Friday the 22nd started the same way it usually did in the Nicchi household: Pacifica dragging Taika out of her bedroom and into the pool.

Now normally Rebecca would scooch over and nuzzle up next to her Maestro. This early summer morning, however, the pair were wide awake.

“Sounds like they’re swimming again,” Shouri noted.

“Are you surprised?” Rebecca questioned.

“Not really, no.”

“Hey, can we do some exercise?” the fox proposed.

“What did you have in mind?” her Maestro asked in response.

Dressed for the day, and with their shoes fully laced up, Shouri and Rebecca patted themselves down making sure the essentials were in place before quietly exiting through the front door of the home.

They carefully chose a route that avoided being detected by Pacifica or Taika who were still swimming in the backyard pool. The neighborhood as a whole lacked any fences; privacy, or otherwise, so being spotted was a very real and easy situation to fall into.

The pair jogged for a small while until it was clear to Rebecca that Shouri wasn’t up to the task.

“Man, you’re really out of shape,” Rebecca commented as their pace returned to a normal walk.

“Being out of shape implies I was ever in shape,” he snarked back.

“Coulda fooled me, you look good.”

It was at that point Rebecca’s brain caught what Rebecca’s mouth had said and she quickly turned her head away, hoping he didn’t catch that pass at him.

His silence was quite telling.

They came to a stop near the edge of the subdivision, right where the large iron wrought gate was open and cars whizzed by on the main road. There were a couple of Resonators out, part of some lawn care company, who were trimming the grass that grew in the empty retention pond near the front of the neighborhood.

“How was I yesterday?” Shouri suddenly asked, breaking the silence.

“Huh?” Rebecca looked at him.

“Commanding you in that battle. I don’t have too much experience in Maestro battles.” He didn’t meet her gaze, instead keeping his head down, holding himself.

Rebecca studied his form, looking at his body language for an answer to the nature of his question. It quickly hit her. The vixen’s lips turned up to a smile. “I already told you: you’re the best I’ve ever had. Don’t compare yourself to those other Maestros.” She took possession of his arm closest to her. Leaning against him, she closed her eyes, wearing a content smile. “Your orders were perfect,” she whispered.

Shouri slowly nodded but was clearly still bothered, which earned a frown from his foxy companion. “Hey.” She released his arm and turned him toward her, keeping grasp of his shoulders. “I’m serious. The Maestros I had before made wild assumptions about my abilities. But not you. You know what I can do.” Her grip tightened as her expression brightened further. “And you trust me, I think.”

He slowly nodded. “I do.”

“Stop worrying about it then!” She pulled him into a hug. “You’re the best, just accept it,” she said with a giggle, her tail swishing behind her.

Her mood was infectious, as Shouri himself couldn’t help but crack a smile and return the hug.

The pair walked back, hand-in-hand, however when they reached the house, Rebecca tugged Shouri to keep walking.

“Huh?” The Maestro looked back to the home, confused.

“I wanna practice some stuff,” Rebecca decided. “If that’s okay.”

“Okay.”

So they trekked on, reaching the courts in little time. Rebecca sat Shouri down on a bench and stood in front of him.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I wanted to show you my routine,” the fire Resonator spoke with a sheepish smile on her face. Without another word, she began. It started simple, with all manner of stretches, mostly focusing on her legs. She was far more flexible than he had realized, noting that he wasn’t capable of moving in the same manner that she could.

Stretches complete, she moved to practice what appeared to be martial arts moves, her footwork; primarily kicks, jumps, and the like. She was more professionally trained than Pacifica and Taika. Rebecca really could fight entirely independently from her magic if it came down to it. She demonstrated this well enough yesterday, her initial assault on Andi being entirely based on her footwork.

He didn’t see the final blow that she landed on the other fire Resonator, but based on how hard Taika had to focus her healing on that area, it must have been a devastatingly harsh blow. There was something in the back of his mind telling him that she was holding back too. That was supposed to be a sparring session.

Andi was absolutely spot on with his analysis of Rebecca: she was a monster, ludicrously powerful even though she lacked the higher-level spells of her contemporaries.

