Author's note:

About a year ago, we posted the last update for The Heirs and I swore that I was done writing for the Oniverse. I tied up loose ends and move on to novel writing. Six and a half novels later, here we are again, back in this world that I love with these characters that I missed...mainly because Maddie is a master of begging/bribery.

It's been fun and refreshing to jump back into the Oniverse...but it's also been tricky because coming back to the Oniverse means actually facing certain themes and situations that I never got around to because they were going to be tricky to figure out. However, as long as I'm writing again, I figured we might as well go into the things that I haven't ever been able to do. So, things you can expect from this new continuation:

*Characters who dared to get older and are now wading through the adventure and anxiety that is young adulthood.

*Character Arcs and further development for the Ninja kids

*A plot that involves both the Oni Realm AND Ninjago (we'll see if I can actually pull that one off. I haven't had an inter-realm plot since the end of HOTO, if we can even count that.)

*The depressing truths that I didn't want to face...like how not all relationships last, no matter how cute they were.

*Me not actually being as far along in this story as I usually am so I may not have time to iron out story kinks before I post updates...so we'll see how that goes too lol

For context, the official story starts about 3.5 years after the end of the Heirs, but I didn't want to skip over those 3.5 years completely because there were a few things I wanted to explore/introduce in that time gap. Because of that, the first update will consist of interlude scenes that occur between the end of Heirs and the start of Inheritance. (Most of it is just Raiyn being adorable.) Don't skip the interlude—some important things happen that you'll need to know for the rest.

Hopefully you all enjoy coming back to the Oniverse, even though all the poor babies have new problems to deal with now. As always, please leave reviews because they are the lifeblood of an author haha

-NP


Mama Myrah

Myrah heard padding footsteps and blinked awake in the dark room. Not knowing the source of the noise, she reached for the dagger under her pillow. But then a small voice piped up.

"Mama?"

She blinked and released the dagger quickly, still sheathed. She moved to look over the edge of the bed to see Raiyn staring up at her with his colorful eyes.

"What are you doing?" she murmured, and he pouted.

"I wanna sleep with you."

Myrah sat up, still a little groggy. Raiyn already started climbing up on the bed as best as he could, and Myrah pulled him up the rest of the way.

"What's wrong?" she prompted quietly as Hershel mumbled in his sleep and rolled over. "Did you have a bad dream?"

Raiyn just hugged her, resting his head on her. "I wanna sleep with you and Daddy."

She sighed and held him close. "But you've got your big bed now, remember?" she coaxed. Raiyn just wrapped his arms around her and started to sniffle. That's really all it ever took. "All right," Myrah relented, smoothing her son's hair back. He looked up to smile and climbed happily into the space between Myrah and Hershel. He accidentally kicked his father in the face as he clambered under the covers.

"Whatsit?" Hershel managed, but he didn't wake up as he rolled over again.

"You have to go right to sleep, Raiyn," Myrah told him firmly. He looked up to grin at her, the covers pulled up to his tiny chin as he snuggled between his parents.

"Luv u, Mama."

She smiled softly and pushed his hair out of the way so she could kiss him on the forehead. "Love you too," she repeated. "Go right to sleep…this is just for tonight."

Raiyn smiled and snuggled deeper into his warm nest. It wasn't long before he conked out. Myrah stayed awake a little longer, watching Raiyn and Hershel's chests rise and fall with sleep. After a little while she finally smiled and reached out to put an arm over both of them before falling back asleep.


Myrah scoured the hallways, her brow knit in frustration. "Raiyn! Get back here this instant." There was no answer, and she sighed in annoyance as she turned down another hallway. Upon seeing a guard, she approached quickly. "Have you seen my son?" He pointed down the next hallway and she sighed. "And you didn't grab him?"

"Didn't think it was my place," the guard stammered, and she scowled as she continued her hunt.

"Raiyn…this has gone on long enough. Come out." She paused, and sure enough, there was the pitter-patter of tiny feet. Rounding the corner, she could see her son making his escape. The leader caught up quickly, scooping up her naked son and causing him to squeal.

"No, Momma….nooooo!"

She turned him around to fix him with a disapproving look. "It's time for a bath, and you are not to run off naked every time I tell you it is time to bathe."

"No bath!" he demanded, squirming in her strong grip as she turned to head back to their quarters. "Please, Momma. Down." He fixed her with his best pitiful look, and she narrowed her eyes. She hated that he knew he could manipulate her so well. But today she was putting her foot down.

"Don't give me that look," she scolded. "I can't have this fight with you every time, Raiyn. There's a lot to do each day, and I can't spend half of it tracking you down."

Raiyn went limp, pouting up at her. "Daddy said no bath," he whimpered. Myrah sighed.

"Your father did not say that."

"Daddy said, Raiyn has no bath."

"Raiyn." He must have heard the no-nonsense in her tone because he fell quiet. Myrah sighed as she shifted him in her arms. "I don't know why you keep trying to play us against each other," she pointed out. "It doesn't work." She reached their washroom and opened the door. The tub was sitting in the middle of the room, the water still warm where the servants had put it. At the sight of it, Raiyn began to blubber.

"No baaaaaath…"

"Honestly, you're as bad as Pippa," Myrah scolded softly as they reached it. Raiyn looked around in surprise.

"Pip-pip here?"

"No. We maybe can go visit later…but you need a bath."

She had been lowering him into the water, and he clung to her suddenly.

"NOOOOO!"

She sighed, managing to untangle him from around her neck. "For someone named Raiyn, I would have thought you'd like water more," she admitted. She got him into the warm water at last, and Raiyn went limp as he began to cry. Of course, it was more tearless blubbering than anything, and Myrah shook her head grimly as she began to scrub him down.

"That's the fakest cry I ever heard," she murmured. Of course, this just made the toddler increase his volume. Myrah tried not to laugh, keeping her face stern as she finally finished scrubbing him down. She grabbed a fluffy towel from nearby and lifted him from the bath.

"See? It doesn't even take long. You're already done," she pointed out as she wrapped him in the towel. He pouted out at her, his face barely visible from inside the grey towel wrapped around him.

"All clean?" he whimpered, and she picked him up to kiss his face.

"Yup. All clean."

She carried him back to their quarters so she could get him dressed, and he leaned his head on her chest like he had just been through the most exhausting battle of his life. She lowered her son to the floor as she reached into the drawers next to his little bed for clothes. By the time she turned around, she caught him wiggling his way under her and Hershel's bed. She sighed and walked over to fish him out.

