Late night, early morning, Wren was slowly pacing back and forth by the riverbank. After filling Troy, Lilly and Jaden on what had transpired on all the events they had missed and the subsequent discoveries made. They all discussed upcoming plans and how that day's events would affect them, which ended up being a hell of a lot of no changes, just more vigilance and anxiety and after an uneasy silence that lasted for too long, Jaden and Lilly excused themselves to go find something more productive to do. Troy, despite his own bone weariness, stayed with Wren for as long as he could before he started falling asleep on his feet.

As he stared at the solitary beam of moonlight scattering across and being lost within the faintly luminescent pebbles of the riverbed, he tried desperately to shake the images Rabas had indelibly seared into Wren's memories. Those same images were overlapping, coloring and feeding on his worry over Grimalkin.

Two weeks, two fucking weeks plus some. Anything could have happened, could be happening right now. No matter how I hash it, a frontal assault is suicide. I can't even get Glaucous' help with this one. He won't do anything that touches the bottom line of his greater plan and if I tip it on purpose not only will I destroy the goodwill between us but I'll endanger everyone's lives. When it comes to it, I'd throw away the lives of strangers for those I consider my own, no matter how wrong it is. I'll recognize that within myself, but I don't even know if he's still alive!

The mark of faith needs some concrete idea to work off of, so that's out for now. The mark of passage might get me there and back but I don't know the place and walking in there blind would be no better than delivering myself and anyone who comes with me into Grimshadow's hand. If they have access to people like that old mesmer it's not far fetched to say they have a telepath or two, who fucking knows what they have!? I have that unknown calling maybe it can do something, I need to use it anyway before I leave. That's what I'll do if there's no other options left.

Damn it! I promised my friends that I'll at least give that old shit the night to do what he can then I'm supposed to ask the Matron if there is anything she can do to solve this situation before I fly off the handle but what's she gonna be willing to do, send a note saying 'pretty please can we have Little Gray back?'

Wren finally sat down after his feet got too tired, his logical mind asking him uncomfortable questions: Why was he trying so hard to save someone who might not even be alive? Were they so close that he'd bring who knows how many consequences down on the heads of all his friends and allies, possibly causing untold deaths if his actions tipped Glaucous' hand, just for a chance to save Grimalkin? Was all of his concern that real or was it just some effort to sooth his conscience of the life he took or maybe some form of cognitive dissonance towards a person he had already threw so much effort into saving?

An hour or two before dawn, Wren drifted into a mind weary doze on the bench.

“Wren, the Matron needs to see you immediately on a matter of importance. She'll meet you at the Sunshade Gazebo,” Rohn's grim face greeted him as he threw off the blanket someone had draped over him during his bench nap.

“Lead the way,” Wren said darkly, storm clouds building in the back of his mind.

Not a word was said as they practically jogged to their destination.

“ Considering all that has happened it is a regrettable duty I have to add to your burdens Wren but it has ever been that when dire situations arise a leader must be at their clearest, even more so when tragedy robs others of their wits...For, for what scant little it's worth those of us who remember and follow the old ways grieve for all the lives of our brothers and sisters. I've sent for the Grand Teacher to help with what can be,” the Matron said as they approached the outer stone bench of the gazebo, the ominous large box on it and the Matron's words temporarily sapping the energy out of Wren's steps.

The Matron torn between staying and leaving finally turned to leave after Wren approached and witnessed the contents: One decapitated head of old mesmer, one embossed vellum envelope, one... before his numbed mind even had a chance to take in the last content of the box, Wren lifted his head and said, “ Matron...wait.” lifting the head out of the box , Wren brought a rough clay bowl out of his storage to place it in before handing them to an attendant. “You said your band needed a target for their hate. That's the head of the one responsible for recent events but he was just as much a victim of Grimshadow as you or I, worse for not knowing anything other.”

The Matron looked over her shoulder and gave a small nod before continuing, Rohn coming around to lift the box, likely with the intention of helping Wren transport it to the pavilion.

