Sorcerer Stabber Orphen Fan Fiction ❯ It's in the Family ❯ Chapter 10 ( Chapter 10 )

Disclaimer: The usual, I don't own any of the characters in SSO.

This is set after Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: Revenge. This is based off the Anime only and the English ADV versions at that. Warning Spoilers!

Author's note: The language will get rough from time to time as our heroes' frustration level rises and believe me, their frustration level will rise. Also, you will notice that the characters have changed and may be somewhat OOC. Please keep in mind the events that happened in It's in the Blood and remember that will have far reaching effects... that said I am doing my best to keep them in character. This will probably be the last time I add these warnings, as they will remain in effect for …well the rest of the story.

Chapter 10*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After nearly a week had gone by, with nothing of interest occurring, Orphen was outside in the front yard of the Everlasting mansion, waiting for Alik. He'd sent Alik inside, to get something for them to drink after their afternoon workout. Alik seemed to be taking longer than Orphen expected and he was considering going after him, when he noticed three familiar figures, Majic, Hartia, and Policarpos walking up the path to the house. He frowned; they weren't expected for at least another week. `What are they doing back so soon and…something's wrong,' Orphen thought as he went to meet them.

As they got closer, Orphen could see the expressions on Majic's and Hartia's faces, telling him without asking that they hadn't found anything of use. `Damn it!! Garik couldn't have gotten there first. He couldn't have known about Rox. Oh…of course. The bastard targeted the Hunter families, so it wouldn't be much of a stretch to guess that he was watching their sorcerer partners, like Childman once was…probably Rox, too. It looks like we're a step behind him after all, just when I thought we'd be getting ahead. He has to make a mistake sometime. If only I could find a way into that damn cave. There must be some clues.'

As soon as they were within earshot, he asked, "Garik?"

Hartia answered, "No, not this time. It looked like it burned to the ground. It must have been at least a year ago, based on the plant growth in the ruins."

Frowning, Orphen said, "The Tower, then."

Hartia nodded, "That makes things both easier and more difficult."

Majic asked, "I still don't understand, Master Hartia. If the books are at the Tower, why is it such a problem?"

"Because, while we know where the books are, getting the Council of Elders to let us look at them is another matter, entirely." Orphen answered. "Let's get inside, so we can tell the others the bad news." He turned back towards the house and Policarpos, deciding he wasn't currently needed, settled himself under some bushes for a nap.

"Wait, why don't we talk now?" Hartia said, "I…I'll fill Mariabella and Tistiny in later. Majic and I discussed this some on our way back. There's another place we might, and I stress might, be able to find more information."

"The cave." Orphen answered, having already come to that conclusion.

Hartia and Majic both nodded. "It's still early, do we want to go out there this afternoon?" Hartia asked.

"No…" Orphen said, looking at Majic, who appeared pretty worn out. "You both look like you could use some rest. How did everything else go?"

"Quite well." Hartia said, nodding towards Majic, "Teleporting is coming along nicely. Part of me wants to wait this late in a student's training before teleporting, his ability to concentrate is so much higher than the apprentices are when they are fourteen or fifteen."

"And the other part…." Orphen hissed, narrowing his eyes, half expecting the same criticism from Hartia he'd received from Azalie about delaying Majic's teleport training. `Azalie should have known better. I wouldn't neglect Majic's instruction like that without a damn good reason. Teleport is best done in a safe location, not in the constant danger we seem to be in. And, of course his concentration is much higher, he works best under pressure. Usually the pressure of combat, but pressure none the less. Even if it's only the calm before the storm, this is this first time we've been still for any length of time. I was always worried about teaching him Teleport. I know Majic and, once taught, he would have used it too soon, with possibly disastrous results. I guess that's a silver lining in all this mess.'

"You obviously already know, so I won't say more." Hartia answered diplomatically. "We've also almost completed one copy of the rubbings. I'll take the copy to the Tower once it's complete."

"No…it goes to Stephanie for translation." Orphen stated.