"Raiyn…."

He squeaked, as if he didn't expect her to find him so quickly. He burrowed further away into the dark, and she could barely make out the glint from his little eyes.

"Your father's going to be here soon to pick you up," she pointed out. "I have meetings all day…"

"I wanna stay with Mama," the toddler said, scooting backward. She sighed as she managed to grab hold of his little foot and began to drag him out.

"You can't today," she murmured. "Hershel's going to take you somewhere fun. Maybe you can go visit Pippa."

"I wanna stay with Mamaaaa."

He began to cry again, and Myrah sighed as she began wiping dust off his legs. Most of him was still covered by the towel, which was now caked with dust.

"You've gone and gotten filthy all over again," she pointed out.

"Rough morning?"

She turned to see Hershel coming in. He smiled at her as he hung up his satchel on a wall hook, and Myrah offered a grim smile in return.

"Just your average bath day," she said. Raiyn continued to cry, and Hershel came over to lift him into the air.

"Son, you're naked," he pointed out with a smile. "We can't go out like this."

"No!" Raiyn shrieked, squirming in Hershel's grasp. "I don't wanna go! I don't wanna go!"

"We're going to go see Auntie Syn today," he pointed out. "We're going to help her out with some healing stuff. That will be fun, right?"

"I wanna stay with Mama!" Raiyn blubbered. He had twisted in Hershel's grip as he held his hands out for Myrah. She sighed, feeling conflicted.

"I have meetings all day, Raiyn," she pointed out. "It's going to be very boring."

He continued to cry, and Hershel finally handed him back over to the leader. Raiyn wrapped his arms around Myrah's neck, and the parents made uncertain eye contact.

"What do you want to do with Mama today?" Hershel finally asked softly. Raiyn calmed a little.

"Read stories. Read stories with Mama."

"We can read stories," Hershel offered, trying to reach out to take him again. "You and me."

"NO!" Raiyn shrieked, clinging harder. "With Mama!"

"I don't know what's gotten into him," Myrah admitted as she tried to bounce Raiyn to calm him down. "He's been acting out all morning. I had the hardest time feeding him, and then he ran off. Now he's apparently glued to me."

"Mmm…" Hershel mused, studying his son. "Maybe because he hasn't seen very much of you this week."

"He's seen me every day," Myrah argued, prying Raiyn off of her braid, which he had started to yank. "You take him out in the morning with you, and he sees me at dinner."

"Maybe he just needs some mother time," Hershel offered, and Myrah looked back down at their son. Raiyn was still hugging her fiercely around the neck, and she finally sighed.

"Raiyn, if you want to stay with me, you have to come to my meetings," she told him sternly. "You don't like those. You have to sit and be quiet and look at books. I won't be able to read to you."

"Okay."

She was dubious about her son's understanding of how the rest of the day would go, and she looked up at Hershel. "What do you think?"

"It's up to you," her husband offered. "I can still take him. But maybe it would be good for him to see what the meetings are like…then he'll know what he's getting himself into in the future."

Myrah pulled Raiyn off of her so she could look him in the eye. "You have to be very good if you stay with me today," she told him. He nodded with big eyes.

"Raiyn be sooooo gooood."

She sighed one last time. "Alright. But first, you're going to need some clothes."


"Based on these reports, I think we can assume that—" There was a thud under the table, and Myrah's words trailed off as she realized that Raiyn had once again left his corner and was exploring the rest of the room. "I'm sorry," she offered again, and she could hear a few advisors murmuring to each other. Her face burned as she had to get down on her knees to peer under the table. "Raiyn!"

He looked up and squealed with delight, immediately heading further down the table. He was crawling over legs, and Myrah felt humiliated.

"This is not a game," she chastised, but then two sturdy hands had reached under the table and scooped the toddler up. Raiyn squealed, and Myrah quickly stood to see which of the leaders or advisors had grabbed her son. She relaxed when Ranok turned to smile at her, Raiyn secured in his lap. The toddler seemed frozen, no doubt shocked that someone had stopped his exploration.

"Continue, Leader Myrah," the leader said good-naturedly. "I've got him."

Her face continued to burn, but she finally offered a grateful smile. She smoothed her tunic and turned to the rest of the gathered people. "As I was saying, these reports…"


Hershel walked into library and smiled. Myrah was reading a scroll, with Raiyn passed out on her lap, his head leaned back against her chest. The leader looked up to smile wearily.

"How was he?" Hershel asked as he came to greet her with a kiss.

"Terrible," she admitted with a wry smile. "He was absolutely terrible."

Hershel chuckled and looked down at his son. "What a stinker. Maybe I should have stayed to take him off your hands."

"It worked out," the leader admitted. "Ranok held him the first meeting, and Theodynn claimed him at the next. It was mainly the ride back and forth from the Central Fortress. If he wasn't thirsty, he had to use the bathroom. I swear we made ten stops."

Hershel chuckled as he lifted his sleeping son. "Sounds about right," he murmured, kissing Raiyn on the top of his head. "I'll take him to bed. Did he get his 'stories with Mama' after all, then?"

"We got through one scroll, and he was out," she admitted. "At least the day seemed to wear him out as much as he wore me out." She closed her scroll and stood to stretch. "Though, it was good to see more of him," she admitted. "I didn't realize until today that I was missing him too. I should plan more days that I can spend with him. I hate that he's growing up so quickly while I'm stuck in meetings all day."

"Do you have anything tomorrow?" Hershel asked, shifting Raiyn so his little head was resting on his father's shoulder.

"No; I'm actually pretty free tomorrow. I was planning on spending more time with him then, to be honest. Of course, given Raiyn's track record, tomorrow he'll insist he has to spend the day with you."

Hershel chuckled, and they headed back for their quarters. "I'm sorry you had such a stressful day," he offered, and Myrah just smiled as she reached out to push Raiyn's hair from his face.

"It wasn't too awful," she admitted as she studied their sleeping son. "And besides…at the end of the day, he's still worth it."


Master Fluff

Pippa sighed as she watched Raiyn tumble once again from the Sniffer's back. "You're never going to stay on if you don't hold on," she chastised. Raiyn just laughed from where he was lying on his back on the dirt.

"A-Gin!"

The ten-year-old slid off her Sniffer in order to help her cousin back onto his feet. "You have to listen, Raiynee. When I say brace yourself, that means you hunch down and…"

"Woof, woof!" Raiyn interrupted, toddling off toward Baffa now that he was upright once more. Pippa scowled as she watched her cousin play with Baffa. At the infant's command, Baffa got low and barked at him, which made the child laugh and clap.

