Agars were difficult to manage alone.

With an Oathed, it was an unbreakable commitment which put you as equals with your partner. Everything was shared from experiences to injuries to heartbreak and loss. But the rarity of a permanent partner dwindled against the tempting offer of an easier solution. The price left the dread of mortality constantly overhead. 

Even if you trusted your partner completely there was always that lingering feeling of betrayal you tried to clamp down until nothing else mattered except to get rid of it at all costs. Many a Traited has said that an Agar provides more freedom to do as you choose but in fact the opposite was true. Hawkins knew that no matter how much he longed for the security of an Oathed contract, his cowardice would always win out in the end. He didn't deserve the stability of an easy life.

Hawkins sat alone as the rest of the group bounced off ideas from one another, bursts of misplaced coughing and shrieks of laughter concerned him but not enough to pay attention to the conversation. He knew what his goal was but he didn't have the heart to engage in it anymore than a few well placed nods. 

He had forgotten how people reacted to his over eager nature. It had been a while since he was allowed to be this friendly and expressed himself with others but the unchanged truth soon brought him back to the sullen facade of a Mediator. People with Agars were afraid of happiness. They saw it as having something to gain. 

Hawkins had tried many a time to reassure others that he would never steal another's Agar without permission but he couldn't help if they wanted to point the blame. Dragons may have been able to detect lies but that didn't mean they always told the truth. He didn't want to change who he was but sometimes things don't work that way. 

It was why he stayed silent as Mantis and Rin gently opened up about their past with Cricket and potential ideas with Odi. Even Hack seemed to be having a good time swapping stories to make Thea squeal in fear or delight. Hawkins fought the urge to smile, watching the two Firestep wolves play fight in the far corner only to stare at the cold, grey ground, desperate not to cause any more trouble.

"Hawkins?"

His head snapped towards the unfamiliar sound, unaware such a smooth, calming voice could come from such a strange source. Blaize had called for him, resting near a small gap between Mantis' empty seat, still keeping an eye on her Agar. The two girls had decided to stretch their legs and work on a few basic traps and check on the barricades they had built while Hack helped Odi down off her back braces to let Thea examine where the sun had damaged her scales. 

Hawkins bit his lip, worried for the Scale Shrieker but acutely aware of how he was alone with two very capable and very hungry Firestep wolves. Blaize smiled warmly at him, her fangs showing as Hawkins fought the urge to jump. 

"Are you alright? You seem a bit...distracted." she said at last, framing it as a concern more than an insult.

He nodded, too wary of saying anything more in case history repeated itself. He noticed how relaxed she was despite the current state of her partner, her russet red fur blowing in the slight breeze Thea had conjured with her Trait. Her claws were healed, no longer red and angry with blisters but a soft amber similar to the continuous coil around her legs and up her back. It didn't seem as sinister as he once thought, more like an extra part of her which stood out a lot more than normal. 

"Curious about my Lariat?"

Hawkins felt his world go cold. Just hearing the unfamiliar term set chills down his arms far more than any other he had heard today. He now knew of the different Tarragons and the vastness of Trait but for some reason the vague idea of forced Agars given a term used to corner and trap helpless animals felt worse than any other technique he had heard. Blaize was no mere animal hunted and slaughtered for sport. She was a majestic and sacred Firestep wolf, a guardian of the Ironthorn forest and all who dwell in it.

"It's necromancy, isn't it?" He asked hesitantly, being acutely reminded of how the last conversation about that topic had gone.

Blaize let out a chuckle, neither denying nor confirming it as she rested her snout against her paws. She casually flicked her tail into the air as the flaming coil around her back flickered in response. As if someone had shook invisible reins on a horse it surged through her body in a jolt of searing pain. Hawkins heard a yelp of surprise from Rin far in the distance as she glared at the mischievous wolf.

"I take it Odiphilis has told you of the bias around necromancy?" Blaize responded, ignoring her brothers growl of disapproval.

Hawkins rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed by his own quick judgement but still sure he would be stuck in his ways for a while. It would be good to understand where he stood with them before he made assumptions.

