Sera walked into the academy in the morning, her gaze downcast and heart twisting in her chest. Maybe he won't say it today, and we can just keep going the way we have been.

She walked up the stairwell, her eyes flicking back and forth as she tried to process through it all. She was almost at the third floor when she heard the one voice that she wasn't ready for.

"Hey Sera."

She looked up to see Nick standing a few steps up. Her eyes widened, and she managed a smile. "Good morning, Nick."

"Could we talk?"

Her heart nearly burst. No, no, no, no, no! She turned away from him. "I forgo-" she yelped as her foot slipped. Nick tried to grab her wrist, but missed. He leapt and caught her midair, twisting himself so he'd be between her and the floor. They crashed to the floor, and he groaned.

She quickly moved off of him. "I'm so sorry!"

He sat up, and let out a breath. "They just polished the floors."

He stood up, and held out his hand to her. She stared at it for a moment, then took it. He helped her to her feet, but she winced and started to lose her balance again. He pulled her in.

"Hurt your leg?"

She nodded.

"Alright," he said. He swiftly picked her up.

"What are you doing?" She exclaimed.

"Taking you to the infirmary," he said. "You shouldn't be walking on it."

She fell silent, and looked away from him and nodded. He carried her through the hallways, students giving them strange looks as they went.

"We're supposed to get a cold snap today," Nick said as he walked.

"How bad?"

"We may be locked in the building for a few hours," Nick said. "But I'm sure Cyrus, Eterna and Helia will show up to melt it if it gets too bad."

"Mh."

He reached the infirmary and entered to find it empty. He put her down on one of the beds, then pulled out his phone, but the screen was blank.

"I guess it's already started," he said as he walked over to the window and looked out. "You must've gotten here just in time."

He’s avoiding it... He's going to-

"What did you forget?" Nick asked.

The lights suddenly went out, and frost started to form on the inside of the window.

"Of course..." He muttered. He turned to the door and went to try to open it, but the handle snapped.

"What're you doing?" Sera exclaimed.

"The metal got incredibly brittle," Nick said. He closed his eyes, then heat waves radiated off of his body.

"That's because the spell that protects the mechanism from tampering wears out the material," Sera said.

He walked over and sat beside her. He went to put his arm around her, but she flinched. He paused, then continued. "I'm guessing the rest of the door handles in here are the same?"

She nodded. The ice reached out and covered the surfaces of the cupboards and cabinets, but it didn't reach them.

"Why..?"

Nick cleared his throat. "Probably the same reason I need Nereus to access my magic."

"Oh," Sera said quietly in the dark.

"Well, I guess I can test something out... You probably don't want to watch."

She blinked. "Nick, please-"

She went still as his other side opened up and produced a large fur pelt. His side closed back up, and he held it up.

"Is this... You?"

"Try not to think about it," he said. She looked at it for a moment longer. "Just imagine I'm hugging you without a shirt on," Nick said. She closed her eyes for a moment, and he shook his head with a smirk as she nodded and he pulled the blanket around them.

"Y'know, that would actually help," she said.

"Stripping?" Nick replied. "I appreciate the forwardness, but-"

"I'm serious!" She said. "Rules of heat preservation are to have a barrier between yourself and the ground, and if you have one or more other people, then skin to skin contact will share and retain heat better."

He scratched his chin, then looked down at the bed. "Well, we've got the barrier from the ground."

She glanced up at him repeatedly, and he let out a breath. He took off his jacket and loosened his tie.

"W-what are you doing?"

"It was your idea," he said as he took off his button shirt. He wore a thin t-shirt underneath that, then took off his pants. He sat back down on the bed, then looked up at her, one eyebrow raised.

"Okay," she said. He looked away as she undressed. She placed a hand on his shoulder to steady herself from her ankle, and then she climbed onto the bed with him. Wrapping themselves in the blanket, he held her tight.

Please don't hear my heart! she pleaded in her mind.

She suddenly became aware of Nick's steady heartbeat, the rhythm drawing her in and slowing her own to match. She settled into him, the curves of her body like a river through the land of his. She suddenly paused as she felt something press against her hip.

"Nick?" She asked.

"Hmm?"

"Are you-"

"Anatomy lesson," Nick said. "Despite female misconceptions, guys have literally no control over that."

"So having a gorgeous, half naked woman alone in your arms has nothing to do with it?"

He was quiet for a moment, and she heard his heart flutter. She smiled, and nuzzled his chin. "Thank you for being a gentleman."

"No problem," he said. "But could you maybe shift a little..."

