"Do not lose yourself in the past. Do not lose yourself in the future. Do not get caught in your anger, worries, or fears. Come back to the present moment, and touch life deeply. This is mindfulness." ~Thich Nhat Hanh.
"Good old Redwall Abbey!"
Fernleaf closed his eyes and breathed in the fresh autumn-scented air of the Abbey's Front Lawns. Pumpkin, chestnut, berries and figs all washed over him and the Sandeyes. Jared patted Wyatt on the shoulder, while Madeline leaned down to kiss the young mouse on the cheek.
"Ah, too many days I've been away from you, Redwall!" Fernleaf laughed at the tops of his lungs, spreading his arms wide and basking in the sunlight. "Too many! But now never again!"
"Too many?" Jared raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Fernleaf, you literally live, like, right next door." He pointed his thumb behind him at the Gate, which Wyatt was already closing.
Catching the teenage jive, Fernleaf grinned in amusement, paws in his pockets. He chuckled as the fallen leaves crunched and cracked beneath his feet. He emerged from the gate onto the southern lawn. The Sandeyes followed after him.
"Jared! Madeline!"
Sister Fanistra fell upon them in an instant. She hugged the siblings tight around their necks. Fernleaf chuckled, grinning from ear to ear.
"Aack!" Jared choked, pressed into one side of the greenhouse keeper's face. "Sister Fanistra—great seasons!"
"We're okay, Fanistra!" Madeline promised the harvest mouse. "We're safe and sound!"
"Oh, thank Martin you're both all right!" Sister Fanistra kissed them both on the cheeks. "I worried about you two every single day, hoping the Guosim and Guoraf wouldn't rough you up too badly. What happened at Brockhall? How did it go? Did you give those shrews a whooping? You must tell me every single detail!"
"We'll tell you everything, Fanistra!" Jared broke away, putting up his paws in apology. "But right now, there's a ton of things that everyone else needs to know."
"Sandeyes!"
Right on cue, Father Abbot Curtis appeared, paws humbly in the pockets of his robe. Jared deflated and exhaled in gratitude.
"Thank goodness you're here, Father Abbot."
"When Jacob and Larina returned with one of the Guosim and Guoraf," Abbot Curtis took Jared's paws in his own. "But not you two, I assumed the worst had happened. What a relief it is to see you, Jared and Madeline. Has something happened?"
"My apologies, Father Abbot," Fernleaf stepped forward, shoulder-to-shoulder with Jared. Madeline and Sister Fanistra took up his other side. "The siblings had come to visit me for a spell. There is much we all need to tell you."
"Can you do us a favor, Father Abbot?" Madeline asked, practically pleading.
Sensing the urgency of the situation, Curtis nodded. "I can do anything you ask of me, my children. What is it you need?"
"Spread the word and gather everyone in the Great Hall," Jared explained. He moved to make his way there. "We'll tell you every single thing that went down in Brockhall."
It wasn't long before Curtis had done exactly that. Everybeast in Redwall assembled in the Great Hall, in front of Martin's Tapestry.
Almost all were chatting and whispering amongst themselves, confused and concerned. Jared and Madeline reunited with Jacob and Larina. They sat upon the altar in front of the Tapestry with the shrews beside them.
"Jared! Madeline!" Weonsia scurried up and hugged the siblings both. "Jacob! Larina! I've been waitin' fer ye all fer ages!"
"Blimey, y'all look worse fer wear," Rudmir raised his eyebrows in surprise. He placed a tray of food on a small table for Fernleaf and the shrews. "What in Martin's name 'appened at Brockhall?"
"We're going to explain everything now, Rud," Jared waved a paw to reassure the otter. "Please just sit down."
Jared detailed in explicit detail how Gavlin had "tested" him at Brockhall, move for move. Predictably, the Sisters of the Abbey all gasped and exclaimed in frightful terror.
The Dibbuns laughed and bounced in the Sisters' laps. His fellow teenagers all cheered as one.
"Wicked!" exclaimed Weonsia and Rudmir in unison.
Jacob illustrated each of the Eight Kuanzai Warriors. Antonius and Laurel could not help crying from laughing too hard: Jacob looked more akin to a clumsy vermin, genuinely drunk after imbibing unhealthy amounts of grog, rather than any real master of the drunken form. But the message still got across to the others.
Madeline and Antonius recreated their exhibition match in restrained harmless detail. Jared and Jacob did the same.
The Sandeyes also took the time to specifically explain each and every single Wungkan style represented at Brockhall. Quite an expected number of cheers and praises, questions and answers, thanks and congratulations were heaped upon the reenactments and discussions.
Jared riveted everyone with his facsimile of his separate bouts with the two Log-a-Logs. Antonius stood in for the "drunken" Tiraqoo. Laurel emulated Tipuka in his and Jared's climactic battle.
A heavy silence fell upon the Great Hall when they arrived at Nagrig Deathblade's aggressive ambush of Antonius. The Guoraf hung his head, ashamed of himself, despite Madeline's paw of comfort upon his shoulder.
Jared told of how Deathblade managed to incapacitate Tipuka, Tiraqoo, and Ruth in quick succession using the Snake Style ("Dat monster!" cried Sister Amelia.).
Madeline recalled having to watch as Remy stood up for his sister, only to be kicked and thrown away like baggage.
Everything turned to chaos as they collectively told of the ensuing massive skirmish. Madeline fell utterly silent. Tears sprang to her eyes as she remembered what Dragel had almost done to her. When asked, she only gave short and fragmented hints, unable to truly communicate exactly what had happened. The questions turned to Jared, who only shook his head in discouragement, arms protectively around his sister.
He turned to gaze upon the Tapestry of Martin for a long moment in silence. None dared interrupt him or his thoughts.
"Tinar-Andelle. When I was growing up, I could never pronounce my Eastern name correctly or properly. Chieftain Gillamin was kind enough to shorten it to Tinarandel for me."
"Made it much easier for all of us, too," Madeline managed to laugh through her tears.
At that moment, Antonius stepped up on the altar behind the Sandeyes. He told of how Jared knocked out Dragel and defied Deathblade. He spoke the squirrel's exact words (in his rough Guoraf accent, granted) to rally the Guosim and Guoraf and stand up to Deathblade. Laurel then detailed each great accomplishment to rout the evil vermin.
Madeline showed off her Southern Water-Dragon style to a group of transfixed Dibbuns and teenagers.