"I still have my concerns about it, despite Odi's efforts to help me agree with her views. But I understand that regardless of Trait, necromancy can be used by anyone. Not just a Shadow Traited." Hawkins admitted, doing his best to word his sentences carefully in front of an Agar that wasn't his own.

Blaize smiled, Hawkins was grateful for the slight distance between him and her fiery claws since he has seen first hand what she could do to a Traited when angered. After all, he was sure Cricket still had the claw marks to prove it.

"That is the gist of it, yes. All Trait can be used for necromancy but not all can truly raise the dead. It must be a choice, willingly given to those who ask for it." Blaize explained to the Mediator, seamlessly adding to Odi's explanation as if she had heard it first hand.

For once, The Mediator was grateful for his constant curiosity and seemingly high alcohol intake since he could strangely remember every detail of that brash awakening as if it was yesterday. Well, it was technically yesterday but being able to recall it certainly helped when it came to the questionably knowledgeable Firestep she wolf.

"A choice? How can the dead choose to be resurrected? They aren't exactly talkative." He asked, fighting the urge to roll his eyes.

Blaize laughs politely, nodding her head while sparks flew from her fur, causing the ground to fizzle before letting out puffs of smoke to signify the snuffed out flame.

"True. But I'm not really an expert on how they choose. I guess that's all down to the partner knowing the Traited or some other undiscovered method." She said, avoiding the question with ease as Hawkins heard Odi hiss with pain. 

Hawkins jolted back in surprise, Hack swearing while he slowly lessened the tension on her braces, returning them to the stony floor they had came from. He didn't know whether it was the sight of Odi's wings that made him uneasy or the niggling feeling that Blaize was hiding more than she let on about the price necromancy held on this world and the Traited who live in it.

"Yeah. I guess so." 

Feigning indifference was the only thing he could think of, his mood marginally better but the continuing sinking feeling he had felt once before back in Griffins Point still remained. It rotted away at his nerves, forcing himself to no longer be engaged with such an annoyingly brief conversation. Hawkins slumped, his gaze fixated on the pebbles beneath him, solemnly shuffling them from side to side with his feet.

"Do you know why my brother and I are contracted to Cull and Rin?" Blaize said, attempting to entice him into talking again, nudging her sleeping brother awake to help her.

"Because they forced you into it." He blurted out without thinking, turning bright red as soon as he opened his mouth.

Hazard let out a bark of a laugh, his gratingly cruel tone causing him to shake; his brown fur seeming ever darker against his chilling expression. Hawkins failed to see the irony in what he had said, opting to just stay silent and hopefully the two wouldn't turn him into a flaming corpse anytime soon. Blaize couldn't help but smile, her expression tinged with the same dark irony as her brothers but still held an underlying tone of sadness and regret.

"No. We were the ones who forced them."

It was like everything he knew about Agars just plummeted into the ground. Hellgrind could swallow him whole for all he cared, endless days of studying and researching out the window. He couldn't believe it. Not one study of the contracts between Traited in all his years of being a Mediator could have prepared him for this. A technique that could not only force an Agar to a partner but one that could be initiated by it too? The implications were numerous but the first thing that popped into Hawkins head was...why? Why do such a thing when rules were in place to allow Agars, temporary contracts to exist alongside the Oathed?

"But you don't need a contract. Your race can survive without one. Why would you…" He insisted, trying to wrap his head around such an entirely foreign concept. 

Hazard snarled, rising up to challenge him as the Mediator silenced his whirring questions, his hands shaking as flames nipped at his heels. With a bark of contempt the male wolf quelled his flames and answered the unaware Traited in his own poignant way.

"Just because we can survive without a contract doesn't mean we want to. Wolves aren't meant to be alone. So we killed their Agars and scared away any potential ones, leaving them no choice in the matter."

Hawkins silence remained but his eyes betrayed the horror of registering Hazard's matter of fact explanation. He couldn't hide his thoughts, clamping his hand over his mouth as bile rose in his throat. The thought of...anyone doing something so cruel, so calculated all to further their own goals at the expense of their Agars and whoever was partnered to them in the past sent him into convulsions, his eyes shut tight at the thought of him ever doing the same. 

