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Chapter 131: The Souvenirs

Faelen nudged Geoff and Nathanial toward the door of the Akita's bedroom, but he could still smell Mrs. Marks in the main room, so he preceded them out once they began to move.

She stood by the entrance to the storeroom; she must've just dropped off Garret's blood there. The Demon Mage frowned as she looked about the wrecked room and sighed before muttering a phrase and flicking a paw. The chocolate milk vanished, though everything else remained as it was. The elderly Mage's frown deepened into a grimace, and she raised her voice to be heard across the large room. "Sorry, Dear; I'm tapped. I'll fix this tomorrow." She waved dismissively when Nathanial opened his muzzle to protest. "No. Shush up. No magic until you're given the all-clear." She turned and strode up the stairs, not waiting for the teens to plod slowly across the scorched tiles. The conversation up in the kitchen died down as she entered, but Conor soon resumed his apologies to Micah and Nick.

They continued on slowly before Nathanial paused at the base of the stairs and looked about. "So, um, am I allowed to know what happened? It looks like Nick lost his temper, or like we had a visit from Rolph."

Faelen could feel Liam weighing the various options in his mind; the two Spirits waited to see how Liam would respond before saying anything. Eventually, the healer sighed. "You ran out of magic -- as I run out of chi, and with the same consequences -- just after we returned from Taipei. The Balor Grimoire appeared to have been exerting great influence on us all and seized the opportunity to possess you. It got so far as to summon a Marilith Demon and manifest itself around you before Faelen figured out how to force it to return to its pages. The fight was closer than I cared for. To keep anything of a Balor is foolish in the extreme, let alone using one to make something as powerful as a grimoire."

Nathanial trembled in Geoff's arms, yet he merely asked, "Was anyone hurt?"

Liam paused, taken off-guard by the question. "I...do not know. I spent the entire time after the fight caring for you."

Faelen decided it'd be best to report what happened now, while the Balor was top of mind. "Micah was, and I'd be very surprised if Nick wasn't._Both of them smell fine, and are acting normally, but Micah was knocked out by a blow to the head, and again by some spell or other, later on. That one that took you out, too, Liam." The Mist Spirit felt his stomach roll over just thinking of it. _'Gods, how could a word sound so vile that it...?' He swallowed heavily as a bit of stomach acid burnt his throat and filled his mouth with its disgusting taste. He could feel Liam's nausea as well, and it wasn't helping.

Geoff rubbed Faelen's back with his free paw. "You okay? You don't look so good. Are you sure you didn't hit your head, too?"

Faelen waved him off. "Yeah, I'm just queasy. That spell... Fuck, it was disgusting."

Nathanial stared at them in concern, but Faelen saw the pup's paw inching toward his phone and his eyes darted to the stairs. "Are you sure? None of you got hurt? Conor or Dirk? Walter? Nanny?"

Geoff shrugged. "I'm fine. Dirk got beat to shit, but he regenerates so fast that the other Demon's swords barely left his body before the wounds healed over."

Faelen hung his head in shame. It was the fight with Gordon all over again; he was fucking useless. It was worse this time, because there wasn't even any fog to help him out. The other three looked at him, but Nathanial spoke first. "Faelen, could you get the bags by my room?" The Mage turned to the Ancient One, as Faelen trotted back toward Nathanial's room. "I got some -- well, Dad bought me a bunch of stuff when he saw how much I liked it. I wanted to get things for our friends to see."

Faelen could feel his boyfriend's pain, sharp and raw, mixed with a lot of fear. The Mist Spirit wanted to turn back to defend him, but Liam could do that far better than he ever could.

Nathanial still fidgeted a bit, but his scent had turned from nervous to surprisingly resolute. "I-I don't want it to upset you, but I want you to understand that we don't see you like Zhen does, so we find all this stuff hilarious. When they see it, they'll laugh."

Liam cut in. "I do not wish for others..." Faelen felt the heavy lump of emotions start to melt away, and, glancing back, Faelen saw Liam staring into Nathanial's eyes. In a few seconds Liam drooped with a sigh. "As you wish." Fondness and amusement sprang up where the fear and pain died.