"Wow! Da Wata-Dwagon!" cried a wide-eyed Dorothy.
"Ee surpinkly showed they sloi, narsty, evil vurmint ee baint small, oo arr!" cheered Grinding.
"Yeah!" Caleb pumped his fists in the air. "Sista Mad'lin beat up da evil villyun! Made 'im a real fraidy frog!"
Jared demonstrated each move he used during his and Madeline's fight against Deathblade. A willing—and intensely overdramatic—Jacob stood in as the loathsome rat warlord. Their crowd all "oohed" and "aahed", laughed, and applauded.
The attention afterwards turned to Fernleaf when he explained the Sandeyes' visit to his hut. He had remained mostly silent throughout the entire discussion, eating and drinking with the two shrews.
"It appears Nagrig Deathblade is copying the war methods of those who came before him," the ferret explained in between bites of freshly-baked wheatcakes. He washed his last bite down with a quick sip of ice-cold mint tea. "You all know that Cluny the Scourge once infamously gang-pressed vermin from all over Mossflower for his grand army. Now Deathblade is doing exactly the same thing."
"How horrid!" Sister Falmur clapped her paws to her mouth. "How could he do that?! Why?"
"Why else?" Mother Lunafreya folded her arms over her chest and shook her striped head. "To bring down Redwall with sheer force of might."
"The Scornful Tyrant's might," Jared nodded. "We've seen it before, Madeline and I. Nagrig visited his same wrath tenfold upon the Eastern Islands. Killed our family, and many others. He wants to finish what he started with Madeline and I."
He turned to his sister, taking her paw in his. "We're the ones who got away."
"Now that he knows what we can do, fighting-wise," Madeline adjusted her weight on the altar. "He'll only escalate his aggression. He won't show Redwall any mercy. Deathblade won't stop until either he's dead…or we are."
Abbot Curtis stood up from his throne to pace back and forth. All eyes now locked onto him.
"So…It appears that this is indeed meant to be war. Deathblade doesn't plan to stop his conquest anytime soon. He'll tear Mossflower apart from the inside out if he has to. He'll raze Redwall Abbey to the ground to get to the Sandeyes."
"But our numbers are so bloody miniscule c'mpared t' Deathblade's!" Almoner Mack protested. "We can't possibly stan' up t' 'im on our own! Not while 'e 'as 'is great army!"
"The Guosim and Guoraf are already on their way, Mack," Jared dropped onto the floor. "They've promised to lend their aid against Deathblade."
"Aye, that we did," Laurel confirmed his words. Antonius nodded likewise.
"Good," Curtis returned to his chair and perched his paws together, thinking. "We need all the help we can get. Fernleaf, do feel free to take shelter here," he added to the ferret. "We will protect you from Deathblade's cronies should they ever try to gang-press you again." Fernleaf, his mouth full of apple slices, wordlessly nodded back.
"Antonius, Laurel, you are both welcome here as well." The Abbot nodded at the two shrews. "Please, make yourselves at home until your unions arrive here. We'll find a couple spare rooms for you both. Don't make yourselves strangers, children."
"One more thing," Madeline interlaced her fingers with her brother's. "Deathblade…He knows the Prophecy in its fullest form."
She shuddered and leaned on her brother. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "But he wouldn't share it with us."
"We'd have to find it out on our own, is what he said," Jared held his sister close to his side.
Curtis nodded in understanding. "This is indeed troubling," the harvest mouse thought aloud. "I'm afraid like the extent of the Prophecy we know, this is outside of our control. All right."
He sat up straight on his throne. "Everyone, we must remain ever vigilant. The threat of Nagrig Deathblade on Redwall Abbey and Mossflower Woods looms larger than we ever thought before."
He leaned on one elbow, his finger tapping and wagging for emphasis. "Everybeast must be ever watchful and ready to defend themselves and the Abbey at a moment's notice."
"If Deathblade's building an army of vermin from Mossflower, Morringtat, Sampetra, and Terramort," Jared spoke up, standing atop the altar beside Antonius. "Then he could strike at any possible time. We don't know when. But in case of any emergency, we need to be ready for him."
"Deathblade's reinforcements have already arrived," Madeline stood up opposite Antonius. "Dragel leads an army of his own from Terramort Isle, sent by the King of Searats himself, Grimscar Ragthorn. If we're going to stand up to him, then we need to build an army of our own."
"Yet our normal functions of Redwall should still not go neglected themselves," Abbot Curtis politely counseled. "We may be at war, but our duties to keep Redwall Abbey safe and sacred must always remain a top priority. Everyone understand?"
Everybeast exclaimed and murmured their assent. Even Fernleaf and the two shrews.
"All right, then." Curtis stood up and clapped his paws. "Meeting adjourned."
As the Abbeybeasts dispersed, Curtis approached Larina. "Rina, while you were gone, your parents came by, hoping to see you. I told them where you'd gone off to. They were surprisingly cordial and understanding about it. Bless them."
He chuckled and pointed in the direction of the dormitories. "Anyway, they told me that they wanted you to come by the garden tomorrow, if you're able. They left a note for you in your dormitory explaining all the details."
"Thank you so much for letting me know, Father Abbot," Larina's eyes twinkled in the torchlight of the Great Hall. "I wish I had been there to see my parents here at Redwall. But I can't wait to see them at our garden tomorrow!"
"I'm certain it will be a swell time!" Curtis grinned broadly. Then he bowed and left.
Antonius and Laurel excused themselves to the dormitories. Fernleaf, Brother Timms, Recorder Jonathan, Jacob, Larina, and the Sandeyes remained in the Great Hall.
"Do we all have something important to discuss with the Sandeyes?" Fernleaf asked, trying to add some much-needed levity to the formerly tense and dramatic situation. "Sooner or later, there's going to be a line."
Jonathan, sensing the joke, smiled and chuckled. "Well, yes, and I won't lie about it." He gathered his parchments and cleaned his quill of ink. "But mine can come in its own time."
"As can mine," Brother Timms tacked on, sitting in his chair with his paws on his cane. The first time he had said anything during the meeting.
"I'm going to go find my parents' letter," Larina hugged the Sandeyes and Jacob, then departed for the dormitories.
"Aye, I'm starving, myself," Jacob patted the squirrels on the head, then likewise scampered off in the direction of Cavern Hole.
Fernleaf finished his mint tea. Then he met the Sandeyes at the altar.
"Jared. Madeline. If you have a moment, there's something I need to tell you that I didn't get the chance to back at my hut."
