Barret was frustrated. Even after he had shut up Brahn, stunned everyone, and walked out, the Templars still wouldn't commit to helping fight. As much as he hated to admit it, their reasons were sound. There was no evidence that this was going to happen again, no reason for it to. It could easily have just been a series of unfortunate events, with people in the wrong place at the wrong time. If the Templars weren't there, it would have been Edinmire that would have been attacked, and it's only because the Sentinels were weakened by the Templars that they didn't continue their assault. With a heavy sigh, he leaned on the top of the wall, looking out over the forest.

He didn't bother going back down when they reconvened, and it seemed like continuing to try to talk reason would be futile. They had been down there so long that the sun hung low in the sky now, and it would be dark soon. He was watching the leaves move in the gentle wind when he heard footsteps coming up the stone stairs. "I think you're probably right." Trace said as he joined Barret by the wall. "Brahn won't budge. He doesn't want to send people on a wild chase on nothing but a whim. Honestly, I can't say I blame him. Not only do we have very little to go on, but thinking tactically, this would give us a huge advantage. Working with the Templars would only make it easier to fight them when they try to attack us again. Any new weapons or tactics they come up with would only be less effective when we meet on the battlefield."

"I thought we ended the war?"

"We ended this one. But I know Brahn and his reputation. I know who put him in power in the first place, and I know that he won't back down so easily. He may have relented, but this is only because it gives him time to rebuild. Sooner or later, he will attack again. I know I would have."

"What about everyone else?" Barret leaned over the walls, where he could see people wandering out of the tower and returning to their camps. "Are they still with us?"

At this, Trace smiled. "Brahn put up a fight, shouted and threatened, even went so far as to try and actually throw a punch at Anriea when she walked near him. And despite all of this, they still stand with us. The Sentinels are so much of a threat to everyone else, that they agree that we should fight back. Dahlia has already sent word to the clan councilors to begin gathering their forces, Eruinsa plans to write up letters tonight, and Zxyrith… well, I'm not actually sure what he's doing, but he seemed very clear that they would be quick to respond."

Barret smirked, but then turned back to the forest. "Well, it's better than I'd hoped for. I half expected no one to help us, for this all to have been a waste of time."

"We ended wars and gained allies in this new fight. This was not a waste of time." Trace stood next to his friend, watching out into the distance. They were silent for a while, with the gentle sound of the wind rustling the leaves, and the mixture of conversations rising up from below. "I don't know how you did it."

"What?"

"Keep such a level head. When you confronted Brahn, I expected you to give this big outburst, yell at him and make him understand with force. But you were so calm. I couldn't have done that."

Barret gave a dry chuckle. "I… have become an expert at hiding my emotions. Like I've said before, you can't hunt for food when you're mind is clouded by anger or hate. I've learned to bury everything deep down inside of myself, make sure that nothing gets out. I don't know any other way to live. I don't know how to put myself out there emotionally, and as much as I feel like I've opened up, it's unnatural to me. Talking with you and Keith and Natani and Haelith is one thing, but anyone else? I can't. I can't show emotion, of any kind. It's a weakness, and it's dangerous. What if I open up, and someone tries to hurt me emotionally? It takes so much work to let myself be me. Even after mom and dad died, even after Eris died, I still have to keep everything bottled up, I still have to bury all of it so deep that it can't hurt me or anyone else. If I let it all out, I wouldn't know who I was."

Trace listened, and heard the pain in his voice, heard the longing to let everything out, saw his entire body shake. "You know, I don't see it as weakness. Our emotions give us strength, our passions give us drive. Sure, there are people who will want to hurt you, but there are so many more that want to help you. It's fine to let it out, fine to give in to your feelings. Pain only gets better when you acknowledge it. You have to allow it to heal."

