Hank decided to be tactful and knock on Wyatt's door. He must be on the outs with more than just me since he usually just makes his own door and barges in wherever or whenever he pleases. A girl roughly Alina's height, maybe a little shorter, answered the door. She had a big smile on her face and short black hair.

"Goood mornin' mornin Mr. Travers!"

Huh, she's got one of those charming backwoods accent going on for her. Seems like a peach.

"And... Well, blow me down! Come on in stranger!" She swings the door wide open and starts to wave us inside. Not sure if she knows me or just knows of me.

I give here a brief salute. "Tyson. Sorry I'm not sure we've met."

She frowned at that slightly. "Carla Crane, future ranger at your service! No worries at all Tyson it's good to see you walkin' around all normal-like. I'd say you're lookin mighty confident now too strollin' in here like that."

Like what? "Thanks Carla, it's a pleasure." I walk past her to catch up with Hank and see Wyatt with his back turned on his work desk with a tall drink of water in a stylish ensemble, who was pointing things out and talking into his ear.

"I'm trying to tell you Thompson, we don't have a lot of materials to work with from the plaza and we can't waste them on big bulky pieces of equipment."

"I'm telling you, I'm short on time and I have to make what I can while I still have the chance. Now are you gonna like the circuits on this thing or are you going to give me more work to do?" Wyatt spat back.

She tutted and leaned back away from him. "I'm sure you drive all of the girls wild with that mouth of yours. I'll see what I can do with this." She took an armful of parts from him and strut her way past us. "Good day Mr. Travers. Welcome back Mr. Martyr, I hope you this is the second stop you're making today or someone's likely to be upset with you."

"Yeah, good morning to you too..." The heck was that about? She didn't even turn to look at us as she make her way out.

"Seeya round Lory! Thanks for doin' your part." Carla waved after her.

Wyatt was so sucked into his tinkering that he hadn't acknowledged us yet.

"Mr. Thompson." Hank cleared his throat.

Wyatt whipped around in his chair. "This better be good Trav-" He locked eyes on me, and his face screwed up a bit.

"Yeah, I'm processing a lot too. Sorry I didn't keep my word, dying and stuff. I got washed before I even had a chance to try out the gizmo you made for me."

He chuckled, "I'm mean, it doesn't seem like you forgot me or what happened, so we're more or less square. I can't believe you're back. You should've said something if you just needed some time on the bench. Why're you half naked by the way? You lose all your shirts when you kicked the bucket?"

I looked down and realized what he was yapping about. "Hell Hank, you couldn't at least tell me I'm still wearing my death shirt? I've been walking around with the goods on display right down the middle! What are people gonna think of me?"

"I didn't take you for the bashful sort. My apologies." Hank retorted, totally deadpan. " Ms. Crane, may I pet your faithful friend?" He motioned towards a green dog that was curled up in the corner.

"As long as he lets ya, be my guest! I was fixin' to pick your brain about some movement enhancement arts anyways if you don't mind."

Wyatt and I exchanged a glance. We'd talk about him later.

"So, what've I missed?"

Wyatt gave me a rundown of what happened since I've been out of commission. The dude whose pinky I broke was allegedly a direct descendant of Rohan Strauss, patriarch of the Strauss royal family of mages, and former world conqueror. Alina and Alice finished of Buchanan, and Pinky Strauss' body was cannibalized and used to fuel a sealing ritual that has reduced Alina's output and left her with just her wind affinity. That was all after Alina saw me get killed and manifested her full power as the Maiden. Which Travers probably new about the whole damn time. Since then, most of the students have fled the area due to the pending Strauss invasion, and basically, we gotta power up and fight some more.

A few things didn't sit right with me at all during that little recap. Everybody one their fights but me. That's a bit of an ego buster. What's worse, me biting the dust blew Alina's cover and put her through a whole mess to include finding out that some tyrant of old not only thinks they are supposed to be married, but actively plans to "start a family" with her.

"How has she been since all of this shit happened to her?"

Wyatt shrugged. "She was pretty down in the dumps about everything. Probably still is, but she knows if she just keels over and doesn't prepare to defend herself, the world as we know it is due for some bad times. She doesn't really talk to me about that kind of thing, mostly Alice. I guarantee this though, she'll probably perk up once you show your ugly mug. I think you being gone is what hurt the most. I know that was the case for me and Kurt."

