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Chapter 77: Conversations On Death and Illness

Liam turned to face Nathanial after Jezebel's soul departed, inwardly dismayed at the obvious pain the akita was in. He had been amused at his formerly timid friend's rather biting critique of the vile Hunter, but her words appeared to have cut deeply. Liam took a deep breath and tried to calm himself; her behaviour had vexed him greatly. Hearing the Knight open his mouth, again, did nothing to help calm himself down.

"Jocelyn..." The shock and sadness in the rabbit's voice was actually moving, making him far more likable than his usual aggressive bluster.

Nathanial sniffled and blinked his eyes clear, keeping his gaze away from the bodies.

Ella tapped her claws on the railing. "You knew her?" She sounded partly scared and angry.

The Knight nodded, his long ears drooped behind his head. "Yeah, not very well, not like Ali, but yeah. She was, she seemed to be a very kind woman. She had a bit of a chip on her shoulder, but she seemed very nice most of the time. She loved kids; she did lots of volunteer stuff with her church's Sunday school program and youth groups. I... I just can't make this Jocelyn fit with the Jocelyn I knew."

Nathanial tilted his head to the side. "Didn't you go to the same church? I thought all of you went to Rock Church and knew each other pretty well."

He received a head shake in response. "Nah, I go to a church in Halifax. Didn't like driving all the way to Sackville every Sunday. A bunch of us had training there, but still less than half the Knights I know; it was mostly Hunters in those courses and at that church."

Nathanial frowned. "Oh. Courses? I suppose that makes sense. Learning stuff on all the different inhabitants of the Hidden World can be pretty intense. Kinda hard to learn it all from a book, on your own. I know, I've tried." Nathanial looked at Jezebel's body, then quickly turned away, with a paw on his stomach. "She liked children? H-how could she... um, she was going to kill Micah just to get Lily's help in getting to me. Ali said something about a retreat, he seemed a little vague. Liam? Does dying make your memory fuzzy? Make it hard to remember what happened while you were alive?"

Liam hid a grimace. He hated it when people asked him about subjects that he should not be knowledgeable of, were he a normal teen, in front of others. "Not that I am aware of. It is an exceedingly rare occurrence for souls of the deceased to appear like this, from what I understand. You may wish to enquire at a proper temple where they perform such rituals more frequently. I would be more inclined to believe that something happened at this retreat to make this 'Ali' person's memories indistinct and difficult to recall. Perhaps it would also be the explanation behind Ms. Gomeche's apparent abnormal behaviour." Liam momentarily froze, before hastily adding, "Not that that is your problem, nor is it in any way your responsibility to find out. It is a matter for the Society and the Knights Templar to investigate. I suspect both groups would take issue with this should it be determined Pastor Yuke was brainwashing people to perform criminal activities."

Both adults showed displeasure and chorused, "Yes." Ella continued, "We'll look into it, Nathanial. Please, leave this to us."

Sgt. Heimdolf nodded. "Yeah, pup. The Agent's right. Keep your muzzle out of it, you have enough going on from the sounds of it. Do your school work and you can help me when you join the force."

Liam's eyes narrowed. "I trust that is the police, not the Knights, you are referring to?"

The sergeant glared at him and opened his mouth for what was likely to be a snarky response, but Nathanial cut him off. "Yes, Liam. I'm thinking of joining the police, but there's a couple of other jobs I'm looking at, too." He smiled at Sgt. Heimdolf. "I'll do my best at school, don't worry." Nathanial glanced out at the water. "Last one's almost here. Donny. What a waste, I... understand how he must have felt, but... it's..." He looked over to the other boat. "I hope he didn't have an older brother," He said, before smiling sadly as he continued, "Not that anyone else in his family will find this easier. Gods. Hades, please help him find peace."

A small weasel began walking out of the fog. Liam could see Nathanial twitch, and he thought he knew why. At this distance the body looked much like Michelle Eiklenboom; perhaps Nathanial was thinking of her younger brother.

Ella looked at the advancing figure with tears in her eyes, and Sgt. Heimdolf showed some uncharacteristic sympathy as he said, "This is the worst part of the job; I hate having to bring this type of news to a family, especially when it's a kid. At least they'll have closure, bad news is better than no news." He shook his head, adding, "Rest in peace, kid."