Nathanial couldn't feel that, though. "No. I-If it'll hurt you, no. I'll throw them away. I just want t-to know you better, Liam, and that means I need to know who you were."

Faelen heard the faint crinkle of plastic behind him before it was drowned out by the bags he picked up. As he turned, he saw Nathanial holding out a tiny white flower on the palm of his paw. The faint aroma of jasmine drifted across the room, even over the dry fetor of the gigantic alligator-lizard monster Liam had brought back from the Plane of Darkness -- that really needed to be dealt with, and soon.

Nathanial smiled, his eyes as earnest as Faelen had ever seen them. "I want to know those small gestures that carry so much meaning to you." Liam's smile looked so...pleased, gratified even, as he carefully took the gift and the Akita continued to plead his case. "You're my friend, Liam, all of you, and not just the part of you that's been around for fourteen years. Let me stand with you to confront your fears and the things that make you sad. You've done that for me, so let me return the favour." The Akita looked surprised to find himself engulfed in Liam's tight hug.

"I can never say no to you, my friend."

Geoff ruffled Liam's ears. "Yeah, what my Myo said, little pup." Liam glared fiercely at the white Wolf, but Faelen could feel the laughter bubbling just under the surface; the Rottie really did love fighting with the Elemental. Geoff laughed. "Joking."

Liam punched Geoff in the arm. "I am most cognisant of that, Scaramouche." The burbling laughter broke forth. "Thank you." Liam looked over at Faelen before those beautiful brown eyes slid aside to stare at the lizard; his thoughts probably ran along the same lines Faelen's had several seconds ago. "I should phone Agent Jay after we eat."

They trooped up the stairs once Faelen joined them. Da stirred the soup on the stove; it smelt a bit overdone, like the sesame oil got a little too smoky. Conor sat at the counter with Nick and Micah; the Spirit still smelt very guilty, but the two pups seemed fine...if horny. Walter pulled a bowl of salad out of the fridge and put it on the counter.

Micah laughed at Conor's last apology. "It's all right! But if you_really_ want to make sure I'm not hurt, maybe we should play 'doctor' so I'm certain to be fully healthy." The Water Elemental didn't seem that keen on the idea. Walter nearly choked.

Nick frowned. "Hey! What about me? Sex helps me, too!"

The Changeling cocked his head to one side. "Um, you could get Dirk to apologise for his boss, and maybe Mr. Smith would help out." Faelen smelt a huge wave of pheromones spill from the Demon Mage. Nick loved_that idea. Walter, however, did _not, even with the unnatural influence he must be feeling.

Nathanial leant into Geoff as a wave of vertigo washed over him. Nick sat up straight in alarm; his fear dampened the pheromones in the room. "Nats!? You should be in bed!" He jumped off his stool and dashed over. "Gods! If climbing the stairs nearly puts you on your ass, you sure as shit shouldn't be wandering around!"

The elder Marks pup stayed against his boyfriend but reached out to grab Nick's paw when his brother got close. "I'll head right back to bed after I eat." Liam surreptitiously checked the middle Marks for injuries, and then did so for everyone else in the room. Nathanial looked over at the smallest Marks. "Micah, don't go pressuring Conor for sex. One, it's extremely rude to be hitting on a married man, and two, it's very dangerous. He'd throw your chi balance way off, and we've already covered how that can hurt you." Nathanial stared at the pup until Micah nodded. The eldest Marks brother met Nick's eyes. "That goes for you, too." Nick nodded sadly at that, and Nathanial's smile turned wan. "That said, if -- and I stress if -- Walter and Dirk offer to let you join them, and Dirk doesn't come in you, you can play with them. Don't get your hopes up, though, because I get the distinct impression that Walter feels you're too young."

Liam's da certainly did. The Rottie looked close to exploding. "Damn straight! He's fifteen! That's illegal, Nathanial! He's too young to consent! I can't believe you'd even suggest it!"

