Cubed potatoes popped as they cooked in the cast iron and were accompanied by the music Aria was listening to. With every chop of the knife or flip of the spatula, Aria swayed her hips to the beat.

  Humming with the music, Aria quickly diced up some onions and tossed them in with the potatoes.

  Breakfast for everyone was coming together nicely.

  Everything looked delicious!

  Even the cauliflower eggs!

  Phone vibrating on the counter, Aria moon-walked over to it.

  ‘That’s so cool! Your Momma and I need to check it out! Be our tour guide?’, Val had texted her response to the picture Aria sent.

  Sending a quick ‘Of course!’ text back, Aria was back to finishing breakfast.

  Slowly blinking his eyes open, Kousuke stared at the ceiling. Waiting for the sleep to leave the rest of his body. Never really a morning person, it took the oldest twin a while to get out of bed.

  Sounds from the kitchen made Kousuke look over to the two other beds in the room. His brother occupied one of the beds, the only thing uncovered was his feet. The third bed, that Aria slept in, was empty.

  A quick stretch made Kousuke’s shoulders and back pop. The last of sleep left Kousuek’s eyes.

  Climbing out of bed, he made his way to the kitchen.

  “Morning,” Kousuke mumbled.

  Not hearing a response, Kousuke looked up and grinned. On her head, a slight beat of music vibrated out, Aria stood there with headphones on.

  Leaning against the kitchen's opening, Kousuke watched Aria sing with her music as she cooked. It took everything in him not to run and get his phone to record her.

  Didn’t even notice Kousuke was standing there, Aria was so focused. Too busy singing into the spatula before using it to toss the potatoes and mixed veggies. Swinging her hips a few times when she put the scrambled cauliflower onto a plate.

  “Start rippin’ up the recipe,” Aria sang, spinning to put a plate of scrambled cauliflower on the island behind her.

  Seeing Kousuke, Aria let out a shocked scream and almost threw the spatula at him.

  Grin turning into a smirk, Kousuke waved at the Terra User.

  “How long have you been standing there?!” Aria demanded, yanking her headphones off.

  “About five minutes,” Kousuke answered.

  “And you didn’t say anything?!” Aria shrilled, her face red with embarrassment.

  “You didn’t hear me,” Kousuke shrugged.

  “What’s with the screaming?” Kouya yawned, walking into the kitchen.

  “Your brother’s a jerk!” Aria said before Kousuke could; turning back to the food.

  Looking at his older brother confused, Kousuke just chuckled.

  Pushing himself off the wall to stand straight, Kousuke asked Kouya to start the coffee maker. Walking over to Aria, Kousuke helped her by setting the finished plates of food on the table.

  Coffee brewing and the food set out made a wonderful smell that traveled from room to room. Waking everyone from their clumber and guiding them to the table. Full of food and a fresh pot of coffee.

  The conversation didn’t start until half the food was gone.

  “You sure you don’t want to come fishing with us babe?” Steve asked his girlfriend.

  “Maybe later,” Aster answered, typing away on her phone, “Just send me your location and I’ll find you.”

  “You sure you won't get lost?” Jason asked, looking up from his second cup of coffee concerned.

  “There’s a noticeable trail for her to follow,” Aria assured.

  “I can teach you to hook a worm!” Steve beamed excitedly.

  “Yaaay,” Aster drawled, putting on a smile for her boyfriend.

  Bellies full, dishes cleaned, and everyone dressed; Aster wished everyone a safe journey. Promising Steve she would join them after she had at least an hour to herself.

  Thankfully it wasn’t a hot day, but nice and sunny with a cool breeze. Trees provide a nice shade for the friends like yesterday's journey. Croaks from Cherry Frogs sang to them. The scurry of a critter in the background was a promise they weren’t alone.

  The trail made Steve think of his small hometown: Froschgewasser. A half farm, half marsh town. Where the bugs are the size of cats, the sweet tea is always cold, and the nights are the best time for a swim.

