｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

｡･:*:･ﾟ★"For starters your stance is sloppy, your grip is wrong and your arrogance is pissing me off.":*:･ﾟ☆

Octavia

It takes far too much effort to sigh when the morning light hits my face, I don't think I've slept anyway so it doesn't particularly matter. School. I have to go to classes like normal, as if this were normal. As if three specialists didn't die last night because of my actions.

It wasn't your fault. A shadow murmurs and I block them out.

I want to be alone. I don't need their commentary.

What will everyone think? The whole school will no doubt have heard about what happened and the gossip mill will be running at full force, everyone will have an opinion. Will my mates have an opinion?

Sky must. I know he said he doesn't blame me for what happened with his father, but he said nothing of the decisions made and he's had a chance to sleep on it. What if he changed his mind?

I stare at the ceiling, allowing the weight to settle in my body as my mind drifts. I can't get up. I'm not sure if I want to. The thought of having to get up, to get dressed, brush my teeth, eat food, get ready for class, go to class, let alone socialise. My throat tightens at the thought and my arms feel as though they have been weighed down by chains.

Not today, I don't think I can do today.

We could show you something. Little Shadow's voice is soft and gentle. A scene from last night, to keep you distracted and informed.

Last night? What about last night could possibly distract me in anyway.

Unbidden, scenes begin to flash before my eyes. I'm in the courtyard, weightless and floating. Almost as if I can see from all angles. So this is what their power extends to.

"You had no right, no right." Silva seethes, "To speak to her like that."

"Someone had to." Her eyes are bright with anger, "Three students are dead-"

"And why do you think that is, hmm? Why do you think Octavia was forced to rush her decision? Put in a position where she had to make them."

"She disobeyed orders! Went out on her own." Silva sighs in irritation at Dowling's words, turning away to pace the length of the courtyard, "Her title clouded her judgement-"

"And your fear clouded yours." He snarls, voice low as he turns back to face the headmistress with a glower. "You have been so desperate to hide away from the problem, so terrified to face the trauma from the first war that you froze."

Silence.

"You froze Farrah."

There's a sharp intake of breath as Dowling looks at Silva, really looks at him and see the truth.

"Do you really believe that?" She whispers, voice broken.

"What else is there to believe?" His voice cracks at the end, his face pale in dark light. "We sent the call out hours ago."

"Where were you?" He raises his arms slightly in question, voice soft and defeated. "My sons had to venture out and trust their fellow student's orders. When all three of them knew they would fail in some capacity."

"Then why did they go?" Dowling's voice is thick with tears. "Why did they risk it?"

"Loyalty," He steps towards her, "Love, honour, duty, any number of things that boils down to they were trying to do what they thought was right."

"If Andreas hadn't appeared they would all be-"

"They would have died." He agrees, grief clouding his face for a moment at the thought. "But they did what was right based on the information they had."

"Three Burned Ones maximum in the area around the school, Farrah." His voice has taken on a pleading note. "Lone hunters and un-evolved. That was the information we knew for certain, that we told the students. They knew that against one Burned One plenty of our soldiers would have survived, they knew with two troops and a powerful fairy they could take down up to three Burned Ones."

"But they were wrong."

"The Intel was wrong." he corrects sharply. "Lykos was wrong and his reports  to Octavia reflected that. We have been complacent, we have not prepared them for war. Hunting demons, rouge fairies and the other creatures that haunt the Otherworld,"

"But war." The grief in his voice has me trembling, "How can we train them to deal with death?"

For a moment the headmaster appears to be lost in thought, forgetting his argument with Dowling as unseen memories flicker through his eyes. How brutal it must have been for them, to have graduated and then gone straight to war.

A shuffling from the side has my attention drawn to a blood drench Dire Wolf, each step seemed to weigh the burden of the world.

"Mon loup," Saul cries and rushes to her side.

Irene welcomes him with a soft whine as he ignores the blood coating her fur and crushes her in a hug, burying his face in her neck.

"I was so worried, when I realised you went back out-"

"She fought beautifully," A gruff voice interrupts, "As usual."

"Andreas." Silva jerks to his feet, looking as though he had seen a ghost. "I thought it was a fever dream-"

"Sorry to disappoint." Drea jests, a taunting smile graces his face but there's a sadness in his eyes, "Did you tell Sky? - and Irene. About the mission."

"We though it best to keep everything under wraps-"

Andreas raises a hand to silence the headmistress, his attention wholly fixated on Saul.

"No." He rasps, "I didn't know what to say."

Andreas nods slightly before turning towards Irene who has sat by Silva's side, her head ducking down at an awkwardly sharp angle so she can brush against her mate's shoulder.

"She's going to be livid when she regains control of the wolf." Andreas comments to Silva.

"I'm quite looking forward to seeing her rip into you." Silva jests and for a second I can see the care they once had for each other.

It fades not a moment later. No more than two strangers again.

"Yes, well." Drea hums, "I've got a few arguments myself that I'm looking to dig my teeth into."

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Riven

Sky came in late last night, really late.