Micah stood on the rung of his stool to lean over the counter putting himself close to the older Rottweiler. "But it's important! It's part of our natures. I'm half-Nymph, and Nick's kinda-sorta part-Succubus. We need_sex to live. Denying someone the ability to live according to their nature is to deny _them. In our case, it's denying our right to live. How is it illegal to provide the necessities of life?" Faelen found himself impressed by that argument, as, apparently, did most everyone else. Walter looked gobsmacked. Micah pressed on the legality issue. "Besides, I'm not a Fur, and Nick isn't, either. Even if those laws applied to Mages, we _still_wouldn't be covered by them. Nick's blood shows he's not a Mage anymore, and I _never_was."

Nick didn't like that. He smelt terrified, sick, confused, angry, and a whole welter of other emotions too tangled up for Faelen to sort them out. Faelen's paws were full, so he bumped his nose against Nick's ears and whispered, "You're still you, Nick." The pup calmed down a little, just enough to force a sickly smile. The question, 'Am I?' lurked in his eyes.

Micah kept on going, oblivious to the pain he'd caused. "If Fur laws applied to all Fur-looking people, you'd have to get Sensei and Faelen in trouble, too. Maturity doesn't count under the law, and the age of someone's soul doesn't, either. Only the years the body's been around do."

Walter frowned, but Faelen could tell bringing Liam into the picture was a good move. "All that aside, you're still young, Micah. You look and act like a pup, so I couldn't condone having sex with you."

Micah's grin was triumphant. "You don't need to. It's Nick_that we're talking about. _He doesn't act like a pup, even when I want him to play make-believe Mario, and he looks real cool and mostly grown-up. You should look at him all naked; he's sexy and getting muscles just like Nats. I bet he knows how to dance along the line between pain and pleasure, too, the way Sensei does." Da's eyes lit up at that, and he started to smell aroused. Nick instantly noticed, and he completely forgot about the emotional pain he'd been in. Pheromones drifted around the room again, and Walter was more receptive this time.

Conor raised his voice a bit more than necessary to get everyone's attention. "I'm guessing your grandfather has talked to you about the importance Fey place on living according to who you are?" The Changeling nodded, and Conor smiled but still stressed to the room at large, "Put all the sex conversations aside; it's time to eat. Everyone, go to the dining room." Dirk put oven mitts on and picked up the pot of soup. Everyone else helped bring the food out as well, aside from Geoff and Nathanial, who had enough to deal with on their own.

As supper wound down -- not that it was a long affair -- Faelen noticed Micah staring at the bags against the wall more and more. The pup really had a large bump of curiosity. Eventually, the Changeling spoke up in a lull of the conversation. "Sooo...um, you went to see Dad, Nats?"

Nathanial hid his smile, knowing what Micah was really getting at. "Yes, he wanted to talk to me about tomorrow." The eldest Marks pup hung his head as he thought about it. "I'm not allowed to go to school, probably for the whole week."

Liam put his spoon down on the napkin by his bowl. "No, and it is far less likely that I will allow it now, after everything that has happened today. I have already written the note for the school, and I have informed your general practitioner; she will be calling you tomorrow to set up an appointment." The healer grimaced. "It is possible the school may not accept a note from a practitioner of alternative medicine, though both Nurse Neuranski and Principal Davis accept my credentials, but I do not know who has final authority in these matters. I assume it is the principal."

Nathanial stirred his soup moodily and stared into the bowl's depths as if it were a crystal ball or something. "She does, or at least she'd determine if it got passed up the chain if she thought something was off." He sighed. "C-Conor, I...want to go to the funeral tomorrow, the one for Donny Markham." The atmosphere became very tense in the room. "Dad said I can't go unless you escort me and you swore to make me leave if it looked like I got too worked up."

Conor put his fork back onto his plate with several leaves of lettuce still impaled on it. "I think it's an extremely bad idea, Nathanial, from several points of view. For you, I think it'd be far too much to handle after this weekend, no matter if you think it'd help you bring closure or not. From a security point of view, I was hoping to allow Faelen to accompany Liam-sensei, since Geoff is grounded. If I went, Dirk would have to go, which would force Faelen to stay here. Even if I were to relent and suspend Geoff's punishment, I still wouldn't like him going. It's dangerous. The hockey game is different, since we'll be in box seats and we'll have a lot of O'Conalls with us." Nathanial nodded glumly without raising his head. Conor smelt guilty and sympathetic. "I'll think about it and talk to Dirk and Sensei, but I suspect my thoughts won't change. You could still 'be there' by looking through Liam-sensei's or Faelen's phone."