  Two and a half hours of blissful fishing passed before Steve received a text from Aster. Saying she was on her way.

  “Hey! Aster’s bringing food!” Steve proclaimed.

  “Did she cook it?” Jason asked, hopeful that it was her coconut cakes, knowing there was no coconut at the cabin.

  “No, it’s a vegan charcuterie board without the board,” Steve answered.

  “Dibs on the cheese and grapes!” Aria and Tommy said together, sharing a bolder to sit on.

  The two watched Jason, Steve, and Kouya fish. The Pyro and Pitch User listened to the Bolt User’s tips on how to cast, and how to reel fast if they feel a tug.

  No fish had been caught yet. A few times Jason would feel a tug but once his hook returned, nothing was there. That didn’t stop him, Jason was determined to catch at least one fish.

  Standing from his spot next to Kouya, Kousuke stretched out his back. Announcing he was going on his nature walk now, Aria quickly reminded him of the White Ash Trees.

  If he saw more than two, he needed to turn around.

  Promising to be safe and that he wouldn’t be gone long. By the time he would return, Aster would have been there long enough to want to leave.

  “Be safe!” Aria’s words called out to him before he disappeared.

  Keeping to the trail, Kousuke only ventured off slightly a few times to take pictures of animals, plants, or bugs. Planning to use them as reference material for tattoos. Maybe one of the ideas could be a tattoo for Aria.

  His number one fan hasn’t said anything about getting tattooed by him. It wasn’t a bad idea to draw something up for her, just in case she does ask.

  As he was taking a picture of a Peacock Moth, a picture text from Kouya popped up. Opening the text, Kousuke smiled at the picture of his twin holding up a small fish.

  ‘I caught dinner!’ Kouya’s text read.

  ‘Dinner for who? You? No one can share that,’ Kousuke texted back.

  Continuing his walk, Kousuke enjoyed the shade. The wind created a calm breeze that tickled his bare shoulders.

  It was so nice out.

  Hopefully, the friends could come back again. This is the perfect place to unwind. Escape from the day-to-day of city life, and take a break from work. Somewhere you go when everything becomes too much.

  Now, Wasser Nature Homes are perfect. The waters are clear, the forest is lush, and the air is crisp.

  However.

  There is a reason people only live here part-time, and it’s not because of the Marsh Bullfrog’s mating season.

  It’s because of the Fencing Fawn. Who may be small, but are very territorial. Inside their adorable little face are rows of razor-sharp teeth. Ready to use to defend their den.

  After it snows, Grizzly Wolves travel through after waking from hibernation. One swipe from them can break every bone in the human body.

  The four White Ash Tree’s Kousuke passed in the distance, which is why no one lives there full-time. The animal that inhabits those trees are the reason everyone is warmed about living in Waser Nature Homes full-time. Looking in the direction Kousuke left, an unsettling feeling stirred in Aria’s stomach.

  “What’s wrong Aria?” Aster asked her Gardner.

  “I don’t know… How long has Kousuke been gone?” Aria asked.

  “About an hour, maybe more,” Kouya answered.

  The unsettling feeling in Aria’s stomach twisted harder. Telling her, begging her, to follow where Kousuke had gone.

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  “I’m… getting worried,” Aria spoke slowly, making her way up the trail, “He should have been back by now.”

  “We’ll come too,” Jason said, catching up to Aria with Kouya in tow.

  “Wait for us!” Tommy called out, Steve and Aster behind them.

  The swirling in Aria’s stomach became a tight knot. The tighter the knot twisted, the faster she walked.

  Her friends commented on her speed. Telling her to slow down. Everything was ok, Kousuke was fine, he was probably on his way back.

  “Let’s get back to fishing!” Steve practically begged.

  Continuing to ignore them, Aria listened to her instincts, she couldn’t turn back.

  A quick walk turned into a run until she turned a bend. The sight before her made her freeze in fear.

