Ava sits on an ornate bench tucked into an alcove in the wood-paneled hallway of the upper floor dorm wing. Her feet are folded beneath her and she's quietly reading a book.

Farid, headed for the Vampyr wing, passes by.

Ava doesn't notice him until he backs up and ducks down to see what she's reading. "The Alchemist, huh?" he says.

Ava looks up and when she sees him, she cracks a wide, goofy smile.

"Yeah, I found it in the library." She laughs. "I thought it was a textbook at first. And then I realized it was Paul Coelho. I've heard so much about this book; I've been meaning to read it forever." She exhales. "I just needed a break from all the combat training, you know? And don't get me started on all the Otherworlder history." She rolls her eyes.

Farid smiles as he leans back against the post on the opposite wall. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Time with the Masters, while educational, is definitely... um... let's just say it's intense," he finishes with a smile. Then he points at her book. "You know, I really loved that book when I first read it. I think I was, like, twelve or thirteen at the time, and it totally changed my life--changed my entire perspective on the world. Well, that and the Tao Te Ching."

Ava's smile grows wider, if that's even possible. "You've read the Tao Te Ching! No kidding! Me too!" She exclaims, barely able to hide her enthusiasm. What are the chances of meeting such a kindred spirit in a Vampyr?

"Although, to be honest," she says. "I read the version of the Tao Te Ching that uses the Winnie the Pooh stories as an allegory. I don't know if you've heard of it. It's called the Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff. I was fourteen when I first read it. I mean, I tried to read the original, but to be honest, it was a bit over my head."

"Hey, as long as the message is the same." Farid shrugs. "Tao Te Ching, Tao of Pooh, it's all good."

They both laugh at this. Then, Ava closes her book and tilting her head, considers Farid carefully. "Can I ask you a personal question?" she says.

"Sure." Farid slips his hands into the pocket of his jeans.

"Are you and Sebastian the same age?" Ava asks. "I mean, you seem so much more... um..." she pauses, wanting to tread carefully with this one "...well, you seem much more mature than him."

Farid laughs out loud. "Yeah, we are," he affirms. "And you're not the first to make that observation." He looks down the hall, then back at her. Suddenly, he gets serious. "I'm... Well... I'm actually older, by about 10 minutes," he admits.

Ava scrunches up her face, confused. "Oh, so wait, you're twins?" she posits.

Farid shakes his head slowly. "Nope."

"Step-brothers?" She ventures another guess.

Farid shakes his head again. Then, after a beat he says, "We're half-brothers. Same father, different mothers."

"Oh, I see." Ava nods, then does the math in her head. Okay, now she's really confused.

"But wait," she ponders aloud, "you said you were born 10 minutes apart. So, does that mean that--"

"--that my father has more than one wife?" Farid finishes for her. "Yes, it does."

Ava's mouth makes a silent "O" as she tries to be polite and hide her shock. "Okay," she finally says. "Okay, I see." She nods. "Hmm. Interesting."

Farid lets loose a slow, beleaguered sigh. He's loath to delve too deeply into the complicated Vampyric social hierarchy. But on the other hand, he's eager for Ava to get to know him better. "You see, my father has four wives," he says. "Sebastian's mother, Brigitte, is our father's first wife--that's why he's a First Son. My mother, Mina, is his second wife, making me a Second Son. He has a third wife, Anka, who gave him two daughters--they're considered his Third Daughters, but of different social ranks. And then lastly, there's our baby brother, Mateo. His mother, Marianna, is my father's fourth wife, making Mateo a Fourth Son," Farid pauses as he looks up at the ceiling, "even though there are only three boys in the family. Yeah..." He says slowly, then shakes his head at the ridiculousness of it all.

"Wow!" Ava replies earnestly. "That's some system you got there."

"Tell me about it." Farid chuckles. "It's an ancient custom that aristocrats use to quickly assess where a candidate sits in the family hierarchy so you can gauge whether or not they're good enough to marry your daughter or son." Farid shakes his head again. "It's crazy. We even have formal titles for it, but I won't bore you with all that. It's silly and needlessly complicated."

"I see." Ava says, nodding as she tries to take it all in. She's restless in her seat, avoiding Farid's gaze.

Farid notices this and how quiet she's gotten and gets anxious. He tucks his hands deeper into his jeans pockets. Maybe he weirded her out with all this talk about Vampyric culture. She must think they're a shallow people, and that their lives only revolve around status and money. He hesitates before asking, "So, um, does that custom make you, I don't know, uncomfortable?"

"What?" Ava had been lost in thought. "Oh, you mean that your father is a..." she pauses, reluctant to say the word.

"A polygamist." Farid finishes for her, chafing at the term. At least it's out there.

Ava bites her bottom lip as she thinks about it for a moment. She gives it some serious thought.

"Well," she says slowly, "I suppose that because we Shifters pair-bond for life, it does seem a bit unusual to me." Her face scrunches up in apology. "I'm sorry. I'm not judging your practice or anything like that!" She adds quickly. "In fact, it seems remarkably practical when you think about it."

Farid chuckles.

"No, I'm serious!" Ava exclaims. "On some level, it makes perfect sense. I guess I'm just a little uncomfortable with the thought of it because I've never met a polygamist before."