The healer waved a finger toward his patient. "That may be wise, if you are to observe it at all. You have said your remote sight provides a sense of...disconnect, of distance. Furthermore, by watching from home, you may ask Nicholas to be with you to constantly remind you that he yet remains with us." The heavy topic had drawn Micah's attention fully away from the bags. Liam exhaled sharply enough to blow his lips away from his teeth, and shook his head, sending those floppy ends of his ears flying and reminding Faelen of just how adorable he was. Not that Faelen would say so; it'd embarrass Liam too much. "I know you have -- for reasons incomprehensible to me -- drawn parallels between this Markham child and Nicholas, but they truly have little in common. I wish you did not feel it necessary to witness the funeral at all. You are too empathetic, and such an event is bound to tax you unduly."

Faelen scowled internally. Better for Nathanial to be too empathetic than for him to be a sociopath like Betty Chan. Did the bitch understand anyone else's feelings at all, except as a means to manipulate them? Did she feel anything when she saw someone laugh happily or cry in sorrow? No, Faelen was extremely grateful Nathanial was who he was, even if it caused some problems. The Mist Spirit suppressed a shiver when the thought of a spiteful, Betty-esque Nathanial flitted into his mind. Faelen was glad he couldn't imagine the ways that sort of person could torment someone.

Liam took Faelen's paw in his own, much smaller paw. The Spirit found the sight amusing and touching at the same time. "You are troubled. I would ask what caused you to worry if you care to answer."

Faelen's ears felt suddenly warm. "I just had a momentary nightmare of someone like Betty with Nathanial's creativity and power."

The young -- or very, very, old, depending on how you looked at it -- Rottweiler's paw tightened over his. "That is a most disturbing thought." The healer shook his head. "But let us move to more pleasant subjects, please, or at least wrap this up. No, Nathanial, you are not going to school tomorrow. I will return here after classes, check on you, and proceed to the funeral. I will consult with Conor and determine at that time as to what is to be permitted. I doubt you will attend with us, for the sole reason that I will be there with Betty Chan. I fully expect her behaviour to be most vexing, and I fear she may cause you more distress." How would Nathanial react if he knew who Liam blamed for Donny's death? "It...is not something I had truly thought of before now." The more Conor and Liam talked, the less it sounded like Nathanial would be allowed to go, or even listen in. Faelen could smell Nathanial becoming more and more distraught, even though he kept himself mostly composed.

The Mist Spirit cut in. "Happier subjects. What's in the bags?" Micah's ears snapped forward, and he straightened up in his seat like a hunting dog going to point. Faelen turned to the pup sitting between him and Nathanial. "Why don't you bring them to Nathanial so he can show us?"

Micah sprang out of his seat. "Okay!" His tail whipped around behind him and nearly sent his plate and Nathanial's glass flying, but Faelen managed to catch them in time. A predatory grin grew on the Changeling's face, and he crouched with his paws held up in front of him, claws out. "Tricky little treasure troves." He began to stealthily pad forward, raising his hindpaws in an exaggerated step. "I'm gonna track you. Sneaky little stash sacks. I'm gonna search you." He laughed quietly in a diabolical cartoon voice. "Mwahahahaha! Mine! All mine! The ultimate gifts, and they're all mine!"

Liam sighed with a feeble smile. "Do not prolong this, Micah. Your brother should be in bed." Faelen knew that was only part of the reason; the rest was because Liam still didn't want whatever Nathanial had in those bags to be shown. The Ancient One wanted this to be over as quickly as possible.

Micah stopped stalking the shopping bags, took the two more steps over to grab them, and brought them right to Nathanial. "Sorry, Nats."

The older Marks laughed; his voice didn't sound nearly as hoarse as it did right after waking up, but it still was quieter and huskier than normal. "It's all right, Sprite. I like seeing you have fun."

The Changeling hugged his brother. "I do, too, so I want you getting better fast. I don't want you to go to the funeral tomorrow, but if you think it'll help, you probably should."

