The Bonding Chronicles Ch. 21

Dave had a look of surprise mixed into the grin that spread across his face. "Give me a few, and then sure," he responded as he patted his belly with his hand.

They all sat around and talked for a few more minutes, the conversation flowing naturally and with ease. Nothing special was said, which in a strange way made it all the more meaningful. After thirty minutes Michelle and Karen stood and began to take the plates to the kitchen, and as Michelle started filling the sink Andrew protested.

"No, no! You two go sit in the living room and relax. It's your birthday," he said as he stood on his toes and kissed Karen gently on the lips. "And it's your well earned day off from work," he finished as he turned his gaze towards Michelle. "I've got this."

No sooner had the words left his lips than the remaining dishes all lifted from the table and made their way towards the sink, where the silverware all vanished into the rising water while the plates and bowls dumped their remnants into the garbage before stacking themselves to the side.

Michelle grabbed her laptop, in case she would need it, and went to the couch where she pulled a blanket over her legs and began to talk with Karen, who was sitting on the other side of the seat with a warm cup of tea in her hands.

Dave retired to his bedroom while Andrew and Sara washed all of the dishes.

It was in that moment that Michelle realized where Andrew and Sara had learned the recipe for that delightful tea. Just as suddenly, the implication of that discovery dawned on her, Michelle's face going flush as she realized just how long Karen had been in their lives.

"What?" Karen asked, a coquettish smile meeting Michelle's surprise head on.

"You've been dating them for a couple of weeks?"

Neither of them were surprised when Sara responded from the kitchen, "Something like that!"

Andrew shook his head from her side, splashing her as she feigned innocence.

"Like I said," Karen began, "this was an unexpected miracle that turned my life upside down."

Whatever discomfort Karen had tried to put into her voice was vastly overshadowed by the joy that filled her heart. Michelle able to see her happiness from a mile away.

With a deep breath, Michelle said, "That's alright... I think I'm starting to understand."

She didn't, and by the look on Karen's face Michelle knew that the older woman didn't believe her. But as she took a sip of her tea, Michelle was glad to know that Karen was willing to let her leave it at that.

"Alright, so who's ready for a beatdown?" Dave pronounced with a confident bravado from the entrance to the living room at the edge of the hallway, his arm flexing as it held the duffle bag with all their training equipment at his side.

"I'm sorry, did you ask 'Who's ready to beat me down'?" Sara queried from the kitchen, an evil smile seasoning her predator's gaze.

Andrew was drying his hands, having just finished the last of the dishes. The kitchen and dining area was spotless, telekinesis once again quartering the time it would have taken to tidy up after such a large meal.

"Sara, dear. No breaking my father, okay?"

With a huff, Sara threw her arms into the air and stamped her feet as she made her way towards the front door.

"Fine! But I make no promises about bruises. I'm gonna treat him like an overripe peach."

"No biting either, silly kitty," Andrew commanded as he followed her outside, his voice breaking with laughter as he watched her athletic derriere with desire in his eyes.

"Wish me luck!" Dave pleaded as he followed them out, and for the first time in almost a decade Michelle saw nervousness in her husband's bearing.

"You're gonna need it," Karen provided, not helping his mood, but allowing him to reveal the cathartic laugh that was begging to be released.

"Don't worry, Sara won't hurt him too much," Karen said to Michelle the moment Dave left the room.

"I know, she just likes to tease."

No matter how much things had changed, Sara was still the same wild and carefree woman that Michelle had grown to love, and that was a huge relief to Michelle, who had expected everything to be different. With the chaos of dinner behind her, and the ability to hear her own thoughts returning, Michelle could feel herself starting to unwind.

The fact was, no matter how much the dinner had helped, there were countless moments when something unexpected or strange had happened. Each time, Michelle restrained herself from pointing it out, and as those barriers came down she sighed.

"You can trust him, you know?"

Karen's words took Michelle by surprise, confusion consuming her features as she asked, "What do you mean?"

Earlier in the evening, Michelle would have been upset at Karen's question, assuming the worst from the beautiful woman, but that felt like a lifetime ago. Then, in that moment, Michelle gave Karen the benefit of the doubt, and assumed there was something meaningful behind her query.