"What is it, Fernleaf?" Jared inquired, and Madeline too turned to face him.
"A dream I had," Fernleaf clasped his paws together, fingers interlaced. "After I sent you two to Redwall, I had the strangest dream that night. I stood upon the steps of Redwall Abbey." He turned and gestured towards the doors of Great Hall.
"Darkness had spread itself around me and the Abbey. The skies and the ground and even the air fell victim to its clutches. Horror and dismay struck me in the heart. Fatal cold stabbed at my nerves. Nevertheless, I stood still, my feet rooted to the ground.
"As I watched, before the veil of black and dark purple, a massive sharp claw stretched out from the abyss." He reached out a paw to the doors now, baring his claws. "It stretched towards Redwall, threatening to seize it. I tried to cry out, but no words came from me. Only an unvocalized, soundless scream. The claw and its pure evil took no notice of me. It forced its way to Redwall."
Now he walked in the direction of the doors. "It nearly scratched the Front Gate. A feeling of utter hopeless despair fell upon me. I shut my eyes, prepared for the end."
"Then, suddenly!" He spread his arms wide on either side of himself. "Behind and within that black void, the Sun itself rose! A veil of pure, blinding, shining gold and endless white dispelled the darkness! My eyes opened, and I looked up." He gazed up towards the ceiling.
"Shadows fled in all directions." Fernleaf paced the room, illustrating the dispelling. "The claw writhed and shook in inexplicable pain."
He shook and twitched and twisted his right paw at the wrist in some unfathomable agony. "Then it faded away, forever banished."
He turned around to the captivated Sandeyes. "Then, in the core of the Sun, I witnessed the faceless figure of a squirrel. Both recognized and unrecognized by me. Then the wind whispered in my ears. Two sentences. Five words."
He glanced around. Jonathan was also watching him. Timms' ears locked in his direction.
"'Tinarandel. Look to the Dawn.'"
He shook his head, confused. "I don't understand what it meant then. I still don't understand now. It was the oddest thing I've ever dreamed. But I don't think it was a coincidence in hindsight."
"That is fascinating, Fernleaf!" Jonathan praised, wide-eyed, his gray bushy tail swishing from side to side. "I cannot imagine such wonders!"
"Yet I still cannot understand what it all means, even after all this time," Fernleaf rubbed his chin, thinking. "Who is Tinarandel?"
"It's me."
Jared stood directly in front of him, confident yet reserved.
"My name—my true, Eastern name—is Tinarandel." Jared revealed. Fernleaf stared back at him, dumbstruck. "Tinar-Andelle. In the tongue of my homeland, it means 'Dawn-Bringer'."
"Yes, it's true, Fernleaf," Madeline came up beside her brother and laced her arm in his. "My Eastern name is Isidith. 'Angel' in our tongue."
"So…" Fernleaf stepped up to him in slow but awestruck feet. "You must be the one to whom my dream referred. It's you! Tinarandel!"
"The darkness you mentioned trapping the Abbey may be Nagrig Deathblade," Jonathan added, thinking out loud. He perched his elbow in his other paw and rubbed his mouth. "It could be his long claw reaching out to seize the Sandeyes."
"But what on earth could have been meant by the statement, 'Look to the Dawn'?" Fernleaf wondered.
"That one we can answer," Jared hit a fist to his chest. "Several days ago, Martin the Warrior himself appeared to me in a dream. He told me that he had chosen me to be his Champion. Abbey Warrior. Defender of Redwall."
"Abbey Warrior," Fernleaf stared agape at the young squirrel. "Defender of Redwall! At last!" He threw up his paws in the air, rejoicing. "At long last, Redwall Abbey has its great protector! Chosen by Martin the Warrior himself! Although…"
He rubbed his mouth and chin. The ferret stared absentminded out the stained-glass windows of Great Hall that filtered in the mid-morning sunlight.
"Tinarandel…Isidith…What does it all mean?"
The Sandeyes and Jonathan spent the next few minutes expounding to Fernleaf on the Prophecy of the Eastern Islands. Timms listened on in complete silence.
"I knew it!" Fernleaf snapped his fingers. "I always knew there was something special about you two! Since that fateful day you first showed up in my clearing! I always had an inkling you two were special! My dream revealed it all, and I didn't know until now! It was more than a dream; it was a prophecy of its own!"
"And now you understand why!" Jonathan added with a hearty laugh. He packed up his inkwell, quill, and parchments. Timms chuckled and adjusted his grip on his cane.
"The Prophecy is still in fragments," Jared reminded Fernleaf, and Madeline nodded to confirm her brother's words as truth. "Only Nagrig Deathblade knows it in its most complete form."
"But he wouldn't tell you," Fernleaf nodded to show his understanding. "I see. Well, nothing that's within our control."
He folded his arms over his chest and let out a long exhale of relief. "Thank you, Tinarandel, Isidith, for listening to me. I really do appreciate it. If there is anything I can do to help to combat this current crisis, let me know. I'll take your advice and lay low here until Deathblade's gang-pressing is all smoothed over."
"You are always welcome here, Fernleaf," piped up Brother Timms. "You are and always have been part of our Redwall Abbey family."
"Vermin No More, Fernleaf," Jared smiled warmly at the ferret.
"Aye," Fernleaf nodded and smiled back, agreeing. "Vermin No More."
Jared held Jacob's dagger to the grindstone while it spun towards him. The sharp edge of the short blade faced upwards. The grindstone made noisy squeaks as he cranked the treadle beneath his right foot.
"It's really impressive," Jacob exited the squirrel's blacksmithing forge, closing the door behind himself. "You said you built this yourself?"
"Had some help from the Redwallers," Jared explained, not looking up from his work. "And the good vermin who live here, too. Can you pass me that pail of water over there?"
He gestured with his bushy tail at a metal pail of water standing nearby. Jacob fetched and brought it to the squirrel.
"Mallgumm Wegendell built the wooden supports in the corners there," Jared poured water over the grindstone. "Elrion Hackadale—he's a stoat—he made this grindstone and that workbench."
He pointed to the horizontal metal workbench standing against the wall of the forge. Jacob glanced in that direction and saw it had the usual vises and bench dog holes on it.
"And you got into the trade because of your father, right?" the wolf looked back at the squirrel and folded his arms casually over his chest.