“No, Rohn. Thank you but I've got this,” Wren summoned the floating disk before placing the box on it.

“Do you need any...help with anything?” Rohn asked in frustrated concern.

“Like I said, I've got this. I just don't feel up to... talking or anything right now,” Wren said as he started walking away, box in tow.

Moving along at a snail's pace, Wren gathered up his courage to face the remaining contents of the box.

Shit! He's still alive! Oh my god! How did he survive that? I, I don't even know if it's good or not but fine lets do this...

Now jogging at a full sprint towards the sleeping quarters in the pavilion, Wren assessed the damage to Little Gray with a wisp of stabilizing life essence, starting to formulate his course of action.

Four limbs and genitals, removed and cauterized. Eyes,ears, teeth and tongue removed. Major laceration along the spinal column, sixteen sectional pieces removed and covered in tar-like substance. Nineteen major and minor lacerations covered in tar like substance with nineteen circular burns to separate surface nerve bundle centers in the body. This is so far beyond me I don't even know where to start. At least the internal organs and remaining skeletal structure outside of the spine is intact.

Wren was momentarily struck with hopelessness as he gently lowered Grimalkin into the bed. He was aware that the Mark of Faith had enough power but he simply didn't have enough understanding to direct it efficiently. Even if he used it all up there was little guarantee it would leave Grimalkin able to function as a normal person.

Wait! That's it!

Wren activated the Mark of Knowledge to access what Glaucous knew of biology and healing, two of the three symbols winking out as Wren's expanded inner mind started absorbing over a lifetime's worth of casual pursuits on those topics. Even with the efficiency and expanded capabilities his mind possessed it was going to take time to digest. With little to do but wait and keep Little gray stable, Wren tried to grasp the fundamental principle that forced thoughts and feelings on him during ability fishing. It was too hard to contemplate complex things while most of his background mind was busy absorbing and incorporating the foreign information.

Wren placed his forehead against Little Gray's as he thought, “Can you hear me Little Gray?”

“-smile feeling...warm belly feeling...Little Gray? That's me, I'm Little Gray, Grimalkin, Graycat...Not 11-14.”

“It's me, Little Gray. It's Wren. Hang tight buddy, I'll get you fixed up.”

“-place at side... I don't deserve... I failed... caught...the progenitor, no...father gave pill, no pain...to let go, die... Don't want to die... live, come back to side, side waiting...still want, but fail...bird boy, hurting smile feeling, tight chest feeling, brother... I want my brother!”

“ If you want to live then live. I'll be right here till you open those dull ass black peepers of yours.”

“Am alive... thought dead... no feeling not shadowland...pill poison, slow breath, slow heart...heart stops.”

“I'm healing that now. It's fine.”

“then pain comes... pain stops heart...hands and feet itch, burn... on fire? Hurts... all over fire! * whimper * .”

Those insidious sons of bitches! They knew! They knew I'd try to heal him. That by my own hand I'd remove the only mercy he'd been allowed and trying to save him, I'd end him. But wait, if that was all this trap amounted to, what if I'd come crying and begging to Glaucous first?

Not really knowing which precautions to take, Wren summoned Tartarus, a light absorbing ball of darkness springing into existence. The only thing he'd ever been able to figure out about this guy is that up to an area roughly two feet in diameter could be sealed off as if it was somewhere far away, likely the Void if it's sprite origin's name had any meaning. The ability wouldn't even activate if a living being was breaching the perimeter of that area and it wouldn't cut through anything more substantial than loose sand. Though, once it was active, Wren could summon whatever was stored in it. Then again this would be the first time bringing the guy out while he was... agitated. It felt hungry.

Wren summoned the Mark of Faith. As soon as he finished formulating the idea of 'soothing pain for a small time on target', he let it recall. The slow rippling, solitary wave of power lapped against Grimalkin, triggering an immense change of aura. A deep, malignant presence uncoiled from it's hiding place within, striking faster than the eye could follow towards the spot where the mark had previously stood. Once there, it milled listlessly looking like a nebulous, marble sized wound in reality.

