"Hey, you're back!" Jack exclaimed, throwing an arm around Andrew's shoulder as he walked in through the back door. "Finally done with your secret forest mumbo jumbo?"

Andrew rolled his eyes. "For a bit. I've learned some new tricks that I need to consider more thoroughly before I decide how to progress."

"New tricks?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow. "Don't you have enough of those already?"

"I ain't no old dog." Andrew retorted with a chuckle. "I can learn new tricks all I want. In fact…" Andrew grinned, his head suddenly shifting into a horror show of mandibles and compound eyes. "What do you think of this?" He hissed.

Jack's eyes widened, quickly looking around to make sure no one else was there. "What are you- stop that!" He exclaimed in a panic as Andrew changed back.

Andrew couldn't help but laugh at Jack's panicked expression. "Calm down, no one was around, it's fine. Neat trick though, huh?"

Jack shook his head. "Don't scare me like that, dude. How'd you do that?"

"I can apparently steal… well, I call them cores, but it amounts to the form and ability of a life form. I just stole an ant's core." Andrew replied with a shrug. "Pretty neat, huh?"

"I guess." Jack shrugged. "I mean, you could already turn into giant, fuck all Beasts, so this isn't too much of a change, is it?"

Andrew clicked his tongue. "You're no fun."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's go. The others are in the pool and I wanted to see if you'd be interested in joining us."

Andrew frowned, almost rejecting the offer on instinct, before pausing. Maybe without needing to worry about controlling his strength, swimming could actually be kinda fun… "You know what, sure. Let me go get changed. I'll meet you there." Andrew replied, heading off to his room to change. He then headed over to the pool, freezing as immediately every head turned towards him. "Uh… hey guys." He waved awkwardly.

"Damn Jack! Your little bro is built!" Kevin commented. "What's your workout routine, man? I've been trying to put on muscle for months and I still can't get a decent line going." Kevin continued, flexing a bit with a frown as he examined his own musculature.

Jack snorted. "Don't even ask. All that's from running around in the forest acting like a monkey. That and godly genes." He commented, shooting a wink Andrew's way.

Kevin raised an eyebrow at Jack. "If his genes are so great, where are your muscles?"

Jack sighed wearily. "I had to give them up to remain in the mortal world. A sacrifice I had to make to experience your mortal woes."

Kevin snorted, smacking the water to send a wave at Jack's face. "Whatever dude." He turned to Andrew. "You just gonna stand there, Mr. Divine, or do we have to throw you in?"

Andrew paused, before grinning as he gave his Monkey side a bit of a boost. "You can certainly give it a shot, but I don't like your chances." He retorted, flexing slightly.

Kevin blinked, before grinning as well. He glanced towards the others. "Guys, I think that was a challenge. How about we show this punk the dangers of disrespecting his elders?" Jack's friends laughed, the three guys about to jump out of the pool, when Jack interrupted.

"Hey, hey! No rough housing around the pool! Water plus cement equals hospital visits in the near future." Jack scolded them, before turning to Andrew. "You get in here before they do something stupid."

"Yeah, yeah." Andrew rolled his eyes, jumping over the edge and doing a cannonball.

"Nice of you to join us, nature boy." Sarah greeted him, splashing a bit of water at him as payback for the wave he'd just sent over everyone. "You know you don't need to spend all your time in the forest, right?"

"And you don't need to spend all your time communing with your phone, but that doesn't stop you either, huh?" Andrew retorted with a grin, splashing her back.

Sarah gasped in mock offense. "I'll have you know that me and my phone share a special relationship!"

"Social media isn't special, Sarah, it's what's killing real socialization." Amy commented.

"Philistines! You're all just stuck in the past!" Sarah exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah." Andrew rolled his eyes, shaking his head. Honestly, who would want to spend all their time looking at what other people were doing? That just sounded dumb.

"Done!" Kate announced breathlessly, excitedly holding up a now inflated beach ball, causing everyone to turn towards her. "First one to let it touch the water or knock it out of the pool is the loser!" She yelled, tossing the ball at the group before jumping in after it. Everyone quickly got into the game, people slowly getting eliminated and moving to the side, until it was down to just Andrew and Kate, battling it out for dominance. Andrew normally would have just stepped back from the game, his real strength making any sort of competition impossible, but now that he could adjust his strength down to normal, he actually wanted to try. His little sister put up a hell of a fight, too. The girl was pure athleticism, and he wouldn't be surprised if she went professional in something, if she could actually decide which sport to actually focus on. Still, even without his strength, Andrew had enough of an advantage to pull ahead, whooping as Kate dived and smacked the ball too hard, sending it flying out of the pool.

