{-Brenan-}

He, honestly, stopped being so tense the moment he realized that it was a kid. Kids that age didn’t usually cause any trouble, not unless they needed to—and, judging from her appearance, she had everything she needed.

That didn’t stop Ouka, though. Just as Mazel had announced she wanted to talk, Ouka remarked, “Well, I’m sure as hell not talking to you. Go away, kid. You’re only going to get in trouble if you stay here.”

Brenan, beating down a bit of nervousness, said, “I think we should listen to her.”

Ouka turned to look at him. “Really? You think any bit of this kid actually seems anything more than a bigger problem waiting to happen?”

“She knows our names,” he explained. “And she looks nice. If she wanted to do anything she’d have done it while your back is turned. But she hasn’t moved.”

“All I want you to do is hear me out,” Mazel said. “I know you’re not going to understand things immediately, but that’s why we’re going to have a chat. I think it’ll make a lot more sense if you let me explain everything.”

Ouka still seemed willing to resist, but Brenan kept staring at her, and eventually she sighed. “Fine, get inside. But the moment you start saying something weird or yelling for soldiers or whatever, you’re out of here. Got that?”

Mazel nodded. It was… a bit too calm, actually, for someone who’d more or less just been given a threat. “Mhm. I promise this’ll all make sense in a little bit.”

She walked inside and sat down. “I think, first and foremost, you should understand that I know more than you think I do. I’m not nearly as young as I look. I know what you’ve done before now. I know what you were involved in, even the things you’ve been keeping from each other…”

“You’re going to want to tone down the mysteriousness,” Ouka remarked casually, making the knife a little more visible.

Mazel didn’t seem fazed by it at all. “Alright. Day told me that there wasn’t a point in lying to you. I’m a Fos—the Messengers of Danai, the lights she uses to guide and protect mortals. And if you need proof”—in front of both of them, she turned into some kind of bird, flew around the room, then transformed back and sat down again—“there it is. My ‘siblings’ and I have been going all around the world, making sure as few people as possible get caught up in the storm of fate that’s soon approaching. Everything in the world has a cause and an effect. I’m here right now in order to help pull you out of a disaster you’ve unknowingly placed yourself into.”

Brenan found himself just barely following what she was saying up until that point. He’d never been the smartest person—he literally never went to school for a day in his life—but he thought he just might understand her.

And then she said something that was completely incomprehensible to him. “The way I’m going to do that is by allowing the two of you a chance at redemption. I’ll walk you through the steps of becoming new people, so that you’re no longer tied down to the path you’re treading down now.”

“How’s someone like you supposed to do anything, again?” Ouka prompted, obviously not the least bit convinced. “Who’s to say what we’re doing now has anything to do with our pasts, anyway?”

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Honestly, Brenan thought it was a weird question. He understood exactly how his past led to the life he now had—he’d never had a chance to change what he’d been born into. He assumed Ouka was a lot similar to him in that regard. So… maybe she wasn’t really asking because she didn’t know.

Maybe she was asking just to see what Mazel’s reaction would be.

“I already said that nothing in this world acts independently,” she said. There was no hint of fear or panic in her expression; her tone showed nothing but gentle understanding. “I would think you’d see it. Two people like you don’t just decide to be thieves because you want to. You had a reason to hide. A reason to lurk in the shadows. A reason to steal. If things had just been a little different, you both would’ve had a different path—that’s just how things work. But the path you’re going down now is going to do nothing but harm you and others around you. All you have to do is let me help you choose a new path, one that you can truly control and mold into your own.”

“Ouka, I really don’t think she’s lying about any of this,” Brenan pointed out. “I don’t know how someone could lie about any of this…”

And to his surprise, Ouka sighed. “Fine. I guess we’re just going to keep running in circles if we don’t do this. But let me make one thing clear: if shit gets weird, we’re out of here.”

Mazel nodded. “I’m perfectly okay with that.”

“What are we going to have to do?” Brenan asked. “Is it a ‘three trials’ sort of thing, or..?”

“I’m going to need you to face parts of your past. Only by overcoming the fears that brought you to be here can you learn to move past them and create a new future.” Mazel gave a glance to Ouka, undoubtedly just to make sure she didn’t consider this to be stepping out of line. “And the first step to doing that… is going to have to be by making Brenan talk to the members of his old group.”

Oh, Ouka didn’t like that. “That is an abso-fucking-lutely terrible idea! How the hell is that supposed to help things? As far as I’m concerned, the only thing they are is bad news. Do you even realize what they do? Who they are?”

“Ouka,” Brenan began calmly, “I think it’s going to be okay. I trust Mazel and I’m willing to trust whatever process she has in mind. If this is what it takes… I’m willing to try.”

Mazel smiled. “That’s good to hear. I promise that I’ve got this all under control, too—I’m here to make things better, not worse, and I’m certain in my abilities to do so. This is, though, something only for Brenan to do. I’m afraid you can’t really be a part of it, Ouka.”

“Can I watch?” she asked, her frown deepening. Brenan knew that tone; no matter the answer, she was going to do it anyway.

After a moment, Mazel nodded. “As soon as you don’t interfere with what happens, then it’s alright for you to watch. Just stay out of the way and remember everything I’ve told you so far.”

“I’ll be fine,” Brenan tried, in hopes it might assure Ouka more. He had his doubts about the situation as a whole, but… he knew he could rely on Mazel, too. He knew she meant everything she’d said so far. Even if he didn’t have any real reason to, he just knew.

Ouka didn’t seem completely convinced, but she didn’t say anything else.

Mazel then turned to Brenan. “So if that’s all done, how about we get started? You’ve already seen a couple of them in town, right?”

“Yeah.” Brenan nodded. “They were on the other side of town.”

“I’d like you to bring me to them. I’m not going to be able to be with you as I am now, but I promise I’ll stay close. I’ll be watching how well you do.”

“And… what is it that I’m supposed to be doing..?”

“I want you to try to show them what they’re doing and how it’s hurting others… and I want you to try to show them that change is possible, if they decide to fight where they stand now.”

He suddenly had a feeling that his wasn’t going to end well…