I stood before everyone, happy but weary faces staring back at me. They had all fought valiantly for the place they now called home. Wounds and worn equipment a testament to their bravery and passion. Still, even with their initially terrible odd, almost all of those who were of significance remained here to stand before me, only a few missing. Either recuperating from injury or among dead.

 

"Gather the council," I spoke out. "I have matters to discuss and I want reports of everything that has happened by tonight."

 

A chorus of assent echoed my command.

 

"I thank you for defending our home, and tonight's convene will have you all honored for your deeds."

 

With that, everyone started going back to whatever matters had occupied them before my return. But before a certain bear-lady did her usual disappearing act, I called out for her.

 

"Ursa, wait."

 

She turned around, seeming slightly hesitant to meet my gaze. As I took in the Amazonian beauty, I was surprised to find her not injured or bloodied in the slightest. Rather, she looked extremely drained, as if she'd tip over if I simply gave her a light push. It didn't look like she had fought at all, rather she looked like she hadn't had even a single night's rest since I left more than a month ago.

 

Noticing the curious look in my eyes, Mia spoke up.

 

"Ursa held back the enemy with Luna almost on their own." She squeezed my arm as if to emphasize her words. "If not for them, our forces would've been long crushed."

 

Surprised, I understood why she looked to be beyond drained of mana and whatever spiritual energy it was that those shamans of her clan seemed to use.

 

"Tree spirit strong. She drain all of Ursa's power," Ursa explained weakly in that odd manner of speech.

 

"So all of those massive roots and plants were you and Luna's doing?"

 

She just nodded at that, eyes droopy.

 

She looked kind of cute, all tired and sleepy as she was, completely disarmed from her usually intimidating air. If I hadn't known better, her bear-half would've told me that she'd be going into hibernation as she was. Though she probably just needed some food and a good night's rest.

 

"I just wanted to say that it was about time we sat down and took a proper talk. I happened to come across something, or rather someone, within the Trials, and I learned some things. Some things about where you came from."

 

Sleepy eyes going suddenly wide with surprise, Ursa seemed at a loss for words. I didn't blame her though as I knew just how distant she was about anything even remotely relating to her past or even herself as an individual.

 

While everyone was entitled to their privacy, I knew her timidness was not born of a need for personal space but rather distrust seeded in her from an unhealthy life lived utterly alone. To break the shell she had built around herself, I had to be the one to make the first crack.

 

"It is alright Ursa, I will not force you to do anything. I just want to talk later. Go back and rest on it, I will be ready whenever you are." I explained, trying to sound as non-confrontational as possible as I didn't want to scare her away.

 

Though that was kind of ironic saying about a 7 feet tall muscle-bound bear woman who could take on an army of orcs all on her lonesome.

 

Still, nonetheless, Ursa just nodded shyly with her gaze averted like some young and timid school girl.

 

Being left to our devices, I was about to introduce the overly giddy wyvern standing at my back to Mia when suddenly the furry forms of some feline figures pounced on me and her.

 

The M'goro Shades, those sabertooth-like black panthers I subjugated way back when, had certainly grown.

 

-Codex!-

 

Sombra briefly hissed at the sudden furry intrusion, but as the big cats were bound to me in their entirety and that Sombra was in fact born from a fragment of my very own soul, they instantly took to the big wyvern despite her initially hostile response. Rubbing themselves up against her while purring loud enough to make the earth rumble seemed just the trick to instantly win over Sombra.

 

Both Mia and I simply watched in amusement as the huge wyvern forgot what she was and turned into little more than a massively oversized housecat as she played with the shades.

 

"Well... yeah..." I smirked wryly. "That is Sombra, one of my soul familiars. She's a bit... enthusiastic from time to time."

 

Mia giggled as she watched the big monsters frolic about.

 

"I can see that,"

 

Turning around, I gestured with my hand.

 

"And this is my other soul familiar, Ket-" I was saying, pausing as I laid eyes upon Bob who I had forgotten about. "-Su..."

 

He was crouching before my familiar, using a big meaty finger to poke the little blood golem and watching as it wobbled to his prodding like a kid intrigued by something new. Ketsu seemed not to even notice as he stared out into the distance, as deadpan as a rock even as his body bobbed around with each poke.

 

"Ah-" Was the only thing I managed.

 

Mia just smiled and stroked my back, her touch more soothing than any.

 

"You've gained much power, Master."

 

"At no small cost or effort," I muttered with a weary grunt, if not a bit self-deprecatingly.

 

"You'll need all the power you can get for protecting the clan," She said reassuringly. "This will undoubtedly be only but one amongst a great many enemies we will face as we build our home."

 

"I know - I know," I sighed, letting a hand rest on her round stomach.

 

She then took my hand and moved to stand before, craning her neck to look up at my face.

 

"But I still missed you nonetheless - we all missed you,"

 

I kissed her.

 

"Come, there are still two more who wish to see you,"

 

"Lily? Is she awake?" I asked hesitantly though I could just check through our mental link if I were to try.

 

Still, I thought it best to ask it instead.

 

She nodded, head glancing towards the tent where the lithe woman was.

 

"She woke a couple of hours ago. She's completely healed, but the energy spent to do so has her bedridden for at least another day."

 

"I see - let's go check on her, love."

 

Crossing over to the tent where two very nervous guards stood, the very same I had knocked out with but a thought and a tug on my power running within their veins. I just dismissed their pleas as they went as far as to even prostrate themselves before me for having dared draw their weapons on their lord.

 

But they had just done their duty as best to their ability and I definitely couldn't fault them anything when I had paid them no heed or even a second glance when rushing to Lily's side.

 

As we went inside, I was considerably more calm than I had been first coming home. Know knowing that I hadn't actually broken my promise and that the swift attack on the basin had been nothing more than pure and simple bad luck, I wasn't as nerve-stricken. Still, there was something daunting about seeing her again knowing that maybe if I had just been a week earlier, then Lily wouldn't have lost her arm.

 

"Xavier?" A voice called out, somehow still carrying the elegance of a noblewoman despite it sounding so weak, as if just having woken up from a particularly heavy slumber.

 

Mia let me go and we settled by her side. I crouched so that I was at eye-level with the smiling beauty that was my blade dancer.

 

"You're back,"

 

"I am," I said, brushing away a dark strand of hair on her face.

 

"I heard from the healer that you healed me,"

 

"She had already done a more than fantastic job at that and your body would've healed in just a couple of days naturally even without my blood. I just expedited the process,"

 

Lily began adopting a faint frown, the elephant in the room rather obvious.

 

She looked down at her missing arm, surprising me when not sadness or anger was on her face, but instead, worry could be seen in her usually stoic eyes.

 

"You didn't do anything stupid, did you?" She asked; what she meant by it, clear to me.

 

"Define stupid," I said back, not able to wipe the wry smirk off my face.

 

She took a pillow and flung it at my head, letting it exploded into a puff of feathers as it thudded against me.

 

"You were gone for a day! What about the war and the other enemies? Just what did you do Xavier?" She reprimanded, her worry now clearly having been for me and not for the fact that she had lost an arm.

 

I just laid my hand on her reddened cheek, even the frown she put up to intimidate me not being able to hold up at my touch.

 

"They won't be coming back,"