"Okay," Keith said. "Let's get something straight first-"

"Not you, of course," Nathan muttered.

"I never fought a griffin," Keith ignored the demigod's comment. "I was attacked by a baby griffin, and just held it off with some wind until its mama showed up and took it away."

"She didn't attack you?" Mandy asked.

"Griffins aren't as violent as some people might say," Keith shook his head. "And while they are protective of their cubs, they know the difference between someone meaning harm and someone just holding off a cub non-violently. And I'm still trying to figure out how word of the incident went around, because everyone seems to think I went and had a one-on-one fight with an adult member of the Grand Set and came up the victor and unharmed."

"Well, it was a baby," Nathan said. "I'd be a little annoyed if you had lost to it."

"Most would have," Keith told him. "Even baby griffins are griffins, and members of the Grand Set."

"Wait," Nathan frowned and looked at his friend. "Keith, why was a griffin being friendly with you? You were talking with it, weren't you?"

"Yeah," Keith answered. "I was wanting a griffin feather quill for enchanting, and was hoping one would donate a feather to me for that. They turned me down, and I was on my way out when the cub attacked. Griffins are sensitive to the presence of psychics, and the cub didn't have the mental restraint that an adult would, so when it found an opportunity to get loose and attack, it did."

"Oh," Nathan said, then opened his mouth to ask a question.

"No, Nathan, I would not," Keith rolled his eyes. "Don't give me that look, I know what you were going to ask."

Nathan shrugged, then turned his attention back to Drake and Kathy.

"If you're mages, too," he said. "Do you have familiars?"

"It's generally rude to ask to see familiars or their marks, Nathan," Keith told him.

"Why?" Nathan asked.

"It just is!" Keith exclaimed in exasperation, then looked at the mage couple. "Be grateful he's not thinking about his insecurity when it comes to his monster down low, he has a tendency to want to make sure he's got the biggest one around because of it."

"My dad's a sex god, I don't need to worry about that anymore," Nathan said. "That comes with way more perks."

"A sex god?" Mandy asked, and Nathan looked at the baffled teen. "Are you saying your dad is a porn star?"

"No," Keith groaned. "Nathan, would you stop that?"

"I don't mind showing my familiar mark," Drake said. "Though Kathy has a pretty neat one if she wants to show it."

Nathan looked at Mandy with a raised eyebrow, ignoring the annoyed look Keith was giving him.

"Sure," Mandy grabbed the bottom of her shirt and lifted it up, revealing a black mark with a touch of yellow to it on her left side. "My familiar is a black cat. Normally, I don't have her pulled in, but I've been out of the house a lot lately, so she was getting a bit annoyed, so I brought her inside of me."

Drake pulled down the collar of his shirt, revealing two separate familiar marks, one with brown and white, the other with brown and red, on his left and right breast, respectively.

"I have a falcon and an eagle," he said. "I'm an air magics focus, so they fit with my theme. Both have magical touches to them, so they're a bit smarter and more suited to being familiars than normal birds."

Kathy turned around and told Drake to show them, so he lifted up the back of her shirt as she held the front of it down. Nearly her entire back was covered in brown, white, and gold markings. While Mandy and Nathan didn't understand it, Keith gasped upon seeing them.

"That is your familiar?" He asked as Drake lowered her shirt, and Kathy fixed it as she turned back around. "How did you contract one?"

He had noticed that she possessed a lot of mana, as like with most, she wasn't talented at concealing it by pulling it completely inside of her. Despite that, he hadn't expected her to have contracted something as powerful as what those marks indicated. With his psychic powers, he could tell they weren't tattoos, either, but genuine familiar marks, and that Kathy didn't normally show them off.

"Wait," he realized. "Kathy? As in Katherine Deubar?"

"Yes," she smiled. "I'm Katherine Deubar, though I do prefer to go by my nickname."

"Is she famous, too?" Nathan asked.

"Sort of," Keith nodded. "Those marks are a griffin's."

"I'm not going to out yours," Kathy told Keith. "Even if you just announced it to a cafe full of mages what mine is, but my familiar's told me what yours is. At least, supposedly. It can be hard to tell if she's being honest or not."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Keith's eyes glowed for a few moments, then returned to normal.

"She's being honest," he told her. "If her mother's still alive, that makes her very old, if she knew mine from when he was contracted last time."

"Her mother is," Kathy told him. "She supposedly lives in Endariv's region, though, so I haven't met her."

"Really?" Keith asked, then looked at Nathan. "Next time you decide to antagonize the dragon, could you find out if a griffin named Zelia lives there?"

"Sure," Nathan returned his attention to the menu, then looked at the bartender and began ordering.

"Antagonize the dragon?" Drake asked Keith. "What did he do for that to be a joke?"

"Oh, that's not a joke," Keith told him. "Nathan quite literally told Endariv he needed a breath mint from about a foot away."

As soon as he said that, the atmosphere of the room filled with fear, everyone having been listening in the conversation already. It wasn't often that a famous mage was in the room, especially not one rumored to have a powerful familiar while being a talented and prodigal enchanter no one could forcing into joining them.

"And why does your strawberry-banana smoothie have mint in it?" Nathan asked the bartender, completely ignoring the stares he was receiving.

"Because that's how it's made," Keith told him.

"Please tell me you are joking," Kathy said.

"Nope," Keith looked at her. "Nathan's the kind of suicidal maniac who would do something like that. Thankfully, Endariv likes him, or he wouldn't have gotten away with it."

