If Reema and Sanik had dressed up, and Harvey and Cassie looked presentable, then Tali looked normal. Her large frame remained shrouded in her customary brown robes, the long billowing sleeves coming down to her wrists.

Edan introduced her to Harvey and Cassie, taking a certain amount of pride in the awe the latter showed the Titan. Reema, scolding Sanik for offering Tali a drink, filled a glass with juice and handed it over.

“There’s no alcohol in that one,” Edan assured her, holding up his own glass in reference. “I don’t like the taste either so I’m sticking with juice.”

Tali nodded and took a sip. A sip Edan was sure had emptied the glass. Edan offered to grab her a refill only to see Cassie talking to the Titan when he returned.

“...impressive.” Cassie was saying. She gestured to Tali’s neck. Darkness had fallen completely but the backyard remained well-lit thanks to lights strung up overhead. In their glow, you could make out the markings poking out from under the Titan’s robes. “Are those tattoos?”

Tali reached up and traced one of the marks as it looped up the side of her throat. Slightly darker than the skin around it, it had the shiny, smooth texture of a burn, more than a tattoo.

“These are known as ink to my people, but to tell you more you would need to be one of the tribe.” The words were firm but not unkind. Cassie, having grown up around cultivators all her life, knew not to ask too much about a person's secrets.

“Tribes?” Edan asked, handing Tali her glass and taking a sip from his own.

“We are not great builders,” Tali gestured vaguely towards the city around them. Edan noticed her voice was warmer when she answered his question. “And my world is not kind to the immovable. To put down roots is to be torn from the ground and cast down.”

“So you’re like nomads? Traveling around with your belongings and family?”

Tali smiled fondly, her eyes distant as she remembered her home.

“A never-ending road trip with your family?” Cassie faked a shudder. “I’d go insane within a week! Dad would never shut up.”

Edan had to laugh at that. Harvey did enjoy talking. He was also very knowledgeable, so Edan didn’t mind listening, but for Cassie who had to live with him? Yeah, Edan could see what she meant.

Tali excused herself and went to join Sanik, Reema, and Harvey by the grill, her eyes on the sizzling meat.

“She seems nice.”

“Hmmm?” Edan looked at Cassie, pulled from his thoughts. “Oh, yeah. She is. She actually taught a class today at the academy. It went well. I think the students liked that she didn’t take sides and treated everyone equally.”

“You mean all the students except the favorites liked that?”

“And how do you know our class politics?” Edan asked curiously.

“Lorien enjoys gossiping.” Cassie reached into her purse and pulled out a blue parcel as thick as Edan's wrist and as long as his hand. “Here, I got these for you. As a present.”

Edan felt a warmth in his chest and had to fight to keep a grin from his face. He accepted the present and, urged on by Cassie, he tore the paper wrap. Inside, tied together with twine, was a bundle of smooth sticks. Made of dark wood, each stick had a small red flag on the end. Glyphs marked the paper in dark ink.

“Array flags?” Edan asked. “Chaos Realms, these had to be worth a fortune, Cassie! I can’t accept these.”

He tried to hand them back but Cassie pushed them away firmly.

“They’re cast-offs from the Academy students. From the crafting classes, not the martial classes like you,” Cassie corrected when Edan opened his mouth to argue. “They work though. Just not as strong as the official ones with the stamp of approval from the Golden Throne Sect.”

The Crafting Guild controlled most of the trade professions such as the Smiths, Tailors, and Alchemists, but Arrays used expensive ingredients. You needed to be wealthy to practice Array creation, and the Golden Throne Sect were the wealthiest. They also sold their products at a premium making their money back and then some.

Thanks to his increased Spirit and Willpower stats Edan had better control over the Vitalis within him. He reached out with his senses, feeling the array and trying to understand how it worked. What the glyphs meant.

“It’s meant to be a warding array,” Cassie told him as he continued to look at it. “Dad mentioned you’re heading into the school dungeon in a couple of days so I figured…well, I just thought it couldn’t hurt.”

Edan smiled warmly at her, holding the flags close to his chest. He didn’t have the heart to tell her that to use array flags you needed to understand them. You needed to understand how the Vitalis would move through each of the flags. If you didn’t, you risked destroying the items. Understanding arrays could take seconds, days, or even years. It depended on the array and the user's level.

At his level, Edan couldn’t hope to understand the flags before he had the dungeon dive. It was 3 days away.

That didn’t take away from the gift's thoughtfulness. Edan excused himself to put it away and was surprised to hear footsteps behind him as he ascended the stairs. Looking over a shoulder, Edan smiled as Reema caught up with him.

"Grabbing more food?" He asked.

"No, I actually wanted to give you something, before I forgot."

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"You gave me my presents this morning." Edan reminded her.

Sanik and Reema had given him new armor and throwing daggers. The gifts had been greatly appreciated and Edan knew it was their silent way of providing what help they could for his upcoming dungeon dive.

"This isn't a present from me. It's from your mum."

Edan opened his mouth to tell her she was his mum on reflex but Reema held up a hand to stall him as they entered his room. She settled on the end of his bed, the mattress sinking in around her.

"Just...sit for a second."

Edan crossed the room and placed Cassies present next to the one he had received from Harvey. It went on top of the book on his bedside table, the blue wrapping paper folded nearly beneath it.

"Sit.' Reema repeated.

With a defeated sigh Edan settled onto the mattress next to her.

"Your mother left something with your father to pass on to you. He left it with Sanik, who then passed it on to me because he didn't trust himself not to lose it. Sometimes he's a scatterbrained fool, but on occasion, he has a good idea, that man." Reema laughed as she pulled a pendant from her storage ring. She held it up by the silver chain, the coin attached to it turning slowly. "Tyrian wanted you to have this when you were older."