Liam had trouble accepting such a soft tone from this individual after the last hour and some he had spent with him.

They waited in silence as the corpse climbed into the boat. Liam noticed Nathanial closed his eyes, again, when the corpse began walking out of the fog. Once it was aboard, Liam directed it to the closest empty sarcophagus and performed the ritual. Donny Markham passed on with no visible manifestation.

Nathanial sighed, eyes still closed, "Now what? How are we transferring these to the morgue?"

Ella and the sergeant looked at each other, "We are doing nothing. Sergeant Heimdolf and I will get these to where they belong. You are going home."

The rabbit nodded in agreement as he glared at Nathanial.

Ella continued, "Just drop us and the bodies off near the ferry terminal, then have Micah get rid of these boats."

Liam pulled out the statue of Kerberos and the bundle of feathers as Nathanial directed the boats to shore. Liam intoned solemnly, "Agent Ella, you have fulfilled your duty and honoured Hermes, Guide of the Souls, and Hades, Lord of the Underworld. May their favour return to you and their blessings enrich your life." He called upon Hades' soulfire and the two offerings vanished in a puff of aromatic smoke. He blew the smoke toward the Agent, watching as it settled on her.

Ella blushed and lowered her head; she appeared somewhat tongue-tied.

Nathanial seemed curious about the whole thing, but Sgt. Heimdolf had a most unusual mixture of expressions upon his face. Curiosity, disbelief, indignation, and approval? He could understand the first three, but what would cause the Christian to approve of any of this?

Sgt. Heimdolf turned to Nathanial, "Pup? Why do you keep closing your eyes? Won't you trip or something?"

Nathanial smiled, then opened his eyes as he turned away from the sarcophagi. "Nah, I see perfectly fine with my eyes closed. I see everything around me, out to a pretty big area. Well, it's not quite seeing, but works pretty much the same. I don't feel as, um, ill looking at the bodies that way. It's more like watching TV or a movie than having them right... here." Nathanial waved his paw in front of him as he said that. He looked at the incense, "I'm just glad those incense things keep the smell away; these bodies are pretty rank."

Sgt. Heimdolf grunted, "Yeah, rotting for a month in the water'll do that, pup. I'm glad, too. Your yappy little friend is good for something." The boats were approaching the waterfront, and he continued before Liam could respond. "Get the others to disembark here, if they can. We'll unload our... cargo a bit farther up."

Nathanial nodded and Liam could hear Micah's voice carry over the water as he exclaimed something in excitement. Their boat moved a bit farther over and bumped against the wharf. Nathanial carefully levitated each body onto the wooden structure as Geoff made a ladder for the occupants of both boats.

Liam just jumped up onto the dock and quickly walked over to Faelen, happy that this ordeal was over with. He decided to let the Knight's comment slide and put it out of his mind. His paw itched from his wound as it continued to heal. He had made a point of hiding it as best he could from Nathanial, but the Dark energy was slowing the healing process, and the side effects from his chi replenishing medication was not helping. He would have to think upon this when he meditated later tonight.

Liam sat in his room an hour later, meditating, and began to analyze and properly store the memories of the day. He was currently looking at the way his body had reacted to the Dark energy Nathanial had channelled into him...

He had just shamed himself by his display of vanity and asked Nathanial for some Dark energy. Nathanial had risen from his seat beside Geoff and walked over to him, taking one of his paws. Liam had nodded, saying, "Start with small amounts and feed that to me slowly; allow me to determine how I will react." Liam had felt the energy start to flow into him; it began to cause his body to break down, but he was able to draw it into his chi and convert it. The amount was small and it would take some time to acquire enough to be of sufficient use. "It is... unpleasant, I would start with lower amounts, if possible, but once I begin processing it the energy does not cause much harm. Increase the flow by twenty-five percent, please." He felt the energy flowing into him increase, then he hissed in pain as his paw began to bleed.

Nathanial stopped immediately, "I'm sorry! I was trying to keep it pretty slow and work out the damaging parts."