"Volleyball, girls versus boys!" Kate yelled the moment she lost, running off to grab a net to pull across the pool.

Jack shook his head. "I have no idea where that girl pulls her energy from."

"Judging by the contents of her room, junk food and soda." Amy commented. "If she moved any less, she'd gain fifty pounds overnight."

Under Kate's prodding, they all played a few games of volleyball, switching up the teams a few times, though the consensus was that Andrew and Kate should never be on the same team. Eventually though, everyone was tired, except Kate of course, and they retired to the hot tub. The hot tub wasn't exactly small, but nine people was still a little much, so it took some creative squeezing before they all fit. Surprisingly, Amelia had ended up in Jack's lap, Andrew shooting his older brother a questioning look, receiving a wink in return. Andrew would need to follow up on that.

Amy gave Amelia a glance as well, her eyes narrowing slightly, before surreptitiously beginning an interrogation attempt. "You said you were taking psychology, right? What do you think of your school's program?"

"Well, I'm in a counseling specialized program, so it focuses mainly on disorders and therapy approaches. They do a lot to get us connected with the local therapists though, providing internship opportunities as well as bringing in guest speakers on special topics. I'm actually starting an internship right after this trip is over." Amelia explained.

Amy nodded. "Interesting. I'm thinking of going for psychology myself, but I wanted to focus more on research. Do you know anything about their research programs?"

Amelia shrugged. "Not really. I assume they're good, and I haven't heard any complaints, but I haven't actually looked into them."

Amy eyed her. "I see."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Don't you think it's a little early to be worrying about college? I didn't start applying until earlier this year and I got in just fine!"

"That's only because-" Amy began, before pausing, remembering their company. "I just want to be prepared. Is that so bad?"

"Programs matter more for degrees like the social sciences, especially when you consider research." Jack added. "For tech degrees, you could get one from anywhere and still be competitive."

Sarah shrugged. "I just want to learn how to hunt trolls. As long as they can teach me that, I don't care where I go."

"You don't need college for that. I can teach you." Andrew piped up.

Sarah gave him a wary look. "Really?" She asked, wondering if there was some sort of magic or ability he could use to actually track people through the internet.

"Yup. See, the first thing you need to do is find a mountain-" Andrew began.

"Not those trolls, jerk!" Sarah yelled, splashing him as he burst out laughing.

The conversation moved on, Jack's friends telling some funny stories from college, more than a few involving Jack, and Andrew relaxed against the wall of the tub, smiling in contentment. He could feel everyone in the pool genuinely getting along and enjoying each other's company. Amy would still occasionally ask Amelia a question in her round about way, getting some form of information from the answer that only she would understand, but from what Andrew could tell, Amelia seemed to be passing Amy's tests rather well. He also noticed Kevin and Kristen getting a bit handsy with each other under the water, but he wasn't about to call attention to it. It was all very… normal. Andrew let out a sigh. He could use a bit more normal in his life.

*

"Andrew, I believe there's something you have to tell us, yes?" Helen commented, raising an eyebrow at him as the family ate breakfast together the next morning, a sharp edge in her tone. Jack's college friends were all still sleeping, the group having gone out the previous night and stayed out way too late. The only reason Jack was there was because Helen had literally dragged him out of bed and plopped him into his chair.

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Andrew froze, frantically searching his mind for something he'd forgotten to tell his parents. "Uh… this?" Andrew asked, doing his ant head trick. Maybe Jack had said something to them?

Helen's eyes widened, dropping her fork. "You- how did-" She stammered, before pausing and taking a deep breath. "We'll discuss that later. No, I was talking about a certain girl you've recently… connected with."

Andrew's frown deepened. Who had he- oh. His eyes widened. "Oh… you mean the thing with Cathryn."

"Yes! The thing with Cathryn!" Helen growled.

"Who's Cathryn?" Sarah asked curiously.

"This girl I know from school." Andrew replied.

"You know people at school?" Sarah asked skeptically.

"Vaguely." Andrew answered, rolling his eyes.

"Potential girlfriend?" Amy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I wish." Andrew sighed. "No, the thing with Cathryn is more… complicated."