“Wren, what's wrong? I sensed something really bad happening over here. Are you alright?” Lilly shouted out.

Wren reached out and sent for her not to come closer and to send Jaden back as the malignant force started to stir, drifting towards the direction of the pavilion cave doors.

No, you don't! Tartarus, you want it!? It's yours... Shit!

Like a blood hound that had sensed it's prey, the reality wound darted towards the door aiming for a blue face that was cautiously peeking in. Wren didn't have the time to give warning. Neither did Jaden have time to so much as form a surprised look before the wound was isolated in a space not even inches from his face. Tartarus, issuing forth an obscene amount of possessiveness, joined it within the isolated space and began drawing it in like a black hole devouring a star of ugliness out of existence. Taking itself and it's prey, it returned to a deep place of hollow isolation that was somehow within Wren yet elsewhere.

Breaking out in a visible cold sweat, Jaden said in an unsteady voice, “W-what w-was that?!”

“The reason I sent to Lilly for you to keep your stupid ass away!” Wren snapped, his nerves frayed to the breaking point. Taking a deep breath he continued, “Sorry, Jaden. I didn't really mean for it to come out like that but this is a really bad time for questions. Grimalkin's in the pavilion and he's in a bad way. I need to focus on that right now. If you want to stay you can but please give me space and silence.”

This fucking nightmare is never ending and any misstep is gonna send me or someone I'm supposed to be keeping safe spiraling towards death, maybe something worse. Note to self: next time you find yourself on the shit end of a political dispute, grab yourself up by the waistband of your jockstrap and hightail it. Second note to self: Damn if Troy wasn't right. Now that I've gotten used to it I can't imagine wearing any other kind of undies. Not that I'll admit it to him, the smug sonofabit-.

I must be close to fucking hysterical, having stray thoughts like that. Get your shit together and save the little guy. Ya scatterbrained twat!

Returning back to Grimalkin, Jaden and Lilly in tow, Wren bent to the nearly endless task before him. As useful information came in, Wren put it into play. Lilly lasted all but three minutes before the dire situation before her was too much to bear and exited, as the horrors of today and the day before wrenched choking sobs from her disillusioned heart. After bolstering Wren's flagging stamina using some kind of martial technique, Jaden shuffled out to join her, making all kinds of potentially hollow promises on Wren's behalf to sooth her.

In the beginning Wren split his attention between keeping Grimalkin calm and diffusing the myriad different time bombs his 'good friends' gifted the poor kid. After being reasonably sure that the boy going unconscious wouldn't put him in a coma, Wren finally bid him rest and got to work in earnest: PE to pull things together, AE to pin them in place, EE to replace the resources the body was missing and small wisps of LE to take the EE constructs over the line into organic status.

Through it all, Wren had to accept a grim fact. Maybe one day he could bring back what was totally gone but that day wasn't today. Right now he lacked the full integration of knowledge, the experience and most importantly the power to reconstruct a fully organic construct, from just a theorized model up, in something as complex as a person's body part. If anything like this happened again, even under less traumatizing levels, he wouldn't have something as nifty to fall back on as a Mark of Faith. He needed to get better, be better before a similar situation came around again. He was convinced one need not be a prophet to know it would.

It was late evening by the time Wren was finished, all his pools but one nearly exhausted, the Mark of Faith dropped slightly below the quarter line and LE at a worrying 23%. Despite knowing he had a calling to do that would drop it even lower and being under 20% was bad for him he still thought of it as worthwhile.

Once Grimalkin had awoken and found himself extremely weak but whole he clutched at Wren with the ferocious strength of a newborn kitten, not wanting to let go. Too tired to come up with a good reason to pull off the clutching hands and crawl to his own bed, Wren climbed in with Little Gray and let the, hopefully temporarily, emotionally age regressed youth curl into Wren's chest and sob himself back to sleep. The faint dampness slowly seeping through his shirt and the litany of faintly mumbled, half scared and half hopeful, words Grimalkin continued, even in his sleep, had Wren subconsciously holding him tighter as Wren drifted off.