Liam licked his cracked paw pads, keeping the blood hidden from a queasy looking Garret. "Do not fret, Nathanial, we were aware this may happen. It is why I wished you to channel it through my paw, not anywhere close to my organs. I will bandage this upon my return home, and it shall be fine before long. Likely by the time we depart, tonight. Unfortunately, it appears that this will be more of an emergency option, when I do not have time or opportunity to acquire chi by other means. It is not ideal for you to channel Dark energy for such a lengthy amount of time, nor is it entirely safe for me."

Nathanial reached for his paw. "Let me channel some Light energy into you to heal it up. You need more chi, anyway."

Liam jerked his paw away before he caught himself, "No, that is... unnecessary. Should Dark energy cause such problems, it may be that Light energy has side effects we are unaware of. I recommend extreme caution in its use." He considered a moment, "Try placing your paw upon my shoulder and start channelling the Dark energy again, at the initial levels." He gathered a large pocket of his chi around his shoulders, to try to act as a shield. Liam felt his friend's paws shaking slightly as Nathanial put them on Liam's shoulders and began, again. Liam concentrated intently, going so far as to push a small amount of chi into Nathanial's paws to begin processing before the energy moved into him. He no longer felt the detrimental effects of this energy. "Slowly increase the amount, please."

Over the course of two minutes they went, until they were at twice the initial volume before Liam said, "Stop the increase. This is the highest I can tolerate. It is enough that I can attempt to make medicines with, but it is still too slow and hazardous to replace the previous method. I apologize, Geoff, I may still need your aid at times."

Geoff nodded; he seemed a little pleased and upset at the same time. "Ah, um, sure. Now?"

Liam smiled, slightly. "No, not now. Nathanial's chi is close enough to balance; he does not need Faelen's assistance, so I will stop by your home when we finish here and prevail upon my great-grandson." He shook his head. "Sorry, Lowell's great-grandson, not mine." Liam rubbed the bridge of his short muzzle. "This weekend is going to be most difficult." The atmosphere became noticeably more gloomy.

Faelen stood up, "We should probably be going, then. I have a lot of homework and studying to do, as well as cleaning and preparing for tomorrow."

Liam stood, nodding agreement. "Indeed, Nathanial does as well. I recommend learning three spells to assist tonight's endeavours: Corpse Candle, Macabre Reveille, and Ghost Galleon. There are others that might have been worth learning had we more time, but the first two are most likely to be the most useful and the third is a good backup. Ghost Galleon is highly complicated, so do not bother if you think it will take too long. It is only of great use if there is a very high number of bodies, or if we should run into trouble. Now, I will excuse myself. I, also, have homework to do and other things to attend to."

Garret looked confused as he glanced at Liam, then Geoff and Faelen, "Lowell? Great-grandson? You're related, or were, to whom?"

Liam sighed, "My last life was Lowell O'Conall. Faelen's great-great-grandfather. Faelen would be Lowell's heir, being the first born of the first born and so on. It makes things... complicated, at times. This is not the best time to discuss such matters. Please ask me, or even Nathanial, on some other occasion. Now, I bid you good day." He preceded Faelen and a sulky looking Geoff outside and led them to Faelen's home.

Liam opened his eyes in his dark room, bringing himself back to the present. He sent his mind through his body, looking for damage caused by Dark or Light energy. He noted that the his wounded paw was almost completely recovered, just a few tender spots remained. Dark energy seemed to cause immediate and more noticeable damage. He looked further through his body, primarily at the locations where he had received direct applications of energy. He did not truly expect to find anything, and was not surprised when there was no sign of damage. He processed the energy far quicker than anyone else would be able to; he was also able to subconsciously direct his body to heal itself. He was unable to regenerate as the Spirits could, but he could hasten the process in a localized area. Should someone like...

He was interrupted by his phone ringing. He reached over and picked it up, "Moshi moshi."

"What?" Faelen sounded confused.

Liam smiled softly and let his tail wag, "Hello, my love. I was just meditating. Is something amiss?"

Faelen's voice carried a lot of warmth, "No, nothing... Well..." His voice trailed off uncertainly. "Um, it's just about tomorrow. Are you going to be okay? Poppy Faeden seemed to cause you some, um, problems. Are you sure you can handle seeing everyone? All at once? It's going to be really... something." Words seemed to fail his boyfriend, but the meaning was obvious.