Nick nodded, cutting in before the healer could respond. "I agree, Micah. It's like a wound, an emotional one rather than a physical one, but this funeral may act like a disinfectant. It may hurt at the time, but if it lets Nathanial get rid of all the 'infection,' he might get a chance to heal. If he doesn't go, all the fears and misplaced associations will have a chance to fester." He dropped his head and turned his attention to Nathanial. "I don't want to have to be afraid to come home like I was last year. I want to see you happy, laughing, getting excited, and all those other things I've come to love on your good days these last two months." Nathanial reeked of guilt, but he still shot a fond look at his brother.

Liam frowned fiercely. "I agree with the sentiment, but your comparison may be off. It may be more analogous to a surgery, wherein, if the patient is too weak, it may kill him. It would be best to recover some before facing the pain. If I deem him too fragile to go, he will not go. We can go to the gravesite when Nathanial has had a chance to recover. I... I promise, if such is the case and merely seeing the grave is insufficient, I will do what I can to provide the closure necessary."

'Is Liam promising what I think he is? Would he actually try to call Donny Markham's ghost up from the Underworld? He seemed dead set against that sort of thing before, so it must be something else.'

The former priest of Hades waved imperiously at the bags. "Begin. I...will start clearing the table, if all have supped to their satisfaction."

Nathanial's blue eyes met Liam's brown ones. "I-I'd hoped you'd tell us about these. I wanted y-you to laugh, too, and point out all the things they got wrong. Won't you stay?"

Again, Faelen felt all the resistance in Liam melt away. The small Rottie wilted. "As you wish."

Nathanial perked right up, and his tail began beating out a rapid tempo on the back of his chair. He couldn't feel the warm glow that suddenly replaced the melancholy in Liam, but Faelen could; the Wolf felt very much the same way when the Akita cheered up.

The Mage chirped, "Great!" He ducked his head when everyone at the table laughed or chuckled, though Geoff's laugh held a hungry growl in it, too. Nathanial waved Micah off to his chair and pulled out a rolled piece of paper. He unfurled it as he spoke. "So, Dad wanted me to see this store in Taipei, and it had an area in back with a whole ton of merchandise all about Liam's past lives." The oldest Marks sibling had trouble getting the paper to unfurl cleanly while holding it up off the table. It suddenly rose from his paws and smoothed out to show a middle-aged Wolf in an old suit... Old like the 1800's old. Was that supposed to be Lowell? It really looked nothing like the pictures in Granny Lorena's living room.

The Ancient One snapped, "No magic!"

The print suddenly fell out of the air and scrolled up tightly again. "Oops!" Nathanial leant over in his chair and caught it before it hit the floor. "Um, sorry. I didn't even realize I'd done it; it was just...automatic."

Nick snorted and crossed his arms as he leant back. "Heh, well _that's_a habit you need to break before it fully forms. What if you did it at school or something? Gods, Nats, how many lectures have you given Mikey and me about keeping our magic under wraps?" The Demon Mage really enjoyed scolding his older brother for a change; he could barely keep from laughing. Faelen could smell some relief in there, too. He guessed Nick must think Nathanial wasn't too drained if the Mage was using magic that easily.

Micah bounced out of his seat again and took one end of the poster. "Here, Nats, let me help." The two of them managed to uncurl the paper. Now that he had the chance to look at it for more than a second, Faelen could see that the Wolf on it wasn't Lowell -- and would be unrecognisable to anyone who'd seen the Wolf or a picture of him -- but if someone went just by a description, it'd about as perfect as you could get.

Liam winced. "What travesty is this? Look at that collar! It is most assuredly a collar common in France during the 1860's, but it's attached to an English coat from the 1890's! And that colour! You would not get wool that shade of blue with the dyes used in London at... What time is this to be? Judging by the age of the model, I must assume it is somewhere between 1870 to 1885, but such a blue would only be found in the lighter fabrics such as cotton or silk. It was a popular shade in those materials for women, as they were more expensive than wool, but the thickness shown on the lapel guarantees the coat is wool." His contemptuous scowl became a bit more thoughtful. "Now, that tie... I did have a tie much like it in 1884. It was one of my favourites, actually. I thought one of my servants in London had lost it. Perhaps one of the more...zealous Monks had wished to acquire it and paid her to 'misplace' it." Faelen wondered if he could find some way of replicating the tie.