"You don't understand." Barret said, his head and shoulders drooping. "You can't spend more than a decade hiding everything, shoving your emotions so far down that they rarely see the light, only to have someone try to tell you to let it out. I lost everything when I was a child. I was only fourteen when I lost my parents the first time. I watched them die that day. That leaves emotional scars that never heal. I have it so deeply ingrained into myself that I don't know how to let my emotions go. You've seen what happens when I let my emotions take over. I cast magic so powerful that it terrified me, wild and uncontrolled power surged through me, and I killed a man without even a thought. Emotions may give some people strength. They give me pain and regret."

"I'm sorry." Trace put his hand on Barret's shoulder. "You're right. I don't know what that's like. But I can help you heal. You don't have to bottle everything up around me. It's okay to let it all out." Barret smiled, but it faded quickly.

"I know. You won't judge me. But at the same time, I don't know how to let my emotions out safely. I've been able to control my magic to an extent, but even after trying to keep it in check, I still lash out. During the last battle, I remember anger and fury and rage at the Templar soldiers. I remember using magic against them, lashing out with extreme power. I remember how Natani described it: 'Like watching a hurricane incarnate. Powerful and unmatched fury.' I have power, but I'm so afraid to use it, because I have no control over my emotions. Even trying to train myself, the more I let go, the more I have to hold back."

"Then stop holding back." Trace gripped Barret's shoulder, trying to get his point across. "When you get a chance, just let go of everything. Stop thinking and stop worrying. Let your power run free. It worked for Raine. Let's see if it works for you too."

Sighing heavily, Barret let himself relax. "You really think that would work?"

"Oh, I have no idea. But it's worth it to give it a try. Come on, we should go get packed up. We're leaving at first light."

…

Keiren retrieved his sword and shield from the Basitin guards upstairs, leaving only a sword and a staff in the pile of items. Richard walked over for his sword, only to see a hand reach over for the faintly glowing blue staff at the same time. "Oh, sorry." Richard mumbled without a second thought. The voice that responded, however, snapped him to attention very quickly.

"That's quite alright, young master Richard."

He whirled around to see a smiling face staring back at him. The green eyes, the silver hair, the wrinkles, they were one thing, but it was the voice. The voice was so much like… "Euchre? Silverlock?"

"But of course." the old man gave a gentle bow, the Templar crest on his robe not matching his demeanor in the slightest. "I have heard much about you from your father. He's quite proud, you know."

Richard scoffed. "That's a first."

"Would you walk with me for a few minutes? It is rather nice to talk with you." Richard couldn't say no even if he wanted to. There was only one door out of the tower, and he suspected that they would be talking no matter what he wanted. The guards had left, two walking down the stairs to clean up, and the other six walking up to the middle floor, where they would stand guard for the time being. "Yes, your father is very proud of you. He tells me quite often how he's proud of all you've done, even when going against his wishes, even when fighting against him, even when you stood up to him all those years ago. He's told me that he always saw greatness in you, and I must say that I share his vision. I can just tell you will do great things."

"Get on with it, old man." Richard was curt and borderline rude. "I know your games. I know you speak with words laced with honey, sweet and inviting, so that you can manipulate others to do your will. I will not play your games. Speak clearly if you want to speak at all. No tricks. No riddles."

Euchre had froze, aghast, but seemed to recover quickly. "You have your father's brashness in you. Headstrong and cunning. Why my daughter fell for you, I will never know."

"So you wish to speak about Raine? Or are you trying to put me off guard with another of your cunning remarks?"

Euchre's face turned to a frown as they reached the door. "I do want to talk to you about her. I want to understand what she sees in you, and what you see in her. I want to know why she loves you, and why you love her."