"Azalie will not like that."

"Tough. Stephanie is better at translation than all the researchers at the Tower, and you know it."

"I wasn't arguing …I was just saying she won't like it, so you'd better be ready to answer to her about it."

"Whatever," Orphen said dismissively.

The three men were so caught up in their conversation that they missed it when Alik peeked out of the door to the mansion and ran back inside, on a mission to find someone.

"Master, you probably knew, or figured out, we followed you to the clearing outside the cave." Orphen nodded, agreeing with Majic's statement, "but I don't remember seeing the entrance."

"I don't remember seeing the entrance either." Hartia added, "If we are going to explore there next, how are we going to get inside?"

"I've been looking for the entrance, but I can't find it." Orphen growled out.

"Do you think…?"

"No."

"She might…"

"No!"

"But…"

"Damn it all to hell!! I know we'll have to take her with us to the hideout, but I don't have to fucking like it. I can't find the damn thing and I've been trying for three days!" Orphen paused slightly, taking a calming breath, "I think the son of a bitch might have spelled it."

"Then we'll all go, and we'll protect them." Hartia said.

"Them?"

Hartia and Majic answered at the same time,

"You think that she will leave Alik behind?"

"You think that Alik will be left behind?"

"Stop that." Orphen spat out in frustration.

Hartia and Majic shared a look, realized that this might be an opportunity to lighten the mood, and replied in unison, "Stop what?"

"Double teaming me."

Seeing that they'd struck a cord, they replied in unison again, "Who? Us?"

"I sure hope that your feet can run as fast as your mouths can."

"Why?" Both said again, teasing.

"Because, when I catch you, I'm going to make you both pay."

Hartia replied, by himself this time, "You think we are afraid of you?"

Majic simply said, "Bye," and started running.

"Traitor!" Hartia called after him.

"No, survivor." Majic said, stopping at what he judged was a safe distance.

Orphen was about to start chasing when he realized that, in spite of the tension and worry, he was still laughing too hard to run. Seeing his mirth, Hartia and Majic joined him in laughter and Majic walked back over to them.

After a few minutes, they realized they had company. Alik had brought Cleo and Leki outside after seeing that Hartia, Majic, and Policarpos had returned. They seemed pleased by the good humor everyone was displaying.

"Welcome back, Majic, Shrimpy. Good to see you in such fine spirits," she said, grinning at the assembled group. "So, how was the trip?" She felt like she'd just thrown a wet blanket on the whole group, their faces fell from smiles to frowns so fast.

"Fine, but we didn't find what we expected."

"Is everyone all right? What's wrong?" Cleo asked, now concerned.

The trio shared a look before Hartia spoke up. "Majic's teleport casting improved by leaps and bounds."

Alik ran up to Majic and chanted, "Show me! Show me! Show me!"

"Uh…sure…let's go."

"I know, behind the house, so that we're not easily seen." Alik turned towards the bush where the Wolven had settled himself. "Policarpos, are you coming?" The Wolven stood and playfully nipped at Alik, encouraging him to follow.

"Uh, right." Majic said, as he started following the boy, who was now chasing the Wolven.

Everyone watched as Alik, and then Majic, disappeared around the corner of the house. Orphen muttered, "Couldn't have planned that better."

"So, that means you're going to explain why you went from all smiles to frowns in the space of a heartbeat." Cleo stated firmly.

"Well… the training portion of the trip went very well." Hartia responded, "Majic is teleporting much better. He is now able to do unassisted `ports for short distances, without being able to see where he's teleporting to. Soon, he'll be able to extend that distance."

"But… the whole point of going to Rox Row's was to check out the books, yet you didn't bring any back, that I can see. So, what happened?"

"The cabin had been burned to the ground, probably a year ago, from the amount of plant growth there. As near as I could figure, it was a lightening strike. Before our laughing fit, we were discussing our other options to seek information. I made a suggestion to Krylancelo that made sense, but… well …there's a problem." Hartia stopped, uncertain how to continue.

