Meira has been training for 6 months now and to be honest, she is going insane. She knows she still lacks fighting skills, control over her powers, but she can only sit down and wait in the Kare while Kylem and Rakan and everyone else that is ready enough go in incursions to attack the Hexians or rescue children. She moves to the training area and as most days, she grabs her naginata and moves outside. She has taken a liking to training outside, even with the cold days still lingering, refusing to let spring begin.

“Liv!” she calls out once she is outside. The other girl pauses on her way to the forest and turns. She looks confused at first, but she quickly spots Meira and waves at her with a smile. Meira jogs up to her “going on your daily visit to train?” she asks, Liv has been going to visit the two eastern men every day for four months now.

“They are actually going to leave in not that long so I want to learn as much as I can till then”

Meira doesn’t really understand why she goes there every day, as far as she understands, she goes to practise to learn how to do things that normally only Creators do, like making clothes and weapons appear, is she not happy with her own powers?

“You can come if you want” Liv adds, she seems shy “I think you could learn how to control your powers better from them”

Meira has only visited them one time and they are kind even when one of them is a bit weird, she gets why Liv would visit them. But they still live outside, they have not been invited inside the house even when they let them stay, they are still outsiders, they even imply some weird things about the council. Meira has not been back for too long and she doesn’t know much, but she knows that it was the Council the one that made sure she was taken care of when she was small, that arranged it so that Rakan lived with her and the ones who were fighting against the Hexians, the ones who had attacked her Kare and took her away from her life.

She looks at Liv, and she is looking at her, her eyes full of uncertainty.

“I’ll go with you” she decides. There must be a good reason why Liv goes every day, why Kylem also goes so often.

Liv leads the way, and Meira will never stop marvelling at how she moves through the forest, she looks like she truly belongs there, her feet light, not making a sound, and the plants softly moving towards her. It’s not a long walk till they arrive at the house. It looks like it’s always been there, even when she knows it hasn’t. Meira can spot some flowers in pots on the veranda that are clearly from Liv.

The man with the blindfold is sitting next to the flowers while the other one is nowhere to be found. Meira looks around, while Liv just walks to the man, she doesn’t feel the other around, it bothers her.

“Why do you come here armed Godsent?” a voice, right behind her. She turns quickly, prepared to defend herself, but it’s only the other man behind her. He has an amused smile on his lips.

“What is it?” the blindfolded man asks, she tries to remember their names from when Liv talks about them. Hiroshi.

“Meira came to visit us with a naginata” the other man, Masahiko, answers him.

“It doesn’t mean anything” she quickly says, not wanting any misunderstanding to happen “I was about to train when I stumbled upon Liv and she asked me to accompany her here”

“We are glad you came” Hiroshi intervenes.

“How did you do that? I didn’t sense you coming closer”

“Oh but you should have” Masahiko says with a smile “how are you going to defend yourself if you can’t feel if your enemies are close?”

Meira purses her lips, he is right, of course, she knows that she is not very on tune with her power and her surroundings, but no one has managed to really help her with it.

“Lífdagar” Hiroshi intervenes then “how do you feel about learning to feel your surroundings today?”

“I’d love to” she answers.

“And you, Meira? Will you join us?”

Training with them is strange. They sit on the grass with Hiroshi, under the sun, and he makes them calm down, guiding them with his voice, telling them to try to feel everything around them, the animals and plants. It’s difficult to concentrate, Meira keeps focusing her senses on Liv next to her and it’s stupid, she should be used to her presence by now. Masahiko then gets closer as quietly as he can and does his best to scare them. It’s tiresome. They have to be in tune with their surroundings, have to feel the power flowing through the air and into every living thing. There are too many animals around them, too many things to keep track of. It takes Meira hours till she can distinguish Masahiko’s signal, till she can know where he is, how he is moving.

They have lunch with the couple and continue training, the sun is starting to set, the shadows of the trees reaching them when they feel something different. Meira is confused at first, it feels big, and so out of place, it seems to come from the sky. It takes her a few seconds to recognize the feeling, she gasps when she does and immediately opens her eyes to look up.

Liv reacts practically at the same time as her. She turns into a small bird and then into a big feline once she is out of her clothes and she starts running. Meira runs behind her, she is much slower but there’s no doubt about where she is going. They both run under Rakan while the dragon falls, he looks like he’s injured but he is still doing his best to land outside of the forest, closer to the house.

Meira leaves the trees behind just in time to see Rakan hitting the floor, she speeds up, half of her mind noticing how Liv turns human again and instantly makes her clothes appear so she is already dressed. It’s not the same for Rakan, he is very much naked when Meira arrives next to them. The boy moves to the side with a groan, and it’s then that Meira realises that he is not alone, he is now laying next to a girl that looks about 10 years old and, just like the boy, is covered in blood.

“Who is she?” she asks in a rush, Liv is checking the girl, who looks too shocked to say anything.

