It was a house Octavia had been too engrossed in their conversation to notice, relatively uniform with the others adjacent up and down either side of the road. So late in the evening, it was only by the grace of the street lamps that she could see anything at all. It was unremarkable, largely, a rustic home with little more of note than granite porch steps and the sleek metals of a passably-ornate fence. More of interest was the dark-haired woman upon the former, sitting quietly as she stared down the Maestro from afar.

The exceedingly heavy sigh that left Renato preceded any words he could offer her. His face was far more neutral than the standard emotional fluctuations of his voice. "You moved."

"What are you doing here?"

"Nice place you ended up with," he said calmly. "I like the fence."

"Why are you here?"

"Passing through, chill out. Not here for you. Good seeing you again. See ya."

When he made to turn on his heel, the confusion on Octavia's face echoed across that of her companions in full. They stayed rooted in place, wordlessly watching his movements with great befuddlement. Renato never fully pulled off a complete escape, whether with his gaze or otherwise.

"Avery!" the woman shouted, just barely tilting her head in the direction of the door at her back.

"You do not need to do that!" Renato snapped, stomping angrily towards the porch steps.

"Where have you been?" she asked. Genuine concern tinted her every word, pairing well with wide eyes.

"That was completely unnecessary!" he cried, gesturing wildly in the direction of the door.

It was only once it opened that Renato took two quick steps backwards, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. The man that took the place he'd once stood was taller than him by a small margin, leaving him somewhat looking down on the Strong boy.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, much the same as the woman on the steps. Granted, his accent was far thicker.

Again, Octavia watched the way Renato's shoulders rose and fell with the weight of a sigh. "I'm passing through. I said this already. I didn't even know you guys moved. I thought you were on the other side of the…wherever. Genuine coincidence."

"Where the hell have you been?" he growled.

"Do you guys only know how to ask the same two damn questions?" Renato bit back. "Why does it even matter?"

"Answer me."

"Gone. Not here. Obviously."

The man pinched the bridge of his nose in clear aggravation. "How long has it been?"

"Not long enough," Renato muttered.

"A lot has changed since the last time you were here."

Renato nodded half-heartedly, his narrow eyes never leaving the man's own. "Yeah. New house. Saw that already."

"Cecil was promoted."

"Didn't ask."

"He's stationed in Ardenfall. They're doing training there next week."

"I literally do not give a damn about Cecil."

"Watch your mouth," the woman hissed, rising to her feet. Renato laughed once, a singular and empty sound utterly devoid of amusement.

"I don't care! Am I supposed to care?"

"Show some respect!"

"He's not even here! I wouldn't show him a damn thing anyway!"

"Kiera," the man warned softly, raising one hand to the agitated woman at his side. She swallowed whatever harsh words were to come. He returned his attention to Renato alone, his voice quieter.

"Listen, why don't you just…come inside, and we'll talk? We don't have to talk about Cecil, we don't have to talk about where you've been, we can just…talk. I'll make coffee, or whatever you want. Do you still like your coffee black?"

Renato fell silent for a moment. He cocked his head with the faintest of smirks. "Do you seriously think that's gonna work twice? Do you honestly think I'm that stupid?"

"Renato--"

"No. Whatever you've got to say to me, you can do it right here. Whatever you want to do to me, you can do it right here. I'm not falling for that again."

"Renato, please. Let's just…try again. Both of us. All of us."

"You really do think I'm an idiot, don't you?"

"Stop saying things like that."

"You ever stopped to think maybe Cecil was nearly killing himself with all of that garbage just to get the hell away from you, too? Wouldn't blame him!"

"Think very carefully about the next words that leave your mouth!" the man shouted, clenching his fists at his sides.

Renato flinched. Then, he laughed--a dark, genuine laugh, even if only for a fraction of a second. "Damn, we went back to that fast! That's a new record for you!"

"Renato," he warned sharply, the boy's name stolen and dipped in venom.

"You won't do it. I know you won't do it. Not when we're not alone."

For a moment, both hardly breathed, staring one another down with daggers where their eyes should've been. For the severity of their stand-off and the urgency with which Renato had previously seemed to be avoiding confrontation, Octavia was amazed at the way he stood his ground so perfectly.

The man's eyes flickered over Renato's shoulder, touching upon her instead. It was Octavia's turn to flinch. His gaze fell back to the Strong Maestro who faced him without fear.