Jared put the pail down and restarted the soaked grindstone. "Yep, he was a blacksmith, too, in his life. I'm carrying on his work, to say the least. My forge—" he gestured at it with his tail. "—is almost practically identical to his. All the way down to the shape of the furnace."
"So, Madeline's doing the same thing being a botanist, like your mother," Jacob pointed an observing thumb in the direction of Redwall.
"Exactly," Jared kept a meticulous eye on the dagger.
"Wow…" Jacob stared around at the forge again, admiring it. "How long have you been doing this?"
"About two summers," Jared ground the edge of the dagger on the stone. "I don't only make weapons, though," he stated rather matter-of-factly. "I sharpen Friar Reylia's cutlery when they get dull, and Mallgumm Wegendell's axes and carpentry tools. In fact, last summer," He grunted and sat up straight to wipe his brow on the back of his arm. "I made a sword and jewelry for the Bronzespike family."
He gestured absentmindedly to the southwest. "They live in St. Ninian's."
He smiled when a gasp of impressed awe came from the canine. Jacob came around in front of the grindstone, watching him work for a moment in silence.
"What about you?" Jared asked at length. He briefly looked up at the wolf with earnest curiosity. "What are your parents like? What do they do for a living?"
Jacob rubbed the back of his head, thinking. "Well…" he began, rather bashfully. "My mother, Kristine Cavayna, was an actress before she married my father, Leonardo."
He struck a dramatic pose, one paw to his heart and the other stretched outwards. Jared let out an impulsive snort.
"Had a really successful theatre career in the Northlands, actually. But she'd always dreamed of retiring from the stage, settling down one day, and raising a family. So, she married my father, and they had me."
"So, your dad's a fencer, like you?" Jared asked, not sounding sarcastic, but earnestly fascinated.
"Only the greatest fencer in the entire Great Northland Sea!" Jacob held his fist in front of his face, saluting, then drew it back down to his side. "Leonardo Atherson! Undefeated for over three dozen consecutive seasons! That hasn't changed in the sixteen seasons he and my mother have spent raising me!"
"Whoa…" Now it was Jared's turn to be awed. "I imagine he and Martin the Warrior would've gotten along well."
"Me, too," Jacob nodded in agreement, as Jared returned to his work. "He taught me everything I know. I'm proud to be carrying on his legacy. Perhaps one day…"
He stared in through the forge's only, east-facing window at his fencing saber sitting on the farthest counter. "I hope to be an undefeated champion like him, too."
"Do they know you're here in Mossflower?" Jared stopped the grindstone to inspect Jacob's dagger.
"Aye, that they do," Jacob looked back at the squirrel to answer. "Dallas knows, too. I only wish he were help to us against Deathblade; Oliver and Bradley, too."
He folded his arms over his chest and shook his head, looking somewhat crestfallen. "We could definitely use their strength right now."
Returning to the grindstone, Jared thought out loud. "We'll need to give Deathblade some kind of disadvantage. Find some way to free the innocent vermin from his clutches, before he can try to mold them into heartless killers."
"I'm sure you can come up with some ingenious plan to do that," Jacob sat down on the ground cross-legged. "You're Martin's great Champion, after all."
Jared did not answer for a short moment, but continued running the dagger on the grindstone. "Maybe. But I'm still not sure yet. I still don't know what to make of me being the Champion of the great Martin the Warrior."
"You feel you don't measure up to Martin," Jacob voiced the subtext in Jared's words. "Or to the other Warriors in Redwall's history."
"You could say that," Jared muttered, although Jacob could not tell if it was agreement or denial.
After a little while, Jared finally stood up with the resharpened dagger. He fetched its sheath from the workbench and slipped the dagger inside.
"Your dagger, Mr. Atherson." He offered the completed pocketknife to the arctic Northern wolf.
Jacob smiled in anticipation and took his weapon back from the squirrel. He carefully unsheathed the dagger and examined it in the sunlight.
"Whoa…It's perfectly sharp! Like it came fresh out of the forge! And please, Mr. Atherson's my father!" Jared grinned as he hurried back inside his forge to fetch supplies.
"This will require a bit more work and time," he explained to its owner. He gently laid the saber horizontal across the workbench, propping it up with a block of wood so that it lay parallel to the table top.
Jacob watched the squirrel remove a file from his apron pocket and take it the saber, starting to rough out its edge. The wolf stood at the far end of the workbench in fascinated silence.
"You make it look so…easy."
"Practice," Jared asserted with a bit of a chuckle. "Just like anything else. Wungkan, fencing, wrestling, botany, acting. Anything worth wanting to do or have in this life is worth doing the work for. That's what I like to believe, at any rate."
He hurried back inside his forge to replace the file with a bunch of sharpening stones. He first took a coarse stone to the blade of the saber, continuously kept lubricated with water from the pail.
"Oh, before I forget to ask, Jake," he began as he changed to a finer whetstone. "Do you have any siblings?"
"I do, in fact!" Jacob beamed with pride, his heart swelling with affection in his chest at the thought of his kin. "I have three siblings, actually." He folded his arms over his chest. "Two sisters and one brother. All younger than me. Maybe after all this madness with Deathblade is over, I'll pay my family a visit."
"I'm sure they'll appreciate that," Jared flashed the canine a warm smile, which he returned.
Late morning wore into early afternoon. At last, Jared finally put away his whetstones.
"Whew! Finally!" the squirrel straightened up and wiped sweat from his brow on his arm. "It's all done!"
"I can take it," Jacob slipped his palms underneath the saber and gently lifted it up. "Wow…"
He gripped the basket hilt and ran his other paw underneath the blade. "It looks brand-new!"
The canine turned to give the squirrel a proud grin. "You're the best, you know that? I see why everybeast in Mossflower seeks you out for all their metalworking needs. I can especially see why your name as a blacksmith has spread across the globe." Jared responded with a silent humble shrug, gathering his whetstones.
Jacob turned his saber vertical, blade facing downwards at his side. Shinnng! It slipped cleanly into its sheath.
"All right, blacksmith, how much do I owe you?" He proceeded to pull out his coinpurse from his messenger bag.
He immediately turned skeptical when the squirrel's upraised paw stopped him short.
"You don't owe me anything, Jake." Jared removed his whetstones from his apron and placed them on the workbench. "Just so you know, I don't deal in money."
"You don't?" Jacob tilted his head to one side, furrowing his brow in surprised confusion. "Well, that's news to me. I thought money should always be exchanged for goods and services. It's the norm, you know?"