Farid lays a hand on his chest. "Oh. I'm not a polygamist!" he exclaims, laughing uncomfortably. "Good gods, no! Seriously, I don't condone the practice at all. It's just how we Vampyrs are, you know; it's how we've done it for centuries. I guess it was a way for a family to consolidate their wealth and power back in the day. Most Vampyrs my age don't even want to go down that road."

"Not even Sebastian?" Ava asks, quirking a brow.

Farid chuckles. "Sebastian? Oh, Sebastian would have ten wives if he could!" He chuckles harder. "But I doubt he'll manage one the way he's going. He thinks he's got game but..." Farid spreads his hands and shrugs.

They both laugh, and then feeling guilty, Farid adds. "I really shouldn't talk about my brother like that," he admits. "Sebastian's not nearly as bad as people make him out to be. He's just a little..." He searches for the right word "Well, he's a bit complicated."

Just then, Fiona passes by in the hallway perpendicular to where Ava and Farid are chatting. She stops, surprised to see them together. Her first instinct is to join them, but something holds her back.

She watches them for a moment and observes their body language, noting the obvious chemistry between them, then frowns.

Deeply enmeshed in their conversation, they don't even notice she's there.

Fiona swallows hard. Sensing she shouldn't interrupt them, she just stands there, frozen. Then, rolls her eyes.

What the hell is she doing? This is so pointless!

Suddenly, she turns on her heels, and gritting her teeth, she moves on, never making her presence to them known.

Jake and Patrick are headed towards her in the opposite direction, but Fiona doesn't acknowledge them. And when Jake tries to be polite and say 'hi,' she blows right past them, without so much as a hello.

"Okay..." Jake says slowly, bewildered.

Then, he looks down the hall and sees exactly what she was staring at.

"Uh, oh." Jake says, nodding his chin towards Ava and Farid. "This can't be good."

Patrick follows Jake's line of sight.

"Ah, crap! That didn't take long." Patrick blows out a slow breath as he thinks about their next move. He shrugs in defeat. "We've got to put a stop to it, dude. Like, pronto."

Jake groans. "Seriously? Do we have to? I really don't want to get involved." He's so annoyed at the thought of it, he can't help but whine.

"Yes, we have to," Patrick replies. "We'd get so much shit from the Elders if we let her go down that route, if we didn't..." he gestures at Farid and Ava, still deeply enmeshed in their conversation, "well, you know, if we didn't protect her."

Jake's head falls back as he looks up at the ceiling and groans again. "This is so annoying!" He huffs then looks over at Patrick. "I mean, it's the twenty-first century! It's not like the crops are gonna fail if she loses her virginity!"

"Dude, I know but..." Patrick shrugs and spreads his hands in a, 'What are you gonna do?' gesture. "You heard the Shaman. He made it crystal clear that, because of who she is, it's our job to make sure she remains pure."

"Stupid, stupid tradition," Jake mutters as he shakes his head. Then, he cups his mouth and calls out to Ava down the hall. "Ava! We gotta go! We have to start the blessing ceremony before the field exercise, and you know we can't start it without you!"

Ava glances down the hall at the boys, but she doesn't make a move. "Yes, I know that, Jake," she calls back, irritated. "You guys just go. I'll catch up with you in a minute!"

She turns back and picks up her conversation with Farid.

Patrick and Jake exchange wary looks, then Patrick calls out even louder, "Ava! We've gotta go... now!"

Ava looks back at Jake and Patrick and her eyes narrow. "I said, I'm coming!" she replies through gritted teeth. But despite being clearly annoyed with them, neither Patrick nor Jake makes a move to leave without her. They're ready to wait as long as it takes.

After a beat, Ava lets out a strangled huff. "Ugh!" She cries, then shoves her book into her messenger bag and apologizes to Farid. "I'm sorry about this. This is so embarrassing. It's just this thing I'm in charge of... No, that's not the right word." She gestures anxiously. "I'm sort of central to this ridiculous Shifter ceremony where we ask the Old Gods to protect us during excursions, missions, and war." She turns her head and shoots Patrick and Jake a steely stare. "But, exactly, why those two feel it's necessary to do this before a frickin' training exercise," her voice is tight with irritation, "I really don't know, but..." She shrugs, helplessly, and gives Farid another apologetic look, "It's just one of those things."

"Hey, no worries," Farid spreads his hands then points to himself. "I mean you're talking to a Second Son here. As far as stupid traditions go, I think I still have you beat."

Ava throws her head back and laughs, the sound of her laughter echoing down the hall.

Then, with a sigh, she throws her messenger bag over her shoulder and excuses herself.

She gives Jake and Patrick the evil eye as she storms down the hallway.

As she nears, Patrick innocently spreads his hands. "Hey, look, Ava, I'm sorry," he begins. "We didn't mean to--"

"Don't!" She points an angry finger in Patrick's face and then shoots Jake an infuriated look for good measure. Then, she blows right past them without another word..

"Okay..." Jake says slowly with a grimace as he turns and begins to follow her.

Patrick is immediately by his side. He leans in and whispers, "Man, she is so pissed. We're gonna be paying for this for days."

"Dude," Jake slides Patrick a knowing glance. "Are you kidding me? We're gonna be paying for this for months. And that's if we're lucky!" 

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A/N - Things are beginning to heat up, huh? I wonder who will be next? 🤔😁

And I think you guys are going to really enjoy the outdoor training exercise. That one comes out next week! See you then!

~ Paula 🥰