"We want to check out Garik's hideout." Orphen said.

Cleo paled and stepped back slightly. `Oh, please, don't ask what I think you're going to ask. I can't go back in there, I can't.' Leki leapt up onto her shoulder and nuzzled her cheek, indicating her anxiety to the two sorcerers standing in front of her.

"Damn it, Hartia! See, I won't to it. We'll just have to hunt for it."

"You were the one that said it was spelled so you couldn't find it…" Hartia said, exasperated.

"Drop it. We'll find another way."

"Orphen," Cleo said quietly, "I-I-I'll help find the entrance…"

Leki jumped from Cleo's shoulder to Orphen's and nuzzled Orphen's face. Through Cleo and Leki's link, Orphen heard her thoughts, [I can't go in, I can't go in, but the entrance…I can still remember... there's a trick to it…but… I just can't go in.]

"No…you don't have to …we'll manage." Orphen reached up and scratched Leki's ears and whispered, "Thanks, pup." Leki licked Orphen's cheek, causing a slight grimace to appear on the sorcerer's face, before the pup jumped back to Cleo.

"Is there any other option?" Hartia asked, appearing slightly confused by the exchange between Orphen and the Wolven pup. Hartia resolved to ask about that later. "Isn't there someone else who's been in the cave we can ask?"

"The trolls…damn it. The trolls came out of the cave. We need to find Volcan and Dortin." Orphen said, latching on to an idea that didn't include Cleo.

"Oh…like they're going to help you." Cleo said with a sneer, some of her spunk coming back as a relieved Leki jumped down from her shoulder.

"Dortin will. Volcan will need persuasion." Orphen cracked his knuckles and made a fist, slamming it into his other hand. "And, personally, I'll enjoy persuading him."

"And when have we ever been able to find them when we need them?" Cleo whined, "It's not like we can track them with a homing beacon."

Hartia interjected, "Oh…now you up come with that suggestion."

Orphen glared at Hartia. He knew that Hartia was trying to lighten the mood, but it was really out of place right now, in Orphen's opinion. With a grateful glance at Hartia, Cleo mouthed, "Thank you."

"Whatever… Hartia, let's hunt some troll."

Before Orphen could turn away, Cleo, steeling herself, said, "You've said we're short on time. If you can't find them, we'll go tomorrow." Grinning slightly, she tried to follow Hartia's attempts to keep the conversation light, "You know, Orphen, usually the best way to find them is to get in trouble. So they can show up and make it worse."

Before they could respond, she turned and walked back to the house, Orphen watched her closely. The cocky sway was back in her step, as Leki played at her heels, which told him she was on the mend. That, and the view wasn't bad, either, until he noticed where someone else's attention was. "Let's go." Orphen growled out, with a look that said `eyes off'. "And, you know the scary part? She's probably right."

Orphen had turned to walk down the path towards town, when Hartia spoke up, as he fell in step next to Orphen. "Care to explain some of the things that just happened?"

"What things?" Orphen asked.

"Oh…I don't know. Little things, like the reasons behind the training delays and the exchange with the pup."

"None of your business."

"I'm making it my business."

"The reasons behind the delay you can guess, but I'm not going to go into that now."

Hartia looked puzzled for a moment. Orphen looked up and around, which triggered a memory. "Crap, I forgot. Okay, later. But I will hold you to that."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A pair of glowing red-eyes watched through a small orb as Hartia and Orphen continued down the path. Mockingly, Garik said, "Search all you want, Sorcerers. You will find nothing. I made sure of that, but I have left you a special message for when you go. This will be very entertaining."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Later that night, after a futile search for the troll brothers, Hartia and Orphen returned to the Everlasting mansion. After letting Tistiny know they were back, they settled in the kitchen over coffee, to finish the talk that had been started earlier on the road, under the cover of the Wolven scrying blocks.

Orphen took a sip of the coffee they'd fixed themselves and grimaced.