"No, I am not certain, yet I will not be taken by surprise this time. To see my little Den when I did not expect to was quite overwhelming. It was, perhaps, for the best, as now I know what to expect." He shook his head and added some amusement to his voice, "This life, my eighth or ninth, still has many firsts within it. Even at fourteen I am experiencing a great number things that are unprecedented and have no comparison to anything I have experienced before."

Faelen chuckled, as Liam hoped he would. "That's not all bad, I hope, but at the same time, just for the sake of argument, you said you don't know everything from your past lives. Even saying 'eighth or ninth' indicates there's a lot of things you don't remember."

Liam twirled the end of his tail with his free paw, "Indeed, but I can guarantee that I have never encountered someone I knew in a previous life before. Or fell in love with a descendant of my previous life. I could go through a list, should you wish."

"No, that's all right, Liam. I believe you." The concern was temporarily absent from Faelen's voice but quickly returned. "What do you think about what Nathanial said, about taking over the world? Think he could do it? With galleons?"

Liam laughed, "Those are not ordinary galleons, and most certainly would be highly abnormal ones once Nathanial finished with them. If what he seemed to indicate is correct he could make them very powerful, yet a navy will not let you conquer Russia. Nor the heart of any continent. That spell would not allow him to rule the world, but he could temporarily cripple the global economy. I truly do not think there was a sincere desire to wage war; it was just surprise at the potential power of the spell. Like saying one could try the patience of Buddha or that a truly horrible slaughter would drive even Ares to call for peace."

"Yeah, your right, about Nathanial, I mean. I should let you get back to meditating, I need sleep, too. I... I'm just a little scared about tomorrow. I'm worried it'll be too much for you."

"There is little that would be too much for me when I have you nearby. It will be emotionally draining, but we can take it in doses and retreat for respite when it grows too difficult. Just find somewhere quiet where I may find solace in your arms. We have known each other for a short time, yet you have become my anchor, Faelen. I need you."

"I'll be there for you whenever I can, Liam."

Liam could hear the conflict, the pain, in Faelen's voice. Liam cut in, saying, "I know, Faelen. I was not saying, or even implying, that you abandon your duty at a moments notice. Your duty must come first, or you would not be the one whom I have come to love. I, perhaps, should have said that I... that you have become a major part of my life, one that I can only imagine being absent with great distress. I do not wish to return to the life I had before I met you; it seems so empty, now."

The pain was still there as Faelen quietly said, "I know what you meant, Liam. It doesn't make me feel less split in two, sometimes. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye bye, now."

"On the morrow, my love." Liam hung up the phone and smiled softly at the gadget, marvelling how such a device could let him speak over distances with such clarity. This life truly contained things he could not have foreseen. The telephone was one, yet his falling in love was far more surprising and, now, welcome. He was not alone and never again would he be so.

---

Geoff walked up to breakfast with Faelen, his stomach was roiling inside him. He stood by his chair and waited for Dirk and his father to join them. Faeden was already standing by his own chair, the one to Conor's left. Conor walked in behind Dirk and nodded at them as he sat. Geoff sat down and stared at the table blankly; his appetite was nonexistent today.

Faelen scooped an omelette onto Geoff's plate then poured him some juice. "Eat, Geoff." Faelen served himself an omelette, too. ""I know you're nervous, but you get really cranky and have trouble thinking straight when you're hungry."

Geoff fiddled with his fork, even the smell of the eggs was making him feel sick. He cut a chunk off and slowly raised it to his muzzle when he saw his grandfather's image in the bacon and green peppers. He dropped his fork and clapped a paw over his mouth as he tried to keep himself from being sick.

Conor looked over in concern, asking, "Do you need to be excused? To lie down for a minute? Just take a few deep breaths and try to relax; you have a perfectly ordinary day of school ahead of you."