"Stop encouraging him, Baffa," Pippa said, folding her arms. "He's in trouble."

Baffa ignored her as well, now licking the remains of Raiyn's breakfast off of his face. Raiyn shrieked and pushed the large sniffer away, though he was still giggling.

"I get no respect," the ten-year-old muttered to herself, mimicking her father after an afternoon with the Dragon guard. While she watched Raiyn and Baffa play, she couldn't help but notice how grey the sniffer was getting. Not to mention, she was getting bigger. She frowned with a sudden sadness as she wondered how much longer she would be able to ride Baffa around.

"Pip-Pip!"

Raiyn was making his way back over, and she fixed him with a stern look. "Are you ready to listen now?" she asked. Her cousin reached her and put his arms up, pleading to be picked up. She sighed and lifted him. He was getting heavy. What was Uncle Hershel feeding him, anyway?

She started carrying him back over to Baffa, but then she felt something wet on her cheek. "UGH!" she snapped, nearly dropping Raiyn in an effort to get him away from her. "No kisses, Raiyn! No kisses!" She plopped him on the ground, wiping her cheek with a shudder. Raiyn whimpered, and she fixed him with an angry look. "Listen, Raiynee…I'm trying to train you to be a warrior, not a pushover. But all you do is ignore me and run off. No more hugs! No more kisses! You have to listen!"

Baffa was barking at her as she yelled, and she turned to yell at him too.

"Don't take his side! He's never gonna learn if I'm not firm with him!"

By now, Raiyn had started to cry. Pippa turned back to her cousin with a stir of regret, and Baffa whined and sank to the ground. He hated it when people cried.

"You're not going to get far in life if you can't take criticism," she warned, but Raiyn continued to blubber. Pippa squirmed and finally got down on her knees in front of him. "Ok, ok, you win. Stop crying; I'll be nicer."

Raiyn continued to wail, pushing her away. Pippa bit her lip and began to dig into her pocket. "Oooo, look what I have, Raiynee? What's this?" He looked over at her coaxing tone, though he didn't stop crying. Pippa placed the crystal in her palm, quickly summoning aura. "Look at this!"

Raiyn's cries petered out as he watched the crystal start to float in his cousin's hand. Pippa sagged in relief, smiling at him.

"See how pretty?" she murmured as the crystal bobbed and spun lazily. "I can do it really well now, you know. When you unlock your powers, you'll be able to do it too. I'll teach you how."

Raiyn just stared, and she could see the reflection of the crystal reflected in his eyes. Raiyn's eyes were so big and round—they looked as shiny as coins when he opened them wide like that. Pippa let the crystal fall to her hand, and Raiyn clapped.

"A-gin!"

"We have to go," she told him with some regret. "We have to get back inside before someone figures out that I took you out of…"

"PIPPA!"

She whirled to look back at the fortress with a grimace. It seemed they had less time than she thought.

"Alright, Raiynee…I'm going to let you do the talking," she said as she stood and scooped him up. "They can never say no to you and your big eyes, anyways. Just tell them how we were playing…"

"Wuv you, Pip-pip."

She hesitated as Raiyn wrapped his little arms around her neck as he snuggled close. For a moment, she felt both warm inside and uncomfortable. She shook her head as she headed back inside.

"Yeah, yeah…save the sappy stuff for the parentals," she muttered, but she didn't complain again as Raiyn gave her another slobbery kiss.


Uncle Toto

"Just a few kids?" Theo pressed, and Tolan paused to fix his charge with a withering look. The Heir sighed heavily. "Please, Tol? Some of the students are more interested in swordplay than healing. If you could teach like one class a week…"

"Can't, Freak. I already have to babysit you."

"But…"

"There are plenty of sword-fighters out there in the realm," Tolan pointed out, his hand resting on his hip. "Go branch out, mighty-future-Ruler. You can't do everything by asking favors from people who already know you."

Theodynn sighed, but he finally smiled sheepishly. "I guess that's true."

They began walking again, heading towards the classroom in the Western Fortress. They had nearly reached the right hall when someone called out.

"Toto!"

Both Tolan and Theo turned at the small voice, and Theo couldn't help grin as he saw the young child toddling towards them. Raiyn beamed as he made his way across the hallway.

"What are you doing out here, Raiyn?" Theodynn teased, but the toddler had reached Tolan's leg and latched on. Tolan stood stiffly, staring down at the baby's happy expression as Raiyn rested his cheek against the guard's scratchy trousers.

"Toto," Raiyn said again, obviously pleased with himself. Tolan sighed, making no move to touch the clingy child.

"Where's your Dad, Squirt?" the guard asked, and Raiyn raised his hands in a plea to be lifted. When Tolan didn't move to lift the baby, Theo bent down and picked him up.

"Don't tell me your afraid of your nephew, Tol," Theo teased, and Tolan responded with an eyeroll.

"Nothing to do with fear. I just don't really do that whole…" he gestured at Theo, who was cuddling Raiyn close while the child giggled.

"You had a baby once, didn't you?" Theo pointed out as he tickled Raiyn under the chin. Tolan shrugged one shoulder.

"Fluff was never like Squirt. She didn't want to be held all the time…smiling and drooling and clinging to me…"

"She was pretty independent," Theo remembered as Raiyn grabbed at the Heir's armband. "I remember carting her around with me everywhere…but then she got to be like two years old and refused to let anyone even hold her hand. She wanted to do everything herself."

"She turned out well," Tolan agreed, eyeing Raiyn almost distrustfully. "I think Hershel coddles this one too much."

"He's not coddled. He's just more cuddly," Theo argued as he bounced the child. Tolan visibly shuddered.

"Well, we best track down Squirt's parents," the guard pointed out. "No doubt he's escaped from somewhere.

"You and your nicknames," Theo said with a smile as they headed down the way that Raiyn had come from. "Would it kill you to call your nephew by his real name?"

"I do call him by his real name."

"His name is Raiyn, Tol."

"Raiyn…Squirt…what's the difference?"

Raiyn laughed loudly at that, and Tolan glanced over at him.

"What are you laughing at?" he demanded, and Raiyn clapped.

"Toto!"

Theo laughed and Tolan groaned. The guard was beginning to wonder how Raiyn had managed to get so far unaccompanied when Pippa came bolting around a corner. She screeched to a stop when she saw her father and Theo.