After laughing at Orphen's expression, Hartia started, "So where were we…"

Orphen growled slightly, not wanting to discuss it, even though he knew he could trust Hartia and he needed to know. Orphen wasn't used to confiding in others, so he still hesitated to answer.

Impatiently, Hartia continued, "You asked for my guess about the training. You left out Teleport because of Majic's propensity to use spells before he's ready."

"Yes, and general safety issues."

"So, who angered you over it first?"

Orphen looked up, surprised that Hartia could read him so well, but then they had grown up together. Reluctantly, he answered, "Azalie."

"Should have known…she's always been prone to snap judgments. You know that."

"Yeah…I know. She's not the only one." Orphen said, glancing up.

"True…which brings me to the other topic, the pup and Cleo. Why did you relent?"

"Relent?"

"About Cleo going to the cave, since we can't find the trolls."

"It's a long story."

"And…we have time."

"It's an advantage. Leki can communicate non-verbally with Cleo. Me, too, if I'm holding the pendant."

"Is that how you knew? That day."

"Well…no… not exactly. That's different, I think."

"Different…what do you mean?"

"This is conjecture. I don't know for certain, but, when Cleo is …thinking loudly, and Leki gets really close to me, he can project her thoughts into my head or something like that. That's what happened…then. And today. I know she can manage to go to the cave …just not in."

"Leki relayed that when he jumped to your shoulder earlier …didn't he?"

"Yeah."

"Neat trick."

"Yeah, that's why I said it would be an advantage…especially if we can keep it from Garik."

"Communication between her and the Wolven is good. Of course, to use it, you know where she'll have to be."

"Don't remind me." Orphen gritted out as he stood to leave. "I'm going to bed. Good night."

"Are we going tomorrow?"

Orphen paused at the door to the kitchen. "Yes. Early, so get some sleep."

"You, too. Night." Hartia murmured to the closed door. He stood, put the cups in the sink, and went to bed as well.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The following morning, Orphen's mood was about as dark as they come. He didn't want to push Cleo and Alik into showing them the way into the cave, even though Cleo had offered. They just didn't have any other options. He woke up before her and was heading out of her room to go back to his own, when her voice stopped him, "You got back late, did you have any luck?"

"No… damn it. Why is it that when we don't need the blasted duo, we can't get rid of them, but when we need them, they're no where to be found?"

She sat up in bed and started to get up. "Then I guess I'd better get ready."

"No. We'll keep trying to find the blasted trolls. You don't have to do this."

"Orphen, I-I'm going to need to face this"

"Hell, Cleo, you can't talk about it… you can't even say his name!"

"I-I know…but…" She looked down, ashamed, as a tremor ran through her.

"I shouldn't have shouted. I know you want to help, and that we can't force this."

She looked up hesitantly. After a brief pause, she stood up, walked up to him and hugged him around his waist, pressing her head against his chest, "Thank you for trying to understand. I know you care, and …it means more than you will ever know." She pushed back and looked up in his eyes, "but we…no…I, have to do this." He pulled her back into an embrace, stroking her shoulder. "I-I promise, when…not if, but when, I can, I will come to you, but…"

"It's okay. I'll wait." He stood there, cuddling her for a few minutes, before saying, "Well if we're going to do this, we'd better get started. If you decide you don't…"

"I won't. I'm going." Cleo answered, in a tone Orphen learned long ago meant don't argue with her because she's going to do it anyway.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Mariabella and Tistiny were in the upstairs drawing room, working on plans for the fall festival since they coordinated all the decorations, when they heard someone enter downstairs. They shared a puzzled look, since everyone else in the household had left for an excursion to the cave about an hour ago, with the promise that they'd be back for dinner, but probably not much sooner.

A few moments later a very frustrated looking Majic and Hartia entered the drawing room. Not seeing anyone else, Tistiny became concerned and, as was her habit, she lightly clasped the pendant of her necklace, moving it back and forth along the chain around her neck.