"You're putting on a brave act in front of these people, then?"

Renato shrugged. "Nothing to do with it. This is just who I am now."

"You haven't changed. You won't change."

"Not in the way you want, maybe," he corrected, crossing his arms as he shifted his weight onto one foot. "There's a whole lot of other ways I've changed, I promise you that much."

"You don't want to change for the better. You want to keep screwing around and making a mess out of your life."

"And I'm damn good at it, too."

"Then ruin yourself. You're a lost cause. I've done everything I can to give you what you needed to succeed, and you threw it away. Was it worth it, Renato?"

"It was absolutely worth it."

"What else could it possibly take to get you to pull yourself together? What else could I possibly give you? What more could you want from me?"

"Whatever you try, you're not gonna get anywhere," Renato answered. "I'm stronger than you now. By a lot."

"What…happened to your hands?"

The woman's voice was soft, in stark contrast to that of the man who berated Renato again and again. Volume was irrelevant. Her words were enough to shake him in a way that harsher words could not. Renato recoiled, taking several steps backwards as he unfolded his arms. With their eyes chasing the cherry oak that clung so naturally to his wrists, he stuffed them into his pockets quickly. He averted his eyes, his voice sharp and poisonous despite his trembling shoulders.

"Why the hell do you care?"

"What did you do?"

"Whatever's going on with me is my business and my business only," Renato spat. "Drop it."

"Watch how you speak to her," the man snapped.

"Look," Renato began firmly, "this has been great. Wonderful chat we had, good stuff. I cannot stress enough that I am not here for you--either of you. You've got your opinions, and I've got mine. Agree to disagree, look the other way, and leave me the hell alone. Is that fair?"

Neither the man nor the woman responded. The man crossed his arms, glaring the same daggers directly into Renato's back as he turned away at last. "Glad we cleared that up," the boy called with a lazy wave over his shoulder.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

Octavia blinked. The entire exchange had left her with a million questions, and she undoubtedly wasn't the only one.

"Renato?" she whispered as he neared her.

He grinned faintly for her, false of a smile as it was. "Don't worry about it."

"Don't come back here," Octavia heard the man call.

Renato groaned in exaggerated exasperation. "Wasn't planning on it. See ya."

Whatever came out of the man's mouth next was indecipherable--to Octavia, at least. It was short. It was curt, jumbled syllables in a tongue she couldn't place. It was spoken neatly, venomously, its intent still audibly visible despite its linguistic unfamiliarity. Whatever it was, it was enough to bring Renato to a screeching halt, his shoulders stiffening in an instant. His eyes widened, his face contorting with pain as he recoiled. He choked on whatever breath he'd been taking.

"Hey, watch it!" Josiah growled in the direction of the door.

Octavia didn't get a chance to ask what it meant. Madrigal was on the case immediately.

She was unflinching, fearless as she stomped towards the man who'd sought to verbally wound Renato for the past ten minutes. Whatever was leaving her mouth was elaborate, fast, and laced with ire that Octavia still hadn't grown used to hearing on Madrigal's lips. Madrigal pushed past Renato, practically guarding him as she hurled hostile sentence after hostile sentence in a language Octavia didn't recognize. She gestured vividly with her hands, several choice motions towards the man almost vaguely resembling a threat. With every word, both the man and the woman could only stare at her in further shock. Renato wasn't much better.

"Damn, Maddie, chill!" he hissed in a frantic whisper.

The man's own eyes narrowed as Madrigal ranted. He quickly moved to close the small gap between them. "You insolent little girl--"

The sight of Mistral Asunder level with those narrow eyes nearly gave Octavia a heart attack.

"Renato!" she cried instinctively. She was vaguely aware of Viola doing the same.

It was almost a battle as to which one of the Maestros would take the forefront, the Spirited girl quickly shoved behind the protection of the Strong boy instead. With her at his back, that left one slice of cherry oak pointed squarely at the man. Renato's hand trembled around the stick as he struggled to control his voice. He failed horrifically.

Whatever was leaving his mouth was livid, biting, and just as rapid as Madrigal's arguing had been. It was, too, just as indecipherable, foreign to Octavia's ears and every bit as enraged. Renato's eyes were perhaps the only thing sharper than his jagged, unfamiliar words, fire bubbling beneath his pupils.

"Put one finger on her, I dare you," he spat, his voice low. That much, at least, Octavia could understand.