"Maybe with other merchants; but not for me," Jared waved a dismissive paw in an arc through the air. "Madeline and I are already well-cared for by the Abbey."
He shrugged, smiling to reassure the wolf. "What I deal in are favors." He jabbed a finger into the wolf's chest.
"Favors, huh?" Jacob nodded. "Got it. Well, I don't have a problem with that." He put his paws in his pockets. "You helped me; now I can help you."
Jared rubbed his chin, thinking. "I think I have an idea of what you can do for me."
"Name it, Prince Tinarandel," Jacob bowed low, paw to his heart. "And I'm your wolf." He spread his arms wide.
Jared laid all his tools on the workbench side by side. The whetstones he stacked together, smallest to largest. Then he untied the strings of his blacksmith apron and slipped it off, folding and laying it on top of the whetstones. He didn't say anything while he worked. Jacob watched with bated breath, reaching out a paw in concerned sympathy.
"It's Larina," Jared stated at length. He laid his hands on the workbench, staring in through his forge's single open window. "I'm supposed to teach her a special Wungkan style today. But…" he sighed and shook his head.
"But what if I mess up, Jake?" he looked up at the wolf. "What if I say the wrong thing? Or mess up a technique? Or…anything that could happen? I don't want to look like an idiot, or I'll never stop feeling like one! What if—"
"All right, lemme stop you right there, lover boy," Jake crushed the urge to laugh and held up a paw to ease the squirrel. "First of all, you're overthinking this, mate."
"I know, I know!" Jared wrung his wrists, trying to clear his racing mind. "But what am I supposed to do?" He glanced at his smithing tools, then the workbench, and then the grindstone.
Jacob let out an exhale of resignation. "I know it probably won't help to tell you that I'm just as clueless in this department as you are." He stuffed his paws back inside his pockets and bit his lips in thought. "You want advice, yeah?"
"Whatever you're willing to give." Jacob's eyebrows raised in surprise when Jared grabbed him by the paws. The squirrel's eyes were wide, almost desperate. "Big or small. Please, anything!"
Jacob crushed the urge to laugh and took Jared's paws in his own. "Look, Jared. With all due respect, you're asking the wrong beast about this sort of thing. I never quite hit it off with Ivy either. I'll regret that 'til my dying day." He inhaled deep and let out a long exhale.
"The only advice I can give you is this. Be yourself."
Jared fell silent to let the words sink in. "Be…myself?" He furrowed his brow as if to argue, but then shook his head. "No, you're right, Jake. That is the best thing I can do. But what if that fails?"
"What if it doesn't?" Jacob countered, rubbing his thumbs on the backs of Jared's paws to soothe his nerves. "Larina likes you as you are, Jared. Not as she or anybeast else wants you to be."
When Jared did not answer, Jacob tucked his finger underneath the squirrel's chin and pushed his face up. "Look, you've just got to grit your teeth and do it." They met eye-to-eye. "Nothing will come of this if you don't try. And if all else fails—," He tucked his paws underneath the hem of Jared's shirt and slipped it up.
"Hey!" Jared protested. But the canine had already pulled it all the way up to his shoulders.
"Just show her your body that makes all the maidens swoon over you." Jacob grinned from ear to ear. "She'll be falling for you in no time." He looked Jared up and down and whistled low. "Seriously, though, Madeline is a really lucky squirrelmaid to have somebeast as good-looking as you for a brother."
"That's not—I'm not gonna—gimme my shirt back, Jake." Jared scrambled to push his shirt down, while Jacob snickered.
"But you're right," Jared nodded. "I have to grit my teeth and do it."
He stored away the tools and apron inside the forge. Jacob strapped his weapons to his waist; he would store them in his dormitory once they'd returned to the Abbey.
"Let's get going." Jared closed and locked up his forge. He took off down the road with Jacob behind him. "I don't want to keep Larina waiting any longer."
At the East Gate, Larina gazed out at the colorful amber, crimson, and golden forest beyond. She reached up to adjust the pink peony perched on her head. She looked up in time at the sound of approaching pawsteps.
Halfway out of the eastern tower, Jared's breath caught in his throat. The auburn-furred squirrelmaid practically glowed in the autumn sunlight. A maroon sundress patterned with a variety of autumn flowers hugged her slim and thin figure. Her short silky headfur was brushed slightly to one side to accommodate the small peony behind her left ear. Uniformed in his Akret tunic, purple belt, and black headband, Jared felt self-consciously overdressed.
He cleared his throat and gathered his wits. "Hello, Larina."
Larina turned and smiled warmly at him. "Good afternoon, Jared." She curtsied low with her sundress. Jared's face flushed. He averted his gaze as her collar dropped, exposing her chest.
He composed himself in an instant. The squirrel put his paws at his sides and his legs together to bow in response.
"I came here just as you asked, Jared," Larina clasped her dainty paws at her waist.
"Thanks for agreeing to do this with me, Rina," Jared too stood up straight. "I know all this Wungkan stuff is still new to you. The best part is that you can take it one step at a time." He put up a knowing finger. "Learn at your own pace and all that, right?"
Larina nodded, rubbing her paws together to ease her nerves. "You're right, Jared."
"So," Jared clasped his paws together with an encouraging smile. "Are you ready?"
Larina inhaled deep, and then exhaled. "As ready as I'll ever be."
Jared nodded, and then stepped up beside her. "The meditation I'm going to teach you is called Hangaw Daloy."
"'Hangaw Daloy,'" Larina repeated, taking great care to form the accent. "Is it a style?"
"Erm…not so much?" Jared shrugged, rocking his paws and shoulders up and down like a measuring scale. "More of a traditional exercise, actually."
"So it's kind of similar to Halichit, in that sense." Larina realized. "Gotcha."
"Yes," Jared nodded, and clasped his paws together, holding them to his heart. "Hangaw Daloy— 'breath flow' in the Eastern tongue. It's an exercise to balance the natural life-energy inherent in all living creatures; our hangaw—breath. I have it, and so do you."
"I…have it?" Larina pointed to herself, intrigued. She pressed a claw to her heart.
"Yes, and so does everybeast else," Jared confirmed, nodding.
He dropped his paws to his waist, palms facing upwards. Then he closed his eyes and inhaled. Amidst doing so, he lifted his paws up to his chest. Upon exhaling he moved them back down to his waist again, palms down.
"Hangaw is the vital force, the material life-energy flowing through all of us. Woodlander and vermin, male and female, young and old."
