âItâs a small miracle that theyâve managed to come this far without formal trainingâŠâ
âWell,â he mused, rumbling bass drawing out the word longer than it usually warranted. âYou have options. There are always options. But if you want to master your abilities as quickly as possible, you need both practice and supervision. In your case, I think a bit of extra reading would help, too. I have a lot of books on demons, angels, and WatchersâIâd be happy to let you borrow them.â He shoes not to mention the fact that any one of them was pricelessâhe was generous enough that things like that didnât really matter to him. He suspected that Tsukiyo would learn best from books, methodical explanations of theory, and controlled practice settings. That was easy enough to provide, though trying to imagine As teaching her some of the things only he could was⊠interesting.
Kazehana, on the other hand, had so much power that sheâd probably just learn best by doing, by getting thrown into a situation and forced to manifest the powers required. It would be hard on her, body and mind, but it would be effective. Tsuki was different. If Kazehana was to be a dam that was broken and the water forced to be brought under her sway, then Tsukiyo was a flower that needed to be encouraged to blossom. Too much force and it wouldnât work. Her abilities already tended to give her headachesâthat was something he could help with, but pushing her too far too fast was going to be a bad idea. On the other hand, she would learn the theory behind her talents, and in doing so, she would learn to do more with less. Kazehana would always be a battering ram of force, but sometimes all that was needed would be a small push, and Tsukiyo would learn to tell the difference and apply herself accordingly. Of course, he suspected her powers would also grow, and that Kaz would learn control, but at least at first, he thought it would be best to approach things this way.
âNow, itâs probably going to take all three of us to teach you everything, but if you donât object, I think at least for the first week, it would make sense for me to work with you and Momo over there to teach your sister. It already appears to be having some effect.â He lifted an eyebrow as he watched the two of them. Having as much experience reading Morganâs expressions and body language and general moods as he had, he knew he was impressed with whatever Kazehana was managing to do. Hell, Cass himself was impressed with eh both of them. For having no guidance along this path, they were doing remarkably well for themselves. He was willing to bet theyâd both make quick progress. âWe can start tomorrow night. If you want to choose someplace where the two of you will be comfortable, Morgan and I can come to youâand Iâll bring the books.â
And that, it turned out, was exactly what happened.
âIâm still not sure how I feel about all this stuff, but⊠itâs important that I learn. Sheâs counting on me.â
Then Iâm asking, she thought resolutely, but her expression softened. It was not lost on her that he was doing her a huge favor by volunteering for this, and as anxious as she might have been about diving into this world sheâd tried to ignore, she wasnât the kind of person who was ungrateful for assistance. Please teach us whatever youâre willing to.
Slightly more than a week later, Kazehana stood in the central lobby of her fatherâs clinic, sipping absently at some cider and watching a group of small children chase each other around the room. She and her sister were in the midst of the clinicâs annual Halloween festivities, thrown for the long-term patients who had no other way to celebrate, their families, and also the staff. It was a great idea, actually, suggested by their father many years ago and made a regular practice at holidays. Some of them might have been lonely without this event, and honestly, Kazehana wasnât far different.
She had her father and her sister, but that was really it. That they got to celebrate with so many other people made her feel like her family was bigger, and she liked the feeling of being surrounded by warmth and energy. Though sometimes she didnât show it very well, as now, when she frowned slightly at the kids moving around underfoot. âThomas, you give that back to her right now,â she scolded, and the little boy complied with a sigh and a âyes, Miss Kaz.â
She shook her head to herself, watching the costumed partygoers fill the large room with their laughter and good cheer. She couldnât stay in a bad mood for very long with this kind of atmosphere, but sheâd needed a break from the constant socializing and chatter. She never seemed to have a shortage of people to talk to, but inwardly, she really enjoyed the breaks in activity when she could just observe. People were so hard to figure out; if these werenât all close to her in some way, she would have felt uncomfortably awkward. She still felt a little weird, but that was normal by now. Apparently, it was her supernatural sense acting up. Morgan had warned her that Halloween was a favorite holiday of demons and suchlike, so it made sense that she was more on-edge today than usual. She told herself it had nothing to do with the costumeâher father always insisted that his daughters dress as angels for the event, since it was the symbol of the clinic, so to speak. Now, actually knowing angels, it felt a little ridiculous, or at least more than usual.
The wings would just get in the way, so thankfully she was spared that particular indignity, but the dresses she and Tsukiyo wore were still pretty elaborate. Hers was white and silver, mostly, long enough to barely brush the floor, and her hair had been elaborately braided around the crown of her head, flowers woven in by Tsuki, and it glittered faintly in the light. Speaking of Tsuki⊠just where had that girl gotten off to, anyway?