"And yet your mother and I had to hear about it from Arose, not you." Stephen commented in a serious tone, leveling a stern look at him. "Why is it you felt you couldn't come to us with this? We're your parents! We should be the first people you come to when you're in trouble!"

"I did go to you!" Andrew protested. "It happened during the mall thing! Grandpa is just the one who picked me up, so he's who I talked to about it! And then, after that, it was just a thing. I didn't really think about telling anyone about it!"

Stephen rubbed his temple, sighing in exasperation. "Andrew, in the future, we would like to be informed when there are major developments in your life. Also, we would like to actually meet this Cathryn. She's practically our daughter at this point. We should get to know her at the very least."

"I am so confused." Sarah groaned.

"Your brother went and got himself bound to some random mortal, turning her into a Bonded and him into her Beast." Helen growled.

His sisters' eyes widened. "That can happen?!?" Sarah asked incredulously.

"How would something like that even be possible?" Amy muttered, frowning in thought.

"Is there a way for me to do it?" Kate asked hopefully.

"By all indications, it was a freak accident brought on by Andrew's unique situation. It may be possible for some people to do something similar but it would require you to venture into the wilderness and interact with wild Beasts, who would be more likely to eat you than bond with you." Stephen explained.

"So you're saying there's a chance." Kate replied.

Stephen rolled his eyes. "Yes, as much of a chance as developing superpowers from rolling around in nuclear waste."

Kate's eyes widened. "Would that work?"

"Only for Andrew." Stephen retorted with a grin.

Andrew cocked his head. "I'm pretty sure I'm still susceptible to radiation. Though… huh. How does my transformation work? Do you think I could remove tumors using it?" Andrew suddenly froze. Was that how he'd survived the stomp?!? Wait- no, he hadn't transformed… maybe the damage was bad enough that it healed automatically? He'd have to test that.

Helen fixed him with a glare. "You're not off the hook yet, buster. I want that girl at my dinner table tonight, understood?"

Andrew saluted. "Yes, Ma'am."

Helen nodded. "Good."

*

*When do you get off work today?* Andrew sent Cathryn later that day, after she'd woken up.

*Around five. Why?* Cathryn asked warily.

*My parents want to meet you.* Andrew explained. *Now that we're Bonded, you're essentially half their child as well, so they want to get to know you.*

Cathryn froze. *You- you want me to meet your parents?*

Andrew frowned. *I wouldn't say I want you to, this is more of a them thing. Particularly my mom. Still, it's probably a good idea. They're both Bonded, obviously, so you're going to be interacting with them a lot over the years, or maybe I should say eons, especially since they're my parents and you can't get too far away from me. Best to start with a good impression, rather than ignoring them until you need them.*

Cathryn hesitated. *I- okay, I can be free tonight. I'll just need to bring an extra change of clothes…* She muttered, more to herself than to Andrew.

*Sounds good. I'll pick you up a little after five, outside the mall.* Andrew told her.

*Okay… no, wait, why don't you just call me over?* Cathryn asked.

Andrew paused. *Well, I could but where would you like to leave a random pile of clothes, and what are you planning on wearing once you get here?* He asked, grinning slightly.

Cathryn froze. *N-never mind.*

Andrew laughed. *Alright, then, I'll pick you up at five. See you then.*

Cathryn sent a feeling of agreement, before shaking her head, focusing on getting ready for work, before suddenly pausing. Andrew was picking her up?!?

*

"Ready?" Andrew asked as Cathryn walked out of the mall, looking around nervously.

She sighed in relief as she didn't see a car, before frowning. "Are we not driving?" She asked hesitantly.

Andrew grinned. "Nah, I have something better." He replied, waving for her to follow as he headed towards the tree line.

Cathryn hesitated, but she didn't exactly have many options at the moment, so with a groan, she followed, catching up as they reached the trees. "How- why are you taking your shirt off?!?"

"I don't want to ruin it." Andrew shrugged, as a moment later, thin, gossamer wings erupted from his back. Before Cathryn could even react, he picked her up and they were off.

"Holy- shit!" Cathryn exclaimed as her shock turned to amazement as she watched the world below shrink as Andrew carried her higher and higher.

"Neat, huh?" Andrew grinned as he stopped climbing, heading towards his home.

"It's beautiful…" Cathryn muttered as she watched the world from above, watching the tiny dots of cars speed along. She could even see her house. "But, what if someone sees us?"