She shifted slightly so her hips weren't pressed so hard against his.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome," she said. "But if I get colder, I'm going right ba-oh!"

"What?"

She shifted nervously. "Please don't play with my tail like that."

"I wasn't playing with it," he said. "I was moving it to help with our core warmth."

She let out a shaky breath. "Okay, but a little warning next time."

He was quiet for a moment. "Did it hurt?"

"No. The opposite, actually…" she said. "But there's a reason most canis and feline types don't let others play with their tails."

"It's an 'on' button?" He asked.

"No!" She said as she lightly smacked his chest. "Sharply pulling on it hurts, but in certain circumstances... It's... Situational." She glanced to the side a few times. "It's like how when a... A..." She trailed off, and Nick could feel the heat radiating off of her.

"Like the difference between when I kiss Ashley on the cheek and when I kiss you on the cheek?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Like, Ashley could comb my tail, and I wouldn't feel much, but if you..."

God, she can't finish a single thought. Ran through his mind.

"Good to know," Nick replied. He smiled. "I might have to use that later on."

"What?" She asked.

"You tease me all the time," Nick said. "And now..."

She looked up at him, shock flashing across her eyes, then she lowered her head. "Well, if it's you..."

Nick chuckled. "You get bashful at the strangest times."

"It's your fault I'm like this," she said.

He looked down at her. "Really?"

She was silent a moment. "Okay, not your fault. But you're a part of it."

"Heat Week?"

She nodded. "I feel like... I'm seeing everything through someone else's eyes. Like it isn't my body sometimes when I... Get real forward with you. Then I come back, and I'm kinda embarrassed, but that doesn't feel like it's me either. Like I don't know who I am anymore. It's..."

"Frustrating?" Nick offered.

"Frightening."

Nick gently squeezed her. "I know who you are."

She looked up at him. "Who's that?"

"Seraphina Aala," Nick said. She tilted her head slightly, her brow furrowed. Her lips parted to speak, but he placed a finger against her lips. "You are still you, Sera. You're just more than who you were. I can't say I understand what you're going through, but I do know you." He paused. "And I'd be lying if I said I didn't like how you're growing."

She twisted onto her stomach and stared into his eyes. "Really?"

"Sometimes you're so confident it makes my head spin," he said. "All the times you flirt, and tease. And when you stand up for me and others, I can't help but feel a sense of pride just in knowing you. But then you flip, and you get embarrassed over the things you'd just said with incredible confidence only moments before, or you show how much what someone did or said really affected you, and then I want to protect you from the world, and it's all I have to keep from trying to just... Fix all your problems."

"This is surprisingly vulnerable of you," Sera said.

He paused, then looked away. "Yeah, well, I'm new to this."

She snuggled up to him more, her ears brushing against his jaw. "Then I'll just have to draw it out of you."

He was quiet for a moment. "You were going to use breastfeeding to explain the tail thing, weren't you?"

"Nick!"

"What? It was the only other thing that made sense within the context of the situation."

She shook her head. "Sometimes..."

He smiled. "You know you love me."

"Oh, we'll see if you're still saying that after I-" she started to tickle his sides, and he began to squirm.

"Stop it!"

He grabbed both her hands and wrapped them around her as he held her in place. He only got a few breaths when he started to squirm again, using all of his strength to suppress the laughter. She suddenly let out a yelp.

"We just talked about the-" she went silent, and she held her breath.

"Your tail became fair game the moment you used it as a weapon."

Her cheeks went red, and she glanced back up at him as her lips started to tremble. "Okay, okay, okay... Just... Mm..."

He let go of her tail, and both tried to catch their breath.

"How did you know to do that?" Nick asked between breaths.

"Eterna said I should if you ever get too frisky."

Nick closed his eyes and tilted his head back. "Oh, I'm gonna have to get her back for that."

"She didn't say it'd be so effective, though..." Sera said.

He nodded. "My nerves are renewed almost daily. I basically have the nerves of a newborn, feeling absolutely everything, unfiltered." He glanced at her. "Sort of like how your hearing is."

"Oh," she said quietly, disappointment in her eyes. "So no tickles?"

He let out a breath. "I'll put you on the whitelist."

"Sounds official," she said.

"And prestigious," Nick said. "There was only one member before."

"Ashley?"

"Ashley."

"Not Eterna?"

He cleared his throat. "I, uh... I may have clocked her when she did that to me. She hasn't tried since."

Sera blinked. "So she told me to..."

"Don't think too hard about it," Nick said. "She's the type who sees intentionally testing relationships as growth."

They were quiet for a while.

"So..." Sera began.

"So?"

"About us?"