“What do you think?” she breathed hard; a bit winded after completing her set.

“I’m super lucky to have you.” He smiled.

That genuine smile of his disarmed her immediately. “L-likewise!” she stammered out.

His smile faded as his gaze fell to her feet. “You feel anything?” he hesitantly inquired.

“N-not yet.” Her mood notably deflated as the frustration crept onto her face.

“You don’t need it, it’ll come back with time.”

“I feel naked without it.”

“I understand that.”

A gentle breeze blew over them as they remained in their respective positions. “You’ve really worked hard, haven’t you?” Shouri spoke up.

“I want to think so.”

“That’s my thought.”

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Returning to the Nicchi family home, Shouri and Rebecca were attacked by the other two Resonators of their traveling party.

“Where did you two go?!” Pacifica cried out

“We were worried sick!” Taika added

“We went on a jog, chill,” Rebecca replied.

“Just some morning exercise,” Shouri told them.

The two girls continued to pout regardless but didn’t have anything else to say.

Kicking off their shoes, Shouri and Rebecca joined Pacifica back on the couch, where she was playing some games. Taika meanwhile was once again preparing breakfast under the tutelage of one Priscilla Nicchi.

It was another peaceful day for the group all things considered.

Day passed to night, and with it, the group began to wind down for bed. Pacifica stared at herself in the mirror whilst brushing her teeth. She was in her favorite comfy baby blue pajamas, and just existing in peak comfort. Her tail swished back and forth while she rinsed her mouth out of the toothpaste. Flashing a toothy grin, she was satisfied with the state of her teeth and went to leave the bathroom.

She stopped short of exiting the bathroom proper as she heard her mother on the phone. Feeling particularly nosy, she cupped her ear against the door, using her slightly better-than-human hearing to eavesdrop on the conversation.

“Yes, Syrus should be meeting you at O’Naer tomorrow.”

“Right right. Pacifica’s here, I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you.”

“She got a Maestro, he’s a charming young man.”

“They remind me of us when we were around that age”

Her voice began to fade as she was pacing the house and got too far for Pacifica to hear. There was only one person that her mom spoke to like that.

“Uncle Aiden?” Pacifica whispered to herself. O’Naer was their city’s airport, meaning they were flying in? “Uncle Syrus is coming here too?” The otter frowned. Her mother’s other Resonators didn’t come to visit very frequently, they usually did their own thing separately from their Maestro.

“Why?” She slightly cursed the etude of her Maestro giving her that itch of curiosity.

She didn’t catch any more of her mother’s conversation, so she returned to her room, slightly confused and perhaps a little miffed at the situation. Plopping back down at her computer desk, she glared at her keyboard, wearing her annoyance on her sleeve.

“Everything alright?” Shouri’s voice stirred her from her thoughts. Spinning her chair around, she found all three of her friends staring back at her with concern.

The otter quickly averted her gaze, fidgeting with the bottom buttons of her pajama shirt. She hummed and grunted as she gathered her thoughts, avoiding the unspoken pleas of her friends.

“I overheard my mom on the phone,” she began with a hushed voice.

“And?” Rebecca raised a brow.

“My uncles are coming into town.” The otter kept her voice low.

“Is that a problem?” Shouri questioned.

“It’s just… Uncle Aiden and Uncle Syrus only visited for some holidays. I can’t remember a time where they randomly showed up.”

“Is it that big of a deal?” Taika asked.

Pacifica leaned over, putting her head in her hands. “I dunno. Just something about all this worries me.”

The trio looked between each other, perplexed at the situation. Finally, a silent consensus was reached. Shouri stepped forward and grabbed one of Pacifica’s hands. “Wha-?” Before she could protest, she was forced up from her seat and found Shouri’s opposite hand around the small of her back as he pulled her close. “Sh-sho?” she squeaked, her heart racing.

Stolen novel; please report.

“Come on!” Taika grabbed the otter from behind and pushed the whole trio of them to the bed. Rebecca meanwhile pushed the TV cart in front of the bed and began to fiddle with the channels.