Hawkins heard the two wolves briefly growl and snap at each other, never daring to open his eyes as the anxiety continued to unsteady his breathing. After a while, a quiet sigh broke through the silence, a small whine of discontempt followed while the conversation continued without him.

"Things were more complicated than that but yes, that was what we chose to do. We were reckless, young and angry at being abandoned but that does not justify our reasons for what we did." Blaize said, solemnly as she attempted to nudge her nose against Hawkins' knee.

Hawkins didn't respond, his reply now dead in the water, muffled by the endless questions marred by confusion and grief. For the first time in his life, he didn't understand the reason for the existence of Agars and this Lariat technique if all it led to was an unfair life for those who went through with it.

With the emergence of the creation of the Divide and all other Trait made barriers separating each major country from the next meant information had been extremely limited. Only the natives who had dared to venture outside their borders as refugees could tell the tales of their homeland but there were very few who would listen. It seemed this Lariat was older than contracts itself or maybe it didn't matter to Opalians as much. Nocturus was still a mostly uncharted realm of knowledge for the Mediators so it was no wonder that nothing about this existed in the archives of their history.

It was a difficult situation to manage when your Throneholder insisted to keep the legacy of the Opalis name to not only the entire country but also its major city as well. Having a stronghold known as Opalace didn't help either and the whole thing should have been scrapped long ago but no one would dare question the wrath of a dragon. So, those from other regions adapted and named them 'the Land Above' and 'the Undercity', forever forging a rift between those in less fortunate situations to rarely rise up towards the ranks of nobility. Despite the friction between the two, all were still considered to be the country of Opalis.

"You like most people assumed the worst of our Agars when in fact it is the opposite. The Lariat allows us to pay for our sins and keep up pretenses for when we need to, after all. No Swarm member would dare look down on someone who was rumoured to force two Firestep wolves to do their bidding." Hazard said, sneering as he was reminded of their fight earlier that evening.

Hawkins couldn't help but feel unnerved by his words, the fact that all that depended on how people saw them, not just as Agars but as people. Traited with power was all that mattered most in this world. His shoulders slumped, folding his hands together, half yearning for a cigarette and half longing for an Agar to keep him company.

"You're.." Hawkins hesitated, unsure of how to word his feelings.

The wolf siblings caught on to the uncertainty and latched on with both claws. They knew how judging that silence could be when it came to a bunch of nobodies. Blaize acknowledged the Mediators hesitation and matched it with her own, hoping to spark another fire in the logical mind of a Trait obsessed idiot.

"Evil? Monsters? Savage? Take your pick, we've heard them all." 

Hawkins sighed sadly, hearing Thea giggle in the distance as his heart lurched. The two wolves lay side by side, their eyes flitting to take in each scene individually, the two girls sparring against one another as they did their best to hold back, Hack steadily helped Thea reach the larger sections of Odi's wings, slowly and delicately moving them into place with his Trait as not to hurt the suffering Scale Shrieker. Odi let out short sharp breaths as she attempted to stifle the pain by altering her weight on one side. Finally, they focused their attention on one half of their Lariat, their Agar forced together in a contract with Blaize.

Cull sprouted a series of bruises across his head, the swelling slightly lessened by the Thyraxians healing but the tinge of blackened skin surrounding his bare arms was the most concerning. There was a faint hue of angry orange waves of heat but nothing substantial enough to forge a flame big enough to reawaken his grimoire. His sister had tried to keep a safe distance as not to lessen his recovery further but with his overexertion of his Trait the Mediator couldn't help but feel guilty towards the unconcious teen.

In the end, it didn't matter to Hawkins how the contract happened. The fact he was still alive, still trying to keep going despite his Trait, his faults and his makeshift family of half baked powerhouses, nervous wrecks and bug spirits, the fact that he had willingly cooperated with people who they were sent to more than likely kill meant there was something worth holding onto a group like that. It was that feeling alone, that reminder of why Cull had done what he did to save someone like him which made the grieving Smoke Traited decide to admit to the callous pair his anxieties.