"Raiyn!"

She reached out, and Theo handed the girl her cousin.

"What are you up to, Fluff?" Tolan asked suspiciously, and she shrugged.

"We were just going on a walk," she said defensively, and Tolan raised an eyebrow.

"Does your Uncle know you have him?" he asked, and Pippa blew a curl out of her face.

"Uncle Hershel doesn't care," she muttered, and Tolan folded his arms. At his stern expression, Pippa sighed. "Fine. I'll take him back to the library."

She set Raiyn on the ground and grabbed her cousin's small hand as they set off. Raiyn turned to smile one last time before he turned a corner.

"That girl's gonna be the death of me," Tolan muttered to himself, and Theo folded his arms.

"She's just independent," he reminded with a smile, and Tolan shot him an irritated glance. Rather than being abashed, Theo's smile widened. "So…can I call you 'Toto'?"

Tolan's expression didn't change at all, his tone deadly serious. "Not if you value your life."


Tolan stifled a yawn as he looked at his reflection in the katana. Having finished sharpening it earlier, he had been working to buff out the metal. His reflection stared back at him, and he wondered if he should just be done for the night.

He felt a small hand touch his back, and he jumped.

"Toto…"

He sighed as he turned to see Raiyn standing next to him, staring at him with his large, multicolored eyes.

"What do you want, Squirt?" he asked from where he was still sitting cross-legged on the floor. "You're supposed to be in the front room with Fluff and the rest."

But Raiyn wasn't listening as he began to climb around the weapon resting on Tolan's knees to get to the guard's lap. Tolan froze, frowning down at his nephew's head.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, and Raiyn happily plopped into Tolan's lap and leaned back against the guard. Tolan's arms were frozen out to his sides as he stared down at his nephew. He wanted to call for someone to come remove the small child…but he also didn't want to deal with what they would say if he resorted to that.

"I don't do the cuddling thing," he reminded Raiyn firmly. "You wanna be here, then go get a sword or something."

Raiyn didn't seem to realize how uncomfortable his uncle was as the child yawned and turned to snuggle closer, wrapping his arms around Tolan's middle. Tolan groaned internally as Raiyn closed his eyes and promptly fell asleep.

"Squirt," Tolan muttered. It had been a while since Fluff had been this small, but he couldn't ever remember her doing stuff like this. She'd have sooner run her father through with a wooden practice sword than she would fall asleep hugging him. Tolan just stared for a while, trying to figure out the best way to extract him.

"Oh…look at you."

Tolan turned to see that Syn had come into the back room. Tolan huffed. "A little help?" he finally asked, and Syn came over. But rather than remove the baby, Syn took the katana off of his lap and kissed Tolan on the cheek.

"I think it's great you're getting to spend some time with Raiyn," she pointed out. She disappeared back into the front of the tent, leaving Tolan to wonder if his wife had purposefully misunderstood his request or not. When she never returned and no one else came to reclaim the small child, Tolan looked down at where Raiyn was still clinging to him. Tolan sighed as he finally put his arms around his nephew.

"Alright, Squirt," he finally muttered. "You won this round."


Trophies

"You're going to need a bigger trophy case."

Amber rolled her eyes as she shifted the trophy's weight in her hands. "I don't even have a trophy case, M," she reminded, and he laughed.

"Where have you been putting all your trophies and medals?"

"You say that like I have so many of them."

"You do; this has to be at least your third trophy. And I know you got some medals from that summer training thing you were helping teach last year."

"Everyone got a medal; it doesn't count."

"Can I see it?"

Amber looked up to see her friend holding his hands out, and she handed over the trophy. He scanned it and whistled low as they continued their walk back to the school. "First place. That's impressive, Oni-girl."

She shrugged, but she couldn't help but smile. "Four."

He looked up. "What?"

"I technically have four trophies, because there's one I got when I won the talent show all those years ago with my dad. So this is my fourth one."

M rolled his eyes. "And you say you don't have that many. Where are you keeping them? Not your room, I hope; the Piano's hoard would consume them, and you'll never see any of it again."

"Dani doesn't have a hoard, M. She's just a little messy."

"That's the understatement of the century," he teased, and she slugged him and took the trophy back.

"I don't keep them in my room," she admitted. "My Grandpa Lou likes to display them in his house." She paused, staring at her reflection in the shiny gold trophy. "Do you mind if we make a pit-stop there before heading back to the school?"

He shrugged. "It's the weekend, Amber. It's not like we have to be back for anything. I'm pretty sure we got permission for the full day; I was expecting that contest to go longer."

"I don't think it was very well known; I didn't even know about it until a professor brought it up a few days ago. I must have been the latest entry." She looked at the trophy again. "There weren't many competitors—probably the only reason I managed to land first place."

M reached out and tugged on her horn—it was something that always reminded her of Theo. "Whatever, Oni-girl. You won that fair and square. Just because the last two competitions were stupid enough to give you second place doesn't mean you deserved that now. You've just finally found judges who aren't blind and bias."

She shrugged, though she couldn't help but smile a little. They turned another corner and headed down the long stretch that she knew would eventually lead to her grandfather's house. Then maybe they could take the bus back to the school; it was a long walk.

"Your grandpa should have given us a ride home from the theater," M said, apparently coming to the same conclusion she did. Amber laughed.

"He ran into a few old dancing chums at the contest; no doubt we'll still beat him to his house."

"Was he the only person in your family who came to watch you? I didn't see Theo or your parents there."

Amber's smile faded, and M. frowned.

"Is…everything ok at home?"

"Everything's great," she assured, looking up at her friend again. "I just…didn't tell them about this one."

M furrowed his brow as they walked. "Why?"

She gave a half-hearted shrug. "I only found out about it a few days ago, and that's not enough time to get all the paperwork done for them to come visit. So they wouldn't have been able to come and then they would have felt bad, so I just thought it would be better not to put them in that position at all. So I didn't tell them."

The young Openheimer was quiet as he thought about it, and he finally shrugged.

"Maybe they could have got permission."

"The council is a little stricter than normal, what with Tobias riding a dragon into the realm last year to visit with Pallo."

M laughed. "I remember that! Man, that was hilarious. And of course he landed the dragon right on the school lawn to pop by and say 'hello' to Dad. I've never seen Dad so mad at anybody who wasn't related to us. Tobias took it pretty well, though." He kicked at a rock on the path and watched it skitter away. "What was the council upset about? I thought ambassadors were allowed to go where they want?"