Walter peered at the picture for a moment longer before studying Dirk's, and then Faelen's, faces. "I don't see the resemblance. I thought you'd said you could see a lot of Lowell in your descendants, but I'm not seeing it at all."

Liam waved at the picture dismissively. "That is not me -- pardon,Lowell. There are some coarse similarities, but no more. The producers of this painting found a Wolf with the same colours I had, one of an appropriate age for their purposes, and naught else. I see nothing of myself in there."

Da shook his head and said almost exactly what Faelen had thought earlier. "It's a great police sketch, Sensei." Faelen smelt a small spike of pain from his love, but he couldn't understand why. "If someone described you -- Lowell -- to me, this is pretty close to what I'd draw...if I could draw. I think someone supplied the artist with a written description of Lowell but didn't have a photo of you to get the details right."

The Ancient One sighed and lowered his head. "Please, Dirk, could you call me by my first name? I...do not wish to be held apart anymore. It happens so often, whether I want it or not, that I really should not try to encourage such distance with others, even if it does prevent most of the pain that comes later. Once people find out what I am."

Dirk nodded. "Of course, Poppy Liam. Or should I call you 'Son,' like Conor does with Nathanial?" Faelen could see the twinkle in his da's eyes as he teased the Ancient One. "Maybe 'Poppy Son'?"

Walter smelt a little ill. "No, not that last one."

Liam grinned. "No? I thought you might approve. I've seen you watching similar material -- what was it? 'Daddy Bears and their misbehaving cubs at the gym'? Granted, these were actors and not actually related, but you seemed to like the sight of older Bears pinning twenty-odd year old cubs against shower walls or deep-dicking them on workout benches."

The Fur smelt horribly embarrassed. "Liam, would you stop talking about my porn habits in front of other people?"

Conor nodded. "Yes, or any sex at the table, gay or otherwise. It's extremely inappropriate."

Da met Walter's eyes. "Perhaps we could 'discuss' it later, Walter?" Nick whined quietly in his chair. Conor buried his head in one of his paws with a sigh and rubbed his eyes with thumb and index finger.

Micah and Nathanial stowed that poster away and pulled out another one. This one was a Foo Dog: Song Li. It matched the statue in Liam's soul almost perfectly, from the bushy eyebrows -- a dark rust colour on the print -- that contrasted with the pale copper face, to the similarly coloured, thick, curly fur of his mane. The muzzle looked wider than any other Canid Faelen had seen, almost as wide as a Lion's, but longer. Unlike many of the guardian statues placed around Chinese buildings in Cork, Li's ears were somewhat floppy; they weren't as long as an adult Rottweiler's, but they were still longer than an Akita's or German Shepherd's. Li looked quite aggressive in the picture, due to the way his eyebrows were set over his dark eyes, how his head angled down so it was like he stood above you, and the utter lack of any signs of humour or even kindness. It made it hard to reconcile this Li to the one Faelen sort of knew, but Faelen had the impression, from the little Liam mentioned, that Li _had_fought at times. He hadn't always been an old healer.

Nick sat up to get a better look at it. "That's a really awesome painting!" He caught himself and sat back. "You know, I guess, if you like that sort of thing."

Da shrugged and made a 'tch' sound. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever." He laughed when Nick flinched, and hauled the pup over in a headlock to scrub the smaller Dog's ears with his knuckles. "I think it's a great picture, Nick, and if you like it, just say so." Nick made a token effort to get away, and he smelt a little disappointed when Da let go. He smoothed out his fur with a glower, but his tail gave lie to his expression.

Liam studied the painting critically. He grudgingly admitted, "I can find no fault with it, not without being truly petty. The fur colours are off a touch, yet there is no possible way to match such a thing, even _if_there had been an accurate painting done in my lifetime, for the paint would have discoloured over the centuries. The pattern the fur lay in on my ruff differed somewhat, but again, how could one possibly match such a thing? No, I would indeed instantly recognise this as Song Li had I not known who it was supposed to be before you had shown it to me."