“She seems to be okay, I’ve not seen any wounds” Liv answers while she continues searching the girl.

Meira turns towards Rakan, the boy is trying to breath calmly, probably because he is hurt in the thorax and doesn’t want to hurt himself more. He is clearly injured, his arms full of cuts, and with bruises all over his body.

She immediately covers with her hands an especially deep wound on his flank, a light emitting from them while her magic cures the wound. The wound will be cured soon but he looks pale, probably because of the blood lose.

“What the hell happened” she asks. Rakan opens his eyes and looks towards the girl, Meira turns too, Liv is hugging her.

“They were trying to take her” Rakan manages to get out.

“But you save kids all the time, what happened?”

There is a pause then and Rakan closes his eyes. Meira thinks he is not going to answer when there is a whisper. “Seoham was there”

He falls asleep and Meira hears Liv gasping scared. “don’t worry, he’ll be fine” she assures her while moving one of her hands towards another wound. Elinor is right next to them now, Meira guesses she has come running but she didn’t notice, too focused in Rakan.

“Oh gods, we have to take him to the infirmary” the woman says, she looks worried, must have seen Rakan arriving, he was not very discreet.

“I can take care of him” Meira says “He was saving that girl and got attacked, I guess he transported here in his dragon form and with the girl so he’s exhausted now, nothing too bad”

She doesn’t say anything about Seoham, Liv doesn’t either. Elinor turns towards Liv and the little girl and starts talking to her softly. Meira turns towards Rakan again, focusing on healing him. She can feel others looking at them, thankfully not getting closer as to not overwhelm them.

“Kylem” Meira says “help me get him to his room”

The boy is next to them in a second, his characteristic darkness surrounding him for a few seconds before it disappears. Rakan, even when he is shorter than Kylem and the same height as Meira, is the broadest of them. Kylem moves to the legs and Meira to his head. She tries to lift him from his armpits with a huff but she can’t. Liv is next to her the next second and each of them take one side of the boy.

“Are we really going to take him up like this?” Liv asks. They are slowly walking towards the building.

“I don’t know, do you have a better idea? I don’t think any of us is strong enough to piggyback him” Meira answers to her, Kylem looks too preoccupied trying not to bump into anything while walking backwards.

“I mean… I could turn into a horse or something like that and carry him” she states. Meira hadn’t thought about that.

“Are the corridors that big?”

“Probably?” Liv doesn’t look very sure.

“Let’s just get him up like this, he is heavy as fuck” Kylem interrupts them.

They take him inside and through corridors. Thankfully there isn’t many people in them, not that what they are doing has to be hidden, everyone probably knows by now, but it would be awkward carrying Rakan like this while people look at them.

Once they are up on the bedroom floor they relax, no one is up at this time of the day so they just continue calmly. They are nearly at the stairs to their rooms when they nearly crash into someone, Liv startles, almost dropping Rakan.

“What the hell are you doing?” a new voice says. The three of them look to the person that they almost crashed into. Charles, the council’s representative at the house.

“We are carrying Rakan to his room” Meira states “Now, move to the side so we can continue.”

“He just crashed outside! He should be at the infirmary” he looks angry.

“I took care of that, now he needs to rest.”

“You are not in charge here” he is practically growling, Meira has never understood what problem he has with her, practically all their encounters have been like this.

“As far as I now as a Kyusei I have more authority than you so I can decide if he needs to go to the infirmary or not”

She stands straight, her gaze not leaving the man’s. Defiant. He looks like he’s about to protest again when a new voice interrupts him.

“Move” it’s just one word, but Kylem delivers it without room for refusal. Charles looks at him, and then at Meira again before he huffs and continues walking down the corridor with angry steps, Meira wait until he disappears around a corner.

“What the fuck is up with him seriously. He is a pain in the ass”

“Well, he is from the Council” Liv says carefully. They start moving again.

“There were people from the Council at my other Kare too and they were decent people” Meira says. The others don’t answer to that, only shrug and continue going up the stairs.

“Were should we take him?” Liv asks once they are up.

“His room is just fine” Meira answers her.

Kylem is the one to open the door, entering first, they quickly move towards the bed and push Rakan on top of it as best a s they can. The boy doesn’t stir, not only because he is knocked out but also because he is a really heavy sleeper.

“I was just about to dump him down the stairs I swear” Kylem complains “I’m going to get some water” he disappears as he says that. He may look grumpy but Meira knows that he will get water for them too and come back.

She turns towards Liv with a smile, the girl returning it before bursting into giggles.

“Oh Gods he is so whiny!” Liv says between giggles, she looks cute “He could be straight forward but no, he prefers doing things quietly or complaining while doing them”

“Yeah” Meira agrees, Liv looks too cute. She extends a hand and caresses Liv’s shoulder, covered in the hardened leather. The other girl startles and looks up to her with a gasp, her giggles dying “This was amazing by the way, the way you made your clothes appear directly on your body” Liv blushes “I understand why you trained so hard now”

“Thank you” Liv mumbles, she looks embarrassed.