Geoff nodded and tried to think of his day, at least the next few hours. Eat, brush his teeth, then wait for Liam to knock and join them on the run over to Nathanial's. His tail wagged softly, accompanied by Faelen's and his father's chuckles, as he thought of Nathanial. His pup was a little quieter than usual earlier this morning; their lovemaking was more tender than passionate. Maybe Nathanial was just as nervous as he was? He should go try to comfort him, but his da wouldn't let him go without eating. He wolfed down his food without thinking about it, then he turned to a shocked Faelen. "Come on, let's hurry up. Nathanial needs me; I'll send a text to let Liam know we went over early."

Faelen's brow beetled in confusion, "I think you're skipping a few steps in logic, again, Geoff. Why do you think Nathanial needs you all of a sudden? Why the rush?"

Geoff fidgeted in his chair, silently urging Faelen to hurry. "He was really quiet this morning, he must be just as worried as I... am." He put a paw over his stomach as it began churning again. He tried to force it to be still; he couldn't be sick when his pup was in distress. "He's never met Grandda, and all this will be new to him and stuff, so he's got to be really worried. I should be there to help calm him down."

Conor's lips quirked up in a fond smile, "That's very noble of you, Geoff, but have a piece of toast and chew it, this time. Let me enjoy your company for a few minutes before dashing off. He has his own family to help him, and they probably like having a few minutes of his attention, too. They won't be getting to spend any time with him all weekend."

Geoff hid his disappointment and impatience. The words were mild and the tone kind, but he knew that a decision was made and he'd best live with it. He grabbed a slice of toast.

Conor sat back, omelette half eaten, and sipped his coffee. "Good food, Dirk, as usual." Conor often ate half his breakfast while his coffee cooled slightly, then ate the other half after having a cup. Conor took a larger sip, then asked Geoff, "When is your next football match?"

Geoff tipped his head to the side, "Wednesday, at nineteen hundred. Mr. Marks switched practice to Monday so we can rest on Tuesday."

Den said, "You should mention it to the Alpha, he enjoys watching you play and so do I. Maybe we could get Nathanial to open a portal for us that evening so we can go watch."

Geoff put his paw back over his stomach and nodded weakly.

Faelen's phone buzzed. He pulled it out and checked the message. "It was Liam, he's heading down to the school, now. He needs to talk to Mrs. Davis, so he'll just meet us there."

Conor nodded. "Any more word about Joseph Harper? That teacher you had troubles with?"

Geoff shook his head as he said, "No, the Society seems to have made him disappear quite thoroughly. We told you that he was engaged to one of the Hunters we had to kill the day Nathanial's mother was killed, didn't we? She was the one Nathanial was trying to find yesterday, and was the sister of Mr. Gomeche."

"Really?" Conor sounded surprised. "That's... unexpected. You mentioned the rest but not the engagement. I hope Mr. Gomeche finds some peace; I liked dealing with him, he was very competent. I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out how to offer condolences; apparently offering flowers is... inappropriate in Islamic cultures. A card doesn't seem enough, and from what you said making a donation to a charity in her name would be hard, too, since her family didn't approve of her conversion."

Geoff answered, "Make a donation to a secular children's charity. Nathanial said Sgt. Heimdolf mentioned she loved children, so that's something that'd be meaningful for her and welcomed by the family. If it's religion neutral there's no chance for offence. I... think I heard that educational institutions are considered very, um, valued? Respected? Well, helping pass on learning is supposed to help you in the afterlife."

Conor pressed his fingertips together in front of his nose as he thought. He nodded and said, "That sounds good. I have to say I know very little about Islam but that's a very diplomatic way of handling it. I'll try to figure out where would be the most significant to the family, whether a community library, a school in the neighbourhood, or an international charity." He smiled slightly. "I guess we should wait for a more official notice. We weren't supposed to be there last night or know for certain she died, remember. Send me a text if word is officially being passed around at school." He took another bite of his breakfast before waving them on. "You're excused. Go finish getting ready."

Geoff jumped up from the table and quickly jogged downstairs.

Geoff opened the gate behind Nathanial's house and smiled as his paws ran over the stone carvings. He jumped slightly as he heard Nathanial's voice in his head. *Hi, Geoff, you're a bit early. Where's Liam?*

Geoff barely noticed Faelen's annoyance at his moving through the gate first. Geoff smiled as he ran toward the house, "Hi, Nathanial. He left for school a bit early; he had to see Mrs. Davis for some reason. How are you feeling?"