"Andrew probably never told you, but I had a son once."

There was sadness in Karen's voice, but happiness in her eyes as she looked down at her tea and smiled. Michelle felt foolish, in over two hundred years of life, of course she would have had children. She was a goddess in human form, how could she not.

"Not really the same thing as what you have with Andrew, but profound just the same. He was orphaned during the second great war, and like many young and gifted wizards he found his way into my life."

She swirled the contents of her cup as she thought back, melancholy and joy fighting for control as she considered her words.

"Our relationship was difficult, and eventually broke because..."

Karen stopped and took a deep breath, mustering the strength to say something that Michelle knew she would not want to hear.

"Please, learn from my mistakes. There were a lot of things that my son did, feelings he had that I knew about but never confronted."

Michelle hadn't realized, but she had stopped breathing. Karen's words circling something she feared to confront.

"I don't know what you're getting at," Michelle lied, too smart not to have sensed the connection to her own struggles throughout the day.

"I'll shut up if you prefer, but you need to know; Andrew loves you, and nothing you can say will ever change that. It's your job as his mother to confront him when he's doing something stupid. He will not leave you just because you don't agree with him."

And there it was, Michelle's absurd and yet all too real fears laid out to bare. She knew it was dumb, and trusted Andrew not to push her out of his life, but he was becoming so independent, and she couldn't help but worry that he would no longer need her. That her disapproval would be the catalyst for his withdrawal from her life.

Karen shimmied across the couch and pulled Michelle's head onto her shoulder. Tears were streaming down her face, though Michelle had not noticed until that instant as she took a labored breath.

"It's alright. I want nothing more than for you two to have the relationship I missed with my child. With everything that could happen, he will need you, and..."

Karen's voice trailed off as her hand left her cup and rested on Michelle's midsection, cupping her belly. "When this little one arrives, you'll be thankful for him too."

The world became silent as the meaning of Karen's words settled in. Pulling back, all Michelle could see was a broad and joyful smile spread across Karen's face. A few stuttered words were all that came out before Dave burst into the room.

"We've got to go," he declared as he stormed across the room. "Seems like one of our squads just met Tani'm."

He tossed his phone to Michelle, who caught it with unexpected agility.

She looked at the encrypted device, wiping away tears and seeing an audio player loaded and ready to go. Clicking play, she heard what had startled her husband, and forced them to end their weekend prematurely.

A robotic voice said, "Nine forty-two, PM."

Static peeled out from the device, followed by a crack and then heavy breathing.

"The creature woke up and took off, but Smith vanished and is not responding to coms. I don't think we're alone."

She could hear Ramirez who was acting CO respond from base, "We're sending some men to pull you out, just head to randevu ASAP."

The device was once more silent for about five seconds, until the robotic voice returned, "Ten fifteen, PM."

Static returned, followed by another click and a frantic voice, "Base, come in... For fuck sakes, come in. O'Brady and I got separated from Florentine... It's not the rabbit, it's something larger and more dangerous. I think I saw it, but... This makes no fucking sense, sir. It... it... for fucks sake, it was cloaked or something."

Michelle knew Sanchez's voice anywhere, but it was almost unrecognizable through the fear that coated his every utterance. It was clear he was moving as he talked.

"Sir, I think I see it over-"

Michelle couldn't recognize the voice that had cut in from the background, but could never fail to notice the yelp that peeled out as his speech broke off.

The radio cut out for a few seconds as static played through the phone, until it clicked back in, and Sanchez's haggard and broken voice came back through, "O'Brady's down now too, I'm all that's left."

Michelle had been in combat enough times to recognize the sad realization that had filled her man's heart. He was in an impossible position, and there was nothing that would save him.

"Whatever's out here is definitely cloaking, and I don't think I'm gonna make it. Whatever happens, don't leave my body here for the animals. My family deserv-"

Sanchez's pleading rambles were cut off by the sound of a rifle, followed by a pronounced thud.

