Drugs?

Tyvan? And drugs?

“What? No!” Shay shouted.

Of course, she didn’t know that Tyvan didn’t do drugs, for sure. But he wasn’t that kind of guy! And he didn’t look anything like a strung-out junkie like the ones in TV commercials.

“If he doesn’t do drugs,” Dad said, “then he probably plays the field. Trust me, Shay, that’s what rich kids do.”

“He’s not like that,” Shay murmured.

--but immediately after, she realized just how many women co-workers she had. Before, she thought it was empowering. But when she thought about it, every woman who worked with Tyvan was older, taller, prettier, and more competent than she was.

“AND on top o’ that,” Dad said even louder, “he probably listens to that loud, obnoxious noise you kids call music!”

...Shay slowly tilted her head to the side.

Dad wasn’t trying to make sense. Just like when he was criticizing his fellow officers, he was just making wild, prejudiced accusations. It was probably okay to ignore basically everything he said over the past five minutes.

“Shay,” Dad said... “is your new boss one of Song Wei’s people?”

Oof. Couldn’t ignore that so easily.

Shay pursed her lips, thinking about what the correct answer would be. Grandpa Wei’s side of the family never treated them well, even though Grandpa, himself, didn’t have much to do with it.

But... Grandpa would be a good explanation for how she got a well-paying office job with a boss who freely handed out steakhouse gift cards.

Also, Tyvan was technically one of Grandpa Wei’s people. ❴The Kingdom❵-- or rather, the Solaris Group had a business contract with the Song Family. Shay got to watch Tyvan set up the magic formation protecting the family estate. He drew circles and weird runes on the bricks using chalk and a sparkling, multi-colored dust that disappeared as soon as he wrote with it.

But before Shay could give her dad a response, he shook his head.

“Nevermind about that guy,” he said. “I’ll tell you what, Shay. I work with a kid that’s... pretty close to your age. I’ll introduce you to him sometime.”

Shay trusted her dad with a lot of things. She trusted him to do cop stuff. She trusted him to give a crap about her.

But she did not trust him to take care of himself like a proper adult would.

...Also, (and more relevant,) she didn’t trust his taste in guys.

And why was he even talking about a younger officer? According to him, every young guy on the force was incompetent garbage.

“Alright, fine,” Shay said. “What are his hobbies?”

“Being a pain in the ass,” Dad frowned. That meant he had no idea.

“What’s he look like, then?”

“Appearances aren’t everything,” he replied. That meant he was probably hideous.

“Okay. What’s his... ethnicity?”

Dad furrowed his brows, his eyes drifting to the side.

“He’s uh... Asian.”

“What kind of Asian?”

“H... half,” Dad said. He was looking everywhere but at her.

It was yet another thing he didn’t know.

Shay leaned over the table. “What color are his eyes, Dad?”

“Alright, I get your point,” he groaned, “but I’m tellin’ you, Shay-- this kid’s a lot better than whatever schmuck you’ve got your eye on now.”

Shay shook her head, but put on a gentle smile on her dad’s behalf. He meant well-- and she was mature enough to recognize that.

“You don’t know that, for sure. But I like the guy I like because he’s really cool when he’s working. And he’s really kind to me and everyone else. And I’m happy to be around him.”

“That... that doesn’t really mean anything,” Dad tried to argue.

“It means the world to me,” Shay grinned. “Those are all things I like about you.”

Dad’s eyes widened and he looked-- almost confused. After a bit of thinking, he sat back in his chair, rolling his shoulders.

“D’ah... well. Alright,” he said. He took a deep breath and stared down at his plate, “I guess I’m not winning this argument, either.”

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The young lady crouched on the mat, her arms covering her head.

“I’m sorry!” she yelled.

Briar Rose... without her piercings, wearing the white of her martial arts gi, and cowering in a corner-- she was reminiscent of the Briar Rose in the not-too-distant past.

Ṣafiyya took a step back, covering her mouth with her palm.

“Ohoho. ThaaAt’s new~”

“That’s enough,” Tyvan said.

Ṣafiyya took off the featureless mask worn for training, revealing an amused expression and a cat-like smirk. It wisped away, its form reabsorbed by her quartz necklace.

Hearing the zzint of the magic, Briar Rose shook her head and looked up, her shock and fear replaced with anger and frustration.

“Boss! I can still fight!”

She stood up but her legs continued to shake. Despite her insistence, she was in no condition to continue.

Tyvan hadn’t seen that reaction in months. So many days and multiple training sessions throughout had worn down her mental defenses.

“We’re done for the evening,” he said.