"You're laying half naked in a bed with me, Sera."

She turned and propped herself up a bit to look in his eyes. "It's not the first time."

Nick smiled. "Hopefully it won't be the last."

"I want to hear you say it," Sera said, her eyes dead serious and expectant. "No quips, no jokes, no room for interpretation."

Nick stared back into her eyes, and she could feel his heart pounding through his chest. "I..." He took in a breath. "I love you, Sera."

She moved forward slightly, and her lips met his. She drew out the kiss as long as she could. She then smiled, her face above his now. "I love you too, Nick." She then moved back slightly and lay her head on his chest.

"Is that what you've been worried about?" He asked as he ran his fingers through her hair.

She nodded. "I was scared you didn't want me."

"Enough that you fell down the stairs?" Nick asked.

"I bit right through your ear after an almost perfect day," Sera said. She looked up at him and reached for his ear. "Does it still hurt..?" Her fingers found the stud, and she paused.

"I was thinking of getting a piercing anyways," Nick said with a wink. "I am curious, though, why you actually bit me."

"Instinct," she said quietly.

"Like when you were hunting me, and stuff like that?"

She nodded.

"You aren't going to start chasing your tail, are you?"

"No, I grew out of that when I was three," she said absently.

He paused, then chuckled.

She looked up him. "What's so funny?"

"I'm just imagining you, now, chasing your tail."

She nuzzled his chin. "Is that what you're imagining?"

She may still be settling out a bit, Nick thought. Was this really a good idea? No, it was. She chose me, and I chose her. If she realizes later she isn't actually interested, she can just tell me.

The door suddenly opened, and they noticed the frost had retreated. Eason stood in the doorway and frowned at the broken handle, then looked up to see Nick and Sera.

"Oh, my apologies. A tie on the door next time would be appreciated."

"No, we-" Sera began.

"I knew I was forgetting something," Nick said. Sera shot a betrayed glance his way as he stood up.

Eason pulled the curtain around their bed, then turned to his desk. "We'll have some students coming in with frostbite soon, so you may want to get dressed before they get here."

Nick and Sera quickly started putting their clothes back on, and Nick absorbed the fur blanket back into himself.

"That's still off putting," Sera said as she pulled the curtain back.

"Imagine how it feels for me," Nick said with a slight shiver. They walked out of the infirmary, her fingers interlocked with his.

"What time is it?" She asked. "Like, what should we be doing right now?"

"Well-"

The academy intercom chimed, and a woman’s voice crackled through. "Nikolaos Bren and Seraphina Aala, please make your way to the Headmaster's Office."

Both paused, and Sera looked up at him. "There aren't any cameras in the infirmary, right?"

Nick shook his head. "No, and Eason wouldn't have ratted us out. Besides, I don't think we'd get in trouble for what we did."

The message repeated, and they made their way through the academy, up to the third floor. Up on the third floor, Nick paused. "Where is the Headmaster's Office?"

"You don't know?" She asked.

He shook his head. "I've just been following you."

"Oh," she said. "You've passed it plenty of times before." She pointed to a set of doors directly in front of the stairs. "Opposite side to my old office."

They walked over to the doors and entered. A tiger feline-type looked up from her computer as they entered. "Go on in."

"Thanks, Cariah."

She nodded, then returned to her computer as she sipped some steaming coffee. Sera opened the door, and they both paused as they heard Leander shouting.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"The AMSD system needs to be revamped. I sent in a blueprint a few weeks ago, and-" he growled. "So what if the one who designed it is eleven? He's a genius, and if it works, then who cares!" His growl deepened. "I will take this up with your superiors, and in the meantime while people are getting hurt or dying, you can find a way to take your massive ego and shove it up your ass!" He slammed the phone down, took in a breath, let it out, and then turned to them. "I miss the days when I could just rip out the throats of my enemies."

"I'm pretty sure that's frowned upon here," Nick said, noting Leander's posture.

"Too true..." He muttered.

"Was that about Isaac's proposal?" Sera asked.

Leander nodded. "Yes. The bastards are too prideful to believe an eleven year old can come up with a better early warning system than them." He looked at Nick. "I have two favors to ask of the two of you today."

Sera paused. "Favors... From us?"

He nodded. "Firstly, those egghead's happen to answer directly to the Royal Science Minister, and I have no way of contacting him." He looked at Nick. "I know the Brens have close ties with the royal family."

"I'm not sure it's my place to-"

"I'm not saying to force them to do anything with the blueprints," Leander interrupted. "I just want the idea to be given due consideration. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. But if it does..." He smiled as much as his lion's muzzle would allow. "Many lives could be saved, and people wouldn't be as likely to get caught in the storms."