The man didn't back down, even with the tip of Mistral Asunder still mere inches from his face. He, too, was yelling in much the same cadence and vocal flavoring, yet more ire Octavia unfortunately wasn't privy to. Renato did the same, his voice rising. The man shouted back. Over one another, again and again, they practically screamed in a foreign tongue for what was long enough to make her heart pound.

Even when they both abruptly fell silent, with Renato claiming the last pointed hostilities for himself, the way his shoulders shook with rage still left Octavia holding her breath. She didn't dare take her eyes off him, only briefly catching the way Madrigal glared at the man behind the boy's back.

"Don't come back here," the man repeated once more, far more viciously as his voice trembled with cool anger.

Renato was absolutely not immune to the same. "You know damn well I won't."

His Harmonial Instrument stayed raised in a wordless threat right up until the door had slammed shut in his face, both of his tormentors freeing him from their abrasive sentiments at last. Only then did he deflate, lowering his guard and breathing much the same heavy sigh of relief as Octavia.

When he noticed Octavia eyeing him with great concern, Renato rubbed the back of his neck. "I, uh, sorry about that. Sorry you had to…see that."

"Are…you okay?" Harper murmured hesitantly.

Renato shrugged, shunning the vicinity of the house at last with Madrigal close behind. "It's like I said. I come here for the food."

"I didn't know you were bilingual," Viola observed aloud.

Again, he shrugged with a half-hearted smirk. "I'm a talented guy. It's in my blood."

Josiah winced. "I'm sorry about the…you know. That wasn't cool."

He raised an eyebrow. "You're fluent?"

Josiah shook his head. "Almost conversational. Studied here and there. I can pick stuff out. Made out enough of what you guys were talking about, and I sure as hell know what that meant."

Renato scoffed. "Don't worry about it. He always calls me that when he's pissed off. Just…haven't heard it in awhile. Still gets under my skin a lot more than I expected."

"What'd he say?" Octavia asked.

This time, at least, the smirk he gave her was genuine. "I'll teach you as much as you want, but there's no damn way I'm teaching you what that word means."

"And you," Renato continued, rolling his eyes teasingly in Madrigal's direction. "Guess that's one of your eighty-five-whatever languages, then?"

Even in the wake of the heated shouting match they'd left behind, she beamed with pride. "It was one of the first ones I ever learned!"

Renato poked at one of her buns playfully. "Not gonna lie, that was friggin' awesome. I'm still washing that pretty mouth out with soap later, though. Don't let me hear half of that mess comin' out of you again, alright? Not completely sure how I'm gonna sleep tonight."

Madrigal giggled beneath his teasing. His true grin was brilliant and welcome.

"So, then, that was your…" Viola began, losing her words almost instantly.

Renato averted his eyes. "I'm sorry I was rushing you. Was hoping I could spare the world from a little more drama. You can take your time with that magnet stuff now."

The gaze Viola gave him was pained, far more so than anything Octavia typically saw her offer to that boy specifically. Even he seemed taken aback, his eyes widening at her expression.

"Don't look at me like that," Renato said with a sincere chuckle. "It's fine, seriously. I'm used to it. I'm happy with what I have, and I'm happy with what I ended up with. That's all I give a damn about. I mean it."

She didn't press him. In turn, he gifted her the same bright, confident smile. Viola struggled to do the same, settling on something fainter and more somber. The effort, at least, was there.

"Not gonna lie, kind of a weight off my shoulders," Renato admitted, stretching. "Can we get back to whatever we were supposed to be doing, please? Starting to hope whoever this is will be nice enough to let us crash for the night, because I'm just about spent."

"We're…happy that you're with us. That's all I'll say about it," Harper offered with a soft smile of his own.

Renato's eyes softened. Still, his sentiments were solid. "God, seriously, it wasn't that bad. Don't read into it too much, okay? I'll be even happier once I'm unconscious. Don't keep me out here waitin' in the middle of the friggin' night."

Octavia wished she could have her own turn with comforts, if not simply to tell him his worth. Still, their collective love for him, chaotic as he was, needed no verbal clarification. If the confidence behind his smile was anything to go by, he knew it to be true better than anyone. She was more than satisfied to see that smile still going strong, for all it had taken to claw it back from Hell.

If even Viola was giving him her concern, then surely Renato had gathered far more adoration around him than he could've ever wished to inherit. Octavia would make certain it stayed that way.