Briar Rose plopped backward onto the dojo’s safety mat, her arms splayed to the side. A weak moan escaped her lips, something between a groan of relief and a wordless complaint.

Her body would heal. Her mind, however... Hm.

“Ṣafiyya, return to your regular duties,” he said. “Not a word of this to anyone.”

“Aye aye, sir!” Ṣafiyya saluted. She handed her quartz necklace back to him, leaning in to whisper, “Let me know if you guys need anything, ‘kay?”

“I don’t need your help!” Briar Rose cried meekly. “And your riddles are dumb!”

“Oh, yeah?” Ṣafiyya spun around, cracking her knuckles. “What’s got two claws and is about to kick your lily-white--”

“Miss Ṣafiyya,” Tyvan glared. “Dismissed.”

“Ehehehe... Aw. By your leave, Lord Protector~”

The overly enthusiastic child hurried off the tatami mat, turning to make a quick bow, before gathering her shoes and leaving.

Tyvan sighed as he knelt beside Briar Rose.

The young lady’s trauma stemmed from circumstances that occurred many years prior... circumstances which neither he nor Bishop would ever allow her to suffer again.

Those scars were deep and long-lasting, and... perhaps would never heal completely. Nevertheless, the healing process had begun-- and only recently. The her of the past year was dramatically different from when they first met.

Tyvan furrowed his brows. Comparatively, Bishop didn’t seem to change much, at all.

He checked Briar Rose’s condition. Her outer right thigh was tender from where Ṣafiyya struck her. Older bruises from the previous suns were healing properly.

He retrieved their duffel bags and gave the young lady her towel, her colourful sports drink, and a... cereal bar-- of which, he had four.

Bah. He had three. That brat, Ṣafiyya, must have taken one.

“Have you been motivated by the new hire?”

Briar Rose squirmed where she laid and sighed wearily.

“S... something like that,” she said, “Then there’s the fact that-- that my partner has been begging me to spend time with them? Otherwise, I’d definitely go with you guys to that thing on Saturday.”

Tyvan nodded in thought. So it was a simple issue of hours invested. Reasonable.

“I’m off to check on the other two,” he said. “Clean up here before you leave.”

“I’m... just gonna lie here for now? --if you don’t mind?”

Tyvan smiled politely. “If you fall asleep, I’ll have your brother carry you back”

Briar Rose scrambled to her side, sitting up on her knees. “I won’t fall asleep!”

“Or shall I carry you back?”

Her face twisted into a childish pout. “If you carry me back, can you not carry me on your shoulders?”

“Have a good evening, Briar Rose,” Tyvan smiled.

The shoulder carry was the the most efficient way of transporting a bipedal humanoid.

He walked off, entering the door adjacent to the dojo... and onto the archery range.

Jiang was halfway across the field, width-wise. He cowered behind an archery target-- though not directly adjacent to it. Four arrows had pierced through the tightly-packed straw-- revealing... a triangular arrowhead.

Heidi wasn’t using blunted arrows.

Hm...

That was odd, but Tyvan trusted her judgement. If the worst were to occur, he was sure that Heidi would prepare the loveliest flower arrangement for Jiang’s funeral.

“It’s you!” the boy screamed-- “you pompous aSshoLe! Wait ‘till my father hears about this!”

Tyvan found it rather droll, Jiang mentioning his father. The senior Jiang was, in fact, curious about his son’s martial journey. However, it was not out of concern-- rather, he had his own fantastical ideas for martial training.

He suggested meditating underneath a freezing waterfall and... hopping across the tops of bamboo poles, tens of metres high. Comparatively, the training undergone by the junior Jiang was rather tame.

--err... until Heidi started using proper arrowheads.

Tyvan waved his second packaged cereal bar. “I suppose you’d like some sustenance, Mister Jiang.”

“Is that a fucking gRaNoLa bar?!” Jiang cried, “Are you fucks trying to STARVE me?!”

That was an easily disproven theory. The young man’s issued rations amounted to a higher caloric intake than his height and build suggested.

The hunger was real-- Tyvan recognised that. It was a natural result from a series of factors: the stress of an extreme life-style change, the young man’s naturally high metabolism, and perhaps... Heidi’s hibiscus tea.

(He tried it. Didn’t like it.)

After little more than a week, Jiang had begun to show visible improvements. His face had slimmed down and his movements grew more precise. But most importantly, there was a peculiar fire in his eyes that replaced his general melancholy.

That was what Tyvan hoped to cultivate.

He opened the cereal bar packaging, basking in the sweet scent of honey and dried cranberries.

“Don’t you DARE!” Jiang yelled.

Tyvan raised his chin. “Come and take it.”