"The Clans will handle it." Andrew shrugged. "Goats can fly once their ability reaches a certain point, so they're used to dealing with stuff like this. Besides, we're moving too fast for anyone to get a good look anyways." He added as he began to descend, landing in the woods behind his house.

Cathryn frowned. "We're here already?" She asked, as Andrew put her down. "But- I barely felt anything! There wasn't even any wind!"

Andrew chuckled. "Yeah, it turns out our wind ability is pretty effective for that."

Cathryn gave him a strange look. "Turns out? You didn't know you could do that?"

Andrew shook his head. "No. I- you remember how I said I have this strange, furry lizard form? Well, I didn't always have it. I… acquired it at some point, along with the ant form that gave me wings just now. I haven't fully explored its ability yet."

Cathryn nodded slowly, before shaking her head. "Okay, hold on, wait. How many forms do you have again?"

"Five: Human, Monkey, Tiger, Lizard, ant." Andrew answered, holding up his hand and raising each finger as he counted off the forms.

"Okay… and they give you your abilities?" Cathryn asked hesitantly. She didn't know quite how it worked, but he'd just mentioned that Goats could fly, so she guessed abilities were tied to a specific form?

"Right. The Monkey gives me the ability to sense and transmit emotions, the Tiger lets me create a territory that I can control the space within, the Lizard lets me control wind, and the ant is just an ant… no ability." Andrew replied.

Cathryn nodded, trying to wrap her mind around the idea. "So, each form gives you one ability… except for human and ant."

"Actually, my Human form might give me an ability. I have an idea what it might be, but I haven't actually tested it yet." Andrew replied.

Cathryn froze. "Wait, humans can have abilities? Like, regular humans?"

Andrew shook his head. "No, just me. And apparently this guy named Long who lived thousands of years ago. And possibly our kids."

Cathryn flushed. "R-right. So that's- that's why-"

"That's why the higher-ups are so interested in us having kids, yes." Andrew nodded. "Long was strong. Stronger than most other Beasts. If I, or our children, can be as strong as he was… it will be very good for the Clans and humanity as a whole."

Cathryn bit her lip. "And- and you're okay with that? Being- h-having a kid with me?"

Andrew gave her a weird look, wondering why she was so flustered by all this. "Sure? Why not? It's just one kid."

Cathryn almost tripped as he said that. "What- You- just- how can you say that!?!" She asked incredulously.

Andrew frowned. "What's the big deal? We're both going to have hundreds of kids, thousands even! Why make a big deal over a single one we've been asked to have?"

Cathryn froze. "We- we- we- we-"

Andrew gave her an amused look. "You're really not getting this whole immortality thing, are you? Cathryn, you're going to live forever, or at least until something kills one of us. Which, as you get older, becomes increasingly unlikely. Even if you aren't trying to have kids, you're going to end up having a sizable amount."

"What- what about my eggs? Won't- won't I run out at some point?" She asked nervously.

Andrew cocked his head, before frowning. "I would normally say no, because normal Bonded don't have that issue, but… you aren't a normal Bonded… I guess we'll see?"

Cathryn's expression twisted. "That isn't exactly a helpful answer."

Andrew shrugged. "I'm not exactly a helpful person." He paused. "Though, I will say, my new ant side does make me a bit more motivated in that department. It also really wants to have kids, but honestly the Lizard had that one covered already."

Cathryn blinked a few times. "Excuse me, what? You- you have sides?!?"

"Don't you?" Andrew pointed out, raising an eyebrow at her. "Aren't there times you feel more motivated to do something than others? Times you feel like just letting loose, or just curling up and relaxing? My sides are like that. They help me get in a certain mindset, based on the core I give priority. It's perfectly normal, I just have a bit more control than other people."

Cathryn frowned. She guessed he had a point there… though the way he talked about it made it seem weird. Moods were one thing, but talking about ant or Lizard sides? That seemed like it took things a step too far.

Andrew rolled his eyes. "It's really not a big deal, seriously."

Cathryn sighed. "Fine, whatever. It's your head, not mine. Just- be careful, alright? I don't want you suddenly turning into a completely different person on me."

Andrew snorted. "Would that be such a bad thing? But don't worry, that isn't how this works. As I said, each core is like a mood. It doesn't change who I am, at least, not who I really am. It just… gives me more options." Cathryn gave him a worried look, before nodding. Now was not the time to dig into that mess. Andrew glanced back at her with a twisted expression, before deciding to drop it as well. They were already at the house. They could argue later.