on his lessons. Liam noticed it.

"What's up with you?" he asked at lunchtime.

"Just some family stuff," Orion replied wistfully.

"With your family, that sounds like it could be dangerous!" Liam whispered and that made Orion laugh a little.

Unlike Shawn, the evening before, Cesar got Orion home with plenty of time to spare, and Orion raced from the elevator to the north tower, hoping to catch Sister as soon as she awakened. To his surprise, he did not find her stone form there among the grownups. Coldstone and Coldfire were there, however. Apparently, Brooklyn had successfully managed to convince Coldstone to stay with the clan. The stood silently, with their wings spread to collect the sunlight and charge their batteries.

"Hello Coldstone, Coldfire," Orion greeted timidly, but he received only silence from them.

"Oh! It's me, Orion," he added quickly, realizing that the cyborgs might not recognize him as a boy. There was the slightest hint of a whirring sound coming from the two titanium bodies, but not a movement or a word. Orion wondered if they had to power down as they charged, or maybe they were waiting for software updates.

"Well, see you later," he told them, and he headed down the spiral staircase to the top of the curtain wall, which was the fastest way to the rookery. He changed out of his school clothes and found Lyra and Bonnie in the rookery's sunroom. Lyra was reading on the daybed and Bonnie was passed out beside her with wet hair and wearing nothing but a towel.

"This is the third bath I've had to give her today!" Lyra grumbled, "Where on earth is Adelpha?"

"She has to stay in her room," Orion told her.

"Why? Is she quarantining or something?" Lyra demanded in a dismissive tone.

"No, not exactly," Orion answered awkwardly, "Look. She's asleep right now. Sister and I can take over at sunset."

"Thank you!" she huffed in exasperation.

"Did you happen to see where Sister went to spend the day?" Orion asked, "She's not on the north tower."

Lyra's expression changed slightly to one of concern.

"She's on the wall above the rookery," she told him, "She's been there since last night. She came in growling and stomped off up there and refused to come down even to talk to us."

"Great," Orion groaned as he headed toward the stairs.

The short length of curtain wall that ran over the rookery was a great place to be alone. No one needed the passage to get anywhere in the castle, it had a poor view, and it was used mostly as a storage for a myriad of objects that didn't seem to fit anywhere else. Its most prominent feature were four wooden hutches that Broadway had built with Micah to hold his falcons.

There among the wooden and mesh boxes, the stone form of Sister sat perched on an upside down bucket. She was slumped forward, with an enraged expression etched into her stone face. Orion had to smile though, for while Sister glared out menacingly at an unjust world, a large female falcon had settled itself on her head. Its roost was about to be interrupted though as the sun dipped below the horizon. Sister burst from her stone skin, greeting the night with a shrill roar while Orion, far less dramatically, took his gargoyle form.

From the moment she turned to face Orion, her eyes burned with fury. Her claws were clenched in rage and she gritted her teeth, as if in a vain attempt to control her anger. Then she drew in a sharp breath that quickly came out as a sob. Tears rolled down her face as Orion embraced her. The rookery of two held one another for some time, as the purple sky turned to blackness.

"It's going to be alright," Orion assured her, "I've got a plan. We'll call Goliath and tell him what's going on. He'll talk to Brooklyn and tell him how ridiculous he's being."

"Maybe he'll come home and tell him!" Sister suggested with a hopeful sniff.

"Maybe…" he replied doubtfully as he pulled out his phone.

"If he does, he's going to fix me good for how I popped off at Brooklyn," Sister commented gloomily.

Orion paused.

"I mean…you weren't THAT…ummmm…Well…Let's worry about that later!"

Sister nodded enthusiastically and Orion clicked on the icon for a video call to Goliath.

They were both relieved to hear Goliath pick up the call immediately.

"It's Orion! And Sister's here too!" Orion said happily after the clan leader's greeting and the sight of his face on the small screen.

Goliath smiled a tired smile back at them.

"Good evening, children," he replied, "How are you?"

Orion and Sister shared a distressed glance, then they both began to shout over each other at the same time. Piece by piece, Goliath was able to get the story of what had happened the night before.

"It's not fair!" Sister cried, "Adelpha did nothing to deserve this!"

"And aside from that," Orion added defensively, "It's not good for her to be alone in her room. She needs the clan! We all do! Especially right now with you and Mom gone!"

Goliath listened to the children's frustrated complaints, then shook his head sadly.

"I am sorry, children," he told them, looking quite genuine in that claim, "Brooklyn tried to contact me several times last night about this situation and I was…preoccupied."

"What's wrong?" Sister asked fearfully, "Is Elisa okay?"

"She has had a…reaction," he explained hesitantly, "She is recovering now but they are concerned that she may not be able to continue with the treatments."

"But she's going to be okay, right?" Orion asked, "I mean, for now?"

"I think so. Auntie Beth and Uncle Derek have come to St. Louis. Derek is here with me now and Beth is with Elisa, speaking with the doctors and keeping us informed of…everything."

Orion gave sister a forlorn look.

"I'm sorry we called," he said miserably, "We shouldn't have bothered you now."

"No, children," he assured them, "It's right that you called. I will speak to Brooklyn and Adelpha tonight. But you must understand that he is in a difficult position right now."

"We do," Orion agreed, giving Sister a look. She looked away sheepishly, wiping the tears that had returned to her eyes, and Goliath noticed.

"Sister?" he asked in a voice that was both gentle and knowing.

"I talked back to Brooklyn again," she whispered shamefully and Goliath growled lowly at the confession.

"Was this the usual sarcastic comments or more blatant disrespect?" he inquired.

"Nuclear explosion," Sister clarified, looking quite embarrassed at having to confess this to the clan leader and Goliath sighed again.