"Doesn't the system normally catch it within twenty four hours?" Nick asked.

"It usually does, which isn't good enough," he said. "And they're only sixty seven percent right about the type of storm, and they pretend they can guess the severity. This system will bring all of those numbers up significantly. Again, I just want someone to seriously consider it. That's all."

Nick thought a moment, and Sera squeezed his hand. He glanced at her, then nodded. "I'll be seeing my grandfather this weekend. Give me a copy of the blueprint, and I'll hand it off. If he thinks there's merit, I'm sure he'll pass it along."

"You have my gratitude," Leander said. "Now, the next favor is for both of you. Hallowed week is the week after next, and the Marcellus Academy has been chosen to lead the Hallowed Week Parade and opening ceremony this year. I thought that, perhaps, Sirene Winters and Leon Zephyr could perform for the opening ceremony, and give some pointers to the students performing on the float."

"Wanting to make a big splash for your first time?" Sera asked.

He nodded. "I am. To show the board members, and other parasites, that I have that kind of pull would help give me more sway. Especially if you can do it for free."

Sera shrugged. "I'm game." She looked at Nick. "If you are."

"It's been a bit since we sang together," Nick said. "Could be fun."

"What do you want in exchange?" Leander asked.

"Let's just leave it at an I.O.U. situation, and call it a day," Nick said.

He nodded. "Understood. Thank you both, again. I will get Cariah to send a copy of the ceremony itinerary to you, and I want you to also give any constructive feedback on it, if you wouldn't mind."

Sera nodded. "Sure thing."

"Is that all?" Nick asked.

He nodded. "We'll reconvene a few times between then and now to cover anything else."

Nick and Sera turned to go, and Leander cleared his throat.

"Mr. Bren, a moment."

He looked at Sera, who shrugged and left the room. Nick turned back. "Sir?"

"You've seen action, haven't you?"

Nick paused. "I'm sure you have access to my file-"

"No, before that worthless document was started," Leander said as he walked around his desk. "You have blood on your hands."

Nick swallowed. "I'm not sure what-"

Leander struck at Nick, but he deflected it and instinctively went to gut punch Leander. Leander's scorpion tail came up and took the brunt of the blow, and he grabbed Nick's arm. Nick dropped, using his weight to pull Leander down. He came out on top, his hand at Leander's throat as his other fist was raised, then he felt something tap his shoulder. He went still as the stinger from Leander's tail slowly moved into his peripheral vision over his shoulder, and Leander laughed.

"Good show."

Nick eyed him, then slowly stood up. Leander held out his hand, and Nick helped him to his feet.

"Why?"

Leander straightened his tie. "I like to know who I work with."

"So you wrestled all of the teachers?" Nick asked.

"No," Leander said. "Many have had their mandatory service paid for by family members, or come from lesser noble families, but I did for the ones that have served."

Nick watched him for a moment. "I wasn't a soldier."

"No, that much is obvious," Leander said. "You did wetwork."

Nick's jaw tightened. "What makes you say that?"

"You don't carry yourself like a soldier," Leander said. "But you recognized it in me the moment you saw me, and reacted in a way to endear yourself to me. Thus you have training to fit in with people."

"That's what spies do," Nick said.

"Yes," Leander said. "But you weren't too different from a Harbinger back on earth, were you?"

Nick fell silent.

"Mr. Bren, I am aware of the tumultuous situation between Miss Galen, Miss Aala, and yourself," Leander said. "I can help."

Nick shook his head. "I can manage."

"Maybe," Leander said. "But I'm not so sure about your friends."

Nick raised an eyebrow, and Leander took out a crystal and laid it on the table. The images of the three guys that had beaten Nayeli so badly Nick had to help her to the infirmary came up.

"These kids? I could care less, and you did it all by yourself, allegedly, of course," he said. "However." An image of Bella came up. "This student handed in a letter of termination and has disappeared. I know she was the source of much of your high school issues. I also know that she recently transferred to this school, and had started to meddle with you here as well. Magnus and Nayeli stepped up to protect you, of their own volition. However, the Cureson family is a sub-family of the Makkios, which puts the commoner Magnus, and barely noble, Nayeli, in a dangerous position, as I am not a noble."

"Are you blackmailing me?" Nick asked.

"No," Leander said. "I am bringing to your attention a situation that concerns me, and my students, and by extension you. However, if I owed someone in an equally, or more influential family, than the Makkios, and they were to ask me to eliminate all record of the events, then I, being a commoner, would have no choice but to comply."

