Flit landed in front of Reena's house, his landing much better this time. Toby got off shakily, and when he nearly fell over, Kara helped him walk up to the house. He nearly tripped over his own feet, which were bare. The boy caught himself before he could fall over, and chuckled. His glance towards her was apologetic. "Sorry, I'm not used to moving around so much." Kara nodded, careful to keep a firm grip on his arm. "It's okay. Until you get back on your feet again, I'll be here to help." Toby smiled. "Thanks. Man, it's great to be back." The two of them reached the tree house at last. Toby flew past the worn rope ladder, and Kara climbed up on her own, going inside right after the golden haired fairy did. Mrs. Fern was in the kitchen, talking to a woman with pale blonde hair and mottled gray eyes. Her plain black dress and distant gaze suggested that she was mourning a loss. Reena's mother heard them come in and ceased her conversation. Her expression was one of shock. "Toby?" "Toby!" The stranger rose from her chair and approached the boy rather quickly, wrapping her arms around him in a big embrace. From the gasp that came from Toby, Kara could guess that the lady had a tight grip. Her eyes glimmered with tears. "Oh, my baby, how I've missed you!" Mrs. Fern turned to Kara, looking happy but also bewildered. "Kara, what's going on? Toby had a spell cast on him that was meant to be unbreakable! How is he here now?" "I undid it." Kara was filled with pride at the memory. "It wasn't that hard, actually." When she received no reply from Mrs. Fern, she became uneasy. "Was I...not supposed to?" The fairy looked tense. "Did you not hear what I said? That spell couldn't be broken by anyone, not even the most powerful fairies in this realm! How did you...I mean, you're just a human...aren't you?" Kara shrugged. "Sylvan called me a Hybrid. Maybe that's why I could do that." The woman that seemed to be Toby's mother came over to her. She was crying again, but they were happy tears. "You've saved my son," she gushed. "I don't know how you did it, but thank you! Oh, thank you!" "Calm down, Felicia," Mrs. Fern stated. "That is Kara Tilling, a human girl. She couldn't have broken that spell even if she wanted to." "But she did!" Toby's protest was surprisingly loud. "I watched her do it." "There's no need to yell, Tobias," Felicia scolded. "I believe you, although we might need to keep quiet about this. If the Council finds out you were released, they might cast the spell again." She took his hand. "Come on, let's go find your brother. I know he's outside somewhere." Felicia opened the front door of the Fern household and left, descending the rope ladder. Toby shrugged, and after flashing a smile at Kara, he left too. Kara cast a puzzled look at Mrs. Fern. "Who's his brother?"
"Kyle, but that's not important right now. You're a Hybrid?"
Kara shuffled her feet nervously on the floor. "Well, I don't know for sure. Sylvan thinks I'm one. Is that...good?"
"Good?" Mrs. Fern was beyond words. "Good? It's incredible! If you really are one, and that's highly unlikely, you'd be like a centaur in these parts." When she looked at her blankly, she explained herself. "A rare creature. A thing with unimaginable power. A lot like..." Mrs. Fern paused, lost in thought. "A lot like a Gifted fairy I used to know." Before Kara could ask what she meant by that, the front door swung open, hitting the opposing wall. It was Sylvan. She looked bedraggled and somewhat distressed, her cobalt eyes wide. "Speak of the devil," Mrs. Fern murmured. In a louder tone of voice, she shouted, "Sylvan, don't slam my front door! I don't have the money for repairs like that." When she saw the frazzled state the silver haired fairy was in, her demeanor turned kinder, her anger fading. "What's the matter? You look as if you've seen a ghost."
Sylvan was breathing hard, as if she'd been running. "I have...something to say," she panted. "Something of the upmost importance." "What?" April appeared beside her mother, her expression curious. Mrs. Fern frowned. "This isn't for you to hear, April. Go play in your room for a bit." The little girl sighed, clearly disappointed. "Okay." She trudged out of the kitchen with a solemn sort of tread. The moment she was gone, Reena and Rowan entered the room. Rowan looked dismal as usual, wearing a navy colored hoodie that was unzipped to slow a sliver of her magenta top. Reena wore a more lively white t-shirt with pale green stripes. They both wore faded jeans. Rowan's were torn in some places. "Oh, good, you're finally here," Mrs. Fern said. "Sylvan has an announcement to make. Come listen." "Do we have to?" Reena complained. "Yes, you have to," Sylvan snapped. "Stay here, and I'll explain." Rowan and Reena responded in a similar fashion, rolling their eyes but obliging anyway. "You all remember the giant griffin that stormed through this forest?" she began. "Yes, yes, we know, get to your point so I can leave," Rowan spat. Sylvan glared at her, her eyes narrowed behind her glasses. She shook her head angrily. "Do you always have to be this unpleasant?" she muttered. "Oh, never mind. The griffin we all saw was obeying orders of some sort. I heard a whisper while I was out gathering herbs. I thought I had just imagined it, but then the thing was right behind me. It tried to crush me by toppling a tree, but I was able to escape and lead it off course. It won't find us because of the veil, but there's a chance that it will still come after us." Kara thought aloud. "The veil? What's that?" "It's an invisible barrier that prevents non-fairy eyes from seeing hideouts or other stuff like that," Reena explained. "You used a spell book to get here originally, right?" "Yeah." Kara's hands itched to hold the book again. She had left it by a couch in Reena's house, but now she wished she had it with her. It contained so much that she needed to see. "The cover most likely had a veil over it," she explained. "What did you think it was at first?" "A cookbook," Kara mumbled. Rowan snorted, a snide smile on her face. "Wow. Flightless intelligence at its finest." Kara was immediately offended. She hated the smug look on the russet haired fairy's face. "What do you mean by that? I'm not stupid." "She wasn't calling you stupid." Sylvan straightened her glasses before speaking again. "Until the magic is removed, you see whatever you expect it to be. Anyways, I think the griffin isn't targeting all of us. Peony told me that it chased her, too. It moved too fast for her to kill it with her stare." "Maybe it's just trying to kill Gifted fairies," Reena offered. "Maybe, but why? What could it gain from that?" Mrs. Fern inquired. The front door opened again abruptly. Rowan withdrew one of the knives at her waist, ready to fight. When Toby and Kyle appeared there instead of something she could stab, she put it away with a quiet sort of disappointment. The two boys grinned at each other, looking happier than Kara had ever seen them look before. "I can't believe I'm actually here," Toby said with a laugh. "I've missed you." "I've missed you too." Kyle smirked and turned to address the rest of the room. "We should throw a ball around like when we were kids. Anyone else wanna join us?" "No," Rowan muttered. "You two always cheat." Toby beamed arrogantly, rubbing the top of Rowan's head. "You know it! Only the best dodgers can win that way!" He spotted Kara and looked curious. "Hey, Kara, you want to come with us? It's really fun!" Kara stood up, eager to get out if the suddenly stifling room. "Yeah, okay. Let's go!" Kyle nodded, seemingly pleased. He turned to his younger brother and whispered something, causing him to dart outside. The boy then looked at Kara. "Are you sure you're up for it? We can get pretty hardcore." Kara nodded, her hazel eyes bright at the aspect of a challenge. "Nothing's too hardcore for me. Let's go!"