"You're back early, is anything wrong?" Tistiny asked.

"No…and yes." Hartia replied cryptically.

"Okay, that's not much of an explanation. Care to elaborate?"

"Nothing's wrong, but the trip's off for the day. Probably tomorrow, too." Majic said.

"I thought Orphen said it was urgent to get to the cave, to see if there is any information there at all." Mariabella added, focusing on Majic and trying to avoid gazing at the other man in the room.

"We want any information we can get, and it is urgent, but… we were set upon by bandits just as we got into the woods." Hartia stated, distracted and more than a little annoyed that Mariabella had apparently asked Orphen about the plans, instead of him.

"Oh, dear, that isn't a problem for you, Orphen, or Majic, but how did Cleo and Alik take it?" Tistiny asked.

"Our `guard,' the Wolven, made the capture before we even knew anything was wrong. They brought them back to us for questioning." Majic shuddered as he thought of what had happened next. "There were only two and the Wolven had one in each of their mouths, held by the neck of their shirts. One of them got loose and made a dive for Alik." Majic frowned deeply as he remembered not only what happened, but a dream, too.

When Majic paused, Hartia picked up the story, "Majic blocked that attack, almost like he knew it was coming, and knocked the man backwards. But in the process of subduing the bandit, Krylancelo or I bumped into Cleo, who had been running towards Alik. She fell down and stayed down."

Tistiny reared back in surprise and shock. She knew her daughters, and Cleo would only have done that if she were hurt.

"It's what Master has told her to do, repeatedly," Majic added to reassure Tistiny. "He ordered it so she doesn't get in the way of any spells. She actually did as he told her …for once…" Majic shuddered, not wanting to continue, and was surprised to see Tistiny smile slightly.

Tistiny thought, `It's nice to know my daughter kept her word. She followed his instructions regarding her safety.'

"Alik saw her fall and stop moving," Hartia interjected, "When he saw that, he panicked and ran to stand over Cleo. Nothing else would have happened, since Krylancelo and I had the first bandit well under control, except for the other bandit." Hartia turned to Majic, with a look that said, `You saw better, go ahead.'

"When Alik stood over Cleo, he'd also pulled the dagger Orphen gave him from his boot. Alik and I both saw the other bandit wiggle out of his shirt to get away from the Wolven at the same time. I was casting, but Alik was in the way, so I had to stop. I shouted as the bandit was grabbing for his sword. Cleo was still on the ground, but she had drawn her own dagger. When I shouted, she reacted, to protect Alik from the danger, and moved, at the same time as Alik was preparing to throw his dagger. Cleo knocked him out of the way, causing him to drop the dagger. It cut her arm as she threw her own dagger into the bandit's sword arm."

"My goodness, when did he learn to use a dagger?" Mariabella gasped.

Hartia and Majic exchanged glances before Hartia answered, "Krylancelo has been instructing Alik on using a dagger for defense. He wasn't working on throwing with him, but he apparently learned, or practiced, that on his own."

"Oh… if he'd been practicing say, darts, is the principle similar?" Tistiny asked quietly.

"Yeah. The aiming is, but the motions are different." Hartia answered, puzzled.

"Just a thought. I'll let you know later. So, I'm guessing the real fireworks started after Alik was calmed down."

"Um… You'd be guessing right. That's why they're not here now. Krylancelo took them out to the lake to calm down and work off some of the nervous energy. Of course, Cleo's not talking to Krylancelo right now."

"I would expect she isn't. She's probably mad at both of them right now." Tistiny replied, and added in a softer voice, "Herself, too, I would expect."

"I want to get out there to check on them, but Krylancelo said you needed to know what happened as quickly as possible."

"Thank you for that. Do you still have the picnic we sent with you, or do you want something different to take with you to the lake?"

"I-I don't think…"

"I'll set up a new basket for them, with restorative things for nervous stomachs. Please excuse me." She stood up and started to leave the room, then she glanced back and saw Mariabella eyeing Hartia nervously. With a grin, she added, "Majic, why don't you come with me. Another pair of hands will make this quicker."