As he woke up just shy of the next morning, uncomfortably warm, unable to move and with a front covered in tear stains and a bit of snot, Wren slowly and carefully untangled himself from the pair of clingy people and let them substitute him for each other. A move that might have minor consequences but he had to piss and wanted to clean up. He knew he didn't pull it off perfect as the frowning but accommodating Troy lazily reached out and drew Little Gray over, tousling the smaller guy's stiff hair before going back to sleep. About a quarter of an hour and a patiently waiting Rohn later, he knew he was in for another wearying day.

After Jaden had sufficient time to freak out about the scary reality wound that almost got intimate with his face, roughly five minutes after Lilly got herself together, which in turn was roughly ten minutes after Wren had fallen asleep, he called on his father to ask about it. After talking it over for a whopping 10 seconds, Glaucous apparently recognized it right away which sent him into a rage so profound he nearly scrapped his plans, to come pick up his son and his son's wife and spirit off to let everyone else sink or swim so to speak. Ephyra may have been the deciding factor on that one since she volunteered to take up residence in the pavilion for the next couple of days to hold down the fort, something she had never done before and likely had a lot to do with how pleased she was with her pupil.

“And I'm the one telling you all this because this will possibly be the last day you will not be busy before the Blood Sharing Ritual. The Grand Teacher will be caring for Grimalkin today, if you allow it. And if it is at all possible, I would like you to awaken my daughter. I would ask for my son as well but it seems he has declined the possibility and I cannot convince him otherwise. I know you have spent a-,” Wren interrupted Rohn as it looked like he wouldn't be winding down anytime soon.

“Do you know what I did for Little Gray yesterday? Please let me explain since you may be under a false impression, I did not stabilize him, make him comfortable and grieve over his mutilated body, hoping that Glaucous would come save him. If I had, the nasty that almost axed Jaden would have hit his dad instead. With the help of something that Glaucous left for me I healed him, restored him and spent last night letting him shudder out some of the horrific things he's been through over the past couple of weeks. He's a mess, Rohn I can't leave him, so the answer is-” Wren paused for a moment, Rohn already looking dejected but he paused because he felt his calling mark break. Wondering if it was out of gratitude he felt it return with a full boat including a little more LE than it left with. Then a whole plethora of experiences that the astral double had been through began lining up in his mental queue. “-yes but you'll have to bring her here. Don't worry about the previous situation because it has properly been diffused and even if Grimalkin's not really stable at the moment he's too weak to be any harm. Not likely to go that way in any case.

“I told you I'd do it and I'd just as soon get this out of the way before I'm run ragged myself. But even if I couldn't have done it today I would have been looking for a way to do it between or after whatever else. I have no intention on just dipping out without clearing the table, brother Rohn... No thank yous or whatnot, just go. Oh, and tell the Grand Teacher he's probably got better things to do than come running over to play nurse maid so he can attend to them instead, with my gratitude of course.”

Instantly perking up, Rohn shot over his shoulder as he took off, “ I'll be to it then brother Wren. How are you always saying? Let's get this show on the road!”

Wren scrounged up a bite to eat for three before he walked back to the rest area, determined to squeeze a little fun out of this grim scenario. “Up and at em' Troy! You don't want your teacher catching you sleeping in when she's paying a personal call.”

Grimalkin's frantic but ineffectual scramble of terror already had Wren regretting his decision.

How fucking stupid can you be Wren, if anybody qualifies for PTSD it's this guy! Wow, this dude's tough. Got his shit together in under five seconds flat and staring down the plate in my hand like it might grow legs and run away.

Conversely, Troy seemed to be getting edgier by the second. “Ephyra's coming here!? Wren listen up. She was a man eater, in the literal sense. If she found a guy she liked, especially ones with some supernatural quality to them, she'd seduce them then eat them to strengthen her next batch of young. Just, Just don't flirt with her okay? If she took you serious then even The Riverson might not be able to save you.”