I can't help but eye the cracked knuckles on his hands as we train. Archery is a bit of a slow day, especially when most of us need to burn off some steam after yesterday. The hallways were quiet when I woke, the whole school suspended in a broken silence, the air itself felt stifling and heavy as though the school itself was mourning.

Silva keeps glancing between Sky and Andreas as he walks around the groups, critiquing us less and less with each interruption. He looks pale and exhausted, whatever happened when I left must have been severe.

I almost feel bad about how I left things.

My attention drifts to Sky, where he trains with another specialist on hand to hand combat. He's brutal, viscous even.

He better not be trying to impress Andreas.

Andreas who watches his son train with hawk-like precision, body tensing every time Sky's opponent lands a hit. I fight the urge to tell him that I would be doing the same had I not known that Sky's just leading the poor sod on, letting him think he has the upper hand.

Sky lashes out, hitting the boy - Dane - in the side with a sharp viscous move and I think I see Andreas let out a small breath of air that resembles a noise of glee.

Worry flares in me causing an anxious bubble to consume my breathing. Sly's upset. Clearly angry at the world. We all are. But Sky- Sky won't move on as quickly as the others, especially with Andreas back. Not to mention Irene is still slumbering to the side of the field in a blood soaked Dire Wolf form. She hasn't let anyone near her to clean off the blood, not even Silva. Something must have clicked in her head last night, I'm surprised she didn't turn into a bear to match those mama bear instincts.

Irene is going to be so pissed when she wakes and sees Andreas. If her animalistic instincts ever let her calm down enough to do so.

Interestingly, Beatrix is by her side, sat out on a picnic blanket with various books and tomes. I sometimes forget she's a massive history nerd. But Irene seems to tolerate her presence, even if she keeps a wary eye on her.

Maybe it's a female thing.

Both Sky and Silva got snapped at with sharp teeth and claws when they got within striking distance. Yet Beatrix sits there unharmed.

I toy with the guards on my wrists as it aggravates the scrapes beneath, I forgot how tight they could be.

"Quit tugging at the protection and fire." A gruff voice drawls from behind me and I can't help but tense at Andreas' presence as he finally looks away from watching Sky train.

I fire. The shot hits the second ring and he scoffs.

"I thought Irene picked you to be a part of our Omada."

"Yeah, well it's been-"

"Stop with the excuses and fire again."

I fight down a snarl as pressure bubbles in my chest, anxiety rising at the sudden attention. Fuck I hate this. When I lose another arrow again I know instantly that it's going to hit the fourth ring.

I'm starting to question myself why Irene brought me into her Omada.

"What the fuck was that." He snarls.

A headache in a fucking headache is what. I hear bitter sniggers around me as all those specialists desperate for a fight turn their attention to me.

"My grandmother could hit a mark better than that." He goads, "My blind grandmother."

Andreas certainly has an interesting personality. I wince as my skin begins to crawl and itch with nervous energy at the sounds of someone's laughter, I look over to see one of the specialists chuckling with his friends as their mocking gazes are fixed on me.

"Do you think, Riven, that you could try and shoot better than my blind grandmother."

More sniggers.

"Yes." I grit out, my grip tightening on the bow.

"Then go again."

I nock another arrow, taking my time as I set up the shot. Feet apart, grip loose, string pulled back to my cheek. A steadying breath later and the arrow lodges itself in the second ring.

"Better." Andreas mildly comments before moving onto the next specialist.

I grimace slightly when my next shot has the taught string tugging against my wrist guard.

"That was utterly pathetic." I glanced over to see Andreas standing by the specialist who was laughing at me. "What are you? A first year?"

"For starters your stance is sloppy, your grip is wrong and your arrogance is pissing me off."

Nice to know he went easy on me.

"Fix it, now."

"I- I-"

"Don't bullshit me and say that Silva hasn't taught you the correct stance already. That male has far more patience than I, so welcome to the consequences of slacking off." He growls, towering over the mewling second year. "4 laps of the training grounds in a sprint and then get back here and stay an hour behind working on your abysmal skills. Oh, and if you drop down for more than 3 jogging breaks I'll have you cleaning armour for the rest of the week, understood?"

The specialists is smart enough to just nod and quickly put away his equipment as Andreas' sigh of annoyance fills the sudden silence

"Right, who's next?"

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

I scratch at my wrist as I pull off the guard. Damn, I forgot how itchy scabs can be.

"What are you scratching at?" Andreas grumbles as he walks past me with a pile of arrows in his arms.

"Nothing." I pull down my sleeves, biting down my irritation.

He hums but doesn't question me. I don't know whether to be relieved or upset. Can't help that childish need to have an adult look out for you and make all the problems go away.

The first years make their way into Alfea and I watch in silence as I pack away the bows, they're so happy and vibrant in contrast to the older years. Admittedly some of the year 2s are still buoyant but the others look drained. It's them, us, that this is real. That death is real. Of course we are given the speech every year, we have to deal with demons, witches, creatures and things of fairytale and legend, that is our job as protectors. Thanks to the magic flowing through this world we have still barely scratched the surface of creatures, powers and races hidden in the other world. Not to mention the different worlds rumoured to be connected to ours.