Faelen relaxed slightly as Geoff talked, probably thinking that Nathanial would've let them know if there was trouble on the other side of the gate.

Nathanial sounded a bit amused. *Yes, my yard is safe. You can reassure your bodyguard. And I'm fine. Why? Last night wasn't that rough, um, I guess.*

Geoff pulled open the patio door and wiped his hindpaws as he before stepping in. The leaves were changing colour and some had already fallen. He pulled a dried leaf off a claw on his hindpaw, where it'd gotten stuck, then rubbed his hindpaws on the mat again. Geoff stepped in and called out, "Hi, guys!"

He got an answer from the island in the kitchen, where the Markses were finishing breakfast. He walked in to see Nathanial saying goodbye to his family. Nicholas and Micah seemed a bit concerned over something, but Nathanial just smiled at them and licked them on the muzzle as he walked toward the sitting room. Nathanial hugged his father, too. "See you later, everyone. I'll stop by before heading over to Cork, but I guess I won't see you till Sunday, Dad. Have fun."

Garret hugged Nathanial back and asked, "You sure you don't mind? We can go another time, all of us."

Nathanial laughed, "Yeah, we can, but it doesn't mean you can't go, now. Go. I wouldn't have suggested if I minded."

Micah pouted. He seemed torn over whatever they were talking about, but spoke up. "I want to go, but I want to go with you. Not while you're over there getting into a big argument, or while you're so upset."

Nathanial smiled fondly at his baby brother. "Shush, Sprite, I'm fine. You can show me all of your favourite spots when we all go, probably after the winter." Nathanial rubbed Micah's ears. "Now, I have to go to school. Have a good day everyone." He turned and followed Geoff out of the house.

As they began running toward school Geoff spoke to Nathanial. "What was that about? Are you that worried about today?"

Nathanial sounded a little surprised. "Eh? Um, no. I didn't put much thought into that part of it; I was too focused on making sure my family was going to be fine while I was gone. I talked Dad into taking them to Upper Clements Park for the weekend, a theme and adventure park here in Nova Scotia. It sounds pretty small compared to lots of the other ones, but it'll be less hassle than trying to pick up tickets and things for a trip down to Disney Land. Nicholas seemed to get pretty psyched about the adventure park part and that got Micah going."

Geoff put a paw on Nathanial's shoulder. "You didn't say why Micah and Nicholas were so worried about you."

Nathanial looked away, blushing. "I had a nightmare last night. Several of them, actually. The, um, whole thing was... kinda rough. With Jezebel and Donny. Nicholas and Micah ended up sleeping in my bed; it was the only way I could sleep for more than a half hour at a time."

Geoff pulled Nathanial into a hug. "Sorry. I was so worried about my trip home I wasn't thinking about how last night might have been affecting you. You could've come over and slept with me, you know. I would've been more than happy to hold you all night, like I did after the Hunter attack. I didn't like the circumstances, but I really enjoyed just being able to hold you. Please, if you have more nightmares, or something starts to bother you, let me know. I'm your boyfriend, aren't I? What good am I if I can't help you when you need it?"

Nathanial licked Geoff's ear. "Thanks. Nick said pretty much the same thing, except it was brother, not boyfriend." Nathanial suddenly blushed even more and pulled away, looking around. "Um, sorry. I felt like we were being watched."

His paw twitched toward Geoff's, like he wanted to hold it, and Geoff looked around, too, before shrugging. "Fuck it." He took Nathanial's paw in his own.

Nathanial's head drooped, even as his tail began wagging and his mouth curled into a smile. "Um, what if someone sees us? Aren't we...? Isn't it...? Um, we could get in trouble. Isn't that the reason we're going to see your grandfather, in case someone finds out we're dating? Shouldn't we try not to cause him trouble?"

Geoff grinned, wolfishly. "Yeah, so I need to hold you to calm us both down. No point in us getting anxious and worked up and saying something to get him angry. I'll let you go when we get closer to school."

Faelen was walking two paces behind them, but Geoff could tell he was smiling. He did speak up before Nathanial could. "Sir, if we don't pick up the pace we'll be late. Liam's also getting very tense; something isn't going well with his talk with Mrs. Davis."