"Pretty sure the dragon-killing bomb was why I got away with it," Nathan said without taking his gaze off the bartender. "I'll have one of those smoothies, too. And decide if it should have mint in it or not after tasting it."

"I'm pretty sure you-know-who would have stopped Endariv from actually destroying anything," Keith rolled his eyes. "And with what I know, I seriously doubt Endariv would have actually gone on a rampage at your comments."

"Speaking of Merlin's familiars," Nathan unbuttoned the top half of his shirt. "My turn to show things off."

"What kind of familiar mark is that?" Drake asked.

"Where's Breezy's mark?" Keith asked.

"He's protecting Cyrus, remember?" Nathan asked.

"Right," Keith said. "I forgot about that. Nathan, don't!"

"Too late."

Ichtvar pulled out of Nathan's chest, and the demigod rubbed the phoenix's head.

"It's this kind of familiar mark," Nathan said.

"Hello," Ichtvar greeted the stunned group of young adults in the cafe, the bartender having stopped preparing Nathan's smoothies in his shock. "I am Ichtvar, and one of the three reasons Nathan here has not gone insane."

"That's the lie he's been telling himself lately," Nathan told Keith, then looked at the bartender. "I'm not tipping if you don't start working. Or if you screw up the smoothies, because those can't be that difficult to mess up."

"Nathan," Keith said. "In a room full of people who have guns, you just showed off the biggest, baddest, most powerful gun around. Wait. Did you seriously order a chocolate strawberry smoothie for Icthvar?"

"Yes."

"You did?" Ichtvar asked, then looked at the bartender. "I will be more appreciative of it than Nathan will be of the ones you are making for him."

The phoenix moved to the counter, then stretched its wings out for a moment. It tucked its wings back against its sides, then looked around the room, before turning its gaze to Keith.

"Yes, Nathan probably shouldn't have let me out," Ichtvar said. "But considering what you two are planning, it isn't that big of a deal. I'm all for moving up the timetable on it."

"I'm not," Keith said. "There's a reason we put it on a two-year timetable."

"I know," Ichtvar looked at Nathan. "You do understand what bringing me out means, don't you?"

"That people will know not to fuck with me?" Nathan asked. "No matter how much we want it a secret, there are people in the government know. It'll only be a few months before every major mage guild and organization in the world knows I have Ichtvar contracted, just like with me being a demigod."

"A demigod?" Mandy asked. "You're back on that 'son of a sex god' thing?"

"Nathan, you choose to reveal the worst things to reveal," Keith told his friend. "You should have not said that stuff, because now, you're going to get a lot of unwanted attention. And that's before word spreads. While we're in here."

Nathan held up a hand and summoned an orb of force magic, the pure-white coloration of it drawing everyone's attention. The experienced mages in the room turned on their magic sight, identifying it immediately as being pure force magic, unaffected by any alterations to it.

"White magic," Kathy said. "Just like Merlin."

"Half-brothers," Keith sigh. "And Nathan wasn't joking about who his father is. They were both the sons of sex gods, and demigods are the ones who have white magic. Whether you believe us or not, that's another matter."

Nathan and Keith spent the next hour answering questions, the psychic surprised by Nathan's calmness regarding the attention he received as a result of the reveals. While some of the mages present were still skeptical, most in the cafe or who showed up after seemed to accept what was stated. The presence of the phoenix helped to alleviate some suspicion, especially with Ichtvar confirming some of what was said.

Keith decided not to tell people that Ichtvar also had a tendency to lie about things, including important things. As Nuenar had said, Ichtvar lied about the stuff regarding things outside of the universe. The psychic had later confirmed what was said about the Well of Souls being true, but none of anything Ichtvar said regarding other things was.

Other than about the Well of Souls, the only thing Keith could confirm was the Guild, and the only thing the older phoenix would tell him was that the Guild had to do with phoenixes, Ichtvar included.

Once Nathan grew tired of being questioned, he tipped the bartender and told Keith they were leaving. Ichtvar flew back into his chest, and the demigod buttoned his shirt back up and fixed his tie, then left the cafe. Keith followed him out and into his car, then looked at the demigod.

"You know," Keith said. "You took all of that questioning rather well. No lashing out at anyone, no snapping, no growling, yelling, cussing, or anything else like that. I'm impressed, to be honest."

Nathan let out a heavy breath, letting his head hit the rim of his steering wheel.

"Did I really do that good?" He asked as Keith tried to figure out the reaction.

"Yeah," Keith answered. "Why do you seem upset?"

"I'm not," Nathan answered. "I'm relieved."

He turned his head and looked at the psychic.

"I tried putting what you told me into play," Nathan told his friend. "As practice for when you and I are being questioned as the leaders of Hunter-Ingram Magictech. Magical Technologies. Whatever the fuck we decided. Now I'm drained. Let's swap seats. You drive. I'm napping on the way back. And when we get back."

"Nathan," Keith said. "We can assign someone to PR for us so we don't have to deal with that. That said, I'm rather proud of you for making that effort, and I know Samantha will be, too. I just hope you're ready to deal with what'll happen as a result of you being a demigod and having a phoenix familiar being known."

"Probably not much, if I avoid people," Nathan muttered, eliciting a laugh from Keith.

"Alright," Keith began to exit the car. "Let's swap seats. I'll drive back."