Feeling a little guilty I smiled at that. "Never thought you'd miss me if I up and disappeared."

He threw a piece of scrap at me from his desk. Which I managed to catch thanks to bonding with Lornas I guess. I hadn't noticed, but since I'd come back, I've been passively casting a thin aura around myself.

"Don't be an asshole," Wyatt warned. "That much should go without saying. You think I make custom stuff for just anybody?"

I pointed a finger at him "You literally used to do that for girls in your class!"

He didn't react. "Did that for money, strictly business to support my bigger projects. Which reminds me, I aughta get back to it."

He sat back down and resumed his work. "Seriously though, go see Alina, and Kurt while you're at it."

"You should come with us! We can all have a brainstorm about how to prepare."

He waved me away without looking back. "Already have a game plan, you're just icing on the cake now. Also, I'd rather die than see Kurt when I'm in such a good mood."

I crossed my arms. "It's like that? Could have sworn you guys were a perfect pair for a bromance."

"Yeah, stay out of the matchmaking biz. That blowhard fuckin' sucks. Not worth my time."

"Oof must've been bad."

"You don't know the half of it. If anything, it makes me more thankful you're back, someone I can rely on. As long as you figure out how to actually win a fight." He smirked.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

That struck a nerve. "The way I see it, I've got a perfect record on both of you scrubs. I just had a bad matchup is all. Pretty sure it was also a sneak attack. Anyways, where's Alina?"

"She's been training with Kurt the last few days. If you can find one, you can find the other." Give her my best and let her know I've got something for her when she gets the time.

I raised an eyebrow at that. " You're more generous than I give you credit for. Why not just take your switch out and send for her?"

"There's a chance she'll bring the idiot, and I'm in a more constructive mood. That'll all go out of the window if I see him and start blasting."

I snap my finger in acknowledgement. "Heard, buddy. You should really give hm another shot though. Hank, I need a lift to wherever Alina is. Do you have a way to sense her?"

"Why not just take your switch out and send for her?" Wyatt mocked.

"And ruin the surprise that her best buddy is alive and well? Have some taste, Thompson.

He raised an inappropriate finger at that. Then Hank chimed in once he finished petting the dog and advised that he had a door at the ready for Alina and Toby's usual training spot.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?!"

* * *

I should try my hand at being a teaching assistant. Tobias' proficiency has skyrocket over the last few days of training sessions with me. If I'm being honest, I'm not so sure I can stave him off from eventually landing that one hit on me. Hopefully by then he realizes that he doesn't need to rely on a focus as powerful as the one I grabbed from him to be able to make a difference. I'd say I've made and impressive amount of improvement on my own, but I can't help but be a little bit envious of Tobias' ability to pick up on techniques after a few attempts.

"I hope you're ready to hand that thing over Ferreri, I can feel this next one being it!" He started with a straightforward dash to close the distance between us. He thinks he's being sneaky, but I was him activating the glyph scripts on his shoes when he was pretending to make sure they were tied properly. Right before he gets within striking range, the glyphs on his sneakers activate and jets of fire burst out of the heels as he starts to fly circles around me. I keep my calm and watch him carefully, simultaneously letting magis seep out of my pores, spreading it out in as wide of a range as I can manage.

Tobias begins to twist, spin and kick at me using his jets to change direction on the fly. He came up with this a couple of days ago, touting the pattern of attack as his own unique style.

"Jet style!"

I respond by generating warding wind shields and making each strike divert from their intended trajectory. Once he overextends himself, I put a greater amount of force into my wind shield motion and throw him off balance before throwing an open palm strike towards his chest with extended range from my wind emission. A fist-sized bar of twisting win drills into his back and he gasps before being blasted back where he started.

"You're doing better, but I've already seen that. Kicking harder and faster isn't going to get you where you think you want to be. Imagine if I had just hit you with stone or lightning! You're at the level where you can't just rely on out executing your opponent, you have to make every move a step towards your next. Have plan!"

The smirk on his face told me that he'd already had something in mind. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I read that in a book or something recently. It's called a misdirection!" He took a finger and pointed above me, revealing a massive ball of flames a hundred or so feet above me and approaching at an alarming speed.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't impressed. The seemingly wasteful flourishes he made while he was throwing all of those kicks, he used them to stockpile emissions into the air where I wouldn't be paying attention and then compiled them into one attack so big I don't have a way to avoid it without leaving the training yard altogether. I began to forge a spinning orb of wind in each palm and raised them to the sky while packing them as densely as I'm able without losing control of them.

