The Bonding Chronicles Ch. 18

"As always, you've been too kind to indulge this doddering old fool's inane mutterings," he stated as his cane returned to its original form.

The images were still coming, though her defenses were preventing her from receiving his message.

"Next time, you'll have to come visit me in Scholomance. Not sure how many more of these hikes I got in me."

As he began to walk away, Caili decided to receive Oren's telepathic message, allowing his thoughts to enter a secured and empty compartment within her mind. Sensing her acceptance, Oren began from the beginning.

She could see the memory that Wilcox had picked up from her mind, Mercedes stepping towards a large and muscular boy. The young man looked terrified of the emaciated and dirty woman who stood before him, his eyes pleading for mercy as she fought to keep her hand from moving. The Therian whispered, "I'm sorry," before losing the battle against her command, and sobbed as her hand raked across the boys chest, tearing through muscle and bone as if it weren't even there.

They watched as the boy's face quivered with shock, his eyes staring down at his open wound while the color drained from his face. A moment later, his head drooped and it was clear he had died.

Caili could feel Wilcox's astonishment and horror at what he had seen, many thoughts by the young wizard analyzing and looking for meaning in the senseless act. She could feel his desire to find the culprit, to bring the boy's murderer to justice. It was a relief, she found, to have the emotions she had experienced in that moment reflected by Wilcox.

Just then, the memory started from the beginning, but as it began she could feel Oren's deft hand stripping away the layers of obfuscation she had placed over it. In a matter of moments, the large boy was gone, and Andrew took his place resting against the tree, his body ravaged by magical consumption.

Caili could sense her own emotions drifting through the memory like a strong wind, her rage at not being able to intervene shadowing the thoughts of Mercedes, who was crying within her own mind at the terrible thing she was being forced to do. Andrew was somehow at peace, the fear he showed a ruse, part of the clever young man's plan to survive the attack.

Even then, those few days back, Andrew's thoughts were odd and disordered, as if he was continuously considering twenty things at every moment. It was hard to follow, but in the chaos Caili saw the shapes of a ward come to his mind, and as the young man cast his spell Mercedes lashed out.

His pain was real, but the truth of it was much weaker than what her eyes could see. Caili could sense Mercedes thoughts, and knew that Andrew's gambit had worked. She collapsed before him, sobbing for a few moments while he seemed to watch her with cold, unforgiving eyes. The entire time the tricky young man was focusing every ounce of will he possessed into remaining still and not screaming out in pain, each moment causing his illusion to eat away more of his body.

The memory hit its end, and Caili's heart sank, knowing that Oren had pulled apart her lie. Andrew was exposed, and The Council would be coming for him. It was impossible for Caili to see a way around it, Oren was a senior member, and if he knew, there was little chance that the rest would not have been told.

The old wizard was still walking away, and never once looked back. In her mind she could hear his playful voice announce, "Don't worry, young lady. Your little bird will remain a mystery a while longer. Though, if Wilcox should ever meet him, the true nature of those memories will return. He may be young, but my well-meaning apprentice is powerful beyond his years."

Caili stared with open awe, confused by Oren's words. "Why would you help me?"

She could hear his laughter in that small compartment within her mind, his presence within the space she had allowed him joyous and happy. "I protect my friends."

"We barely know each other," she confessed.

A beautiful feminine laugh filled her mind, followed by a female voice saying, "Bonjour, petit lapin!" She could sense Oren's happiness as the powerful memory washed over him.

"I wasn't talking about you, my dear child."

With that, she could hear him whistling the same tune he had been enjoying when he arrived, 'The Girl From Ipanema' beginning to play in her mind once more. Unlike during her battle, she was no longer honor bound to not use her telepathic powers, so she easily shut him out of her mind, glad to have the song end before it had a chance to fully start.

Shifting into her owl form, she took off towards the ocean, eager to return to her leisurely afternoon. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop thinking about everything that had happened, and worry that Andrew was growing close to discovery.

***** The Value of Home *****

Andrew sat back in his chair, patrons of The Salmon House Restaurant looking at him and Sara sideways as she massaged his leg.