Majic stood and followed her out of the room. Mariabella shyly looked after them, almost like she wanted to follow, before she looked up at Hartia with a worried expression on her face. Finally, after a few moments, she shifted her gaze to the floor and hesitantly asked, "Are you alright? You weren't injured, were you?"

"No… well, unless you count a scratch I got on my arm, which I think Krylancelo caused." Hartia said, glad of the time alone Tistiny had arranged for them. Knowing her, it was probably on purpose. Maybe he could find out what was really bothering her.

"Really? Let me see." She got up and crossed the room to sit next to him, in the spot recently vacated by Majic. She checked the thin red line on his skin, which was barely visible, through a cut in the sleeve of his robes. She pushed the sleeve up to examine the cut and stood. "I'll just get the first aid kit"

She stood and turned to leave the room, when he spoke, "If I knew I'd actually get this much attention by being injured, I'd do it more often. I can fix this, it's just a scratch." He grasped her hand, preventing her from leaving, and pulled her back towards him.

"How can you pull such an old line on me? I would have thought you'd be more creative than that."

"Right now, I'm just glad you're not completely avoiding me, like you have since I returned from Rox Row's. I'll take what I can get, old or new lines. Mariabella, why…?"

"Hartia…" She looked at him uncertainly, unsure of how to continue. He gently pulled her into his lap and arms.

Although he wanted to kiss her senseless, he hesitated. She was pushing him away for a reason, and, although it wasn't too much, he still felt it acutely. He never thought he'd fall this fast for a woman, but, in all honesty, he had. `What is it with these Everlasting women? First, Cleo surprised me into attraction, and now, Mariabella has…well, be honest, caught me. She's come right out of a painful relationship, and, whether I want to or not, I'm going to have to go slow. I'm going to have to be patient.'

"I-I-I… let me go." She protested. He removed his arms from around her, but she remained in his lap. When she realized she was free, she froze. "Why?"

"You said to let go."

"Well…I…" Mariabella said, shocked. He continually surprised her. He seemed aggressive about attracting her, and just before she started to get uncomfortable with it, he would already be backing down. It was such a change from her usual experience with men. She didn't think it was because he was weak-willed, he…well…he had the same sort of patience Agan, curse him, had. `Oh…of course. He may be a sorcerer, but he's also a teacher at a school.' She concluded privately that she really did want to be close to him… but, after her display, she was trying to figure out how to go about it.

"Or did you not mean it?" Hartia asked, almost as if he understood her thoughts.

She blushed, looked away, and nodded slightly. He brought his arms up around her again and pulled her close, with their faces scant inches away. He whispered, "You initiated the last one…my turn." Shutting his eyes, he closed the distance between them and kissed her.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A couple of hours later, Hartia had been drafted to help with the festival decorations, since Majic had ended up going out to the Lake. Hartia had just exited the drawing room, where he and Mariabella had been working, and was about to go out to the lake to check on the group, when said group arrived back at the house. From the balcony at the top of the stairs, he observed their interaction as a very sweaty Cleo and Alik entered, followed closely by Majic.

He whispered to Cleo, "I'm going to go update your mom," and went to find her.

"Alik, I'm sure you tried that trick with you parents and it never worked. What made you think it would work with us? If either of us says no, asking the other will not work. Even if you manage for fool us for a while, we will find out and you will get in more trouble for it."

Unsure of how to reply since he still felt badly shaken about what happened, he tried to think of a way he could bluff his way through. Instead of replying, Alik crossed his arms and gave a perfect Orphen smirk and a snort.

Cleo observed the various emotions that crossed his face before he settled on the Orphen pose. Inwardly, she started laughing and had to work to keep a straight face, especially when she heard a stifled chortle of laughter from up on the balcony. "Don't even try pulling that Orphen attitude with me. It doesn't work with him, and it won't with you, mister."