"You're.. like me, in a way. I mean I haven't been the best Agar either...although I've never killed someone else's partner before but...I'm not gonna deny I haven't had my fair share of death experiences over the past few days, especially. It's just you seem like you don't want to be alone and I'm...I'm scared of being alone too, I guess." 

Blaize sat quietly for a while, her brothers thoughts as clear as mud. He rolled his eyes, snorted with derision at the soppiness and stood up to challenge the pitiful excuse of a Mediator.

"Who said anything about being scared?" He said, his lip curling into a snarl of bared fangs.

Hawkins leant back a little as Hazard started to turn on him only to receive a vicious swat from Blaize's flaming amber tail, causing her brother to fall flat on his belly with a yelp. The she wolf let out a hearty chuckle, her head rearing back at her idiot of a sibling as Hazard growled in mock annoyance, attempting to hide a smile.

Hawkins didn't have the heart to laugh, barely acknowledging it even happened as he leaned forward and began wringing his hands together with worry.

"I don't want to die but without Wisp it's looking bleaker by the day. My Trait won't last much longer but here I am worrying about hurting other people I barely know just because they have Agars like me." He continued to ramble, completely ignoring the two wolves in front of him.

Blaize began to softly whine, her brother picking himself up off the coarse ground, shaking himself down only to rest nearer to his sister. 

"What's that got to do with us?" Hazard answered for her, holding back his harsh tone in favour for more of a curious and concerned voice of reason.

Hawkins noticed the change in Hazard's voice, taking a breath before attempting to word his concerns with his own self doubts scrambled in the forefront of his mind.

"I think I might have overstepped when talking about my Trait to Mantis and Rin. I think mentioning I was...a defective Dual Traited and the fact my Agar Wisp is missing meant they put two and two together and felt I might...coerce you into a contract somehow. I've been accused of it before but it's how I am around people and…"

Hazard laughed harshly, howling loudly as he stamped his paws on the floor. Both Blaize and Hawkins gave him a strange almost mirrored expression towards the dark brown Firestep wolf. Eventually Hazard settled down enough to give him a brief but gruff answer, still chuckling under his breath all the while.

"So what? You wanna talk about nerdy Trait stuff or be kind to someone's Agar? Do it. But don't sacrifice your own happiness just because your someone else is telling you otherwise. Your not that kind of Mediator. Wear your heart on your sleeve for all anyone else cares. I sure don't and I'm always a grumpy bastard."

Blaize snorted, her wolfy grin causing Hawkins to smile as Hazard shoved her playfully only to break out into a scuffle, the Mediator couldn't help laughing along with them.

"Looks like you give better advice than me, Hazard." Blaize ribbed, tugging at his tail only for Hazard to dodge out of the way and headbutt her.

"Don't get used to it, sis. Someone needs to keep up appearances." Hazard shot back, grunting as her head pushed her back to the point where they both lost their balance on the uneven ground.

The two Firestep siblings flopped next to each other, casually swatting each other again and again until they both got tired of flinging insults and embers at each other. Hawkins chuckled at their childish behaviour, being reminded of when he used to play on the streets of Axis with the other kids. Sometimes, they'd play with the moving city, creating playgrounds out of earth and pavement to clamber on and run around just to see who could get around it the fastest.

He couldn't help but compare the two wolves situation with his own. He had put on an act ever since he was made a full Mediator to be more stoic and stern around his colleagues every day while allowing himself to relax at home, regardless of whether Wisp was with him or not he always managed to keep it up. 

Until the day the Agar Incident happened.

 He had tried to do the right thing and be himself for the first time in his life, to try and help his fellow Traited by looking after what seemed to be an abandoned Agar. He helped his mother with her work while looking after his new friend but a few days before he was about to let it go free and find its partner, his house was surrounded and he was accused of coercion and was forcibly stripped of his rights and Mediator licence. 