"Technically we are…but the council didn't really appreciate not even getting prior warning. I don't think they would have let my family come on such short notice. And besides, last I heard they're all so busy. Theo's been taking over more things now. He's doing pretty good at completing everything he needs to get done, but Mom says that he's still taking on too many side-projects. She's afraid he's going to wear himself out."

"How many schools are in the realm, now?" M asked. Amber shrugged.

"The one in the Western Fortress is still the biggest, but last I heard, Tala was building one in the East. She doesn't really like the thought of Myrah having something in her province that she doesn't have."

"Man, these leaders sound like a hoot."

"A hoot and a half," Amber said with a grim smile. "I've never had to work with them too closely. Mainly just Theo. He's good with them from what I hear, and they all like him well enough. But they also know that he's a sucker for the words, "I need your help with…"

"Mmm." M. was smiling as they made it to the end of the lane and turned down a cobblestone path. "You know, maybe I should move to the Oni Realm. I can teach Ninjagoan history 101 at one of the schools."

Amber laughed. "Maybe. But I think your Dad would kill you."

"I don't know; we've been talking about my future a lot, and he even brought up teaching."

"Teaching dance at his school," Amber reminded with a grin. "Not Ninjagoan history to a bunch of Oni in a separate realm!"

M. chuckled sheepishly. "Well, he's on the right track, at least."

"Do you really want to become a history teacher?"

M. sighed. "I have no idea. I keep getting these ideas, but then I think better of them. I dunno. I feel like it would be fun just to move to the Oni realm and find something to do there; teaching is the first thing that came to mind. But I'm not sure how good I'd be; I would have slept through history if I wasn't desperate for the good grades."

They walked in silence for a few minutes, and Amber shifted the trophy in her hands again. "Well, you're only seventeen, M. You have a long time before you have to commit to any plans."

"A long time? I have two years before I graduate! Then what do I do?"

She smiled coyly. "Whatever you want."

He rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks for that."

They reached her grandfather's house at last, and Amber rang the doorbell. When no one answered, she sighed.

"See? I told you we would beat my Grandfather home," she pointed out as she sat on the steps by his door. M sat next to her.

"I should have brought a thicker jacket," he pointed out. "It's getting chillier."

Amber set the trophy down next to her. "Do you want mine? I'm not that cold."

M turned to give her a strange look. "That's not how it works," he said.

Amber frowned. "That's not how what works?"

He laughed at her expression. "You know, the girl doesn't…nevermind."

Amber huffed, not sure what M. found so funny. "Hey, M?"

He stretched out his long legs, leaning back on his hands. "Yeah?"

"There's another competition coming up in a month or so."

He turned to grin. "See? After that first-place trophy, you'll definitely have to get a trophy case."

She smiled hesitantly. "I'm still trying to decide if I want to do it," she explained, and M. yawned.

"Why?"

"Because it's a partner contest."

M. fell silent, and Amber bit her lip. "I think you should do it," he finally said, his tone suddenly apathetic. "I'm sure Patrick will love it."

"M!" she scolded, and he rolled his eyes.

"What? He's your partner, after all."

"Only in some of my classes," she pointed out. "It's not my fault you're in higher classes than us, you know."

"You sure seem to like dancing with him, though."

Amber slugged him. "Can't you get it into your thick head? I'm asking you to be my partner, you ornery Openheimer. Will you do it?"

A smile tugged at his mouth. "Why me?"

"Because my talent will look so much better compared to yours," she said dryly. If he was wanting her to beg for it, he'd be disappointed. M. scowled.

"Well gee, when you put it like that…"

"I want to compete with you, M," Amber admitted, more serious now. "I know you don't really like dancing outside of what you have to do for school. But…"

"I'll do it."

She looked over to see him smirking at her.

"Since you're desperate and all."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not that desperate. I already have so many trophies, like you said. Maybe I don't need this one."

"Nah…we should do it. Then Patrick can see what a real partnership looks like," M teased, bumping Amber's shoulder with his own. "And besides, I miss dancing with you, Oni-girl."

She smiled, but suddenly found herself shy. Why did this keep happening? With M. being one of her oldest friends by this point, she didn't understand why she got like this at times. "I miss dancing with you too," she admitted. Before they could say anything else, a car pulled up. Amber smiled.

"Looks like that's Grandpa now. I'll warn you now, though—he's going to make us stay for tea, and he's probably going to verbally relive the entire performance."

M. smiled. "Sounds like a good afternoon to me.


A Boy Named Teag

"Hershel."

The man bolted upright from where he had been dozing on the library table. "Wasn't sleeping…" he managed, blinking blearily. He caught sight of Tolan, who was giving him a dry look. "Oh, Tolan. What are you—"

"I was going to ask if you were busy, but it's clear that you aren't. You can come with me to the East today."

Hershel frowned, pushing himself to his feet in an effort to wake up. "The East? But why…"

"I'll explain on the way," was all Tolan said as he turned and left the room. Hershel frowned, but with Raiyn with Myrah today, he didn't technically have any reason he couldn't go. He finally followed his brother-in-law out the door.


They reached the small Eastern village, and Hershel watched Tolan dismount. He did so as well, and the two men tied their hoofers onto the poles by the village entrance.

"Where is he?" Hershel asked, and Tolan gestured with his chin and then set off to lead the way. They reached a small tent, and Hershel followed the guard as Tolan entered first.

"Did you bring Hershel?" came a voice from within—Theo's voice. Hershel shivered in the muggy tent air, catching sight of the Oni Heir on one side of the tent. Theo looked tired, but his expression perked up when he caught sight of Hershel.

"I'm glad you came," he said honestly, and then the Heir was turning to a small figure huddled in the corner of the tent. "It's okay," Theo coaxed. "You're going to be okay. This is my friend Hershel; he can help you."

The boy finally glanced up, his dark green eyes bright with suspicion and fear. Tolan shifted out of the way, though Hershel could see his brother-in-law's hand was resting on the handle of his katana. Hershel approached slowly and then sank to the ground, fixing the boy with a cautious look. "You're probably thinking there's something wrong with you," he pointed out softly, and the boy began leaning back away from the healer. There was a hot, heavy tension in the room, and Hershel almost wished that he could ask Theo and Tolan to leave. But he doubted they would, so he just continued to speak softly to the frightened boy. "But this is normal…more normal than you probably realize."