While they were talking, an also very sweaty and slightly out of breath Orphen had entered. He set her sword against the wall, leaned against the door, in the exact same stance as Alik and said, "Yeah, kid, you need to pick and choose your battles. You can't win this one, better luck next time."

"Stop encouraging him, Orphen, and you can drop that attitude, `cause you're still in trouble, too." Cleo said without looking at Orphen.

"So, you're talking to me again?"

"No, I just don't want you encouraging him any more than you have already. Right now, I'm still so mad at you, I know I'll say something I shouldn't."

"Oh, yeah, like what?" Orphen snapped back without thinking. When he realized what he said, he winced, `Great, now I've done it.'

Without a word, she turned and went upstairs to her room. There was a silent conversation going on between her and Leki as she walked up the stairs, with Leki trying to get ahead of her.

[Leki, I want to be alone. Please, guard the door.]

[No. In room. Stay distance if want.]

[I don't want him to come in.]

[Mate won't hurt.]

[He's not my mate. I'm mad at him right now and I need to calm down. Without him.]

Leki growled lightly, [Fine but dangerous, promise talk to mate.]

[There's more to this than your telling me, I'll find out but later. Please, guard the door.]

Leki nodded and sat down as she stepped into her room and slammed the door behind her.

Before Orphen could react to her departure, he heard Alik giggling. "Dad used to dare Mom like that, too. Of course, we usually found him on the couch for several mornings after that."

Orphen glared upwards when he heard a choked laugh and saw Hartia, who was leaning over the balcony, mouthing, `Should I fix the couch for you?'

"If that ever happens to you, you can always share with me." Alik added, oblivious to the other exchange.

"I have my own room. Speaking of which, ...don't you have somewhere you are supposed to go Alik?" Orphen said seriously.

"Awww…man. I figured you'd forget."

"Move it."

"Yes, sir." Alik trudged up to his room.

"Good job on the follow through with the kid. But…" Hartia started to chastise Orphen.

"Not a word, Hartia! Or I can and will bring up some of my recent observations to Cleo."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After Hartia left, probably to chase after Mariabella again and fill her in on the latest gossip, Orphen was still standing in the entryway, trying to decide what he wanted to say when he went up to try to straighten things out with Cleo. He no longer thought about whether or not he'd go to fix things, he knew he would, eventually. `Is it weakness or just caring?' He just wished he understood why she was so livid. Surely, she couldn't be upset just because he was instructing the boy on how to use a dagger. Considering everything they were going to have do in the next few months, or even years, the sooner the boy started weapons training the better. If she couldn't see that, then he knew he was going to have to find a way to convince her. For that matter, he realized he'd probably better start working with her more. Today had been quite the eye opener for him. At the lake, she'd proven she'd improved significantly with her sword since the last time they'd sparred.

He was about start up the stairs when he realized he wasn't alone. He looked over towards the study to see Tistiny standing in the doorway. She opened the door wider and stepped back into the room, issuing a blatant invitation to Orphen to join her.

He followed her just inside the room and leaned against the wall, acting like he could care less about the outcome. A casual glance around the room indicated they weren't exactly alone. Majic was sitting, curled up, actually, in one of the chairs by the fire. With a blanket covering him, he appeared to be asleep. `How in the hell did she get him out that fast? And why do I think I'm not going to like the outcome of this talk?' Orphen questioned himself. `But her advice has proven good so far.'

Tistiny watched the young man unsuccessfully try to maintain a nonchalant manner, but she knew him well enough to know what was rolling around underneath the surface. She'd invited him in because dealing with Cleo was one thing; being a parent, adoptive or otherwise, was another. "Give her a few minutes. I suspect she'll be going for a walk shortly, if I know my daughter."

He didn't respond, but re-positioned himself by the door so he could keep one eye on the stairs and one eye on Tistiny.