  “Get away!” Aria yelled at the Pure Owl.

  Swinging a branch at the giant animal, Kousuke did his best to not get killed. There was already a nice scratch on his forehead, and a few rips in his shirt. That was the most damage he needed to take from the humongous bird.

  Letting out a terrifying screech, the Pure Owl grabbed hold of the branch and took off. The force was so strong that, not only was the branch yanked out of Kousuke’s hand, he was sent tumbling to the ground.

  Dropping the branch, the Pure Owl flew higher up, its pearly eyes set on the Radiant User. Another screech left its throat, so loud it rang in everyone’s ears. Bouncing off the trees to warn any other living creature to stay away.

  “Kousuke run!” Kouya called out to his brother.

  It didn’t matter if Kousuke had already been running, the Pure Owl was mad now.

  A very territorial species, especially the females. Pure Owls have been known to kill Fencing Fawn for being close to their trees. With how aggressive this owl was, there was a chance her babies just hatched.

  Since Kousuke defended himself when the owl gave a warning attack, instead of leaving, the predator was out for blood now.

  Another shrill, louder than the ones before, creating a haunting echo. Then dove for the older twin, talons stretched out and aimed at Kousuke’s head.

  “No!” Aria yelled, her eyes glowing a vibrant green.

  Magic shot down from her feet, into the Earth, and it made its way toward Kousuke. Rapidly circling underneath him, Aria lifted her foot and slammed it to the ground. In that same instance, thorny vines shot up on either side of Kousuke. Meeting over him, the vines braided together to form a shield over Kousuke.

  Not able to stop in time, the Pure Owl grabbed the vines inside their talons. A new shriek left the beautiful aviary, this time one of pain, and took off. Getting away from the new threat, this one has the potential to hurt them and their hatchlings.

  The adrenaline that had been pumping through Aria’s veins slowed down. Breath, she had been holding, started entering her lungs again.

  It wasn’t until her eyes met Kousuke’s surprised ones, that realization came crashing down on her. Like a bucket of ice water was dumped on her, making the glow in her eyes fade.

  Moving her gaze from Kousuke to the thorn shield she made, Aria’s hands started to shake.

  No…

  Looking down at her shaking hands, Aria’s focus blurred and cleared.

  There’s no way. It can’t be true.

  All eyes were on her, she could feel them, she could hear them: “How the hell did she do that?” The curiosity wrapped around Aria, making her panicked thoughts run rampant.

  Impossible!

  There’s no way! They can’t be right!

  Breathing started coming in and out more quickly. Heart beating a mile a minute.

  It was getting difficult to breathe.

  How does she breathe again?

  It’s just in and out, right?!

  Right?!

  Why is it so hard?

  Breathe more air in Aria!

  Taking in a deep breath, Aria tried to get more air in her lungs.

  Unfortunately, the deeper the breath, the harder her heart thumped. A race began of who was the fastest: her heart or her breath.

  The winner was whoever choked Aria first.

  Right as the black dots started to form, Aria’s view was forced to look up. Away from her hands and directly into Kousuke’s deep blue eyes.

  “Aria!” He spoke with a rush in his tone, “Deep breath in and hold it for five seconds. I’ll do it too.”

  Taking one of her hands, Kousuke placed it on his chest and took in a deep breath.

  The rise and fall of his chest under her fingertips, made Aria’s racing mind focus on the sensation. Feeling Kousuke’s breathing made it easy for her to follow.

  Slowly, the panic let its grip on Aria’s heart go, allowing her breathing to return to normal. All of her senses returned to a calm and tears started to collect in Aria’s eyes. Her throat started to close to keep a hiccup in her chest, trying to keep the sob down.

  There’s no way. There’s no way, they were right.

  “I need to call my moms,” Aria whispered.

  “Alright, let’s get you back to the cabin,” Kousuke spoke softly.

  Taking her hand off his chest, Kousuke kept hold of it and led Aria back to the fishing spot.