Nick paused. "I think that, were such a person to exist, they would want you to do exactly that."

Leander let out a slight breath of relief. "Then this conversation never happened, and will never happen again with anyone."

"I feel like I just helped you almost as much as my friends."

Leander crushed the crystal, and clicked away on his computer. "A mutually beneficial relationship is usually the healthiest, especially when they can trust one another to protect their best interests. For example, there are many issues in this academy that I can't touch, and some that you can't."

"What about the disciplinary committee?"

"Miss Aala kept them on the righteous path," Leander said. "Miss Galen... She doesn't care about this academy."

"So, you'll cover for me if I have to handle things?" Nick asked.

Leander nodded. "I will do everything in my power."

"And if I decide I don't want to do that stuff?"

He eyed Nick. "You have the same itch I do, Mr. Bren. The desire... The need, to rage against the darkness around you. You have tried to use other methods to keep yourself from reaching your stress point, but you still reach it. Then, after you bring some light into the darkness, you're settled. We are the same, in that regard." Nick swallowed. Leander then straightened and held out one clawed hand. "I look forward to working with you, Mr. Bren."

Nick looked down at it, then shook it and left the room. He walked through, and Sera quickly caught up to him. "What was that about?"

Is he trying to trap me? No, he seemed relieved when I asked him to destroy the evidence. He's is in a tough spot as a commoner at the head of a relatively noble academy. How did he know about my past, though? He can't have made it high enough in the military to gain access to Eterna's file on me. He shook his head. I can't let myself go further down that path. Being Harbinger will expose me to it enough as it is, but I'll be able to keep that removed from Sera. If I start hunting here... But I already have done it here... He shook his head again, and Sera grabbed his hand. He stopped, and she walked into him.

"Sorry," Nick said as he turned around.

"A little warning next time," Sera said as she rubbed her nose. "What did Leander want to talk to you about?"

"He offered me something I wanted in exchange for one of my I.O.U.s."

"What was it?" She asked.

Nick kissed the tip of her nose, then turned and continued to walk. "Something I ought not to talk about, for his safety."

She blinked. "Okay. In any case, Leander is a good guy. He puts his moral code above all else."

"What code is that?" Nick asked.

"'It is the duty of the strong to protect the weak,'" she said. "'To bring a light into the darkness of this world in any way we can, and should anyone within our range be consumed by the shroud, it is our duty to cleanse, or excise them, as it was our failure that allowed them to fall.' Or something like that."

"Where did he serve?" Nick asked.

"The Fehlharbor front," Sera said as she shuddered. "Considering what he's seen and been through, I think he's rather well adjusted."

Nick slowly nodded. "If it was Fehlharbor... He was a military police officer, wasn't he?"

"Yeah, how did you..?"

"Eterna talked about Fehlharbor only one time," Nick said. "And it was to say that Sub-Harbingers are chosen from the men and women there who don't get corrupted."

"So Leander is..?"

Nick shook his head. "I don't know. I'll ask her about him later. For now..." He looked down at his phone. "Let's just head home. I should pick Ashley up."

Sera nodded. "Okay. I got the itinerary and blueprint from Cariah."

"Then we'll work on that tonight."

She squeezed his hand and leaned into his shoulder when his phone rang. He answered.

"What's up, Saul?" He paused. "Oh. Sure. No, I can do it, it won't take long. Yeah, see you two at the gate." He hung up, and Sera looked up at him.

"What does he want?"

"I offered to train Saul a bit to help Sasha with defending himself. He's finally decided to do it."

"Oh, right," Sera said. "I forgot about that."

"I wasn't sure he'd agree," Nick said. "He's more of a magic guy than physical."

"The exact opposite of you," Sera noted.

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Fernanda must be pretty persuasive," Sera said.

Nick let out a slow breath. "That she is." They found the Wenlows at the gate. Saul looked rather solemn, and Fernanda's anxiety peered through her otherwise neutral expression.

"Good afternoon, Nick," Saul said. He looked at Sera. "Will you be joining us?"

"If that's alright," Sera replied.

Saul noticed they were holding hands, then smiled and nodded. "Of course."

They started walking in the direction of the elementary school.

"That was a pretty rough cold snap," Fernanda said. "How did you two fair?"

Both Nick and Sera went slightly red. 

"We stayed warm," Nick said.

"Glad to hear it," Fernanda said. "A lot of students got frostbite."

"So Eason said," Nick replied. "What about you guys?"

Saul whistled, and a small stream of flame shout out from his mouth. "Our areas were kept warm. It took it out of me, though."

"I can imagine," Nick said.

"I thought you didn't run out of breath?" Saul asked.