"I can't believe you talked me into running here."

With a cat-like grin, she continued her work. "You did freakin' awesome, and you loved it."

He was forced to admit to himself that he enjoyed the run far more than he expected, and appreciated that Sara had carried the backpack with all of their clothes. The fact was, the forest was enchanting, and even as they ran through the thickest of brush, he never found himself stuck or struggling to make his way through. It was far easier than he thought possible, and way more exciting than he could have hoped for.

The pain in his legs was a small price to have paid for the joy he experienced with his amazing and playful mate.

Their waitress was young and pleasant, welcoming in every way as she refreshed their waters for the second time since they arrived. If she was bothered by having to wait for the third member of their party, she gave no hint.

"Thanks!" Andrew and Sara chimed as the young woman smiled and departed, her clients' needs having been met for the moment.

Sara's hands felt wonderful, working the knots out of his muscles with firm but tender caresses. "What do you mean, she was gathering some financial documents?" Sara whispered to Andrew as she leaned forward, bringing her hands up past his knee.

Andrew pulled his leg off her lap and replaced it with his other. "I think that leg is done, Kitten." His eyes glanced around the room, finding knowing grins on many of the couples, and a stern glance from an older lady, her husband shaking his head and smiling with remembrance on his face.

"She thinks her handler will be coming to see her soon, and said she needs to get some things in order. So we spent the afternoon-"

"Ohhh, I know what you spent the afternoon doing, SD."

They were both smiling and Andrew blushed, realizing that Sara didn't care if anyone heard her. "Well, yeah... We did that after, jerk."

He closed his eyes, savoring the sensation of her working the pain of their run out of his other leg. For a moment, he wondered if her ability to sooth his aches was just part of their bond, or one of the many differences that came from whatever he was. Regardless, as the pleasing pressure took away his aches, he realized he just didn't care.

"Well, whatever she's up to, she knows what she's doing."

As those words left Sara's lips with a silent and hushed tone, Vivienne came walking in, escorted by their waitress who seemed more than happy as she talked with the older woman. Vivienne was dressed as casual as Andrew had ever seen her, but still managed to give an air of importance and sophistication.

Her hair was pulled up into a bun, a single stick poking out and holding the whole thing together. The light makeup that decorated her face worked to highlight her features in a subtle way that Andrew felt he would not have noticed if not for his heightened senses. A form-fitting retro t-shirt hugged her torso, and a loose yet silhouette enhancing pair of cargo pants brought everything together. Everything was perfectly picked, from the old band shirt to the designer pants that were meant to look casual. She looked like the pacific northwest in human form.

Andrew noticed that he couldn't sense any electronics on her, and chuckled to himself as he remembered the last time they had met. Watching her phone disassemble itself in the air, and to find he had siphoned all of her data off of it was not something she would likely forget. He caressed a thumb drive in his pocket with his mind, scanning over the data, being reminded of just how wise her caution was.

They began to rise as Vivienne arrived, but were summarily waved back down by Vivienne who smiled at her daughter, rolling her eyes as she watched her hands pull away from Andrew's leg.

"No, no, please. Stay seated."

It was clear the waitress wanted to continue talking with Vivienne, but suppressed her own needs in service to her job. Within a few moments, Sara's mother was seated across from them, and had ordered a glass of wine along with a tray of smoked salmon for the table.

"So, how was your weekend?" she asked, the nervousness in her voice shifting towards confusion as Andrew and Sara burst into laughter.

"Sorry, mom... Ohhh, wow... It's been crazy."

It took Andrew and Sara a moment to gather themselves, wiping tears from their eyes as they whispered back and forth about how to proceed. By the time they returned their attention to Vivienne she wore a curious look, her eyes studying them for any clue as to what was going on. They were both comforted to see how she studied her daughter with a protective and cautious glare.

"Alright. Since we're trying to start our relationship on a fresh and honest leg, I'll leave this up to you. It's some crazy stuff related to things like what I am, and the forces you just learned about. If you really want to know, we'll tell you everything, but if you'd rather not, we totally get that."