He took in another breath and repeated the action. "Hangaw must always be flowing for good health."
Reopening his eyes, he concluded, "That's where this exercise comes in, Larina. A moving meditation designed to help us improve our health and the flow of our breath."
"I'm eager to give it a try," Larina stepped up to Jared. Her eyes grew wide to show her curious interest.
"I'm glad you are," Jared smiled, no doubt impressed. "But this isn't the kind of exercise where you can get overexcited. Just like Halichit, you need a calm, simple, and present mindset."
"That makes sense." Larina nodded to show her understanding.
"Take a breath first to focus." Jared faced forward, looking out across Mossflower Forest. Larina did the same.
"Close your eyes and breathe." Jared shut his eyes once more and held his paws at his waist. "As you inhale, bring your paws up." He began to inhale through his nose, lifting his paws as he did so.
Larina closed her eyes and set her paws at her waist. She inhaled in through her nostrils and raised her paws up towards her shoulders.
"Feel your energy coursing through you," Jared instructed. The breath cleansed Larina's body free of worry, anxiety, and nerves. She felt lighter than air, almost free of the ground itself.
"Let your hangaw flow. Feel yourself freed of worldly cares. Chores and responsibilities can come later. Focus on the here and now."
Jared took in another breath and exhaled. "Root yourself in this moment between the two of us."
After a final third breath, they opened their eyes again.
"How do you feel?" Jared asked her. His voice sounded warm, uplifting, and comforting to her ears.
Larina exhaled for the last time. "I feel so at peace, Jared. I think I'm ready to do this exercise."
"Don't worry, it's simpler than it sounds," Jared reassured her.
She blushed a mild red when he placed her hands on her bare shoulders, covered only by the thin straps of her sundress.
"I'll guide you through every step of the way, okay?"
Larina nodded with a comforted smile. "Thank you, Jared. Let's begin."
Jared removed his paws from her and turned to face forward again. "Hangaw daloy breaks down into eight separate exercises. Each focusing on a different area of the body and what's called the hangaw meridian. Your entire body is your meridian."
He framed himself with his paws from head to toes. "Even your tail is part of it." He waved his bushy tail from side to side. Larina laughed as she did the same.
"Now, follow my lead as best you can." Jared raised his gaze towards the sky. "First, 'Twin Paws Support the Sky'. Inalalayan ng kambal na paa ang langit."
He raised his paws up and over his head, palms turned up. "Loosely join your paws together. Have them travel up the center of your body. Your elbows should face outwards."
Larina turned her gaze skyward. She turned her elbows outwards and raised her palms up, in line with her male counterpart's.
"Feel the stimulation in your arms," Jared explained as they held the pose. "Imagine yourself holding up the sky itself. Breathe. Feel your hangaw bring strength to your arms."
Larina drew in a breath and exhaled. Her arms and muscles loosened in invigoration. She held this pose for as long as she could.
In her peripheral vision, she watched Jared draw his arms down towards his waist, only to push them upwards once again. They both performed this action three times.
"Ready for the next one?" asked Jared, already lowering his paws.
"Yes, I am," Larina replied, following suit.
"Watch this," Jared stood with his thighs parallel to the ground, toes angled outwards. "We call this a horse stance." He held his spine and head straight with his legs loose.
"Oh, I remember seeing Log-a-Log Tipuka use that stance," Larina recalled the Guosim Log-a-Log. "When he fought Log-a-Log Tiraqoo and you at Brockhall."
"The same one. Although mine is technically the Southern variant," Jared explained, indicating his parallel thighs and diagonal toes. "From Southern Githinien."
Larina studied Jared's stance with meticulous detail, doing her best to copy him.
"Here, you'll want to keep your thighs up and knees out as much as possible—," Jared reached out a paw to help modify her stance.
His palm brushed against her bare thighs, half-covered by her dress. Larina gasped out loud. Jared recoiled on instinct.
"Sorry!" He blushed beet red and withdrew his paw. Larina giggled and followed his advice. She slowly settled into the horse stance. Jared stammered and cleared his throat, snapping back into the Hangaw Daloy mindset.
"Next up, we do what is called 'Drawing the Bow to Shoot the Jungle Crow," Jared lowered his stance somewhat and turned to his left side. He mimed drawing a bowstring and aiming an arrow. "Pagguhit ng pana upang barilin ang uwak ng gubat."
"Jungle Crow?" Larina asked, afraid but simultaneously curious. She too drew back an imaginary bowstring, aiming her "arrow" at the tower to her left.
"One of the most common pest birds in the Islands," answered the male squirrel. He clenched his thumb and two fingers together as if tightening his grip on the arrow nock. "Black-feathered, large-billed, talkative annoyances. You think the Sparra are irritating?"
"Only when they threaten to eat us out of house and home if we don't share our seasonal vittles with them," Larina commented, chuckling. A rare show of snarky sarcasm from the otherwise gentle and mild-mannered squirrelmaid.
"Yeah, wait until you've got an entire tree in the middle of the marketplace filled with chatty jungle crows." Jared snorted and aligned the "aim" of his "bow". "You'll be lucky if you and the street merchants can even get a word in with each other."
They held this pose for five more seconds. Then Jared brought his "bow" around in a vertical arc to face the other side. "Focus on your kidneys and your spleen."
Indeed, each breath and draw of the bowstring and arrow cleansed Larina's blood. Her kidney and spleen worked with increased confidence. Her hangaw circulated through her blood like an otherworldly energy.
"What do the Chieftains say about the crows?" she asked as they switched paws. Now her right paw pulled back the bow while her left paw aimed the arrow.
"They actually discourage the killing of jungle crows, believe it or not." Jared sounded half-frustrated, half-amused. "They're 'citizens of the land', too, like we are. Don't know where they get that ridiculous law, of course. Those crows can be louder than Dibbuns on Nameday. Seriously, talk to anybeast on the street and they'll tell you how many sleepless nights have been caused by them."
His face flushed when Larina tittered in lighthearted amusement.
"Next exercise is similar to 'Twin Paws Support the Sky'." Jared moved out of his horse stance to stand up straight. Larina did likewise. "This time, though, you're keeping one paw down towards the ground. The other holds up the sky."
One paw Jared held below his waist. The other rose overhead towards the sky.
"'Parting Skies and Earth'. Naghihiwalay na langit at lupa. It's supposed to stimulate your stomach."