"Children, there are times to respond to injustice with righteous rage, and times when it is best to be patient, understanding, and try to find a common ground. One of the tasks of growing up is learning to discern the difference. You both know how much we all love Adelpha. Brooklyn would never intentionally do anything to harm her."

"We know that," Orion assured him, "That's why this is so hard to understand."

"What am I going to do now?" Sister groaned, "He's going to throw me in a cell along with Adelpha and lose the key after the way I ran my mouth!"

Goliath replied with a dry smile.

"Maybe not. But you will have to regain his trust and show him that he has your confidence. That's what he needs from you right now."

Orion was surprised to hear this from Goliath. It had never occurred to him that the clan leader might need anything from anyone, especially children.

"Brooklyn needs us?"

"Of course, my dear ones. One can't be a good, strong leader if he is afraid that any choice he makes might cause his charges to abandon him and tear the clan apart. He needs your trust and your support, even when you are frustrated. That's what keeps the clan strong. Can I count on you for that?"

"Yes!" Orion replied immediately, though Sister seemed far less eager. Finally she nodded.

"I'll do my best," she promised and Goliath smiled.

"I have to go now," he told them, "Auntie Beth is calling me."

"Answer then," Orion replied urgently, "Bye!"

The call was disconnected and Orion slowly put the phone into the pocket of his bag.

"Maybe we shouldn't have bothered him at all?" Sister suggested, still looking forlorn.

"He said it was okay," Orion pointed out, "And now we kind of know what to do…Right?"

Sister shrugged.

"I guess I have to go apologize."

Orion pulled her to her feet and they headed for the stone arched doorway, when suddenly Micah burst through, carrying a bucket of dead mice.

"Hi guys!" he said cheerfully as he squeezed past them.

Micah had been a tremendous fanatic of peregrine falcons from the time he was small. It had all started with Fleet losing an argument to Lark, who had insisted that peregrines were actually faster than cheetahs. A bit of research had proven her right, which was most disappointing to Fleet but fascinating to Micah. From that point on, when he wasn't on the rampage with his brother, Micah could often be found perched in strategic locations around the castle with a pair of binoculars, hoping to catch sight of one of these amazing creatures. It was somewhat of an irony that such a hyperactive child took great pleasure in a hobby that took such a high level of patience, but his fascination was intense. The grownups indulged it and his uncles often took him to places in the parks where he might find the birds roosting at night.

It was upon such an occasion that Micah discovered his first patient, a falcon with a broken wing! Micah had gently and confidently wrapped the injured bird in a blanket and carried him back to the castle, where Broadway had sheepishly promised the concerned clan elders that he had the situation completely under control. The first hutch was hastily constructed, and after hours of research, Micah somehow managed to nurse the bird back to health. Though the adults had been skeptical at first, they were soon on board with the project, for while Micah was known to be a clumsy, rampageous terror, particularly in the company of his rookery brothers, his new hobby brought out his hidden spirits of gentleness, diligence, and responsibility. So the young veterinarian opened his hospital for wounded falcons, which he tended to night after night.

"Look how strong he's gotten!" Micah said proudly as the bird perched on a leather glove on his arm.

"Is that Feathers?" Orion asked him.

"No," he said with a giggle, "Feathers got healed up and she's long gone. This is Smack. I called him that because he ran into a window. And that's Shocklee."

Micah pointed to another hutch, where a very frazzled bird was cawing sorrowfully at the loose falcon that had moved from Sister's head to the roof of the next hutch over.

"He ran into a powerline," Micah clarified.

"They aren't too smart, are they?" Sister asked.

"Nope. They're birdbrains," Micah agreed with another giggle, "But they're amazing hunters. And they're loyal and they make good friends. And that's more important than being smart. Look!"

The free falcon had landed on Shocklee's hutch and was cawing to him frantically.

"Who is that?" Orion asked as Micah tossed the visitor a dead mouse.

"I think it's Shocklee's girlfriend," he replied with a somewhat disgusted snort, "She won't go away. She must miss him. But he's got to stay in there or he won't heal. It's for his own good!"

"So Mrs. Shocklee's just going to hang around the castle until you can turn him loose?" Sister asked incredulously.

Micah shrugged.

"I guess so. I told you they were loyal!"

Sister seemed to consider this.

"That's what we have to do too," she decided out loud, "Until Brooklyn lets Adelpha out of her room, we have to visit her every night, so she won't get lonely."

"Why does Adelpha have to stay in her room?" Micah asked suspiciously.

"Because our new auntie and uncle are complete jerkwads," Sister declared and Micah scowled at this rather ambiguous explanation.

"What if Brooklyn won't let us?" Orion asked.

"Then we will make life rather difficult around here until he does," Sister said in a menacing tone and Orion raised a brow.

"That doesn't sound like 'trust and support' to me," Orion pointed out.

"That's going to be the way it is," she replied confidently, "And when Goliath comes back, he'll put the Coldcreeps in their place!"

"If you say so," Orion replied skeptically.

"I do say so! Will you help us Micah?"

"Well…What would I have to do?"

"Can you throw a tantrum?"

"Nah, I'm too old for that stuff!" he told her dismissively.

"You literally had one three nights ago," she reminded him with a roll of her eyes, "Over the last chocolate cupcake."

"That was not a tantrum! I was just frustrated!" Micah informed her, scowling at the accusation, "I suppose I could throw one, though, if I really had to. If it's for Adelpha!"

"Maybe we won't have to," Orion suggested hopefully, "Maybe Brooklyn has smoothed it all over with Coldstone and Coldfire and Adelpha will be at the supper table, waiting for us."

"Hopefully," Sister agreed with him, "But it's always good to have a Plan B. Come on. We promised we'd take care of Bonnie and I have to practice my apology."