Nathanial motioned for Micah to let the print go, and passed the paper along once it wound itself up. "D-Do you want it? I thought Faelen might like the one of Lowell if it was accurate, and you might like this one."

Liam shook his head. "No. I know what I looked like and have no need to keep anything else around that may rouse Li. The cane is bad enough. Give it to Nicholas if he wishes to have it." Nick looked absolutely ecstatic for a moment, but even after the pup caught himself he kept shooting grateful glances over to Liam.

Faelen shook his head, too. "If I want a picture of Lowell, I could get one from Granny Lorena. There might even be a way of copying some of the daguerreotypes and applying colour to them." Besides, he loved _Liam._It'd feel very odd having a picture of his great-great-grandfather around while dating the reincarnation.

Walter leant forward a bit to look more directly at Nathanial. "Is there a way to get another print of Song Li? I'd like to get one, if I could."

Nathanial nodded. "Yeah, it shouldn't be too hard, though it all depends on when Dad goes back to Taipei. The store is very close to the hotel he stays at. If I wasn't so short on magic I could get one tomorrow, but Dad is flying out later that day, so I probably won't be able to this trip." The Mage paused and smiled. "I can send Dad an e-mail to see if he could grab one for you. There's no reason I have to be the one getting it, but he may not be able to, depending on how long his meetings take."

The older Rottie shrugged. "I understand that, Nathanial. There's no rush, and it isn't a problem if I don't get one. I just like the way it looks."

Liam smiled wanly. "In that event, you could even ask Hao for one, or search on that online auction site. I imagine, if I have truly achieved the notoriety it appears I have, that many sites would have them for sale."

Nathanial pulled out four clamshell plastic packages. "If he's famous enough to have action figures, you can bet his prints can easily be found online."

Geoff and Micah burst out laughing, not noticing how it made Liam cringe for a split second. Geoff struggled to gasp out, "Action figures! Oh, gods! I...I've got to see those!" Even though Liam looked calm on the outside, Faelen could feel the calmness was just a thin veneer.

Nathanial must've noticed something, too, because he cut in before Faelen could say anything. "Later." He stuffed them back in the bag. He ignored Micah's whine and Geoff's groan and turned to Liam. "I'm sorry. I guess the parts we find the most amusing are the parts that bother you the most." He reached into another bag and pulled out two graphic novels. "What about these?"

Micah gasped with a huge smile. "Sensei is a manga character!? He's just like Natsu from Fairy Tail or-or Ichigo from Bleach? That's so cool! I wish I could be a manga character." He spun around to change his clothes stopping with his paw holding a top hat to his head. He wore a tuxedo, a long, black cape with red lining, and a white domino mask covering...the white fur around his eyes. The mask really didn't do much. "I could be Tuxedo Mutt, or Changeling Mask, or even the...Tuxedo Mey!" Micah must've meant 'Mey' as 'Mage-Fey.' The small pup looked around the table to gauge people's reaction, and then pouted when no one looked all that keen on it. He spun around again, this time stopping with a green tunic, hat, and grey-green trousers. He held a blue-hilted short sword in one paw and a bright, cartoonish shield in the other. He looked around again. "Um, the hero in a series called, A Link to Faerie? Uh, Twilight Changeling?" He drooped a little more. "A Micah Between Worlds?" That last one actually sounded pretty good, though none of the last three were bad.

Conor agreed. "That one was the best so far, but let's see what these books are." Nathanial passed them over to Micah, once the pup sheathed his sword, who then gave them to Liam. "So, what are they, Sen...Liam?"

The Ancient One read the descriptions and flipped through one while passing the other to his father. The art was pretty good, perhaps a bit better than most Faelen had seen in Nathanial's library. Liam didn't seem upset by these, though it was probably Micah's show that kept his spirits buoyed. "These two are set in my early years as Song Li. The first ends a bit after my release from the merchant who had bought me."

Walter sounded as shocked as Faelen felt when he exclaimed, "You were a slave? I thought only Timeus was a slave!"