Shouri and Taika draped themselves over the concerned water element, Shouri to her left, Taika lying over both their laps. Finally, Rebecca joined the pile on her right, remote in hand. “Impromptu movie night,” the fire Resonator announced.

Pacifica smiled warmly as she soaked in her friend’s positivity.

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Morning once more. However, unlike most mornings, Pacifica found herself the center of attention. Shouri held both her and Taika loosely from the left, while Rebecca claimed the right side of the otter.

“I guess I’m not swimming this morning,” she muttered. “Ah well…” Her lips rested at a smile as she fell back into a comfortable rest.

KNOCK KNOCK

The group was stirred from their sleep by a sudden pounding of the door. “Muuhhh?” Pacifica’s eyes fluttered open.

“Wake up kids, it’s like eleven!” Jack’s voice boomed from the other side of the door.

“Too early,” Rebecca grumbled, attempting to pull their shared blanket over her head.

“Sono d’accordo…” Taika squeezed Pacifica tighter, nuzzling her face into the otter’s side.

“Eee! Taika that tickles!” the water element shrieked.

“mmmmmgh,” Shouri grunted, annoyed by the noise.

After much struggle, the group got out of bed. Pacifica excused herself to her closet to change into her everyday wear, while Rebecca and Shouri gathered their clothes to head to the other bathrooms. However, upon opening the door, they ran into a pair of strangers.

“Oh, who do we have here?”

“Little Pacifica’s Maestro?”

Before them stood two men. A red-haired man radiating some intense heat, clad in blacks and reds with a black and red striped tail and small fluffy triangular ears. The other man dressed in whites and yellows, a bright sort of fellow bearing great draconic wings and an impressively strong-looking tail to match.

“Uncle Aiden! Uncle Syrus!” Pacifica almost jumped over poor Shouri and Rebecca with how quickly she appeared behind her friends.

“Oh, your uncles,” Shouri noted.

“Yeah yeah yeah!” Pacifica pointed to the man with the fluffy tail. “That’s Uncle Aiden, he’s an Ailuridae or a red panda if you will.”

“Charmed. Fire-Slashing by the way.” The man gave a small bow, holding a hand at his chest with the other behind him.

Pacifica motioned to the dragon man next to Aiden. “And he’s Uncle Syrus, a sky dragon.”

“Pleasure to meet you. Solar-Crushing.” The dragon nodded to the small group at the door.

Rebecca nodded slowly to herself, having picked up on both of their element-attributes at a glance. Though the group huddled at the door were studied right back in return.

“It seems we’ve caught you at a bad time,” Syrus spoke up suddenly.

“We just flew in, so we’ll get settled while you prepare for your day.” Aiden grinned toothily, before slipping into the room across the hall.

“Wait! Damn it!” Syrus made a motion but failed to stop his fellow Resonator as the door was slammed shut before he knew what the red panda was up to. The dragon glanced at the younger adults, who didn’t know what to make of the situation.

“Ai-aiden is right, we’ll need a bit to rest up. Go on, get freshened up,” the solar-element chuckled sheepishly before making his exit into the other spare guest room.

Blink blink.

“Riiiiight.” Shouri wasn’t going to linger on that thought and finally exited his own Resonator’s room to get dressed properly.

After freshening up as suggested, Shouri found his way into the living room where they normally gathered before going off to their activities for the day. This morning, he arrived to find Pacifica and Taika chatting on the couch.

“So they’re your “uncles”?” Taika asked.

“Not blood related, but from what I understand, couples like mom and dad treat other Resonators like blood family,” Pacifica replied.

“Oh, I get it.” The lunar fox nodded.

Shouri sat down on the couch with his two Resonators. “Your mom had quite the eye for Resonators.”

“Why do you say that?” Pacifica wondered.

“She has a stupidly well-balanced trio under her.” He leaned back, looking at the ceiling. “Slashing, Piercing, and Crushing. Fire, Water, Solar. Land, Sea, Sky,” the young Maestro noted.

“Really?” Taika blinked, thinking about Priscilla’s Resonators.