"What the, a fuckin' tranq..." his voice trailed off as a loud noise filled the mic, Michelle assuming he had just fallen to the ground.

"Stop being so damn melodramatic, you little girl."

It was a woman's voice, and looking over, Michelle could see recognition on Karen's smiling face. The sound of ruffling came through the recording for a few seconds until the tone changed, and a moment later the female voice which had been distant a minute before was now loud, as if she was holding the mic right before her face.

"Tread carefully in my forest, and leave my friends alone. The rabbit is off limits!"

The recording ended, and Michelle shook her head knowing that she had a difficult weekend ahead of her.

***** Crossed Boundary *****

Fall was fast approaching, but Tani'm didn't care. It was a time for preparation, ancient anxieties forcing the animals into action as they sensed the changing of the seasons. Traditionally, she would be right there with them, her heart dancing to the rhythm of the forest, their tension becoming hers as they all pushed to prepare for the cold season.

But, as she stopped in a clearing and scratched Thunderfoot between his ears, the setting sun bathing her shoulders and warming her skin, she could only think back on her conversation with Karen. What a difference a week had made. Sure, she could still feel that familiar unease twisting in the back of her mind, reminding her of all the horrible possibilities that Karen's presence created, but she found it easier to ignore.

Kathy had proven to be a great therapist, and in that short time Tani'm was already beginning to feel a difference in her life.

"It's not that people won't hurt or disappoint you, they will. It's just that at some point down the road, you'll stop blaming yourself for their failures."

Kathy's sage advice rang through Tani'm's thoughts. Words that had seemed so impossible five days before, began to have an air of truth to them as she thought back on Karen, and how their friendship had began.

Her self reflection was interrupted by Thunderfoot, who bumped her side with his antlers and looked at her with discomfort.

"So itchy," his soft voice reiterated into her mind.

"I know they are, but they're antlers... What else can I do but scratch around them?"

He shook his head away from her and dragged his large and majestic horns along the ground. It would have been funny, if Tani'm hadn't known how much they bothered him. After finding a large and sturdy rock hidden beneath the moss and short grass, Thunderfoot proceeded to run his antlers along its surface in long and hard sweeps. The vibrations eased the distracting annoyance, and soothed the nagging at the back of his mind.

"Ahhhh, so good!" he chortled.

Tani'm shook her head as she watched his hind leg beating the ground with a rhythmic thud. In all honesty, she was kind of worried. He had been eating more and more each day, and seemed to be getting bigger. All the while his thoughts became more complex, and his understanding of things grew more complete as they seemed to share more of their thoughts.

She could sense his discomfort, and participated in his relief as he continued to grind his horns along the hard, ungiving stone. Part of her wondered if Thunderfoot played a role in her own growth, helping her to see her place in the terrible things that had been done to her, and to let go of her own sense of responsibility.

"You safe. Forest Safe. No..." his innocent sounding voice trailed off as he hunted for his next word, an image of a wolf entering her mind as he chased after a way to express himself.

"Predator," she provided.

His eyes shone with excitement at learning a new word. "No predator for Tani'm anymore, none except Tani'm."

Tani'm could feel his worry in her chest, images of softly swaying branches playing in the back of her mind as he revisited their recent days of freedom. He was right, their existence had become almost idyllic since the wolf had been taken care of, but that did little to keep her from thinking back on her past.

She hated how her past still influenced her, shaping her perception of what he was saying and twisting its meaning into something it was not meant to be. Worse still, thanks to Kathy, she knew she was doing it and still couldn't stop.

"I know, it's just-"

"Just nothing. You strong. You brave. You do no...", again his voice trailed off as he chased an unfamiliar word. "You do nothing wrong."

She wanted to believe him, but knew that was not true. "Tell that to Andrew."

After scraping his antlers across the ground a couple more times, he lifted his head and looked her in the eye. She could still see the irritation that his horns were causing him as his brow furrowed and twitched, but he was choosing to ignore that pain, his eyes reflecting a different kind of frustration.

"Ohh, yeah... You mess that up. I thought still worried about parents."