He never saw who accused him of such a crime or how his sentence had been overturned but he knew from the Trait coating his mothers knuckles and the sight of a disfigured woman that things hadn't ended smoothly. Before he knew it he was receiving a personal escort from Hack into a temporary lodging in Beggars End and was told to keep his licence until further review. 

That was three months ago.

Much like the Firestep siblings way of acting tough to allow their Agars to gain favour with others, his facade had allowed him to slip by unnoticed until his longing to be friendlier and more open had almost cost him his licence and his livelihood. Blaize seemed quite timid on the surface but she could be very blunt with her choice of advice while Hazard could be harsh and foul mouthed but he could be caring in his own gruff way, he wouldn't have said what he said if he wasn't. His way of showing affection reminded Hawkins very much of a certain Sand Wraith who was currently giving him concerned glances towards the group.

"You're right. I can't pretend anymore. So you two shouldn't either. You're both more than capable of protecting your Agars, Lariat or not so don't hide who you are just to look tough. Trust me, it never ends well and its bloody exhausting being so stoic all the time." Hawkins said with finality, folding his arms much like his mentor would.

"Yeah, especially if you've learnt from a sourpuss like Hack." Blaize interjected, the three of them laughing privately as the two girls returned from their sparring session.

Hawkins quietened down a little as Mantis and Rin approached the group, the small seat like pillars Hack had conjured up earlier began to rise up again like slowly awakening giants as the two changed seats, deciding to set them up in a row instead of a circle. Hawkins remained by the wolves, a slight distance away from the others as Hack grumpily stamped his foot once before slumping down onto his own dist ridden block with a vengeance.

Suddenly, Hawkins own cube of rock began to slide along the ground as if it were sliding on ice as it jolted to a halt right across from Cull and to the far right of the two girls. The order of seating had been realigned and there's nothing anyone else could do about it. Odi gave Hack a soft growl of disapproval but he only smirked, his tail swishing about in delight. It was only until the familiarly snide voice of Mantis crept into the mood.

"Oh look, smoke boy has decided to rejoin the group after all, what a shame."

Hack grumbled but was silenced by Hawkins glare, only to smile reassuringly at him. The Sand Wraith looked as if he had swallowed his own tail, the tendrils of smoke from Hawkins leftover Trait languidly patting him on the back before disappearing from view. Mantis continued to sneer as Hawkins gulped, wary of her unpredictable nature.

"I'd like to say something, if you don't mind." Hawkins said hesitantly, feeling like his head was spinning on end.

The Air Traited glared angrily at the Mediator, The Fire Traited attempted to hide behind Mantis as Hawkins tried to get through to them despite the negative reaction.

"I just wanted to let you both know that don't want someone else to contract with. I just want that idiotic ball of senient smoke back so I can tell him I'm sorry. I have no intention of coercing your Agars into a contract whatsoever and...if you don't believe me then...that's just fine!"

Hawkins hadn't realised he had stood up until Mantis decided to confront him head on. He could hear the quiet chuckling of the wolf duo behind him only for the slow rumble of earth to silence them immediately. He didn't need to see to know what had happened, the choking sounds of teeth grinding into a slab of rock stuck in their mouth was memorable enough for him. 

"Why in Hells name would an overachieving idiot like you think you'd have a chance with a Thyraxian like my Thea?"

The Mediator fought back a nervous laugh as Mantis decided to make her point known by poking him in the chest.

"Well...erm…"

 "I was just worried about your Smoke Trait getting to Cull that's all." Rin said quietly, fidgeting with her jacket.

Hawkins blushed furiously, realising how stupid he had been to jump to conclusions and quickly sat down, embarressed for speaking out. Hack huffed goodnaturedly and gave him a well deserved grin of congratulations before deciding to scold him.

"Knucklehead. Didn't I tell you we'll work things out? It's only been a few months since that witch of a woman accused you of coercion."

"But…" Hawkins tried to interrupt but Hack was not finished.