Nathanial dropped Geoff's paw, then his ears twitched as he leaned in to kiss Geoff's muzzle. "Let's hurry. I'm worried about Mrs. Davis." They set out at a brisk run as Nathanial continued, "Liam was acting a bit strange yesterday; I'm wondering if he was preoccupied with his 'new patient', and I think that it's Mrs. Davis. Liam seemed really concerned about her headaches."

Faelen agreed, "Yes, I think it is, too. It fits with what he said, but I don't know why he'd suddenly need to have an art auction to raise a lot of money. Is there an ingredient of some sort that he needs for the medication, one that's too expensive for him to get his paws on? He could've just asked our families for the cash. He's certainly done enough for us to have earned it, though I don't think it's in his nature to ask for help like that."

They kept silent as they ran toward the school, then slowed to a jog as they entered the crowded courtyard. Geoff called out greetings to dozens of the other students before entering the building; the upcoming football... ugh, soccer match had people really excited. He followed Faelen and Nathanial into the office.

Mr. Drake looked up from the his paperwork, "Hey, guys. Mr. Smith is in Mrs. Davis' office. You'll need to wait out here."

Nathanial nodded, then moved to a seat near the desk. "Hi, Mr. Drake. How is she today? Her head bothering her?"

The hyena grimaced. "Yes, but not as bad as it was yesterday. Whatever Mr. Smith gave her seems to be working, but she's really groggy." Mr. Drake's tone become thoughtful. "I'd take the grogginess over the pain she was in any day. I think she would, too."

Geoff remembered his father's words at breakfast, so he asked, "Any word from Ahmed? About his sister?"

Mr. Drake shook his head. "No, not yet. I just heard about what happened yesterday from Mr. Smith. I can't believe it, her own fiancée is one of the accused and he was one of Mr. Gomeche's co-workers."

Nathanial looked down at his hindpaws and fidgeted. He looked up as the phone rang.

Mr. Drake answered, "Dalhousie Collegiate, how may I help you?" He paused. "Oh, Mr. Gomeche, I'm sorry but Mrs. Davis is with her doctor at the moment, can I take a message?" He began typing. "Yes. Yes. Certainly." There was a slightly longer pause. "I... can't say much, you know the privacy policies, but... it's not good. She hopes to get some of her test results back some time later today. I'll pass on your message, and... I'm sorry, Ahmed. You have my condolences." He glanced at Geoff and his friends, who all nodded. "Mr. Marks, McDougal, and O'Conall offer theirs as well." The hyena hung up the phone with a sigh then ran his paw through his reddish mane. "They found her body. Jezebel Gomeche's. He'll be off for at least another week, and will call back once the autopsy is done and the funeral arranged. He thinks it'll be Tuesday or Wednesday."

Geoff grimaced sympathetically, then pulled out his phone. He quickly sent a quick text to his father letting him know Ahmed had called in.

The door to Mrs. Davis' office clicked open and Liam stepped out, then turned back. "I will be checking on you, Mrs. Davis, and I will be informing Mrs. Neuranski as well." Liam closed the door behind him, softly, then paced over. "Good day, everyone. I must stop by the nurse's office momentarily. Mr. Drake, ensure that she takes her medication at ten, please."

Mr. Drake nodded. Geoff thought he looked very cautious around Liam for some reason. His tone seemed to carry a measure of respect, though. "Mr. Smith, you should probably get the event planning started. If it's going to involve the student body you'll need things worked out precisely and with strict timelines in order to get it done on such short notice."

Liam seemed to agree. "I have already put thought into it. I will send word to the newspaper club to put out an emergency bulletin informing the student body of Mrs. Davis' health and the need for a fundraiser for the hospital. It will also ask for volunteers and call on all the various groups to do what they can to craft a large festival. I will also speak to the student council and have them organize a planning committee to oversee the process. My auction will be held separate, for the most part, but I will call upon professional level people to extend the event. Perhaps some music or a lecture on the relationship between art and health."

Nathanial stood up and looked at the clock. "We better hurry, guys. The bell is going to ring in a couple minutes. I don't want to be late, it's getting to be a bad habit." They said their goodbyes and left the office.