"Oh, he definitely does," Sera said. She smiled. "You just have to know what buttons to push."

She looked up at Nick and winked while he tried to retain a neutral expression. They reached the elementary school, and Ashley and Sasha ran up to them from the gate.

"Hey, how'd you guys fare?" Fernanda asked.

"I used my fire like you taught me," Sasha said. "And Huren didn't like it because he couldn't make fire big enough."

"I was stuck in the bathroom," Ashley said.

"Must've been lonely," Sera said as Ashley took both Nick and Sera's hands.

"I was okay," Ashley said. "And I didn't feel cold at all."

"Must be pretty nice to be one of the Seven," Sera said.

Ashley nodded. "It helps. Are we going to Sasha's today?"

"We are," Nick said.

"And Fina's coming too?"

"Yeah," Nick said.

Ashley smiled and hummed to herself as they went. They reached the Wenlow's house and went into the backyard.

"How do you want to do this, Saul?"

"Just show him what he can do," Saul said.

"You'll be learning this as well," Nick said. "And training with him on it."

Saul gave a slight nod.

"Okay, Sasha," Nick said. "And Ashley. We're going to do something different today."

"What are we doing?" Ashley asked.

"You and I are going to help Saul and Sasha."

"How?"

"Remember how we worked to help you be able to defend yourself?"

She nodded.

"We're going to show them how to do that too."

"So Sasha doesn't get hurt so much?" Ashley asked.

Nick nodded. He then knelt down, as did the others. "First, some rules. Ashley, what's rule number one?"

"Ask them nicely to stop if they aren't actually attacking you."

"Very good," Nick said. "I'm not teaching you how to start fights, only to protect yourself and others if you end up getting into one. So, if someone bumps into you, is that a fight?"

Sasha shook his head. "No. But what if they did it on purpose?"

"It's still not a fight," Nick said. "Pushing them back will turn it into one. Accidents, or little things like that, will only make you look bad and get you in trouble for fighting."

"Then what's a fight?" Sasha asked.

"When you need to stand up to stop something," Nick said. "Like what happened to Jati. You guys handled that really well."

Sasha stared at him for a moment. "Okay. So I don't do this unless it's like that."

Nick nodded. "Now, to start, you have hard parts of your body, and soft parts. You want to hit them with the hard parts, and hit their soft parts."

"Like a fist!" Sasha exclaimed.

"Yes, but you've got to be careful where you hit with a fist," Nick said. "The nose is a good target, and the stomach or sides, but you don't want to hit the forehead, chest, arms or legs. You won't do enough damage to make them stop. However, slaps can be very effective, and don't usually bruise."

Sasha tilted his head. "Slaps? That sounds girly."

"I use it plenty," Nick said. Sasha blinked. "It's about how you use it. If you can slap someone's ear with the palm of your hand, it'll throw off their balance."

Sasha looked up at his father, who nodded. "I remember being on the receiving end of that before."

He was bullied too, wasn't he? Nick thought.

"Now, your elbows and knees are good to use to hit them too, and you can hit some of the hard parts like their chest with those. You can also use your arms and legs as shields from getting hit too. You hold your arms like this:" Nick copied a typical boxer stance. "To protect your face. While they're doing that, you can use your feet to kick them."

"Isn't this a bit much for kids?" Sera whispered to Fernanda as they watched.

Fernanda sighed. "I think so, but..." She shuddered. "I don't want to see my baby boy come home beat up. I can't change the other kids, but with Nick's help, they may get too scared to go after him, or at least not hurt him as bad when they do."

"What if they use powers?" Sasha asked.

Nick looked at Saul, who let out a breath. "Try to scare them with your powers first as a warning. If that doesn't work... Do what you have to. A teacher will probably show up before things get that bad though anyways."

Nick then held out his hands, palms vertical. "Punch my hand."

Sasha looked up at him, then tried it.

No wonder the fight went as long as it did. He thought.

He looked to Saul as he stood up. "Go ahead."

Saul's punch wasn't much better.

Nick blinked. "Sera?"

She shook her head and stepped in front of him. She punched his hand, her form nearly perfect.

"Okay, watch how she puts her weight behind the punch, and moves more than just her arm."

Sera did it again a few more times. "Thank you."

She suddenly spun a kick at him. He caught her ankle with his hand, and he raised an eyebrow. 

"Never expect a fair fight," She said. Nick let go, and she went and stood next to Fernanda.

Nick nodded, then knelt down again. "Ashley, wanna show Sasha how you throw a punch?"