The furthest end of the block still took another ten minutes to traverse. Octavia hesitated to entertain the concept of Selbright's true size, at this point. If the housing districts alone were so sprawling, the thought of the city's heart was daunting in and of itself. She was by no means winded upon arrival. Regardless, there was something mentally draining about following a beacon not her own for so long. Viola, the most likely candidate for exhaustion after wandering so far, was still going strong--an unmatched testament to Soulful focus.

The house they'd ended up in front of was partially obscured by the darkness of night. Again, they'd gotten mildly lucky with a street lamp. Their path up the porch steps was illuminated, familiar and granite much the same as every other house. Of this home, too, there was little to note.

The exterior was plain and humble, sporting passable paint and reasonable hygiene beneath the wear and tear of age. To know that a Maestra possibly rested beyond the unassuming maple barring entry was jarring. Octavia feared deeply for the idea that they'd ended up at entirely the wrong house, preparing to disturb some unfortunate resident of Selbright in the earliest possible hours of the morning.

It was Viola who'd insisted that this was the place. As such, it was they who insisted that she be the one to knock. To Octavia's surprise, she'd hardly hesitated.

When there was no initial response, Octavia again wondered if they were in the right place at all. Now she was hooked on the concept of possibly messing with somewhere downright empty at the time of arrival. That line of thought was somewhat more embarrassing. The creak of the hinges nearly scared her to death, focused on her insecurities as she was.

"Yes?"

For what time of day six strangers had arrived on her doorstep, the girl who greeted them was startlingly calm. It took her a moment to open the door entirely, glancing at each of the Maestros in turn before stepping onto the threshold in earnest. Still, her slender hand lingered on the doorknob. Viola cleared her throat.

"Uh, we're looking for someone named Mina," she tried. Octavia was glad Viola had remembered the name. It surely would've slipped her mind, had she been tasked with knocking instead.

The girl eyed Viola up and down. "Are you the Ambassador, then?"

Briefly, Viola's eyes widened. The stammering began soon after, followed by panicked gestures. "O-Oh, no, I'm not the Ambassador! I'm, uh…"

"I'm the Ambassador," Octavia took over, edging her way closer to the steps. "My name is Octavia."

The girl stared. "Samuel sent you?"

His name was a start. If nothing else, they were on the right track. She nodded. "Are you Mina?"

It was the girl's turn to nod. "Yeah. Are all of you guys…"

"Maestros, yes," Viola finished on her behalf.

The girl tilted her head. "That's…a lot. He said as much, but still."

"He told you we were coming?" Octavia asked.

Mina's words were punctuated by the widening gap in the doorway, one arm extended in a half-hearted welcome. "Yeah. He wrote to me a few weeks ago. Gave me a heads up. Come in. We can talk it over in the morning."

They obliged. "You're fine with us staying the night? That's…nice of you. Thank you."

Even as each Maestro passed her by--some with significantly more elation at having a place to sleep than others--Octavia's focus was largely on the girl who offered her gracious hospitality without question. "It's nothing. No one else lives here but me. I've got plenty of room for it."

She fidgeted slightly, Stradivaria's case rustling against her braids in the process. "You're a…Maestra, right?"

Again, Mina nodded. "Someone with you is Soulful, I'm assuming, if you got this far."

"You know about that?" Octavia asked, her eyes wide.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"It's just…I haven't met a lot of Maestros who know a lot about…well, Maestro stuff. Not by default, I mean."

Mina smirked. "You're in for a bit of a rude awakening, I think."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't wait to see his face," she muttered. "He's gonna be a whole lot more excited to see you than I am."

"Who?"

Mina paused. Still, her smirk was faint, if not ever-present. "You'll see in the morning. It's a full day's worth of walking. Get as much sleep as you can. I'll make breakfast, and then we're heading out. I'll explain what I can on the way there, but he's a whole lot better with words than I am."

Octavia blinked. "I…okay. Thank you for…taking us in, and for helping us with…well, whatever you're helping us with."

Mina's smile softened. Octavia finally embraced her hospitality, scraping her boots against the floor mat. The door clicked shut gently behind them, the darkness of Selbright traded for the warmth of a brighter home.

"Don't let me forget to write back to my dad, by the way. If I don't tell him that the Ambassador made it here safe, he's gonna kill me."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.