"Compounded emissions while maintaining a melee? You're dazzling me today, Tobias!" I shouted as I observed as he put some more energy into a denser flame ward around his body. He thinks he's cinched this huh? Well, I've come to find that whenever a student starts to get a little too sure of theirself, it can be healthy for their development to remind them of the gap between them and their teacher. Or as Tyson would say, "Sometimes you just have to flex on a bozo and remind them of the pecking order."

By this time, I had flooded the atmosphere of the training yard with my own magis. Tobias was occupying a domain, and he wasn't aware at all. With that mass of flame oriented magis diving right into the epicenter, this was basically a formal donation of magis to mingle with my wind based magis. I always think it's so embarrassing when Tobias calls out the names of his arts as he uses them, but it looks really fun to do. Plus, if I win with it, it can't be too stupid, right? I crouch down and slam each air ball into the ground beneath me, causing a massive burst of wind to encapsulate the landscape that swept up all of the magis intermingling in the area.

"Flash Storm: Burning Hurricane!"

I look up to see Tobias' jaw drop as the fireball he conjured got stripped apart and assimilated into the bands of wind that now whipped through the courtyard. He readied a flame shield as he was pushed back several feet. "Hot damn Ferreri, you're a freaking monster!"

I couldn't keep the grin from curling up my lips, that was just the beginning and I'm having way too much fun. It's about time I claimed this round though. After sustaining the blustering inferno for roughly half a minute, I focused and brough the storm closer to me, concentrating all the energy that had been put in play. I then dash directly in front of Tobias who is still preoccupied with maintaining his shield. I put both of my palms together and then thrust them forth with my command.

"Break!"

The concentrated remainder of the firestorm barreled into Tobias' shield and sent him crashing into the nearby wall, causing him to drop his defense and gasp for air. I put my hands on my hips and waited patiently as he caught his breath and stood back up.

"You really are somethin' else. I thought I had you for sure with that set up, but all I did was set you up. Thanks for another lesson I won't forget. " He bowed to me... He's never been this formal before, it's making me a little nervous.

"Ah! well, you wouldn't have seen me do that much if you hadn't pulled it out of me with your rapid growth. You should be proud Tobias!"

He chuckled at that. "Yeah, no kidding, it's only a matter of time before I pull somethin' off where you won't know what the heck hit you!"

A low whistle shocked us both out of our laughter.

"Sheesh Toby, you're gonna leave me in the dust at this rate, and I had no clue Alina could be so scary. Did you see that devilish grin she had when she pulled that off?"

Tyson with was on the rooftop with Mr. Travers, with that big dumb smile on that face of his. He...

"You're alive!"

He jumped down to greet us, but I don't know what came over me. I controlled wind at my feet and flew straight to him giving him the biggest, hardest hug I've ever given someone who wasn't my dad or my brother.

"Oof! Alina, you're... It's... I missed you too."

He hugged me bag just as hard, I didn't notice before, but tears were streaming down my face. "Ugh, sorry I'm ruining your shirt." I apologized as we landed together, and I start to pull away. My chest tightened when he didn't let go of me.

"I don't mind, it's Wyatt's. It's a little too small for me anyways." He laughed while avoiding eye contact.

"Good to have you back my guy!" Tobias smiled as he strolled over. "We've got tons to catch up on."

"So I've heard. Word on the street is that you and Thompson are on the outs with each other."

Tobias flushed at the mention of that. "You couldn't think of anything else you wanted to talk about? Sure, we're definitely not on as good terms as you and Ferreri over here but I'll have you know I plan to make things right next time I see the guy. Don't you worry." He affirmed while crossing his arms.

I look up at Tyson, flustered. It looks like he also hadn't noticed we had still been holding on to each other. His eyes widen for a moment and then he gently pushes me back a step before jumping away as a wall of razor-sharp ice occupies the spot he had just been standing in.

"Who in the depths do you think you are fondling her like that?! You degenerate!"

We all look in the direction of the outrage to see a young man with dark hair wearing a black leather jacket, black jeans, a white t-shirt, and wielding a two-pronged staff that is coated with frost.

"I won't ask again you jerk! Who do you think you are that you can put your hands on my big sister and get away with your life!"

Oh heaven and earth... it's Grey...