  Their friends followed, keeping quiet because what could they say? All they had were questions for the Terra User, and that would just make things worse.

  Once at the stream, Kousuke told them to gather the fishing equipment while he took Aria to the cabin.

  Helping Aria is what Kousuke wanted right now, and that was getting her to the cabin as soon as possible. Hopefully a quiet walk with as few people as possible would do Aria some good too.

  The walk in silence was different from before. Everything comforting from before was just background noise now.

  It didn’t give them the same joy as before.

  Singing Purple Jays didn’t put a pep in their step. Bearded Hares skipping by didn’t put a smile on their lips.

  Squeezing Kousuke’s hand, Aria was grateful to have him by her side. If he hadn’t been, Aria would still be in the trails. Stapled to the ground, trying her best not to die from a panic attack.

  Reaching the cabin, Aria muttered about her need to be left alone.

  Making her way to the patio chairs, Aria got as comfortable as possible and called her Momma.

  “Hello, baby!” Benny answered happily, “Are you having fun? How’s the cabin?”

  That’s all it took for the tears to finally fall, a small hiccup leaving Aria’s lips.

  “Baby? What’s wrong?” Benny asked her child worried.

  Oh how she wished she was with her Momma right now, she could imagine the hug Benny would give her. Squeezing her tight to get the bad thoughts out of her, letting Aria’s tears ruin her cardigan.

  “Momma, something happened,” Aria whimpered.

  Quickly entering the cabin, Kousuke texted his brother to do the same when they got back.

  Looking out the window, Kousuke took a quick peek at Aria.

  Still sitting in the chair, curled up as tight as she could be. If her free hand wasn’t twisting her fingers together, it was swiping at her face. Shoulders non-stop bouncing from her crying or talking with her Momma. The bouncing from her leg rocked the chair ever so slightly.

  One incident turned Aria from the glowing person Kousuke has come to know, into a puddle. Whatever triggered this reaction, it was a melancholy reminder that even the brightest people aren’t as strong as they show.

  The front door opening pulled Kousuke’s attention away from Aria.

  “How is she?” Tommy asked, rushing to Kousuke’s side and taking a peek as well.

  “Don’t know, she called her mom the second we got here,” Kousuke answered.

  “Tommy, did you know she could do that?” Jason asked.

  “The most I saw Aria do was make a bud turn into a full-grown flower,” Tommy answered, “Yeah, that’s more than what a lot of Terra Users can do, but I didn’t think much of it. It’s like when I make a little rain clouds or you make campfires.”

  “It probably happened because she wanted to protect Kousuke,” Aster commented, “Adrenalin from trying to keep a loved one safe, or whatever that WhisperMeal article said.”

  A dusting of pink crossed Kousuke’s face for a brief second and responded with a monotone, “Don’t call me her loved one.”

  “Right, forgot, you don’t like admitting your feelings,” Aster said in a bored tone.

  When she walked next to Toomy, to look at Aria as well, the Radiant User shot his twin an accusatory glare. The Pitch User shook his head, silently promising his brother he didn’t say anything.

  It was just obvious how close the two were getting. Even Jason had asked if the two were dating.

  The door opening ended all conversation. With puffy eyes and a red nose, Aria walked into the living room. Her head hung low, making her blond hair fall in front of her face.

  Taking in a deep breath, Aria let it out slowly.

  “Have… Have y’all ever heard of the ‘Mother Gaia’s Holy Children’ church?” Aria’s words spilled out of her quickly.

  “The Cult?” Kouya asked and Aria nodded, “I did a report on them. The leaders were Johna and Abraham, they founded the church and believed Terra Users were the purest of magical users. Their following was massive. Anyone born into the church, who wasn’t a Terra User was raised to be a servant of the church. The FBI shut down the church after they arrested Johna and Abraham. They were the sole leaders for twenty years.”

  “And are my bio parents,” Aria spoke after Kouya was done explaining.