"Why didn't you give it to me sooner?" Edan asked, his eyes tracking the slowly swinging coin.

"Honestly? We thought you would throw it away out of spite."

Edan wanted to protest, but he knew Reema was right. Much of his early teenage years had been filled with angst. He still had some now, but it was much less cringe-worthy.

Reaching out hesitantly, Edan allowed Reema to lower the pendant into his cupped hands. The silver chain curled up around the coin and holding it up to the light Edan looked at the embossed image on it. It reminded him of a fang-filled mouth.

"I'm still angry with them." Edan admitted. "not as much as I once was, but it's still there."

"And that's fine, honey," Reema rubbed his back before standing and giving him a kiss on the forehead. "But don't let it grow. Now, there's a party going on downstairs, and against my better judgment I've left Sanik in charge."

"The horror!" Edan mock gasped before getting up off the bed as well. "Also, very smooth mum. Give me the pendant now and then force me back to the party."

"I raised you kiddo, I know how you're likely to overthink if I leave you here."

Edan allowed her to pull him from the room. The pendant felt heavy in his hand. Not sure if he did it to prove a point, or just to free up his hand, Edan slipped the pendant over his head and tucked the coin down against his chest. The cold metal heated up rapidly against his skin and within seconds Edan forgot he even wore it.

Back outside, Reema began plating the food and handing them out in no particular order. Tali had a burger in each hand and finished one off in two bites as Edan watched, impressed. Harvey continued to puff on his pipe as he pointed to slices of meat he thought Sanik needed to turn.

Sanik swatted at his hand with the spatula but still listened. Cassie watched her father with exasperation, a glass in one hand and a burger in the other.

They were a strange group, but as far as birthdays went, Edan couldn’t imagine his without them. Even Tali seemed to fit the image and Edan wondered if maybe the fact he was going to accept her offer made him think of her as a fixture already.

Reema passed him a burger and Edan groaned as the Vitalis rich meat fell apart in his mouth. The crunch of crisp vegetables mixed with the spicy tang of homemade sauce.

“Do you have birthdays in your world?” Edan asked Tali, settling next to her.

She licked a bit of sauce off her finger and wiggled her hand in a see-saw motion. “We have the day of birth when new life joins the tribe. There is singing and eating and some will compete to see who is the best dancer.”

Edan pictured a bunch of massive Titans breaking it down and had to hold back a laugh.

“You sound like you miss your home.”

Tali bit half her burger and chewed slowly. It was only after she had finished and washed it down with juice that she answered.

“The company is missed. The family. They are the home.” Tali eyed Edan's burger and he took a bite of it to claim ownership. Reema was close enough that she saw the Titan’s hungry eyes and began preparing another bun for her. Tali nodded her thanks when she got it.

Edan looked around at everyone else. They were all busy with each other. Laughing and joking. Gesturing, arguing, teasing. No one paid Tali and him any mind. Still, he lowered his voice when he addressed her. “I’m not sure if there is meant to be a proper way of doing this. It seems a little…anticlimatic…but I, uhh…I accept.”

Tali froze, the last half of her sixth burger inches from her mouth. Her amber eyes locked on Edan and he swore the markings on her neck seemed to grow, the tendrils forming new loops and knots against her skin.

“Emge, you must be clear. You must be certain.” she cautioned him, her tone firm.

Edan took a deep breath and made sure he was facing her completely. Looking her in the eye Edan said “I don’t know what my future holds, or where my path will take me, but I know I refuse to stop walking it until the end. I need guidance. I accept you as my Te'Roro Bwaka.”

There was no notification from the system, no skip of his heart, no flood of energy or beams of light, and yet, Edan felt it. It was in the air and carried by the wind. It danced across his suddenly sweaty brow and pulled at his dark curls. Edan felt it as a thump deep in his SoulScape as if something heavy had slipped into place. There was a stillness to the air as if Terra itself had stopped to witness the occasion.

Behind the pair, the others continued to chat.

“I see you, Edan Mawe,” Tali said quietly, her amber eyes glowing. “And claim you as Te'Bwaka.”

Her face turned into a broad smile and she stuffed the rest of the burger in her mouth before stepping forward and embracing Edan. She lifted him off the ground easily and twirled him around, his legs flapping out behind him.

“Uhhhh, Tali, are you giving out free rides?” Sanik called out. “Because it’s been a while since someone twirled me around like a baby and I kind of miss it.”

Looking sheepish, Tali set Edan down on his feet gently. Edan wheezed, feeling his ribs for cracks. He was sure Tali had been gentle, but she was still incredibly powerful, and he was ungraded.

“I accepted her offer,” Edan said in way of explanation.

The reactions were mixed. Sanik nodded, expecting nothing less from his son. Reema smiled sadly. Harvey stroked his beard, his sharp eyes on the Titan. Cassie looked confused.

“What? What offer?” She asked, looking around at everyone.

It fell to Edan to explain. It didn’t take long but by the end of it, even Cassie looked impressed. She let out a low whistle and gave Edan a pat on the back.

“So what does that mean now?” Reema asked Tali. “What happens next?”

“I have the dungeon in a couple of days,” Edan interrupted. “And I still need to birth my system. You said I should focus on that when you made the offer, right?”

The last part was directed at Tali and she inclined her head in agreement.

“Grow, Emge,” she said warmly, still smiling with joy. “I will watch over you.”

What that meant exactly, Edan didn’t know, but he also wasn’t in a rush to ask. The night was young and he had his family and friends around him, delicious food to eat, and fresh juice to drink.

Some things could wait.