"But nothin'! Your mam knocked out that heathenous womans dentures to go with that overbite of hers or did you forget that when you made a fuss and got kicked out again? I don't like your old lady much either but damn her Trait is not to be messed with. Especially her right hook."

Hack visibly shuddered his scales changing from a deep purple to a slightly nervous lilac. Hawkins couldn't help but smile, quietly chuckling to himself about the last time Hack had been on the receiving end of his mother's wrath. Suddenly a cold feeling of dread washed over him as he realised his responsibilities as a Mediator and blurted out his fears before anyone could stop him.

"But...the Order…"

Hack sighed goodnaturedly, half expecting this train of thought to happen.

"The Sixth Order knows damn well of the situation. Why else did they relocate you from Pelt to your place Beggars End? We'll get all this sorted out as soon as we beat this overpowered insect girl and find Wisp." He said, his tone a bit kinder than before.

Hawkins took a deep breath and went over the Sand Wraiths words like a mantra. It would be sorted out soon. Despite his gruff demeanour, Hack certainly knew how to simplify things when his logical mind got too much for him to handle. Hawkins liked it when things were easy to follow and even though the entire mechanics of Trait research and how it worked made no sense whatsoever sometimes, he liked thinking about the endless possibilities it could have based on a single person. 

But that kind of conversation couldn't be restarted so easily, the mood of the group had improved a little but he could still feel the unease in the air. It wasn't until an unlikely source of humour decided to speak up about all he had discussed with Hack.

"Well who'd've thought it?  Here I thought you two were a bunch of pansies. Looks like you stir more shit than we do in a week!" Hazard said, cackling unexpectedly as he wound his tail around Rin's hand for support.

She smiled widely for the first time in a while as she gently placed a hand on his flank as a warm sensation filled her body for a fraction of a section before she pulled away, still unsure of her own power. Hazard noted the change in Rin's mood despite knowing her happiness at him allowing her to touch him at least for a moment. The wolf growled under his breath, deciding to stubbornly turn around and put his head on her knee, shuffling his fur to purposefully brush against her wary hand.

Hawkins couldn't help but laugh, the delight on both Rin and now Hazard's wolfy features only proved the point he had made to them earlier. Acting tough only got you so far when it came to the people you care about the most. The dark brown Firestep wolf stayed by Rin's side a little while longer, gently nudging her back into the conversation while Thea twirled happily, Blaize providing her brother some space while aiming a few playful swats at the Thyraxian with her tail.

"I've been meaning to ask you, Hawkins." Rin began hesitantly, Hazard gently coaxing her with a well placed growl while she scratched his ears.

Hawkins turned his attention to the Fire Traited, briefly stopping his conversation with Odi, his mouth full of leftover jerky before swallowing a little too quickly, ending up in a coughing fit only to gesture to her to continue on despite the awkwardness.

"Didn't you mention something else about beating Cricket's Trait earlier? When you tried to convince Odi, you said something about A Trio or something to do with combining Traits with a grimoire or…" Rin said, faltering as she struggled to explain something she wasn't quite sure she heard.

"A Triad." Hawkins and Odi blurted out simultaneously, their eyes wide with the same realisation.

The two girls stared at them like they had lost their minds while Hack had a mix of abject horror, understanding and sheer insanity as if he knew exactly what was about to happen and could do absolutely nothing about no matter how many rocks he threatened to put in people's jaws. The Firestep wolves however, had a shit eating grin on their face, muttering about how the nerds were back in business. 

"I think we better explain before another information overload happens." Odi said, smiling as she was infected by the Mediators joy despite her wings giving her pain.

Hawkins laughed in euphoria, a mix of delight and excitement at the thought of sharing his knowledge with not only someone who knew as much as he did about Trait but with people who accepted his bright ideas and actually wanted to listen and learn about them, albeit begrudgingly. The group finished what snickering, snacking and grumbling they had to do while the Sand Wraith and Scale Shrieker bickered about a starting point. Hawkins grinned, deciding for the first time that afternoon to feel comfortable again to start a conversation with a bunch of strangers who felt more kin to him than his own Order.

"So, where do we start?"