"Oh, it's a good thing I didn't eat a big lunch, then," Larina thought aloud. Jared couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
"Hold for as long as you can; switch arms when you need it." Jared rotated his arms after twenty seconds. Larina did the same after only ten. Both inhaled and exhaled as they moved.
Larina turned to stare at him. He too turned and met her eyes. They exchanged not a word, but a soft, knowing, caring smile. In that moment, their two hearts beat as one. Their breaths, in perfect rhythm.
"No more shooting the beast." Jared planted his feet on the ground, his legs slightly apart in a triangular shape. "Now, we become the beast. We're halfway through the exercises now."
He stretched his neck left to look back over his shoulder. Larina followed. "'Wise Eagle-Owl Peers Backwards Through Time'. Ang matalinong kuwago ng agila ay tumitingin pabalik sa paglipas ng panahon."
"Eagle-owl, huh?"
"Largest bird in the Islands." Jared turned his head around to his right shoulder. "The jungle crow looks like a Dibbun next to it."
His heart fluttered in his chest when she let out another soft giggle.
"I'm so sorry, excuse me." She hid her smile behind her paw. "I don't mean to disrupt the meditation."
"No, no, it's all right," Jared quickly reassured her, almost hyperverbal. He turned back round to face her. "You-you don't need to apologize." A mild bloodred blush creeped up on his cheeks. "I…I like it when you giggle; th-the sound of your giggles, I mean. They're…they're cute."
"Cute?" Now it was Larina's turn to blush. "You…you think my giggles are cute? Oh, my goodness…" She stared down at her feet, paw still over her mouth.
"I-I mean—!" His Eagle-Owl stance almost wavered on the spot. "Not that you're not cute, too! Be-because you are cute! Your giggles are as cute as you…are—as you are! I—I mean—aw, darn it…"
He turned away to hide his face, flushing red and now spreading to his neck.
I knew it! I knew I was going to screw this up! I told you, Jacob!
"Um…Anyway…" He cleared his throat and faced forward again. But the blush did not fade. "Thi-this next move is called 'Sweep the Head and Ruffle the Tail". Walisin ang ulo at guluhik—uh…"
He dropped his reddening face into his paws. Larina moved out of her stance and reached out a paw of concern.
"Walisin ang ulo at guluhin ang buntot," Jared corrected himself, slowly lifting his face. "Sorry, 'guluhik' means um…'giggle'. Um…W-we-we'll need to get back into horse stance for this."
He stumbled and floundered his way back into a low horse stance, planting his paws on his thighs with his elbows facing outwards. The squirrel twisted his body to glance from side to side.
"Here, you're trying to control the function of your heart and lungs." He noticed Larina already moving to copy his posture. "Removing the excess fire and adrenaline you don't need. Breathe as you move from one side to the other."
He arced around to look to his left. Larina watched, doing her best to keep up.
She ruffled her bushy tail a bit. Jared averted his eyes to avoid staring at it. He shut them tight and bit his lip when his tail did the same.
So cute…Why is she so cute? When did she get so…beautiful? That flower behind her ear, her hair brushed to one side…and her dress. Oh, seasons, her sundress!
He turned to face right again, focusing on redirecting his hangaw around his heart and lungs.
She looks so gorgeous in it, with all the colors and the flowers. I'm so screwed if she finds out how I truly feel about her…Why does her dress have to hang so low on her chest? Stupid, useless hormones…
"Jared?" Her voice pulled him out of his reverie. His eyes snapped open. "Are you alright?"
"—Huh?" He promptly turned back around to face her. "Oh, yeah, yeah—I-I'm fine."
As he straightened up, he swung his head in a circle to flip back his headfur. The tails of his headband slipped behind his shoulders. Larina's cheeks turned crimson red in an instant, transfixed on her male friend.
So dreamy whenever he does that. Why does he always look so dreamy, and handsome, and attractive? Are all Eastern boys this striking?
Her blush deepened when he ran a paw through his headfur and over the back of his head. His headband tails hovered behind his nape.
That headband; he always looks so strong and yet so stunning with it. Be still, my fluttering heart! Wait…why is my heart even fluttering? Oh, no, this isn't good. Martin, protect me!
Jared leaned into his horse stance again and turned to his right. The folds of his tunic hung low from his body.
His Akret tunic…Wearing no shirt underneath. He's so toned and fit and healthy…All he has to do is lean forward, and if I'm looking in at just the right angle…Oh, great seasons. Heart, be silent!
"Still with me, Rina?"
"Oh, yes! Yes, I am, Jared!" She dropped into her horse stance and looked to her right. She breathed in and out, circulating her hangaw between her heart and lungs.
They moved in each direction once more. Then Jared placed his feet shoulder-width apart and put his paws on his lower back, gaze uplifted.
"Next, 'Twin Paws Grip to Feet to Temper the Kidneys and Waist'. Ang kambal na paa ay humahawak sa mga paa upang palamigin ang mga batao at baywang. Pretty self-explanatory, I think."
He bent backwards, eyes towards the skies. Then he leaned forward again and drew his paws down his legs to touch his footpaws.
Larina half-hurried to imitate him. She could feel her waist loosening and a weight lifting from her kidneys.
"Hold for as long as you can," Jared advised, already moving back up to repeat the maneuver. "Then do it again."
"I'm sorry, I am doing my best to keep up with you," Larina slipped her paws up to her lower spine.
Jared chuckled and leaned back. "You don't have to match my speed, Larina. I want you to move at your own pace. Rushing this meditation will only disrupt the flow of your hangaw."
Larina nodded and proceeded to start again. "I understand, Jared."
"Just for the record." His next words took her by surprise as he leaned down to hold his feet. "You're doing a phenomenal job, Rina. I really appreciate you following my instructions so perfectly, and you seem to have a solid grasp on all the exercises. Honestly, I'm impressed."
"I do?" Larina's face glowed bright pink, enhanced by the late afternoon sun. "Oh…goodness. Um…T-thank you, Jared. I'm…I'm also grateful to have you as my…erm, teacher."
Jared beamed at her in response. "You're very welcome, Larina."
Together they bent and leaned and gripped their feet for the final time.
"This next one can be kind of fun." For the final time, Jared took his horse stance. "'Clench Your Fists and Scowl with Fierce Intent.' Kumuyom ang iyong mga kamao at sumimangot na may mabangist na layunin."
He held one fist up and out at his eye level; the other rested at his hip.