"Okay!" Ashley said as she stood in front of Nick. She threw as good a punch as a six year old could. She then tried to copy Sera's kick, but her foot missed and she toppled over.

"Good effort," Nick said as Ashley got back to her feet. He looked to Sasha. "Wanna try again?"

Sasha did, and though it was better it wasn't quite there. Saul put a hand on Sasha's shoulder. "You wanna move your hips and torso with it."

Sasha thought a moment, then tried again.

"Good," Nick said. "Now, I want you to do the same thing, but hit lighter."

Sasha's face scrunched up. "Why?"

Nick smiled. "Hold out your hand like I did."

Sasha did. Nick wound up, and punched. Sasha flinched, but blinked and looked at his hand. "It was like a high five."

Nick nodded. He then saw a fist sized rock by the steps. He grabbed it and held it in one hand, then punched it with his other. It shattered, and Sasha's eyes went wide as saucers.

"As you get older, you're going to get stronger. You need to be able to control that strength, because you can end up really hurting others if you don't. Like with your fire: you can use just the right amount to keep your classmates warm, or enough to burn down the room. For example, I train with my friend, Magnus. He's a terraia. I don't use my full strength when we spar, otherwise I can hurt him really bad. So, for now, I want you to work with your dad on fighting right, and learning how to control how hard you hit."

Sasha slowly nodded, then looked up at Saul expectantly. They started to practice, Nick supervising. Fernanda let out a slight breath, then went inside. That left Sera and Ashley sitting off to the side.

"Did your dad teach you everything you know about that?" Sera asked.

Ashley nodded. "He did. He said that he wouldn't always be there to protect me, so I needed to learn how to protect myself."

Sera's eyes fell. He has it all planned out. But... Maybe he won't anymore? I've changed so much from the letters, so... Maybe it's already fine? She shook her head. It may have just pushed it back. Or it may still happen like in the letters. Man, I wish I could just straight up ask him, but I don't have enough to justify why I think it.

Ashley placed a hand on her leg. "Are you okay, Fina?"

Sera blinked, then looked down at her and smiled. "Yeah. I just got a little... Lost in thought."

"You looked really worried," Ashley pressed.

Sera opened her mouth, then closed it again. She shook her head. "I am. I'm a little worried about your dad, is all."

"Is he in trouble?"

"No," Sera said. "I just..." She turned her gaze to him. "He spends all of his time helping other people, and doesn't do anything for himself. He rarely asks for help, unless it’s to ensure you're looked after. I want to see him make a decision purely because he wants to, and nothing else."

"Like getting a tub of strawberry ice cream because he likes it even though I like chocolate?"

Sera paused. "Not exactly... But... How do I explain this?" She shook her head. "I just want him to choose something important for purely selfish reasons."

"You want him to be selfish?" Ashley asked. "Isn't that bad?"

Sera smiled. "In many ways, it can be. I just mean... I guess I do want him to buy strawberry ice cream instead of chocolate every once in a while."

Ashley looked at Nick. "I'll ask him to buy strawberry next time."

Sera smiled. "That's a nice thought, but..."

"But?"

She shook her head. "Give it a try."

After some time Fernanda came back out with some warm drinks and snacks. She handed them out, then they continued. Ashley yawned, then fell onto Sera's lap, fast asleep. Sera sat there awkwardly for a moment, then Fernanda made a petting motion with her hand towards her. Sera hesitantly pet Ashley's hair, her touch gentle. Eventually Nick stood up. "Alright. I'll leave you guys to it. Next week we'll... Right, there's no classes."

"We can still meet up," Saul said.

Nick slowly nodded. "Alright. Normal day and time, then."

Saul nodded, and Nick smiled at Sasha. "You're doing great. I'm sure you'll be able to take on anyone at your school who comes after you once we're done."

Sasha beamed up at him, panting. "Thanks Nikky!"

Nick turned to look over at Sera and Ashley. Sera had fallen asleep as well. He smiled then walked over to them.

"Ser-" Fernanda said, but Nick pressed a finger to his lips. She blinked, then watched as Nick carefully positioned Ashley in Sera's lap, then picked them both up. He turned and pointed his chin at the door. Fernanda opened it, and Nick carried them through and out the other side.

"See you tomorrow," Fernanda whispered.

Nick nodded, then walked off towards his place. Sera stirred halfway there, and looked up at him. "What're you-"

"Sh," he whispered. Sera blinked, then noticed she was cradling Ashley. He carefully put Sera down, and she carried Ashley the rest of the way to Nick's place. Sera handed Ashley back to Nick, and he took her upstairs as Sera approached Eterna.

"Here's your hair clip."