Vivienne leaned back in her chair, happily taking the glass of Chardonnay that their waitress brought to their table. After taking a healthy drink, the color returned to her face and she'd made her decision.

"I need to understand all of this, sweetie. As much as it scares me, it's probably better that I know."

Andrew and Sara exchanged glances, silently telling each other, "I guess we're doing this then."

For the next thirty minutes they all talked in hushed whispers, a somber mood falling over the table as they made their way through the story of the Great Wolf and their part in its demise. It was difficult to avoid talking about Tani'm, Karen or Thunderfoot, but they did their best. Their stories were not Andrew and Sara's to share, and while they mentioned that others were involved, Sara spoke of them in the broadest way possible.

"That seems impossible." Vivienne said as she finished her glass and took the last bite of smoked salmon and cream cheese. Her chewing seeming to act as a catalyst for thought as she stared out the window at the sunset soaked lake that shimmered outside. Her extreme worry was somewhat pacified by the numerous rebuttals and assurances she had received from the young couple as they told their story.

Her eyes scanned Sara's hands, "Which one was it?" she asked, fear clinging to her voice as she looked for any sign that a limb had once been removed.

"This one," Sara provided, holding out the hand that Karen had regrown early that morning.

Vivienne just shook her head and studied the immaculate limb. The more she studied it the more she believed the impossible story she had heard. Small scars that Sara had gathered through her life playing in the forest were nowhere to be seen, all of them replaced with unblemished but sun-kissed skin.

As that realization hit her, she looked up with surprise at Sara's face, shocked to see her acne she had struggled with since puberty had returned. Beyond that, the bright amber eyes she had discovered a couple of nights before were gone, having been replaced by the light-brown she had seen on her daughter's face since she was a baby.

Tears filled her eyes as she realized how helpless she felt with the world her daughter had fallen into... Not fallen into, she was forced to correct herself, had been born into.

"How?" she asked, caressing her daughter's cheek.

"Just a little trick I learned from a friend," Andrew answered, shifting the glamour and allowing Sara's eyes to return to their natural beauty before they shifted back to the light-brown her mother knew so well. "I think she looks better like this as well, but nature seems to have overruled us on that one."

Vivienne smiled at Andrew's words, her eyes confessing her fondness for the young man that had changed her daughter's life.

"So, these things are just going to keep happening?"

Andrew and Sara were both surprised by her mother's statement, neither of them had alluded to their suspicion that all of those recent events were caused by Andrew's presence.

"We're not sure. But we think so, yeah," Sara confessed as Andrew continued to study Vivienne.

The waitress brought their food, placing trout before Vivienne, salmon with dill sauce before Andrew, and an almost rare new york steak before Sara. A moment later, Vivienne's wine was replaced with a fresh glass, and they all dug in, each of them happy for the distraction from the tense moment they were sharing.

Everything tasted great, and as they ate, Sara and Vivienne began talking about a sci-fi book that Sara had been reading. Andrew just listened and enjoyed the sense of contentment he could feel from his mate as she talked animatedly about how dumb one of the characters was being, and how he just needed to stop bitching about his plight and start embracing his situation.

They ultimately agreed that the writer was trying too hard to play up the tension of the character's discovery that he had been abducted by aliens, and thought it would be better if the character just buckled down and started trying to learn how to use the high tech devices around him. The more they talked, the more Andrew realized how similar Sara and her mother were.

Vivienne was a driven woman, working hard to build a career she loved and to provide for a daughter she cherished. Like her daughter, she was strong-willed and stubborn, but loyal and caring. As they made fun of the main character of the story, Andrew joined into their happiness, having never read the book but finding their joy infectious. Even their laughter was the same, often ending in a snort that forced them to cover their mouths with their hand as they looked around the room with reddening cheeks.

After their plates had been cleared and Vivienne's wine was nearing its end, the waitress asked, "Could I tempt any of you with a dessert?"

Sara was the first to speak, "No, I'm fine."