Kara paced outside. Reena's family didn't really have a lawn, but the forest grounds worked just as well as a lawn would. Kyle practiced throwing a white baseball, tossing it back and forth between his hands. That ball, according to him, had come from the human world. "I went there once, and brought it back as a souvenir," he had told her on their way out here. "It's my favorite Flightless sport." The boy's eyes narrowed now, all the friendliness of practice gone from them. The ball suddenly lit up with blue light, and he threw the object without laying a finger on it, hurling it at Toby. Toby hadn't been paying attention, but still managed to catch it with both hands. "Whoa!" Kara gasped, surprised. "What was that?" "Telekinesis," Toby announced. He looked admiringly at his brother as he explained this. "Four years ago, Kyle had just learned how to do it. Now he has it perfected." Kyle chuckled, and after ruffling his sibling's golden hair, he smiled. It was a gentle one that made his dark brown eyes brighten. "I can do more than just that. I can show you later if you want me to, Kara." "Okay, um...maybe." Kara was interested, but only in the telekinetic stuff. She was a bit put off by Kyle's flirting. She had a boyfriend, after all.

Soon, they started to throw the ball up in the air. When it went up high enough, Toby and Kyle would fly upwards and grab it in midair. It was really cool to see them do this. Toby was like an angel in the air, twisting and turning. Kyle, on the other hand, was like a red bullet, plowing past his brother and snatching the ball out from under him. So this was what they had meant by hardcore. Toby managed to catch it on his own, and laughed triumphantly. "Yes, I got it!" he called. "In your face, Kyle!" When he saw Kara's response to that, he was sheepish. "Oh, uh...sorry. Here, you can join now." He tossed the ball to her, and Kara caught it. She laughed in a similar way, then stretched. "Let's see if you can fly faster than I can run!" Toby raised his eyebrows, but Kyle just nodded. "Okay! Three...two...one...go!"

The trio soon tired of their game, but they were willing . "One more time, Toby!" Kyle shouted. Toby nodded and threw the ball skyward. Kara watched Kyle fly up and grab it with a smile. He gave it back to Kara, making her blush. Mrs. Fern appeared on the back porch. "Come inside now, you three," she told them. "Aw, now?" Toby whined. "Yes, right now. Come on, dinner's ready!"
"Yes, finally!" Kyle rushed past her to go back up to the tree house. Mrs. Fern laughed at his reaction and went after him. Toby followed suit, and Kara went with him, still rather happy.