"Scowl like you're threatening somebeast. Vermin or woodlander. Imagine they said something very insulting about your parents, or you."
Larina chuckled and set her fists accordingly. She raised her right fist, her left sitting at her hip.
"The point of this exercise is to increase your overall vitality and muscular strength," Jared explained, pushing out his other fist. His left fist now moved to his hip. "Don't forget to breathe when you need it, too."
"Inhale…" Larina drank in air as she rotated her stance. "…and exhale." She breathed out through her mouth while pushing her left fist forward.
"How do you feel?" Jared asked her, similarly changing his fists.
"Like…" she took a moment to feel her body and think over her words. "My body feels…so much stronger than usual. I could do all of my chores in the Abbey in one day, I think. Or harvest every single crop on my parents' farm."
"That's my girl," Jared spoke in a fond whisper under his breath.
"What?" She snapped sideways to glance at him.
"Nothing!" Jared hurried to face his fists, eyes wide and face heating.
Another minute passed. Then Jared dropped his fists and repeated his triangular stance.
"Are you ready for the final exercise, Larina?"
She turned with a small nod and a smile, putting her legs apart. "Yes, Jared. I'm ready."
"Last but definitely not least," Jared planted his toes on the stone floor. "'Hopping on the Toes'. Paglukso sa mga daliri sa paa."
He pushed upwards from his toes with a small rocking motion upon landing. His paws rested by his sides, palms down towards the floor. "You want to smooth out your hangaw across your entire body."
Larina hopped up and down on her toes. She rocked back and forth with each landing. From head to toes and tail, her hangaw evened out. A perfect balance.
"Last exhale." They plopped down on the soles of their feet for the last time, letting out their final breaths. "Let's get back to where we were before." They held their palms at their shoulders and pushed down to their waists.
"And now, Larina…" Jared turned to her square on, putting his paws together and holding them to his heart, and bowing low. "We've come to the end of Hangaw Daloy."
"Jared…" Larina mimicked his pose and bow. "This was wonderful. I feel very enlightened. I learned so much from you."
"How do you feel?" Jared asked, straightening up from the bow. "Body? Breath? Mind?" He sounded genuinely curious.
"I feel…" Larina took a moment to choose her words carefully. "Like a great burden has been lifted from me. My mind feels clearer than it ever has over the last few days. I've been a bit stressed and anxious and afraid about everything that happened at Brockhall, and…well…"
She cleared her throat and stepped up to Jared. "Now it feels like all that stress, anxiety, and fear…are all gone. I've never felt so clear-headed in quite a while. My heart, my mind, my spirit…They all feel so…uplifted."
Her heart rose in her chest when he smiled back at her, bright and warm. "Larina, you're welcome. I wasn't aware that you were so disturbed by what happened at Brockhall. I would say that I wish you had told me. I would've taught you this sooner on our way back home."
He took his paws in hers. "But I appreciate you telling me now. I wouldn't dare let you dwell in your stress and anxiety and fear all alone."
He rubbed his thumbs on the backs of her paws. A pink blush crept up Larina's neck. "You've been so open about your thoughts and feelings with me. I want you to know that…I appreciate your openness; I really do. And I appreciate you, Larina."
"Jared…"
Larina reached up a paw to touch his cheek. The male squirrel blushed a slight but noticeable shade of red. "Thank you, for all of this. These exercises really helped me out when I needed it most. I…"
She timidly stroked his cheek with her thumb. Jared closed his eyes and sighed, melting into her touch. "I don't really know how to thank you. Or to even express my gratitude any other way."
Jared touched his paw to hers, relishing in the softness of her fur. "Larina…" He opened his eyes and stared deeply into hers. "You know you can do these exercises anytime you want on your own, too. I'd be happy to write this all down for you, so you don't forget it—Oh!"
He gasped when Larina practically threw herself at him. Her arms wrapped around his neck. He hesitated for a second, before putting his arms around her back and waist. They swayed on the spot, coiled in each other's embrace.
"I really don't know what else to say," Larina began when she pulled away. She rested her paws on Jared's face, stroking his cheeks. "Other than that I appreciate you, too. I do, truly and deeply. Thank you, Jared, for doing this."
"Thank you, Larina," Jared held her around the waist. "For spending this afternoon with me."
They descended the stairs to the Lawn together side by side. Mother Lunafreya approached Larina to request her help in bathing the Dibbuns. They'd spent the last couple of hours playing around in the Pond. Larina nodded her consent.
"Stay handsome, Jared," Larina winked and blew a kiss at him as she left with the Badgermum.
"I'll—," Jared waved a paw after her. "I'll do my best. Stay enlightened."
Paws in his pockets, he wandered into the Orchard to collect his thoughts. He looked up from his feet and spied a small group of familiar figures peering out from amidst the trees.
"Please don't tell me you were spying on us the entire time."
"Oh, no, we weren't," Madeline giggled and came out from behind a maple tree. She fell into her brother's open arms. "We only showed up here when you were halfway."
Jacob came up to them and ruffled Jared's headfur. "See? I told you that you could do it. All you had to do is be yourself, and it all paid off in the end."
Jared nodded, cradling his sister and rubbing her back. "Yeah, I know. You're right, Jake. You really helped me out. I'm grateful for your advice." He let out a long sigh of relief and decorated Madeline's face in kisses.
"Bloody 'ell, Jared, an' t' thin' ya were worried so much 'bout it!" Weonsia hopped out from a fully-grown ash tree. "Loads o' ways it went righ', an' ya fretted about all th' ways it could've gone wron'!"
"Ya ain't a few sandwiches short o' a picnic, are ya?" Rudmir chuckled and punched Jared in the shoulder. The squirrel grinned back and returned the gesture in kind.
"Can I admit that I'm honestly interested in all this Wungkan stuff?" Wyatt asked, appearing behind the two otters. "I wanna learn some of it myself, too."
"Ye should've seen the way he was tryin' t' copy ye," Weonsia snorted and pointed a thumb over her shoulder at the mouse. "'E was actually doin' a pretty good job."
"You're on your way to becoming a real lover boy, Jared Sandeye," Jacob leaned an elbow on the squirrel's shoulder. "I think Larina's falling for you already. It's only a matter of time before we have the big confession, eh?"
"Aww, my big brother's growing up!" Madeline giggled and adorned her sibling's face in pecks and kisses.
"Yeah…" Jared couldn't wipe the smile or the blush off his face. "I guess I am."