“Yeah. Sky Dragons are ferocious beasts of the air, otters are expert swimmers who rule the seas, and red pandas are speed demons on land and even climbing,” Shouri explained.

Taika was a bit suspicious of the third claim, however. “That fluffy-tailed man is fast on land? He seems like Rebecca and me though.”

At this point in the conversation, Rebecca joined the group. “Don’t get it twisted Taika.” The fire fox plopped down next to Shouri, causing the boy to sit up properly. “Ailuridae are top-tier threats, they’re one of the best kinds of Resonators you can have on a competitive team,” Rebecca told the rest of the group.

“They’re that strong?” Taika questioned.

“Their trait, Trailblazer of the forest is absurdly busted,” Rebecca grumbled, seeming a bit irritated at the situation.

“What’s that one do?” the lunar fox asked.

“As long as they stay grounded, or are climbing, they can use their ad-Lib for free,” Shouri told her.

One could see the gears turning in the fox’s head as she pieced together what it all meant. Finally, it clicked into place. “Oh!”

Rebecca grunted but nodded. “They fight way differently than other Icarus’ Ala users, they use it to bolster their speed and maneuverability instead of the way I use it,” the fire fox explained, her eyes locked onto her heels.

“They’re ridiculously strong, aren’t they?” Shouri whispered to his battle-trained Resonator.

“All four of them are,” she whispered back. “It’s almost overwhelming.” The fox-girl trembled. She calmed as Shouri rubbed the shoulder next to him.

“It’s okay.”

Pacifica’s lips were in a hard line. She didn’t see what the big deal was, they were just her goofy uncles. Were they really all that? She had never really thought about how strong her mother and her Resonators were. Never needed to.

It all went back to that simple question: are we weird?

“Hey, party people!” Priscilla interrupted the conversation. “How are we doing this morning?” she loudly asked.

“It’s 12:01,” Shouri noted.

“Oh sorry.” Walking backward, Priscilla went just out of sight and then re-entered the room. “Hey party people, how are we doing this afternoon?”

Shouri blinked twice and yawned.

“Fantastic!” The woman held a thumbs up. Notably now at her side were three tuners, joining the blue tuner of her husband were a red and white tuner to make a trifecta. “Hope you didn’t mind the surprise of my other Resonators joining us, though it makes the house a bit cramped.” The elder Maestro dropped onto the loveseat nearby.

“Why are they here though?” Pacifica inquired.

“We’ve got a big meeting coming up, and the big wigs running it wanted all four of us there.” The woman smirked and shrugged.

“You’re leaving?” the otter asked.

“In like a week.” Priscilla laughed loudly.

“Couldn’t they have met you there?” Shouri questioned.

“Ah, you’re so sharp Shouri!” The woman once more laughed. “It’s specifically a conference surrounding etude, so we need to get back in shape before then.”

Shouri hummed in thought. That did make sense all things considered. She married one of her Resonators, after all; their etude was top-notch just on that fact alone. If she was anything like him, she must have a strong bond with her other two Resonators as well. He slowly shook those musings, focusing back on the conversation.

“So, I’m assuming you want us to leave?” he asked the relevant question of the homeowner.

“Heavens no! Stay as long as you’d like!” She exclaimed.

The younger Maestro pondered that offer, he looked to Pacifica specifically. She stared back at him and slowly nodded.

“Honestly, we should probably move on,” Shouri decided. “It’s been almost a month since we got here,” he added.

“Where are we gonna go Sho?” Rebecca asked.

“Good fucking question. Hopping continents might not be a bad idea,” he pondered aloud. “Maybe Kalanichi or Nabhon,” the Maestro continued his musings.

“Kalanichi nationals are next month, maybe you kids could go watch,” Priscilla suggested.

“Maybe. I’ll have to sit down and plan how we’d get there.” Shouri sighed, leaning back and reclining once more.

Pacifica too, sat back and relaxed. It was just work stuff. There was no reason for her to have been as high-strung as she was last night about it. Truth be told, she was starting to get the itch to travel again. The prospect of actually going to see the world excited her greatly.