The boy narrowed his eyes, and Hershel could tell that he was going to be defiant. No wonder Tolan insisted on staying in here.

"I wasn't much older than you when I first unlocked my powers," Hershel explained. "It's terrifying, I know. Everything feels wrong and strange and scary. But you aren't broken, I promise. We can help you, but you've got to want help."

The boy was stiff, and Hershel reached out carefully. The second his hand touched the boy's arm, the small figure lurched backward. "NO!"

A blast flew out, and Hershel barely managed to dodge it as it exploded into the tent wall. The healer grimaced, but he held up a warning hand to his brother-in-law, who he knew was ready to burst into action. Tolan meant well, he knew, but he wasn't the best in these charged situations—not when Theo could get hurt. He was surprised the Heir had even managed to convince Tolan to leave him here to go after Hershel…but the Heir could be quite stubborn when he wanted to be.

"It's ok," Hershel assured again. "What's your name?"

The boy didn't respond, and Hershel tilted his head.

"I know you have a name. I promise, I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to help."

The boy just shrank further into himself, his eyes still full of suspicion. Time passed, and sweat trickled down Hershel's neck. It was a hot, muggy day. Eventually, the child seemed to realize that Hershel wasn't going to leave.

"Teag."

Hershel blinked at the small word. "Teag? That's your name?"

The boy hesitated, but then he gave a little nod.

"It's good to meet you, Teag. I'm Hershel. That was an impressive blast. You're stronger than you realize."

Teag's dark eyes became visible again as he glanced up. Hershel waited for a few minutes, and the boy finally wiped his nose with his arm. "You look weird."

Hershel smiled. "I do, don't I? It's kind of a long story, how I got to look like this. I'll share it with you…but not here." He wiped at the sweat on his forehead. "It's hot in here, isn't it?"

Teag didn't answer, still staring at him. He looked a little less tense. Hershel held his breath as he reached out again. Teag's expression filled with fear as Hershel touched his arm again, but he didn't react like he had before.

"It's all right," Hershel coaxed softly. "You're not going to hurt me, Teag. It's going to be ok."

"No it's not." Teag's eyes were filling with tears now, but Hershel was glad to see that he was at least talking more. "There's something bad inside, and it comes out and burns things. It's trying to kill me." Teag began to cry, and aura swirled around the room. Hershel had managed to get close enough now that he pulled the scrawny boy into an embrace. Tolan would probably get after him later for not being cautious enough…but this is how Cole had calmed Hershel himself down, all those years ago.

"You aren't bad, Teag. You've got a big heart, and it makes it so you can make power. Power isn't bad. These two men in this room right now have power, you know—they unlocked it just like you, and they had to train and practice. Now they have control. You can get control too."

"It's like I showed you, Teag," Theo said with a weary smile of his own. Aura danced around the Heir's hand for a moment before he let it fade. "We're just like you. You're going to be ok."

Teag looked at the Heir for a few minutes, but then he was turning to bury his face into Hershel's shoulder. The Healer held him close as the child cried, the situation reminding him of when he had broken his aural block all those decades ago. Eventually, the child fell asleep, and Hershel put him back on the dirty mat in the corner. He sighed as he wiped at his face.

"Can we talk outside?" Theo asked, and Hershel nodded. He followed Theo and Tolan out of the tent, and he took a grateful breath of the refreshing air. The small tent didn't have good ventilation.

"You found him today?" he asked, remembering what Tolan had said on their way over. Theo nodded wearily.

"Set a few market stalls on fire, then raced out of the market. Tol managed to track him here. We weren't the only ones who noticed, though. That's why I had to stay behind with him; as long as I was with him, no one else could come lay claim to him."

Hershel nodded to himself, his expression pinching. As far as society had come under Theodynn's parents, he knew better than to assume that there weren't people about who would love to get their hands on children like Teag. Powered Oni were still rare, and no doubt people felt that children are easy to train for whatever purpose they felt they could use them for.

"I still think we should have knocked him out and taken him to the central fortress," Tolan muttered. "I don't like leaving you with volatile people, Freak. Don't ask me to do it again."

"It was an emergency," Theo argued. "Besides, I can handle myself. Not to mention that Teag seemed comfortable with me. Well, at least not volatile."

"You want to take him to the central fortress, then?" Hershel asked, and Theo and Tolan turned back. The Heir nodded.

"I think that's our best bet. I mean, we could technically take him to Tala for protection. But I don't really want to set a precedent that Province Leaders can lay claim to any powered children in their area. I don't think Tala would abuse the responsibility…but I'm less sure about certain other leaders."

"Ottan would make an army if he could…just to have it," Tolan muttered darkly. It seemed he and the Southern Leader were still not on the best terms. "As it is, he's still fighting us for custody of the girl who unlocked her powers a few months back."

"How is she, by the way?" Hershel asked. Theo smiled.

"Inna is fine. She wasn't really ever as volatile. Mom's actually been helping her lots—I guess raising two powered kids is coming in handy."

"This one seems like he's going to be a lot more work," Tolan warned, shifting from one katana to the next. "I'm not sure I like that you're trying to take all this on, Freak, with everything else you have to do."

"Then I guess it's good that you're not the boss of me," Theo pointed out, but then he sighed. "It's still rare for people to unlock their powers, but I think it's just going to become more common. We're going to have to bring it up at the next meeting; we need regulations in place to protect people."

Hershel was silent, his mind far away as he remembered a dark dungeon owned by a greedy leader. Eventually, he cleared his throat. "I could take him to the Western Fortress and help him there," he offered, but Tolan was already shaking his head.

"That's going to make the leaders freak out all the more. They'll say Myrah's hogging all the power."

"But this has nothing to do with Myrah…"

"I know you don't consider yourself leadership, but to the eyes of the other leaders, you are. Anything you do is connected to Myrah and politics," Tolan pointed out. Hershel sighed. Theo was right; this was only going to become more prevalent, and it was frustrating that there was so many politics that kept getting in the way of everything. The Central Fortress provided a kind of neutral ground, but even then leaders could argue that Keyda and Cole were taking all the power for themselves. Though they couldn't really go against the Rulers, it wasn't necessarily wise to set the leaders at odds. Not after so many years of peace. What they needed was somewhere truly neutral. Somewhere…

"The hidden village," Hershel blurted, "We can take the powered children there. Leaders can't necessarily get angry then, because they aren't necessarily part of the Union. Not to mention with Iona and the dragons, there's no way anyone would dare try to take the children."