For once, he spoke bluntly, and is was the most unsettling thing Richard had ever heard. More than anything, this put him on guard against this man. He glanced out the door, where many were gathered, their ears sure to pick up on snippets of conversation. This time, it was Richard who threw Euchre for a loop, closing the door with them inside. Alone. "You want to know the truth? I fell for her the moment I laid eyes on her, I knew that she was the one. I had no idea at the time, and I was so focused on other things, I didn't know what I was feeling. But I learned to love her, through all of her past and all of her pain. We share a trust with each other that no one else knows about. We confide in each other, and we enjoy being together. We may be so different, but that doesn't change the fact that I love her, fur and claws and tail and all. Cursed or blessed with your blood, I will love her because I want to see her smile. I want to show her what it's like to be loved, no matter what. I won't abandon her at the first sign of danger. I won't leave her just because things get hard. I love her. Far more than you ever could."

His words stung. They were filled with conviction and laced with malice. "She thinks I don't love her?" His words did not carry power, but a deep sorrow.

"You abandoned her. Left her to be for years. You pushed her away for so long, and when you finally come back, you try to push away the half of her you created. She does not speak of you at all. You abandoned her, so she abandoned you." Richard pushed a finger into Euchre's chest with every word, pushing him down into a chair with no effort. Euchre deflated, his hand on his heart as tears began to well in his eyes.

"She has abandoned me. I am alone. Again." His voice was small. He was broken.

"I have nothing more to say to you." Richard went to leave, but found the door open… and blocked by his own father.

"Euchre. Did you tell him?" The deep voice resonated in the circular room, but all that could respond was a pathetic noise from the broken man. Orlin walked in, his heavy boots thudding on the floor on the way over. "What did you do to him? I've never seen him like this before."

"I told him the truth. About Raine."

"Is that so? Did she finally embrace her wolf side, or did something worse happen?" Richard's eyes flew to his father, who flashed him a knowing smile. "He told me his secret. He's trusted me with a great many secrets, and I trust him with mine. But as much as I would like to stay here, discussing our family, I have to know if he told you our plan?"

"Plan? No, he asked me about Raine, nothing else. What plan?"

Orlin glanced toward the door, dropping his voice to a whisper. "What we've done here was great, ending the wars and uniting the people. But Brahn is stubborn, more stubborn than even you and I. Which is why we are planning to make sure he's not in charge when the time comes. He mentioned it to Raine, and now I'm saying it to you, without the riddles: we're planning for another coup. Brahn won't give up power, he won't give up his position. He's grown mad in the last few months, growing reckless and violent. I'm surprised he only threw one punch today. I expected to have to forcibly remove a bloodstain from the wall once he was done, but you lot did a good job with security. Still, there is much to be done, and many pieces still yet to be put into place."

Richard could barely believe what he was hearing. "Hold on, a coup? Like, what Trace did?"

His father nodded. "Things are about to change. For better or worse, they will change."

"But there is still much for us to do." Euchre said, still holding his chest as he pushed himself up with his other arm. "While Brahn is still unaware of our work, we undermine him where we can, small rebellions that push us closer and closer to our goal. We have planted seeds of distrust in Sirius, which is why he was notably absent. Thankfully, he does not yet suspect that two of his most trusted advisors are working against him. I suspect it will only be a matter of time until he finds out though, so we must move quickly."

"You shouldn't linger in here then." Richard said, folding his arms. "Brahn will only become more suspicious if you are caught talking with me."

"He's already suspicious of me." Orlin said, leaning against the wall. "It's taken a lot, but I've changed since you left. I used to be violent, aggressive, but now? I've calmed down, and that's really put him on guard. Seems like he only wanted to keep me in charge as long as I had an iron fist. Still, I have some plans to get things moving a bit faster, get things ready for when we need to make our move."

"It seems our time is up." Euchre said, glancing out the window. Richard followed his gaze to see Brahn clearly looking for them. He could hear the reluctance in Euchre's voice, and could see his father not keen to go outside either. But he sighed heavily, his armor rattling as he turned away from his son.

"I hope that I can see you again someday. I truly am proud of all you've done. I have heard so much, and hope to keep hearing more. Goodbye, my son." And with that, the two opened the door and left, leaving Richard alone in stunned silence.