  Everyone looked at Aria shocked.

  What did she just say?

  The silence turned ominous. Building into a dense fog, the kind that sticks to skin.

  How does one respond to their friends admitting their biological parents were cult leaders?

  Not just any cult leaders either.

  They were wanted by every government agency. Convicted of crimes in child cruelty, extortion, money laundering, coercion, and stalking.

  It took a long time before the cult died down. Still not gone completely, unfortunately. A few members trickled everywhere a time or two.

  Before anything else could be said, Aria bombarded them with more information.

  Not the best idea, but it was all she had. Better to get it all out. All the cards are on the table.

  It was the absolute worst feeling.

  “My bio parents were the only Terra Users in the church who had a Terra Child. That’s the whole point of the church. ‘Bear as many Terra Children as you can’. They told a ‘prophesy’ of two Terra Users birthing a Terra Child, and that child would be the holiest of all. Their strength alone could grow an entire forest. Make trees that tear down buildings. Real apocalyptic stuff,” Aria looked down at her feet; fighting back tears and shuffling her toes, “Lucky me, right?” she sniffed.

  “So when you grew those vines…?” Aster’s words trailed off.

  “Had a bit of a panic attack,” Aria admitted, “It already sucks to be related to them, but if their crazy conspiracy theory was right? Yikes.”

  Silence once again.

  They needed to soak in and process everything they just heard. Saying it was a lot to take in is an understatement.

  The only thing Aria could do was stand there in worry. Waiting, hoping, praying, that she didn’t lose the friends she just made.

  It wouldn’t be the first time Aria lost friends after people found out who her bio-parents were. So many left and acted like they never knew Aria existed, keeping their distance away from her. Even being told once that they would rather be friends with a Radiant and Pitch User instead of a freak like here.

  That was what led Aria to-

  “I have an Uncle that collects his toenail clippings,” Steve broke the silence and grabbed everyone's attention, “He’s been collecting them since he was ten. Stores the jars under his floorboards.”

  “Dude, what?” Jason asked disgusted.

  “Is this the same Uncle who took all my hairbrush hair and made it into a doll he keeps in his pillow?” Aster asked.

  “No, different Uncle,” Steve answered.

  “Dude, what?!” Jason repeated, horrified this time.

  “Stay away from that man forever!” Aria and Tommy ordered.

  “Toenail guys is fine?!” Jason exclaimed.

  “Toenail guy didn’t make a creepy doll out of her hair!” Aria reminded the Pyro User.

  “Why are you telling us about your weird Uncle, Steve?” Kousuke asked annoyed, going to rub his temple only to wince when he touched the scratch.

  “I may not have cult leader parents, but I do have family I don’t see or talk to,” Steve explained, “Hell, the only people in my family I do talk to are my eight sisters and Mama.”

  “How many sisters?” Jason questioned shocked.

  “What my awesome bae is saying: everyone has family drama Aria,” Aster said, looking at her friend, “And they aren’t who makes you, you. We want to be your friend because we like you. Everyone has extra baggage.”

  A smile pulled on Aria’s lips, joy overtook the anxiety. She felt so lucky to have friends this understanding and carrying. It felt like winning the jackpot.

  “You guys are awesome,” Aria didn’t know how else to tell them she was happy to have them.

  Fate likes to throw curveballs left and right. Not all of them were bad, some of them were difficult, maybe even a little confusing.

  Through all of it, Aria met these six wonderful people. So it was worth it.

  Grabbing hold of Aria’s hand, Tommy led her to the kitchen so they could start dinner. Following behind them was Kouya, holding the two fish that were caught.

  Was that going to feed the people who eat meat? Probably not, but they were going to figure out how to make it work. Joy from the start of the vacation returned.

  Tomorrow they’ll be leaving the adorable cabin next to a beautiful crystal lake. The cabin a ways away from a spectacular cave, that’s holding a wonderful secret.

  Promises to return soon hung in the air.