Eterna looked down at it and smiled. "Thank you."

She cracked open the box and looked it over. "There are a few more scratches than I remember..."

"I-"

Eterna smiled and closed the box. "I'm just messing with you. Thanks for returning it."

"What's the story behind that one?"

Eterna gently caressed the edge of the box. "A long one, that still doesn’t quite have an ending."

"I'd like to hear it, someday," Sera said.

Eterna nodded. "Someday."

Nick came back down, and he and Sera started working on the opening ceremony. They spent Thursday and Friday working with Leander on the opening ceremony in between classes and at lunch. Once Friday evening came, Nick was teleported to the Bren estate.

"Good evening, Nick," Cyrus said.

"Cyrus," Nick replied.

Cyrus frowned.

"Grandpa," Nick corrected. "I've got a favor to ask."

Cyrus raised an eyebrow. "A favor?"

Nick held out the blueprints to him, and Cyrus accepted. "These are schematics for-"

"A new early warning magic weather detection system..." Cyrus said as he looked them over. "Why bring this to me?"

"It was submitted to the group in charge of the current system's maintenance and research, however they won't even look at it because of the person who invented it."

"And this person is..?" Cyrus trailed off expectantly.

"I would ask that you judge the schematics on their own merit," Nick said.

Cyrus smiled. "Smart man. I will look them over thoroughly while you work today."

"Thank you," Nick said. "What's today's-" Nick felt a bolt of electricity snap through him, and then everything went black.

"So, how are things going?" Eterna asked Sera as she came in with Ashley.

"Well," Sera replied.

Eterna raised an eyebrow, and Ashley ran past Eterna. She caught Ashley. "C'mere you!" Ashley giggled as Eterna hugged and tickled her. "You think you can get away without one of these?"

"No!" Ashley said through her giggling. "I forgot, I forgot!"

Eterna stopped tickling her and put her down with a kiss on the cheek. "You better not forget next time, or there'll be more of this-" she tickled her again, and Ashley bolted forward.

"I won't, promise!"

Eterna smiled. "Good."

Ashley set up at the table and pulled out her workbook. Eterna gestured for Sera to follow her as she went into the kitchen. She continued making dinner, and Sera joined her.

"We haven't had much of a chance to talk, one on one."

Sera nodded. "I know. Nick and I have just been so busy..."

"You tickled him, didn't you?" Eterna asked.

She blinked. "How did you know?"

"He went and moved everything in my room by an inch," she replied. "Even raised the bed by just an inch too."

"So that's what he meant by getting you back..." Sera muttered.

"He told you, and you didn't warn me?" Eterna asked. "My toes and shins feel very betrayed right now."

Sera chuckled. "You gave me some pretty powerful information."

Eterna smiled as well. "So things are going well?"

"Yeah," she replied. "Wednesday he told me he loved me."

Eterna froze. "Is that so?"

Sera nodded. "Yeah. We were huddled up during that ice storm. It's actually when I used what you told me." Sera looked over at Eterna. "Is everything okay?"

She shook herself. "Yeah, I'm happy for you two. He's just... Growing, so much. As a person."

Her fingers twitched. Sera stepped over to her and gently took the spatula from her hands and took over her part. Eterna nodded her thanks and leaned against the counter.

"Sorry."

"Don't be," Sera said. "What's wrong?"

Eterna sniffed. "I'm realizing that... He didn't need me to destroy the organization."

Organization? Sera thought as Eterna continued.

"He just needed me to be here for him, like his parents never were. I'm now wondering just how much pain and heartache he would have avoided if I had just been... His mother. I mean, he even called me mom the other day, though it was by accident."

Sera blinked. "He calls you mom at school all the time."

She looked up. "He does?"

She nodded as she flipped the meat. "Yeah. Whether he says it or not, that's how he sees you." She smiled and looked back at her. "He definitely cares about you."

Eterna looked down at her hands. "I guess I'm just a little... Jealous. Of you."

Sera looked back at the food. "How so?"

"Not romantically, of course," Eterna said. "Just... You've known him for only a couple of months, and he's changed so much. He's never said that he loves me before, or pulled pranks like with my room. It was all you. Before you, he just... Disconnected. It was like we were just roommates."

"Have you told him?" Sera asked.

Eterna shook her head.

"Well, he's not so great with magic," she said as she took the meat out of the pan and put it on a plate. "So he couldn't read your mind, even if he wanted to." Sera turned and finished off the rest of the meal prep. "You should just tell him." She turned and smiled at Eterna. "I'm learning it the hard way."

Sera took the food out to the table. "Ready for dinner, Ash?"