“Alright, dude. It's not like I was planning on banging your teacher,” Wren said wryly.

“You're not taking this seriously and you should. I am the way, you know, I am and she almost had me. It shouldn't take you too long to figure out when that was. Her instincts, sometimes, are hard for her to ignore. That's one of the reasons she never really came out here,” Troy said, an edge of desperation in his tone.

“Alright, Troy. Seriously noted. Do you think it's a problem that Rohn is coming with his daughter? Or, for that matter, is it a problem that Little Gray here is well, here?” Wren said, picking up a bit of the tension that Troy was laying down.

“I don't think she'd be coming without having taken some precautions of some kind first. She's thorough about things she commits to doing, Like OCD thorough,” Troy said, starting to calm down.

“Are you warning your beloved of my imminent danger?” said the most beautiful voice Wren had ever heard in his life. Luckily for him, his primary mind and even his very spirit resided in an alternate space buffer so the supernatural quality was noted but not connected to directly.

Wren grabbed Grimalkin by the shoulder and pushed him back down into the bed as his ward tried to crawl out. He shoved the plate of food in front of his face hoping the pressing need of hunger would weaken the voice's hold. It was effective.

“Little Gray, eat this, rest and drink plenty of water. Those are your only duties today besides relieving yourself. The chamber pot is a bit old fashioned, I suppose, but it will serve the purpose.” Wren directed

“Will you be going far brother Wren?” Grimalkin got out between spoonfuls of boiled and sweetened wheat germ.

“Not far enough where I can't hear you if you call out, not for the whole day,” Wren offered with an awkward attempt at a comforting smile while Grimalkin slowly nodded.

“ Well Troy, introduce me to your teacher,” Wren said, switching to a stony face, which seemed to calm down Troy immensely since it meant he was zero affected.

On a shoal rock with pearly sheen, that had appeared right next to the dark hole in the river, sat a figure out of a fairy tale. Slender but curvy with long, silvery hair that framed a heart-shaped face and ruby lips, if not for the impossibility of it she could have doubled as the youthful mother of Wren's new body. The realization of which, nearly choked Wren as he coughed a couple of times to clear his throat.

“If you're thinking what I was when I first saw Mistress Ephyra, couldn't she just though?” Troy said with a touch of Schadenfreude on his face.

“This is the second time that I've received that reaction since I've deigned to touch upon the realm of mortals, both by men and one after the other. This is starting to hurt my pride a little. If it is for the same reason as my pupil I must inform you that it is impossible for me to bear sons and I only look as I do because of a persistent glamour that slightly modifies my form to better hunt my prey. Do you understand my meaning, young master Wren?” Ephyra said, glancing mischievously at her disciple.

Wren shot a glance at Troy who seemed to be checking out the interesting patterns in the crystal lined ceiling of the cave.

I kinda already figured it out but still, it's one thing to think and quite another to know. Though it doesn't freak me out nearly as much as it would have a month ago, I kinda can't help but wish he'd had a crush on one of his football buddies like most self-hating closet Jocks.

Rolling with it, Wren said, “Well at least from Troy's perverted fantasies' perspective calling you mom wouldn't be off base,” Wren returned the ball back to Ephyra, hoping she had a little sense of humor like Glaucous.

Peals of chime-like laughter rolled around the strange acoustics of the River widened cavern.

“I have often heard it said that a teacher for a day is a parent for life. In such a case, responding to your call of mom with son-in-law wouldn't be 'off base' in similar fashion. Wouldn't you agree?” responded Ephyra, wiping the smirk off Wren's face.

“I don't think I'd like playing chess with you madam,” Wren said bitterly, wanting to reply with something far more harsh.

“Since I mastered Shatranj before your ancestors tired of raiding each others' villages and reproducing more through rape than consensual marriage, then yes. I suppose you wouldn't,” Ephyra briefly relished the look of frustration on Wren's face before continuing, “ But enough verbal games. Serious words are to be had and much work is left to do before my heart's sister's grandson returns. Let's begin, shall we.”