Tani'm was not surprised that Thunderfoot had thought she was talking about her parents. Her talks with Kathy had forced her to start seeing the influence that past had on many of the things she did. How much of herself was bound up in it haunted her, and became something she thought about often, usually causing worry in Thunderfoot who seemed to struggle with her dilemma. Animals do not question what they did in the past, and in that way he was still very much a beast. A cute and often funny beast, but always looking forward just the same.

She could feel his emotions shift as he thought back on his experiences with Andrew and his family, changing from worry to joy as the focus of his thoughts switched. Thunderfoot liked them, and trusted them implicitly, but she also felt confusion and uncertainty from the large rabbit.

"I no understand your kind," he explained, "but they nice. Help us. No need to, but do."

There was something Thunderfoot wanted to say, but she wasn't sure what. Knowing him, it would be blunt and to the point, which made her all the more happy he held his tongue.

A chortling laugh left the rabbit as if to declare his understanding of her thoughts. Instead of giving voice to his sentiment, or her uncertainty, they both decided to distract themselves with another futile search through the woodlands. The sun was already setting, not that the darkness of the forest held any sway on them. Thunderfoot had no fear of the creatures of that land, and Tani'm was its master, holding court over all its denizens.

Or so it had felt since the wolf's disappearance.

Tani'm didn't want to speak the truth that had begun to eat away at Thunderfoot, a sad realization that the rabbit refused to believe, but felt all too real as the days passed by. He was trapped, and may never see his family again, and each failed adventure into the forest only served to bring that reality into the light.

"You think they can help?"

It was less a question and more of a plea, Thunderfoot's voice echoing his desperation as visions of Andrew and his family filled her mind.

"I hope so."

Once more they set off on patrol, that section of forest's familiarity foretelling how fruitless their attempt was going to be. Sensing this, they continued out well past their normal routes, following a random and yet comfortable path. Tani'm allowed Thunderfoot to lead, the rabbit setting a pace that she found difficult to maintain. Thankfully, his determination to find his way home made him reckless, causing his path to be anything but efficient as he stumbled his way through the forest. Tani'm's gift guided her steps, allowing her to keep pace as the rabbit tore through bushes on his journey.

Tani'm found the ruckus that Thunderfoot was creating amusing by its contrast to her silence, his thunderous steps declaring his presence to the forest. The fact was, she wondered if she could even be that noisy if she tried.

Neither of them spoke, their connection removing the need as they moved in unison. Their path set by Thunderfoot, but educated by Tani'm and her understanding of that great broad woodland. The sun set long ago, and their supernatural bodies ached from their labors. What had been meant as a half hour excursion turned into a few hours of unrewarded frustration.

The rabbit grumbled, the noise sounding odd to Tani'm, who hated to feel how disheartened her friend had become.

"I never see them again," he complained, the pain of his heart echoing the fears of his mate, and the worry of his kits who had yet to meet their father.

Every ounce of turmoil that roiled in Thunderfoot was felt by Tani'm, who teared up at the size of it. As their connection grew, so did her understanding of how he had gotten there. He was right, the bridge between his world and hers had to be in that area of the forest. In his dire frustrations, he had relived that moment countless times, showing Tani'm through broken and frantic glimpses the scenes of the forest he could remember.

After taking a step towards him, wanting nothing more than to ease Thunderfoot's suffering and assure him that they would solve his mystery, her senses reached out and alarms set off. Something was not right, the creatures of the forest were wary, scattering or hiding as if a predator was about.

Pushing aside Thunderfoot's overwhelming emotions, she focused on her home, the flora and fauna speaking to her of life and survival.

"Run," she yelled into her head, sensing the humans that had taken up position around Thunderfoot. The distance they had maintained between themselves had never seemed like much, just twenty yards, yet in that moment it felt vast. Memories of the wolf and the damage that could be dealt in the briefest of moments educating her fear, and moving her into action.

Tani'm's hatchet was drawn the moment she sensed them, her long bone knife following suit while she assessed the situation. History had been a cruel teacher, and yet again it was providing another lesson for her to learn from. Once more she had been late in sensing danger, and her heart sank at the cost her mistake might demand.