But that's different, that's an adventure. That's the life of honour and mystery we were promised, where injuries were few and deaths rare on those missions. Then again, that's only if you stay as specialists working at the outposts and handling a single region of land. If you join the army then you get deployed straight into the conflict. They're more Roman in their fighting style, yes or no, black and white. Specialists have to adapt and change and work closely with fairies, every situation requires something different. The army handles internal conflicts, domestic affairs, fairies againsts fairies, dumaris against dumaris.

Life just got real.

Really fucking real.

Death isn't a joke or laughing matter or a minor possibility. We lost three specialists, specialists whose names I don't know except that it was a girl and two boys, one of them had a little sister. That's it. It could have been Sky, it could have been Octavia. People would know their names, right? They would know them. Even if it was just as Andreas' son and the princess. Would they know my name? If we died at war, bodies lost and found, would we be recognised? If I lose them on a mission would they even know who to tell?

Would someone know to tell us if Sky was killed on a mission? If Tavi was attacked for her crown, would they know that she's my mate? That Sky's- that's Sky's something more than a friend?

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Sky

What the fuck is wrong with Riven.

And I swear to Helios if it is something to do with what Andreas said to him I'm going to burn-

"Stopped training already?"

I turn to see Silva staring at me with a raised brow and arms crossed as he leans against a nearby training rack.

"I've not seen Octavia yet." I say in a way of an answer.

He hums knowingly and looks over to Irene adoringly.

"I understand that." He nods and turns to walk away.

"What, no lecture?" I bite my tongue in instant regret, why can't I just keep my mouth shut when I clearly got given a pass for once.

Silva turns back with a slightly incredulous look, a look that clearly says 'seriously, you just questioned your good fortune' mixed with 'was that a mocking insult, boy'. I tense, feeling no better than when I was 10 and had snuck out into the forest to see the wild horses. But his expression drops and he nods slightly, something like remorse crossing over his features as his gaze follows Andreas' movements as he walks towards Beatrix and a slumbering wolf Irene.

"I have been reminded recently that the Omadas and Family we think we have can be taken from us in an instant. That we can lose all that we hold dear in a matter of seconds." He stares at me with such an intent expression that I can help but swallow heavily. "Treasure what you have Sky. Octavia, Riven, Alfea, Irene and I, even Andreas. Treasure it and hold onto your mates with all that you have because despite what your father seems to think death is permanent and you do not come back from losing someone you care about."

I nod sharply, sharing a look with him before he too nods and walks towards his mate as Andreas leads Beatrix back towards Alfea. The two converse easily, as though they had been doing so their entire lives.

I fight back a snort at the thought.

"Look," Silva pauses two steps away, half turning back to me. "It's Friday so I'll have pizza in our suite. Why don't you bring Octavia and Riven over and we can all get to know each-"

"And have family dinner or something?" I mock harshly, ignoring my tightening heart.

Silva sighs but still doesn't look at me. "Or something."

He walks away and I stare after him in sudden worry and guilt. I shouldn't have acted like that. Silva doesn't deserve my anger, no matter how upset I am with him about Dowling.

Not to mention this whole not dead dead-dad thing is really driving me nuts with questions. Beatrix added to the mix doesn't help.

I don't begrudge Beatrix loving him as a father, she was orphaned and I would never judge someone for finding their family, I just hate the fact she had the chance to while I didn't. It's so clear how much he loves and dotes on her. Guiding her gently with her arm linked in his as he looks down at her as she rambles on with a tired voice, indicating to different pages in a heavy book. How interested he is in what she does, how caring he is to listen to all of her no doubt dedicated work.

Yet he barely spared me a glance.

Silently I observe the pair as Beatrix lets out a tired yawn and Andreas hastily takes the books from her arms, brushing back her hair with one hand as he murmurs something that has her eyes rolling and a hand waving of his obvious concern.

I shake my head and move over to the punching bag, seeing Riven do the same and something in my chest eases in his presence. I have him and Octa, I don't need Andreas and Beatrix no matter how desperately that small child in me wants his dad.

I have Silva, I don't need Andreas.

"You okay," I murmur gently, cooling that rage inside me as I watch Riv tug at his sleeves.

"What?" He jerks up, clearly just noticing my presence. "I- yeah, fine"

He glances over my shoulder, a frown forming on his face.

"Why is Silva staring at us?"

I sigh and rub at my temple. "Nothing, just had an interesting talk is all."

"About Andreas?" He raises his brows in question and for once I don't get annoyed at someone bringing him up.

"In a way." I answer, glancing over to my father only to find him staring back at me. "Mostly about family, Omadas, maybe even mates. Just a reminder to keep those I care for close."

A dark look crosses over his face and he nods.

"Yeah," He rasps, "I get that."

I move to a punching bag and something stops me. I pause, looking down at the black wisp curling around my leg.

"What the hell?" Riv mumbles and I see him staring down at a few shadows coiling around his wrists.

Octavia needs you, she's in her room with Stella but-. There is something fearful in its voice, something dark and dreadful.

I run like hell

A/N: What do you want to see between the various family members during Pizza night?