Vivienne and Andrew looked at her sideways, suspicious of the red and black haired woman. Her eyes kept looking between Andrew and the menu, and while Vivienne was uncertain what she was playing at, Andrew knew the game she was starting.

"Sure," he began with a grin of his own. "I'll take a slice of blackberry pie."

"I think he meant chocolate tuxedo cake," Sara corrected.

Andrew rolled his eyes with a chuckle, finishing his order by saying, "A la mode, if it's not too much trouble."

Vivienne shook her head with a grin, turning her attention to the waitress and stating, "I'll just finish my glass of wine, thanks."

The waitress refilled Andrew and Sara's waters, grinning at how the young couple always seemed to find a way to make contact with each other.

Vivienne was studying Andrew, something he had caught her doing a couple of times through the course of their dinner. At first he had thought it was because of their story, and the danger that Sara had been in. But her gaze never seemed to show anger or contempt, it always seemed like she was weighing something, questioning whether she should say or ask something.

"Andrew... I was curious if you'd consider taking an internship with my company. Given your talents, I think we could help you learn a lot about programming, and perhaps we could gain something from you as you develop your skills."

It was Andrew's turn to study her, his eyes squinted by his smile as he pulled the thumb drive out of his pocket. "It's ironic you'd ask me that, I had a similar offer for you."

He placed the storage device on the table and slid it towards her.

"I've got a confession, because in my previous attempt to find out what you learned about me, and what you knew about Sara, I gained access to your company's software. You probably shouldn't keep that on your phone — just sayin'."

Vivienne glowered at the thumb drive, curious but afraid, as if it were a bomb about to go off.

"I've been studying the code for the last couple of nights, just kinda dissecting the functions and cross-referencing the patterns with things I could find on the internet. Some cool stuff, really. At first it was way beyond me, but earlier today, while I was helping a friend sort through some documents, I made a breakthrough. The last few patterns that had me stumped began to make sense, and once I figured those out I was able to start putting everything together."

Andrew scanned through the code in his mind, the Monolith representing everything as a interconnected matrix of colored lines and shapes. Each object in the lattice had a clear meaning and purpose, and even then, as they were talking, Andrew could feel fragments of his consciousness optimizing and redesigning routines.

"Through my study, I found one thousand three hundred and twenty-eight bugs. That thumb drive contains a series of patch files you can use to apply my changes to your code base, since I figured you'd want to review each change before you made them. There are a number of dangerous bugs which could cause your company to miss vital associations between documents during a security audit, so I've prefixed those patches with the keyword, 'vital'."

Her eyes were wide as she looked between Andrew and the drive. She kicked herself for forgetting that her company's code had been on her phone, and wondered what other secrets the young man had gotten from the device. Whatever he had learned, the damage was done, and to that point, he had not seemed to be threatening her with anything he had found.

Before she could respond, the dessert was set before Andrew, and as the waitress turned to leave, Vivienne gulped the last of her wine and requested one last glass, her hand shaking as she brushed aside a loose strand of hair.

She could tell that Andrew was a natural developer from the conversation they had shared at the diner the day they had met. The last thing she had expected was how his magical talents could have enhanced those skills. There was a casual certainty with which Andrew had explained everything he had done, and she recognized it for what it was. He was not bragging, just recounting the events that had led to that moment.

Andrew and Sara were fighting over the dessert, any illusion that Sara was not interested shattered as their spoons dueled for supremacy.

"What do you want for this?" Vivienne asked, gesturing towards the thumb drive.

He looked up and smiled, listening as Sara's spoon cut large portions from the cake that rested before him.

"Consider it a peace offering. I kinda' feel bad about how things played out the other night."

He looked down and grimaced as he saw the swath of destruction Sara had made across his dessert, reconciling himself to the single half spoonful of cake she had left him. "Really?" he asked, turning towards his mate who gave him the cutest and most innocent smile while she sucked on her spoon.

"I weft wu du ice cweem," she declared around the cool metal implement.

Loading his spoon with the last of the cake and surrounding it with ice cream, he returned his attention to Vivienne, who was shaking her head and trying not to smile.