Smiling slightly, she considered how to offer help without triggering his significant defense mechanisms. "As you can well imagine, Cleo was a handful growing up." Orphen smirked and nodded, indicating to Tistiny she had his complete attention, "But, my husband and I were better equipped for her tricks as she grew up, because we had Mariabella pulling them first." She saw Orphen's eyes widen in surprise, as she continued, "Yes, Mariabella had…and still has to a degree, the same mischievous streak Cleo does. Cleo didn't get away with this much at all, although Mariabella did. One time, Mariabella, who was about six at the time, wanted to go to town to see a friend and show him something she made. I knew that it was storming outside, so I told her no. So she went to her father. He'd been in his tra… downstairs in the basement and didn't know about the weather, so he said yes. When Bagup brought her back, drenched, about forty-five minutes later, I was starting to scold her when she told me her dad allowed it. Cleo and Mariabella come by their tempers quite naturally, and that day my husband got the full brunt of it. However, as mad as I was with him, I was also mad at myself for being caught by one of the oldest tricks in a kid's book." Seeing that Orphen was intently listening to the story, Tistiny sprung a question on him to get an unguarded answer, "Did Alik ask you to teach him how to throw a dagger?"

Orphen was trying to figure out where she was going with the story when she asked her question, and simply answered. "Yes," before really thinking about it.

"You obviously didn't know this, but he asked Cleo to teach him to throw, too. She…"

Orphen interrupted, exploding with, "Damn it! So, she taught him! She knows…"

With an admonishing look, Tistiny put her hand up, stopping Orphen, and continued like he hadn't said anything, "told him no as well but offered a compromise of teaching him darts."

Orphen was shocked, but pleased that Cleo actually did say no, too.

"I'd like your opinion on something." He nodded, "If Alik had asked you the same thing and you didn't know he was learning how to use a dagger, would you have offered the same compromise?"

"I see where you're going with this now. That's why she's mad. I didn't tell her about the instructions, but she's blaming me for everything."

"Really? When she's angry at you does she hold back?"

"Well… No. Not usually. She's still not completely herself." His gaze drifted up to the top of the stairs, where her door was still shut.

"Although that is true, she still doesn't… um…hold her displeasure in. She still goes straight to the source. True?"

"Yes, she really let Hartia and I have it after we'd been working Majic too hard."

"Exactly. This time she's angry with you, but not venting at you. Why?"

"I don't know!"

"Maybe she's figured out you're not entirely to blame. That some of her anger is directed at herself."

Orphen looked at Tistiny in shock. "But why?"

Smiling at how much he and Cleo had to learn, and remembering how much fun she and Caro had growing together through it, "This is a lesson my husband and I went over with the girls when they were in their teens and babysitting some of the local children. I suspect, considering your history, you didn't have that opportunity. Though why Ca… um…never mind. Anyway, when babysitting, it was important to ask specific questions about what the child or children could or couldn't do before the parents left. That same principal goes for parents. Communication between authority figures, or parents, about the activities to be allowed, or banned, or even rules in general, is critical. Cleo knows this and is probably quite frustrated with herself for forgetting."

Orphen smiled, that actually made sense. It also reminded him of a discussion he'd had with the old man after they'd observed a boy play that same trick on his parents in one of the cities they'd traveled through. `What did he say? Oh… that's it, "Oldest trick in the book, that. Always gotta be on your guard for it with kids or students. I found it best to watch the eyes when the kid asks. Gives `em away every time. Your master always had a sixth sense about that. Me, I always had to check with the wife."' Orphen grinned slightly at the memory, missing his other mentor at that moment terribly. Childman taught him magic and honor, the old man taught him how to live in the real world. `He's way over due checking up on me, I was so busy with the blondes, I didn't think about him much. I thought he lived in this area; I really need to try to look him up.'

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to read my story. If you include your E-mail or sign-in under your profile, I will respond personally. Since I can't thank the anonymous people who didn't include an E-mail address. I'll just do a general thank you for each reviewer (kmf, Falcony32, Tingeta, Cristina, and deivlgirl)