Later that night, Alaric relaxed in the branches of Old Thomper. The tree guardian groaned gently, appearing no more than a large tree growing beside the Orphanage.

To an oblivious eye, the tree was simply part of the premises, something planted there a long time ago, perhaps at the same time as the orphanage… or before it.

In truth though, Old Thomper was their protection and the reason the little garden Sister Marla had in the backyard flourished through all seasons.

[ Wood Rank, Level Nine is even higher than LionHeart and Gunther, isn’t it? ] Alaric sent his thoughts to the two guardians in his presence.

[ Marla is stronger than all the Hurricane Oaks ] the tree replied in a slow tired voice.

[ Hurricane Oaks? ]

[ Our former adventuring party. Garin was one of them. ] the tree guardian responded.

Alaric felt his heart skip a beat. ‘Marla was an adventurer?’

But then he laughed. The woman was great at healing magic and her guardian, Thomper, was the least violent guardian Alaric had ever seen. Yes, his power was astronomically terrifying but the great oak was far too big. Alaric literally had to walk him to the farms when his services were required by the farmers.

[ Haven’t you noticed how much they respect her?] Alia responded.

Alaric stopped to think about this. Perhaps there was some way she could take the guardian around without his size impeding their progress. There was also the fact that Sister Marla wasn’t born in the Five Hills. She’d just moved there.

Before they could continue this discussion, however, Sister Marla’s melodic voice came from down below, “Alaric, come down from there. You need your rest.”

Alaric sat up and looked down at the beautiful caretaker. Her silver hair cascaded down her face in silky threads, enunciating the kind smile on her face.

“You were a Slayer, weren’t you?” Alaric asked.

Had he noticed Sister Marla’s odd set of skills? Had he noticed the way Garin treated her with respect, how he stared at her? With longing and love… yes, he had.

Had he noticed how the guards also treated her with respect? Had he noticed how she seemed to always have information on guardians, basic Body Tempering… and how she’d taught him the only basic healing spell he knew? Yes… Yes, he had.

He’d also noticed her excellent cooking skills though. Sister Marla was a mystery that grew the more you got to know her.

“Would it change anything if you knew?” Sister Marla asked.

The boy shook his head, “You’ve given us a roof over our heads, clothed us, fed us and watched over us. Nothing would ever make me look at you differently… no matter how dark, no matter how vile.”

Sister Marla drew a sharp breath, then chuckled nervously, “It’s not nearly as serious as you make it out to be.”

The boy breathed in deeply, then leapt off the branch he was seated on. Before his Body Tempering, this would have been a bad idea… but now, he landed with a loud thud but remained perfectly fine…

“Yet you don’t tell us about it,” Alaric exhaled.

“Someone once told me the life of a caretaker was a lot less honourable than the life of a Slayer… and that the children I took care of should never come to know of the life I left behind to come here,” Sister Marla explained with a sad expression.

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The boy looked up into the sky, witnessing the translucent barrier that protected their village from demons, “Being a Slayer is dangerous and there is a lot of killing involved… There is no honour in taking life… but there is honour in preserving it which is what you stand for.”

The woman paused for a moment before answering with a defeated sigh, “Yes… I was a Slayer. A damn good one, too… but I couldn’t carry on. Promise me you’ll protect them, Alaric. Protect my children,” Sister Marla spoke out.

“I promise… I’ll protect them with everything that I am,” Alaric responded.

“You too, Alia…”

“Naturally,” Alia’s voice emerged from Alaric’s shadow.

With that, the woman pulled Alaric into a hug yet again. Alaric returned the hug, pulling Marla closer and savouring the moment.

He never dreamt of the day when the number of hugs he could get was numbered.

………………….

The next day came faster than Alaric would have liked. Breakfast was prepared in a wistful silence. Food was served and everyone sat at the table, filling their plates and eating their food in silence.

Two empty chairs accounted for the reduction in noise at the table… but so did the promise of another empty chair. Alaric savoured his meal, enjoying every bite while he made an effort to speak to his siblings.

Fortunately, he wasn’t the only one trying to achieve this.

“Jasper, guess what? I mastered the Dance of the Bear,” Cody told the boy to his right with a mountain of enthusiasm to boot.

Alaric furrowed his eyebrows, “That doesn’t sound right.”

“What? I was so good yesterday,” Cody cried.

“You did well… better than you ever have in fact… but you see, saying you mastered it is the same as saying it has an end. I could say you’re ready to learn another Dance as you polish up on the Dance of the Bear,” Alaric responded.

Nina pitched in, “Does that mean you haven’t mastered the Dance of the Bear either, Alaric?”

“That’s right. I know it well… but I could never say I mastered it,” Alaric responded.

“Why can’t it be mastered? Are there more katas you haven’t shown me?” Cody asked with puffed cheeks.

“No… there are no more katas… but there is an understanding behind it that you have to grasp. Every time you practice the Dance of the Bear, you draw closer to understanding the essence of the Dance. It is said that to master a variation of the Dance of the Sword is to master its intention, power, strengths, weaknesses and become one with the variation,” Alaric explained.

Cody groaned, “It sounds like more work.”

Laughter rippled across the table at this… Cody was gifted with vast reserves of aether but if there was anything he hated, it was work. He got his motivation from friendly rivalry and his sole role model, Alaric. So, for the sake of becoming more like the boy he adored, he was willing to do the work.

The tension had broken and breakfast continued like this before the time came that the table would be cleared. “Alright everyone, help me clear up the table and let’s escort Alaric outside,” Marla urged everyone into motion.

Outside, a large stingray floated by the road, awaiting the departing party. Two guards were standing by the gargantuan stingray, dressed in full white armour.

The orphans were taking turns embracing Alaric, each one of them lingering longer than the last. Alas, even these theatrics came an end with many of them struggling to keep their tears in.

It would be a long while before the orphanage regained the rowdiness that Alaric and his friends had kept going and even longer before the hole they left could be ignored.

The last to be addressed out of the orphans was Cody… partly because the boy was reluctant to even acknowledge what was happening. He hadn’t cried or even shown signs of missing Alaric yet.

His indifference to everything that was happening worried Alaric deeply. He squatted down so he could look up at the boy. Having shot up in height, the two were no longer as close in height as they used to be.

“We’ve had this conversation before. You don’t have to tell me anything this time,” Cody quickly said.

“That was a different conversation. We didn’t have the one where I tell you how much I’m going to miss you, did we?” Alaric asked with a wistful smile that didn’t reach his lips.

Cody was frozen for a bit only to shake his head, “Just promise to visit us whenever you get the chance.”

“It’s a deal,” Alaric pulled the boy into a hug, then whispered into his ear, “Be sure to cry when you get the chance. Tears remind us of our humanity.”

As Alaric went about bidding Sister Marla farewell, Cody remained frozen to the spot, wondering when it was that Alaric cried.

Alaric never cried… right?

As the boy with the green-eyed boy with overgrown black hair took his seat on the Great SwiftWind, Cody caught the slight sparkle in his beady eyes, a testament to the emotions he was still holding in, looking cool as ever.

Perhaps this was the coolest he’d ever seen Alaric. Somehow, knowing this sensitive side of Alaric made Cody idolize him even more.

His tears flowed without his knowledge and continued to do so long after the stingray had vanished beyond the horizon.

‘He just had to say something,’ he tried to wipe away the tears, ‘And right when I almost managed to keep myself from crying.’