Liam grimaced. "No. I mean yes, I was, but no, Timeus was not the only time I was a slave. The merchant who purchased me did not truly think of me as a slave, nor did he treat me as one. I was purchased for my great facility with languages and earned my keep as a translator. I knew all the languages in our province and the neighbouring ones thanks to Lung, and it proved to be a great boon to the merchant. My family, indeed the whole village, was starving, and by leaving with him in exchange for much food I saved many lives. By leaving with him, I got to travel and found my way to the monastery where I spent most of my adult life. That is what this book covers -- my voluntary sale up to my arrival in the monastery. The next, I believe, covers much of my early years of training to my involvement in preventing a local warlord from destroying my new home." He passed the book to his father, who'd finished looking over the other one. "I...find it a touch disconcerting to find my tale being told in such a fashion, but it is not all that different than pure text. And about as accurate. They have taken some liberties with my person, but at least I do not have a female love interest, which is what I feared would happen."

Micah spun around again to change into Natsu Dragneel's clothes: a black, open waistcoat with orange trim; a white leather scarf; white, baggy, short trousers tied off at the knee; and a bit of clothing Faelen wasn't otherwise familiar with -- it looked like a cape that hung over the hips rather than the shoulders, with colours matching the waistcoat. It actually looked good on the Changeling. "So, so! Are you gonna read it for us!?"

Nathanial reached over to tug on the scarf. Micah's hyper wriggling slowed as he looked back over his shoulder to see what his brother wanted. "I'm going to bed, Micah, and Liam isn't feeling much better. I can't use my magic, so why don't you clear the table while Nick tidies up the kitchen? Once that's done, and you have everything ready for school tomorrow, you can go onto the computer to read a few chapters. The Phoenix Monk is a fairly popular manga series, and a lot of the volumes have already been translated online."

Faelen knew what he'd be doing in the quiet periods for the next while once he got one of the Markses to show him where to find the manga.

Liam's stomach felt like it was knotting up, and even feeling it through their bond made Faelen's clench in sympathy. The Ancient One slowly shook his head while looking down at the table. He sounded exhausted. "How many are there? Which of my lives have been mangled so as to provide amusement for the masses? Have I any integrity left to me?" He laughed hollowly. "Which is worse, to be demeaned and ridiculed as some caricature of my true self in this 'pop culture,' or to be revered and elevated beyond what I deserve, with all my flaws brushed aside until I become some sort of saint_and an object -- no longer a _person -- of worship?"

Geoff set the books on the table beside his plate. "Why does one have to be worse than the other? And really, who cares? I understand what you're going through, Liam. The 'Dark Elemental' is probably as revered among the Spirits as the 'Phoenix Monk' is among the Monks, and likely has just as much to do with the real person behind the legend. Those two 'people' really have nothing to do with us; they're just roles we're forced to play. To quote Shakespeare:

"'All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players:

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts,'

"When we're called onto the stage, we can don those costumes, say our lines, and exit the stage to resume our true selves. These books and action figures are no more relevant than the ones made for characters from a movie, and reflect just as much on you as those do for the actors who were playing the movie characters."

Liam looked a little gratified, but he didn't seem to be able to resist arguing. "I appreciate the thought and generally agree. However, while that is indeed a quote from Shakespeare, it has little to do with the subject. It is talking about the futility of life, of how all we do is merely following some script, and it all leads us back to where we started:

"'... Last scene of all,

That ends this strange eventful history,

Is second childishness and mere oblivion,

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.'

"We end up helpless, weak, and fading away as little more than a large infant. I have experienced my end in that manner as Lowell, but I refuse to accept the premise of futility. Lowell achieved much of purpose." Faelen felt Liam's heart swell with love -- though tinged with the pain of loss -- and the tan paw once more sought refuge in Faelen's large, grey one. "I sired my children. I fought to save our home. I left a legacy to ensure they, and my neighbours, would not suffer the agony of starvation. Through that I have been given a great treasure." Liam turned his head to stare into Faelen's eyes. "I have found a love of the ages, greater than that of the greatest love stories, be they told through film, print, or picture."

Faelen squeezed the paw in his own gently, and let his heart speak for him.