Theo and Tolan made eye contact. "We have talked about it," Theo admitted at last. "But we aren't sure how Iona will react. No matter how we think to ask her, at the end of the day, she's going to see it as my parents trying to force her to do something or take part in our government. You know how against that she is."

Hershel nodded to himself, but more pensive. "I'll ask her, then."

"You think she'll listen to you?" Tolan asked with a frown, and Hershel looked up to smile grimly.

"Doesn't hurt to find out. I'm going to go get Teag; I'll ride with him out there now, and we can ask her. She can't be too angry if I promise to come do the training myself."

"I feel like that old bat doesn't even need a reason to be too angry. She does it whether there's a reason or not," Tolan muttered, but Hershel had already gone back into the tent to collect the worn-out child. It made him nervous that more children were unlocking their aural blocks now; so far, they knew about two of them. But there could be others that were trapped places with people who wanted to use them. Things were improving in this world all the time, but that didn't mean things were perfect.

He forced the thoughts aside as he bent to lift the skinny boy off the bed mat. If nothing else, he could help this one now.


Myrah looked over from the armchair as the door finally opened.

"You're back late," she commented as she put the book aside to stand. "Where did you disappear off to today? Some grand adventure?"

Hershel smiled tiredly as his wife came over to kiss him, and he put one arm around her waist. "Something like that. I went to help Theo and Tolan calm another powered child out in the East, and then we took him to Iona for protection. I think that's going to be the best place for them—then people can't use them."

"Like they tried to use you?" she asked softly. Pain flickered across Hershel's expression, but then he leaned in to kiss her again.

"Exactly. Iona wasn't necessarily pleased, but she didn't put up as much of a fight as I thought she would. I think having the kid there helped; she's got a soft spot for them, even if she tries to deny it. I had to promise to go do the actual training, though."

"Mmm." She pushed hair out of his face. "Sounds like you're going to be even busier than usual, then."

He smiled. "I can still teach the healing classes every other day. Then on the off days I'll go visit the village and train the children—Keyda and Cole are gonna move the girl they've been training there too. It won't be difficult to train two children. I can bring Raiyn along as I do for the classes here."

"You want to bring our eighteen-month-old son with you to train volatile children who are just barely learning to use their powers?"

He grimaced. "I won't bring him for the first week or so. But after that point, there aren't explosive outbursts anymore. It becomes more about controlling emotions and how they manifest."

Myrah scanned her husband and finally gave his arm a squeeze. "It's good to see you with that spark of purpose back in your eyes. But you aren't spreading yourself too thin, are you? I don't want you to get burned out."

"I know my limits," he promised with a twinkle in his eye. "Besides, I want to do this."

"Alright. Come get ready for bed; I've been waiting all night for you."

"I'm not that late," he argued, but he followed her further into their quarters.

"It feels later than it is, when I don't know where you go and when you're coming back," she pointed out with a smile, and he chuckled.

"I'm sorry. Next time I'll leave word with someone so that you'll know."

She moved to kiss his cheek. "That sounds better."


"You can stop giving me the silent treatment. I know you're mad."

Theo glanced over from where he was on his hoofer. Having finally completed the village check-ups that he had been doing in the first place, they were headed home at last. Tolan didn't speak for a few minutes still, and when he did, his voice was low.

"You've got to stop sticking your neck out, Freak. I mean it."

"It's not sticking my neck out."

"The kid was hysterical when we found him in that half-made tent."

"I calmed him down," Theo pointed out. "I didn't get hurt. It was fine."

"But it could've gone down differently. This is the reason that your parents worry about you. It's the reason I worry about you."

Theo frowned, turning to face forward once again. "I couldn't just do nothing, Tol. The kid had powers, and people were going to try and abuse that. I couldn't leave him there alone!"

"So you should have let me deal with him; I could have knocked him out easily enough."

"That is no way to gain someone's trust."

"You refused to leave, forcing me to go for Hershel. He doesn't even have powers anymore. It was a risk, Freak. One you're lucky worked out without any injuries."

"But it worked—that's the whole point. Teag wouldn't talk to me at all—he just hid in that corner. Hershel's the one who got him to open up and go to sleep. He took him to the hidden village, and now he's safe. Mission accomplished."

"I had to leave you with a kid who couldn't control his powers, in a situation that could have gotten messy. All it would have taken was someone else tracking him down and fighting you for him."

"They wouldn't have fought me for…"

"You don't know that!"

Tolan pulled his hoofer in front of Theo's, forcing Dragon to come to a stop. Theo sighed, but his guard was eyeing him sternly.

"You're like your parents; you want to save the world. Protect everyone in it—especially those you see as victims. It's not a bad dream, but you have to figure out what Keyda and Cole learned a long time ago. You don't do anybody any good dead."

"What do you want me to do? Sit in a fortress with an army surrounding me?"

"Sometimes I feel like it would be a better option," Tolan snapped. "You don't think. You just run head first into danger and get tied up in these messy situations. You can't afford to take these risks, Theo. Not as the Heir, and especially not as a Ruler."

Theo met his bodyguard's eye. "I've never been the kind of person to sit on the sidelines, Tol. I'm not just going to sit at a desk and pass policies that hopefully come into play in the real world. I wasn't going to sit by today and let that kid fall into the wrong hands. I'm not so na?ve to think there aren't people in the realm who would love to take advantage of a kid like that…"

"Then you should know there are people in the realm who would love to take advantage of a kid like you," Tolan cut in darkly. Theo sighed.

"I'm not a kid any longer, Tolan. And I'm no pushover; if people try to take me on, they'll be biting off more than they bargained for."

Tolan just scoffed, finally turning his hoofer toward the fortress. "The fact that you think that makes me worry even more."


Hershel ducked down into the doorway of the room. This cavern in the walls of the hidden village's cliffs was skinny and narrow; no wonder no one else had set up home here. At the far end of it, he could see a small figure up against the rock walls with his arms around his knees.

"Hello, Teag," he offered softly. The boy looked up with a hateful expression, and Hershel offered him a smile. "It's me; Hershel. We met yesterday. Iona says you haven't been eating…"

"What do you want?" the boy asked, his tone defensive and hoarse. "Why did you bring me here? I want to go home."

Hershel paused in the doorway, thinking back to the crude structure they had taken Teag from. His stomach clenched a little. Inna, the powered girl from the South, had been only too happy to leave her degenerate life behind and move to the central fortress. But it seemed Teag was a lot angrier about the forced relocation.