“Nice choice of clothes too, battle ready, northern style” Meira remembers the day Liv went to Danai’s place to get her matching runes with her clothes. She hadn’t asked how they were then, and now she is a bit regretful.

“I wanted them to be like the ones at my home” Liv says. Her home, the place she was raised at.

“Have I ever told you I love your northern accent?” Meira asks softly, practically in a whisper. She sees Liv’s cheeks getting even redder.

“You haven’t. I learned the common language later than the others, I guess that’s why it sticks”

“You don’t have to make excuses for it, I told you I love it. And when you are caring for the animals and sometimes sing in your language” Liv’s cheeks look like they are going to burn. Meira distantly realises that she still has her hand on her.

“Do you think I should wait till he wakes up and drinks it of should I just pour the water on him?”

Both girls startle and turn just to see Kylem with a glass of water above Rakan’s face. Meira clears her throat and takes her hand away from Liv.

“I think it would be better to wait. He has had a rough day” she says. Kylem purses his lips but leaves the glass on the bedside table.

“I’ll go change” Liv says then. Meira turns to look at her.

“You’ll come back now, right?” she asks. The other girl smiles at her.

“Of course”

Meira is lying down on Rakan’s bed by the time Liv comes back. Kylem is sitting down at the window, looking out. Liv sits down at the end of the bed, her back against one of the posts of the corners. Meira moves so she can rest her head on her lap.

“Has he moved at all?” Liv asks looking at Rakan with concern. Meira nudges the boy’s head with her foot, he doesn’t make a move.

“Nope”

“Give him at least an hour” Kylem says, he looks calm.

“Yeah, I have healed all of his injuries so now he just needs to wake up”

Liv is carding her fingers through Meira’s hair and she feels like she is about to fall asleep herself. This has become one of the best things in these months, just hanging out in one of the rooms, the four of them, after their schedule for the day has finished. A lot of days it was just Liv and Meira, the boys in missions, but they were just as good.

“Do you think something is going to change now?” Liv asks, Kylem looks at them before he looks up to the ceiling, his head bumping on the wall.

“Maybe. The place Rakan went to should have been peaceful, the Council has been wanting to make a move some time now and if the Hexians are advancing they’ll want to do something”

Meira shoots up, scaring Liv. “So no more staying here?”

“I don’t know if that scares me or excites me to be honest” Liv says. Meira turns towards her.

“I’m not afraid” Meira says “I want to make them pay for what they did to me, what they are doing to everyone.”

Nobody says anything to that. The time seeming to stop while they ponder about what she has said. They all want to help people, that’s what they are here to do, that’s what is right.

It’s sudden, how Rakan shoots up from the bed and starts looking around. He stays seated but makes Meira fall off from the bed. He looks around in a frenzy, disoriented until he sees Kylem and Liv in the room with him. Only then he groans and takes his hand up to his forehead. Meira gets up from the floor and hits Rakan, with just enough strength to make him lie down on the bed again.

“Don’t do that I’m hurting” Rakan complains. He takes his hand away from his face and looks at the others with wide eyes again “Wait, where’s the kid?”

“She’s with Elinor, she’s okay”

Rakan relaxes at that, closing his eyes and getting comfortable on the pillow.

“What happened?” Kylem asks, he still has not moved from his place at the window. Meira climbs back on the bed and sits next to Liv, her back against the other post at the end of the bed and looking at Rakan.

“I was just walking around when I heard shouts, I went there and there were soldiers trying to take the kid with them so I stopped them. The normal stuff, but then Seoham appeared and the mother of the kid was begging me to take her so I turned, I protected the child and I just flew away. I guess I got injured so I decided to use the pearl to bring us here, I didn’t expect it to take so much energy to bring me in my dragon form here with the kid”

They all listen to him in silence, it was just about how they had guessed it going.

“Well, the pearls are for emergencies for something” Kylem says.

“That’s what you used to bring me here the first time right?” Meira asks “I don’t even know how it works”

“It’s…. strange” Liv answers, she doesn’t look like she knows how they work either.

“They use part of our power to move us between here and a place we have been before. If we want to go somewhere we have never been, we would need to use more power, if we want to move someone else, even more. It’s weird, and only works because this place has magic itself” Kylem explains, the girls nod like they know what he is talking about. There’s a snore, they all turn towards Rakan and find the boy completely knocked out, his eyes closed and mouth open. Kylem lets out a snort.

“I guess it’s late. We should go have dinner” he says. Have dinner, because he doesn’t really go to sleep at night.

“I think I’ll stay, in case he needs anything” Meira says, looking down at Rakan.

“Do you want me to bring you food?” Liv offers “I can eat here with you”

“I’d like that” Meira accepts with a smile.

Liv and Kylem leave then, and Meira just waits. She hopes things change now, she hopes they can start moving for real now.