"Is there something at home you need?" Hershel asked softly. "Or someone?"

Teag seemed tense, and Hershel sank down to the floor to sit a few yards away. He wanted to talk, and he wasn't sure the child wanted him close. Teag had to be at least a decade old, though it was hard to really tell in the dim lighting.

"I don't wanna be trapped here. You think I'm a freak, so you locked me up."

Hershel shook his head. "No, Teag. We can leave this room if you'd like. We can go outside…"

"But I can't leave the weird village!" the boy yelled. "I left and that crazy girl chased me! And then the freaky lady with the horns came! She's a witch—she threw orange stuff at me and killed me! And then I woke up here."

Hershel was silent as he processed the boy's logic. After a little while he sighed. "Teag, we don't want you leaving the village. But it's for your own protection."

"Liar!" Teag spat, hugging himself more. "It's for everyone else's protection. You lock me up to protect everyone from the bad inside of me."

"There isn't bad in you…"

"There is bad in me!" Teag yelled, aura winds now whipping around them. "I try to make it go away, but it doesn't listen to me!"

"I know you don't mean to hurt anyone," Hershel offered, trying to come a little closer. Teag hugged himself harder.

"I just got so hungry….so hungry. And I went to get food and no one would give me any…and Dee had all the money but Dee left. He left cuz he said he didn't want me anymore…" the winds were increasing, and Teag squeezed his eyes closed. "I got so mad! And then the bad came out…."

Hershel had nearly reached him, and a sob escaped.

"I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to let the bad out. Everyone was yelling and they were going to kill me. They want me dead."

Hershel reached out to comfort the boy, but he balked.

"NO, DON'T! YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE IT COME OUT!" He yelled as he flung himself away from Hershel. "You lied and said you were going to help! But you aren't! You brought me here to lock me up…"

"No, I didn't. I want to help you. But you have to let me help," Hershel said simply. He didn't reach for Teag again, but the boy glared hatefully.

"I could hurt you!" he yelled. "If it comes out, it will burn you and you'll be hurt! I could do it…"

Hershel sat calmly, meeting Teag's eye as he spoke softly. "All right," he said. "Go ahead…if you think that will make you feel better."

The boy blinked, studying the figure sitting across from him. Hershel carried no weapons, and he didn't seem to have power of his own. His stance wasn't defensive. Teag's expression twisted with confusion, but he held his hands out toward Hershel.

"I could do it!" he yelled. "I could!"

"I know," Hershel told him. "You're strong. I know you could, if you wanted."

The aural wind was still whipping around the child, and tears were leaking out now. "Aren't you scared?" he demanded. "I could hurt you!"

Here, Hershel smiled just a little. "I've been hurt before, Teag. I'll be all right. I'm more worried about you."

Teag just stared at him. He was a dirty child, with grime caked on. His hair was long and stringy, and his dark eyes had the look that starved animals get when they're desperate. Suddenly the child was launching at him. The power didn't make an appearance, but Teag did punch Hershel in the chest and shoulders as he cried.

"Go away!" he managed. "Go away…" The pummeling didn't last long before the child melted into Hershel, sobbing. The healer pulled the boy close. After a little while, Teag finally calmed enough to speak again. "Why are you holding me like this?" he sniffed. He kept his arms to his sides, but he leaned into Hershel and let him hold him. "You're not my mother."

"Does you mother hold you like this?" Hershel prompted quietly. Teag's expression twisted.

"Not anymore. She's dead. Only Dee was left, but he said I'm a scrawny nobody and that I ate too much of his food. So he left."

"Is Dee your father?"

"Don't have a father. Dee's my brother. He's bigger and wouldn't let me have any of the money. He said I'd just lose it. I wouldn't have lost it…" Teag was worn out as he continued to lean on Hershel. "Why are you holding me like this?"

"Because this is how someone helped me, when I first unlocked my powers," Hershel told him gently. "Back when I was scared of myself."

Teag finally looked up at him. "Who are you?"

Hershel smiled. "I'm a teacher, and a healer. I want to help you, Teag…I'm being honest about that."

"Why?"

Hershel pushed the stringy hair back out of Teag's face. "Because you remind of myself, when I was your age," he admitted. "And no one should have to feel like that."

Teag just stared, not really understanding.

"Are you hungry?" Hershel prompted again. "If you're hungry, let's get out of this little hole in the wall and find you some food."

He wasn't sure Teag would agree. The boy sniffed. "I'm so hungry," he admitted. "But the lady with the horns is trying to poison me. I know it."

Hershel shook his head. "Her name is Iona. She can be scary, but she's not going to hurt you."

"I'm not going out there again." The boy's expression hardened, and Hershel nodded.

"I'll go get you something."

"Just take me home," the boy said, looking up at Hershel defiantly. "If you really wanted to help me, you can just take me back home and give me some money." Hershel paused, and Teag pulled away. "I'll make sure the bad doesn't come back. But I want to go home!"

"I know you do," Hershel offered. "And I would take you back, but there are people out there who may want to use your new powers, Teag. They'll hurt you to get what they want. I just need to make sure that you know how to use your powers, so you can protect yourself."

Teag's expression darkened as he pulled further away. "What people? How do you know?" he snapped, and Hershel knew the kid was angry. Aura winds were stirring once again, and Hershel sighed as he pushed himself to his feet.

"Because people like that came after me," he confessed. "I'm not letting them come after you." Teag scanned Hershel's face, and the healer turned to go. "I'm going to go get us something to eat," he told him. "I promise, it won't be poisoned."

Teag didn't answer, hugging his knees again. Hershel offered one last smile before heading back out into the village. It was strange; before these recent cases, he personally knew everyone with powers in the realm. But this wasn't like teaching Theodynn how to come to terms with his emotional trauma, or Tolan with his pent-up baggage. Or even teaching Pippa to control her fiery passion. This was a stranger who didn't trust him at all, and didn't seem to want to learn control. Hershel sighed long and slow. It might take some convincing before Teag opened up. But despite knowing it could be difficult, Hershel felt better knowing that he was doing something important.

The past year he had raised his son and taught healing classes at the Western school, which had been rewarding in their own right. But at seeing Teag's haunted expression as he disappeared out of the home, he realized that perhaps this was going to be something that he could devote himself to…something that hit a little closer to home.

After all, Theo was right. There were just going to be more cases like this. He might not have powers anymore, but he knew what it was like to be at rock bottom. He just hoped he would be able to help people like Teag build their way back up.